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After a 6am alarm, a drive from the shadow of Snowdon to Bangor Station, a four-and-a-half hour train journey, I was finally in Cardiff. My conscience had been troubling me that I was confining my left-wing commitment purely to blogging, so yesterday morning found me joining a hundred or so like-minded people (many 40 years younger than me!) at the foot of a statue to my hero, Aneurin Bevan at the Occupy Cardiff protest.

Just before we set off I was handed a leaflet, What to do if arrested. Suddenly the reality of what I was doing hit me. I had no plans to break the law but could easily be included with a group less cautious than I am! When we left, I had been hoping we would be greater in number, carrying more banners, but I had my walking boots and waterproofs against the rain that set in at 2pm precisely, and was prepared for a two-hour march. Two minutes after setting-off we had crossed the busy road to Cardiff Castle and we had arrived! Swiftly jumping down from the pavement to the grass alongside the castle, the group set up tents and started its first General Assembly a key component of the Occupy movement which allows anyone to speak.

At that point, the weaknesses of operating an egalitarian group began to show themselves. Hesitation over who was facilitating the Assembly, a loud-hailer which was not up to the task, people not shown how to use the loud-hailer, batteries that were quickly exhausted with no replacement; all leading to disappointment that we couldnt hear what was said. It would have helped to have more banners, some musicians, and some rehearsed chants to make for better engagement of all present. I believe there is a lesson here having leadership, co-ordination and reference to a model that works elsewhere does not detract from the aims of equality for all. My other disappointment was despite a Cymdeithas yr Iaith banner, I heard no Welsh spoken. However, I was glad to see a later Tweet that the protest was the first time the, We are the 99 per-cent slogan had been heard in Welsh.

The police stood round in ridiculously over-the-top numbers looking embarrassed. There were mounted police, ordinary officers, community support officers, police cars, vans and, I suspect, every demonstrator could have been allocated his or her personal officer. Sadly, those officers waded in shortly after I left for my long trek back to North Wales, to remove the fledgling protest and the tents and some arrests were made.

I was energised by the passion and commitment of the participants and will take my experiences back to the nascent Occupy Bangor group. Hopefully, there will be a clear backlash against this attack on peaceful protest and the first Welsh expression of the Occupy movement will re-emerge to declare We are the 99 per-cent.

One door closes another one opens; the pub burnt down (I always wrote 'burned' then I noticed that my friends were writing 'burnt; when I was small I said 'burnt my finger', later I altered my pronunciation and the spelling to go with it, or vice versa, anyway I digress) I began going for long walks with my camera taking many photos of Brittany, then I started putting them on sale at the markets, not being worthwhile with the cost of petrol, now I can't afford the car insurance, instead I'm researching Welsh sport; Brittonic heritage; and music that comes out of Cymru/Wales & Breizh/Brittany, which I put on to their respective sites I've set up on Facebook, something I wouldn't otherwise have been able to do. Every now & again I glance across to the door and witness a shrew or a mouse or two being sadistically toyed with by my kitten Do(o)do(o), I've gotten over my worm phobia so I pick up and throw out the ones she brings in. Two days ago I was sitting on the settee with my laptop guess where? listening to the Roy Noble Show, there was something he wanted to know so I tapped a few buttons, found what he was looking for and sent it in, it was gratefully acknowledged and mentioned again the following day which I missed, I know because a friend told me on facebook.

I was talking to aphotographer whowas shooting scenes for aproposed book. Hehad been to various beauty spots in Pembrokeshire butwould not be returningalone tothe Preseli Mountains. One year, just after asnowfall, he went up to capturethestillness and isolation of the region.There wasno other living soul around and that was the trouble. He felt spooked.

Drive from Eglwyswrw, over the mountains to Haverfordwest when the moon is full, and you will sense something other worldly.

I was thinking of this today and remembering a plane thatcrashed in the Preselis on 19th September, 1944. The plane was a Liberator EV881, number 547 squadron, Coastal Command. It had a nine man crew, six of whom were killed. Each year a service is conducted on Carn Bria, the site of the crash, anda plaquehonours the memory of the dead.

Not only thespirits of humans return toa place, but that of animals, too.A brown dog haunts RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. Itis said to have belonged to the leader of theDambusters squadron, Wing Commander Guy Gibson.

