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An Interview with Welsh Poet Mike Jenkins


By AmeriCymru, 2010-12-28

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Mike Jenkins lives in Merthyr and is a full-time writer and Creative Writing tutor, having spent over 30 years teaching in secondary education. The author of seven previous poetry collections for Seren , he has also published novels and short stories. He has won the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry and Wales Book of the Year, and is former editor of Poetry Wales and founder and co-editor of Red Poets magazine. As well as a blog, he writes regularly for Cardiff City fanzine Watch the Bluebirds Fly and reviews music for the political magazine Celyn. AmeriCymru spoke to Mike about his poetry and his views on some contemporary political issues.



AmeriCymru: Hi Mike.....your most recent anthology Moor Music was published by Seren earlier this year. Care to tell us a little about it?

Mike: I started writing these poems about 10 years ago, before my last book Walking On Waste came out from Carreg Gwalch. The latter consisted of sonnets, haiku, dialect poems and a few others.Moor Music is written entirely in open field, a departure for me. Although this is a new form in recent times, I originally experimented with this at university in Aberystwyth, where I studied American Literature in my first year and was inspired particularly by Charles Olson. I was even pretentious and arrogant enough to answer an exam question on Shakespeare in this form!

I didn't suddenly decide to choose this form. It may have come out of the glaucoma I was diagnosed as having and a desire to spread words as widely as possible. It may have come from sheer creative restlessness (a desire to escape the title of Mr. Oblong, as Welsh poet Peter Finch once dubbed me), as I relished its freedom. It may have derived from the actual fields of the moorland at back of my house, an area of industrial land and pasture long reclaimed by Nature, which we call The Waun locally.

At any rate, there are significant differences between my approach and Olsons, with his many found interjections and grand abstractions. I focus more on music and imagery. Hopefully, there a sense in which these reflect musical compositions.

They represent the confluence ( the aber) between the moors and music. At the time when I began these I was immersed in music : my son was an accomplished cellist, my older daughter played in a fine Welsh language band called Gilespi and I was greatly influenced by many tributaries of sound, from the jazz of the Esbjorn Svensson Trio to the fado singing of the Portuguese Mariza.

While music is a current running throughout the book, it never drowns it. There are poems about Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, Albert Einstein and the last miners strike, so it is not a concept book as such.

I love to read from it: the spaced out nature of the language does suit my awkward eye-sight!



Mike Jenkins reads 'Einstein at the Comp' from his new poetry collection "Moor Music"

AmeriCymru: You have also recently completed a novella entitled 'The Climbing Tree'. What is the theme of this work and where can our readers obtain copies?

Mike: The Climbing Tree is a short novella set in the near future. I originally began it by claiming it was in the Present Future Tense , but the publisher (Pont) werent impressed by this grandiose invention and I rightly cut out that over-complicated phrase!

I first wrote it as a stage play called Waste, which was never put on. Its written in the Present Tense from the viewpoint of a teenage girl called Low, who belongs to a gang called the Commos. Most of their lives are spent up an oak tree (the climbing tree of the title).

This near future is one of terrible floods and many refugees, but Low strives to keep the Commos together against all the odds. She also wants to retain the spirit of the fourth member of the gang , Oz, who mysteriously disappeared a few years before. She often talks to the absent spirit of Oz, her confessor.

I have always been a big fan of Steinbeck (master of the novella) and hope theres something of his overriding concern for humanity in this book. Low becomes embroiled with the opposing gang, the Astros, but there is some hope at the end, which didnt exist in the plays bleak finale.

It is available from the publisher www.gomer.co.uk or the Welsh Books Council at www.gwales.com

AmeriCymru: When did you decide to write and what determined your choice of poetry as your favored medium?

Mike: I began writing when I was about 15 and poetry was, for many years, my most important means of expression (think I wrote more poems than I had conversations!).

My parents were divorced, which was an unusual occurrence in the 1960s and I lived with my mother, who was very enthusiastic about my poetry-writing. She gave me a book called New Poetry, which included the American poets Berryman and Lowell and I related to these much more than the English ones. Then I came across Ted Hughes and Thom Gunn and their work had a lasting effect.

I wrote for the school magazine and won a poetry competition at school on The First Man on the Moon. I still recall the poem, which was very cynical for a teenager, with the phrase and trees still stood being prominent.

