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North Wales Chronicle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Cosmic horror writer wins Daniel Owen Prize at Eisteddfod
Peredur Glyn, from Menai Bridge, was awarded the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize for his novel Ozymandias. The National Eisteddfod, a celebration of Welsh culture and language, is held annually across Wales and features a range of competitions, performances and events. Mr Glyn, a reader in linguistics and bilingualism at Bangor University, is also an established writer. He has published two novels, including Pumed Gainc y Mabinogi, which was shortlisted for Welsh Book of the Year in 2023. He is known for writing in the genre of cosmic horror, exploring themes of supernatural forces and the insignificance of humanity in the wider universe. Mr Glyn is also the author of Galwad Cthulhu a Straeon Arswyd Eraill, the first Welsh-language translation of H. P. Lovecraft's work. Mari Emlyn, Alun Davies, and Haf Llewelyn, adjudicators, praised Mr Glyn's novel for its depth and storytelling. In her adjudication, Ms Emlyn said: "I knew I was in safe hands from the start in the company of this masterful writer, even though this isn't usually the kind of novel I go for. "The novel is very cleverly structured like a classical Shakespearean drama with its five acts, although this author, thankfully, resists the temptation to include a dénouement, justifying this at the end by saying, 'Real life isn't tidy.' "Ozymandias fully deserves the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize." Ms Llewelyn said: "This has been a particularly special competition this year. "Remarkably, Anfarwol leapt to the top and stayed there from the very first reading. "We're in the company of a remarkable author here, and I feel privileged to be among the first people to read this work. "From the beginning, I could relax, knowing that Ozymandias would not stumble, and that I was in the company of a confident author, a skilled storyteller, and a wordsmith who handles our language with elegance and agility. "This is a very successful novel and will be an extremely valuable addition to the world of Welsh-language fiction. "I venture to say that this is among the finest winners of the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize over the years." Mr Davies also praised the work. He said: "Judging 14 novels in a relatively short period can be a challenging task, but the reward for a judge is discovering a story like Anfarwol. "Considering the standard of this year's entrants, it is high praise indeed to say that the story of Ozymandias stands head and shoulders above the other competitors, and not only deserves to win this year, but would likely have come out on top in many other years as well. "This is truly a stunning story that is hard to summarise: a historical, supernatural, and science fiction adventure that is funny, exciting, thought-provoking, and challenging. "The novel touches on mortality, Welsh identity, and what it means to be part of the human race, and I was prompted to reflect on many strange and interesting questions while reading." READ MORE: Bikers urged to give Wrexham mechanic, who died at 51, a send off to remember Populations of Flintshire and Wrexham have risen, new figures show The Daniel Owen Memorial Prize is awarded for a novel in Welsh of 50,000 words or more. Mr Glyn's win continues a family tradition of success at the National Eisteddfod. His grandfather, T Glynne Davies, won the Crown at the Eisteddfod in 1951.
North Wales Live
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Live
Winner of Daniel Owen Memorial Prize confirmed at National Eisteddfod in Wrexham
A fictional journey through time spanning nearly two centuries won its author a prestigious prize at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham. Peredur Glyn, from Menai Bridge, Anglesey is the winner of this year's Daniel Owen Memorial Prize, presented to him at a special ceremony on the Pavilion stage. The task of the 14 writers who entered was to create a novel with a strong storyline of no less than 50,000 words. The prize is the Daniel Owen Memorial Medal and the published novel. Mr Glyn, a Reader in Linguistics and Bilingualism at the School of Language, Culture and the Arts at Bangor University, is the author of two novels. One of them, Pumed Gainc y Mabinogi, was shortlisted for Welsh Book of the Year 2023. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox He writes within the genre of cosmic horror, where characters come to realise that supernatural powers exist beyond their imagination, and that humanity's place in the universe is insignificant and fleeting in the face of such horrors. He wrote Galwad Cthulhu a Straeon Arswyd Eraill, the first Welsh-language translation of the influential American author H. P. Lovecraft's work. He has also published several books and scholarly papers on the linguistics of Welsh and its speakers, including on sociolinguistic variation, grammatical change, and code-switching. Adjudicators, Mari Emlyn, Alun Davies and Haf Llewelyn, said Mr Glyn's work is "a model of how to use an exceptional store of research to create a fantastical historical novel without letting the research swallow the story". In her adjudication, Mari Emlyn said: 'I knew I was in safe hands from the start in the company of this masterful writer, even though this isn't usually the kind of novel I go for. "The novel is very cleverly structured like a classical Shakespearean drama with its five acts, although this author, thankfully, resists the temptation to include a dénouement, justifying this at the end by saying, 'Real life isn't tidy.' Ozymandias fully deserves the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize.' Haf Llewelyn said in her adjudication: 'This has been a particularly special competition this year. Remarkably, Anfarwol leapt to the top and stayed there from the very first reading. We're in the company of a remarkable author here, and I feel privileged to be among the first people to read this work. 'From the beginning, I could relax, knowing that Ozymandias would not stumble, and that I was in the company of a confident author, a skilled storyteller, and a wordsmith who handles our language with elegance and agility. "This is a very successful novel and will be an extremely valuable addition to the world of Welsh-language fiction. I venture to say that this is among the finest winners of the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize over the years.' Alun Davies also praised the winning work in his adjudication: 'Judging 14 novels in a relatively short period can be a challenging task, but the reward for a judge is discovering a story like Anfarwol. Considering the standard of this year's entrants, it is high praise indeed to say that the story of Ozymandias stands head and shoulders above the other competitors, and not only deserves to win this year, but would likely have come out on top in many other years as well. 'This is truly a stunning story that is hard to summarise: a historical, supernatural, and science fiction adventure that is funny, exciting, thought-provoking, and challenging. The novel touches on mortality, Welsh identity, and what it means to be part of the human race, and I was prompted to reflect on many strange and interesting questions while reading.' Winning at the National Eisteddfod is not new in his family. Peredur Glyn's grandfather, the poet and writer T Glynne Davies, won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst in 1951.
North Wales Live
14-07-2025
- Health
- North Wales Live
Tragic groom-to-be died days after couple sent out wedding invitations
A groom-to-be tragically died just days after the couple sent out wedding invitations. Dedicated nurse Robyn Parry was due to marry his partner Bryony, also a nurse, on August 21 this year. Invitations for the big day were sent out to friends and family in March. But within days he had become seriously ill and then passed away suddenly on March 17 this year. He was only 36. The news devastated all who knew Robyn. When best man Ben Brame called groomsman Glyn Owen, Glyn was expecting it to be about the stag do they were planning. Instead it was to tell him the sad news, which left Glyn "crushed". Now in the week when they were expecting to be performing their duties ahead of the wedding they will instead walk the entire 130-miles of the Anglesey Coastal Path over nine days. They are raising money for Diamond Blackfan Anaemia Support Group UK. Robyn was born with the extremely rare blood condition, Diamond Blackfan Anaemia, where the bone marrow doesn't produce enough red blood cells. It only affects approximately 7 out of every million live births. On a monthly basis throughout his life, Robyn, originally from Valley on Anglesey and later Penrhyn Bay near Llandudno, would spend long periods in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, receiving treatment for the condition. Such was Robyn's appreciation for the care that he received, in 2018 he decided to dedicate his life to helping others by training to become a nurse, working in both Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd over seven years, going on to nurse on the haematology and oncology ward until the end of his life. Having grown up receiving regular hospital care and later working as a nurse, many messages on social media responding to the sad news were from members of hospital staff, who Robyn had come into contact with over the years, expressing how much of a lovely character he was. Glyn, 36, originally from Bangor, a refugee services caseworker for British Red Cross in Cardiff, said: 'It was so sad when we received the news about Rob, as we had all just received the wedding invitation in the post the same day or a couple of days before. When Ben called me, I thought it was to discuss the stag-do, and it was the same for all of his other friends. To go from a moment of excitement like that to finding out the news, was crushing. 'We wanted to do something to honour and commemorate Rob, who was a really incredible person. In terms of his health, he had quite a difficult life, but he never let it affect him; quite the opposite, he had such an appetite for life and really understood the importance of grabbing it with both hands. "We especially wanted to do the event when the wedding was supposed to take place, as it should have been a moment of celebration for him, his family and his friends. 