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An Interview With Valerie Wood-Gaiger ...W-Icon.
Member Valerie Wood-Gaiger author, grandmother and teacher recently won a contest to become one of two W-Icons, or spokespeople, for the British Women's Institute (WI). The Women's Institute is the largest voluntary organisation for women in the United Kingdom. The first British Women's Institute was formed at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey, Wales, in 1915 and today the WI boasts more than 200,000 members.
Valerie lives in Myddfai, in the county of Carmarthenshire, in south Wales. Besides her work with the WI, Valerie is active in her community, enjoys walking with her dogs, is a great-grandmother, an author and one of the founders and operators of Grandmas Stories, a small publisher, through which she will be publishing a series of books on "on pan European prehistory".
You recently won a competition to become one of two W-Icons, how did you come to be in the competition and what does that mean for you?
I read about the competition in WI Life magazine, just before closing date, and thought I could have a go at that! Got my entry in one hour before Carmarthenshire WI Federation office closed for two weeks! I only applied the day before the competition closed, and before I knew it I found myself in the top ten. We then had two days ask people to vote for me. I live in Myddfai, where there are only about five computers, so I enlisted help from my grandchildren. I was amazed that I received votes from Ukraine to California, Latvia to Australia! I am thrilled that Wales has another winner. The judges actually decided to have two winners. The other one is Emma Cunningham, a 35 year old, from Hampshire. Between the two of us we illustrate the wide age range of women involved with the modern WI.
Many people may not be aware that as well as being fun, the WI is, always was, a campaigning organisation. A current campaign is against slavery in the West. I've just returned from a conference in the Ukraine on language learning where I was the keynote speaker. While there I was able to speak to a lot of students and took the opportunity to warn them to thoroughly check before accepting jobs promised to them in the West. Usually promised jobs are bona-fide offers but there are cases, even here in Wales, where young women, have had their passports, money & mobile phones taken from them and they are forced into prostitution. W.I. is much more than simply "jam and Jerusalem" [jam-making competitions and "Jerusalem," a song many WI chapters sing to open their meetings]. We are encouraging younger women to join and it is an excellent organisation for those women who are recently retired. When retirement comes, work networks can be lost but membership of the WI can provide the opportunity to establish a whole new network of friends.
I am increasingly being asked to give talks to WI, U3A, Rotary (I am a Paul Harris Fellow, which should impress any Rotarian's reading) which I like doing. The next conference I will speak at is on eLearning in Berlin. I will introduce Inter-Generational eLearning. It is absurd that my 10-year-old grandson can produce a PowerPoint presentation and I can't. We older people can learn from the young and we have lots of skills to pass on we need to do so in a modern technological way.
How did you come to be involved in the WI?
I joined as a young woman in the late 1960s, early 1970s, when I moved to a village in Hampshire. I then lapsed when I lived in London and rejoined when I moved to Myddfai in 1999. WI is a great way to meet new people. WI are keen to attract younger members, incidentally, that is why there are now two SKY W-Icons. There was to have been just one winner but the judges decided to have two: me, sixty-seven years old and a great granny, and Emma, a young mum of thirty five. I also think that WI is ideal for ladies who have just retired and have lost work-related networks. WI is a great network.
What will you do with the grant that you've won in the competition?
The money will be donated to the 'not for profit' company, Learn with Grandma, which I co-founded after I read that 64% of grandparents look after their grandchildren on a regular basis. In the past that was something they did because they wanted to but these days, with both couples having to work and so many divorces, it is becoming a necessity. I wanted to use this money to help people all over the country have fun without breaking the bank, especially important in these economically difficult times.
One of our publications will be Grandmas Guide to Great Days Out , which will list FREE places to take your children or grandchildren, and those that offer excellent value for money, less than 25.00 for a family ticket. There will be no charge for inclusion in the guide.
We are looking for places like St Fagan's , wonderful and FREE! In the 100-acre parkland of St Fagans Castle are over forty buildings moved from all over Wales. Roam round the late 16th-century manor house, see workshops where craftsmen demonstrate traditional skills, native breeds of livestock in the fields and galleries with exhibitions of costume, daily life, farming implements and the largest collection of Welsh Love spoons in the World. All FREE. The only charge is 2.50 to park the car and you can eat Welsh food in the caf or take a picnic. Places that offer great value for money like Ladyland Farm where, for only 6.00 per person, you get a tractor ride and a badge, you get the opportunity to get right in with the animals, to hold fluffy day old chicks, rabbits and kittens, to see the baby calves, lambs and piglets and to feed & stroke them and bed them down.
