Eisteddfod - where and when?

We’re looking into a rather nice “find” at the Archive, and wonder if you can help with placing and dating this Eisteddfod event? So as not to mislead anyone, I won’t reveal our current thinking! Please leave a comment with your suggestions.

There are tickets available at the door for the Christopher Rees gig at the Drwm this evening. The performance is due to start at 7.30 p.m.

We received very sad news recently of the death of Dave Berry, the doyen of Welsh film, who worked tirelessly as Research Officer for the former Wales Film and Television Archive, and later the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, until his retirement in 2005.

Born in Bolton, his career as a journalist moved him to Cardiff, where he worked for may years for the South Wales Echo. He loved all aspects of film, especially the works of the silent era, and eventually left the Echo to write the masterpiece “Wales and Cinema: the first hundred years” which was published by the University of Wales Press (new ed 1996)

Dave had the ability to be infuriating, lovable, erudite, endearing, stubborn, helpful, hindersome, meticulous in his research yet hopelessly vague in his adherence to corporate rules, all at the same time. It was a pleasure to know him, a privilege to have worked closely with him, and help him achieve some of his goals for Wales’s screen heritage.

Dave’s funeral will take place tomorrow morning (12th February) at the Thornhill Crematorium in Cardiff.

NLW tribuute to Dave

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The Bioscope

Some pics of archive jaunts featuring Dave (Flickr)

Earlier this year,  distributor Optimum Releasing released the 1940 classic film ‘Proud Valley’ on DVD.  The Ealing Studios production, which is set in a south Wales mining community stars African-American actor Paul Robeson along with Rachel Thomas, Dilys Thomas, Simon Lack and Edward Chapman.

On Sunday  February 7, the film was launched on DVD at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff.  The film was screened, and there was a panel discussion to discuss aspects of the film. The panel members were Michelle Ryan, Peter Stead and Colin Thomas. The discussion was very interesting and feedback from the audience was very positive.