Sunday, June 25, 2006
Wales is the most haunted - icWales
Jun 24 2006 Sam Burson, Western Mail
WALES has some of the most haunted and active paranormal sites in the UK, according to Most Haunted presenter Yvette Fielding.
The 37-year-old will set up camp in Llanelli from today as part of the show's live programme as they search for paranormal activity for three days.
The former Blue Peter presenter claims the show always gets good results in Wales and believes it could be down to ley lines believed by some to be electromagnetic paths which convey psychic energy.
The programme, which is shown on LivingTV, will visit three secret sites in Llanelli, which have had recent reports of strange activity. The mother-of-two said that to appear on the programme the site has to have a current history of unexplained things happening.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
UFO sightings of 30 years ago explained - icWales
May 27 2006 Sam Burson, Western Mail
A SPATE of mysterious UFO and alien sightings which gripped a Welsh community 30 years ago may have finally been explained.
A former US Navy sailor claims the furore gripping the Broad Haven area of Pembrokeshire in the late 1970s was caused by an officer in a special fireproof uniform, and new RAF jets.
The sailor, who served in the area shortly after most of the sightings, says a fellow officer admitted he had been responsible.
The clamour around the possibility of little green men visiting Pembrokeshire in the late 1970s led to numerous tabloid reports, including one of an entire class of schoolchildren claiming to have seen a UFO landing.
Many others reported being petrified by a strange silver alien.
It all happened in what became known as the Broad Haven Triangle, and canny tourist operators even started running UFO sighting weekends.
However behind the hype, Government officials took some of the tales seriously, and it was revealed last year by UFO expert Dr David Clarke that a secret MoD investigation had been carried out.
Now, following publicity about the investigation, James Carlson from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has written to the Fortean Times - a magazine about the supernatural - with what he believes are answers to West Wales' paranormal riddle.
He was stationed at the US Naval Facility in Brawdy in the 1980s.
In his letter Carlson tells how one of his supervisors, who is identified only by the name Steve, saw him reading a book about paranormal incidents around Brawdy, which was also an RAF base.
The book quotes an RAF officer, who states the descriptions of "alien" suits were in no way similar to military uniforms at the time.
However Carlson was told by Steve that the description was identical to firefighting gear used by American personnel.
He said, "Steve told me that while serving on the fire team of his division, he would often don the asbestos suit and oxygen breathing apparatus provided.
"Fire preparation drills, even those conducted at night, would require members of the fire team to search the areas around the base, and Steve claimed that during these drills he became res-ponsible for two of the alien sightings."
He added that a contemporary report of a UFO sighting in Pembrokeshire, which suggested the craft could not be man-made because of its gentle swaying and hovering motion, exactly fitted a description of the Harrier Vertical Take-off and Landing jet, which had been used in the UK since 1969.
Dr David Clarke, who teaches folklore at Sheffield Hallam University, is the man who last year uncovered the MoD's secret 1970s investigation into Welsh UFOs, and this year discovered a more recent Government investigation, which concluded UFOs are probably caused by atmospheric phenomenon.
He said of the letter in this month's edition, "It adds to certain testimonies and makes sense.
"A few people have already admitted a hoax, and one has even said he had to jump into a hedge when a lady aimed a gun at him in his suit."
Dr Clarke, who is a correspondent for Fortean Times, added, "There will never be absolute proof either way, but Wales has always had a history of these sorts of sightings - it's a real hotspot for them, whether they're just atmos-pheric phenomenon or not.
"It used to be perceived as fairies and little folk, but now we're in the space age and everybody's seen Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, everything is aliens and space ships."
Page 2: Aliens in West Wales...Friday, May 19, 2006
CCTV bid to solve the mystery of 'big cat'
May 18 2006 Mark Stead, South Wales Echo
The hunt is on to find the 'Beast of Bedlinog' - which has left Valleys residents terrified.
The cat-like creature has been spotted roaming around the Merthyr Tydfil area.
And staff at a store where it was seen are now checking CCTV to try to get to the bottom of the mystery.
