Blogs
A couple of my friends are DJs on radio tircoed, so I listen on-line when I remember the time difference! Anyway, this would be a good day to tune in, if you've a mind (just remember this is GMT and adjust accordingly!):
St Davids Day on Radio Tircoed http://www.radiotircoed.com/
Join us on St Davids Day March 1st for a Special programme of Welsh music.
Weekday live St David's Day special 10 am until 1 pm join Radio Tircoed this St David.s Day with 3 hours of the very best in welsh entertainment from Bassey to Boyce Shaky to Bonnie and anyone else in between
Also featuring the ultimate Tom Jones top ten tracks.
Join Phil Thomas on Radio Tircoed 106.5FM
10am -1pm and help us fly the flag this St Davids Day.
For all things Welsh join Kate Boyt every Monday
from 6 - 7pm for Tynnu Sylw
You can also interact wth the DJs via Facebook while they are on-air.
This is too adorable--there is a video--you have to see! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12584258
A pig from north Wales is set to join a dog display team.
Ten-month old Louie from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, spends his days to run a canine agility course - and playing fetch.
He is now so good at running like a hound, owner Sue Williams hopes to make him part of the Cheshire Dog Display Team.
I am originally from Tucson, Arizona, and there are a few important observatories in the area, so when I was growing up the city was very careful about light pollution, but it was never like this. This is amazing!
Stunning images of starry nights on the Gwynedd island of Bardsey have prompted a bid to secure international "dark-sky" status for the community.
Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12570354
ONLY A MAN |
Just try reading this without laughing till you cry!!! Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Tazer. a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'
I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return! |
Margo asked me to tell the story of Tommy and the Chicken so here it is.
The Background
The mysterious case of Tom Jones and the missing chicken of Fochriw happened in 1963 but a little background is necessary;
Around 1960, Tom Jones was still Tommy Woodward, the lad from Trefforest. Thomas John Woodward was born in that little town at the foot of the Rhondda valley in Wales, a valley known for coal mines in a country known for singers.
Tommy was 20 years old, hed been married to Melinda, or Linda as everyone calls her, for about3 years and they had a little boy, Mark, Tommy worked wherever he could find a job to support his young family.
Back in those days the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC or Auntie Beeb as it was called, considered itself the guardian of the nations morals, Rock and Roll was not permitted. Kids would tune in to Radio Luxembourg to hear the music the British airwaves deemed Improper A music revolution was about to take place and it was sparked by local bands playing in clubs and pubs with a new and exciting kind of music. One such band, formed in that South Wales valley, was the Senators They were playing that new Rock and Roll and had developed quite a following. One night their lead singer, Tommy Redman, failed to show up so the leader of the band, Vernon Hopkins, offered Tommy a crate of beer if hed fill in and sing at a gig in the local YMCA. It was supposed to be a One off but Tommy got bit by the performing bug. Woodward didnt work so they became Tommy Scott and the Senators and soon they developed a respectable following.
One night in 1963 about a year before Tommy Scott and the Senators became Tom Jones and the Squires and their big hit Its not unusual they were playing at the Fochriw social club.
Fochriw
A word about Fochriw would be appropriate; a small coal mining village with a couple of shops and a school, it was mentioned in a 12th century record as Brohru Carn. It is an amalgamation of two hamlets; Ysgwyddgwyn and Brithdir. A small river, Bargoed fach, flows between them. The name was originally transcribed as Fforch y Rhiw meaning A fork in the road a reference to the old tracks that would lead to the two hamlets. It still is a small town that, since the demise of coal, has returned from its industrialized surroundings to the rural atmosphere of its past. The residents are the first to admit that not much happens in Fochriw that is why they still remember and talk about that night in 1963.
