Abertawe

Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr

Brewdog, Caerdydd (0.5% Nanny State)

22 Months alcohol-free - trip to Cardiff for a Club Soda meet-up. So very grateful for my alcohol-free journey which has been complex and rewarding in equal measure. Cheers! 

Caerdydd

 

Geocache, Mynydd Pen-bre

Llanelli

Green Castle Cache

Dinbych-y-Pysgod

Dinbych-y-Pysgod

Y Borth

Y Borth

Y Borth

Aberystwyth

Geocache, Nant-yr-Arian

1000th Geocache! Wallog

Aberaeron

Ymgyrchoedd Elusennol - Charitable Campaigns

Yr wyf yn falch o fod wedi codi cyfanswm cyfredol o £9296.41 dros amrywiaeth o elusennau ers 2005, naill nai trwy rhedeg (gan gynnwys marathons Caerdydd, Llundain a Chaerlyr) neu trwy gweithgareddau ar y delyn. Edrychaf ymlaen at ychwanegu at y rhestr isod mewn blynyddoedd i ddod.

I am proud of having raised a current total of £9296.41 for a variety of charities since 2005, either by running (including the Cardiff, London and Leicester marathons) or by activities on the harp. In 2018 I attempted the London Underground Tube Challenge! I look forward to adding to this list in years to come.

• 2018: Mencap   
• 2016: Mencap
• 2016: Alzheimer's Research UK (Er Cof / In Memory - Barry Jones)
• 2016: BBC Children in Need (Er Cof / In Memory - Sir Terry Wogan)
• 2014: Home-Start UK
• 2013: Disasters Emergency Committee (Philippines)
• 2013: Water Aid
• 2012: Apel Llifogydd Ceredigion Flood Appeal
• 2011: Bloodwise (Leukaemia Research) (Cronfa Goffa Tomos Owen Memorial Fund)
• 2011: Save the Children (Daeargryn Siapan / Japan Earthquake) 
• 2010: Disasters Emergency Committee (Daeargryn Haiti Earthquake)
• 2009: Parkinson's UK (Parkinsons Disease Society) (Er Cof - In Memory Dilys Jones)
• 2005: MIND  

Eisteddfod

Mae'r Eisteddfod wedi dod yn rhan bwysig o'n bywyd teuluol. Nid wyf yn gwersyllwr neu'n carafanwr pybyr am yr wythnos gyfan. Serch hynny, mae'r plant wrth eu boddau yn y 'Steddfod, ac rwyf innau wedi cystadlu ym mhob Eisteddfod Genedlaethol ers 2010, naill nai ar y delyn yn unigol, fel rhan o grwp gwerin neu yn y cystadleuthau rhyddiaith. Dyma dudalen felly i gadw cofnod o'r llwyddiannau achlysurol a ddaeth i'm rhan,

The National Eisteddfod of Wales has become an important part of our family life. I'm not an avid Eisteddfod camper or caravaneer for the whole week. However, my children are in their element at the Eisteddfod. I have competed in every National Eisteddfod since 2010, either on solo harp, as part of a folk group, or in the prose competitions. So here's a page to keep a record of the occasional successes that came my way.

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Bodedern, 2017
National Eisteddfod, Bodedern, 2017

"Sesiwn Caerdydd", 2ail Safle, Grwp Offerynol

"The Cardiff Session", 2nd Place, Instrumental Group.

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Y Fenni, 2016

National Eisteddfod, Abergavenny, 2016

"Sesiwn Caerdydd", 2ail Safle, Grwp Offerynol

"The Cardiff Session", 2nd Place, Instrumental Group.

Eistedfod Genedlaethol, Meifod, 2015

National Eisteddfod, Meifod, 2015 

"Sesiynwyr Caerdydd", 2ail Safle, Grwp Offerynol

"Cardiff Sessioneers", 2nd Place, Instrumental Group

 

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Llanelli, 2014

National Eisteddfod, Llanelli, 2014

"Criw'r Caio", Safle 1af, Grwp Offerynol.

"Criw'r Caio", 1st Place, Instrumental Group.

