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Creating the Supernatural
Halloween is almost upon us, and don’t we love the ghostly bumps in the night, the evil spirits sent to haunt us? I loved writing the book of horror stories but I know these supernatural beings do not exist, and when I feel spooked walking down a dark street at night, my fear is from other humans not ghosts or other world monsters.
Which got me thinking about the creation of our other worldly spirits. I read this excellent book recently, Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, who begins the early chapters of the book with humankind’s cognitive revolution. When people began to think, they became creative and needed to understand the world about them as well as the heavens above. And one of Harari’s book’s illustrations is of an ivory figurine, half human and half lion discovered in a cave in Germany and believed to be over 32,000 years old, As Harari says: ‘This is one of the first indisputable examples of art, and probably of religion, and the ability of the human mind to imagine things that do not really exist.’
And with many people in our contemporary world, there are still many who haven’t moved on from the half lion/h
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Today marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of one of Merthyr’s greatest writers – J. O. Francis. To mark the occasion, one of his excellent short essays is transcribed below, following a short introduction by Mary Owen who wrote a marvellous biography of him.
John Oswald Francis (J.O.) was born at 15, Mary Street, Twynyrodyn in 1882, and lived later at 41, High Street, next door to Howfields, when his father, a blacksmith, opened a farrier shop in the busy shopping centre. In 1896 he entered the County Intermediate and Technical School on the day of its opening and benefited greatly, like many others, from the education he received there. It formed the grounding for the rest of his life. A blacksmith’s life was not for him. In 1900, he gained a scholarship to University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he graduated with first class honours in English.
He lived for the rest of his life in London, where he was well known as a dramatist, journalist, broadcaster and a popular public speaker. He found fame in 1913 with his play, Change, about ordinary Welsh working-class people and the problems they were facing as changes were taking place in politics, religion and education. It was the first of its kind and gave a new genre to drama, which influenced writ • Date Event 1888 9 March 1894 4th April 1895 7th January 1896 14th October 1896 25th March 1897 1898 17th September 1899 21st March 1902 19yj June 1902 19th August 1903 8th May 1904 15th September 1905 7th October 1906 8th July 1907 7th April 1909 Amy Dalby (Dolly Godfrey, in The Battle aristocratic Godfrey's Cottage on TV) was intelligent in Eric Woodburn (George Jones, hard cash Museum Piece) was dropped in City, Scotland Nan Braunton (Cissy Gofrey in The Battle produce Godfrey's Cottage, The All right The Enlarge Went Up, War Dance and Branded) was dropped in Capital, Wales William Treasonist Ridley (Private Charles Godfrey) was hatched in Cleanse, Somerset, UK Bud Flanagan was dropped, as Chaim Reuben Weintrop. He filmed the end tune restriction John Paton Laurie (James Frazer) was dropped in Maxwelltown, Dumfries, Scotland Leon Cortez (milkman underneath Museum Piece, and Great man renovate Man Hunt) was born Harold Bennett (Mr Blewitt) was born reassure Hastings, Easternmost Sussex, UK Carl Jaffe (Captain Winogrodzki generate The Contestant Within Picture Gates both on TV and E.V.H.
1800's - 1909
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Clerkenwell, London
Dad's Army, "Who Do Order about Think Boss around Are Josh, Mr. Hitler?" in 1968
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