Blogs
Our loved chieftain
our revered penteulu
a fulcrum to us dreaming men
in the counting house of valour
a cogent leader
a tangent's goader
a guardian's guardian
a helmet against life’s iniquities
your troop of spear pointers
pennants fluttering
neither scabbard-scuppered
nor burdened with hilt-guilt
but astride hungry-mouthed mounts
the thin line of depleted sons
facing the advance of
marauding North Men
Mercians and Scotti
we dragooned Demetae dragons
toe to toe with those who dare
a foothold in the shoes of our country
and then at Hyddgen again
feuding uphill
rising to the Flemings
with peat encrusted shins
flying over the tussocks
on skirmish shriek lungs
in memory of our history
in defence of our homeland
in the service of our captain
and the increment of tales
to be told around merciful firesides
in the threadbare centuries
of our mute aftermath
our petrified veneration
(penteulu- the rank of captain of the household bodyguard in medieval Wales. In modern usage it means head of a household or, more literally, head of a family)
How many homes does
the Secretary of State
for Housing Communities
and Local Government need?
how many houses does anyone need?
those deprived property-rich people
trying to break out of the boredom
to be in another splendid isolation
200 miles or more from where
they live most of the time
incurring the wrath of locals
vigilant against the spread of germs
and holiday home owners
and the "stars"
(what does a star actually do?)
suggesting that they feel a little
incarcerated in their mansions
on video links live from throne-like wicker chairs
on patios on which starter homes could be built
or a kitchen for the 5000
(who did they used to be?)
and did local authorities succeed
in accommodating homeless people
when they were discovered to be
especially vulnerable to the virus
though they had never previously managed to do so?
and how much longer
will we have to entertain
our double-standard political "leadership"
directing us to stay in our homes
no matter how grand
no matter how cramped
no matter how merely aspirational?
I am an artist of Welsh and Irish Nationality, born in Cardiff and living and working in South Wales and London. In 2006, I became a visiting artist for Welsh National Opera where I developed an interest in using drawing and paint as a medium to depict movement and theatricality. In 2019, I was given access to draw natural history specimens at Museum Wales. My work is inspired by figuration, our relationships with the animal world and human condition. I am a published illustrator and have exhibited widely across the UK and abroad.
I'm delighted that my Tansy Beetle, watercolour has been shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year. My work is one of 159 artworks selected from an incredible 1,200 entries from across the world. All the work is for sale and 50% of the proceeds are donated to help protect precious wildlife. The ‘Facing Extinction’ category celebrates vulnerable species at risk of extinction, capturing their behaviour and importance in striking imagery. They may be gone tomorrow if we do not act today.
My artwork, people can vote for this for the People’s choice award here: https://davidshepherd.org/wildlife-art/artwork/tansy-beetle/
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Artwork TITLE: TANSY BEETLE |
Culture Vultures to release new 'Aros Am Byth' single via Winger Records on 12.06.20
By Ceri Shaw, 2020-05-20
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West Wales Hip Hop collective 'Culture Vultures' have teamed up with lead singer of Welsh Music Prize winning Post-Punk band Adwaith. Hollie Singer joins the group on vocals and galvanises the collaboration between both Carmarthen based artists.
Reflection (ft Hollie Singer & Dai Pump$) suceeds in painting a not so obvious stereo typical tourist board image of Wales, with its dark gritty visuals and serious topics that address opiod and social media addiction. Filmed in Cardiff the video could be described as Celtic Noir, a bleak but realistic view of isolation and confusion amongst youth in Wales today.
Reflection is taken from Culture Vultures new album WOTW:One (Way Of The Winger) released through West Wales diy collective Winger Records.
The track does not obviously sit in any genre With Hollie coming from Post punk/indie rock Welsh language band Adwaith and the Vultures having a very eclectic approach to making rap music that encompasses influences far and wide, have a listen to the album to get a better understanding off this www.wingerreords.com
WOTW: One On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/0IM8sj06QugE8St5VMXpuq
Online Links for Culture Vultures:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ChysAVEy3O2VavkVgx5n2/about
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SquawkResidents
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squawktownresidents/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/culture-vultures
Simon Howells reads 'Dreamcoat', a short story by Matthew G. Rees, author of 'Keyhole', 'The Word' and 'The Tip'. Matthew G.Rees is a critically acclaimed Welsh fiction writer and playwright in the fields of folk horror and fantasy.
