Blogs

Tis’ the season to be jolly, giving and grateful and AmeriCymru is thankful for all our amazing members, for your friendship, your contributions to the network and everything we’ve learned from you all over the years.  

The end of 2016 marks eight years of AmeriCymru.  Thousands of people around the world found the site, became part of it and joined us in celebrating Wales and Welsh heritage, sharing your own experiences and telling everyone more about Wales.  We created a non-profit, the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation (MLMEF) and used it to put on five years of the West Coast Eisteddfod as a live event, bringing Welsh and Welsh-American writers, musicians and artists to new audiences, and to sponsor years of our online competitions.  

Please donate to support AmeriCymru in the New Year!

Donations are paid to the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in the State of Oregon.  You can verify our non-profit status on the IRS website and find us on charity reporting sites Guidestar , Great Non-Profits and CharityScout . 

In 2017, we are honored to participate with the New Welsh Review  and Aberystwyth University to sponsor the AmeriCymru Novella award, a first-ever opportunity for Welsh and Welsh-American writers in the United States and Canada to participate in the New Welsh Review Writing Awards.  This competition has previously only been open to writers in Wales.  

In addition to allowing Americans and Canadians to submit work for the first time, the competition is being judged by its first Welsh-American, AmeriCymru member David Lloyd.  David was the winner of the 2015 West Coast Eisteddfod short story competition and the editor of Other Land , a collection of poetry describing the Welsh and Welsh-American experience, in addition to authoring other collections of poetry and novels and directing the creative writing program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.  

We need your help to make this and other projects possible with your tax-deductible, year-end donation.  We are sponsoring the competition, the competition prize and bringing our judge and the winner of the novella category to Hay-on-Wye in Wales to receive their prize at the Hay Book Festival.  Everyone who works on our projects and events is an unpaid volunteer, Ceri and I included and, of course, we also donate out of our own pockets to fund activities. 100% of your donations goes to fund costs of the projects and events we put on.

Please show your support and donate this holiday season!  Help us bring on the Welshness!

The story of a deep coalmine in Cwmtawe, the Swansea Valley.

'A tribute to those Tareni miners, their trials and tribulations but also their joys and successes both in and outside of work, and to their families and to all those others who worked the hard anthracite coalmines of the Swansea Valley.'

£30 plus P&P £4.95. Cheques to be made out to
Clive Reed at 17 Smithfield Road, Pontardawe, Swansea SA8 4LA.

For more information please email lynnegent46 at gmail.com

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A new children’s book published this week will aim to teach children about global warming and threat to endangered species.

Set in Ethiopia,  The Crystal Fountain by David Morgan Williams is the story of two children, Omo and Asha, rescuing an ibex from a landslide on Mount Ras Dash. The injured ibex is brought back to health with the help of the two children and Henry, the hippo, and Crocus, the crocodile and some magical bubbles from the crystal fountain.

‘I wanted to write a humorous and entertaining story for young readers, which is also educational.’ explained author David Morgan Williams.

‘The animal characters are based on real-life animals who are a part of a group recognised as an endangered species ’ he said, ‘There is also an increasing deforestation threat, particularly in tropical countries where the rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate. The depletion leads to changes in the atmosphere upon which all life depends.’

‘There is also the growing problem of poaching, the killing of wild animals so that their parts can be sold illegally for profit’ added David.

The book is aimed at readers between the ages of 5 and 7 years of age.

‘I hope the story will fire up my young readers’ imaginations.’ said David, ‘To me, this is what picture stories for young readers are all about, discovering new worlds and finding themselves, through the joy and excitement of adventure to be had through words and pictures’

David Morgan Williams was born in Cwm near Ebbw Vale, and now lives in Cwmbrân, Gwent. David is a graduate of University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; a former geography teacher; a senior lecturer in education at the University of South Wales, tutor for the Open University and visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, USA.

The Crystal Fountain by David Morgan Williams (£5.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.

