The Moatman Interviews -S6- No.2 "Welsh dragons" ft @LouJaneWalsh1

The camera opens on the beautiful scenes of Cardiff Bay, the bright sunlight glistening off the water as a stiff breeze coming in off the Bristol Channel creates choppy flowing waves that lap up against the harbour walls. Today's guest, a resident and first daughter of Cardiff has been taking a gentle walk around the harbour area to show Boff the main sights and attractions. Although this has already led to some excitement when passing the Dr Who experience where a group of excited holidaymakers mistook Boff for one of the characters. Poor Boff was mobbed with requests for selfies and signing T-shirts while today's guest could do nothing but stand on and watch bemused as a young lad wearing a cyberman mask repeatedly clubbed Boff with a ray-gun.

After the "Dr Who unpleasantness" today's guest shrewdly suggested that they take shelter in a near by pub where they could find something to eat and drink. So here we find ourselves sat at a table on a balcony area next the harbour itself, the yachts sailing in and out as the waitress brings across a plate of freshly baked Welsh cakes, a pint of beer and a strong coffee. Waiting for the waitress to leave our guest promptly swaps the pint in front of Boff for the coffee in front of herself. "Are you feeling any better yet Boff" asks Louise (our guest). Boff sipping coffee replies "These Dr Who people are fanatics, I look nothing like Theodore Maxtible!" "He wasn't even a big character", continues Boff shaking his head. "Don't trouble yourself, here have a Welsh cake, the sugar will help settle your nerves" continues Louise.

Nibbling on a Welsh cake, Boff does feel a bit better. "Hail fellows!, so here we are once again, this time in the majestic city of Cardiff, and what better setting to conduct our interview today." "Today's guest, is a writer and former boxer, born within these city limits, the Welsh valleys flowing through her veins and a strong song to sing in her heart, yes, today I'm sat in this pub with Louise Walsh". "That's very poetic, Boff, but I have no idea what that means" chuckles Louise. "well, I wanted to thank you for letting us dragged you out here to talk to us today" continues Boff, "It's a pleasure" replies Louise, "so you have some questions for me?"      

Indeed I do, so I usually like to begin an interview with an ice-breaker question to help ease you into it and help our readers get to know you a little bit. So I wanted to ask you, if you had to pen a description for yourself in a lonely hearts column, how would it read?

Hmm. Good one, Boff. How about:

Person of opposites is looking for her opposite number! I’m creative but logical, emotional but rational, introverted and extroverted all at the same time. I’m complicated – but who doesn’t like complicated, right? That just means I’ll keep you on your toes. 

Now, Boff – I have to confess that much of that lonely hearts answer might have been inspired by a Facebook personality test I did recently, which summed me up as ‘a person of many angles’. I’m not sure of the credentials of the psychologist behind this pronouncement, but I am sure they are eminently qualified. 

Ooooh I love Facebook quizzes, have you done the one which tells you which fruit you are?I came out as a pineapple *Boff beams proudly* "I must have missed that one" chuckles Louise. well, I think that's helped set the scene, so lets start from the beginning. As I mentioned you're Cardiff born and raised. What was it like growing up in Cardiff? I know you've mentioned before you were close to your granddad.

Growing up, I didn’t like Cardiff as much as I do now. There have been a lot of changes in 40 odd...cough...30 something years. Cardiff Bay wasn’t anything like the panoramic paradise you see today. Cardiff Docks and Bute Street wasn’t the kind of place you’d take a tourist. But look at it now! I loves the ‘Diff, as we say. 

Yes, my grandfather was larger than life. He’d lived in an Irish area near Cardiff Docks and had many colourful stories. He always wanted to write a novel but, while he never got around to that, he did write poems, some of which were very popular. He was a real people person. You would have liked him a lot, Boff!

He sounds like a true gentleman my darling, I do love a bit of prose and what about School? was that where you first found a love for writing? were you a model student or a bit of a rebel?

Ah, I knew there was a time when this interview would get serious. Eugh! School. I was a bit too creative for it, I think. I was always daydreaming, and yes, I was always praised for my writing and creativity but nobody ever suggested what specific careers I should be looking at and how to plot a course to one of them. There was a real disconnect. 

