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Walter was already an old-fashioned forename in 1952, when my parents donated it to me. To be fair, they were anxious about the commonness of my surname, and eager to load me with as many other names as they could,…
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Happy birthday Michael Rosen
When I consider how the government of our country – I mean the one with the satirical name ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ – has fallen under the control of a set of unscrupulous and heartless gangsters,…
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Rhossili sunset
Three of us set off on the south Gower road to watch the sun set in Rhossili. It’s been another day of unbroken sunshine in this strange dry, cold April. The gusty wind of the early morning has dropped to…
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Edward Thomas in Gower
At last some warmth returned with the sun, and I took the rough path along the top of the cliff between Rotherslade and Limeslade. The sea was calm, empty and quiet, except for one thing: the bell of a floating…
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Doethineb a dannedd
Yr wythnos ddiwethaf collais i ddant. Ffordd anghywir, wrth gwrs, o ddisgrifio’r hyn ddigwyddodd – fel petaswn i wedi anghofio mynd ag e gyda fi wrth adael trên neu fws. Mewn gwirioedd, tynnodd y deintydd y dant allan o’m genau…
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Billie Holiday’s last day
Billie Holiday died aged 44 in a New York hospital at 3:10am on Friday 17 July 1959. Some failed to notice. The New York Times published a short obit, but only on page 15. But for those who cared about…
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Closely observed hot chocolate
From my early childhood, an evening mug of hot chocolate has been a small but constant source of comfort. I suspect it’s a common addiction. Chocolate drinking is not a failing that many grown-up people own up to, and certainly…
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Prussian Blue
Like a teenager, C. has fallen hopelessly in love, with a visitor from the Continent. I didn’t see it coming. And the worst thing is that I’m not sure it’s a temporary infatuation that will soon pass. It’s taken a…
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Sir Humphrey Mackworth, ‘a genius richer than thy mines below’
The earth, thy great exchequer, ready lies is the title of a superb new collection of stories by the Welsh writer Jo Lloyd, who won the BBC National Short Story Award in 2019. The nine pieces are very different one…
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Murdering trees
A powerful symbol of the continuing human assault on the natural world is the wanton destruction of trees. The outstanding example must be the wholesale clearing of Amazonian rainforests by the Brazilian government (over 11,000 square kilometres were destroyed in…