Blogs

LITTLE LETTERS TOUR

UK TOUR 2013

• Sat 11 May: Queens Hall Narberth TICKETS

• Sun 12 May: Voodoo Lounge Edinburgh TICKETS

• Mon 13 May: Arts School Glasgow TICKETS

• Tue 14 May: The Cluny Newcastle TICKETS

• Wed 15 May: Komedia 2 - Brighton TICKETS

• Thu 16 May: Junction 2 - Cambridge TICKETS

• Fri 17 May: Deaf Institute - Manchester TICKETS

• Sun 19 May: Glee Club - Birmingham TICKETS

• Tue 21 May: Colston 2 - Bristol TICKETS

• Wed 22 May: Bush Hall - London **Official Album Launch** TICKETS

• The 23 May: Glee Club Nottingham TICKETS

• Fri 24 May: Brudenell Club - Leeds TICKETS

• Sat 25 May: Jericho Oxford TICKETS

• Sun 26 May: Glee Club Cardiff TICKETS

• Tue 28 May: Milton Keynes The Stables TICKETS

BORN THIS DAY - IORWERTH PEATE

Born this day 1901, in Llanbrynmair, nr Machynlleth

Iorwerth Peate ,  who was a poet and scholar, best known as the founder of  St Fagans National Folk Museum.  Inspired by the open-air museums of Scandinavia, Peate aspired to create an open-air museum in Wales, where the visitor could view the way of life of past ages. 

BORN THIS DAY - CHARLIE FAULKNER

Born this day 1941, in Newport, Monmouthshire

Charlie Faulkner, Welsh rugby international, who was part of the legendary Pontypool front row, making his international debut at the age of 34.

BORN THIS DAY - GARETH LLEWELLYN

Born this day 1969, in Cardiff

Gareth Llewellyn ,  former Wales rugby international and captain, who won 92 caps. 

BORN THIS DAY - JOSEPH JENKINS

Born on this day 1818 at Blaenplwyf farm near Ystrad Aeron, Ceredigion.

Joseph Jenkins who famously emigrated to Australia because of a nagging wife and was reputedly 'The Jolly Swagman' of the popular song “Waltzing Matilda”

Jenkins ( 1818 – 1898) was a farmer who also won prizes at Eisteddfodau for his poetry. When he was 51, Joseph emigrated to Australia, leaving behind his wife and family and initially became a Swagman, travelling from farm to farm to find work. He later worked as a street cleaner in the town of Maldon in Victoria, returning to Wales when he became homesick at the age of 76. During his time in Australia, Jenkins kept a diary and he posthumously became famous after they were published as the Diary of a Welsh Swagman.

On 27th February 1994 a water drinking fountain and plaque were unveiled at the railway station in Maldon, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his departure from the town.

NIMROD WRECKED OFF ST DAVID'S HEAD

On 27th February 1860 all 45 people on board the paddle steamer  Nimrod drowned, when it was  is wrecked off St David's Head. 

The Nimrod, which was operating as a cargo and passenger service between Liverpool and Cork suffered engine failure and was heading for Milford Haven under sail, when she was spotted by the Captain of another steamer called, the City of Paris, who offered to tow her to Milford Haven for £1,000.  Captain Lyall of the Nimrod refused as the weather seemed moderate, but after the two  steamers parted, the wind increased to hurricane force and shreaded her sails into tatters.

Captain Lyall lowered both anchors, but the chains of both broke, causing the Nimrod to smash into Porth Llong cliffs, near St. David’s Head and break into pieces. 

BORN THIS DAY - JAMES DICKSON INNES

Born on this day 1887 in Llanelli.

James Dickson Innes - gifted and original painter, mostly of mountain landscapes.

Innes was educated at Christ College, Brecon, the Carmarthen School of Art and the Slade School of Art in London.

He painted the Arenig Fawr area of Snowdonia with Augustus John, before being diagnosed with tuberculosis and prescribed foreign travel, resulted in him visiting and painting in France, Spain and Morocco. Innes eventually succumbed to the disease in 1914, at the age of only twenty-seven.

ROWAN WIILLIAMS ENTHRONED AS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

The first Welsh Morman emigration was on the "Buena Vista" which left  from Liverpool and was organised by Captain Dan Jones, originally from Halkyn, Flintshire, who had emigrated to the United States in 1840 and found work as a ship's captain on the Mississippi River.

After first arriving in America, Jones  came into contact with the Mormons and was soon converted, becoming a leader within the community.  Notably, he was with the Morman's founder Joseph Smith just before he died, when he was told by Smith that he would return to Wales to fulfill an appointed mission.

Subsequently, Jones was asked by the New Mormon leader, Brigham Young to return to his native country as a missionary of the church. At this time, there were only approximately 200 Mormon's in Wales, but under Jones's leadership, 3,600 new converts were baptized between 1845 and 1848 and then in 1849 he organised the first emmigration.  He came back again to Wales in 1852 and converted a further 2000, most of whom also emigrated to Utah with Jones.

Mormons are a religious and cultural group, commonly called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints, who trace their origins to the visions of  Joseph Smith in New York in 1823.  Smith said an angel directed him to a buried book written on golden plates referring to the religion of an ancient people.  Smith published a translation of these plates in 1830 as the Book of Mormon, named after Mormon, the ancient prophet-historian who had compiled the book.

Smith and the original Mormon converts, tried to establish what they call Zion  ( or the New Jerusalem ) , a utopian society of the righteous and made several unsuccessful attempts to settle as a community, resulting in  Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum being killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

This resulted in their new leader, Brigham Young, leading the Mormon pioneers to what became the Utah Territory in 1847, where they began to construct a society in isolation in a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor.  From 1849–52, the Mormons greatly expanded their missionary efforts into Europe, which resulted in over seventy thousand new converts emigrating from all over the world to America. 

Rhys Maengwyn Jones - Welsh-Australian archeologist

After graduating from Cambridge, in 1963 Jones initially took up a teaching position at the University of Sydney, where he also completed his Ph.D. on Tasmanian Aboriginal archaeology, before moving to the Australian National University in Canberra. 

Jones is recognised as being was a key figure in dating the migration of Indigenous Australians from Africa to Asia around 70,000 years ago and  then their arrival in Australia around 50,000 years ago.  In his memory, the Australian Archaeological Association awards the prestigious Rhys Jones Medal annually.