100 Notes for Dylan

Today's share is a podcast that I made for Welsh Poet & Broadcaster, Mab Jones, when I was the Resident Poet at the Dylan Thomas Boathouse for the Dylan Thomas Centenary Celebrations DT100. 

What a great honour to be invited to celebrate Dylan's work in this way. It is a residency that will stay with me forever. I met folk from all over the world who came as pilgrims to 'be' in Dylan's creative space.

For a whole month, I worked with visitors to the Boathouse to create a very long piece, where every line is from a different visitor.

We made all the lines into poetry bunting which we hung on the entrance steps as folk came in, using stamps and string from the years that Dylan and his family lived in Laugharne.

If you would like to hear other tracks from my 40 year career, they are available on Bandcamp ... 

In Dylan Thomas' bed! With Cheryl Beer

 

This is Dylan Thomas' bedroom, beautifully restored by Annie Haden, at Dylan's actual birth house, Number 5, Cwmdonkin Drive.

 

Had to show you this secret window, which had been hidden, bricked up until Annie restored the house and found it!

 

Such a wonderful house with so much love put into the restoration, so you can imagine I was overjoyed to be invited to do my first book reading of The Dragon Tree in Dylan's bed!

That's why I decided to get into the spirit of things and wear my pyjama's!

 

 

The room was full of colourful people, some of them on the bed with me, while I read chapter 7, where Dafydd comes face to face with Mr Blueface, Dylan Blueface, whom he feels has been following him. Dylan Blueface takes Dafydd to number five to play piano in his father's study, which Annie tells me is where on a wednesday evening, Dylan would have his friends for a soiree.

 

Dafydd looks through Dylan's secret window ... and this is the window I am referring to earlier in the blog!

 
I can't think of anything quite so out there for my first reading of The Dragon Tree, in my pj's, in dylan's birth house, in his bed, with a room full of people! Lorraine King even joined me in her pyjamas too!! That's her tucked up with Spot!

Thanks Jeff for recording this very special night for me ... I've edited a wee film on youtube. The quality is not great but it will give you an idea ...

 

 

In bed with Dylan Thomas!!

In this photo I'm playing ukulele and singing Mr Blueface, my song from The Dragon Tree about the Dylan Thomas Trail for Dylan Thomas' Birthday Bash at Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, invited by the lovely Annie Haden who runs his Birth House is Swansea.

BUT TONIGHT I WILL ACTUALLY BE IN DYLAN'S BED doing my first reading of The Dragon Tree from my new book which accompanies the performances, installation and film. I'm going to read the chapter that features Mr.Blueface.

I have my pyjama's in a bag ready to do a quick change before the reading ... we're going to video it and take pictures so watch this space!! What a hoot!

Tabl Wyneb Glas

 

Been in the studio today for a 12 hour stint editing but our system is so old it's all real time ...

 

So in the slots where I was waiting for the technical stuff to do its thang .. helped by Engineer Exta-ordinaire Jeff Beer, I decided to make my Mr Blue Face Table ...

Tabl Wyneb Glas

 

 

I had a thought in my head that I needed a table in the Bi Lingual Arts Installation Exhibition where I could put my journals, and a Visitors Book to record who has seen the exhibition and for comments.

 

 

As luck would have it, I picked  up an old coffee table in the second hand shop for a fiver!

 

 

 

I was at a car boot sale and I found a damaged copy of Under Milk Wood

 

So I had this idea to make a Tabl Wyneb Glas ...

The table represents the song Mr Blueface about The Dylan Thomas Trail

 

I scored the table, using upva and water.

 

It's lifted a bit but after about 5 coats

it seems to be sticking ok.

 

 

So then I printed out my lyrics to Mr Blueface that have been kindly translated for me by Chaired and Crowned Bard, Ceri Wyn Jones ...

 

And have put the welsh on one side of parcel tags ... And english on the other

 

I'm going to hang these on the bars under the table .. thinking I'll use blue ribbon of different lengths. This will then link to my song Dance of the Ribbons, along with the ribbon stick that Dai Collage will be holding, made from a piece of drift wood ... and red ribbon to represent

a dragon's tongue.

 

I can't tell you what good fun it is and how soul lifting it is, having the time to make things for my own production. Having a grant from The Arts Council of Wales gives me this time out from my community arts work and enables me to apply all the things I use to engage others ...

to engage myself!

 

 

 

Dylan Thomas Street Dance

I had really hoped to film the street dancers in the sea, I had them kicking up the crest of a wave, but this June must have been the rainiest one ever!

So I decided the day before to rustle up a contingency. I thought the Amusement Arcade would be an interesting location but the manager was having none of it.

Then I called my lovely frned Annie Haden

at The Dylan Thomas Birth House,

Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive.

