Writing prompt – voices

Dylan Thomas summerhouse at Laugharne CastleWithin the grounds of Laugharne Castle is a stone summerhouse where Dylan Thomas and author Richard Hughes would come to write.

Today there is a note from Dylan’s wife Caitlin warning him not to leave the radio on and run the batteries down. More magical, however, is the fact you can turn on the radio and hear Dylan and Richard nattering (might be actors, but who can say?).

What voices from history would you like to overhear? Can you grant your wish to a character in a story?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley(at)iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.

In the footprints of Dylan

Seimon Pugh-Jones at the Tin Shed, Laugharne. Photo cr Graham Harris of GPhotography

Seimon Pugh-Jones at the Tin Shed, Laugharne. Photo cr Graham Harris of GPhotography

Dylan Thomas was born on this day in 1914, making it entirely appropriate to celebrate with an artist I met in the town where he wrote much of his poetry, and the play Under Milk Wood.

I encounter Seimon Pugh-Jones in Laugharne while exploring the Tin Shed museum – a marvel of a place dedicated to wartime memorabilia. There’s even an Anderson shelter in the back garden, and countless ephemera such as old letters and guides for American GIs posted in Britain with glorious cultural titbits such as ‘Reserved, not unfriendly…”

Seimon is one of the museum’s founders, with a background in film photography. He’s currently absorbed in painting all the characters from Dylan Thomas ‘play for voices’, Under Milk Wood.

I’d done stills photography for the History Channel. It was for a series called ‘Battle Stations’, which gave me a lot of experience in historical reconstruction pictures,” says Seimon. “That basically means, recreating images in the style of original WW2 pictures. Costume, props and vehicles had to be accurate to the period and then I would create a little story within the image to add some pseudo-reality, if that makes sense.”

Through “being at the right place at the right time”, Seimon was invited to work on Band of Brothers, supplying ‘newsreel’ style footage shot on a vintage camera. “I even got a bit part. That was an amazing experience,” he comments.

Seimon then became a stills photographer for an American history magazine called Armchair General. “I did ‘reconstruction style photography’ full time for four years, and loved it, but then my contract came to end and I was out of work,” he says. “Because I had a large collection of costume and props, I ended up opening the Tin Shed museum with a friend of mine, Andrew Isaacs, in Laugharne.”

After focusing on working on the museum for several years, Seimon was interviewed for a web-based photo-site. “One of the questions asked me was ‘What’s your next project?’ I’d committed myself to an exhibition of photography at a local gallery, and when I listened back to the interview, I realised I’d lost the enthusiasm for taking pictures.”

He adds: “I’m a bit old school, I love shooting on film and working in the dark room. There are some great photographers out there, but Photoshop and computer-manipulated images have taken the magic away from photography for me… But I’d made a promise to fill the gallery, so what could I do? I’d dabbled a bit with painting, nothing serious..so I though, Give it a go!”

Captain Cat by Seimon Pugh-Jones

Captain Cat by Seimon Pugh-Jones

He says producing portraits of Under Milk Wood’s characters was almost inevitable. “I live in Laugharne, virtually opposite to where Dylan Thomas is buried,” he says. “It’s a magical place and I quite understand how he got his inspiration for Under Milk Wood. This led me to take a photograph of a friend of mine, John Bradshaw, dressed as Captain Cat, with a fish on his head, (as you do) as a little photo project. It worked well as a picture, so I thought I’d paint him. It turned out ok. And as Captain Cat needs a Rosie Probert, she was next.”

Using the people of Laugharne as models for this was equally inevitable.

“Rosie Probert was another friend of mine, Lorrain King, who sings in the band I play for, Trenchfoot. That’s another story. As the paintings progressed, I realised I needed models…then I realised it would be so much fun getting my friends involved. So it went on from there.”

Mrs Ogmore Pritchard by Seimon Pugh-Jones

Mrs Ogmore Pritchard by Seimon Pugh-Jones

All kinds of details are to hand to bring the caricatures to life.

“Dylan Thomas has given the caricature such depth and richness, and a back story. I try and make the expressions realistic to those ‘moments’. I also try and incorporate subtle bits of humour.”

Running the Tin Shed museum offers endless opportunities for staging and painting the portraits. “I love vintage fashion, and having props and costume to hand makes it interesting too,” he comments. “The museum is not for profit, we can’t take a wage from it, so being able to paint around the museum, so to speak, is very handy.”

Evans The Death by Seimon Pugh-Jones

Evans The Death by Seimon Pugh-Jones

The lack of technology involved in his painting style is also appealing. “I suppose going back to ‘Old school’ works for me. I think art has replaced what I was missing in photography. It’s a new challenge.”

