Blogs
I wonder if I might put the feelers out amongst americymru members (and beyond) for assistance. I wrote a book on Welsh boxing entitled 'Mountain Fighters, Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing' in 2011, which tried to uncover some of the history of Welsh fighters (mainly bareknuckle) that were mostly active around the turn on the century, known as 'mountain fighters'. The vast majority of these men have been forgotten, although there are some accounts in early Welsh papers relating to the more locally famous (or infamous) fighters. Some only receive mentions in later newspapers after they died -when it is related that 'veteran pugilist' so-and-so jones died..'
Since writing the mountain fighters book I am attempting to gather together information on later boxers up until the end of the second world war in the hope of releasing a further book on the later history of Welsh boxing. There are lots of prominent fighters from this period, some are fairly well known, like Jim Driscoll of Cardiff,Freddie Welsh of Pontypridd, Tom Thomas of Penygraig and Jimmy Wilde of Tylorstown, but I am also very interested in the much less well known men.
I would be grateful for any references or information on any of the Welsh boxers of the first part of the 20th century, and am hoping that readers of this post might have old photographs, postcards, or further information about any welsh fighters or relatives in old drawers, photo albums, or newspaper clippings or references, to be featured or used in compiling the book, credit for all pictures received will be attributed to the owner. Any information regarding these great welsh sporting heroes will be greatly received, no matter how small, sometimes the slightest clue as to their movements, even grave references, can help with trying to trace further details. I will be happy to share the information I am collecting on these fighters with any family members or interested parties, and try to assist relatives with finding out more about their relatives when possible.
It would be a fairly long if not impossibly boring post to include all the names of Welsh boxers from the period in which I am studying - (about 1800 - 1950) but just to throw a few more well known names out from all areas of wales and times, 'boyo' driscoll, badger o'brien (maurice), john o'brien, billy eynon, redmond coleman, dan thomas - dan 'pontypridd', billy fry, johnny basham, jimmy wilde, dai roberts, percy jones, morgan crowther, frank moody, dave peters, george (young) dando, eddie morgan, sid (syd) russell, llew probert, darkie thomas, bill beynon, jim courtney, leslie williams, david john bowen, dai davies - 'young chips', llew edwards, gordon cook, johnny vaughan, george 'punch' jones, jack jones, lewis roderick, phineas john, cuthbert taylor, billy morgan, etc. etc. etc. to name just a handful.
Have attached a few photos of some old time welsh boxers, just for nostalgia's sake, although these are low res internet images - and would very much like to be able to take copies of original photographs for use in the book if possible. Please feel free to contact me via americymru
thank you, Lawrence Davies
Dai Roberts (Caerau)
eddie morgan (merthyr)
frank moody (pontypridd)
freddie welsh (pontypridd)
jim driscoll (cardiff)
jimmy wilde (tylorstown)
I must admit the idea of joining a writers group or circle had never really appealed to me. My most recent experience of a writers group on Facebook served only to reinforce my negative attitude. The title of the group was what attracted me as it purported to be authors helping out other
authors. It proved a misleading title.
Some, and I hasten to add not all, groups and forums bear a striking resemblance to life in a pond. Every inhabitant has its own place in the social hierarchy and protects their social status jealously. I must have really muddied the waters when I jumped in to this particular pond with both feet blazing. I had the temerity to place a link to a promotional video I had created for Google+ eXplosion a book I had written to help other authors get to grips with Google+. Incidentally it was not long before I was giving it away for free on my blog.
Apparently I had committed a social faux pas akin to breaking wind during the exchange of vows at somebodys wedding. Self promotion! You could hear the communal gasps as the ripples of outrage spread across the communal waters. One author asked what the heck else I had written anyway. Soon other members of the group entered the fray. My motives for joining were thrown into question and my humorous attempt to defuse the situation only seemed to make matters worse.
XXX, Thanks for
the welcome. I feel like a kid who just started a new school. Just hope you
are not one of the milk monitors. Hmm. I have participated in this group prior
to uploading the infomercial. Posts mainly from my blog.
