Blogs
6 new videos added:-
1. Snowdon Summit Cafe and Railway In Winter
2. Table Mountain South Wales Near Crickhowel
More pics of Table Mountain here .
3. Syndicalism And The Riots of 1911 in South Wales a half hour lecture on the Tonypandy Riots , south Wales 1911.
4. Siobhan Owen ~ My Little Welsh Home ~ Ucheldre Centre, Holyhead, Wales Siobhan Owen in concert on Ynys Mon.
5. Welsh Railways, Full Steam Ahead: Part 1 Part 1 of a two part youtube documentary on the restoration of the Welsh Highland Railway .
6. Welsh Railways, Beating Beeching: Part 2 Part 2 of a two part youtube documentary on the restoration of the Welsh Highland Railway .
Enjoy
I read a really interesting article recently about the possible cause of the separation of the Celtic languages into P-Celtic and Q-Celtic forms. Q-Celtic survives today as Irish, Manx and Scots Gaelic, and existed previously as Celt-Iberian, spoken on the Spanish peninsula, among others. P-Celtic, of which Welsh and Breton (I believe) are the only surviving members, also included tongues of other wider-flung areas, including Cumbric (southern Scotland and northern England), Cornish (Cornwall), the enigmatic Pictish (northern Scotland), Gaulish (Gaul - present day France), and some even farther removed, such as Galatian (Turkey), Leponic (Northern Italy), and Noric (Austria and Slovenia). Coincidently (or not), these areas also share a fair number of social structures, religious beliefs, and elements of material culture - in fact, taken with a grain of salt, they paint a fair picture of a wider Welsh tradition, of which modern Wales is the heir.
The article argues that the transition from the proto-IndoEuropean consonant k(w) (to pronounce it, place your lips as if to make a very pronounced and comic Welsh W, but make the hard C sound without moving your lips) to simple K + w (or Qu) was by far an easier transition to make that the one taken by the P-Celtic speakers, who turned into a P instead. Other language (German and Latin for instance) made a similar simple transition. Seeing as it seems to be a much simpler transition, the article argues that we should look for some reason for an otherwise awkward linguistic transition.
Enter the Etruscans, a powerful, metallurgically advanced, but tongue-tied group who migrated into the area at about the time of the split between P- and Q-Celtic (around 1200 BC or so). The article examines evidence that the very influential Etruscans (possible/likely forefathers of much of Roman culture), though having great skill in military organization, and issuing in the iron age in this part of the world, simply had no sounds in their non-IndoEuropean language that corresponded to a K, Q or maybe even W. Whats an Etruscan to do, then, when trying to interact with these proto-Celtic people? Apparently, rather than allowing the k(w) sound to drift backward into no-mans-land and become the unknown K sound, they used something a little further forward and a lot more familiar. They used P instead. The article concludes by pointing to the likelihood that the proto-Celts of the area, taken with these culturally impressive neighbours, likely began to borrow their pronunciation, and as a result, began to create the division we see today.
On March 25th 1807, the Mumbles to Swansea Railroad became the first-fee paying railroad in the world.
At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century there was no road link between Swansea and Oystermouth and the railway's original purpose was to move coal, iron ore, and limestone between the Swansea Canal and Swansea Harbour. Then in 1807, approval was given to carry passengers along the line as well.
It holds the record for the most number of means of being powered used by any railway in the world i.e. horse drawn, sail power, steam power, electric power, petrol and diesel.
Flat Holm Light House became operational on 25th March 1738.
Flat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel and contains Wales' most southerly point of Wales.
A timeline history for Flat Holm;
* The island has a long history of occupation, from Anglo-Saxon and Viking times.
* It was visited by disciples of Saint Cadog in the 6th century.
* In 1835 it was the site of the foundation of the Bristol Channel Mission, which later became the Mission to Seafarers.
* A sanitorium for cholera patients was built in 1896 as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff.
* Marconi used Flat Holm to transmit the first wireless signal over open sea to Lavernock in 1897.
* A series of gun emplacements were built in the 1860s to defend the entrances to Cardiff and Bristol ports.
* On the outbreak of World War II, the island was rearmed.
