Blogs
War theme for autumn edition of New Welsh Reader
New Welsh Review was founded in 1988 as the successor to The Welsh Review (1939-1948), Dock Leaves and The Anglo Welsh Review (1949-1987) and is Wales’s foremost literary magazine in English, offering a vital outlet for the very best new fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry, a forum for critical debate, and a rigorous and engaged reviewing culture. New Welsh Review Ltd is supported through core funding by the Welsh Books Council and hosted by Aberystwyth University Department of English and Creative Writing. The magazine’s creative content was rebranded as New Welsh Reader in May 2015, with reviews moving entirely online.
1 Square foot (sq ft) = 144 sq in
1 Square yard (sq yd) = 9 sq.ft
1 Square acre (sq ac) = 4840 sq yd
1 Square mile (sq mi) = 640 acres
1 Wales (sq w) = 8016 sq.mi
Waiting for the first UK report which says "an area roughly the size of Wales" is currently on fire in the Northwest. Thought I might help out with the calculations.
Currently the figure for Washington State is 920 sq miles which is 0.114 by the Wales-o-meter . Given that the surface area of Wales is 8016 square miles that is 11.5 in percentage terms . At 275.7 mi² that's more than 3 times the surface area of Ynys Mon/Anglesey ablaze in one state alone!!
UPDATE: In Washington and Oregon at the moment 1,052,388 acres are burning i.e. 1644.36 square miles. This figure omits Montana, Idaho and California all of which are experiencing devastating conflagrations. Given that the surface area of Wales is 8016 this means that an area 20.5% or one fifth the size of Wales is burning in those two States.
( source: https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm )
Of course the above figures also omit Alaska where 5,098,829.9 acres or 7966.92 square miles have burned so far this year. An area which is 99% the size of Wales.
(source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/ )
Thirteen short stories, with all but one set in Aberystwyth when the author was between the ages of 10 and 18. What was it like to be a young boy growing up in Aberystwyth in the 1950 and '60s?
The author of this collection of thirteen delightful short stories recalling those times - often, as he would be the first admit, not very reliably.
But he remembers his school days at Ardwyn, the trips to the Urdd camp in Llangrannog, his brother Owen's distinctive approach to sporting competition and the characters of the town who made his adolescence truly memorable.
Gwynn Davis attended Ardwyn Grammar School, Aberystwyth from 1957 to 1965. Having tried and failed to be a school teacher and then probation officer, he spent most of his working life on the staff at Bristol University. He is now retired and living in Cardiff. These stories, which have been a long time coming, are his only attempt at fiction.
Aberystwyth Boy is available from Y Lolfa and on Amazon.
Cory Band are delighted to announce we have been engaged to perform a five concert tour of the USA in February 2016 and we are extremely excited about it!
It will be 40 years since Cory last performed in America when the band were invited to represent Wales as part of the Bicentennial Celebrations. 40 years is a long wait for a return trip and we are looking forward to performances across 5 states – Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Cory Band are a Major award-winning Brass Band and have been ranked No.1 in the World for the last eight consecutive years – we’ve won every possible title including Welsh, UK, European, and World Champions as well as Brass in Concert Champions. We’ve performed at all the major concert halls across the UK, regularly take the stage throughout Europe, and in 2013 performed a 10 concert tour across Australia.
With 30 World Class musicians in our ranks we are now ready to wow concert halls right across the East coast of the US. However, as a self-funded organisation we need your support to find the funds required to get us across the Atlantic. If we can make this tour happen we promise you a show you will never forget.
Europe has experienced it, Australia experienced it in 2013, and on the 40th anniversary of our Bicentennial performances, it is time for the USA to experience the Cory Band again! Full details of the concert schedule, venues and ticket information will be published on our website very soon.
Please support this amazing band with this exciting concert tour which will wow audiences, provide educational support and inspire a new generation of brass players in America. Visit our Crowdfunding page to give us your support and see how you can be part of this amazing tour wherever you’re based in the World.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/772364903/get-the-no1-brass-band-in-the-world-from-the-welsh
A friend of the unemployed and Socialist intelligentsia alike - he was visited during his time in Detroit by Welsh statesman Jim Griffiths and in Machen by black singer and human rights activist Paul Robeson - he was a fearless champion of the underdog, though, perhaps, got carried away sometimes by the power of his own oratory. A polyglot and a cultured man of many interests, he succeeded in disturbing the waters almost everywhere he went..