It didnt help!
However a certain lady Patricia Reed did rush to my defence and appeared to be as confused as me
regarding the groups remit.
I was under the impression that this group was for "authors helping authors". . .
The reason I felt compelled to share this experience is that another writer suffered the same fate at the hands of the same group only this week. (You can visit her blog here .) I was able to reassure her that she was not alone. The groups' response was predictable and at one point I was accused of flouncing.
Anyone who knows me personally knows I do not flounce, have snit fits, or take kindly to bullies of the physical or literary variety.
It was with certain misgivings therefore that I attended the Writers Group in my local library this week. My reservation proved foundless. I spent two hours in the company of some of the most supportive and inspirational people I have met for a long time. The quality of their writing left me feeling humbled.
The group is run by Frances Berry the daughter of that great Welsh author Ron Berry. It is literally
two hundred yards from my home. I would never have stumbled upon it if I hadnt been actively looking for groups so that I could tell them about Eto .
As much as I love the internet for the way it has opened up the world to me and allowed me to make many new friends and acquaintancest there is nothing quite like personal interaction with real people. So my advice would be, if there is a writers group near you, join it!
THE "LAST INVASION OF BRITAIN"
Memorial stone at Carregwastad Point of the landing of the French on February 22nd 1797.
On 22nd February 1797, 1,400 members of the French Legion Noire of the French Revolutionary Army landed in Carregwasted bay near Fishguard and it remains the last time that Britain was invaded a foreign military force.
Irish revolutionary leader, Wolfe Tone had received support from France to help end British rule in Ireland. Part of the plan was to organise French invasions of Britain to divert and weaken the British forces, with the overall aim of sending a much larger force to Ireland to overthrow the British there. However bad weather and poor organisation resulted in only the invasion through Wales to target Bristol and the west of England, going ahead.
The invasion force was led by an Irish American colonel, William Tate and consisted of 1,400 men, nearly half of whom however were deserters and convicts. An initial attempt to land was unsuccessful due to the defensive cannons at Fishguard fort, so the fleet landed 3 miles away in the bay at Carregwasted under the cover of darkness. They moved inland and established their headquarters at a nearby farmhouse, but the convicts and pressed men deserted, got drunk and ran away. The next morning the French moved inland and occupied strong defensive positions on high rocky ground. Meanwhile, the British, although outnumbered, decided to attack, with many Fishguard locals volunteering to fight, notable among whom was Jemima Nicholas, who single-handedly took twelve French soldiers prisoner in St Mary's Church armed only with a pitchfork.
These actions convinced Tate that although he had much the superior forces, he had to accept an unconditional surrender and the following afternoon the French laid down their weapons on Goodwick sands.
WILLIAM FITZOSBERN MADE EARL OF HEREFORD
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford (c. 1020 – 22 February 1071) was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror, who was made Earl of Hereford on 22nd February 1067.
FitzOsbern is known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and after the Norman conquest, William the Conquerer placed three of his most loyal companions as the Earls of Hereford, Chester and, Shrewsbury, namely, William FitzOsbern, Hugh d'Avranches and, Roger de Montgomerie.
These areas became known as the Welsh Marches and were established as autonomous regions with their own laws and customs, with the aim of bringing Wales under control. They absorbed towns and villages and FitzOsbern began by invading and conquering Gwent.
FitzOsbern also built many castles, including those at Chepstow, Wigmore, Clifford, Berkeley and Monmouth, as well as improving the defences of the towns of Hereford and Shrewsbury.
BORN THIS DAY - BLEDDYN WILLIAMS
Born this day 1923, in Taff's Well.
Bleddyn Williams, former Wales and Lions rugby captain.
Williams was known as "the prince of centres" and was the last man to captain Wales to victory over New Zealand. He served during the Second World War with the RAF and afterwards became a rugby journalist with the Sunday People.
FIRST INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL OPENS IN WALES
In February 1894, Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen in Caernarfon became the first intermediate school to open in Wales under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889.
The school is named after the education reformer Sir Hugh Owen, who recognising the need for improvements in education in Wales, was instrumental in the demand for action from the government.
