Blogs

A message from Sian Ifans:-

IF You wish to see the A470 Named 'Main Road Prince Owain Glyndwr, sign the petition in the link canlynol and please pass on to one and all.

http://www.gopetition.com/ Petitions / campaign-to-the-name-A470-wales -Main-road-prince-ow.html

Blodwen's New Year Sale - 50% Reduction on Selected Items.

Blodwen - Bringing thecraftman's way of life to your way of living

"A new band we love. Bloody lush!" - Lauren Laverne, BBC 6music
"Life-affirming, well worth a listen, it'll put a spring in your step" - The Independent

STORM CASTLE, RELEASE SHARKS, FREE MUSIC

Diligently polishing a new album due out in spring, Welsh-Anglo-American psych-punk-alt-rockers Howl Griff invite you to a headline Camden gig, tell you about the new single, and offer you a free MP3.

STORM THE CASTLE...
On Thursday 12th January Howl Griff headline at Camden's legendary Dublin Castle http://thedublincastle.com/ Ably supported by Little Shadows, The Harlots and Deaf Offenders, HG will be unveiling their killer new single 'Sharkfins In The Sky' , released later this month but exclusively available on the night.
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/148914

...RELEASE THE SHARKS...
Released on Monday 30th January but available to pre-order now, 'Sharkfins In The Sky' combines thoughtful lyrics with irresistibly uplifting melodic invention. The story of a shooting at an ice-rink disco is soundtracked by a breathlessly catchy new wave / disco crossover, and it's fast becoming one of the band's most popular songs.

"Cleverer than a fox and twice as tuney" - Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales
More info: http://howlgriff.com/music/sharkfins.html

...FREE THE MUSIC
Every month Howl Griff give away a new song , downloadable from http://www.howlgriff.com/freemp3s.html . This month it's another longstanding live favourite: Countdown to Zero, a shuffling smorgasbord of psychedelia building into a heartfelt finale.

See the same page for access to much more free music, while Howl Griff's much-admired back catalogue is now available via Bandcamp http://howlgriff.bandcamp.com/ on a pay-as-you-please basis.

That's it for now, more next month. See you in Camden, or in what The Kids no longer call cyberspace...

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I've got to translate about 5,000 words from English to Welsh as part of an MA assignment. If you have something suitable that needs translating, I'm willing to do it free of charge as I prefer to spend my time on something that will be read by people other than just my assessors.

Clearly, books are out of the question, but essays, articles, brochures, guides, manuals, and so on are more likely to be about the right length. However, it doesnt have to be a single piece, so even if you've got something shorter, I may still consider it if I also have another proposed piece that would make up the word count..

I intend to begin the work around the middle of February and hope to then have it completed in around three or four weeks.

I'm living in South Korea at the moment, so finding something appropriate is not easy and I would appreciate any suggestions you have, even if it is not something of your own.

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Mae'n rhaid i mi gyfieithu tua 5,000 o eiriau o Saesneg i Gymraeg fel rhan o aseiniad cwrs MA. Os oes gennych rywbeth addas sydd angen ei gyfieithu, rwy'n fodlon ei gwneud yn rhad ac am ddim gan fod yn well gennyf dreulio fy amser ar rywbeth caiff ei ddarllen gan bobl heblaw dim ond fy aseswyr.

Yn amlwg, mae llyfr allan o'r cwestiwn, ond byddai traethawd, erthygl, llyfryn, llawlyfr, neu rywbeth tebyg yn fwy tebygol o fod tua'r hyd iawn. Fodd bynnag, does dim rhaid iddo fod yn un darn, felly hyd yn oed os oes gennych rywbeth byrrach, gallaf dal ei gysidro os ydw i hefyd yn derbyn darn arall y gall godi cyfanswm y geiriau i'r nifer derbyniol.

Bwriadaf ddechrau'r gwaith tua chanol mis Chwefror ac yna gobeithiaf ei gwblhau mewn tua thair neu pedair wythnos.

Rwy'n byw yn Ne Corea ar y pryd, felly dydy ddim yn rhwydd dod o hyd i rywbeth addas ac fe werthfawrogaf unrhyw gynigion sydd gennych, hyd yn oed os nad ydy'n rhywbeth gennych chi eich hun.

Tro Llaw - a collection of 200 Welsh Hornpipes from the National Library of Wales. Robin Huw Bowen. ISBN 0-907158-25-0

This book has not been reprinted in 25 years and there is a new generation of folk and traditional musicians eager to have a copy of this book. It is very rare to find second hand copies for sale.

Another print run of 'Tro Llaw' would accommodate the needs of the new generation ... of young Welsh musicians and the rest of the popular folk world, wishing to increase both their Welsh musical repertoire and book collection, and to create a further awareness of our beautiful heritage.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION
Diolch
http://www.change.org/ petitions/ national-library-of-wales-re-pr int-tro-llaw-200-welsh-hornpip es-by-robin-huw-bowen-1987

