Welsh Academic Press – serie

The Wild West of Hollywood and American folklore is nothing more than a functional myth asserts D.H. Murdoch in "The American West", which for the first time, presents a sustained analysis of how the myth originated, and why? He demonstrates that the myth was invented, for the most part deliberately, and then outgrew the purpose of its inventors. Murdoch answers the questions which have too often been ignored. Why should the American West become the focus for myth in the first place and why, given the long process of Western settlement, is the cowboy the mythic hero? And why should the myth have retained its potency up to the last decade of the twentieth century?

The first published history of the Scottish National Party, this highly acclaimed study reveals the inside story of the SNP's political, philosophical and electoral development from its foundation in 1934, to governing Scotland from 2007 and leading the country into the 2014 independence referendum.Comprehensively researched using internal party documents, newspaper archives, the private papers of key figures and extensive interviews with party insiders, SNP - The History of the Scottish National Party is essential reading for all with an interest in the political history of Scotland.

An essential reference guide, this volume draws together an impressive collection of academics and religious practitioners to map out for the first time the religious multiplicity and diversity of Wales. For the first fifteen hundred years or so of its existence, the Christian Church in Wales was a unified entity. The Welsh Church, initially Celtic, but then Roman Catholic, held a virtual monopoly over religious life and belief in the country. The sixteenth century Reformation ended the notion of a monolithic Christendom; the proliferation of Protestant sects guaranteed that competition and variety would be the norm. By charting the gradual proliferation of religious communities in Wales from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries, this volume seeks to dispel many of the myths of a monochrome Christian, Protestant or even Nonconformist Wales. Each chapter also uniquely examines the persistence of faith, often in surprising places, in post-Christian Wales.

Mebyon Kernow & Cornish Nationalism is the first book to fully address the issue of political nationalism in Cornwall. It traces the growth of a Cornish national consciousness through the twentieth century, to the foundation of Mebyon Kernow (the Party for Cornwall) in 1951 and its evolution from a cultural pressure group into a fully-fledged political party.Comprehensively researched using a range of primary sources and interviews with key figures within the party; Deacon, Cole and Tregidga’s ground-breaking study chronicles Mebyon Kernow’s role within Cornwall’s wider national movement and the increasing growth in support for Cornish self-government.

Despite being Wales' oldest political party there has never been a published history of the Welsh Liberal Party or its successor, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Party. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the Welsh Liberal Party dominated Welsh politics and in the process, the Welsh Liberal Party became the first truly Welsh political party. During this period a new generation of radical and talented politicians emerged from its ranks and who would leave an indelible mark on Wales and the British state. From 1905 until 1922 Welsh Liberals would hold some of the most senior political position in the British Empire, but by the end of the First World War the Welsh Liberals had passed their political peak. For the next half century it was a story of decline and a struggle for the party's very survival until it once more joined a government in 2000, this time in the National Assembly for Wales. The Welsh Liberals: The History of the Welsh Liberal and Liberal Democrat Parties charts the highs and lows of an extraordinary party.This comprehensive study includes over 40 interviews with senior figures from within the Welsh Liberal Party, the Welsh SDP and Welsh Liberal Democrat Party and provides the first detailed history of Wales' oldest political party.

Regarded as a classic text amongst teachers of adults and those working with adult groups in a variety of professional and adult community settings, "Adult Learning, Adult Teaching" has now been enlarged, updated and thoroughly revised for this fourth edition. This new fourth edition retains the direct and practical approach that has proved so successful with thousands of practitioners and contains additional chapters on: learning styles; equal opportunities; self-presentation; difficult students and 'reluctant attenders'; practical planning; attendance and drop-out; the observation of teaching and learning; guidance, progression and 'what next'; a real student's experiences of adult education with a matched critique addressed to her tutor.

Voters in Scotland face a fundamental choice about their future at the independence referendum on 18th September 2014 and political parties are key actors in this process. Though the referendum saw the launch of umbrella campaign groups - Yes Scotland and Better Together - political parties remained central to the campaign. Parties shaped the nature of the referendum in government; parties provided leadership, resources, activists and expertise to the campaign; and were also major producers of political discourse throughout Scotland's contemporary referendum experience. Though the referendum offers a simple Yes/No choice on the ballot paper, some voters may also use party loyalty as a short-cut guide to understanding the issues and their decision. This book: analyses the referendum roles and activities of the Conservatives, Scottish Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Scottish Socialist Party during the campaign. places the independence referendum in international context through examining other sovereignty referendums looks at the emergence of new organizations like Radical Independence and National Collective.Finally, the book adopts the Essex School of discourse analysis to examine the contested nature of political discourse around the referendum.

