Jack Swan Issue #96

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Anti-Social Behaviour is not a low-level crime, it can devastate communities and has a profound impact on victims. But, just as everyone can be impacted by ASB – everyone can also play a role in tackling it too. Some examples of ASB can include: noisy, drunken or rowdy behaviour, littering and fly-tipping, riding mopeds or scooters through estates and on paths, and vandalism. You can report issues with abandoned vehicles, litter, flytipping and noise to the council. Violent, threatening or abusive acts should be reported to the police by phoning 999 in an emergency or the 101 non emergency number. Remember that my team and I are also here to support you. If you witness or experience instances of ASB please let me know.

Nid yw ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol yn drosedd lefel isel, gall ddinistrio cymunedau a chael effaith ddifrifol ar ddioddefwyr. Ond, yn union fel y gall ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol effeithio ar bawb - gall pawb chwarae rhan wrth fynd i’r afael ag ef hefyd. Gall rhai enghreifftiau gynnwys: ymddygiad swnllyd neu feddw, taflu sbwriel a thipio anghyfreithlon, gyrru sgwter neu foped drwy stadau tai ac ar lwybrau, a fandaliaeth. Gallwch roi gwybod i’r cyngor am broblemau gyda cherbydau wedi’u gadael, sbwriel a thipio, a swn. Dylid rhoi gwybod i’r heddlu am ymddygiad dreisgar neu fygythiol drwy ffonio 999 neu 101 os nad yw’n argyfwng. Cofiwch fy mod i a fy nhîm hefyd yma i’ch cefnogi chi. Os ydych chi’n gweld neu’n profi achosion o ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol, rhowch wybod i mi.

Not much has changed really since the last time that I was writing this.

The Queens passing and an international week of football has meant that we haven’t kicked many footballs about. Martin is probably slightly safer in a job after the 3-0 win against Hull, but you still feel that he’s a few games away from being a hero again or a few from the sack.

I ran a poll on facebook and over 75% of season ticket holders want to keep him in the job (this was before the Hull match. While under 60% of non-season ticket holders did. I don’t know whether that tells us much? Probably not.

I’m still very much a fan of his. I’d still happily o er him a ten-year deal, knowing that we are going to have some rough times as well as good. But hey.

We have an amazing issue for you here. Whatever you fancy! Angel Rangel talks to us about his years at the Swans. Some great stories there. What an absolutely cracking bloke he is too!

Sioned Williams MS tells us about life in the Senedd, Welsh independence and whether lying politicians should face more punishment.

We’ve also had a really, really good look at Skewen. A new feature forthe magazine and I like it.

I spoke with Karl from Swansea band Who’s Molly. What a band!! I’ve been slow to that party but I’m all over it now!

Plus all the usual. Enjoy and as ever, please support our wonderful advertisers that allow us to bring this magical magazine to you!

The Rangel Interview

What was very clear speaking with him is his intelligence. He was an accountant out in Spain before joining us and numbers come easily to him, he doesn’t forget much. He’d be a very useful member of a pub quiz team, especially if it was a Swansea City special 2007-2018. A great guy, I thoroughly enjoyed our chat, I have no doubt that you will enjoy this:-

Tatey tells me that you were a bit soft in the rst couple of training sessions when you rst joined the club. What was it like?

I probably was. It is hard to remember. I remember where we were, we were in Fairwood but before there was a training ground. There were just a couple of elds, cows everywhere and us training in the middle. I do remember, obviously when I joined in 2007, the League One team at the time was pretty much all British boys and Tatey was one of them. Monk, Ian Craney, Robinson, Leon, and they were all used to the physicality. I wasn’t the softest of the foreign boys because we had Andrea Orlandi with his long blonde hair.

Tatey did say that you toughened up quickly! Well, you’ve got to haven’t you, but I do agree, I probably was a bit soft.

It must have been a seriously big move for you. You were 24, I don’t want to know how much money you were on, but we were in League 1, so it wasn’t as if you were David

Silva moving to City on £80,000 a week. Did the club make the move easy? A totally di erent story to David Silva or what happens with any of the Premier League players these days. I paid 70% of the sale of my transfer to come here. My team wanted 15,000 Euros, Roberto said that Swansea could only a ord 5,000 and so I said that I’d put the 10,000 in. What I said was that I’ve signed a two-year deal, take £100 a week o my wage and that covers that. I started like that. When I converted it from Euros to pounds then I was on more money than when I was in Spain and so nancially it was OK to go and to see what happens.

After that, as soon as I landed here, people were friendly although got my name wrong. Roberto kept everything down to earth, I had to wash my own training kit, which we weren’t doing as a semi-professional team in Spain and so that shows how humble he was. We didn’t have a training ground; we were sharing the gym with members of the public.

I had the great pleasure of catching up with Angel Rangel this month and talking through his time at the club. He’s been a Jack bastard for so long that I’ve split the interview over two issues because we had a lot to talk through! This is the rst part.

Did you not speak much English?

No. Lakey (Huw Lake) picked me up late on a Thursday night from the airport and talking to him on the way back, I thought my English wasn’t too bad, but he was obviously trying to help me. When I joined the lads, I didn’t have a clue what was going on.

Had you been to Swansea before? No, I’d never been to the UK.

You agreed to join us without ever setting foot here?

No, I’d never taken a ight before I came here. I lived in a small village near Barcelona, working as an accountant. I was 24 years old and for my rst professional contract, it was worth it (the risk). I know Roberto could sell anything and so on the phone I thought that I was signing for Manchester United. I remember it was 2 am when we came into Swansea and I said that I wanted to see the Liberty stadium and that was it, I was sold on it.

Did you know Roberto before?

No, he called me, and he explained everything to me. I was playing for Terrassa in Spain at the time, and I had two sides who came in for me. They were Swansea in League 1 and Atromitos, who were one of the top 6 sides in Greece. I thought UK or Greece? But because Roberto spoke to me directly, I chose here.

Do you know how many games you played that season? 52, I think.

52, bang on. That takes some doing though, rst season over here. I can’t say whether you were soft or not but for a Spaniard to come straight over into League 1 and play 52 games. That’s hard work! More than anyone else apart from the keeper

Before that, my matches in Spain were around 30 games a season and I came here and played 52 straight away and I ended up with a double hernia. I had to have an operation. I missed the last couple of games of the season against Bristol City and Gillingham away (when we got promotion). The following season I missed a couple of games at the start because of it too.

I carried on with that {injury} for a couple of years, because of those 52 games. Roberto was savage with me. We had a cup game away to Fulham, we drew the home game and so went up to Craven Cottage to play the replay. I was sick, physically sick on the bus on the way up and he still wanted me to play. He made me play every game.

We were so good that season though, wasn’t we? We walked the league didn’t we. We had a good team. Roberto did a fantastic job, the recruitment, signing the right players. Ferrie Bodde in mid eld alongside Leon and Joey Allen being brought through. Dorus at the back was brilliant. The back 4, apart from me, they had all been there for a few years and so it was a good core of players. We signed Paul Anderson on loan from Liverpool and he was rapid.

When you see the squad, you’re like ipping heck. And you don’t need to be a top team to get promoted from league one all you need is a philosophy, good organisation and a bit of quality and I think we had all of that.

That squad was special, when you look back at the squad, we had a number of players that went on to play Premier League, that don’t happen that often and so you were obviously better players than the league that you were playing in?

