Blogs

Which Lions tourist sprang a convict from captivity on a particularly wild night out?

What happened when the World Cup-winner played on after tearing his scrotum?

Why did the 6’7” lock receive praise in the House of Commons from the Prime Minister?

What gave one World Cup winger the nickname ‘the Chiropractor’?

Who had his career ended after assaulting a fan in the stands during a game?

Answers to these questions and much more is to be found in the profiles of the 20 players featured in  Hard Men of Rugby  (Y Lolfa). These tough and uncompromising sportsmen span the globe and the period from pre-WWI to the present day. They were totally committed to victory, and irrespective of size, situation or opposition, never took a backwards step. Most of the them operating before citing commissioners, slow-motion replays and trial by social media, some of their actions are almost hard to believe. And largely free from the confines of the commitments the modern professional game demands, many were as lively off the pitch as they were fiery on it! 

Featuring exclusive interviews with some of the players themselves, insights from former teammates and a foreword from refereeing legend Nigel Owens – who has himself had to deal with the actions of several who have made the list – this lively, engaging and highly readable book brings some of rugby’s craziest moments, biggest characters and most remarkable stories to life. 

One of the selection who contributed to the book was World Cup-winner and rugby legend Bakkies Botha, who said, “It’s a real privilege to be included in Hard Men of Rugby. I’ve battled against some of those included and heard some amazing stories about many of the others, so I am honoured to be part of this book.” 

Born and bred in South Wales, Luke Upton’s first job was selling match-day lottery tickets for Swansea RFC in those last few glorious years before regional rugby arrived. He now lives in London, where after working in the sports industry for five years he works as a business journalist and editor. He is the author of satirical rugby novel  Absolutely Huge  (“hilarious” –  The Guardian ),   also from Y Lolfa, and co-runs @NotGavHenson, the rugby humour Twitter account with over 42,000 followers, including a host of professional rugby players – some tough, others not so much! 

“Selecting the players for this book was a real challenge and I’m sure not everyone will agree with who’s included, but that’s all part of the fun! The criteria was that, yes, they had to be tough – and this could include aspects on and off the pitch – but also they had to be very good players. This rules our mindless thugs, cheats or cowards, and those super-tough guys who just weren’t quite up to scratch at the top level of the game. So, look at the list, think of your country of club in the era in which those individuals played and consider if you would have had them in your team. I think the answer would be overwhelmingly ‘yes’,” said Luke. 

So pull on your boots, apply your strapping and come face to face with the Phantom Major, the Iron Duke, Car Crash, the Blackpool Tower, the Caveman and the rest  of them…

The lawyer who represented “Wales’ most dangerous man” has revealed the chilling moment serial killer Peter Moore confessed to stabbing to death four men and saying the brutal attacks were easy - “like a knife through butter”.  

The shocking inside story is told for the first time by former solicitor Dylan Rhys Jones in a new book,  The Man in Black - Peter Moore - Wales' Worst Serial Killer , which was published to coincide with the 25 ^th  anniversary of the vicious murders which Moore said he committed for “fun”.

It was in the early hours of Christmas Eve morning, 1995, at Llandudno police station that Nazi-obsessed Moore admitted the killings in a three-month spree that had begun on Anglesey in September, terrorising the gay community in North Wales and Merseyside.

With Mr Jones, alongside him, Moore, a softly spoken film fanatic from Kinmel Bay who owned a chain of cinemas in Bagillt, Denbigh, Holyhead and Blaenau Ffestiniog, told two North Wales Police detectives he had slain the four men.

He said: “I want to admit to both of the murders in Anglesey, the murder on Pensarn beach and also I want to admit to another murder that you don’t know about which I committed in Clocaenog Forest near Ruthin.”

Moore was known in the area for his eccentric dress sense and was dubbed  “The Man in Black”.

And when prosecuting barrister Alex Carlile QC opened the case against Moore at Mold Crown Court in 1996, he called him: "The man in black - black thoughts and the blackest of deeds."

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 1996 with a recommendation that he never  be released.

Moore is still alive, locked up almost certainly for ever, in Britain’s Monster Mansion, Wakefield high security prison where the Supermax wing has been home to murderers like Dr Death Harold Shipman and child killers Ian Huntley and Mark Bridger, who murdered five-year-old April Jones in Machynlleth in 2012.

But at 2.32am on that chilly morning in Llandudno the lawyer calmly took notes as Moore, in his quiet, effeminate voice, told Detective Sergeant Ian Guthrie and Detective Constable Dave Morris about the killings.