A hot night in the old town
Tommy Scott and the Senators were booked to play at the social club. About 200 people were packed in there that night. Tom was playing music a lot of them hadnt heard before and things were going well. A raffle was being held to raise money for the club and one of the villagers had donated a chicken. During the course of the night a fight broke out. Thats not unusual in a valleys club and theres many a night when the revelers find themselves face down on the green green grass of home. What made this night memorable was that after the fight was ended, the soon to be famous sex bomb was gone and so was the funky chicken.
There are people in the village today who are convinced that Tom Jones took the chicken. Nothing has ever been proven and dead birds tell no tales. Tom went on to great things and has played in venues all over the world but he has not been to Fochriw since 1963
David Llewellyn Hits the Road for St David's Day - MidWest Mini-Tour Details
By Ceri Shaw, 2011-02-23
AmeriCymru: Hi David and many thanks for doing this interview at such short notice. Care to tell us a little about the forthcoming MidWest mini tour?
David: Yes, a cool three gig trip (hoping not too cool :O) keeping our eyes on the weather reports!)
Dave Parry of the Chicago Tafia called a couple of weeks ago and invited me to play at their St. Davids day do, and how could I say no? Id love to do it! As an independent touring singer/songwriter based now in this extremely large country, it is a Godsend to find what I gratefully call necessary angels. These are folks who are scattered across the country and some way or another have heard what you do, and have become fans. They are not usually fellow artists or venue/club owners or DJs etc., they have their own stuff to deal with, but are simply music fans, and want to help. They are also usually acquainted and regulars at a lot of the gigs in their city/area, and a word of recommendation from them or just a heres a good venue you might try ask for Tony can go a long way to opening doors. Sometimes its just a Ive got an air mattress you can crash on whenever you are in town, or Ill host a house concert here in my little apartment, just to get you going, but its a huge huge help, a way to get your proverbial guitar in the door.
Dave Parry and the Chicago Tafia, and my dear friend Katie Thompson (both AmeriCymru members) have been my angels in the Chicago area! They have done all the above for me, and it really shows that one person with a heart full of passion can really make a difference. With these guys help, we also came up with a gig to break the drive up to Chicago, and one on the way back. Big thanks!!! Here are the gigs.
Contact me if you need more info :O) david@davidllewellyn.com
I am traveling with my girlfriend, and now duo partner, Ida Kristin, who will join me on guitars and harmonies at the gigs. A very accomplished singer/songwriter and recording artist in her home country of Sweden, we have been writing and playing gigs together since my first songwriting retreat in Sweden back in 2008. And this is a nice segue into your second question :O)
AmeriCymru: You recently spent some time in Europe on a song-writing retreat. Care to tell us a little about that experience?
David: Ive been doing these songwriting retreats for a few years now, and I have to say I love them. So far Ive been asked to participate in retreats in Sweden, Crete, and Ireland not too bad for a Welsh boy from the valleys :O) As the featured writer, your duties include a certain amount of teaching, song critiquing, and organizational stuff, but really the fun is getting to meet fellow songwriters who come from all over Europe, to share tips and ideas, and get to cowrite together in a relaxed but fairly intense week of just that, songwriting!
Each retreat is different but usually you get a new cowriter each day, a topic or theme, and off you go. If you get your song done, you play it to everyone after dinner, and at the end of the week you get to play ALL your new songs at a gig or two. Did I say intense? I tend to dive in and try to write with everyone, and yes, what with trying to record rough versions of the songs, learning harmonies and guitar parts with your new partners, it can be a lot to do, but it does answer the question What could I really do if I had the chance to do nothing but focus on writing no chores, no phone calls, meals provided . . . ? There is a belief in Nashville that the good stuff comes when the Muse is present. But she/he is fickle, visits when she wants to, leaves when she wants to, so dont think shell patiently wait while you nip around the corner to grab some quick Fajitas for lunch. On retreats like these, there is so much writing and creativity going on that she sets up camp, and all kinds of good things happen.
AmeriCymru: Any plans for new releases in the near future?
