Blogs

I started thinking about Ryan Davies the other day and wondered whether there were any DVDs available of either Ryan a Ronnie or How Green Was My Father. As the latter was repeated on TV many years after Ryan's death, one imagines it must be about somewhere in the archives. There's a snippet of it on:

www.bbc.co.uk/wales/walesonair/database/ryandavies.shtml .

I know I'm not the only person who would love to see Our House/Teulu Ni again, with "Mam" cutting bread against her bosom and Nigel Wyn lurking in his school uniform. The BBC must have something in its archives, notorious though Auntie Beeb is for chucking things out. Only quite recently I saw an episode of one of their shows with Gareth Edwards doing a creditable soft shoe shuffle with R&R.

There's a nice tribute to Ryan on:

www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/ryan_davies.php

In the meantime, there is still Ryan at the Rank and an album called Ffrindiau which I believe has Teulu Ni on it. Ryan at the Rank is/will be downloadable for MP3 players too.

Gaynor (aka Phyllis Doris)

FREAKS
Dec. 10 - 16th 2010
Shoreditch Town Hall Basement Gallery; London
more info at:
http://www.thecactuslab.com

In a game that was as exciting as it was frustrating the Boks looked as though they would finally get an assegai up their derrierre. The Taff with new wunderkind George North gave the nation hope not experienced since Keith Jarret single handedly trounced England on his debut.Tries came thick and fast. Worlds turned on blades of grass and Mrs Evans across the road shouted for the first time in twenty years.The last 5 minutes caused coronaries across that area thar was once known as The South Wales coalfield and the result - but that would be telling.

When I was a little girl, my mother used to sing to me a lullaby, which her mother (my Welsh grandmother) used to sing to her. The words went: O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land, As on thy highest mount I stand, I look away across the sea, Where mansions are prepared for me, And view the shining glory shore, My Heavn, my home forever more! I never knew where the lullaby had come from, though I had an idea that it was something to do with the Irish immigrants in our family who came to South Wales at the end of the nineteenth century looking for work in the ironworks and the mines. My great-grandfather, my grandmother's father, was Irish. I was thinking about this lullaby the other day, and I was doing some research. To my surprise, I discovered that the lullaby was part of Isaiah 62.4, It just shows how ignorant I am of the Bible. I am not sure whether my mother and grandmother know this, but I will ask them when I next ring home. When I read the full scripture though, what struck me was how beautiful it was, how right it was too for the Irish immigrants, even if that is not where the lullaby tradition in my family came from. It's a little like hiraeth too, that longing for homes that have disappeared, friends who passed on and loved ones lost to us. Even as you read the lines (which I quote in full below), it is obvious that the joys described will only be experienced in restfulness and peace after death. I think I had a sense of this even as a child. Ive reached the land of corn and wine, And all its riches freely mine; Here shines undimmed one blissful day, For all my night has passed away. Refrain O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land, As on thy highest mount I stand, I look away across the sea, Where mansions are prepared for me, And view the shining glory shore, My Heavn, my home forever more! A sweet perfume upon the breeze, Is borne from ever vernal trees, And flowrs, that never fading grow Where streams of life forever flow. Refrain The zephyrs seem to float to me, Sweet sounds to Heavens melody, As angels with the white robed throng Join in the sweet redemption song. Refrain

It will be a defining moment in Welsh history when Wales has control of it's own coffers. Too much money intended for Wales has been diverted to English projects. This happens with regularity. A Welsh Parliament will take better care of the needs of the Welsh population.

Tom Bodden reports that the Welsh Assembly Members gave unanimous cross-party support on the 9th November to plans for a referendum on extended law-making powers for the Welsh Assembly.

The Senedd vote achieved the two-thirds majority required to approve the arrangements for the ballot, which must now be agreed in the Commons and by Peers.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said: Todays vote is a major step towards making the referendum a reality and fulfilling our One Wales pledge to proceed to a referendum as soon as practicable.

Deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: Our system of governance is still too complicated and cumbersome.

If there is a yes vote in the referendum we will move towards a clearer and simpler and more effective legislative system.

Earlier, rural affairs minister Elin Jones said a successful yes campaign would mean the National Assembly would become the Welsh Parliament.

What we have after a yes vote will be a legislative parliament or senedd. Whether the Assembly decides to call itself a parliament or senedd is a matter for AMs.

The draft referendum order is required to set the March 3 date, the question and the rules for the conduct of the referendum.

The question will be: Do you want the Assembly now to be able to make laws on all matters in the 20 subject areas it has powers for?

The final stage in the process is the approval by the Queen in Council, expected in mid December.

Organisations or individuals which intend to spend 10,000 or more on campaigning on the Welsh referendum must register with the Electoral Commission, which will designate the official campaigns.

Plaid Cymrus deputy leader Helen Mary Jones said: This is a defining moment in Welsh politics.

The people of Wales deserve to have a parliament that will stand up for them against the sort of savage cuts we have seen from the Westminster government.

The present system of seeking approval from Westminster to legislate was complex and costly.

Counsel general John Griffiths said seeking the legislative competence orders via the UK Parliament process cost 2m in 2008-09.

Conservative leader of the Opposition Nick Bourne said: Its important that we are all united behind the campaign to ensure we get that yes vote we all need.

