Blog #1 - Spilling the tea, just not literally…

Welcome/Croeso to my new blog called A SouthWalien Girl Living In A SouthWalien World!

I will be taking you on a series of adventures in and around Newport/South Wales in general, highlighting the music scene and literally having a natter about anything and everything, as that’s the beauty of writing blogs: there’s a lot of tea to spill—no, seriously, tea could be a hot topic of conversation at some point. I was discussing this with Newport City radio presenter Kym Frederick during our meeting the other day, and I learned new things about tea that had never even crossed my mind! 

You’ll be disappointed to hear that tea is not the main feature of my first blog (cue sad violin music). Still, we will definitely be delving into it in a future post (cue happy music with a chorus of yays, a quick fist bump, followed by a cracking ‘happy days’ for good measure!) 

If you can’t already tell by the image on the left, I’m a tea lover, hence why the subject will eventually be explored. It’s also all relevant to what I’m about to say next because I should probably introduce myself before going any further.

Bryony Sier, a neurodiverse, twenty-seven-year-old singer-songwriter/guitarist from Merthyr Tydfil who dabbles in a game of Scrabble when boredom hits, who constantly searches for hidden metaphors and lyrics that rhyme in true songwriter style. She enjoys long walks in the countryside, reading YA, writing YA books,  listening to Abba on rainy days in a not-so-sunny Wales, drinking tea every day, filming vlogs occasionally, and regularly writing stories to escape reality… always. 

Picture this: An eighteen-year-old girl singing in a bar called The Riverside for the very first time, scared to death, unsure if people were going to like her music in a new city she’d never played before.     

Truthfully, that girl never felt more at home amongst the Newport crowd, and there she met some local artists such as Ian Lynn Palmer, Ruby Kelly, and a songwriting legend who recently won the Best Country Artist award at the Love Live Music Awards, Joe Kelly. You may have heard of him. If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for? 



I know what you’re probably thinking: why on earth is someone from Merthyr writing blogs about Newport? 


I can explain why I’m the face behind these blogs, but I’ll need to take you on a little trip down memory lane first.


Introducing…

Joe has released a few EPs, along with an album, and I’ve heard that there’s a third on its way! I’m also singing backing vocals on three of his tracks from ‘The Wheel’ EP, so I was honoured to be involved as I’m a big fan of his music! He’s gotten me so many opportunities in Newport. I’ll always be thankful!


If you haven’t already figured it out, the girl I was talking about in the bar was me. That was the moment I started building connections within the Newport local music scene and playing more shows at The Cellar Door, Le Pub, Monusk Tapas, and Phyllis Maud, which used to be a friggin toilet, and now it’s a live music venue!

This is what Newport is all about—the people who live here, the stories they have to share, the art available on demand, the level of talented musicians rising the ranks, Newport City Radio with its ability to showcase new, upcoming talent and let's not forget the iconic Transporter Bridge, which has been Newport’s most famous landmark since 1906. 


Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking you on a virtual and written diary of all the things I get up to during my time at Newport City Radio. 

You can watch my blogs virtually over on my new TikTok page, @SouthwalienGalBlogs, and I hope you enjoy the content I’ll be sharing. I’m excited to get to know Newport more and to surround myself with my three favourite things: music, dishing out the tea throughout my writing, and bringing my creative ideas to life.  


Thanks for tuning in, and I’ll catch you again very soon with some more shenanigans, 


Bryony


Blog #2 - Tea vs Coffee: Let the battle for the best brew commence…

Welcome/Croeso to a blog where I spill the tea, just not literally.

In my previous blog, I said that I would be talking about tea at some point.

 Well, today is the day, folks! 

 I can’t leave the coffee enthusiasts out, though, so we will be diving head first into a brewable debate on which is the most popular caffeinated drink. In my personal opinion, I’m just here for the tea, but I am pretty biased since I grew up in a ‘tea drinking’ household with not a cocoa bean in sight. However, I do have an occasional acquired taste for coffee if I’m in the mood—plus, let’s face it, compared to tea, coffee has that strong, nutty, chocolatey smell to it. Whereas, one has to question, does tea actually smell of anything? 🤔

I will be answering this question, by the way, but first, let’s educate ourselves on why the Brits love tea so much because that’s a good place to start. 

