The 30th annual Mayors Fun Run in Carmarthen will chalk up yet another notable first this year.

The programme of races on Bank Holiday Monday, May 2, will include a special corporate section for businesses.

This is another new venture for the Mayors Fun Run team, said race organiser Noelwyn Daniel.

We strive to include as many races as possible for all sections of the community. There are already races for the very young and for veterans and last week we announced a wheelchair section for the first time.

Hopefully, a race category for businesses will be another an added attraction for spectators on what should be a very busy Bank Holiday Monday.

Mr Daniel added: We have had businesses entering before and they make a very colourful sight when they are all dressed up in matching T-shirts advertising their company and business.

It is a great opportunity for local businesses. Its a great team-building exercise for businesses, its great fun, it keeps your staff fit and healthy, companies get their name seen around Carmarthen and they are making a huge contribution to the community spirit in the town.

Plus, of course, theres the added edge of competing against other businesses to see who can be the best on the day!

We have already had a great deal of interest from local firms, including an entry of 13 from the Burns nutrition pet food company in Kidwelly. Any businesses out there who can go one better than a team of 13?

The main sponsors of this years races will be the St Catherine's Walk Shopping Centre.

The race date has been moved from the traditional Easter weekend to the May Day Bank Holiday on Monday, May 2.

Mr Daniel added: We have been hugely encouraged by the support of our major sponsors at St Catherines Walk and we are hopeful that this 30th annual race will be the start of a new era for the event.

Entry forms will be published in the Carmarthen Journal before the event. In the meantime, entry forms can be downloaded from the Fun Run website http://www.rasusymaer.org.uk The 2010 races raised cash for four Carmarthen charities and organisations - 500 each for Awaydays, Womens Refuge, Bi-Polar Organisation and Towy Salmon Swimming Club.Details of the 2011 charities will be released in the next few weeks.

Welcome once again to the white-knuckle ride that is......'Top Blogger' on AmeriCymru. This month we threw in a dash of subjectivity to supplement our Leaderboard stats and these are the rankings we came up with:-

First Place: Lorin Morgan-Richards ( Gold Sheep of Excellence )

Second Place: Noelle Hughes ( Silver Sheep of Excellence )

Third Place: SwanseaJack ( Bronze Sheep of Excellence )

For those who are interested in the tortuous deliberations and metaphysical meanderings of our adjudication process, an explanation follows. In terms of the algorithm the scores in the current top twenty are as follows:-

SwanseaJack 25

Lorin Morgan-Richards 13

Noelle Hughes 11

However 11 of Swansea's points are for a blog posted last month and so we arrive at the following position after subtracting these points:-

SwanseaJack 14

Lorin Morgan-Richards 13

Noelle Hughes 11

Ten points were awarded to Noelle Hughes for being our most prolific ranking blogger this month and twenty points were awarded to Lorin for bringing the most traffic to the site and for the quality of his contributions. The 'quality' category is the most difficult to adjudicate since it involves a highly subjective judgement but we thought that in this case they were deserved in recognition of Lorin' efforts to publicize an extremely talented Welsh artist:- Interview with Welsh artist Anthony Richards, realism extraordinaire!

Congratulations/Llongyfarchion to all our winners. Sheep of Excellence are on their way!

By Alan Evans

A revolutionary new online network has taken off in West Wales. The network named Deheubarth after the old name for the kingdom ruled over by Hywel Da in West Wales has been set up to promote community, business, culture, history, art and music within the area. It has received a warm welcome from businesses artists, musicians and community organisations. Within the first month the site has topped 6,000 views. The site can be translated into almost any language in the world at a click of a button. It is the brainchild of professional photographer Alan Evans. Alan said All I am doing is using the latest free software and applications to empower people and allow communities to take ownership of marketing themselves. It is entirely free and anyone over thirteen years of age can join. The site allows people to add their events, create online groups, promote their business, upload and share all types of files and listen to music by any artist. Alan said, People are looking for real alternatives and I am simply providing them with a platform free of bureaucracy. My title is simply, administrator. There is no doubt that this is the future for enabling communities to consolidate the best they have to offer. Similar networks are being used across the world but this is a first for Wales and it will revolutionize the way people connect with each other. It has been set up so that anyone can access the multi functional site and reach a worldwide audience. This is not a static brochure site we see so much of where nothing changes. The community has taken ownership of the site and the community has the say in what goes on there. Best of all, it is FREE.

With 100 members joining within the first month of being launched Alan is optimistic that more will follow. The 100th member Sascha Pearce Narbett received a free bottle of champagne. There is a slap up meal for two at one of Carmarthenshires best restaurants on offer for the 200th member. Laugharne County Councillor Jane Tremlett and Simon Morris, chairman of Pendine Community Council attended a presentation of the network at Gilberts caf last Wednesday.