Now I write prose almost every day, as Im working on another novel for teenagers. Hopefully, this will also be taken by Pont Books, but I have no promise of publication at the end, so it is precarious.

However, poetry was my first love and will, no doubt, be my last. Lines and images come to me, often when least expected and I relish those epiphanies, which are much more rare when writing fiction.

AmeriCymru: You have worked as a teacher in both Merthyr and Cardiff for more than 20 years. How has your experience in the classroom informed your writing?

Mike: I have taught for over 30 years. I began in N.Ireland, then at a Gymnasium (Grammar School) in W. Germany, after that for 20 years in Merthyr Tydfil and 10 in Cardiff.

My experiences have played an integral part in my writing, both fiction and poetry. Wanting to Belong, which won the Wales Book of the Year in 98, would not have been possible without my background as an English teacher. It comprised ten interlinked stories from teenagers viewpoints and the school scenes owed much to my experience, as did the characters.

My poems and stories in Merthyr dialect were especially influenced by my time in the classroom. I have written two books entirely in this vernacular, Graffiti Narratives and Could Bin Summin (both published by Planet). Some of the poems take the voices of pupils I taught, while others are invented characters based on them. Single phrases would spark poems, such as Ol Shakey does my ead in (or, Shakespeare drives me mad).

The chalk-face has sometimes been very tough, but also a place where the most unlikely pupils can create works of wonder.

AmeriCymru: Much of your writing, particularly the poetry, is passionately political. What role do you feel poetry should play in the political process? How difficult is it to convey a sense of political commitment in verse?

Mike: Poetry and politics have always had a very close relationship for me, though never party politics, as Ive never been a party member for any length of time (2 years in Plaid Cymru and they didnt do much).

The very first poems I had published, engaged with issues I felt very strongly about. There was one in Planet (when John Tripp was poetry editor) about the conflict between boss and worker and based on my time working in garages in Barry. The other was in the Irish Press, a national newspaper in Ireland which, every Saturday, published poetry and stories (David Marcus was the literary editor) : it was called Rat City , dealt with the war in N.Ireland and was inspired by the First World War poet Isaac Rosenberg.

I do believe poetry can change peoples perceptions, often quite radically, just as songs can. However, it isnt going to reach the kind of audience which a lot of music can. While few songwriters have actually responded to our present situation of appalling cuts and deep recession, many poets have sought to show the human cost of greedy banks deregulated by New Labour under Blair and Brown.

Poetry should protest, harangue, satirize and empathize, but must never become propaganda or a simplistic denial of the other side. For example, I have written poems from viewpoints totally opposite to my own: one from the persona of a fascist, based on a pupil I once taught. I am a great admirer of the songs of Randy Newman, who is a master of this.

Though poetry can make a difference, I do wish it had more of an influence. In Wales, in gets short shrift on the media, except on the Welsh language channel S4C. I think its too controversial for Radio and BBC Wales!

AmeriCymru: Many of our readers will have been intrigiued/shocked by the recent 'student riots' in the UK. As a teacher and a politically committed poet, what is your take on this phenomenon? How will these developments affect your future work?

Mike: Student riots is in itself a pejorative phrase taken from the media. Much of the violence was actually caused by the police, especially with their use of kettling, a totally inhumane treatment. However, there is no denying the sheer strength of feeling has driven people to acts of violence, as well as the police brutality.

What has happened already is only the beginning and once the Trade Unions get their act together, the protests will be even larger and, possibly, more explosive. Once the cuts start to affect the majority of people, combined with inflation and unemployment, many will take to the streets and I expect the police response to be draconian.

I am heartened by the fact that university tuition fees were not raised by the Welsh government in Cardiff: yet more proof that devolution does work. We have a very different government here to the right-wing one in Westminster. This was evident under New Labour, but has been accentuated under the ConDem coalition.

Its hard to say how it will affect my future work. I write a blog every week on my website www.mikejenkins.net and it will become more topical and angry for sure. It seemed that most of the media were more concerned with the attacks on Charles and Camillas car than the future plight of higher education, where universities will go bankrupt and close for lack of funds.

AmeriCymru: Your poems reflect a concern with both 'social' and 'national' issues in Welsh politics. How do these two strands of 'radicalism' affect your work? is there, at times, a contradiction between them?

Mike: If I do deal with social and national issues , then it is primarily through the local ; the people and events and landscapes of the town where Ive lived for over 30 years, Merthyr Tydfil.

