A JOURNALIST hailing from Rhyl has contributed to a new book which tells of how various writers deal with numerous aspects of their “Welshness”.

Andy Welch, who now lives in London but spent the first 20 years of his life in Rhyl, has written a chapter called “Rhyl Talk: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love My Accent”.

It will be featured in the book “Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales”, which will be released on Tuesday, March 8 via Repeater Books.

Andy’s chapter focuses on his lack of a “stereotypical Welsh accent” and how he is perceived by those not familiar with the pocket of Wales he spent his childhood in.

He said: “I’m probably a bit less chippy about it now, but for a long time, I thought it was my problem; that I didn’t sound Welsh, but I sound the same as all my friends and family.

“It’s just what that particular corner of Wales sounds like, and people aren’t really very familiar with it. Again, it’s not their fault that they don’t know that.

“I think it’s just a lack of understanding of what being Welsh is; and that if you don’t sound like you’re from the Valleys, which is such a small pocket of the country, people don’t believe you’re Welsh.

“It’s like thinking if you’ve not got a Scouse accent, you’re not English. There’s probably about 20 miles between Liverpool and Manchester, yet everybody is very familiar with the difference between the two places.

“Whereas you could live in Rhyl or Aberystwyth, and people just think you’re Welsh and that’s it; there’s no other element or aspect to anyone’s identity.

“That’s what the book is about; clearing up any of those misconceptions.”

Having spent time at the Journal on work experience in the 1990s, Andy has since been music editor for the Press Association, worked for NME, and is now an editor at The Guardian.

His chapter is one of 20 which makes up the book, with other contributors including author Joe Dunthorne (‘Submarine’, ‘The Adulterants’) and Charlotte Williams (‘A Tolerant Nation?’).

The striking cover of the book, meanwhile, is based on the design of the Wrexham Tailor’s Quilt.

Andy added: “There are all sorts of stories about different facets of Welshness; there’s an essay by a Welsh sheep farmer on the problems they face, and the people who have written about being migrants from all over the world to Wales, and how they perceive themselves as Welsh.

“I was born in Rhyl, my family all still live there, I go back there all the time. I’ll be back there next week, in fact.

“It goes back quite a few generations on either side of the family: Welsh parents, Welsh grandparents, probably Welsh great-grandparents.

“I’ve got strong ties with Rhyl, still. Loads of my friends and family are back there. My great-great-grandad was one of the town’s founding councillors. I’m very much fully Welsh!”

For more information on the book, go to: www.repeaterbooks.com/product/welsh-plural-essays-on-the-future-of-wales.