Ceri's decided to do some serious fundraising this year and has signed up to run the 4 July Sauvie Island Flat half marathon, a 13-mile run sponsored by Foot Traffic, a running shoe and gear store.

Ceri will be running to raise money for the 2012 West Coast Eisteddfod (venue to be announced shortly) and for Bryn Seion Welsh Church in Beavercreek, Oregon. Founded in 1884 by Welsh immigrants who settled as farmers in the area, Bryn Seion has delivered services for 125 years and, since 1935, hosted an annual Gymanfa Ganu which brought participants from all over the US and Canada to sing in Welsh and featured guest musicians and choir directors that have included John Good , Rhiannon Acree and harpist and vocalist Bronn and Katherine Journey ,

Pledges are donations to our US 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation and are tax deductible. You can pledge to sponsor Ceri either by a flat donation amount or by the mile by posting your pledge as a comment, below, or make a donation now by clicking the button below (please indicate that this is a pledge for the marathon):

From the Foot Traffic site, here's the island half race route:

Sauvie Island is in the Willamette River, a little north of Portland. About half of it is a wildlife preserve and the rest agricultural, with many farms: berries, pumpkins, organic and consumer supported agriculture and an area of houseboats along the Willamette Channel on its west side. Its very scenic, winding, two-lane roads are popular with runners and bicyclists and its beaches in the summer with daytrippers, swimmers and boaters.

The preserve is gorgeous in any season and some licensed hunting is permitted in season. July is always gorgeous there and an easy walk from parts of the race course to a public beach for a cool down. If you're in the area and you want to come and cheer Ceri on, check the Foot Traffic site for pointers on getting there the day of the run, as a portion of the road will be closed for the run and parking on the island itself will be tight. The run organizers are also looking for volunteers along the route.

It wasnt so much Bore da as Zdrvstvuite at the Jenkins Bakery HQ in Trostre, Llanelli.
The bakery rolled out the welcome mat for a delegation of 28 Russian bakery managers and owners.
The bakers, some of the most well-established and well-regarded in Russia, were visiting the UK as part of a trade mission.
The visit was arranged by the Swansea bakery equipment manufacturer, Mono Equipment, which has long-standing links with bakery businesses in Russia, explained the Jenkins Bakerys operations manager Russell Jenkins.
As an award-winning bakery business, we at Jenkins were delighted to play hosts to the Russian delegates and give them a factory tour and samples of our extensive product range.
Some of the delegates had travelled from far-flung corners of Russian and were delighted to find that they had left temperatures of minus 14 behind at home to experience our splendid warm spring sunshine.
Mr Jenkins said the delegates were very interested in all aspects of production at the Jenkins factory and distribution HQ.
Fortunately, we had a couple of Russian interpreters on hand, smiled Mr Jenkins, so I hope they were able to grasp some of the details of our famous corned beef pasties, custard slices and Welsh cakes!
They all seemed very impressed and were very keen to tuck into some of our products at the end of the tour.
The delegation was accompanied by Donna Haynes, export manager at Fforestfach-based Mono Equipment.
She said: The bakers spent some time at a trade show in Birmingham before coming to Swansea and West Wales. The mission was organised by the International Industrial Academy in Russia, whose Deputy Director has previously accompanied groups of Russian bakers to Mono.
The purpose of the visit was to introduce the bakers to British technology and concepts.
Judging by the feedback from the group, they seemed very impressed with the operations at the Jenkins Bakery and I am sure they will take plenty of ideas back to Russia!
The Jenkins bakery employs 300 people, full and part-time, across 25 different stores in South Wales.
The company has the Gold Standard Welsh Food Hygiene Award and the Investors in People award.
The business employs 70 people at its Trostre HQ, while the Jenkins shop network stretches from Carmarthen to Bridgend. There are 13 shops in Carmarthenshire and even one as far afield as Powys.
Pictures:

Ceri, don't know if this was where you directed me to suggest questions for the interview, but here goes....

* have you described, in any of your Crowner John series, how he deals with protecting himself from VD, getting the ladies pregnant? As a physician he would know what if anything could be done... would be interesting.

* how do you suggest dealing with acknowledging references used for historical data included in fictional writing?

From the Ning blog:-

Join Us for an All-Day Celebration of Welsh Motherhood

Honoring Dylan Thomass Mam on the 130^th Anniversary of Her Birth.

A Welsh Mam is a dragon with a huge heart... a woman you could trust with your life: a woman of pride, high standards, love and fierce loyalty. So says Annie Haden doyenne of 5 Cwmdonkin Drive Dylan Thomass lovingly-restored birthplace and home in Swansea, Wales.

And so, on April 27 from 10:30 am 4:30 pm, Annie is hosting a free tea party at the Thomas familys former home. She invites anyone in the area to drop in and share stories of a Welsh Mam. Shell supply the tea and Welsh Cakes, while visitors supply the memories - photos, recipes or reminiscences.

The celebration honoring Welsh motherhood and Florence Thomas continues from 7:30 pm with an evening of sung and spoken words that glorify the strength, pride and love of the Welsh Mam. Lorraine King and Cheryl Beer are among the poets, singers and storytellers who will participate. You can bring your own wine, if you like. Price 10.00 (approximately $16 USD) per person. To reserve, email: annie@dylanthomasbirthplace.com.

Reproduced with kind permission from David Western's Portland Lovespoon Blog

One of the best things about lovespoons is the amount of detail which can be carved into any given spoon. There really is no limit to the symbols, decorations and intimate detailing which can go on! Sadly, this abundance of riches seems to be seldom exploited in the commercial lovespoon world and many clients are under the impression they must choose a ready-made spoon or mash-up a design from a range of 'available symbols'. That may be the case when the spoons are being mass produced using pre-programmed patterns, but for someone like me (or the other wonderful hand-carvers who produce one-of-a-kind lovespoons) the sky is the limit when it comes to inventive design.

For me, probably the most exciting part of a lovespoon commission is figuring out the design. It can certainly also be the most frustrating and always has the potential to go horribly wrong...but when things go well and the client is delighted with the results, the carving part seems to always be that much more enjoyable. Sometimes, my clients really like to get involved and they come to me with loads of ideas and great excitement. THAT'S when things are really fun. We can work through their ideas and visions for the design and chip away until we've got one that really 'speaks to them'.

Sometimes, my clients will give me some basic background information to lay the design's foundation and then well step back and leave it to me to build the rest. These commissions are a double edged sword in that they leave me loads of leeway for 'artistic freedom' but they put a heavier load on me 'getting it right' for the client. Occasionally, my vision and the client's don't align and then modifications need to be made OR even the odd trip right back to the drawing board! The most important thing is that I wind up with a design the client is happy with. After all, the spoon IS for them!

Bernard Knight, author of historical fiction, mysteries and much more over a more than 30 year writing career has consented to give us another interview and we want YOUR questions for him!

Read our first interview with him here and let us know what you,AmeriCymru members, think we should ask Bernard Knight, what you think people want to ask Bernard Knight, we'll pick the best ones and we'll pose those questions from you!