Read our interview with Matthew G. Rees here

Not to be confused with the recent, wildly acclaimed Welsh language horror movie of the same name ( Y Gwledd ), this is Matthew G. Rees' third published anthology of short stories. You will find reviews of his other works here The Keyhole and here Smoke House & Other Stories

We have expressed the opinion that Matthew G. Rees is a major new talent elsewhere and this new collection confirms our estimation. The Feast is a deliciously dark and frequently amusing collection that leaves one in no doubt that Rees is a writer at the top of his game and destined for popularity and acclaim.

In so far as this collection has a theme, the author outlines it in his brief introductory note:-

" This collection of stories created itself over the course of two years in which I found that I seemed to be writing short fiction that possessed a connective tissue ."

The nature of this 'connective tissue' becomes clearer when we consider the accompanying quotation from Shakespeare:-

" Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour. " William Shakespeare Richard II 

Indeed there is an element of - be careful what you wish for - in most of these tales. In 'The Twilight Maiden' we are introduced to Guiseppe Dellucci, an Italian restaurateur in search of a delicious legendary variety of tomato which only grows in the vicinity of the remote village of Collina Rossa. The atmosphere of suspense and thinly veiled threat are skilfully crafted until Guiseppe is finally inducted into the mystery of the fabled tomato plant.

These stories are set in a variety of locations and in 'Stone Cold' we meet Candice Canyons, an exotic dancer at The Southern Peaches Go-Go Club, somewhere in the American south. She dreams of a better life and opportunity presents itself in the form of Seymour Thrayle, an aged wealthy landowner who frequents the Club. His obsession with, and desire for, peach tarts leads to a  grim and humorous denouement.

In 'Fungal' the protagonist is distracted by a store front sign which reads:-

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Enquire within

Having nearly exhausted a fortune he had inherited from his family he decided that there would be no harm in inquiring. Needless to say his life is changed forever in the most unexpected of ways.

If you are not acquainted with the work of Matthew G' Rees this collection provides an excellent introduction. His tales have the capacity to simultaneously delight and disturb and always stay in your thoughts for some time after reading. The Feast by Matthew G' Rees is AmeriCymru's selection for Book of the Month January 2022.

In this collection of bizarre tales from the Welsh master of the absurd we are introduced to a Professor with a small class and an unusual subject matter. Rhys explains thusly:

There are few students in my class. When one considers what the subject is, this isn’t surprising. I teach myself.

In other words, I impart to my students facts and fancies based on my life and ideas. It’s the least popular class in the university and I doubt it will be funded for another term.

As a homework assignment the students are asked to write an essay in which they must try and imagine how the Professor spends his spare time. Needless to say he has told them nothing of his personal life.

The eighteen essays which follow offer an extraordinary and hilarious variety of imaginings, some of which are, worryingly, partially accurate. Is the Professor being spied upon? Who is the woman waving from the street below, and which of his students is prowling around on the roof presumably watching him? Of course you will have to read the book to a conclusion for answers to the above questions. 

Meanwhile the 'homework assignments' on offer here will delight Rhys Hughes fans. There is the strange case of Professor Spark who we meet walking the corridors of the university thinking about the meaning of life. His musings are of little interest because:

It could be the case he was about to make a major discovery in his field, to prove that viruses have knees or that aardvarks are descended from dragons, who knows? I didn’t care much.

The situation quickly deteriorates, however, when Prof Spark returns from a local bookshop with a copy of 'The Pop-Up Book of Fire'. The consequences of his purchase are at once, tragic, absurd and hilarious.

Then there is the tale of Miss Diane Ra who loves labyrinths. The problem is that clothes have a habit of unravelling whenever she is accompanied on a walk through town. And who is the madman who prowls the city streets with the strongest lamp he can find looking for darkness?

Towards the end of the book the Professor is advised by one of his students:

You have taught yourself. Now teach others.

Is this further foreshadowing of Rhys Hughes forthcoming emphasis on non-fiction and essay writing?Readers may remember the following announcement in Weirdly Out West :

I will switch to non-fiction and start writing essays and articles. In fact I began last year to take my non-fiction much more seriously and I am hoping that my first book of essays will be out in the next year or two.

Whatever the truth of that, 'Students of Myself' is another triumph from the pen of Rhys Hughes and will delight both fans and new readers alike. If you are not familiar with Rhys's work this would be as good a place to start as any. If you are, you will need no further recommendation or encouragement. 

