An Interview With Mr. Roscoe Howells

Interview by: Alan Evans Roscoe Howells was born in Saundersfoot in 1919. His mother died when he was three weeks old. His father remarried and he was brought up during the depression. He witnessed the harshness of the depression with Bonville’s Court colliery closing down leaving families in utter poverty. Roscoe’s work has its roots in the community and countryside around Saundersfoot, Tenby and Amroth. Roscoe was a former pupil of Christ College Brecon as well as vice-president and former chairman of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society, of which he was a founder member. He was also a founder member and chairman of the old Pembrokeshire Records Society. His many books include Woodreef – From Amroth to Utah – Pembrokeshire’s Islands – Old Saundersfoot: From Monkstone To Marros – Crickdam – and Roseanna. Roscoe also wrote numerous articles on farming and agriculture in Wales. Roscoe was outwardly emotional when relating some of his many stories. One could feel his passion for writing, the people and countryside of West Wales. At 90 years of age Roscoe has an exceptional memory. The interview was conducted at Roscoe’s home in Amroth. I am grateful to Roscoe and his wife Margaret for their hospitality and time. I began by asking Roscoe what it was like growing up as a chid in Saundersfoot Roscoe: The colliery at Boneville’s Court was still open and I was there at the time of the 1926 strike. My mother died when I was three weeks old. My father married again and my stepmother was wonderful to me. I grew up referring to her as my mother. My real mother’s sister was a right bitch and she made my stepmother’s life hell. We lived at The Bethanny Manse, which had a garden that went down to a field where the regency hall is now. It was known as Vickermans field. I remember the pit ponies coming up and grazing there when the miners were on strike. It was a difficult time. My father was a builder and I remember men coming to the back door and asking if they could have a weeks work so that they could get a stamp to go on the dole. Grown men, coming round crying and genuinely so, genuine workmen, not like today’s parasites. The great excitement for me was that Bonneville’s court was still working. I used to spend most of my time down at the harbour with the boatmen. The coal boats would come in to get coal from the colliery. The merchant seamen used to come in and get to know people in the village. We used to be down there when the boats went out waving them off. There were two or three pilots there and there was tremendous contention between them to get the job piloting the boats in from Monkston. These boats would come in and drop anchor off Monkston. These pilots would be racing out to be the first out to get the boat. My father used to tell the story. His father could see the boats coming in and he would run down to Saundersfoot and tell one of his mates. Eventually the pilots got wise than Granfer Ben was doing this. My grandfather had an arrangement with a local pilot and he would run down. The local boys would see him and set off but there was nothing there. When there was a boat my grandfather would run down ‘quatting’ as we say in Pembrokeshire beneath the wall so no one would see him. If you could meet anybody today in Saundersfoot who was born in the village, without exception their parents would have come from the surrounding villages. This is the significance of the subtitle of my book, Old Saundersfoot from Monkston to Marros. My father was born at Wiseman’s bridge. He went to Saundersfoot to look for work. My mother was a nursemaid and had gone there from Crosseli. My stepmother had gone there from Kilgetty. Saundersfoot had a very good football team. We had a lot of visitors. People started coming in, boarding and lodging. Alan: What are the main changes you have seen? Roscoe: People coming in from the outside. The second homes and holiday homes. They come in and take over and in ten minutes they know it all. They tell you what’s wrong with you. Alan: Is it fair to say that you love the area? Roscoe: Yes, I love the area. You can read every word I’ve ever written about it. It is home, there is no place like home. I love the sea, I love the countryside it’s been my life. I know a so many of the people. I know some of the better ones and I’ve met some of the awful ones. Alan: You were chairman of a number of organizations including the Pembrokeshire records society. How important is it to record and preserve local history, especially that of the ordinary working man? Roscoe: It is very important to preserve the history of the working man. It is tragic that so much has been lost. I have been guilty of it myself, shredding papers. Then I ask ‘what did I do with that’? Alan: You told me when we first met that there is no such thing as fiction. Are you suggesting that all literature has at its source real life experiences. Roscoe: There is no such thing as fiction. Everything comes from something either your own or other peoples experiences. I could always write in school I remember when I was in the infant’s class at Saundersfoot council school. Mrs. Morris was the teacher. She always said to us, ‘You have the sentence in your head before you start it. Get the sentence right and then you wont have to cross out’. Kenneth Griffith the actor was a friend of mine. When I wrote the manuscript for my first book I saw him in Tenby and showed him the book. He read it and said that it must be published. I sent the book to Tony Whitton then I went up to London to meet him. He said it was a lovely