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Latest On Song column – February 07

Posted By RobertLloyd58

IT’S hats off to the Llanelli-based Curtain Up Theatre Company this week as they have celebrated their latest fund-raising achievement.

Members of Curtain Up gathered to hand over a cheque for £2,000 to Ms Christine Darkin, coordinator of the Breakthro charity, based in Llanelli.

Breakthro is dedicated to improving the lives of adults with learning disabilities and/or special educational needs in the local community.

The charity’s mission is to provide care, support, education, and facilities for recreation and leisure time occupation to improve the overall quality of life for members.

The money was raised through the Curtain Up Christmas show held in Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli, in December last year.

Ms Darkin thanked the group for their generous donation.

The cash will help to take Breakthro members to Llandudno in north Wales for their summer holidays.

Meanwhile, Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli has been picked as a venue for a touring production of Verdi’s Macbeth.

One of Shakespeare’s greatest plays is also one of Verdi’s greatest operas.

Mid Wales Opera is staging its first-ever production of Macbeth as the culmination of its Shakespeare Season.

You will be able to experience a gripping tale of power, manipulation and tragic descent as Macbeth, a valiant general, succumbs to his wife’s persuasion, leading to a ruthless quest for the Scottish throne.

Verdi’s magnificent score, with its sweeping melodies and intricate harmonies, propels the psychologically thrilling narrative, while Act 4 introduces a modern twist with the haunting chorus of refugees.

The opera will be sung in English. The Mid Wales Opera company will be accompanied by Ensemble Cymru and a large cast will be supplemented by community choruses.

The opera will be staged at Ffwrnes on March 19. Tickets are £20 and £18.

Macbeth will feature Welsh Soprano Mari Wyn Williams and Canadian-born Jean-Kristof Bouton.

As the February half term school holidays approach, the Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen is ready to welcome back the immensely-talented Carmarthen Youth Opera.

This year, the spotlight shines on the award-winning musical Our House, featuring iconic hits from the legendary band Madness.

Our House is a romantic comedy based on music by Madness and a compelling book by playwright Tim Firth.

Set against the backdrop of ‘80s ska beats, the musical delves into themes of love, family values, responsibility, and the journey of growing up, all through the lens of Madness’s timeless songs, including chart-toppers like Our House, Baggy Trousers, and House of Fun.

The narrative unfolds on a summer’s evening in London, following the adventures of Camden lad Joe Casey. As Joe navigates love, friendship, and pivotal life decisions, the audience is taken on a rollercoaster of emotions with a dual narrative guided by the ghost of Joe’s deceased criminal father.

Director Dan Williams ensures a high-octane performance, promising audiences an unforgettable experience.

The immensely talented ensemble is backed by a West End standard orchestra, delivering a musical feast that captures the energy and spirit of Madness’s greatest hits.

The choreography, staging, make-up, and lighting are meticulously crafted, rivalling any professional theatre production.

Performances are scheduled from Wednesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 17, with evening shows at 7.30 pm and a special matinee on Saturday at 2.30 pm.

Tickets are available at the Lyric Theatre box office or online at www.theatrausirgar.co.uk.

In other news, a Llanelli-based company called Scarlet Musical Theatre Productions will be making a much-anticipated debut this month.

The classic coming-of-age rock musical Spring Awakening will be the first full-scale production for Scarlet Musical Theatre.

The show is being staged at Stiwdio Stepni at Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli on February 22 and 23.

With music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater, Spring Awakening is based on the controversial 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind.

Spring Awakening contains partial nudity and sexual content, as well as explicit language. It is recommended for an audience of 16 and over.

Tickets for the February performances in the intimate Stidwio Stepney space are £12.

In March, a brand new musical, produced by National Theatre Wales, is coming to Llanelli.

Feral Monster is described as a ‘banging new musical about an unremarkable teenager’.

It will be staged at Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli, on Wednesday, March 13 (7pm).

Feral Monster is written by Bethan Marlow and directed by Izzy Rabey, with music by Nicola T Chang.

The cast features Lily Beau, Carys Eleri, Geraint Rhys Edwards, Rebecca Hayes, Nathaniel Leacock and Leila Navabi.

Tickets are available from Carmarthenshire Theatres, Theatrau Sir Gar.

In other news, the popular Bronwen Lewis is bringing her ‘More from The Living Room’ tour to Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli on February 17.