Gêm Fwrdd sy’n ail Fyw Rhyfel Glyndŵr Dros Annibyniaeth

Mae’r Lolfa newydd ryddhau gêm fwrdd newydd Gymraeg sy’n ail-fyw gwrthryfel Owain Glyndŵr rhwng 1400-1405. Mae bwrdd y gêm wedi ei seilio ar fap o Gymru’r cyfnod ac yn cynnwys lleoliadau’r cestyll a’r brwydrau. Mae’r holl ddarnau a’r cardiau wedi eu creu yn bwrpasol i roi naws ac ymdeimlad cryf o’r canol oesoedd ac i gynnig profiad i’r rhai sy'n chwarae. Dyma’r gêm Gymraeg wreiddiol gyntaf i gael ei chyhoeddi ers blynyddoedd maith

Mae ar werth yn awr yn y Siopau Llyfrau Cymraeg am £25 a  www.ylolfa.com  am £30 yn cynnwys cludiant.

Yn ôl Geraint Thomas dyfeisydd y gem...

“Mae’r gêm yn wledd i’r llygaid, yn syml i’w chwarae ond hefyd gyda digon o elfennau amrywiol i’w wneud yn gyffrous. Bydd hefyd yn rhoi cyfle i bobl ddysgu am wrthryfel Glyndŵr ac i ail-fyw’r hanes mewn modd hwyliog. Gobeithio y bydd yn tanio’r dychymyg ac yn ysgogi pobl i ddarllen rhagor am Owain Glyndŵr a hanes Cymru.”

A New Welsh Board Game to Relive Glyndŵr’s Independence Rebellion

Y Lolfa have just released a new Welsh board game which relives the rebellion of Welsh national hero Owain Glyndŵr. According to the publishers this is the first original Welsh board game for almost 50 years. The game board is based on a map of Wales at the turn of the 15 ^th  century with drawings of the disputed castles and battles. All the pieces and cards have been purposely created to give a strong feel of the Middle Ages and to offer a genuine experience to those who play

It is available in Welsh Book Shops for £25 and  www.ylolfa.com  for £30 (p&p inc)

(Welsh game with bilingual instructions)

From the end of the First World War in November 1918 until the fall of the last Liberal-led government in October 1922, Margaret Lloyd George, wife of David Lloyd George, “the Man who Won the War”, pursued an unprecedented series of political campaigns between all compass points of England and Wales. It was unprecedented for a “First Lady” to campaign on the political hustings, except in their husband’s own constituency. By and large, it has never been repeated in this manner.

The Campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George ,  published on 24 ^th  October 2022 (almost a century to the day after Lloyd George’s departure from 10 Downing Street at the hands of a vote at the now-labelled “1922 Committee”), tells this unique story in the words of Margaret Lloyd George herself, and in the words of the press that followed her tours. Dr J. Graham Jones, Director Emeritus of the Welsh Political Archive at the National Library of Wales, writes in his Foreword, “ The authentic voice of Dame Margaret Lloyd George comes through loud and clear.”

The book draws on an unpublished treasure trove of speeches, notes and correspondence, in her hand and in the hand of her private secretary, the Rev. J. T. Rhys (grandfather of the book’s author, Richard Rhys O’Brien), and others. The political campaigning began with her whirlwind two weeks during the controversial December 1918 general election, on one Saturday travelling 95 miles across South Wales, seeing 20,000 people, addressing 10 meetings – four in the open air – speaking in English and Welsh-  in four different constituencies.

Over the next four years she campaigned in as many by-elections as was practicable. For example, in 1919 she addressed large crowds in Plymouth on the eve of the election of Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. In February 1921 her campaigning tipped the scales in favour of Lloyd George’s Liberal candidate against the Asquithian Liberal in the Cardiganshire by-election, an election that widened the rift in the Liberal Party. In July 1922 she swept through the South West, from Bristol to Redruth, returning to Downing Street to petition her husband on behalf of the Cornish tin miners.

This was a time of seismic shifts in British politics, as the Liberals feuded and as the Labour Party edged towards their eventual first government in 1924.

The time was right for her interventions: in 1918 women for the first time had gained the vote. Furthermore, her husband, as soon as the November 1918 Armistice was signed, was plunged into negotiating the peace, culminating in the controversial Versailles Treaty in July 1919. Thereon he was focused on rebuilding the country, build “homes for heroes” and dealing with increasing industrial strife as the economy slowly recovered. His wife took his message around the country.