A large part of the C20th has been about remembering those who fought for us.A friend, now dead, attendedPrendergast Junior School, Haverfordwest,during the 1920's. The children marched down to the Cenotaph for a service each November 11 and the teachers who had fought in the Great War wore their uniforms that day.

In the Model School, Carmarthen, which I attended in the late 1940's, there was a plaque in one of the classrooms with the names of 'old boys' who were killed in World War 11. Each class had to march past the'memorial' and salute.

Following this service in school, one night Ithought of the horrors of war and couldn't sleep. My mother, to cheer me up, showed me the doll I was having for Christmas. It was just a quick look, but I went back to sleep again.

Upcoming live radio sessions:

Sat 12th Nov - from 8.30am on Radio Cardiff with Jeremy Rees and his 'Soulful Saturday Breakfast Show'. Listen live on www.radiocardiff.org or 98.7 FM (around Cardiff area)

Mon 14th Nov - BBC Radio Wales with Alan Thompson, 'Evening Show'. from 7.30pm. www.bbc.co.uk/radiowales

I was in Carmarthen today. In Narberth members of the Welsh Assembly'sbusiness and enterprise committee are doing a survey. What makes Narberth's cash registers jingle all year round is what they're after. They've already had 'compelling evidence', whatever that means, says Nick Ramsey, AM.

I'm thinking of shops bursting with delicacieslike crumb-crusted deep fried prize winning duck eggs from Hayscastle, Llangloffan award winning hand-made cheeses, 'Calon Lan' organic milk and I've told you umpteen times about everything else: antiques, gorgeous dress shops, glass grapes, ticking cushion covers, hand made cards, Iles- de- Rey type watering cans so you can play at being a peasant a la Marie-Antoinette in her shepherdess outfits and then there is art to make your house look as though youare a person of refinement with exquisite taste anda patron of the arts, rolled into one.

But 'Twsh'to all that: I am too much of a Romantic (note the use of the Capital and think Lord Byron, Keats, the sighs of the 'Lady of Shallot')to think of rateable values and their affects on businesses, (though one of my favourite businesses: Andrew Squire aka the 'Country Squire', objets d'art and whatnots hand delivered to your residence, at a time to suit your convenience,on a Sunday afternoon when the proprietor is on his way toreplenishhis larder for the coming week, hasclosed due to increasing rates and there's the rub, aye).

So, I shall leave the AM's to scratch their own brains and return to my trip to Carmarthen.The car parks were full, but not too full and not too pricey and I had a few happy hours bobbing in and out of shops. Iheaded to King Street and straight into an antiques shop.

Emmawants more old cutlery and I had seen some dessert spoons in a velvet lined box the week before.They were still there and the price was dropped from sixteen pounds to fifteenbecause I've bought there previously. I also bought a fifties cushion cover (five pounds) to embroider and a shopping bag, another five pounds.

I could havebought a loaf of spelt bread in a delicatessen lower down the street, or a quiche, but not today.

Instead I went into acharity shop and bought three 'crinoline lady' cups and saucers and a tray cloth. Next,some grapes in M@S and then my mother and I enjoyed sausage and chipsin the Ivy Bush, where the staff are as good as the food.

The old Carmathen market was claimed to be best antiques market in South and West Wales. I bought an 'Alice in Wonderland' from 'Snooks's' stall when I was young and I used to view the Christmas fowls each year, bedizened and caparisoned in parsley and sage wreaths, surrounded by onions glistening like giant pearl necklaces.

I will admit the new market in Carmarthen does nor resemble the old in any way but the old market, opening only twice a week,never made economic use of the facility.Many people taking part in Welsh language programmes claimed that the closure of the market would change the ethos of a countrytown. Carmarthen has always enjoyed alow unemployment rate and, with the new shopping centre, it hasmoved into the C21th.

Walking around the town today, seeing all the big multiples, Ithought of Emma's comment:'Art for art's sake; money for God's sake'.

Ihave been trying to blog about the anti-capitalist
protestors since they first took up camp, but have held back until I had really
understood what they were about. It would have been too easy to mock them for
moaning about capitalism whilst sleeping in shop-bought tents and chatting on
mobile phones: wearing an itchy jumper does not remove you from being a cog in
a capitalist society.

At first I was scathing if you inherently dont like
capitalism, then you should probably move to a country that has a different way
of organising itself, as 200 people nibbling on stew and sipping at Starbucks
lattes cannot change the way our country has established itself over a thousand
years. But then I listened a bit more and realised that anti-capitalist was
possibly a mis-nomer, and bank re-organisation lobby might be more accurate.
Then I had a bit more sympathy but only a bit.

