Blogs
AmeriCymru is looking for blogs to feature on the new AC Magazine page. If you are a Welsh or Welsh American blogger please contact us at americymru@gmail.com . Places are ( more or less ) unlimited and all you need to do is send us your url. Be the first:-
Click Here For Blogs We Follow
If we like your content we'll do our best to get you more traffic.
The Offa's Dyke Path was opened on 10th July 1971.
The path links Sedbury Cliffs near Chepstow on the banks of the Severn estuary with the coastal town of Prestatyn on the shores of the Irish sea. Its name is derived from the extensive 8th century Dyke which King Offa had ordered to be constructed in order to separate his Kingdom of Mercia from the rival kingdoms beyond the dyke in what is now Wales.
In its 177miles / 285 kilometres, it passes through eight counties and crosses over 20 times the current border between England and Wales. The popular Offa's Dyke Walking Trail passes through this border region, known as The Marches, and includes the spectacular section of the Brecon Beacons National Park known as Hatterall Ridge. In addition, it links three designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – the Clwydian Hills, the Shropshire Hills and the Wye Valley.
On this day in 1940, the German Airforce launched the Battle of Britain by mounting a series of attacks on shipping convoys off the south-east coast of England. Among those who Winston Churchill, the wartime Prime Minister would call 'the few', who saved 'the many', were several Welsh pilots. These included Fred Rosier from Wrexham, Denis Crowley-Millington from St Asaph and Frederick 'Taffy' Higginson, a Welsh-speaker from Gorseinon near Swansea.
sdrfggerer
sdrfggerer
sdrfggerer
Died this day 1997.
Ivor John Allchurch MBE (16 October 1929 – 10 July 1997) who was a Welsh international footballer.
'The Golden Boy,' as he was often titled, played initially for Swansea Town, then Newcastle United and eventually Cardiff City, for whom he played 691 games during which he scored 249 goals. His total of 68 caps for Wales was not surpassed until 1986 by the renowned Joey Jones. Allchurch, in addition, held the record for the largest number of goals scored for Wales, 23, which was broken by Ian Rush. He achieved widespread acclaim following his participation in the 1958 World Cup when Wales reached the quarter-finals.
According to Sir Matt Busby, "Ivor never needed a number on his back for identification. His polish, his class could not be missed. He vies with the greatest of all time, yet he has a modesty that becomes him"
Donald Peers, born in Ammanford (10 July 1908 – 9 August 1973) was a popular Welsh singer. The song for which he is best remembered is "In a Shady Nook by a Babbling Brook," which became his signature tune.
He made a name for himself initially in variety shows, becoming especially popular in the provinces. In 1948, after exposure on BBC Radio, he became a star in London's West End. In 1949, the entertainment entrepreneur Henry Hall booked Peers, along with Billy Russell and Norman Wisdom for a new show called 'Buttons & Bows' and also in that year he was invited to perform his one-man show at the London Palladium and at The Royal Albert Hall. In 1950, Peers appeared in the Royal Variety Performance.
He had a popular radio programme entitled 'Cavalier of Song', and had a further hit with the song "On a Slow Boat to China". Later in his career, in the early 1960s, he presented a music programme on television, 'Donald Peers Presents', and among the artists he introduced were Sir Tom Jones and the scientist and writer Brian J. Ford playing boogie piano.
The Liberty Stadium in the Landore area of Swansea was opened on 10th July 2005.
The stadium is all-seated and has a capacity of 20,750, making it the third largest stadium in Wales. It is the home stadium of Premier League soccer club Swansea City and the rugby region Ospreys.
On 10th July 1929, nine miners were killed in a mining accident at Milfraen, Blaenavon.
sdrfggerer
On this day in 1853, an unusual weather event hit the area around Builth Wells in Powys.
The first week of July 1853 saw a period of unusually hot summer sunshine. The weather became increasingly humid and inevitably a thunderstorm threatened. On the evening of Friday the 9th, the storm eventually broke with terrific force in the area of Builth Wells. Torrential rain fell throughout the night, which was followed by hailstones to a depth of up to 5 inches. The streams and rivers failed to cope with the ensuing surge of water and it is estimated that 20 bridges were either damaged or swept away. It is known that at least 8 people died.