Merthyr has a proud history of rebellion (the Rising of 1831), of producing great peoples remembrancers like Prof. Gwyn A. Williams and also of its enthusiastic involvement with the Welsh language and fight for self-determination. Our M.P. for many years was S.O. Davies, who was a champion of self-government when few others were espousing it.

I believe that full self-government cannot be achieved without a combination of socialism and anarchism. S.Ireland has been proof of this: a country ruled by successive neo-liberal regimes and dependent on outside investment and regressive taxation. Without the control of our resources and industries how can we have any claims to independence? For far too long we have been a cheap labour economy, prone to the vagaries of the global market and abandoned by multi-national companies.

I am not a radical, that term was applied to Thatcher. I am a revolutionary. I believe in non-violent revolutionary change into a society shaped by sharing and sustainability, where people come before profit every time.

My ideals necessarily inform my work, but people are always at the centre, with all their contradictions.

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your work with the 'Red Poets"?.

Mike: The Red Poets have been going for 16 years. We can be found on the website www. RedPoets.org , where youll get a sense of our performances and also our history. We produce an annual magazine of leftist poetry and a few articles and translations. We have featured a few poets from the States such as David Lloyd, who is a Professor of Creative Writing in Syracuse and whose family came to the USA from Wales.

Red Poets used to be a collective based as much on performance as publication, but there are fewer gigs nowadays. We publish work by Welsh Nats, Trots, Commies, anarchists and even left Labourites. We are genuinely inclusive and also very open to humorous verse.

We were born out of Cymru Goch (the Welsh Socialists) and, in fact, a number of the original members of that political group remain regular contributors, such as myself, Tim Richards and Alun Rees.

I believe we are unique and the result of an amazingly high number of committed left-wing writers in Wales. We are very much in the tradition of John Tripp, Harri Webb and , of course, Idris Davies. There is no other group anywhere else that Im aware of, not even in Scotland.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Mike Jenkins?

Mike: Next up will be my collaboration with the excellent Merthyr painter Gus Payne (check out his website under Michael Gustavius Payne).

During 2011 and 2012, Gus will be exhibiting his work at various galleries throughout Wales, together with phrases and lines from my texts and an accompanying booklet of my prose-poems and micro-fiction. The artwork and texts are all based on Welsh idioms, phrases and occasional place-names and the overall title will be Dim Gobaith Caneri, an idiom meaning no hope, like a canary.

Our collaboration has been interesting because I didnt write in response to his images , nor did he seek to illustrate my words. What we did was to consider the same idioms, often coming up with different interpretations.

However, Gus and I do share many things. Politically, we have similar ideals; we are both learning Welsh and are both inspired, directly or indirectly, by the people, town and surroundings of Merthyr.

I am very excited about this and hope that my texts are a match for his startling and evocative paintings.

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

Mike: I would like to say thanks for the messages of support for my long poem Journey Of The Taf which appeared on the ameriCymru website. Its a great encouragement to know that people so far away are taking so much interest.

As the Super Furry Animals have inferred, we are making rings around the world.

Interview by ... Ceri Shaw ... Email

Now's the time of year for the new year's resolutions. I don't usually really bother but this year I'm doing it and I thought there might be strength in numbers, or at least embarrassment if I'm too wimpy to make them happen. so here are (some of) mine and I invite anyone to add theirs!

1. Get in good physical shape! I used to run and do yoga and blah, blah, blah but since the computer became my life, I spend most of my time standing or sitting at it (I have a standing workspace) so it's back to the gym and probably the bike for me, and for Ceri and the kids because misery loves company... oops! I mean, because I love them....

2. Get organized! I'm a stereotypical messy artist, our house is full of things that I won't throw away because I might be able to make sculpture of out them or projects I'm in the middle of. This year I vow to turn that around, to get on a schedule, to prioritize the things I need to do so I can wear all my hats and get more things done.

3. Be a better parent. If I put in a schedule as part of getting organized, that can include family time and time to help my kids with their homework instead of just working all the time and parenting by yelling at them to pick up their stuff.

Okay, there's three from me! Anyone else?

