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In a brave new memoir, best selling author, Anthony Bunko from Merthyr Tydfil reveals all about the hilariously funny and scandalous world of the business consultant after spending 15 years in the job. Lord Forgive Me… But I was a (Business) Bullshit Consultant (published by Y Lolfa) is a laugh-our loud ‘consultant had enough’ memoir based on true events, and is a rollercoaster ride full of fist-fights, muggings, kidnapping, gun chases, ghosts, psychopaths. hookers, back stabbing, bullshit, weird sex, strong drugs and the odd plate of sausage rolls…….It was a bloody nightmare!!!

BUY ''Lord Forgive me'' here

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“There are 100,000 business consultants in the world,” says Anthony Griffiths, who writes as Anthony Bunko. “For a fee, they enter organisations and watch their workers for a short period of time. They pull buzzwords out of the air, answer direct questions with other questions, and use flip charts to make them sound brainy so they can charge lots of money.

“When I landed by dream job I thought it would mean a life of travelling to exotic places, meeting interesting people and making lots of money,” explains Anthony. “15 years along the line, and at the age of 46, I woke up one morning in yet another hotel room in yet another city with yet another bag of Post-it notes in my briefcase. That’s when I decided there had to be more to life.

“Before breakfast, I emailed the other partners in one of the longest standing and most respected business improvement consultancy companies in the UK to inform them I was quitting my highly paid job to become a writer,” adds Anthony, author of Stuart Cable’s and Spikey Watkins’s autobiography as well as Hugh Jackman and Hugh Laurie’s biographies,

“My family, colleague and friends thought I’d gone mental (well more mental than usual). However they didn’t know the truth of what had brought me to the decision after ten years of living in the fast lane. What many considered to be a glamorous profession had nearly got me murdered in New York, kidnapped in Amsterdam, mugged by the fat police in Moscow, got me in a fist fight in Germany, arrested by the mafia in Italy and scared me half to death on seeing the ghost of a dead girl in North Wales, plus loads of other weird and funny adventures.

“In this hilarious laugh-out loud ‘consultant had enough’ memoir based on true events, I will spills the beans on what goes on in the two faced world of BMW’s, smart suits, flip charts and ever changing buzz words, while trying to cope with my mid-life crisis. There are loads of business and consultant books on the shelf but not many tell it like it really is.”

These are some of the reviews from some top welsh stars about the book:-

“ This is a cool and very funny exploration of an amazing life. It reads like a dream. Unputdownable! ” Boyd Clack , actor and writer, Satellite City and High Hopes

“ The way of the transgressor is hard. Don''t share this very enjoyable book with your children, ” Kevin Allen , director, producer and writer of cult movie, Twin Town

“ Quick witted and heartwarming, with a bona fide laugh-out-loud on every page, ” Rachel Trezise , awarding winning author and playwright

Anthony Bunko, was born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1962. He is the author of several highly acclaimed comedy fiction novels including The Tale of the Shagging Monkeys, and is also a poet and songwriter.

AmeriCymru: Hi Craig and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. Can you tell us a little about your forthcoming visit to the US and in particular your headline performance at NAFOW 2014 in Minneapolis?

Craig: We are really looking forward to coming over to the US. We have been a few times before, but only to New York and Washington DC, so we cant wait to see other parts of America. We are performing 5 times on our tour, firstly we have a reception at the British Consulate in Chicago, then we have a concert in Algona, Iowa, we then perform twice at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and last but certainly not least we finish at the NAFOW in Minneapolis.

AmeriCymru: What can attendees expect from Only Men Aloud at the Festival? Can you give us any sneak previews of your program for this performance?

Craig: As with every concert Only Men Aloud do, there will be a wide variety in styles of music. We will be singing traditional Welsh hymns and folksongs all the way through to some pop favourites and music theatre numbers, all done with our unique Only Men Aloud twist.

AmeriCymru: How did the choir come to be formed and where are you based?

Craig: Only Men Aloud was formed in the year 2000, when Tim wanted to start a new group to inject some new blood in to the male voice choir tradition. He wanted to make it more appealing to a wider audience and make it younger and fresher - ensuring that this great tradition continues for many years to come. We are based in and around Cardiff in South Wales, but have performed all over the world.

AmeriCymru: The choir has been through some changes over the years. Can you describe its current composition and repertoire?

Craig: It has indeed. When we one BBC Last Choir Standing in 2008, there we 19 members of the choir. In September 2013 we saw a complete reinvention of the group, as the choir became a "honed and toned 8-piece vocal ensemble.  This has enabled us to put sound like at the absolute core of the group. We needed to keep things fresh and be the very best we could. It has enabled us to take on more opportunities that we would have otherwise had to turn down with a larger number of singers - but we hope the quality of our performance has not changed and hopefully it is even better.

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your performance at the 2012 Olympic Games? That must have been a momentous occasion.

Craig: Singing at the Olympic Games opening ceremony was an incredible experience. We were singing at the very moment that the olympic flame - or the cauldron as it was called in London - was lit. We were stood on the hill side or Tor, surrounded by the flags of every nation, looking down into the stadium with was crammed full with every competitor of the games. We had the best seats in the house, and once we were finished, we remained on the fake hillside to watch the most amazing firework display we had ever seen.

AmeriCymru: What would you say has been the choirs proudest moment or most outstanding achievement to date?

Craig: I don't think we would be doing what we are doing now without us winning BBC's Last Choir Standing. It was an intense summer back in 2008 as it completely took over our lives, but what has followed in the subsequent years has been all down to that success. Tours, an album deal and winning a Classical Brit award have all happened due to our hard work that summer.

AmeriCymru: You also run The Aloud Charity. Can you tell us something of your organisation's work? What unique opportunities does it offer for Welsh youngsters?

Craig: When Tim registered the name Only Men Aloud, he also registered the name Only Boys Aloud, in the hope that one day we could set up a choir for teenage boys. Just over four years ago, this became a reality and since then it has gone from strength to strength. We now have ten choirs across south Wales and have 180, 14-19 year olds on our books. Along side this, three years ago, we started Only Kids Aloud. This is to work with boys and girls from the ages of 4 up to 14. Through this we have given numerous school workshops for teachers and pupils, set up a pan-Wales Choir that has visited Russia and South Africa and worked with hundreds of local school kids to perform in the National Eisteddfod. Just over a year ago, we set up and registered The Aloud Charity and now this looks after all of the work we do with the Boys and the Kids.  

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about your most recent album 'Only Men Aloud Unplugged'?

Craig: Only Men Aloud Unplugged is our fourth album and is something slightly different. The album is just us eight singers, in a room with a piano and no amplification. It has given a more intimate style and we hope you enjoy the stripped back approach we have gone for. We have put some beautiful music on there, that ranges from Welsh songs like Pantyfedwen and Hiraeth to classics such as Lennon and McCartney's Blackbird. The album will be exclusively on sale after our live performances in America and on our tour in the UK.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Only Men Aloud? New recordings, performances?

Craig: We have a busy few months ahead of us after we get back from the US. We have a 12 date UK wide Christmas Tour in December, we are hoping to make a TV programme in the autumn and then launch and make our fifth album in the new year. There will also be a Spring Tour in Wales in March.

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

Craig: We would like to thank you all for your support of Only Men Aloud over the years and we hope some of you are getting to see us on our trip to the States. We wouldn't be doing what we do without the support of our fans, right across the world.