“TRY and steer clear of religion and politics,” was the advice of my editor when he recklessly gifted me this weekly column.

For the most part, I have tried to heed his wise words, but the influence of Easter can be blamed for straying into religious matters – and I am sure the editor will be in a forgiving mood.

Saturday morning found me having a cup of coffee with the Rt Rev Dorrien Davies, the 130th Bishop of St Davids, but that is a story for another day . . .

For, my focus today is on a famous name from Swansea’s past, the late Rev Leon Atkin, a man once described as the city’s ‘rebel priest’, who is still remembered with great affection.

I never met Leon, but I was pals with his son, Con Atkin (now, sadly departed), the much-respected, pinstripe-suited, cigar-smoking editor of the old Herald of Wales weekly newspaper.

Leon’s place in Swansea’s history is secure –

• The October,1953, photo of Leon and his pal Dylan Thomas is the last picture of the poet taken in Swansea, before his final, fateful, trip to America.
• And, in 1934, Leon famously led the protests at a rally staged by English Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley at the Plaza Cinema. Mosley and his Blackshirts were run out of town (Swansea wasn’t a city back then!).

The Rev Leon Atkin’s colourful life is worthy of a book (forgive me if there is one out there that I have failed to find).

The memories of his time in Swansea are so strong that there is something of a campaign brewing to honour him with a statue or blue plaque.

Kath Smith started the debate on the excellent Swansea Past and Present Facebook page (check it out; it’s excellent).

She wrote: ‘Who remembers the legend that was the Rev Leon Atkin? Another local person who helped make Swansea great. In many respects, he seemed like a Marxist Methodist, totally on the side of the homeless and dispossessed.

‘I never saw him without his beret as he went around the pubs collecting for charity. He opened St Paul’s Crypt as a night shelter. I feel he should have a memorial statue . . . either that, or Swansea people should have a Leon Day, donate to the homeless and proudly wear a beret!’

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography has an excellent essay by D Ben Rees on ‘Atkin, Leon (1902-1976), minister of the Social Gospel and a campaigner for the underclass in south Wales’.

Born in Lincolnshire on July 26, 1902, Leon was one of seven children. The family lived next door to the Methodist chapel. Though they were Anglicans, Leon attended activities next door and became a Methodist.

After serving an apprenticeship as an engineer, Leon was accepted as a student for the ministry and received his training at the Methodist College in Handsworth, Birmingham.

His subsequent career was colourful and unconventional, to say the least.

In 1932, he decided on a move to Swansea. St Paul’s only had 12 members and a debt of £2,000 at the time of his arrival.

He began his open-air ministry by holding meetings in a place called the Forum. His congregation grew at St Paul’s from 10 to 200 on Sunday nights in the winter and to 500 in the summer.

Atkin went on to be a councillor on Swansea Borough Council and developed his ministry among needy people.

His care for the disadvantaged and the ‘down and outs’ was featured widely in the Press, including the News of the World.

In the bitter winter of 1947, his chapel became a refuge for dozens of men who would otherwise have perished. Every Friday, Leon visited the public houses of Swansea to collect money to help poor children.

The essay by D Ben Rees concludes: ‘Atkin could not be content within any movement or organisation. He was a maverick, an extreme individualist who missed few opportunities to taunt the Nonconformists and the Labourites.’

A remarkable guy, no doubt. Anyone care to join a campaign for a blue plaque?

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IT is a fact of modern life that recent years have seen an erosion of the importance of Easter as a religious holiday.

True, some supermarkets shut up shop on Easter Sunday, but most people – and sporting and cultural events – pay little respect to the significance of Easter.

At Lloyd HQ, Good Friday is generally a peaceful, family day . . . so, imagine my surprise, then, to have a charity canvasser ringing my bell and rattling my doorknocker at 11am.

The canvasser, from Make-A-Wish UK, seemed baffled when I pointed out that it was Good Friday and probably not to the best day to be disturbing people at home.

“Baffled’ is diplomatic description – as the young lad, dressed in full charity livery with ID card, laughed in my face and said he didn’t understand what Good Friday was about.

The conversation which followed was short and sweet, but I sent him on his way.

