Category: Readers Articles of Interest

International Women’s Day

 

This International Women’s Day I had the incredible opportunity to be on BBC Radio Cymru with some of the most incredible young women. Speaking about a subject so close to my heart in my native language is a high I feel I can’t come down from. But more importantly, the women I got to speak with on the radio all have incredible personalities and views, and I can’t wait to see what they do.

I missed blogging on International Women’s Day, but I felt like I couldn’t express how important it was to me then – I was too caught up in seeing the ways women were uplifting other women and men were taking the time to thank the women around them. But now I know what it means to me. It means a future filled with possibilities and hope. It means that maybe by the time I come to have children, I can tell them how the women I was surrounded by helped to change the world, in a similar way to the Suffragettes 100 years ago.

This International Women’s Day I want to celebrate all women. Women who have expressed themselves enough and are strong enough to come out to the world. Women who accomplish the phenomenal even when those around them limit them due to their race. Women who own their femininity and those who choose not to. Women who have to fight with the world to be seen as women. Women who don’t

let disability stop them from achieving the extraordinary. Women who are survivors of domestic abuse or sexual assault. Women who are bosses and run countries and empires. Women who have to battle every day against their mental health. Women who support other women.

I can’t help but be in awe of the young women I am surrounded by and see on the news. The girls I see every day breaking stereotypes and controlling their own destinies. The young women who inspire me every day. The young women I see supporting men and women when they feel down. The young women I see in school, achieving their goals and owning it. The young women in the media like Zendaya and Tavi Gevinson and Emma Gonzalez creating a path we didn’t previously think existed.

This International Women’s Day I was grateful to be surrounded by incredible women. And incredible people, in general. I was grateful for my brother always encouraging me to chase my goals, and grateful to have parents who work tirelessly every day and prove the importance of hard work. I was grateful for my sensational friends who support each other under all circumstances. I was grateful for a family who is always there to listen. I was grateful that the women I am surrounded by prove the impossible is possible (I’m not grateful that I’ll have to follow in their footsteps, however!).

Time’s Up is still a movement which is incredibly important, and with the UN Women working against child marriage and for equal reproductive rights for women, a change is imminent. With the age of marriages being raised to at least 16 in many countries, a change is clearly possible. We need to keep this change on the up-rise. This International Women’s Day I came to appreciate that the women who inspire me every day don’t simply have to be the women I see on my newsfeeds. They’re the women I see day-in and day-out. The women who are going to blow us all out of the water.

Who knew the world was filled with dozens of Wonder Women?

By Tirion Davies

 

 

The Facebook Alternative

 

To others of my generation who still do not and cannot comprehend why Facebook ever exists, here’s what I’m doing to gain a better understanding. I am trying to make new friends without using Facebook, but while applying the same principles.

Every day I walk down the street and tell passer-bys what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, and what I have done the night before, what I will do later, and with whom. I give them pictures of my family, my dog and of me gardening, taking things apart in the garage, watering the lawn, standing in front of landmarks, driving around town, having lunch and doing what anybody and everybody else does every day.

I also listen to their conversations, then give them the ‘thumbs up’ and tell them I like them, I also promised to exchange holiday photos. And it seems to be working.

I already have four people following me: two police officers, a private investigator and a psychiatrist!

 

 

A GREAT LITTLE PLANE

As the Royal Air Force celebrates its Centenary a series of tributes have appeared, saluting the planes which made the service great– the Lancaster, the Hurricane and the renowned Spitfire which was named the single greatest weapon of the Second World War, claimed by those who flew her to be the perfect flying machine

The Spitfire captured the imagination of the public and all over Britain villages, towns and businesses would set up a “ Spitfire Fund” to raise the nominal £5,000 to buy a plane in their name. One such village was our local Michaelston-le-Pit. Norman Merrett, a Spitfire pilot from the village, had gone down with his plane in 1940. His father wrote these words to Lord Beaverbrook, Minister for Aircraft Production, “These tragic circumstances have served only to strengthen the resolve of this small community. I want you to accept the enclosed cheque for £5,000 from the village of Michaelston-le-Pit”.