Yeah, and that’s down to recruitment. Kevin Reeves was there with Graham Jones and Roberto Martinez when they

Roberto explaining the importance of staying humble by washing your own kit to Kevin De Bruyne

scouted me. I don’t know whether you know that story? But their ight was delayed by 4 hours and so they came to watch a game near Barcelona that I was playing in against Benidorm. They had a striker who was scoring goals for fun, that guy scored 2. I assisted one and had a cracking game and so they ended up going for the full back for the other team. That’s unusual isn’t it!

And if it wasn’t for that, you’d have been in Greece! Having played in the lower Spanish leagues. How does it compare to here?

The highest I played in Spain was League 1 level compared to here. It is more tactical; sides are set up not to get broken down and to play counter attacking football. As you go up the divisions it is more possession based, La Liga etc. but the division I played was more about not getting broken down. Whereas here, we wanted to dominate games.

We hear about the physicality, but do we lack other aspects? Were you amazed at how bad some footballer’s technique was in League 1 for example? There must be some parts that we are far worse at? Were you ever looking at players and thinking ‘your rubbish!’? Not rubbish. Nobody was rubbish. I’d say that the foreign or European players would bring in something di erent. Doesn’t mean that they are always better. If I look at Leon then I suppose he is the exception, he was one of a kind. He wouldn’t lose the ball. The vision, the pass, always short, not long but always accurate.

Is he the best player you’ve played with?

In terms of consistency and how long we played together yes. If you go to quality goals and all that then maybe Gyl Sigurdsson or Michu but with 11 years together, I’d say Leon yes. For the European players Ferrie Bodde was di erent to any other mid elder. Even Jason Scotland, I’d never seen a striker like him, he was big, but he could go left or right, didn’t like to run but he was deadly in front of goal. Maybe the British player would be physically stronger a bit rougher but

The following season, we did well and then Roberto Martinez left. Truthfully, did you think he may take you with him?

He did tell me that was his intentions, but the club wouldn’t allow it. Obviously, Jordi Gomez and Jason Scotland went with him, but he said that I would too. At the beginning I believed it, but I think that’s what he was like. He would talk, talk a good game but then would he do it? I’m here, I was here, and I was really enjoying my football at Swansea and so I wasn’t concerned. We knew that we had a good team. Roberto said to me when he signed that in “4 years’ time this club would be in the Premier League”; It happened.

As a fan, I bought into Roberto Martinez. He said once ‘I had to be forced out as a player and I’d need to be forced out as a manager’ before leaving for Wigan. I remember feeling let down and it sounds like he did the same with the players?

Yeah, I know that I wasn't the only player that Roberto said that he would take to Wigan too. When we got promoted, Roberto tried to sign me, but I was happy here and Huw was always good with me as well. I will always be grateful with Roberto for bringing me to Swansea to start my professional career but He was quick to say stu , but if you don’t mean it then don’t say it.

Do you stay in touch with him? We have spoken a couple of times. When I retired, I got a little video from him, but I messaged back and he never replied, that was that.

Was that in Spanish or English? In Catalonian.

Is there much di erence? There are similarities but it is like English and Welsh.

And are you pro-independence for Catalonia? I am a little bit. Catalan is my rst language. Everything is

When I talk about you in the magazine now, do I call you Catalonian or Spanish?

Catalonian is good.

Did things change for you under Souza? From a spectacle point of view, it wasn’t as exciting. Were you asked to prioritise defending more?

No there wasn’t much going forward. You could see the games; it would be 0-0 or we’d win 1-0. I think in 46 games we scored 40 goals which says everything. I was frustrated because he never wanted me to go beyond the halfway line. The rst 2 seasons that I was here was a case of ‘if you score 3 then we will score 4’ and now he would shout at me when I wanted to overlap Nathan - but that was my game. You have to adapt, that is what we are there for, but it was frustrating.

It was a strange time that because it was almost a unique situation where all parties were happy when he left?

I give him credit. He helped the full backs defensively. Myself, Bessone, Painter, Jazz and Matty Collins and the same for Leon. Pablo was a holding mid elder like him, he’d won the champions league twice, he knew football and he did help us defensively as a team and individually, but I think he just wasn’t for the Swansea way.

Brendan came in. Promotion. Did you know how much things would change after the Reading game?

Yes. I think so. Things moved so quickly that season. We got promoted and that’s the moment that we’ve been waiting for all our lives and then you start to think ‘what’s going to

How big is the step up? We see yo-yo clubs now. The gap between the Championship and Premier League. What is it like to play in?

Massive. In all aspects. I’ll give credit to Brendan because he got us ready for the next level. He was talking about “the next season - if you get promoted” while we were in the Championship.

But it was a huge jump. You are playing against Hazard and Gareth Bale when the season before I was playing against a player I didn’t even know. The stadiums. You know that you are on Match of the Day and so if you make a mistake, you are going to be scrutinised. All that is added pressure but what Brendan made sure is that we were psychologically good.

We had a psychologist coming in every 2 months or so working on positivity. If you lose the ball, make sure that your body language is right, otherwise players know, and they will target you. Look at the opposite cross bar, that way you are standing tall and proud. It doesn’t matter who we are playing against, doesn’t matter if its Man City or Sunderland, we play the same way. That’s what made us strong in a way.

Is every aspect better? Or is anything easier? Obviously when you are playing against Eden Hazard then he’s better going forward but do you get more time on the ball yourself?

As a full back, I always felt that the top players that we were playing against were lazy when we had the ball. Juan Matta at United or Hazard at Chelsea, if I could get forward then me

In Issue #97 we will continue with our interview with Angel where we talked about Laudrup, Monk, the American owners and returning to the Libery as a QPR player.

WARNING

THIS IS A RANT!!

WELSH FA HAVING AN EFFING GIRAFFE

FOOTBALL

I’m not going to enter any debate on the Monarchy right now. However, the football cancelations brought up serious questions. Less so at top level but at huge ones at grass roots level.

The FAW released a statement which read ‘The Football Association of Wales can con rm that this weekend's xtures (9-12 September) at all levels of the game will be postponed as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.’

Whether we agree with the postponement or not is kind of irrelevant because the FAW have the right to do so. They take care of the xtures, the leagues, and the organisation and so if they wish to say that they will stop all these organised xtures then they have that right.

We can moan, we can be upset, however, they have that power.

This was followed up with messages to clubs that read:‘There is no football to be played this weekend. That includes friendlies and training’.

One local club (which I won’t name) de ed these ‘rules’ and had an in-house kickabout. Somebody contacted the WFA and they are facing some sort of punishment.

Now this is very di erent. What right do the WFA thing they have to decide who can play football and who can’t? Seriously!

Signs go up in Germany regularly where they state

‘football, invented by the poor and stolen by the rich’. However, this is taking it to a new level.

This is the WFA thinking that they have the right to prevent anyone from playing football unless they agree to it! And, if they decide that you can’t play football and you go against that rule, then you can be ned!

Who has signed up for that? We can’t allow that!

Football as a competitive sport needs rules and an organisation which overlooks it all. However, that organi sation can’t tell you or me or anyone what we are allowed to do on private properly with a football. That is insane.

I don’t know what ‘sanctions’ this club will get. I really hope that they challenge it and go down the legal route because it seems obvious that they haven’t broken any law. If the WFA are saying that the only way that clubs are going to be allowed to compete within one of their leagues is if they dance to whatever tune, they choose then that’s beyond worrying.

FIFA, UEFA, FA, WFA, they all need to know their place. Organise leagues/cups, change rules from time to time but that’s it. You can’t stop football clubs from training. You can’t stop 20 odd people from going on a eld with a football.

