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To be honest, I didn't literally follow in their intrepid footsteps. I caught a plane instead. Fortunately the pilot knew the way. Just as well because map reading was never my forte. Never could quite get the hang of a compass and all that Magnetic North stuff. Flying over the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies into Vancouver almost made me wish I was more of an outdoor type.


From Vancouver I flew down to Portland to meet up with Gaabriel Beckett and Ceri Shaw. Gaabriel is president of the Lewis Meriwether Foundation while Ceri is founder of AmeriCymru.net a social network for expat Welsh folks living in America. Ceri created the website to help raise the profile of Wales as most Americans have never even heard of the place. The average U.S citizen probably knows far more about Hobbits than Taffs!

This was part of the reason I was flying out to Portland. Not that I expected my arrival to be the catalyst for a sudden upsurge in an awareness of Wales and all things Cymru. At one point I doubted whether I'd make first base past Homeland Security. Why is it we always feel guilty and look shifty when someone in authority scrutinizes our passport? I think my attempt at an ingratiating smile almost earned me a seat on the next plane back home. It was with a mingled sense of relief and excitement I stepped onto American soil for the first time, my mission to help promote Welsh writers in my capacity as author and co-editor of eto magazine .

It was not my first collaboration with an American organization. Last December the New York City Bar Association Entertainment Committee performed a staged reading of my contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens wonderful novella 'A Christmas Carol', which with staggering originality I entitled 'A Christmas Carol Revisited'. It was particularly exciting because not only had I set the story in Manhattan, where Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III presided over his vast global media empire, but it was also 150 years to the day that Dickens' 'Christmas Carol' was first published. I was invited to attend but unfortunately due to prior engagements (I'm one of Father Christmas' official helpers) was unable to make it.

The three of us with the Columbia River in the background.









The three of us bunked down at Ceri and Gaabriel's place. They were generous hosts and we all appreciated the way the whole family allowed us to disrupt the noiseless tenor of their way (I must remember that line). One of the most pleasant discoveries, apart from the stunning snow capped Mount Hood, was the fact that Portland is home to numerous micro-breweries. I made the discovery on the way from the airport when Gaabi stopped by the local supermarket to stock up with more bottles. Mike and Chris had arrived the day before and supplies were inevitably running low.

It was good to meet with my eto co-editors Ceri and Gaabi face to face as well as Chris and Mike. We celebrated with a few beers and then Ceri introduced us to something that was to become a staple diet of our visit, 'Breaking Bad', washed down with a few more bottles of beer. What a start! Wordstock, Portland State University and Mount Hood Community College lay on the horizon along with other experiences that will remain with me for as long as I live but for now I had really followed in the footsteps of Lewis and Clarke.

Next: Our Mission Begins.

Guto Nyth Brân 

Griffith Morgan (1700–1737), -  “the fastest man of his time”, known better as Guto Nyth Brân.  It is thought that Guto was born on 26th October 1700, at Nyth Brân farm in Llwyncelyn, a small village, near Porth.

It was said that Guto's speed was first noticed when he managed to catch a wild hare.  Another legend has it that he could run the 7 miles, to the local town of Pontypridd and back home again, before his mother's kettle had boiled. 

 Seeing his potential the local shopkeeper, Siân o'r Siop (Siân from the Shop), became his trainer and manager and organised a race on Hirwaun Common against an unbeaten English Captain, for a £400 prize.  Guto won the race won easily and kept on winning, remaining unbeaten until he was 30.  Over the years, Guto and Sian had fallen in love and Guto decided to retire to enjoy a quiet life with Sian.

However in 1737, a new champion runner had emerged, called the "Prince of Bedwas" and Sian persuaded Guto to have one last race against Prince, for a prize of 1000 guineas.  The race was over the 12 miles  from Newport to Bedwas and was a very even contest.  Nearing the finish, Prince held a slender lead, however, one last lung bursting effort from Guto saw him cross the line first.  However in the celebrations after, Guto collapsed and died in Sian's arms.