 

 

The Internet and Social Media

 

Growing up in an age of social media makes it all the more sad when people abuse their followings. Recently, a YouTube personality named Logan Paul uploaded a vlog where he was walking through Suicide Forest in Japan. I’m sure many of you would have heard by now about the disappointing video, as he and his friends appear to find a body in the forest. I must say that despite for the most part being raised with technology and social media, I am consistently aware of what I post, who it might offend and why I’m doing so. It baffles me then, that someone with such a following – a following of young people I might add, would be so ignorant to others’ emotions that they would film a dead body, and upload the video in which they move closer and closer to the body with their camera; a body of a man who has suffered some form of hardship so terrible it drove him to suicide. It honestly disgusts me how you could be so ignorant to then turn the camera on to yourself and begin to speak about mental health as though it is a matter you care about. Once you have filmed someone who has possibly suffered a mental health disorder (and film them with no remorse) and further have the hypocrisy to beg others to check their own mental health, you are not an ‘influencer’. You have given yourself over as someone who cares more about the amount of people who watch your videos – not those who do. Even though you have blurred the man’s face out (to comply with YouTube’s new rules by the way; YouTube, you too made a big mistake with not reviewing this one) it does not blur the hurt his family must feel, having you, Logan Paul, edit and yet still upload such a video.

As I said, I am the generation raised with the internet and social media. I was thirteen when I got my first social media profile, but even then and even now I think about everything I post. Every outcome, every reaction. If I were a YouTuber, I’d do exactly the same, because people seem to look up to YouTubers. They have found fame in the digital age and should be respectful that their voice is important. Many take this responsibility and use it wisely to speak about matters close to their own hearts; such come to mind are people like Gabbie Hanna, Liza Koshy, Lilly Singh, or Carrie Hope Fletcher, Giovanna Fletcher and Joey Graceffa who take responsibility for their online following and use it to raise awareness on important topics.

It baffles me how someone like Logan Paul (and for that matter, his brother) can understand their demographic is young people for the most part, and yet still disregard their emotions in order to gain ‘views’. My attempt is not to be ‘preachy’ but to ask why? How has a hobby for so many, and a career for millions, become for the sole purpose of feeding some people’s narcissistic tendencies? Logan Paul has argued in his original apology that he did not upload the video for ‘views’ because he claimed “I already get the views”. His ignorance overshadows that of incredible people truly trying to enlighten and empower young people; take Meghan Rienks, a YouTuber who also hosts her own podcast as a sort of sister/agony aunt to young girls. She is using her own influence and comedy to provide help and guidance for young girls; her videos are fun and uplifting, and most importantly – she thinks about the way her video will be perceived before she uploads it!

Logan Paul’s video is inexcusable in my opinion; it was not a live stream which would be unable to be edited. He had walked through the forest, and made the decision himself to film the man. He later went home and edited said video. He had all of the time whilst editing to easily come across the massive fault in his video; many continue to support his video and claim it to be “raising awareness”, and find it acceptable, seeing as “he did blur the face”. Which, you know, makes it okay? Nope.

At almost eighteen years old, having run my own blog since I was almost sixteen, I know what it is to review and have to think through your content before you post. Why then can’t Logan Paul, who has been on this Earth longer than I have? Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

Enjoyment of the Night Sky

 

I have been pleasantly surprised by ‘proper’ dark evenings and nights. So many of the places I have lived had city lights or Street lights close enough to tone down the crispness of a starry, starry sky. Here I enjoy the last evening time that I let our dog out into the garden. If dry and clear, I step onto the patio and admire the night sky. Slowly I will relearn the location and names of the main constellations. For now I can look straight up and spot the W of Cassiopeia. It is November, so I must wait for Orion the Hunter and his two Dog stars to come fully into view. I have to say that I lack the imagination of the old stargazers who found star patterns 6that depicted animals, insects and all sorts of shapes.

In contrast, I called walk our dog early in the morning and watch the sun lift over the A 4050, sometimes shining straight in my eyes as if the surface of the road is an artificial horizon. Sometimes an orange or pink hue suffuses the sky before the sun breaks the spell. Sometimes the light is a broad swathe of grey through an early mist. This morning the sun set of sparklers on the frosted grass.

And later, in early December, on the coldest morning to date, the sky was incredibly clear. Before our walk, the dark allowed the stars to sparkle and the ‘plough’ to point it’s way to the north star. Shortly after, during our walk, Alfie and I were treated to an ice blue sky where four planes criss crossed the firmament with vapour trails the colour of Clogau Gold.

