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There is a programme on UK televisionthat I'veonly seen a snatch of, on one occasion, called 'Loose Women.'

I find telly tiresome - I watch antique valuation progammes, property makeovers, quiz shows (I'm selective about which) and some BBC 4 music programmes. I don't watch cooking because I hate seeing the contestants demeaned by some of the judges. My tastesmay below brow, but I want to be entertained, not worried, soI don't watch the news, either. It's too horrific. I prefer reading it in the paper the next day whenI can turn the page if I want.

But this talking shop show, 'Loose Women' reminds me of my daughters and myself, when we get going. No subject istoo tricky for us, no holds barred, either.

A friend's son has been appearing in a musical in the West End and I congratulated her. She shrugged.

'He could have been a lawyer, if I'd made him.' I asked if he was interested in the law and she said it didn't matter. He'd have done whatever shetold him.

Rousseau, the French philosopher, thought along those lines, too. He believed a child's mind was like a tabula rasa, a blank slate, that an adultcould do anything with. (We won't bother too much with Rousseau for the purposes of this blog, because he dumped his own children in an orphanage.)

Similarly, the Jesuits believed that ifchildren were tutored before the age of seventhey could be moulded to the teacher's will.

'They'd have had a jobwith my two', said my older daughter. 'Those two know everything. You can't tell them a thing.'

We have holidayed in the north of Majorca many times, in a little place called Pollensa. There aren't many shops there but the countryside has an appealingroughness, with scraggy goats jumping around the olive trees. We stay in avilla close towhere an architect has his office in a small house nearby.

My grandsons used to admire thearchitect's old bicycle, chained up outside the house. Often, when we passed by,(each time), I'd ask them if they'd like to be architects. They were non-commital, surfing, skateboarding andlife-saving, as in Lifeguards, being their main interests.

My daughter told me to let them choose for themselves what they wanted to do, but following my friend's theory we began to wonder if you can influence your child's future career.

I've noticedthatchildren often follow intheir father's occupation: doctors, dentists, bakers, butchers all have children brought up 'in the shop', as it were. In our family, we have all taught, andI wonder if it's possible to pass on a work 'gene.'

My younger daughterhas another theory.

'Children who findhome life uncomfortable are more adventurous than others.We'dhave been kick-ar** hot shots somewhere exotic now if we hadn't liked it at home,' was her conclusion.

Could bea PhD thesis in there for someone.

The Italian film actress, GinaLollobrigida, says it's not easyfor a woman to attendsocial events withouta partner. This is why she has been escorted for a number ofyearsby a much younger man.

Nancy Reagan and Jacqueline Kennedy, too,had professsional'walkers'when their husbands were unable to accompany them.

Iknowthe feeling when enteringa large hall, full of couples,alone. First everyone stares, which doesn't bother me,but when the waitressesignore me I get mad. Am I invisible, or something?

I shall explain. I went to a 'talk' (I'd had an invitation in the post) and paidtwelve pounds for the buffet, to include an alcoholic drink.

The Queen arrives last minute, I know, but I prefer going a little earlier. The taxidriver insisted on dropping me right outside the main door as it was drizzling. Everyonepeered asI got out and made my wayto the main hall. So what?

I waswaved in by an official butnot invited to geta drink (perhaps there was a specific time when the drinks began, I don't know).I don't drink alcohol, anyway, so went to a separate bar,bought a juice, returned to my 'do' and walked around, looked at the pictures on the wall, then sat down to sip the drink.

As the place filled up,three waitresses appeared,carrying trays of canapes. Each one sailed passed me and went straight to the middle of the room where the tallest and loudest guestschattered. Two waitresses came back with empty trays, not once glancing my way. I stopped the third one - I sound like theAncient Mariner - 'He stoppeth one of three'- desperate to tell my tale to anyone who will listen.

There were five scrappy biscuits left,no larger than the size of an old penny.

'I was wondering if I might have something?' I said boldly.

Deploying a social lie, the young girlsaid, though she hadn't looked at me, though she was passing right by and though I'd had to raise my hand to signal to her, (showsI was a teacher in a past life) that she hadintended bringing me a fresh biscuit.

Refraining from saying 'Yeah. Whatever', like my grandsonswhen they hear a whopper,I waited for her return and thentook three biscuits. (They were four pounds each, for goodness sake.)

