South Wales Evening Post interview

Below is a "Heaven and Hell" feature about my favourite and least favourite holidays I did for the 28 July, 2012 issue of the South Wales Evening Post.

Holiday Heaven and Hell

Author of the new book Sci-Fi Worlds - Doctor Who, Doomwatch, Battlestar Galactica And Other Cult TV Shows, Swansea's RICHARD THOMAS tells us about his holiday highs and lows. 

  

What was your best holiday? I haven't been on holiday for a couple years now, I've been too busy with my writing. The goal I set myself was to write my first book before I turned 26, so it feels great to have my second book out by that deadline. My last holiday was to Cyprus in 2007 and I loved it there, the beaches were beautiful and the locals were all very friendly. Outside my hotel was a statue of Alexandra the Great and inside there was a map of the famous Greek’s conquests before he died at the age of only 32. I didn't know very much about Cyprus when I arrived but I enjoyed reading in the books I bought there about how the island had passed between Greek, Turkish and British rule over the last 3,000 years.

I would have to say however the best holiday I've been on was when I went to Florida in 2000. Me, my sister and brothers were still just kids at the time, and the whole family, my parents, grandparents, and uncle Carl went together. We used to alternate between the amusement parks, MGM, Disneyland, Animal Planet and others, and the water parks each day to stop everyone getting too tired.

What was your most memorable holiday moment? In Florida there were lots of memorable moments. There was a restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom called the Rainforest Cafe where it would start raining inside, which came as a bit of a surprise to my grandparents when it started tipping down in the middle of desert. You wouldn’t actually get wet, though, so it was great fun. Another of my favourite places to eat was the Sci-Fi Café at MGM, where on a big screen they would play clips from some of the famous science fiction B pictures from the 1950's. Films like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Some of the films like The Quatermass Experiment are discussed in detail in my new book Sci-Fi Worlds published by Bretwalda Books. 

What was your worst holiday experience? I went back to Florida for another family holiday in 2001 after 9/11. I sill enjoyed it over there but going through the airport was a nightmare. My mother had a gun pulled on her when she smiled after being asked to take her shoes off, and I saw lots of other people being harassed like this. The same thing is happening in British airports now, when I went to Cyprus my brother had the cleaning fluid for his contact lenses confiscated which I thought was outlandish. How 9/11 and the War on Terror has been reflected in shows like Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica is a topic I tackle a lot in Sci-Fi Worlds. 

I would have to say my worst holiday experience, though, was when I went to Tenerife in 2003. My mum booked us all on a donkey trail up the volcano. This was fun and my sister who was still little loved it, but the food afterwards was all covered in flies, including  some dead ones floating in the vinegar. It was awful. After we got back to the hotel room we all fell over laughing about how bad it was. We all felt like we had just been on something organised by Trotters Independent Traders. 

What is your fantasy holiday? I would love to go back to the United States, but this time to my favourite state Texas. I have another book coming out in October called ‘Para-News: UFOs, Ghosts, Conspiracy, Cryptids - and More’ in which I interview some of America’s best known paranormal researchers and conspiracy theorists. It would be cool to meet up with JFK assassination researcher Jim Marrs outside the School Book Depository in Dallas, Texas where President Kennedy was shot in 1963. Jim wrote the best-selling book Crossfire which was the basis for Oliver Stone’s film JFK. Another Texas resident I interviewed is Nick Redfern, who has also written the foreword for Para-News. Nick is a full-time author of books about UFOs, mystery animals and conspiracies, and has been a big help to me.

How did your book Sci-Fi Worlds come about and where can readers find it? In 2008 I started writing a science fiction/TV related column for Alien Worlds magazine which led to me writing for some other magazines and blogs; and of course my Saturday columns for the Evening Post. Sci-Fi Worlds - Doctor Who, Doomwatch, Battlestar Galactica And Other Cult TV Shows is a collection of my favourite sci-fi related articles and interviews I've done over the past four years. Included are interviews with X-Files star Dean Haglund and Lexx co-creator Lex Gigeroff, as well as Doctor Who writer Lance Parkin. You can find the book by searching 'Sci-Fi Worlds by Richard Thomas' on Amazon.co.uk. My next book Para-News: UFOs, Ghosts, Conspiracy, Cryptids - and More is also available for pre-order from Amazon and all good book retailers. 

For more information about Richard Thomas's books go to www.richardthomas.eu or email sue@bretwaldabooks.com.

Heaven and Hell with Amanda Jones - Deputy Headteacher at Clase Primery School

Below is a "Heaven and Hell" feature I did with the Deputy Headteacher Amanda Jones for the Saturday, September 3, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

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Heaven and Hell 
  

   
Deputy Headteacher AMANDA JONES at Clase Primery School tells us about her holiday highs and lows.
 
What was your best holiday?
"My best holiday was in Kenya, the Samburu District. It was more of a working holiday as I helped to do a few things for the communities there. I was on a project called Operation Raleigh which involved me helping to build a pharmacy and a school in two small villages. I also taught in some schools and that is where I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I loved being with the children.”
   

