CARDIFF TIMES
“Holocaust Memorial Day – Monday 27th January.”
by Wyn Evans
Although this column will appear in February 2025, I am writing it on Monday 27th January, which is Holocaust Memorial Day. World leaders, royalty and dignitaries are meeting at Auschwitz-Birkenau today to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation. The King is among those travelling to Poland to remember more than a million people murdered there - mostly Jews who were among around six million killed during the Holocaust by the Nazis.
“Between August 1939 and September 1941, over 70,000 mentally and physically disabled inmates of sanatoria and asylums in Germany and Austria were murdered after doctors certified them as ‘life unworthy of life’. The victims were transported to one of six clinics equipped with gas chambers where they were poisoned with carbon monoxide gas piped through false shower heads in mock bathrooms.¹” The programme was suspended once relatives and others protested and “instead, the personnel, expertise and technology of mass murder were transferred to the killing of Jews… The commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp experimented with lethal Zyklon-B (cyanide) gas ²”. The Girl, my daughter, has Down Syndrome and would have been included in the Nazis’ medicalised murder of the disabled under this ‘T4’ compulsory euthanasia programme.
In February 2015 I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death-camps on behalf of the Cardiff Times, at the invitation of the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET)’s Learning from Auschwitz (LFA) Project.
Ten years on, I want to address how it felt being at Auschwitz-Birkenau, drawing also on the reflections of those who survived the camps. But I hadn’t expected such a clear link between that dark past and The Girl’s present.
Of course, time rolls onwards, rarely learning from its mistakes and the past sixteen months has seen Hamas terrorists in Gaza take hostage, rape and murder over 1,200 men, women and children – because they are Jewish. In turn, this saw the Israel government bomb Gaza in an attempt to force Hamas to leave the field of conflict, one way or another. This weekend a ceasefire and return of prisoners and hostages was agreed. Heaven only knows how that will turn out but we live in hope for those concerned.
Let me begin at the end. I got home around midnight of what had been a long day’s travelling. The Boss welcomed me home with a hug and asked what it had been like. Then the tears came. All I could find the words to say was “vile vile vile”. I imagine that this would be the reaction of any thinking person of reasonable imagination and normal levels of empathy. At this place over 1.2 million people were robbed, degraded, and tortured, broken, gassed, and cremated. Primo Levi ³ writes that even “dawn came on us like a betrayer; it seemed as though the new sun rose as an ally of our enemies to assist in our destruction”.
A Polish woman was our official guide to the camp. Gently-spoken, she had been in the job eighteen years.
I noticed that she never once referred to ‘the Nazis’ only to ‘the Germans’. She told me of the large number of Poles put to death at this camp. “The Germans regarded us as untermenschen, sub-humans, who would be culled and those left put to work as slave labour”. Levi, again, noted that “to destroy a man is difficult…but you Germans have succeeded. Here we are, docile under your gaze; from our side you have nothing more to fear; no acts of violence, no words of defiance, not even a look of judgement”.
The Auschwitz complex was vast, including 48 sub-camps, and was the largest of the Nazi camps. Auschwitz I was a concentration camp used for political prisoners, prisoners of war, Roma, Sinti and Jews. It held around 15,000 inmates and had its own prison (Block 11), gas chamber and crematorium. It was here that Zyklon B was first used to kill significant numbers of people (600 Russian PoWs and 250 sick prisoners). Auschwitz II at Birkenau developed to become the main extermination centre and a slave labour camp, eventually expanded to hold up to 200,000 prisoners. Old farmhouses were used as gas chambers until four crematoria and gas chambers were established.
Entering Auschwitz 1 we walked beneath the sick joke inscribed above the gates: ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’, Work Makes You Free, where the process of destruction gathered momentum. “For the first time we became aware that our language lacks words to express this offence, the demolition of a man…; we had reached the bottom…Nothing belongs to us any more; they have taken away our clothes, our shoes, even our hair; if we speak they will not listen to us, and if they listen, they will not understand. They will even take away our name: and if we want to keep it, we will have to find ourselves the strength to do so…so that something of us, of us as we were, still remains” (Levi).
We saw the piles of shoes, of hair (literally tons of it – think of the numbers murdered, that hair could be weighed in tons), of artificial limbs, personal and household objects stripped from the prisoners. For a father of a little girl, these were of course upsetting. But what left the largest scar on my psyche was Block 11. Here were the mock-trial rooms (nobody was found not guilty). Outside was the Death Wall, where prisoners were shot often after being taunted with ‘jammed’ guns and in front of which parts of the 80th anniversary commemorations are being held. Next to this wall of death were torture posts wherepeople’s hands were tied behind them before being hauled up to hang from the wrists. Inside were cells where people were starved to death; or gassed; or crammed together four to a bricked space no bigger than a phone box all night long - if suffocation didn’t kill them then the full shift of work they were made to endure each subsequent day probably would.
I still cannot assimilate that in the middle of a death machine, the Nazis needed to find ways to make prisoners’ lives even more unbearable.
The scale and size of Birkenau is to this day staggering. The stables converted into barrack-rooms, poorly built and crammed-full, that inside were the same temperature as outside – whether that was the bitter cold of Polish winter or the sweltering heat and insect-filled furnace of its summer months. The cattle trucks used to transport Jewish families, whole communities, from all over Europe. The stinking, open, unplumbed toilet and washing complex. The railway lines: Auschwitz itself was chosen because of its accessibility to railway lines from across the continent; but these lines were built right into Birkenau itself, the better to speed people to the gas chambers. Elie Wiesel ⁴ remembered the eight fateful words that took his mother to the chambers “Men to the left! Women to the right! …I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and [sister] Tzipora forever. I went on walking. My father held onto my hand...”.
