Blogs
As the Mayans seem to have identified that the world ends on the 21st December, I look with some satisfaction at the posts on Facebook from friends living in New Zealand - who are pointing out that it is already 21st December there and they are still there. Well, at least their posts are still there.
December 20th is a great anniversary for Cardiff. On this day in 1955 the Home Secretary, Gwilym Lloyd George, son of the great man, declared the city capital of Wales. This was not a certainty. For most of its history Cardiff was a small and insignificant town. There were lots of other towns in Wales that were bigger and more important. Although its town charter dated back to the 12th century, in 1800 the population was still only 2000. All bets would have been on Swansea or Merthyr Tydfil to lead Wales. The town started to grow quickly after the opening of the Bute West Dock in 1839 and was the largest coal port in the world by the end of the century. City status was granted in 1905. The Welsh Office opened in 1964 and the Cardiff finally became a true capital city when the National Assembly first met in 1999.
Phew! My first blog completed! Lots more scribblings about Cardiff's history at cardiffonfoot.com.
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Reproduced with kind permission from David western's Portland Eisteddfod Lovespoon Blog
After yet another massacre of beautiful little children in the USA, it's pretty hard to come here and post. That kind of completely senseless and astonishing violence against society's most defenceless members makes it very hard to view the human race in any kind of positive light. In fact, it's pretty tempting to write the whole world off as a seriously deranged gong show and go hide in the quiet calm of my little studio.
I don't know why some people do what they do and I really don't understand the big deal about guns and owning them...but that is because I am a lovespoon carver. In my little world, people are happy, they're in love, they're proud of their families and they want to create something positive that they can share with others. It is the very polar opposite of the darkness which descended on that little elementary school in Connecticut yesterday.
I feel sickened by what I read in the news about this catastrophe and I feel helpless against the mindless violence and evil which seems to infest so many hearts these days...but my way to fight back against the horror of Connecticut is to make beauty.
So here here is my little memorial of 27 lovespoons to all those precious lives lost yesterday.
Our present to you...
Get a free copy of 'Christmas in Wales' when you order directly from the Seren website
 | Order from the Seren website before Thursday 20th December 2012 and we'll give you a copy of Christmas in Wales (normally 7.99), absolutely free.The offer applies to all orders (even to Christmas in Wales itself if you want more than one copy!).We'll automatically include your free book when we despatch your order.It's the perfect literary companion to the festive season, a present that will be opened again and again... Order now, while stocks last!! |
 | Seren Office Opening Hours at ChristmasAlthough the office will be closed from midday Friday 21st December 2012 to the 2nd January 2013, you can still shop online. Orders received during the Christmas break, will be shipped according to the Royal Mail schedule. If you are buying a Seren book as a gift, please note the Royal Mail recommended Christmas posting service: Second Class Tuesday 18th December 2012 First Class Thursday 20th December 2012 |
Follow Seren on Twitter @SerenBooks or 'Like' us on Facebook facebook.com/SerenBooks keep up-to-date with all our new titles out in 2013, author events and online deals.
A major revamp of the blogging function is scheduled from our platform provider early in the new year. In the meantime we have introduced a new tweak on AmeriCymru
If you look at the bottom of this post you will see our new featured blogs feature. The last seven posts featured on the site will be displayed there. There are over 3000 blog posts on AmeriCymru and they are all indexed by the major search engines since this is a public network. If your post is featured it will be displayed on every one of them. A good time to start blogging
It is with regret that we announce the departure of former member SwanseaJack. He has been a regular feature on the site for about 18 months and he will be sorely missed. He left as a result of irreconcilable differences over the future direction this site should take. The decision to leave was entirely his.
"Portugal, romance, film, terrorism, materialism & European capitalism. Highly topical, in the week the European Council got the Nobel Peace Prize! Flirting at the Funeral is reviewed by Katherine Stansfield in NWR spring edition."
Gwen Davies, Editor New Welsh Review
Cr Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Choir) are staging a Christmas concert with a difference this year.
The choir's annual festive concerts at Theatr Elli have been pulling in the crowds for years.
This year, Theatr Elli is unavailable as work is completed on the new Ffwrnes theatre complex in East Gate, Llanelli.
"It's a bit of a blow not to have Theatr Elli available," admitted Cr Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas.
"But in order not to disappoint our many fans, we have a Christmas concert with a difference planned for Tabernacle Chapel, Llanelli, on Saturday, 7pm."
The concert is being billed as 'Sing Christmas!', with audience participation encouraged so that everyone gets into the Christmas spirit.
Mr Thomas added: "We are also very fortunate in that we have some very special guests with us for the Tabernacle concert - Cr Curiad, Cr Baroc and the Queen Elizabeth Brass Quintet.
"It promises to be a memorable evening highlighting the very best in Welsh choral traditions, with the spotlight on festive tunes guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit."
