An Interview with author Charles Parry

"Owain Glyn Dwr (Shakespeare's Owen Glendower) is one of the most iconic characters in all of Welsh history. Descended from native princely stock, when an increasingly intolerable English hegemony coincided with the advent of an unpopular English king, he was the natural choice of many of his nation to lead them out of oppressive English rule. Such a leader had been foreseen by Welsh prophets for centuries as Y Mab Darogan or The Son of Prophecy."

Buy the book here:- The Last Mab Darogan

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Charles:   Thanks for inviting me to discuss the book and Glyn Dŵr. It's always a pleasure for me to do so but especially so for Americymru because I know that many of your members have a love of Welsh history and so will have at least some awareness of the Glyn Dŵr legend.

It's hard to say exactly when I became interested in him as he seeped into my soul from a young age. I was born not far from where he had lived so he’d be mentioned occasionally at school and, of course, there were hotels, streets and even railway locomotives named after him. Sometimes on days out with my family to Rhuddlan, Conway and Caernarfon castles his attacks on them were mentioned by guides – not always in complimentary terms! I remember Welsh nationalists invoking his name: I suppose it lent their campaigns a militant, anti-English air. A little later there was even a nationalist group calling themselves Y Meibion Glyn Dŵr who took to attacking English interests in Wales – mostly setting fire to holiday homes. So Glyn Dŵr wasn’t exactly seen in a good light by everyone! I have to admit that I forgot about him for a while whilst I pursued my university studies.

AmeriCymru:  Many books have been written about Owain: novels, scholarly accounts etc. How does your book differ from the rest? What approach did you adopt in tackling his story?

Charles:  The first book I read that seriously addressed Glyn Dŵr as an historical subject was Rees Davies’s excellent ‘The Age of Conquest’, which I read in the early 90’s. In that was a whole chapter on Owain’s revolt. It was the first balanced account that I’d read and one that saw him in a relatively positive light when shown against the oppression that the Welsh were suffering at the time. Professor Davies went on to write his classic ‘The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dŵr’, which I read in about 1996 and I was completely entranced once again by this amazing Welsh hero. I then read dozens of other books and articles – some good, some bad – about Glyn Dŵr before deciding I should write my own.

Firstly, I wanted to write a book about him that placed his story in a wider context than all the other books I’d read. I wanted it to include, for example: how the tumultuous events in England influenced the revolt; how the situation in France affected its cause, progress and demise; how the schism in the church at the time colored it; how the Scots helped (or hindered) their Celtic cousins’ bid for freedom. It’s why the book is subtitled ‘The Life and Times of Owain Glyn Dŵr’. Secondly, I wanted it to read chronologically, rather than have chapters dedicated to particular aspects, so that the story of Glyn Dŵr unfolds in a continuous stream that takes the reader on a journey through the timeline of his revolt. Finally, I wanted it to be historically accurate and include new research that had come to light since Professor Rees’s book. Many books and articles on Glyn Dŵr unfortunately peddle myths about him and his revolt: anything written in my book as a fact is backed up with a reference supporting it. The hardback book has over a thousand footnotes and several appendices for the keener reader to explore some relevant aspects of the time in more detail, like castle warfare, arms and armor, and the anti-Welsh statutes – some of which were still in the statute books in Victorian times! It also has over 80 illustrations, including maps, almost all of which are in color. It makes for a large book (although the ebook is shorter) but to me its level of detail is a bonus. There are shorter books on Glyn Dŵr but they don’t give the whole picture and frankly many of them are under-researched and rely on hearsay.

Monument to Owain Glyndwr's Victory at Hyddgen

AmeriCymru:  How important a figure is Owain Glyn Dŵr in the history of Wales?

Charles:  Glyn Dŵr is an immensely important figure in the history of Wales. The revolt he led was a watershed in Welsh history. It so devastated Wales that no serious attempt to throw off the ‘Saxon Yoke’ by violent means was ever again attempted. After it many Welsh adopted English customs at home, worked in administering the country for the English, sought their fortunes in England or went fighting for the English abroad. Even the architecture of Wales, its vernacular at least, can be considered pre- and post- Glyn Dŵr as so much of it was destroyed or damaged beyond repair in the revolt – by both sides it has to be said. For much of the time after the revolt he became a symbol of the unruly Welshman: despised by the English and quietly revered by the Welsh. Since Victorian times he has become a lot more rounded as an historical figure – even the English have come to appreciate his finer qualities. I have heard people, especially Welsh people, say that Nye Bevan or Lloyd George was the greatest Welshman ever but they do not come close to having the same effect on Wales as did Glyn Dŵr: their achievements were great but they only marginally impacted on Wales; Glyn Dŵr was a Welsh leader of Welsh people in Wales and at that he was one of the greatest if not THE greatest.