In memory of Guto, the Ras Nos Galan is run every year on New Years Eve at Mountain Ash, over the course of Guto's first ever race.  It has become a tradition of this race for a mystery runner to compete and over the years, this has included Iwan Thomas, Linford Christie and Alun Wyn Jones  At the conclusion of the race, a wreath is then placed on Guto's grave in Llanwynno graveyard.  There is also a commemorative statue of Guto in Mountain Ash.

The first group of Welsh Mormons, led by Dan Jones from Halkin, Flintshire, arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 26th October 1849 after a voyage of more than eight months. More than one-fifth of them died of cholera on route and heavy snows, delayed them and killed many of their animals.

Today is the feast day of St Gwynno 

 According to local tradition, Gwynno was one of the disciples of the great Illtud, who founded the monastery at Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major). The church at Llantwit Fardre, south of Pontypridd, is dedicated to Illtud, and the old church at Ystradyfodwg, in the Rhondda Fawr, is dedicated to another of his followers, Tyfodwg. Illtyd, Tydodwg and Gwynno are the ‘three saints’ of Llantrisant, the old hilltop town west of Pontypridd. John Morgans, the minister at Penrhys, liked to picture the old abbot and his young followers meeting at Penrhys, the holy place between their three churches. 

Another local tradition has Gwynno hailing from Britanny. When Illtud’s followers fled Wales because of the Yellow Plague in 547, they took refuge in Britanny. Returning to Wales, they brought with them several Bretons, including Gwynno and Tyfodwg.  Buried in the churchyard of Gwynno's church of Llanwynno near Abercynon, Pontypridd, is Guto Nyth Brân.  In recent years, the church and the churchyard of Llanwynno have been used as locations for the TV series Doctor Who.  

The Wreck of 'The Royal Charter' 

The Royal Charter was a steam clipper which was wrecked off the beach of Porth Alerth in Dulas Bay on the north-east coast of Anglesey on 26th October 1859.  With approximately 459 people killed, it is the highest loss of life in any shipwreck off the Welsh coast.

The Royal Charter was returning to Liverpool from Melbourne, when the wind rose to Hurricane force, grounding the ship on a sandbank before the rising tide, driven by 100mph winds, smashed her into rocks and she broke up.  There were only 39 survivors.  

Approximately 200 other ships were wrecked by the storm that night and it has become known as the "Royal Charter gale".

Many of the victims were buried at nearby St Gallgo's Church, Llanallgo, where there is a memorial.  There is also a memorial on the cliff top above the spot where the ship struck.

Interestingly, The Royal Charter was carrying a large cargo of Gold, much of which was washed ashore at Porth Alerth beach and the disaster was described by Charles Dickens, working as a journalist at the time, who visited the scene and spoke with the rector of Llanallgo, the Rev. Stephen Roose Hughes.  It is thought that the trauma of the incident probably led to the rector’s own premature death soon afterwards.    

Born on this day 1947 in Chicago

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.

Both her father, Hugh Rodham, and her mother, Dorothy Howell were of Welsh descent.

The Battle of Agincourt occurred on 25th October 1415   

Welsh involvement at The Battle of Agincourt;

In 1415, Henry V took an army into France as part of his ambition to take over the rule of France and captured the key city of Honfleur.  He then marched his 5000 soldiers  towards Calais to sail back to England but was persued by a French army 20,000, which caught up with them near the village of Agincourt.  Hungry, tired and outnumbered, the situation looked bleak for Henry and his army.   However, a number of factors worked to Henry's advantage which resulted in him being able to secure an unlikely victory.  Firstly the French were a disunified group relying on the traditional armored knight, weighed down by their heavy armour,  while the English had a large contingent of foot soldiers armed with the Longbow, the ultimate defensive weapon of the day. Also, heavy rains overnight had created soggy ground conditions that negated the advantage of  the French cavalry.

In the battle itself, the French attempted to press home massive cavalry charges against the English across a narrow front of a wet field.  In response, Henry set up his archers in a half moon formation around the field, so that they were able to fire not only straight into the onrushing French, but also from both sides.  The thousands of high velocity, armor piercing arrows across a narrow front soon reduced the French attack to a mass of dismounted and crippled men and horses.  English infantry then attacked, killing many and taking a vast amount of prisoners, most of whom Henry controversially ordered to be executed.

