Blogs

Cr Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Choir) are geared-up for one of their busiest weeks of the year.
On St Davids Day, Thursday, March 1, the choristers will be heading up the M4 for their very own big match near Twickenham.
The choir will be performing at Duke Street Baptist Church, Richmond, in aid of the Mayor of the London Borough of Richmonds chosen charity, the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Leanne Corneille, Mayors support officer in Richmond, said there was a huge amount of interest in the concert.
Tickets have been selling like hot-cakes, she said. Having the choir perform here in Richmond on St Davids Day makes the event extra special and we will have plenty of London Welsh exiles in the audience.
Cr Meibion Llanelli musical director D Eifion Thomas said the choristers were looking forward to the London trip.
Like the Wales rugby team getting revved-up for a big match at Twickenham, the choristers revel in the occasion of taking to the stage for a special event on St Davids Day.
On Saturday, March 3, the choir will be holding its annual St Davids Day concert at Theatr Elli, Llanelli.
The commitment to perform in London means that we have had to delay our own St Davids Day concert by a couple of days, said Mr Thomas.
But, you can rest assured that it will be well worth the wait. We care very passionately about celebrating all things Welsh and the life of our patron saint and the evening at Theatr Elli will reflect that passion and pride.
The choir rehearses twice weekly on Monday and Thursday evenings at Furnace Community Hall, 7pm start. Visitors and new members are welcome.
Future Cr Meibion Llanelli events
Thursday, March 1 St Davids Day concert in Twickenham for the Mayor of Richmonds charity, 7pm start.
Saturday, March 3 Concert to mark St Davids Day at Theatr Elli, Llanelli, 7pm start.
Friday, March 9 Wedding at the Stradey Park Hotel for choir founder member Byron Thomass daughter. 4pm.
Friday,March 16 Gala concert at Parc y Scarlets, 7pm start, featuring tenor Wynne Evans and Only Men Aloud.

'Women Shaping the Future of Wales' is the title of anITWales event to celebrate International Women's Day 2012.
The annual event provides an insight into the diverse range of business and career opportunities for women in the 21st Century and offers a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge and best practice for women working with science and technology.
VENUE: Village Hotel, SA1, Swansea, SA1 8QY
DATE: Wednesday 7th March, 2012
TIME: 18:15 - 23:00,
Hosted by broadcaster Mai Davies.

Who cares what the 'correct' Welsh flag is? Custom has rendered the familiar one legitimate. It is distinctive - you cannot mistake it for any other flag. Not like those tricolor flags that all look the same. I make this point in my book Dewi the Dragon published by Y Lolfa.

Henry VII became king because of a claim through his English ancestors. He did not fight against the English. but merely had an army with a large number of Welsh soldiers. In the Wars of the Roses the Welsh fought on both sides. If Owain Glyndwr had won, his kingdom would have included a large slice of England with English inhabitants. He married his daughters into the English aristocracy and gentry. He had English ambitions. When he lost he hid and died in England.

The main acheivement of the Welsh soldiers after Bosworth was to slaughter the Celtic-speaking Cornish rebels who had marched towards London. The Welsh are England's original Gurkhas.

Who cares what the 'correct' Welsh flag is? Custom has rendered the familiar one legitimate. It is distinctive - you cannot mistake it for any other flag. Not like those tricolor flags that all look the same. I make this point in my book Dewi the Dragon published by Y Lolfa.

Henry VII became king because of a claim through his English ancestors. He did not fight against the English. but merely had an army with a large number of Welsh soldiers. In the Wars of the Roses the Welsh fought on both sides. If Owain Glyndwr had won, his kingdom would have included a large slice of England with English inhabitants. He married his daughters into the English aristocracy and gentry. He had English ambitions. When he lost he hid and died in England.

The main acheivement of the Welsh soldiers after Bosworth was to slaughter the Celtic-speaking Cornish rebels who had marched towards London. The Welsh are England's original Gurkhas.

More than 30 young golfers took part in a half-term junior competition at Ashburnham Golf Club in Pembrey.
There were a number of excellent individual performances, including a stunning stableford score of 57 points from young Kynan Jones, who made his debut off the yellow tees.
Kynan is also a striker for Burry Port Under-12s football team.
Shona Nelson won the equivalent girls' category.
Kynan and Shona are pictured above.
Results -
Black tee, girls: 1st Shona Nelson (40 shots); 2nd Becca Morgan/Aimee Owen (46); 3rd Layla Francis (47); 4th Katie Birt (48).
Black tee, boys: 1st Morgan Davies (29 shots); 2nd Elliot Brice (32); 3rd Ethan Birt (37).
Red tees: 1st Owain Williams 47pts; 2nd Ryan Owens 46pts; 3rd Griff Sayer 34pts; 4th Ellis Thomas 32pts.
Yellow tees (non-Congu): 1st Kynan Jones 57pts; 2nd Kris Jones 44pts; 3rd James Forey 43pts; 4th Morgan Hand 37pts; 5th Rhydian Bowen 32pts; 6th Kayne Protheroe 30pts; 7th Joe Francis 29pts.
Yellow tees (Congu): 1st Rhys Morgan 42pts; 2nd Aled Greville 39pts; 3rd Osian Bowen 38pts; 4th Ben Thomas 35pts; 5th Tomos Davies 34pts; 6th Edward Spencer 33pts.