Prior to this, the education of children up to the school leaving age of 10 was the responsibility of local school boards, but the new legislation replaced them with joint education committees in every Welsh county, responsible for establishment of the new intermediate schools
The aim of the intermediate schools was to provide education for children irrespective of their families social status or religious denomination. The leaving age was raised to 11 and later in 1899, to 12. However, initially the schools required a financial contribution from the parents, but as many were not able to afford it, by 1891 the children's education was provided free of charge. The new schools became known as county schools until the 1944 Education Act created the system of grammar, secondary modern and technical schools.
Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen is now a Welsh language comprehensive secondary school providing education for pupils aged 11–18.
MONMOUTHSHIRE & BRECON CANAL OPENED
In February 1796, the main line of what is now called the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal was opened. There were initially two separate canals, the Brecknock & Abergavenny and the Monmouthshire, which were linked in 1812 when the Brecknock and Abergavenny was extended to Pontymoile.
The canal and its horse-drawn tramway provided a means for local industries, such as coal and ironstone to transport their goods through the narrow Mid Wales valleys. However the arrival of the railways saw their usage decline, and by 1865 the Monmouthshire Canal closed, which was followed by various other parts of the canal being filled in for road construction, leaving it effectively unnavigable.
However recent restoration work has seen sections of the canal reopen, in particular, the stretch from Brecon to Pontymoile.
One of the top news stories today is the collapse of a trial in London simply because the jury did not seem to understand "the basis of trial by jury and simple legal concepts". At first I thought it might be because both sides had not presented the case sufficiently well but, having read some of the questions asked by jurors, it became clear that at least some of them hadn't any idea of how a court works!
In the light of the collapse, all the usual arguments against jury trial are coming out of the woodwork again.
Tempus fugit in a most frightening way and it is now many years since I did my jury duty but it remains the best job I ever had. I received a letter calling me to jury duty in November of one year and was obliged to go to the Old Bailey in the following January. First of all everyone had to negotiate the security arrangements at the door but the security people were cheerful and pleasant. Inside, I suddenly felt rather lonely and overwhelmed despite all the other people who had been called in the same way.
I was called to be a juror on a fraud trial and asked by bewigged and gowned men whether I was willing to give up possibly 6 months of my life to do this. I said that I would do so. There was much discussion regarding someone else who said that they could not do it as they were afraid of losing their job; prosecuting counsel and the judge made it clear that sacking someone from their job in those circumstances was against the law but everyone had the opportunity to back out.
Returning to my own job that day, I explained the situation and my employer (an apoplectic man at times) went through the roof and that could be a frightening experience, believe me. As I loathed him, I dug in my heels and decided there and then I was not going to give in.
The jurors chosen had to return to the court to confirm that they would be taking part; I sent the judge a note about my employer's reaction and said that my boss would likely be sending him a letter by courier at that very moment about it. To be honest, I can't remember whether the letter arrived or not but the judge and prosecuting counsel, after some discussion, very kindly asked me to make the decision about whether I wished to continue. I said that I wouldn't be bullied and that I would carry on.
The jury for the fraud trial ranged from a young lad of about 19 to a cheery pensioner and all ages in between. I recall a London cabbie amongst the twelve. I think it fair to say that we were all reasonably intelligent and understood the basics of what was required.
The trial took place in a modern annexe to the Old Bailey where we had a comfortable room. We organised a kettle, teabags etc. and made ourselves a home from home for the next 6 months. Fortunately, we got along very well and all had a sense of humour. The court Clerk and usher were enormously helpful and kind too.
Obviously, I cannot say anything about what was discussed in the jury room or how we came to our decisions, but watching how a court works and observing how a clever QC can manipulate a hostile witness was a fascinating experience. The case involved an enormous amount of money but, at the very start, we were told that if we could understand a bank statement and balance a cheque book, we would have no problem understanding the prosecution's case. And so it turned out. At the end of the case, the judge said that the prosecution's presentation should serve as a model for other fraud cases and he was very complimentary to us also. At all times, we had been treated with respect. We were also told that we would not need to do jury duty again, having given so much of our time.