They began  in the September when Moore stabbed 56-year-old Henry Roberts to death at his home near Caergeiliog, Holyhead – there were 27 wounds in the retired railway worker’s body.

The reign of terror continued as Edward Carthy, a 28-year-old man whom Moore met in a gay bar in Liverpool, was stabbed to death in  Clocaenog Forest  in the October, followed by Keith Randles, a 49-year-old traffic manager from; in November 1995 on the A5 in Anglesey.

His final victim was Anthony Davies, 40; stabbed and left to die on Pensarn Beach, near  Abergele  in December.

The book tells how Moore called on Henry Roberts’ home in Caergeiliog dressed in black with a Nazi-style cap and armed with a hunting knife with Roberts pleading that he wasn’t Jewish before he was killed, how Keith Randles pleaded for his life and how the killer hid mementos of his victims in his garden pond.

A knife bearing traces of the blood of a number of men was found in a bag belonging to Moore.

On a shelf in Moore's bedroom were a police helmet, two German military caps and a pair of long, black boots.

Hanging on a cupboard alongside the bed was a truncheon and a sergeant's uniform hung in the wardrobe.

Speaking about the murder of Keith Randles, Moore told the detectives: “He asked me why I was killing him as I stabbed him, and I said that it was for fun.

“He fell to the floor. I just thought it was a job well done, and left and returned to my van.”

And when asked how he felt when he killed his victims, Moore replied chillingly: “It was easy. Just like a knife through butter.”

Moore confessed to attacking “many men” in the Conwy Valley over a period of 20 years before the murders started.

He said:  “When driving around, I would sometimes notice someone walking along the road late at night and I would stop and attack them.

“I would assault them with a police truncheon and strike them on the body and their heads many times. Usually I would be dressed as a policeman or in a Nazi uniform or something similar, just to scare them. I heard that a few of these men had been seriously injured after the attacks.”

In the book Mr Jones also describes the traumatic effect on himself and on the two police officers of hearing Moore tell his grisly tale in a calm, measured way.

Mr Jones, who lives in Abergele, added: “It was like watching a cold-blooded lizard move towards its prey, slowly, calculating every move not using its energy unnecessarily, just describing the bare essentials of the deed ... It was the desensitized description by a killer dispassionate as to the implications of his actions.”

The following morning, just a few hours later, Moore withdrew his confession, claiming he had done it to protect his friend, the real murderer, a man he called Jason, the name of the killer in the  Friday the 13 ^th  films he had shown at his cinemas.

Dylan Jones added: “I have reflected often on whether what Moore said during this interview was true. Was it a case of bravado, the man had his audience and he took his opportunity to perform, like an actor on celluloid before a captive cinema audience?

“Were the two detectives and I the gullible audience ready to lap up the gory details of a horrific killer in some B-movie, just for Moore’s pleasure? The three of us were without doubt shocked, horrified and captivated by the performance we witnessed. But was it true?”

The book conveys Moore’s calmness and composure, his descriptions of killing someone told in assured dispassionate terms, the process of killing sounding easy, the process of stabbing a person simple, straightforward and emotionless.

Author Dylan Jones no longer practices as a solicitor but lectures on Law and Criminology and helped create the Criminal Justice and Offender Management foundation degree course at Coleg Cambria and Chester University. He is a regular contributor to TV and radio.

He said: “Moore made killing an emotionless, simple and efficient process. He had perfected the act of killing in a way which had made him a ruthless machine feeding an inner need in the darkest reaches of his psyche to be pleasured by violence, control and ultimately death.

“The impression I had is that Moore had enjoyed what he had done, that he believed it was a job well done and that he had fed his demons in an effective way, the act of killing was like putting ‘a knife through butter’ the pleasure of killing appeared immeasurable.”

The Man in Black – Peter Moore: Wales’ Worst Serial Killer   by Dylan Rhys Jones (£9.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.

Review copies available.

She’s Got Spies releases her new album ‘Isle of Dogs’ on the 6th of November. It’s preceded  by the single ‘Super Sniffer Dogs’ on the 23rd of October. 

She’s Got Spies’  second album  ‘Isle of Dogs’  refers to an area of London, Laura Nunez’s hometown,  as well as the state of turmoil of the island of Britain. The follow up album to her debut Welsh language album  ‘Wedi’,  ‘Isle of Dogs’ features songs written over the last decade. She’s Got Spies is the project of Laura Nunez and her cast of collaborators. She spends her time between Cardiff and London, she’s multilingual and can sing in Welsh, English and Russian.  