Kitty Hart-Moxon in ‘Return to Auschwitz’ ⁵ wrote this about disembarkation: “a dank chill caught at us. The whole area was shrouded in a clinging grey mist. But dawn was breaking. Or was it really the dawn? A reddish glow through the mist was flickering in the weirdest way and there was a sickly, fatty, cloying smell. Mother and I glanced at each other, baffled. Who could be roasting meat, great quantities of it, at this hour of the morning” ⁴
11th February 2015 was also a grey, dank, misty day. I thought that if ever I was going to see ghostly spirits it should be there and then, at that moment in that place. We were gathered at the literal ‘end of the line’ at the far side of Birkenau. A few short steps further on were the Holocaust Memorial with its flag in the colours of the “loose, striped, insect-ridden clothing” ⁶ that was the uniform of the prisoners. A few steps in another direction were the remains of the crematoria. As we all lit candles a Rabbi told us that the issue was not “where was god?” but “where was humanity?” and I thought that he was half-right at least. It was almost unbearably affecting when Rabbi Marcus led us in a rendition of Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd”) noting that we were surely standing in the cold heart of the valley of the shadow of death.
I came home and was reminded of books I had read written by survivors of that place, of those places; men and women who had seen the very worst things imaginable - in themselves and in others - and come through both that public hell and their own private inferno. Viktor Frankl ⁷, who wrote “everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. … In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning,
such as the meaning of a sacrifice. … When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”. Even in Auschwitz-Birkenau he found that “…humour, more than anything else in the human make-up, can…rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds”. Primo Levi found “that no human experience is without meaning or unworthy of analysis” and Frankl also felt that “man’s main concern is…to see a meaning in his life” and that even in such places “…one must want to survive, to tell the story, to bear witness… we still possess one power – the power to refuse our consent” (Levi).
Remembrance, bearing witness, finding meaning even amongst futility and death. And, most of all, holding on to love. Frankl writes: “I saw the truth, the Truth - that love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire…The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way – an honourable way – in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment”.
Reading this brought me back to The Girl and an article written some years ago by journalist Simon Barnes, whose son, Eddie, has Down Syndrome. After visiting Auschwitz it seems more relevant than ever. It is about our common humanity; about what links us together as people, whatever our faith, creed, or colour:
“What is Eddie for? …Nazis sent people with Down’s to the ovens, because they polluted the purity of the race. And… we should remember that most women pregnant with a baby with Down’s syndrome choose to abort. It’s clear that many people believe that a child with Down’s has no point… [And] shouldn’t an individual contribute something to society? Eddie’s function is to be loved, and to love in return. Perhaps that is everybody’s ultimate function. Eddie enriches the lives of his family and enriches the lives of those he comes into contact with outside. That seems to me to be a life right on the cutting edge of usefulness” ⁸
A study came out today stating that 52% of Gen Z think it would be a good thing for the UK to be ruled by a dictator ⁹. On this Holocaust Memorial Day, being confronted with where society ends up when dictators are given their head, one would hope that Gen Z would understand the total inappropriateness of their views about dictators.
1.David Cesarani, The Holocaust, Holocaust Educational Trust, 2010
2.David Cesarani, ibid
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primo_Levi (See his If This Is a Man (US: Survival in Auschwitz); & The Truce (US: The Reawakening))
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Wiesel#Bibliography (See his Night)
5.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Hart-Moxon
6.http://www.het.org.uk/index.php/survivors-gt (Gena Turgel; see I Light a Candle)
7.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl (See his Man’s Search for Meaning. An Introduction to Logotherapy, Beacon Press, Boston, MA, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8070-1427-1
8.http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/families/article2462614.ece
9.https://www.thetimes.com/uk/media/article/gen-z-doubts-about-democracy-laid-bare-in-worrying-survey-vsxx509n3
‘And Another Thing...’ The Real McCoy Or Is It?
I suspect most of us have used the phrase The Real McCoy from time to time, indicating that something is authentic. I looked up the origin of this phrase as unlike many of you, I did not know from whence it came. As usual, I am sorry I bothered. The phrase “The Real McCoy” is perhaps an American corruption of the Scottish phrase “The Real MacKay.” The phrase may have originated from a Scottish whisky brand called MacKay. In 1870, the distillers A and M Mackay of Glasgow used the slogan, “The Real McKay,” to advertise their whisky brand. Alternatively:
In 1871, a Canadian inventor named Elijah McCoy came up with a lubricating device for steam engine locomotives. The success of his invention inevitably spawned imitations, which may have led railroad purchasing agents to ask for “The Real McCoy.” Or:
McCoy was a Canadian whisky smuggler in the US Prohibition days. “The Real McCoy” was good Canadian whisky from his operations, not home distilled stuff, probably. Not forgetting ‘Star Trek’ actor DeForest Kelley, who played the real Dr McCoy in the series and Sylvester McCoy who played the
by Vince Nolan
real Dr……….Who. I am glad we cleared that up.
Once again, the Current Mrs Nolan and I recently found ourselves doing missionary work in England, Hereford to be precise. We had a rather good day out. We happened upon this shop which amused us.
Overheard in a recent visit to a local car dealership from a staff member to a customer: “Oh you’re back again.” I wish they had responded by saying “No, this is CGI mate, new Government initiative.”
I was in the local supermarket recently, I know living the dream, again. As I was loading the conveyor thing with our precious comestibles, a woman in the queue behind me started loading my conveyor long before I had finished and put my plastic checkout divider in place. I took her stuff off the machine and piled it at the end and told her in words of one syllable to wait until I had loaded the belt. She did not appear to be au fait with modern English so I tried some good old Anglo Saxon on her and suggested she find another till.
but eavesdrop on a group of middle-aged, my GCSE’s.” My how they laughed not medical blunder. God help them if they ever ribald comments. Unfortunately for them,
assembled intelligentsia claimed that former Welsh International Rugby player, Mike which all seemed to be legitimate targets. It offensive weapons. On the plus side, if I recently had some work done to Chateau Dad choosing some toys. This was within
Every week in the UK, 12 seemingly healthy young people lose their lives to undiagnosed heart conditions. These silent killers can strike without warning, leaving families devastated.
Calon Hearts wants to change this story. Through the heart screening programme, Calon Hearts is identifying life-changing and life-limiting cardiac conditions before they have the chance to claim lives. The charity’s work is helping to ensure that undiagnosed heart conditions are no longer a hidden threat.
“Heart screenings save lives,” says Sharon Owen, Director of Calon Hearts. “Our mission is simple. We want to reduce the number of people losing their lives to preventable cardiac conditions.”
The charity has already made significant progress, diagnosing numerous conditions that could have gone unnoticed.
The heart screening process is straightforward, non-invasive and most importantly life-saving. It involves a professional assessment that can uncover conditions such as arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies and other abnormalities that might otherwise remain hidden. For many, these screenings are the first step towards managing their heart health.