Alongside her political activities Mrs Lloyd George continued her humanitarian campaigns, for education, for women’s rights, for temperance, for new hospitals for the war casualties, for pensions for the soldiers and sailors, all following on from her wartime campaigns for the troops, for which she was made a Dame in 1920. Known thereon as Dame Margaret, she nonetheless generally preferred the simpler ‘Mrs Lloyd George’.

Aside from the good fortune of inheriting such a valuable archive, Richard has been inspired to write this story to restore the public reputation of Margaret Lloyd George, so strong a century ago, which has been largely forgotten, many merely remembering a little Welsh woman who preferred to be at home in Cricieth, North Wales and who, it is often erroneously stated, took little interest in national politics. Perhaps for good reason, no spouse of a Prime Minister has conducted such open political campaigning since the pioneering Mrs Lloyd George, though some have worked hard in the background. In his introduction Richard writes:  “The role of a Prime Minister’s partner is undefined, in theory allowing each holder of the office to fashion it at will - but minefields as well as opportunities abound. Mrs Lloyd George seized the opportunities and avoided the minefields with great skill, and while she only too often exhausted herself, she never over-reached.”

After the fall of Lloyd George from power a century ago Mrs Lloyd George continued her humanitarian work, as well as helping both her son Gwilym and her daughter Megan (the first Welsh woman at Westminster) to join their father on the back benches of the House of Commons. She died on 20th January 1941, at home in Cricieth, after a fall and subsequent illness.

The book closes with the generous comment made in 1922 by an otherwise opposing Asquithian Liberal:  “Dame Margaret is so obviously what we may all desire to be, a real good woman doing her utmost to tread worthily the path in which the fates have placed her.”

The Campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George  by Richard Rhys O'Brien is published by  Y Lolfa , on the 24th October, price £14.99.

From Advance reviews:

“we can now understand rather better the remarkable work and words of this indefatigable woman whose influence has previously been underplayed.”  Angela V. John,  President of Llafur, the Welsh People’s History Society

“An important contribution to Welsh History as well as to the story of party politics in general after the First World War.”  Kenneth O. Morgan , House of Lords

… a meticulous and valuable contribution to our understanding of the admirable Margaret Lloyd George.”   Ffion Hague , Biographer of Margaret Lloyd George in  The Pain and the Privilege .

“Finally, a serious study of the life and work of this remarkable woman… bringing her bright, shrewd personality to light.”  Huw Edwards , journalist and broadcaster

At 7.30 pm Thursday 27th October, Richard will address the Friends of the Lloyd George Museum, Llanystumdwy, near Cricieth, on the story of this remarkable woman.

Richard is a former international economist, scenario planner and strategist, author of  Global Financial Integration: the End of Geography , (cited as “one of two iconic books on globalisation” by Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable ), editor of more than a dozen books, former council member of Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs), and currently a member of the Advisory Board of  The Annual Register  on World Events. In addition to releasing six albums of his own songs, his online study  www.TheDinnerPuzzle.com  focuses on Lady Margaret Rhondda and the pioneering women of the 1930s.

Back in 2014 many were shocked when it was reported that the priceless religious artefact known as the Nanteos Cup had been stolen from its owner’s home in Herefordshire.

The Nanteos Cup is an ancient wooden bowl which for many years was kept at the Mid Wales mansion called Nanteos, whence the vessel derived its name. It is believed to have originated from the medieval Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida.

In 2015 the Cup was recovered by police and in 2016 it was given a new home in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth where it remains on permanent display.

Many traditions and legends grew around the Cup including the belief that it had healing powers and was made from the wood of the True Cross or may even have been the Holy Grail used by Christ at the Last Supper and may have come from Glastonbury.

Now three authors have written the first dedicated, in-depth history of the Nanteos Cup, chronicling its history from medieval times to the present day. A treasure trove of previously unknown information has been uncovered which goes a long way to identifying, for the first time, the origins and history of the relic. The book examines the way in which the stories and practices around the Cup have evolved over the years and introduces the many colourful characters who have been drawn to the vessel.