David: I am recording a new CD in the next month or so. Mixed, mastered and manufactured by mid summer? Crossing our fingers. I also have plans to record a duo CD with Ida Kristin some time this year. Weve had a lot of requests for it at gigs, so we should get it done asap.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
David: To all the AmeriCymru folks out there have a great March 1st! Have a sip or two of what makes you happy, and be thankful that you dont have to pin a huge, eye watering leek to your school blazer!!! Hey, the girls got to wear daffodils now wheres the fairness in that!
Best David
~~This piece was extracted from a project supported by five major academic and heritage organisations in Wales~~
It is being celebrated in Swansea, on 5th March designated Copper Day .
You can follow progress on Twitter @copperhistories
thanks to Ian Mabbet, EngD Research Engineer at Swansea University
A Brief History
Why should we care about the history of Welsh copper?
Imagine your world without the telephone, coins and cars. Look around you. Copper is everywhere. It brings us hot running water. It brings us information to our fingertips, instantly. But how did our relationship with this enigmatic metal develop, and where has it brought us? If it wasnt for the innovations and industry in copper that took place from the 17 th to 19 th centuries, many of which happened in Wales, the world today would be a very different place. It was arguably the first fully integrated global industry and its study will therefore will help us better understand our relationship with the finite resources we rely on today.
How long has Wales been producing copper?
Wales has a long history of copper production. Over 4000 years ago, miners in Wales began to exploit copper ores (in the form of chalcopyritecopper iron sulphide) from deep open casts at sites in central and northern Wales such as Parys Mountain in Anglesey. Innovations that took place in prehistory defined the Bronze Age as early metalworkers learned to smelt copper with tin to make a much stronger and versatile alloy. This alloy allowed smiths to make a wider range of tools, for example axe heads of varying shapes and sizes, many of which we discover through archaeology. The copper resources Wales was able to provide from the Bronze Age through to the Roman period were exported far and wide, although we do not often know how far. The slow developments that took place before the Industrial Revolution were the foundations of Wales first integrated global industry, and arguably, propelled Wales into becoming the worlds first industrialised nation by 1851.*
Photograph of the heritage site in Landore, Swansea. The photo is displayed on the advertising posters.
When did copper become such big business in Wales?
Parallel developments in several industries led to Welsh copper being put on the map and its trade taking off on a global scale. New technologies such as the introduction of the reverberatory furnace, which could produce refined copper in quantities that were commercially profitable, in addition to the deregulation of metal mining by the Crown (towards the end of the 17 th century) led to increased prospection and the reopening of the old copper mines in north and central Wales. The Anglesey mines on Parys Mountain from the 1760 were to become the largest copper ore producers in the world in the late 18 th century. The world-famous Cornish and west Devonian tin mines were also accompanied by large-scale copper production, and this drove much of the early growth in the industry they were early adopters of steam-driven technology (beam engines) to gain access to a massive wealth of metal ore miles underground. Some of these Cornish mining magnates, such as the Vivians, became the famous copper families of Wales as they invested in, and established, smelting works in Neath and Swansea.
Neath, Swansea, Llanelli and other urban centres all had access to sea-going coastal and international trade routes, as well as access to the all-important coalfields in the valleys to the north, and so they proved to be the most strategically important centres for copper smelting from the 18 th to the early 20 th centuries as. Towns like Swansea were also well-placed to profit from the large-scale export of coal abroad. Between 1760 and 1890 the Lower Swansea and Neath valleys became the pre-eminent centres for producing the world's smelted copper, and during the late-18 th century up to 40 per cent of this output was exported to overseas markets, notably in Asia and the Atlantic world. In turn, the growing demand for copper encouraged prospecting overseas and by the mid-19 th century new ores were being brought to Wales from as far away as Chile, Cuba and South Australia.
What impact did the copper industry have on Wales and the rest of the world?
