In last week's Radio Wales Arts Show I had a real insight into why a nurse became a silversmith and jeweller and why teaching and office work were exchanged for the stage.

Perhaps most fascinating though was actor and dancer, Clive Hicks Jenkins' move to another field of creative work as a painter. The crucial step seems to be his work as a choreographer which he says is quite similar to painting. It's just amazing to think that one person can be so talented in so many disciplines!

The award-winning jewellery designer Suzie Horan - who designed and made the Crown for this year's National Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale - was a nurse whose hobby gradually took over her life. It took a good couple of years of thinking about it before she took the plunge but the awards her work has won prove that it was the right decision.

For actress Menna Trussler life really did begin at 40. She was around that age when she felt she'd done her bit in a "proper job" and left the office to work first as an Assitant Stage Manager and then as an actress. She told me she was a useless typist anyway and that, when she left her office ofr the last time, swore she'd never touch a keyboard again!

Soprano Laura Pooley taught Latin before becoming a professional singer. She's now working with Welsh National Opera and, having won the Towyn Roberts Scholarship at the Ebbw Vale Eisteddfod, is a voice to watch out for. Laura's off next year to study further and work as a freelance opera singer.

You see, it's not just TV Reality competitions that allow people to fulfil their artistic capabilities and "live the dream". Look at the early CVs of many artists and you find the strangest beginnings. And, without wishing to be unkind to the Joe McElderrys or Alexandra Burkes of this wrold, my four talented direction changers this week have successful and well established careers.

Yes, it's National Theatre Wales' new production. The play is a newly worked version of The Persians by the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus. The setting: a training area that I learned was called FIBUA (that stands for Fighting in Built-Up Areas) up on the military's training ranges in the Brecon Beacons. FIBUA is a reconstructed village where the army learn how to deal with urban warfare - searching houses, dodging snipers and so on.

Obviously this is not a venue you can just turn up at. The meet point is the army camp at Sennybridge where an officer warns you not to pick up or kick any ammunition or grenades you might find lying around as they could still be live.

No danger of me doing that, I muttered, but apparently everyone needs to be warned as human instinct leads most people to pick up discarded ammo and say "look what I've found". I may be curious and daft but the great big yellow streak of cowardice that runs right through me is protection from that kind of danger!

I spoke to actor and director Sian Thomas about the play on yesterday's Radio Wales Arts Show. Here's a clip from the interview:

The cast, led by Royal Shakespeare Company star Sian Thomas and directed by Mike Pearson, have grown more used to the surroundings and the gunfire and other sounds of the army's regular exercises, although they have provided a sometimes strange soundtrack for rehearsals.

The play itself is about war and perhaps it's only the technology that's changed since it was written in 472 BC.

But it's not all as clear cut as the headlines might suggest. The review has been a lengthy process that examined all the aims and business plans of arts organisations and venues that ACW funded and about 20 that the council invited to apply to join that list. Its title was "Renewal and transformation: building a stronger future for the arts in Wales" and, with ever tightening budgets, the value and impact of where that money's spent is all important.

Of course, in an ideal world all arts projects could get financial backing. Everyone's interests and passions could be paid for and all communities could be served equally well. The reality is that now, more than ever, the pot of public money for the arts is under growing pressure.

The Arts Council of Wales states very clearly that it is backing quality and excellence and wants the arts in Wales to grow and develop. It has outlined a core of revenue funded organisations and wants others to apply for more flexible types of funding. The review seems to me to be, not only thorough and unbiased, but as fair as it can be.

Only time will tell and, unfortunately, this is only the first hurdle. When it comes to finding out how money each organisation will receive in the forthcoming year, there'll be another agonising wait until ACW itself knows what size cloth has been allocated to be cut into Wales' cultural coat.

This week the show features For Mountain, Sand & Sea, the June production by National Theatre Wales which is an especially-devised show in the North Wales seaside town of Barmouth.

Heading the team of performers is Marc Rees, who spent a lot of time in Barmouth gathering material about the town and its history.

Marc Rees (photograph: Warren Orchard)

Those stories found by Marc have been weaved together into a performance that begins in a disused church hall and then takes the audience on a literal journey up the mountain, onto the beach and into the beachfront nightclub that used to be a cinema.

Professional actors and dancers will be joined by local people in the show which proves that there's far more to Barmouth than its long sandy beach and profusions of pound shops set up in disused chapels.

I spent a couple of hours talking to Marc Rees and learned more about the town than I'd ever known. If the weather holds, try to get to Barmouth for what's looking like a real one off experience of site specific drama and storytelling.

For the first time in five years, a painter won the title Welsh Artist of the Year. He's Elfyn Lewis, originally from Porthmadog but now living and working in Cardiff. Elfyn's abstract landscapes also won him the Gold Medal for Fine Art at the National Eisteddofd last year. He and the curator of the Welsh Artist of the Year exhibition will be on this week's Radio Wales Arts Show.