By the way, I returned to my job and my boss bided his time; he allowed a few months to pass before giving me notice! It was a relief actually, as I hated the job almost as much as I loathed him.
RICHARD TREVITHICK
On this day in 1804, the first steam train made its maiden journey, from Penydarren Ironworks to Abercynon
Samuel Homfray, the owner of the Penydaren Ironworks tasked Richard Trevithick his mechanical engineer to produce a steam locomotive to transport the produce of the ironworks. Homfray was so impressed with Trevithick's design that he placed a wager with Richard Crawshay that it could haul ten tons of iron from Penydarren Ironworks to Abercynon, a distance of 9.75 miles (16 km).
On the morning of 21 February 1804, Trevithick's locomotive successfully completed the journey in 4 hours and 5 minutes, reaching a top speed of nearly five miles an hour and this became the World's first locomotive-hauled railway journey. There is a monument dedicated to Trevithick's locomotive in Merthyr and a full-scale working reconstruction of it can be seen at National Waterfront Museum in Swansea where several times a year it is run on a 40m length of rail outside the museum.
GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH
On 21st February 1152 Archbishop Theobald consecrated Geoffrey of Monmouth as bishop of St Asaph. Geoffrey, whose work is generally accepted as establishing the myths surrounding King Arthur and Merlin, was probably born sometime between 1100 and 1110 in Wales or the Welsh Marches.
He was a cleric and author, who is best known for his chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain"), which was widely popular in its day and was credited well into the 16th century. It is now however acknowledged by many modern historians as containing little reliable history.
CHARLOTTE CHURCH
Born this day 1986, in Llandaff.
Charlotte Church, who came to public notice when she made an impromptu appearance on "The Big Big Talent Show" in 1996, she came on to say a few words about her aunt, who was also making an appearance on the show, and was asked her to sing. She stole the show and immediately became an overnight sensation.
More television and concert appearances followed, such as those at Cardiff Arms Park, the London Palladium, the Royal Albert Hall, and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp. She was signed to Sony Music (UK) and has released three best-selling albums of popular classics and at 12, she was the youngest person at no. 1 in the classical charts with the release of her album, Voice of an Angel.
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SIR WILLIAM GOSCOMBE JOHN
Born on this day 1860 in Canton, Cardiff.
Sir William Goscombe John - greatly respected sculptor who made several public monuments, memorials and statues of public figures, including the memorial at Port Sunlight to the employees of Lever Brothers Ltd who died during the First World War.
BORN THIS DAY - TITUS LEWIS
Born on this day 1773 in Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire.
Titus Lewis - a Baptist minister and writer, who is notable for the publication of A Welsh-English Dictionary as well Hanes Prydain Fawr (a History of Great Britain) and several hymns and biblical commentaries, including, along with Christmas Evans, a translation of Gill's commentary on the New Testament into Welsh.
Living in Wales by David Hurn named in the best top 50 Black + White Photography books
 Black + White Photography magazine have named Living in Wales by Magnum photographer David Hurn in their top 50 black and white photography books.Living in Wales is an album of one hundred and one duotone portraits of people who, in the words of David Hurn have enriched my life and that of Wales. It is a roster of the famous and distinguished in the fields of science, business, the arts, sport, the law, health, media, politics and religion. ISBN: 1854113399 Hardback 25.00 |
Seren author Cynan Jones long-listed for the Sunday Times Short Story Award.
| Bird Blood Snow is available from the Seren website for 8.99 No matter how you build them, the world will come crashing against your fences. |
| Christopher Meredith has a new poetry collection Air Histories out with Seren in June 2013. Seren published his fourth novel The Book of Idiots in 2012, described by the ShortList Magazine as "...a darkly comic triumph full of uncomfortable truths" |
Douglas Houston 1947-2013
We were sad to hear of the death of the fine poet Douglas Houston and thank his widow, Lynn, for permission to use the poem 'Welsh Dream TV', from the collection The Welsh Book of the Dead , as Poem of the Month (see below) for which Sean O'Brien wrote this recommendation, which now provides an eloquent euology:
"As a love poet he achieves freshness and pathos; as a fantasist he continually surprises; as a writer possessed of intellectual curiosity he strives for that marriage of direct apprehension and analysis which would be his equivalent of the philosophers stone. He is also a poet of landscape and of literature itself, of wild humour and humbling candour. We're lucky to have him."
