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The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod will this year be taking centre stage in Washington D.C as one of the 160 organizations, musicians, poets, scholars, artists and craftsmen representing Wales as the Guest Nation at the two week long Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington D.C. 24 June 5 July.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival , which takes place every year and attracts over one million visitors from the USA and overseas, will welcome Wales as the featured Nation providing visitors with a unique opportunity to learn about Welsh culture. As representatives of Wales festivals, Llangollen will be an integral part of the Wales and the World Pavilion where they will be telling the unique story of Llangollen and the Welsh Eisteddfodic tradition on which it is based./p>
The International Eisteddfods presence in Washington will highlight the parallels between both events as the International Eisteddfods Executive Director, Mervyn Cousins explains, It is a great privilege to be part of such a major world festival with similar aims as ours. In the same way as the Llangollen Eisteddfod aims to promote world peace through music and dance, the Smithsonian Festival aims to do this by showcasing the best the Guest Nation has to offer to the rest of the world and we are very proud to be here representing Wales festivals. Llangollen is where Wales and the World meet and therefore this is an ideal opportunity for us to take Llangollen to the world!
During the two-week festival, that takes place between 24 28 June and 1 5 July senior Llangollen personnel will lead various presentations. The talks will range in their themes from how the Eisteddfod came into existence 63 years ago, through to the Festivals commitment to sustainable development and the environment, to how a small town in North Wales was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize!
Betty Belanus, Curator of the Wales Smithsonian Cymru program expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration: "Having visited the Llangollen area during my extended research stay in Wales in 2007, I was very impressed with the beauty of the area as well as the obvious positive impact the International Eisteddfod has had on the town and environs. The idea of an International Eisteddfod illustrates the warm welcome that I have always felt in Wales. Although I have never had the pleasure of attending the event, its vision of promoting peace through mutual cooperation is much like that of our own Smithsonian Folklife Festival. We look forward to hosting the representatives of the International Eisteddfod who will be participating in the Festival, and we hope that visitors will be inspired by the global reach of Wales through finding out about events such as the International Eisteddfod. I believe that the depth of pride and determination of the Welsh people will shine in our event, through one on one interaction with the participants from all around Wales, including Llangollen.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has collaborated with the Welsh Assembly Government to select the best that Wales has to offer. First Minister, Rhodri Morgan said: "No longer will Wales be Europes best kept secret. The Smithsonian is one of the worlds biggest cultural festival events and we have a unique opportunity to raise our profile in Washington and right across North America. Visitors to the festival will be able to learn more about our traditional and contemporary cultures and we hope that inspires them to visit, study or invest here."
Singer-songwriter Fflur Dafydd is the first Oxfam Emerging Writer of the Year. The first award of its kind to be offered at the Guardian Hay Festival, the prize was announced on Saturday 23 May at the festivals Sky Arts awards dinner. Only just turned thirty last August and about to be married this August, Fflurs first novel in English, Twenty Thousand Saints has received fantastic and wide-ranging reviews including in The Guardian, Diva magazine, Western Mail and Prospect magazine, where it was 2009s pick of the year. Hay Festival director Peter Florence has been a consistent and vocal advocate of the novel, describing it as, The most compelling novel Ive read in years; a love story, a thriller, and a profound meditation on language and identity... [Fflur Dafydd ranks alongside] Sarah Waters, Kate Atkinson and Zoe Heller [in representing] the blossoming and triumphs of a whole new generation of young women writers.
Presenting the award, together with a very rare first edition hardback copy of Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird, David McCullough, Director of Oxfam said, We are very happy to work in partnership with the Hay Festival this year and congratulate Fflur Dafydd on being the first winner of our Emerging Writer of the Year Award.
Author Fflur Dafydd said, Its quite special for others to recognise in a thriller set on Bardsey island the deeper comments I wanted to make about privacy, loss, disillusion, language and identity. The Hay festival has been incredibly supportive of my writing, and warm thanks to Oxfam too!
