By Dylan Thomas Birthplace, 2009-07-21
Dylan Down The Ups is the title of a brand new series of events to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the birth of Dylan Thomas in his home village of Uplands in Swansea on 27th October 2009.A year ago we - Anne and Geoff Haden - celebrated the opening of the fully restored birthplace of Dylan Thomas at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive with an Edwardian afternoon tea for a hundred people on what would have been the 94th birthday of the most well known man of words of the 20th century. The house lies at the northern boundary of Uplands up a steep hill - Dylan made the journey down many times and people in Swansea refer to the area - and the Uplands Tavern (formerly Uplands Hotel) - as 'the Ups'From that successful event we have moved to team up with residents and traders of the village of Uplands to celebrate his 95th birthday with a series of events planned throughout the day to give the area a party atmosphere despite it being in October.Says Anne Haden Swansea is made up of villages and this is Dylans after all it was the place where he lived for over half his life and so much of his work was inspired by the area this is the least that we can do for him.Dylans short stories are typically Welsh and full of humour while his poems are deep. The aim is to bring Dylan back to street level through fun, friendliness and accessibility.The area still has its Victorian and Edwardian character and what we are aiming to do is make the village the centrepiece of the celebrations with events going on in the street and many of the shops, cafes and the pub.People will be able to follow in Dylans footsteps and learn about the shops that were in the Uplands in his day when it was a more select shopping area with its own identityWe want to involve all the community and there will be events for children and adults and because it will be during the October half term should attract a lot of interest from out side Wales.Geoff Haden says that the plans are in an early stage but confirmed that There will be a Dylan Look Alike Competition, short story and art competitions and shops will be encouraged to compete in the best dressed window award.We are in advanced discussions to premiere in Wales a new play about Dylan Poem in October by the writer Robert Forrest written especially for the leading Scottish actor Finlay Welsh and we would love to see people from all over the world.The plans have received enthusiastic support from local traders and we hope that this will develop into a week long event by the time that we celebrate the Centenary of Dylans birth in 2014.Nigel Clatworthy from The Chattery has already given his support to the birthday plans and says Anne has booked our venue for the poet Peter Thabit Jones and musician Terry Clarke for an evening of Dylans work and some new and original material from both performers its something that we are really looking forward to.Want to get involved? Email us at info@5cwmdonkindrive.com
By Geoff Brookes, 2009-07-20
You never know what you will find when you start rooting about in old newspapers. I came across this beautifully written piece quite by chance. I was looking for details of a ship that brought Yellow Fever to Swansea and instead found in The Cambrian a story about a ship taking German and Jewish emigrants to America. It is absolutely fascinating.The story comes from July 1882 when The Polaria docked in Swansea.The ship had been launched on the Tyne in the north of England by Mitchell and Co. in February that year for the Carr line of Hamburg. It was 300 feet long, 38 feet wide, with one funnel and two masts. It was built of iron, with a speed of 10 knots. It had been specifically designed for the emigrant service between Hamburg and New York and had accommodation for 1100 passengers. The company was contracted to carry 18,000 people over the subsequent six months and The Polaria was an important part of the huge fleet populating America. Crossings normally took between 17 and 19 days. This was its second trip, the maiden voyage docking in New York on 15 May 1882.Swansea has always been a busy port and sailors from all over the world have always come ashore, but it was unusual to see foreigners in such large numbers as this. Early on Monday morning the passengers from the ship were suddenly on the streets, no doubt grateful to feel the solid ground beneath them for a while. They still had a way to go, across the Atlantic. Few of them would ever have travelled this far before.The Polaria was docked for three days, during which time it became the object of the highest interest on the part of the local community. It was a drama from another world with 731 characters, which had called briefly into Swansea to pick up tin plate and coal from Wenallt and Resolven collieries.The paper tells us that he majority were Germans from various areas of the newly constituted but not as yet well consolidated German Empire. Whilst the cargo was being loaded, the passengers became a local curiosity. They were, we are told, stared at and joked about by the small minded and the thoughtless idlers which is very reminiscent of Shakespeares Merchant of Venice where all the boys in Venice follow Shylock and laugh at him. Certainly, Swansea has never been the most cosmopolitan of places. Soon the locals gathered at the docks for a closer look and many were taken on a tour of the ship, as if it were some kind of entertainment.The ship is described as a small town, with a most diverse population. There were nearly 200 Russian and Polish Jews from the troubled dominions of the Czar where they had been cruelly treated. They are of a very degraded standard dressed in rags. Their faces and hands would be all the more seemly for a freer use of the soap and water which are so liberally supplied on board ship. Their fares were paid by international relief committees, which seem to suggest to the reporter that he can treat them as curiosities.The newspaper adopts a rather superior tone throughout, with a curious mix of sympathy and outrageous prejudice. The odours that ascend from their quarters