Penrolio is Penarth’s annual Hen Galan (Old New Year) ritual, rolling the head of Bendigeidfran from the Mabinogi with the Mari Lwyd. Started 2018 with R M Parry and Ifor Davies. The events have been attended by hundreds. Other Mari Lwyds have joined us along the way. In 2023 a new wicker head was made by Lewis Prosser. In 2024 Luca Paci and I led the proceedings with musician Marc Elton. lllustrator Sue Shields made a cardboard Mari Lwyd and volunteers from the crowd read aloud from the ancient Welsh text.. As a coda to this year’s Penrolio, the head was burnt on a beach and the ashes will travel on to be buried in London. We trust someone will come forward with a new head for 2025.
In 2016-22 I joined Richard Parry as artistic co-director of Coleridge in Wales Ltd. We made a series of public works as the artists Parry & Glynn. These included carnival and festival events, antemasques, song recitals, publications, installations and work for exhibition. Parry and Glynn performed at cultural festivals, conferences, the National Museum of Wales and Senedd Cymru.