The visit did rattle my cage and I felt obliged to pen an email to Make-A-Wish UK.

To be fair, one of their ‘experience executives’ responded quickly –

‘It is never our intention to cause any distress, especially on a day of religious significance like Good Friday.

‘We will address it with our team to ensure that such incidents are avoided in the future. We understand and respect the importance of religious observances, and we apologise for any insensitivity displayed by our representative.

‘Once again, please accept our sincere apologies for any offense (sic) caused.’

I replied, ‘Apology accepted’. Enough said. Let’s move on.

Photos: Leon Atkin and Dylan Thomas is from the Evening Post, October 1953.

Other Leon Atkin photos are credited to the National Library of Wales.

IT’S time to get the running shoes back on for the Carmarthen Mayor’s Fun Run Races on May Day Bank Holiday, Monday, May 6.

Online entries are now open and the whole family can get involved.

The races have been held in Carmarthen every year since 1982, apart from 2020 and 2021 when they were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Race organiser Noelwyn Daniel, from Healthy Life Activities, said: “This will be the 41^st running of the races and we are immensely proud that they remain a regular feature in the sporting and leisure calendar for Carmarthen.

“We are hoping for a bumper turnout in both the 5k and the fun run races.

“The 5k and fun run races for the juniors provide something for everyone, from the athletes looking to record personal bests, to the fun runners who enjoy dressing up in fancy dress and raising money for charity.

“We are keen to inject as much fun as possible into the event, encouraging people to take part in fancy dress and asking local sporting teams, organisations, businesses, pubs and clubs to consider entering teams.”

Mr Daniel added: “The beauty of the races is that they take place in the heart of the town centre in Carmarthen, affording great opportunities for spectators to cheer on the runners.

“We are encouraging businesses to dress up in the corporate colours and logos and earn themselves some free publicity by taking part. It’s a great team-building event for any business.”

The event has raised thousands of pounds for charity over the years, with many local groups and organisations benefiting.

For the serious runners, there will be electronic chip timing in operation for the 5k fun run.

The Mayor of Carmarthen, Cllr Wyn Thomas, will be on hand to start all the races and present medals and trophies to all runners.

The main 5K race starts at 10am, followed by staggered start times from 11am for the children’s races.

Volunteers will also be needed to marshal on the day.

Marshals are all asked to meet in St Peter’s Hall at 9am on race day.

Registration on the day will be at St Peter’s Civic Hall, Nott Square.

The race routes are the same as those used last year.

RACE TIMETABLE

10:00am – 5km FUN RUN

Males under 40, V + 40, V + 50, V + 60 (1st, 2nd, 3rd)

Females under 35, V + 35, V + 45, V + 55 (1st, 2nd, 3rd)

Secondary Yrs 9,10,11 Boys & Girls (1st, 2nd, 3^rd)

Best Fancy Dress

1st Corporate Team

11:00 Primary School Girls Years 1& 2

11:10 Presentation of trophies for adults fun run

11:20 Primary School Boys Years 1 & 2

11:35 Primary School Girls Years 3 & 4

11:50 Primary School Boys Years 3 & 4

12:05 Primary School Girls Years 5 & 6

12:20 Primary School Boys Years 5 & 6

12:35 Secondary School Girls & Boys Years 7 & 8

12:45 MINI FUN RUN – 6 years & Under (may be accompanied by an adult)

1:10 Presentation for Junior Races

Presentation of Trophies to all 1st, 2nd & 3rd in all categories.

Medals will be presented to all finishers.

For more details, see the website page at – http://www.healthylifeactivities.co.uk/mayors-fun-run

JIMMY DIDN’T MAKE A BIG PRODUCTION OF THE SINGER’S INTRODUCTION

When you’re a comedian, nervously standing in the wings, trying to remember your first gag (and the one after that!), you don’t want to be distracted by the compere/club secretary mangling your introduction.

It’s happened to me.

“Please welcome a young comedian making his first appearance here. Put your hands together for . . . Bill Evans!”

I learned quickly it’s useless (and humiliating) shouting out, “Excuse me! It’s Phil Evans!” because the compere won’t hear you, even over half-hearted applause.