Following her hugely successful 2022 tour, Bronwen will be back, recreating the magic of her virtual gigs live on stage.

Bronwen will be performing a new selection of her favourite songs intertwined with endearing storytelling.

The multi-instrumentalist and Tik-Tok sensation showcases a varied repertoire including a new selection of her original songs.

The Welsh singer-songwriter has a wonderfully warm style that sits between Country, Pop, Folk and Blues. She is proudly bilingual and received international acclaim during her time on BBC’s The Voice when she brought Tom Jones to tears. Bronwen also starred in and sang the theme song ‘Bread and Roses’ in the BAFTA Award Winning film ‘Pride’.

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South Wales Evening Post column, February 2, 2024

Posted By RobertLloyd58

IT’S a sad confession, but my schoolteachers will remember that I was never any good at maths.

Arithmetic was always agony, geometry was grim, algebra always left me anxious – and trigonometry was simply terrible!

The sum total of my mathematical misery is something I have carried with me all my working life – but, with the application of a little common-sense, I do have a nose for when things don’t add up.

For example, there’s something not quite right about the plans for 36 more Senedd politicians – a reform of our Welsh Parliament which cleared its first hurdle with a vote in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday night.

Senedd members voted to back new legislation to expand the Parliament at the next election in 2026.

Is this a good idea, or one which will put further distance between the electorate (ie the man and woman on the street) and their elected members, sitting in the swish surroundings of Cardiff Bay?

The Welsh Parliament – or Senedd, as it is now known after starting life as an ‘Assembly’ – has been going 26 years. But I’m still not sure if I trust it to behave like a well-adjusted, fully-formed adult.

The Senedd still occasionally lapses into behaviour which wouldn’t be out of place in a primary school playground – and don’t get me started on the subject of the lobby groups which have carved out a fast-growing industry feeding off The Bay!

Many Senedd members (in my book, at any rate) fall into the category of superannuated county councillors, promoted a league above their pay grade.

There are some you wouldn’t trust to run that errand and go down town to pick up chips.

Just a small portion of the current 60 members show any evidence of being good at their jobs (NB: This is just my opinion, of course!).

Whether the Senedd numbers game has in any way been influenced by jealous looks over the fence at our neighbours is a matter for debate. The Scottish Parliament has 129 members and the Northern Ireland Assembly (when they finally get around to actually sitting and doing some work) numbers 90 representatives.

Whatever the driving force, there are bits of the new legislation that leave me baffled.

Apparently, seats in the new Senedd will be allocated to parties using the D’Hondt formula.

There we go . . . the word formula conjures up maths nightmares again and sends me into a cold sweat.

Kind souls have explained to me that D’Hondt is just another word for proportional representation. And they have explained further that the plan is that the 96 members will be elected using ‘closed proportional lists’. The seats will be allocated to parties using the D’Hondt formula.

Apparently, the 32 new UK Parliament constituencies in Wales will be paired to create 16 Senedd constituencies for the 2026 Senedd election. Each constituency will elect six members.

In other words, you won’t really decide who you want as your constituency Senedd member. Political party (closed shop) lists will rank the runners and you’ll be given Senedd members based on the number of votes cast for parties.

It means it will be impossible for anyone to get elected as an ‘independent’ Senedd member.

If memory serves me correctly, Trish Law was the last elected independent member back in 2011. (As an aside, the former political editor of this newspaper, the late Brian Walters, enjoyed a spell as Trish’s adviser).

There’s no room in the current reforms for individual (and very able) community candidates to emerge and take on the Big Four parties – Labour, Plaid Cymru, Conservatives and Lib-Dems.

So, we have a Senedd reform that takes away proper choice and gives us more ‘regional’ representatives, rather than people who understand the grass-roots issues of their patch?

No thanks. It doesn’t add up!

—————————————-

IT’S an accepted fact of life that, as you get older, your tolerance levels go down.

It only takes something relatively minor to send you spiralling into a full Victor Meldrew (“I don’t believe it!”) meltdown.

On Saturday, in Swansea, I managed one more meltdown than the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.

Two things happened – one was a nasty shock to the wallet; the other sparked off a minor environmental crusade.

Let’s deal with the Green issues first . . .

Lunch (in the company of some equally aged former Evening Post colleagues) was taken at a venue best left un-named, just in case we are banned from future attendance.

But, you know the sort of place, a venue where you queue for the privilege of ordering your food, rather than have a waiter take your order.