Raising awareness is key to preventing unnecessary loss of life. Calon Hearts actively engages with communities, schools and workplaces to promote the importance of regular heart screenings. By encouraging young people and their families to undergo these checks, the charity hopes to create a world where proactive heart health becomes the norm. This initiative is especially critical given that many of the conditions detected during screenings can be managed effectively with early intervention.
The charity’s mission extends beyond screenings. Through advocacy, education and collaboration with medical professionals, Calon Hearts aims to improve national policies around cardiac health.
Calon Hearts isn’t stopping there.
The charity is expanding its reach, offering screenings throughout the United Kingdom. Their goal is to ensure that no family has to endure the heartbreak of losing a loved one to an undetected condition.
To support this vital work, Calon Hearts relies on donations and partnerships with local businesses and organisations as they receive no government funding. These contributions allow the charity to heavily subsidise the cost of screenings, ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent access to this life-saving service. Every pound donated helps so much.
Fundraising is at the heart of what makes Calon Hearts’ work possible. During Heart Month in February, why not get involved and help make a difference? Whether it’s organising a bake sale, taking on a sponsored challenge, or hosting a quiz night, every effort helps save lives. You can download a free fundraising pack from their website, filled with ideas and resources to get you started.
Visit www.calonhearts.org to learn more.
Did you know that Calon Hearts offers free heart screenings for young people aged 16-25? This life-saving service is designed to catch potential cardiac conditions early, giving young people the chance to take charge of their heart health. If you are in this age group, or know someone who is, don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Screenings like these can be the difference between life and death, and Calon Hearts is proud to provide them free of charge.
Book a screening with Calon Hearts today. Call 02922 402670 or visit www.calonhearts.org.
In The Words Of by
Carl Marsh
February 2025
Wow! January seemed to go on for about six weeks or more! I am sure that’s why the following month is the shortest—to give us all hope that summer isn’t too far away. I hope your start to the year has been a good one, and long may it continue!
As mentioned last month, I have two interviews this month. The first is with Wales’ funniest, humble, down-to-earth and most admirable person who can sell out comedy events like no tomorrow: Rhod Gilbert. My other chat is with another comedian, Angela Barnes. I came across her whilst watching ‘Live at the Apollo’, and she made me laugh a lot, especially when she said that families used to turn up at peoples’ houses - that they know - uninvited; it was the done thing before the 1990s! It’s so relatable. Hahahaha.
TV Review - Beast Games - Prime
I do not watch any of MrBeast’s content on YouTube, but I do know who he is. I wouldn’t be good at my job if I didn’t! He’s very good at what he does, constantly pushing the boundaries with his content. As I mentioned, I don’t watch his content, but I do hear of his content via the outcome online.
With ‘Beast Games’, I was unsure even to watch it, thinking it would be for kids, but I was intrigued by all the adverts I was seeing on the net, and it being
top rated on Prime. I am so glad I got hooked. It starts pretty cringy with some sickly contestants being loud and talking about the friendship they’ve made in the first episode, which is all a bit too much at first. But then… the fun begins. It’s ruthless. Jimmy Donaldson [MrBeast] is like a cold-blooded killer of a host. And the amount of money on offer! The final winner can win $5 million, but along the way, some go up for an island worth under $2 million, and money amounts of $1 million that, well, you need to see the outcome!
Some online reviews talk about how it doesn’t make you warm to any contestants. Well, should we always do that? I don’t think so! This isn’t a sitcom. Let’s hope Prime give us another series.
Competition Time - Flight Club, Cardiff
My favourite social darts bar [Flight Club], which has a venue in Cardiff, turns 10 this year and kicks off the year-long celebrations with a seriously cool competition. And this is a competition I would love to win myself! ‘Flight Club’ is a huge success, and when I went last year, I had a fantastic time. Darts is fun. So, now, if you win this competition for you and THREE FRIENDS, you could end up playing darts in a choice of the following: Sydney, Chicago, Dublin or London. And let’s face it, unless you fear flying, the latter two won’t get much of a look-in if you win! All you need to do is enter via this link and come up with an idea for a darts game. There’s no need for any game design experience – just a fun idea for a game that groups of friends can enjoy together. Your entry should include the game title and a few short sentences outlining the aim of the game. Think, how do I play? How do I score? And how do I win?
This is an opportunity not to be missed.
All you need to do is head over to www.flightclubdarts. com/flightclub10/game7/
Enjoy February.
Carl Marsh
X - @InTheWordsOf_CM
YouTube - InTheWordsOf
Interview with Angela Barnes
Words by Carl Marsh
If you checked any of the top ten lists of hardestworking comedians, you’d find Angela Barnes on them. Since 2010, she’s been touring the UK and beyond, appearing on many TV panel shows along the way. Now she’s back in Wales, appearing at the Sherman Theatre on Friday, 14th March, with her new show: ‘Angst’.
Carl Marsh
I’ve been a fan of yours for quite a long time now, but I have to mention how much you made me laugh - and reminisce - about when you joked on ‘Live at the Apollo’ about when back in the 1980s folk would turn up at friends or family members homes unannounced, and it was very much the done thing!
Angela Barnes
Oh, my dad was terrible for that! We’d turn up at these poor people’s houses. You’d see their faces going, ‘Not now!’… and we invited ourselves in. Oh, God! [Laughs]
Carl Marsh
I’ve got a big family on my mum’s side, and we’d always do that every weekend…
Angela Barnes
You’d turn up! When ‘The Royle Family’ came out, people would say, ‘Oh, people aren’t like that, are they?’ Yeah! They are in my family. It’s precisely
what a working-class British family did! [Laughter]
Carl Marsh
The new tour is called ‘Angst.’ So tell me, is it all about fears and anxiety, but with a comedy twist?