 Welsh longbowmen are considered to have played a significant role in securing victory at the battle and their presence was mainly due to the fact that in 1415, Henry V had a great control over lands in Wales, he held several Marcher lordships in South Wales, notably Brecon, Kidwelly, Monmouth and Hay, there were also the lands of the principality which were  under the king’s control.  Through his years spent combating Owain Glyndwr's rebellion, Henry was familiar with the skill and expertise of the Welsh archers, so it stood to reason that he would wish to recruit them for his French campaigns.  It is thought that approximately 460 Welsh troops joined Henry's army, from all parts of South Wales, however, it is recorded that there were manyfrom Llantrisant.   They were mustered in Carmarthen and Brecon, on 26 June 1415. The combined force met at Brecon before marching to Hereford and then south to Southampton.

The French often amputated the index and middle fingers of captured bowmen, so that they would be unable to draw their bow, hence during the battle, Welsh bowmen taunted the French by giving them a two-fingered salute of defiance. 

 Among the Welshmen who fought, Dafydd Gam, an opponent of Owain Glyndwr during the Rebellion of 1400, is the only one known to have been killed.  It is said that he was struck down whwn he intervened to save Henry's life. 

On 25th October 1415, Dafydd Gam was Killed on the field of The Battle of Agincourt, reportedly saving the life of King Henry V

Sir Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel (c. 1380 – October 25, 1415), better known as Dafydd Gam or Davy Gam,  (The name "Gam" is a Welsh word meaning "crooked" or "bent", as it is recorded that Gam had a characteristic squint), was a member of one of the most prominent Welsh families in Breconshire, from Pen-pont on the river Usk, where his family's power base had developed from their consistent support for the marcher Lords of Brecon of the de Bohun family.  S0 when Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV) married the de Bohun heiress Mary and became Lord of Brecon, Dafydd Gam's family's allegiance transferred to him.  Dafydd himself was in Henry's service, being paid the substantial annuity of 40 marks by Henry’s estate in 1399,

Dafydd Gam is regarded as a traitor by many Welsh people as he was  a prominent opponent of Owain Glyndwr.  When the Glyndwr rebellion broke out in 1400, Gam played a leading role in its opposition in the area and his lands in and around Brecon became a target for Glyndŵr's attacks.  In 1404, according to legend Gam tried to assassinate Glyndŵr at his parliament at Machynlleth, but was released soon after the Parliament.  If true this generous gesture would come back to haunt Glyndwr, as in 1905, Dafydd is named as a leader in the crushing defeat of Glyndŵr's men at the Battle of Pwll Melyn, near Usk, at which 300 of Glyndŵr's men were executed .  His loyalty being rewarded with the gift of some of Glyndŵr's supporters' confiscated estates in Cardiganshire.  In 1412 Gam was captured by Glyndŵr’s men and his ransom was paid directly and speedily from the King’s estates in Wales, indicating the esteem in which Gam was held by Henry.  Glyndŵr had made Gam swear an oath to never bear arms against him again or oppose him in any other way, but on his release Gam immediately reneged on this oath, which resulted in  Glyndŵr having Gam's Brecon estates attacked and burned in retaliation.

When Henry IV died in 1413, Henry V became ruler and Gam again was a loyal servant to the new king.  Gam went with Henry V on campaign to France in 1415 and met his death on the field of Agincourt.  Many reports of the battle suggest that in the late stages of the battle, with the result in the balance, Henry V was engaged in hand to hand fighting with the Duke of Alençon, who supposedly cut an ornament from Henry’s crown with a sword blow.  Gam is said to have personally intervened to save Henry's life, only to have been struck a fatal blow in doing so and that as he lay dying on the field, he was knighted by King Henry.  

Today is the feast day of St Canna

Saint Canna (Born c.520)  Canna was a daughter of the Breton King Tudur Mawr, she came to Wales with her husband Sadwrn, who soon after left to become a hermit on Anglesey.  She became a nun at Llangan, nr Cowbridge, where the church is named after her and where also stands a sculptured wheel-head cross,dedicated to her.  It shows Christ on the cross and a person at either side, the right hand figure is thought to be St Longinus the centurion piercing the side of Christ with his lance, whilst the left side figure is thought to be the devil with a strange-shaped head.

