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The Bard & The Beautiful
11/15/2011 12:34:46 PM
Clive Woosnam, president of the Dylan Thomas Society of Australia, reports on the “Outing”, celebrating the great poet’s account of a famous charabanc trip to Porthcawl.
The DTSA Outing may come round every two years but it is never repetitive. It is a day of poetry, humour and beauty. The weather varies from journey to journey, as do the occupants of the charabanc and the DVDs that inform and entertain us on our drive.
After a period of wet, cold weather, Sunday 19 June was as pretty a winter’s day as could be imagined.
On our journey we watched the much-loved 2003 DVD of Burton’s Dylan along with a new DVD of reactions to three of Dylan’s best known poems. Then came the long-lost and very frank Vincent Kane interview with Dylan’s widow Caitlin, originally filmed in the late 1970s. By the time we reached the Doyalson RSL Club, even the least knowledgeable voyager had learned a lot about the object of our celebration.
At the club most of our group contented themselves with tea or coffee, but a few were more determined to choose drinks more in keeping with Dylan’s tale and The Outing’s special place as the poet’s only solo TV performance. Naturally, the iconic picture of the 1920s charabanc group was proudly displayed.
We were fortunate once again to be allowed to use the upstairs dining room at our main stop, the Swansea RSL Club, with its sparkling vistas across the entrance to Lake Macquarie and the sea beyond. The food met with universal approval, and we listened to Dylan on CD reading the poem to his own 35th birthday set amid the water, sand and sea birds in the Taf estuary at Laugharne.
We shared readings of other poems including And Death Shall Have No Dominion, which required an explanation of Dylan’s later poetry in the context of the impending nuclear holocaust of the late 1940s.
Caves Beach was a real eye-opener to first-time visitors. Though many of us did get into the caves, access was difficult so we did the readings on the headland and rock platform. After I recited Holiday Memory, members of the group read aloud Who Do You Wish Was With Us. In ideal light and beautiful weather, the setting was just perfect.
After lots of photographs we headed for controversial Catherine Hill Bay, where the little mining town is still fighting against major expansion schemes. The 1875 pub, the Wallarah (The Catho), was as crowded as ever with its diverse clientele, but we all fitted in very well.
On the return journey, we watched excerpts from the recording of April’s DTSA Legend and Poet afternoon, and everyone reached Sydney delighted with a day well spent.
HOW TO JOIN THE DYLAN THOMAS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA?
In three years’ time we’ll be celebrating the centenary of the birth of Dylan Thomas, so why not start celebrating in advance by joining the Dylan Thomas Society of Australia now?
There are usually five public events each year along with three editions of the highly informative sixteen-page magazine, Down Under Milk Wood, and you can have your say on how we should commemorate the birth of the best known poet Wales has produced.
To find out more, go to our website at DylanT.talkspot.com or phone Clive Woosnam on 9997 2019.
Our end-of-year lunch will take place in Mosman RSL Club on 3 December.