Angela Barnes
Sure, it’s well… the show’s original title was ‘Torschlusspanik’, a German word that basically means ‘last minute panic’. And what it is, I’m 48, you know, pushing 50 now, and it’s that sort of feeling of existential dread in the middle of your life where you go, ‘Oh my god, time runs out eventually, and there’s stuff I meant to do, and I haven’t done it yet’, you know, that sort of genuine feeling. But I didn’t call it ‘Torschlusspanik’ because I thought, ‘How are people going to Google that if they have to spell it?’ So, I went with ‘Angst’ as it is more user-friendly. And it’s a sort of a funny look, I suppose, at ageing, mainly as I’m in an industry where people are obsessed with capturing their youth and staying young. And there is this part of me that always wants to do that, but you can’t, so it’s embracing that, and that kind of feeling of being stuck in the middle, of feeling like I’m 21 in my head, but a 21-year-old looking at me and going, ‘You’re not. Get over it’. So that’s sort of what it’s about, that sort of existential midlife angst. I think we have angst when we’re teenagers, and we have angst in our midlife, and that’s when it hits us. Angela Barnes: Angst is at the Sherman Theatre on Friday, 14th March 2025.
Interview with Rhod Gilbert
Words by Carl Marsh
After what seemed like the never-ending tour that was the ‘Book of John’, Rhod Gilbert is back with a new tour called ‘Rhod Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit’, and it’s over three consecutive nights at the Utilita Arena, Thursday to Saturday, 24/25/26th April 2025. I’d look for any tickets now that may still be left when you read this!
Carl Marsh
When you did your last tour, ‘The Book of John’, did you ever think, “I just can’t do any more of these” because you were doing so many of them as I think it was over 200 shows or something like that?
Rhod Gilbert
There were about 210 shows, but it was spread over a long time. I started - I did the bulk of them in 2019, then it stopped for the pandemic - and then I did a few more. Then there was more pandemic. And then I did a few more. Then there was cancer; then I did a few more. So it was, it was never-ending... It went on for four years. I finished it six months before starting this tour [Laughter]. I started previewing and doing works-in-progress for this tour the month after I finished ‘The Book of John’! So, there’s been no let-up apart from the pandemic and cancer. I’ve been on tour solidly for the last five years.
Carl Marsh
You must have been itching to get new material out there because, like you say, it was the never-ending tour that you were on.
Rhod Gilbert
It felt very good to put that to bed, that one, and to start something completely fresh, back to scratch in little pubs and clubs and theatres, very small ones, just to do some sort of work-in-progress and build something new. That was lovely. Yeah, it was really good.
Carl Marsh
So, with the title for your new tour, what’s the reason behind the name?
Rhod Gilbert
Well, it’s… It’s obviously based on ‘James and the Giant Peach’, and this is ‘Rhod, Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit’. And it’s basically a nod to the cancer, the tumour in my neck. So this is the humorous side. I mean, there are serious bits in the show, but it’s a comedy show. It’s a stand-up show, picking out all the funny stuff that happened during my cancer story, you know, during the cancer journey. So it’s, you know, quite dark. It’s got serious bits in it where I raise awareness of certain things and stuff. But broadly, it is hopefully as funny as anything I’ve ever done. And you know, it is meant to be a stand-up comedy show, proper laugh-out loud all the way through. But it just happens to be about cancer instead of mince pies, tog ratings or luggage! [Laughter]
Catch ‘Rhod Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit’ at Utilita Arena, 24/25/26th April 2025.
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CELTIC COUSINS
Part 2
Last month I touched on some similarities and differences between the Scots and Welsh particularly looking at speech, which of course changes constantly, as all languages ebb and flow according to needs, circumstances, wars, travel, media, economic needs, and countless other factors.
Both the Welsh and the Scots each have access to their own distinctive words and expressions. They share joy in the printed word, a love of learning and education, and an enduring respect for the past.
However, I have observed that still today in Wales there is no point in using one word when twenty will do. Also, the speaker repeats the same thing in another form, for emphasis, just in case the listener did not receive the information during the first transmission.
This is said by some scholars to be a “left over” from the early medieval period when Norman French was gradually replacing, merging, taking over (there you are I’m doing it now) from Saxon and early English. Or it may have been because the Welsh language and English were being used side by side in some areas.
by Sara John
In Wales information is frequently repeated in the same announcement but using more than one selection of words.
This goes part of the way to explain Valleys inhabitants having a worldwide reputation for voluble speech: speech that is musical, fluid, loquacious.
I have done it again, adding an extra, superfluous, supplementary sentence.
Many agricultural workers who moved to the newly industrialised areas in search of employment became first-generation migrants to the South Wales Valleys. This initial generation were monoglot Welsh speakers. The second generation were bilingual, while the third, my generation, were monoglot English speakers.
At school in the early 1960’s the O level choice was between French and Welsh. We were told in school French was the only choice to make if you wanted to “get on” in the world.
All this repetition in their speech, English spoken through the syntax of Welsh and a nice selection of adjectives in most sentences was an aid to clarifying
meaning.
In Wales, the present generation of children are enjoying an education with some compulsory Welsh lessons for all. In addition, if their parents wish, children with no knowledge of Welsh can attend playgroups and go on to Welsh Schools and have all their teaching entirely in the Welsh language, for all subjects, up to the age of 18.
These initiatives are now being followed in Scotland.
This weekend I read in the Sunday Times the headline, that in Scotland “Primary school success revives the future of Gaelic. An example of excellence we can build on. This year 400 pupils have joined the Primary One intake at Gaelic medium units, where higher levels of attainment have impressed parents”.
Although in my newly acquired Book, “Teach yourself Gaelic” the editor himself describes the language as a ‘Shadowy concept’.
This sense of Welshness (and in due course of Scottishness) through the use of the language, which is not considered The Queen’s English, is often quite a new thing for recent settlers from AWAY. This new-found confidence in celebrating equality as opposed to submission is frequently likened by anthropologists, to the pride found in other impoverished hill peoples, in various parts of the world – the Corsicans, the Sicilians, the Afghans, the Scots Highlanders and the Apache to mention just a few.
All of whom, it is said, like the Welsh, have a reputation for clannishness, deviousness and a love of violence and vendetta and only bear grudges for a short time – usually about a century. That’s just three generations. No, to be honest it’s more like a millennium.
In Welsh answers to questions will always be long winded.
Question: Do you want a cup of tea?
Answer: Oh yes please I’d love a cup of tea, nothing to eat mind, I had a good lunch, well, good for me, I often skip lunch altogether see, I always cook in the evening though but sometimes, if Geraint is working late, it’s goodness knows what time!