book but it was a shame that it wasn’t set in Cornwall or Lancashire. He couldn’t believe that a place like this existed. I had to have Tony Whitton down for a weekend for him to see something of the area. I took him all around the place and he couldn’t believe it. He went back and the book was published. I could write a wonderful book about literary agents and London publishers. He took the book on and managed to persuade his people to publish it. When it was due to be published I told Ian McClarren, now Lord McClarren head of Tesco about it. His grandmother was born at Herons Mill as was my stepmother’s mother. Ian and I were quite close and when Ian married he called his first house Heron’s Mill. Ian was so pleased about the book that he told me to tell Hutchinson’s that Tesco would go 50/50 on a big launching party. The man at Hutchinson’s asked, ‘What are we selling, margarine’? Ian was so cross so Tesco launched the book at the Stradey Park Hotel. The book Herons Mill sold out in three weeks. Publishers in America took it on and Hutchinson’s did not republish. Alexander Cordell (1914-1997) gave me some wonderful advice. He told me that no one person writes a book and that no novel left his house until it had been proofread. I used to read everything I wrote to Lucy my first wife. If she said it wasn’t right there was something wrong with it. I never used a typewriter in my life. My second wife Margaret began to type my work and eventually went on to using a computer to type my work. I eventually learned how to use the computer and I can tap away at it now. I write everything on screen and Margaret can go through it and make corrections. Cordell was very helpful and he had a look at my novel Heron’s Mill. He was living in Cheltenham at that time. He told me to bring my manuscript to him. I sent it to him and called on him a few weeks later. I asked him to tell me if he thought I was wasting my time trying to write. He told me ‘If you were wasting your time I wouldn’t be wasting my time talking to you’. He told me to take the manuscript home and that I should learn my craft. Words are diamonds, jewels, precious gems, every word must carry the story forward, every word must count. He said ‘You go home remembering everything I told you and start again and I’ll edit it as I think it should be’. I came home and I started again and I knew I could write. I sent it to him and when it came back it was worse than ever. One thing I remember and if you’re ever thinking of writing boy you remember this. One thing that drove it home to me. If you read my novel Heron’s Mill you’ll see that these two boys were going to Sunday school and they came on a badger in a trap. Evan Harter went running back to fetch his grandfather who was one of the big characters in the book and the other boy ran on to Sunday school. Granfer Jenkins was standing by the gate smoking his pipe. He said ‘Granfer, Granfer, come quick there’s a badger in the trap’. When they got there Granfer put the fork down on the badger’s neck to hold it down. They put some tar or something on the injured foot. A few hours later when they went back to the house they went into the kitchen. Ben Harter was very upset and the two girls were crying. Granfer said, ‘What’s the matter’ and Ben said ‘Cosiah, she’s dead’. Granfer Ben said, ‘Dead’. With that, Evan was running up the stairs before anyone could stop him. He looked in through the bedroom door and there was his mother lying on the bed on the old patchwork quilt and the old brass knobbed bedstead. I had written ‘Mam, Mammy’s dead, but there was no reply’. Cordell had crossed off the first Mam. ‘One Mam is enough’. ‘but there was no reply’, he (Cordell) cut it off. He (Cordell) put in the margin, ‘She’s dead isn’t she?’ It then read, ‘Mammy’s dead, go to the side of the bed he touched his mother’s face and at eight years of age he knew death’ full stop. I knew I could write, I can’t speak but I can write. The significant thing is that I have been very fortunate to have mixed with very good journalists. (Cordell’s comments are in bold). Alexander Cordell, Welsh Novelist wrote Rape of the Fair Country (1959). Alan: A lot of your work is illustrated with photographs. Do you believe that a picture is worth a thousand words? Roscoe: Oh, ten thousand words. Every picture tells a story. I have worked with some very good photographers in my time. I wasn’t a bad photographer myself. Alan: Do you have a favourite photograph? Roscoe: Yes I do. They all bring back different memories. One favourite is hanging inside the door as you come in. That’s a picture of my late wife Lucy taken four weeks to the day before I found her dead on the floor. Its bound to mean something isn’t it? I’ve got another lovely photograph of Margaret when we were on honeymoon with the Blaskets in the background. Alan: One of your most controversial pieces of literature is A Pembrokeshire Pioneer written about William Frost. You claim that he was the first man to perform a flight in an aircraft. How did you come to that conclusion? Roscoe: How did I come to the conclusion? Good God I knew the man I was there, he showed my father the patent and the pictures. My mother had been the Sunday school teacher there and Bill Frost was the Sunday school supervisor. Alan: What do you think you will be remembered for? Roscoe: Me! Being argumentative I suppose. I’d like to think that I’d done a bit of good I can’t tell you. How do we know? I’d like to think that I would be remembered for saving things, which might have been forgotten. I could be wrong. Alan: You’ve reached your ninetieth birthday. If you could sum up your life in a few words what would they be? Roscoe: I’d like to think that I would be remembered for standing up to be counted. Not afraid to say my piece. I think that if I have achieved anything in life without anyone realizing it was when crooked people were intent upon putting a sewerage scheme in Saundersfoot, which would have been discharged into the sea. It would have been deathly for Amroth and the whole area. Evil people financially motivated it finished up with some of them going to jail. Many thanks for your time. ©Alan Evans, 30th November, 2009 Find books by Roscoe Howells on Gomer