Fflur has been publishing since she was twenty, and is a veteran of the international music and literary festival circuit. Under her belt are residencies in Helsinki, as well as performances in Croatia; Mantova, Italy; Chicago; Ireland, and the Netherlands. Fflur also took part in two sell-out events at the Hay Festival, reading with Dylan Thomas Prize Winner Nam Le, and the writer and broadcaster Jon Gower. She will now embark on a reading tour to promote Twenty Thousand Saints , appearing at the Latitude Festival, Suffolk and the Writers Reunion in Finland.
Set on Bardsey Island, the novel looks at how young women, starved of men as the boats stop bringing them, start to turn to each other for solace. It is Fflurs second novel to be set on Bardsey as the fruit of a six-week stint as writer-in-residence on the island in 2002. The first was the Welsh-language Atyniad, which was awarded the prestigious prose medal at the National Eisteddfod in 2006.
Twenty Thousand Saints is as much a lyrical romance as it is a literary novel with important things to say about the media, privacy and intrusion, the environment, discovery and national identity. Playing with cultural myths of islands, from The Lord of the Flies to Im a Celebrity Get me Out of Here, Dafydd sets up the cameras eye as witness and catalyst to how the islands female visitors degenerate one summer from delighted faux-primitivism (compost toilets!) to jungle-fever.
An unusual combination of straight and gay romance, mystery, rebellious nuns and politics (with a dry humour akin to Bernice Rubens), Twenty Thousand Saints is beautifully written with serious purpose. It is also a political book about post-devolution Wales, though that is one message that never submerges the novels lyricism or integrity of character.
Fflur Dafydd lectures in Creative Writing at Swansea University and lives in Carmarthen.
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As some of you will know, AmeriCymru is holding a major event in Portland, Oregon this year. The Left Coast Eisteddfod on August 21st and August 22nd, 2009 will be a major celebration of all things Welsh and the rich American-Welsh heritage. There will be performances by BBC Radio Wales Chris Needs, tenor Bruce Anderson, Here Be Dragons from Cardiff and Oceans Apart. Also appearing will be authors Niall Griffiths and Chris Keil, lovespoon carver extraordinaire David Western and many more. This is an ambitious project and it is intended to be the first of many such events but, of course, ambition has a price. In this particular case, we set out to raise $20,000.00 in order to stage this event. We are very pleased and proud to announce that we have raised $15,000.00 of that total. This is a remarkable achievement and we owe it all to you, our members and readers. We do not have large, corporate backers and, until recently, were ineligible for funding by the various grant bodies in the United States. The good news is: that we are now a 501(c)(3) charitable public organization recognized by the IRS, with full tax-exempt status. Further good news is that we are still able to accept sponsors for this event. If you wish to support the Left Coast Eisteddfod, please consider one of the two following options. We need to raise those final, few dollars to complete our preparations. Uncle Dai needs you. 1) Sponsorship: do you have a business based in Wales or a Welsh or Celtic-related business here in the US? If so, please consider advertising with AmeriCymru. We can offer generous sponsorship packages from as little as $200.00, which will associate your name both with the Eisteddfod and with AmeriCymru (the largest and fastest growing Welsh social network in the US). We are particularly concerned to work with accomodation providers, tour companies, cultural, artistic and technologies ventures. Contact Ceri Shaw or Gaabriel Becket at americymru@gmail.com . Act now to ensure maximum exposure, there are only two months to go before the Eisteddfod. 2) Donations: Anything you donate to our non-profit corporation, the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation, can be claimed as a tax-exempt donation on your 2009 taxes. Every cent you donate will be used to make the Eisteddfod a bigger and better occasion and to prepare similar future events. There is a donate button which pays directly into the Foundation bank account at the top of the left hand column on every page of the site. Any amount, great or small, is appreciated. If you do not feel comfortable using the PayPal donate button, please do not hesitate to contact us at americymru@gmail.com to make alternative arrangments. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU AND SEEING YOU ALL AT THE LEFT COAST EISTEDDFOD IN PORTLAND ON AUGUST THE 21ST AND 22ND, 2009. DIOLCH YN FAWR, AMERICYMRU!
