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Singer Meic Stevens says he is planning a new life in Vancouver with his new Canadian partner - a long lost friend he had not seen for 47 years.

The veteran musician, a fixture on the Welsh folk scene since the early 1960s, said he and Liz quickly rekindled their relationship after a meal out.

In an interview to be broadcast on ���˿��� Radio Cymru, he said it was a chance for a new chapter in his life.

He plans to concentrate on painting and writing a book about his childhood.

A native of Solva in Pembrokeshire, Stevens was interviewed at a recent farewell concert at Maenclochog.

Talking about his new relationship, the singer said: "I hadn't seen her for 47 years.

"She spoke to a friend of a friend . . . she was given my number and we went for a meal and it was obvious that she still found me interesting, so we rekindled our relationship - as if nothing had ever happened."

Sometimes referred to as the "Welsh Bob Dylan", Stevens said he saw the move to Canada as a chance to take time out to paint with an exhibition planned back in Wales at Plas Glyn y Weddw in Llanbedrog in 2012, the year he will turn 70.

"I used to paint a lot of Solva but now I paint more portraits. I think portraits are more important than landscapes because people die."

He is also hoping to pursue his writing in Canada, with a novel about his Welsh childhood first on the cards.

"Life changes when you live with somebody new and that's bound to create ideas - that's how I get ideas, by living.

"I don't sit down and think 'I'll write a song about this' - ideas come to me naturally.

"I can't put the guitar down, my love is still there."

However, although he will be living 5,000 miles away, Stevens added: "I will always be Welsh and will never be lost."

The interview in Welsh will be broadcast at 1800 GMT on Wednesday 19 January on ���˿��� Radio Cymru and repeated at 1700 GMT on Sunday, 23 January.