Essential reading for all involved in the educational sector in Wales (and beyond), A Class Apart investigates the effectiveness of educational policies, such as the Foundation Phase and Welsh Baccalaureate, introduced by the Welsh Government since devolution and assesses whether they have really created the potential for Wales to become a 'small, clever nation'. Spanning all major policy developments, from Primary to Higher Education, since 1999, Gareth Evans also assesses the legacy of the two main protagonists, former Education Ministers Jane Davidson and Leighton Andrews.He investigates the issues that some policymakers wished were swept under the carpet and delves deeper to analyse the big issues effecting educational practitioners in Wales, including: Welsh education's place on the world stage The growing funding gap between Wales and England The role of schools inspectorate Estyn The truth behind Wales' ambitious PISA target The 2012 GCSE grading fiasco Secrecy and personality clashes in the higher education merger saga His chronological account also includes the events up to and following the PISA results of 2013 and his close proximity to the key protagonists in Welsh education provides him with the perfect position to judge the situation in which Wales' education system finds itself today.

The Welsh Government's Department of Education was famously called 'dysfunctional', by its own Minister. In Testing Times, a forensic and devastating critique of the Welsh Government's strategies and initiatives since devolution, the respected educationalist Philip Dixon argues that this is still the case, stating: 'If you want to find the weakest link in Welsh education today then look no further.'A strong supporter of devolution, and a firm believer that Wales has the capability to create a world class educational system, Philip Dixon is brutally and refreshingly honest when identifying the major failures in the Welsh Government's creation and implementation of educational policy. He criticises a culture which he describes as overly complacent and occasionally reckless.The first detailed analysis of education policy and delivery in Wales since 1999, Testing Times critically examines Welsh Labour's 17-year continuous tenure of the education portfolio under various different Ministers.He scrutinises the collective grand narrative, from the 'Learning Country' to 'Qualified for Life', and he investigates their impact on the foundation blocks of any education system: curriculum and assessment, qualifications, and accountability.Essential reading for teaching professionals and education policy researchers, as well as for parents and school governors, Philip Dixon also perceptively describes the educational journey made by modern-day Welsh children as they move through school, and the major implications of the 2014 Donaldson Review. He pulls no punches in examining key statistical data to judge the effectiveness of Wales' education system.Finally, following the 2016 National Assembly elections and the appointment of a new Education Minister, Philip Dixon, in the guise of a 'critical friend', outlines a number of essential questions that need to be addressed if Wales is not to languish for ever at the lower end of international comparison tables, and with a system that is noticeably worse than its immediate neighbours in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.Testing Times will ruffle the feathers of the political peacocks who've ruled the educational roost since 1999 and presided over numerous debacles and fiascos.

David Lloyd George, was a immensely colourful, controversial and enigmatic character who dominated the political life of Britain in the opening decades of the twentieth century.Famously described by Churchill as 'the greatest Welshman that unconquerable race has produced since the age of the Tudors', Lloyd George's political legacy is considerable and includes the introduction of a 'welfare state' whilst as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and as an effective and successful Prime Minister during the Great War. He was also however, implicated in a number of personal scandals relating to his great duel loves; women and money.The Financial Affairs of David Lloyd George is the first serious and systematic study to examine, assess and analyse Lloyd George's attitude to money and finance and compellingly illustrates how he accumulated great wealth by fair and more questionable methods.The product of many year's forensic research, author and accountant Ian Ivatt tells the intriguing story of how the man, who started work at 15 as a trainee solicitor's clerk in Porthmadog, earning a mere 15 shillings (less than GBP40), died in 1945 leaving an estate valued at GBP139,855 (GBP6.5 million).