AmeriCymru:  Owain is famous for disappearing from history around 1410. What do you think became of him in his later years?

Charles:  The greatest Glyn Dŵr conundrum is what happened to him when, as the bards said, he disappeared. After Harlech fell to Prince Hal, I believe he lived in or around his old patrimonial lands in Powys Fadog and Edeirnion where his retinue would have been most loyal. Living with one or more of his daughters on the English borders, as later local legends suggest, would have been too risky even if he were cunningly disguised as a friar or a shepherd. An interesting story in Welsh I unearthed suggested that he sailed to France to persuade Charles VI to give him some more support and died on the way but there is no other evidence for that. He most probably died around 20th September 1415. No one knows where he died or was buried but if I had to guess I would say that he died near Glyndyfrdwy and was buried in sacred ground somewhere not too far away.

AmeriCymru:   What's next for Charles Parry?

Charles:  I have been researching a book on John Oldcastle who as Lord Cobham became one of the first Lollard martyrs. I came across him whilst researching my book on Glyn Dŵr as he has strong ties with Wales and fought with Prince Hal. I hope to complete it this year and with luck have it published in 2016. I am also researching the death of my younger brother Ian in the 1989 Romanian revolution. As a recent S4C documentary ‘Pwy Laddodd Ian Parry?’ has discovered, it looks like it wasn’t the accident it was made out to be at the time. There might be some further developments in that this year too.

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

Charles:   AmeriCymru is a great forum for Welsh culture and history. It’s 600 years this year since the death of Owain so I hope that AmeriCymru members commemorate him and the anniversary of his death in some small way, if only by thinking of his legacy and his contributions to Wales. Keep up the good works! Blwyddyn newydd dda i bawb.

"Esme's passions are treated sensitively and honestly in this memoir, brought again to life so graphically by Teleri"  Lord Dafydd Ellis Thomas

Buy 'Esme: Guardian of Snowdonia' here

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This is the story of Esme Kirby, the heroine of Thomas Firbank's 1939 international bestseller, I Bought A Mountain, which portrayed the rigours of farming in Snowdonia, North Wales.

Esme's marriage to Thomas ended at the beginning of the Second World War and this book takes up her life as she struggled to cope alone on the 3000 acre Dyffryn Mymbyr sheep farm. Still a young woman, she could easily have given up such an arduous life but, instead, she grew to love her vocation and appreciate the fact that she lived in the most remarkable of landscapes.

Such was her fondness for Snowdonia, and concern for its future, that she later established the Snowdonia National Park Society, a 'watchdog' to ensure that the landscape was protected from any adverse development. She also led a campaign to re-establish colonies of the native red squirrel in Anglesey. Her legacy in this beautiful, rural community continues to this day.

Teleri Bevan comes from a farming background, yet her working life was spent at the BBC where she launched Radio Wales as its Editor and later became the Head of Programmes for BBC Wales radio and television. In retirement Teleri has enjoyed writing books about women who made distinctive contributions to rural life in 20th century Wales: firstly the story of establishing Rachel's Dairy, and then recording the accomplishments of the Ladies of Blaenwern , who bred world-famous Welsh cobs.

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BUY 'TIMELESS' HERE

AmeriCymru: How would you describe your new book 'The Timeless Cavern'?

John: It is a historical, fantasy, time travel treat. A cave in Mid Wales where no time passes is the base for Marged Evans and her friends. She works out how to re-calibrate the time stones so that she can help people out who have been trapped in the cave, some of them for hundreds of years.

The idea is to get young people and others interested in historical events, local, national and international via fun, time travel, fantasy.

AmeriCymru: Do you plan a sequel and if so when can we expect publication?

John: The Timeless Cavern series will be on going. The second book Marged Evans and the Pebbles of MORE time is finished and will be out by the middle of this year. The third book is a third complete and should be finished by the end of the year. The fourth and fifth books are in the planning stages.

AmeriCymru: You currently live in Minnesota but you are from Mid Wales originally. Care to tell us a little about your Welsh background?

John: I was raised on a hill farm in Mid Wales and lived there until 1976 when I came to the US and attended University. While in Wales I was active in Young Farmers and Wildlife organisations.

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about your one man show “John Dingley and the Biggest Pack of Lies You Ever heard”?

