John Davies

On 8 September 1936 – in what is recognised as one of the defining moments in modern Welsh history – a Baptist minister, a university lecturer and a schoolteacher set fire to the partly built RAF aerodrome at Penrhos on the Llyn Peninsular, then calmly reported their actions to the police at nearby Pwllheli. The 'Fire' represented the final act in a high profile, passionate, yet ultimately unsuccessful eighteen-month campaign to prevent the destruction of Penyberth, the renowned farmhouse which had iconic cultural and religious significance in Wales, in order to construct a military training facility, a bombing school for the RAF. Pleas from eminent literary and religious figures, backed by over half a million people, were dismissed by British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin – who had earlier agreed to divert the bombing school away from sites in Northumberland and Dorset due to local protests – incensed Welsh public opinion resulting in a resurgence in nationalist sentiment and increased support for the recently established Welsh Nationalist Party, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. In a sensational outcome to the court case held in Caernarfon, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The case was then controversially transferred to the Old Bailey in London where Lewis Valentine, Saunders Lewis and D. J. Williams were convicted, merely seconds after the prosecution concluded, and imprisoned for nine months at Wormwood Scrubs: their place in Welsh political folklore assured. Penyberth - A Nation on Trial, Ann Corkett’s meticulous and engaging translation of Prof. Dafydd Jenkins’ study, Tân yn Llyn, was first published in 1998 with an updated Introduction by the author sixty years after his original edition and is now republished in paperback and ebook editions.

Summer was over and lying all round Was a layer of snow all over the ground The farm is covered in deep snow. How can the farmer rescue his animals from the fields? Who can he turn to for help? Who but Trevor the Tractor

The biblical story of Creation is all about liberation. The Genesis narrative of the Six Days leads to its climax and its purpose in the Seventh Day, the Sabbath. The Sabbath is centred around the aims of creating a community of freedom, of shared resources of land and wealth, and of the overcoming of exclusion, and these priorities are affirmed by Jesus in his reclaiming of the Sabbath. In Seven Days to Freedom, John Davies shows how this four-fold integrated process is essential to the biblical witness concerning Creation, and demonstrates how it is relevant to many contemporary concerns, including housing and land-tenure, slavery, climate-change, and education. Without such commitment to liberation, our understanding of Creation is weak and untrue to our Creator’s purpose.

Phoenix was a good dog. He always came, with tail madly wagging, when he was called. But one day, he was called and called, but did not come. He had disappeared Where was he? Would he ever be found? Would Freya, Ayla and Osian solve the mystery of the missing Vizsla?

Phoenix was a good dog. He always came, with tail madly wagging, when he was called. But one day, he was called and called, but did not come. He had disappeared Where was he? Would he ever be found? Would Freya, Ayla and Osian solve the mystery of the missing Vizsla?