As you might expect, as the afternoon moved on, drink refills were required.

My order was simple – a bottle of San Miguel and a full fat Coke (other brews and soft drinks are available!).

After round one, I thought I’d make it easy and told the barman, “Just give me the bottles; I’ve got the glasses – and you can save on the washing-up.”

The barman looked at me as if I had two heads and explained it was policy for him to pour the drinks (with not a particularly great degree of accuracy) into fresh glasses.

This panto was repeated through the afternoon and after round three I admitted defeat on my Green bid to save on the glass washing and didn’t bother with the “just give me the bottle” routine.

After a leisurely lunch (designated Coke drinker was driving home) it was time to return to the car, which had been left in the NCP City Gates car park in York Street.

Four hours of parking? Guess how much?

Well, £13.95, actually. Ouch! The pain at the pay kiosk was audible.

That’ll teach us for taking the car instead of using our bus passes!

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The latest Phil Evans column – January 31

Posted By RobertLloyd58

FED UP WITH THE WEATHER? BLAME NAMING STORMS!

The year 2024 barely started when we were battered by storm after storm – and according to those highly paid and sometimes highly irritating weather forecasters, in-between the storms, we’ve had heavy rain and wind.

Err . . . excuse me: isn’t a storm basically a meteorological mixture of heavy rain and wind?

Perhaps telling us Storm Bonnie will follow Storm Shaky is tedious, so they break the monotony by suggesting something else is causing us to get wet. And cold. And miserable.

The storms around my way worried me, because I’ve got a new garden shed – and it wasn’t cheap!

Well, okay it was. But that’s not the point. I was concerned it might be damaged by the elements.

The morning after one powerful storm, in which the winds whipped up to 80 miles an hour, I looked out of my back bedroom window in trepidation (which is a small suburb of Ammanford) to check on my shed. Fortunately, it was still in one piece. Unfortunately, it was in Birmingham.

Now, I make no apology for re-cycling that joke from a year or so ago as it’s a favourite and I’ll probably drag it out of semi-retirement one more time before I send it off to the old jokes home.

At this point, let me make it clear I’m not a conspiracy theorist.

Though, oddly, I do have a theory about conspiracy theorists that until now I’ve only shared with a few like-minded people.

Which, on reflection, does suggest I’m a conspiracy theorist. Hmm…

Okay. My theory is… storms have become more frequent, more powerful and more destructive since some ‘Genius’ decided to give them names.

Until a year or so ago, weather forecasters just warned us that ‘a storm’ was on its way. It arrived, it went and there was always a long respite before the next one.

Since they’ve been given names, the publicity has gone to their heads, so now they rapidly follow one after another, each of them desperate to be the next scary storm to have their name splashed all over the media.

It’s only a theory.

But it’s got you thinking, hasn’t it?

————————–

Comical Conversation Crisis

I couldn’t help but notice the dire state of conversation during a recent dinner function.

Picture this: a table of eight friends, each one engrossed in their mobile phones, completely oblivious to the delicious food placed in front of them.

It seems that the art of engaging in a genuine conversation with another human beings is on life support. In fact, I fear that soon people won’t even bother talking to each other at all!

But the struggle doesn’t end there.

Navigating through town has become a perilous adventure, with pedestrians glued to their screens, oblivious to the world around them. They stroll in a straight line as if it’s their divine right, while the rest of us perform acrobatic manoeuvres to avoid colliding with them.

Believe it or not, the statistics are staggering.

Last year alone, approximately 1900 pedestrians sought medical treatment for accidents caused by walking and texting simultaneously.

And get this: a few years back, a 14-year-old daredevil fell a whopping eight feet off a bridge while attempting the dangerous feat of texting and walking!

So, here’s a challenge for you.

The next time you dine out, take a moment to count the number of phones being used at the table.

Trust me, it’ll be an eye-opening experience.

And if you find yourself agreeing with my observations, well, let’s just say I told you so!

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Latest On Song column – January 31

Posted By RobertLloyd58

EVERYONE loves a bit of Madness, so there’s a treat coming up during February half-term in Carmarthen.

Carmarthen Youth Opera will be staging Our House – The Madness Musical at The Lyric theatre from February 14-17.

The musical is also called A London Love Story and it does, of course, feature tunes from Madness, the English ska and pop band from Camden Town, north London. Madness were one the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The musical features a collection of Madness hits, including House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Driving in my Car, It Must Be Love and, of course, Our House.

