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Read this article to find out:- Two men make a poo canoe; will paddle English channel to raise money for charity
A top television producer has described how he looked on in horror as a trapeze artist plunged helplessly to her death in the big top at an Aberystwyth circus. The tragedy is one of a collection of memories of David Lloyds childhood in the 1940s and 50s in his autobiography Tales of an Aber Lad . David was a teenager in the Bertram Mills audience in May 1958 when 31-year-old Frances Duncan fell 25 feet, head first, after a defective rope became loose around her ankle. David says, In my young life, I had never felt so frozen with shock and horror. I had seen her plummet and hit the ground and it was terrible. She lay there in the sawdust, her body shaking violently but the band struck up a tune and the clowns came on and distracted us as Frances was taken away to the North Road Hospital.
Other recollections include a quack German doctor who made patients bathe naked beneath Constitution Hill and an outbreak of typhoid fever, caused by local ice cream, which threatened to wreck the resorts post-war tourist trade. The author, now living in semi-retirement in Aberystwyth, remembers the glory days of the old Coliseum Cinema, presided over by its formidable owner Mrs Gale, the Grand Dame of picture palaces. David says, If there was romance on the Coliseum screen it was nothing compared to the passion in the back row of the stalls. The activities there are said to have been so intense that the entire row from Seat 1 to Seat 25 had developed a treacherous lean.
Reminiscences include news of the first television signal, picked up from a Midlands transmitter in 1950. The reception was said to have been better at night, when there was less traffic on Trefechan Bridge. Similarly early wireless (radio) signals were believed to have been affected by bad weather around Pen Dinas. A world that has long since disappeared was enlivened by the (Air Raid) Wardens Dramatic Society with producer Wilf Jones, the popular seasonal pantomimes of Peggy Royston and Shirley Twiddy, and dainty teas at DW Teviotdale in North Parade. David turns back the clock to remember the big freeze of 1947, sweets becoming ration coupon free in 1953 and the terrors of the gas machine at the Portland Street dentists. He remembers the November Fair with Ronnie Taylors Boxing Booth and the town girls who were thrown around on the waltzer, hiding their stockings and suspenders from blasts of cold air. Milk poured into jugs from churns carried by horse and cart was supplemented by doorstep deliveries from the likes of Mister Lister the green grocer and the eagerly awaited Corona man. Bread, coal, meat and fish were also delivered direct in those days, while itinerants brought candles and clothes pegs. Then there were visits to the traditional shops of Hodges, Bradleys, Daniel Thomas and Albert Davies. The Gwalia Motor Company boasted that it provided a reliable motor car that could cover any distance.
David recalls the launch of the Eagle comic, the wonders of the first radiograms, rides on Crosville buses, houses with no central heating, beatings in school and being ordered to inhale fumes from the Gas Works as a cure for whooping cough. Aber is said to have been awash with tea rooms, coal merchants, iron mongers, dressmakers and tailors. Personalities abounded, including businessman John Potts who wore his trilby like an American gangster. Seilo Chapels organist Charles Clements was described by no less than Sir Henry Wood as the finest accompanist in Europe.
Born in the Caradoc Road maternity home in 1940, David Lloyd is the son of the late Gilbert Lloyd, manager of the old David Roberts Brewery in Trefechan. For many years David was producer/director of award-winning programmes for HTV Wales in Cardiff, where he became Head of Features and Head of Community Programmes. Another distinguished Aber Lad, the acclaimed author Herbert Williams, says in his foreword that Davids tales are told with humour, dexterity and lightness of touch that makes for easy and rewarding reading. They are accompanied by a diversity of photographs which will surprise and even astonish readers.
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Beryl (Bee) Richards earned degrees in art, human resources and career guidance and retired from a career in human resources and education to pursue interests in writing and historical research. She is the author of Nantybar - A Vanished Village in the Afan Valley and is currently working on a novel on the South Sea Bubble. Bee was born in Port Talbot, on the South Welsh coast, and came back to live there after traveling extensively. She quotes a familiar saying, "You can take the girl out of Port Talbot, but not Port Talbot out of the girl."
Bee will be appearing at the Left Coast Eisteddfod to give a presentation on Prince Madoc.
AmeriCymru: You will be giving a talk on the Madoc Legend at this years' Left Coast eisteddfod. Care to tell us a little about that? How did you first become interested in the Madoc Legend?
