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RUNAWAY NORM http://www.myspace.com/runawaynorm

Just wanted to say a kind thanks for all the welcomes to Americymru!Diolch!GOAD

David Llewellyn's song about a coal miner's young son's first day in the mine, "Take Us Down," is up for Best Folk Song in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest - go here and listen for yourself and please vote for him if you agree it was the best! http://www.jlsc.com/vote.php David emailed me (and lots of other people) this about the contest:"Still 2 weeks left to vote!!!!!!"Hey guys, if you haven't voted yet, or have only voted once - there are still 2 weeks for voting!"If you'll vote for me everyday, I'll . . . (pick one)Cut your grassMarry your ugly sisterPaint (some of) your houseKiss your dogCook you pancakesUnblock your toiletDo your taxes (opps too late)Detail your lawn mowerTalk your boss into letting you have three weeks off for KerrvilleRemind you to floss dailyBe eternally thankfulLeave the toilet seat down(Your suggestion) . . . . . . . . . .COME ON VOTE VOTE VOTETHANKK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUHugsDavid(ps) just kidding "So come on, VOTE VOTE VOTE

TheMorriston Orpheus Choir is proud to announce the release of its newest CD recording ~ Nella Fantasia. It features 16 tracks and is on the Sain label - a company based in North Wales. Joy Amman Davies, Musical Director writes: "A year and a half ago I decided to step down after sixteen wonderful years as the accompanist of the Morriston Orpheus Choir. To show my appreciation of the fantastic experiences that I had shared with them along the way I decided to write them an arrangement of Nella Fantasia, music by the great Ennio Morricone which I presented to them as a leaving gift at my final rehearsal. Little did I know that, after only two weeks, I would be back as Musical Director. I am overwhelmed with their constant support, dedication, passion and love of music - it is truly humbling. Hence the decison to name my first CD as their Musical Director - Nella Fantasia.The CD includes a diverse mix of music ranging from the great war horses of the male voice repertoire - Nidaros, Y Delyn Aur, the very moving and emotional Comrades in Arms which we sang at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff during the Memorial Service and Medal Cermony for the Second Battalion Welsh Guards on their return from Iraq, to the hauntingly beautiful Lisa Ln and light-hearted Cabaret.It has been an absolute joy to include on this CD our thee very exciting singers who have shared the stage with us on several occasions and who have become great friends: Andrew Rees (who accompanied us on our 2007 tour to New Zealand and Australia), Adriano Graziani, another fabulous tenor and young soprano, Morriston-born, Natalya Romaniw, who is representing Wales this year in the BBC Cardiff Young Singer of the World. We like to give young singers a platform on which to begin their careers.I thank my wonderful musical team, Jo Scullin, Mike Williams and Les Ryan and not forgetting my dedicated and passionate gentlemen of the Morriston Orpheus Choir."

Lloyd Robson is a writer and broadcaster from Cardiff. As a poet he has performed and been published on five continents."Oh Dad! A Search For Robert Mitchum" ( reviewed below ) was first published by Parthian Books in 2008.

I dont normally read biographies because they always end the same way. But Lloyd Robson has solved this problem. His "biography" of Mitchum is as much about the author as it is about its subject. Fortunately for the reader both are fascinating characters.

For the hardcore Mitchum fan there is a wealth of biographical information. For instance we are told that at the time of his marriage ( aged 16 ) to Dorothy Spence:- " Mitchum was already a drinker - since he was eight - and Mary-Jane smoker; had already hobo'ed up and down the eastern seaboard; had already served time in jail. She was a good girl and younger. He was sixteen, she was fourteen - the age when according to Mitchum, 'A girl falls for derelicts'."

The book is peppered throughout with amusing and revealing quotes. For instance here is Mitchum discussing his 'range':- " I have two acting styles: with and without a horse." We are also told that:- "Famously when asked if he followed the Stanislavski method he replied, 'I follow the Smirnoff method'."

The plot of every movie, both major and minor, that Mitchum appeared in is referenced at some point in the narrative, usually in the context of some random encounter on the author's travels through the thirteen states that he visited in order to research this book. And what a strange and wonderful book it is. It works on so many levels. It is a meticulously researched account of the life, times and career of one of Hollywood's greatest actors but it is also a travelogue written from a perspective which should prove particularly interesting to members and readers of this site.