In contrast in Scotland, I overheard two men talking in a bookshop in Edinburgh obviously meeting up after a length of time.
Question: How’s your faither?
Answer: Still dead!
A recent brief advertisement in The Scotsman told a long story succinctly.
“Seeking Janet Macarthur, remember 1961? I think about you every day. It is time to get together. I need you now. My mother has died. Ring Tam. Box number.etc.etc.”
In Wales the local paper frequently published “short novels” under the heading of personal ads, such as the following.
“Dairy farmer in Clwyd seeks Angharad Jones last seen in Standard five around 1949, with an idea of getting back together and seeing more of each other and giving me a hand and helping me at Ty Gwyn more with the water buffalo than with anything else but perhaps a bit more as well, if she feels inclined to. My mother passed away two weeks ago, and she always said she was very sorry indeed about what she said about you to your Aunty Gladys and did not really mean it afterwards although she meant it at the time. OH, and have you still got that tractor at Pen Du? If so, please get in touch and send a picture of the tractor. PS I have lost all my hair what with one thing and another, but my mother bought a small wig for me to wear on Sundays to Calfaria Chapel. Ieuan says she’d got it from Allied carpets. It was in the sale.”
In Gaelic there is no word for bath.
In Welsh there is no word for Confidential.
In fact, in Wales confidential means you can tell one other person. There are no secrets in Wales. Everyone is related through kin, birthplace, marriage, chapel, workplace, university, college, street or village, choir, football, rugby, evening classes. Layers and layers of networks. Information is the only currency that matters. Information needs a germ of truth but not too much, give away no names but plenty of clues. Preface your story with, “you will never believe, or you will never guess”.
It is generally accepted that personal affairs, private information, condition of your health, state of one’s marriage (or anybody else’s), decisions about size of family and so on should be in the public domain, and everyone else should have a point of view on each topic.
Professional expertise does not come in to it.
In Wales a Granny at a bus stop will raise the question of which position best suited Hook. (now retired rugby international rugby player). There is a great deal of vocal expertise on all topics. It is the land where the expression “He is a real know it all, he is” is regarded as quite an accolade.
In Scotland the TRUTH and HONESTY are very and much more important than gossip.
Scots are still discomfited by there being four gospels with three of them telling different versions of the same story.
In Wales the truth is more of a kaleidoscope of opinion, an overture to an opera introducing disparate themes, shadows at dusk in a walk in the forest. The Welsh were relieved to hear about the copy of St Thomas’ Gospel being found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are never just three versions in Wales - of any story.
Lloyd George accused of telling fibs to the House replied what he had said “had been true at the time”. The Welsh are disappointed about there being so few versions of the truth. In Scotland truth and godliness go together. They tell it like it is and if that offends then too bad.
How can a Scotsman always be in somebody’s face without having permanently black eyes?
My theory on this one and a possible excuse for the Welsh being accused of being two-faced and less than straightforward and truthful is that since the thirteenth century the Welsh have survived in a land with a very long border – a border almost impossible to defend - under the unwanted and often sneering domination of their neighbour. Trimming away at the truth to ensure it is acceptable is all about surviving.
Wales had to live with its powerful oppressor for much longer than its cousin. Whereas in Scotland the border was more easily defended, and the 1707 Act of Union was, at least in theory, a coming together of two nations in an equal partnership.
I frequently feared that my dear Scottish Husband would find himself in trouble in Wales for being too outspoken. The worst thing that happened to him was being sent off by the referee at a football match. He was not playing. He was a spectator.
I have a lot to say. I am Welsh. Andrew has less to say. He is a Scot, but he can be vicious in précis.
One of the most popular epitaphs in Scottish cemeteries must surely be, “He woudna tak telling.”
When asked why he came to Wales Andrew would often add, “I came to add another surname, I understand there is a serious shortage of surnames in Wales.”
I have attempted to explain to him we may be a bit short on surnames, after all we are a poor country, but we have a wealth of other names. We have nicknames.
In Ton Pentre the local electrician was known as George Promise because he always did and rarely turned up. Katie Coffin was the undertaker’s daughter. In the company where I worked Phil the till was an accountant, as opposed to Phil the Quill who worked in graphics.
Isaac Jones who had been called Ike for short was 6’2” by the time he reached form six when he became known as Icarus the Conspicuous. His younger brother Prys, who only grew to six foot was called Pyrrhus the less Conspicuous. Such was the pretentious sense of humour in Grammar School in the 1960’s.
Andy blah blah talked all the time.
Billy Flush was notorious but considered harmless in the Rhondda Valley for going around the place, in a sort of uniform impersonating an inspector from the Water Board and asking the lady of the house if he could come in and have her flush the loo.
A dour Scot from Ayrshire worked at business in Cardiff as the House and Office Services Manager. He ran a tight ship, as they say. He was known as Ayatollah Hogmanay.
In Wales we have pet names, familiar names, baptismal names. Many people have Bardic names, stage names, occupational names, patronymic names or names of reference to place of birth or residence.
This is all to confuse the enemy and identify exactly who you are in the community.
There are different names for different purposes, partly about keeping your school life separate from home life, later keeping social life away from work life, some people, during the campaign for devolution, lost the English part of their Welsh identity, in order to make their name more Welsh.
The Welsh and the Scots are both noted for their hospitality, concern for others, and helpfulness to strangers. The cleanliness of their homes and guest houses and their generous, if sometimes non-adventurous catering are aspects welcomed by visitors.
The Welsh, however, have to go further.
There are two serious surprises awaiting first time visitors to Wales. (well, there are a lot more actually but, at head office they said keep it short - people have got homes to go to) The two serious surprises I’ll mention are the Group Conversation and the Direct Welsh Question, all of which cause consternation especially with Anglo Saxon visitors, who have not experienced exposing a wide range of personal emotions in public places. Or responding to what they think are invasive deeply personal interrogations.
In England if you get on a bus or train and there is one other person already seated you sit as far away from that person as possible. That is accepted behaviour. It is probably a remnant from the time of the Black Death or the Plague.
In Wales you are expected to do the exact opposite. If you cannot actually bring yourself to sit next to the solitary occupant, you must sit in the seat in front and swivel around to start the conversation. It is expected.
In order to conform and start a conversation with a complete stranger you will need to remember a few openers. There are a long list of “openers” still
available from the Welsh Tourist Board (I was once told) but here are a few to try out.
