Under Milk Wood

Speaking of the great man, old Jenx (Mr Burton to you), all this audio file / spoken word malarky brought me back to one of the best recordings ever produced by the BBC. It is the 1963 all Welsh recording of Dylan Thomas' masterpiece Under Milk Wood.

A few nights in a row I popped it on just as I laid down to sleep and let it lull me away to the valleys... The voice of Burton was never more sublime and perfectly used. You can hardly hear him draw a breath, his control and understanding of the words are unsurpassed.

The work itself is both timeless and instantly nostalgic - a time of coal miners and fishermen and fisherwives! Of bakers and chimney sweeps, of cold dark nights and bustling days; community and gossip and spirit and heartache and joy and failure... it's all there - a day in the life of a postcard village that we are invited to see, with a hush, like it's all a secret.

Wonderful. A must for anyone seriously interested in the art of acting, drama, poetry and life!