Anyone who has emigrated to these shores from the other side of the Atlantic will recall the many minor 'culture shocks' which they experienced when first they arrived and the many ways in which things seemed 'oddly familiar'. There are many instances of this in the book and it works well as a travelogue. Scattered throughout its 500 pages there are occasional reflections on Wales' image in modern America and on notions of 'Welshness' . On page 99 the author asks, with reference to an article in a Bridgeport newspaper which refers to a visit by David Lloyd George and describes him as 'a little Welshman':- " Still at least it proves the American press knew he was not English, and therefore they recognized there was a difference between being Welsh or English. So what's happened since to America's awareness of Wales? It struggles within the swamp of more assertive cultures."

Later in the book he encounters a Southerner who informs him that the "real" South is confined to Georgia and the Carolina's and that other parts of the former Confederacy have changed beyond all recognition. This leads to the following rather interesting reflection ( with apologies for the length of the quote ):- "So many Welsh people consider the major urban spread of Cardiff as not 'really' Welsh, nor the lowlands of Gwent, nor border towns like Chepstow and Monmouth, nor the north-east corner which comes under the influence of Merseyside. So what does this leave us with? Shrinkage. Geographically, culturally and emotionally. A different type of Wales - just as with a different type of the South - is viewed as a change too far. It's like saying, 'There is only one Wales, only one South - and you're not it, whatever you believe yourself to be.' And so we get smaller and weaker. It reeks of the modern age being judged as robbing now-urban areas of their rightful heritage. Well, change happens - we either accept and develop or get very, very lonely in an ever-reducing club, sat all on our lonesome in our chilly tai bach . And that's where we'll stay for as long as the question remains: are you as Welsh, are you as Southern as I am?"

The book is liberally spiced with accounts of bar room encounters and sexual adventures along the way. Indeed at times it is more autobiography than biography. This is not surprising since the author's main concern is to examine the notion of masculinity in the modern age. If Robert Mitchum is the paradigm ( and certainly his father seems to have thought so ), how does he measure up? Together with the standard accounts of boozing, womanizing and fist-fights, there is a determined effort to track down Mitchum's sensitive side. He wrote and self-published his own poetry as a child. What we are left with is an engrossing account of an intellectual and emotional quest which reveals a great deal about both the author and his subject.

All in all this is a first rate read. I'd give it six stars if I could but unfortunately our graphics department was out tonight and she didn't have time to make me a six star jpeg.

Other Books by Lloyd Robson

Cardiff Cut	Bbboing

After a two month pause I've returned to Welsh politics and political blogging.I'm a well known political blogger in Wales, mainly through the blogging contacts that I've cultivated over the last two years and the fact that - apart from my own blogs - I also contribute blog posts to some of the most wiidely read political blogs in the UK.My main Welsh politics blog is ORDOVICIUS (from Ordovices , the pre-Roman tribe of North Wales.I've also created a new politics blog called Pleidiol , a Plaid Cymru related blog that offers daily summaries of Welsh, UK and EU political news as well as Plaid Cymru related news and links.I've also created a blogger site called Welsh Blog Feed /Ffrwd Blog Cymreig , which isn't a blog itself but a collection of RSS feeds to Welsh political blogs.

With the front of the Eisteddfod Spoon largely completed, it's time to focus some energy on the back. I'm a firm believer in making the back of the spoon as beautiful as the front...even if it is going to hang on a wall and only be viewed from one angle. It takes more time and effort and increases the chances of a break or accident, BUT the result is always a much more beautiful and tactile piece. Sometimes, as a professional carver, my client's budgets don't stretch to doing both sides and they wish me to concentrate my efforts on the front only. Even in those cases, I like to try to do some shaping of the back to lend the spoon a bit more elegance.