An Interview With Alan Evans

Since joining Americymru Alan Evans has contributed many interesting and provocative discussions, video clips and photographs. Today we thought our members would like to learn more about him and his photography. We’ll have to leave his many other interests for a later discussion. Americymru: Were you always interested in photography? What other interests do you have? Alan: I was given my first camera as a Christmas present when I was about nine years of age. Photography always interested me and seemed like a glamourous occupation. I was always experimenting but lacked the formal training. At forty I enrolled on a BA honours photography course at art college. I was still using film and the digital revolution was about to take off. The formal learning gave me more confidence and established a clearer identification of what my work was about. I have many other interests including sport, early childhood education and cookery. Find more photos like this on Americymru Americymru: What factors influenced you to become a photographer and chronicler of people and places? Have you always had an interest in photography? How did you prepare yourself to enter the profession? Alan: I always admired the work of French photographer Robert Doiseneau and saw his work as a benchmark to aim for. People have always interested me and I have found myself chatting to people from all walks of life. I believe that the social interaction is an important part in the process of photographing people. When the subject has relaxed you get a truer representation of the personality. I guess my preparation is based in my upbringing, one of four brothers brought up on a large working class council estate in Llanelli. There really was no place to hide and you had to deal with all sorts of life issues. Americymru: Do you have a favorite subject matter? Why do you like shooting this type of subject? My favourite subject mater is people. Alan: I find the human face fascinating. Everyone is equal but different. The human face can provide so much information about life itself. I love shooting portraiture because it allows me to look very closely at a fellow human being. I feel like a scientist observing the subject matter. Americymru: What is your favorite medium, digital or film and why? Do you shoot in both? Alan: I love shooting with film because it slows the process down. You have to think a lot more about the fundamentals of photography with a film camera. There is something that challenges your confidence when using film. There is no second chance, delete, re shoot. Everything has to be correct so you go through the technicalities over and over again. I still use film but the demand to provide images within minutes to a client means that it becoming unrealistic to use film. I tend to take digital and film only using film when things have settled down. Americymru: What is your opinion of photo enhancement programs as a photographer? As an artist? Alan: I am very snobby about photo enhancement. My bleief is that if you can't shoot it in camera then you're not up to it. I have not really got into photo enhancement programmes other than Photoshop for adjusting the curves which is similar to giving the negative more or less time at the development stage. Americymru: Your portraits are especially appealing to me, that is not to say that your other subjects are not appealing. How do you get your subjects to reveal their inner selves, to you? How do you choose your subjects? Alan: It takes time and some mutual respect for the subject. I love to chat with people and this is probable a contributing factor to the final image. I will be chatting for a while and then casually raise the camera and start taking photos. I usually keep chatting and the camera seems to become non threatening to the subject. I keep talking whilst taking the photos. Given time the subject drops their guard and you start to see the true personality. I guess it is the same for most people when you meet them for the first time. More often than not the people I photograph are not usually photographed. Americymru: In addition to portraits and commercial photography, you have exhibited a wide variety of landscapes and seascapes in both area and time. Do you travel to a specific area to shoot landscapes and seascapes or do you just keep your eyes open for a good shot when there? How much of your time is spent on looking for “the shot”? Alan: I tend to base my landscapes and seascapes around days out with the family. We arrive at a destination and if the light is right, I disappear for most of the day and sometimes most of the evening. we are lucky to live in an area of outstanding natural beauty so wherever we travel, there is going to be some form of landscape to photograph. I would like to spend more time looking for the shot but I am lazy. I prefer to lay on the beach all day. The window of opportunity for landscapes is early morning or dusk. Americymru: Based on your experience, what