One of Fifty-Two

Mother Bear started out as a Community Theatre Project. It is based in the township of Laugharne. The aim of the project is to research local historical figures and play out scenes usually by characters listening to stories in a public house in an improvised situation.

One of the most informed pieces is about a Napoleonic soldier who retires after the Wars to run a pub in Laugharne. Research was done and his diaries found. They become the basis of the treatment that has been performed in cafes, churches, chip shops, town halls and pubs across South Wales. 

Another part of the project is to put together videos of community interest, whether they are cultural, historical or have a community interest. We have basic equipment but found that we could produce reasonable quality videos that were of interest.

Seimon and myself have been friends for many years. He now hopes to relocate his WW2 museum and artifacts to Kidwelly very soon and is working hard towards that end. For twenty years I helped run an outdoor pursuit centre in Pendine. Six years ago I built a WW1 trench system as an educational tool for children of all ages.

We have a network across South Wales of like-minded friends and now and again you will see that our videos have a slant to the two major conflicts of the 20th century.

I contacted Gaabriel at Americymru over ten years ago when I was organizing a charity cycle trip from California to Florida. I wanted to link up with different Welsh communities as we went. Americymru supported the trip by putting it out there that we were looking for help. The straight route across the States became a zig-zag as we endeavored to meet all of Gaabriel’s contacts. Over £80,000 raised for Noah’s Ark Hospital in Cardiff. 

So it all goes quiet for ten years until Seimon announces that he’s got a great contact in Oregon. 

‘Let’s do a few videos for them!’

‘How many is a few, butt?’ I say.

‘One a week for a year!’ he says.

Today we launch our video series with author Alun Gibbard, at Number Five, Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, the birthplace of Dylan Thomas.

No 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Alun Gibbard For Saint David's Day, and Mother Bear Productions' inaugural video with us, Alun Gibbard, author of Cardiff Before Cardiff (Y Llofa) and many other titles, introduces us all to Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, the birthplace of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.  

We hope you all enjoy it as much as we did. Want to visit Swansea for yourself? VisitWales.com can help you plan a trip to Wales.  

You can find out about visiting No. 5 Cwmdonkin Drive at www.dylanthomasbirthplace.com schedule a guided tour, have a meal or tea, and even book a stay...