New titles
Forthcoming Titles
 R.S Thomas: Poems to Elsi edited by Damian Walford DaviesForeword by Rowan Williams Celebrate the R. S Thomas centenary with this excellent volume that draws together 52 poems (4 previously unpublished) by Thomas to his wife, the distinguished artist Mildred E Eldridge - known as Elsi - from early meditations on their relationship to the elegies following her death. This revelatory collection dramatises the changing dynamics of a complex and vitally creative relationship. Poems on marriage, cohabitation, birthdays, anniversaries, family and bereavement offer a candid portrait of emotional intimacy, desire, the painful process of ageing, and of loss. Elsi is a complex presence here: to the 'to' in the title signifies not only 'addressed to' but also 'about', 'with an eye on', 'to be overheard by', and even in one case 'from'. ISBN: 9781781721117 Paperback 9.99 |
| God LovesYou by Kathryn Maris Kathryn Maris borrows rhythms, vocabulary and themes from the Bible in her new Seren collection of poems, God Loves You . The result is more than artful parody, although a sly wit is in evidence. It is an approach that accommodates large themes, unravelling them in new ways. The first section, What will the neighbours think?', is a kaleidoscopic view of the sins and sinners of the modern city and opens, appropriately enough, with a vision of a flood to rival Noahs. The following sections subvert scripture more directly. A mock-prayer opens: My father, who art in heaven,/ sits under an umbrella that is his firmament; a sonnet begins: Kyrie eleison! I said it in the pub. Such burlesque moments mask poignant themes of praise or blame, as well as being funny. ISBN: 9781781720356 Paperback 8.99 |
| The Scattering is a collection of 18 stories, many set on the Irish border, where this London-born author currently lives. These stories explore states of liminality: life on the Irish border, dual identities, emigration, being between states - certainty and doubt, codependency and freedom. Some explore themes of catastrophe and constraint. All explore what it means to be alive in a fraught and ever-changing world. This first collection from prizewinning author and playwright, Jaki McCarrick explores the dark side of human nature, often with a postmodern Ulster gothic twist. ISBN: 9781781720325 Paperback 8.99 |
| Shadow Dispatches by Polly Atkin Winner of the Mslexia pamphlet competition These atmospheric and keenly observational poems offer us a slant perspective on everyday things and events: the ugliness of an elderly mute swan; or a group of migraine sufferers forming a fellowship and holding regular meetings. Poems addressing the complexity of contemporary relationships sit alongside those riffing on traditional themes, even in the case of Hermes Enodios and Potnia Theron revisiting classical gods. These are poems embedded in particular landscapes, in which the real becomes surreal and vice versa. Together they form a poetry which is deeply involved with the natural world concerned with deer in fields and jays in woods but which is not in any way removed, encompassing email, photoshop, and fighter jets. ISBN: 9781781720776 Paperback 5.00 |
Meet the Author
Sunday 24th February 12-3.20pm: Let It Snow . Writing workshops with Anne-Marie Fyfe. Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour, Earls Court, London. 28 (concs. 24) all advance booking only, with cheque, please, as workshops/classes are frequently oversubscribed. CoffeeHouse Poetry, PO Box 16210, London, W4 1ZP. Visit the Coffee-House Poetry website for further information: www.coffeehousepoetry.org/
Thursday 7th March 7.30pm-9pm: 'First Thursday' Literary evening combined with music, presenting Stuart Silver on piano and Seren poets Emily Hinshelwood, Paul Henry and Rhian Edwards . Media Point Room Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff 2.50
Seren Poets at the Stanza Poetry Festival - St Andrews, Fife Wednesday 6th March 8-9.30pm: Curated by Liam Carson , a voyage through Dublin in poetry, music and image. The Byre Theatre, Abbey Street Auditorium 8.00/6.00
Friday 8th March, 11.30am-12.30pm: 'Border Crossings' Christopher Whyte (Crsdean MacIlleBhin) , Robert Minhinnick. The Town Hall, Queens Gardens Supper Room 3.00/2.0