are not of the sweetest kind. The writer was not at all troubled by the sort of restrictions we have today and at times there is an awful cruelty in some of the things that are written. He is confident that no one will see anything improper in what he says. He tells us that the Jewish emigrants may not be as poor as they look, he writes about the Semitic type in their physiognomy and their peculiar genius for petty bargaining and money changing.The reporter is more comfortable with the Germans, who are respectable working class, clean in habits. They paid about 5 for their passage, though 140 of them had tickets pre-paid by family and friends who had already made the journey. There were new passengers as well, for two children were born, one off Mumbles Head and the second whilst the ship was in dock.Thousands of people gathered to see the departure of The Polaria at 9.00pm on Wednesday. It was apparently a touching sight. The poorer spectators allegedly expressed their wish to join the emigrants. 30 men went to the captain and offered to work their passage. 50 loafers and would-be stowaways were found and sent back in the steam tug. Is any of this true? It is hard to say. The reporter adopts a narrative style throughout and perhaps such details just helped to make it a good story.The article ends with some reflections on emigration and how it is most successful when families and neighbour hoods go together. There is no loneliness, no misery save through the unavoidable accidents of life. For this reason he appears to be encouraging entire Irish villages to relocate across the Atlantic.Sadly I have been unable to find the passenger list for this particular voyage. However, the list for the maiden voyage of The Polaria which docked in New York on 15 May 1882 is available on-line and it brings all the stories about emigration to life. You can see whole families desperate to improve themselves. They uprooted themselves completely and headed into the unknown. For them it was a new beginning in the New World.Back in the Old World boys still laughed at strangers in the street.You will find a longer version of this piece, containing additional information, on my website - www.storiesinwelshstone.co.uk.You will find it in the Shorter Tales section.
|  The SlimJims will be opening the friday night show at the Left Coast Eisteddfod on August 21st at the McMenamins Crystal Ballroom in Portland Oregon. Also on the bill will be Jesus Presley, Western Aerial and Runaway Norm. The show starts at 8 p.m. and doors will open at 7. You can buy tickets direct from Ticketmaster HERE . Band leader Shane Todd talks about the band in a short article below. To hear The Slimjims follow this LINK. SlimJims band member and founder Shane Todd says "the whole focus of our group is producing what I call ' The Living Room Sound.' We perform as if we are setting up in your house and playing songs with everyone who came by with their instruments." Todd, lead singer and guitarist, says the SlimJims accomplish that because all of the band's instrumentation is acoustic-based, harking back to the time when his Irish American ancestors would gather together at someones home to play music on the weekends in the mountains of West Virginia after working in the coal mines. Thats exactly what my great grandmother did; sang, played guitar and essentially was the coordinator for Saturday night jams at her cabin. The Portland area band originated about seven years ago and now includes Stephen Cambron (pedal steel, electric guitar), Seth Garon (bass, vocals), Deborah Katz (fiddle, vocals) and Paul Hampton (drummer). Todd, said he has produced the band's show as a tribute to his American Irish musical roots spanning about five decades with the songs he used to listen to as a young child spending time with his father as he worked on his motorcycles in the garage. "He used to play a lot of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins," Todd said. All this classic American music has deep roots in our Irish and Welsh heritage. The SlimJims, which recently headlined a list of eight bands that performed on July 4th at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, also likes to focus on "B side hits. ''True fans would know those songs because they would play both sides of all the records," said Todd.   |
By Côr Meibion Morlais, 2009-07-19
Hi All,Just to inform you that you can purchase our latest CD called Dreaming Of The Land via our website, paypal and iTunes.CD costs 8.99 + 1.99 postage **iTunes: 7.99** 0.79p per track.For more information about postage to USA and to order CD please contact Nigel Morgan at: Nigemorgan@aol.com
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Tracks:1. Down in the Valley2. Ave Verum Corpus3. Speed Your Journey4. Arwelfa5. Prayer for Intercession6. Yfory7. Evening Prayer8. You Raise Me Up9. Scarborough Fair10.Sixteen Tons11.Vycherni Zvon12.An American Trilogy13.Softly As I Leave You14.Alexander's Rag Time BandRegards,Stuart StreetCor Meibion Morlais
By Morriston Orpheus Choir, 2009-07-18
Have a look at our short promo video A Grand Night For Singing. This combines the voices of the Morriston Orpheus Choir with the thrilling sounds of the Band of the Royal Marines. Originally released in 1976, it has been digitally re-mastered and released on CD format. To mark the US bicentenary when the LP was first released the US Marine Corps Hymn was specially included - a verse of the hymn is heard on the video.
By Heath Davis Havlick, 2009-07-18
Well, it's official. My crop circle comedy set in Wales, CIRCLE MAKER, will not be shot this year. The economy's just too rotten. Fortunately, I have other scripts that can be shot at any time of year (not just during growing season), in other locales. So, I press on.
By Edward Channon, 2009-07-17
Hiya all,Going to the Portland Highland Games tomorrow should be a lot of fun doing sports like rugby wearing my Wales jersey of course. Also playing hurling as well as shinty! Between 2-3pm I'll be doing a signing of my new book so I hope to see you all there!
http://www.phga.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=2009games
