David Jandrell lives in Cwmcarn. He's been a Comprehensive School Teacher, Youth Club Instructor, Adult Literacy Tutor and he worked in management in the steel industry before becoming a lecturer at Ystrad Mynach College.
This small book, one of the Its Wales series, sets out to give the visitor some idea of the characters he or she might meet if they visit the valleys of South Wales. The author chooses to describe groups of characters rather than individuals who are a bit eccentric or oddballs, so you wont find Dai the buses or Dai poet in these pages. However, there are many humorous illustrations of types of characters including pub landlords, computer experts, quiz enthusiasts, builders, gossips and, my favourite, managers. Interspersed with the portrayals of these groups are jokes, mainly of the shaggy dog type, some of which are funny and some a bit rude. As someone who grew up in the valleys I can recognise many of the characters depicted, but I am inclined to think that nostalgia stalks these pages and that they would be hard to find in the present-day valleys not only the managers will have BMWs and Mercedes today and many will be commuting down to Cardiff every day and jetting off to the Canaries or the Caribbean for a break. This book may lead visitors to haunt the back street pubs of the valleys in search of these characters, but I am more certain that the native valleys person will enjoy being reminded of the days when every valley pub had its share of the unconventional, the entertaining, the unusual, the know-all and even the weird character. Beryl Thomas It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgement should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddior adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatad Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council
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