Myfanwy Howell was an early

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

radio and television broadcaster, host of '' Amser Te'' (Tea Time) in the 1950s.

Early life

Howell was from

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, maki ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. She was related to poet

Denise Levertov Priscilla Denise Levertov (24 October 1923 – 20 December 1997) was a British-born naturalised American poet. She was a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry. Early life and influences Levertov was born and grew up in Ilford, Ess ...

's mother, Beatrice Spooner-Jones Levertoff. Scientist John Charnley remembered knowing Myfanwy Howell in Anglesey when he was a teenager evacuated to the island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Broadcasting

In the early 1940s, during World War II, Howell was on radio with the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, contributing Welsh-language content on diet and for schoolchildren. In the 1950s Howell was a program assistant in early radio and television productions based in Bangor, including '' Noson Lawen'' (A Merry Evening). In 1952 and 1954 she gave the "shopping report" on the BBC radio program ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

''. In 1952, she gave a recipe for Aberffrauw cakes (a

shortbread Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, ...

variety associated with Anglesey) on ''Welsh Diary'' on the BBC's General Overseas Service, when Welsh speakers abroad requested recipes on the program. In 1954, she hosted a special Welsh-themed edition of the BBC television program ''Leisure and Pleasure.'' She appeared in a 1958 trial weekly series, ''Awyr Iach'' (Open Air) with Ron Saunders. Howell became well-known as the presenter on the TWW programme ''Amser Te'' (Tea Time), the network's long-running weekly Welsh-language afternoon program for women viewers, beginning in 1958. The show featured recipes, interviews, competitions, musical guests, live and filmed segments; "Howell's homely style of presenting endeared the audience to her." The program's baking segments were popular enough to publish ''Tea Time Recipes,'' a cookbook of the recipes featured on the show in 1962, and a sequel, ''Tea Time Round the World''.

Other activities

Howell was also a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. In 1949 she became the first chair of the Welsh Counties Committee of the

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

. In 1954 she participated in the opening ceremonies of the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

, on behalf of the Women's Institute.

Personal life

Myfanwy Howell's husband was Illtyd Howell. They lived in Newport. Some of their letters are in the Denise Levertov Papers at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Myfanwy Welsh-language television presenters Welsh television presenters Welsh women television presenters British women in World War II People from Anglesey