About the author
A native of Treherbert in the Rhondda Valley and a miner's son, the Revd Ivor Thomas Rees served Congregational and United Reformed Church pastorates in Port Talbot, Clapham, Manselton and Rochdale before retiring to Swansea in 1996.
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Mister Lloyd fails to return home from his first international race and much to the distress of Mostyn Price, a young pigeon fancier from north Wales. Devoured by a Falcon his grandfather presumes but Mostyn is hell bent on proving him wrong, determined to conquer his sense of loss, especially as his own dad also vanished a few years earlier.
Now nineteen and returning home to Bangor from a trip round Europe for a special occasion, Mostyn recalls the events of that fateful year which defined his life forever.
Cue a wild-card missing poster and an amateur search for a bird not many especially like let alone can tell apart. Yet it is this comic and preposterous premise that drives Mostyn in this bittersweet tale.
A mysterious tip-off suggests Mister Lloyd has landed in London and the search shifts to the metropolis where the eleven-year old hero finds himself increasingly isolated and in danger. But one man proves an unexpected ally. Maldwyn, a local handyman whose missing carrier pigeon did come home many moons ago, brings a glimmer of hope. Trouble is, he’s Mam’s new boyfriend and his presence threatens to fill someone else’s shoes: Dad’s.
Still, with Maldwyn, a local myth and a strange online chatroom ‘friend’ as his supporters, Mostyn embarks on the biggest risk of his life. But is it enough to bring Mister Lloyd home?
From the domesticated to the feral, Mostyn’s search for Mister Lloyd explores the tough-love lessons of leaving home and letting go, belonging, loss of innocence and the harsh reality of those who want to remain lost.
Inventive and eccentric, packed with drama and humour, this is a coming of age novel that will delight readers of all ages.
Kindle edition of The Search for Mister Lloyd is available to buy on Amazon
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Dr Wynne Davies MBE is one of the best-known names and voices in the world of Welsh ponies and cobs. Co-owner of Ceulan Stud, breeding and showing these beautiful animals is in his blood.In his long-awaited autobiography, he offers a fascinating portrait of several generations of his family and their connection to ponies and cobs, as well as his life story, which is inextricably linked to the horses. From Dr Wynne's early life at Ceulan Stores, Tal-y-bont, to teaching in the Rhondda and the eventual relocation of Ceulan Stud, we follow every step in the life of a man so dedicated to his field that he was awarded the MBE in 1995 for long-standing dedication to Welsh ponies and cobs. BUY 'FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH' HERE
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But this was not his only appearance at the show. On Tuesday 21st of July Dr Wynne launched his long awaited autobiography at the Welsh Pony and Cob Society Pavilion. For more details about the book please read this post .
Today we are pleased and proud to present a short picture biography of this extraordinary man together with short excerpts from the book. This post provides only a partial account of Dr Wynne Davies' exceptional career . Amongst other things he introduced Welsh ponies to the USA where they were virtually unknown before 1957 . For a fuller understanding of his achievements you can buy the book here .
Ceulan Stores – Where is all began – Central Stores, Tal-y-bont, Aberystwyth
"I was born at Ceulan Stores, Tal-y-bont, Cardiganshire, on 19 March 1932, the third child of Evan Samuel Davies and Janet Mary (Williams). Ceulan Stores was rebuilt between 1935 and 1937 and renamed Central Stores."
Collecting ponies – My father (right) collecting ponies for the USA at Revel Farm, Talgarth in 1955 with Mr Jenkyn Morris, who went with them.
"The ponies from south and mid-Wales and Hereford were assembled at the Revel. Our friend from Tal-y-bont, Jenkyn Morris, was paid £30 by British Livestock Exports to escort the ponies from the Revel to Glasgow, and look after all 33 until their arrival in New York. He was allowed to spend two weeks with his brother-in-law in America and was given free transport back to Tal-y-bont."