There will be a St David's Day theme to a special dining evening at The Ashburnham Golf Club in Pembrey on Friday, March 2.
Ashburnham chef Martin Bartley has conjured up a varied menu.
For starters, there's a choice between pan fried cockles with Welsh smoked bacon on fried bread and leek and potato soup with a crusty roll and butter.
Main course choices are - braised lamb shank on mustard mash; chicken breast stuffed with per glas wrapped in Welsh smoked bacon; baked salmon poached in leek and white wine sauce; vegetarian quiche. Side dishes are - cauliflower and broccoli, carrots and peas, baby roast potatoes.
Desserts - Merlin's magical trio of chocolate; baked Penderyn whisky and white chocolate tart with Hefyn Mel. You can reserve a table by booking and paying at the clubhouse bar. Cost: 12 per person.

Welcome to our new monthly Welsh language crossword feature. Scribo Crossmots have generously offered to host a selection of their

Welsh-English crosswords on the AmeriCymru Welsh Directory. We'll leave it to Keith Lucas to explain what they are all about, and please dont forget to visit the Scribo Crossmots website. We will publish the answers and a new crossword next month on the 22nd. Enjoy

GO HERE TO TAKE THE CHALLENGE

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Anyone who attended last years West Coast Eisteddfod will recall Chris Chandler's performances in the Short Story and Poetry competitions as one of the highlights of the event. Indeed he won both.

Today we are pleased and proud to present a musical version of the winning short story ( see video below ) 'This is Not a Folk Song'.

Also, Chris would like to invite AmeriCymru members and readers to take a look at his latest Newsletter:-

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" Well - The Dragon is the symbol upon the Welsh flag - and even after winning the AmeriCymru Eisteddfod I still did not have any Celtic tales. I have always feared having to wear Spock ears and telling tales of the wee-folk. I figured the only way around that was to write my own retelling of some Celtic stories.

This is my first attempt so I really encourage some feed back. It is longish so I recommend printing it out and reading it at your leisure. I really look forward to hearing from you this month - especially those of you familiar with Celtic tales ."

Here is the beginning of the tale:-

" To this day know one can prove if it happened accidentally or if perhaps it was carefully planed out, but legend has it that is was divine intervention.

Sam Samwell was no relation to the Samwell Circus Dynasty that employed him, but no one at the Cockaigne Island Carnival knew that. This fluke of fortune gave him a faint feeling of security as he watched jobs being cut with less accuracy than the great Throwdini, whose knife throwing mishap last month had actually increased ticket sales -- for a while. ......."

NOW READ ON:- WWW.CHRISCHANDLER.ORG

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READ MORE HERE

Award-winning South Wales architects the Lewis Partnership have scooped another prestigious award this time for a project in Banwen.
The Dove Workshop plays a prominent role in supporting the community in the Dulais Valley.
Architects from the Lewis Partnership have been involved with a number of improvements to the workshops, including a new cafeteria area.
Our role in developing the Dove Workshop has been hugely rewarding for the benefits the project brings to the local community, said David Ward, associate director of the Lewis Partnership.
Now, we have picked up a prestigious Neath Port Talbot Borough Council Building Control award for our work at Dove.
The award is the icing on the cake for project which does a huge amount to develop community spirit in the Dulais Valley.
The award was presented when the cream of the construction industry in Neath Port Talbot gathered at The Towers Hotel for a special ceremony.
This year was the ninth year for Neath Port Talbot to host the awards. The leader of the council, Councillor Ali Thomas was in attendance to present certificates and commemorative plaques to the successful builders and contractors.
The winners of each category will now represent Neath Port Talbot at the South Wales Regional Awards.
Councillor Thomas said: It is a great achievement for everyone who attended to be nominated for these awards and it all goes to demonstrate their commitment to produce quality buildings for the citizens of Neath Port Talbot.
Paul Davis, Building Control Manager for the council, said: The awards serve to promote the Building Control service provided by the authority and encourage high standards of construction.
Lewis Partnership associate director Mr Ward said: It was a great honour to pick up the award for the Dove project and we were delighted to see the high standards of our work recognised.
The Dove Workshop was first established during the Miners Strike of 1984 - 85 by a group of women from the Miners Support Group in the Dulais Valley.
The role of the Dove Workshop today is to identify and support adults in the community seeking education, training and advice on business start-up.
The Workshop established a Social Enterprise in 1989 to further develop child care provision, offer office services and more recently a community caf and catering service.
The brief for the project was to provide a larger area of cafe accommodation and associated kitchen areas in response to the success of the old Sarn Helen Caf which had outgrown its part of the building.
The project is of great benefit to the community in providing an improved facility and further employment.
The community centre has gained contracts for hospitality with Land Rover and BMW in relation to the off-road centre, which is adjacent to the site, and also with the Ford World Rally Team during Rally GB.
The extension to the cafe area was crucial for the continued success and further growth and sustainability of the centre.
The accommodation provides for approximately 180sq.m. of cafe seating accommodation and 76sq.m. of kitchen preparation, storage and cooking areas with ancillary areas.
The project was completed in March 2011 and was subsequently nominated by the Building Control Team of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council for their Built in Quality Awards.