‘Isle of Dogs’  is a charming trilingual travelogue album, with most of the songs written on the move  while travelling or whilst Nunez was living in various countries. She spent time in Russia, Vietnam, Italy,  Tierra del Fuego in Argentina, and parts were also written in Cardiff, London and other parts of Wales  and England. Threaded with Laura’s knack for a bittersweet earworm melody and surreal yet personal  lyrics, these charmingly wonky songs are underscored with dark psych tinged sounds and an unsettled  feeling which reflects the turmoil of current times. 

With music hall style pianos, bounding percussion, fizzing guitars and a playful vocal, new single  ‘Super Sniffer Dogs'  is inspired by Laura’s time spent visiting Poplar on the Isle of Dogs, an area of high contrast with the rich, banking area of Canary Wharf and large, destitute council estates. It’s about an  imaginary dystopian festival with lots of restrictions in a high walled destitute area. Despite its serious  themes, which is juxtaposed by a catchy singalong melody, it’s a joyous tuneful romp. 

The delightful first single from the album, ‘ Wedi Blino’, was released in 2019 and features a video filmed by Laura in Antarctica when she won a trip there in 2018. Meanwhile ‘The Fear’ is the newest song, written during lockdown. It reflects uncertainty of whether the record would ever see the light of day due to the pandemic, after the last days of studio time were cancelled as the lockdown started. It ended up replacing another song that was meant to be on the album that had not yet been recorded. 

All songs are written by Laura apart from three co-written with Gruff Meredith ( MC Mabon ), who also co produced with Frank Naughton on them. Recorded in Tŷ Drwg studios in Cardiff (with additional recording in various locations including Moscow, London, Vietnam, etc.) with producer Frank Naughton. The album cover was designed by Laura and features a fox that visited Laura’s garden daily during lockdown that she  caught on a night vision camera, and photographed remotely when he came to her doorstep. 

She’s Got Spies band members include Gareth Middleton (guitar) and Mel Beard (glockenspiel/ keyboard) on some tracks, additionally with Pixy Jones ( El Goodo ) on guitar, Andy Fung ( Derrero ) on drums and producer Frank Naughton on piano, synths, guitar, bass, strings and percussion. She’s Got Spies started as a project by Laura Nunez in 2005 with Matthew Evans ( Keys ). Laura’s originally from London but moved to Cardiff and learnt Welsh inspired by bands such as Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Super Animals, Melys  etc. 

She’s Got Spies have recorded sessions for BBC Radio Cymru as well as having performed and been roadcast on Welsh television channel S4C. The band have performed at festivals such as Indietracks, Focus Wales, National Eisteddfod and Wales Goes Pop, as well as appearances in more far flung  places including Russia, Bulgaria, Italy and even on an Antarctic expedition ship.

‘Isle of Dogs’ album cover ‘Super Sniffer Dogs’ single cover

‘Isle of Dogs’ Tracklist: 

1. Super Sniffer Dogs (2:31) 

2. Mariah Pariah (2:54) 

3. Despair Over Here (3:08) 

4. All Outta Tears (3:38) 

5. Harasho (3:22) 

6. Vladivostok (3:18) 

7. Vietnam (3:23) 

8. Mank Shoreshank (3:08) 

9. Cwympo (3:02) 

10. The Fear (2:41) 

11. Wedi Blino (2:30) 

12. Where Did You Go? (4:04) 

For further details please get in touch at: 

Bill Cummings: soundandvisionpr@googlemail.com 

info@shesgotspies.com 

www.shesgotspies.com  

During the YES Scottish referendum in 2014 I went up from Cardiff, at my own cost, to Edinburgh to help the YES campaign. I wrote the words to ‘Alba gu Brath – Don’t give up hoping Hannah’ as a reaction to my experience there. The background details of the song (Words - Gwenno Dafydd. Music -Katherine Cole. Vocals – Glasgow based Conor Gaffney) are to be found in this article in Bella Gwalia.

Bella Gawlia: Don't Give Up Hoping Hanna

Back here in Wales, the Yes Wales campaign is going from strength to strength with three major protests in the last year, and finally Wales seems to have woken up to the real possibility of independence. The way that the Welsh Government has reacted to the Covid crisis in a different, and much more effective, way to that of Westminster, has also promoted the idea of independence.

I decided to write some lyrics to the tune of Alba Gu Brath about this new feeling of optimism. I wrote a version in Welsh (Clyw lais y ddraig yn rhuo) and one in English (Hear sound of dragons roaring) because I feel passionately that there are many people who identify with Welsh independence but can’t speak the language.