The Nanteos Grail is written by John Matthews, Ian Pegler and Fred Stedman-Jones. John Matthews has been a writer for more than 40 years on myth, folklore and ancient traditions. He was awarded a BAFTA for his work as an historical advisor on the movie King Arthur (2004) and his book Pirates (Carlton/Athenaeum) was a number one New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks in 2005. Ian Pegler is a regular reader at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth and has researched Welsh history and legends for many years. Fred Stedman-Jones was chairman of the Pendragon Society and an acknowledged expert on the Nanteos Cup; he was the consultant behind the scenes for a number of documentaries on the Holy Grail which he researched for over 30 years.

The Nanteos Grail was published in March 2022 by Amberley and is widely available from online sellers.

The Nanteos Grail on Wikipedia

Buy 'The Nanteos Grail' here

Ddydd Sadwrn yma bydd y cofiant cyntaf llawn i Dic Penderyn yn cael ei lansio. Gellir prynu Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr gan Sally Roberts Jones yn www.ylolfa.com  ac mewn siopau llyfrau am £9.99. Dilynwch y ddolen  yma  am wybodaeth lawn.

This Saturday the first full biography of Dic Penderyn will be launched. Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr, by Sally Roberts Jones is available in bookshops and  www.ylolfa.com  for £9.99. Follow this  link  for more details.

Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr  will be launched at 10:30am on Saturday, 30 ^th  July at Aberafan Library (1 ^st  Floor, Aberafan Shopping Centre, Port Talbot, SA13 1PB). The event is free but spaces are limited, so booking is required. Please contact the Library (01639 763490).

The free concert will be held at the Grand Hotel, Port Talbot, starting at 7pm on Saturday, 30 ^th  July. Excerpts from  Iniquity / Camwedd  and a performance by singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph. There will also be a book signing with Sally Roberts Jones. To ensure a seat, contact Eirwen Hopkins:  eirwenhopkins@aol.com  / 07873 985527.

REVIEW HERE

    Wales on This Day

   Huw Rees and Sian Kilcoyne

   20 October 2022

   Hardback, £12.99, 200 pages

   ISBN: 9781915279118, Calon

 



Did you know that the recipe of Tennessee's famous Jack Daniel's whiskey is rumoured to have originated in Llanelli?  

Or that the world's first radio play was set in a Welsh coal mine?  

Why was a showing of the Jurassic Park film in Carmarthen so special?  

And how is Rupert Bear connected to Snowdonia?  

Delve in to discover the stories that most history books leave out.

A fun collection of fascinating stories, facts and figures from the small country that definitely punches above its weight.   Wales on This Day  is a joyful insight into Wales’s national history, the major events and people that have made it the country it is today.  

Huw Rees and Sian Kilcoyne  run 'The History of Wales' Facebook page, now with over 170,000 followers. They are a brother and sister team, dedicated to improving their  knowledge of their country and sharing it with a wider audience.  Their aim is to provide objective and (hopefully!) interesting information, to help them and their readers better understand who we are as a nation, highlighting major past events, items of interest and the famous Welsh people that have shaped us into what we are today. Huw is a Welsh expat living in Wexford, Ireland. Sian lives in Caerphilly, Wales

https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfWales/

Wales is known for its stunning scenery and beautiful coastline. Created from several existing coastal paths – such as the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail – the Wales Coast Path has attracted thousands of tourists and walkers since its official launch in May 2012. This week sees the publication of  Weatherman Walking – The Welsh Coast , the book accompanying BBC Wales’ beloved weatherman Derek Brockway’s twelfth series of the popular BBC programme. Originally broadcast on BBC Wales, all eight episodes of the series are now being shown on the BBC and are available on BBC iPlayer.  

Wales is the first country in the world to have a continuous footpath stretching along its entire coastline – 870 miles or 1,400 km long.  Weatherman Walking: The Welsh Coast  contains 15 guided walks along the Wales Coast Path, each between 4 and 8 miles. They cover a good geographical spread of the coastal path around Wales, with walks in Pembrokeshire, the Llŷn Peninsula, Anglesey, Gower, Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Denbighshire and Ceredigion. [Full list of walks to be found below].  

“I am so lucky to present a programme like  Weatherman Walking . Not only do I visit many beautiful places but I also get to meet and work with lots of wonderful and talented people! Wales is such as beautiful country and each area has something unique to offer – from the light of Anglesey to the spectacular Pembrokeshire coastline, each section is full of history, myths and the wildlife. I hope you enjoy the book and the walks featured!” said Derek Brockway.  

