NON-FICTION
Calling for the good old daysPublished by Wales Arts Review in 2019 as part of their series of literary vignettes, providing glimpses into the thinking of Welsh writers and their experiences; from the day-to-day to the extraordinary.
In the teenage years before I started reading poetry, I probably would have called Pete Doherty a poet – in that way that Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan are called poets, the way that angered Gregory Corso. Calling a lyricist a ‘poet’ is a way that people attempt to legitimise their craft – as if writing songs is a lesser art. Read the rest of the vignette on the Wales Arts Review website |
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When Roger Freestone Played for WalesFirst read at 'The Blues Are on the Edge of Their Seats' – a Euro 2016 warm-up event held at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff on 9th June 2016.
The first Wales team I watched was lead by Bobby Gould, a man who looked like he would be more at home running a bar on the Costa Del Sol than managing the likes of Ryan Giggs and Gary Speed. Sometimes looks can be deceiving, but not in this case. Read more... |
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Remembering the Vetch Field – 10 Years OnIn 2015, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Swansea City's last season at the Vetch Field, I wrote a series of posts for The Swansea Way' , looking back at five significant games at the end of that historic final campaign.
This was it. The end of Swansea City’s 93-year stay on a former (and future) vegetable patch was in sight. We’d already had one significant ‘last’ – the extra time loss to Reading in a 3rd Round replay back in January being the ground’s final taste of the FA Cup – but this, the Vetch Field’s last game under floodlights, really did feel like the beginning of the end. Read more... |
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On the Monkey ParadeWritten in 2008, this piece on my home town was quoted in Nigel Jenkins' Real Swansea Two (Seren 2012)
"F**k off back to Monkey town and play with your nuts" spits the rotund Pontardawe Inn centre-forward, evidently displeased that we have managed to beat them for the first time in three seasons. For this unenlightened fellow, calling a Morristonian a 'Monkey' is obviously intended to cause offence, when in fact the opposite is true. Read more... |
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A Mis-Spent Hour in PoitiersWritten following a 2008 visit to a friend who was teaching English in France.
We fought the urge to small-talk, briefly comparing our inadequate grasp of the French language as our cab eased down the hill from the airport into the town. Walking toward the entrance of the train station, I throw up a thumb and shout "Cheers", but the half-hour we shared is barely acknowledged. I thought he would have at least offered his name as a parting gift. Read more... |
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