AyJay

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Have A Merry Christmas

 

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

 

Christmas will be different this year. It seems everything this year has challenged us with means we deserve a new future, a new year to cap off the disastrous 2017. But with it comes a desire for a better 2018, one with less tragedy and less worry, one I’m highly doubtful we’ll be graced with. As you attempt to track through the awful past year, too many tragedies appear; but thankfully, some good has come out of this year, too. Perhaps the definition of 2017 is Time magazine’s Person of the Year being the men and women who stood up against their abusers this year, an ongoing battle I wish to see more of; but with Donald Trump taking second place. A year of wins, sprinkled with losses, too.

As we review this year, we need to take note of the good things. All too often do we dwell on the bad – remember the solidarity of women standing together at the Women’s Marches, and the world banding together in light of the numerous terror attacks, to prove we will not our futures be defined by the ugliness of these attacks. When you think of this year – although it’s so hard – try not to think about the ludicrous fact that Donald Trump (practically a five year old) is running America; daydream about his impeachment and Bernie Sanders storming in with a new Congress to pass the bills for free healthcare and re-instating Planned Parenthood. When you think of the Harvey Weinstein cases, don’t waste time on him and his supporters, educate yourself on the victims who finally allowed themselves a voice.

Following 2016 murderous rampage practically of celebrity after celebrity dying, we were graced with 2017’s own tragedies of sexual abusers. As one user on Tumblr aptly put it – last year you worried if your favourite celebrity was trending in case they were dead, this year you’re worried they are an abuser. Which then is worse?

Take the time this year to think about your successes this year. This year I passed my first year of A Levels without too much hassle; have applied to Universities and gained offers; have passed my final LAMDA examination; have (finally) passed my theory test; have gained multiple opportunities to expand my future, and have further gained stronger friendships. I’m grateful that I’m sure there’s more I could say about this year, and am more than grateful that I don’t know what I want for Christmas. Maybe the one thing I want for Christmas is impossible to have – an even better 2018.

When I sit watching the Christmas specials flood my screen at Christmas, and enjoy the feeling of having my family around me, I’ll realise I’m grateful for this year.

Because despite how awful it appears to have been on the outside, it’s allowed me to expand my horizons, and realise that my future is quickly shaping to be better than I’d hoped. For Christmas this year, I just hope that everyone else feels that they can call themselves stronger for having overcome a Millennial’s Year from Hell.

 

By Tirion Davies

Always On

Growing up in a time where the internet and danger is available at the touch of your fingertips is an interesting life. In some ways, some would argue I was lucky, considering technology was around when I was very young, although the tablets and smartphones did not become available to me until I was around 10 years old. These days, I am constantly seeing articles branding parents as ‘unfit’ for allowing their children to have tablets from the age of three.

I love my phone. I know it sounds so ‘millennial’, but it’s true. I think it’s so fascinating that you can do anything from a computer on a small screen without much effort. But I’m not one to argue that it’s only young people who are addicted to their devices. My tadcu loves his computers and since I can remember, has loved playing with them, uploading images from his much-loved camera, or sending funny memes he’s seen online to the family via email; he bought an iPad within the past year or so and so far, without fail he has been the first to find you an answer on the internet using it. My parents, (who both work in IT, so obviously!) enjoy using their tablets and phones and my Mam in particular has a deep love for her Kindle which I don’t think we’ll ever be able to compete with! My brother, just like me, loves his tech, because it’s just so easy for him to read his seventeenth book of the week (okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but he reads a lot) on his Kindle or phone via app.

It doesn’t make me any less capable of speaking to people in real life. But, I suppose you must be careful because a screen gives you a false sense of confidence which is unexplainable to anyone who’s never used a computer. It’s the ability to often submit an online comment which is controversial or wrong, but because it’s anonymous, it’s this sense that no one will ever know. I’m aware of this – more than some of my peers possibly. Because I write these articles – either for my own online blog, or for the What’s On, but they’re always sent via email or put up online. But I’m always careful. And I always make sure that whatever I say online is my own opinion – and one I’d have no problem reiterating in real life.