Post-covid I think they seem to think that they own football to a far greater sense than they actually do.

Know your place and apologise!

Player Watch: Last 30 Mins

Russel Martin has come under re for a few things. One being his substitutions. The rule of football is always this; ‘if you win, then the manager is right. If you lose, they are wrong!’

We have seen late goals conceded in a few games. It is interesting to see fan’s reaction and the stats that go with it.

Fans reaction has been harsh at times in my opinion. I thought that the players put in a great shift at home to Millwall and She eld United. The late goals were frustrating for us but the players gave everything. They didn’t deserve to be booed.

However, some fans are saying Russell is making too many substitutions, while others are moaning that he’s not making enough!

The stats are revealing. How to solve it is not clear though.

The Joe Allen wagon wheel of touches (as they call it in cricket) against She eld United is beautiful for a central mid elder. He gets involved all over the park, heart on sleeve, we love him!

However, at 32, it is di cult or nigh on impossible to do this twice a week for ninety minutes. And we are seeing the signs.

Of his 59 touches, 35 were in the rst half and 24 in the second. Joe played the full 94 minutes but only made 13 touches of the ball in the last 30 minutes. Just 3 in the last fteen. It was a similar story when he played the full game against Stoke, where only 11 of his 62 touches came in the nal 30 minutes of the match.

However, Joe made 54 touches in the rst 60 minutes against Millwall. Was taken o and Fulton only managed 12 touches in the 30 minutes left (and we know what happened there!).

Incidentally, for the QPR game, we hang on and Joe Allen had been substituted. Allen was visibly shattered against the blades. When Ntcham came on for one of the front three, I assumed that Allen would be coming o . He didn’t and we lost. Which, as we all know means the Ga a was wrong!

There is no easy solution to this. Allen has been incredible for us in the middle of that park for the rst hour of every game. However, we are not going to dominate the mid eld in the last 20-30 minutes whether we have a tired Joe Allen on the pitch or whether we take him o and bring on someone who essentially isn’t as good as him!

Touches in rst half (each minute)

Touches in second half (each minute)

Youngsters Shame the Flaky

As the referee stopped the game against high ying She eld United and waved the Swans substitutes on, Olivier Ntcham came running onto the pitch…

,,,and that’s as much running as he did for the thirty or so minutes he was on the eld of play. There was the odd occasion when he broke into a lumbering trot but for the most part he played at walking pace.

Coming on at the same time, Jamie Paterson didn’t fare much better – he did at least achieve a higher velocity than Ntcham and most of his passes found the mark but his overall contribution was negligible and his total lack of defensive discipline contributed to the Blades gaining the ascendancy in what had been a tight and compelling contest.

Of course, such a tight contest may have swung in our favour had we also been able to bring on another senior strike – alas Michael Obafemi was unavailable for selection having failed a tness test through a broken heart and a strained ego as a move to the heavenly hotspot of football BURNLEY was denied him on Deadline Day.

Probably what hurt us most though was the departure of Oli Cooper alongside Jay Fulton, making way for Paterson and Ntcham. Fulton had a decent hour but Cooper was another level, his sheer work rate and tenacity keeping the Blades defenders occupied, and his burgeoning understanding with Joel Piroe bringing a creative edge to our game.

By ATFV Editor Nigel Davies

Of course it was a basic mistake by another experienced player – Kyle Naughton playing for a free kick that never came – which cost us the game in the fth minute of injury time, but it was the substitutions half an hour earlier which proved the turning point.

Russell Martin came in for a fair bit of stick on social media for making the changes but I have to say I feel a fair bit of sympathy for him; the bottom line is that he deserved far better from the senior players he brought on during that xture and they let down. Just as they have on too many other occasions during their time at the club.

What it all boils down to is that our squad is thinner than a size zero supermodel and we simply cannot a ord to have three of the senior professionals being more aky than an eczema patient stranded in the Sahara Desert!

Paterson has been one of our only creative forces since his signing and for a while he was the real deal, enjoying a goal laden Bromance with Piroe; but then came his contract tantrum and despite being given a new and improved deal his performance levels have dived like Michael Owen in the opponent’s penalty box.

Michael Obafemi could have a terri c future in the game but in order to ful l his undoubted potential he needs to grow up, and fast. It’s all very well being the club ’s ‘social media star’, with giggling outtakes and toilet gags, but the lad is here to perform for Swansea City on the PITCH - and he can’t do that if he’s pouting over his failed move to

Burnley. Let’s not forget, his attitude was o when he got here, and it took months to coax performances and goals out of him.

But it is Olivier Ntcham who is annoying me the most, mainly because he has the sheer ability to rip this division a new ori ce if he wanted to. We get glimpses if the physicali ty allied with talent but all too often he’s a lazy passenger with the game passing him completely by. He got excused those tendencies last season with excuses over a lack of pre-season and general tness issues, but he’s had a pre-season this time, he’s meant to be tter than ever and yet his displays are getting slower and more disinterested with every game.

Contrast that with the younger players that are starting to make an impact.

Oli Cooper has grabbed his chance with both hands. A chance that presented itself due to the failings of Paterson and Ntcham I might add.

His movement and industry all over the pitch is occupying defenders and he defends from the front for us. Add that to his intelligent use of the ball and he’s got the raw materials to cement a place in the side and maybe steal a place on the Wales World Cup plane.

My one criticism of Cooper, which has been there since watching him at Under 23s level, is that he needs to start adding goals to his game. He spurned a golden chance against She eld United and he needs to develop that more ruthless edge to his game…hopefully that will come with time and experience. And if it does…well…he won’t play for the Swans anymore!

Making just as impressive an impact as Cooper, Luke Cundle has come in from the Wolves youth set up with a big reputation that he seems determined to justify. And he certainly did his prospects of proving himself no harm at all with a barnstorming performance against Hull after coming on early in the game to replace the stricken Joe Allen.

The young Wolves cub became an instant Swans Cygnet with his rst senior goal against the Tigers. Now the goal will no doubt stand out mostly for the Hull defender making a tit of himself and tripping himself up to present an easy open goal, but Cundle’s awareness and determined run to get into a position to pro t from any mistakes is very encouraging indeed. And it was a composed nish too - it would have been easy for the youngster to snatch at it and u his lines but he took it calmly to collect his rst goal. It won’t be his last.

Cooper and Cundle are joined by loan Hammer Armstrong Oko-Flex (great Bond villain name!!), borrowed Brentford defender Fin Stevens, home grown Cam Congreve and the

rapidly improving Matty Sorinola in a young ‘Rat Pack’ that could be instrumental in our season.

In contrast, it’s time for the Flaky Three of Paterson, Ntcham and Obafemi to take a look at those youngsters and then take a look in the mirror - before they nd themselves permanently on the fringes and reduced to scrolling the Swans’ super social media content on the

The Sioned Williams MS Interview

Sioned was elected to the Senedd to represent South Wales West last May and has been an incredibly active Assembly Minister. I spoke with Sioned to talk about the Assembly, Independence and whether lying politicians should be strung up (not quite in those words).

You’ve been in the Senedd for 16 months now. Is it all, as you expected?

It's a huge privilege to be able to raise issues that a ect the communities I respresent in the Senedd and ask questions of the First Minister and his ministers face to face. It can be frustrating when you don't get a straight answer to your question and the rules in the Senedd Chamber are very strict so you can't just get back on your feet and press for a reply.

Having said that, I've managed to highlight issues both local and national which have resulted in change. The work in the Senedd Committees - I'm a member of the Equalities and Social Justice Commitee and Children, Young People and Education Committee - is perhaps where you feel you have the most power to change things, though. I've been involved in writing reports on tackling Fuel Poverty, how to help people who are facing increasing levels of debt, and how to stop sexual harassment in schools and colleges - and the Govern ment have accepted most of the recommendations made which will lead to changes in policy for the better.

Who has a greater importance to people’s lives in Wales. The MS or the MP?

Most of the areas that directly a ect people's lives in Wales are now controlled by the Welsh Government like Health, Education, Transport, and the Environment - so the role of the Senedd in passing laws in these areas and scrutinising Welsh Government spending and policy on these things is the most important role in my opinion. The Westminster Government

still has most of the nancial power which can limit what we can do to make policies in Wales for Wales, in the best interests of the Welsh people. So that's why I'd like to see more powers transferred to the Senedd from Westminster so the people who are closest to their communities make the decisions based on the needs of their communities.

Do we need more MSs? if so, why?

We de nitely need more MSs. We have the smallest parliament in the whole of the UK - Scotland has 129 MSPs and Northern Ireland has 90 Members in its Assembly - this depsite the fact that the Senedd has more powers and respon sibilities than when it was established. Before I was elected to the Senedd I was Chair of a Community Council. There were more members of the Community Council's Finance Commit tee than there are on the Finance Committee of the Senedd! To look at the work of the Welsh Government in speci c areas and ensure it's spending its budget properly and e ciently, and carefully examine proposed laws is a very big responsi bilty and more members will mean this work is done better. In Westminster for example, it's common for MPs to sit on only one Committee, which often have twice or three times the number of MPs on them to do this work, whereas in the Senedd, the vast majority of MSs are on two committees of only 5 or so members. I also think more members would create a healthier space between the Government and the backbenchers - which would perhaps encourage Labour MSs to question the Government more.

Do the proposed changes o er genuine democratic challenges to existing MSs? There are some very safe seats now but with these changes, the number one Labour politician in Port Talbot for example would have a guaranteed job for life.

I think it o ers more challenge, not less. Parties always select their candidates, but if people don't like that selection then they don't have to vote for the party. Perhaps that will make people think harder about their votes locally rather than voting blindly for a party? It will also let people who feel they have to vote tactically to keep a certain party out, rather than for the candidate of their choice, to be able to vote according to their true wishes, and that their vote will count.

In your opinion, how is Wales doing? We are di ering more and more from England. Are we doing OK? It depends how you look at it. In di ering more from England, I think that's a positive thing because the policies and laws that are being enacted in Wales are serving our country's needs better. We are able to say "Not in Wales" to Tory Govern ment in Westminster on issues like fracking for example. We are not doing ok as regards tackling levels of poverty, and rather than managing the issues which result from poverty we should be focussing directly on measures to eradicate it. Successive Labour Welsh Governments in Wales have not taken the steps needed which has left Welsh households so vulnerable in the face of the storm which is now upon us. The

people of Wales are also su ering because the main levers and resources that could help protect the familes of Wales remain at Westminster.

I know that you want more power for Wales, full independence. Has the mess with Brexit put you o at all? Will you be marching on for Independence on Saturday 1st October?

I will be going to Cardi to show my support for independ ence, although marching and waving ags alone will not bring the change we need and people need to remember that. You need to vote for a party that can deliver a referendum so the people of Wales can have a say - it's the people that must and will decide what kind of future they think is best for our nation. I believe in independence because it clear to me that the United Kingdom is not a union of equals and Wales doesn't receive the attention or funding it is rightly owed. Other nations smaller than Wales have shown that it is possible to create a fairer society by ensuring decisions are made closer to the people they are meant to serve. Every week

I hear the First Minister complain that the Welsh Government would like to do something, but can't - because Westminster holds the purse strings. The Westminster Government stopped us developing a Tidal Lagoon in Swansea - think how valuable a project that would have been given the current energy crisis! Work needs to be done to ensure no-one in Wales would be worse o , but I think it's time for the Welsh people to be masters of their own destiny.

You’re the MS for South Wales West, covering 3 di erent councils: Swansea, NPT and Bridgend. Do we need that many councils? There are 47 English counties. If Swansea, NPT & Bridgend merged, 40 of the 47 English counties would still be larger than it.

It's quite a challenge representing three council areas, but also very interesting to see how councils operate di erently. I think closer working between councils is always a good thing especially when the borders are often rather odd and arti cial when streets are literally cut in half and are in two separate authorities. Plaid Cymru believes that we need an new approach to creating new democratic leadership at commu nity level across Wales and I support a regional way of co-operating and working in partnership.

Labour lost Neath Port Talbot council at the last election. Why do you think that result came about?

Labour tried to claim that the Council’s school closure propos als were to blame for their loss. While it certainly played a part in turning some against Labour in the Swansea Valley, and contributed to the loss of their single seat in the Pontardawe area - in Alltwen - to Plaid Cymru) the proposed closure of Alltwen, Godre’rgraig and Llangiwg Schools did not in uence the results in Cadoxton, Aberdulais, Neath North, Neath East, Cimla, Coed ranc Central, Briton Ferry East, or Briton Ferry West! There was no schools issue in 2017 when we won both

seats in Pontardawe! I think the problem ran far deeper than any one policy or proposal. For twenty-six years the county borough had been comfortably held by a single party, but May's results showed that people in all parts of the county wanted change. I think it had more to do with the importance of politicians listening to those they serve, and that genuine consultation is at the heart of our democracy. No policy, no proposal and indeed no service can sustain itself if it does not take into account the views of those it a ects. The school closure proposals were not the cause of Labour’s defeat, but a symptom of a much more serious problem. For decades Neath Port Talbot had a Council that has too often failed to cooperate, to listen and to hear what residents in all parts of the county have been saying.

You have been heavily involved challenging the Swansea Valley school proposal. Can you explain what you have done and where we are now?

I opposed these plans from the very beginning - as a resident and Community Councillor for Alltwen where one of the schools earmarked for closure is situated. Since being elected to the Senedd I have pressed both the Minister for Education, the First Minister and the Future Generations Commissioner to intervene in order to stop these awed plans from going ahead. I managed to get the Government to pause the process after I raised concerns about the consultation and

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although my protests fell on deaf ears in Neath Port Talbot Council initially, after the local election results in May and a Plaid Cymru / Independent coalition took power, I'm glad that the plans have now been paused as far as possible and a review will be held.

Should there be an enquiry into Godre’r’graig school closure?

I think that the community's faith needs to be restored following the way the decision to shut the school was made. If that means an enquiry then I'm for it.

We have had Boris and Trump blatantly lying on the global stage and overall getting away with it. It seems to many residents in the Swansea Valley that lies, and inaccuracies have been told within reports to force the closure of these schools. Should those o cers and politicians face any consequences if they have lied or deliberately misled? Taxpayers have already spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on this. If it was to go ahead, then it would run into the tens of millions of pounds. If you are caught lying (or misleading) in order to gain nancial bene t, then isn’t that fraud?

I feel very strongly about this as does my party - Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, tabled a parliamentary motion calling for a law to hold politicians to account for lying, making it a criminal o ence for politicians to deliberately lie to the public. Plaid Cymru's proposal would bring the rules that already regulate business into politics. It would require that public statements made by politicians are, to the best of their knowledge, factual and accurate, and would create a new and independent mechanism through which to challenge and hold to account those suspected of lying. I think recent events in Westminster and more locally would bene t from stricter rules on this and more accounta bility. For the sake of our democracy and the people it is meant to serve, we must restore people's faith in politics. We can’t have faith in the decisions being made if we can’t trust the processes that led to them.