So, before I introduce a comedian or speakers, I always ensure they’re happy with what I’ll be saying.

Singer Ronnie Hilton was a big TV and recording star in the 1950s, but like many ‘crooners’, his career faltered with the arrival of ‘beat groups’ in the early 60s. However, he had a hit with “Windmill In Old Amsterdam” in 1965, worked in cabaret and social clubs and had a show on BBC Radio 2.

Later in his career, he took a booking at a social club in the south Wales valleys, for not a lot of money, where the ‘seen it all before’ club secretary asked him “How d’yer want to be introduced?”

Ronnie replied, as he must have many times before, “He’s had five No1 records. And appeared on three Royal Variety Performances. This man has done it all!”

The club secretary, bursting to show he wasn’t impressed by such achievements, asked, cockily, “So, what you doin’ h’yer, then?”

Ronnie’s reply isn’t on record.

But I’ve got a good idea what I would have said.

When Jimmy Tarbuck hosted “Sunday Night At The London Palladium”, after he’d quickly changed into a Musketeer’s costume during a commercial break, in readiness for a comedy sketch, he was told the sketch had been dropped because the show was over-running.

So, he had to introduce the top of the bill while dressed, for no apparent reason, as The One Musketeer!

Flustered, young Tarby forgot the name of the star, so said, “Please welcome a lady who needs no introduction!”

After the show, the lady in question (Petula Clark) said, “Jimmy. That was the loveliest introduction I’ve ever had!”

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Well – I’m glad Easter is over; there is only so much chocolate one can eat.

Safely!

Personally, I didn’t have any Easter eggs, but everywhere I went there were chocolate eggs for sale.

For the record, I’ve picked a few up today at a fraction of the price they were last week.

It was worth the wait.

Don’t judge me on this.

We all like a bargain from time to time.

We all have our funny ways and if we were all ‘perfect’ or the same, life would be so flipping boring, and I wouldn’t have anything to write about every week.

In fact, you would probably see me sitting in a coffee shop somewhere, staring into my cup.

Can you imagine?

We should all embrace and celebrate our differences.

Many of the greatest people in history often didn’t fit in.

Yet not fitting in turned out to be a huge asset for them.

They possibly didn’t know this at the time, but by being true to themselves and applying a good work ethic, they stood out and greatness was achieved.

Maybe this is something we could all think about?

THE busy ladies of the popular Côr Curiad Choir in Llanelli have a special concert coming up right in the heart of the town.

The historic St Elli Parish Church will be the venue for a spring charity concert on Friday, April 19 (7pm).

All proceeds from the concert will go towards church funds.

Tickets are £10 and are available from the email address marianneosborne@cinw.org.uk or by ringing 01554 227427.

Côr Curiad ladies choir has been running for more than 25 years and has 40-plus members. The choir includes mothers, daughters and sisters, as well as ‘pals’. They even have members who live outside of Wales.

The choir’s musical director is Alex Esney.

Down the years, the choir has raised thousands for charities, including Llanelli’s Ty Bryngwyn Hospice and the Wales Air Ambulance.

You can find out more about Côr Curiad on their Facebook page at – https://www.facebook.com/Corcuriad

Meanwhile, after two years of rehearsing at St Elli Church, Llanelli Chamber Choir members have relocated to the Athenaeum at Llanelli Library.

The choir will continue to hold major concerts at the church, as it offers a magnificent venue to showcase its repertoire.

In its very short history, the choir, under the direction of Piet Zorn, has tackled various musical challenges, including performances of Stainer’s Crucifixion, Faure’s Requiem, and (last year) a memorable rendition of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

The choir members are regular guests at Christmas and Summer concerts at the church organised by Loud Applause Rising Stars.

Currently, the choir is diligently preparing Haydn’s Creation, set to be performed at the church on Saturday, September 28.

Prior to that, on Friday, June 14, the choir will host a fundraising concert to help gather the funds necessary for staging the event.

The choir will commence rehearsals at its new venue in the library on Monday, April 8. Rehearsals will take place once a week, from 6.30 to 8.30 pm.

A spokesman for Llanelli Chamber Choir said: “We are a mixed choir with more than 40 members. No audition is required. All that is needed is a love for music and the desire to perform wonderful pieces.”