* It is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area, because of its rare grasslands and plants and also has significant breeding colonies of the Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull.
Sherlock Holmes' most famous case, The Hounds of the Baskervilles was published on March 25th, 1902 and the story may well have a distinct Welsh connection.
Sherlock Holmes's creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyles's first wife had strong links to Wales and they would have regularly visited Baskerville Hall in Clyro, Powys, It is thought that Conan Doyle may have got the idea for this story from local land owner Black Vaughan, who according to legend,
owned a pack of wild hounds, who he would set on people who annoyed him at nearby Hergest Ridge, sometimes with fatal results.
Born this day, 1915 in Pontyberem
Dorothy Squires - Born as Edna May Squires, was a recording artist, best remembered for her versions of "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "If You Love Me (Really Love Me) and her marriage to Roger Moore. In later life, she was involved in much controversy and bad fortune, which saw houses belonging to her, burned down and flooded. By 1982 she had spent much of her fortune on legal fees.and in 1988, she lost her home in following bankruptcy proceedings. Her last concert was in 1990, to pay her Community Charge.
The Proud Valley starring Paul Robeson and filmed on location in South Wales was premiered on 25th March 1940.
The film tells the story of how a Black American gets work as a miner when he comes to live in Wales and shares the hard way of experienced by the locals in the aftermath of the Great Depression. He becomes a respected member of the community when he joins a male choir and also strives to improve the people's living conditions. He then becomes a hero when he sacrifices his own life in a mining accident, trying to save his colleagues.
On 25th March 1811 Joseph Bailey took over the ironworks at Nantyglo and was instrumental in making it one of the great iron-works of the world.
Bailey from Wakefield in Yorkshire went to work with his uncle Richard Crawshay, the owner Cyfarthfa ironworks in Merthyr. After Richard Crawshay's death in 1810, Bailey inherited a quarter share of Cyfarthfa, which he sold to purchase the old ironworks at Nantyglo.
Bailey became a very wealthy man and purchased estates in Breconshire, Radnorshire, Herefordshire and Glamorganshire. he also became MP for Worcester City and Breconshire.
An Interview With Janet Louise Mancini- Author of 'Finding My Life Through The Children's Home'
By Ceri Shaw, 2013-03-24
Janet: Hello Ceri and everyone here at AmeriCymru. I am very happy to be interviewed here today.
You ask me what I have found. I found a life I never knew I had before my adoption at age 5. After my adopted mother (Alberta Raymond-Mancini) died in August of 2000 I became curious about my birth mother. And so I started a search that would at the time, only take me two months. I was able to find The Children's Home I was placed in by my birth mother, (Mary Margaret Morris-Lener) , the women who worked there and took care of me and my biological family, which I never knew I had. But to this day I still am able to meet relatives I never knew I had. My adopted mother and I were very close and after she died I felt the need to also grieve my birth mother's death, who had died at age 39 and I was only 4 years old when she died. I did not know who she was or anything about her until I started my search. From the time I met her last living sibling, my Aunt Catherine. This took place in 2003
AmeriCymru: Genealogical research scares some people. How easy/difficult haver you found it to trace your family roots?
Janet: My search happened very rapidly. Once I found the women who worked in The Children's Home they knew alot of information about my biological family. In fact one of the women gave me my first picture of my biological father. One of them knew one of my Uncle's. So I was already off on the right foot. I made great strides in my research. I have since learned a lot about my Welsh/Scotch/German and Irish roots. The only information I found online was my biological father's date of death. Then I started listing questions on ancestry.com and genealogy.com. Also local social groups, who I found very friendly and helpful. I spent countless hours searching the microfilm at the Uniontown library.
AmeriCymru: What advice would you give to anyone attempting genealogical research for the first time?
Janet: If you are starting your search expect to spend many hours searching online. I can say from experience it is a lot easier to search now then when I started. Mine was all on foot. Now you can sit at your computer and search genealogy sites for free. It is amazing to me now what is available online. . Once I found something it always lead to another question and I loved every single minute of it and it has become a hobby of mine now.
AmeriCymru: Can to tell us a little about your experiences at the Uniontown children's home?