Based in 1980s Camden Town, Our House tells the story of London lad Joe Casey, who, on the night of his 16th birthday, takes Sarah, the girl of his dreams, out on their first date.

In an effort to impress her, he breaks into a building site overlooking his home on Casey Street, which is owned by Mr Pressman, a high-end property developer.

The police turn up, at which point Joe’s life splits into two: the Good Joe, who stays to help, and Bad Joe, who flees.

Tickets are £18 and £15 and available from the Theatrau Sir Gar website at www.theatrausirgar.co.uk

Our House is based on the book by playwright Tim Firth.

Premiering at The Cambridge Theatre in 2002, Our House was the winner of the 2003 Olivier award for Best New Musical and has since gone on to tour both nationally and internationally to great acclaim.

Through the music of Madness, the musical explores the themes of love, family values, growing up, responsibility and dealing with losing the people that shape us.

Carmarthen and District Youth Opera has a proud history. Its place in the performing arts within Wales owes a great deal to the vision, drive, and dedication of countless volunteers over five decades.

It all began in 1979 at Carmarthen’s Further Education Centre youth club, when a small group of dedicated and enthusiastic adults formed an organisation that would provide an opportunity for young people to develop and display their artistic talents.

Driven by the late Elizabeth Evans MBE and her husband David, their commitment and perseverance in the early years sowed the seeds for the success that followed.

Today, Carmarthen and District Youth Opera is one of the most successful cultural societies in Wales, with a reputation for high quality musical entertainment.

The first annual musical production, Snow White in 1979, won the Lord Snowdon Award, presented by the All Wales National Federation of Youth Clubs Entertainment.

The following year, and with an appetite for “more”, Oliver was performed by a renamed Carmarthen Further Education Centre Youth Department Amateur Music and Drama Society.

By 1983, the opera team had become known as Carmarthen FE Centre Youth Opera.

In 1986, the company performed Jesus Christ Superstar at the prestigious Waterford International Festival of Music and Drama, an event that raised the profile of the company across the UK.

By 1987, the society became known as Carmarthen Youth Opera.

Throughout this period, the popularity and standing of the society was growing, as was its reputation for exceptionally high-quality musical productions.

Local venues were proving difficult to accommodate a growing audience support.

In 1987, an empty and almost derelict Carmarthen Lyric Cinema, seemed to be a very unlikely solution to the problem.

However, the Youth Opera’s Director and founder, the late Elizabeth Evans MBE, saw the huge potential the building offered and, in her unique style, managed to convince the owner to let the Youth Opera clean the building and put on a live show.

A huge Carmarthen Youth Opera adult volunteer clean-up effort followed, which enabled the dream to come true . . . and the society had a new “home”.

Further major initiatives secured the purchase and extensive refurbishment of the building, with substantial funding support from Carmarthen Town Council, Carmarthen District Council, Dyfed County Council and the Welsh Office.

In 1989, the company become known as Carmarthen and District Youth Opera and another new era started. The society gained charitable status and became a company limited by guarantee.

The theatre is now owned and run by Carmarthenshire County Council (Theatrau Sir Gar) as a venue for current and future generations.

The society’s many accolades include a performance for the late Her Majesty The Queen, and the Emir of Qatar at the LNG Terminal, Milford Haven official opening in 2009.

In 2010, the then Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited The Lyric. The society was granted HRH The Duchess of Cornwall’s Royal Patronage.

The society’s Patron also visited the Youth Opera on the society’s 40th Anniversary in July 2019.

You can find out more about Carmarthen and District Youth Opera on their website at http://www.youthopera.co.uk

In other news, the popular Bronwen Lewis is bringing her ‘More from The Living Room’ tour to Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli on February 17.

Following her hugely successful 2022 tour, Bronwen will be back, recreating the magic of her virtual gigs live on stage.

Bronwen will be performing a new selection of her favourite songs intertwined with endearing storytelling.

The multi-instrumentalist and Tik-Tok sensation showcases a varied repertoire including a new selection of her original songs.

The Welsh singer-songwriter has a wonderfully warm style that sits between Country, Pop, Folk and Blues. She is proudly bilingual and received international acclaim during her time on BBC’s The Voice when she brought Tom Jones to tears. Bronwen also starred in and sang the theme song ‘Bread and Roses’ in the BAFTA Award Winning film ‘Pride’.

