The Once and Future Celt

by Bill Watkins

Bill’s journey into manhood has taken him through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Now Bill finds himself stranded in a Gypsy camp. With an injured foot, the 21-year-old adventurer is comforted by the beautiful and elusive Riena, but then makes his way back home to Birmingham, where he finds himself set adrift on unemployment in recessionary England. Bill learns a family secret from his Welsh father, chases yet another girl, and finds some wisdom to close his long journey of self-discovery.

340 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2008

About the author

Bill Watkins was born in Birmingham, England, to a Welsh/Irish family in 1950. His bilingual parents were notable traditional singers. Having learned to play the tin whistle, fiddle, guitar, banjo and mandolin at an early age, Bill is also an accomplished singer/songwriter whose most
famous ditty, The Errant Apprentice, has been recorded worldwide. Now living in Minneapolis, he serves as the cultural ambassador at Merlin's Rest Pub. Bills company, Keltcom LLC, designs and builds Irish and British Isles pubs, repairs vintage radio equipment and makes kilts.

More information is available online at www.scarlettapress.com or www.keltcom.com."

Reviews

[Jill]

Bill is a friend, so I may be biased, but I think I would love his books just the same if I'd not had the pleasure of knowing him. He is a brilliant story teller and I adore the way he weaves observation, reflection, history and humor into recounting tales of his own life. I share his love of language and culture. He has a wonderful wit and intellegence yet somehow he makes his books very accessible. Pehaps it's his Celtic humility. Reading his books is pure enjoyment and good for the cerebral and the funny bone!

[Sarah Sammis]

In April of 1971, Bill Watkins set off for England from Scotland on foot. He missed his train and after a run in with a dog ended up with an injured foot in the middle of nowhere. He ended up in the care of a group of Romany (Gypsies). The Once and Future Celt by Bill Watkins covers his time in the Romany camp and his return home as a man changed by his experience.

The Once and Future Celt happens to cover many of the same locations, cultural practices and legends that Molly Dwyer focuses on in Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein. Watkins as a native Briton (of Irish / Welsh ancestry) is able to capture the regional differences with realism, heart and humor. He doesn't feel the need to go into lengthy explanations, relying instead on context and a brief glossary at the start of the memoir. I loved reading his dialogue because I could hear the different personalities and I ended up learning a whole bunch in the process (even though I had to stop every now and then to giggle).

Wakins's most recent memoir is the conclusion of a trilogy of memoirs. The previous two are A Celtic CHildhood and Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish. Having so enjoyed his latest one, I would love to go back and read them.

[Nanette]

I haven't read anything this good in a long time. It is lyrical and hard hitting at the same time, a feat only to be accomplished by a sweet voiced Irishman like Bill. It ranks as my very favorite biography of maturation. He managed to meld the pathos of his struggles in poverty with his humor, his music, his loves and his education. I liked Bill so much I went and met him at Merlin's Rest in Minneapolis.

[Amy]

All of the history (which to me came off as dry) right off the bat really bogged things down for me. The story wasn't enough to engage me and keep reading.