ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
THE SHEPHERD AND THE SONGBIRD
Synopsis
This story unfolds across two timelines. The present day is set in New York, where one of the protagonists – a world‑famous opera diva – hosts a dinner party. The past takes place in mid‑rural Wales, near Lake Vyrnwy, where both protagonists’ lives briefly and mysteriously intersect.
Characters
Mrs Katrin Lloyd Evans (known as The Songbird; accent shifts between South Wales Valleys and American)
Mr Kevin Wiess (Katrin’s American manager)
Tommy (Katrin’s driver; Cockney accent)
Huw Jones (the Shepherd; strong Welsh accent)
Mrs Williams (pub owner; strong Welsh accent)
Part One
The sound of opera music, laughter, and clinking glasses.
Kevin: Oh, I don’t believe in ghosts – and neither should any of the twelve people sitting around this table.
Katrin: Well, I do, Kevin.
Kevin: Really, Katrin? And what experience, pray tell, convinced you? (Light laughter around the table.)
Katrin: If you’re going to laugh, I won’t tell you at all.
Kevin: Oh come on – will it be set back on your old home turf? Go on, my fine Welsh songbird. Tell us all, on this balmy New York night.
Katrin: Not exactly my home turf – but it is set in Wales.
Kevin: And what were you doing there?
Katrin: I was born in a village called Taffen in the South Wales mining area, but this happened years later, in mid‑rural Wales near Lake Vyrnwy. It was before you became my manager. I was working on the London opera scene and had been sent to sing at the Eisteddfod in Llangollen.
Kevin: That famous music festival.
Katrin: That’s the one. The company sent a driver – Tommy.
Kevin: Ah yes, the cheeky Cockney cabbie.
Katrin: He picked me up from my apartment in Kensington in the Rolls, and we set off for North Wales.
Part Two
Car doors close. Footsteps. The engine starts.
Tommy: Right, Katrin – straight to Llangollen, or any stops on the way?
Katrin: Just the usual comfort breaks. How long should it take?
Tommy: About four hours, traffic permitting.
Katrin: And please stop calling me “Madam.” Call me Katrin.
Tommy: Right you are. Off we go.
The car drives on. Opera plays quietly on the radio.
Tommy: Looks like a standstill ahead. We could cut through mid‑Wales and take the A roads.
Katrin: Whatever you think best. I’ll have a little nap.
Later. The engine cuts out.
Tommy: Katrin – sorry to wake you. We’ve got a problem.
Katrin: What’s happened? Why is it so foggy?
Tommy: It came down suddenly. The radio and sat‑nav went haywire, and I didn’t want to risk driving blind.
Katrin: Do we know where we are?
Tommy: Afraid not. Phones are dead too.
Katrin: Let me try mine.
Static.
Katrin: Nothing. How strange.
Tommy: I saw what looked like a building down the road. I’ll go and look for help.
Katrin: Good idea. I’ll stay here.
Tommy walks away. The fog thickens.
Part Three
Katrin wakes alone in the cold.
Katrin: Where on earth is Tommy?
A sound outside the car.
Katrin: Tommy? Hello?
Footsteps. A cough in the distance.
Katrin: Wait – please stop and call out!
She slips and falls down a slope. Sheep bleat. A dog barks. A man sings an old operatic aria.
Huw: Helo – wyt ti’n iawn?
Katrin: Please – stop shaking me!
Huw: English, are we? Jock, lie down.
Katrin: I’m Welsh, actually – the Valleys.
Huw: Ah. You’ve hurt your foot. I can strap it and take you to my hut.
Katrin: A hut
Huw: Just down the valley.
He helps her to her feet and supports her as they walk.
Katrin: My name’s Katrin.
Huw: Huw Jones. And this is Jock. I’m the shepherd here.
Part Four
Inside the shepherd’s hut. A fire crackles.
Huw: Sit down. I’ll put more logs on. Tea?
Katrin: Please.
Huw: No sugar, I’m afraid.
Katrin: That’s fine.
Huw: You asked where you are – you’re in the Vyrnwy Valley.
Katrin: And Llangollen?
Huw: Forty miles or so, as the crow flies.
Katrin: You sing beautifully, you know.
Huw: It passes the time. The sheep don’t complain.
Katrin: You could sing at the Albert Hall.
Huw: What’s that?
Katrin laughs.
Huw: Rest here. I’ll look for your driver.
Later, they walk together, singing as the fog lifts.
Huw: We’re close to the road. I’ll go on ahead.
Katrin: Thank you, Huw. Truly.
He walks away, singing.
Part Five
Katrin alone again. The fog returns.
Katrin: Huw? Can you hear me?
Knocking on glass.
Tommy: Katrin! Open the door!
Katrin: Tommy! Did you see Huw?
Tommy: Who?
Katrin: The shepherd—he helped me all day.
Tommy: Katrin, I’ve only been gone half an hour.
Later, in a pub.
Mrs Williams: His name was Huw Jones?
Katrin: Yes.
Mrs Williams: Come and look at this photograph.
Katrin: That’s him.
Mrs Williams: Taken in 1888. He drowned in 1892, saving my grandfather when the reservoir was new. That’s why this place is called The Drowned Shepherd.
Katrin: It felt so real.
Mrs Williams: Around here, we’d say you had… an experience.
Epilogue
Weeks later, back in Wales.
Katrin walks alone. Mist gathers. A dog barks.
Katrin: Jock?
An operatic voice drifts through the fog.
Katrin: Huw…
BBC News Report:
Police have suspended the search for the missing opera singer Katrin Lloyd Evans, who disappeared three weeks ago while on a walking holiday near Lake Vyrnwy in mid‑Wales.
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