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A new profile question has been added to Americymru. It asks you to categorise your profile and presents you with a list of options to choose from. The idea is to make it easier to find certain kinds of profile on the site ( musicians, bands, accommodation providers, photographers etc. )
If you want to categorise your profile click on "Settings" in the top right hand corner of the home page. You will be taken to your "Profile" page. Scroll down until you find the new question and make your selection from the available options. You will then appear in the list in the relevant section in the dropdown menus under the "Members" tab on the main navbar. You can select more than one category if you wish but please ensure that all options selected are relevant to your profile.If your profile is a standard personal profile, simply check "Personal".
1. Click on "Settings"
2. Check the relevant option/options
3. Check your new listing in the dropdown menu.
An Interview Edward Channon, Piper and Author ( Appearing at the Left Coast Eisteddfod, Portland, Oregon August 2009 )
By Ceri Shaw, 2009-06-22
Edward Channon, a resident of Portland Oregon, has been playing the bagpipes for 35 years. He has recently completed his first book:- The Ballad of A Bagpiper . The book details the humorous stories of things Edward has observed over the years at weddings, funerals, events and a myriad of other gatherings around the world. Edward will be appearing at the Left Coast Eisteddfod where he will be giving a presentation and demonstration of his piping skills and signing copies of his new book. 
Americymru: How and why did you start learning the bagpipes? Edward: I didnt start with the bagpipes when it comes to learning a musical instrument because both of my parents are classical pianists, I started playing the piano at age four. My father learned in Austria and my mother in the USA. However,my mother being of German/Scotch decent, made me practice the piano at least two times a day ,for about an hour each time. She always gave me that image that comes from being German discipline, thats my mum. If I got something wrong she would yell at me, striking me on the hands with a ruler or just stand behind me yelling PRACTICE, PRACTICE , PRACTICE with a German accent ,looking like a Gestapo agent, which always scared the hell out of me!
My grandfather, who at that time was a Episcopal minister and loved classical music, also played the bagpipes. Since I was young he constantly told me how fun bagpipes were. So pulling me away from the piano he showed me the techniques in playing this weird looking and sounding instrument. Of course, I had to use smaller ones, his made me fall over because of its size and weight. He always joked that if you suck at playing the piano, you cant pick it up and walk out, at least with the pipes you can walk out. Didnt need to say more!
Edward: Ballad of a Bagpiper is the first of its kind in this wonderful world of ours. At least, in the bagpipe world. It's about the funny things that have happened to me, really, and the things I saw at weddings, parties, military events, and even funerals over the many years Ive been playing. It's not really a life story but more about small segments rather short stories of my life playing this instrument.
Americymru: Do you have a favorite humorous incident?
Edward: I once played for a funeral in England after a rain storm , so the ground was wet, muddy and just slippery typical Britain. Even though I was watching where I was walking, I also had to watch the funeral to get a sign from the minister or family that I had to stop playing, which I had been doing for a while. Walking and looking, walking and looking; finally I thought I saw the sign but it was false, so I kept playing but I didnt see where I was walking and fell into a newly dug grave. Yes ,it was deep and it was full of water.
Another story, I was doing a benefit walking down the street ,leading runners in a charity run, so that as I walked the runners would run past me. I was sure that they heard me, how can you not hear the bagpipes being played, but I was being bumped and pushed as they ran by. I didnt care, I was having fun. When I got to a corner, a few reporters came running out to ask runners questions, one of them came up to me to ask me something. I gave them that look like, Ah hello! Im playing, kind of hard to talk! I tried to tell them but I couldnt and they ran off....... Ive been in that situation a few times and each time I wonder if reporters ever get it!
Americymru: Where does your sense of humor come from?
Edward: I grew up watching British comedy shows like Benny Hill, Monty Python, Dads Army, Are you being Served?, Man about the House and more. But the comedians Spike Mulligan, Peter Sellers and my father were great influences on me and how I look at the world. Not to be a critic about things but seeing the funny side of any situation.
Americymru: Would you say that Celtic music has been your biggest influence in play the bagpipes?
