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The Xenophobe's Guide
Xenophobe's Guide to Welsh
Highlights the unique character and behavior of the nation. Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.
- GenresNonfictionHumorTravel
87 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
7 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
John Winterson Richards
9 booksJohn Winterson Richards is a Welsh entrepreneur, writer, and former local councillor. He held his first company directorship at 19, and at 22 founded a consultancy specialising in small business. He is the author of the Bluffer’s Guide to Small Business and the Xenophobe’s Guide to the Welsh, published by Oval Books. These two books have between them been reprinted twenty times in English and have been translated into eight other languages. More recently, he has been a regular contributor to the Mind Your Own Business podcasts and main contributor to that website’s blog.
In 1986, aged 22, he won a by-election for the seat of Lisvane and Old St Mellons on Cardiff City Council, becoming the youngest member of that Council. Six months later he was promoted to Shadow Chairman of the City’s Economic Development Committee, then under the Chairmanship of Alun Michael, MP. He eventually rose to become, at the age of 31, the last Leader of the Opposition on the City Council before Local Government Reorganisation. He played an important role in lobbying for that Reorganisation, which established unitary authorities throughout Wales. He was the only Conservative elected to the new Cardiff County Council in 1995.
He also stood as a Conservative and Unionist in the Rhondda, the safest Labour seat in the country, in the 1992 General Election. He was not elected but retained his deposit. In 1999 he decided to let his membership of the Conservative Party lapse and not to stand for the Council again.
In 2004, he co-founded Cardiff Independent Citizens as a vehicle for those wishing to stand for the Council as Independents.
In 1986, aged 22, he won a by-election for the seat of Lisvane and Old St Mellons on Cardiff City Council, becoming the youngest member of that Council. Six months later he was promoted to Shadow Chairman of the City’s Economic Development Committee, then under the Chairmanship of Alun Michael, MP. He eventually rose to become, at the age of 31, the last Leader of the Opposition on the City Council before Local Government Reorganisation. He played an important role in lobbying for that Reorganisation, which established unitary authorities throughout Wales. He was the only Conservative elected to the new Cardiff County Council in 1995.
He also stood as a Conservative and Unionist in the Rhondda, the safest Labour seat in the country, in the 1992 General Election. He was not elected but retained his deposit. In 1999 he decided to let his membership of the Conservative Party lapse and not to stand for the Council again.
In 2004, he co-founded Cardiff Independent Citizens as a vehicle for those wishing to stand for the Council as Independents.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 9, 2014
John should be ashamed of himself. Next time I see him, he'd better be careful I don't stuff a leek somewhere the sun don't shine.
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March 16, 2016[2.5] I have a minor addiction to these joke guides to national stereotypes, but don't generally review them. (They just sneakily boost my number of books read, as if it somehow mattered.) This Welsh instalment was the most disappointing one I've read so far.
My ancestors are from quite a few different countries, though my family are a bit odd in their various ways, so I don't necessarily expect to see much correspondence between them and popular 'national characteristics' - here the only one was the matriarchs.
Winterson Richards is evidently from South Wales. At the beginning he mentions the differences between the regions of Wales - then for the rest of the book goes on to describe what sounds an awful lot like South Wales (going by my limited experience of visiting the place, when the North Welsh always seemed quieter, for a start). Or rather it sounds like the backdrop to an early 60s kitchen sink drama set in the Valleys: rugby, beer, lads down the club and 'er indoors, irreverence, gossip, cronyism, singing etc etc. All the references to work are about coal mining (S), not slate (N). And it's pretty much told from the POV of that bloke down the working men's club. What would the typical formidable Welsh Mam, as described here, have to say about it all?
One interesting point is a dislike of too much success, like an economic aspect of Scandinavian Jante Law, (but without the efficiency and organisation to balance it out). This allegedly means that many driven Welsh people leave, contributing to a paucity of Welsh-owned major companies, too many big employers having always been from elsewhere, as far back as the Industrial Revolution. Whilst evidently dear to the author, a business consultant and former Tory, this idea ties in somewhat to the novel that prompted me to pick this up, The Hill of Dreams by Arthur Machen - although it's eccentricity and dissenting views that are a problem for its hero in the late nineteenth century. This modern book mentions a tolerance for eccentricity within certain bounds, but the overall feeling is of a communitarian society with obvious parameters (like Jante Law again).
He never mentions was how physically small the place feels - because most buildings are strikingly short compared with England, Scotland, anywhere I've been, in fact. (Easy material for the kind of cheap jokes these books specialise in, if you jiggle this idea about a bit and add the short average height...)
Xenophobe's Guide to the Welsh just wasn't as funny as the other, Continental, guides I've read so far. Could that be because the jokes are already over-familiar? Guess I'll have to read the English one at some point to test that theory.
My ancestors are from quite a few different countries, though my family are a bit odd in their various ways, so I don't necessarily expect to see much correspondence between them and popular 'national characteristics' - here the only one was the matriarchs.
Winterson Richards is evidently from South Wales. At the beginning he mentions the differences between the regions of Wales - then for the rest of the book goes on to describe what sounds an awful lot like South Wales (going by my limited experience of visiting the place, when the North Welsh always seemed quieter, for a start). Or rather it sounds like the backdrop to an early 60s kitchen sink drama set in the Valleys: rugby, beer, lads down the club and 'er indoors, irreverence, gossip, cronyism, singing etc etc. All the references to work are about coal mining (S), not slate (N). And it's pretty much told from the POV of that bloke down the working men's club. What would the typical formidable Welsh Mam, as described here, have to say about it all?