Why isn’t Plaid Cymru appealing to more people across Wales? In the same way as the SNP are in Scotland. A century of majority Labour Welsh voting patterns is a long one to try and break. It's often forgotten that Scotland voted majority Conservative until as recently as the 1950s. Having said that, Plaid Cymru outperformed the SNP in the rst devolved elections in 1999, so there's no reason why we can't replicate their success. Where we are in power, and people are seeing the di erence we are making to their lives, Plaid Cymru tend to get re-elected with increased majorities with the odd exeception. We saw that in the Senedd election results where we got record majorities in places like Arfon and Ceredigion, and in May's council elections for example - where we gained overall control of councils such as Anglesey after being part of ruling coalitions. In the other areas of Wales it's tougher to get this recognition especially given the fact that Welsh media is so weak. Scotland is in a very di erent position. Scotland also has a long history of independent institutions - its own money, education system and legal system for example which

have helped Scottish people retain a stronger sense of their own history and culture which is now re ected in their politics. In Wales because we don't have a strong independent media, people see their lives through the lens of news written in England and rarely see their own communities re ected in drama, documentary or lm. That makes a di erence I think. I could write you a whole book about this!

What is your number one personal achievement as an MS thus far?

Getting the Welsh Government to agree to providing free school meals for everyone in primary school. I helped lead Plaid Cymru's campaign on this issue and it was our main demand in entering a Co-operation Agreement with the Welsh Government. I made many speeches highlighting the extensive international research which shows how universal free school meals are key to ending child poverty because hungry children cannot learn and thus cannot reach their full potential. So knowing the di erence that will make to families

PuzzMindles

1) Two mums and two daughters went out for dinner and each ate one portion. Only three portions were eaten in total, how is this possible?

2) What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?

3) People knead me to buy things. What am I?

4) You walk into a room with a rabbit holding a carrot, a pig eating slop, and a chimp holding a banana. Which animal in the room is the smartest?

5) If it takes 5 elves, 5 minutes to make 5 dolls, then how long will it take 100 elves to make 100 dolls?

6) A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the rst door, there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door, there is a re-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?

7) A certain crime is punishable if attempted but not punishable if committed. What is it?

8) Mr. Brown was killed on Sunday afternoon. His wife said she was reading a book at the time. The butler said he was taking a shower. The chef said he was making breakfast. The maid said she was folding clothes, and the gardener said he was planting tomatoes. Who did it?

9) How many bananas can you eat if your stomach is empty?

10) What path must he take to escape from room no.13 to room no.4?

S P E N S

Just been talking to a down-and-out in the railway underpass Me "How did you end up in poverty, gambling, drugs, alcohol ?" Down-and-out "None of them; I left the immersion heater on"

My dog can do magic tricks. It's a Labracadabrador.

I once had a job at a barber shop trimming gentlemen's pubes. Unfortunately one day the razor slipped and got the sack.

When I was a kid, I went into the barber's and asked him to give me a haircut the way George Best had it done. He took out his clippers and shaved my head, cutting my ear in the process. I said, "George Best doesn't have his hair cut that way." He replied, "He would if he came in here, I'm a City fan."

It's a fresh summer's morn in mid-2070. It is a special day, for this is the day that young Jimmy opens the last packet of toilet rolls that his grandparents bought in March 2020.

Following on from actor Eddie Redmayne's apology for playing a transgender character in 2015 lm The Danish Girl, a role which many weak minded wokes believe should have gone to a genuine transgender actor, I would also like to apologise for my portrayal of the Innkeeper in my primary school nativity play circa 1969. Clearly I was neither a native of Jerusalem nor did I hold any kind of license to serve alcohol.

Former Prime Minister John Major pledged to make Britain a 'classless society'. Having just spent the afternoon in my local Wetherspoons, I have to say he did a pretty thorough job.

RIP Lester Piggott. Funeral next Friday at 10/1

I asked this lady if I could touch her hair, she said yes, so I ran my nger over her top lip. That's how the ght started...

I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me and I couldn’t get pasta.

You can try this on your mate!..

I was sitting in the pub doing a Crossword when I turned to my Scottish mate and said.."I'm stuck on one... Stranded On An Island, eight letters."

"Marooned," He said.

"About time" I replied. "I'll have a lager."

I'm in hospital. I ate what I thought was an onion, but it was a da odil bulb. Doctors reckon I will be out in the Spring.

Welcome to PC World. Or Britain, as some people call it.

I entered what I ate over the past few day into my new tness app and it just sent an ambulance to my house.

I'm taking up scuba diving on the cheap. Instead of using a cylinder I'll be using a bag of Walker's crisps - there's enough air in it to stay submerged for 2 hours...

My friend cant eat rice... hes basmatic

A bloke was driving down a motorway in England with his blonde English girlfriend and she piped up, "I think those people in the car next to us are from Wales".

"Why do you think that?" he said.

"Well, the kids are writing on the window and it says "stit ruoy su wohs".

I've just put all my dogging equipment up for sale on Ebay. Haven't had any bids so far but 12 people watching.

I just applied for a new job at a Citroen factory.

I had to send in 2 Cv's

FOCUS on SKEWEN (a very large village)

A new feature in the magazine that I’m quite excited about. We are going to look at a di erent area each month and nd out some bits about it. I’ve started with Skewen, and I must say that I’ve learned an awful lot; thoroughly interesting!

Skewen has been rumoured to be the largest village in Europe. Although it seems that there are many claims to this title and quite a few with more people living in them, which I assume means that Skewen isn’t the largest village in Europe.

It is however, a large village – not a Town. It has quite a strange history for its size as there doesn’t seem to be any huge industry within the village itself which created its growth. There were ironworks in nearby Neath Abbey, the rst oil re nery in the country was in Llandarcy but Skewen itself seemed to get by with coal collieries.

It did become the shopping centre for the villages around it, the train station opened in 1882 and the village grew and grew but never big enough to warrant the title of a Town!

The 60s saw Skewen become the centre of the regions Rock-n-roll industry. The Ritz in Skewen hosted some of the UKs biggest and best bands and was the place to go for anyone in these parts. As local Kevin James told me “Every Thursday & Saturday people travelled miles to enjoy the atmosphere.”

It is no surprise why either. Roger James remembers some of the acts that played there “(there were) Local bands, The Iveys, Eyes of Blue, Lott 13, The Corncrackers, The Dream. Then from Chicago The Paul Butter eld Blues Band. Many of the top London bands, including The Alan Bown Set, Herbie Goins and the Nighttimers, Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, and then oddly enough, Dave Dee, Dozey, Beaky, Mich and Tich! Also, Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds on the same night he was on Totp at number one with Out of Time”

Imagine that now. The biggest act in the UK at that time, playing in Skewen while sitting number one in the charts. It must have been incredible. Roger puts this into context beautifully here “I watched him live on TOTP around 7.25pm. Then later, live in The Ritz!”

When you mention the Ritz, people have fond memories, Tracey Jones remembers “Moody blues played in the ritz and their piano broke, they borrowed a piano from my mums friend at the time - no 12 dynevor road”

Jacky Williams remembers “the Eyes of Blue, Andy Fairweather Low & Amen Corner. Spencer Davis Group, Paul Jones & Manfred Mann”. While Sheila Heaven recalls “Dave, Dee, Dozey, Beeky, Mick and Titch too, also saw Dave Clark Five. It was a fabulous venue back in the day”

Lisa John said that “My Dad Otto Feldhus was playing guitar in The Ammerlanders, other band members were

The WHO played the Ritz on the 15th July 1965. The album My Generation, which had songs including ‘the Kids are Alright’, ‘I don’t mind’ and the chart-topping title track was released later that year and is considered one of the greatest British albums of all time. To think that Skewen was one of the rst places to hear these tacks and some remember it well.