I was a quiet student until about 15 and then I rebelled, started smoking and drinking and refused to wear clothes or listen to music which wasn’t either from the 1960s or inspired by that decade. Yeah, man! I got switched on and dropped out. 

ha ha ha I wish I could have seen that, I was quite inspired by the 60s myself, although more by accident. When I was growing up we had all the hand-me-downs, I used to have a pair of flairs out to here *Boff motions with his arm about three foot from the table", "ah, distress flairs" says Louise. "Indeed, you could see me coming from a mile away, that and the fact you couldn't go out in high winds" *Boff sighs* anyway my love, then we come to boxing, what age did you get involved in that? and how for that matter?

I went to the Cardiff University gym in my early 20s and tried boxercise only to find out I naturally had a good punch and discovered that punching things hard is satisfying indeed.

I was curious to see how far I could take it and there were not many girls around so there was a lot of encouragement as the gyms looked for new opponents.

It was a miracle I got into the Welsh squad when it was created because I was too old. Right time, right place. That’s when I felt my purpose there was to write about it and document it all in a novel.  

I stopped sparring years ago because I was making more time for writing and if you don’t spar it all the time you’re more likely to get hurt. That said, I still go to a local gym and attend Mui Thai classes to keep fit. 

"You're quite good at punching things?!" *gulp* "I better stay on the right side of you" says Boff taking a big slurp of coffee, *Louise laughs out loud, before doing a boxing pose and theatrical wink* "Don't worry Boff, you're quite safe, like I said I don't spar much anymore", *this makes Boff laugh too*....and of course Boxing is a nobel sport governed by the Queensbury rules, but what was like on the inside? was it very competitive and did you find other female boxers supportive in a male dominated sport?

Amateur boxing is a great place. I found everyone very supportive. In the Welsh squad, all the female boxers were respectful of each other and fun to be around. It’s a hard sport in as much as it demands dedication and hard work to get to a decent level, so you always had a level of respect for anyone who steps in the ring.

In terms of being a noble sport, I can testify to that. Boxing gyms also are often in deprived communities and the trainers keep a paternal eye on their fighters. It’s very touching.

I met a man recently who used to run a boxing gym in the local area. He said he used to be in communication with the local schools. If there was a problem with one of his young boxers, he would do his best to sort it out. Before the gym closed, none of his boxers had been in prison. After his gym closed, three of his boxers ended up there within a matter of months.

In terms of being competitive, I knew I was a bit old and therefore I didn’t have a lot of future in the sport. I could just turn up to squad and enjoy it.  It was more competitive for the female boxers who were fighting internationally.

The Welsh squad trains at Sophia Gardens and a number of other sporting squads train there too, including the Women’s Welsh rugby team. I would not have liked to fight any of them. I’ll just say that!

Hahaha I bet and you also represented Wales as part of the Welsh female boxing team, what was that like? how did it make you feel? how did it come about?

Ah, not quite. My character in my first novel goes on to represent Wales but I didn’t. Being honest, keeping up the boxing training, the squad training, working full time and writing the book all got too much and I dropped out of the squad. I felt I had enough background on their international trips to make the story credible. 

ah yes, I can imagine it must have been very challenging juggling it all, which leads us neatly on to your first novel 'Fighting Pretty', how did that come about? and as a first time writer switching from one craft to another, was it an easy transition?

The writing actually came first. I’d always loved reading and writing but I’d put it on the backburner. However, having got into the Welsh Squad, I realised it would make a great story. I finally had something significant to write about. I had been mulling over the idea of writing a non-fiction book or a novel about boxing when one of my trainers unfortunately had a terrible accident. That was the catalyst. I said: “I’m writing it for him” but I wrote it for all the trainers at the gym too.

That was the first time I really took writing more seriously than just a hobby. I joined Cardiff Writers’ Circle and they gave some wonderful advice. I learned a lot from them. Boxing, I find Boff, is much easier and more forgiving than writing! Haha! 