Bee: Madoc is one of the fascinating stories, which is surrounded by circumstantial and anecdotal evidence. I think it ranks in mystery with stories such as the Turin Shroud, the Mari Celeste and it has a parallel in the Scottish legend of Summerled. Such mysteries and legends circulate all over the world. Always unproveable, always fascinating. Sometimes I wonder do we really want to solve these enigmatic tales. A lot of the fascination is taken out of such romanticism when proven a reality by science....
I am constantly fascinated by riddles, mysteries and enigmas such as Madoc. The further I delve into the story the deeper the mystery becomes. All sorts of phantoms are released. What were the political aspirations of the first voyage? How in the light of the Welsh Civil war was Madoc able to sail from Rhos with ships fully equipped for a journey to who knows where? Were there any Imperialist designs from the royal house of Gwynedd? My interest in the enigma started with a friend of mine a historian by the name of Bill Isaac lending me a book by Richard Deacon entitled (of course) Madoc and the Discovery of America I became hooked!
AmeriCymru: What do you think it will take to prove that the Welsh discovered America? What direction would you like to see further research take?
Bee: One of the possibilities would be to pursue the DNA trail. Another would be in finding definite proof that the saga ever took place. Any reported remains have mysteriously disappeared or have been burned. There is a huge body of anecdotal evidence and written evidence by many famous individuals but nothing left of the material remains of the said Welsh. It is unfortunate that academia dismisses the hypothesis. No one institution has to my knowledge ever conducted a multi disciplinary approach to the problem, either in Wales or in the US where I suspect more archaeological evidence could be found to support the Madoc claim.
AmeriCymru: Are there any books on the subject that you would particularly recommend?
Bee: There is quite a body of literature on the subject, one of my favourites is the book which a lady called Zella Armstrong wrote and published herself entitled Who Discovered America; the Amazing Story of Madoc. Richard Deacon Madoc and the discovery of America another highly recommended volume is entitled Madoc, the Making of a Myth, by Gwyn A Williams. One of the most entertaining fictional accounts encompasses three volumes written by a novelist called Pat Winter. William A. Traxel also wrote an account which takes the saga further called In the footsteps of the Welsh Indians. There are many more.
AmeriCymru: What inspired your interest in history? Would you agree with R.S. Thomas that it is not possible to ".... live in the present, at least not in Wales?"
Bee: Inheritence and curiosity also have a bearing on my interest. My father was one of the great instigators of my interest in history. Politically he was one of the best informed individuals I have met; discussions with him through my teens led me to want to find out the motivation behind his convictions. I started to read and found I had a great interest in how the past has influenced the present and how it will influence the future. It is my belief that we can only start to know our humanity by recognising the humanity and the struggles and triumphs of the past. Wales is a place full of crazy contradictions from the Mabinogion, to the religion of Rugby to the huge contribution we have made to the world of culture and industry. We are a multi cultural society and yet manage to draw in and to meld many communities into what is a vibrant modern country. I certainly think we live in a modern society, melded out of the people who have gone before us.
AmeriCymru: What inspired you to write "Nantybar...A Vanished Village in the Afan Valley"?
Bee: The wish to find out in more detail about the history of the little known Welsh valley of Afan was the motivation in writing Nantybar. The Rhondda Valleys are the usual topic of the Welsh Industrial Revolution, but what happened in the Upper Afan Valley during the 1800s was repeated all over the country when the rural population made a mass migration to industrial sites in all parts of the country. The North, Scotland, Wales. All these places played a huge part in the support of the British Empire with little or no recognition.
AmeriCymru: Any other message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Bee: Congratulations to AmeriCymru in accomplishing what will be a unique occasion. I hope this year will be the first of many.