Councillor Tremlett said "The Deheubarth Network presentation impressed everyone with its quality and the opportunity it gives to individuals, community groups and businesses to share their interests, events and showcase this outstanding landscape to the world. We need to use everything we can to develop economic growth in our communities. Tourism is a necessary part of our economy. We all have our unique personalities. Pendine has a beach that compares with the best in the world. Laugharne has its literary heritage in Dylan Thomas's Boathouse Museum, its Castle and estuary. We need to attract tourists to the area and this website has the potential to reach those prospective visitors. I hope this presentation will soon be given to the various community organisations and businesses in Laugharne." Businesses already signed up include Morfa Bay Adventure, Gilberts, Elaichi, Sarnau Design, 24 Carrot Promotions, Castle Stores amongst others. Alan wishes to thank Ceri Shaw for his help and inspiration in setting up the network. Ceri is administrator for a similar network in America set up for the ex pat Welsh community. Americymru is extremeley successful at promoting all things Welsh and is open to anyone, wherever they may be in the world.The website for West Wales can be found at www.sanclertimes.ning.com

Attention all Wisconsinites! Help us beat Minnesota's Welsh! (If you're already member--sign up a relative or friend--what a great gift!)

Originally appeared in Ninnau www.ninnau.com

You can forget about football. When it comes to friendly rivalries, its not the Vikings versus the Packers or even Paul Bunyans ax, anymore. Ellis Jones, of Minnesota, has challenged Mona Everett, of neighboring Wisconsin, to see which state can recruit the most new members to join the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association before the 2011 NAFOW in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 1-4.

If you missed it, both Ellis and Mona were among about two dozen local Welsh society leaders attending the annual meeting of the WNGGA Affiliated Welsh Organizations (AWOs) at the 2010 NAFOW in Portland, when the discussion turned to increasing membership in the WNGGA.

AWOs are local Welsh organizations or businesses that have joined the WNGGA to support the preservation of Welsh culture on the international level. While there are approximately 120 AWOs located throughout Canada, the U.S., Wales, Australia and New Zealand, not all members of every local Welsh society are members of the WNGGA. The WNGGA depends on the local Welsh societies to attract new members and publicize the North American Festival of Wales. Most individual members and NAFOW attendees first hear about the international organization and NAFOW through their local societies.

The Board of Trustees of the WNGGA also looks to the local societies to suggest potential nominees to join the Board. All WNGGA Board members must have been members for at least one year before serving on the Board.

It was during a lively discussion about attracting new members to WNGGA, that Ellis threw down the gauntlet and Mona picked it up and accepted his challenge. Next August, the WNGGA will tally up new memberships and see which state recruited more new members. If Wisconsin wins, Mona has said she has a nice Cheesehead for Ellis to wear in Cleveland. If Minnesota prevails, it is certain Ellis will have something equally diabolical in store.

This is just one approach to attract new members to WNGGA. Does your state want to challenge a neighboring one? Or does your local Welsh society have other good ideas? Let WNGGA know, by emailing publicity@wngga.org. As always, local societies receive newsletters and publicity and membership materials from the WNGGA, along with advance NAFOW registration information to distribute to their members.

Membership applications can be printed from the WNGGA website www.wngga.org , or requested from WNGGA International Headquarters, PO Box 410, Granville, OH 43023.

The Steve Williams Interview by Alan Evans

Steve Williams is one of the best comedians in the U.K. at the moment. Steve hails from Newport and takes a lot of his inspiration from observing people. He is having great success with the BBC series Russell Howards Good News. I interviewed Steve by telephone during a break in his successful U.K. tour. I began by asking Steve how the tour was going.

Steve: Brilliant, its all up and running and exciting. Its coming to Wales and Im coming home. Im really looking forward to it. Your down in Carmarthenshire arent you? Ive worked with Rhod Gilbert quite a bit hes a great bloke, and Carmarthenshires finest home grown talent.

What got you into comedy?

Steve: If you live in Wales you know what gets you into comedy. Wales is such a funny place and you grow up being funny. To come home and tell the stories about what you see is a real privilege. Observations of people make you laugh. I make mental notes in my head. I was reading the paper the other day and it said that policemen put a bouncy castle under a suicide jumper in Swansea.

Who is your favourite comedian?

Steve: It has to be people like Eddie izzard, Dylan Moran, Billie Connolly and Frank Skinner. They are all great in their own right. I was brought up in the politically incorrect days of Benny Hill and Bernard Manning.Has comedy moved on a long way from that or has it just placed a more polished faade over the taboo subjects such as sex, race and religion?