“This is the first time I have worked with ‘Derek the Weather’ and it’s been an absolute joy. His passion for Wales and walking has been infectious, and it’s been wonderful to see the great affection the Welsh public has for him,” says Julia Foot, the Series Producer of  Weatherman  Walking: The Welsh Coast  for BBC Wales. “I have personally walked every one of the walks in this book, often with locals or path rangers who have given me a real understanding of the particular identity of that section of Coast Path, including the wildlife, history and secrets they hold. These people have helped bring the various coastal stretches to life, so they are no longer just 2D sections of an OS maps.”    

Each walk has its own chapter and includes an OS route map and essential information for walkers as well as directions. Most walks can be paired, meaning that they can either be done separately or as one long continuous hike. Each chapter presents lots of interesting information about the landmarks that can be seen on each walk, as well as about unusual local activities or people that Derek came across in the related episode.

Derek Brockway

Derek Brockway was born in Barry, South Wales and has been passionately interested in the weather ever since he was a young boy. A qualified meteorologist, he was employed by the Met Office for 20 years and became the main weather forecaster for BBC Wales in 1997. He now presents a number of radio and television programmes, including  Derek's Welsh Weather  and  Weatherman Walking . His leisure activities include walking, squash, skiing and leaning Welsh.

Julia Foot

Julia Foot has worked for the BBC for over 20 years as a researcher, Assistant Producer, Director and now Series Producer, and on a whole range of programmes, including with Ray Mears,  DIY SOS , and for Comic Relief. In 2018 Julia was nominated for a BAFTA for an  Antiques Roadshow  special that she produced about the Holocaust.  

List of walks

Where the walks are paired, they can be done together as one longer walk if preferred.  

Abereiddy to Whitesands (Pembrokeshire)

Abersoch to Llanbedrog (Llŷn Peninsula)

Llanbedrog to Pwllheli (Llŷn Peninsula)

Beaumaris to Trwyn Du (Anglesey)

Trwyn Du to Red Wharf Bay (Anglesey)

Fall Bay to Port Eynon (Gower)

Port Eynon to Oxwich Bay (Gower)

Porthcawl to Merthyr Mawr (Glamorgan Heritage Coast)

Merthyr Mawr to Southerndown (Glamorgan Heritage Coast)

Saundersfoot to Amroth (Pembrokeshire)

Amroth to Pendine Sands (Pembrokeshire/Carmarthenshire)

Talacre to Prestatyn (Flintshire/Denbighshire)

Prestatyn to Rhyl (Denbighshire)

Ynyslas to Borth (Ceredigion)

Borth to Aberystwyth (Ceredigion)

I have often been exasperated by the way booksellers classify my books. They tend to work to set parameters and the Reso can easily fit into several categories, so in some book listings it appears as fiction, young adult, in others as general fiction. I've even seen it in a section on social issues, young people!

In truth, all of these are technically correct. Others would be equally appropriate such as : fiction: Wales, fiction: historical (it is disconcerting to realise that what appears to you as your short life to date, is now generally considered as an historical timespan!) fiction:the sixties.

Unfortunately the way a book is classified can also have an impact on sales because readers tend to concentrate on the sections they know and will never find books in other sections, unless by recommendations. This is what makes recommendations so powerful and valuable. Thank you so much to all those people who took the trouble to write something on a website about how they enjoyed the books, it is biggest compliment you can pay to an author and keeps me positive and writing.

A back handed compliment which really frustrates me is the reader who tells me that they enjoyed the book immensely, and that they have passed it round the family and everyone enjoyed it immensely as well! I'm not looking to make my fortune from writing, so few people do, but I would like some recompense for the hundreds of hours spent researching, writing, re-drafting and publishing the books. If you love a book, any book, try and encourage the author a little more by buying a couple of copies for birthday or Christmas presents.

Regarding making my fortune from writing, a few statistics will soon disabuse that notion. If you take all the fiction books published in the UK in a single year it amounts to almost a million. The average number of copies sold per book is 18! That means from JK Rowling, who sells millions, down to me who sells a few less, 18 is the number of copies that the average book sells.

There are few fortunes to be made in publishing your writing - so it is best to write because you enjoy doing so or because you think you have something important to say about humanity. I am in the first camp.

The top selling books tend to come from established writers with agents, big publishing houses and massive marketing budgets. There are also the best sellers from 'celebrities' ghost written for them to give them another income stream and promoted shamelessly on television chat shows. Not that I'm bitter!