An extract from Kilvert's Diary records "The great rainstorm and waterspout which fell on the Epynt hills in the summer of 1854 in July, and swept away the Lawrence's house on the Dihonn Brook near Builth".
Stuart Williams, who was born on 9th July 1930, was a Welsh Football International player.
Williams initially played for his home club, Wrexham, though later he moved to West Bromwich Albion and to Southampton. He played at international level for Wales in 43 matches, which included Wales's group stage matches in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Wales played against Brazil in the Quarter-finals, eventually losing 1–0 to a goal by Pelé.
In the autobiography "My Life and the Beautiful Game", which was written in 1977, Pelé recollects this match, "I remember only too well some of the Welsh players I have faced; it will be hard ever to forget . . . the World Cup of 1958 in Sweden, and the excellent play of men like Hopkins and Bowen, Stuart Williams and Sullivan, or the truly inspired goalkeeping of Jack Kelsey."
Powis Castle, Welshpool is where Sir Gruffydd Vychan was beheaded on this day 1447.
Sir Grufydd Vychan c.1395 – 1447;
1404 Gruffydd’s father was appointed Seneschal of Caus Castle with the brief of defending it against the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, howver, in 1404 Gruffydd, his father and brother, switched their allegiance to Glyndwr, thereby forfeiting their lands and position.
1415 It is believed by many that Gruffydd was in the band of Welshmen, who are said to have saved the life of Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt and were knighted on the field.
1417 His family honours were re-affirmed as a result of his role in the capture of Lord Cobham, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London for heresy but had subsequently escaped.
1443 At a joist at Caus Castle, Sir Gruffydd killed, by piercing the heart of Sir Christopher Talbot, the champion tilter of England. Talbot'ss father John, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, fearing Sir Gruffydd would become a “second Glyndwr”, outlawed him and offered 500 marks reward for his capture.
1447 Sir Gruffydd was summoned to Powis castle in Welshpool and under the impression he was being offered safe conduct, he attended. But on entering the courtyard, he was beheaded on the spot.
Taliesin Williams, whose bardic name was Taliesin ab Iolo, was born in Cardiff on 9 July 1787 and died on 16 February 1847. He was a Welsh poet and author and the only son of notable literary forger Iolo Morganwg, who was famous for inventing the druidic 'gorsedd' rites and ceremonies associated with the Eisteddfod.
Taliesin was a school teacher and poet. Educated primarily in Cowbridge, he soon joined his father in his trade as a stone mason. For a short time, he ran a school at Gileston and worked briefly as a teacher in Neath before establishing his own school in 1816 in Merthyr Tudful. Iolo intended that his son would succeed him as a bardic leader, and from 1815 onwards, Taliesin began to take a more prominent role in gorsedd ceremonies. He had already been initiated in absentia in a Gorsedd meeting in London in 1792 (he was only five years old at the time!), but in 1814, in one of the bardic meetings in Pontypridd, Taliesin was inaugurated as a Druid.
As his father's only son, he collaborated in preparing Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain (1829) for publication. Naively, Taliesin had been ignorant of the fact that that bardism and its ceremonial trappings were the product of his father's fantastical imagination. He worked diligently editing his father's writings on bardic tradition. Taliesin was himself an ardent competitor in the eisteddfod and he frequently asked Iolo for advice with his poems. His poem 'Y Derwyddon' (The Druids) won at the Cardiff Eisteddfod in 1834 and his essay on the Bardic Alphabet was successful at the eisteddfod at Abergavenny (1838).
Mettoy introduced Corgi Toys model cars on 9th July 1956. The manufacturing base was at Fforestfach in South Wales.
Mettoy's first factory was in Northampton which within six years had 600 employees. Such was the success of the company that by 1956 a new production plant was constructed at Fforestfach in Swansea in order to meet the manufacturing demand for the new range of Corgi Toys.