The accompanist will be Sarah Thomas. The organist will be Allan Fewster MBE.
Admission is 5 by programme. Programmes are available from choir members.
There isnt a hat stand in Roger Hunts office; but if there was, it would be full.
Businessman, entrepreneur, Christmas tree grower, sheep farmer, scrap metal dealer and football club supporter . . . the CV is getting longer every year.
Theres a joke doing the rounds that the only person busier than me at Christmas is Sion Corn, old Father Christmas himself, laughs Hunt.
Pay a visit to his Christmas tree plantation overlooking the Tywi Valley and just up the road from Y Polyn restaurant and youll appreciate it isnt so much a joke as a statement of fact.
The joke is told in an accent which reveals his London and East England roots.
The 60-year-old former chairman of Football League side Cambridge United has travelled a long way to put his new roots down near the National Botanic Gardens.
My football links can confuse many people, said Hunt, who spends much of his spare time helping on the executive committee of Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town.
I can go to football dinners and it confuses the older generation. Some will mistakenly think Im the same Roger Hunt who played in the England World Cup winning team of 1966. I wish!
Were obviously two very different people, but it does get a laugh on occasions when people get confused.
Born in Folkestone and raised in London, Hunt now considers himself an adopted son of Sir Gar, Carmarthenshire.
I love the place and the people and its a great part of the world to live and work in.
Home for Hunt nowadays is Llwyndu Farm near the Botanic, a property once owned by the very sporting Williams family, showjumper Alun and brother Wyn, father of Paralympic discus medallist Claire Williams.
Im in the process of renovating the farmhouse, who is another of my projects. Its a slow process as there arent enough hours in the day, but we are getting there.
A short drive away lies Hunts Christmas tree plantation at Oaklands, which operates under the name Cymru Christmas Trees.
The plantation has more than 10,000 Norway Spruce trees, all in different stages of development.
I specialise in Norway Spruce as it is a very popular variety, but I also supply other Welsh-grown potted varieties and Nordman trees.
Sustainability is key to the business and many of my customers, including some local councils and community organisations, return year after year. I reckon I plant at least a 1000 trees every year. The spotlight is very much on this being a sustainable crop.
If people want to return trees to me after Christmas, then they can do so for shredding. Over at Cwm Environmental in Nantycaws, they also provide a very good shredding service and throw in a free bag of compost if you recycle your tree with them.
Hunt is keen to preach the environmental message. Buying local is very important to Carmarthenshire and we should all do our bit to keep the carbon footprint down and run good sustainable businesses.
Environmental matters are also at the heart of Hunts other business, Robinson Recycling, a leading South Wales scrap metal merchant, with a depot in Margam near Port Talbot.
We are one of the leading buyers of aluminium cans in South West Wales and we deal in all grades of ferrous of non-ferrous scrap metal.
Hunt declared: I have always been focussed on recycling - even before it started to get the label a green issue. I think we should all be far more sustainable than we are. Recycling must be on the top of everyones agenda.
One of Hunts other hats is that of a sheep farmer. We keep some Herdwick (Cumbrian) sheep on the farm, but the main flock is made up of Shropshire sheep, he said.
The Shropshire sheep are a neat fit with the Christmas tree business as they are the only breed which can graze in and around Christmas trees. They are well fed and they also help to maintain the Christmas tree plantation.
The sheep can be a 24-hour job, especially during the lambing season between January and March. Sadly, that means I do miss out on one of the other passions of my life, football.
Hunt was running a scrap metal businesses in Cambridgeshire when he first joined Cambridge United in April, 1990.
Just six weeks later I was sat in the Royal Box at Wembley, watching Cambridge United bear Chesterfield 1-0 in the first ever play-off final at Wembley. Dion Dublin scored the winning goal. You cant get much better than that and you cant buy that sort of experience.
Hunt is philosophical about the rest of his Cambridge United experience. The club went into decline both on and off the field. Cambridge dropped out of the Football League and then went in administration.
He reflected: At about that time, my wife who was from Swansea, suggested moving to West Wales. It was a 500-mile commute to Cambridge to see football matches and attend board meetings, so not easy by any stretch of the imagination.
After Hunt finished his association with Cambridge, he was approached by Carmarthen Town President Jeff Thomas to help the Welsh Premier League side.
I have plenty of experience of the rough and tumble world of running a Football League club, so I try to bring some of that experience to bear in helping Carmarthen Town.
The club is well run by an enthusiastic team of people. Budgets are tight, but Carmarthen Town is a progressive club working very hard to nurture young talent in the community.
Football is one of my passions and I think its very important in life to care passionately about what you do. I try to carry that through in the different areas of my business life. Carmarthenshire is a great place and I am very fortunate to be running several businesses which bring me great delight.