There have been numerous sightings of the 'beast' during the last week, with Karen Smart, of Cwrt Nant Llwynog, Bedlinog, saying: 'I thought it was a black cat, but then I quickly realised it was too big.
'I've heard stories about people seeing it, but it's not until now that I believe it.'
Karen's husband Bob said he found paw prints which were 'way too big to be those of a domestic cat'.
Last weekend, a security guard at HyperValue Holdings on the Pengarnddu Industrial Estate at Dowlais Top, just outside Merthyr, said he spotted a creature strolling into the grounds. 'I'm 5ft 9in and it was easily as high as my waist - it was quite frightening,' said Craig Russell, 21, of Gellideg. 'It was easily too big to be a normal cat.'
The store is currently running through its CCTV footage to see if the 'beast' has been caught on camera.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Ancients clocked around rock 'to tell the seasons'
Apr 19 2006 Robin Turner, Western Mail
THE proof that an imposing 35-tonne boulder known as Arthur's Stone is actually one of the world's first clocks is about to be revealed.
Visitors to Cefn Bryn in the middle of Gower have been perplexed by the giant stone, and what purpose it served.
But 63-year-old consultant engineer Roger Davies of Three Crosses, Gower, decided to do something about it.
He has spent years examining a theory that the landmark could have been a clock.
Academics and geologists have had to consider whether the stone could have been left in its spot high up on Cefn Bryn by accident, possibly propelled there by a long gone glacier.
But there have also been theories the stone could have been placed there deliberately by ancient inhabitants of Gower establishing a Stonehenge-style method of determining the seasons using shadows thrown by the sun.
Mr Davies, who has taken countless photographs from dozens of different angles and taken hundreds of measurements is firmly in the "clock" camp.
Mr Davies plans to write an illustrated book explaining his theory and said yesterday, "I believe that Arthur's Stone itself was shaped and placed in its position by our forefathers.
"And I also believe that various landmarks around the stone are part of a giant clock or calendar, with Arthur's Stone as the hub of the whole thing."
Mr Davies first saw Arthur's Stone as a teenager while on a geology field trip from Gowerton Grammar School.
He said, "Like a lot of people I was transfixed and had to find out if it was part of something placed deliberately on Gower.
"It just did not seem possible it could have ended up like that by accident."
If it is eventually found the huge boulder was moved by hand to be used as a giant clock, it will finally disprove one of the oldest legends surrounding the object, that it was the original stone from which King Arthur withdrew his sword to prove his right to be king.
Another legend is that King Arthur threw a stone from his shoe from Carmarthen to Burry Port and it eventually bounced on to Gower, growing in size "with pride" because it was touched by the king's hand.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Beware the Welsh Teggie, witches and more - icWales
Feb 27 2006 Tryst Williams, Western Mail
WALES' legendary monsters will be in the spotlight this week, in a new television programme.
Beasts like "Teggie" - the nation's answer to the Loch Ness Monster, and ghoulish phenomena such as "corpse candles" will feature in a new ITV1 Wales programme Celtic Monsters.
But series producer Neville Hughes said the production was blighted by some mysterious happenings that challenged his own opinion of the unknown.
Among the unexplained events were those that occurred while working on the story of the Pontrhydfendigaid witch, Mari Berllan Biter.
"While I was editing the programme, a massive hornet appeared from nowhere and attacked me," recalled Mr Hughes. "It disappeared and I went to look for it thinking that it was very strange for the insect to be out during the winter, but it was nowhere to be seen."
A sound technician had a similar experience.
"He could hear the buzzing of the hornet behind his head," added Mr Hughes, "But when he turned round there was nothing there.
"They say witches can transform themselves into all kinds of shapes and forms - so who knows what happened?
"I've certainly changed my views on the supernatural. Before I started working on this series I didn't believe in the paranormal - now I'm not that sure."
He was also forced to think twice following a holy man's warning while shooting scenes across the Irish Sea.