The name 'Corgi Toys' was named after the iconic Welsh Corgi dogs by designer Philip Ullmann to recognise the company's new home. The name, which is short and memorable, together with the appealing 'Corgi dog' emblem, was intended to rival that of a similar company, Dinky Toys. Corgi Toys were the only ones at this time to feature plastic glazing, which gave the models more authenticity and aesthetic appeal, and which gave rise to the advertising slogan "the ones with windows".
On 9th July 2011, The Welsh National Museum of Art opened, featuring a wide range of the nation's world-class art collected under one roof at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.
The pieces exhibited range from Tudor times to modern Wales, renowned European Old Master paintings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries alongside well-known paintings of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The items displayed are drawn primarily from the world-class collection of French art bequeathed by Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, and include silver and ceramics from Wales and across the world, together with an inspiring collection of contemporary works.
wewewe
wewewe
wewewe
On 9th July 1929, the Royal Navy submarine H47 sank off the Pembrokeshire coast, killing 21 crewmen.
The Reverend John Jenkins (Ifor Ceri) parson of Ceri, Montgomeryshire is regarded as the founder of the provincial eisteddfod.
On 8th and 9th July 1819, an eisteddfod was held at the Ivy Bush inn, Carmarthen. It was organised by Jenkins and Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David's, intending "to make an attempt to rekindle the bardic skill and ingenuity of the principality ... by holding eisteddfodau in different places in the four provinces". It is seen by many as the fore-runner of the modern eisteddfod.
wedwed
The first ever cricket test match played in Wales.
The match took place at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff on 8 July 2009. England elected to bat first, having won the toss, with Andrew Strauss having the honour of scoring the first ever test runs at this venue. Ben Hilfenhaus took the first wicket. The match was eventually drawn.
The SWALEC Stadium has hosted home matches for Glamorgan County Cricket Club since 24 May 1967 after the club moved from Cardiff Arms Park. A lease of 125 years was granted in 1995, with the previous leaseholders, Cardiff Athletic Club, moving to the Diamond Ground in Whitchurch.
Neil Jenkins was born on 8th July 1971 in Church Village near Pontypridd.
Neil is a former Welsh rugby union internationaland was one of the Wales coaches accompanying the latest British Lions tour of Australia. He played full back, fly- half or centre- half for Celtic Warriors, Pontypridd, Cardiff, Wales and the British and Irish Lions.
Jenkins is one of Wales' highest ever points scorer and is among the highest on the List of leading Rugby union Test point scorers. He was the first player ever to reach a total score of 1,000 points in international rugby matches.
wedwed
...
..
On 8th July 2007 at Cefn Coch in Mid Wales, more than 150 protestors, led by naturalist David Bellamy, registered their disapproval of the proposed construction of a wind farm in the area.
The ongoing debate about wind farming has divided opinion throughout Wales. Pro wind energy supporters stress the contribution that carbon dioxide emissions make to climate change, and deplore the damage caused by our reliance in the UK on large centralised power plants fuelled by natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. They claim that up to 2000 jobs could be created by harnessing wind energy, with £2bn injected into the Welsh economy. Anti-wind farm groups in Wales object on the grounds of potential damage to the immediate environment - noise pollution, the disturbance of wildlife habitations, the negative impact on tourism and on the aesthetic appearance of the landscape.
Eve Myles (born 8 July 1978 in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley) is an award-winning Welsh actress.
Her best known role is as Gwen Cooper in the Doctor Who inspired drama Torchwood. She also played Ceri Owen in the BBC Wales drama Belonging and was Lady Helen of Mora in the BBC fantasy series Merlin. She starred in the TV drama Frankie, and more recently in the popular television drama series Broadchurch.
wedwed
wedwed
...
On 8th July 1557, a bequest in the will of Geoffrey Glyn resulted in the establishment of Ysgol Friars (Friars School), Bangor, which is among the oldest secondary schools in Wales. Geoffrey Glyn was originally from Anglesey and had enjoyed a successful career in Law in London. In 1538 , he acquired the grounds and building of the 13th-century friary belonging to the Dominican Order following the Dissolution of the Monasteries.The school was inaugurated and formally recognised in 1561 by Elizabeth I. It was originally known as 'The free grammar school of Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws', but because of its association with the Dominican Black Friars, the school was later renamed as "Friars School". The school was financed by the legacies left by Geoffrey Glyn and other benefactors. It existed within the boundaries of the old friary, near the banks of the River Adda for more than two hundred years.