For the rest of us, it is rather like the lottery... you have to be in it to win it, but the chance of making a living, let alone a fortune from writing, is very remote indeed. I console myself with the thought that when I die, something will live on beyond me and will consistently fail to provide an income stream for the beneficiaries of my Will.

Having originally gone through a publisher to have a professional endorsement of my writing, I made the decision to self-publish through a company called Lightning Source, part of the Ingram Group. This allowed me to cut costs and to take out the publisher from the trough. Even so, I receive about 1.40 in pounds sterling for every book I sell, the rest is accounted for from set up and production costs.

There is a line of reasoning that suggests you should set the book cost level as low as possible so as to maximise sales. 5 pounds is often seen as a critical price point for fiction books, which is why so many retail at 4.99. However, this assumes that you have a budget to promote your book so that it can compete in the crowded 4.99 market. I don't have a marketing budget. I am in the Catch 22 situation of knowing that to maximise book sales I need to market the book but I can't market the book until I have generated enough sales to justify a marketing budget, which I can't do until... round and round it goes!

That leaves this blog and sites such as Linked In on which to promote the books. The secret here is to segment the market by exploiting the different categories a book will appear in. My books are timebound to the sixties, the seventies and the eighties respectively so I would do well to find niche markets for such writing. Similarly my books have a Welsh setting and there are active Welsh communities overseas to which my writing is recounting their youth, or making a wider cultural connection.

In this context, no-one has been more helpful than Ceri Shaw and the team at Americymru and Eto magazine for bringing my work to a large expatriate community in the United States and Canada. The Welsh appear to be great networkers so that the Americymru connection has led to Australian, New Zealand and South African sales - just leaving the Patagonian market to crack!

There is support for Welsh writers in the form of bursaries and writing camps under the auspices of Literature Wales, but these, quite rightly, focus on writers writing in Wales and debut authors. I wish I had known that when starting out on my debut book!

For the most part this has been a dismal article of trials and tribulations, so I feel I muse end on a positive note. Nothing quite prepares you to have people share their memories with you and tell you that you brought back to life things half-remembered or forgotten.

My favourite reader comment was from a Principal of a Welsh primary school. He could not have pleased me more when he said, 'I see a lot of young Dylan Thomas in your writing.' I assumed he was referring to stylistic qualities and not plagiarism!

Hi all, Beryl Richards here.. As you know I live in South Wales, in the heavily industrialised town of Port Talbot. I have long been interested in Welsh history, but the early Bronze and Iron age, I sort of dismissed as being a 'long way off' and probably not relevant to me or where I live. I had seen pictures of iron a forts or enclosures but in no way were they associated in my mind with smokey ol' Port Talbot. Which in a roundabout way brings me to the subject of my new novel which has a working title of 'The Mountain', and the thought process which led to writing it.

I picked up in a second hand bookstall a copy of a slim volume entitled “Antiquities of Margam Mountain” which immediately aroused my attention. It is written by a gentleman called Bill Howells and sponsored by the Llynfi Valley Historial Society. It is a very interesting book illustrated with some airial photos of the mountain and some taken by the author. There are illustrations of prehistoric tracks burial mounds ancient farms and forts all over the mountain. The realisation suddenly dawned on me that outside my own front door were the vestiges of an advanced urban society. Further research led me to another book written in the thirties by Cyril and Ailen Fox entitled “Forts and Farms of Margam Mountain' documenting the same information that Bill Howells so graphically highlighted with new technology.

A frail little book called Tir Iarll (The Earls Land) which I again found in a thrift store seems to have been published as a child's textbook on local customs also gave some account of the site of Margam Mountain, I wrote to the Glamorgan and Gwent Archaeological Trust on various statements in this book but some of it was discredited as Iolo Morgannwg's (a self styled Bard of Glamorgan) rantings. Apart from the old Ordnance Survey maps which confirm a lot of the evidence I have found for Iron age inhabitation on Margam, this is about the only written evidence I have been able to find on this subject. But the actual site speaks for itself.

There is no direct evidence of the Roman influence on Margam Mountain. The Glamorgan and Gwent Archaeological Society give no credence to this. As the site has not been excavated there is according to them no direct evidence that the Romans trod Margam Mountain. However other sources state that the Romans had a presence there and some indications of this can be found in the old place names such as Mynydd Ty Talwyn, and further west at Rhyd Blaen y Cwm. One of the locations is named Cwm Lladfa, Valley of the Slaughter where it is claimed that the last battle between the Romans and the Silurians was fought locally.