"While we were filming in Ireland, a former Irish priest warned us not to meddle and to respect creatures of the unknown," he said. "Soon after that, strange things started to happen to us."
The footage the crew shot of an Irish woman telling the story of the horned witches of Sliabh na Mban, was found to be distorted. There was no technical reason for it, but they couldn't use the interview.
The series, which starts on Sunday, is presented by bard and singer Twm Morys. It aims to echo the ancient tradition of the storyteller with contributors from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany. Welsh storytellers include bards T James Jones and Ifor ap Glyn and singer Si n James.
People with first-hand experiences of mysterious happenings will also be sharing their stories.
These include Blodwen Griffiths from the Ystwyth Valley who saw the "corpse candle" - a premonition of death - and Dewi Bowen from Bala who claims to have seen Wales' own Nessie - the Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) monster.
But despite the interest in Welsh myth and legend, we don't market this aspect of our heritage the way the Scots promote Nessie.
A spokesman for the Wales Tourist Board said they did use our legends in promotional literature targeted at Belgians, Germans and French people.
"We use it discreetly or in careful measure in those markets," he said.
Lionel Fanthorpe, Cardiff author, broadcaster, church minister, and an expert in paranormal phenomena, had his own view.
He said, "We have a wealth of Welsh castles, Eisteddfodau, music, art and drama and the brilliance of guys like Dylan Thomas and among these things the monster is pretty low on our school of attractions to bring tourists and visitors into Wales. When you've got Snowdon and the Brecon Beacons, who needs them?"
He added, "I believe they may exist but would like to see evidence first - maybe a piece of fin or a tail lying on the beach at Barry Island."
Celtic Monsters starts on Sunday on ITV1Wales at 6pm
Celtic Monsters starts on Sunday on ITV1Wales at 6pm
Page 2 - Some of the Welsh myths and monsters featuring in the series
Friday, February 3, 2006
BBC history team solves riddle of Llywelyn
Daily Telegraph
One of the last great mysteries of the history of the independent Welsh nation was apparently solved yesterday by a group of English historians working for the BBC.
For centuries, people living in and around the chicken farm called Pen y Bryn on top of a hill overlooking the Menai Straits in Caernarvonshire have been convinced that it is a royal place.
More than that, they all firmly believed that the 36-acre farm was the last remnant of the palace of Llywelyn, the first and last prince of a "free" Wales, who died in 1282.
But Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage, says it has found traces of a medieval house about 400 yards away, near to a Norman motte, or defensive mound, that is the real site of the palace.
Today, even the current prince has become intrigued in developments after Kathryn Gibson, the owner of Pen y Bryn, tried to convince him to accept that he is the 22nd, not the 21st Prince of Wales.
"We had all the local tradition that this was the palace site, but what we were lacking was the last documentary proof that this was the case," Mrs Gibson said yesterday after the broadcast of the programme on BBC2's History Mysteries series. "But thanks to Nick Barratt and his colleagues, we now have that."
Mr Barratt, who is The Daily Telegraph's "Family Detective" found the crucial evidence in archives at Bangor, a few miles from the site. A document dating to 1284 stated clearly that there was a "Ty Hir" or long house, at the centre of the manor of Aber, previously known as Aber Garth Celyn.
It was from there that Llywelyn was known to have written his last letter of defiance to the English. But the site near the motte was not a long house, but an H-shaped dwelling which the historians believe was an administrative centre for the infant Welsh court, but not the prince's home.
Investigations showed that the chicken farm, which has a tower attached to it tentatively, is built on the ruins of a long house. On another document, dating from the 1730s, the manor house at the centre of the lands of Aber is clearly identified as Pen y Bryn.
Mr Barratt said: "It shows that Llywelyn had two separate buildings, one domestic, one business, and that the Welsh court was much more sophisticated than English historians have portrayed it to be."
Mrs Gibson is hoping that the programme will be seeen by Prince Charles, whom she met a few years ago. "I told him that he ought to acknowledge that Edward I's son was not the first Prince of Wales and that he is the 22nd, not the 21st person to hold that title."