Falling Branches2016

 
Photos: 3

We have three Western Hemlocks perched on a bank at the back of the house. Since we are close to the crest of a hill they are somewhat exposed to the elements. Pictured above and below is the aftermath, in our backyard, of the recent winter ice storm which passed through Portland a few days ago. About 16 branches fell off one of the trees because of the accumulated weight of ice. Needless to say, since these were falling right next to the house and just outside our bedroom window, we left home for a night or two. Sorry about the delay on various site features we were working on. Will catch up shortly

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‘A general poverty of ambition for Wales is undermining its development potential as the confidence of a whole generation of our young people is challenged on a daily basis’.

In his newly-released autobiography Carl Clowes, founder of the iconic language Centre at Nant Gwrtheyrn and prime motivator for the unique link between Wales and Lesotho, describes how communities the length and breadth of Wales are struggling to survive, rarely believing that they have the potential to overcome the disadvantages they are faced with. And when the occasional aspiring entrepreneurial spirit does come along it is often shot down by an unimaginative bureaucracy.

In his book Super Furries, Prins Seeiso, Miss Siberia – a Fi , he claims the need for a real injection of vision and leadership is glaringly obvious.

‘Wales suffers from a lack of confidence’, he says, ‘even at the highest level, something that stems from centuries of being dominated by a culture that has always believed it has the right answer for us and, indeed, everyone else in the world’.

Quoting from a conversation with a former European Commission representative in Wales, ‘from my many meetings since I`ve been in this country, there is an obvious tension between Wales and England. It is something that nobody is willing to talk about publicly but it clearly exists and is of real concern’.

Carl Clowes concludes: ‘Only by establishing Wales as a sovereign state will we see servitude replaced by an empowered people, confidence regained and a belief in our capacity to move forward and away from the bottom half of virtually every table of performance in Europe’.

‘If we don`t take ourselves seriously, nobody else will. We deserve better but we need a vision and the political leadership to enable us to get there’ he concludes.

About the Author

A medical doctor by background, Carl Clowes was the Medical Director for Powys having started his career as a General Practitioner on the Llŷn peninsula where he established Antur Aelhaearn, the UK`s first community cooperative in 1974.

He has been honoured by the National Eisteddfod for his contribution `locally, nationally and internationally`, given the University of Manchester`s alumni Award for Social Responsibility and, latterly became the first doctor with an earlier career in General Practice to be made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners for his work with the Royal College in Lesotho. He is the Honorary Consul for Lesotho in Wales.

He was awarded the OBE in 2012 and in 2009 was given Lesotho`s highest Civil honour when he was made a Member of the Most Loyal Order of Ramatseatsana by His Majesty King Letsie III.

Super Furries, Prins Seeiso, Miss Siberia a Fi by Carl Clowes (£12.99, Y Lolfa) is availble now.

We are extremely pleased and proud to announce that Distinguished Concerts International have made available a pair of tickets for the forthcoming Karl Jenkins concert in New York  at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall  on Sunday, January 15th, 2017. The concert will feature a performance of 'Cantata Memoria For the Children of Aberfan (US Premiere)'. Read our interview with Karl Jenkins here

We are offering these tickets as a QUIZ PRIZE on Americymru!

Just answer the three easy quiz questions below ( answers can all be found on Wikipedia ) and send them to us at americymru@gmail.com ( all email addresses will be deleted when the competition closes ). We'll throw all the entries in a hat and pick the winner! Please email us by Sunday, January 8th, 2017 no later than 9 PM ( Pacific Time ). Tickets will be ready at will call on 1/15 at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall; the winner will just need to bring a photo ID.

Only one entry per email address is permitted. Duplicates will be disqualified. You do not need to be an AmeriCymru member or logged into the site in order to enter this competition.

Karl Jenkins Quiz

1. What are Karl Jenkins middle names?
2. When is Karl's birthday and what year was he born?
3. At which Welsh university did Karl study music?

Are the effects of global warming seen in Wales? That is the driving question behind the new publication  Tywydd Mawr – Extreme Weather in Wales published this week.

To look for the answer, the photographer Iestyn Hughes studied countless archives for evidence of the consequences of weather over the centuries.

As the world’s climate changes each year, the book shows the impact of these effects on the Alps and glacier shrinkage in Canada but primarily the dramatic views from across Wales – snow of 1947 and 1978, the summer drought of 1976, the 2003 floods, and the storms of 2013/14 along the west coast of Wales.

