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The article below was in the Community Times Mumbles Magazine
May 2008 issue and has been reproduced without permission
Meeting "Gwen" from Gavin & Stacey
I met up recently with Mumbles actress, Melanie Walters, currently playing Stacey's Mum Gwen in BBC's hit comedy 'Gavin and Stacey'. I am a huge fan of the series and was very excited to actually meet "Gwen".
It's strange meeting someone you see on TV, you an't help but think of the character but though Melanie was as warm and friendly as Gwen that is where the similarities definitely ended.
We sat and had a chat about everything, work, children, juggling a career with the school run and what is important in our lives. We both agreed that living and bringing up our children in Mumbles is perfect.
With the acting work you'd think Melanie would be busy enough. However she also runs a Pilates business which she has been steadily building up since 2002.
'I'm completely passionate about Pilates' she enthuses. 'Seven years ago I decided to put acting on hold. My son had just started Primary School and I didn't want to be away from home. I decided to train as a Pilates Instructor and set up a few classes in the Mumbles. I had enjoyed practicing Pilates whilst living in London and having moved back to Swansea in 1998 realised there were very few Pilates Instructors in Swansea. I bit the bullet and set up my business.'
Her timing was perfect. From her first class in Ostreme in 2002 the business has gone from strength to strength. So well in fact she is expanding, forming a new company called 'Practical Pilates' with her colleague Amanda Edwards.
'We want to get more people doing Pilates as it is such a fantastic way to exercise. It is low impact, focuses on flexibility and mobility as well as strength and it is proving to be so successful in helping alleviate certain back and posture problems.'
Practical Pilates will focus on those people who don't fancy an hour of floor work. Elderly people who find it difficult to get up and down from the floor to kids who want to move about a bit more. Practical Pilates will be for everybody. We're looking at how the body moves everyday in the sense of how we walk, sit, stretch, bend, turn, we get in and out of cars, lift things, all functional movement. Creating a sequence of functional moves incorporating Pilates technique results in a great way of working out but most importantly what you learn in the class you can apply directly to your life.'
Withthe acting and Pilates running at full steam it'll be a busy year ahead. 'I know it's a cliché but life isn't a rehearsal. I love being busy but also I feel so lucky, when I need to relax there isn't a better place to be, Mumbles is just the best.'
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