With Mr William Simpson USA – With Mr William Simpson of the USA, May 1957 at the Dyrin Stud, Sennybridge, where Mr Simpson bought seven mares (four with foals at foot) and seven fillies
"I began writing show reports for publications in 1952. My report of the Welsh mountain ponies at the RWS was published in the American monthly magazine Your Pony in April 1953 alongside an article on ‘Our correspondent from Wales’. At that time, sections B and C Welsh ponies, or Welsh cobs, were unknown in the USA. The editor of Your Pony was William Simpson of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, who came over to Wales and bought 33 Welsh ponies in October 1955 and again in May 1957, when he bought 56 for himself and clients."
Ceulan Siwan Sidan a Seirian – The winning progeny group at the RWS1982 (from left) Ceulan Siwan, Sidan and Seirian
"The highlight of 1982 for Ceulan was the progeny competition at the RWS with the three full-sisters from Twyford Sprig x Ceulan Sprite, namely Ceulan Siwan (f. 1981), Ceulan Seirian (f. 1980) and Ceulan Sidan (f. 1978). All three were placed individually and together, and they won the Gwyn Price Mare Progeny Cup from the group out of Friars Golden Sunset (which had won in 1979 and 1981), and the Ceulan group were reserve for the Pennell Stallion Progeny Cup to the group sired by Bengad Nepeta."
Horse of the Year – Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Horse of the Year Show 2012 with grandchildren Joseph and Leah
"I was invited by Showing World magazine to attend the HOYS on 5 October – to present an award, I was told – but to my great surprise, it was a presentation to me of Lifetime Achievement Award."
We are proud and pleased to announce that our good friend and AmeriCymru member Ralph Jones has just published his fourth book:- Klondyke Tales: A History of the Dowlais RFC The book is a history of the Dowlais rugby football club and the people who made it.
A short excerpt -
Chwarae Teg,Teg Chwarae translated into English means fair play, play fair. This is the motto of Dowlais rugby football club a little club with big family values which nestles at the top of the Merthyr valley. The club was formed initially to play so called friendly games on Sunday mornings mostly against other local pub teams.They would spend a year or two wandering like rugby nomads from venue to venue before eventually settling at their now Fortess Klondyke home. Sid Hill put an advert in a local paper saying that a meeting would be held in the Slipper (Prince Llewellyn) public house where players who were interested in forming a rugby team in Dowlais were invited to attend. Games were to be played on Sunday mornings.
The book can be purchased from Amazon.com or via the Welsh American Bookstore
Remember to call in for a chat in the lounge in Steddfod stall Meifod. We have a raft of new books and numerous events. Something for everyone we hope.
Here is a list of events or click the link here to download the poster.
Saturday, August 1
12:30 Tent Lounge - Dona Direidi read the story!
Monday, August 3
11 o'clock, Tipi Lounge Literature - Llyr Gwyn Lewis discusses Flower Sex War.
12 o'clock, Tent Lounge - Launch Website No, Nell!
2.30pm, National Library Tent Patagonia 150.
3 o'clock, Children's Literature Festival Tent - Meleri Wyn James No, Nell!
Tuesday, August 4
11:30 o'clock, Tent Lounge - Dona Direidi read story!
2 O'Clock, Stall Launch National College Welsh Language Rights, a tribute volume Merêd.
4 o'clock, Children's Literature Festival Tent, More Jokes Lounge with Huw Aron.
Wednesday, August 5
12 o'clock, Children's Literature Festival Tent - with story Meleri Wyn James , Author series No, Nell!
2 o'clock, Tent Lounge - Geraint Evans signing his new novel, The Hidden Enemy.
Thursday, August 6
11:30 o'clock, Tent Lounge - Dona Direidi read story!
1:45 pm Tipi Lounge author David Guy Literature Estate.
3:00 pm Stand Lounge - Launch Drive By Storom accompanied by Melody Griffiths.
Friday, August 7
3 o'clock, Tent Lounge - Ken Lewis signing his autobiography Inspector Ken.
Saturday, August 8
1.30pm, The Literary Pavilion, Centennial Charles Williams and release the book Remembering Charles.
If you do not want to come you can buy the books at your local store or www.ylolfa.com . Photographs of the Eisteddfod on our facebook and stream twitter .