Following this, I recorded the song and during lockdown worked with editor Dan Rees on a film to go with the Welsh songs. We already have a film to accompany Alba Gu Brath which has been compiled by Will Judge.

I have been in contact with several key people in the Welsh and Scottish Independence movements and I am very pleased to say that there is a lot of excitement about using the films and songs to promote independence in both countries, especially in a time when demonstrations and outdoor events are nearly impossible to hold safely. The ‘Hope over Fear’ event due to be held in George Square in Glasgow was cancelled and is now being held online and all three versions/two films and one song will be played during this event.

We have decided to launch the project/films/songs on two significant dates that are very close together. The Welsh language version of the song ‘Clyw lais y ddraig yn rhuo’ will be launched on September the 16 ^th which is Owain Glyndwr Day, the English language version of the Welsh film ‘Hear sound of dragons roaring’ on September the 17 ^th and ‘Alba gu Brath. Don’t give up hoping Hannah’, the Scottish video and song will be launched on September the 18 ^th which is the anniversary of the vote back in 2014. As we are in lockdown – all launches will be on social media.

I have started to create some hashtags to create some interest and they are #clywlaisyddraigynrhuo #hearsoundofdragonsroaring #albagubrath and #dontgiveuphopinghannah and I am using them on Facebook and Twitter under any article I share that is anything to do with Independence in our two countries.

Cefndryd Celtaidd Dewch Ynghyd 15fed o Fedi 2020 “Clyw Lais y Ddraig yn Rhuo”

Adeg pleidlais Ie dros yr Alban yn 2014 fe es i fynu i Gaeredin o Gaerdydd ar fy nghost fy hun i ganfasio dros yr achos. Fe sgwenais i eiriau’r gan 'Alba gu Brath - Don't give up Hoping Hannah' fel ymateb i fy mhrofiad yna. Mae manylion cefndirol am y gan (Geiriau – Gwenno Dafydd. Cerddoriaeth - Katherine Cole. Llais: Conor Gaffney o Glasgow) yn yr erthygl yma yn Bella Gwalia.

Bella Gawlia: Don't Give Up Hoping Hanna

N'ol yma yng Nghymru, mae ymgyrch Ie dros Gymru wedi mynd o nerth i nerth, gyda tair protest fawr yn y flwyddyn olaf ac o'r diwedd mae Cymru yn dechre dihuno i'r syniad o Annibyniaeth. Mae’r ffordd mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi ymateb i’r cyfnod Cofid mewn ffordd wahanol a mwy effeithiol na San Steffan hefyd wedi hybu y syniad o Annibyniaeth.

Penderfynais sgwennu geiriau i diwn ‘Alba Gu Brath’ oedd yn disgrifio’r sefyllfa obeithiol yma. Fe sgwenais fersiwn Gymraeg (Clyw lais y ddraig yn rhuo) a Saesneg (Hear sound of dragons roaring) achos dwi yn teimlo’n gryf fod na nifer helaeth o bobl sydd yn teimlo’n Gymreig ond sydd ddim yn siarad Cymraeg.

Yn dilyn hyn, fe ricordiais y gan ac adeg y Clo mawr fe weithiais gyda’r golygydd ifanc Dan Rees ar ffilm i gyd fynd a’r caneuon Cymreig. Mae gennym ni ffilm eisioes sydd wedi cael ei chwblhau gan Will Judge am y gan am yr Alban.

R’wyf wedi bod mewn trafodaeth gyda llawer sydd ynghlwm a’r mudiad Annibyniaeth yn yr Alban ac yng Nghymru a dwi’n hynod o bles i glywed y cyffro am y syniad yma o ddefnyddio’r ffilmiau i hybu annibyniaeth yn y ddwy wlad yn enwedig mewn cyfnod pan fo gorymdeithio a cynnal digwyddiadau tu allan bron yn amhosib. R’oedd digwyddiad ‘Gobaith dros Ofn’ yn Glasgow ar y 19eg o Fedi ond mae wedi cael ei ganslo oherwydd Covid ond mae nawr yn cael ei gynnal ar lein. Fe fydd y tair fersiwn/dwy ffilm/un gan yn cael eu harddangos yn y digwyddiad yma.

Diwrnod ar ol i’r ffilm gael ei lawnsio ac r’oedd son y buasai’r ffilm yn cael ei defnyddio ond nawr mae Glasgow dan warchae a ni fydd hyn yn digwydd yn anffodus onibai fod pethau yn newid yn y pythefnos nesaf. Cawn weld!