“Going far then?
“Bus/Train is late again then.”
“I thought for a minute you were Muriel Williams Ty Bach from school?”
“Isn’t that terrible about those poor people from Cwmgwyn?”
“That was bad news about Dai Top Field wasn’t it?”
“I heard that sugar is going back on ration.”
At the next stop someone else will join in. That is how it is. Information is currency!
The same thing happens at a bus stop, a group conversation will emerge.
One of the few currencies Wales deals with is news/ information/gossip.
If you hear news from a stranger or a visitor, it is even more valuable. Even more valuable than reading it in the paper!
Obviously, there is much more to explore when considering the similarities and differences between Celtic Cousins when only examining the Scots and the Welsh but, of course, we should also be looking at close neighbours the Irish, Cornish, Manx, Bretons and Galicians. Maybe next time?
DID YOU KNOW by Ralph Oates
A few brief facts relating to 10 Welsh boxers
Over the years Wales has contributed greatly to the sport of boxing. In this column I feature 10 boxers who have indeed made a contribution to the sport.
JOE CALZAGHE
Joe Calzaghe was an outstanding boxer who fought in the southpaw stance. There is no doubt that Calzaghe ranks with the greats in the supermiddleweight division. During his professional career he at one time or another held every major version of the world championship in his division. These being the WBO, IBF, WBC and WBA titles. He also held the British championship during his time in the paid ranks. Calzaghe departed from the sport undefeated in 46 bouts after taking part his last winning bout against Roy Jones Jr of the USA on the 8 November 2008 at Madison Square Garden, New York. The Welshman outpointed Jones Jr to win a 12-round points decision.
BRIAN CURVIS
Brian Curvis won the British welterweight title on the 21 November 1960 and defended his Commonwealth
crown when he outpointed domestic champion Wally Swift over 15 rounds at the Ice Rink Nottingham. Curvis failed to win the world welterweight crown on the 22 September 1964 being outpointed by the defending champion Emile Griffith of the Virgin Islands over a 15-round contest which took place at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London. Despite the disappointment of not winning a world crown the Welshman was successful during his career. He retired from the sport holding the record of being the only welter-weight to win two Lonsdale Belts outright for making successful defences of the British title. That was some accomplishment.
GIPSY DANIELS
Gipsy Daniels was a boxer who more than contributed to the fine reputation of Welsh boxing. During his time in the ring Daniels won the British and Empire light-heavyweight titles defeating defending champion Tom Berry on the 25 April 1927 by way of a points decision over the duration of 20 rounds. The location for the contest being Holland Park Ring, Kensington, London. Daniels also achieved a number
Joe Calzaghe holding the lonsdale belt. Image courtesy of Les Clark
of notable victories over a number of other good fighters during his fistic career. However one victory which stands out and must rate as being one of his best was a 1 round knockout win over Germany’s Max Schmeling in a bout scheduled for 10. The bout took place on the 25 February 1928. The venue for the contest was the Festhalle, Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany. In later fights Schmeling went on to win the world heavyweight championship.
TOMMY FARR
On the 30 August 1937 Tommy Farr ventured to the USA to challenge Joe Louis for the world heavyweight title. Few if any boxing pundits gave the Welshman any chance of victory in this contest. Louis was an outstanding fighter and is now ranked amongst the greats in the division. The bout took place at the Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York. While Farr failed to win the crown, he confounded the critics by giving Louis one his toughest bouts to date in his career. The fight went the full 15 rounds with Farr losing on a point’s decision. On that occasion Farr became the first boxer from the UK to last the distance in a world heavyweight title bout.
PERCY JONES
Percy Jones was the first Welsh boxer to win a version of a world title. Jones won the fly-weight crown on the 26 January 1914 when he outpointed holder Bill Ladbury over 20 rounds at the National Sporting Club. A venue which was situated in Covent Garden, London. Jones also captured the British and European championship from Ladbury during the contest.
VICTORIA PERKINS
On the 17 August 2024 Victoria Perkins became the first holder of the Welsh super-bantamweight title when she defeated opponent Ashleigh Johnson by a 10 round points decision. The contest took place at the Selwyn Samuel Centre, Llanelli.
LAUREN PRICE
Lauren Price became the first woman boxer to win a British title when she captured the vacant welterweight crown on the 6 May 2023 at the Resorts World Arena, Birmingham in the West Midlands. Price duly won the championship when she outpointed opponent Kirstie Bavington over 10 rounds. Price added to her title tally when she won the WBA and IBO world welterweight titles from Jessica McCaskill of the USA on the 11 May 2024. This looked a difficult contest for Price, since McCaskill was an experienced fighter. The venue for the contest being the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff. Price showed her impressive skills and
defeated McCaskill to win on a technical points decision. The bout was halted in the seventh round of a scheduled 10. The fight was stopped due to a bad swelling on McCaskill’s head due to a clash of heads.
ROBBIE REGAN
Robbie Regan has the distinction of being the first Welsh boxer to win the world bantam-weight title. On the 26 April 1966 he stepped into the ring at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff and outpointed holder Daniel Jimenez of Puerto Rico over 12 rounds to claim the WBO version of the championship. During his fistic career Regan also won the British and European flyweight titles plus the IBF interim world flyweight title.
EDDIE THOMAS
Eddie Thomas made a remarkable contribution to boxing. During his career the man from Merthyr Tydfil won the British, European and Commonwealth welterweight titles. When he retired from the ring he turned his hand to management. Thomas had a good eye for spotting talent that was for sure. In the following years, he trained several fighters to championships: Howard Winstone (WBC world featherweight champion), Ken Buchanan (undisputed world light-weight champion), Colin Jones (British, European, and Commonwealth welterweight title holder), and Eddie Avoth (British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion). Both Winstone and Buchanan are regarded as two of the finest boxers to have been produced in the UK and Jones is considered unlucky not to have won the world crown in his division.
