On the A40 at halfway between Llandovery and Brecon there is a memorial to a stage coach disaster. If your speed is as unrestrained as that of the coach driver you could miss it. There is an obelisk enclosed by iron railings, next to a busy road. At the bottom of a steep slope on the other side of the road the Afon Gwydderig rushes and roars just as it did in 1835. On some maps it is marked simply by the word Memorial. But that single word does not do justice to the surprising nature of this simple pillar that stands under the trees in a dark lay-by.So what is it?It is one of the earliest warnings against drink-driving, thats what it is. It is called the Coachmans Cautionary.It marks the spot where the Gloucester to Carmarthen coach plunged off the road and down a precipice on 19 December 1835. According to the inscription the driver, Edward Jenkins was intoxicated at the time and drove the mail on the wrong side of the road ...at full speed or gallop. The coach went over the precipice 121 feet where at the bottom near the river it came against an ash tree when the coach was dashed into several pieces. Obviously Jenkins was the single common ancestor of White Van Man.The memorial was erected as a caution to mail coach drivers to keep from intoxication. Quite right too in my view. No one should ever be asked to entrust their life to a man in charge of a bottle, a whip and a number of horses.The obelisk was designed by J. Bull, Inspector of Mail coaches. It is reassuring to know that he took his responsibilities seriously. He tells us that Colonel Gwynn of Glan Brian Park , Daniel Jones and a man called Edwards were sitting outside, up there with the driver. Didnt they notice that Jenkins was over-refreshed? Or were they passing the bottle around? Not wise really when you consider that one of the three inside passengers was a solicitor from Llandovery called David Lloyd Harris. A solicitor can be very touchy in certain circumstances, I find.Bull used the 13 pounds 16 shillings and sixpence he received from 41 subscribers to erect the obelisk in 1841. How very public spirited they were in those days. As an Inspector with both technical and human resource management responsibilities how he must have yearned for the breathalyser and the invention of traffic calming measures.But I think it was money well spent. It might not have been as hard hitting or as effective as recent road safety campaigns but it has survived a great deal longer.

Managing a social networking site introduces you to many new varieties of nefarious and scurrilous online activity. One of these is 'friend whoring'. This is the paractice of sending out friend requests to large numbers, or all, members of a network in order to establish a large friends list. The advantage of this to marketers ( viagara salesmen and the like ) is that they can then send out broadcast emails to their 'friends' without scrutiny by site administrators and moderators. Obviously this is a highly undesirable state of affairs and one which we constantly guard against. We carefully scrutinize each new application for membership in order to weed out these elements but we can never be 100% successful.

For these reasons we are always concerned when otherwise dormant and inactive members suddenly start to send out large numbers of 'Friend Requests'.

We are advising members not to accept these in circumstances where there seems to be no good reason for the request to be made.

We are taking the unusual step of issuing this security advisory because there are some indications from the log files that spammers have been taking an increasing interest in our network in recent weeks. Therefore we think its wise to proceed with caution.

We are fast approaching the first year as a registered childrens charity and the past few months has been very busy, we have raised approx. 15,000 ($24.510) in private donations and fundraising events which brings us closer to our target of 45,000 ($73.520) to purchase the holiday home to provide holidays and experiences for children and their families in Wales where the child is suffering from Cancer, Life Threatening illnesses and Disabilities.We would like to say thank you to Ceri and Gaabi for their support in promoting Ieuan the Lion Memorial Fund, and also to all the members of Americymru.Please click on the link below to see photos of our fundraising events. http://www.ieuanthelion.com/#/past-events/4533182576 A young lady has approached us through one of our previous fundraising events to arrange a sponsored 5 MILE SWIM at Newbridge Leisure Centre, South Wales. A fundraising website has been set up for sponsorship of this event, If you are able to sponsor her, it would very much be appreciated, and your money will be going to a fantastic cause.Please click on the link below for more information http://www.everyclick.com/ieuanthelionmemorialfund For more information on the Charity please visit http://www.ieuanthelion.com We are also on http://ieuanthelion.blogspot.com Kind regards to you allWayne (Ieuan's Dad)

Simply because their fellow Welshmen imposed restrictions on who could live in them.Imagine that your momma has some space in her back yard and she says you can build your first house on it, so you apply for a permit but in Wales thay say it must be sold at prices discounted by up to 65% of the market value, these restrictions extend to who can live in it and even impose a 10 mile radius within which they must have been residents for ten years, yes I did say 10 YEARS!!What this does is create injustice, it causes hardship because no lender is willing to mortgage the property after we spend all that time and money building the house.Do any of you think this is fair and reasonable?