R’ydem wedi penderfynu lawnsio’r ffilmiau ar ddau ddyddiad arwyddocaol sydd yn agos at eu gilydd. Bydd y ffilm Gymreig a ‘Clyw lais y ddraig yn rhuo’ yn cael ei lawnsio ar Medi yr 16eg sef Diwrnod Owain Glyndwr, y ffilm a ‘Hear sound of dragons roaring ar y 17eg ac yna y ffilm ac ‘Alba gu brath – Don’t give up hoping Hannah ar Fedi y 18fed sef diwrnod y bleidlais Albanaidd n’ol yn 2014.

D’wi wedi dechrau hashnodau i greu diddordeb ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol sef - #clywlaisyddraigynrhuo #hearsoundofdragonsroaring #albagubrath #dontgiveuphopinghannah a dwi’n eu defnyddio pan dwi’n rhannu unrhyw erthygl sydd yn trafod annibyniaeth yn ein dwy gwlad ar Trydar a Gweplyfr.

Following the release of two pre-covid singles ‘Babanod’ and ‘Poetry’, HMS Morris are back with the third in the series,  ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol.’ , which translates as ‘International Students’. The single will be released on September 16 ^th

HMS Morris HQ is nestled on the edge of one of the most multicultural streets in Cardiff, City Road. It’s a noisy, colourful cosmopolitan crush of restaurants, shisha bars and barbers, which have recently been invaded by posh student accommodation projects. But while this may have been the initial impetus behind  ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’ , by the time it had solidified into a definite sound and feel it was no longer a rant about fancy student halls.

Rather it had become an assertion that the world be a better place if we were all International Students. In the context of this summer’s global race-relations reckoning, there is a general moral imperative for us all to become students of the international: to watch the news as if it’s our own story, to actually take it in, to learn and adapt our behaviour. We should be prepared to immerse ourselves in other cultures, just like the international students of City Rd do.

'Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol'  will be available to stream or purchase digitally from all the usual platforms.

See them  not  live:

September 10-12 – Waves Vienna Digital Showcase
October - ‘Out of Focus’ Digital Festival organised by Focus Wales

Watch it back:

HMS Morris live from Cultvr Lab Cardiff -  https://www.cultvr.cymru/hmsmorris/

Yn dilyn y senglau cyn-covid ‘Babanod’ a ‘Poetry’, mae HMS Morris yn ôl efo’r drydedd yn y gyfres, ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol.’  Fe fydd y sengl yn cael ei ryddhau ar Medi 16eg.
 
Mae hwb creadigol HMS Morris yn swatio ger un o strydoedd mwyaf amlddywilliannol Caerdydd, City Road. Mae’n gawl gosmopolitaidd o fwytai, shisha bars a barbwyr – sydd yn ddiweddar wedi eu gorlethu gan neuaddau posh i fyfyrwyr. Problem enbyd heb os, ond er mai hyn oedd yr ysgogiad gwreiddiol tu ôl i  ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’ , erbyn iddi galedu yn deimlad a sain pendant doedd hi ddim yn rant am neuaddau myfyrwyr swanc bellach, ond yn hytrach yn fyfyriad ar faint o le gwell fyddai’r byd petaen ni i gyd yn fyfyrwyr rhyngwladol.

Yng ngyd-destun y daeargryn cymdeithasol byd-eang ddechreuodd yn Minneapolis ym mis Mai, mae hi’n ddyletswydd moesol arnom ôll i astudio y rhyngwladol: i wylio’r newyddion fel mai ein stori ni ein hunain yw e, i’w ystyried yn ofalus, i ddysgu ac addasu ein ymddygiad. Dylen ni fod yn yn barod i drochi mewn diwyllianau eraill, yn union fel mae myfyrwyr rhyngwladol City Road yn gwneud.
 
Fe fydd ' Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol'  ar gael yn ddigidol i’w ffrydu a’i lawrlwytho o’r manau arferol.
 
Gwyliwch nhw ddim cweit yn fyw - 

Medi 10-12 – Gwyl Ddigidol Waves Vienna
Hydref - ‘Out of Focus’ Gwyl Ddigidol Focus Wales
 
Gwyliwch yn ôl:  

HMS Morris live from Cultvr Lab Cardiff -   https://www.cultvr.cymru/hmsmorris/  

AmeriCymru: Hi Eloise and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. How did you become the first Children's Laureate Wales? What is the selection process?

Eloise: You are very welcome. Thanks for inviting me! It's so good to be here. 