(This is part of a column I wrote which appeared in Ninnau & Y Drych)Ninnau & Y Drychoffers us a new column!Arturo Roberts, Ninnau & Y Drych publisher, has offered regular column space to summarize activities in the Welsh communities in North America and beyond. The premiere column is in the current issue.We are asking for brief Welsh-flavored news items and photos from outside Wales.We hope to highlight local events of a more unusual nature. The purpose is to showcase events that have already taken place and include photos with a few short descriptive paragraphs. This, it is hoped, will let readers see how active and creative the world-wide Welsh are and give other organizations ideas for future programs. This latter was an important item discussed at the annual meeting of Affiliated Welsh Organizations leaders at the last three North American Festivals of Wales.Some local societies find themselves repeating the same activities and getting fewer and fewer people to meetings, while other societies seem to be adding more and more diverse activities that appeal to a wider population, yet still keep the "Welshness". (This is NOT to say that cymanfaoedd canu and St. Davids Day events should not continue to be integral parts of our activities! Most societies know how to do those and many are just looking for fresh ideas to add to their existing programs.)We can also provide the space to share news of births, marriages, significant birthdays, and anniversaries within your local society. We expect that this column will allow many smaller events to receive widespread notice.If your local society has any fall or winter (spring or summer, for those in the Southern Hemisphere) news or events and/or photos you would like included in the next Welsh Round Up, please email them as attachments to: Roundup@nafow.org before February 1, 2012. Be sure to include either a phone or email contact. Each column will contain material submitted from individuals and local Welsh organizations. High quality jpeg photos with captions and photo credits welcome!To be considered for inclusion in this column for the next year, the deadlines are:February 1, 2012April 1, 2012June 1, 2012August 1, 2012October 1, 2012December 1. 2012Please send submissions as early as possible to allow for editing and any questions. The column will only succeed with your help!It would be a great help if we could receive copies of your local Welsh newsletterseither via email or postal mailat the above addresses. If you decide to send them, please include permission for us to edit and reprint information and photos in Ninnau.I hope you enjoy this new addition to Ninnau and Y Drych!Thank you!

can anyone help me please, i am doing a project for my textiles degree , the project is about welsh migration and i want to look for real stories of real people who migrated, the reasons why and where from and to. im lookin for names dates which ships they traveled on and perhaps letters or poetry. also anything about quiltmaking and the influence the welsh had on the americans quiltmaking traditions. I have a few ideas for my final quilt but need to do lots of research first, i would be very grateful for any help thank you so much

hazel reitz

Well, surely one is or one isnt! Its actually far more complicated than that. Being Welsh isnt a simple matter of your parents nationality, the location of your birth, or even where you live at present. Indeed, many nations of the world give the opportunity for citizens of another country to become naturalised citizens of their land and adopt a new nationality - once they go through a considerable number of hoops.

My passport confirms I am a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As an aside, I have discovered that since 1983 I am no longer a British subject but a British citizen . Concealed in all that complexity is that fact that qualifying people in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have the status of British citizen and there is no mechanism to become a naturalised citizen of just one of those three nations or one province. This is all beginning to get very complicated and I recommend you take five minutes out to watch The United Kingdom Explained . Its a fun piece but beware of some inaccuracies such as Anglesey, the Isle of Wight and the Scottish islands NOT being part of Great Britain and England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland being sovereign nations with their own Parliaments. Ah, that it were so!

Anyway, I digress. This is all about me being Welsh. Was I born in Wales? No, sadly. I entered this world six weeks after the creation of the National Health Service (Architect: Aneurin Bevan a Welshman) so I was free at the point of delivery which was Battle Hospital, Reading. My father? Born in London to English parents (with Irish and French one generation earlier). My mother, however, was born in Cilfynydd, a coal-mining community in the Rhondda Valley, to proud Welsh parents with many generations of North and South Welsh ancestry.

I loved our visits to South Wales as children and our times with our Welsh family and in the 1980s and early 90s I always felt at home when I travelled in Wales in my role of Wales Liaison Manager for the British Tourist Authority. The tipping point came when our elder son Mark moved to Llanberis in 2002. We visited regularly and both fell in love with North Wales and moved here in January 2007.

I realised almost immediately that for the first time in my life, I felt as if Id truly come home. Some people scoff at the Welsh concept of hiraeth a deep sense of longing for, and connectedness with, the land of Wales to its people and to its history. Hiraeth is probably the most tangible and real explanation I can give for my Welshness as its nothing to do with the more conventional Welsh icons. Its only slightly connected with rugby thats only been the national sport since December 1905 ; it certainly has nothing to do with thick woollen shawls and silly tall hats an invention of Lady Llanover in the 1830s; daffodils only became a Welsh emblem in 1911 courtesy of David Lloyd-George, and the Welsh flag was officially recognised in 1959!

No, Im a Welshman because I know I am. I cry when I sing Calon L n or Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau . Im profoundly moved when I hear Katherine Jenkins, Bryn Terfel or Cerys Matthews. I am joyously transported 1400 years into Celtic history when I sit in Penmon Priory and think of St Seriol and St Cybi in their daily meeting at Llanerchymedd after a 20 mile walk. I long for their connectedness with God and with the land.

Its all summed up in a line from our National Anthem (also found on the edge of Welsh 1 coins) - Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad - True am I to my country.

Dw i 'n Gymro balch.

Can anyone recommend a good reliable source for Love Spoons?Les Jenkins

Reprinted with permission from David Western's blog , all material 2012, David Western --

Despite all the forecasts of yet another year of economic doom and gloom, my year got off to an excellent start when renowned spoon collector Norman Stevens sent me a box of spoons from his extensive collection for me to study. I've never been fortunate enough to see a Norwegian wedding spoon or a Swiss creme spoon 'in person' before, so the opportunity to handle some of these remarkable pieces has been very inspiring!