Distinguished Concerts International has very generously offered us 2 FREE TICKETS to a special concert performance of Karl Jenkins' "Requiem" and "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace" at Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza in New York on January 18, 2010. These performances will feature (among others) soprano Erika Powell, the Jonathan Griffith Singers and Treble Geraint Llyr Owen.

Unfortunately, (sob, sob, sob!!!), Ceri and I can't get to NYC on January 18th, so, in true AmeriCymru fashion, we're making it a QUIZ PRIZE!

That's right, you, yes, YOU , could win these two tickets to a gala, glorious evening of beautiful music and artistic splendor, seated like royalty in a chance to get your fine duds on and soak up the works of Wales' greatest living classical composer with the companion of your choice (who will, of course, be wildly impressed).

Answer the quiz questions below and send them to us at americymrucontest@gmail.com . We'll throw all the entries in a hat and pick the winner! Please email us by Friday, January 15, no later than 9 AM. Tickets will be ready at will call on 1/18 at Avery Fisher Hall; the winner will just need to bring a photo ID. ( Only one entry per email address is permitted. Duplicates will be disqualified )

The Quiz

1. In what Welsh town was Karl Jenkins born?
2. With what instrument did Karl Jenkins join the National Youth Orchestra of Wales?
3. In what rock band did Karl Jenkins play?
4. What was Karl Jenkins' first major project as a composer?

Karl Jenkins Conducts "Palladio"

For more information on the concert:
http://www.dciny.org/2010-opportunities/monday-january-18.html

http://ebook30.com/history/history/166797/the-welsh-in-america-letters-from-the-immigrants.html

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8406393.stm We are launching an ambitious plan to save an historic Welsh mansion from ruin by restoring it as a convalescent home for serving Welsh armed forces personnel and veterans, who have been scarred both physically and mentally in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A news conference and photoshoot was held at Gelli Aur ( Golden Grove ) mansion near Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire on Friday 11th December at 10:00.This is a unique project, in that it unites peace campaigners and those with military service, in a desire to see provision being made for our armed forces personnel, wounded in the fighting in the Middle East.At present, there is no such provision in Wales.The Golden Grove Mansion appeal 'will be launched to raise funds to buy and renovate the mansion and surrounding grounds in the Tywi Valley. This is a multi-million pound project and the charity will seek funding from many sources.The idea was originally raised by the Union of Welsh Independent Churches, out of Christian concern for armed forces personnel and their families, who presently have to travel to centres in England to visit relatives wounded in the wars.Appeal organiser KEVIN RICHARDS was present at the news conference. Also, the Revd GUTO PRYS AP GWYNFOR, President of the Union of Welsh Independents. Kevin is a former combat medic (Royal Regiment of Wales) and Guto is a prominent pacifist.Historical note: Gelli Aur (Golden Grove) was originally built in 1560 as the seat of the Vaughan family, who were descended from the princes of Powys. About 200 years ago it passed to the ownership of Lord Cawdor, who rebuilt the mansion in its present style by 1834. In later years it housed an agricultural college, but the rambling mansion which has some 150 rooms has been empty and on sale for some time. It is a Grade II* listed building within a conservation area. The grounds include a wooded public recreation area and visitors centre. It was also used as an American military hospital, during the second world war.

Hi Everyone:This is my first attempt at a "blog post." So apologies in advance if I am failing to follow protocol!My six-year-old daughter (Laura) and I both made calennigs, decorated New Year's apples. Every year we do this activity, and it has become a highlight of New Year's Eve. I don't know if this is still done in Wales, but it is a fun and easy craft.You need:An appleSprigs of mintClovesSkewers or toothpicksGlue (optional)Simply poke the cloves around the apple. You can use cloves to attach mint leaves to the apple, or you can simply glue them on. As a final touch, arrange three skewers at the bottom so that the apple stands.Happy New Year!Here are some photos. My daughter exuberantly added many toothpicks!