Canna's name is also associated with two suburbs of Cardiff, Canton and Pontcanna and there are many depictions of her in art holding a staff which miraculously flowers, which may refer to the legend whereby, upon feeling the pangs of childbirth, she grasped at a dry rowan stick which immediately burst into leaf. 

On 25th October 1970, The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were canonized by Pope Paul VI.

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales comprise a group of Catholic men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679.  This religious repression existed in part because faithful Roman Catholics were required to rebel against the English Crown and they are considered by the Catholic Church to be Christian martyrs.  Six of those canonized were Welsh and the Catholic Church in Wales, keeps 25th October as the feast of the 'Six Welsh Martyrs and their companions'.

The Welsh Martyrs are the priests Phillip Evans, John Lloyd, John Jones, David Lewis, and John Roberts and the teacher Richard Gwyn.   

On 25th October 2012, Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited Wales, as a guest of the First Minister.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate and anti-apartheid campaigner, made his historic visit to recognise the achievements of volunteers and organisations who supported the Wales for Africa movement.  In his address at City Hall- Desmond Tutu particularly thanked Wales for helping to free South Africa from Apartheid.

The South Wales Miners' Federation, nicknamed "The Fed" was a trade union for miners in South Wales and was founded on 24th October 1898.

The Welsh coal industry, with its hundreds of thousands of workers, was ripe for the formation of unions. The Fed, was formed, following the defeat of the South Wales miners' strike of 1898 and was almost unique among British unions in that it dominated not only the working life but also the social and cultural interests of the South Wales coal valleys. Originally allied with the Labour Party, by 1914 the SWMF was the largest union of any kind in the UK, with 200,000 members and in 1945, became the NUM (South Wales Area).  

On 24th October 1055, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn allied with Aelfgar of Mercia, defeated a force led by the Earl of Hereford, Ralph the Timid and then sacked the city of Hereford and destroyed its castle.

Gruffydd at this time was asserting himself in his ambition to become the Ruler of the whole of Wales, he had just recaptured Deheubarth and was about to seize Morgannwg and Gwent.  In 1056, he won another victory over an English army near Glasbury and the following year, he claimed sovereignty over the whole of Wales - a claim which was recognised by the English.    

Born on this day 1948 in Felinfoel

Phil Bennett - former Wales and Lions rugby international and captain. His flair and famous sidestep and swerve, made him a firm favourite with crowds.  When Bennett made his debut against France in  1 969, he became the first ever Welsh substitute in international rugby.

 He played his club rugby for Llanelli RFC, whom he helped to the famous 9–3 victory over the 1972 All Blacks, with a brilliant tactical kicking display.  Then in January 1973, when Gareth Edwards scored an early try for the Barbarians against the All Blacks, Bennett started the move for what has been described as the finest try ever scored, by beating four players with his trademark sidesteps.

He now commentates on the game for television and radio and has been admitted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

Born on this day 1962 in Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire 

Jonathan Davies - former Wales rugby union captain and Wales and Great Britain rugby league international.

Since his retirement from playing, Davies has worked as a television covering both rugby codes, in both the English and Welsh.  

Cardiff University was founded on 24th October  1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, it is the second oldest university in Wales.

The Aberdare Report of 1881 recommended the foundation of university colleges in North Wales and South Wales to complement the already established University College, Wales in Aberystwyth.  There was considerable debate about whether the southern college should be located in Cardiff or Swansea and since it was stressed that the interests of Monmouthshire were to be taken into account, Cardiff was duly chosen.  Hence the name of the new body, the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire.

In recent decades, two mergers have fuelled the University’s expansion. The first in 1988, with UWIST ( University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology), followed in 2004 with a merger with the University of Wales College of Medicine.  A new Coat of Arms was obtained from the College of Heralds, following the full legal amalgamation of University College, Cardiff and UWIST, the most striking features being, the ‘supporters’ (rarely granted to universities or colleges) – the angel and the dragon- which derive from the crests of the parent institutions.  The motto from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is "Truth, Unity and Concord" [" Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord."]