Liv Thomas managed to have a keep-sake “Roger Daltrys cu ink broke and landed right in front of me. He didn't seem to mind me having it!”. While Anita Davies seemed to get a little more from the little man “I waited outside (the) back door when they arrived! Kissed Roger and had autographs”

The happy times didn’t end when the Ritz stopped being a music venue either as Elain Chivers explains “The Ritz was a big part of my childhood and teenage years. I remember going to the cinema and watching the A and B lms twice over. My mam lived in Dynevor Road (grandmother) she would be allowed into the cinema to hook us out for tea. When the cinema closed I would go with my mother on bingo nights. Brian one of the managers would give me sixpence for the fruit machine, I always won and would go home clutching my winnings in my hand. I attended the dances that were held there and saw many famous groups Amen Corner was my favourite. I got into trouble many times for coming home late but it was always worth it. I loved the Ritz and was and still am sad that it is no more although the memories live on.”

The Ritz was demolished around 2001, although it had been closed for many years beforehand. Like most towns and (very large) villages, Skewen is having to reidentify itself for the 21st century. The industry within the village and around it has long gone but it’s managed to keep its high street fairly busy.

In May, Nathan Goldup-John became Neath Port Talbots rst ever Green County councillor in Skewen (or Coed ranc as the electoral ward is called). He is a part of a rainbow coalition in NPT and there is real unity and optimism for the future.

Coed ranc Community Council are very active and are looking at ways to improve the area. Nicola Evans, one of the community councillors tells me about some of the organisation’s set-up recently.

“Skewen Litter Picking Group was formed a year ago when several residents in Skewen who were litter picking during lockdown, decided to come together and combine e orts to make Skewen a cleaner place to live. All our work is undertaken on a purely voluntary basis. We have many local people join in on an ad hoc basis during the week days (due to working and other commitments etc) whose

ages range from 5 to our oldest being 76 (this being current Mayor of Skewen).”

“We meet every Saturday morning and collect as litter as we can; we usually collect around 20 bags. the past year, we have collected over 1,000 bags from the streets of Skewen and the surrounding areas.”

“We have supported young people from Llangatwg Comprehensive to undertake their voluntary hours achieve their Duke of Edinburgh Award and despite completing their required hours some months ago, continue to attend every week to help out.”

Finding a way to reinstall that pride in our community something which a lot of our areas are battling post-industry. It is really important, and it is amazing organisations like this which help create that. Nicola told me about another group:-

“Friends of Skewen - Is a charitable organisation run Trustees which includes myself, two County councillors from the local area, Nathan Goldup-John and Angharad Aubrey and former town councillors from the Marine area, Charlie Fletcher and Janet Jones. We come together to form this organisation as we identi ed the lack of social support for the residents local area both young and old.”

“Our group hopes that we can bring the people Skewen community together and promote inclusion, the sharing of skills and abilities and volunteer opportunities. These events may range from the provision of a Christmas tree to bus trips to community get togeth ers for Easter and picnics etc. We also hope in the future secure land so that we may start a community allotment.”

I love Skewen, I spent a lot of time as a kid playing snooker there. There are some great pubs and places to eat. aren’t many better views than the ones from the top Drumau mountain and there are some nice walks up I’m optimistic for the future of Skewen. Be proud of

Otto Garms, Hilko Evers, Horst Hoessle and Eric Ryland. The Ammerlanders had a gig at The Ritz in 1964, supporting The Corncrackers. They have really good memories!”

The WHO played the Ritz on the 15th July 1965. The album My Generation, which had songs including ‘the Kids are Alright’, ‘I don’t mind’ and the chart-topping title track was released later that year and is considered one of the greatest British albums of all time. To think that Skewen was one of the rst places to hear these tacks and some remember it well.

Liv Thomas managed to have a keep-sake “Roger Daltrys cu ink broke and landed right in front of me. He didn't seem to mind me having it!”. While Anita Davies seemed to get a little more from the little man “I waited outside (the) back door when they arrived! Kissed Roger and had autographs”

The happy times didn’t end when the Ritz stopped being a music venue either as Elain Chivers explains “The Ritz was a big part of my childhood and teenage years. I remember going to the cinema and watching the A and B lms twice over. My mam lived in Dynevor Road (grandmother) she would be allowed into the cinema to hook us out for tea. When the cinema closed I would go with my mother on bingo nights. Brian one of the managers would give me sixpence for the fruit machine, I always won and would go home clutching my winnings in my hand. I attended the dances that were held there and saw many famous groups Amen Corner was my favourite. I got into trouble many times for coming home late but it was always worth it. I loved the Ritz and was and still am sad that it is no more although the memories live on.”

The Ritz was demolished around 2001, although it had been closed for many years beforehand. Like most towns and (very large) villages, Skewen is having to reidentify itself for the 21st century. The industry within the village and around it has long gone but it’s managed to keep its high street fairly busy.

In May, Nathan Goldup-John became Neath Port Talbots rst ever Green County councillor in Skewen (or Coed ranc as the electoral ward is called). He is a part of a rainbow coalition in NPT and there is real unity and optimism for the future.

Coed ranc Community Council are very active and are looking at ways to improve the area. Nicola Evans, one of the community councillors tells me about some of the organisation’s set-up recently.

“Skewen Litter Picking Group was formed a year ago when several residents in Skewen who were litter picking during lockdown, decided to come together and combine e orts to make Skewen a cleaner place to live. All our work is undertaken on a purely voluntary basis. We have many local people join in on an ad hoc basis during the week days (due to working and other commitments etc) whose

ages range from 5 to our oldest being 76 (this being the current Mayor of Skewen).”

“We meet every Saturday morning and collect as much litter as we can; we usually collect around 20 bags. Over the past year, we have collected over 1,000 bags of litter from the streets of Skewen and the surrounding areas.”

“We have supported young people from Llangatwg Comprehensive to undertake their voluntary hours to achieve their Duke of Edinburgh Award and despite them completing their required hours some months ago, they continue to attend every week to help out.”

Finding a way to reinstall that pride in our community is something which a lot of our areas are battling with post-industry. It is really important, and it is amazing to see organisations like this which help create that. Nicola also told me about another group:-

“Friends of Skewen - Is a charitable organisation run by 5 Trustees which includes myself, two County councillors from the local area, Nathan Goldup-John and Angharad Aubrey and former town councillors from the Jersey Marine area, Charlie Fletcher and Janet Jones. We have come together to form this organisation as we had identi ed the lack of social support for the residents of local area both young and old.”

“Our group hopes that we can bring the people in the Skewen community together and promote social inclusion, the sharing of skills and abilities and volunteer opportunities. These events may range from the provision of a Christmas tree to bus trips to community get togeth ers for Easter and picnics etc. We also hope in the future to secure land so that we may start a community allotment.”

I love Skewen, I spent a lot of time as a kid playing snooker there. There are some great pubs and places to eat. There aren’t many better views than the ones from the top of the Drumau mountain and there are some nice walks up there. I’m optimistic for the future of Skewen. Be proud of it!!!!