The runner up and winner of the Sculpture Prize was Emily Jenkins - a former teacher whose complex ceramic pieces, called The Right to Return, deal with the issue of Palestinian farmers driven from their olive and lemon groves by Israeli settlers.

The competition is open to professional and amateur artists living and working in Wales and this year attracted around 400 entries. From those, almost a hundred pieces were selected by a judging panel for display in an exhibition that's an exciting demonstration of the best in visual arts in Wales.

It's always very exciting to see works by established artists side by side with those of students and to have such a mix of media on show. There's just about everything in this exhibition from painting to ceramics, photography to sculpture and from video to drawings and prints. All the work is for sale so I was very careful to leave my purse and cheque book at home!

The company's chosen to perform at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay as, due to the ongoing refurbishment of Sherman Cymru, the city is a drama venue down. The Coal Exchange is a great place for gigs and other functions, but I was intrigued to see how it would work for theatre.

After visiting during the company's get-in of the show, it looks as if the building will be great for this production. The architecture of the Coal Exchange may be a hundred years or so out of the play's period but the real wooden pillars of the building seem like an extension of the set's pillars that suggest 18th century Paris.

Dangerous Liaisons is perhaps best known for its film incarnation, but Laclos' novel works equally well as a stage piece. It's a picture of a bored and decadent society; one in which privilege certainly doesn't automatically bring happiness. Lloyd Llewellyn Jones, who's directed and designed the show, cleverly mixes formality with underlying brute passion.

The set is purple and pink and, although the historically accurate costumes - boned bodices, bum rolls, big skirts, lace and fans - are at first sight in subdued tones, suddenly there's a flash of shocking pink petticoat that hints at something rather than less proper lurking beneath the facade! The music for the show cleverly time travels, combining 18th century harpsichord pieces with blasting 20th century pop in what Lloyd describes as a "Glee-type mash up".

Put all this together with a really solid Mappa Mundi cast and it's hardly surprising that Dangerous Liaisons has had some great reviews and a highly successful tour so far. I'm off to see the whole show tonight - revenge, sexual intrigue and downright wickedness with great frocks - what more could you ask for a good night out?

Now some conductors would be having hissy fits at this as a concert tour of Wales is on next week, but Gareth Jones founded Sinfonia Cymru not as a permanent collection of players, but an orchestra that has a large squad to call on. Yes, a bit like the national rugby or football idea but Gareth is proud to say that he can count on strength in depth!

The reason for this is that the Sinfonia Cymru players come from all corners. Many of them are experienced students at music colleges and conservatoires across Britain, others are full time professionals already. What they all have in common is a really high standard of orchestral playing and a dedication to performing an interesting repertoire.

Gareth formed the orchestra, then called the Cardiff Bay Chamber Orchestra, in 1996 and since then it's gone from strength to strength having performed regularly at Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival among other high points. A special relationship's developed between the orchestra and Bryn and also with other internationally acclaimed soloists like Rebecca Evans, Dennis O'Neill and the pianist Llyr Williams.

Next week will be Sinfonia Cymru's fourth national tour of Wales, taking in Llandrindod Wells, Criccieth, Y Stiwt in Rhos, Newport and the Wyastone Concert Hall in Monmouth. By this time, Gareth's got all his players in place and is looking forward to seeing full houses - well worth getting to if you're a fan of chamber orchestras.

I have to say it was the comfiest venue you could imagine as the three contributors and I settled down on two white sofas to talk about writing, editing and reviewing fiction. I think first time novelist Joanna Davies, her editor Caroline Oakley and even the literary editor of The Guardian, Claire Armitstead were as impressed as I was to learn that the comedian Tim Minchin had sat there earlier in the week before his festival gig.

Joanna Davies, Caroline Oakley, Nicola Heywood Thomas and Claire Armitstead

Claire, who's been working every day at the festival, shared with us the fact that Mr Minchin had put in a request in his artists' engagement rider (that's what stars say they need from the organisers and the venue) for 155 blue M&Ms! Just hearing that made me regret not having seen the show even more.

Anyway, back to today and other things I found out. Editor Caroline Oakley, who works for the Welsh women's publisher Honno, has also been editing award winner Ian Rankin's brilliant crime novels since 1993 and said she still sends him about 16 pages of notes about any new book. That made Joanna Davies feel that the 20 pages of notes she'd had about her novel, Freshers, were not half bad for a first book.

Claire Armitstead pointed out that, although her friends recckon she's got the best job in the world, having around 500 new books landing on your desk for review every week (!) can be a little daunting. She also told me that some years ago she worked on the South Wales Argus - small world!

Also in this week's programme - though unable to join us in Hay - was another début novelist, Mike Thomas. His book, Pocket Notebook is on the longlist for Academi's Wales Book of the Year. It's had some rave reviews and has been optioned for filming by a television company. Not bad for a full time copper who's also doing a degree in creative writing.