Literature Wales, the national company for the development of literature in Wales, put out a call for expressions of interest. I'd worked with young people a lot over the years - taught Drama and English, developed plays with community and youth theatres, toured with theatre-in-education projects - and since starting to write for young people I'd run hundreds of creative writing workshops to develop writing skills, creativity and imagination. I thought I'd express my interest so that I would be considered for the role at some point in the future, without any expectation of being considered for the position. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have been selected. It's an honour and a privilege.  

AmeriCymru: You are involved in a project to create a new updated version of the Mabinogion. Can you tell us more about this exciting project?

Eloise: Absolutely! The Mabinogion are the oldest British stories to be written down and are a really important part of our heritage. When the author Matt Brown came to me with the idea to get these stories written specifically for young readers, I thought it was genius. I also couldn't believe it hadn't been done already! 

In all honesty, I was hesitant to become involved at first. I have a pretty full timetable with laureate work and work as an author, but in the end, I decided that it was a really important and meaningful project and one I would definitely need to get behind. 

It came as a shock to me how little I knew about the stories. Casting my mind back, I know we didn't learn about them at school and though most of them have crept into my consciousness somewhere along the line, it just seemed dreadful that I didn't have a better knowledge of them. We hope this collection will mean that young people everywhere will have the opportunity to fall in love with these stories and that they can be celebrated and known by everyone! 

We have a fantastic line-up of great Welsh writers, authors and poets bringing the stories to life - Claire Fayers, Sophie Anderson, PG Bell, Alex Wharton, Hanan Issa, Darren Chetty, Zillah Bethell, Catherine Johnson, Nicola Davies, Matt Brown and me - and the stories will be told in diverse and creative ways. All eleven tales will be translated into Welsh by Bethan Gwanas in the same volume so that they can be read alongside the English versions, and the collection will be beautifully illustrated by the brilliant artist Max Low. It's a really exciting project and we are doing everything we can to shout about it!  

( Click the image above to go to the 'Mab' support page )

AmeriCymru: When will the new Mabinogion be available and where will readers be able to purchase it online? 

Eloise: This is where readers can help us to make this a reality! We are crowdfunding the project through a company called Unbound . There are all sorts of rewards you can get your hands on - a copy signed by all of the authors, a tote bag, original art work, virtual author visits - you get your name printed in the back of the book and you'll be part of something really important. We would love it if you would support this project if you are able and if you could help us to spread the word that would be absolutely wonderful too. 

AmeriCymru: What does the Children's Laureate do and what are you hoping to achieve in this role?

Eloise: The Children's Laureate role has been created to highlight the importance of, and to promote, creative writing by and for young people in Wales. It gives me an opportunity to work with lots of children who may not already see themselves as storytellers. I believe everyone is made of stories and all voices and words are important. I encourage creativity and imagination over spelling and grammar. I think lots of young people – and older people too - are put off telling stories because they worry about their academic ability.

It’s only my opinion, but I believe that punctuation is something that can be sorted at a later date. Without imagination there is nothing to edit in the first place.

I want all young people to see themselves as part of the literature landscape of Wales. We need vibrant new voices from all sectors of the community, and I see it as part of my job to convince young people of how essential a part they play in making this happen.

The platform also gives me a chance to put a spotlight on children’s writers from Wales which is just a lovely thing to do. We have so many talented writers creating children’s stories with such expertise. It’s a joy to be able to celebrate their words.

AmeriCymru: You are also the patron of reading for a school. What is a patron of reading?

Eloise: I've been a patron of reading for three different schools over the last five years. It's a role to promote the value of reading for pleasure and to break down the barriers between the author and the reader. It's been a fantastic opportunity to have a close relationship with schools and for the young people to have an author at their disposal! 

We launched the Children’s Laureate Wales initiative at one of the schools. I’ve run creative writing competitions with them, co-written stories with pupils, answered questions about the writing process, discussed how to become an author and what it is like when you are published. They’ve let me know what they are reading, and we chat about why they like certain stories more than others. It’s up to the author how much time and connection they want with each school and it’s beneficial on both sides. I’ve run new pieces of writing past young people to get their feedback and they’ve given their feedback very honestly!

AmeriCymru: You currently live in Pembrokeshire but you have lived elsewhere in Wales in the past. Care to tell our readers a little about your history?

Eloise: I was born in St. David’s Hospital in Canton opposite where Ivor Novello was born. I was the first baby on Easter morning which meant my mother was given a celebratory cake by the nursing staff. She was thrilled until they shared it out with everyone on the ward. I have inherited this selfishness when it comes to cake.

For the first few years of my life I lived close to Victoria Park in Canton and then Caerphilly, I remember very little of this time though I romantically recall it as a time I played next to one of the most magnificent castles in the world.

