Blogs

One of the highlights of the recent Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland , Oregon was a talk given by John Good at the Central Library on the subject of Welsh language poetry. This event was well attended and the talk and the impromptu musical performances which both followed and preceded it were recorded for posterity as a podcast and can be accessed and enjoyed at the following url:- John Good at Portland Central Library . ( There are some problems with sound reproduction in the opening minutes of the recording......please be patient.) John Good's CD - "The First 1500 Years of Welsh Poetry" can be purchased from the Oceans Apart site. John Good at The Left Coast Eisteddfod

In case you missed it!!http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mnd3y/Aled_Jones_with_Good_Morning_Sunday_13_09_2009About about 1.28.00 on the iplayer.

One of the things I do as a hobby/part time job is take guided tours of Cardiff Castle. It is one of the hidden wonders of Britain. 2000 years of history but lavishly overhauled in the 19th century by Britain's richest man, the Third Marquess of Bute.On a different website people have been enjoying a periodic "blog" by me about my experiences of learning about the castle, learning to be a tour guide, and the occasional experience.So I thought I would try it here too! Here goes. This from Friday September 11th:Had a banquet tour tonight at 6.30pm.Arrived at 6.15 to find that the route was changed and I was to do the Clock Tower. Yikes and a half! I have never done a tour in the clock tower, and been there so infrequently myself that I have only a fleeting knowledge of the detail of the rooms - for much of my time in the castle it has been closed for restoration, and not open for regular tours because it is so impractical to take a group through - there are 101 spiral steps (no lift!), and the bachelor apartments of the Marquess are placed at different points up the tower.It's not just taking people into the rooms and telling them. It is about timing - the other banquet tour group are on your tail and you have to get the group down to the banquet hall in time.Bless him, Dean, the most enthusiastic member of staff, was there and came to the rescue - took me under his wing and as the tour group were assembling at the gate ready to enter the castle he was giving me a lightning briefing on the details to point out about the rooms in brilliant ways to make the details stick in my mind! This is a man who has had no formal education, started off at the castle as a gate man, and his enthusiasm has spoken for itself - he is a born teacher.He rescued me tonight, the tour went like a dream, even the timing with the other group coming up the stairs and entering the room below at the right time for us to descend without clashing!What really made it was that as we entered the Summer Smoking Room at the top of the tower the evening sun was pouring through the windows and making the gold and glass features in the room really sparkle. I was thrilled at the wows and gasps (while saying a few silent prayers of thanks for the good weather!).On the way down, several of the group (on a Globus tour of Britain and Ireland which is coming to an end this weekend) said that this was a real highlight and were gutted that they leave tomorrow morning at 8am so can't come back for a full tour. Ah well, job done from my point of view.One bit of unfinished business. I owe Dean a major vote of thanks and a pint (at least). The success of the tour tonight is not only down to his knowledge, but his sheer enthusiasm.Above is the room that made them wow!

The month of November has become known as 'Movember' to many men around the world who voluntarily grow moustache for the whole month in aid of the Prostate cancer charity. Inspired by this great idea, Ieuan The Lion's Memorial fund is going to stage its own version of this event throughout November 09. My name is Wayne (Ieuans Dad) I am taking part in this event to grow a moustaches. I am normally clean shaven so to grow moustaches will be fun, I have not had a moustache for over 30 years, I think it will be a bit grey!!!! there will be photos of me and all the men who take's part posted on http://www.ieuanthelion.com The more of us to join this event the more support the children of Wales who are suffering from Cancer, Life Threatening illnesses and Disabilities will receive from Ieuan The Lion Memorial Fund. If you would like join please click this link http://www.charitygiving.co.uk and create your own custom fundraising page in just 5 minutes! Dont forget to pick Ieuan The Lion Memorial Fund as the charity you are supporting. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at wayne@ieuanthelion.com PLEASE PLEASE SPONSOR ME FOR THIS EVENT BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/wayneyendle And you will be supports the children of Wales who are suffering from Cancer, Life Threatening illnesses and Disabilities Ieuan The Lion Memorial Fund is a Registered Charity. Our Charity No. is 1130709. We are liasing with the Charities that helped Ieuan through his life. Our objective is raise funds to raise funds to provide grants and other finances where required and to purchase a holiday home to provide holidays and experiences for children and their families where the child is suffering from cancer, life threatening illnesses and disabilities.The idea behind the holidays and experiences is to provide opportunities for the children and their families to escape illness and the clinical sterile atmosphere of hospitals. Our aim is to make life a real experience for the children and their families. Ieuan and his family for many years had the opportunity to stay in holiday homes through the Charities. Where Ieuan spent many happy times and we have wonderful memories of these, this would not have been possible without the help of the Charities involved. We want other Children and their families to be able to experience this escapism the way Ieuan and his family were able to.The holiday home we are fundraising for will be adapted for wheelchair accessibility, walk in shower facilities, extra wide doors and hoists, if these facilities are required.The holiday home will be sited in Tenby West Wales, where Ieuan spent many happy holidays here.To be able to purchase this holiday home we have to raise 45,000, as you can see this is a lot of money but with the determination of the trustees and the fundraising activities we will achieve this figure.If you have any questions on the fund, please do not hesitate to contact me at wayne@ieuanthelion.comThank you for reading this blog.Kind regards,Wayne ( Ieuan's dad )