John: It is a collection of stories most of which are based in actual happenings that showed up in my life over the years. Many of them will show up in another book which will also be published soon. (See below)

AmeriCymru: What's next for John Dingley?

John: Another book coming out called "A visit Home" a collection of short stories and a few poems. Also another book which is finished, however still needs work. A non fiction. "Hard Work in Paradise  When all our food and lives were organic"

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

John: Keep supporting the world of Welsh Writers. We all need your support. Read voraciously and have fun.

"A man with such a dramatic martyrdom and intense commitment which led to that martyrdom is worthy of becoming a legend,” says Dr. Samuel Hugh Moffett about Robert Jermain Thomas, missionary to China and Korea [1839-1866]. Thomas has become legendary in both North and South Korea: in the North he is considered enemy of empire—one who attempted to bring in American imperialism—to many in the South he is considered the first martyred Protestant missionary to Korea.

BUY 'CHOSEN FOR CHOSON' HERE

AmeriCymru: Hi Stella and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. What inspired you to write about Robert Jermain Thomas ? Care to introduce him for our readers?

Stella: Sometimes we can live so close to great history and yet not see or appreciate the many hidden places or individuals that could enrich our lives.

So it was when I first learned of Robert Jermain Thomas. I had previously lived a few miles down the road from Llanover, Monmouthshire, the home of the missionary, Robert Jermain Thomas and yet it was not until I moved thousands of miles from my homeland, teaching at Gordon College, Massachusetts, that I first learned of the significance of this man to the Korean peninsula.

Little was known of him in Wales, but he is a household name for many in Korea. Chosen for Choson, is the first book about Robert Jermain Thomas written in English. His family were Welsh speaking, and lived next door to the famous Lady Llanover who encouraged everything Welsh. Currently, Chosen for Choson is available in English and Chinese and next year it will be available in Korean. Wouldn’t it be lovely if someone could translate this into Welsh!

The one that inspired me most must be Dr.Samuel Hugh Moffett whom I met at Princeton Seminary, who, by the way, celebrates in 99th birthday this year. Sam told me that a man like Thomas was “worthy of growing into a legend” because he had such a “dramatic” and “intense” commitment to spread the Gospel of Christ which eventually led to his martyrdom in Korea. Sam’s father, Samuel Austin Moffett, had served in Korea from 1890, through Pyongyang’s Revival in 1907, and stayed during the Japanese annexation in 1910 until he was forced to leave in 1935.

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the  General Sherman Incident in which Robert Thomas became entangled?

Stella: Mystery surrounded the General Sherman, the boat on which Thomas traveled on his second missionary journey into Korea. Thomas even refused to tell his friend its name. Some believe it was a spy ship; others, a merchant ship, or even a raider of tombs. As they traveled up the coast, they received many official warnings to turn back. However, they adamantly and arrogantly continued their course, intruding a country which was hostile to the outside world.

It is not surprising then, that on September 3, 1866, the command to destroy The Sherman was issued. Despite the inequality between the strength of The Sherman and the local boats, the Koreans were victorious. They floated several burning boats (turtle boats or scows) loaded with brush sprinkled with sulfur toward the schooner, setting it into flame. The captain and crew plunged into the sea and waiting for them on the shore were their executioners. Sadly, there were no survivors.

It was exciting to hear Sam tell me that he knew of eye witnesses of the account. He says, ‘My father came to Pyongyang less than 24 years after the General Sherman disaster. One of his helpers, reverend Hansok-jin, met eye witnesses of the attack on the Sherman. They had seen a white man in the smoke on the burning deck, shouting “Jesus” and throwing books to the people lining the shore. Some of the crowd were brave enough to take the books, one pasting the bible on the walls of his home. Later, this home became a thriving church.

AmeriCymru: How is Thomas remembered in Korea today?

Stella: For thousands of Korean Christians, Thomas is remembered as one who brought Christianity to Korea. He is greatly revered. Recently a chapel built on the grounds of Wales Evangical School of Theology, Bridgend, has been named after him. At Sarang Church in Korea, you will see a Welsh church built in the center of their buildings. Koreans In their hundreds visit the historical places in Wales attached to the memory of Thomas. Recently I was able to help John Gower on S4C television with details of the journey of Thomas. The story of Thomas continues to intrigue us.

AmeriCymru: You currently live in Wales but you lived for many years in Canada and then Massachusetts. Care to tell us a little about your time in Canada and the US?

Stella: My husband and I left Wales with three children and lived in Nova Scotia for several years; later we moved to Masachusetts. My husband was a doctor in Yarmouth, NS, and in Hamilton and Essex, MA. I taught at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts. All our children studied in the USA.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Stella Price?