Steve: Im 34 and I was brought up on comics like Lenny Henry, Alexei Sayle. It has moved I dont think that comedians try to offend people these days. Those comedians are victims of paradigm shifts in attitudes. Thats how things were then but comedians play by different rules now. Comedians have a code and I would never do anything, which offends. We write our own stuff and its more interesting for the audience and me.

Do you use any material about the Welsh or being Welsh in your routine?

Steve: Yes of course. Sometimes you cant help it. The day Welsh people stop doing dopey things will be the day I stop talking about them.

Are you looking forward to performing in West Wales?

Steve: I love it, its brilliant but you still have to pay on the bridge when you are going home.

Will you be sampling the delights of Welsh cooking whilst you are here and if so, what is your favourite Welsh dish?

Steve: My favourite dish? Welsh rarebit but its just cheese on toast isnt it.

Do you have a favourite place in Wales to visit?

Steve: I love Newport and Cardiff theyre great cities and Swansea has also gone up in my estimation. When you go further west like Tenby and Narberth its pretty cool. The camping sites and coastline its so pretty and its a lot Welsher than Newport.

Is there anyone in comedy you would like to work with as a double act?

Steve: I would like to work with Billie Connolly Ill just sit on a stool behind him. You dont want to tamper with his genius. I would just pick up the gate receipts for his sell out tours. I write for a programme called Russell Howards Good News and that satisfies my appetite for writing at the moment. It is a massively successful show and I have been fortunate to be part of it

Could you tell us what the key to being a good comedian is?

Steve: I think observation and enjoying the behaviour of other people and recording it in your mind. Having the confidence to tell the story later that night. Comedians have a code I wouldnt say anything thats deemed racist or offensive. If you say something that is funny you say it and you should be prepared to stand behind it. You let the audience be the judge. These are the things I saw and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Have you ever considered coming to perform at the Laugharne weekend?

Steve: Id love to; Im just waiting for my invite

What are your plans for 2011?

Steve: The tour for February, Russell Howards Good News series four and series five in the autumn so the year is mapped out.

More information on http://www.stevewilliamscomedy.com/

Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow - Steve Williams

KICKSTART APPEAL DONATE HERE

With the recent announcement that Paul Child will be leading the singing of the National Anthem at this year's West Coast Eisteddfod plans for this exciting event took another important step forward. Watch this space for further announcements in the coming weeks and months.

Meanwhile, we are appealing for small donations to our kickstarter appeal . A successful outcome for this appeal is essential if we are to secure our venue and carry out initial promotion for the event. here is what you gain by contributing:-

- For a mere 20 bucks you get 2 tickets to selected Eisteddfod theater events ( your pick ) If you are coming to the Eisteddfod you will effectively be buying your tickets in advance and ensuring the event goes ahead as planned.

- Also , every dollar you spend entitles you to one ticket in the prize draw for this magnificent collection of original artwork donated by Jeff Phillips:- http://americymru.net/photo/albums/win-original-artwork-by-jeff We will also be announcing details of this years Eisteddfod lovespoon shortly and your donations entitle you to one ticket per dollar in the lovespoon draw as well!!!!! ( Here is last years model:- http://americymru.net/profiles/blogs/portland-lovespoon-2010 ) SO you stand a chance of winning not one but TWO unique works of art.

- PLUS of course you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your bit to ensure that we can bring a little bit of Wales and promote Weslh culture on the West Coast this year

All donations are pledged in advance and will not be deducted from credit cards until March 5th.

PLEASE HELP US FLY THE FLAG IN LA THIS SEPTEMBER - DONATE TO THE WEST COAST EISTEDDFOD!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1345265992/2011-west-coast-eisteddfod-festival-welsh-arts-sho

ONLY 33 DAYS REMAINING - $845 TO RAISE - EVERY LITTLE HELPS

May be not new but certainly new to me ...great band from Wales, purveyors of 'punk folk-rock'...Weird Naked Indian. Listen to the tracks below then go here:- http://soundcloud.com/weirdnakedindian for more ( and here:- WNi The Garage Sessions )

Paul Potts - WNi The Garage Sessions

Russell Watson to Headline at This Year's Llangollen Festival

Russell Watson sits forward in his chair and smiles. The thing that I most wanted to achieve has happened. The voice is back. And not only that, but the infrastructure that generates the noise I make, the strength and stamina I need to perform all that incredible material is back. He relaxes, his message delivered. Its been a long road and its been hard work, but were there

The last three years have changed Russell Watson forever. Changed who he is and the way he sings and how he feels about everything. Most people whove had a life-threatening experience will feel the same, and after a while, when the immediate pressure of their illness begins to dissipate, they may slip back into their old ways and their old lives. But not Watson. He has faced down one career-threatening illness and two life-threatening illnesses in the last five years. That was particularly hard to come to terms with, psychologically, he says. The second one affected me so badly.

By the end of 2007 Watson felt devastated. Just when he thought he was getting his life back the discovery and removal of one pituitary tumor he found out he had another one. All his confidence and strength had gone and a lot of what he does relies on knowing those big notes are coming. As a singer in his league, and there arent many, if your confidence gets rattled you lose everything.

When I had the first tumor I only focused on the operation, he says. When I had the second one it was about getting out of intensive care. Then getting out of the bed. Each time there was a different focal point.

When Watson finished his radiotherapy at the beginning of 2008 he decided to start his return. He had put on nearly three stone from the intense course of medication he was being treated with. The day the treatment finished he stared at himself in his full-length hallway mirror and said, Right Watson, its time to get back to work The very next day he went to the gym much to everyone elses dismay.

Thats the kind of idiot I am, he says now. Most people would rest. I looked terrible too

Six months of three-times-a-week visits to the gym followed before he was ready to sing again. Finally, in August 2008, Watson went to visit his voice coach, Patrick McGuigan. They began by running through scales. Suddenly McGuigan stopped Watson and said, Oh my god! What has happened to your voice?

I expected something negative, Watson says. But he thought it was fantastic, with all this new depth and power. The tumor could have been growing for 10-15 years in my nasal cavity, so when I had it cut out I went from a V8 to a V12! All those experiences have affected the way I view my life, the way I view others and the way I conduct myself.

Those changes are all over Watsons new album, La Voce, which was recorded in Rome this June with the Roma Sinfonietta, Ennio Morricones orchestra of choice. Watsons voice, as heard on Pino Donaggios Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te), Mario Lanzas Arrivederci Roma or Parla Piu Piano (the theme from The Godfather) has never sounded better, stronger, more driven and powerful.

Ive truly given my heart and soul to this record, he says. It feels quite poignant this is where I started. With everything thats happened Ive had a lot of time to focus on the record and make the one I really wanted to make. The performances are as good as they can possibly be at this stage of my career.

Indeed, Watson says La Voce is the product of his life to date, the defining record of his life so far.

I believe that I have come through all this for a reason and that reason is now, he says. There are great times to come, but this is what its all about for me now. This is the first record that Ive made which has true continuity, La Voce is a very clear-sighted piece.

Russell Watson never imagined hed someday be the worlds greatest tenor. Born in Salford, hed have preferred to make it playing football, the trouble was, however much he played, he never got any better. Watsons says his father is so laid back hes lying down and I love that about him, but thats not the sort of person he is. Watson hated losing, hated that he was no good at the thing he loved. So he found something else to be the best at.

His mum would play Mario Lanza and Tchaikovsky, Mantovani, Chopin, Schubert, even The James Last Orchestra in the house. Her own father was a concert-level pianist, [my grandfather] was amazing, Watson says. Id sit on his lap and listen to him for hours

Aged seven Watson learnt to play the piano, and he was good, but he didnt like it, never had a flair for it. There was no joy there, he says. But when I started singing there was real joy. I started playing guitar as a teenager and started singing along with the Beatles and Jam records I loved.

Watson formed a band called The Crowd (we were not very good) and his band mates would tell him he sounded just like McCartney or Weller.

Im a natural mimic, he says. I still do it now. I can do my A&R man, my manager and I can always do other singers. An old compere at this club in Stockport used to joke, Russell Watson, 1001 voices

Those old clubs were extremely hard work. People were more interested in talking about what was on Coronation St than what any singer was doing. The factory work Watson did for 90 a week was mind-numbing so singing became his escape.

Ive walked out on stage in some of the biggest venues in the world, he says. The Vatican, Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Old Trafford! but nothing is as daunting as a Friday night at a serious working mens club. If I ever start to feel sorry for myself I go back and remember where Ive been, singing through a fog of Woodbine smoke

One night, a concert secretary appeared out of the fog in front of Watson. He had grey hair with a yellow streak and yellow, tar-stained fingers. Watson had just sung The Music of The Night .

He just looked at me and said, You have a smashing voice, have you ever tried any of that Pavarooty stuff?

Watson, determined as ever, went off and learnt Nessun Dorma phonetically and when he first sang it live he got a standing ovation. That was the beginning of a whole new life. A few short years later in May 1999 that standing ovation was at Old Trafford just before Manchester United won the Premiership. Since then Watson has sung for American presidents, Japanese emperors, British Royalty, an array of European Prime Ministers, Middle-Eastern Sultans, even the late Pope John Paul II who requested a private audience with Watson at the Vatican. There have been eight albums, each one winning more praise than the one before. His first, The Voice , went to No. 1 in the US and the UK and won two Classical Brit awards. Encore was No. 1 in the UK classical charts for 30 weeks and Watson won another two Classical Brit Awards. Every Russell Watson UK release has gone Top 10 in the UK and among them he boasts two Double Platinum certifications, one Platinum and two Gold. But this album, Watson says, is special.

My best friend, The Colonel, listened to it and he said, Theyre all very good tunes, lad! and thats it, La Voce has only great tracks on it. Ive learnt more in the last ten years about music, life, performance and singing than you could ever learn at any music college. Theres no one on the planet that I worry about being stood in front of. No one is as genuinely impassioned about this music as I am now.

Watson knows you dont step off a factory onto a stage with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra without having something beyond talent. You need drive and desire, a need to make your mark, to make your voice heard.

My music is about making a connection says Russell. Put me in front of 90,000 in a football stadium and I feel all their energy. Its what I live for, that and my kids. Theres nothing bigger than that feeling.

RUSSELL WATSON LA VOCE!

Tuesday 5 July, 7.45pm

The indomitable Salford-born Tenor, multi-award winner and one of the worlds favourite voices, performs at Llangollen for the very first time.Watsons hits include E Sara Cosi, Parla piu piano, and Be my Love.

Special Guest: Faryl Smith
With The National Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Robert Emery

Russell Watson said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be following in the footsteps of so many international stars at what is known as the most famous Eisteddfod in the world. This festival really 'keeps a welcome in the hillside' and I cannot wait to step foot on the pavilion stage and perform. Llangollen here I come!"

Mervyn Cousins Llangollen Festivals Chief Executive said: It is great to have one of the worlds most popular as well as most powerful voices at Llangollen 2011. We look forward to welcoming Russell Watson here he of course joins a long line of fabulous singers who have graced the Llangollen stage. We expect this concert to be one of the highlights of the week, as Russell comes to us following his recent sell-out concerts in the UK and elsewhere. And of course it will be good to welcome back Faryl Smith, who as many people know began her success in Llangollen as a vocal solo winner at the tender age of 11.

Llangollen 2011 : 5 - 10 July 2011

Tickets 45, 35, 25

www.llangollen2011.co.uk

01978 862001

tickets@international-eisteddfod.co.uk

(More info on ticket purchasing below)

Llangollen Festival 5-10 July 2011

Six days of the best music and folk dance, from all the world in one place!

Every summer since 1947 Llangollen has staged one of the worlds most inspirational cultural festivals. Each year around 4,000 performers converge on this beautiful small Welsh town and its International Pavilion; to sing and dance in a unique combination of competition, performance, and international peace and friendship.

In 2011 competitors from across the globe will again take to the stage alongside some of the biggest names in music. Starting with a gala concert on the Monday evening, the festival will continue throughout the week, including performances by Russell Watson and concluding with a Sunday evening concert (Artists to be announced). Accompanying musicians include the National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, Mid-Wales Opera Company. 5,000 primary school children will join us on the Tuesday, and then Llangollens unique competitions, take place in the Pavilion from Wednesday onwards, bringing to North Wales thousands of performers as the worlds best musical party gets into full swing

Full booking info:

Reserve your ticket NOW!

Online booking at www.llangollen2011.co.uk

(including Choose your own seat option)

Box Office 01978 862001 9.30am to 4.30pm weekdays.

Email tickets@international-eisteddfod.co.uk

By post: Llangollen Eisteddfod Box Office, Royal International Pavilion, Abbey Road, Llangollen, LL20 8SW.

Season Tickets: amazing offers!

Become a Season Ticket Holder or a Friend of the Festival to have access to priority seating arrangements;

Platinum ticket is only: 200 Sit in the same seat all week (Day and night!)

Gold - 135 Wednesday to Saturday Evening (5 discount on Russell Watson concert)

Silver Season - All daytime sessions, Wednesday to Saturday, same top-price seat guarantee, 70.

FESTIVAL GROUND ADMISSION

(Pavilion Reserved seat ticket includes Ground Admission)

Adult 10

Concessions 8

Child Under 16 5 (2 Saturday)

EVENING GROUND ADMISSION

Only 1 Ground for a Pound after 4.30pm, Tuesday - Friday

FAMILY GROUND ADMISSION

Wednesday -Friday 23 ; Saturday 20 (International Family Day)

(2 Adults & up to 3 children)