That’s the biggest issue I have. The fact that what you see online is almost never what the full picture is. That ‘Instagram models’ make you feel inadequate because of the visage they try to convey online which never truly matches up to their own personalities or looks. I’ve never hidden the fact I’ve had body positivity issues, but surely filtering your photos into oblivion makes them all the more fake and gives the wrong sense of your true body? I’m lucky that I was slightly older joining social networking sites like Instagram (mainly because when I was very young, none of it was around – I mean, Facebook was, because Facebook’s always been, just… there) because I can only imagine what young girls think about themselves now. I’m still rather impressionable, but at almost eighteen, I have the knowledge that these images are created to give a certain image, but if I was still nine and looking at a girl without any bones on her body, I might think of it as being somewhat normal. And maybe I’d try to copy those kinds of images.

I’m not saying these women – or men – should stop posting pictures of themselves. We all try to look good, but my argument is that they shouldn’t be editing their photos so heavily, because if you still caption it ‘mirror selfie!’ but look alien because your waist is the size of a pinkie finger, it becomes more cartoon-like, and young girls and boys start believing that’s what they ought to look like. But I also don’t think that every one of every age should be on social media. And at age three, I think it’s odd for you to be able to use an iPhone, but not be able to speak. I know it’s hard to say that, because the world is filled to the brim with new technology, but maybe there’s a point when technology should be a treat for very young children, not a normality.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

Mad World – Gun Control

Mad World

I have witnessed many horrible events happen in my lifetime, and as an aware young person living in today’s society, being kept from the horrors of the world is impossible. I follow the news. I am on most social media platforms. I have watched as tragedies occur, and seen them happen time and time again.

Recently, there was yet another mass shooting in America. And yet, the gun control laws held in the US has not wavered. American gun control laws have caused the death of millions upon millions of people in the US – perhaps a quarter of these statistics have been relevant to my lifetime. Think of that. In almost eighteen years, the news headlines have continuously had to revaluate situations as ‘The worst mass shooting in modern American history’. As the number of shootings increase, the many who have died grow with it.

Gun controls need to be tighter – I cannot stress this enough. By owning a gun, you have the potential to take a life. If you have a gun you need to stop simply saying ‘they wouldn’t give a gun to someone dangerous’ because everyone who owns a gun in America has the potential to be dangerous. You just don’t act on the potential. But someone does. Someone always does.

My point is that nothing changes. Americans still have guns. People’s reactions don’t change. A woman whose family member had been murdered in the Las Vegas shooting had said she did not want to change gun laws. How? How could you witness first hand a mass shooting and have a family member die and still see no problem with the war on gun control? More and more people buy guns in America every day. You can buy guns in supermarkets there.

Yes, I understand that these might be America’s problems, but you can’t deny that universal tragedies cause pain and suffering to more and more people every single day. Everyone is a part of that. Universally, we are more and more connected with America through our media and our global alliance. Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents and even sons and daughters are lost because someone decides they have the right to take a life. Telling us to not think too much about it is the same as telling us we’re heartless if we follow your instructions. Because these people could be us. Although they are across the Atlantic, they should still be important to Britain.

Why must children – the future of our world – die and yet nothing changes. The Sandy Hook shooting happened and dozens of children were killed. But even that didn’t stop the Americans from continuing to sell guns. If anything, the number of people with guns increased. It’s remarkable to me how a ‘travel ban’ on 6 Muslim-majority nations can pass through the US Congress but even after so many have died at the hands of Americans, the Congress cannot remove the laws that are in place in regards to guns.

This isn’t Britain’s battle to face. But equally, it feels like some Americans don’t see it as their own battle. But it is. Because if there isn’t a change soon, there won’t be any Americans left to fight gun law. There won’t be any Americans left. It should be a Universal problem because maybe someone from Britain can describe to an American just how dangerous and ignorant they are if they do not fight gun control.

We shouldn’t be afraid to live our lives – American or British. Speaking as a British citizen, if you are American and you don’t understand why there needs to be tighter gun controls, or even none, please educate yourselves on the stories of those who have died at the hands of guns. Read about those involved in the Pulse Orlando shootings, or the Virginia Tech shootings, or the Binghamton shootings or both of the Fort Hood shootings or even the Texas and Columbine shootings. Look at their photos and read their stories. Read about Claire Wilson James, or Noah Pozner or Isaiah Shoels or Stanley Almodovar III and Lisa Romero-Muiz.

