Observations About Wales:

From Travel To Business & Politics

Dear Editor,

Kenneth Griffith is a first class choice for one of The Super Welsh (Winter 1999 issue). While I realize there is little space to mention all of the man’s acting credits, I’d like to draw your attention to but one -- his contribution to the television series The Prisoner, a great part of which was filmed on the grounds of Portmeirion. One of Griffith’s roles was that of Schnipps, a megalomaniac whose burning desire was to blow up London!

While Schnipps’ bombastic plot was foiled, The Prisoner succeeded on more than one level. Cambria readers might be interested to learn that one of the series’ serendipitous achievements was to make members of at least two generations of Americans aware of Wales, and Cymruphiles out of a number of these. My curiosity was certainly engaged at a tender age. Thirty-one years on, my husband and I are planning our ninth visit to Wales. All thanks to people, like Griffith, and places that made Wales, as seen through the fantastic prism of The Prisoner, unforgettable.