How many books have you written and what are your plans, as a writer and publisher?
I am currently working on a series of fourteen books that trace history from the Ice Age chronologically through to Roman times. The first of these, The Ice Journey 
I write from the perspective of a grandmother teaching her grandchildren and at the end include a Learn with Grandma Section with comprehension questions as well as things to do. I remembered all the things I used to do with my grandma, included those and added science and modern technology.
For The Ice Journey
How did you come to write The Ice Journey?
After some research I decided to write a history of the people of the Celtic lands. There is a lot of interest in the Celts but people do not really know much about them. I decided to start, long before the Celts, back to The Ice Age because that was the start of modern history. The only people alive were homo sapiens people exactly like you & me. Also because I hope one day to bring these stories to the American market.
When will this series be available?
Grandmas Stories is a new, small publisher. We can only afford to publish one book at a time, when we have the money to do so. Book two of the prehistory series will be out in the New Year. After that it is in Gods and our customers hands. We need more customers!
Prior to writing this book, did you have a background or an interest in archaeology, anthropology or related sciences?
No formal background but a great interest in archaeology, anthropology & related sciences. This had been fostered by my grandmother. After my children grew up most of my holidays were spend visiting ancient sites in many countries. I always did the research before going. I went on an archaeological dig in Portugal last summer. I saw it advertised on an online archaeological magazine & decided to go. It was very interesting, great fun and I loved the journey to northern Portugal. The train ride up the Douro Valley was spectacular.
What was your prior career?
Quite a few. Ranging from photographer to shop owner to soft toy agent (I earned enough from that to have a 19 room house. A Rolls Royce, send my 3 children to boarding school and run a huge overdraft!) to founding a charity to create work for disabled people, for which I was awarded MBE and, in the same week, I was made redundant, age 58. After wasting two years crying, I woke up and realised that I was not redundant, that it was time I pulled my self together & started a new life.
You have a great-grandson, how many children and grandchildren do you have?
My son Neil will be 50 on 2 December. He lives in Glastonbury has two children: Emma, nearly 25, Adam, 22 yesterday. My son, Nicky, 48, is a DJ and a teacher. He lives in Ithaca in the USA and has three children. Maria, 23, is Danish and lives in Copenhagen. She is mother to Magnus, who will be 2 years old in January, Kristian, age 12 and Lula, age 10. My daughter, Alison is married to Erik and lives in Surrey. She has two sons: Oscar, age 10, and Hugo, age 8.
Did you tutor or educate your own children or grandchildren? Have any of them followed in your footsteps?
I was only 17 when Neil was born. We had a lot of fun learning stuff together when they were children. They have all made their own path in life and live all over the world. I am now working on a new ways of maintaining contact with my grandchildren. I started writing books after Kristian said I love you grandma but I need to see you. I am "Facebook Friends" with the older grandchildren. I have now bought a webcam to tell Magnus stories and am off to Berlin in December to launch a new intergenerational e-learning project.
Can you describe the place you live? How long have you lived there?
Myddfai is a tiny village - about 30 people live in the actual village, plus second homes, Prince Charles has bought a property here. I'm very involved in my community, I go to church and chapel and help organize events to help keep the community together, so important since our pub closed. I have two dogs to walk, great walking round here! And there is the day job. It is a hill village, three miles above Llandovery and in The Brecon Beacons National Park. It is stunningly beautiful and the people have been so kind and welcoming. I thank God for the wind that blew me here. I hope to die here.
Fennel! Good stuff! I gave it to my oldest son for colic - about an ounce of light, cooled fennel tea. Worked great.
