15 h. ago 'Our Welsh village was absolutely brilliant. Now we feel let down and forgotten'

'Life has changed immeasurably here,' one resident said. Another described the place as 'barren'.

Politics

27 h. ago Harry Lawtey on playing Richard Burton: ‘He felt embarrassed being an actor – it wasn’t a manly thing to do’

The ‘Industry’ star has left the small screen behind to play a real-life Welsh legend in the new film ‘Mr Burton’. He speaks to Olivia Petter about the backlash to his last movie ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, class in the acting world, and why he’s said goodbye to the role that made his name

Politics

44 h. ago ‘His genius is elusive’: Harry Lawtey and Toby Jones on bringing Richard Burton back to the screen

In new film Mr Burton, the Industry star plays a young Richard Burton, with Jones as the mentor who helped him find his acting chops. The duo discuss trying to understand a cultural icon – and how to nail that voiceSandringham Road lies in the east of Cardiff; a quiet run of Edwardian terrace houses overlooking Roath Mill Gardens. On a late July day, when the air is warm and the park spills out over its railings, Toby Jones and Harry Lawtey sit on the pavement, wearing matching striped pyjamas. The pair are some way into the filming of Mr Burton, an account of the early life of Richard Burton. Lawtey plays the actor in his younger years, when he was known as Richard Jenkins, and Jones is Philip Burton, the teacher who fostered his young student’s talent. So close would their bond grow that Jenkins would become Burton’s legal ward and take his surname. “Without Philip Burton there would never have been a Richard Burton,” Elizabeth Taylor once wrote. “That great rolling voice that cra...

Politics

68 h. ago ‘A beloved figure’: Welsh village ready for tourists as Richard Burton biopic opens

Events planned in Pontrhydyfen for centenary of actor’s birth, as many recall his visits home with Elizabeth TaylorHardly a day goes by when villagers don’t spot a cinephile traipsing in the footsteps of Richard Burton, peering at his old house, taking in the vista across the valley from the aqueduct, perhaps enjoying a pint in the Miners Arms, where he and Elizabeth Taylor drank on visits back to his south Wales birthplace.The tourist traffic to Pontrhydyfen is likely to increase after a biopic focusing on the gritty early life of Burton opens in cinemas this weekend, especially as it comes in the centenary year of the Hollywood actor’s birth. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago BBC Radio star tragically dies as his devastated partner admits his family are 'heartbroken' in moving tribute

He was a beloved figure in the Merseyside community after joining the broadcaster in 1999, and prior to that, had worked as a journalist on Radio City Liverpool.

Events

8 d. ago In a small Welsh village with a famous story sits a world beating ice cream parlour that belongs in Italy

The family business has roots dating back to the 1930s when Bonnie Rowley's grandparents ran a textile crafts business but then turned their focus to crafting food and drink

Politics

1 week ago Renovation cottage packed with potential in pretty Welsh village for sale for first time in 30 years

Rare opportunity for anyone hunting for a renovation project in a sought-after Welsh village setting

Economics

2 w. ago Jess Kidd: ‘My older sister taught me to read with Mills & Boon’

The author on growing up with tales of swooning heroines, the thrill of Dylan Thomas and the genius of George SaundersMy earliest reading memory One of my older sisters taught me to read using Mills & Boon romance novels. I grew up autistic and queer and feel a nostalgic bewilderment about this genre, which at that time was populated by strong heroines who would – predictably but unfathomably – go weak at the knees for their male love interests. Otherwise, we had few books in the house. There are talented storytellers in my family, particularly my mother. I preferred to hide under the stairs and deliver my stories by writing them down.The book that changed me as a teenager Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I had known it in childhood in the vinyl format, my late father had the Richard Burton recording. Even though it is a play for voices, I found reading the text myself thrilling. I loved the opulence of the language and the narrative range of it. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Aeroplanes fly over Welsh village in memory of world's worst air disaster

75 years ago the Wales rugby team had just won an historic Triple Crown - now Signistone commemorates 83 deaths in what was the the worst airline crash in history

Events

3 w. ago The plane crash in a Welsh village that became the world's worst air disaster

It was 75 years ago and the Wales rugby team had just won an historic Triple Crown - but 75 Wales supporters never made it home

Events

3 w. ago Boy, 11, 'grabbed' by mystery man in sleepy South Wales village

South Wales Police said the young boy "described being grabbed by the man" in the Welsh village of Aberthin during an incident that shocked the small community last week

Politics

4 w. ago The stunning ‘mini village’ of coastal homes near the UK’s smallest city

Why buy one home when you can buy five plus the chance to add more?

Politics