The January 2017 edition of Welsh Country Magazine is now available in newsagents, supermarkets (and Marks and Spencer) across Wales, price £2.95. I write this time about the strange eccentric Richard Jones from the Llyn Peninsular who was born in 1780. He became better known as Dic Aberdaron, an itinerant with a peculiar gift for…
Category: News
Stock Levels
We have sold a few books in the last couple of weeks and I have now indicated on the front page of the website the number of copies we have in stock. I will be unable to re-stock any of the titles before Christmas, since the distributers don’t have the titles I need. Swansea Murders…
Christmas Cards by Jason O’Brien – 2016 Offer
As you can see, I have some beautiful Christmas cards by the artist Jason O’Brien and you can buy them on this website on the How to Buy Page. Just click here and the page will open in a new window. You need to scroll to the bottom…
Frederick Higginson OBE DFC DFM
A bit delayed I know but these are busy days… My article about Welsh gravestones in the latest edition of Welsh Country Magazine (November 2016) is a strangely-overlooked story from Gorseinon, Swansea. It is about Frederick Higginson a WW2 fighter pilot.. He fought in the Battle of Britain and was awarded the DFM but was…
The Pontardawe Ripper Update
Some clarification is needed I think following the publication of my article in The South Wales Evening Post about The Pontardawe Ripper earlier this week. The newspaper suggested that the story was taken from a new publication and in so doing created some confusion. I can confirm that there is no book about the Pontardawe Ripper…
Half Term October 2016 News from Bethan
I am on holiday with two of our grandchildren Bethan and Sam who live in Sutton in London. Today we went to Beckenham where we had a very good walk in Kelsey Park. Here is what Bethan has to say. In the park , we saw a Heron and after a few moments it flew…
Fifty Gems
I have signed contracts with Amberley Publishing to deliver two titles by the end of 2017. These are – 50 Gems of South West Wales (Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Gower) 50 Gems of Mid Wales (Ceredigion and Powys) The books will be an attractive mixture ( I hope) of words and pictures. We are looking forward…
Laurel and Hardy
22 September 1952 Laurel and Hardy appeared at the Empire Theatre on Oxford Street in Swansea. They stayed in the Mackworth Hotel on High Street and often sat on their balcony waving at their fans. They should have played Swansea again in May 1954 but the booking was cancelled due to Oliver Hardy’s illness. …
Swansea Library 17 September 2016
My next talk is approaching fast! In the Discovery Room of the Central Library at 2.00 pm on Saturday 17 September 2016. Swansea in the 1950sOf course, there will be copies of all my books on sale!
How others see us
I came across an interesting piece in The Cambrian published on 17 August 1894. It is called How Others See Us and reports the impressions formed by a visitor to Swansea. Here is an extract from it. In Swansea you are mixed up with a none-too cleanly lot. Of course now I refer to the…