tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58202295640869251622012-02-16T06:58:30.022Zwww.artysmartyblog.com - arts news and views through Welsh eyesHuw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.comBlogger501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-22099406701282641122009-05-26T12:52:00.005+01:002009-05-26T13:14:18.805+01:00

'People wouldn't believe in me'Ruth Pardel statement at the Hay FestivalIt's got it all - sex, conspiracy, resignation and accusations of underhand tactics to win a top job in British public life.But this isn't politics, it's poetry.Ruth Padel has been explaining herself at the Hay Festival, just hours after it emerged that she'd resigned as Oxford Professor of Poetry and within days of taking up

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-24783208468962670272009-04-22T21:06:00.008+01:002009-04-22T21:16:16.848+01:00

Great news for one of this blog's first discoveries.Deborah Kay Davies's book Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful has made the longlist for the Wales Book of the Year 2009.It's a great success for Deborah's first collection of short stories. You can hear the interview I did with Deborah in October by clicking here.The shortlist of three titles will be announced at the Hay Festival on Monday 25

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-33329355284524809292009-04-20T19:51:00.004+01:002009-04-20T19:59:24.010+01:00

Tickets for the Hay Festival went on sale this morning.Sadly I won't be working there this year, so I won't be taking in every fun-filled day with a trusty pair of wellies and some organic soup.Instead I'll be relaxing in the stalls listening to Alan Bennet, Sandi Toksvig, Simon Jenkins and a few more besides on the few days I can pop up to the Gelli.'Hay Fever' really is a bug you can't get rid

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-24109037092683399122009-03-23T19:39:00.004Z2009-03-23T19:52:11.975Z

Today's Times reports the tragic news that Nick Hughes, the son of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, has killed himself.He was 47, and was an evolutionary ecologist in Alaska.His suicide comes 46 years after his mother gassed herself. In a further twist, today marks exactly 40 years since Ted Hughes' lover Assia Wevill (for whom he left Plath) also gassed herself.For one loosely connected family to

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-58321772167076796452009-03-09T23:55:00.004Z2009-03-10T00:12:42.936Z

Manon has been a hedonistic success for the Royal Ballet.It oozes Parisian romance, delights with both sensuous and comic pas de deux, and exudes echoes of the doomed loves of Giselle and Romeo and Juliet. Apparently.I say 'apparently' because I have yet to see it, but over the next six weeks I am faced with a curious choice of how I eventually settle down to watch it.Cinema chain Cineworld are

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-19265552033717568752009-03-08T22:30:00.000Z2009-03-08T22:31:05.046Z

Black Watch has won four awards at tonight's Oliviers. The National Theatre of Scotland brought the play to south Wales (to a leisure centre in Ebbw Vale), before it transferred to London's Barbican. It's a highly physical, intense production that follows the Scottish regiment from Fife to Iraq. It's based on interviews with ex-servicemen. The awards it won tonight: Best New Play Gregory

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-64487567299002003942009-03-05T23:06:00.003Z2009-03-05T23:09:41.747Z

Sadly, Catrin Dafydd's Random Deaths and Custard hasn't won the Spread the Word poll to find the Book to Talk About 2009, despite a spirited effort to top the list.The winner was Natasha Mostert for her novel Season of the Witch, with 25% of the votes.A terrific achievement by Catrin to make the shortlist of 10, though. The competition received more than 8,000 online votes. Great publicity for a

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-71280851482132535052009-03-05T16:15:00.005Z2009-03-05T18:01:50.415Z

As a prelude to Wales' debut as the Featured Nation at this summer's Smithsonian Festival in Washington DC, a number of events are taking place Stateside at the moment.A selection of our best young writers - Catrin Dafydd, Owen Sheers, Eurig Salisbury, Fflur Dafydd and Tom Anderson - will be in DC next week for Academi's Washington Meets Wales event.As well as putting on public performances,

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-61249723365106683062009-03-05T11:16:00.002Z2009-03-05T11:26:12.798Z

A few of the names appearing at this year's Hay Festival have been announced.Jeremy Paxman's there to talk about the Victorians - he's got a book out on the back of his Sunday night series.Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will discuss his new book Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction. Tony Curtis presents his autobiography, Jacqueline Wilson will sell out to a tent full of

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-11200066832385732572009-02-27T13:49:00.003Z2009-02-27T13:58:37.213Z

