Category: Uncategorized
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We face a cost-of-living crisis – but kindness is free
This column first appeared in The Western Mail in September 2022 Fifteen winters ago, I stared at my baby boy – not yet one year of age, wrapped in layer upon layer in his cot – and felt as powerless as I have ever felt. That was the winter things went wrong for us. Instead…
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A love letter to Motown
This column first appeared in the Western Mail in August 2022 A needle drops smoothly into a groove. The vinyl, dark and shiny as coal crystals, spins hypnotically. My mam, a cloud of blonde curls and hairspray, hands me a toy Fisher Price phone. I clutch the handset between my tiny fingers, ready for my…
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On the joy of pockets
This column first appeared in The Western Mail in July 2022 My partner Alex says I never look more cheerful than when he compliments an outfit I’m wearing, and it elicits the magical four-word response: “Thanks! It has POCKETS!”. The first time this happened, it was as if his brain had short-circuited, and his face…
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Bread and roses: How outdoors art can inject new life into our streets
This column first appeared in The Western Mail in June 2022 A striking mural commemorating former Wales football manager Gary Speed appeared on the streets of Cardiff this week. Located near the Cardiff City Stadium, the mural by creative collective Unify has captured imaginations across Wales. It’s part of the My City My Shirt campaign,…
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Raise a glass to the “friendiversary”
This column first appeared in The Western Mail in May 2022 Llangrannog, Summer 1992, and the best human being I’ve ever known wandered into my life. Technically, she’d be quick to tell you, I wandered into hers. We both have a vivid, shared memory of the fateful day our paths first crossed. It was at a…
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Beware the corporate “pinkwashing” of International Women’s Day
This column first appeared in The Western Mail in March 2022 I write this on International Women’s Day. It’s a day that increasingly makes me feel torn. I mean, in principle, I’m glad such a day exists. After all, we make up half of the world’s population, and it’s nice of the patriarchy to let…
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No amount of streetlights will keep women safe on our streets
This article first appeared in The Western Mail in January 2022 Last week I led a run after a vigil held in memory of 23-year-old Ashling Murphy, killed earlier this month while out jogging. A journalist asked me why we had organised a vigil for this young woman in particular. The inference being, why was this…
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On the fallacy of marriage
This column first appeared in The Western Mail in December 2021 There’s only one way to interpret the end of Bill and Melinda Gates’ 27-year union. The concept of marriage – a wildly optimistic promise to remain with the same person until one of you carks it – is surely done for. Don’t at me. …
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If it was good enough for Einstein: On cycling
This column first appeared in the Western Mail in November 2021 In this strange old world, nothing is certain except for death, taxes and that there will always be another Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas special (**shudders**). Yet one thing I’m sure of is that it’s impossible to be melancholy when you’re riding a bike. There’s…
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A love letter to a lost art
This column first appeared in the Western Mail in October 2021 When was the last time you received a handwritten letter? Or, indeed, sat down to indulge in the rare and nostalgic pleasure of writing a letter by hand? In an age of instant electronic communication, where decisions and plans can be made instantly at…
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