Yes, bankers earn far more than me but they possibly
generate their company more money than I do to mine. Anti-capitalists tend to
forget that in the private sector people have to earn their company more than
they cost, and that is what determines their level of pay.

Of course, no-one has the right to bring down a bank
especially one that I want to pay my cheque for 37.50 into, but I think bankers
would be even stupider than people think they are if there were all these
wonderful ways of making lots of money, but they turned them down as it might
be a little unfair to earn more than the bloke who potters around in the
wholefood caf round the corner.

The real villains are obviously the people who set the rules
that allowed our banks to exchange their foundations of gold to foundations of traws
(hedging detritus), but 200 people pissing
behind St Pauls Cathedral isnt going to get to the inner circle of them.

I think the thing that sealed my opinion of the
Anti-capitalists was the fact that within hours of setting up camp, they had
established a kitchen tent (maybe fair enough), a prayer room, a library and a
university! To me, if youve time to set up a university, your work has been
done. If I wanted to protest about something,
I would spend my time banging on doors, debating convincingly with people who
can make decisions, and thinking of clever things to say to TV cameras. I
wouldnt spend it arguing about where the tent poles for the prayer room were
put when there is a bloody great cathedral next to it.

Quay Street, Haverfordwest, was formerly known as Ship Street or 'The Rookery'.It was a place of ill-repute,and no respectable person ventured there after dark. Boats, crewed by all nationalities, tied up at the quay and sailors spent their nights drinking in the'Bristol Trader' inn.

Most of the crews were well-behaved despitethe copious tots of 'Old Jamaicy' that were consumed. On 14, August, 1907, two boats from Roscoff arrived, having taken thirty three hours to sail from Brittany with their cargo of onions. There was bad blood between thecrews and a fight broke out. Peace was restored eventually and the rest of the stay passed without incident.

Many of the crew slept 'rough' in the warehouses, or ten to a room in Quay Street.The sailors meant extra revenue for the householders in the street, but standards of living were very basic.

In November, 1913, a representative from the Local Government Board found thatthe state of housing in the town was unsatisfactory, manyhouses inQuay Street falling into this category.

In May, 1914, one hundred and sixty four cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were reported in the Haverfordwest area. A poor standard of housing was cited as a contributory factor.

But, amidst this poverty, there were people who were able to afford the luxury of a motor car.

The first person to take out a car licence in Haverfordwest was Sir Hugh J.P. Thomas. On December 22, 1903, he received the registration DE 2. The speed limit was set at twenty miles per hour.

In November, 1913, Pembrokeshire County Council recognised that the increase in motor traffic and other heavy vehicles was causing wear and tear to the approaches of the County Bridge and it was decided thatforty pounds per year should be spent on keeping this area in good repair.

The local paper carried an advertisement from the garage known as 'S &F Green',wheremotor cars could be repaired. Ladies motoring gloves, hats and veils were also available in the town.

Go here:- http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/263243673-mlmef click 'Vote and Share' include a message appealing to your FB friends to vote as well. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK 'VOTE AND SHARE' AND NOT JUST THE LIKE BUTTON.

More Info

In 2010 the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation in association with AmeriCymru participate in the the Chase Community Giving contest on acebook. On that occasion we fell short of making the top 100 by JUST 30 VOTES!!!

This time around we are hoping to make the top 100. BUT we can only do so with your help!

Heres how the prize money is awarded:-

THE WINNER recieves $250,000

THE NEXT FOUR charities each recieve $50,000

THE NEXT 95 each recieve $25,000

We esimate that we will need between 2 and 3 thousand votes to qualify. It's a tall order and there are no guarantees BUT with your help we might just do it.

IN order to vote all you have to do is go to this page:- http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/263243673-mlmef or click on the graphic below, like the app and click 'Vote and Share' Dont forget to add a personal appeal to your friends for their support before you share' PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK 'VOTE AND SHARE' AND NOT JUST THE LIKE BUTTON.

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

1. Email, IM or phone your friends and appeal to them to vote. Remember to tell them that it only takes a second and that all money raised will got to bring Welsh artists and performers over to the US for the West Coast Eisteddfod 2012. This is the most effective method ( particularly IM'ing people on Facebook when they appear in your chat panel ). Use any materials from this blog ( and the others we will be putting out periodically ) to make a standard email to circulate to all your friends.