You can find out more about Llanelli Chamber Choir on their Facebook page at – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090227216918

In other news, later this month, there will be a massive concert showcasing Welsh male voice choirs at their very best.

The Royal Albert Hall will be hosting 500 men, representing 23 choirs, on Saturday, April 27.

The event is organised by the Welsh Male Choirs Association.

The musical director for the evening will be Dr Alwyn Humphreys MBE, who will be supported by the celebrated musicians Caradog Williams (Burry Port) and Huw Tregelles Williams OBE (Loughor).

Mr Tregelles Williams, President of the Welsh Male Choirs Association, said: “The evening will show that choral singing among men is alive and well – despite the struggles we have faced in recent years.”

The concert will also feature tenor Osian Wyn Bowen (Burry Port) and celebrated cellist Steffan Morris (Loughor).

The award-winning ladies choir, Parti Llwchwr, will also perform.

The compere will be BBC journalist, presenter and broadcaster Garry Owen.

Tickets can be ordered through the Royal Albert Hall ticket office.

Further information can be obtained through Alun Thomas on 07795 194498 or email alunethomas@btinternet.com

Meanwhile, members of Llanelli Youth Theatre are getting warmed up for what is going to be a busy 40^th anniversary year.

LYT will be staging a special 40^th anniversary concert at Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli on Saturday, June 1.

Then, in September, LYT will be staging Stephen Sondheim’s Tony award-winning musical Sweeney Todd.

On April 5, the Immersion Theatre company bring the Alice in Wonderland family musical to Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli.

Immersion Theatre are the team behind last year’s smash hit “The Jungle Book”. The company cast will bring their trademark energy to their biggest, funniest, and most spectacular family musical to date: Alice in Wonderland!

Follow Alice and the White Rabbit as they set off on a colourful, topsy-turvy adventure and meet a host of outlandish characters including Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat and of course, the Mad-as a bat-Hatter!

Children and adults alike are invited to join in the hilarity of seeing this classic story brought vividly to life in a show packed with comedy, music, audience interaction, and fun for the whole family! Tickets are £14 and £12

On April 20, Tony Toes Ballet will bring their Movie and Musicals show to Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli.

Tiny Toes Ballet take you on a journey of imagination, exploration, fun and dance as their young dancers perform classic hits from your favourite movies and musicals. You’ll leave the theatre smiling from ear to ear.

Tickets are £12.

At The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen, Ghost The Musical will be performed by BOW Productions between April 10 and 13.

Ghost the Musical is a timeless fantasy about the power of love.

Longtime couple Sam and Molly are happily in love and living together in Brooklyn.

Walking back to their apartment one night, they are mugged at gunpoint, leaving Sam murdered on a dark street. Sam is trapped between this world and the next as a ghost and unable to leave Molly, who he quickly learns is in grave danger.

With the help of a storefront psychic named Oda Mae Brown, Sam tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of protecting her.

Featuring such popular songs as “With You” and the Righteous Brothers’ classic “Unchained Melody,” this powerful love story is a fan favourite!

More information about Theatrau Sir Gar shows can be found on their website at – https://www.theatrausirgar.co.uk

IT was a wise old chap who once said, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.”

But most of us who live in this lovely corner of Wales will also know that you can add two other certainties to Benjamin Franklin’s quote – rain and potholes!

Cast your mind back, dear reader, over the last four months, and name me one day which has been rain-free.

It’s tempting to think that St Swithin’s Day was moved to December 15, rather than its current position on July 15, when (I am happily willing to predict) it will deliver a further 40 days and nights of rain.

The old saying has been trotted out day after day – “If you can’t see Mumbles Head from Swansea, then it’s raining. If you can see Mumbles, then it is about to rain!”

I’ve heard the same saying tailored to fit Llanelli and Burry Port Lighthouse – and other locations in our patch. But, if a joke is worth telling, it is also worth adapting.

My columnist colleague Phil Evans (he’s here on Wednesdays) is often fond of remarking on postmen (and postwomen) wearing shorts in all weathers. It may be my imagination, but ‘over by ‘ere’ I am sure I saw one postie preparing for another day of Biblical rain by wearing an inflatable rubber ring and a snorkelling kit.