Edward: To tell the truth, no. Growing up I listened to Chopin, Bach, Mozart but going to primary school one day I heard a band called Def Leppard. That was it, I was hooked on rock. Since then heavy metal, classical, pop have been influences on me. I personally find Celtic music kind of boring if not played with passion and many dont have it. Bagpipers are the same: if you dont have the passion or the state of mind, then you shouldnt be playing if it doesnt come from the heart.
Americymru: You reference some bizarre events in your book. Can you elaborate on these?
Edward: Well Ive played for a nudist wedding, a vampire wedding and so many more. I dont want to give to much away. These are just a just a couple of weird or interesting events that Ive done. Things that I guess a bagpiper probably wouldn't play for or be included in normally however they were interesting and weird, which made them fun to watch and be in.
Americymru: Do you have any book influences or writers you like?
Edward: That's a hard one, since I read all types of books and have since I was a kid. I love all genres but I would say my favorite is Jack Higgins. But I love Bernard Cornwell, Sergei Lukyanenko, Nigel Tranter to name a few.
Americymru: What kind of engagements do you play at?
Edward: Of course Ive played for normal events like weddings to funerals, a number of these have been very usual in themselves, but I have also played for parties including a fraternity initiation parties, hen nights and stag night parties as well as birthday parties; business events, and even a Bar Mitzvah. However, it has never been about the money for me, I love what I do. It's all about the people I meet, the joy in helping them and the experience of doing it. But, of course in doing so I got into situations where I couldnt leave or get out of!
Americymru: Youve played for some celebrities and even royalty can you tell us more about that?
Edward: When playing for politicians and royalty, it is like entering different worlds. Politicians like it to make them look good no matter what, Do it this way as long I look good. While royalty like it done very specific, conservative and old ways ways, tradition all rules their thinking. This is way weve done it for centuries, Celebrities such as movie or TV stars are really the most fun. Just have fun! is what theyve always tell me. Each person I play for holds a distinct memory for me, however, playing for Queen Elizabeth is kind of hard to remember as I was so young at the time. Princess Diana was one I remember as being the most elegant, because of her beauty and grace. Her loss was a terrible for Britain and the world. From Reagan to the local politicians I remember as being stressful because I have to be careful what I say. I have a tendency to say the wrong thing at the worse time, getting the politician in trouble. Im good at that, my wife would say.
Americymru: Any plans for a record deal or music CD of your own?
Edward: I do. I was recently approached by a record producer to set something up in the near future. Dont know what type of CD it will be as I find the normal bagpipe CD kind of boring and over done. So, who knows, but as with this book it will be a first of its kind.
Americymru: Any other message for the members and readers of Americymru?
Edward: Just that this book will give everyone a good laugh and for those musicians out there remember that all things are possible if you have a sense of humor when you look at something. Humor I think brings out both the worse and the best in people you just have to figure what to do in that situation. Of course having humor can get you in trouble.... as you will see. hehe!!
Americymru: Any public appearances in the near future?
Edward: I do have many are coming up. The Scottish Highland Games in Gresham, Oregon Ill be making an appearance there with Kathleens of Dublin . I also have a launch party at Kathleens of Dublin in Portland on 6 Aug. I will also have a launch party in Seattle on 30 July. I will be working with the Iron Mutt Coffee Company which has three cafes around Portland in doing signings, one this coming Saturday the 27th from 10-12 in Hillsboro. This is great place to bring your dog and get them high on caffeine. Ill be in Seattle, Los Angles as well later in the summer. I believe Ill be in Boston, London, England, New York, and Albuquerque, New Mexico as well. Then of course Americymrus big event the third weekend of August which I hope shows the world the funny world of Celtic music.
David Western will be appearing, speaking on the lovespoon carving tradition and showing his work, including the Left Coast Eisteddfod lovespoon - which David will award at the event - at the Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22, 2009. Get your tickets now.
As I've been compiling this little blog following the twists and turns of carving a lovespoon for the Left Coast Eisteddfod, I've received a number of emails from fellow carvers, lovespoon enthusiasts and a few people who are 'just interested' wanting to know how I got into this and what my inspirations are.