Saturday 9th March, 11.30am-12.30pm: 'Past &Present' Ern Moure on Csar Vallejo, Robert Minhinnick on Dylan Thomas. The Town Hall, Queens Gardens Council Chamber 3.00/2.00
Saturday 9th March, 11.30am-12.30pm: 'Border Crossings' Reading Zo Skoulding , Jean Atkin The Undercroft, St John's House, South Street 3.00/2.00
Saturday 9th March, 5-6pm: Five O'Clock Verses' Reading Deryn Rees-Jones , Alvin Pang The Byre Theatre, Abbey Street Auditorium
Seren staff out of hours
Simon bought Wainwright's Complete Pictorial Guides from an RSPCA charity shop for 5. RRP 159.99. He feels bad for cheating the animals, and because he'll never actually read the books, nor walk in the Lake District. But they do look lovely on his library shelf.
Rebecca has recently completed level one trapeze and is now learning to climb ropes She is currently working on a couple of her own short stories and some new poetry.
Mick caught up with the David Nash exhibition at Kew and was more than impressed by his response to making work in gardens rather than the landscape. It's there until mid April and well worth seeing.
Clancy has spent the last few weeks battling off a cold which is slowly getting the better of her. When she can keep her eyes open she is enjoying the Stephen Poliakoff drama 'Dancing on the Edge' on BBC 2 and finally got round to reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which she absolutely hated!
Amy somehow finds herself taking a GCSE class in Italian on Monday evenings. After four months the verdict of some Italian friends is that her vocabulary is impressive but her grammar requires at least a further four years of study. She has also learned that you must not attempt to translate 'lightbulb jokes' into Italian.
Vicky has been to see Les Miserables twice in the cinema, she loved it even more the second time around and now has the soundtrack playing in her car! She is also counting down the days until the Capital One Cup Final at Wembley on 24th February.
Penny stayed by the fire in January, with the odd chilly beach walk, but is looking forward to stage and screen in Feb - taking her daughter to Les Miserables and going to see an all-female production of Hamlet at the Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Poem of the Month
Welsh Dream TV
Much of the time there is only the silence,
So transient particles glow with significance.
You may experience rippling water
As hope scoured bright by gales,
Or suspect the hail-flak thrashing the roof
Encodes something reassuring.
When the light goes grainy and thin
There is a technical fault,
And sometimes the rays travel too fast,
So the future keeps its promise early
In a brief confetti of supercharged photons.
The heart goes on pulsing its binary message,
The beats and the space that is everything else,
Each printed letter and all the blanks,
Leaves in situ or gone to rot,
Needles of Morse piercing the spume
Blown off a north Atlantic winter.
Welsh Dream TV is transmitting
A feature on perfect felicities.
In the square of a small market town
A spring has dried up temporarily
Out of respect for one recently dead
Who possessed monumental humility.
An auctioneer and three horse dealers
Are explaining how they run things here.
The simple arithmetic of their gestures
Fits its occasions like air round stones
And their smiles are very disarming when they say
Theyre glad youve tuned in to their channel.
From The Welsh Book of the Dead by Douglas Houston
Yesterday I was clipping a laurel bush that has grown massively large when a neighbour stopped to chat. He told me about an altercation he had with someone the day before.
It was a complicated story and Iwas unable to follow it all but, in essence, theother driver signalled incorrectly, confusing the teller of the tale.All we need remember is the aggrieved driver is seventy eight and the other driver was a soldier.
This did not deter the seventy eight year old from following the soldier to his house and making his complaint. Some verbal sparring followed before the soldier told him to learn to drive andwas met with the riposte that he could drive, he'd learnt in the Army.
