Welsh Society heroes...

TO START the New Year, the Loughborough Welsh Society held a Members Afternoon, on a theme of Heroes.

So who or what would have been your hero, would your bedroom walls be decorated with posters of various kinds, would you have stood on the terraces on a Saturday afternoon yelling your head off, would you have rushed to the local record shop to get the latest release, or to W.H.Smith for a writer’s latest novel. Or stood in a queue for ages to buy a ticket for the up coming gig ?

However, it is traditional of Welsh Families in the Valleys to be quite close together, therefore it was not surprising that some members opted for heroic relations, they spoke about fathers, mothers, grandmothers and even a mother-in-law. How their early days were fashioned by the devotion of that particular relation; being encouraged to get a decent education, not to follow dad down the mines, join the local library, follow their career options and not join the family business.and perhaps having to leave the comforts of home and venture into the outside world.

However some members undertook a different view and we ended up with heroes of a more wider aspect like - Lawrence of Arabia and tales of his adventures in Egypt, experiences in WW2, and even working with Winston Churchill, Joan Bakewell and her book about “Life at 70” , and how things had change over the years as a TV and radio personality.

And Bill Haley, the father figure of rock and roll, and his demise to poverty and ill health.

After such a pleasant time, society president, Jane Jones, thanked members for their input and stated how nice it was to learn more about peoples lives and interests.