-
This week I finally managed to get to St Illtud’s Church in Llanelltyd, near Dolgellau, and see for myself the stone, just over three feet tall and chained up like a dog, that sits on a low plinth at the…
-
Watcyn Wyn a’r ‘Welsh Note’
Pedair brawddeg sy gan Wicipedia i’w ddweud am Watkyn Hezekiah Williams. Ond yn ei ddydd roedd ‘Watcyn Wyn’ yn adnabyddus iawn fel bardd, ac fel sefydlwr ysgol nodedig, Ysgol Gwynfryn, Rhydaman. Dim ond arbenigwyr, siŵr o fod, sy’n darllen ei…
-
Three Courtauld women
When I used to travel to London regularly, the Courtauld Gallery was one of my favourite places to visit. Last weekend I went back, for the first time since its extraordinarily expensive (£57m) makeover, which closed it for three years. …
-
E.M. Forster invents the iPad
Years ago my friend C and I challenged each other to read, all the way through, a Classic Long Book. My challenge was Moby-Dick, and his was Bleak House. Whether C ever reached Melville’s majestic final line, ‘… and the…
-
A coast-to-coast walk
I’m no Alfred Wainwright, and this is no marathon journey like the one he devised across northern England, but on 19 September I made up my own coast-to-coast walk. It’s worth sharing with you, since in its small way it’s…
-
John Singer Sargent in Morocco
In 1879, years before he became known as the world’s most famous society portrait painter, John Singer Sargent left Paris, where he had trained as an artist in the studio of Carolus-Duran, and travelled south, to Spain and north Africa. Carolus-Duran…
-
‘Rhyngom’ gan Sioned Erin Hughes
Pan enillodd Sioned Erin Hughes y Fedal Ryddiaith yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Tregaron ym mis Awst am ei chasgliad o straeon byrion Rhyngom, roedd yr ymateb gan ddarllenwyr yn gynnes ac yn frwd. A dim syndod, achos bod y llyfr yn…
-
Poor boy long ways from home
Has a song title ever said so much in so few words? This one has the reputation of being one of the oldest blues songs. That’s a claim that’s hard to substantiate, but this song certainly has a long history,…
-
Stephen W. Williams, engineer, architect, archaeologist
His name’s been familiar to me for years, but it’s only in recent months that I’ve got to know him better. In May this year I happened to stay the night in Penralley House, his home in Rhayader, and earlier…
-
Hospital notes
1 When I arrive, the ward is full. I’m redirected to where the ophthalmology patients wait. It’s a poor fit: my body part for attention is some way south of the eyes. The surgeon comes, to tell me briefly what…