One interesting point is a dislike of too much success, like an economic aspect of Scandinavian Jante Law, (but without the efficiency and organisation to balance it out). This allegedly means that many driven Welsh people leave, contributing to a paucity of Welsh-owned major companies, too many big employers having always been from elsewhere, as far back as the Industrial Revolution. Whilst evidently dear to the author, a business consultant and former Tory, this idea ties in somewhat to the novel that prompted me to pick this up, The Hill of Dreams by Arthur Machen - although it's eccentricity and dissenting views that are a problem for its hero in the late nineteenth century. This modern book mentions a tolerance for eccentricity within certain bounds, but the overall feeling is of a communitarian society with obvious parameters (like Jante Law again).
He never mentions was how physically small the place feels - because most buildings are strikingly short compared with England, Scotland, anywhere I've been, in fact. (Easy material for the kind of cheap jokes these books specialise in, if you jiggle this idea about a bit and add the short average height...)
Xenophobe's Guide to the Welsh just wasn't as funny as the other, Continental, guides I've read so far. Could that be because the jokes are already over-familiar? Guess I'll have to read the English one at some point to test that theory.
March 25, 2018
Wow. This book makes the Welsh sound like a loveable bunch of argumentative know-it-alls who love having a chip on their shoulder, and whom you will never win with, especially if you're not Welsh. I wonder what Welsh folk would have to say about this? It feels like it's written out of love and a lot of frustration.
It's an interesting enough, wry little introduction to the people of Wales. Such a wee book is never going to be able to cover everything, although I was surprised that their great epic, the Mabinogion didn't get so much as a name check in the book. And precious little about dragons. Or maybe this is me making assumptions about what is important to the Welsh.
It's an interesting enough, wry little introduction to the people of Wales. Such a wee book is never going to be able to cover everything, although I was surprised that their great epic, the Mabinogion didn't get so much as a name check in the book. And precious little about dragons. Or maybe this is me making assumptions about what is important to the Welsh.
October 1, 2018
I think this was supposed to be a humourous book but the humour escaped me.
June 30, 2016
In the nineties I used to see this series everywhere, it seems to have disappeared since then. I never read any of the editions because I don't enjoy humour based on nationalist stereotypes very much.
Well, this book in parts changed my mind - and that's not only because I love spending my holidays in Wales.
Well, this book in parts changed my mind - and that's not only because I love spending my holidays in Wales.
January 21, 2021
'To Welshmen, the benefits of the wonderful gifts of Welshness are so obvious that there is no need to boast about them.'
Wenn es eines gibt, das mir bisher nie aufgefallen ist, dann die Tatsache, dass im Englischunterricht niemals auch nur die kleinste Silbe über Wales gefallen ist. Niemals.
Ernsthaft, wisst ihr was über dieses Land? Ich nämlich nicht. 😂
Aus gewissen Gründen habe ich etwas Recherche betrieben. 🧐
Und mannomann, ist das ein Buch! Ich hab selten so gelacht. Und das bei unter 100 Seiten!
Man sollte schon eine kleine Menge an (schwarzem) Humor und Aufgeschlossenheit mitbringen.
Wenn ein Waliser nämlich schreibt, das Buch sei rassisitisch des eigenen Landes gegenüber und klischeehaft, tja, dann kann es nur gut sein.
'Welshness is an attitude of mind - sometimes psychopathic, often generous, usually friendly and always passionate.'
So albern dieses kleine Teil auf der einen Seite auch seien mag, auf der anderen Seite spürt man die Liebe des Autors zu seinen Landsleuten und den Stolz auf seine Herkunft.
Wenn es eines gibt, das mir bisher nie aufgefallen ist, dann die Tatsache, dass im Englischunterricht niemals auch nur die kleinste Silbe über Wales gefallen ist. Niemals.
Ernsthaft, wisst ihr was über dieses Land? Ich nämlich nicht. 😂
Aus gewissen Gründen habe ich etwas Recherche betrieben. 🧐
Und mannomann, ist das ein Buch! Ich hab selten so gelacht. Und das bei unter 100 Seiten!
Man sollte schon eine kleine Menge an (schwarzem) Humor und Aufgeschlossenheit mitbringen.
Wenn ein Waliser nämlich schreibt, das Buch sei rassisitisch des eigenen Landes gegenüber und klischeehaft, tja, dann kann es nur gut sein.
'Welshness is an attitude of mind - sometimes psychopathic, often generous, usually friendly and always passionate.'
So albern dieses kleine Teil auf der einen Seite auch seien mag, auf der anderen Seite spürt man die Liebe des Autors zu seinen Landsleuten und den Stolz auf seine Herkunft.
May 12, 2025
As with other titles in this series this is a humorous description of Welsh national characteristics. How the Welch speak, sing, joke, drink, and what they are passionate about: rugby, because it “gives a tiny impoverish nation to beat another with more than ten times the population.” And those things they passionately dislike such as the English, class snobbery, and pretension. It employs many slightly exaggerated descriptions of their social norms and customs including their love of conversation, discussion, and argument. It’s a very enjoyable read.
May 8, 2023
It was ok - there were a few parts that made me chuckle. Some of this seems to have been updated more recently as it falls about 2011 assembly - however the language used throughout the book is dated. It felt like they just updated a few paragraphs and didn’t bother to read the rest to see if anything else needs updating so it was very inconsistent.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews