Big Issue Cymru

The Big Issue, but with a unique Welsh flavour
Writing features and reviews

During my time writing features for the Big Issue Cymru, my beat was mainly arts and culture, but I ended up writing on subjects as diverse as sport for disabled people, Welsh bardic culture and Christmas pantomimes. I also interviewed the actor Samantha Bond and the novelist Iris Gower. 

I also regularly reviewed plays, books, comedy and live music. 

Feature

A sporting chance

“Everyone’s kicked a football at some point in their lives,” Nicky Malson says. “It’s something everyone can relate to.” It’s also something a lot of people take for granted, just like a trip to the swimming pool in summer or a jog in the park or a kickabout with friends.

Feature

A Tale of Three Sisters

Samantha Bond is perhaps best known for her rôle as Miss Moneypenny alongside a gadget-obsessed James Bond, but, as she tells Kate Griffin, there's nothing tricksy about her directorial debut.

Review

Knights in White Satin

They certainly know how to build up an atmosphere at Cardiff's Glee Club. Five minutes before the show starts, there's a countdown - "Ladies and gentlemen, the show will be starting in X minutes" - accompanied by coloured spotlights and music which finally segues into the Pearl and Dean tune. Luckily, the compère, Simon Clayton, lives up to all the fanfare within a few moments of coming on stage.

Feature

Women in Words

Romance, female emancipation and streetwalkers - it's all in a day's work for novelist Iris Gower. Kate Griffin discovers the secrets behind her success.

Ask the average English person to tell you what they know about Welsh literature, and they might name Dylan Thomas, or mutter something about the Mabinogion. Poetry from the post-Glyndwr years and 17th-century religious writings have hardly made a blip on the modern world's literary radar.