Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy. This column appears in the South Wales Evening Post, Carmarthen Journal and Llanelli Star. Website – www.philevans.co.uk
“If you want your children to be intelligent . . . read them fairy tales.
“If you want your children to be very intelligent . . . read them more fairy tales”.
That’s a statement that people uninterested in books might not agree with.
Nevertheless, there’s plenty of evidence that children who are read fairy tales by their parents, grandparents or guardians, soon develop a love for books.
They also gain a basic understanding of language, emotions and the difference between right and wrong.
Being ‘read to’ helps them develop skills in reading and writing much faster than children who haven’tbeen ‘read to’.
You may well say, “It’s not rocket science!”
Go ahead. I can’t hear you.
But itdoeshave a scientific connection because the person who made that statement at the top of this article was none other than Albert Einstein – and even people who don’t read books have heard of him.
This time of year, with Halloween just behind us (Hooray for that!) and the pantomime season about to begin, (an even bigger hooray for that!)witches, fairies, mermaids, giants, evil wizards and beautiful princesses are in the ether.
Traditionally, fairy stories and their pantomime adaptations are based around a pretty heroine being rescued by a handsome hero.
Who would question a formula that’s worked for centuries?
Actress Keira Knightley, that’s who.
She’s banned her three-year old daughter from watching Disney films in which the heroine is rescued by and eventually marries a prince . . . because “These films are about waiting around for a rich guy to rescue you! No, rescue yourself!”
Frankly, I’m not sure a three-year old would understand such a heavy message and if her mum threatened to throw away her “Cinderella” and “Little Mermaid” DVDs she’d probably have a tantrum.
Then, the only way Keira could get her to sleep would be to read her a fairy tale about a princess and a handsome prince . . .
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Local achievements:
Last Saturday, I hosted a special community awards event, the Business Network International (BNI) Annual Awards Dinner at the Diplomat Hotel, Llanelli.
For the third year in a row, this event was another extremely well-supported success.
Worthy members of the BNI Group were recognised for their outstanding contributions to the Llanelli chapter’s success (a local business group that has been established for over 12 years).
The very worthy winners were:
Graeme Fox, of Davies Craddock Insurance Brokers, Llanelli.
John Dray, of Cloud Genius, Llanelli.
Steffan Thomas, of Property Maintenance, Llangennech.
Business makes the world go round and the BNI members do their best to keep business ‘local’ and keep the West Wales economy moving and growing.
The event was supported by Llanelli councillors and other VIPs, including Ms Suzy Curry, Miss Molly Curry and Mr John Prosser.
There is so much good out there in our local communities and we are surrounded by people who make this world just a little bit better every day.
I was lucky enough to meet many of them on this unforgettable evening.
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You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales and www.philevans.co.uk
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