One of Wales’ most colourful characters will take us on a journey to six atmospheric Welsh pubs on Friday nights this autumn.
Pub humour will no doubt be evident too as Dewi Pws heads to one of the most famous pubs in mid Wales, The Cann Office in Llangadfan, Powys.
Dewi Pws says, “I enjoyed meeting local people and hearing amazing stories about different characters in the area. No wonder famous Welsh poets such as Myrddin ap Dafydd have written poems about the pub.”
In the Cann Office Dewi Pws meets locals such as Alwyn Hughes, Dewi Roberts and Emyr Davies, as well as historian Dr Geraint Jenkins and they open the door to interesting tales about the area. Dewi Pws and local folk singer Siân James and the Parti Cut Lloi singers sing a memorable rendition of the Welsh folk-song Moliannwn.
The old inn, on the Machynlleth-Welshpool road, has a great deal of history. The old stagecoach would stop there in the 18th and 19th centuries to leave the mail as it made its way from London to north Wales and ultimately to the sailing crossings to Ireland.
In the programme, we hear how the pub got its intriguing name, ‘Cann Office’ and find out more about the life of one particular local character, William Jones (1726-1795) who was willing to challenge the tavern’s owner at the time, Lord Powys and other gentry, such as landowner Sir Watkin Williams Wynn.