Then try and tell me why civilians ought to have guns.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

Conkers vs Spiders

 

I must admit that since I was a child, I’ve not been able to tolerate spiders, so I dread the reported invasion of giant spiders in the house this autumn . There are many gadgets and products on the market to remove spiders from the home and according to old wives tales, there are also natural methods Leaving conkers on window ledges is said to stop spiders entering the house, but scientists haven’t proved whether the saponin compound found in conkers is effective. Some swear by peppermint oil which has a high concentration of pulegone and methone which are natural pesticides. Drop 15-20 drops of the pure oil into water and add to a spray. Similarly eucalyptus oil or white wine vinegar mixed with water and then sprayed around the home are said to be good repellents. So I am going to have a go with the conker method- no problem with collecting conkers in this village is there?

 

 

FROM DUNKIRK TO WENVOE

FROM DUNKIRK TO WENVOE

The film Dunkirk, currently on release in cinemas, tells the story of the Dunkirk evacuation between 26 May and 4 June 1940. This is the story of the miracle of Dunkirk – the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk in northern France, an evacuation code-named Operation Dynamo. In the film a group of soldiers manage to cross the English Channel to Weymouth and are placed on a train. The trains were known as ‘Dynamo Specials’ taking troops to temporary camps. It reminded me that Wenvoe played a part in Operation Dynamo, well in the receiving of Dunkirk evacuees at any rate, with the Wenvoe Camp that had been set up that year. A camp later used by the US Army between 1943-4 in the run-up to the D-Day campaign and later used for German and Italian prisoners of war (see ‘Wenvoe at War’). Wenvoe Camp occupied the site that would be occupied by the golf driving range and now the crematoria.

I’m not sure how long the camp was occupied by Dunkirk veterans, it appears to be occupied mainly by Royal Army Service Corps men as one letter dated 31 July 1940 to a Pte A J Hopkinson, gives the address as; ‘No. 2 Base Petrol Filling Centre, R.A.S.C., Wenvoe Camp’. A later letter to Pte Hopkinson is dated 9 October 1940. Another soldier; John Edwards, was also with the RASC, he recalled; ‘At St Malo docks, we drove the lorries into the sea and some threw in their weapons too …The ship set off for Weymouth (the journey took all day!) and we arrived there to be met by the Salvation Army who gave every man a tin of Bully beef, a tin of Mackerel, hard tack biscuits and a tin mug full of tea. …My wife (whose neighbour had helpfully told her that "we would never see any of them again") eventually got news that I was in a camp at Wenvoe in South Wales and my brother in Law (who lived in Newport) managed to find me and confirm that I had survived.’ Another RASC man was Pte Edward Anthony Clarke, whose story; ‘Tony Clarke's World War II’; ‘Jul-Sep 1940 – Tony's unit in a big camp under canvas at Wenvoe, 7 miles west of Cardiff, manning road-blocks and checking everybody's identity (why??), with Boer War Ross rifles and a Boys Anti-Tank Rifle …’ The story notes that in Oct 1940 Tony's unit was to move to winter quarters in Caerphilly.

The brother of the famous author C.S. Lewis; Major Warren Hamilton, would also spend time at Wenvoe. Before the war the two brothers had been inseparable, sharing their thoughts and observations on the countryside, literature, and the changing world. He was a noted scholar in his own right and had served in the First World War, being recalled to active service on 4 September 1939 and posted on 25 October 1939 to Le Havre. In May 1940 he was evacuated from Dunkirk and transferred to the Reserves on 16 August 1940. He then left Wenvoe Camp and headed for Oxford where he promptly joined the Sixth Oxford City Home Guard Battalion.

It would be interesting to know how much interaction was there between the camp and Wenvoe and if any readers can add anything please let us know. Parry Edwards has noted that in 1940 there were two weddings from the RASC Wenvoe Camp; one couple being Beryl Fairchild who married William Shakespeare of the RASC at St. Marys Church. No doubt these were engaged couples who had decided that with one of them having survived Dunkirk they should get married!

Stephen K. Jones

 

BBC WW2 People's War Lost in France, May/June 1940: With the RASC by John Edwards http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/45/a2598645.shtml

Tony Clarke's World War II, http://www.rogerclarke.com/Family/AW4/06/2/WWII.html

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GLAMORGAN/ 2004-08/1091645916

 

 

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