Wildlife

  Rae Howells and Kittie Belltree, both award-winning figures from south and west Wales, are the special guests in this highly anticipated event. The event takes place on Friday, September 13 at The Cellar on Quay Street, Cardigan. Doors open at 7.30pm with an entry fee of £3. More here: https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/24562468.rae-howells-kittie-belltree-cellar-bard

Rae Howells has written a community article for MODRON about her involvement in the campaign to save West Cross Common and her latest poetry collection This Common Uncommon : 'I find it hard to read the news about climate change. How often I have felt small and helpless in the face of articles that seem to offer no hope, just dismal predictions and downward trends. From animal species under threat to melting glaciers, footage of terrifying wildfires or catastrophic floods. What can one person do against such huge, complex – often global – problems? 'Like most people I am hungry for practical things I can do. There are the usual culprits – reduce flights, take public transport, stop single-use plastic, eat less meat, go solar. I do my best. But an action point that has really stuck with me is this: use whatever skills you have and get involved in something local, something community-based. 'The wonderful thing about this one is that it gives tangible, rewarding results. Plu

Lovely first editorial meeting in Cardiff today with a debut poet visiting from Mexico! He bought me hot sauce too. Gold star!

'Can poetry protect the natural world? Can it actually change the course of events? Many poets are attempting to do just that, but it’s not often that a collection is published with a specific purpose, centred on a particular location. Rae Howells’ latest book focuses on West Cross Common, a small area of peat-based heathland on the edge of Swansea, which is currently under threat of development. But these poems do far more than protest. They celebrate the minutiae of a rare and intricate habitat, the kind of inconspicuous scrubland that many of us would normally walk past without a second glance. […] These poems fulfil the author’s aim, stated in the introduction: they ‘give voice to the unheeded – the common itself, the plants and animals that live on it’. But they also dramatize a very real and ongoing tension. This is a book that delights in the small and the inconspicuous, forging a celebratory link between us and the areas of common land that we so often take for granted.’ Ma

  Art for the Common was held on Saturday (27 July) at the Linden Christian Centre, West Cross, and included a large mural painted by the children of Llwynderw School, alongside two knitted panels by the Swansea Yarn Bombers, as well as paintings, photographs, poetry, videos and sculptures by local residents. Poet Rae Howells , who has written a book about the common and is poet in residence at Llanelli Wetlands Centre, was one of the exhibition’s organisers. Rae said:  “We are lucky to live in West Cross so close to this wild and green corner of Clyne Common, but sadly it is under threat of development. Since we found out about the planning application, residents have been making an effort to record the amazing wildlife here. It’s extremely boggy which makes it ideal for scores of rare plants and fungi, which in turn support a huge variety of insects, and of course birds, reptiles and amphibians thrive in an ecosystem like this.  “When I started to learn more about the common’s wildli

' Howells writes with sensitivity, empathy, liveliness and keen observation ... Finely wrought, intelligent, and full of heart, This Uncommon Common is an important book that speaks for nature, land, and species which, too often, we see as silent: a vital tome at a time of urgency.' – Mab Jones, Buzz Magazine Thanks to Mab Jones and Buzz Magazine for this lovely review of Rae Howells' latest poetry collection This Common Uncommon

A lovely night at the Cellar Bards last night. Always a delightful audience and varied, inspiring and enjoyable open mic. I didn’t take many photos… here are some quick snaps of the journey there and back including a walk on Poppit Sands (and, not pictured, various good snacks) ... and one of Ben doing his thing! Thanks to Jackie and Dave , wonderful hosts as ever, and to Kittie for putting us up.