A lady from Kilgetty has found her funny bone after leaving the supermarket check-out behind for the stand-up comedy circuit.

This time last year 61-year-old Jill Ray decided to retire from her part-time job on the check-out at the Co-op store in Kilgetty to pursue her passion for writing stand-up comedy.

"I managed to get a couple of open mic spots in Swansea towards the end of last year, which was quite an experience especially for someone of more mature years let me say," explained Jill.

Earlier this year, one of Jill's friends rang to tell her that Age Cymru and the Cardiff Comedy Festival were joining forces to find the funniest over 50s to perform at a comedy showcase as part of the Gwanwyn Festival in May.

"I went to audition in Cardiff and was pleased to be asked to take part in a comedy bootcamp with twelve others from all over Wales," said Jill.

"We worked with four professional comedians who put us through our paces, writing and performing a 10 minute spot.

"On May 27, we did the showcase in Cardiff Library to a very appreciative audience of varying ages and a couple of days later I received an e-mail from Cardiff Comedy organiser Scott Fitzgerald saying that he had chosen four of us to perform at the Glee Club in Cardiff on July 17 as part of the festival.

"Wow...what an honour it was, as it's where the top names in comedy, such as Rhod Gilbert, Sarah Millican and Lee Evans have performed," she continued.

Jill and the others chosen had a trial run at a small venue in Cardiff a week before the real deal at the Glee Club, which also feature two professional comedians on the bill, plus the 'bootcamp four' as Jill described them, with three other talented guys - Kevin McCardle from North Wales, Mike Mee Bishop from Gwent, Phil Westcott from Swansea - enjoying the stand-up experience alongside her.

"The most frightening part was waiting in the green room to go on, but once on the stage I really had a fantastic time and the 10 minutes flew by and I am so glad to have taken part in this amazing experience.

"Apparently, on the comedy circuit, only one in 10 comedians are women so to be a one in 10 and of that certain age makes me so so proud to say that you are never too old to pursue your dreams!" continued Jill, who will continue to liaise with with Phil Thomas, Age Cymru, and Scott Fitzgerald, of Cardiff Comedy, to organise other gigs after her first successful outing.

"In the meantime, I'm busy writing again, it all has to be original gags so have to work hard at it, but I find the funny in all sorts of everyday situations and lets face it, at my age I have a lot of life experiences to draw on...that's if I can remember them of course," she joked!