Do we have volunteers for translation? I have been contacted to help find a translator for historical documents, etc. All the best, Jerry

so i was able to find old account on laptop and emailpart of the problem is hotmail-hotmail wont work on internet explorer and it wont work in outlook unless you pay and download a huge file for outlook live mail or some msn Microsoft trashget programs like lavabit.com ,yahoo free web mail,fastmail.fm gmail.comi am not amused at hotmail at all and ill phase out ALL my hotmail accounts for goodgoodbye hotmail

Emaciated, tired and confused following a daring escape from a prisoner-of-war camp, soldier William Roberts faced the prospect of being shot as a German spy on his return home to Britain - and all because he spoke Welsh.After four years in captivity, Mr Roberts thought he had reached safety when he boarded a British ship heading to Glasgow after fleeing the camp in Poland.But once on British soil he was arrested as a suspected spy when he responded better to the Scottish authorities in German and Welsh than in English.His daughter, Mid and West Wales Assembly Member Joyce Watson, has spoken of her father's ordeal and claimed she was not taught Welsh as a child because of his experience.Mr Roberts died nearly 18 months ago and it is only now that Mrs Watson is learning more about her father's wartime exploits.Mr Roberts, a farm worker from Llanbrynmair, near Machynlleth, Powys, was aged 21 when he was called up to the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1940.Joyce Watson AM (r) with her sister Irene Hansen and family friend Hedd Bleddyn Williams looking at old photos of Mr RobertsHe tried to converse with the Scottish authorities in bits of German and Welsh, but they couldn't understand himJoyce Watson AMThe first language Welsh speaker could speak very little English and received just three weeks' tuition before being sent to the frontline.It wasn't long before he was captured by the Germans at Dunkirk and became a prisoner-of-war (PoW).During his time as a prisoner he showed a flair for languages and learned Russian, Polish and German, and some French and Italian, said Mrs Watson.His knowledge of agriculture also landed him a job as a farm worker in a camp. The freedom this gave him led to his escape when he cut a hole through a fence one night, shortly before the end of the war.He was shot at and lost his big toe as a result, but eventually found a British ship which was setting sail for Scotland.Poor EnglishWhen the ship docked, his poor grasp of English marked him out as a threat and he was arrested as a spy when he was caught speaking Welsh.Mrs Watson said: "He tried to converse with the Scottish authorities in bits of German and Welsh, but they couldn't understand him."It was then that the authorities thought he was German and he was arrested."Fortunately, a Welshman was there when my father was arrested and he recognised the Welsh language and persuaded the authorities he wasn't a German spy."Mrs Watson added: "Just imagine what my father thought.He didn't want his sons to go through the same experience he had, so he spoke English to usJoyce Watson"He was seven stone in weight, he had been a PoW for more than four years, had escaped and travelled hundreds of miles and then faced the prospect of becoming a prisoner again in his own country."After the war when he became a father of four sons and four daughters, Mr Roberts' wartime experience led him to speak English at home because he did not want his children to go through the same thing."My father remained in the army after the war and like most people of his generation thought there would be another war, but this time with Russia," added Mrs Watson."He didn't want his sons to go through the same experience he had, so he spoke English to us."But Mrs Watson, Labour's rural affairs spokeswoman in the Welsh assembly, has since made a decision to learn Welsh.She has also seen, for the first time, some letters sent home by her father from his PoW camp.They were shown to her by a family friend Hedd Bleddyn Williams, from Llanbrynmair.

Darren's new country/pop orientated track "Lovin' You" from the album "Matters Of The Heart" has just received a 'commended entry' position in the 2009 UK Songwriting Contest.Darren has had a great run in this contest:winner 2004 ("Reality"), semi-finalist 2005 ("Everything But You"), semi-finalist 2006 ("Stay"), semi-finalist 2007 ("Lost") and finalist 2008 ("Slippin' Away")The contest is judged by among others; directors and senior executives of The BRIT Trust, The Guild of International Songwriters and Composers, The Music Aid Organisation, The World Music Foundation, The Music Aid Awards Academy, The International Song Copyright Agency, many independent producers and executives, experienced songwriters, music journalists and authors, members of music qualification examination boards plus specialist panels and judges provided by The BRIT Trust and the BRIT School.Listen to "Lovin' You" on music player or follow links on main page to listen/buy...

Thursday 10th September - 15 year old Welsh born Siobhan Owen won the "Junior Vocal Championship" (ages 14 to 18) at the Adelaide Eisteddfod in Australia. The entrants had to sing an Italian Aria, English Art Song and a song by an Australian composer.

Dear Americymru-ersGreetings to you all from a Welsh woman from the South Valleys living in Uruguay in South America since 2000. My band has just launched our first album, and I thought some of you may be interested! Traditional folk from the British Isles meets Buenos Aires melancholy meets Pampas zamba Trelew is a town in the Patagonian region of Argentina founded by Welsh immigrants in the 1880s. They speak Welsh there to this day. Trelew the band blends traditional music from the British Isles with original compositions that explore the links between the old country and South America, and features musicians and sounds from the River Plate region.For those of you on Facebook, I wanted to let you know that Trelew now has a Facebook page. We have just started and would really appreciate it if you'd help us get started with our "friends" list - we're looking very unloved right now We're on Facebook and MySpace where you can find four of the songs from our first album which is out this month. And if you like the music, the CD is available in the States on independent record distributors' CDBaby.com Looking forward to hearing from the wider Welsh American community and enjoyKarenxx