Blogs
| This week the first book in a new series of picture and story books for infants following the antics of a ginger cat from the slate town of Upper Corris in North Wales will be launched. Y Lolfa publishers of the book hope that the Maw the cat will eventually become the most famous cat in Wales.The book has been written and drawn by Richard Llwyd Edwards and describing his new creation he said,
Maw enjoys climbing, saying his name, playing, eating and sleeping and sleeping and sleeping He supports Celtic and his favourite colours are green and white and ginger like his hair of course. Meinir Edwards on behalf of Y Lolfa added, Im sure Maw will strike a chord with children. It is impossible not to like him. Im hoping that before long he will be as well know as Garfiled, Felix and Tom from Tom and Jerry. Although the book is published in Welsh, an English translation of the text is printed on every page so that non Welsh speaking parents can read and understand the book while reading it to their children. Richard Llwyd Edwards is the head of Art at Penglais school in Aberystwyth. He lives in Upper Corris with his six cats. Maw! is available in Welsh bookshops and www.ylolfa.com for 2.95.
Richard Llwyd Edwards with Maw
|
| Destination Vienna is a book written in tribute to the authors father and hero, William Edwards, 2nd Lieutenant U.S. Army Air Force. William Edwards immigrated to America from South Wales with his parents prior to the war and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The author has provided the reader with a brief discussion of the events and situations which led to World War II, explaining the underlying unrest in Europe, and especially Germany, following the World War I Treaty of Versailles. He nicely summarizes the Worlds attitude of the German militarization, which was in violation of the Treaty, in one succinct paragraph. In March of 1938 Germany took Austria without the use of force. The West did nothing. Then Germany decided that it wanted to take over a section of Czechoslovakia (created at the end of WWI) called the Sudetenland (an area heavily populated by Germans). Hitler and Mussolini met with leaders of Great Britain and France to discuss the issue. The West decided to appease Hitler, and the Sudetenland was handed over to Germany. The author then writes in the person of his father, taking us to Bridgeport, CT describing the relative prosperity and innocence of life in America following the Great Depression. War did come to the United States in December of 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As was expected of young men of that period William volunteered to serve in the USAAF and won a commission as an aircraft navigator. 2nd Lt. Williams discussed some of the challenged faced by the Army Air Force in equipment suitability and personnel needs. He paints a very vivid description of the physical conditions encountered by the crew when flying in a B-24. His description of the extremely dangerous but vital missions flown to destroy Germanys oil supply leave one in awe of the bravery and tenacity of the B-24 crews. The description of his last mission, destination Vienna, is captivating as his explanation of its outcome. The book is an easy and enjoyable read, which gives the reader a personal insight into WWII in Europe.
Buy the book here. Review by Howard Evans
|
After a marathon reading session yesterday, during which I almost resented going out to lunch in the spring sunshine because I wanted to carry on reading, I would like to thank Peter Griffiths for a powerful and engrossing story.
Tongue Tied is more than that though; it manages to be informative about Welsh religious and political history and it illustrates the strong emotions inspired by the beauty of the Welsh landscape in the collective heart of the Welsh people.
http://americymru.ning.com/profiles/blogs/win-a-copy-of-tonguetied-by
Dylan Thomas Prize for young writers - closing date for entries
By Dylan Thomas Birthplace, 2010-04-10
CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR 2010 DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE
Third award of worlds biggest literary prize for young writers
This is a competition that is close to my heart having served on the board of directors for the past six years in which time our 'little baby' has turned into the most successful prize for young authors and writers.
Entries are being invited for what is the worlds biggest literary award for young writers the 30,000 ($45,000) Dylan Thomas Prize which will be awarded for the third time in December 2010 to the best published work in the English language by an author under the age of 30 from any country in the world. Shorttlisted writers will be flown to Wales for a week long An Author's Christmas in Wales before the Prize announcement.
The deadline for submission of entries is 30th April 2010 and the full rules and entrty form can be downloaded from www.dylanthomasprize.com .
The Prize commemorates the life of Dylan Thomas who first published in his teens and then achieved an international reputation in his twenties.
Entry is open to published works in the English language of fiction, verse and drama and can be in the form of poetry, a novel, collection of short stories, broadcast radio play, play that has been performed professionally, screenplay that has resulted in a feature-length film. With a growing list of sponsors this year there will be now entry fee - but hurry not much time left to enter.
The Prize was established in Dylans home town of Swansea in 2006, is sponsored by the University of Wales and from this year will become an annual event.
An international panel of judges, chaired by the acclaimed television writer Andrew Davies, awarded the Prize in 2006 to Rachel Trezise for her volume of short stories, Fresh Apples and in 2008 Peter Florence, organiser of the Hay Literary Festival, chaired a judging panel which awarded the prize to Nam Le for his book The Boat
Says Prize board member Geoff Haden who has restored Dylan's birthplace The entries we have received in the past from all over the world have been outstanding and many of those authors and poets recognised by the Prize are now carving a niche in the literary world.
The longlist is expected to be announced in early summer by Prize ambassador Michael Sheen.
Further information Geoff Haden 01792 403333
Good stuff
Byline: By ERYL CRUMP
WELSH heroes awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in battle are to be commemorated in a new book.
Heart of a Dragon, the story of Welsh VCs will be launched in Caernarfon Castle next weekend.
The families of about a dozen holders of the medal will travel from as far away as Brazil for the event.
Author Alister Williams said the book is an in-depth examination of actions and other significant events in the lives of the men concerned.
He said: "The forty-four men who appear in this volume, covering the period 1914-82, are not all Welshmen, but they were either born in Wales, died in Wales, had Welsh parents or gained the Victoria Cross for action whilst serving with a regiment that is today associated with Wales.
"Amongst the men included here are the award to Lionel Rees Group Captain Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees VC OBE MC AFC RAF (31 July 1884 28 September 1955) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. , the first man to serve in a designated fighter squadron, William Williams
In the Royal Navy, a rate is the equivalent of a military rank, held by a person below the ranks of Warrant Officer. of all time and Hugh Rowlands General Sir Hugh Rowlands VC, KCB (6 May, 1828 - 1 August 1909) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. which sparked my particular interest in the Victoria Cross.
"When General Sir Hugh Rowlands andhiswife diedmymaternal grandfather, Donald Mackinnon, bought Plas Tirion, hence my initial interest in the VC."
The book is illustrated with nearly 1,000 photographs, prints, drawings and documents, showing as many facets of each man's life as possible.
Many of these illustrations have never previously been published.
MrWilliams was born in Llanrug but brought up in London.
After graduating at theUniversity College of North Wales, Bangor, he became head of history at a large comprehensive school before embarking on a career in publishing.
Heart of a Dragon, Bridge Books, pounds 30.
erylcrump@dailypost.co.uk
I know there are many sites, I use Genes reunited and Acestry.co.uk, as well as the government sites. But finding my Welsh roots is very difficult. Any thoughts on having something on this site to help people trace their heritage?
David
Great to see two teams in the play offs (Cardiff and Swansea) also congrats to Newport on promotion. Come on Wrecsam you can do it next year.
John Toshack is doing a great job with the national team, with a bit of luck things are on the up and going to get better.