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Top Blogger Update - December 2010


By Ceri Shaw, 2010-12-26

Here are the latest scores and rankings:-

1. Sexbomb 30 points

2. Lorin Morgan-Richards 15 points

3. Mona 14 points

4. Rhianne 13 points

5. SwanseaJack 4 points

It will take a big effort to unseat the reigning champ this month. BUT for most of those in the top five a single post that hits the number one spot might do it. SO if you have time on your hands between now and Dec 31st the game is still afoot.

The 'Sheep of Excellence' are growing restless in their pen and this months winner will also receive a copy of 'A Court In Splendour' by Liz Whittaker. Read our interview with Liz here:- 'An Interview With Liz Whittaker - Author of 'A Court In Splendour'

Pob Lwc and Blwyddyn Newydd Ddaa/Happy New Year.

sheep icon number one sheep sheep icon number three
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AmeriCymru wins WelshIcons 'International Contribution to Welsh Life' Award for 2010 ( follow the link below for more details and to see other winners in the music category )

International Contribution to Welsh Life

A thousand diolch's to the WelshIcons website for this honor. Nice to know that we're doing something right :) We will endeavour to keep up the same standards and strive to do even better in 2011. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda/Happy New Year to all our readers and supporters :)

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West Wales Band ARKETTA are due to release their first single UNDERTOW into the charts on 31/12/2010. Please support them by downloading the single from i Tunes or Amazon.

NADOLIG LLAWEN AMERICYMRU

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For our special Christmas interview this year AmeriCymru spoke to David Garland Jones - Welsh living legend, Actor, Guru, Raconteur, Poet and future Penderyn Whiskey, Welshman of The Year 2010 . David took this opportunity to introduce a selection of his groundbreaking videos on YouTube. He would also like to wish all our readers Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Americymru: Who IS David Garland Jones?

David: He (or should that be I. Think Ill go with I but then I am an actor sounds a bit grand and pompous). Ok, have another shot of Penderyns Finest Welsh Whiskey I (cue fanfare), am an actor, guru, raconteur, poet, and latterly male model and YouTube phenomenon. I was born on the grubby fringes of Port Talbot, South Wales in 1962. Anthony Hopkins, Ivor Emmanuel, Michael Sheen, Richard Burton, David Garland Jones what other town ever produced such a quinvirate of acting talent? as the Port Talbot Guardian (now sadly defunct) put it. A potted history of my life featuring Michael Sheen (as well as Brothers & Sisters Matthew Rhys) and can be found here:

Roger Garrick - 'The Acting Guru's Acting Guru'

Americymru: What was your first big break and how did you come to star in so many groundbreaking roles on YouTube?

David: I realised that to reach an audience I needed two things: I needed a small cheap camera (for any nerds out there I use a Flip video camera and the Power Director 7 editing suite). Three things. I needed three things. The above two things and an amiable presence to hold the camera and do all the technical stuff. So I enlisted my brother Jake. As I produce the films actually getting the leading role in them isnt so difficult. I was up against Rhys Ifans for the lead role in my epic, Grand Theft Actor, but he didnt return my call so I stepped in.

Grand Theft Actor (Spoof)

Americymru: Has fame changed you?

David: No. There are still holes in my socks, but there are still dreams in my soul. One change is that I have started acting as a guru to younger actors though in the case of Jonny Hollywood I encountered a few difficulties.

Ep 11. David Garland Jones - 'Jonny Hollywood's The Kiddie'

I also have a number one fan/stalker

Sandra Bolton No.1 Fan

Americymru: What is the current supply situation with 'David Garland Jones In A Can'? Will you be continuing this line after the holiday season?

David: Sales have been better than expected especially since our US rep, Mr Iain Sewell has been appointed. I may become the first actor who breaks America in can form. In the UK there have been reports that fake DGJIAC (for short) have been seen in marketplaces alongside fake Prada, Gucci and Calvin Klein handbags. There have been reports of other actors crudely jumping the bandwagon, or can-wagon if you prefer, e.g. Ive heard that the light entertainer, Rob Brydon, is bringing out Bob In A Bag.

DGJ In A Can #1 - 'Advert' (Spoof)

Americymru: Many of our readers have asked what really happened at the Damian Dark audition. Care to elaborate?

David: Lets just say that there is now a legally enforced exclusion zone around the BBC in Cardiff which I am not allowed to enter:

Ep 6. David Garland Jones - My Name Is Damian Dark

However, I did manage a brief live appearance there:

David Garland Jones Live At The BBC

Americymru: Does David Garland Jones have any future plans for live stage appearances after the triumph at the Goldie Lookin Chain concert last year? Can you tell us how that appearance came about?

David: It was all down to Jay-Z and Alisha Keys. Thanks guys! They recorded a song called New York which was then appropriated by some Londoners and re-recorded as New-port. However, it quickly emerged that they had never been to Newport. I was in a bar one evening and someone suggested that I did a song called Aint Seen Ruthin Yet based on the classic Bachman-Turner Overdrive song Aint Seen Nothing Yet as I had never been to Ruthin. My brother Jake downloaded the karaoke track, I sang it and the rest as they say is history. To date its had over 31,251 hits. So thanks Jay-z and Alisha, if youre ever in Treforest please pop in.

Ain't Seen Ruthin Yet (Spoof)

But heres some more history Newports finest Goldie Lookin Chain then recorded their own version of New-port then spotted the Ruthin track and went on Sky News and mentioned it

Goldie Lookin Chain plug 'Ain't Seen Ruthin Yet' on Sky News

A relationship developed and they kindly asked me to appear with them at their big Ryder Cup gig Which Id rather not talk about, what with the booing and the heckling and the breakdown I suffered afterwards

' Who Are You? Who Are You?' - DGJ & Goldie Lookin Chain live in Newport

(However, if I was asked to perform it again I would remember the pink suitcase air guitar solo)

Americymru: More 'spoofs' along the lines of 'Aint seen Ruthin Yet' have been promised but I notice that Pontypool was not on the list. Is that because it's hard to rhyme or is there some other, more sinister, reason?

David: Someone suggested Little Jimmy Osmonds Long Haired Lover From Pontypool (formerly Liverpool) but its not even funny when you read it, let alone when you try to sing it. There will be a video in February featuring 12 of the best, Spoof Songs With Welsh Place Names In The Titles. Some of my favourites include Bostons More Than Rhydfelin, KD Laings Constant Aber-craving and my personal favourite, Odysseys How Bout Usk.

Americymru: You're a shoe-in for Penderyn 2010 Welshman of The Year , what will you do when you win?

David: Not a shoe-in, or even a shoo-in. I will need the votes of my Americymru friends first. Can I just mention that Penderyns Whiskey is the finest whiskey and the drink of kings. When, or indeed if I win, I will run naked down the lanes of Treforest ah, already done that.

M.A.D. - Mothers Against David

Americymru: After your principled stand on cigarette smoking did you succeed in getting any sponsorship money from Big Tobacco?

David: Interestingly the pro-smoking lobby group FOREST regularly blog about my work. Did they not realise that this video is actually anti-smoking? And no. No sponsorship. Nothing at all.

David's Quickies No. 7 - Cigarette Trick

Americymru: What's next for David Garland Jones? Any plans to visit the US?

David: I would love to visit the US. I have a live show which includes performing Under Milk Wood in mime. This went down really well at Treorchy Rugby Club where Max Boyce famously made his name:

Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood... In Mime

Americymru: Any messages for the members of AmeriCymru and your other fans?

David: I am an internet pioneer. Like all the great pioneers of yore I am badly dressed, ill-prepared and lacking funds. However, I am not asking for clothing, skis or money. I simply ask that you keep watching my videos, subscribe to my Youtube channel and pass the links on to your more sophisticated and cultured friends. Have a lovely Yuletide weekend and an inspiring and theatrical 2011!

www.davidgarlandjones.com

www.youtube.com/davidgarlandjones

The Latest From David Garland Jones 'The Man In A Can' - Live in Aberdare





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Despite her flight to Afghanistan being delayed for hours, and ultimately cancelled due to weather, Katherine Jenkins gives soldiers on the plane an impromptu carol performance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-12067818

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Fancy a Dragon Ball?


By mona everett, 2010-12-23

Recipe adapted by me.

Dragon balls are made just like rum balls, but with Penderyn--and 100 times better-tasting. Also, these really don't work with Irish whiskey--I tried to save money when I had to make a bunch for a Celtic festival and there was a definite difference (and not in a good way) !

