The Fiddler and the Scribbler... by Cathy Ace

Life: It's hardest to impress those who know us best. What unexpected acknowledgment have you experienced from folks who knew you way back when?

WOW - thinking about this reminds me how many people I have lost touch with over the years, but also allows me to realise I have kept some people in my life for a very long time. I still connect with a girl I was in primary school with who's now a Member of Parliament in the UK, for example, and a guy from the same part of my life who's incredibly active in Swansea's arts-scene.  I have good friends who knew me when I was a teenager, and connecting with them (often through Facebook on an ongoing basis, but then in "real life" when I can) allows me to enjoy their achievements, which, quite honestly, is more comfortable for me than them commenting upon my writing career. 

I'll also share with you the fact that when my "middle school" (attended from age 11-13) honoured me by adding me to their list of "Past pupils who have achieved great things" in 2002 for my success in the fields of marketing and business, I was just about as chuffed as it's possible to be. I visited the school to present them with a special carving made by an artist close to my then-new home in the Pacific Northwest.

Manselton School - my "alma mater" - in 2002 (my head's in the back row!)

As for people who've "unexpectedly" acknowledged me???

Here I go, "sharing" again...I pretty much grew up on the stage in Wales; I was carried on as a baby for a scene in some play or other at the YMCA in Swansea in 1960, and I’ve never gone longer than a couple of months without giving some sort of performance since then. Leichner stage make-up is in my blood, I think. These days I tend to speak my own words on platforms and podiums, rather than those of a playwright on a stage with wings, backdrops and curtains, but it’s the same thing. Mum and Dad were also on the stage for more than a century, between them, (they met at rehearsals for a musical, in much the same way as my husband and I met at rehearsals for a scout and guide "Gang Show"), and back in 1971 I was one of Tevye’s children in the Swansea Amateur Operatic Society’s performance of Fiddler on the Roof - in which my mum, dad and sister all also performed. The titular Fiddler was played by a talented teen from Gowerton School (the same school my dad attended...yes, it's a small world) – named Mark Thomas. 

Mark played violin in the West Glamorgan Youth Orchestra, and became lead violin with them; I was in the West Glamorgan Youth Choir, Chamber Choir and Theatre group, so Mark and I attended residential courses for rehearsals for years (yes, it was all a bit like FAME!), and he also attended University College Cardiff (studying music) a couple of years ahead of me. At one point he lived in a student accommodation flat just below my own. When I moved to London, he was living there, earning his way as a violinist with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and was co-leader of the Royal Ballet Orchestra. I attended lots of his performances.

Years passed, and paths diverged. He’s ended up having a wildly successful career in music, as a movie and TV composer; he’s won a BAFTA, been nominated many times since, and has been nominated for an Emmy, as well as having his music performed in festivals around the world. He's talented, and works hard.

Last year, during one of my trips back to Wales, a group of us who all came through the West Glamorgan youth arts programmes for schools got together for a drink (or two!). I hadn't seen a couple of them for about twenty years. It was great fun to catch up – and Mark kept introducing me to people around us as though I’m some incredibly successful author, dropping into the conversation the fact I've had twelve books published and that my work's been on BBC Radio 4…which all felt sort of weird, but lovely too. Maybe as someone who earns a living in the arts he understands how difficult it is to catch a break, and then to have the chance to follow through.

It all felt a bit strange, especially since we Welsh know the greatest compliment anyone can be paid is that "s/he hasn't forgotten where s/he came from"...which basically means it's absolutely NOT okay to talk about yourself as though you've ever achieved anything - because that would be boasting, which is a mortal sin for a Welsh person (and which is why all the self-promotion we need to do as authors comes to me with a great big dollop of guilt on the side).

It also had a super spin-off: he and another old friend of mine from "West Glam" days, Griff Harries, have created a performance piece called The Armistice Suite – which will be seen around Wales this year, commemorating the Armistice a hundred years ago, and taking a look at the First World War through Welsh eyes. I was delighted when they asked me to read through the piece and give feedback...as an author! WOOT. 

Tidy (as we say in Swansea!).

Keep an eye out for The Armistice Suite: https://www.facebook.com/The-Armistice-Suite-1419970184767822/

You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her BRAND NEW website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/