Fundraiser for the Children of Gaza.

Posted on by celfypridd

Saturday 21st June 2025 6.30pm. VoicesontheBridge @StoryvilleBooks, Mill Street Quarter, Pontypridd. 6.30pm

Tracey Rhys is a Bridgend-based writer, non-fiction editor and a mother-of-two. Her poetry can be found in Poetry Wales, New Welsh Review, Planet, Ink Sweat & Tears, The High Window, Dreich andanthologies such as Lipstick Eyebrows, Cast a Long Shadow, Yer Ower Voices: Dialect Poems from Wales, and Free Verse: Poems for Richard Price.

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Poems from Tracey’s first pamphlet, Teaching a Bird to Sing, were adapted into poetic monologues for two plays by Tim Rhys, directed by Chris Durnall. Listed for various competitions including the Cinnamon Press Pamphlet Competition, the Poetry Wales Pamphlet Competition and Cardiff International Poetry Competition, she was a winner of the Poetry Archive’s Now WordView competition in 2020. Tracey’s debut poetry collection, Bathing on the Roof, is a new release from Parthian Books.

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Organised and presented by Rob Cullen of VoicesontheBridge – Tracey will be reading with Patrick Jones, Sabrin Hasbun, Abeer Ameer, Mike Jenkins, Rob Cullen, Leanne Evans, Des Mannay, Fiona Cullen, Ben Wildsmith and Greg Cullen.

VoicesontheBridge is an evening of poetry, spoken word and song. This event is stacked with great poets & speakers book early to ensure your place!

Elizabeth Heath of RCT Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be speaking about the upcoming Palestinian youth visit to RCT and they will have a stall with info leaflets.

Menna Elfyn couldn’t be with us but has generously donated 20 copies of – Y Bachgen a’r Wal – The Boy and the Wall made by the young people at Lajee Centre near the city of Bethlehem.

Three local artists have donated paintings to be autioned on the night Barabara Castle, Jenna Cullen.

Great news Gerhard Kress has donated £410 he raised from the sale of his art work!

There will also be food and music.

This event is part of The Pontypridd Great Big Community as Super Power Day.

The event could not take place without the support of the wonderful @StoryvilleBooks. Big thanks to Jeff!

Watch out for further posts with more information about the evening.

We hope you can join us and support the urgent need of the children of Gaza.

Tickets are £10 – £12 on the door.

Book early – lets do this for the Children of Gaza! All monies raised will be donated to UNHCR.

This is a formidable group of poets, writers, artists – Don’t miss it – Book Early!

Memories of VE DAY –

Posted on by celfypridd

My mother had the brown envelope containing Army Form D140 -83 telling her that (following the Battle of Anzio in January 1944) my father was “Missing in Action – Presumed Dead.”

His Army pay to my mother was stopped. And so, she was forced to get a job working nights in the munition arsenal in Bridgend soldering fuses into bombs and shells. It was dangerous work. Some mornings other parts of the works werent there following an explosion. She spent hours listening to the Radio reports of those missing, those no longer missing, and those prisoners of war.

My father eventually surfaced in a Prisoner of War camp and the news came back that he was alive. Recordxs show Rome Radio knew he was alive because they were announcing that he was an escaped prisoner of war on a motorbike. The War Office didn’t listen to Rome Radio apparently.

During the day my mother raised money for the Red Cross standing outside a chemist shop on Tonypandy Square. Due to complaints she was told to stand on the other side of the road. And it was there that my grandmother found her to let her know that my father was on his way home! My father was eventually released (under mysterious circumstances – he may have escaped again) from the largest POW Camp in Germany Mooseburg.

Liberated by the Russians, Dad came home long after VE Day. My mother waiting for him still.

The going away foto 1939. My dad looking spectacularly miserable. With reason.