Local sporting fixtures have been badly hit by the rain. For example, Ffos Las racecourse in the Gwendraeth Valley has seen four race meetings abandoned since the start of the year. They will be hoping for more luck when they stage a Family Fun Day this Sunday.

Meanwhile, if the rain has managed to drive us indoors, then at least it is keeping us off our potholed roads.

Perhaps it is just me, but are potholes breeding – and getting bigger?

The community joke in our road is that you can get a decent echo peering down some potholes, while others are big enough to merit a small bridge.

We haven’t had the hard frosts of winter, which usually break our roads up like Crunchie bars. So why are we getting so many potholes? Is tarmac less adhesive? Are cars heavier? Are people driving with snowchains attached to their wheels?

Our local councils are obviously well aware of the problems (in fact, it is worth doing your civic duty and using the ‘report a pothole’ facility on local council websites).

And the roadbuilding industry is worried . . .

The Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), says a critical situation demands urgent attention.

The latest findings from the AIA Alarm Survey reveal that more than half of the local road network in England and Wales faces potential failure within the next 15 years.

The AIA reckons funding to rectify the backlog of repairs is soaring to a staggering £16.3 billion.

Apparently, local authorities expect to grapple with more than two million potholes in the current financial year alone.

This marks a substantial 43 per cent increase compared to the preceding 12 months and represents the highest repair volume since the period of 2015-2016, when approximately 2.2 million potholes were addressed across England and Wales.

Rick Green, Chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, has said: “Local authorities find themselves with slightly more financial resources this year, but inflationary pressures have eroded their capacity to address the crisis effectively. When compounded by the increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the deterioration of local roads accelerates towards an inevitable breaking point.”

Simon Williams, head of policy for the motoring group RAC, added: “The findings from this report send the clearest signal yet to the Government of the critical state of so many of the roads used by millions every day. An estimated 107,000 miles of roads are fast reaching the end of their lives, the scale of the problem now facing councils is truly gargantuan.”

My editor tells me there is a General Election coming up this year (he is not willing to speculate on the date!).

In which case, step forward the candidates who are willing to campaign on two ‘certain’ issues – rain and potholes!

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WE’RE a tight-knit group, us South Wales Evening Post columnists.

There’s Phil Evans, Lawrence Bailey (Thursdays), Maldwyn Pope and Kev Johns (Saturdays).

Most of the time, we plough our own furrows. But, every now and again, there are themes and ideas which are worth ‘stealing’.

It is fortunate that my colleagues retain a glass half-full and optimistic view on life as we all share a desire to be positive as we can be, as often as we can be.

For example, Kev’s column last week left me needing to find out more about the Morriston Business Hub and the art exhibition by Jeff Phillips.

Jeff is one of Swansea’s leading artists and has donated 30 paintings from his Swansea Past, Present and Future collection to Swansea MAD, a charity that is committed to the prevention of poverty and advancing social justice and equality in our city!

The paintings which make up Jeff’s Swansea Past, Present and Future collection tell the story of Swansea’s wonderful industrial and cultural past.

A visit to Woodfield Street is recommended. But, if you cannot make it, you can also enjoy the exhibition gallery from your armchair in the front room, thanks to the wonders of modern technology.

Go to https://swanseapastpresentfuture.com/virtual_gallery/ and you can listen to Jeff explain more about his work – and see his fabulous paintings.

Photos: Two oil on canvas works by Jeff Phillips. The Mary Dugdale, River Tawe, circa 1840. Hafod Copper works, Cold Rolling.

NOW, as regular readers will be well aware, I am not usually one to hold a grudge.

But bitter resentment ferments quite nicely over the course of 26-plus years and today is as good a day as any to pop the cork on a vintage moan.

The Senedd has been in the news this week with the appointment of Vaughan Gething as the new First Minister of Wales.

But other bits of Senedd news have been grabbing my attention. For example, there’s the continued progress of the legislation to expand the Senedd from 60 members to 96 at the next election for the Welsh Parliament in 2026.