There is physical evidence of a Roman Fort at Neath (Nidum) and remnants of what is known as marching camps is strewn across the uplands. The Old Ordnance Survey Maps indicate some of these geographical features as scenes of battle fought between the local tribesmen and the Romans. As there is not yet archaeological evidence of any of this we can only wait until the whole mountain is excavated properly. Its all shrouded in Celtic mist!!!!

The Silurian tribes or familial groupings range from Eastern Wales down as far as Loughor in the West. A well organised rural/urban system stretched across these hills. It was thought by many early historians, that the iron age celts did not have the ability to build such a complex system of roads/tracks settlements on the mountain tops and the thinking was that they were Roman. But archaeological excavation has proven that these were Bronze/iron age sites built and engineered by the indigenous population, who also had codes of religion law making and customs particularly their own. The term 'forts' is a label for the many enclosures found scattered across the West Walian hills and also throughout the British Isles. Many of these enclosures were of obvious strategic importance and could also have been used as enclosures for cattle and people in times of strife.

Much emphasis was placed on the oral memory of history and of healing techniques by the Druids, who had a great influence over Celtic Society. They were priests, law givers, healers and were often used to negotiate in times of war between two or more rival clans. The Celts loved to fight and argue, today this takes place on the Rugby field. Celtic myth propagated by the Victorians portrays them as blood thirsty human sacrifice fiends. Human sacrifice,was practiced but to a much lesser degree than the popular celtic hocus pocus will have us believe. Although they used the innards sometimes of animals for divination (ugh!!!)

Celtic dress was flamboyant and colourful. Men would wear homespun trousers, a simple tunic and sometimes a cloak held by an ornamental pin, the more decorative indicated a higher social status. Women wore a long robe which was also homespun and dresses were secured with a sort of a celtic safety pin, very often beautifully decorated. They loved jewellery and ornaments. The ruling classes often wore huge intricately decorated gold torques and arm rings. They loved colour, bangles rings and much of what has been internationally excavated such as the golden cauldrons found at various locations place them in the realms of high art, and not the ignorant savage portrayed by the Romans. (Early racism??). Tribal chieftains and kings were often elected by the clan. Often there was a familial line from which they were elected.

There were many festivals held at the quarters of the year, which also acted as an agricultural calender were used to foretell the advent of winter, summer, autumn. Festivals such as midscummer and the advent of winter played a huge part not only in the gathering of crops but fertility rites, the drinking of wine of which they were very fond and the really spooky time when it was said that the veil between the dead and the living was the tiniest, today celebrated as Halloween.

The Silures were a tribe which lived in familial and village groupings in South Wales and fought off Roman occupation for some 25 years longer than in other parts of Britain. The Romans recognised them as worthy opponents. Their method of guerilla warfare locally continued until early medeavil times as was documented in the annals of Kenfig Castle, now covered by sand, but thats another story!

I am trying to answer the question of the underestimation of the Silurians. They seems to have had a quite sophisticated urban society with laws and customs which did not die easily with the onslaught of roman occupation. The remains on Margam Mountain which as I have mentioned contained the traditional enclosures or hill forts at strategic points along the hilltops, have not been archaeologically excavated but further east there are many sites which have yielded a definite identity, which did not seem to have been undermined by Romanisation. The end seems to have come unfortunately with the advent of Christianity when the Celtic identity was melded into what we now recognise as the Celtic Church with numerous monasteries, and hermitages being established along the South Wales coast and also inland.

I like to think that the spirit of the Celts remains in the gritty character of Port Talbot as it exists today. The realisation that such a society existed here has prompted me to write another novel which is a work in progress.

Every so often I get fascinated by something I read, or an aspect of local history of which I was not aware (which are many) prompted me to write a novel entitled 'Golconda' which is in part based on the facts about the early copper industry based in Castell Nedd (Neath) West Glamorgan. The story concerns a young American woman named Holly Darby who attempts to find her Welsh roots. I created a real stinker of a villain named Edward Hawksworth who seduced, cheated and plotted his way to achieve wealth. Holly and her friend (with benefits) trace the story from Castell to the states of her Welsh heritage. I have endeavoured to draw on a number of historical facts and blend them in to this story, in order for Holly to find closure in what can sometimes be quite a fast paced but rather sad story.