Tywydd Mawr – Extreme Weather in Wales is a comprehensive volume that contains well over a hundred photographs and drawings of extreme weather in Wales. It houses a treasure trove of facts, memories, photogarphs, folklore and the science of weather and climate.

‘I was motivated to compile this book following the terrific storms of 2013/2014 which thrust Aberystwyth into the media spotlight. Having always been someone who took a peculiar delight in storm watching, I hung around and documented much of this exceptional period with my camera’ explained Iestyn Hughes.

‘I was asked to contribute to a film on the weather and climate change, and this stirred my interest in the broader historical context of the weather as it had affected Wales over the centuries.’ added Iestyn, ‘Is the recent unpredictable weather brought about by climate change, or, when set in the context that’s longer than a memory of a generation, is it part of a natural long term pattern?’

‘Although this is primarily a Welsh-language book, the picture captions are bilingual, helping the less-fluent reader to appreciate their context.’ added Iestyn.

The images presented in the book come from different sources including a collection from the National Library of Wales, which includes the first ever photograph of a snowman taken around 1854 and one of the people skating on the Teifi in 1891. In addition to photographs, there are also paintings such as those by Breugel, Aneurin Jones and Kyffin Williams.

‘To us as Welsh people, and to the other residents of the British Isles, the weather is a large part of our lives. When we experience extreme weather, our social and cultural responses are direct, instinctive and highly creative.’ says Dr Hywel Griffiths, who wrote the introduction to the book and is a lecturer in the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University.

‘In poetry or myth, paintings or photographs, something about the weather inspires. In recent years we in Wales have experienced a number of examples of extreme weather, including storms and floods.’ said Dr Griffiths.

‘This book is an important contribution to the public conversation about weather and climate as it shows historical and cultural evidence that we as individuals and communities have proven, and coped with these extreme events in the past,’ he added ‘When we, who experienced the storms of 2013/2014, are no longer here to tell the tale, the pictures, as art and record, will endure.’

Originally from Llaniestyn, Sir Fôn, Iestyn became a native of Ceredigion after 35 years working at the National Library. In 2011 he left the establishment to follow new and creative endeavours. He has made a substantial contribution to books

He has contributed extensively to books by several publishers since, either as a picture researcher, or as a photographer. Tywydd Mawr – Extreme Weather in Wales is the fourth book to bear his name as the author, and it is a book that combines his interest in archive footage and his photographic talent.

Tywydd Mawr – Extreme Weather in Wales by Iestyn Hughes (£14.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.

A well known publishers in Wales are launching their advent calendar today which will encourage people to read over Christmas. 

Publishers and printers Y Lolfa launch their advent calendar at 12pm today which will include recommendations of books to give as gifts or to read over the holidays and in the new year.   

‘We are very proud to launch our Christmas campaign which will encourage people to give books as gifts and to read over the festivities and beyond’ said Fflur Arwel, Head of Marketing at Y Lolfa.

‘Reading can bring pleasure and escapism or can be a way to learn and understand the world’ says Fflur, ‘It can also be a way to relax and capture any imagination – let alone the contribution books do to the lively culture of our country’  

The campaign follows the establishing of the ‘Welsh Bookshelf’ reading blog earlier this Autumn.  

The publishers will also be marking an important milestone next year.

‘2017 will be a big year for Y Lolfa as we look to celebrate the company’s fifty year anniversary’ added Fflur, ‘Look out for announcements of one big party and other events in the new year!’  

‘In the meantime we would like to thank our customers and everyone who has supported us this year and all years before. Onwards to the 50 ^th !’ she added.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ON AMERICYMRU

LOVESPOONS: Check out our fantastic selection of Lovespoons by internationally renowned carvers. Looking for a unique Christmas present? Look no further!

Lovespoons Page 1: https://americymru.net/welsh_lovespoon_store/p=1

GIFTS: Go here to find a selection of Welsh themed gifts!

https://americymru.net/welsh_gift_store

ADVERTISE ON AMERICYMRU

Still time to advertise for Christmas. 

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