Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea on 27th October 1914. He had a sister, Nancy, who was 8 years his senior. He attended the Swansea Grammar School for boys (now Mount Pleasant College) in the city where his father, David, was an English Literature teacher. His mother, Florence Hannah, was Welsh speaking but Dylan was brought up speaking English by his father, which is still the predominant language spoken in Swansea. His mother was from a farm near Carmarthen, where the family would go on summer visits. The contrast between the city and the farm influenced Dylan’s writings. He was rejected by the services during World War II due to his frailty. It was during his period living in the family home at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive that he wrote a large amount of his poems and short stories. He was a very strong orator and speaker, making over 200 appearances on BBC radio. Laugharne, a small English speaking village in Carmarthenshire is now most associated with Dylan. His first visit there was in 1934 and he returned in pursuit of Caitlin in 1936. The couple set-up home there on Gosport Street in a house called Eros and then to another property called Sea View. They left Laugharne in 1940 but returned in 1949, when benefactor, Margaret Taylor, bought them the Boat House. Dylan also lived in London and often toured America. It was on one of his speaking tours that he collapsed in the White Horse Tavern, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York. He later died on 9th November 1953 in the St. Vincent's Hospital. His body was returned to Wales, where he was buried at St Martin's Church in Laugharne, Caitlin was layed to rest with him when she passed away in 1994. Dylan’s most famous work is “Under Milk Wood – a play for voices”, which starts with the line “To begin at the beginning”. The play is based in the village of Llareggub, it is a fictional village made up by him, which is most famous for how it is read in reverse. It is believed that the people were based on Laugharne villagers but the actual location was that of New Quay in west Wales, a film on his life in the village was being filmed there in 2007 starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys called 'The Edge of Love'. He was a well renowned drinker, and bars such as The No Sign Wine bar in Swansea and Browns Hotel in Laugharne are still associated with him. He also became known as one of the Kardomah gang, this consisted of artists, poets and writers from Swansea who always met at the café on Castle Street. The original café was “raised to the snow” as Dylan put it in one of his plays, during the bombing of Swansea in World War II but re-opened in its current location on Portland Street.