3 C pecans, finely chopped
2 C finely crushed graham crackers
1 C powdered sugar
4 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
4 Tbs light corn syrup, with real vanilla
C Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky
Unsweetened chocolate chips (optional)

Garnish:
1 C sifted powdered sugar
Sifted cocoa powder (optional)

Mix the graham cracker crumbs and pecans together in a large bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Stir well, Add corn syrup and whisky. Mix well. Chill if necessary, then shape into 1-inch balls (add 2 chocolate chips to each ball, if desired). Roll balls in the sifted powdered sugar. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours. Remove from refrigerator and roll in sifted powdered sugar again. Sprinkle tops with sifted cocoa if desired. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Enjoy!

*No actual dragons are hurt making these cookies

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Welsh Crossword Week 3: ANSWERS


By gaabi, 2010-12-22

DISCLAIMER: I am not a native or even competant Welsh speaker so caveat emptor on these translations. The purpose of these puzzles is to give the user some exercise in looking up and researching Welsh words and hopefully hearing audio files of how they should be pronounced. This week's translations come from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David site at geiriadur.net, from Google translate and the hardcover edition of Y Geiriadur Mawr: The Complete English Welsh - Welsh English Dictio.... If two sources agreed on the Welsh translation of an English word, that's the word I used. If they all disagreed, I went with geiriadur.net. If they all gave multiple answers, I chose the one that seemed most likely to me and had an audio file.

Ok, here are the answers to last weeks' puzzle. Swansea Jack was kind enough to tell me that "cinio" wouldn't be supper in Wales, that it's dinner and supper would be a fourth meal after dinner. Where I live, they're a word for the same thing, the third and last meal of the day - ah, cultural vagaries! If anyone notices anything else, I heartily apologize and please let me know!

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Mr Producers Got Talent!

Cardiff-based Creative Events, Celebrity Agency and Public Relations company, Mr Producer, welcomes a new member to its dynamic team. Sarah Vaughton joins Mr Producer as Talent Agent as the company opens its Agency doors to welcome Actors and Actresses.

Mr Producer is renowned for its in-house Celebrity Agency, which is unique to Wales. With ten trusted years experience of sourcing celebrities, presenters and performers for events and endorsements, Mr Producer is now expanding the Agency arm of the business to represent actors and actresses. Both new and established acting talent will join an array of presenters, performers, after-dinner speakers and voice-over artists already represented by the Agency.

Since the companys inception almost ten years ago, Mr Producer has produced some of Wales most prestigious events, and has been at the helm in successfully launching everything from BWM Mini to Wales Millennium Centre. Most recently Mr Producer were Creative Producers for the Welcome to Wales Ryder Cup Concert at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Therefore through their work on high-profile events, the company is no stranger to the celebrity circuit having worked with Wales biggest stars including Dame Shirley Bassey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ioan Gruffudd, Katherine Jenkins and Rhydian Roberts.

Managing Director, Stifyn Parri said With a rapidly expanding portfolio of clients coming to us for representation, I am thrilled to welcome an experienced Agent, Sarah Vaughton, to our trusted team. Stifyn continued Im proud to see Mr Producer expand the Agency side of the organisation, with over 30 years experience in the industry myself, Mr Producer understands the importance of good representation for our Agency clients during such a challenging climate. Now what excites me is how many major productions are turning to Wales, not just for location but also for our home-grown talent.

Sarah Vaughton, who is originally from Swansea, joins Mr Producer with proven experience in the industry, with previous employment including Emptage Hallett. Newly appointed Talent Agent, Sarah said I am thrilled to be joining the creative team at Mr Producer and I am looking forward very much to expanding the agency side of this high profile and successful company. I believe this to be an excellent initiative, which will help to develop existing talent in Wales.

Sarah is welcomed to the bilingual team by colleagues Lydia Jones, Head of Operations and Hannah-Jane Davies, Project and Finance Manager. Mr Parri continued Were a very close-knit team at Mr Producer and Sarah will undoubtedly be an invaluable addition as the company expands. Bring on 2011!

Rob Holt, Chief Executive of Ryder Cup Wales: Mr Producer's passion, teamwork and integrity never waned during the creation of Welcome to Wales concert at the Millennium Stadium to celebrate Ryder Cup 2010. They creatively produced a show that had vision, a confident tone and attention to detail. Working under the guidance of WAGs project manager and alongside many other individuals and organisations, they worked diligently resulting in a production that showcased Wales' talent to the World. Thank you.

Colin Jackson: Put any obstacle in the way of Mr Producer and they will creatively overcome it, but I wouldn't want to see them in lycra!

For a full list of Mr Producers service provision visit www.mrproducer.co.uk



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