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Dinbych, 2013

National Eisteddfod, Denbigh, 2013

Safle 1af, Tlws Coffa John Weston Thomas (Telyn Gwerin)

1st Place, John Weston Thomas Mermorial Prize (Folk Harp)

 

 

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Wrecsam, 2011
National Eisteddfod, Wrexham, 2011 

Safle 1af, Blog (Adran Llenyddiaeth)
1st Place, Blog (Literature Section)

2ail Safle, Tlws Coffa John Weston Thomas (Telyn Gwerin) 

2nd Place, John Weston Thomas Memorial Prize (Folk Harp) 

Networks

Having learned about neural pathways, for some reason I went on to relate those thoughts to my love of maps and networks. Whilst browsing in my beloved London Transport Museum,  I chanced on a book called "One thing leads to another - everything is connected".It is a loose collection of artistic essays and observations, including some poetry, but uses the London Underground map (specifically the Jubilee Line) as a metaphor for how ideas and concepts might be interrelated. 

Somewhere along the line (forgive the pun!), I have worked on the idea of my life, and in particular my career, as a "network", thus giving a sense of purpose and coherence to my many professional roles that had previously seemed a bit scattered and lacking in coherent purpose. 

In my current job, I am required to network across seven counties of Mid and West Wales. Me being me, I have purchased a large map of Wales to go on the wall behind my desk. Each new meeting or contact gained is assigned a sticky post-it note in one of four bright colours,  and stuck on the appropriate part of Wales. It's a bit geeky, but it looks very pretty! More importantly, it represents a map of personal and professional progress, and a new network that ultimately will help people with learning disabilities across the region of Wales for which I am responsible. 

Every time I look at this increasingly colourful map, I think back to two years ago, and whisper a little prayer of thanks.One really exciting part of my new life is not knowing what networks await to be discovered over the next 30 years of my working life and hopefully beyond.

And - remarkably - the knowledge that I will stay sober in ALL of those new future situations, due to a sudden yet deep-rooted decision that was taken in a single moment back in 2015.

Bereavement and love

"Grief is an expression of love". 

Those were the words of one of the speakers at the funeral of Barry Jones, who supervised my PhD at Cardiff University between 1997-2004. Barry was very much a father figure to me, a man who set me on my career path. I was very distressed at his passing in the Autumn of 2015. 

A short while after Barry passed away, I lost another hero and father figure of mine, Sir Terry Wogan. I look back on Barry and Terry almost as a double act during my time as a PhD student. Barry was my research mentor, while the unrelenting, chaotic mirth of Wogan's breakfast show got me out of bed like clockwork at 7.20am to go busking on the harp all over south Wales, and beyond, to pay for my rent and research fees. I could hardly have endured two sharper bereavements at such a difficult time of my life in 2015-16.

Nevertheless, I have continued to recall the words spoken at Barry's funeral. "Grief is an expression of love". In doing so, I have recalled other people and places in my life that perhaps I'd assumed were seemingly lost forever, or that I'd assumed to be irrelevant because they were in the past. Friendships that I had thought lost or irrepreparably broken. My late Dad of course. And indeed Paul Walters, the late producer of Terry Wogan's breakfast show, who's death in 2006 also left me incomprehensibly overwhelmed with grief, despite me never having met him in person.

In mourning, I have come to realise that in fact I have been blessed with an incredibly full and loving life. Ultimately, we need not fear losing things - we have to keep loving things. It's not always easy, and can be incredibly painful. But it can also bring feelings of joy and gratitude, which I felt on attending Sir Terry Wogan's memorial service in the Autumn of 2016.


Indeed, these thoughts have helped to guide me through a particularly shocking incident in late 2016, when a very popular and gentle school friend from Aberystwyth, Eifion Gwynne, was killed suddenly. My friend epitomised love in various forms. He loved his family, his friends, his community, and the language and nation of Wales. And everyone loved him back in return. 

I have learned that love is not all about roses and hearts. It is far more robust than that. It can outlast parting, separation and even death. A very pure form of love can be found in the act of letting go, and also in the acts of giving and receiving forgiveness.

It can withstand all manner of things that are thrown at it. It is tough and it is the foundation of all our relationships. I now know that love must be treasured, and handled with caution.

During his life, Barry Jones gave me my PhD. But in his death, he may just have passed on something even more important than that. Diolch, Barry, am bopeth. Thanks Barry, for everything.