Written by two award-winning public affairs professionals, The Public Affairs Guide to Scotland provides practical advice and guidance to individuals and organisations wishing to influence policy makers, and to contribute to legislative change in Scotland.The Public Affairs Guide to Scotland strips away the mysteries and misconceptions of engaging with the Scottish Government, Opposition parties, MSPs and the civil service and explains how to deliver cost effective public affairs activities that can achieve tangible outcomes.Robert McGeachy and Mark Ballard's step-by-step guide will empower private, public and third sector organisations to manage their own public affairs programmes, without the need to hire expensive consultants or specialist lobbying companies, by comprehensively outlining:What your organisation could achieve by developing its own in-house public affairs activitiesHow to identify the correct policy and legislative context via effective parliamentary monitoring and by engendering good relations with key policy makers How to engage with the legislative process including Parliamentary Committees, Members' Bills, Public Petitions, Cross Party Groups, and Parliamentary Motions & DebatesHow to create, organise and undertake a public affairs programme most appropriate for your organisation including hosting parliamentary receptions, attending party conferences and joint-working with a partner organisationFull of useful hints and tips, and written with the benefit of years of experience and success in the profession, The Public Affairs Guide to Scotland is the essential tool for those organisations needing to engage with the legislative process of the Scottish Parliament and its policy development.

Since its establishment in 1866 by prominent businessmen and the gentry of south Wales, the Cardiff and County Club has played a central role in the commercial, political and sporting life of Cardiff, as it developed from a burgeoning Victorian coal metropolis into the dynamic Welsh capital city of today. Led by local solicitor Henry Heard, the Club's founders had moved to Cardiff to work in the rapidly expanding town and, as the trade of the docks, businesses and shops all flourished, the men of influence, high social standing and growing wealth were looking for somewhere to gather, relax, dine and socialise in a convivial atmosphere with their friends and acquaintances. Initially located within, and then alongside, the Royal Hotel on St. Mary Street, the Club's growing popularity, and its close association with the Bute Estate, saw the members decide to construct the current Clubhouse on Westgate Street, which became one of the City's landmarks and still remains Wales' leading private members' club.Extensively researched and lavishly illustrated, Always Amongst Friends not only traces the fascinating 150-year history of the Club through a scholarly study of the social and economic history of Cardiff, but also celebrates the Cardiff and County Club's colourful characters, their mischievous humour and exudes the warmth and camaraderie so treasured by its members.

Almost 200 Welshmen volunteered to join the International Brigade and travelled to Spain to fight fascism with the Republicans during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. Whilst over 150 returned home, at least 36 died during the brutal conflict. You Are Legend is their remarkable story.

The Scottish independence referendum of 2014 was the most colourful, dynamic and longest political campaign Scotland has ever seen and which, in IndyRef to ScotRef , is lovingly recounted through the experiences of a university lecturer turned Yes for Scotland activist who was inspired to roll up his sleeves and get involved in his native city of Edinburgh. Sharing a personal journey that will resonate with tens of thousands of Scots, from all backgrounds and walks of life, who found themselves drawn to Campaigning for Yes, Peter Lynch describes his transition from an academic observer of the referendum to an active participant. Through his early involvement with local Yes groups to a deeper immersion in the grassroots campaign with leafleting, street stalls, door-to-door canvassing, public meetings, electoral registration and the many political carnivals held across Edinburgh in pursuit of a Yes vote, Lynch also rediscovered the city he grew up in and describes how it had been effected by decades of economic, political and social change.When Yes Scotland was launched in May 2012, support for independence stood at 23% but, as the IndyRef campaign galvanised and inspired the nation to debate its future in a way that caught the imagination of hundreds of thousands of previously non-politically active Scots, support for independence grew steadily reaching 44.7% - 1,617,989 votes - on 18th September 2014; referendum day. Of interest to supporters of independence and neutral observers alike, IndyRef to ScotRef explains how, despite losing the vote, many Yes activists soon concluded that the referendum campaign had fundamentally changed their lives as well as the political landscape of Scotland and committed themselves to `get it right next time’: it was the beginning, not the end. In the final chapters of IndyRef to ScotRef, Peter Lynch analyses the huge political events that have occurred in Scotland and the rest of the UK since September 2014, which have seen the SNP’s domination of Scottish politics and Britain voting for Brexit despite Scotland voting to Remain, resulting in the decision of the Scottish Parliament in March 2017 to call for a further independence referendum. With an eye on ScotRef, whenever it comes, Lynch warns `Yessers’ to be realistic and prepared, outlining what must be done to secure a `Yes’ for Scotland.

