The Welsh Connection
May 30th, 2009 by adminI have been in a Welsh state of mind for the past week or so. Firstly, I went to see the fabulous Rhydian at Sheffield City Hall. For those of you who don’t know, Rhydian won the X-Factor talent show on UK television last year. He is, I believe, a Welshman born and bred and it shows in his voice which is absolutely amazing. I know Rhydian is a bit like Marmite - love him or hate him (I am in the former camp, in case you hadn’t guessed) but anyone who has heard him sing must surely acknowledge that he is a world-class talent. That being so, I was slightly surprised that he was so absolutely unspoiled - he seemed slightly bemused by his own success, and very pleased that we had all turned out just to see him. And he had the good manners to thank the ladies who had made the sandwiches on his tour, and the bloke who had driven his bus. A star in the making, for sure.
Then on to Wales itself, for a week in the lovely town of Aberdovey. I was full of good intentions, and took my laptop with me to continue work on the second, almost readable draft of Book 4, which is as yet untitled. Needless to say I didn’t get far - I was easily distracted by the seashore which I have always found irresistible. We did some walking, and some fishing too, but only got a few mackerel; it’s too early in the season for bream apparently (either that or we were incompetent fisherpeople). Wales is somewhere I think I would quite like to live, if I were not happily settled in Derbyshire. It’s a country which has an old-fashioned feel to it (in a very good way) - there are proper shops and not too much traffic. And I am absolutely fascinated by the Welsh language, which seems to be unique and unpronounceable. Whoever thought of stringing so many consonants together without the benefit of vowels? I think I shall do some research into the origins of Welsh, maybe even try to learn a few words. If I succeed, I’ll put a sentence or two up here, just for the benefit of my Welsh readers (and Rhydian too, of course…).