2. Use the graphic link and or text link from our voting page to embed on your website. This links directly to our voting page.

A THOUSAND DIOLCH'S IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE CAN DO IT!!!!! CYMRU AM BYTH!!!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK 'VOTE AND SHARE' AND NOT JUST THE LIKE BUTTON.

Goal machine Dixie McNeil was a star football striker whose career spanned three decades. Dixie played the beautiful game at Leicester, Exeter, Northampton, Lincoln, Hereford and Wrexham. Top goal scorer of all four divisions in the Football League in 19745 and 19756, he played against some of the best sides in the land and in Europe. Hero-worshipped at Wrexham FC, he spent nine years there as a player and later as their manager.

His new autobiography, called Dixie charts his life in football from those early days as a youngster in the star-studded Leicester squad, which included Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, to management at Wrexham FC. Following his release from the First Division club, he then joined Exeter City and made his Football League debut at Wrexhams Racecourse ground in August 1966. After Exeter and a stint at Corby Town, he signed for Northampton Town and played in the famous FA Cup tie against Manchester United when George Best replied to Dixies goal with six of his own. He then moved to Lincoln City and, after finishing top scorer in the Football League for two successive seasons, he asked for a 5 a week pay rise and was promptly put on the transfer list by Graham Taylor. He then signed for Hereford United and, with 69 goals, helped the side gain promotion to the Second Division for the first time in their history. But after one season, Hereford United was relegated and Dixie was sold to Wrexham FC for 60,000.

As well as charting the glorious years of Cup and League success at the Racecourse, where Dixie helped the team into the second tier of football, Dixies book gives a humourous insight into life behind the scenes and also marks the differences between the game today and the game in the 1970s. Dixie also comments on the present-day struggles at Wrexham FC.

Dixie certainly mixed with some of the footballing greats. In his foreword tothe book, Graham Taylor, former England Football team manager writes of him, As a player his career record is there for everyone to see: 239 goals in 522 appearances speaks for itself. John Sillett, former Hereford United and Coventry City manager, comments, He had that great ability to score goals, but also good touch and vision and a wonderful understanding you were one of the best signings I ever made.

Dixie McNeil will be signing copies of his autobiography at Ellesmere Books, ELLESMERE on Saturday 26 November 1112.30 and at Waterstones, 1820 Commercial Street, HEREFORD on Saturday 10 December from 11 a.m and at Waterstones, WREXHAM on Saturday 17 December, 122p.m.

www.ylolfa.com

Y Lolfa Cyf., Talybont, Ceredigion, CymruSY24 5HE
ffn 01970 831902

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c y h o e d d wy r a c a r g r a f f w y r

St. Mary's Church, Haverfordwest, isone of the finest examples of Perpendicular, or Early English,architecture. Originally, it had a spire but this was damaged during the C18thand never replaced.

Following the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin, Giraldus Cambrensis came to Haverfordwest in 1188, accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Baldwin. Their mission was to recruit volunteers for the Third Crusade and it is thought they occupied the pulpit at St. Mary's.

Gerald, Archdeaconof Brecon, refers to himself in the third person when he says: 'Although the Archdeacon addressed them both in Latin and the French tongues, those persons who understood neither of those tongues were equally affected and flocked in great numbers to the Cross'.

Wives tried to dissuade their husbands from going, not wishing to be widows of a Holy War.

Gerald, ever themysogynist, was wholly disapproving oftheir sentiments: 'Nor is it wonderful if a woman follows her innate evil bent. For it is written in Ecclesiastes:"I have found one good man out of a thousand, but not one good woman", he trumpeted.

This was the Age of Faith anda statue in St. Mary's Church is of a pilgrim, bearing a purse with the scallop shell insignia, showing he has journeyed to Santiago de Compostella in Spain.

Not far from St. Mary'sstands a memorial, erected in 1912, recording the martyrdom of William Nicoll, burnt at the stake on 9th April, 1588, during the reign of Bloody Mary. Little is known of Nicoll, but he wasthougt to be a simpleton by some: 'This William Nicoll was so simple a good soule that many deemed him half foolish'.

Moving on to Victoriam times, market stalls were set up outside the church and the Llangwm fisherwomen were a feature most weeks.