The school was transferred to a different location, further from the river, in 1789 and was then moved in 1900 to Ffriddoedd Road. In 1971, in a drastic education authority reorganisation, three schools were amalgamated: Friars School, Bangor County School for Girls and Deiniol School. These combined to form a new comprehensive school, under the Friars name, but on three different sites. The entire three-part comprehensive school was relocated to a new permanent location, Eithinog, in 1999.
In July 1795, Ezekiel Hughes and his cousin Edward Bebb left Llanbrynmair on foot, bound for Philadelphia. It is believed that they were the first Welshmen to settle in Ohio.
For over two hundred years, Ezekiel's family had lived on a large farm leased from Sir Watkin Williams Wynne. When his brother, inherited all the real estate, and continued to live on the farm, Ezekiel, who had received a good education in Shrewsbury and been apprenticed to a clockmaker and jeweller in Machynlleth, decided to visit America, with a view of purchasing a large tract of land, and making it his home. With his cousin Edward Bebb, he gathered together a group of like minded people and in July 1795 they left Llanbrynmair on foot headed for Bristol, from where they would set sail.
The journey began with the men having to avoid a Press Gang in Carmarthen before continuing to Bristol and when their families followed later, they sailed on the Maria on6 August 1795. After a tedious and tempestuous voyage of thirteen weeks, they arrived in Philadelphia harbour on Sunday, 25th October. Ezekiel and Edward decided to stay in Philadelphia over winter and headed west in the spring. Within three months they had arrived in the unbroken wilds of the Miami Valley near Cincinnati (pictured) where they subsisted by hunting and fishing and building a cabin, clearing the land and growing potatoes, turnip and corn.
When the Government started to sell land in west Ohio in 1801, Ezekiel bought two parcels of fertile land not far from Paddy's Run in Whitewater Township. Ezekiel returned to Wales in 1802, publicising the news that there was plentiful fertile land in the United States. He parcelled much of the good acreage he had purchased into farmsteads and small holdings and leased them on very reasonable terms. He was highly respected by his tenants for his generosity, his wisdom and his fairness. He protected the interests of his compatriots from Wales who had followed him to America. He did his best to find work for them and even lent them money in order to buy land or livestock and tools.
Ezekiel Hughes won the respect of the people of Ohio, to the extent that in 1805, he was appointed to be responsible for the design of a new highway running between the river Miami to the town of Hamilton. The following year, he was made a magistrate and was one of the founders of the Congregational Church in Paddy's Run. Ezekiel Hughes died on 2 September 1849.
The main AmeriCymru page on Facebook is has recently changed its name from AmeriCymru - Left Coast Eisteddfod to Ameri Cymru - West Coast Eisteddfod and is growing rapidly. Help us reach the 2000 members mark this week!!!
Join Ameri Cymru - West Coast Eisteddfod here:-
https://www.facebook.com/AmeriCymru?ref=hl
( You will need to be logged in to Facebook in order to join )
Owain Glyn Dwr Centre, Machynlleth
As an author of a book on Glyn Dwr, I am especially disappointed to hear that the Owain Glyn Dwr visitor centre at Machynlleth - the town in south Powys most associated with the great man - is suffering from low visitor numbers and a perceived lack of support putting it in peril of closure. Closing it would be short-sighted: visitor numbers have been down across all visitor attractions due, I'd say, mostly to the very poor weather we've suffered from recently; and an Owain Glyn Dwr tourism initiative has only just been put in train by the WAG that needs a place like the centre to help keep it focused and properly informed. It's recent refurbishment has made it an attractive as well as informative and historic place to visit. I'd urge anyone visiting that corner of mid-Wales to pay it a visit and see for themselves how Glyn Dwr and his campaign has shaped the nature of modern Wales.