In Ammanford, on February 9, The Miners’ Theatre will welcome the folk group called Pedair.

Pedair draws on the talents of four of Wales’ most prominent folk artists –  Gwenan Gibbard, Gwyneth Glyn, Meinir Gwilym and Siân James.

As groundbreaking international artists, they thrive on collaboration and the thrill of live performance. With harps, guitars, piano and percussion, their music has captured the hearts of audiences with their sweeping vocal harmonies, fresh interpretations of the Welsh folk tradition, and intimacy of songwriting.

Their first recordings, having emerged during lockdown, gained instant popularity.

Having won the Welsh Album of the Year Award 2023 with their much-anticipated debut album, Pedair’s creative synergy is only beginning to reach its full potential.

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South Wales Evening Post column, January 26, 2024

Posted By RobertLloyd58

JUST checking, but did I ever tell you the story of the B Hag?

No? Well, make yourself comfortable and grab a cup of tea because here goes . . .

What’s a B Hag? Well, don’t go down the road of imagining a Roald Dahl BFG or a creation by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

A ‘B Hag’, or (to be perfectly correct) BHAG, is an acronym dating back to the days when I was important enough to attend national senior management conferences.

It stands for Big Hairy Ambitious Goal.

When I was a company director, we were encouraged to reach for the stars. The theory being that, even if we didn’t quite get there, we would climb a few mountains along the way.

In the same vein as the David Hughes ‘Ambition is critical’ micro-poem on the forecourt of Swansea’s railway station, being ambitious was seen as a virtue rather than a sin.

Which all, rather neatly, leads me begin a rant against the keyboard warriors who are now having a pop at Llanelli’s ambitions to become a city.

The critics have piled in by labelling the city bid as ‘embarrassing’, ‘ridiculous’ and ‘an early April Fool’s Day joke’, with one even suggesting that Llanelli barely qualifies for village status.

My response to all those nay-sayers is: Where is your civic pride? Where is your ambition? Where is your passion for the place? Where is your desire to fulfil the Ymlaen Llanelli (Forward Llanelli) motto? Who is going to lead the charge to talk the place ‘up’, other than Llanelli folk themselves?

Yes, it is easy to criticise the place and get locked into that deadly death spiral of negative debate which bemoans the state of the town centre and the lack of a major accident and emergency unit at Prince Philip Hospital.

Yes, it is easy to parcel up Llanelli’s woes and park them at the door of Welsh Government and Carmarthenshire County Council.

But there’s a bit more to Llanelli folk than just moaning minnies and I’d like to suggest there is a silent majority who have it within themselves to pull the town up by its bootstraps.

It is worth going a bit Biblical in the debate and quoting from Luke 4:23 and the line, ‘Physician heal thyself’.

In other words, it’s time for Llanelli people to exert their own strength and take more responsibility for the town’s appearance and profile in the wider world.

Applying the Miracle Gro plant food to the first green shoots of recovery are the members of Llanelli Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

The Chamber has consulted key figures, including politicians and billionaire businessman Doug Perkins (Specsavers) – and they have been encouraged to formally apply for city status.

The bid will be officially launched on March 30 and Llanelli Town Council members have added their voice to the city call.

A successful bid would see Llanelli join an elite club of seven other cities in Wales – Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bangor, St Asaph, St Davids and Wrexham (granted city status in 2022).

Traditionally, city status is associated with having a cathedral or a university, but those factors are not seen as a barrier to a Llanelli bid, which would rely on the advice of Government ministers to King Charles III.

The Chamber hopes the city move will raise Llanelli’s profile across the UK and lift ‘people’s low expectations of their quality of life in Llanelli’.

And Llanelli Town Mayor Nick Pearce is bullish at the prospect –

“It’s an exciting prospect and a wonderful opportunity to further develop the sense of pride that we should all share for Llanelli. Like many other places, Llanelli’s post-industrial transition has been long and painful – we have been seeing a slump in the town’s fortunes for quite a while.

“If successful, I think we will look back on getting city status as the turning point in those fortunes. It serves as a timely reminder that Llanelli, town and rural, is the most significant conurbation in west Wales.

“Never mind punching above our weight, let’s start punching our weight! I do hope everyone can get behind this bold and ambitious initiative.”

There are, of course, other green shoots coming to the surface in Llanelli – a £15.5 million regeneration project for Llanelli town centre and other projects where people are starting to re-engage with a sense of civic pride, such as Llanelli Rotary Club’s Litter Out Of Llanelli project.