The trade in ores and refined copper grew hand-in-hand with other British maritime commerce. Swansea copper barques circled the globe to bring ore from Valparaiso, Santiago de Cuba, and Adelaide. Refined copper also formed an important part of the East India Companys international trade. Swansea sailors were known as Cape Horners in recognition of their long voyages around Cape Horn (the most southerly point of South America). But there was a darker side to the success of this global commerce. Demand for copper also fuelled the Atlantic Slave Trade. Slave labour was employed in New World mines, particularly in Cuba, many of which were financed by Welsh industrialists who demanded cheaper ores for import to the smelting works in Wales. The canal and rail network connected producers, manufacturers and consumers like never before, multiplying the opportunities for entrepreneurship and profiteering. Copper-bottomed ships gave the British navy the ultimate advantage at Trafalgar as the sheet metal made them more manoeuvrable and protected the timbers of the hull from deterioration. The early days of telegraph communication relied on copper wire for long-distance contact (and we still largely rely on it today).
The refined copper was essential to other industries such as tinplating (which also took place in South Wales, centred at Llanelli), and even its by-products were used, such as sulphuric acid for removing impurities and corrosion from steel, copper and other metal sheets (known as pickling). The copper slag that was produced after smelting formed useful building materials as it was dense and hard. You can see this dark, hard stone in many of the walls and houses in and around Swansea, for example. It was not just industrial products that benefited from this copper. Mass production techniques which were developing elsewhere in Britain revolutionised consumer products and drove more demand for materials. Two such centres were Birmingham and Sheffield which produced items such as moulded copper saucepans, ormolu ornaments, brass buttons and silver plated cutlery. This made desirable possessions available to a much wider variety of people, particularly the growing middle classes of the Industrial Revolution period. These finished products were also exported to Japan, Italy, France and beyond. Welsh copper could also be found in much of the coinage of the day, particularly that produced at Birminghams Soho Mint.
This gradual globalising of the Welsh copper industry had a very profound impact upon the social, cultural, and urban development of South Wales. Swansea was the crucible of this industrial development and it enjoyed a pre-eminent status as a world industrial centreit is still referred to as Copperopolis today. The Lower Swansea valley area has been described by one historian as hosting the most highly concentrated major British industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it is arguably as significant as Coalbrookdale in the history of British economic development. The wealth that was created from copperworking made a big contribution to the cultural heritage of Wales, particularly in the urban centres. Planned workers housing, provided by copper magnates to their workers is still lived in today. Singleton Abbey, built in the Victorian Gothic style, and the founding building of Swansea University in 1920, was originally built as a mansion for well-known copper magnate John Henry Vivian. The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea city centre was founded by Johns fourth son, Richard Glynn Vivian in 1911 after he bequeathed his extensive collection of fine and decorative arts to the city.
When did copperworking fade from the landscape?
As new coal sources were discovered overseas, particularly in North America, new smelting centres were set up nearer to the sources of copper in being produced in South America and Australia. The quantities of ore coming into Wales for processing began to decline from the last decades of the 19 th century. Much of the expertise and skilled work needed for this caused a wave of migration from Wales to Australia and the USA. Unlike other industries, the decline in smelting activity was gradual. The last copper smelting company in Wales, Yorkshire Imperial Metals, finally closed its doors at the Hafod Copperworks site in 1981, but the heritage of the metallurgical industries still remains in South Wales, most notably at Port Talbots steelworks, now owned by the Indian multinational, Tata Steel.
However, much before this time, communities who lived near copperworking began to realise the devastation that the industry had caused to the environment and landscape. The industrial health hazards associated with smelting prompted a string of litigation against owners from the latter half of the 19 th century onwards, and by the end of the Second World War, very few people cared about the once great status enjoyed by copper-producing areas. In Swansea, this led to a campaign of reclamation (the Lower Swansea Valley Project) which began in 1961. The moonscape left by the smelting processes was slowly greened. Today you can see conifer plantations and lush green grass covering the once parched hills and river banks. The river is home to fish and aquatic species again, and is no longer the orange slick it once was. Ironically, amongst all this foliage, a few remains of the old copperworkings in the city can just be seen and are in danger of collapse, and so there is renewed interest in the history of the industry and the impact it had on Wales and the rest of the world.
