Blogs

* Sunny Spells with only patchy cloud* 15C - 19 kph windUpdated 9:48am 1 September 2009:Welcome bynwaltersYour account | Log outTom Jones to play gig in a pubSep 1 2009 by Nathan Bevan, South Wales EchoComment (1)Recommended (1)ITS not unusual for Tom Jones to enjoy a pint of Guinness so much so hes going straight to the source by playing a gig in a Dublin pub.The Pontypridd singing legend announced the low-key September 24 show, so hush-hush that the location of it wont be revealed until minutes before its to due to start, to mark the 250th anniversary of the world-famous Irish stout.Well, you know, Im Welsh and its a Dublin pub its a perfect fit, said Jones, speaking from his Las Vegas hotel suite.And I enjoy a pint of Guinness myself, although I hope I dont consume too much of it before I start singing, he joked.The 69-year-old Voice Of The Valleys added that he was relishing the idea of getting back to up close and personal with his fans and playing an intimate venue more reminiscent of his club circuit beginnings.Sometimes, to be musically stripped down like that is really good, he said.Some people are scared of it, they cant perform unless they have a full-blown sound system, musicians and all the business they get thrown.But if you love to sing, or perform, then sometimes its good to go into areas like that.Its certainly a marked difference from having stormed the stage at Glastonbury earlier this summer in front of more than 100,000 screaming revellers.Whether youre in front of a dozen people, or thousands, you still have to put on your best performance, Jones added.Glastonbury was great, though, they were all shouting, We want Tom, We want Tom before I came on and the Red Dragon was flying high and so was I.And despite all the glitz and the glamour of his jet-setting Beverly Hills lifestyle, Jones added hes never forgotten his homeland.Ive always been a working-class person, he said.Ive never forgotten where I come from and Im proud of it.I loved singing in the clubs in Wales and only went to London to record because I couldnt make enough money gigging at home to turn professional, added Jones.But I had a ball there at home.Comment (1)Add a commentReport item as: (required) XComment: (optional)User Imagebynwalters wrote:I'm from Merthyr, same culture as Ponty, he can come and play in my pub; I can pay him 250 euros to start and pass the hat around for the rest; I can guarantee 50 to 70 people at the bar with the windows open so the people on the terrace can hear it as well.I can't serve him Guinness but I have 'Coreff* Stout' which is smoother and not so bitter, brewed by local boys and not multinational multi-millionaire financiers/industrialists.The address is 'Tavarn Ty Elise, 29690 Plouye, Finistere, Brittany, Tel: 33(0)298999644bynwalters@libertysurf.frhttp://bynbrynman.ning.comhttp://crwtynrhifnaw.blogspot.com* Coreff is the North Breton form of Cwrw (Beer)1/9/2009 12:13 PM BST on walesonline.co.ukRecommend

Google heard you! They have now added Welsh to the Google Translate product: Read the full article here Hopefully they will continue and add it to the rest of their products!

2010 sees the 40th anniversary of the InterCeltic Festival at Lorient on the 6th to the 15th Aug.; l'anne de la Bretagne

Home > Lehigh Valley News > Breaking NewsFire in historic Welsh church in LansfordThe Morning Call6:43 a.m. EDT, August 31, 2009Firefighters in Carbon County are on the scene of a working fire in an historic church in Lansford this morning.The fire was reported around 5:05 a.m. in the old Welsh Congregational Church in the 200 block of W. Abbott Street at Pine Street.Fire companies from Lansford, Summit Hill, Tamaqua, Nesquehoning and Coaldale are on scene, the Carbon County Communications Center said. Initial reports indicate damage may have been contained to the interior and is under control, but fire crews are expected to remain on scene for several hours. Most streets in the area of the church are blocked with fire equipment.It is the oldest Welsh church in the region, founded by coal miners who settled in the Ashton section of Lansford in the 1800s. The church has not been used for services since the 1930s, but it is considered one of the Panther Valley's historic treasures. It was restored in the 1980s and received a state historical marker in the 1990s.The building, constructed with land and lumber donated by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., was dedicated Dec. 26, 1850 as the Old Welsh Church. It became the First Congregational Church of Ashton in 1854 and later the English Congregational Church of Lansford to reflect a change from Welsh to English language services.The Welsh Congregational Church Preservation Society re-dedicated the church in 1985 following the restoration, which was completed by the return of the original lectern and altar chair. - Reporting by Tracy Jordan, The Morning Call*The Morning Call, 101 North Sixth Street, Allentown, PA 18101

I am from Dowlais and I've just discovered that there is a residential area of Rockville named Dowlais Drive: how did this come about? Dowlais had the largest ironworks in the world, with many of the workers moving to Pittsburgh for higher wages, also Donetsk in the Ukraine was founde by the Dowlais engineer John Hughes who was invited by the Tsar to build a works there, it was originally called Yuzovka before it's subsequent re-baptism to Stalino, but Maryland ?

Right back from the Left Coast Eisteddfod, John Good of Oceans Apart talks about his music and the group. It's an extended interview and includes two tracks by Oceans Apart. Lots of ways of listening:- straight from my website - by iTunes subscription - from the Spoken Word website If you are a windoze user you may have to install the Quicktime player for some of the links (it's free).Enjoy (and all the other Welsh and Local music that's in my regular show - all on podcasts.)

It's a bit late now, but when I woke up this morning I was wondering how many of you who visited the Smithsonian/Welsh festival in Washington are aware that if you were to climb the stairs of the Capitol Monument there is engraved into the stonework; 'Fy Iaith, Fy Ngwlad, Fy Nghenedl - Wales - Cymru Am Byth'. I think this is worth a return visit, don't you?

Make new friends, but keep the oldOne is silver and the other gold.How many of us sang this song as a child? This song, as well as many others, was written by Dr. Joseph Parry, once of Danville. ..... MORE

"Steely editor-in-chief Anna Wintour may be the public face of American Vogue, but as a new documentary about the magazine, The September Issue, makes clear, creative director Grace Coddington is equally as influential. Harriet Quick pays homage to this Welsh-born model-turned-superstylist, and explores her tense but creative partnership with Wintour" ..... MORE.