Otto Garms, Hilko Evers, Horst Hoessle and Eric Ryland. The Ammerlanders had a gig at The Ritz in 1964, supporting The Corncrackers. They have really good memories!”

THE MURDER STORY!

FOCUS on SKEWEN

Over a 6 day relationship, Skewen born Elizabeth Jones and Karl Hulten murdered, robbed, attacked and caused havoc in London. Gra ti was written in Skewen with the words “she should hang” as local residents wanted to see their former neighbour in the gallows for her crimes.

Elizabeth Maud Jones Background: Elizabeth Maud Jones was born in Skewen, in July 1926. A troubled teenag er, she left school at 13 and was described as “beyond parental control”. At 16, on her wedding day, her new husband lost his temper and hit her. She gave him no second chance and left.

Elizabeth moved to London in 1943. She worked as a barmaid, waitress and became a striptease dancer under the stage name Geogina Grayson. A job she called ‘exciting’.

Meeting Karl Hulten: On Tuesday 3rd of October 1944, she met Karl Hulten. A chance meeting with disastrous consequences. They were introduced by a friend in a café in Hammersmith. The Swedish born, Hulten said he was a lieutenant in the American army. However, he was a private and was absent without leave. They agreed to meet up later.

Hulten arrived in a two and a half ton truck. Jones climbed in and they drove o . Jones wanted to “do something exciting, like being a gun moll as they did in the States”. At this point, Hulten came clean, told her that the truck was stolen, as was a pistol that he showed her.

First Crime

They drove to Reading where they passed a girl on a bicycle. They stopped further down the road. As she cycled past, Hulten pushed her o her bike.

The girl got up and ran away. She left her bike and purse behind. Hulten took the purse and they drove back to London. This was the start of a short-spaced crime binge.

Two days later, Hulten picked up Jones early evening. They went out for food followed by the cinema. When they left they went to a café and then got into the truck and set o for Reading once more.

Jones suggested to Hulten that they should hold-up a taxi-driver. They followed one out to Cricklewood, they forced it to stop, threatened the driver with the gun. However, it is thought that the fact that the taxi had a passenger in the back scared Hulten and they ed back to London.

On route, the pair picked up a young girl who was trying to get to Reading. They o ered to take her and she agreed. On the way, they pretending that they had a at tyre, as the girl turned her back on Hulten, he hit her with an iron bar and half-strangled her. They searched her pockets, taking everything and then threw her down by the edge of a stream. Thankfully, she lived.

Cleft Chin Murder: Later that night, the pair tried to again try and rob a taxi. They agged down a private hire car in Hammersmith Road. The driver was a 34-year-old named

The Skewen Murderer Who Brought Shame To The Village

FOCUS on SKEWEN

THE SKEWEN QUIZ

1. What year did Skewen railway station rst open?

a) 1882 b) 1899 c)1921

2. Skewen born singer Bonnie Tyler has 5 UK top 10 singles to her name, but which song was her only one to reach number one?

a) Holding out for a hero b) Total eclipse of the heart c) Times like these

3. Which comedian lived in Skewen as a child?

a) Frank Skinner b) Ruby Wax c) Eddie Izzard

4. Whose badge is this - right?

a) Coed ranc Community Council b) Skewen Bowls Club c) Abbey Lions

5. What is the o cial name for the main road which runs through Skewen (new road)?

a) A4230, b) A210 c) A4567

6. ‘Giving our children the roots to grow and the wings to y..’ is the motto of where?

a) Coed ranc Brownies, b) Coed ranc Beavers C) Coedf franc Primary School

7. Skewen RFC were Division 1 West Central Champions in what year?

a) 2013/14 b) 2015/16 c)2018/19

8. Who is the MP that represents Skewen?

a) Christina Rees b) Stephen Kinnock c) Caroline Harris

9) What do you nd between Ladbrokes and Ta ys on New road?

a) Colliers Arms b) Bentons Cards and Gifts c)Jenkins Bakery

10. What is the name of this building right?

a) Lonlas Gospel Mission b) St Josephs c) Calfaria Baptist Chapel

6)C)CoedrancPrimarySchool7)b)2015/168))bStephenKinnock9)b)BentonsCardsandGifts10)c)Calfaria

b)Totaleclipseoftheheart3)cEddieIzzard4)a)CoedrancCommunity5)aA4230

Correctanswer:1a)18822b)

BaptistChapelANSWERS

Who's Molly

In my quest to discover the 21st century music scene in Swansea, I caught a post on Facebook which highlighted a local band getting over 30,000 listens every month on Spotify. ‘Who’s Molly’ will be a familiar band to many of you and the rest of you need to get your act together!

I caught up with singer/songwriter Karl Morgan to discus the band, the Swansea music scene and what Noel Gallagher was like when they performed with him.

The obvious starting question must be, who is Molly? Haha well Molly's the singer in the band, not this band but that famous Beatles song band, but that's not where the name originated. Although I did read on Wiki once that apparently its where I got the name from?

I have been totally out of the loop with music locally and nationally for about twenty years now and I’m trying to catch up. I’d only heard your stu recently. To anyone as stuck in the 90s as me, how would you describe the band?

I guess we're indie pop, kinda like The Killers meets Imagine Dragons. Anthemic chorus' with honest small town lyrics.

30,000 plus steams a month on Spotify. That’s a lot. Has that shot up recently or has it gradually got there? It's been a gradual climb although we've been around those gures for about a year now.

I'm writing all the time and we record a lot of songs but because we're an independent band we try to release our music around something its being used on tv/ lm wise or bigger shows.

We put out Welcome to the good life when we got the Tom Cruise trailer and hit our rst million streams with a song called 'Until I found you' which was used a lot on Sky / BT sports.

Your sound from 2017 right up to now is really polished. Where are they recorded/produced? All the recordings start in my house, in my little back room studio and we build from there. Sometimes the original take is the one we use and sometimes we head into a bigger room to do drums etc... but it's a pretty small little team we have to be fair.

don't get the push or reaction you're looking for you

I know it was a while ago now but how was the

It was strange, I got my head down and just wrote wrote everyday so that I kept myself busy. I also did 'live in your living room tour' where I would insta & facebook at di erent times every week, catching fans from di parts the world on our Spotify fanbase and play acoustic show from my kitchen to theirs. It was cool and to connect with people from places I'd never been/toured.

I’m guessing, the Noel Gallaghers of this world carry on where they left. Were you able to as easily? was worried that we’d never be able to get

I totally get you, we thought the same and 2021 was booking shows, but this year's been amazing. We've some really cool festivals and a lot of shows all around UK. It feels a lot more like it was before Covid and I genuinely

What is he like? Noel. Did you get a chance to You know what, he is a complete gent. I'm sure he'd reading this because he's 'rock n roll' through and through but he is a lovely bloke. He introduced himself and gave

We've never really been to a 'big name' studio even though people might think it when they hear the tracks. It's very organic and kept in our little world.

It is really varied stu though, isn’t it? do you listen to a wide range of music yourself? Wide in uences? We all just love music, our hobbies are music and I'm not sure any of us really know how to do anything else.

I'm in uenced by everyone from The Beatles, Stones to Jacob Collier and The 1975.

I found music through the Stereophonics when I was in school. Like a lot of small-town kids, the thought of someone from our little country making it so big was mind blowing. Over the years I've got to know Kelly a little and I'm pretty close with Jamie from the Phonics (We have a record we're making together at the moment) - this year I got to play a big festival with them and hang out for side of stage before they went on which was a full circle moment for me.

Is that maybe a bene t of 21st century music? Where you aren’t forced into creating an 11 track album with a similar sound? I’m old school. I still love an album. Any on the horizon?