Mike will find out on Sunday at the Hay Festival if the novel makes it to the shortlist for the Book of the Year. I just think it's great that we had the chance to talk to two new authors of really quite edgy but hugely entertaining novels. Listen again to the interview:

Away from the programme, the festival site was really busy. There were lots of families around today and the presence of the queen of pre-teen and early teenage writing, Jacqueline Wilson explained the hordes of 8 to 12 year olds. There was a delightful sight when Ms Wilson was taking photos of people with the man I heard referred to as "that good looking garden chap", Monty Don. I missed his session as I'm afraid it was my only chance of grabbing lunch - venison burger, if you're interested. I may try the tapas tent at the weekend - oh, what a hard life at literary festivals!

Food for body as well as mind is not in short supply at Hay - I can't wait till Saturday. That's a day off to just enjoy the events and then back working on Sunday though interviewing Roy Noble about his autobiography and then talking about the odder stories in the Sunday press with great guests on Radio Wales' Something Else (1pm on the Festival Site) is certainly no chore!

Listen again to Thursday's show, recorded at the Hay Festival.

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I'd be able to tick off my 23rd year of attendance by simply working but there are so many festival events that I want to go to anyway this year that it would have been hard to keep me away.

I was thinking back over the years of Hay festivals and remembering that it actually began as a bank holiday weekend event - three days of talks with writers held in various buildings in the town itself. Over more than two decades, it's grown to be a 10 day marathon on its own site just on the outskirts of Hay.

This year's programme is as eclectic as ever and this is the real joy of the festival. It sounds like a cliche to say it offers something for everyone, but, in this case, it's true. I'm especially looking forward to hearing Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel talking about her brilliant historical novel Wolf Hall, and would love to see the comedian Tim Minchin if I can get a ticket, but there will be other sessions that will be just as entertaining and fascinating.

It's a rare privilege to be so close to writers and performers and it's not just the headline grabbers that stick in my mind from past years. Of course there's something special about seeing Bill Clinton or Goldie Hawn or Desmond Tutu speaking in a large tent in a field. But I've been equally impressed by crime writers such as Patricia Cornwell and Ian Rankin, great wits and raconteurs such as John Mortimer and Tony Benn.

If I wanted to list my top ten of Hay festival favourites it would be hard to know where to start, and harder still to stop. It would definitely include Salman Rushdie's first public appearance (unheralded till he walked onto the stage) after the fatwa declared as a result of his novel The Satanic Verses.

There'd be a cracking performance by Macy Gray in a very sweaty tent, a fascinating insight into Tudor history from Dr David Starkey, ex-Pythons Michael Palin and Terry Jones, and the awesome Maya Angelou.

Now I've just remembered the chance I had to interview Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall at Hay; and holding Tanni Grey Thompson's Olympic gold medals and her handing them round the audience - yes, really - and they were all returned!

Oh, I could go on but let's just look forward to this week's festival and hope that the weather is kind to us all!

Rhys is the artistic director of Gwyl Gobaith - a three-day festival of music at Deeside College in Northop from 25-27 June. He's singing in the final concert along with Shan Cothi and David Kempster but needs to be there for the opening night's assembled choirs concert too.

However, Rhys is also scheduled to be at Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday 26 June for a performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger with Welsh National Opera. So he's going to be a turbocharged tenor travelling from North to South and back again to sing at both ends of Wales two nights running!

Rhys said he was just as excited about both commitments - the Wagner opera is a marathon which he's enjoying rehearsals for at the moment and Gwyl Gobaith will raise funds for Hope House children's hospices in North Wales.

There are full details of the three concerts on the festival website and, if you go to any of them, spare a thought for poor Rhys on the road in between!

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Ms Mulligan, who is a fine actress. My problem is the whole plan by Emma Thompson to remake My Fair Lady and the question that springs to my mind is, why?

I'll willingly admit that the classic film version with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison is one of my all time favourites. I know Hepburn didn't sing the role but, in every other respect, she is the perfect Eliza. What is this compulsion to revisit movies and make poor imitations?

Just think of The Italian Job, Alfie, The Thomas Crown Affair. Sorry (call me a grumpy old woman) but I don't believe they improved on the originals. As for Carey Mulligan, surely there are lots of equally challenging, interesting and rewarding parts for such a good actress?

Michael Ball dressed as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.

The West End star told me he's moving into the realms of production (or over to the dark side as he put it) when I interviewed him for the BBC Radio Wales Arts Show.

He told me he'd loved Hairspray so much when he saw it on Broadway and was so keen to get the part of Edna when the show first opened in London that he went along with every other hopeful to audition for the part.

Now, fair play, many other performers with over 20 years' experience might have thought themselves too grand to do that!

You can hear the complete interview with Michael on the Radio Wales Arts Show on Thursday 25 March.