The answer is simple. 


Throughout history, tea has been part of our culture from the moment it was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. As you can imagine, it became a popular beverage rapidly, especially after the British court officially made tea drinking custom. 

I, for one, am so pleased that tea rose into brewdom. It has maintained its reputation by building long-lasting relationships among fellow Brits, inspiring the most commonly known phrase, ‘Do you fancy a cuppa?’


 I could think of nothing better than visiting someone’s home and being offered a cup of tea. It’s tradition—it’s common hospitality in South Wales these days. 

During the winter months, the most satisfying thing is coming home from work and curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a good book. Of course, not everybody likes tea, and not everybody likes coffee—some people drink neither. 

As we speak, I have tea on standby, and I’m hoping that this cup will last until I’ve finished writing this week’s blog. I don’t know how many times a day that kettle is boiled–I’ve honestly lost count. 

If you could be any teabag in the world, what would you be? 

Here is a list of some tea bags and their unique personalities.

I’m definitely a mix between an Earl Grey (considering that’s my go-to teabag), a Jasmine for my creativity, and probably an English breakfast.


Let’s go back to one of my earlier questions: Does tea smell? 

Well, of course, it does if you consider Peppermint Tea and Green Tea, among others with specific herbs, but what about Earl Grey and English Breakfast? 

I had this conversation with Newport City Radio presenter Kym Frederick a few days ago, and I automatically jumped to the conclusion that they don’t smell like anything. Kym had a different reaction to that statement. She claimed that whilst visiting a tea farm years ago, she could definitely smell the tea leaves used from an original teabag. When she was younger, she would never drink to the bottom of the cup as the tea-making experience back then involved putting steep tea leaves in a pot, which meant that if you drank to the bottom of the cup it was being served in, you’d get an uncomfortable greeting from the tea leaves that had sunk.

This all changed in 1901, and now we have a completely new procedure whilst making tea–Simply boil the kettle, pop the teabag into the desired cup, pour the hot water into the cup, dunk the tea bag until it turns the colour you want and voila, you’re good to go. There are no tea leaves in sight! 

Okay, so we’ve spoken about tea in great detail. Now, it’s time to move on to coffee.

(Don’t worry, coffee lovers, I haven’t forgotten about you).

When I think of coffee, I immediately think of Starbucks or Costa. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Starbucks in Merthyr. We do have two Costa’s, though. Newport currently has three Starbucks shops: one located at the Newport Retail Park, another situated at 2 Emlyn Street, and a third within the Spytty Road area. 

I recently made a poll on my Instagram, asking people if they prefer drinking tea or coffee, and the results were: 

These statistics don’t prove anything except that the minority who voted on my Instagram poll happens to be tea lovers like myself. 

Worldwide, it’s difficult to distinguish which beverage is favoured more as it depends on the country, culture, and tradition. 


Ultimately, it all comes down to your individual taste buds, opinions, and preferences. 

How do you take your coffee? 

I once ordered a shot of coffee by accident! The person serving me thought I wanted a shot, and I didn’t even know you could have shots in the form of coffee! I didn’t drink it, of course. It wasn’t what I was expecting. Kudos to any coffee-shot drinkers out there—that stuff is strong!


Have you ever noticed that a morning cup of coffee is like a life coach in a mug? It does a good job of waking you up and then sends you off to face the world with a bit of energy to kick-start the day. Tip: Don’t ask for a loan, though. Sorry to disappoint, but Coffee only dishes out energy, not money. 


In conclusion, whether you’re a consumer of tea or coffee, it’s utterly your choice. The popularity cannot be measured as both are extremely popular drinks. I think it’s great that they also have decaf options now as well.


All this chatting is making me thirsty.

Speaking of tea, it’s about time I made another one. 

Until next time,

SouthWalien Girl Living in a SouthWalien World xoxo