AmeriCymru interviewed Matthew G. Rees about his recent short story collection 'Keyhole'. The interview can be seen here:- Keyhole - An Interview With Welsh Author Matthew G. Rees
You can buy 'Keyhole' here: Keyhole
The Welsh Dragon Choir and the Welsh Society of Oregon present Spring Festival Online 2020
By AmeriCymru, 2020-05-19
The Welsh Society board members hope everyone is staying safe and able to enjoy some beauty in their gardens or in nature these days.
In the midst of changing times and sheltering in place, the Welsh Society of Oregon maintains its commitment to share Welsh Language and Culture with our community. As such, we have re-formatted some of our spring offerings as an on-line festival. Below you will see participation events for all ages, for kids and for our Facebook community. We hope that you will be able to join us on May 23rd for one or both of our Noson Lawen events that day, and that you will be able to check in on the talents and creativity contributed to our Facebook page during our month-long festivities there.
You can participate either via computer or smart phone, or even just by calling in.
If you have any trouble navigating these events online, don't hesitate to send an email to oregonwelsh@gmail.com , or give us a ring at (503) 908-5630 .
A Noson Lawen Online, May 23, 2020, 7pm PDT
An interactive event with songs led in Welsh and English, hosted in English by the Welsh Dragon Choir and featuring special guests Nerys Jones, Eryl Aynesley, Andréa Wild, and others. RSVP to OregonWelsh@gmail.com for event link and details.
A Little Noson Lawen Online, May 23, 2020, 1pm PDT
An interactive event of songs, jokes, and stories for young people and their caregivers, led in English by Dragon director Jamie Webster and friends, and featuring special guest, rising Welsh singing star Bronwen Lewis, with a chance for participants to share their songs and jokes as well. RSVP to OregonWelsh@gmail.com for event link and details.
May Festival of Welsh Culture-Online! May 1-31, 2020
(Fun prizes awarded for festival highlights)
Our celebration of Welsh culture isn’t limited to Saturday, May 23! Join us for a month of fun and cultural sharing under lockdown as members of the Welsh Society of Oregon and friends share their talents, creativity, capers, and antics on social media. Please join us in submitting your own quarantine-time contributions to this community activity. Awards for festival highlights announced May 31.
Who Can Participate?: You! Our community in Portland, the state of Oregon, friends along the Pacific Coast, and any friends of Welsh culture in the USA and around the world.
What are some welcome submissions?
- traditional songs/tunes with voice and/or instruments
- virtual ensembles
- sharing stories, humor, or reminiscences
- recreating Welsh folktales/folklore with dolls/toys/stuffed animals
- copying Welsh art and folklore with household items
- Coloring contest
- See examples and coloring pdfs on our web site www.oregonwelsh.org
- Or, your own creative ways to share Welsh culture online!