'We want to bring together as many people as we can to celebrate Rob's life so we are inviting anyone who knows him to get involved; whether it's joining us for the whole walk or just for a coffee at a cafe along the way. 'We decided to do the walk around Anglesey because of the fantastic times we shared with Rob here, and it's where he's from. We have so many great memories of adventures, parties, camping, beaches and so on. I have many memories of him swimming in the sea at various places around the island, swimming far out from the shore; I think he loved the freedom and the exhilaration of it.' The walk will also have special significance as the friends intend to mark 14 years since the death of Robyn's best friend, Lewis Darroch, who lost his life on 24 August 2011 near Porth Trecastell (Cable Bay) on Anglesey, while trying to rescue a drowning friend. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Glyn added: 'When Lewis died it obviously had a huge impact on all his friends, but particularly so on Rob, as they were best friends since childhood. I remember vividly that it was Rob who contacted me to tell me the news about Lewis, and then to receive the news about Rob out of the blue like that too, was devastating. So it's fitting that 14 years nearly to the day, our route will bring us to the place where someone who Robyn loved so dearly died while performing a heroic act of friendship." Ben and Glyn are inviting as many people as possible to join in whatever way they would like during the nine day event. This could be walking the stunning Coastal Path with them, swimming and BBQs on beautiful beaches, or a beer or two at the local pubs along the route. The friends also intend to complete parts of the walk in superhero fancy dress in tribute to Robyn's love of comic books, which he would read during the long periods of treatment in hospital as a child. Ben Brame, 34, a watersports instructor and electrician from Y Felinheli, said: 'Look out for Spiderman and Thor rambling through the streets of Beaumaris or Amlwch in August, and please consider donating.'
Daily Mirror
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BB UK star 'Nasty Nick' makes 'strange' career move after quitting fame
Glyn Wise shot to fame as a contestant on the seventh series of Big Brother UK in 2006 and had a hit song about cooking an egg - but now he's become an ordained priest Rocketing to fame with a catchy egg-cooking song on Big Brother at 18, Glyn Wise has now officially started his new mission to "spread the good word of God" as a fully ordained priest. Back in 2006, a keen young chap kitted out as a lifeguard was prepping to enter the Big Brother house. As an avid enthusiast of the programme, he'd scrutinised every season with the goal to charm the socks off the producers during auditions by feigning a slightly mean streak. His strategy paid off, securing him a place on one of the most popular reality series ever. Yet this lad was far from the notorious 'Nasty' Nick Bateman; rather, he was Glyn Wise, the wholesome lad from Wales, juggling A-level studies. Overwhelmed with excitement just before walking into the house live on telly, he had an accident right there in his quirky lifeguard costume. Now 36, Glyn reminisced about the mishap with The Sun, confessing: "I went to the toilet and managed to sneak a look through the window and could see somebody going into the house. So then I got really excited, forgot what I was doing and I peed my pants." Despite the wet mishap, he got himself dry with a hand dryer and proceeded to win over audiences with his sincere and unworldly charm. He forged strong bonds with fellow housemates like Pete Bennett (still a mate and the ultimate winner), the late Nikki Grahame, and Welsh compatriot Imogen Thomas. Upon leaving the house, he was taken aback by the extent of his fame. His song about his first time cooking an egg became a popular ringtone, and he found himself performing it at nightclub appearances, where he was earning around £2,500 per gig. However, as his star began to fade, his anxiety levels rose. He chose to return to education, attending university and eventually becoming a teacher. Yet Glyn felt dissatisfied with "real life" compared to the celebrity lifestyle he had briefly experienced, so he decided to travel. He ended up using his qualifications to teach in Shanghai, China, where his passion for faith was rekindled. Glyn has been a practising Christian since attending Sunday school as a child. In a 2022 interview with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary on This Morning, he explained how working as a teacher in China significantly influenced his faith. He said: "Christianity is growing on a massive scale in South East Asia, so I went to church there, and even other teachers were like, 'do you want to come to Bible study class'. "I grew in faith as I went along with that. The pastor or priest was talking and I felt like everything he was saying was directly to me, and what was amazing was they were bringing the Bible into 2022, making relevance to every walk of life and that's what I'd like to bring forward." Glyn had been