Using some emotional intelligence, the soldier asked 'Shall we just leave it?'. Then they both shook hands and the day did not end badly after all.
InThe Times todaythe case of the Carmarthen blogger is reported. Briefly, Carmarthen Council has taken offence to the blogger's predilection for filming sessions of the planning committee, using her mobile 'phone.
This is another of those sagas that run and run. Along the way, she has been arrested andreleased.She and the council are embroiled in a wordy battle that looks as though it's going to be costly.
The Times and Derbyshire County Council case established that the State should not sue its citizens and should not pay for its employees to do so. In effect, the blogger, as a taxpayer,is funding the claim against her and is paying for her own defence.
The case concludes today.Judgement will be reserved. I'll watch out for it?
SWANSEA BLITZ
The Swansea Blitz was a heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany between the 19–21 February 1941. The Luftwaffe unleashed 1273 high explosive bombs and 56,000 incendiary devices, targeting the port, docks the oil refinery at Llandarcy, ironically the Three Night Blitz left the industrial area virtually unscathed but almost completely obliterated the town centre destroying 857 properties and damaging 11,000. 230 people were killed, 409 were injured.
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RICHARD TECWYN WILLIAMS
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Born this day 1909, in Abertillery
Richard Tecwyn Williams, who has been described as the founding father of drug metabolism.
Williams was the first scientist to really study how drugs are metabolised in a living body and his book "Detoxication Mechanisms", described as "a marvel of organisation and enlightenment" helped in prescribing drugs to provide the maximum effect and minimum side effects. He was awarded honorary degrees from Paris, Germany and Nigeria. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and an honorary member of The Mark Twain Society USA.
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ST DAVIDS CATHEDRAL EARTHQUAKE IN 1247
On 20th February 1247 St David's Cathedral suffered earthquake damage.
A History of St David's Cathedral;
6th century - The monastic community was founded by Saint David ( Dewi Sant; c. 500 – c. 589)
Between 645 and 1097, the monastery suffered many attacks, including those by Vikings and several of the Bishops were murdered, including in 999, Bishop Moregenau and in 1080, Bishop Abraham.
c.885 - The cathedral was of such note as both a religious and intellectual centre that Asser, a Welsh monk from St David's was asked by King Alfred the Great to join his court and help rebuild the intellectual life of the Kingdom of Wessex. Asser later wrote a biography of Alfred in 893.
1081 - William the Conquerer visited St David.
1090 - Welsh scholar, Rhigyfarch wrote a Life of St David.
1123 - Pope Calixtus II bestowed a Papal privilege on St David's, making it the object of pilgrimages.
1131 - A new Cathedral was completed.
1171 - King Henry II's visit saw the following of David increase – and the need for a larger Cathedral.
1247 - Reported earthquake damage to the cathedral.
1540 - During The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII, the body of Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, was brought to St David's from the dissolved Greyfriars’ Priory in Carmarthen, for reburial.
1649 - 1658 - During the Puritan Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, the Cathedral was all but destroyed by Cromwell’s forces, and the lead stripped from the Bishop’s Palace roof.
1793 - The Welsh architect John Nash was commissioned to restore the West Front, to repair the damage done one hundred and fifty years previously.
1862-70 - Within a century the Nash West Front had become unstable, and the whole building was restored by George Gilbert Scott.
1995 - The British Government reinstated the title of "City" to St Davids.
THE GOVERNER FENNER SINKS IN 1841
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On 20th February 1841, The Governor Fenner, carrying emigrants to America, sank off Holyhead with the loss of 123 lives. It has been described as one of the most appalling calamities that ever occurred off the shores of Britain.
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BRITAIN'S FIRST POST BUS - LLANIDLOES TO LLANGURIG
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Britain's first Post Bus service was introduced on 20th February 1967. It ran between Llanidloes and Llangurig, North Wales.
Post Buses covered 300 routes at their peak, where they provided a lifeline for isolated communities by combining mail delivery and collection with passenger transport. However recently the services have declined and there are now less than twenty Post Buses remaining.