You can see more of Seimon’s paintings dotted around Laugharne, as well as encountering his models going about their everyday lives in a variety of settings around the village!

No Good Boyo by Seimon Pugh-Jones

No Good Boyo by Seimon Pugh-Jones

He admits that showing his models the finished works is always a tense moment.

“This is the nerve wrenching bit, because Under Milk wood is full of colourful caricatures. I have to make sure my models are comfortable with the casting. But so far, I’ve had a great response… Fingers crossed for the next series!”

Find Seimon at www.pughjones.co.uk.

Are you an artist or do you know an artist who would like to be showcased on SkyLightRain.com? Get in touch at judy(at)socketcreative.com.

A retreat in Laugharne

Taf Etsuary, Laugharne cr Judy DarleyWhile others seek winter sun (and yes, I’m tempted), I often find myself drawn to the more secluded places, the out-of-season contemplative corners where mist and moss hang from the trees and the only sound may be the distant waterfall of a curlew’s call.

Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Taf, is one such place. I had the chance to spend four foggy, magical days there in Spring 2012, and returned there this November.

Laugharne signpost cr Judy Darley

Home to poet Dylan Thomas for the last four years of his life (he died in 1953), Laugharne is the perfect spot to squirrel yourself away for plenty of thinking space and glorious views.

With my family, I stayed at the Season’s resort situated on the hill there, in a self-catering cottage with views over the Taf Estuary and the village rumoured to have been the starting point for the fictional Llareggub in Dylan’s Under Milk Wood. Although the invented name looks genuine enough for that area of Wales, if you reverse it you’ll discover the words bugger all, which tells you everything you need to know about this peaceful retreat.

Milk Wood, Laugharne cr Judy Darley

Ironically, Dylan’s time there has resulted in a number of attractions to visit and influxes of literary minded tourists in high summer, but at this time of year the majority of the visitors are wading birds, searching the estuary’s shallows for molluscs.

Just along a little forest track from the resort, called Dylan’s Walk (and decorated lavishly with the afore-mention mist and moss hung trees), you’ll find Dylan’s writing shed, where you can peer in through the glass-panelled door and see it just as he left it, with a jacket hung over the back of his chair and bottles, books, paper and other ephemera littering the desk and shelves. I think it looks as though he’s nipped out for a moment’s think, and is standing somewhere nearby staring out at the Taf and swilling words around his mouth.

Dylan Thomas writing shed cr Judy Darley

A short way beyond this, you’ll find the Dylan Thomas Boathouse where he lived with his family, and now a museum. It’s a lovely building, with a cute café so you can pause for a coffee and a ponder. The Boathouse is also a great place for a spot of word bombing, as I did in 2012!

Boathouse word bomb cr Judy Darley

Boathouse word bomb cr Judy Darley1

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few minutes walk in the other direction leads to the village past the dramatic ruined Laugharne castle, which apparently boasts a summerhouse where Dylan used to write – presumably when he needed a very slight change of view. He described the castle as “Brown as owls” in his Poem in October.

Laugharne Castle cr Judy Darley

He was also known for frequenting Brown’s Hotel, which still thrives today – apparently his routine was to write at his shed in the mornings and then head to Brown’s in the afternoons, where he could drink beer as he wrote. According to the hotel’s website, he said he liked to “moulder” in the corner facing the entrance as he worked. Back then it was known simply as a bar with room, but now it’s a luxury boutique hotel – ideal for a romantic hideaway.

If you head inland from Dylan’s writing shed, you’ll eventually reach St. Martin’s Church, where Dylan Thomas’ grave is marked by a plain white cross with exquisitely curly lettering. The name of his wife, Caitlin, adorns the other side as she’s buried with him. It looks like they’re finally achieving the marital harmony in death that eluded them in life!

Further afield there are plenty of diversions. On our previous visit, we spent a pleasant day visiting the pretty harbour town of Tenby, and this time we went to Carmarthen and Pendine Beach, and called in at the excellent National Botanical Garden of Wales – another perfectly tranquil spot – on our way back to England.

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How to write a dictionary

DICTIONARY FOR DYLAN - DOOZIEToday’s guest post comes from award-winning poet Emily Hinshelwood, and offers details of her Dictionary for Dylan project, shares her passion for words, and invites you to get involved.

Two years before his death, Dylan Thomas said: “words are the most important things to me ever.” He commented that as a young child he had fallen in love at once. “There they were, seemingly lifeless, made only of black and white, but out of them, out of their own being, came love and terror and pity and pain. Out of them came the gusts and grunts and hiccups and heehaws of the common fun of the earth.”