The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based university education and is held in high esteem both nationally and internationally. In 2007, Professor Sir Martin Evans of the School of Biosciences was named a joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his role in the discovery of embryonic stem cells.

Throughout its history, the University has maintained a commitment to equality of opportunity to men and women of all backgrounds and 1904 saw the appointment of the first female professor in the UK, Millicent McKenzie.

NOW! 3200 titles on the Welsh American Bookstore . More added every day.

Just a quick heads up. We noted that several visitors found the old search somewhat slow and visually unappealing so we have changed over to Google custom search for faster and hopefully more relevant results. The search box is in the same location but the rtesults now appear on the screen in a pop up as per the screen shots below:-

We hope that this will lead to an overall improvement in search speed and relevance for all our visitors. Meantime don't forget to check out the many hundreds of new titles and articles we have added over the past few weeks. Here are but a few:-

NEW! Catherine Fisher section

NEW! Daniel Owen Fireside Tales

NEW! Simon Weston Launches New Childrens Book

On 23rd October 1739 the War of Jenkins' Ear Began

The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748.

Robert Jenkins, from Llanelli, was captain of a British merchant ship, returning home from the West Indies when his ship was boarded by the Spanish on suspicion of smuggling.  The Spanish commander bound Jenkins to the mast and cut off one of his ears.  He then told him to tell his King, that he would get the same.

On his return, Jenkins exhibited his severed year in Parliament and this was the spark that ignited a simmering resentment towards the Spanish, who had reneged on an agreement for Britain to sell slaves in Spanish America

 After 1742, this war became part of the much larger, War of the Austrian Succession, in which most of the states in Europe became involved. In particular, France and Britain, who were fighting each other for control of the American and Asian Colonies.

Born on this day 1926 in Tonypandy. 

Glyn Houston - film and television actor, who served in the army during World War II.  He is the brother of the late film actor Donald Houston. 

Houston is perhaps best remembered for his role as "Duncan Thomas", in the 1980s British sitcom Keep It in the Family.  His other credits include My Good Woman, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Softly, Softly, Minder, Inspector Morse,  and Doctor Who.  

The Guildhall in Swansea was formally opened on 23rd October 1934.

The Guildhall is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council.   The complex comprises the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall (concert hall) and the County Law Courts for Swansea.  The building is finished in white Portland stone and includes the landmark, tall art deco clock-tower.  

The Claerwen reservoir and dam in the Elan Valley in Powys was formally opened on 23rd October 1952.

It was the last addition to the Elan Valley Reservoirs  system built to provide for the increasing water demand of Birmingham.  During its construction, it was necessary to employ the services of Italian Stonemasons as British ones were still at work in London during the post-war rebuilding process of the late 1940s.  The dam took six years to complete and is almost the size of all the other reservoirs in the Elan Valley system combined.   

On 23rd October 1863, Festiniog Railway, was the first public narrow gauge railway in the world, to introduce steam locomotives into general service.

The line was constructed between 1833 and 1836 to transport slate from the quarries around the inland town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ships. The railway line was was sloped, so that loaded wagons could be run by gravity downhill all the way from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the port. The empty wagons were then hauled back up by horses.

During the late 1850s, it became clear that the line was reaching its operational capacity while the output of the Blaenau Ffestiniog slate quarries continued to rise. In 1860, the board of the company began to investigate the possibility of introducing steam locomotives to increase the carrying capacity of the railway. In 1862 the company advertised for manufacturers to tender to build the line's first locomotives. In February 1863, the bid of George England and Co. was accepted and production of the first locomotives was begun.

These steam locomotives allowed much longer slate trains to be run and this also enabled the official introduction of passenger trains in 1865: the Ffestiniog was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain to carry passengers.

Today, the Ffestiniog Railway is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park, travelling through both forested and mountainous scenery.

Simon Weston Launches New Childrens Book

Having recently won a public vote to become the winner of The One Shows Peoples Portrait, Simon Weston is this week launching his new childrens book.

Get Fit with Nelson will be published on 25 October with a photo call at Londons Hyde Park on Thursday, 24 October at 10am . The latest book in the series charting Nelsons adventures, tackles two very important issues improving your health and getting fit and the importance of not judging people by their appearance.

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