In my recent experiences, I have learned that death is a part of life. My late Dad had obviously thought about this when he stated his final resting place in his will: he wished to be scatttered at sea in his beloved Shetland Islands. Having reflected on my Dad's course of action, I too have formally noted my own final resting place which is also one of timeless peace and living natural beauty in all four seasons.

Longing and faith

2. Notes on faith and homesickness

"In life, in death, oh Lord abide with me."

Many recovery stories have God at their heart. Mine sort of does, by accident as much as anything.

I pretty much have an iphone playlist for every mood. One of these playlists is a set of well-known English church hymns. (One current favourite is Rick Wakeman's instrumental version of Morning Has Broken). Not so long ago, I listened to these hymns as a way of crying myself to sleep in a relatively peaceful way. 

Over the months, these hymns have turned into a real source of strength, as they remind me very strongly of my childhood in Leicestershire. As an adult, I have struggled with a sense of homesickness for the English countryside. However, with a bit of hard thought and focus, I have managed to convert that sense of separation into a source of love and strength. I cherish every trip to England in a way that I didn't before, and try to turn every trip across the border into some sort of special treat

(Picture: Bradgate Park, Leicestershire - near to my cherished childhood home)

I wish I could bring myself, as others can, to believe more firmly in an organised faith. However, much as I love all aspects of Christmas (and chocolate bunnies at Easter), I'm afraid I'll never be able to get my critical mind around things like the virgin birth and the resurrection. 

What I will say though, is that those old English hymns from my childhood have been there for me at my darkest moments. Whether or not there is a divine God: "Morning has broken" today, and will continue to break every day.

What does recovery mean to me?

Here are some notes that are guiding my process of recovery, in no particular order of importance.

• Recovery is fun! Doing enjoyable and loving things is central to healing. 
• Rediscovering innocence.
• Rediscovering a sense of faith.
• A systematic way out of endless self-criticism and over-thinking.
• Non-judgemental: instability and hurt that I have inflicted is intertwined with hurt and instability that has been inflicted on myself.
• Always accepting responsibility for my own actions. 
• Refusing to blame my circumstances on others. 
• Linked with social empathy. Committed recoverers contribute far more to society.
• A lifelong process. Always a work in progress.

Ar daith - On Tour 2017

GIGS

24/01/17 Theatr Riverfront, Casnewydd
01/03/17 Ysgol Parc y Tywyn, Porth Tywyn
01/03/17 Y Neuadd Gymunedol, Gwynfe
03/03/17 Glyn Nest, Castell Newydd Emlyn

Ffotograffiaeth - Photography

Nid wyf yn cyfri fy hun yn "ffotograffydd". Does gan i ddim hyfforddiant a fawr ddim clem am agweddau technegol y maes. Serch hynny, rwyf wrth fy modd yn tynnu lluniau tra 'mod i allan o gwmpas y lle., a ffotograffiaeth ydy prif sylfaen y blog.. Rwyf wedi cael ambell llun wedi ei gyhoeddu, ac rwyf wedi ennill dau wobr yn y sioe pentref lleol, felly dyma dudalen i gadw cofnod o'r llwyddiannau hynny.

I wouldn't consider myself a "photographer". I have had no training and have very little idea about the technical aspects of this subject. However, I love taking photos when I'm out and about, and photographs are the main basis of this blog. I have had the odd picture published, and have won two prizes for photography at the local village show, so here is a page to keep track of those occasional successes.

Llun wedi ei gyhoeddi - Publshed picture

BBC Cymru Fyw, 02/07/14

Pafiliwn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yn codi yn Llanelli.

The National Eisteddfod pavilion being set up in Llanelli.

 

Llun wedi ei gyhoeddi - Published picture
Llanelli Star, 11/06/14
Tafarn y Gobaith a'r angor, Porth Tywyn, yn paratoi am Gwpan y Byd yn Brazil.
The Hope and Anchor pub in Burry Port all set for the World Cup in Brazil.

Gwobr Gyntaf
Sioe Pen-bre a Phorth Tywyn, 2011
"Heledd a Grandpa"

 

Wedi ei chymeradwyo'n uchel / Highly Commended
Sioe Pen-bre a Phorth Tywyn, 2011
"Heledd yn Folly Farm" / "Heledd in Folly Farm"