Opened on 7th July 1948, Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, the National Museum of Wales, at St Fagans on the outskirts of Cardiff.
St Fagans is among the most popular open-air museums in Europe and is the most visited heritage attraction in Wales. It is situated in the manicured grounds of St Fagans Castle. The castle itself is a late 16th-century manor house which was donated to the people of Wales by the Earl of Plymouth. Since the museum's inauguration more than sixty years ago, in excess of forty original buildings from various historical periods have been reconstructed in the castle's 100 acre area of parkland.
These buildings include a farm, a chapel, a church, a school, and a Workmen's Institute. Visitors can also see a variety of workshops where traditional craftsmen demonstrate their skills. The objects of their craftsmanship are usually on sale. Welsh breeds of livestock are raised in the farmyards and fields, and ancient farmyard tasks are demonstrated every day. Visitors can gain an understanding of the unique culture and heritage of Wales, and can also hear the Welsh language being used by staff, craftsmen and interpreters. There are many galleries exhibiting artefacts from daily life, farming and costume from various periods in Welsh history.
Throughout the year traditional festivals, including music and dance, are celebrated, providing insight and pleasure to generations of visitors who are interested in the language, culture and history of Wales.
During the First Battle of the Somme, one of the most brutal battles of the First World War, the 38th (Welsh) Division was given the job of attacking Mametz Wood on 7th July 1916 but were forced to retreat because of the intensity of German machine gun fire from the wood.
They were ordered to regroup and attack for a second time on the 10th July and succeeded in reaching the wood. By the 12th July, the Germans and their machine guns had been cleared out of the woods but the Welsh Division had lost more than 4,000 men.
wedwed
wedwed
wedwed
...
Born 7th July 1941 in Gorseinon, near Swansea, Michael Howard, politician.
He is widely remembered for not answering the same question 12 times by Jeremy Paxman during a 1997 edition of Newsnight, and for Ann Widdecombe's claim that "there is something of the night about him."
Before he entered Parliament, Michael Howard was a barrister, specialising in Town and Country Planning. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1982 and entered Parliament as the Member for Folkestone and Hythe the following year. He was appointed Minister for the City in 1985 and in 1990 he entered the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Employment. In 1992, he became Secretary of State for the Environment and succeeded in persuading the Administration of George Bush Snr to sign up to the Climate Change Convention, the forerunner of the Kyoto Agreement. From 1993 to 1997 he was Home Secretary during which time David Cameron worked as one of his Special Advisers.
After the 1997 election, he served as Shadow Foreign Secretary. Between 2001 and 2003 he was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and in 2003 was elected unopposed as Leader of the Opposition. He was named Parliamentarian of the Year in 2003 and went on to take part in many memorable encounters with Tony Blair at Prime Minister’s Questions. He led the Conservative Party in the 2005 election, after which he announced his decision to resign the leadership and was succeeded by David Cameron in December 2005.
Steve Brace, born on 7th July 1961 in Bridgend, is a former Welsh long-distance runner.
He represented the United Kingdom in the men's marathon at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing in 27th and 60th place respectively. Brace was successful in the Paris Marathon in 1989 and 1990, and also triumphed in the Berlin Marathon in 1991.
wedwed
Glyndwr takes Carmarthen on 6th July 1403.
Owain Glyndwr, since being proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers, had been a thorn in the flesh of Henry IV of England. However, until 1403 Owain's success had been confined to North Wales, where, along with his Tudur cousins, he had captured or destroyed several Anglo-Norman strongholds such as Ruthin, Conwy and Welshpool. Owain had thwarted Henry's counter-attacks, captured his son's baggage train and in 1401 had achieved a major victory at the battle of Mynydd Hyddgen.