I love an album too but these days I think an independent band is better o dropping singles or EP's. You get to see how the music is hitting with people. The worry is without a big machine behind it if you release 11 tracks at once and they

don't get the push or reaction you're looking for you have to start again.

I know it was a while ago now but how was the whole Covid thing for you?

It was strange, I got my head down and just wrote songs, I wrote everyday so that I kept myself busy. I also did a whole 'live in your living room tour' where I would insta & facebook at di erent times every week, catching fans from di erent parts the world on our Spotify fanbase and play a little acoustic show from my kitchen to theirs. It was cool and I got to connect with people from places I'd never been/toured.

I’m guessing, the Noel Gallaghers of this world simply carry on where they left. Were you able to as easily? I was worried that we’d never be able to get this magazine out again

I totally get you, we thought the same and 2021 was tough booking shows, but this year's been amazing. We've played some really cool festivals and a lot of shows all around the UK. It feels a lot more like it was before Covid and I genuinely think people have missed watching live music.

What is he like? Noel. Did you get a chance to have a beer with him?

You know what, he is a complete gent. I'm sure he'd hate reading this because he's 'rock n roll' through and through but he is a lovely bloke. He introduced himself and gave me everything I could want from meeting a superstar.

What is Swansea like for a band coming through?

I think it's tough these days being a band from anywhere, lots of guitar music just isn't as popular or 'in' as it was, but I think you've just gotta do what you do, and not be too afraid of what people think (as hard as that is sometimes.)

Swansea has some brilliant players.

Who should we listen out for? What venues should we get to?

I really like the bunkhouse, its gritty but in the best way and I think Joe Bayliss who works at the new Swansea Arena is doing a great job of bringing some top acts to South Wales.

Also the 'In it together festival' in Margam is/was brilliant. We'll be back on the Friday mainstage in 2023 which is really exciting.

What is next for Who’s Molly?

Lots of music ready to go, hopefully a little tour in 2023 and more festivals. The key for us is building, playing really well live and looking after our fanbase. This year we have one more local show on Friday Novem ber 25th at the Grand Theatre - Ltd tickets left £22.00 (01792-475715)

If you are the new tomorrow and the revolution is here (which I seriously fucking hope it is!) what needs changing?

Haha I see what you did there, I think the world just needs a little bit more love, people need a little bit more love. Music has the capability to do amazing things, but we (as musicians and writers) just need to have the bottle to say in our songs.

Also being nice goes a fu*&ing long way. And on that note - thank you for all the hard work you put into this magazine, you're one of the good ones and we appreciate ya!

A big thanks to Karl for taking the time to talk with me. A genuinely lovely bloke (and not just for that last comment he’s put in about me!!!).

Whether we like it or not, the music world is not as it once was. The beauty of it is though, that you can get your smart phone out right now, get on Spotify, Youtube or whatever and type in ‘who’s molly’ and have a listen. If you enjoy (which I imagine you will) you can then get on the Grand theatre website and book tickets to see them perform a hometown gig next month.

Hope to see you there!

THE VEGAN REVIEW

FINDING RUSSELL THE BEST PLACES TO EAT IN AND AROUND SWANSEA.

Y Shed - Gowerton

A couple of months back, we had a fantastic breakfast in Station 86 in Gowerton. I intended to revisit the place, to review it for you and Mr Martin but sadly, it was closed. Thankfully, ‘Y Shed’ in Gowerton Driving Range was open.

First thing first, the menu is exceptionally good for vegans and vegetarians alike. The choices are different to your usual café; sweetcorn fritters, potato hash, burrito bowls and they are all set out with a meat option, a vegi option or a vegan one.

The place is really nicely set out, in a grungy, minimalistic style. The sort you’d expect while eating a vegan breakfast! Tara had vegan sweetcorn fritters which came with smashed avocado and vegetarian sausages. While I had vegi potato hash which also came with vegi sausages but also a couple of eggs. Both served in a bowl.

The food was good without being amazing. I could have done with a bit more to be honest and at £25 for the two of us with a couple of coffees, I’d expect more too. For everything that was great about the menu, I couldn’t see a standard full English breakfast. There may be one and this could just be an oversight by me but I’d have needed to re-mortgage the house in order to ‘create my own’. I started tallying it in my head and I’d reached a fiver with 2 eggs and 2 hash browns.

Other thing which was weird about it was that the window was wide open and it was cold! We are a week away from October.

It was decent and I certainly wouldn’t say that I would never return but I wouldn’t rush back either and Station 86 was better food and much better value for money in my opinion.

TRUE OR FALSE??

Give Me That Vegetable!

Are these football stories true or have I made them up? Answers on inside back page.

You might not know it but Chelsea fans have been bringing celery to the Bridge for decades now—most likely in order to pay homage to their chant ‘celery’.

However, according to a club statement from 2007, the Blues have reminded fans that bringing celery to the ground is in fact outlawed and that any fan caught bringing the "dangerous" vegetable to the ground could face a lifetime ban from the Blues' home ground.

This is the statement from the club: “The throwing of anything at a football match, including celery, is a criminal o ence for which you can be arrested and end up with a criminal record.

In future, if anyone is found attempting to bring celery into Stamford Bridge they could be refused entry and anyone caught throwing celery will face a ban.”

The statement then goes on to direct fans to a hotline they could call to report others seen carrying celery, promising that "all calls will be treated in con dence."

An eld was Everton’s home

With Goodison Park (Everton's home ground) just around the corner from An eld Road (Liverpool's home ground), the two clubs have grown in their hatred and disposition for the other—with the desire to beat their rival one of their biggest goals at the start of the season.

However, what you might not have known about the two clubs is that before the rivalry had existed, Everton's home ground was in fact An eld Road—the very ground that Liverpool now call their home and one of the tougher places to travel to in world football.

According to Everton's o cial website, the land at An eld Road was leased to the club during the late 1800s by the Orrell brothers, who were local brewers.

The To ees would play their rst game at An eld against Earlestown on September 27, 1884, and would play their rst Football League match as a professional club on September 8, 1888. Liverpool, of course, would not be founded for another four years after that date.

Everton would leave An eld Road on January 25, 1892—opting to move to the north side of Stanley Park, to the ground and area now known as Goodison Park. Liverpool (who wanted to be called Everton Athletic at the time) would then claim An eld Road as their home ground. So yes, Everton were in fact at An eld before Liverpool.

Perhaps We Just Call It a Draw?

Postponed matches in the English Premier League and FA Cup aren't that unusual, but consider for a moment just how many times the match between Lincoln City and Coventry City was postponed because of a bad winter in the season of 1962/63.

Due to play each other on January 5, 1963, the xture between Lincoln and Coventry was called o inclement weather and scheduled for a few days time.

Then it was called o again. And again. And again.

The xture was called o a total of 15 times before a match was nally played—chalking up 66 days between the start of the "round" and the end of the "round."

Coventry City eventually beat Lincoln City 5-1 on March 6.

Mind Puzzles

1) It was a grandmother (who is a mother), a mother (who is a mother and a daughter), and a daughter who went out for dinner.

2) Day and night

3) Dough

4) You, hopefully

5) It takes 1 elf 5 minutes to make a doll, so it would take 100 elves 5 minutes to make 100 dolls.

6) He waits until night time and then goes through the rst door.

7) Suicide

8) The chef. Mr. Brown was killed in the afternoon and yet the chef claimed he was making breakfast?

9) Just one. After that, your stomach is no longer