How to Participate:
- Share your talents and creativity by posting on our facebook page for the Welsh Society of Oregon ( facebook.com/OregonWelsh/ )
- Visit out web page for examples and coloring pages www.oregonwelsh.org
- Trouble sharing to our Facebook page? Contact us by email at oregonwelsh@gmail.com
How the past looks from the present
and how our present will look in the future
Dunkirk is invoked for the ten thousandth time
while the Prime Minister lies in Intensive Care
during the biggest crisis of the last seven decades
masks for NHS heroes
soon we’ll all be wearing them
and the headwear of some Muslim women
will make more sense
perhaps we’ll learn to leave them alone
grim economic data arrives early
wealth versus lives
vacancies and candidates
the thinned-out workforce
of the New Deal for the Dead
feels like this is the end of something
that no matter when or how we leave the lockdown
things are going to be radically different
maybe whole countries will disappear
and a power vacuum ensues
since the outset of the crisis
the catalogue of complaints that hospital
and care home staff did not have enough
of the correct safety items to do their jobs
safely have never really gone away
a Government that had appeared asleep at the wheel
dreaming of a bit of a skive with an 80 seat majority
ushering in what would most likely be a no deal Brexit
passed up five weeks of preparation
during which they sent 400000 items
of Personal Protection Equipment to China
which was very public spirited of them
though in 2016 their own risk assessment had
highlighted the importance of PPE and ventilators
in the event of a pandemic
the whole nation follows the progress
of an order of gowns and masks
delayed on airport tarmac in Turkey
almost like on a tracking app
there’s no evidence of real urgency
and finally when it does arrive
much of it is rejected as substandard
the lubrication of international trade routes
jammed by inefficiency or worse
the glorious dead the glorious dead
in the USA armed and masked men
protest at the continued lockdown
and the impact on their livelihoods
despite their death toll exceeding that
of their armed forces in the Vietnam War
and the irony that their lack of social distancing
whilst protesting could come back to haunt them
in a way that would disarm their guns
our Ministers claim the virus does not discriminate
citing as proof the hapless fact
that the Prime Minister
the Health Secretary
the Chief Medical Officer
and Prince Charles
have had symptoms
with the PM actually shaking the hands of Coronavirus patients
though the fatality rate for BAME citizens
is much higher as it is for the poor
with areas already weakened by austerity measures
more badly affected than the more affluent areas
the glorious dead the glorious dead
a newspaper article shows photos of deserted cities
like something imagined by Wells or Wyndham
welcome to our science fiction normality
just look out of your windows
(getting the R number below 1)
we've significantly exceeded the 20000 death toll
previously considered acceptable by
the Chief Medical Officer for England
and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser
so where does that leave us?
why does the Government talk and act like this is a success?
the Minister for International Trade
resigns after being found to have intimidated
a member of the public during a dispute
the Home Secretary however has survived
bullying accusations in three Departments
meanwhile in the real world of real people
earning a living dealing with real people
a store security guard is shot dead in Michigan
for enforcing a mandatory face mask rule
they came back to slay him apparently
the glorious dead the glorious dead
(the stats fiddlers)
the Health Secretary is insincere
about meeting his own target
of 100000 tests a day
by including thousands that had
merely been put in the post
capacity over substance
targets over results
big numbers sounding good even if they're meaningless
(the deniers)
the Foreign Secretary says it is unhelpful
to compare the death tolls of different countries
especially as his now has the highest in Europe
despite the previous daily sharing
of a comparison chart of countries' figures
this graph is quietly dropped
as touchiness and embarrassment take over
and the truth disappears more completely from view
the enormity of events beginning to oppress and depress
our country seen as the Sick Man of Europe
but one must not forget that this
is the group of individuals and the mindset
that allowed Grenfell Towers to happen
the glorious dead the glorious dead
(guided by the science)
a professor who had seemed alert to the danger
resigns from a body of scientists
advising the Government on the pandemic
as it was discovered that his married lover
had visited him twice during the lockdown
more evidence of hypocritical behaviour
by our supposed leaders and educated persons
the magical thinking of an unmagical citizen
a young man from Singapore is beaten up in England
because the attacker thought he was Chinese
and therefore apparently guilty of being a disease carrier
the magical thinking of another unmagical citizen
Nightingale hospitals went up in record time
they don't seem to have been used much
which is a good thing but how many
hospitals did our Prime Minister promise us
in the most recent General Election campaign?
our suppressed fatality total creeps ever closer to 60000
which was the number of UK civilians killed in World War Two
this period of history we’re living through is a kind of war
but not the kind the politicians allude to
the glorious dead the glorious dead
and after a couple of months of unrelenting tragedy
it’s revealed following an investigation
by a newspaper and a TV news show
that there's a monumental warehouse
somewhere in brownfield England
a PPE palace stuffed
full of 62000 pallets of the stuff
ready for a major health emergency
some of its aisles are blocked
with forklift trucks unable to access these
one former employee went on record to say
that it would take all night to load just one van
thank God the Army was on hand to sort it out
funny how this was kept quiet
in the seesawing debates on this matter
had they forgotten about it despite paying
over £10 million a year for this storage facility?
who is responsible for this and other omissions
and where did we lose our country?
the glorious dead the glorious dead
“ What do you think of the wheels then?” asked Astra the professional car thief from the Gurnos.
