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Good News! The Prince Madoc Plaque Resolution passed in the House today, 10 March 2009. So... now comes the hard part again. We are back where we were at the end of the Legislation session last year when the Senate never voted on this so it died. We now need to get the HJR #309 put on the Senate calender and passed. I need all of you to call Senator Barron's office and request that HJR 309 be put on the calendar and passed. His office number is (334)242-7858. PLEASE take 5 minutes of your day and make this call. Send an email to all your friends and relatives in Alabama to ask them to do this one little thing. Thanks for all the support and help with this endeavor.

The Prince Madoc Plaque Resolution has returned to the Alabama Legislature inMarch 2009. The new Resolution number is HJR 309. Please contact yourHouse Rep. and Senator for support of this resolution! Urgent!

Prince Madoc Plaque to be restored!

The Prince Madoc Plaque is being restored for public viewing at the D.A.R.House in Mobile, Alabama. It is being cleaned, then D.A.R. will place it in the garden of the D.A.R. House. A job well done for all of us involved in getting it taken out of storage at Fort Morgan. The petition has over 1800 signatures which is a fantastic accomplishment for all those who worked tirelessly on a daily basis to spread the word about the petition. David Parry with the Chicago Welsh Tafia, Ceri Shaw with AmeriCymru, and Carwyn Edwards with the Welsh League of Arizona have all given so much of their time and energy towards this campaign. The AWA will always be grateful for their support. This campaign has been successful in more ways than one. It has brought together Welsh around the world making new and lasting friendships. The Alabama Welsh Association will continue to work towards broadening the awareness of Welsh contributions to Alabama, and the U.S. each and every day. We will continue to work towards having a Park name after Prince Madoc in Alabama as we feel whether he did or did not land on our shores in 1170, the Welsh have contributed so much to our great state that one of their oldest "Legends" should be honored, thus by doing so would honor ALL WELSH. Thank each of you for the part you played in making this happen!

The story of Madoc, a prince of Wales who, in the twelfth century, discovered America. This is not a story that most Americans have ever heard. We are told all about how Columbus discovered America in 1492, when in reality he never set foot in America. So the story of Prince Madoc (Madog) is never taught to our school children. If your one of those people who have never heard the story it goes like this. Prince Madoc, son of Owain Gwynedd, left Wales around 1169 due to the turmoil between his siblings after his father died. All fighting for their fathers possessions, lands, etc. It was not a nice place to live during this time. So in searchof land where he, his brother, Rhird, and many others could live in peace they departed Wales. A few yearslater he returned with tales of a land uninhabited and rich for farming convincing hundreds of others to return with him to this New World. It is said he departed the 2nd time with approximately 10 ships filled with people and supplies returning back to this new found land. It is believed he landed in Mobile Bay due to whathe had told during his return visit and fortifications found in Bon Secour which is near Mobile Bay.Some Welsh scholars have long been skeptical, especially since the Madoc story was promoted in the 19th century by the bar Iolo Morganwg, someone not renowned for his devotion to accuracy in the sphere of history. For many Welshmen, however, the story has long had a certain resonance. Below I will provide information easily accessible regarding Prince Madoc. I hope you enjoy it!

A Welsh Monk, St. Caradoc of Llan Cargren, Wales first wrote of Madoc's voyages in the 12th Century. Monkswere keepers of records centuries ago. On 3rd of October, 1580, Dr. John Dee made an oral presentation tothe English Council at Court where he summarized the Welsh Monks records: "The Lord Madoc, son of OwenGwynedd, Prince of North Wales lead a colony and uninhabited in Terra Florida or thereabouts."The story was first published in A True Reporte of the late Discoveries of the Newfound Landes, written by Sir George Peckham in 1583. This document supported the first Queen Elizabeth's claim to the New World. It was repeated in Humphrey Llwyd's, Historie of Cambria the next year. In 1600 Richard Hakluyt wrote"Principall Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation" which included the story of Prince Madoc.

Professor Hartmann tells us that "On January 13th 1804, an American President of Welsh ancestry, Thomas Jefferson, dispatched a letter to another Welsh-American, Meriwether Lewis, containing a map of the upper Missouri Valley. The map had been prepared by a third Welsh-American, John Evans.John Evans left his home in rural North Wales in 1792. He travelled to London and then across to remote parts of the USA.

The Bard has been created for those of you who would like to share your poetry with others.  Please email your work to be displayed. You do not have to be a member of the Alabama Welsh Assoc to have it displayed here.

Wales In Your Heart

Come Evans and Jones and Hopkins and Prices,
Come Prichard and Rees, Williams and Rices,
Come Jenkins and Roberts and Dvies and Powells,
Come Griffiths and Probert,  Owens and Howells.
Come Vaughan and Thomas and Richards and Pughs,
Come Protheroe and Morgan, Lloyd and Hughs.
Wales is your Land, Wales is your Heaven.
Myths and Legends and ancients dreams,
From crystal pools and restless streams.

