The often-overlooked history of the German-Jewish refugee children of Gwrych Castle. In 1939, several German Jewish refugee children, traveling on the Kindertransport, found themselves in Abergele, North Wales. Would this be their temporary new home? Gwrych Castle, where a Hachshara was being set up, was a residential "training center" aimed at preparing the Jewish children for life on a kibbutz in Israel, where they hoped to be reunited with their families. In this intriguing debut, Andrew Hesketh explores the lesser-told history of the children who lived in this North Wales castle, bringing together their personal memories and experiences to create a unique picture of their lives. He also explores the history of the building itself, from its origins in the nineteenth century up to its use in the reality television series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! in 2020.

Escape to Gwrych Castle: A Jewish Refugee Story

Biographies & Memoirs

Hesketh, Andrew

Historical

Calon

A culinary travelogue across Wales.\nIn Welsh Food Stories, Carwyn Graves travels across Wales to sample its rich culinary tradition and listen to stories from cooks, chiefs, and producers. Traveling across the country, Graves tastes oysters, cider, salt-marsh lamb, and more while listening to intimate stories from his hosts, including the owners of a Carmarthenshire chip shop who never forget a customer and the couple behind Anglesey’s world-class salt company Halen Môn. For Graves, these stories ultimately shine a light on both the ongoing environmental and social importance of local food making.

Welsh Food Stories

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Graves, Carwyn

Cooking Education & Reference

A history of the legendary music studio behind Queen, Oasis, and more--updated with new chapters about the last twenty years. &nbsp; Rockfield is a recording studio that lives up to its name. Over the past fifty years, this rural Monmouthshire locale has played host to a bevy of British musical legends--from Robert Plant, Queen, and Black Sabbath to Oasis, the Stone Roses, Motörhead to present day acts like Thunder and The Dirty Youth. A rich narrative history packed with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, updated since its original 2007 release, Rock Legends at Rockfield features interviews with legendary artists who tell the bizarre tales behind modern classics like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Oasis's "Live Forever." Along the way, Jeff Collins examines how these dilapidated farm buildings and solid-stone studios became one of the most famous brands in recording history. Not to be missed by any fan of British music or classic rock scholar,Rock Legends at Rockfield is an uproarious and eminently readable look at one of the most legendary studios in the world.

Rock Legends at Rockfield

Collins, Jeff

Arts & Literature

A moving memoir of grieving through art in North Wales from debut author Ellie Evelyn Orrell.\nOne summer, Ellie Evelyn Orrell reunited with her mother following the death of their respective grandfather and father. They returned to the small village of Betws Gwerful Goch in North Wales. Ellie returned from studying at university, while Jeanette had been studying the art of indigo dyeing in Japan. An Indigo Summer invites readers into their hillside garden as these two women grieve through art. Orrell draws on the history of indigo dyeing as she reflects on art, the Welsh landscape, and the strangeness of once-familiar places. Lyrical and moving, these stories include some of the illustrations created that summer, inspired by Welsh natural beauty.

An Indigo Summer

Orrell, Ellie Evelyn

Arts & Photography

A collection of short, daily anecdotes about Wales.\nDiscover 366 fun and surprising stories about Wales—each linked to a specific day of the year. Did you know that the recipe of Tennessee’s famous Jack Daniel’s whiskey is rumored to have originated in Llanelli? Or that the first meeting of the Women’s Institute in Britain took place in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey? What was the motive for Wales’s last ever recorded pistol dual? Why is there Welsh on the Washington Monument? And why is it rumored that America was named after a Welshman? Delve in each day of the year to discover the stories most history books leave out.