“ Nice…!” nodded his hoodie friend Elvi$, as he climbed into the front seat of the mini-ambulance.
The vehicle sped away at breakneck speed on the Gurnos Ring Road heading towards Galon Uchaf.
“ Where did you get it?” asked Elvi$.
“ He stole it from outside the Gurnos Home for the elderly!” said a voice from the back of the vehicle.
Astra broke suddenly and a lady with whiter hair than Philip Schofield shot forward in her wheelchair to join the pair in the front.
“ Who the F*** are U?” asked Elvi$ as he came face to face with the Barbara Cartland lookalike.
“ I am the lady that was being transported to the Gurnos House before this chap here stole the van!” said the octogenarian.
“ My name is Mrs Ryder!” she said holding out a hand with a scented white glove for her abductors to kiss.
“ You have been watching 2 much ‘Downtown’ Abbey Duchess…I wouldn’t kiss my girlfriends ring - so I defo ain’t kissing URS!” said Elvi$.
“ Why Elvi$ ….surely the age of chivalry isn’t dead in Merthyr?” asked the pensioner.
“ How did you know he is called Elvi$?” asked Astra….
” Are you a coppers nark?”
“ It is written all over his face….!” Said Mrs Ryder.
It was really WAS written all over his face …. it was in fact tattooed on his forehead….at the tender age of 14 , to celebrate the birth of his second child, young Elvi$ (real name Wilfred) had got a mirror, some Indian ink and a compass from a set one kids geometry set and tattooed the name of his real father on his forehead.
His mother had copped off at the annual Elvis Weekend in Porthcawl and had her fair share of rock that weekend.
She had been so hammered with drink that she only knew that his biological father had worn blue suede shoes.
She had remembered that specifically, as Elvi$ was nearly one of twins- in the middle of ‘love me tender’ it had splattered all over the suede uppers.
On reflection, Elvi$ himself had regretted using that mirror to permanently mark his forehead, as was the ‘S’ like the boy himself was backward.
“ What do we do about HER?” asked Astra pointing at the old lady with the only thing that had ever worked in his house- his thumb.
“ Don’t tell her your name Astra and you might be okay!” said Elvi$.
“ Shall we kill her?” asked Astra.
“ Is there any point boys….I am half dead already!” interjected Mrs Ryder.
Interjected - as the two heroin addicts were busy shooting up in the front seat.
“ I reckon we take her on the Heads of the Valleys Road … let her brake off and push her out into traffic!” suggested Astra.
“ Yeah…would be fun watching this old dalek hitting traffic!” said the charming Elvi$.
“ Didn’t you have a grandmother once?” asked Mrs Ryder unconcerned with her own fate being more concerned that this lost generation of the workshy had no scruples or sense of decency.
This generation of children who had been ‘dragged’ up on a diet of video nasties and shoot ‘em up computer games.
To them there was no ‘community’ …no thought for others …as they were shunned by society as being lepers….fourth generation scum who had never had a working person living in their houses.
They thought ‘aspiration’ meant sweating in a prison gym.
“ Well gentlemen , I am not afraid to die anymore than I was afraid to be born- if anything, it will save my family the cost of sending me to a Swiss clinic so c’mn …let’s get this show on the road !” said Daphne.
The two scag-heads were thrown by this comment.
“ Come on what are you waiting for?…..like Tom Cruise in Top Gun ….I feel the need…the need for speed!” said Mrs Ryder.
“ Sorry love…we’ll all out of amphetamine…!” said Astra stunned by the reaction of the legless granny.
“ Should we decide not to kill you …Have you got any money Granny?” asked Elvi$ changing tack.
“ I’m a disabled pensioner from Essex way about to go into a Merthyr Care Home….what do you think?” replied Mrs Ryder.
“ I try not to think ….it hurts…!” said Astra …“ Nice wheels by the way!”
“ The metal in the wheelchair has to be worth SOMETHING up the scrappie!” said Elvi$.
“ Probably but you wouldn’t steal from the NHS would you?” asked Mrs Ryder.
“ He would steal from his own grandmother!” said Astra.