Sadly, though I had tickets, I failed to make it to the WNO's new production of The Marriage of Figaro on Wednesday night at the Wales Millennium Centre.Not because of any clashing commitments, but because the traffic across Cardiff was unbearably gridlocked thanks to a football match. Despite allowing 30 minutes to make a 15 minute journey, we arrived in the Bay very, very late and decided not

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-9264921902732999332009-02-07T08:27:00.002Z2009-02-07T08:29:49.260Z

ITV Wales has rejected calls to keep signed headlines for deaf people on its flagship news programme.Last night was the last time that headlines on Wales Tonight were accompanied by an in-vision signer, after ITV announced that they would be dropping the service from their regional news programme in Wales.The decision has angered organisations representing deaf people, prompting four leading

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-30004023238223845472009-01-28T13:48:00.005Z2009-01-28T14:10:22.814Z

World-class opera returns to Cardiff next month, with the WNO's new production of The Marriage of Figaro launching the new season at the Wales Millennium Centre.Rebecca Evans plays the Countess, in a production filled with sumptuous new sets and costumes under the direction of Lluis Pasqual.Occasional readers will know that the WMC isn't the only venue in Cardiff where you can experience

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-27387151764653525092009-01-26T22:18:00.004Z2009-01-26T22:31:57.081Z

In a report worthy of a chapter in the Guiness Book of Stating the Bleeding Obvious, the Welsh assembly's audit committe has decided that:- the Wales Millennium Centre's funders did not know the risks they were taking when they invested- the assembly government's monitoring of the WMC's finances once it opened was "inadequate"However, it seems stating the obvious is what the assembly government

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-12937983614736292642009-01-18T18:56:00.002Z2009-01-18T18:58:53.726Z

Remembering a legend.Tony Hart1925 - 2009

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-39829153844098081042009-01-15T14:56:00.007Z2009-01-15T15:08:03.448Z

Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales, has written a poem to mark Barack Obama's inauguration as president of the United States.Clarke has revealed that she was at a Poetry Live event (more on those here) when news of the commission to write the work reached her. Consequently, her audience of school children get a mention in the poem!It was commissioned by Academi, and a copy has been sent

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-59618677938316356792009-01-13T17:51:00.003Z2009-01-13T17:52:55.699Z

What's in a name? Not much if you're Media Wales. The paint's hardly dry on the sign at Trinity Mirror's new headquarters in Cardiff since its operations here were rebranded earlier this year, but it's time for a name change.In a move which will see Media Wales managing director Keith Dyer leave the company after 24 years, along with Stuart Thomas who's head of finance, the south Wales department

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-27799336858168178042008-12-21T14:21:00.003Z2008-12-21T14:34:07.638Z

Rumours are rife that Ruth Jones, co-writer and star of BBC comedy series Gavin and Stacey, is being lined up for a regular slot on Radio 2.I understand her current radio programme, Sunday Brunch on BBC Radio Wales, is a pilot project to see whether Ruth is fit for a national BBC station.The most prominent gap in the schedules is Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot, which is vacant while he

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-80334030074626932722008-12-18T11:14:00.007Z2008-12-21T12:19:04.258Z

Welsh Art Now (WAN), the new visual arts magazine for Wales, is about to launch its second issue.Anyone in the publishing business will know what a milestone it can be for a new mag to make it past its first edition, so congratulations are certainly due to Martin Allman and his wife Jackie.WAN is run without public funding, and offers a friendly and approachable insight into the Welsh arts

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-51131581353137862422008-12-14T09:34:00.005Z2008-12-14T09:58:24.624Z

Pop into the Bute Space gallery on Bute Street in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday and Thursday this week, where 25% of their profits will be donated to Help a South Wales Child.The exhibition will feature literally 1,001 pieces of art, design and craft by over 200 artists and designers - there'll be something to suit every taste and budget.Doors are open 11am til 9pm on both days. If you click here you

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-465774547026156012008-12-14T09:14:00.010Z2008-12-14T09:24:50.522Z

Catrin Dafydd's novel Random Deaths and Custard has been nominated as one of the Books to Talk About 2009.The contest is organised by Spread the Word to try and give some selected books a bigger audience next year.Random Deaths is a great read - to cast your vote, click here and register (where you can also win £100 of book tokens).For more on Catrin, read what happened when Arty Smarty spent a

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-47727894227279081792008-11-26T15:21:00.006Z2008-11-26T15:37:32.255Z