You are Celts whatever your forebears role,
Wales in your heart, Wales in your Soul.
Your Celtic Spirit sets you apart,
Warrior of Wales true from the start.
In Merlin's land forever to dwell,
To tell your tales of a Celtic Farewell.

-John Frannis

.

PAUL 

A man, Black magnificent
the descendant of the Ibo
Whose ancestry,
made redundant by slave sodden greed

Stood alone in his dignity
Wordless against prejudice and dogma

His parents
transported to a foreign place

Bred him to respect his proud
heritage in a world possessed by
hatred of his colour


Singing!

Lyrically savage, stabbing heart and spirit
Spanning cultures and prejudice

His talent!  His torment!
Universal chords touching conscience
with anger and guilt

Such a Man,
Alone, and Black
Could provoke feelings of hate and cowardice
With convoluted simplicity and controversy
Exposing our tyranny and corruption

Hidden in the soft whispers of our poverty ridden
thoughts

BEE RICHARDS

Pastures Green and Dark Satanic Mills: The British Passion for Landscape will be on view at the Princeton University Art Museum from Jan. 23 through Apr. 24, 2016 PRINCETON, N.J. – For centuries, artists have been fascinated by Britain’s changing landscape and the changing dialogue surrounding nature and culture, country and city, rolling hills and urban industry. Pastures Green and Dark Satanic Mills: The British Passion for Landscape follows the rise of British landscape painting, from the Industrial Revolution through 19th-century Romanticism and Impressionism, to 20th-century modernism and contemporary art.

The exhibition presents more than 60 masterpieces drawn from the remarkable collection of the National Museum Wales and offers powerful insights into the enduring role of landscape during this time of rapid change. Focusing on the period from 1770 to the present, the exhibition includes works by Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, J.M. W. Turner, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Oskar Kokoschka, David Nash, and Stanley Spencer.

Pastures Green and Dark Satanic Mills will be on view at the Princeton University Art Museum from Jan. 23 through Apr. 24, 2016. The exhibition was co-curated by Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University, and Oliver Fairclough, Keeper of Art at the National Museum Wales, and was organized in collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales.

“Bringing together painting, watercolor and photography, Pastures Green and Dark Satanic Mills invites us to consider why the landscape as subject has been so central to British art making and indeed to British national identity,” said James Steward, Nancy A. Nasher–David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, Director. “This compelling exhibition reveals the many ways in which artists developed new vocabularies to understand and respond to the world around them throughout the modern period.”

The British passion for landscape – already present in the literary works of Milton, Shakespeare and Chaucer – began to dominate the visual arts at the time of the Industrial Revolution. In his preface to Milton (ca. 1804-10), the poet William Blake wrote of both “England’s green and pleasant land” and the “dark satanic mills” of its new industrial cities. As Britain became the world’s first industrial nation in the late 18th century, cities– where the nation’s new wealth was generated and its population increasingly concentrated – mills and factories started to challenge country estates and rolling hills as the defining images of the nation. Artists tracked, recorded and resisted these changes, inaugurating a new era of British landscape painting which both celebrated the land’s natural beauty and a certain idea of Britain – one tied to the land itself – while also observing the feverish new energies of the modern world.

Loosely chronological, the exhibition begins with “Classical Visions and Picturesque Prospects,” looking back to the 17th-century origins of landscape painting through iconic works by Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa, canvases by the early British landscapists Thomas Gainsborough and Joseph Wright of Derby and the rise of watercolor as an increasingly valued artistic medium. “Turner and the Sublime” features major oil paintings – including The Storm (1840–45) and The Morning after the Wreck(ca. 1840) – and watercolors by the revered British artist who did so much to invent fundamentally new modes of painting. “Truth to Nature” focuses on artists’ direct and objective depictions of the natural world through works by John Constable and Stanley Spencer, among others. “Picturing Modernity” looks at the subsequent urban industrial transformation of Britain through representations by artists such as Lionel Walden and Oskar Kokoschka. Claude Monet’s visionary reflections of the Thames – The Pool of London (1871) and Charing Cross Bridge (1902) – during his seminal period in London are spotlighted in “Monet and Impressions of Britain.” Finally “Neo-Romantic to Post-Modern” considers the reemergence of traditional landscape subjects, inflected by modernism, the environmental movement and growing concern for the dark side of human impact on the natural world.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays by the curators and individual entries on each work of art as well as by extensive public programming, including a film series examining the power of landscape on film offered in partnership with the Princeton Garden Theatre. Pastures Green and Dark Satanic Mills: The British Passion for Landscape is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales. The exhibition tour and catalogue are generously supported by the JFM Foundation, Mrs. Donald M. Cox and the Marc Fitch Fund. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane and Christie’s. The exhibition at Princeton has been made possible by support from the Frances E. and Elias Wolf, Class of 1920, Fund; the National Endowment for the Arts; Christopher E. Olofson, Class of 1992; and Susan andJohn Diekman, Class of 1965. Additional support has been made possible by the Allen R.Adler, Class of 1967, Exhibitions Fund; the Judith and Anthony B. Evnin, Class of 1962,Exhibitions Fund; the Rita Allen Foundation; the New Jersey State Council on the Arts;Katherine P. Holden, M.D., Class of 1973, and Joshua S. Jaffe, M.D.; and the Friends ofthe Princeton University Art Museum.