There are also the things we forget because they are part of the daily fabric of life in Llanelli – the area is home to the biggest TV company outside of ‘The Beeb’ in London, home to a world famous rugby club, a world-class Millennium Coastal Park, a football team on the verge of Welsh Premier League status, the finest out-of-town shopping complex in the west . . . and major tourism attractions such as the wildfowl and wetlands centre.

Personally, I’d be quite happy to include other attractions in the bid as they all form part of the Llanelli town and rural area. For example, Pembrey Country Park and Ffos Las racecourse (possibly renamed Llanelli racecourse to add to our UK-wide profile).

Andre McPherson, the deputy leader of Llanelli Town Council, is also upbeat – “This decision has the potential to elevate Llanelli’s standing, attract investment, and stimulate growth, paving the way for a brighter future.

“The elevation to city status can serve as a catalyst for economic advancement, attracting businesses and boosting job opportunities. This status upgrade can also enhance Llanelli’s appeal as a tourist destination.”

So, in short, my message to the people of Llanelli is simple: Don’t be a gloom-monger or a Harry Potter dementor, draining the hope and joy out of every situation. Accept the challenge; take some civic pride. Take on the challenge of a Big Hairy Ambitious Goal and support the Llanelli city bid!

Finally, it is not often that I get the chance to quote the famous 16th century Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher and historian Niccolò Machiavelli, but his words fit with my theme –

“Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not to suffer.”


This column was also used in the Llanelli Star –

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The latest Phil Evans column – January 24

Posted By RobertLloyd58

TV COPS ARE ON THE PHONE MORE THAN ON THE BEAT

I intended telling you about the Olympic trampolinist who, immediately after his long-term girlfriend left him, married on the rebound.

But I’ve parked it in the layby of undeveloped articles, because I’ve created a new TV cop series.

Yes, there’s already too many ‘police procedural dramas’ (as they are referred to in TV Land), but when I tell you my idea, you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it.

You might also wonder, “Surely a busy man like Phil Evans has better things to do with his time?”

The idea came to me after watching one of those 1950s, black and white “Scotland Yard” films – based on true stories – on Talking Pictures TV, just before I watched a new ITV cop show.

I won’t bother naming it, because, with honourable exceptions, the titles and storylines of all TV cop shows are pretty much interchangeable.

In the “Scotland Yard” mystery, the crime was solved by detectives doggedly sifting through evidence; uninformed officers making endless door-to-door enquiries; and information received from ‘coppers’ narks’.

This was in stark contrast to the modern show, in which every scene included a moment when a cop either made or took a call on their mobile or received a text/WhatsApp message.

Whatever information was exchanged moved the story on to a crime scene, or a new suspect, or (yawn) the main cop’s home where some predictable domestic drama was unfolding.

As mobile phones play such a major part in today’s cop shows, I’ve  created the ultimate TV crime fighter of the future . . .

Inspector Keypad!

He’s a street cred, no nonsense, man-size phone with arms and legs, which makes him really mobile.

And he solves crimes by communicating with the mobile phones of criminals, purely by thought waves.

If you think that sounds ridiculous, just remember that the exploits of a detective called Vera, who has an annoying manner, a battered old hat permanently welded to her head and, in reality, would have retired 20 years ago. She’s regularly watched by seven million people!

And don’t get me started on the bonkers “Midsomer Murders”!

—————————

Words never fail me

Those sharp-witted readers among you will undoubtedly realise that my newspaper column has been going strong since June 2014.

When I was unexpectedly approached to become a regular contributor to this esteemed local paper, I was taken aback and honoured.

Honestly, I hadn’t even considered adding column writing to my already impressive repertoire!

At first, I wasn’t sure if I could consistently deliver content with stringent deadlines. And let’s not forget, the media devours material at an astonishing pace.

And then there was the issue of technology: how many ink ribbons would I require for my ancient typewriter each week? It was a conundrum, to say the least.

But I’m delighted to say that I embraced the challenge.

The incredible letters and positive feedback I receive (not just from readers in Wales, but also from as far as Canada and America) make it all worthwhile.

During my travels, I encounter a myriad of captivating characters with fascinating stories.

Without them, this space would probably be overrun with more adverts than you can shake a stick at.

So, here’s to the power of words and the colourful tapestry they weave!

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