Janet: From what I can remember from The Children's Home, is that we were like a large family. We were cared for as their own children. We had play time, school time, meal time and went to Sunday School together. We all played together and everyone seemed to get along. I don't remember any family coming to see me. My twin brother and I wee placed in the home together so we were always together. We had been separated from the whole family once we went into the home. So we only had each other.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us more about the Morris family reunion in 2003?
Janet: When I arrived at the Morris Family Reunion in 2003, you would have thought I was never separated from the family. Morris is my biological mother's maiden name. I had met a cousin on Facebook and about a week later I was ask if I would like to go to the reunion. I said I would love to. I was told it was a potluck dinner. So I brought a cake that said Morris Family Reunion 2003. When I walked into the pavilion everyone greeted me just like family. I had the best time of my life. When I explained to everyone who I was they said your part of the Morris family. I have thought about this quite a bit and realized that is my mother's blood line and that is the connection. I wish I could explain to you what I felt. Even though my mother's has been gone for years it is like I am still connected.
AmeriCymru: Where can people go to read your blog online?
Janet: I started a blog recently and here it is. www.janetlmancini.com
Finding My Life Through The Children's Home
I would appreciate it if you would read it and comment. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Janet Louise Mancini?
Janet: My next step is to have my book published this year. It is my hope to help someone who is thinking of starting their search for roots and to not be afraid of what you will find. You will find good and bad but you make the best of it, decide for yourself how it will affect you and move on.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of Americymru?
Janet: I feel very blest to have had the life I have been given. It was my biological mother's decision to place my twin brother John and I in The Children's Home. She wanted us to have a better life, which we did that she could not provide.
This is how I actually ended up here at AmeriCymru a few years ago, trying to search my Welsh roots. I have met and made many friends here and have learned a wealth of information about the Welch people and culture. I am very greatful for that.
Thank you so much for your time.
Janet Mancini
Born this day, 1944 in Aberystwyth
Stephen Jones FRS , is the best-known genetics expert in Britain and is also a telvision presenter and a prize-winning author on evolution. In 1996 his writing won him the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for his wide ranging contributions to the public understanding of science.
On this day 2011, it was announced that Ty Hyll - The Ugly House, now a Grade II listed building, was to become a bee sanctuary.
A history of Tŷ Hyll - The Ugly House (Capel Curig, Snowdonia)
Legend says it was built by two outlawed brothers in the 15th century, based on the old Welsh law of ty unos , which stipulated that if you could build a house and have smoke coming out of the chimney between sunset and sunrise, then you owned the freehold of the land. Then you could also claim the amount of determined by how far an axe from each corner of the building. Given the time constraints, this would often result in a very rough and crude building.
It's thought the building that stands today is an 18th-century renovation of the original, to house the workers of Thomas Telford's link road between London to Holyhead.
In the 1980s, it was empty and falling into rack and ruin until it was bought and restored by the Snowdonia Society who however kept its original external appearance.
In March 1960 the first episode of Tales of the Riverbank, narrated by Welsh actor Johnny Morris, was aired on British television.
Born this day 1972 in Hammersmith (His mother Jackie is Welsh), raised in Newbridge
Joe Calzaghe - former World Champion boxer, who made successful defences of his WBO Super Middleweight title.
Killed in action in Maddalena Harbour, Italy on this day 1943 and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in recognition of his achievements during the war and the gallantry of his crew.
John Wallace Linton, born in Malpas, Newport in 1905 , was a submarine commander during the Second World War and whose submarine TURBULENT was fired upon and depth charged near Maddalena Harbour, Italy and was declared ''lost with all hands''.
Born this day, 1957 in Gorseinon
Robbie James , former Wales soccer international, who was a regular member of the Swansea City side that rose from the Fourth Division to the First Division between 1978 and 1981.
His total of 783 English league appearances between 1973 and 1994 is one of the highest of any player in the history of English football. James collapsed and died during a match for Llanelli on 18 February 1998.
Released on 23rd March 1954 Doctor in the House is a British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box.
The film starred Donald Houston, a Welsh actor who early in his career starred in the highly successful films "The Blue Lagoon" and "A Run for Your Money" before later in his career, being cast in military roles and comedies such as the Doctor and Carry On series.
