Wales Feed

Mal Pope on Jack to a King: The Swansea Story

2016-05-12T11:45:00+00:00

In 2016 Swansea City are what they call an ‘established’ Premier League team. Oh yes, there were some nerves a month or so ago that maybe this might be the year when things would start to unravel, but with a couple of wins that fear disappeared. With one game to go there is the possibility that Swansea might once again finish the season in the top half of the wealthiest league in the world.

Now, the club are planning for next season: talking to wealthy Americans about further investment, looking to sign new players for millions of pounds and hoping to start work on developing the Liberty Stadium to add another 10,000 seats to the 21,000 they already have because the demand for tickets for every home game is overwhelming.

Fifteen years ago things were very different. The club was reportedly millions of pounds in debt, the crowds were dwindling and the old Vetch Field was literally falling apart at the seams. Somehow the club was owned by a company that traded in windscreens. It was said they bought the club hoping to make some money on a future property deal, but with little progress on and off the field - even they lost patience.

How the club went from that position to where they are now is unbelievable, it’s a fairy tale, its rags to riches, its pure Hollywood. In recent years other clubs have done well moving rapidly up the leagues - think of Bournemouth and Leicester! But bankrolling these clubs are billionaires who have been prepared to spend big money to make their dreams come true. The remarkable thing about Swansea City is that the club was bought by the fans. The Supporters Trust was right at the forefront of putting together a consortium of people who had a little bit of money that they were prepared to risk with little chance of ever seeing it again in the hope that they could save the club they loved.

At the time, the progress seemed imperceptible but looking back in truth each season saw improvements. Moving to a new stadium helped accelerate that progress and a new style of football and confidence in the boardroom meant that in 2011 the world had to take notice of ‘The Swansea Way’.

Producer Mal Pope talks to one of Swansea City FC's owners, David Morgan

I have watched the Swans march though the leagues sitting next to my friend Edward Thomas, who as a production designer has created the Tardis and Daleks and worlds from the past and the future for Dr Who, Da Vinci’s Demons and Resident Evil. I can’t quite remember when we said to each other – “someone ought to make a film about Swansea City” or even more importantly, when we said: “we ought to do it ourselves”. But that is the Swansea Way. We took our cue from the club. We believed in the story and in the Welsh talent we knew we could assemble to be able to make a feature film.

I’m sure lots of people thought we were nuts but then again the people who have run the club for the past 15 years are used to that as well. When we walked out of the film’s premiere at the Empire Leicester Square I turned to Ed and smiled. We shook hands and again I can’t quite remember who said, “right when do we take this to New York?”

PS The film had its New York Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2016!

Watch Jack to a King – The Swansea Story on Saturday, May 14, 9.20pm - ��̳ Two Wales

Swansea Sparkle: A Transgender Story

2016-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Paul is also Sadie. He’s a retired builder who came out publicly as a transvestite in his 60s. He runs the support group, Tawe Butterflies and organises Swansea Sparkle - Wales’ biggest transgender event.

I was first approached by the production company, Telesgop, last year - they wanted to do a programme for the ��̳ about the Trans community.

When we heard ��̳ Wales wanted to go ahead and make the programme, it came as a bit of a surprise to me really. But I didn’t have any doubts about going ahead as it was a ��̳ programme. I’d been approached on several occasions by other broadcasters, but I wouldn’t do it with them because I thought they might sensationalise things. The one thing I didn’t want was the wrong impression going out.

I started Tawe Butterflies to offer support and guidance to members of the Trans community and their families around six years ago, but I never expected it to be as successful as it has been. Over those years I’ve had over 500 people coming through my door. And every week I get enquiries from people who’ve known about the group for some time but who’ve only now found the courage to contact me about joining.

The “T” in LGBT - the Trans group - is a massive umbrella. The general public mainly sees the transsexuals but for every 100 members we’ve got, there’s only around three or four transsexuals and a similar number of transgender. The majority are transvestites.

It’s very rare to get a support group that’s run by a transvestite because the vast majority of transvestites want to remain anonymous. 99% of my life is as a male and I love being a male, but there are certain times when I feel I have to be my feminine self. And I think every male’s got a feminine side, but we show it in different ways.

The Trans spectrum is extremely broad; you could say that the transsexual is at one end of it and the transvestite at the other, and there are many variations in-between depending on the individual.

I think society’s becoming more open and accepting of people. Just five years ago there’s no way I would have taken a group of transvestites to Swansea for a night out. It just wouldn’t have been safe. Now it happens every weekend and I get no reports of problems at all. You will get the odd snide remark now and again, but it depends how you deal with it.

Another reason for our success is that we teach them how to deal with it and the power of humour - if you can get back to someone with a humorous reply quicker than they get to you, it kills the situation straight away.

Being filmed for the programme was challenging at times, particularly letting the cameras film me when I was getting dressed and made-up as Sadie, but overall it was a very positive experience. I actually learnt a lot about myself as a transvestite and I have gained confidence.

Swansea Sparkle: A Transgender Story
Tuesday, March 22, ��̳ One Wales, 10.40pm