 

She didn't hestitate!

'Annie, I need a favour love,'

SORTED!

I went up to Penlan through the council estate to the youth centre to pick up the dancers who were all waiting patiently.

What a lovely bunch of people!

And Martin Kurina who is the 17 year old running the dance troop as a volunteer to 'make a difference within the community'

is an absolute star!

I'm not entirely how sure how to fit this new venue into the production.

I'll just have to change the story line around and link onto the end of the Dylan Thomas Trail song .... Mr Blueface ....



Mmm will have a thinkette!

What a very special thing indeed to be the Director who brought Street Dance to Dylan's doorstep. I'm certain he would have LOVED it!

New, edgey, out there genre,

youth fired, wired and inspired.

It warmed my heart that the young people were asking Annie loads of questions and were genuinely interested in his life.

I stood filming them in what we know was Dylan's bedroom and it felt so outside the box I forgot that there even used to be one!

THANKYOU Martin Kurina, Penlan Youth Service, Annie Haden & Dylan Thomas!

THANKYOU Arts Council of Wales for my Individual Mainline Grant.

 

Mr Blue-face strikes the right chords!

I can not tell you how absolutely thrilling it is to know that so many ukulele players are learning my song for my film shoot re. my fusion inspire production.

I am so excited about it that I could absolutely burst!

We will be in the fabulous setting of The Tin Shed Experience in Laugharne, where Dylan's heart beat echoes as loudly as if it were still beating ... and I think that just maybe it is!

I'm sure he would love being celebrated in this way.

For those of you who would like to come, here are the chords in advance so you have an idea of how it goes! Richard Gent who runs the Swansea group will be going through the chords at his regular meeting this week.

Don't worry too much about the chords folks, we can run through when we get there & EVERYONE will be able to take part whether you can play the chords or not! :))

Diolch x Starts 2.00pm please bring your own uke although I will have my gang of Luna's at the ready!

For those of you wondering, Mr Blue-face refers to the Dylan Thomas Trail Signs

along our West Wales coastline ...

Dylan Thomas The Boathouse: Paned o De?

As you know, I've been longing to go to The Boathouse since finding myself drawn to all the places on the Dylan Thomas Trail at New Quay.

Laugharne has a special magnetism to it. Let's face it, any place with the word 'Laugh' concealed within it, is flirting, winking, beckoning you in; And 'IN' I am!

I thought I might take you on the walk with me from the Car Park, which will be especially nice for those of you who haven't been to Laugharne yet or live so far away that a visit would be a once in a lifetime trip, but that would be a trip worth making, especially if you are a writer or a creative, especially if you love contemporary history, especially if you want to feel close to the heavens, if you feel a compulsion to be part of 'the strangest town in Wales' Although, I do not find it strange, neither do I feel strange within it, it is as if I have always come here to visit, as if my childhood days were spent running back and for to Dylan's writing shed; his seashaken house ... On a breakneck of rocks

'

So, I start here in the Car Park and this is a wooden sculpture/bust of Dylan looking out over the Taf Estuary & 13th Century Laugharne Castle 

Up past the castle I walk following the immacualtely polished and laid local slate stone pathway until I reach ...

SEA VIEW

Just time for a quick sit down and a moment to ponder over how I might explain
never going home ...

Now then which way next?

I'm not sure if this is the Graveyard where Dylan and Caitlin are buried. There is just a little white cross for them in St.Martin's Church I know this, but I could not see any signs here so I'm not clear which Graveyard it is. Still, it matters not who is buried in this place, only that many are and where better to rest your forever sleepy head than peeping through the trees to the West Wales coast line; The very coastline that has inspired such wonderful and inspirational  words, beaded like threaded jewels and hung around the neck of one so tall his gifts will always be just out of reach for us mere mortals to assimilate.

Past the marsh ...

Follow the walkway ...

Rows of newly painted railings stand on guard ...

Nearly there ...

Dylan's Writing Shed ... I want one!

I peeped through the door and this is the window on the other side of the writing shed above his desk, so this view is THE view that he will have wistfully gazed from while drinking beer or having a sneaky ciggie & being a genius!

 

It really is very beautiful indeed, isn't it. Completely inspirational!

The Writing Shed is staged exactly as it would have been had Dylan still been using it ... and if I'm honest, I'm not entirely sure he isn't still there!

And just up from the Writing Shed .. The Boathouse. I didn't take this photo. I've taken it from their website so that you can see what it looks like from a distance.

www.dylanthomasboathouse.com

But I did take these .. down the stairs to the cafe for a  Paned o De ( which is Welsh for a Cup of Tea!)

 

My Conclusion? Laugharne, The Dylan Thomas Boathouse: A place more beautiful than words can paint, more inspirational than melody can sing & more moving than choreography can leap ...