Theevening came to an endandmy taxi, from the same firm, arrived shortly afterwards.The young driver wanted to know what the event was about.Iskipped through that andunloaded aboutthe buffet.

He listened intently.'Did the biscuits have something sugary on the top?'

'Only tiny scraps of cheese, tomato and peppers', I explained.

'Ask for your money back', was the first suggestion.

It wasn't the money that was annoying me, I said, it was being totally ignored. The money was secondary.

He breathed in deeply: 'You hungry? I knowa very good curry house. I take you. You get a lot of curry for twelve pounds.'

I started laughing, though I'd not touched a drop. The taxi driver had turned the night around, though I didn't have any curry, either.

This is a blog for Indie writers everywhere, right? you
ask.

Absolutely! I reply looking sincere.

So why is this Eto magazine you seem to be spending so much
time on exclusively for Welsh writers and not everyone then? a hint of
accusation in your voice.

I can best answer that by telling you a true story. I
reply.

The story takes place back in the dim distant past when I still
had black hair and computers hadnt begun to roam the earth. I was head teacher
of a small village school at the top end of the Rhondda
Valley called Blaencwm. Blaencwm
nestled snugly among the mountains and if it snowed there was no way in or out.
It truly was a very close knit community.

At one time a tunnel had been driven through the mountain at
the top end of the village to provide easy access to places like Aberavon, a
staggering feat of engineering. When the government instigated cuts to the
railway network in the 60s Blaencwm was left stranded on the economic beach
with no hope of the tide ever turning. My years spent in this vibrant community
were among the happiest of my life.

All very nice. I hear you say. But whats the point?

One day during a drama lesson a little girl said to me. My
Uncles a writer. My response was something condescending like, Thats nice.
While secretly hoping it wasnt the school wall he had daubed with graffiti.

The little girls name was Elaine Berry. Her uncle was Ron
Berry.

Niall Griffiths has described Ron Berrys novel SO
LONG HECTOR BEBB as one of the greatest novels to come out of the twentieth century.

Ron Berry was probably living in Blaencwm, or very close by,
at the time. It frustrates the hell out of me to think I could have actually
met him. Here was a writer ignored by the world at large and relatively unknown
in his own community. Having just read his book for the first time I realise what
an opportunity was lost. Never in a million years could I hope to write
something like that!

Now as a writer myself I feel a responsibility to my own
community. Eto is one of the ways in which I hope to discharge that
responsibility by providing a platform for local authors so that writers of
the future will be less likely to suffer the fate that Ron Berry endured. A
towering talent that very few people knew existed.

So having answered your question let me ask you one.

What commitment are you prepared to make to writers within
your community wherever you live?

Were each and every one of us shaped for muck and glory,
thank the Jesus Christ All-bloody-mighty for it an all.

From the Wikipedia:-

Paper Aeroplanes are an alternative pop band from West Wales formed around 2009, although both members have played together since 2005. Their fanbase has been built up around early years gigging in Cardiff and UK wide after extensive touring. READ MORE

More great tracks from Paper Aeroplanes:-

• Aberystwyth
• In The Bleak Midwinter
• Stones Inside Your Head - Shankleman Remix
• A Comfortable Sleep
• My First Love

Links:-

• Paper Aeroplanes on Soundcloud
• Paper Aeroplanes Official Site

Paper Aeroplanes - Lost, Live in Berlin

Born this day 1890, in Tenby

Nina Hamnett - artist and writer who became known as the Queen of Bohemia.

After leaving the London School of Art, Hamnett went to Paris to study and became a well-known bohemian personality.  Over the course of her life, she was associated with many leading figures in the artistic community, such as; Dylan Thomas, Augustus John, Amedo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Serge Diaghilev.  She was flamboyant, unconventional and sexually promiscuous, one story says that she once danced nude on a Montparnasse café table just for the "hell of it".  She died in 1956 after falling  forty feet out her apartment window.

Born this day 1983, in Sennybridge, Powys

Rhydian Roberts popularly known as Rhydian, is a classically trained baritone, musical theatre actor and television presenter, who is best known for finishing as runner-up on The X Factor in 2007.  