Back in February, I had a lengthy whinge on this topic in this column. And, already, I can see the move will provide a rich seam for future columns – after all, where are the 36 new boys and girls going to sit in the shiny Senedd building? Is there enough room in the chamber?

Then, this week, I see news of further changes to the Senedd estate infrastructure in Cardiff Bay.

The Senedd Commission, the corporate body for the Senedd, has issued a prior investment notice (PIN) for a potential new location, although it has not ruled out continuing to operate out of the exiting site of Ty Hywel.

The 1990s red brick building, next to the Senedd debating chamber, is home to Senedd Commission staff, Senedd Members and the Welsh Government.

Among the options being considered is a move to an existing building close by or a dedicated new-build development.

Apparently, any location will need to be able to house 900 staff and accommodate an increase in the number of Senedd members and associated staff.

There will, of course, be a cost to all this, which will, I guess, fall to Mr and Mrs Taxpayer.

So, in an effort to help the Welsh Government in its bid to get best value for its money, I have a solution for any expansion problems – move the whole thing to Swansea!

Land prices here are cheaper than Cardiff Bay, the south-west Wales economy gets a boost and the Welsh Government provides clear evidence that it doesn’t regard Wales as a (one horse) one city country.

The philosophy that everything must be placed in Cardiff (as the capital city) is one that must be challenged at every available opportunity.

Already, I can hear you mutter, Swansea as a home to the Welsh Parliament? Haven’t I heard this before?

Well, yes, you have – 26 or so years ago, in fact – and there are some of us in this parish who find it hard to forget what happened back then.

In the run-up to the establishment of the then ‘Welsh Assembly’, the Secretary of State for Wales at the time, Ron Davies, launched a competition to provide a new home for the body.

The two main bids came from Cardiff (a place which, if memory serves me right, didn’t even vote in favour of devolution) and Swansea.

The competition ‘winner’, in the sense that it was the only entrant to meet the requirements of price and immediate availability, was Swansea’s pre-war Guildhall, a magnificent building designed by Percy Thomas.

Gamblers will know there is no ‘sure thing’ in a two-horse race, so Ron Davies opted to tear up the competition rule book and gift the new Assembly to Cardiff.

At the time, commentators suggested the Secretary of State’s justification for ripping up the competition rules was that a move to Swansea would have undermined Cardiff’s status as the capital city of Wales.

The Cardiff decision was later criticised by the Assembly’s own financial watchdog (the audit committee).

The leader of Swansea Council at the time was Mike Hedges, who now sits as a Senedd Member in Cardiff Bay.

Mr Hedges didn’t mince words back in 2001 – “We were treated unfairly . . . there was a major political conspiracy against us, we weren’t aware of at the time.”

So, back to today’s big debates – Senedd expansion plans? Stick to Cardiff Bay? Or, go for a fresh approach, and relocate to Swansea Bay?

Anyone care to join me in a little campaign?

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THERE are times when it is easy to fall out of love with Shakespeare.

For example, someone threw a line from Romeo and Juliet at me this week.

I didn’t bother catching it. I took it on the chin!

Act 1, Scene 5, 26–33, of the tragedy contains the line, ‘For you and I are past our dancing days.’

Mrs L and I will, of course, beg to disagree with the Bard of Avon. In fact, we are only just starting our dancing days.

Working on the principle of ‘use it or lose it’, we are determined to keep our joints flexible. So, we have signed up for ‘beginners’ ballroom dancing classes.

It’s a decent alternative to monthly gym membership. It’s cheaper and (believe it or not) there’s less luminous Lycra on display.

Mrs L has some experience of these things, so my first tentative steps on the dance floor have (fortunately) not involved any treading on toes.

But, I have to admit, I have a long way to go before I make my debut at the Winter Gardens or the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

If dancing is the ‘poetry of the feet’, it is fair to say that I haven’t quite discovered the art of putting the rhyme in the correct place.

But, practice makes perfect, and I’m already ‘half tidy’ at the Waltz and the Foxtrot.

My Cha Cha is a work in progress as I get my left and right feet mixed up on the rock step.

Anton Du Beke’s position as a premier ballroom dancer is safe for now, but he shouldn’t rest on his laurels!