Shall I wait for Tom Waits' next classic , a rumour not promise?
   Shall I listen to Bob Dylan croaking cover versions or trying to reinvent his best songs but actually demolishing them?
   Shall I keep revisiting favourite singer-songwriters of yesteryear like Kevin Coyne?
   Or shall I focus on last year's releases and the extraordinary output and talent of one Thea Gilmore, still seeking widespread recognition?
   I realise I've harped on about her before.....appropriate, as one of her best album's is 'Harpo's Ghost'!
   Last year was, without doubt, her year, though the media would hardly concur, as she isn't young enough or Swedish enough to be eulogized.
  Instead, she lives in unfashionable Cheshire : an English woman from Irish family whose husband Nigel Stonier is not only her musical accomplice , but a singer-songwriter and producer in his own right.
   Her minor breakthrough was with the 2003 album 'Avalanche' and there are still songs from it like 'Rags and Bones' , 'Juliet' and 'Mainstream' which stand out among her numerous best.
   I was listening to Waits' first album 'Closing Time' the other day and it struck me that only 'Grapefruit Moon' indicated the greatness to come.
   Last year was unprecedented for Thea.
   To begin with, there was her fascinating cd 'The Counterweight'. which represented a return to tackling the problems of society alongside songs on her own struggles with depression which never sound indulgent.
   Private moments like 'Shiver' ( on the deluxe version, which you need to get) are perfectly counterbalanced by public ones of gun-obsessed culture on 'Johnny Gets a Gun' , especially pertinent to the USA.
   'Shiver' can be seen, like good poetry , in many different ways; I interpret the song as a momentary sense of mortality , which is both thrilling and unnerving.
  Even a song which faces her depression full on like 'Slow Fade to Black' is never self-involved : anyone can identify with it .
   Two of the most forceful outward-looking songs are 'The War' and 'Rise'.
   On an ep the former included the voice of murdered MP Jo Cox and it is a moving, poignant tribute to a woman whose life was dedicated to bringing people together. 
   If ever there was an anthem for our times and perfect one for the Merthyr Rising Festival itself, then the stirring harmonies of 'Rise' must be it.
  Public and private worlds merge in this song as we're urged to rise up against loneliness and also in defiance of hatred and division.
   Her lyrics are bursting with poetic imagination, yet never resort to over-cleverness  or deliberate obscurity.
  'The War' describes how 'the teeth of the times grew long' and 'Rise' describes a journey which is never cliched - 'Is that noise too much to bear / Drowning out your cradle song?'
   Gilmore's voice has been compared to Sandy Denny, yet it is far more versatile : it can be rocky, folky or bluesy. It's naturally contralto, but can reach for the heights. Her melodies and choruses are so often memorable and husband Stonier plays a major role with arrangements and guitar-playing.
   Released later last year, her ep 'The New Tin Drum' perfectly illustrates this versatility and power.
   It's a limited ep on Bandcamp and the title track probably refers to Gunter Grass's brilliant novel about Hitler's Germany. But the song is very much about today's troubled times and the racism Gilmore finds so galling.
   As ever, her response is through observation and imagery- 'send your heart to Jerusalem via Dunkirk'.
   More than any song  in the last decade , it encapsulates our demise, yet its buoyant  tune shows the influence of her Irish background, with son Egan playing fiddle and tin whistle.
   'Willow' is such a stark contrast and typical of Gilmore. It's such a moving love song, which uses the image of the willow tree so naturally.
    By virtue of my son's generous present of Apple music membership, I came upon the third cd accidentally and was utterly astonished.
   'Extended Playground' is a combo of various eps she's released over recent years and I was only familar with one song, the poem-song 'Icarus Wind'.
   From the rousing opening of 'Teacher, Teacher' to the finale and mystery of 'Josephine Knots', this album is truly captivating ( I'm running out of superlatives!).
   There are political calls to arms like 'Are You Ready?', a capella ballads like 'The Parting Glass' and a number of emotional ones about women in society like ' Beautiful Hopeful' and ' Girl Mercury', both bitter and defiant.
   'Pretty in Lace' has echoes of Bob Dylan at the very height of his ability, where she exposes the shallowness of a society judging things externally.
   Thea has so many important things to say and so many wonderful tunes to give, I just wish more would listen.
   'The Counterweight', 'The New Tin Drum' and 'Extended Playground' show an artist at her zenith.
   Of course, I could just wait for Waits, couldn't I?


                             OAK   &    WILLOW

                              for Thea and Nigel 

This is the land between
the moorland and garden,
reeds and daffodils mingling.

The willow is a voice,
alto but sometimes rising
to high notes of the blackbird.

The oak a sturdy body
of guitar, frets on bark
touched by hands of wind.

Balanced between them
is the nant, the stream
where melodies brim.

Saplings grow in corners
of the damp, clay land :
shrillness of whistle and violin.