Stella: My biographies, Chosen for Choson and God’s Collaborator have kept me busy for a while. I am currently writing a novel based on a story line that begins in Nova Scotia and ends in post WWII London, UK with many cross-cultural dilemmas. It’s going to take a while, however. Researching this era is fascinating.

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

Stella: My book, “Chosen for Choson,” introduces you to the lives of Robert Jermain Thomas and Caroline Godfrey, two young people who were adventurous and brave. Their lives ended tragically, yet their story still reverberates throughout Wales, China, and Korea. My second book, “God’s Collaborator,” tells the story of a man who was imprisoned in North Korea, yet lives to tell the story, and whose life did not end tragically, but who has now founded a university in Pyongyang, North Korea, on the very site where the Memorial Church, dedicated to the life of Thomas, was destroyed. Stories really never end. They simply continue throughout the generations. I hope you enjoy these books.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate all our competitors. 2015 was undoubtedly one of the best years yet for our Short Story Competition both in terms of the quantity and quality of entries. Our judges, Mike Jenkins, Gaabriel Becket and Ceri Shaw have reached a decision and the adjudication appears below:-

"Our joint decision is that David Lloyd's story 'Dreaming of Home' is the winner of the 2015 West Coast Eisteddfod Online Short Story Competition . Joint second would be Minstrel Boy by Sally Spedding and Remember Yesterday by Philip Rowlands."

Many thankls for your excellent submissions to all those who participated in this years competition. Details of next years competitions will be announced shortly and we hope that all our 2015 entrants will consider competing again in the new year.

READ 'DREAMING OF HOME' HERE

Orlando, FL. (January XX, 2016): A consortium of Welsh marketing and promotion experts have joined forces under the Bay International Group banner to promote Welsh art, talent, culture and products in the USA. Led by Bryn Yemm and Stuart Rowlands, the new entity’s Corporate Headquarters is based in Orlando, Florida with satellite offices in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire and Los Angeles, California.

“We have thought for a long time that Welsh industries, especially the arts, have been underserved in the United States,” says Managing Partner Bryn Yemm. “At Bay International Group we have the marketing and promotional knowledge and contacts to open those ‘all important’ doors in the USA that can mean the difference between success and failure.”

Bryn Yemm, has made his reputation as an international entertainer and marketer. Yemm was born in Brynmawr (Breconshire), Wales and now spends his time between Orlando and Abergavenny. A successful performer and producer with his own record label Bay Records and Bay Promotions, he is featured in the Guinness Book of Hit Albums UK, and was the subject of a BBC TV documentary featuring his life and work. Yemm specializes in promoting, presenting, hosting, performing and representing corporate interests. Corporate clients have included FW Woolworths, Littlewoods, Variety Club International and Mano Maritime.

Left Front - Bryn Yemm with the Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of the Welsh Assembly and the ladies of Bridgend Tenovus choir.

Jonathan Constantine heads IT for Bay International Group. Based in South Wales, Jonathan was educated in Guildford, Surrey and is an accomplished IT and recording systems engineer. He will be working with Bay International Group clients offering full IT services for individual companies.
 
Given the huge opportunities for the creative sector in the USA, the Bay Group team are looking to use their experience to help Welsh firms of all sizes who seriously want to expand their international presence in this exciting and dynamic market. 

For further information: www.bayinternationalgroup.com
Contact: Bryn Yemm:
UK Office: +44 1873 561 574
US Office: +1 321 613 2806

AmeriCymru: Hi Sioned and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. You will be performing at the Ontario Welsh Festival this year on April 22nd in Ottawa. Is this your first visit to the Americas?

Sioned: This is Côrdydd's first visit to Canada - we performed at Carnegie Hall, NYC in 2013 with the esteemed (Welsh and Royal composer, Paul Mealor) and have travelled to Hong Kong and Barbados, but we are very much looking forward to exploring Canada, especially to celebrate the Welsh Festival. We promise plenty of formal and informal Welsh singing!

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about the history of the choir? How common are mixed choirs in Wales?

Sioned: Côrdydd is a Cardiff-based choir, which was established 16 years ago. Mixed choirs have grown in popularity in Cardiff and all across Wales - Côrdydd has indeed been a match-maker for many a wedded couple and maybe this is an instigation for many young people to meet others of the same ilk! Wales is steeped with mixed and male voice choirs history, and it has become very "cool" to be part of a choir of late. Côrdydd does indeed feel like a community and a hub within a vibrant city, and I hope it has a warm, welcoming and family feel.

The choir began when a small group of friends noticed a gap in the choral market in Cardiff - although there were numerous mixed choirs, there wasn't a particularly young choir in Cardiff for new graduates/early twenties/thirty year olds. Hence the birth of Côrdydd. Over a hundred turned up for the first rehearsal which cemented the fact that there was room for more choirs in the city. And fortunately, this still stands today with new choirs springing in every corner of Wales. We are extremely proud to be privvy and part of that exciting scene.

AmeriCymru: What can attendees expect from Cordyyd in Ottawa. Care to give us a sneak preview of your repertoire?

Sioned:   Hopefully, Côrdydd can showcase fine choral singing - we strive to achieve a pure sound, of clarity and excellence - I hope we deliver! Naturally we will perform some of Wales' finest tunes, some recongisable but with a twist; we are at our best singing a capella music and will perform some of Paul Mealor, Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen's works. We are fortunate to collaborate closely with these three composers and will once more, be touring with Whitacre in 2017. We were also chosen to record with Decca/Deutsche Gramaphon label with the world-famous Bryn Terfel, appearing on most tracks of his Christmas CD. We've also won numerous other accolades and appeared on Radio 3, BBC1, S4C - finding time to fulfill all we want to achieve is quite a task, so we will be making the most of Canada!

AmeriCymru: You have appeared, and won prizes at, the National Eisteddfod on a number of occasions. How did it feel to win a prize at this most prestigious of events?

Sioned: It's incredible to think that we have not only won at the National Eisteddfod 10 times, but we are the choir who has won the "Choir of the Festival" (Côr yr Ŵyl) more than any other choir in Eisteddfod history. It's truly an honour, but we never take any win for granted. Each win feels as good as the last, and believe me, there are a lot of nervous choristers backstage before competing!

AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to hear and purchase tracks by Cordydd?

Sioned: We have two websites - www.cordydd.com and www.cordydd.org.uk - we have dozens of clips on youtube and you can buy our recordings with Bryn Terfel ("Bryn Terfel'a Carols and Christmas Songs") on i-tunes.

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

Sioned: We hope you enjoy our performances of Welsh, and our various other repertoire. Between ourselves and the Three Welsh Tenors, Cymru has a strong, splendid, and very Welsh presence in Canada! Thank you for inviting us to be part of your special event -  Iechyd Da!

BUY YOUR RED DRAGON STICKERS HERE

A well-known publishing company in Wales has decided to challenge the decision taken by the UK Government to include the Union Jack on new driving licenses by producing Red Dragon stickers to be placed in their place.

In 2014 the UK Government announced that the Union Jack will appear on every new drivers license from now on appearing alongside the EU banner on the licenses of drivers in Wales, Scotland and England. The decision was strongly condemned by inviduals such as the MP for Arfon, Hywel Williams from Plaid Cymru.

Over 3,000 signed the online petition but despite this the new licenses sporting the Union Jack began to appear in July 2015.

Now, Y Lolfa publishers have produced red dragon stickers that will be suitable to be place over the Union Jack.

‘We believe it is completley unfair that Britishness is being imposed upon us in this way.’ said Fflur Arwel, Y Lolfa’s head of marketing. ‘People are not given the choice to declare their nationality nor show that they are proud to be Welsh.’

One customer, Meurig Parry, wrote to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency last summer after he recieved a new license with the Union Jack on it. He said,‘My new license arrived with the Union Jack on it. I am Welsh, and the flag of my nation is the Red Dragon, not the Union Jack. The people of England are welcome to pay tribute to the Union Jack if they so wish, but I fully oppose any decision that forces me to do the same. This is what the government in London is trying to do by insisting that a Union Jack be on every new driver’s license. This is a purely political move, by using a document that should be completley apolitical.’

Mr Parri received a response to his complaint by the DVLA which explained that the decision taken by the government in Westminster to include the Union Jack on driving licenses was ‘to strengthen national unity’.

‘My nation is Wales. If I have any feeling of ‘national unity’ it will be towards Wales not Great Britain’ Mr Parri added ‘As a free person residing in a democracy, I have the right to my own political opinion. Nobody, not even the government in London, has the right to impose a political opinion on me. And this is what they are doing by ‘strengthening national unity’ as stated in the DVLA’s response.’

Now, Mr Meurig Parry and anybody else who wishes to have the red dragon of Wales on their driver’s license can purchase the stickers produced by Y Lolfa.

The pack of six red dragon stickers is priced £2 and are available from good bookshops and Y Lolfa website www.ylolfa.com