Myddfai is also known for its ancient welsh medicineTHE PHYSICIANS OF MYDDFAIIn the early 13th century, Rhys Gryg ( warrior son of Welsh Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd) was Lord of Dynevor and Ystrad Towy. Like many other noble men, he had his own personal 'physician'. This medical attendant was known by the name of Rhiwallon. Rhiwallon was assisted in his work by his three sons; Cadwgan, Gruffydd and Einion. As a family they lived in the small village of Myddfai in Carmarthenshire. They were particularly skillful, their work was highly advanced for the era, and as a result of this combined with their loyalty, Rhys Gryg rewarded them with land and extra benefits. Their reputation and fame spread and legends soon formed around them mystifying their craft, and suggesting partial descent from a faery woman- The Lady of Llyn-y- Fan Fach.The Legend Of The Lady Of The LakeThere once lived an old widow at Blaensawdde in Carmarthenshire. She had one son who tended cattle on the Black Mountains near Llyn- Y- Fan Fach ( which means lake of the little fan). One day he saw a woman sitting upon the surface of the water, she was gazing into the water as though it were a mirror. She was more beautiful than any mortal woman he had ever seen. Awe struck he offered her some bread and cheese and tried to touch her. She refused this and said " Hard baked is your bread! It is not easy to catch me! ", before promptly disappearing into the depths of the lake.Later that evening he told his mother, who suggested that he offer her unbaked dough. Yet she refused this again saying " Unbaked is your bread! I will not have you!", before returning to her underwater realms. As before the youth returned to his mother who suggested part baked bread. Finally the maiden accepted his bread and agreed to marriage. Although this was not without condition. Once more she entered the lake, this time returning with a man and another woman who was identical and equally compelling, The man said that he would only agree to the marriage of his daughter if he could distinguish between the two. After much difficulty the young man eventually chose the right maiden by recognizing the way in which she tied her shoelaces.Out of the water she came, with a dowry of cattle and livestock. They were married under the condition that if he struck her three causeless blows, she would return to the lake from whence she came and their marriage would be over. They lived happily for many years and had three sons. One day on the way to a christening he jokingly slapped her with a pair of gloves. This was the first blow. On another occasion during the merry making of a wedding, he accidentally tapped her on the shoulder. This was the second blow. Finally at a funeral he tapped her to stop her laughing. She said she had laughed because the dead person no longer had any worries or fears. She left him saying " The last blow has been struck and our marriage contract is broken and at an end, farewell.She then proceeded back into the lake, followed by all the cattle she had brought with her. All that was left was a furrow, leading right to the edge of the lake. This had been made by an ox pulling a plough. Her distraught sons often searched the lake looking for their mother. On several occasions she appeared to her eldest son Rhiwallon, teaching him herblore and medicine. She told him that for many generations his descendants would be among the best physicians in the country. In fact, this family continued to practice medicine without a break right up until the middle of the 18th century . The last physician Rice Williams died in 1842.Rhys Gryg urged Rhiwallon to write records of their methods " lest no one be found with the requisite knowledge as they were". Some of the later physicians added to this information, so there are a number of sources we can access to look at the type of medicine that was practiced. Many of the remedies are thought to have been their own recipes, whilst some may be older and are suspected to have been around during the time of Howel Dda. It is also easy to see that they were influenced by Hippocrates. Whilst many of the ideas such as bleeding and use of animal dung in ointments etc may seem outdated and bizarre, many of the ideas do seem quite relevant to modern herbalism and recent guidelines relating to health and fitness.For instance, great emphasis was placed upon the patients own responsibility for their own health. They were quite holistic in approach, looking for the causes of disease as well as attempting to stop outer symptoms. They were very keen on hygiene and absolute cleanliness of tools and water used in preparations. Importance was also placed upon eating healthily and getting moderate amounts of exercise.HerbalismThe physicians of Myddfai drew upon a materia medica of around 175 locally grown herbs. Their methods were very simple, just single herbs or combinations of two or three different varieties, usually in the form of an infusion or lard based poultice. Below are some of their remedies which may still prove useful in modern times ( although these are given purely for interest, if using herbs for medicinal purposes it is recommended that you either contact a qualified herbalist or at least read a good herbal to check on any side effects or contra-indictions)Cough RemedyBruise agrimony in a mortar and mix the juice with boiling milk, strain and use.Swelling And Pain In The LegsBruise rue, honey and salt. Apply thereto and it will disperse the swelling.HeadacheWhoever is frequently afflicted with a headache let him make a lotion of the vervain, betony , chamomile and red fennel; let him wash his head three times a week therewith and he will be cured.For Gastric PainsTake a little tansy, and reduce to a fine powder. Take with white wine and it will remove the pain.For NauseaGet a pint of the juice of fennel and boil it with a pint of clarified honey, taking a spoonful every morning fasting as well as the last thing at night for nine days.For SunburnTake the leaves of marsh pennywort rudely pounded with a cream, boil them together on a gentle fire so as to form them into an ointment, and anoint the effected part therewith,