HOWARD WINSTONE
Howard Winstone in his younger years lost the tips of three fingers on his right hand in an accident at work. Many would have given up on their boxing career, not Winstone he was a fighter through and through. Winstone got over the accident and resumed his career and in so doing won the world featherweight championship in his fourth attempt. Winstone had failed in three previous attempts to win the title when challenging the great Mexican fighter Vicente Saldivar for the undisputed world featherweight crown. The Welshman hence won the vacant WBC crown against Mitsunori Seki, of Japan following the retirement of Saldivar at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London. Winstone took the championship when he stopped the Japanese fighter in round 9 of a scheduled 15 on the 23 January 1968. During his career Winstone also won the British and European featherweight titles.
NURSERY ENROLMENT
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5 St Andrews Crescent
Cardiff City Centre
show yourself love and appreciation this Valentine’s Day
With Christmas and New Year celebrations done and dusted for another year and the first month of January completed successfully, we are now officially in the month of all things sentimental with hearts, roses and abundant messages of love demonstrating that Valentine’s Day is heading our way. It is evident that people respond differently to the aspects of February; therefore, it might be an appropriate time to refocus and recharge for the upcoming year with self-care.
But where is best to begin?
Traditionally Valentine’s Day has been marked as a celebration of love. Apparently, Valentine’s Day greetings were exchanged back in the middle ages (although possibly not accompanied by fluffy cuddly toys and extravagant bouquets of flowers…?!) But one more recent phenomenon on this day is to celebrate your friends, (i.e. ‘Gal-entines day/pal-entines day’), those you love in a non-romantic way and perhaps most importantly, yourself!
Yes, that’s right, celebrating the love that you have for yourself should be an important part of every day, but its often the hardest thing to do. So, why not ‘jump on the Valentines Day wagon and get involved? Regardless of your relationship status! Surely there are no barriers to accessing self-love, apart from possibly yourself.
I’m not suggesting sending a card to yourself, (although you can if you would like to obviously!), its more about the ‘simple’ things like focusing a bit more on taking care of yourself and treating yourself with some TLC. Its about looking at what your needs are, what you enjoy and what would make 2025 special for you, then looking at your behaviours and actions and whether they ‘tally up’. Its possibly worth noting the difference between Valentine’s Day and the proposal of showing selflove. Valentine’s Day is just one day whereas self-love is hopefully a longer-term commitment to form a habit. Both can be beneficial given the right mindset and action.
According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, it takes on average 2 months, or 66 days to be exact, before a new behaviour becomes automatic, so why not embrace today and make it the first of your 66?
Potential theorised positive changes of practicing self-care include:
Increased self-worth, Reduced stress levels, Improved productivity, Healthier relationships, Better social opportunities and Improved immunity.
The list goes on and it will differ from one individual to the next. Perhaps you could log your own in a diary or blog or through social media to inspire others?
If doing something nice for yourself, not others, seems an alien concept, fear not, once again you are not alone! There are sources of support and help there waiting. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Red Cross kindness toolkit – a toolkit designed to boost
by Natalie McCulloch
your wellbeing which is full of activities to build resilience, cope with worries, and connect with others. Action for happiness – a website jam packed with activities, videos and fun things to help create more happiness in life. Wellbeing apps - available on the play store such as:
• ‘Liven’ (designed for anyone looking to focus and reduce that feeling of being overwhelmed)
• Headspace (designed to help improve sleep and reduce anxiety through mindfulness)
Local services
• Meet up (a website designed to help people find friendships, fun activities and social events of interest to them)
• Aligned with Love (AWL) – experienced counsellors passionate about helping people build happier, more successful relationships with their loved ones and themselves. (see page 31 for more information on AWL). I admit, I have been on one of their events and engaged in therapy with them and I would highly recommend both to help get clarity on some ‘barriers’ you may be facing when trying to treat yourself well or engage in positive relationships.
On a personal note, self-care is something I have always struggled with, and I have tried various counsellors, resources and techniques to improve, all of which I’ve taken elements from which have enabled me to be where I am now.
For me, I think self-love is a journey not just a destination. Over the past few years, I’ve put more effort into my wellbeing through hobbies such as writing, going to the gym, improving my diet, becoming more aware of the effects of job satisfaction, and living arrangements on my wellbeing. Also spending time with positive people in my life such as my incredible dad, family/friends and my amazing fiancé/his daughter and his family who have helped me through their love without the need to wait for Valentines day! I feel a lot better when I’ve done things to help myself, so for me a little bit of TLC goes a long way to improve my day!
But it’s all about finding what works for you!
So, to ‘wrap things up’, the over arching message is that YOU don’t have to be at a loose end, even if you are ‘alone’ this Valentine’s Day because its never a bad time to start caring for yourself and you are not alone in that!
Resources: www.theliven.com www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/get-help-withloneliness/wellbeing-support/self-kindness-toolkit www.headspace.com/headspacemeditation-app www.alignedwithlove.net www.meetup.com
Aligning with Love: Unravelling the Patterns
Imagine a businessman repeatedly betrayed by colleagues, dominated by his wife, and suffering from urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Or a woman facing relationship challenges and cervical cancer. Consider another who becomes a famous adult star, unable to settle with a loving partner or find her professional place. These stories, though details altered for privacy, represent real struggles I’ve encountered as a therapist.
Many come to us saying, “All I want is to be happy. I’m not asking for much, am I?” But are they? My father used to say, “We need to earn things.” Did he include love in that?
In my decade as a therapist, I’ve noticed that despite our aim for happiness, we often unconsciously create conditions for unhappiness. We do this out of love and in an innocent attempt to protect ourselves or others in three ways:
1. Sacrifices Out of Blind Love
Our deep need to belong can lead to sacrifices that harm us. For instance, the woman who became a porn star was deeply affected by seeing a stripper calendar in her father’s truck at age three. Feeling unloved by her abusive mother, she became loyal to her fun, playful father. This early experience shaped her future relationships and career choices, despite feeling that “the woman doing the dance and the porn was not me.”
2. Disrupted Family Order
When the natural order in a family is disrupted, it can cause disturbances. We might unknowingly take on roles or burdens that don’t belong to us. The same woman, unaware of her father’s mistreatment of her mother, became his ally. This led to a pattern of sabotaging healthy relationships and being attracted to “bad guys.”
3. Imbalanced Giving and Receiving
Attempts to balance giving and receiving in relationships can backfire. Over-compensating or under-compensating creates imbalances leading to dissatisfaction. Consider the woman who moved countries with just £20 and a single flight ticket. She had over-given to her parents’ business, signing documents she disagreed with, ultimately leading to bankruptcy.
of Unhappiness
Nobody wants to be unhappy or face negative consequences. However, our brain and body have a “hardware and software” that, if not understood, can predictably lead us into difficult situations.
