Having been given a name with four consecutive vowels, life started badly for Ieuan. Over the next twenty three years he has honed the art of teaching to such an extent that nearly 5% of his friends and family can pronounce his name correctly, and almost as many can spell it. After this rocky beginning, worse was to come with his disqualification from the village fete’s kiddies running race. He finally beat the nightmares at 17 years of age. Although scarred by the incident, he never let it get the better of him and spent the next 14 years having a relatively normal childhood (as normal as a childhood as can be had when forced to walk around once a year with a vegetable larger than yourself pinned to your chest).

After leaving the cosy environs of Ysgol Gufyn Bro Myrddin, Ieuan came to Oxford in 1998, where he studies at St. John’s. Along with this move came the realisation that English is not just a dead language taught in schools and that there are communities where the language is spoken every day. Sometimes, when he finds a genuine English speaker, Ieuan badgers them to say a few words in English.

During his fourth year in Oxford he discovered that sugar came in more varieties than granulated, icing and cubes, so the year after he started his DPhil in the Davis group. He is currently having difficulty in believing that sugar comes in any variety other than ‘yellow oil’. Ieuan divides his time between sleeping, eating, drinking, chemistry and explaining that SuperTed is actually a Welshman.

He has a tragically misplaced sense of optimism prior to each Six Nations tournament. He does not own a pair of velcro gloves.

Last updated: 21-04-04