In The Words Of

Dear Readers,

With much sadness, I inform you that my Dad died on the 6th January 2022. It was the day after his 78th Birthday. I was with him to the very end. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see a hard copy of last month’s magazine, but I told him about it. I knew he was listening.

If ever a distraction was needed for me, it is that I treated myself to an X-Box Series X and a big new TV in a den we have created in our home. That’s the big kid in me still. I can say that apart from writing, interviewing, swimming, the dogs and horses, not forgetting the humans! I have had plenty to keep me busy and learn to fly a plane via the X-Box plane simulator.

For a bit of a side-track, I need to mention that Welsh Labour leader - not by name - who I’d like to say one thing to: “Where is the evidence?”. So, I shall leave it at that.

by Carl Marsh

good enough to tempt me from my Bundaberg? That is a tough call. Can’t I just like and have them both?

INTERVIEWS

I have two people for you this month. One is a chap called Jason Fox; you might know him from his shouting, and beasting [military slang for impolitely motivating recruits in training (Hahaha)] on the Channel Four show SAS Who Dares Wins. Jason is appearing at St David’s Hall on the 28th February 2022. So, if like me, you have served in the military or even if you have not, I’d (still) go to this event hearing on how Jason coped with the ups and downs of life in the Armed Forces.

Llandaff Cathedral is a gorgeous setting, and on Saturday 12th March, Aled Jones and Friends finally get the go-ahead after two cancellations due to the “you-know-what”. One of those friends appearing with Aled is Carly Paoli, and it is with whom I spoke about this performance. This lady can sing, and most probably any fans of Aled will know of her, but for those that don’t, she’s impressive.

REVIEWS

Kindly sent to me by Luscombe is their latest release, Passionate Ginger Beer. I am a ginormous fan of ginger beer (GB). However, only the good stuff, and not that cheap own-branded rubbish you can get from the supermarket or off-licence. One I imbibe whenever I can is Bundaberg which is imported from Australia. I compared both, and it’s like chalk and cheese. So different. The Passionate GB has a lot going on for it, with many flavours hitting the taste buds once you drink it. Bundaberg is just plain old GB but of the higher quality. Luscombe GB comprises a little bit of passion fruit (hence the name). I like it. Is it Have a good February, and fingers crossed normality may be upon us soon,

Carl Marsh Twitter - @InTheWordsOf_CM Facebook - @InTheWordsOf YouTube - InTheWordsOf

It’s not very often that you get to speak to someone who will be going around Wales singing with Aled Jones in cathedrals, but I did here. Carly Paoli is that person, and she got to tell me all about it.

Carl Marsh You must be excited to be performing in the most beautiful setting that is Llandaff Cathedral?

Carly Paoli I am really looking forward to coming to Cardiff and actually just being on tour, it’s exciting. And cathedrals, it’s such a gift for singers to be able to sing in to; the spaces are magnificent. And you don’t have to work very hard as a singer as the resonance does all the hard work for you. So they’re unique spaces to perform.

Carl Marsh Ah, so you’re saying that even I could do quite well in a cathedral? [Laughs]

Carly Paoli I’m sure you could!

Carl Marsh On the tour, are you going to be singing songs from your latest album, or will it be a mixture of what you have sung over the years? Carly Paoli Yeah, I think it will be a mixture, and I’ll probably keep it, you know, kind of uplifting (music) because the cathedrals are amazing spaces. And I think coming back to music and being back in front of a live audience is somewhat of a celebration. So between Aled (Jones) and I, there will be some duets, and I know that he’s got some beautiful songs, and I’ll be performing things off my new album and older albums. So yeah, I’m looking forward to putting the programme together.

Carl Marsh And also the duet (with Aled) that you’ve got on your latest album will hopefully make an appearance?

Carly Paoli I hope so… it’s one of my favourite moments on the new album that I share with him. So I think it would be very special to perform it to a live audience. Definitely.

Carl Marsh I’ll make sure that I put that in print so that Aled gets to see it.

Will this be your first time playing such unique venues in Wales?

Carly Paoli I’ve performed at St David’s Hall, an absolutely beautiful place. With this particular tour, it’s wonderful that it’s finally happening. But, of course, they had to postpone it initially because of the pandemic. So it’s really exciting to be knowing I’m going to be back out on the road, and in front of a UK audience as I’ve been doing quite a lot over the last year in Italy. Of course, they can depend on having beautiful weather to do outdoor concerts. But of course, here in the UK, we can’t always be dependent on that, and things have to happen indoors. So yeah, it should be a nice thing, and in the spring where we’ll be back out on the road and in some of the most beautiful cathedrals across the country.

Carly Paoli will be performing as part of the Aled Jones tour around Wales at Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday 12th March.

Having spent many years in the Royal Marines and then in the elite Special Boat Service (SBS), Jason Fox abseiled onto our TV screens via the Channel Four show, SAS Who Dares Wins. I have chatted to Jason in the past, but this is my first interview for Cardiff Times with him ahead of his first-ever UK tour.

Carl Marsh The tour, it’s finally happening! It’s billed as being a no holds barred talk, but we both know that by being in the Military, you also have some limitations on what you can say and can’t.

Jason Fox If I’m honest, it is no holds barred when it comes to my emotional journey through stuff. So like, I’ll talk about my childhood. I’ll talk about joining the Marines in that little segment, which is, you know, is what it is, and then the Special Forces bit is going to be (where) I can’t talk about certain things. But to be honest, the stuff you can’t talk about is boring anyway. And I’ll just be talking about alluding to certain situations. Yet, it’ll be more about how I felt in those situations, you know, starting off feeling indestructible and getting in amongst it, and then slowly to go through that journey of development as not only as a human but as a professional soldier, and how you become more aware of what’s going on and how not so indestructible you are but how you aredestructible. So, it’s going to be no holds barred concerning my openness about how I felt.

Carl Marsh What would you say was your biggest challenge when you left the Armed Forces? It took me a long time to switch from that controlling military environment.

Jason Fox I think it was a few years because I had to deal with the fact that I had been medically discharged for PTSD and mental health; that was like a bitter pill to try and swallow. Then at the same time, I was trying to adjust to, like, not being in that cocoon of military life. And I’d like always say that I’m not institutionalised and that I wasn’t mega Military, but I was. So dealing with that all happening at the same time and trying to understand what being a civilian was meant because I basically joined the Military at 16: so I’d been a kid, and then I’d been a soldier, and that was it. I’d never been taught how to deal with bills, tax and all that. Whenever there were issues at home, I could run away in the Military to bloody war zones and stuff like that, which is essentially what I was doing. And so I had nowhere to run, and it was, you know, I found it difficult. So it was a good few years before I realised that instead of trying to fit in, I just needed to be me.

Carl Marsh Are you super excited about the tour, or have the nerves started to set in?

Jason Fox

I’m excited. It’s been a long time coming to me, so I am excited. There’s obviously going to be the nerves, but I’ll be anxious because I want it to go well. I’ll be moving into the phase of getting it squared away in my head over the next few weeks anyway. So, yeah, I’m excited.

Jason Fox is at St David’s Hall on Monday 28th February in Cardiff. A few tickets remain.

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