It is certainly a labour of love, especially when you're terrible at spelling like me, thank god for Bill Gates and his wriggling red lines *Louise nearly chokes on her beer*. "Sorry Boff, that was quite a powerful image, warn me next time" laughs Louise. Hahaha, Okay, having read your second novel (Black River), which we'll come to in a moment, one thing that I was struck by was how rich and well developed the characters were. Do you have a particular process for how you go about selecting your characters? do you take from real people you've met along the way?

That’s really good to hear, Boff. They were purely imaginary, but by the time I’d written the book they were as real to me as you are. When it got rejected by the first couple of publishers I sent it to, I felt as though I were letting down my main character Harry, which is bonkers because he doesn’t exist.

A lot of writers fill out character sheets to develop character. I’ve done that a few times. And there are writing tasks such as writing a three page letter to yourself in the voice of your character. You always get something out of these exercises

Indeed, my main character is an older gentleman, large bushy beard and lolita specs, it's purely fictional you understand. So now we come to your second novel, Black River, based around the events of the Aberfan disaster. Was there a strong motivation for picking that particular story to tell?

This is where my character comes in. He was my main character from another novel about an area of Cardiff being demolished in the 1960s. However, Harry was not the kind of journalist who would have covered such stories or been interested in them. My character just wasn’t fitting the story. It wasn’t working at all.

However, Harry was exactly the kind of journalist who would have been writing about Aberfan. 

My writing about Aberfan was the result of a few random things coming together. Leveson was on the news a lot, my journalist character had nothing to write about and I came across a reference to press intrusion at Aberfan. I sent off for the Welsh Office papers at the National Archives and was amazed. My character Harry suddenly had plenty to write about.

I can imagine, it's not an issue that many of us think about from the outside, but I can imagine when something like that happens how the press handle it is critical. In terms of researching the story, I know you and have spoken about this before, but how was it for you as a personal journey from talking to the survivors, families, and those involved at the time through to publication of the book?

I interviewed every journalist who had been at Aberfan that I could find (getting drunk a lot in the process – these folk are old school). However, I didn’t interview the survivors at the time. I knew many were sick of being interviewed and found it intrusive. I kept a respectful distance.

However, after Black River was published I met some of the survivors at a conference on reporting tragedy at Cardiff School of Journalism and then it did take a real emotional toll on me. I was profoundly affected by their stories.

Indeed *both Boff and Louise pause for a moment at this point, the silence falling between them as they reflect on things. Louise looks out over the sun dancing on the water of Cardiff Bay, before politely smiling at Boff to go on*. *Boff lets out a nervous laugh* okay, we've gone quite heavy, perhaps we could break the mood with a different question. I know you're extremely proud of your roots and heritage. So perhaps I could ask, what's the most Welsh thing you've ever seen?

Ooh, I can’t think of one specific incident off the top of my head, but the most Welsh things (according to WalesOnline who regularly feature listicals letting us know) are (in order of importance) sheep high on cannabis, police chases on tractors and horses in supermarkets. However, being in central Cardiff I can’t say I’ve seen any of the pothead sheep myself. I don’t even know how you would tell. They always look a bit stoned anyway, don’t they? They’re not known for their IQ and lightning reactions. Sorry sheep. You are docile in a nice way.

hahah, pothead sheep oh dear, and what does the future hold for you? do you already have plans for the follow-up to Black River?

Maybe one day, but at the moment I’m working on a book set against the 1984 miners’ strikes. After that, I’m writing a book set in Hollywood and Wales – just to lighten the subject matter a tad. 

Hahaha keeping busy then, Okay, our interview is almost done, and just as I like to start with an ice-breaker I like to conclude with something daft, to leave you bemused and confused as is my way. So finally, if I could give you one super power what and why?

Considering I have a penchant for punching things, I think it would be very 1960s Batman if, when I hit something, a cartoony ‘BOFF’ could result as a tribute to your interviewing skills! 

"Oh gracious, now that would come in handy if those Dr Who fanatics come back", laughs Boff. "well it's been lovely spending the afternoon with you and getting to see the sights and sounds of this wonderful city" "You're very welcome, Boff" replies Louise waving to the waitress for the bill. Well my dear friends our interview is at close, I wonder where I'll end up next time...