On 21 October 1966, 116 children and 28 adults died when a mountainside coal tip collapsed, engulfing homes and part of a school in the village of Aberfan below. It is a moment that will be forever etched in the memories of many people in Wales and beyond.Aberfan - Government & Disaster is widely recognised as the definitive study of the disaster. Following meticulous research of public records - kept confidential by the UK Government’s 30-year rule - the authors, in this revised second edition, explain how and why the disaster happened and why nobody was held responsible.Iain McLean and Martin Johnes reveal how the National Coal Board, civil servants, and government ministers, who should have protected the public interest, and specifically the interests of the people of Aberfan, failed to do so. The authors also consider what has been learned or ignored from Aberfan such as the understanding of psychological trauma and the law concerning ‘corporate manslaughter’. Aberfan - Government & Disaster is the revised and updated second edition of Iain McLean and Martin Johnes’ acclaimed study published in 2000, which now solely focuses on Aberfan.

George Thomas, the former Labour Cabinet Minister and Speaker of the House of Commons, was the sycophant supreme of the British political system and arguably the most divisive figure in twentieth-century Welsh politics, whose transformation from a radical young socialist to Viscount Tonypandy, a fervent supporter of Margaret Thatcher and servile courtier to the English Royal Family who was perfectly described by poet Nigel Jenkins as 'The Lord of Lickspit'.Drawing on previously unpublished material from Thomas' vast personal and political archive in the National Library of Wales, and interviews with many who knew him during his career, award-winning journalist Martin Shipton reveals the real George Thomas, the complex character behind the carefully crafted facade of the devout Christian and ultra British-loyalist, and discovers a number of surprising and shocking personae - which have previously been unknown, downplayed or overlooked - of this ultimate Political Chameleon whose political legacy now lies in ruins:The devious draft-dodger during World War Two.The Communist sympathiser controlled by the Soviet Union.The secret Freemason.The self-proclaimed teetotaller who enjoyed alcohol in private.The close acquaintance of a controversial financier.The spiritual sidekick of a Saudi Arabian oil minister.The duplicitous informer for Harold Wilson.The shameless betrayer of the people of Aberfan.The die-hard opponent of devolution with a spiteful antipathy towards the Welsh language.The unscrupulous fixer of Honours and master of patronage.The 'confirmed bachelor' and Methodist lay-preacher who sought the company of 'rent boys'.Martin Shipton also investigates fresh evidence relating to the explosive allegation that Thomas was a child rapist and a predatory sexual abuser of young males. This is the book that his dwindling number of supporters feared and the book his political opponents have been waiting for. Political Chameleon dissects George Thomas chapter by chapter, exposing him as a sanctimonious hypocrite whose religious veneer was a sham.

Imprisoned in Wormwood Scrubs for his pacifist beliefs during the First World War, Morgan Jones made history by becoming the first conscientious objector to be elected an MP when he won the Caerphilly by-election for Labour in 1921. In Morgan Jones - Man of Conscience, the first biography of this remarkable politician, Wayne David explains how Jones became a pioneering education minister in the 1924 and 1929-31 Labour Governments - being amongst the first to articulate the need for free, `comprehensive' secondary education for all - and how he was a tireless campaigner against injustice, supporting many causes at home and abroad from Welsh devolution to the establishment of a Jewish homeland.Published on the 80th anniversary of his death in 1939, aged only 53, Wayne David's Morgan Jones - Man of Conscience for the first time reveals the full story of Jones' political journey from Rhymney Valley radical to parliamentary pragmatist who, after witnessing the rise of fascism in Europe and the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, finally rejected pacifism in favour of military action to defend democracy from the evils of Nazism.

Since Gareth Jones's historic press conference in Berlin in 1933 when he became the first journalist to reveal the existence and extent of the Holodomor, a Soviet-induced famine in Ukraine in which over four million people died, Jones and his professional reputation have been the focus of a determined campaign by those who deny the famine ever happened. Attempts to destroy Jones's character, which would de facto undermine the reliability of his reports of the Holodomor, have increased in recent years following global recognition and acclaim for the importance of his work.Citing his professional connections with the Nazis, including:Flying on Hitler's plane on the day he became German ChancellorHaving a front row seat at a Nazi rally in Frankfurt Noting that he enjoyed a private dinner with Goebbels Having several acquaintances who later took key roles in the Third ReichHis 1935 obituary in a Nazi paper which stated Jones was 'one of us'and his self-confessed love of Germany, speaking fluent German, and making annual visits from 1923-34, there have been a number of accusations that Jones was, in fact, a Nazi sympathiser and fascist collaborator.In this groundbreaking new study, Ray Gamache, an acknowledged expert on Gareth Jones and the reporting of the Holodomor, thoroughly examines Jones's extensive notebooks, letters, articles and speeches to investigate these claims.In Gareth Jones - On Assignment in Nazi Germany 1933-34, Gamache provides a compelling narrative which refutes claims of Jones's Nazi sympathies, stating: 'That he encountered some of the most impactful historical figures and events of the 1930s is beyond dispute, and his reporting of those events offers considerable insight into what responsible journalism looked like at that time.'