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Wales pancreatic cancer charity, Amser Justin Time, today (Wednesday 15th July) made a ground-breaking announcement at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, having raised sufficient money in their first year of operation to fund a Specialist Pancreatic Nurse for one day a week. The charity, which is headed by Welsh opera, TV and radio star Shn Cothi, in memory of her husband, Tigertailz glam-rock star, Justin Smith, marked the announcement with a special performance from Only Men Aloud. The launch had a fantastic response as crowds of patients, medical staff and hospital visitors filled the Main Concourse of the University Hospital of Wales at lunchtime today to hear Shn Cothi make the announcement, followed by a heartrending rendition of Angels from the nations favourite contemporary male choir Only Men Aloud. For those patients unable to attend, the launch was also broadcast live on Hospital Radio. The performance marked the ground-breaking announcement that in the 12 months since the charity was launched, Amser Justin Time has raised over 60,000 and will now use part of these funds to fund a Specialist Pancreatic Nurse for one day a week for two years. Following the launch Shn and Only Men Aloud visited some of the hospitals wards including the C2 ward where Shns late-husband Justin had himself been a patient. The choir gave an impromptu performance on the ward, which sparked one patient to comment Im definitely going to get better now. Specialist Pancreatic Nurse Nicki Jardine will be funded by the charity and will divide her time between the University Hospital of Wales and the Velindre Cancer Centre in Whitchurch, Cardiff. Nicki said This is a remarkable achievement for the charity. I feel privileged to be the first nurse to be funded by Amser Justin Time, such an innovative charity that is so devoted to the cause. On a day to day basis I witness first-hand patients and their families dealing with pancreatic cancer and can honestly say that this charity is making a real difference, so a big thank you to Shn and the Amser Justin Time team. The charity was founded by Welsh opera star and TV personality, Shn Cothi in memory of her husband, the talented TV director and editor and glam-rock star, Justin Smith (aka Tigertailz Pepsi Tate), who sadly lost his battle against pancreatic cancer in 2007. Shn said When we launched Amser Justin Time last year with an epic horse-ride from North to South Wales, we met so many people along the way who gave us such a heartwarming welcome and so many kind donations, I bet theyre wondering what happened to the money I donated to Amser Justin Time? Well, heres the result...a Specialist Pancreatic Nurse!. Shn expressed the importance of employing a Specialist Pancreatic Nurse Im so proud to be able to tell all the people that supported us that their money will allow us to provide essential care for patients and their families. Its vital they have someone they can talk to who is specially trained, supportive and can ease the difficulty of dealing with this particularly aggressive from of cancer. We hope that with more donations we will be able to fund more nurses around Wales. Given Shns celebrity status as a singer, actress and TV personality the charitys fundraising events have had the support of some of Wales biggest celebrities including Bryn Terfel, who joined Shn to record the downloadable track I Believe. Shn continued to explain Its incredible that weve managed to raise this amount of money without having a full-time team in place or even an office. This is the first time for the charity to spend a single penny of the money raised, which is why its so important for us to mark this occasion. Celebrating the announcement at the University Hospital of Wales were Only Men Aloud, stepping straight off the plane from performing in America, who gave an impromptu and heartrending rendition of Angels. Only Men Aloud's Music Director and Founder, Tim Rhys-Evans, said We are immensely proud to be supporting Amser Justin Time as one of the choirs chosen charities. Having worked and performed with Shn for many years its amazing to see how one special Welsh lady can inspire a whole nation and achieve such incredible results. Mr Malcolm Puntis, a former Consultant Surgeon & Senior Lecturer for the Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust, and a Specialist in Pancreatic Surgery who treated Justin Smith, said Justin was such an inspiration. Its outstanding to see all the fund-raising being put to tangible use providing extra care for pancreatic cancer patients and their relatives. It is a rare and fortunate thing for a charity to have so little overheads to be able to action front-line funding such as this so soon. It would be greater still if the Welsh Assembly Government were to match the funding raised by Amser Justin Time. Mr Puntis, who has lent his support and expertise freely to Amser Justin Time acting as Mentor for the charity, continued We are also continuing to develop a comprehensive website to be used as an information resource about pancreatic cancer and to raise public awareness about this cruel disease. We hope the website will become a universal resource for all those affected by pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer in the UK with approximately 20 new patients diagnosed each day. The rate of pancreatic cancer is slightly higher in Wales at 14.2 per 100,000 people compared with 12.7 per 100,000 people for the UK as a whole. Nurse Director of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust Sue Gregory said We are grateful to Amser Justin Time for their involvement. A specialist nurse will improve the care we provide to pancreatic cancer patients, as well as providing much needed support for their relatives. For more information on the charity, please visit www.amserjustintime.org For donations, please visit www.justgiving.com/amser
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