As you can see from this close-up, the back is currently pretty flat and monotonous, even though the majority of the design outline is clearly visible and the spoon is 'coming to life'. By shaping up the back, I'll not only get a more beautiful product when the spoon is handled and turned over, but the shadows cast by the undulations and curves I plan to create will give the spoon more 'life' and appeal when it hangs on the wall. Lovespoons are an artwork which begs to be handled. Unlike some arts which can be discoloured and marred by the oils of the hand, the lovespoon inevitably profits from regular handling. Over the course of many years, a rich patina builds up and the spoon takes on a lovely vibrant glow which is impossible to replicate solely with the finishes. In this modern age of half-assed manufacturing, where virtually everything we get has had corners cut somewhere or other, it is always a lovely surprise to find the back of the spoon as nicely finished as the front.

But before you go thinking I'm getting all arty-farty and precious about this, I can assure you that doing the back of the spoon also often gives me the opportunity to break out the beloved angle grinder! I LOVE to make all kinds of noise and dust every once in a while and the angle grinder is great for both! Although I spend most of my carving time serenaded by the eloquent strains of Mozart from the cd player and alone in contemplative thought...the high pitched scream of a wound-up grinder hogging its way along can be music to my headphone covered ears!! But a warning: Kids, do NOT try this at home or anywhere else until you have lots of experience! The grinder is a great tool for removing awkward wood in a great hurry, but it is equally good at destroying your project and quite possibly removing your fingers or whole hand. This is NOT a tool to handle lightly. For me, it is a highly efficient time saving wonder, but sometimes it is an extremely fickle mistress. On this spoon it will help me put some arc and curve into the wood and it will deal with some tangled grain sections; hopefully it will do this without blowing the whole project to smithereens!

As the wood is shaped, the spoon will become both physically and visually lighter and the final look will start to emerge. Here's a little close-up of what the angle grinder can quickly achieve. More next week as we start shaping the vines and finishing off the already shaped bowl backs.

If you haven't yet contributed to the Eisteddfod, please consider doing so today! You can win this spoon!!

The Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland Oregon is being extended to a second day. The event will now run from Fri 21st August to Sat 22nd August. A concert on Friday night will feature Here Be Dragons , Jesus Presley and Runaway Norm . Read our interview with Mike Brooks of Here Be Dragons HERE . The full schedule for both the Friday and Saturday programs will be available and linked shortly from the Left Coast Eisteddfod page and downloadable in PDF format. Watch this space for more exciting announcements!

We are also pleased to announce that Welsh author Chris Keil will be attending the event along with Niall Griffiths and Penny Simpson . Chris is the author of two novels:- "The French Thing" and "Liminal". See our interview with Chris here .

All three will be giving a series of readings both at the Eisteddfod and at the Central Library amongst other venues. Here is the Library Event page on Americymru:- Welsh Month at Portland Library. If you are an Americymru member and planning to attend please RSVP on the event page. The Library event is free and, of course, open to non-Americymru members.

Alcemi Write Up on The Left Coast Eisteddfod.

Read the Alcemi write-up on The Left Coast eisteddfod here . Alcemi is a leading Welsh publishing house and a key sponsor of the Left Coast eisteddfod.

HERE BE DRAGONS - I'M NOT DRUNK

JESUS PRESLEY - LATE NIGHT BOOTY CALL

I've created a Cafepress store for the Left Coast Eisteddfod and I'm mid-designing it. RIght now there's just a grey template up and some designs in it.Please give me feedback on what you think about it and the stuff in it, what would you like to see in it, what should be there, etc. http://www.cafepress.com/pdxeisteddfod I was thinking of doing t-shirts of some the other flag dragon designs I did for the Welsh List group - the Canadian flag, etc., (like this one for Australia/New Zealand):

Those of us who are in Canada, Argentina, Australia, etc, would you want a t-shirt like this with a dragon of your flag?

We are Home

We have all arrived safely home. A 11 hour wait for a delayed flight in Orlando airport and with security taking our bike bags apart and swabbing everything, left the team totally exhausted.

We have our party on Thursday in the Botanical Gardens of Wales. Hope to see you there. it's a 1830 hrs start in the Great Glass House

Please check back to see the updates on the blog.

Thank you everyone - your support has been overwhelming and without it, the C2C challenge would not have maintained the high morale that was needed to complete the crossing of the continent.