The popular fascination with dragons and dragon slayers is manifest in the endlessly repeated plots of sword-and-sorcery romances and in the mass-produced artwork that illustrates their fantastical characters and themes. Yet the image of a knight in shining armour who fights a solitary battle against a winged, fire-breathing dragon in order to win the hand of a fair maiden is more common in modern popular culture than in medieval literary fiction. Applying modern theoretical literary perspectives to medieval heroic sagas to investigate the concept of draconitas or 'dragonness', The Medieval Dragon investigates the nature and characteristics of Germanic literary dragons and dragon slayings as they relate to contemporary ideas about myth and narratological theory. Examining how dragons are portrayed in the epic masterworks, Beowulf (Old English), Volsunga saga (Icelandic), Das Nibelungenlied (Middle High German), and thidrekr saga af Bern (Old Norwegian), Joyce Tally Lionarons explores the relationship between the dragons of medieval Germanic literature and the chaos monsters of Indo-European myth, while searching for the reasons behind the often uncanny similarity between the dragons and their antagonists, the dragon-slayers.

Written between 1300 and 1350, The Saga of Hávarður of Ísafjörður is ninth-century Icelandic tale of conflict over sheep and stranded whales, magic and ghosts, seduction, murder, torture and revenge.Hávarður is an old man, a great Viking in his time but now past his prime, whose son Ólafur is killed by Þormóður, a local chieftain. The death of Hávarður’s son sets the scene for a  compelling narrative of revenge killings, lawsuits and settlements, which - through the saga’s structure and its picturesque details - provides a fascinating insight to the political  economy and social order of medieval Iceland.The first English translation of the saga since 1906, and the  only one to remain faithful to the original text, Paul and Dorothy Durrenburger’s masterful study not only preserves the integrity of the saga as a cultural artifact, but their definitive  introduction  and notes provide the scholarly context and anthropological perspective that are essential to acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the saga and medieval Icelandic society.

On 8 September 1936 – in what is recognised as one of the defining moments in modern Welsh history – a Baptist minister, a university lecturer and a schoolteacher set fire to the partly built RAF aerodrome at Penrhos on the Llŷn Peninsular, then calmly reported their actions to the police at nearby Pwllheli. The 'Fire' represented the final act in a high profile, passionate, yet ultimately unsuccessful eighteen-month campaign to prevent the destruction of  Penyberth, the renowned farmhouse which had iconic cultural and religious significance in Wales, in order to construct a military training facility, a  bombing school for the RAF.Pleas from eminent literary and religious figures, backed by over half a million people, were dismissed by British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin – who had earlier agreed to divert the bombing school away from sites in Northumberland and Dorset due to local protests – incensed Welsh public opinion resulting in a resurgence in nationalist sentiment and increased support for the recently established Welsh  Nationalist Party, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru.In a sensational outcome to the court case held in Caernarfon, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The case was then controversially transferred to the Old Bailey in London where Lewis Valentine, Saunders Lewis and D. J. Williams were convicted, merely seconds after the prosecution concluded, and imprisoned for nine months at Wormwood Scrubs: their place in Welsh political folklore assured.Penyberth - A Nation on Trial, Ann Corkett’s meticulous and engaging translation of Prof. Dafydd Jenkins’ study, Tân yn Llŷn, was first published in 1998 with an updated Introduction by the author sixty years after his original edition and is now republished in paperback and ebook editions.

Essential reading for all those with an interest in contemporary Scotland, this is the first study of Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978) by a political historian and provides a unique contribution to the understanding of MacDiarmid's politics.Bob Purdie's groundbreaking study outlines why MacDiarmid, the most important literary figure of twentieth-century Scotland, believed that the Scottish culture of his day was making the nation satisfied with its subordinate status within the UK, and why he strove for a self-reliant and independent European nation.Purdie explains why MacDiarmid was a man in constant revolt, against what he viewed as a stiflingly narrow Scottish culture, against all that was provincial and philistine in Scottish society and against Scotland's dependency on England.