A stage where animals come :
squirrel during winter lull,
bright, shy jay momentary.

Willow bends, its music curing,
oak sap preserves long :
furnish your home with songs. 
 
           

   I've been learning Welsh for longer than I dare remember or admit.
   I actually began when myself and my wife ( a Gaelic speaker) returned from teaching in West Germany ( as it was then) in 1979.
   We attended classes once a week and while she continued to do 'A' Level and a Diploma from the Univ. of Wales, I struggled and stuttered along until, years later in Merthyr I resumed again.
   Lunchtime classes at Pen-y-dre High taken by the inimitable Head of Welsh Vaughan Richards were a bonus, as were lessons at my children's school Santes Tudful.
   However, the best opportunity was at the old Scala snooker club and the inspirational teaching of one Phil Meaker, a legendary joiner of words and phrases.
   I even attended Nant Gwrtheyrn language centre on the Llyn twice at that time : the best place to learn because once there it was virtually impossible to leave!
   My wife refused to drive back up the windy track which had no barriers at all, though it's been much developed since.
   Nine years ago  when I retired prematurely from teaching to concentrate on writing and workshops, my skills had all but disappeared despite the valiant efforts of Rob Hughes ( another fine teacher) at informal classes in the local pub.
   My confidence with languages had always been lacking.
   I was in awe of my wife, who had annually gone away to the Donegal Gaeltacht as a teenager and also done a Celtic Studies degree in Belfast.
   I tried to read and talk to my children in Welsh when they were young ,but they soon overtook  me and I felt left behind.
   In the last decade however, several people have contributed to giving me that vital 'hyder' to speak without caring too much about mistakes.One was Sue Jenkins my tutor in Hirwaun, who always encouraged me to 'have a go whatever'.
   Another has undoubtedly been the ex-chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith and Merthyr 'boi' Jamie Bevan, who simply refused to talk to me in English and never corrected except in a helpful way. Through Jamie, I came to see the language as a living entity not academic exercise.
   Here was somebody willing to go to prison for his convictions that Welsh should be on a completely equal footing with English in every area of life in Cymru. 
   What made it all the more laudable was that he'd rebelled against Welsh at Comp. when it was forced upon him and only come to these conclusions when living in England, away from his upbringing and culture.
   Through my present tutor Phil Stone I've learnt another kind of dedication and quest. Phil had a career as a Science teacher and then , on retirement, successfully passed a Welsh degree and became a tutor of adults.
  His knowledge of grammar is comprehensive and he's able to explain it so clearly ; he is also very enthusiastic about all aspects of Welsh culture and history.
   I still feel the more I discover the less I know, yet gradually I'm beginning to watch programmes on S4C and understand them.
   It's odd how certain broadcasters are so much easier to comprehend and Huw Edwards is one. Contrast this to listening to an interview with one of my heroes Gruff Rhys of the Super Furries......he might as well be speaking Russian for all I can glean!
   I now e-mail, text and post on Facebook in Welsh, still making errors I'm sure, but doing it regardless.
   As to writing, I try to compose poems in Welsh and one of my favourite poets is Iwan Llwyd, also an excellent bassist in many bands.
   Winning the Chair at the learners' Eisteddfod in Y Fenni a couple of years back was a big boost, though the step up to the Genedlaethol proper would require Bendigeidfran strides.
   Every year I especially look forward to the Ysgol Haf at the Trefforest campus of the Uni of s. Wales.
   It's then I become totally immersed : thinking in Welsh, dreaming in Welsh and searching for better swear words than 'Nefi blew!'
   I've come a long way. There's even further to go.
   Anyone seen me crossing that bridge?


                         DYSGU  CYMRAEG   

I have come quite a distance, ware teg,
yet my ready answer how long
is inevitably 'amser maith yn ol',
which is easier to say than numbers
when I must use 'y system ugeiniol'.

I am in dosbarth Uwch 4 plus
which has been invented for us,
not quite ready for 'Hyfedredd'
where there are folk with degrees in Welsh
who've read ' Un Nos Ola Leuad'.

Sometimes I'm full of 'hyder',
some days I feel almost 'rhugl' 
and then get my 'gwaith cartref'
full of green marks and 'gwallau'
( though I do use Welsh in English poems).

I'd like to enter for the 'Gadair'
in the 'Genedlaethol' one year,
but I'm not sure about that spotlight,
sword, dancers and , above all, those outfits :
blame it on that nutter Iolo Morgannwg!

I once had a 'sgrws' with locals
at the Black Boy , Caernarfon over a few pints
and they complimented my fluency 
( I think they'd had one too many,
or maybe they were being polite).

I've come a long way with many others,
we're like a band of aging adventurers
landing on the shores of Yr Wladfa.
History ,culture leading to a Now that matters :
this time, this tense meaning 'amser'.