What was your worst holiday?
"My worst holiday was when I went to Albufeira in Portugal. It was full of crammed holiday resorts, many being constructed and it was quite noisy! I missed the opportunity at the time to go on the beach and swim in the water and I don’t think I would go back there either. However there are some wonderful places else where I would like to go in Portugal as I know it is steeped in history and has beautiful villages to visit!”
  

What was your most memorable holiday moment?
“My most memorable holiday moment was dancing in a ditch with lots of school children, singing! The ditch was the foundations for their school and I was helping to build it. I can’t remember the name of the village but I think it was about 20 miles outside Maralal in the Samburu District of Kenya. It was one of the projects I was working on when I went on Operation Raleigh.”

What was the best experience in a hotel you have had?
"My best experience in a hotel was lying in bed in a wooden hut in an exclusive resort in Kenya feeling sleepy but the view was so incredible that I tried really hard to stay awake. The resort was called Lake Baringo Island Camp and it was right in the middle of a lake. I had spent some time at the lake logging animals that we could find and analysing water samples back at the lab on the banks of the lake. There were hippos there and we took turns to watch out through the night. It was really hard work, physically and mentally, and we worked long hours. Afterwards the hotel owners invited us to stay and use their facilities, we ate like kings with fresh food that they kindly provided for us and I slept in a beautiful bed for the first time in weeks instead of a sleeping bag on the floor.”
  

What is your fantasty holiday?
"My fantasy holiday is going to the mountains of the Himalayas - walking to base camp Everest and maybe doing some voluntary work in schools along the way. I would like to voluntarily teach the children in the villages at the bottom of Everest. I would also like to work in a hospital of some kind looking after sick children, or maybe an orphanage.” 

My school photo with Karate instructor Tracy Thomas

Below is a "School Photo" feature I did with Karate instructor Tracy Thomas for the Friday, September 9, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

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My school photo

Karate instructor and Second Dan Black Belt, TRACY THOMAS, who teaches at Kenshin Karate Club in Morriston tells us about her school days.

“I went to Cwmrhydeiceirw Infant school and then Clase Junior School. When I left to go to Secondary school I went to Mynyddbach Comprehensive School for girls.
When I was in the infant school I was a bit of a Tomboy. I liked to play in the water, generally splashing the other children and tipping water from one container to the other. I look back now and think where is the fun in that!”
“My favourite teacher was Mrs Williams. She had thick curly fair hair and glasses and was really caring towards me, she gave me cuddles and hugs all the time and I saw her as my second mum. I was a bit naughty in school on times and I remember once kicking a football in class on my last day of school in the infants. The classroom had been newly painted and I left a great big muddy patch on the shining white ceiling. I certainly left my mark on that school!”
“When I went to Junior school my favourite teacher was Mr. Uren. It had to be really because he was the only teacher I had. It was really unusual to have the same teacher for three years on the trot and unlucky for him I was in it!”
“I hated school dinners and was the only child who came home at lunch time. One time my Mum said I could stay home if I wanted and of course I took her up on this magical moment. I used my time to go and talk to the lolly pop lady. She was a really kind person and I loved to listen to her stories. She was kind of like my third Mum. However, it was doomed from the start and I got caught loitering by my teacher. In shock I ran and leapt over a wall crouched down and hid until he had passed. This didn’t go unnoticed of course and I had a row the next day.”
“My favourite subject has always been PE. My teacher used to give us the lesson plans for the week and put them on the board. We always knew what was coming up next. Friday afternoon was timetabled for PE and I loved it. I looked forward to that time of the week, however, I was usually held back from the lesson for not finishing my work plan.
When I went to secondary School I was in all the top sets for all the subjects. Of course,
PE was still my favourite and my teachers names were Mrs Lindenberg and Mrs Cuthbert. They both encouraged me to run for the school in sprints and relays. To this day I love running and run regularly four times a week. At lunchtimes they used to let me use the gym. I was always in there either playing tennis, badminton, or practising the high jump. I loved the ropes on the high bars and loved the challenge of climbing them, touching the top bar and shining back down.”
“When I was a young girl I wanted to do Kung Fu, but my mother always said it was a sport for boys and I wasn’t allowed. When my daughter was 11 years old I took her to karate lessons. I was determined that she was going to have every opportunity that I had missed. I used to watch her training and would be on the edge of my seat desperate to join in. An opportunity arose when Peter Jones set up a club called Kenshin Karate Club in the Sacred Heart Centre in Morriston. Twelve years on I am now still at the club and supporting Peter as an assistant coach. I am a Second Dan Black Belt and I also run a female adult class on a Thursday evening from 6-7pm. Karate is my passion. It gives me confidence, respect and is a great tool for stress relief. The club has many members who gel well together and welcome new students. It is like my extended family and I couldn’t live my life without it.”
 
Kenshin Karate Club can be found in the Sacred Heart Centre, School Road, Morriston, Swansea, SA6 6HZ. Phone 01792 323477 or visit www.kenshinkarate.co.uk for more information.