diligently studying to become a priest at a university in Wrexham, delving into theology and the intricacies of the Bible. He explained: "I'm learning theology, going into depth about the Bible and learning how to cope with people, because you're not only the vicar, you're someone to listen, you're a psychiatrist, you have to help sort people's lives out and spread the good word. So there's a concoction of stuff that you need to learn before you become a vicar." Once he completed his studies, he became a curate and has been spending time ever since waiting to be ordained as a priest by the bishop. Sharing his excitement with fans on social media, he posted: "Done it! I've been accepted for Ordained Ministry with the Church in Wales." In a recent post, Glyn also revealed he'd met King Charles III during a placement at a church in Wrexham. But now, after some time has passed, the BB UK star has now officially been ordained. Sharing a TikTok on July 7, captioned 'First week as Rev Glyn!', he can be heard saying: "As you see behind me there's all the graves, from the dust we came from the dust we will depart. So how are we supposed to enjoy life? Well Jesus told us two things; to love God and to love one another, to treat everyone the way that you want to be treated. So that's all we need to do, really. Go out and enjoy life otherwise." Bemused fans flooded his replies, with one saying: "Glyn from Big Brother???" while another added "I think I've missed a chapter." A proud follower proclaimed: "Darling, I am so unbelievably proud of you. I love you so very dearly." Although he now sports a beard and a shaved head, and carries himself with more maturity, Glyn is still recognised for his past, particularly his time on Big Brother. He incorporates elements of his previous experiences into his sermons, admitting: "I've got a beard now, I've shaved my head, I'm a man not a boy, but yeah, there's conversations about Big Brother that still come up." He shared interactions with churchgoers who remember him fondly, saying: "People come to church and are like, 'I really loved you when you cooked that egg'. And I'm like, 'Can we talk about Jesus Christ now, the Saviour?"
Wales Online
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
North Wales Big Brother star's incredible transformation as he confirms a major career change
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Former Big Brother contestant Glyn Wise has revealed a surprising career shift. The Blaenau Ffestiniog native, who appeared on the show in 2006 at the tender age of 18 and finished as the runner-up in the seventh series, has now become a reverend. The ex-reality TV personality announced his new role on social media, where he has often discussed his faith and participated in religious programmes like Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol and Songs of Praise. On Instagram, Glyn declared: "This is Rev Glyn - I'm coming to get you!" He added: "Day 1 as an official Rev! Hard work, praying and studying has paid off - "With God all things are possible" Math 19: 26. Looking forward to follow in the footsteps of the disciples in the book of Acts, spreading the good word across the nations! Diolch yn fawr am yr holl gefnogaeth." He also included a passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians in the New Testament, written in Welsh, at the end of his post. Supporters have been quick to express their congratulations in the comments section. One individual wrote: "Keep spread the love, well done mate." Another chimed in with: "Congratulations father, this is awesome news." Lea Walker, who appeared alongside Glyn on Big Brother, expressed her admiration in the comments section. She said: "Babes you have no idea. Just how proud I am of you. You've worked tirelessly you've worked so hard and I am so unbelievably proud of you," reports Wales Online. "Congratulations congratulations congratulations. I love you with every beat of my heart and I can't wait to see you again next month." In 2015 Glyn was selected by Plaid Cymru to contest the Cardiff Central seat in the 2016 Senedd elections. But he later quit the party after disagreeing with its pro- EU stance. Then in April 2022, he announced he was training to become an ordained minister in the Church in Wales and shared his journey on social media. He shared on social media at the time: "Done it! I'm [sic] been accepted for Ordained Ministry with the Church in Wales. Thank you to everyone at London Church of England for their support and prayers! Looking forward to spread the good word and become Fr Glyn." Despite growing up in a Christian family he said that his time in Asia, particularly South Korea inspired him to pursue his new career. He told BBC Wales: "When I was in Asia, particularly South Korea, I saw that Christianity was growing at a massive scale and whilst I was there I went to church and felt every sermon was basically speaking directly to me. "I wanted to bring the good word back to the UK, well Wales and the Church in Wales, and now I've been fortunate enough to be accepted to go into the ordained ministry - it was a dream come true." Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday Find out what's happening near you