Born this day 1829, in Tregaron 

Thomas Benbow Phillips, who was a pioneer of an attempted Welsh settlement in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 

In May 1851, Phillips was sponsered by cotton traders from Manchester to establish a colony in Brazil to grow cotton for their mills in Lancashire and was joined by six groups of Welsh immigrants. However, the settlement failed, because most of the immigrants had backgrounds in the mining industry and found work in the Brazilian coal mines more profitable than growing cotton. 

He later moved to the Welsh colony of Y Wladfa, in Patagonia, becoming one of it's most prominent members, travelling to London in 1898  to present the British government with a list of the community's grievances against the government of Argentina. However, the government in London refused to entertain demands that it should assert sovereignty over the settlement.

The Landshipping mining disaster

On 14th February 1844, 40 men, women and boys were killed by the flooding of the Garden Pit coal-mine at Landshipping on the eastern branch of the Cleddau River.

The pit extended out under the river for as much as a quarter of a mile and when water suddenly burst through the walls of the mine, trapping the 40 miners underground at the time.  The cause of the disaster was put down to the pressure of the water, as that particular heading had not, previously, been worked at high water.

Coal mining in Pembrokeshire; 

Pembrokeshire once had a thriving mining industry.  There had been mining in the area since the Middle Ages but it was transformed in 1800, when Sir Hugh Owen brought in a steam engine at his mine in Landshipping and soon over 10,000 tons of coal were being produced each year.  The industry developed further with the subsequent building of a quay at Landshipping , after which over 50 pits and mines were located throughout the county.

Some remains can still be found, at Wisemans Bridge, Cresswell Quay and Trefrane Cliff Colliery near Nolton.  The demand for coal declined at the second half of the 19th Century and this led to the closure of most of the collieries.  However, Hook Colliery remained open until 1948 and the one at Wood Level at Kilgetty until 1950. 

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Gwynedd Tourism Officer Speaks About Celticos AmeriCymru Trail Tour

Alun Fon Williams is the tourism officer for Gwynedd. A responsible position when you consider that Gwynedd comprises the whole of north west Wales and that the tourist industry in this area is worth 900 million GBP annually ( 1350 million dollarsapprox ). In this interview Alun speaks about his job with specific reference to the Celticos/AmeriCymru Trail Tour which is designed to cater for Americans visiting north Wales who have an interest in exploring their historic roots in the area.

Alun also talks about his own familial connections with America and reveals that his great great great grandfather Robert E. Owens migrated to the USA and became one of the largest cattle barons in the State of Iowa.

Biography of Robert E. Owens
Iowa County, IA Biographies

Robert E. Owens was one of the extensive landowners of Iowa county, owning eight hundred and forty acres, his home being in Troy township. He was born in Anglesea, Wales, in 1835, and was one of a family of fifteen children. The only one now living is a brother, D. L. Owens, a resident of Lime Springs, Iowa. read more here

Enjoy the interview and dont forget to head on over to the Forum and nominate your favorite Welsh American or American of Welsh descent in order to be entered in our competition to win two tickets for the Celticos/AmeriCymru Trail Tour. Here is the post ( instructions on the page ):- Competition: Unique Tour of North Wales - Win a Place For Two on the AmeriCymru North Wales Tour

Born this day 1891, in Rhosgadfan, Gwynedd.

Kate Roberts, who was one of the foremost Welsh language authors of the twentieth century.

Known as Brenhines ein llên ("The queen of our literature"), it was the death of her brother during World War I, that inspired Roberts to start writing, using it as a means of coming to terms with her loss.  Her work mainly deals with how ordinary people overcome life's problems and disappointments.  Roberts was also a prominent Welsh nationalist and was an early member of Plaid Cymru.

RAF Valley in Anglesey opened on 13th February 1941, with the task of providing defence cover for England's industrial north-west and shipping in the Irish Sea.

Royal Air Force Station Valley provides fast-jet training for jet planes and aircrew working with search and rescue.  It is also used as Anglesey Airport. 

Born on this day 1993 in Tonypandy. 

Sophie Evans - Singer and actress who gained wide public notice as being the runner-up on the 2010 BBC talent show "Over the Rainbow", with its chief judge being Andrew Lloyd Webber.  She went on to play Dorothy in Lloyd Webber's West End production of "The Wizard of Oz".

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