Owners

Eluned comes from Tregarth near Bethesda, and went to Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen for her secondary education. She also has strong links with Groeslon and Pen-y-groes. She went to the University of Wales Aberystwyth to study Geography and gained the degree of Bachelor of Science. From there she went to teach at Ysgol Botwnnog, then was a lecturer and senior lecturer at Trinity College, Carmarthen, then a teacher at Ysgol Bro Ddyfi in Machynlleth. She spent shorter spells in a variety of other posts, and gained a certificate in Media Studies at the University of Glamorgan. She has been an inspector of schools, and an examiner with the WJEC as well as some English examination boards. She is a member of the Society of Welsh Translators, and has translated a number of books as well as a multitude of documents of a technical nature.

Eluned’s interests include travelling and cooking. Although she has been for short courses with such chefs as John Tovey at Miller Howe in Windermere, she is largely self-taught. Many years ago she won The Sunday Times’ ‘Cook of the Year (Wales, South-west England and the Channel Islands)’ prize, and some of her recipes appeared in a volume which was tied up with that competition. She has appeared on several tv cookery programmes. At the beginning of the eighties she made a name for herself with her small restaurant at Y Goeden Eirin. She was the author of Tai Bwyta Cymru, a guide to Welsh restaurants published by Y Lolfa. Her ambition at one time was to be an architect, but although that dream was not realised, she put her own unique stamp on her previous home, Dôl Bebin in Bow Street near Aberystwyth, and later on Y Goeden Eirin itself. She is also very fond of collecting art works, from Ceri Richards to Kyffin Williams, from David Jones to Paula Rego.

She and her husband are the parents of Huw Llwyd, Wiliam Dyfed and Sioned Puw and the grandparents of Harri.

John is a native of Trawsfynydd, and attended Ysgol Gynradd Bronaber and Ysgol Sir Ffestiniog before going to the University of Wales Bangor to study Welsh. After gaining his BA he went on to research the work of Dafydd ap Gwilym for his MA, and then on to Oxford to study the works of the Poets of the Nobility for his D Phil. Later he was a lecturer at Swansea, Trinity College Carmarthen (where he met Eluned), Lampeter and Aberystwyth, where he was a Professor in the Department of Welsh. On his retirement he and Eluned returned to Y Goeden Eirin. He has been teaching part-time at University of Wales Bangor, where he is an Honorary Professor. He was made a Fellow of Trinity College, Carmarthen, and was honoured with the white robes of the Gorsedd of Bards, and he is now an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wales.

John has published seven novels, including Ienctid yw ’Mhechod, Arch ym Mhrâg and Tician Tician (which was one of the Welsh Arts Council’s ‘Books of the Year’). Amongst his critical works are the monographs on John Gwilym Jones and Saunders Lewis in the ‘Llên y Llenor’ series, the volume on T Rowland Hughes in the ‘Writers of Wales’ series, Cnoi Cil ar Lenyddiaeth, Ysgrifau ar y Nofel (which was on the short list for the Welsh Arts Council’s ‘Book of the Year’), Profiles (in collaboration with Glyn Jones), and he edited Dafydd ap Gwilym a Chanu Serch yr Oesoedd Canol as well as The Bloodaxe Book of Modern Welsh Poetry (in collaboration with Menna Elfyn). He has been editor of Llais Llyfrau/Books From Wales and a co-editor of Taliesin (with Gerwyn Wiliams). John was the general editor of the University of Wales’ prestigious series 'Y Meddwl a'r Dychymyg Cymreig' (Welsh Thought and Imagination), and when the twentieth volume appeared in 2008, he transferred the editorship to Professor Gerwyn Wiliams. As well as lecturing to literary societies throughout the width and breadth of Wales he has addressed academic conferences at the University of Sydney and Harvard University.

Amongst John’s interests are music, restaurants and travelling. He enjoys playing the piano as a hobby, and received part-time tuition from Kendall Taylor at the Royal College of Music in London, and went on to gain five diplomas, including LRAM and ARCM. He contributes articles on food to the magazine Barn, and has visited restaurants throughout Britain, Ireland and the Channel Islands as an inspector for one of the most prestigious guides in Britain. He was one of the team of inspectors who produced the volume Eating Out in Wales 2004 under the leadership of Colin Pressdee.