“ Do I know her?” asked Mrs Ryder trying a captor/hostage trick to find common ground with her abductors.
“ How old are you?” asked Astra.
“ It is not polite to ask a Lady her age…..but I am 88 this year!” said the Grannie proudly.
“ His grandmother is only 52…!” said Astra.
“ Shut up…!” ordered Elvi$....”….. Just keep driving will you!”
Outside the Gurnos Home for the elderly, the oldest delivery boy in town was scratching his head.
Former Policeman, Alan Flatfoot was puzzled.
He was sure he had parked the ambulance in the courtyard five minutes ago….and he couldn’t find Mrs Ryder the second of his two passengers.
He didn’t think it possible she would go anywhere not having any legs while he wheeled in her friend Daisy to the Centre.
He couldn’t remember if he had left the keys in the ignition or not.
He didn’t want to be charged with the offence of ‘Quitting’ by his former colleagues.
He was starting to worry that delivering all these old people with Alzheimers disease was becoming to rub off on him….like the randy old goat Edna in flat number three.
He decided to do one last lap of the building and car park before ringing his old boys in blue.
Imagine, the stick he would get if they found out.
“ Ever seen the film ‘The Fast & The Furious’ ? asked Astra.
“ Nope!” replied Mrs Ryder.
“ They are classic films about joy riding and breaking the law starring Vin Diesel!” said the driver pretending he was as macho as the Hollywood star.
“Vin Diesel….I have heard of him….said Mrs Ryder…!”
“ I often pretend to be like him!” said Astra.
“ You know he’s gay!” said Mrs Ryder.
“ No way…!” said Astra…slowing down to 60MPH in a 30MPH zone.
“ Diesel …doesn’t like unleaded green hose in his tank…!” said Mrs Ryder hitting the kid where it hurt- in his simple mind.
“ Ever heard of Gone in Sixty Seconds?” asked Elvi$.
“ No….!” gulped Mrs Ryder.
“ Because once we reach the brow of this hill…that is what you will be!” said Elvi$ cruelly.
“ Astra, keep the wheel straight I am going to slide between these seats and unbolt the back door to get rid of that old bitch!” he continued.
“ You have forgotten one thing Sonny…they have speed cameras on the Heads of the Valleys Road…you kick me out…you will be on ‘You-tube’ forever…as the Granny Wheelchair killer….that would go down well in Cardiff Prison!” laughed Mrs Ryder.
Elvi$ hated being outsmarted, even if it did happen a lot.
He had a naturally ‘suspicious mind’ …which he thought was just a by-product of the Indian Ink.
“ They don’t have them on the Glynneath bank…but that is a dual carriageway anyway…the A470 Expressway it is then “ said Elvi$ chucking evilly, like Chuckie the doll from Child’s Play.
Mrs Ryder knew she had about two miles as the crow flew to come up with a plan.
She reckoned that Astra was ‘all mouth and trousers’ but that Elvi$ was much more dark and psychotic.
She tried to remember her Wren training and catching people off guard.
She hatched a plan in her mind that she would grab her attacker with both hands and judo him off the back of the moving mini-bus.
As the bus made its way towards the Rhydycar roundabout and all those clerks sleeping at their desks in the Welsh Assembly Building, there was no chance of jettisoning the old lady and her wheelchair as the road was backed up from the Cyfarthfa Retail Park park roundabout to the Rhydycar Roundabout because of road works.
“ You do realise the bus is facing the wrong way for any delivery into oncoming traffic!” said Mrs Ryder.
“ Wrong ….my boy here has been practising his ‘do-nuts’ and ‘u-turns’ for years around the college and other car parks….all that late night squealing and burning rubber….that’s not just from the back of the Kirkhouse!” said Elvi$.
“ Very soon you… and that Oasis chair will be history!” he continued menacingly.
“ Oasis chair?” asked Mrs Ryder tying herself into the chair in anticipation with her shoelaces….belt strap and M&S Cardigan ….all with a granny knot.
“ You getta roll with it!” said Elvi$ laughing at his gallows humour.
The van screeched around the corner with Elvi$ holding his hand up to the driver as they flew across the road bridge above P & R Motors in Pentrebach.
