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Showing posts from July, 2018

A jolly TV interview

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Not long ago I did an interview for Showboat TV (based in Pembroke Dock) — with author Judith Barrow as interviewer. Go to the main page for the TV station:   http://www.showboat.tv/ And click on “Booksmart - Brian John” to watch the interview.  Quite wide-ranging — and it was nice, for a change, not to be restricted to a couple of minutes........ Enjoy!

About Martha

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..........for better or for worse, Martha is a nineteenth-century version of super-woman. From the beginning she is very beautiful and very sexy, and as she blossoms into womanhood she gains a reputation as the most beautiful woman in Wales. Little wonder that many readers said, when they first encountered her, that Catherine Zeta Jones had to play her when the film came to be made! She is well educated, and has a very inquiring mind. She is a competent musician and a moderately talented artist. She speaks English, Welsh, French and Dimetian Welsh fluently. She reads widely, and is attracted to “subversive” or radical literature. Her liberal views frequently lead her into trouble, and it is quite natural that she should be concerned about the plight of slaves and convicts and all those who might be oppressed or victimized by the crown, the government, and impersonal institutions. She has concerns about voting reform and womens’ rights, and she sympathises with the Chartis...

The sad story of “The Lan”

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Some years ago a number of well-known politicians (including Carwyn Jones, Tony Benn, Jane Hutt, Dafydd Wigley and Rhodri Morgan) endorsed and supported an ambitious project designed to bring the Gwaelod y Garth mining disaster of 1875 to the screen.  The story of the disaster was told in a book called “The House of Abraham Phillips” by Norma Procter, and it looks as if she also provided the screenplay for the project.  Initially (in 2014) the director was going to be Gabriel Beristain, but in the final push to get the film made (in 2016) David Ball was listed as director.  David, a film industry professional with particular expertise in film finance, seems to have been the most vociferous proponent of the project.  There was lots of coverage in the press, and it was flagged up that Catherine Zeta Jones and Rhys Ifans had been offered roles.  It was never reported that they had actually accepted..... In the most recent press release (February 2016) it sound...