Relish a literary legacy

When I was invited to be the writer in residence in one of this year’s centenary projects, The Dylan Thomas’ Pop-up Writing Shed, I knew I wanted to do something that enjoyed words and involved people in playing with them. Dylan Thomas crafted his works with such skill and dedication that this seemed to me to be a fitting tribute to a man who had lived for and loved those black and white shapes.

I also wanted to encourage people to explore their own use of language, and not to feel restricted to using words as they appear in our dictionaries. So I decided to invite people to invent entirely new words and their associated meanings. It’s something that anyone of almost any age can do – and at the end of the year I’ll be compiling the words into a Dictionary: The Dictionary for Dylan.

 

The pop-up writing shed is a replica of Dylan’s iconic shed in Laugharne where he worked for the last four years of his life. It has been faithfully re-created down to the curled pictures on the walls, the cigarette butts, the beer bottles on the desk, and his jacket on the back of the chair. And it’s on wheels!

Gorslas school with shed

Tap into the hwyl

So since February I have had my head in the shed, visiting schools and festivals, talking with people about Dylan Thomas and being witness to the birth of literally thousands of new words.

People’s eyes light up when they hear that their word will go into a dictionary. Often it is a family word that they’ve used for generations, or a word one of their children coined when they were learning to speak. Some people make an anagram their name or splice two words together, or do what Dylan did and write them backwards. There are those that give me the detailed etymology of the word, those that produce onomatopoeic words, those that give multiple definitions. And so far I have not had the same word twice!

I’m delighted with the response, the imagination and the hwyl with which people are embracing the project. (in case you were wondering, hwyl means ‘stirring feeling of emotional motivation and energy’) And it’s not restricted to people who come into the shed. We have an online form and a postcard for people to send me their words.

 

Marvel at what rolls in!

I find it fascinating the different kinds of words people invent. In primary schools they are often about superpowers and magical creatures, the world with infinite possibilities; in secondary schools there seems to be a lot of words that reflect teenage anxieties, the loss of friends, or being hurt by gossip; then there are all the situational words, eg in Hay Festival (pictured above) there were plenty of words about mud and waiting around too long for friends!

I have many, many favourites and I tweet a word of the day @dylandictionary; but just to give you an idea here’s a few:

MECHANAISSANCE the period 1860-1980 when machinery & typewriters were used. (Euan Sinclair)
BOOZEFUMBLE to botch any activity while under the influence or drink (Alan)
WELLIBRATION a happy event where everyone wears wellies (Rebecca McGrattan)
TWACKERED To be exhausted from looking after twins (Daniel McCallum)
KETTELAK When there’s not quite enough water in the kettle for all the cups of tea (Annette Edwards)
KLANGSKRUNT hatred of piped ‘music’ in cafe’s, shops and other places (Kathryn Stone)
EXPAEDIATE to win time away from your children (Randal Turner)
NOGARD someone who doubts the existence of dragons (Nuala Reid)
HONKY-PONKY the sexual activity of geese (Mike Maguire)
FRAMBOIDLED sunburnt (Peter C. Frost)
BAGSEA to secure a place by the sea (Sarah Jenkins)
GOBULUS talking endless jibberish (Sarah E Fenton)
SNOZEFELDE a favourite blanket or piece of material which aids sleep (Claire Neville)
MEMDIMION A moment when you forget a long-standing acquaintance’s name (Delyth Eirwyn)
NOXILATE to perplex someone with endless facts (Lara Gardner)
LILLENPOP a person who refuses to take life seriously (Olivia Field)
POSICULT A collective noun for optimists (Leigh Keen)

If you would like to contribute a word to the dictionary, please do send it to us via the online form at www.dylanthomasboathouse.com/dictionary-for-dylan, and keep your eyes peeled for the shed. It really is popping up all over the place!

Emily Hinshelwood at writing shed

Author bio

Emily Hinshelwood (pictured above) is a freelance writer, performer, animator and community arts facilitator. Winner of the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry, Emily performs her poetry in a variety of settings, from outdoor poetry walks, to the sitting rooms in IKEA, to sustainability conferences as well as traditional arts venues. Her recent poetry collection, On Becoming a Fish was inspired by a series of walks around the 186-mile Pembrokeshire coastal path and took seven years to complete. She has won many literary awards for her poems and is especially interested in engaging audiences with poetry. Emily also runs a programme of Arts and Climate change projects for the charity Awel Aman Tawe, which engages people in the issues of climate change through a variety of arts genres.