20.07.09
Recently I had the privilege of attending the launch of a volume published in memory of Tomos Befan Owen. The BBC sports producer was highly regarded by everyone who knew him, and the packed Morlan Centre in Aberystwyth attested to the respect and love felt by many. The book was also launched at the pub Y Mochyn Du in Cardiff to an equally large and appreciative gathering.
Memories were shared by broadcaster Alun Wyn Bevan, his teacher Huw Chambers at Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig, Anthony Evans on behalf of the Aberystwyth Cricket Club, and Yvonne Evans who had been with him throughout his long period of illness.
Owen had been diagnosed with Leukaemia in July 2006, and as his father says in the preface to Cofio Tomos, “despite receiving many forms of treatment, and responding positively to the bone marrow transplant in March 2007, with a donation of cells by his brother Hywel, his health deteriorated at the end of January 2009.”
His mother’s tribute at the launch was particularly poignant as she reflected on a number of words beginning with the letter ‘C’ including: Cyfaill (Friend); Cymro (Welshman); Cydweithiwr (Colleague); Cynhyrchydd (Producer); Cricedwr (Cricketer); Cristion (Christian). Everyone at Y Morlan had their own personal memories of Tomos Owen; and although it was a gathering tinged with sadness, there were plenty of smiles as anecdotes about Tomos’s life were shared.
The volume is worth buying for the memories and tributes written by Tomos’s colleagues and friends. They portray a sports enthusiast whose calm, relaxed, mischievous nature allowed him to put commentators, experts and players alike at ease as they appeared on BBC Radio Cymru’s Saturday flagship programme Y Gamp Lawn or the popular sports quiz Cant y Cant.
Equally valuable are the excellent essays in the second half of the volume which clearly show the breadth of his authoritative knowledge and love for a number of sports including rugby union, football, cricket, tennis, rugby league, golf, the Olympic and the Paralympic Games.
It strikes this reader that the content of the volume is amazingly topical, with references to The Ashes and troubles and strife at Newcastle United Football Club! As someone who has been writing on sports for many years, I will return to these essays time and time again to admire the craftsmanship of his sports writing and his ability to bring experiences and events to life.
The last word must go to former Welsh athletics and rugby international and former Head of Sports at BBC Wales, Nigel Walker who remembered Tomos as a “wonderful man who was not only talented and gifted, but an incredibly generous and thoughtful person. He will be missed, but never forgotten.”
Cofio Tomos (Y Lolfa), £9.95
Profits from the sale of the volume will be donated to Cronfa Tomos Owen Leukaemia Fund.
Dilwyn Roberts-Young