Where is the best bara brith in Wales?
Two Cockneys, now living in Wales, are aiming to find out where the best traditional cake can be found, also learn a new word and phrase of Welsh every day, on a week-long journey of their adopted homeland using their free bus passes.
Calling their trip ‘Odyssey to Anglesey’| ‘Siwrnai i Sir Fôn’, between Monday 15 April and Friday 19 April, Andy Green and Graham Lewington, who originally met at Swansea University in the 1970s, with Andy now living in Barry Island and Graham in Porthcawl, are on a journey to discover more about their Welsh homeland, and also visit another old university mate who has a smallholding on Anglesey | Ynys Môn.
Not spending a penny on transport, the pals have a notional route, but are treating the trip very much as an adventure, not booking accommodation nor having a set schedule, with only a daily target of tasting any local bara brith, learning more Welsh language, and a game of pool in whatever location they stay.
Both men are very much real-life BBC TV’s ‘Gavin and Staceys’, with Andy originally from London’s East End marrying a Barry girl, and now living on Barry Island. While South London-born Graham’s wife is from Porthcawl, where they now live, and also home of Ruth Jones, the hit-TV series creator.
“Although we’re both dyed-in-the-wool Cockneys we both want to discover more about our adopted homeland, and how much of our identity is now ‘Cockney-Welsh” said Andy and Graham. “We wanted to go on an adventure trip together, only then realising that much of Wales is still very much exotic to us, with new places, local traditions, and hopefully lovely locals to discover and enjoy.”
The two adventurers will be travelling courtesy of their free Transport for Wales bus passes which are available to anyone in Wales who is disabled, injured service personnel or – in Andy and Graham’s case – aged over 60.
Andy Green, 65, is still working as a part-time university lecturer and director of social enterprise Grow Social Capital. He is married to Barry-born Judith, with two grown up daughters and four grandchildren, with one of his daughters also following her parents now living in Barry.
Graham Lewington, 66, is a former medical science researcher on radiography. He also has two grown-up daughters and recently moved back to his wife’s hometown of Porthcawl.
The two men will be updating on their ‘Odyssey to Anglesey’ trip via social media and the Grow Social Capital web site www.growsocialcapital.org.uk
For further details please contact Andy Green at andy.green@growsocialcapital.org.uk or telephone 07815 884 525.
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