Wales on this Day

Rees, Huw

Kilcoyne, Sian

Reference

Walking through ancient Welsh forests, Yeomans reflects on our relationship to the woods. &nbsp; When and how did humans lose their connection with nature--and how do we find it again? In Return to My Trees, Matthew Yeomans seeks to answer these questions as he walks more than 300 miles through the ancient and modern forests of Wales. Weaving history and folklore together with tales of industrial progress and decay, Yeomans immerses himself in the homes of ancient Druids, early Celtic saints, Norman lords, and early miners. As Yeomans walks, he reflects on the woodlands' uncertain future and how humans might make peace with the natural world.&nbsp;

Return to My Trees: Notes from the Welsh Woodlands

History

Yeomans, Matthew

Europe

Delve into the ancient roots of Welsh mythology, exploring sculptures, carvings, and artifacts that were made at least a thousand years before evidence of them was written down. The magical world of Welsh mythology deserves to be better known outside its homeland. With its cast of heroes and tricksters, animals that can talk and change shape, and magicians and witches who can bring disaster or triumph to the people in their paths, Enchanted Wales brings the vibrant worlds of Welsh mythology to a wider audience and explores both their physical and ethereal origins. Voyage through the key stories of Welsh literature, exploring not just their medieval texts but also their ancient roots, which can be glimpsed in sculptures, carvings, and other artifacts from at least a thousand years earlier. A skillful storyteller, Miranda Aldhouse-Green, guides readers through this weird, wonderful, and Narnia-like world of dreams. Tales of witches, magicians, heroes, and villains are more than just epic entertainment, as they challenge readers to explore the human questions of life and death, war and peace, and good and evil.

Enchanted Wales: Myth and Magic in Welsh Storytelling

Literature & Fiction

Aldhouse-Green, Miranda

British & Irish

Directly explores the queer narratives present throughout Russell T Davies' extensive work in television and how he broke down barriers to show the truth and joy of queer identities. The television writing of Russell T Davies defies easy categorization, ranging from children's programs, Shakespeare, historical drama, and comedy, to the landmark series that have made him a household name: Queer As Folk, Doctor Who, and It's a Sin. Gay Aliens and Queer Folk takes a deep dive into the queer narratives Davies has brought to our screens, exploring how each work created new space for LGBTQ+ stories to enter our living rooms and looks at their impact on the people who saw themselves reflected on mainstream television, often for the first time. Covering Davies' career from his earliest work to his highly anticipated return to the TARDIS for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, and highlighting key themes such as politics, sex, AIDS, and the role of Wales in his writing, Emily Garside reveals how Davies broke down barriers, showing gay characters unapologetically living their lives to the fullest and celebrating the complexity and joy of queer identities.

Gay Aliens and Queer Folk: How Russell T Davies Changed TV

Humor & Entertainment

Garside, Emily

Television

How Welsh bands and musicians soared up the music charts in the 1990s. The 1970s and '80s were a bleak time for much of Wales: the closure of steel works and coal mines led to mass unemployment while the country's culture and language were disregarded by politicians and the music industry alike. Some bands even traveled across the Severn Bridge to make sure their records arrived at the London offices sporting an English postmark. The 1990s changed everything. While Wales was already known for Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, and Male Voices Choirs, bands such as Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, and Super Furry Animals exploded into the charts and showed the UK population the breadth of what this small but inherently musical nation could offer. Meanwhile, the Welsh-language television channel S4C gained new prominence and a new Welsh Assembly was on the horizon. Featuring fresh analysis and new interviews, International Velvet charts music in the UK during the decade of the Cool Cymru cultural movement, showing how it inspired the still-vibrant Welsh music scene into the twenty-first century and beyond.

International Velvet: How Wales Conquered the '90s Charts

Collins, Neil

Music

This book examines the reality of farming’s impact on nature by studying a Welsh hill farm.\nFarming has often been viewed as harmful to the environment, causing friction between those wanting to protect wildlife and the farmers whose livelihoods depend on the land. Conservationists and governments frequently propose well-meaning ideas and policies that all too often do not have the intended results. In this captivating debut, conservationist David Elias explores a farm in Snowdonia National Park and unpacks the gritty reality of trying to reconcile hill farming and environmentalism. Visiting through the seasons, he forms a deep relationship with the land and the people who work it. It is also a farm rich in nature, and he brings his experienced eye to how its wildlife has been shaped by changing farming practices over generations. Through lyrical prose and first-hand conversations with farmers, Elias also shows what current government policies have achieved—or not achieved—and why it is so important for us to understand what it really takes to ensure farming families remain on the land while simultaneously allowing nature to flourish.

Shaping the Wild: Wisdom from a Welsh Hill Farm

Science & Math

Elias, David

Nature & Ecology

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Books by Calon