Letters from Tehran: ‘Horrible oil-men sit in posh Guest-Houses while children from the mud-hut villages are three quarter naked, filthy and hungry’.

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00October 2nd, 2017|Uncategorized|

As part of my ‘Month of Letters’ blogs to mark the re-release of Dylan Thomas’s Collected Letters in two paperback volumes, here are two more letters. They were written to Dylan’s wife Caitlin Thomas in January 1951 while Dylan was in Persia on a filmmaking trip for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. I’ve chosen these particular letters because [...]

Dylan Thomas The Collected Letters: My Personal Favourites

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00September 25th, 2017|Uncategorized|

As part of my ‘Month of Letters’ blogs to mark the re-release of Dylan Thomas’s Collected Letters in two paperback volumes, here are two more letters that particularly interest me. They also, appropriately, seem to link well with another event this week, National Poetry Day. This year’s theme is Freedom. Below are two short letters to Vernon [...]

Life After Dylan: How the family was disempowered

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00August 14th, 2017|Uncategorized|

  In last week’s blog, I explored the chain reaction of events that led to Dylan Thomas developing the one-sided and superficial image of being a randy letch and outrageous drunk. I would like to follow on from that and consider other fallouts that resulted from him dying young and being famous.   In particular, how [...]

Life After Dylan: Why there are still so many unanswered questions

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00August 7th, 2017|Uncategorized|

Today, as I write this, I am 39 years old and thirteen days (Yes, I hear your loud gasp of, “Wow, doesn’t she look good for her age!” Come on indulge me.) and this may not seem significant to many of you. However, it is for me as, one or two of you might realise, [...]

Why I Feel Like a Lizard in a Family of Polar Bears

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00June 26th, 2017|Uncategorized|

“Feet up with cup of tea BUT it is bloody hot.” This was a text from my dad last Tuesday and I have had similar moans and groans from: my husband, my son, on the school run – there was even a grumble fest about the warm weather on Radio 5’s Your Call. I have [...]

“I never thought them to be imitations but rather wonderfully original things, like eggs laid by tigers”: How Dylan Thomas’s language filled early years shaped his poetry.

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00May 29th, 2017|Uncategorized|

I was recently asked by one of Dylan Thomas’s literary agents to provide her with a Dylan Thomas biography that she could share with organisations and individuals that were interested in performing Dylan’s work. Below is my first attempt at condensing the first twenty-five years of his life (the second part is next week) which [...]

Laugharne: ‘The strangest town in Wales’!

By |2020-04-08T12:16:51+01:00April 3rd, 2017|Uncategorized|

It's that time of year again, the famous (or should that be infamous?) Laugharne weekend is upon us and the small seaside town in West Wales will be alive with festival goers hoping that everything will be as quirky and as chaotic as normal - they would be disappointed if things were to run smoothly!  You [...]

Remembering Mum Through Her Poetry: How Aeronwy Thomas was so much more than just Dylan’s daughter.

By |2020-04-08T12:16:52+01:00March 27th, 2017|Uncategorized|

Mothering Sunday is always a strange day, as those of you that have lost a parent will understand. Previously I have avoided Facebook, parks, and restaurants, anywhere in fact where I may bump into mothers celebrating with their children. However this year I took a slightly different tact and decided to put time aside to [...]

#Dylan Day#Love The Words: Find Out More About International Dylan Thomas Day

By |2020-04-08T12:16:52+01:00March 20th, 2017|Uncategorized|

We’re two months away from Dylan Day. A press release has gone out and journalists have marked the date in their diaries, events are being confirmed, (keep checking our Dylan Day page as they are coming in fast and furiously) and the ‘Love the Words’ writing competition for children and young people has been launched. [...]

Did that really happen?: Why I have begun to re-examine my memories.

By |2020-04-08T12:16:52+01:00March 13th, 2017|Uncategorized|

I have had a few experiences recently that have completely caught me off guard. The result being that I am now challenging myself and questioning my recall of some very significant memories. On Monday evening, as usual, I was driving my son to football training. I parked the car, switched off the engine and looked [...]