From there we went to live in the historical town of Llantrisant with another castle – smaller and much more ruined – practically in our back garden. Llantrisant was a place of festivals and beating the bounds, historically the home of Dr. William Price a famous Victorian vegetarian nudist and a pioneer of legal cremation, it has a forest to one side of it complete with Bronze Age burial mounds and is laced in legend. We had stories under our feet wherever we walked.

AmeriCymru: When did you first decide to write? How would you describe your creative process?

Eloise: I decided to take the MA in Creative and Media Writing at Swansea University and graduated in 2011 with Distinction which was a definite surprise to me. I’ve always been creative but not particularly successful academically.

I'd been on the road for a long time, touring around different theatres across the UK and had been having a glorious and very tiring time. A decade as an actor was a wonderful experience. I got to act in some of the most superb plays ever written and learned about character and story and most importantly, I think, the sound and spell of words. One fateful day, I was on a stage at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff and I decided that I had words of my own to say instead of other people’s scripts, and I wanted to write them down. I've always been impetuous and knew to trust this instinct to write but I didn't have the confidence to go ahead without trying some skills out first. University workshops were humbling and scary, but I stuck with it, whilst holding down lots of different jobs, and despite being sent a letter to tell me I was at risk of being dismissed from the course for non-attendance (work often clashed with workshops) I eventually graduated. 

My creative process seems to be different for every project. I tend to start VERY enthusiastically with an INCREDIBLE idea, then reach what I have now named the grumble stage. This is where I make low murmuring and disparaging remarks about my ability to create anything at all ever again. Once these two stages are out of the way, I get to work. Research first (and during). I plot a bit now - I used to just forge straight ahead. I use record cards to jot down thoughts and have a drawer where I stash all the glittering ideas for other books which appear bright and shiny and tap dancing through my head when I don’t need them. I work hard, make sure I turn up at my laptop, get frustrated most days. Some days are beautiful and filled with a sense of achievement but lots of days are graft. I guess I have a strong inbuilt work ethic from my parents which has seen me through the more difficult drafts. I also love to question and create almost as much as I love to procrastinate. I turn my WiFi off.

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about your new novel Wilde ?

Eloise: Wilde is a story which is essentially about celebrating individuality and also about being kind to yourself.

The blurb goes :

Can she break the curse of the witch called Winter?

Being different can be dangerous. Wilde is afraid when strange things happen around her. Are the birds following her? Moving to live with her aunt seems to make it worse. Wilde is desperate to fit in at her new school. But in a fierce heatwave, in rehearsals for a school play telling the local legend of a witch called Winter, ‘The Witch’ starts leaving pupils frightening curse letters. Can Wilde find out who’s doing it before everyone blames her? Or will she always be the outsider?

Wilde has witches and waterfalls and history and legends. It also has a donkey named Duran Duran which gives my age away, I fear! 

AmeriCymru: What's next for Eloise Williams? Any new titles in the offing?

Eloise: This is where my superstitions jump in and tell me that if I give away any information at all I will jinx everything I have coming up. I think I developed this strange and wonderful superstitious nature while working as an actor. There's a lot of ritual and belief in luck in that career. Not mentioning the Scottish Play by name, no whistling backstage, turning in a circle three times and spitting, or some such thing?!

In other words - I do have some things in the pipeline but I can't tell you anything specific about them! I'll be following my love of folklore and fable, history and landscape, all that is other and strange and a little bit odd, down various pathways. I know that's pretty vague but it’s all I can give away at the moment. 

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Eloise: As I said earlier, we are all made of stories – that includes you! Tell your stories to other people. Tell them in any way you want to. Get them out there and celebrate them. Who knows, your stories could be part of a Mab collection in the future!

We are delighted to be celebrating the 50 th anniversary of Planet: the Welsh Internationalist magazine this year. This will culminate in the publication of issue 240 on 1 November 2020, and will be marked by a celebratory party and symposium. The party and symposium will now be postponed until next year, and will be an opportunity to look forward to the next 50 years. In the meantime, we are planning imaginative ways of commemorating half a century of the magazine later in 2020, and will stay in touch as these projects develop.

Planet’s story

“Time and again Planet has taken me upwards and outwards from the fulcrum of Wales to the furthest reaches of discussion and discovery.”