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BORN THIS DAY - MIKE ROBERTS
Born on this day 1946 in St Asaph
Mike Roberts, former Wales international rugby union player, who toured New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions in 1971.
EDITOR'S LETTER
The determination to plough on was only made possible because of the wonderful support, loyalty, faith and not least patience vested in us by you the readers and our contributors.
However, 2013 heralds a new era for us, and the future looks far brighter and more certain than it has done for a long time. We are entering a collaborative partnership with the University of Wales: Trinity St. David, effective from March. Cambria will move on campus, the University are providing a home with the back-up of its infra-structure; the magazine will remain wholly independent as always but supported.
We look forward to being part of, and contributing to, the vision articulated by the inspirational Vice Chancellor, Medwin Hughes, which has created such a feeling of dynamism and renewal over recent years. His belief in Waless institutions in driving change resonates well beyond the world of academia. His passion is welcome in a world so often dulled by corporate blandness. Wales desperately needs such men.
Cambria is proud to become part of the family. As you will see from the article by the Vice Chancellor in the magazine we have many shared beliefs, the ethos of Cambria and our coverage of heritage and arts and current affairs fits immaculately well with the plans of the University. Together we hope to build on these, to our mutual benefit but above all to that of Wales. As Goethe observed, new beginnings have great energy and power.
We are looking forward to a new era for Cambria , a time of growth and development as we continue in our evolution. We will continue to shamelessly promote our national interests, our achievements and our aspirations and will strive to entertain, inform and be thought provoking.
Last autumn saw our fifteenth anniversary, and this is our 73rd issue, many of you I know have every one! Who knows what the future holds, but hand in hand with it I know we will continue to have the strength of your support.
Cambria ! Ymlaen!
Frances Jones-Davies, Editor
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Celebrate St. Davids Day!
The St Davids Day annual parade in Cardiff will muster from 11.30am for a 12.30pm start, at the Civic Hall and follow the usual route to The Hayes. This year amongst the many will be a posse of Patagonians.
Parades will also be taking place in Colwyn Bay and Wrexham where The Cambria Band will again be a great attraction. Details for these can be found in your local papers or websites.
Support your local parade, a great day out and a visible way of registering the desire to have it made a National Holiday!
Not to be Missed!
A Welsh Journey an exhibition of work by John Uzzell Edwards is showing at St Davids Hall, The Hayes, Cardiff from March 1st to April 24th, 2013
I was married in 1959. Peter was in his second year of teaching and earnedthirty five pounds a month, which could not be called a 'princely sum' by any stretch of the imagination. I did not have a job, having only just arrived in a small town in West Wales.
Our first 'married' task was to sortthe budget.We worked out that in a five week month there was seven pounds a week to juggle. Ashorter month gave useight poundsto splash.
Our rent was two pounds a week andcoal was ten shillings a bag. We had coin metres for the gas and electricityso we could pay-as-we-went. We also paid weeklyfor a rediffusion radio at first, but I forget what that cost.
I decided that three pounds a week would probably buy enough groceries for the two of us and in practise, it did.
I jotted down everythingI had spent when I came home from shopping, to see where the money had gone. (When supermarkets arrived in thesixties it was a relief, because prices could be compared and I knew what things cost before deciding to buy.)
The Sunday jointpresented a difficulty for me. I would ask fora small joint but always ended up with one that lasted us for four meals.My culinary imaginationwas tested to the limit. On a Sunday wehad a roast, Monday we ate the meat cold, with boiled potatoes, peas and a bottled sauce. Tuesday waspie day and on Wednesday I threw the remainsinto the cawl pot and breathed a sigh of relief.
(My daughters thinkI was lucky it lasted so longbecause meat disappears quickly in their houses.)
The topic for this blog was inspired by some recent research that says two people can save at least a hundred pounds a month by living together, sharing the bills.
Co-incidentallyIreada 1935 magazine earlier today and saw anarticle on household economy. I should have guessed thatthe main culprits for wasting money were the maids, who were lavishwith thecleaning materials, expecially scouring powder. Elbow grease would have done just as well and saved a lot of money!