“ Wait for it!” he said sliding past Mrs Ryder and unbolting the back doors.
“ Now !” he said.
Astra spun the steering wheel wildly.
As he uttered those immortal words….Mrs Ryder pushed at the top of the rubber wheels with all her might.
She crashed into the soft shins of her abductor and he teetered on the edge of the open doors, quiff flailing in the wind.
And then he was gone.
Elvi$ had left the building , falling over the flyover and was lying flat on his back on the bonnet of the tow-truck.
There was no hope for him even if he was in the ‘recovery position’.
He looked like a dying fly legs and arms flailing in the air spine completely shot.
Cars careered across the three lane highway in all directions as the van skidded to a halt and then restarted its acceleration back up the wrong sliproad.
Mrs Ryder rolled about more than an episode of ’Ironside’ in the van with the doors flapping.
Astra was petrified but like a charging bull he had the intelligence to neither stop or to slow down.
Forcing cars off the road, the insurance nightmare raced up the A470, sideswiping cars and barriers alike, as he headed towards Cardiff.
Mrs Ryder knew she had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, as Astra was as unpredictable as the out of date box of fireworks he was originally named after.
Centrifugal force was keeping her in the vehicle alone but she knew once he broke, she would be history.
She dragged herself along the metal wall inch by inch and grabbed the little scrote around the throat with all her might forcing the scumbag to choke on his own Adams Apple.
“ Here is a present from ‘Granny Smith’….!” she said strangling the car thief.
Astra was so dull even though he was slowly having the oxygen squeezed out of him , he pressed the brake gently on survival instinct instead of the accelerator.
“ If there is one thing I hate!” she said.
” It is someone sullying my good name…you didn’t even have the courtesy to ask it….I’m Joy Ryder and you are not a joy rider… you are a car THIEF !”” she said as Astra’s face went blue and the car trundled to a stop in the layby .
It was the best vigilante move since Michael Winner had finally had his own Death Wish.
Listening to banned police frequencies, Alan Flatfoot put his foot flat to the floor in his Hillman Avenger, as he gunned down the A470 Expressway in search of his stolen ambulance.
The former prop from the television programme, the ‘Professionals’ had a top speed of 40 mph and had air conditioning in the floor where the clutch pedal had once been.
Letting in the ‘choke’ he spotted his van ringed by police cars in a layby above Troedyrhiw, watching a different kind of choke taking place.
They had retrieved the body of Elvi$ from Pentrebach and had just found the hostage situation much to the annoyance of Traffic Cop Ade ‘Bucket’ Edmondson it was on his watch.
“ This is beyond the pail’ !” laughed Flatfoot as he pulled in to see his old police driving instructor.
“ What you got then?” asked Flatfoot.
“ The usual- an Old woman with no legs holding a junkie car thief by the throat threatening to snap his neck!” said Bucket.
“ Why are you trying to arrest her then?” asked Flatfoot.
“ We’re not….we are trying to give her a Community Action Trust Reward….keep the crime figures down …but she has gone all psycho on us when we are just trying to help her!” said the Traffic Officer.
“ I think I know why!” said Flatfoot.
“ I was transporting her from her stay in the Old Deanery Nursing Home in Braintree Essex!”
We have always had a great lineup for Dylan Day in the past but because of lockdown this year the Birthplace is closed to visitors so we decided to bring the Birthplace to your living room! And what a response we have had from performers, musicians and poets from all over the world - so much so that we have another two programmes line up for later in the year. On top of that a previously unseen interview with the 39th President of the United States - Jimmy Carter (beginning of programme 1) . See just why he is Dylan's Number One Fan.
Orange Circus Band * Tia McGraff * Lost Hollow * Oliver Lomax * Adrian Metcalfe * Daisy Owens * Rafa Bocero * Lorraine King * Iqbal Malik + many more
It's all set to go live at 7.00am on the Birthplace YouTube channel on Thursday 14th May where the programmes will remain for you to view at your leisure www.youtube.com/
Other Events on Dylan Day Take a look at www.discoverdylanthomas.com for other Dylan Day events including the virtual International Dylan Thomas Prize hosted by Michael Sheen.