Kirsty Williams Welsh Lib Dem leader said: I am proud to be part of a party that is delivering its 100 year old commitment to devolve real power from Westminster to the Welsh people.

As reported by Tom Bodden, The Daily Post

You can read more about Devolution views here - Devolution Matters by Alan Trench

Here you can watch Wales Online TV interview with Sir Emyr Jones-Parry, Chair of the All-Wales Convention. He outlines the issues with clarity and makes it easy for people to understand these crucial issues. He heads the A-WC which in conjunction with other organisations is involved in disseminating the information that is needed for people in Wales to make an intelligent and informed judgement.

Devolution Referendum interview with Sir Emyr Jones-Parry. This file attachment is in mp4 format. I will post the video in My Video section of Americymru, along with an interesting look at the wonderful building - it's a day in the life of the building actually.

Now you can log in to AmeriCymru ( Welsh social network ) using your Facebook, Google or Yahoo ID. If you are a new member joining for the first time use any of these credentials to sign in and you will automatically be logged into AC any time you are logged in to your sign in account ( be it Facebook, Google or Yahoo ). So lets suppose that you are on Facebook and you see a reference to a Forum discussion on which you'd like to comment on AmeriCymru. If you made an account on AC with your Facebook id ll you ave to do is click on the link and you'll automatically be signed in to AmeriCymru and taken to the page. Same with Google if you're logged in to your Gmail account ( provided you used your gmail id to create your AmeriCymru account )

Of course if you use the same username/password combo for all services then you only have to sign in to any one of the above three and you are logged in to AmeriCymru.

A Few Questions Answered

What information is transferred when a new member signs up?

When a new member signs up with a Google or Yahoo account, we are able to automatically pull in their name and email address. When they sign up via a Facebook account, we can additionally pull in a profile photo, birthdate, gender, and in the coming weeks location, if the user allows that data to be pulled. Note that to have this new sign-up method pull profile photos, birthdates, gender and location, youll need to make sure your network has those profile questions set up.

What if an existing member tries to sign in with a different Facebook, Google, or Yahoo email address?

Undoubtedly, some existing members may try to Sign In via Facebook, Google, or Yahoo right from the Sign In page, even if they originally signed up with a different email address and password. When this happens, they'll be signed right in if the email address provided by Facebook, Google, and Yahoo matches the one they originally joined with. If it does not match, they'll be told that no account exists, and will be asked to sign in. Once they sign in, they can link their accounts (even if the email addresses are different) by going to their Settings-Connections page.

Carmarthens new St Catherine's Walk Shopping Centre will be the major sponsor for the 30^th annual Mayors Fun Run.

The centre signed up to back the race series this week.

Mike Pugh, the manager of the St Catherine's Walk Shopping Centre, said he was delighted to team up with the organisers of the Carmarthen Mayors Fun Run and races.

It is always our aim here at the St Catherine's Walk Shopping Centre to play as active a role as possible in the community and commercial life of Carmarthen, said Mr Pugh.

The Mayors fun run races have a great reputation and our cash injection as major sponsors should ensure that the 30^th annual races are very memorable.

The race date is being moved next year from the traditional Easter weekend to the May Day Bank Holiday on Monday, May 2.

Mr Pugh added: It is in the interests of all traders and businesses in the town, not just St Catherines Walk, that we see as many people as possible visit Carmarthen on race day.

We want people to appreciate that Carmarthen is now a destination town for restaurants, entertainment and shopping with a whole host of different attractions.

The annual Carmarthen Mayors Fun Run helps to put the town on the map and anything we can do as a shopping centre to raise the profile of the town has to be a good thing.

Mr Pugh, who is an enthusiastic road and fell runner, said he was delighted to report that St Catherines Walk was already a huge hit with customers.

Shops and restaurants at the 74 million St Catherine's Walk are among the best performing in the country.

The centre has attracted more than 150,000 visitors every week since it opened

It also hit 180,000 on a number of occasions.

Race organiser Noelwyn Daniel said he was delighted to be able to name St Catherines Walk as the major sponsors for the Mayors Fun Run.

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

Entry forms will be published in the Carmarthen Journal in the new year.

Mr Daniel said changes to the race format and route would be announced over the next few weeks.

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.

Should be available by Thursday. Watch this space. Meanwhile here is a preview of the DVD cover.

Welsh Assembly member Rhodri Glyn Thomas showed his support for British Pub Week by popping into a local pub in his constituency for a swift half.

Mr Thomas, AM for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, joined Llandeilo brewer Simon Buckley at the White Horse Inn, Llandeilo, to toast British Pub Week.

Mr Thomas said he was delighted to support the initiative.

The pub is very often the hub of the local community and it is a cherished part of our way of life.

In times of recession when many rural pubs are under threat it is good to have an initiative such as British Pub Week to put the spotlight on our local hostelries.

Mr Buckley added: Who doesn't love pubs? They are without doubt the finest and most unique of our great British institutions. No other can match the pub for its historical, cultural and social importance.

We must protect our pubs, celebrate them and ensure they can continue to thrive. This is the sole aim of British Pub Week and I would urge everyone to get behind the initiative by getting behind your local!

Pictured, left to right, Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM, White Horse Inn manager Dan Taylor and Simon Buckley, chief executive of the Evan-Evans Brewery.

Picture: Robert Lloyd