During 1402, Glyndwr's forces had gone from strength to strength, capturing and ransoming his arch-rival Reginald de Grey in April and defeating and capturing Edmund Mortimer at the battle of Pilleth on Bryn Glas hill near Presteigne in June. This represented a significant advance into Mid Wales. An alliance with the Mortimer family, sealed by marriage to Owain's daughter, posed an increased threat to Henry IV's power. However, it was in July 1403 that Owain Glyndwr truly swept to power throughout Wales. His advance through his mother's homeland of Deheubarth, down the Tywi Valley secured the strongholds of Dryslwyn, Newcastle Emlyn and on 6th July, following a short siege, Carmarthen. With his army now 8000 strong, and with hundreds of Welsh archers and experienced men-at-arms defecting from Henry's army to swell Glyndwr's ranks, this could be said to represent the almost total collapse of English rule in Wales at that time.
Wales welcomes the World to the Llangollen Musical Eisteddfod.
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales.
Performers from different countries around the world participate in high quality competitions which are followed in the evening by concerts, where the competition winners and most enchanting competitors perform on the Eisteddfod stage alongside professional artists. Approximately five thousand instrumentalists, dancers and singers from many different countries perform to audiences numbering over 50,000 during the week-long event. World renowned performers at Llangollen have included in the past Luciano Pavarotti (who competed for the first time in 1955 along with his father and a local choir from their home in Modena, Italy). Julian Lloyd Webber has graced the Llangollen stage, as has Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The Gala Concert on the final Sunday has featured Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins, Bryn Terfel, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and James Galway.
Glamorgan CCC was formed on 6 July 1888 at a meeting in the Angel Hotel, Cardiff.
Cricket was probably first played in Wales by the end of the 17th century. The earliest known occurrence of the game of cricket in the county of Glamorgan is found in a reference to a match at Swansea in 1780.
The club competed in the Minor Counties Championship for many years and then applied for first-class status after the First World War, playing its inaugural first-class match against Sussex CCC at Cardiff Arms Park on 18, 19 & 20 May 1921, a match that Glamorgan won.
* Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county clubs and the only Welsh one, playing cricket in England and Wales.
* Glamorgan CCC have won the English County Championship competition 3 times; in 1948, 1969 and 1997.
* Glamorgan have also beaten all of the major Test playing nations.
* The club is based in Cardiff and plays most of its home games at the SWALEC Stadium in Sophia Gardens, however, matches are occasionally played at Swansea, Cresselly and Colwyn Bay.
* Glamorgan's all-time top run scorer is Alan Jones with 34,056 runs.
* Glamorgan's all-time top wicket taker is Don Sheppard with 2,174 wickets.
Born this day 1736 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey (All four of his grandparents were Welsh immigrants who lived in Pennsylvania). Picture shows the formal surrender of General Burgoyne to General Gates, Daniel Morgan dressed in white stands proudly in the foreground.
Daniel Morgan - American soldier, who distinguished himself in major American Revolutionary War battles.
Daniel Morgan was a wild character; lecherous, a drunkard, fond of women and fighting, and allegedly a horse thief. However, it is possible that without him, the American Revolution would not have succeeded. He was brave in battle and was adept at leading untrained troops. he was tactically cunning and calm under fire.
Morgan argued with his father and left home at a young age, never to return. He moved to the wilds of Northwestern Virginia, where despite his disrepute, he became well known for his loyalty, toughness and fearlessness in defending the 'wild frontier'.
Morgan was a big, powerful man, with unstinting courage and stamina. His prowess in frontier tactics such as marksmanship and guerrilla-style skirmishes made him a valuable asset in the conflict between British and American forces.
.