Dan Curtis on 'Being There' ( Wales v England ) and the Welsh National Coal Mining Memorial ( pic )
By Ceri Shaw, 2013-03-22
AmeriCymru: Hi Dan...how did it feel to have your work performed at the Millennium Stadium before the recent historic clash between Wales and England? AmeriCymru: Can you tell us more about the Memorial? Has it reached the design stage yet?
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AmeriCymru: Where can people go to buy the CD?
AmeriCymru: What's next for Dan and Laura Curtis?
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of Americymru?
I and my husband would like to determine if there is any interest among any of the Americymru members appertaining to developing a standard or set of criteria for recognition of Y Cymru or the Welsh people as an indigenous people. Although we are just beginning to explore our Welsh heritage we noticed that no such procedure exists although it would appear from our limited research that it should. The reasons are as follows:
1) The Welsh originate historically from a Brythonic or pre-Brythonic people from pre-Roman times which may go back millenia and are arguably the progenitors of the indigenous peoples of the British Isles.
2) The Welsh language and culture has attempted to keep its integrity intact although currently Welsh has been declared as an endangered language by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
3) Without a formal procedure for acknowledgement it disallows the Cymru from addressing their indigenous peoples circumstance pursuant to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which affects their rights under various national and international legal standards. This puts the Welsh throughout the world at a decided disadvantage unlike other indigenous peoples of western European origin such as the Basque in Northern Spain and Southern France or the Sami in the Scandinavian regions who have developed such a standard and are entitled to such recognition.
4) This status for an individual so recognized as Welsh is apart from their nationality or legal citizenship. For example, a person of United States citizenship by virtue of being born in the United States can be acknowledged by the government of Canada as an indigenous person of Canada and issued a Certificate of Indian Status by the Canadian government or a person of Mexican nationality may be issued a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood from the United States, Department of the Interior by virtue of having rights to enrollment in a federally recognized Indian tribe within the jurisdiction of the United States.
5) Upon completion of the standard or criteria having been developed a petition could be submitted to Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru and to the United Nations ECOSOC for acknowledgement. A separate organization specifically addressing the cultural, linguistic and ideological factors and rights of the Welsh people might be necessitated to perfect this at this stage.
We have only recently become a part of your web site and would like your advice on whether this would be an appropriate topic to be addressed on this site.
Born on this day 1931 in Newport, Monmouthshire.
Leslie Thomas - author, who is best known for his novels about 1950s British National Service, notably "The Virgin Soldiers"
Thomas was orphaned at the age of 12 when his mother died shortly after his father being lost at sea and he was subsequently brought up in a Dr Barnardo's home.
In 1949, Thomas was called up for National Service and saw military action in Malaysia fighting communist rebel. He also began to write short articles for a newspaper group in North London and then worked for The Exchange Telegraph news agency, now Extel. He later worked for the London Evening News as a sub-editor and reporter, before embarking on a full-time writing career in 1965.
Born this day, 1949 in Cardiff.
John Toshack, former Wales soccer international and manager.
Toshack is best remembered as a player for his prolific partnership with Kevin Keegan for Liverpool and as a manager for taking Swansea City from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.
Born this day 1919 in St Asaph.
Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling - Decorated Second World War pilot and squadron leader, who took part in the Battle of Britain under the leadership of Douglas Bader and twice escaped from occupied France.
Born this day, 1862 in Ystradyfodwg, Glamorganshire
Edward Treharne, former Wales rugby international, who is notable for being a member of the first Wales international team that played England in 1881, whilst still a student at Cowbridge Grammer School.
Wales lost the match heavily, with one of the reasons being the fact that several members of the Welsh team were played out of position. Treharne, for example, was normally a full-back but was played in the forwards.
Born this day, 1929 in Abercynon.
Malcolm Vaughan, pop singer and actor, who had a number of chart hits in the UK during the 1950s.
Vaughan first found work as a straight actor following his demobilisation from the army and later became the straight man in a comedy duo with Kennet Earle. However his strong tenor voice saw him embark on a solo singing career, during which he accumulated a long string of hits including "Ev'ry Day Of My Life" and "My Special Angel"