For over 100 years the Labour Party dominated Welsh politics and Welsh society. For a century, this absolute power resulted in many acknowledging that their career progression, particularly in the public sector, and any hopes for advancement in electoral politics, depended on their membership of and loyalty to the Labour Party.In election after election, Labour won the majority of Westminster seats and controlled local government with a vice-like grip which led to Wales being described as a One-Party State. The Labour hegemony continued after devolution in 1999, with Labour-led governments in continuous power and their tight grip on Welsh politics appearing unassailable, until now.Undoubtedly one of the most important books on Welsh political history, the highly acclaimed journalist and author Martin Shipton, investigates the truth behind Labour's One-Party State, reveals and considers the evidence of its corruption, nepotism and cronyism, and assesses Labour's legacy on Welsh society - famously described as The Land of the Pulled-Punch.Comprehensively researched, including numerous interviews with leading political figures including Labour insiders (both named and anonymous), One-Party State, is essential reading for all with an interest in Welsh history and politics, and the consequences of absolute power.

A 10th century skaldic poem composed by Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (c.885-920), the Haustlǫng (Old Norse: Autumn Long) praises Þorleif inn Spakka for the gift of a painted shield. Describing mythological scenes painted on the shield, the poem tells the story of kidnapping of Iðunn by the giant Þjazi and her rescue by Loki, alongside the story of Thor's slaying of Hrungnir.In his extensive Introduction, North examines the poem’s style and genre, the life of the poet, the transmission and preservation of the text in Norway and Iceland over two centuries, and Snorri Sturluson’s treatise on Norse poetry known as the Prose Edda. Placing the poem firmly in the geographical and cultural context of 10th century Norway, North outlines his theory that Haustlǫng is a ‘northern pastoral’ rather than a traditional ‘shield’ poem.The poem is presented with a facing-page English translation that includes thorough footnotes explaining textual variants, while the comprehensive stanza-by-stanza and line-by-line Commentary is followed by a detailed Glossary to provide an invaluable resource for scholars and students of Old Norse language, literature and culture.

The first comprehensive account of the 'Fire' at Penyberth in English.

Essential reading for all those with an interest in contemporary Scotland, this is the first study of Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978) by a political historian and provides a unique contribution to the understanding of MacDiarmid's politics. With the Scottish Independence referendum due in 2014, this very timely study outlines why MacDiarmid, the most important literary figure of twentieth century Scotland, believed that the Scottish culture of his day was making the nation satisfied with its subordinate status within the UK, and why he strove for a self-reliant and independent European nation. In this book Bob Purdie explains why MacDiarmid was a man in constant revolt, against what he viewed as a stiflingly narrow Scottish culture, against all that was provincial and philistine in Scottish society and against Scotland's dependency on England.

Concise history of Cornish National and Mebyon Kernow

Since its establishment in 1866 by prominent businessmen and the    gentry of south Wales, the Cardiff and County Club has played a central role in the commercial, political and sporting life of Cardiff, as it developed from a burgeoning Victorian coal metropolis into the dynamic Welsh capital city of today. Led by local solicitor Henry Heard, the Club’s founders had moved to Cardiff to work in the rapidly expanding town and, as the trade of the docks, businesses and shops all flourished, the men of influence, high social standing and growing wealth were looking for somewhere to gather, relax, dine and socialise in a convivial atmosphere with their friends and acquaintances. Initially located within, and then alongside, the Royal Hotel on St. Mary Street, the Club’s growing popularity, and its close association with the Bute Estate, saw the members decide to construct the current Clubhouse on Westgate Street, which became one of the City’s landmarks and still remains Wales’ leading private members’ club.  Extensively researched and lavishly illustrated, Always Amongst Friends not only traces the fascinating 150-year history of the Club through a scholarly study of the social and economic history of Cardiff, but also celebrates the Cardiff and County Club’s colourful characters, their mischievous humour and exudes the warmth and camaraderie so treasured by its members.

Packed with invaluable advice on devising public affairs strategies and campaigns to achieve maximum success on a limited budget, Robert McGeachy’s step-by-step guide expertly strips away the mysteries and misconceptions of engaging with the UK  Government, opposition parties, as well as with individual MPs, Peers and the civil service, and will empower campaigners to maximise their influence and to ensure their voice is heard at Westminster by comprehensively explaining how to:• create and deliver an effective public affairs programme on a  limited budget including hosting parliamentary receptions, attending party conferences and joint-working with partner organisations• engage with Parliamentary motions and debates, Private Members’ Bills and Public Petitions• monitor the legislative process in the Commons and Lords• nurture good relations with key policy makers• influence Parliamentary Committees, and All-Party Parliamentary Groups