used to fry up cockles for him. He came back and we put on a
performance for him."
When Dylan was unwell with a hangover or exhaustion, Caitlin used
to give him her favour ite cure of bread and milk with lots of sugar
and put him to bed for 48 hours.
"After that, he was always as right as rain," said Aeronwy.
"My mother was bitter at Dylan’s death. Her belief was that had she
been with him in New York, he'd have recovered. She used to say
she'd have given him her milksop remedy, tucked him up for a
couple of days for a good sleep and the chances were he'd have
been fine.
"Instead, doctors were brought in, they started giving him
injections — and he died."
When he was in Laugharne, he led a very strict and disciplined life
— writing for six hours a day. It was only in London or New York
there was a slightly intemperate lifestyle.
"He loved my mother to the end. But people don't want to
remember that. It’s boring."
She feels her father is becoming more appreciated now for his
magical way with words than the myths about his drinking,
womanising and chaotic lifestyle.
"I think his work is now very popular because he wrote about
eternal values, all the underlying themes that will always be relevant in our lives — death, resurrection and renewal. I think the reason he is a great poet is that he took nature for his imagery to express abstract themes.
"There is the fear of mortality in a lot of his poems but also reassurances that life goes on, in some form or other, even after our own death. Our lives will still have positive repercussions in the future.
"My father came to an untimely end, but lives on through his poetry."