:: CinemaSoundtrack Film FestivalThe international film festival is on in Cardiff from today (Nov 26) until Nov 29. Check their website for details of showings and events.:: ArtChristmas Show at the Martin Tinney GalleryCatch the Christmas Show from tomorrow (Nov 27) until Christmas Eve. Augustus John, Kyffin Williams and Peter Prendergast are among the artists.:: TheatreYr Ystafell Aros/The

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-65088468928769011852008-11-24T20:17:00.013Z2008-11-24T21:30:01.427Z

Heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones has called for the National Library of Wales to abandon its plans to shut on Saturdays.On Newyddion tonight (the BBC's Welsh language TV news), the policy was condemned by Mr Jones but defended by staff at the Library who are desperate to save cash.While there may be bigger financial fish to fry at the moment, Wales's arts scene has been notoriously underfunded

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-333739687825919452008-11-23T08:39:00.004Z2008-11-23T09:08:05.048Z

It's not quite up there with the Royal College's secret postcard sale, but Chapter - Cardiff's premier arts venue - has commissioned prints by some of our brightest young artists to help pay for the centre's redevelopment.For just £100 you can buy a limited edition by James Aldridge (currently showing at the Tate Modern). Works by Pete Fowler, Joanna Quinn and painting partnership Heather and

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-2586170882193869682008-11-20T13:27:00.005Z2008-11-20T13:53:05.368Z

Today's Western Mail drools over the man they've named 'the next Paul Potts'. For Adriano Graziani's sake, I hope they're wrong.If you haven't the inclination to read the piece, Graziani was in the audience at the Wales Millennium Centre last month when he was asked to fill the shoes of an unwell tenor.Graziani shows the promise of being a great tenor. Paul Potts promises to accelarate back into

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-17925278799976664782008-11-20T13:25:00.001Z2008-11-20T13:26:43.234Z

Tickets for the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa masterclass have now sold out.

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-44123887578037354742008-11-17T23:52:00.006Z2008-11-18T00:23:11.345Z

Operatic superstar Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has agreed to become President of the Cardiff International Academy of Voice.In a scoop for the Academy, which is part of Cardiff University, the New Zealander will host a week of master-classes for current students next month.But - what a treat! - one of the master-classes will be held in public, at a ticketed event at the Reardon Smith Theatre on December

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-84198586222338611512008-11-17T13:33:00.003Z2008-11-17T13:59:26.328Z

Wales has scooped the top spot at next year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C.It will be the 'Featured Nation' at the ten day expo across June and July 2009, showcasing the best of modern and traditional Welsh culture.The expo annually attracts around a million visitors, and provides a stage for American and international communities to exhibit their cultural heritage.No doubt we

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-20260644463954172502008-11-17T13:27:00.003Z2008-11-17T13:32:43.961Z

If you can't wait until next summer, a bitesize version of the Hay Festival takes place at the end of this month.The Hay Festival Winter Weekend ditches blustery marquees for the more sedate surroundings of the Hay-on-Wye Community Hall and the Swan Hotel.On the line up between November 28th - 30th are:Marcus BrigstockeLibby PurvesRosie BoycottBen CrystalMorriston Phoenix ChoirAnd many more -

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-3603539386651362262008-11-16T22:18:00.003Z2008-11-16T22:24:35.193Z

Cinnamon Press have issued a statement in response to the cancellation of Patrick Jones's poetry reading earlier this week.It's in two parts, with a rather bizarre introduction. Stick with it.Hat-tip to Peter Black for flagging up the video.As Peter points out, it's interesting that the formal statement in the second half of the video is read by an ordained minister!Let's hope this ends the

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-53174935348575133282008-11-15T19:20:00.007Z2008-11-15T19:44:40.203Z

A busy Friday evening took in trips to the Albany Gallery's private view of their Christmas exhibition, and also the Howard Gardens Gallery at UWIC's display of Welsh photography.Plenty on display at the Albany - so many works, in fact, that as soon as one was sold another would appear in its place in minutes.Works by Mike Jones and some smaller Donald McIntyres were particularly enchanting.It

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-88201550528278751172008-11-14T13:58:00.004Z2008-11-14T16:38:32.253Z

Patrick Jones has been handed a stage by Peter Black, the Lib Dem Assembly Member.Following the relgious bigotry which forced the cancellation of Patrick's reading on Wednesday, he'll now give a reading at the Assembly in Cardiff Bay on December the 11th.Peter Black states quite clearly that 'Stephen Green is not invited'.UPDATE: Details of other dates on Patrick's reading tour are on his website.

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-60902743844571980902008-11-13T14:39:00.006Z2008-11-13T14:57:23.444Z

The Sŵn festival returns to Cardiff this weekend, bringing some of the best new music to venues across the Welsh capital.Rhys Ifans' band The Peth (also featuring Guto from the Super Furries) will take to the stage at Tommy's Bar, Saturday at 10pm.Get the lowdown on who's playing where and when, by clicking here. Wristbands are £45 each and entry is first come, first served. Venues will also

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-66796766975306481542008-11-12T23:22:00.004Z2008-11-12T23:39:50.997Z

Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Patrick Jones's book launch at Waterstones in Cardiff this evening.Had I been there, I would have witnessed the suppression of free speech by the religious fundamentalists who call themselves Christian Voice.Their director, Stephen Green, is well known for his outspoken views on gay pride marches and opera. This evening, he and his rag-tag coalition of Luddites

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-48109301606540366472008-11-12T11:02:00.004Z2008-11-12T11:10:35.215Z

After Welsh cash funded the Dylan Thomas Prize on Monday, Irish cash has now been handed out - to new Welsh writers.Nia Wyn, whose Blue Sky July was on the Wales Book of the Year shortlist this year, has won 5,000 Euros in the non-fiction/biography category of the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for the same book.Allan Bush won the top prize in the fiction category for Last Bird Singing, also

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-53036399856911502492008-11-10T16:41:00.006Z2008-11-10T22:32:11.528Z

Tonight, all sixty grand's worth of the Dylan Thomas Prize is dished out at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea.Its success at nurturing new writing talent is perfectly enshrined in Rachel Trezise, the first DT Prize winner whose Dial M For Merthyr and Fresh Apples are now successfully established on the literary scene.There's a great interview with Rachel at Wales Online today.The shortlist tonight:

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-68913325504662477162008-11-09T15:30:00.007Z2008-11-09T15:42:31.607Z

Nomansland is an installation by Andrew Cooper at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.Using plastic poppies, wires and mirrors, Cooper has created a haunting and solemn work to commemorate Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.I popped in this afternoon and, from the outside, the installation looks like a tall wooden crate. But you have to get right inside (via a narrow opening) to suddenly find yourself

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-11987399310759005632008-11-09T07:57:00.006Z2008-11-09T08:50:16.790Z

The Faustian turmoil of J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, is brilliantly portrayed in Doctor Atomic.Broadcast live from New York into 4,000 cinemas around the world last night, the John Adams opera was the first one I'd seen with popcorn and a Coke - and it was fantastic!There is a great plot summary online here.I'm no critic, but making a success of a libretto that pairs complex

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-79125135392697972932008-11-06T14:28:00.005Z2008-11-09T08:32:23.374Z

I've been secretly looking forward to this weekend for some time - the Met Opera finally comes to Wales.Sadly not in person, but in fantastic HD at Cineworld cinemas in Cardiff and Newport.On Saturday night you can catch Dr. Atomic. It sounds like a thrilling plot which revolves around the creation of the first A-bomb at the end of World War II.In a few weeks' time we're back on familiar

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-12626849917712381202008-10-30T15:05:00.006Z2008-10-30T16:04:56.870Z

The arts world is abuzz with relocations.Some of the nation's biggest movers and shakers are deciding to branch out, with the BBC's removal vans now not only heading to Salford, but to Cardiff too.The Royal Opera House are striding north from Covent Garden as well, and while I've been known to bang on about spreading opera to the masses in the past, I'm not going to enthuse too greatly about this

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-58472803469144807862008-10-23T21:33:00.007+01:002008-10-27T10:38:03.860Z

Deborah Kay Davies is already known on the Welsh literary scene for her poetic contributions to the likes of New Welsh Review, Planet and Agenda.But she has now thundered into short-stories with her debut collection, Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful (£8.99, Parthian).Sisterhood is the key tenet of Deborah's stories. Grace and Tamar draw on and fictionalise the experiences that Deborah had as

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-69718196505271787092008-10-21T15:35:00.004+01:002008-10-21T15:49:53.201+01:00

:: ArtTim Freeman, Liam O'Connor and Chris Holloway at BayArtTim, Liam and Chris are all based in Cardiff and have all graduated in the last five years.:: FilmI've Loved You So Long (12A) at ChapterIf Madonna's looking for another reinvention, she could probably take tips from this Franco-German collaboration. Chapter calls it 'a wonderful story about the strength of women and their ability to

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-15464728493284039182008-10-14T23:39:00.004+01:002008-10-14T23:59:14.515+01:00

Poetry Live came to Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff today, allowing scores of teenagers the chance to see Gillian Clarke, Dannie Abse, Carol Ann Duffy and plenty of other fantastic poets reading their work on stage.It's the first time the event's come to Wales - it's already proved a huge success with pupils (and teachers) in England.Poetry Live allows GCSE and A-level students to interact

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-37120957507658396882008-10-11T18:59:00.007+01:002008-10-15T19:43:45.167+01:00

...Catrin DafyddCatrin is a young author writing in English and Welsh.Her Welsh novel, Pili Pala, reached the long list for the Wales Book of the Year in 2007. Her first English novel, Random Deaths and Custard, was published by Gomer last November.What inspires you?People, people and people. Children inspire me too (yes, I know they are people too, but I find that they inspire me in a different

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-56954131615530551212008-10-08T19:25:00.005+01:002008-10-08T19:36:32.649+01:00

The irony seems to be lost on those at Cardiff Council who want to sell the capital's ancient books to fund a new and improved library service.I've kept an eye on this story since I spotted it in the Dinesydd last week, which is Cardiff's local Welsh language newsletter. Their correspondent is calling for an action group to be set up to try and stop the sale of what he believes are some of Wales'

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-65940518985583768112008-10-05T08:17:00.006+01:002008-10-07T14:00:34.616+01:00

:: ArtAnna Barratt - Another Side at ChapterWonderfully absurd, catch Anna's occasionally frightening work at Chapter in Cardiff from now until Nov 20.:: PhotographyAnthony Stokes exhibition at Porthcawl's Grand PavilionYour first chance to see the latest from Tony Stokes, an Englishman in the valleys whose work has attracted wide critical acclaim. From Oct 9.:: TheatreRomeo and Juliet at the New

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-65385422416341581902008-10-02T21:25:00.003+01:002008-10-02T21:54:03.911+01:00

The news that Wales Millennium Centre (no 'The' allowed, by order of the management*) was the victim of bad fiscal management is probably as great a development as the reports from Rome that the Pope prefers Catholocism and that members of the Ursidae family predominately defecate in the woods.There is little doubt that the establishmet of what must be Wales' dominant arts venue was plagued with

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-51456101538913282872008-09-28T07:46:00.007+01:002008-09-28T08:07:18.517+01:00

Donald McIntyre at the Albany GalleryHe is to rugged shores what Kyffin Williams is to Gwynedd hill farmers. Donald McIntyre has returned to Cardiff's Albany Gallery for his last one-man exhibition.At 85, it's hardly surprising that this Scotsman's decided to slow things down, but fans of his wild beaches and Welsh cottages won't be disappointed by the familiar themes of his latest set of

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-10316624367875898432008-09-23T17:47:00.004+01:002008-09-23T18:22:54.725+01:00

Publicly funded theatres in England are going to dish out free tickets to 18-26 year olds.While schemes exist in Wales to attract young people to performances (like the New Theatre's student stand-by tickets in Cardiff), there is an institutionalised lethargic opposition towards setting up any scheme here which would offer free or heavily discounted tickets for entire seasons to anyone other than

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-82441346504218280652008-09-23T17:34:00.005+01:002008-09-23T17:42:59.918+01:00

:: TheatreDeep Cut at the ShermanCatch this critically acclaimed production before its Cardiff run ends on Sept 27th.:: CinemaTropic Thunder Ben Stiller and Steve Coogan attempt something resembling Hollywood postmodernity.:: OperaOtello at the Wales Millennium CentreWelsh National Opera's superb start to their 08/09 season.

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820229564086925162.post-47571089066761153222008-09-22T22:43:00.013+01:002008-09-22T23:16:33.119+01:00

In a nation obsessed by class, there is a common perception among those who assume that they perch nearer the upper rungs of the social ladder that those who lurk towards the bottom would like to sample the high-life too.This philosophy probably lies behind the Royal Opera House's shoe-in with The Sun.A week or two ago I saw Don Giovanni in Covent Garden, courtesy of Britain's favourite tabloid.

Huw Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029904043533689272noreply@blogger.com1