The Path to Being Aligned with Love
To be Aligned with Love, consider these principles:
1. Respect the natural hierarchy within your family.
2. Acknowledge everyone’s right to belong to the family.
3. Avoid taking on others’ burdens out of misplaced loyalty.
4. Strive for equilibrium in giving and receiving within relationships.
5. Seek reconciliation and peace to restore balance in the larger family system.
Our goal should be to allow love to flow naturally by respecting these premises. This minimizes the baggage we carry into our relationships, reducing negative cycles when partners’ issues collide.
Remember, you have the power to embrace, be curious, and listen to the wisdom of your body. Become your own best friend and the best gift for your partner. Only then can you match with another amazing partner who is Aligned with Love too.
When you feel that the pain is deeper than the gain in your relationship and you are tired of going round and round in circles and feel trapped in the cycle of negativity, give us a call or send us a message through our website www.alignedwithlove.net and me, Rebeca Perea, or my husband Matt Albiges will happily share our professional and personal skills and experience to guide you to find alignment with your yourself or with your partner so you can too enjoy having a magic relationship like ours.
With more than 35 different traders under one roof it is easy to while away an entire afternoon at this welcoming destination - you can even enjoy a coffee at the onsite coffee shop.
Here at The Pumping Station you will find so many wonderful examples of clothing, jewellery, antiques, furniture and home furnishings from the Victorian era right through to modern day, there really is something here for everyone.
Oasis to present Fiery Jacks half-term show at The Gate
Oasis - the Cardiff charity supporting people seeking sanctuary - will present a unique cabaret performance by the Fiery Jacks family circus troupe, also based in Splott.
The show, entitled “The Fiery Jacks Family Album”, will premiere at The Gate in half-term week on Tuesday 25th February 2025 at 7pm.
It will be the group’s first performance in their hometown in five years and proceeds from the night will directly support Oasis’ work with asylum seekers and refugees.
Fiery Jack - along with his wife Harriet and their four daughters, aged from 2 to 15 years - are a family of circus performers and entertainers who travel the world entertaining audiences. Every member of the family plays a part in the show, exhibiting a dazzling array of circus skills.
Father, and troupe leader, Fiery Jack, said:
“We live and work in our local area in Splott, Cardiff. We’re proud to be near neighbours of the wonderful Oasis community. This is just one aspect of the work we do in Splott and beyond.
The Fiery Jacks Family Album is a cabaret, lifting the cover on rarely seen circus family life, leafing through the pages of our light-hearted journey with music, comedy, poetry, some amazing circus skills, and quite a lot of juggling! It’s a celebration of a lockdown success story, told through a fast-paced performance!
It’s very special for us to be able to put on this great show in our home city so we’re excited to be involved.”
The audience will consist of a mix of people seeking sanctuary and anyone who wants to support the amazing work that Oasis does.
Oasis brings Fiery Jacks half-term holiday show to The Gate with the support of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, via Cardiff Council’s Cohesion Fund. The aim of the fund is to identify commonality through shared interests and experiences, and to deliver events that bring together people from different communities to foster a wider sense of community and belonging.
Oasis CEO, Susie Ventris-Field, said: “We’re excited to work with two other fantastic local organisations for an evening that will bring different communities together and be a huge amount of fun. At a time when we see far too much rhetoric that is hostile to people seeking sanctuary, this is an opportunity for people to come together, share experiences and break down barriers.”
Everyone is in for a wonderful evening, in aid of an excellent cause. The show will entertain and amaze anyone with a sense of circus, wonder, fun and spectacle, whatever their age.
As they say in showbiz, “Roll up, roll up, and tell your friends!”
Tickets available online from The Gate website.
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Upcoming events at Techniquest
Ocean Extravaganza Live Science Show
Dive into science this half-term at Techniquest and get hands-on with more than 100 interactive exhibits. Live Science Show Ocean Extravaganza is back with a splash every day in the Science Theatre, and Star Tours will be running in the 360° Planetarium, giving glimpses of distant galaxies and stunning supernovas in 4K resolution.
There’s something for the whole family to enjoy on the floor: feel the force of a hurricane, pilot an underwater ROV, channel electricity at your fingertips, and much more. Plus, opening hours are being extended to 9am–6pm across the half-term holidays, so there’s even more time to explore and make great memories together.
And remember, Techniquest isn’t just for kids — there are some special adult-only events coming up soon. Firstly, the science discovery centre welcomes all space enthusiasts to After
Hours: Love You to the Moon and Back from 7pm on Thursday 13 February, supported by Admiral. The £15 ticket includes access to the exhibition floor, a “love potion” on arrival, a bath bomb workshop and more. Live Science Show, Out of This World is offered on a first come, first served basis and there’s a pay bar and food station available on the night too.
Techniquest also has a space-themed Science Café: Just for Adults from 2pm on Wednesday 5 March that promises to be out of this world. Enjoy a Star Tour and hear from astrophysicist Dr Mark Smith in the Science Theatre as he gives a fascinating presentation on The Sun, Solar Physics and Nuclear Fusion — all knowledge levels welcome! Both the Star Tour and presentation are offered on a first come, first served basis.
Discover fascinating facts about the universe with students from Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy then use them to play Space Bingo! Enjoy a drink from Coffee Mania next door, included in the price of the ticket — then watch live science demos, and chat to astronomers from the Cardiff Astronomical Society and representatives from Space Wales, who’ll be on the floor throughout the afternoon.
Visit techniquest.org to find out more about all these upcoming events and remember to book in advance online to guarantee a place.
£12 £12
* Broken Glass
* Replacement
* Misted Glass
* Replacements
* Faulty/Broken Hinges
* Locks, Handles
* Pa�o Door Problems
* Draughty/Leaking
* Windows, Doors
* Conservatories
* Ca�laps, Le�erboxes
* New Door Panels * Stained Glass Repairs and Replacements
* Glass/mirrors of all types cut to size
* uPVC New Windows/ Doors Installed
* Upgrades to Locks and Handles
* Fascias, Gu�ering, Clading
* Coloured Composite Doors