I can tell you that I basically fell into lovespoon carving. Although I have been aware of what they are since childhood, and have tinkered with carving them since my teens, the really serious obsession (or as I prefer to call it, professional interest) with lovespoons is about 10 years old now.
My main inspirations were, and still are, the lovely antique spoons housed at the National History Museum of Wales at St Fagans (near Cardiff). I always make time for a day or two at the museum studying these little gems of fervent workmanship whenever I am in Wales. A finer introduction into the craft cannot be found anywhere else (except maybe in my book The Fine Art of Lovespoon Carving - how's THAT for a shameless plug??). I encourage anyone keen on lovespoons who plans on visiting Wales to make time for this marvelous museum. Even if you could care less about lovespoons, the outdoor museum is chock-a-block with tremendous things to see. But if I were to single out one spoon which above all others has been my greatest source of inspiration and as acted as a beacon guiding me to strive to constantly improve both my carving and my design it would be this one.
For me, this spoon epitomizes all that is great about the lovespoon. Masterfully and elegantly carved, the spoon appears deceptively simple, yet every feature is flawlessly carved and the represents the very highest level of craftsmanship. If you want a spoon that 'has it all'...this is the one. Whoever the unknown craftsman was who made this brilliant offering, I sincerely hope that he won the heart of his intended and lead a long, happy and productive life! He deserves it!
After that masterwork, this little spoon may seem like the 'ugly duckling', but what I love and find so inspiring about this spoon is the passion which seems to almost emanate from its fibres! Lofty talk, I know, but despite its rather rudamentary craftsmanship and design, this spoon has tremendous emotion. Made with the simplest of tools by someone in the deepest thrawl of love, the bowl is exquisitely formed, showing an amateur carver giving it his very best effort . For 'feeling', this spoon has always rated as one of the most inspirational for me!
The last example from the St Fagan's collection is this completely over-the-top example of woodcarving virtuosity. A riot of chainwork, balls in cages, swivels and a fiendishly difficult diagonal chain pattern, this spoon was carved by a very, very serious professional. It would have taken months and months of patient and extremely nerve-wracking carving to create this magnum opus! Whenever I think I am getting fairly good at carving, I study this spoon and realize just how far I have yet to go!
But it isn't just ancient history which inspires. Recently, I had the very good fortune to meet carver Alun Davies of Wales, whom I believe carves the most technically perfect lovespoons I have ever seen. Alun's mastery of woodcarving is so complete that his spoons are almost unbelievable in their perfection. No single aspect of them is any less than stunning. In fact, the first time I laid eyes on them, I felt like I really needed to get some carving lessons and to practice a LOT more!! Alun's spoons aren't just technically staggering though, they have a soft and elegant charm which is really the root of lovespoon carving...they have feeling!!! It was Alun who told me something which has become my lovespoon carving mantra... "A lovespoon is not a lovespoon unless it is carved with love; love for the wood, love for the tradition and love for the person who will receive it." Hang that above the workbench and you have all the inspiration you'll ever need!!
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My last lovespoon inspiration has probably had the most profound influence on in my lovespoon carving as he has shown me that the possibilities for the tradition are vast, varied and exciting. Mike Davies is probably the most well known of all the Welsh lovespoon carvers and for many years has been a one-man promotion for this venerable tradition. Thousands of people around the world proudly display Mike's work on their walls and for good reason....Mike was one of the first to really realize the design possibilities for the lovespoon outside the 'antique traditional'. With dramatic Celtic designs, dramatic modern pieces and delicate foliage inspired spoons, Mike's work is always adventurous. Realizing that there were so many unexplored avenues available to the lovespoon carver was probably the greatest inspiration for me and I will always be grateful to Mike for so vividly pointing that out!
I have enjoyed great generousity, cameraderie and inspiration from many lovespoon carvers over the years and I know that like everything else, the more influences, techniques and ideas are brought to a subject, the better it gets. Hopefully, one day I will be an inspiration to a beginning carver or my designs will spark inspiration for someone to take the craft another step further and that will be a very happy day for me.