On 6 July 1843 the Bolgoed tollgate on the outskirts of Pontarddulais was attacked and destroyed by a group of some 200 men, during the final stages of the Rebecca Riots
The Rebecca riots took place between 1839 and 1843, in the rural parts of west Wales, mostly in Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, and Carmarthenshire, they were a series of protests made mostly by tenant farmers against the payment of tolls to use the roads, but many other 'Rebecca' incidents were about general economic conditions. During the riots, men disguised as women attacked the tollgates. They called themselves 'Rebecca and her daughters', most likely referring to a passage in the Bible where Rebecca talks of the need to 'possess the gates of those who hate them'
The 1830's, the period leading up to riots were turbulent times. The population of the rural areas of Wales had doubled in the century before the riots and it was hard for them all to gain a livelihood. The common lands which were once available for the use of all the people in a village were now enclosed and had become the property of the big estates, they were leased out to farmers for rents out of proportion to what they could earn from their produce. On top of this farmers also had to pay tithes (a tenth of all their produce each year) to the church, to support the local church (even though most people in Wales were non -conformist). As a result of this, it was inevitable that farm labourers wages were low and if you did not have enough money to support yourself you were split from your family and put into one of the new workhouses, where conditions were worse than for the worst paid labourer outside. The last straw was the toll gate system, roads were especially bad in Wales and to remedy this, the government established turnpike trusts, which were made up of trustees (usually local businessmen and landowners) who were responsible for maintaining the roads, to fund this they were allowed to erect toll gates and collect charges from road users. Farmers were especially hard-hit by this as they used the roads to transport produce and lime to improve the soil.
Then in 1842-3, economic conditions got even worse and the outbreaks swept through the three counties. Soon not a single toll gate was standing. The government sent in troops to try to prevent the outbreaks but they were ineffective and were often sent on wild goose chases. In the end, the government had to modify the toll gate system and amend the poor law and gradually economic conditions improved.
Today is the feast day of Saint Erfyl.
Saint Erfyl c. 500 - was a female Welsh virgin who founded a church at Llanerfyl in Powys.
There is an unusual inscribed stone at Llanerfyl Church, which seems to be a sub-Roman memorial stone dating from the 5th or 6th century. The inscription, in horizontal Roman capitals, commemorates the 13 year old daughter of Paterninus, Rustica.
Born on this day 1913 in Cwm Rhondda, Glamorgan
"I was born in 1913, the following year was even worse"
Gwyn Thomas was one of the foremost Welsh writers of the 20th century. He wrote novels and short stories, plays for radio and stage, and was also a scriptwriter and presenter for television, as well as a much-loved columnist in Punch. He has been called 'the true voice of the English-speaking valleys'. Once described as 'the greatest talker in the world' he was the veteran entertainer of The Brains Trust and Tonight and is also remembered for his empathetic commentary in a moving programme on the Aberfan disaster.
A former schoolmaster turned novelist turned programme maker, Thomas's included among his friends Richard Burton, Stanley Baker, Sam Wannamaker and Donald Houston. Yet beyond the world of celebrity, he was a writer passionately committed to a humane socialism, most of whose work, novels, stories, plays, are set in or informed by his native Rhondda valley. Writing about the appalling poverty he and his fellow south Walians suffered during his early years, Thomas was inspired by his community and chose not bitter despair, but humour in the face of adversity.
The Battle of Aqaba was fought on 6th July 1917 for possession of the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Under the leadership of Auda ibu Tayi and advised by T.E Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), the advancing forces of the Arab Revolt were victorious over the Turkish defenders.
The capture of Aqaba helped to re-establish vital supply lines between Egypt and the Arab and British forces stationed further north in Jordan and Greater Palestine. More importantly, control of Aqaba reduced the threat of a Turkish offensive onto the strategically important Suez Canal. Aqaba was subsequently transferred to the British protectorate of Transjordan in 1925.
Alina: the White Lady of Oystermouth - An Interview With Author Ann Marie Thomas
By Ceri Shaw, 2013-07-06
Buy ''Alina: The White Lady of Oystermouth'' here
From the interview:- " The ruins of Swansea Castle are right in the middle of the city, and I was looking up at them one day when I wondered what the castle was like when it was intact and in use. I went home and Googled it, as you do, and got fascinated by Gower medieval history."
"Alina''s ghost has been seen in the castle, and is called the white lady of Oystermouth."
...
...