“I know of no other magazine which collates Welsh ideas and values so thoughtfully with intellectual developments in the world at large, and interprets the results in such excellent
journalism.” Jan Morris

Despite the scale suggested by the magazine’s masthead, Planet is run as a micro-organisation, albeit one that seeks to over-reach the limitations of Wales’ political status to offer Welsh perspectives on the world and vice versa. Planet’s authors have included R.S. Thomas, Jan Morris, Raymond Williams, Chinua Achebe, Menna Elfyn, Leo Abse, Gwynfor Evans, Mererid Hopwood and Stevie Davies, and each issue has featured both ground-breaking established authors and emerging talent in its pages.

While sometimes perceived as a ‘cultural magazine’, Planet has always found ways to be a vessel for often radical political perspectives, from the first issue’s opening challenge to the then Secretary of State for Wales George Thomas onwards. The magazine arose out of the publication of The Welsh Extremist: a Culture in Crisis by its founding editor Ned Thomas – an appeal to the English New Left as to why they should be in solidarity with the Welsh-language movement. It has provided a platform for pioneering work on topics from political independence to climate change and species loss – often long before these issues were on the mainstream media agenda.

The magazine has also always had a core role of bridging different cultures within an often very fractured nation. This has sometimes taken the form of bringing Welsh-language material to an English-language readership for the first time in translation, including Saunders Lewis’ seminal Tynged yr Iaith speech, and work by writers including Kate Roberts and J.R. Jones. Latterly this ethos of unifying language cultures has been expressed through our ‘Welsh Keywords’ series, inspired by Keywords – by one of our former Patrons Raymond Williams.

At the same time, from the start, Planet has played an important role in the development of Welsh Writing in English, being one of the first outlets to publish pioneering work from Anglophone areas of Wales by writers including Ron Berry and Alun Richards; and latterly authors such as Rachel Trezise and Gee Williams. Our recent ‘Retracing Wales’ and ‘Reading Between the Lines’ series take the reader on journeys to different corners of Wales, and are examples of how Planet gives insights into very diverse narratives of Welsh experience.

The magazine has also taken a pioneering approach to championing distinctively Welsh visual culture, being an early platform for art critics such as Peter Lord and Osi Rhys Osmond, and continues to offer rigorous critique of Welsh contemporary arts from the most challenging and avant-garde to the most popular.

Planet’s internationalism has taken many forms from the beginning. The magazine has featured articles that connect Wales to other European stateless nations, from a feature by Sartre on the rights of minority language speakers, to works by writers from Catalonia, Brittany, Scotland, Northern Ireland and beyond. Another, recent form of internationalism has been a series that juxtaposes the cultural and political experiences of coalfield communities in Wales and across the world. From the start, when the field of ‘Postcolonial Literature’ was in its infancy, Planet has provided a platform for writers from post-colonial nations worldwide including Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Jean Rhys and Naguib Mahfouz; and in latter years voices representing perspectives from the Global South – India, Cameroon, Iraq, Kurdistan and beyond in the work of (e.g.) Manoranjan Byapari, Eric Ngalle Charles, Rabab Ghazoul and Ciwanmerd Kulek.

In its politics and social justice coverage, Planet has offered unique, in-depth commentary on a tumultuous half century for Wales, chronicling its anxieties and hopes throughout eras of the Cold War, Welsh-language direct-action protest, the emergence of feminism, the Miners’ Strike, Thatcherism, European integration, the development of devolution, the Iraq War, climate change, austerity, the EU referendum, Black Lives Matter and Covid-19, the latter discussed in our new series Breathing Freely: Possibilities for a Post-Pandemic Society.

Since 2009 we have published topical features, podcasts and videos online as Planet Extra, and in 2016 launched Planet Platform – a dedicated online space for work by students we have mentored in writing for publication. Our role in fostering the next generation of journalists and writers is also manifested in our annual Young Writers’ Essay Competition.

This inter-generational dialogue on the past and future of Wales will be marked through several special features in our 2020 celebratory issue, which will be published at the beginning of November.

Planet is published with the financial support of the Books Council of Wales and the Public Interest News Foundation. It is hosted within Aberystwyth University, and receives financial sponsorship from the School of English, Communication and Philosophy, and the School of Journalism, Media Studies and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. For more information about Planet, please see our website: www.planetmagazine.org.uk

What others say about Planet

“Planet is an outstanding publication that is absolutely vital to the public sphere in Wales.” Desolation Radio’s Dan Evans.

For more testimonials about Planet, from figures including Charlotte Williams, Mike Parker, Menna Elfyn, Jan Morris and Rachel Trezise see https://planetmagazine.org.uk/endorsements

Media Enquiries

If you would like to feature coverage of our 50 th anniversary celebrations, or to arrange an event in conjunction with our anniversary, please contact Emily Trahair (editor) at
emily.trahair@planetmagazine.org.uk