advice would you offer to a person who may be considering photography as a career? What do you feel separates the amateur photographer from the professional? Alan: I would say that you should find an area of photography which really interests you. Improvise with the equipment you have and fine tune your skills in your specialist area. Look at the work of the greats in your specialist area and learn from them. Experiment to a point and accept the limitations of your camera. The amateur takes photographs everywhere the professional sees photographs everywhere but only takes the ones which count. Americymru: The recognition that all artists seek is to share their art with others, and hope that they will buy your art. Do you have any planned or existing exhibitions? How do you sell photographs which have not been commissioned? Do you have a website where our members can view or buy your work? Alan: Like all artists I am tortured and suffer for my art. I have a continual lack of confidence in the quality and value of my work. There is a great fear of rejection when exhibiting work. I tend to stay clear of the exhibition space when my work is on display. If someone buys it then this is a bonus. My website is probably my main exhibition space although I have not really promoted my art based photography which tends to be the nude form. This is because my main website is accessed by people of all ages. Ironically it is these images which sell the most. I am passionate about the people and the area in which I live and work. I have a few websites. The Art Based work can be viewed at www.thebeautifulnude.co.uk My main site is www.alanevansphotography.co.uk My work documenting horse racing in Carmarthenshire is on www.ffoslasphotography.com Americymru: Do you have any final comment for the readers and members of Americymru? Alan: Keep you camera handy and the sun on your back Interview by: Howard Evans

The North American Festival of Wales - An Interview With Alan Thomas

Don't miss this opportunity for fellowship and Welsh culture in Portland! Our daytime programming will feature four days of interesting and informative seminars, workshops, concerts & much more.An Interview with Eirian Owen, Musical Director of the Cor Godre'r Aran who will be appearing at NAFOW 2010 can be found here. More info and registration here Americymru: For how many years have you been an accompanist at the North American Festival of Wales? Alan: I was invited to become accompanist for the NAFOW when it was held here in Ottawa in 2000 I think I am the only professional musician in the city who was born in Wales, so the Committee decided to invite me. I missed a couple of years after that but I have performed in several US cities ever since. Americymru: Care to tell us some of the people you have accompanied in that time? Alan: I have accompanied quite a number of singers, notably in recent years Shannon Mercer, Aled Wyn Davies and Gwyndaf Jones, all of whom were very well received at the festivals Shannon is from Ottawa, and I played for her when she was a 10-year old ! Americymru: What for you is the most enjoyable and the most significant part of the festival? Alan: I enjoy all the festival but I especially like the concert after the Banquet on the Friday evening,when the guest soloist and I perform a 45-minute recital for the assembled company Americymru: How long have you been playing the organ? Alan: I began piano lessons when I was 6 and then organ lessons when I was 13 (when I was tall enough to reach the pedals !) That makes 60 years, since I shall be 74 in June Americymru: You were born in Neath in South Wales? Care to tell our readers something about the town? What early memories do you have of it? Alan: Neath was a wonderful town for music The Grammar School I attended had a very strong vocal and instrumental program, and turned out several professional musicians apart from myself The town had a flourishing Municipal orchestra in which I played Double Bass , and a splendid Operatic Society which put on a Grand Opera every year Americymru: You were once active in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. Care to tell us more about your role with that organisation? Alan: I began playing Double bass in the NYOW and then was invited to join the staff when I reached the age of 20 (when players were considered too old to continue !) I then became Orchestral Librarian and did all kinds of jobs normally associated with that of Orchestral manager, such as visiting all the concert halls in advance and sorting things out with the staff there I was employed by the Welsh Joint Education Committee at this stage. Americymru: In 1977, you were appointed Organist and Choir Director of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. How active is the Welsh community in Ottawa? Alan: The Welsh Society in Ottawa is quite active, with a Choir, a Christmas service and an annual St David's Day dinner and concert preceeded by a Cymanfa Ganu There is a department of Celtic Studies at the University of Ottawa, which is a very useful resource for us Americymru: What, for you, will be the musical highlight of this years festival? Alan: The highlight of the festival is the afternoon Cymanfa and the Friday evening concert, but all the events are very well worth attending, including the Saturday night concert by the visiting choir. Americymru: Any final message for the members and readers of Americymru? Alan: My advice to everyone is simply to make every effort to attend this wonderful weekend devoted to Welsh music and culture in general Not to be missed !!

Interview: Ceri Shaw Email