*The United Nations determines the status of industrial nations by comparing the numbers of people who work in industry (such as mining, processing, manufacturing and transportation) with those who work in agriculture. When the numbers in industry outweigh those in agriculture, a nation can be defined as industrialised. The 1851 census suggests that this happened in Wales before anywhere else
Read all about 'Copperopolis' Hafod, Landore, Swansea our heritage in copper smelting and exporting, from an interactive source on the CCS website.
Watching the scenes from Christchurch makes it hard to image what people are going through there. I know we have New Zealanders on AC, so I hope they are ok--would be nice to hear from them when they get a chance.
Nine firefighters from Wales are preparing to fly out to New Zealand to join the relief effort after the Christchurch earthquake. There's a video and article about them here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12542998 
S4C protesters occupy BBC newsroom in Carmarthen and protesters in Wisconsin
By mona everett, 2011-02-23
As a resident of Madison, Wisconsin, I am heartened to see the same spirit alive and well in Wales!
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Protesters gather outside the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. A few dozen police officers stood between supporters of Republican Gov. Scott Walker on the muddy east lawn of the Capitol and the much larger group of pro-labor demonstrators. Full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/19/madison-protests_n_825616.html
Pac-Cymru Cawl and bread with parsley garlic butter for St. David's Day, serves 8
By gaabi, 2011-02-22
I'm working on inventing some recipes that I hope will be edible blends of Welsh and other cuisines, so this year for St. David's Day I wanted to do a seafood cawl.
Outside the Pacific NW, salmon is considered our "national" cuisine and if you tell people on the east coast that you're a Portlander but you don't like it, they seem disappointed. I never did like it until I moved to the east coast for a while and couldn't get it and that lead me to appreciate what a really fantastic thing good, fresh, wild salmon is, so I wanted to create a "cawl" with salmon. Ceri demanded mussels (ala Mussels Meirionnydd), so that's what he got and it's not Pacific Rim without sourdough bread, in my opinion.
After I made this, I was fortunate enough to find Welsh Shellfish Cawl on the Visit Wales site, and that looks really fantastic so I want to try making that next. If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh salmon filet, wild coho or king if you can get it
- 1 lb mussels
- 1 C cooked crabmeat
- 2 quarts water or vegetable stock
- 2 C cabernet
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 1 large sliced carrot
- 1 small rutabaga, sliced
- 6 medium potatoes, quartered
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
- 1 C oyster mushrooms
- 4 chopped cloves garlic
- 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- 1 t crushed rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
-
Sourdough bread with parsley garlic butter
- stick of butter or 8T butter, softened
- 3 T fresh chopped parsley
- three cloves garlic, cooked soft and crushed
- 1 t parmesan cheese
- baguette or boule of sourdough bread
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Bring water or vegetable stock to a boil. Add onions, carrot, rutabaga and salt and pepper and reduce heat to simmer one hour.
In separate saucepan, saute chopped garlic and three whole cloves for bread with mushrooms until garlic has begun to brown. Reserve whole cloves for bread, add chopped garlic and mushrooms to pot. Add wine and potatoes and simmer another 15-20 minutes until tender. Add herbs, leeks, cabbage, crab meat and salmon until cabbage is tender. Add mussels and cover for about 15 minutes or until shells have fully opened.
While mussels are steaming, cream softened butter for bread with chopped parsley, parmesan and whole cloves garlic. Score bread through to bottom crust in 2' slices, taking care to leave bottom crust attached. Wrap bread in tinfoil, leaving top open, and place on cookie sheet. Spread butter liberally in between slices and bake in 350F oven about 15 minutes or until mussels are done.
Serve hot.
photo by Jon Sullivan, public domain courtesy of http://pdphoto.org/