Ann: This is a local history book about Alina de Breos, heir to the Lordship of Gower in South Wales in the 14 th century. Her father was always desperate for money and tried to sell Gower to three different lords at once! He eventually sold it to King Edward II''s favourite, Hugh le Despenser the Younger. Alina''s husband John de Mowbray took control of Swansea Castle in an attempt to save her inheritance, and Hugh persuaded the king to intervene. The other barons, who were unhappy with the king''s behaviour and Despenser''s power over him, supported Alina and John. It led to civil war and eventually toppled Edward II from the throne. But Alina and John paid a heavy price: John was executed and Alina ended up in the Tower of London! There is a happy ending, and Alina spent the rest of her life at Oystermouth Castle in Gower. She built the chapel on the castle, which can still be seen today. Alina''s ghost has been seen in the castle, and is called the white lady of Oystermouth.
AmeriCymru: What inspired you to tell Alina''s story?
Ann: The ruins of Swansea Castle are right in the middle of the city, and I was looking up at them one day when I wondered what the castle was like when it was intact and in use. I went home and Googled it, as you do, and got fascinated by Gower medieval history. Swansea is famous for its industry in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, but before then I always thought it was a quiet backwater. It turns out that the medieval Lords of Gower were involved in every major event of British history for over 300 years after William the Conqueror. History in school was boring, but this was real people''s lives and it caught my imagination.
When I first wrote the history, I didn''t know what to do with it. Then I had a stroke which left me disabled. Preparing the book for publication and learning how to promote it, gave me a vital interest in the days that followed, and saved me from falling into depression at all the things I could no longer do.
AmeriCymru: How easy ( or difficult ) is it to get a book on medieval Welsh history published today?
Ann: A local publisher sat me down and explained why no publisher would touch it – because it is too small a market to justify the publishing costs. I wanted to tell the story, so I self-published. Because the market is principally locals and tourists, I needed a print book for people to buy on impulse, although there is an ebook as well. My judgement was right, as I have sold very few ebooks.
When I was medically retired by my employer I used money from my pension to pay for the printing, and expected not to recover my costs. To my surprise and delight I sold over 250 copies in the first summer season and not only covered my costs, but made enough profit to finance another print run and put money towards the second book!
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about the illustrations in the book?
Ann: I felt the book needed illustrations but couldn''t afford to pay for them. My husband emailed the art department of the local university, and they ran a competition, with the winner providing the illustrations as part of her course work. She also sold prints at the book launch which raised money towards her studies. Carrie Francis is very talented, and has now graduated and set up as a freelance portrait artist and illustrator.
AmeriCymru: You are working on a second book at the moment. Can you tell us more?
Ann: Delving further into my research I found another story, set a century before Alina . This too turned out to have national significance. William de Breos was one of King John''s closest confidants, and he gave him the Lordship of Gower, and many other lands and titles. At the height of his favour he was one of the richest men in the kingdom. But when William''s wife blurted out John''s greatest secret, John turned on them brutally and hounded them to death. When the barons, already unhappy with John as king, saw how he treated William and his family, it was the final straw that led to Magna Carta. William''s sons and grandson turned to the famous Welsh leader Llewelyn the Great for help to regain their lands. So this story involves important events in Wales as well as Britain. The book is called Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John, and is finished and formatted. I am just waiting for the illustrations, once again done by Carrie Francis, and hope to publish very soon.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Ann: These books bring to light little-known stories from Gower history. They are told in an easy to read, story-telling style, but are academically sound, with bibliography and endnotes, so can be enjoyed by everyone, including older children.
Alina is available as a Kindle ebook from Amazon US
Kindle ebook and in print from Amazon UK (with international delivery)
and all other ebook formats from Smashwords
The book has had 5* reviews at Ask David and Readers Favourite
My blog, which talks about all my writing and things to think about, is found at
Ann Marie Thomas, Author: Thinking Out Loud
Drop by, or follow me on Twitter @AnnMThomas80 and watch for the publication announcement for Broken Reed.
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by the charming and generous host of the new literary YouTube channel BookView TV, Denis Campbell.
The interview took place on Skype, with me in my studio , and Denis in his, making it very easy.
I talk about the genesis of my HarperCollins YA novel and planned series Hybrids; the characters, like Johnny Online, Kestrella Chu and their parents, Malcolm Winter and the Gene Police; what the novel means to me; the process of writing; and my hopes for the future of the series and a television/film project.
It's in three parts:
