From the Senedd to the Roofs

De: Ben Wildsmith

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Ben Wildsmith is a Nation.Cymru columnist, writing about politics and rugby twice a week. From the Senedd to the Roofs pulls together another year of his imaginative and irreverent journalism.

These are missives of hope, bewilderment, anger and grief. Horses run amok down Picadilly, First Ministers come and go, and royalty continues to perplex in this raucous almanac of world events as viewed from Wales. Whether writing about the loss of a client in his work with the homeless, the loss of one his favourite songwriters Shane MacGowan, or the loss of lives through poor political decisions, Wildsmith brings sharp observation, empathy and dark humour to bear in a quest to make sense of it all. From Vaughan Gething and Andrew RT Davies to Donald Trump and Warren Gatland, nobody is spared from scrutiny.

REVIEWS

‘Wildsmith’s words are a fierce current, carrying readers through the peaks and valleys of Welsh life with humour and unflinching honesty. From the Senedd to the Roofs is a panoramic sweep of a nation’s soul, each column a snapshot as raw as a coastal gale and as warm as a crowded pub on a winter’s night. This is Wales laid bare – irreverent, indomitable, and endlessly compelling.’ – Adam Price

‘Eloquently speaking truth to power with caustic wit and a grasp on politics in Wales and globally, Ben Wildsmith’s writing is essential to an understanding of the dysfunction that seems endemic in politics.’ – Iwan Bala

‘From the Senedd to the Roofs is a thoughtful, principled and witty collection of columns for Nation.Cymru from 2023-2024. Wildsmith manages to do something very few writers achieve; readers can laugh out loud and simultaneously feel a heaviness in the chest. Thought-provoking and entertaining, he skilfully engages readers in a wide range of issues relevant to the good people of Cymru. So much so, I even read the ones about rugby. No mean feat.’ – Abeer Ameer

‘Ben Wildsmith’s anarchic wit conceals a talent for coruscating analysis and a refreshing capacity for highlighting some of the political truths the mainstream press prefers to ignore. And even if the combined shit-show of UK politics and Welsh rugby didn’t push you to the brink of despair these past two years, any columnist who opens a piece with the image of Boris Johnson as a rutting mutt being forcibly removed from the trouser leg of the body politic deserves a readership of millions. A second volume of Ben’s columns from Nation.Cymru is not only the perfect stocking-filler, but a must for anyone in need of reassurance that things are at least as bad as they appear.’ – Richard Gwyn