About the Princeton University Art Museum

With a collecting history that extends back to the 1750s, the Princeton University Art Museum is one of the leading university art museums in the country, with collections that have grown to include over 92,000 works of art ranging from ancient to contemporary art and spanning the globe.

Committed to advancing Princeton’s teaching and research missions, the Art Museum also serves as a gateway to the University for visitors from around the world. Intimate in scale yet expansive in scope, the Museum offers a respite from the rush of daily life, a revitalizing experience of extraordinary works of art and an opportunity to delve deeply into the study of art and culture.

The Princeton University Art Museum is located at the heart of the Princeton campus, a short walk from the shops and restaurants of Nassau Street. Admission is free. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed Mondays and major holidays.

The Shadow of Nanteos  by Jane Blank, published by Y Lolfa, was Waterstones’ Book of the Month in Wales in November.  Jane will be touring North America in late 2016: currently planning Toronto, New York and Washington. So please let me know if you’d be interested in her coming to speak at your society or college about the book, the history and Ceredigion.  The novel is in English, but Jane is a fluent Welsh speaker from a Ceredigion family.

New Welsh Historical Novel:   The Shadow of Nanteos  by Jane Blank

When William Powell and his headstrong wife Elizabeth inherit the glorious Nanteos estate in Cardiganshire, it seems their new life is everything they could wish for. Yet, as her debt-ridden husband is snared by the land disputes and violence of the 1750s lead wars, Elizabeth is increasingly drawn to the mysterious figure of Cai, the estate's handsome bailiff. Superstition, tales of haunting, and the powerful Nanteos grail cast their shadow over the house and soon the family is caught up in a vicious political and legal battle that will end in tragedy.  ISBN: 9781784611712

http://www.ylolfa.com/en/dangos.php?ISBN=9781784611712

https://www.facebook.com/Nanteos1750/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Nanteos-The-Jane-Blank/dp/1784611719

"A Wonderfully gothic evocation of Wild Wales"  - Robert Peston, BBC.

  "Dark, dramatic and visceral  - Jane Blank has done for West Wales what has been done before for South Wales – she tells the story of how the land and the people were exploited for profit. We've had 'How Green was my Valley' for South Wales, but I've never read anything about the lead mines in Mid-Wales at this period." - Deborah Kay Davies, author of Wales Book of the Year 2009.

  The Shadow of Nanteos  “is no soft-focus costume drama. There is a strong sense of social division between local Welsh workers and the anglicised middle-class and upper-class landowners and mine-owners. The central character, Elizabeth, although at first revelling in her new fortune and status, soon breaks the social rules both in relation to her servants and in what is expected of a gentlewoman.  The locations are vividly evoked, and the landscape has a part in the drama as it does in Hardy's novels" - Caroline Clark, Gwales.com

Nanteos Mansion, near Aberystwyth, is now a luxurious Country House Hotel 

The Flag of St David is associated with Wales and appears in a variety of forms, a gold field with a black cross or a black field with a gold cross. This flag was originally taken from the Coat of Arms of the Diocesan of St David. The black and gold (yellow) flag is flown in Wales as well as the Red Dragon.

Who was St. David? Why is he so important to the Welsh? How is St. David's Day celebrated in Wales today? St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of Dewi Sant or St David, the patron saint of Wales. Little is known about him for certain. What little information we have is based on an account of his life written by Rhigyfarch towards the end of the 11th century.According to this Latin manuscript, Dewi died in the year 589. His mother was called Non, and his father, Sant, was the son of Ceredig, King of Ceredigion. After being educated in Cardiganshire, he went on pilgrimage through south Wales and the west of England, where it is said that he founded religious centres such as Glastonbury and Croyland. He even went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was made archbishop.He eventually settled at Glyn Rhosyn (St David's), in south-west Wales, where he established a very strict ascetic religious community. Many miracles have been attributed to him, the most incredible of which was performed when he was preaching at the Synod of Llanddewibrefi - he caused the ground to rise underneath him so that he could be seen and heard by all.

How much truth is in this account of his life by Rhigyfarch is hard to tell It must be considered that Rhigyfarch was the son of the Bishop of St David's, and that the Life was written as propaganda to establish Dewi's superiority and defend the bishopric from being taken over by Canterbury and the Normans.From the 12th century onwards, Dewi's fame spread throughout South Wales and as far as Ireland and Brittany. St David's Cathedral became a popular centre of pilgrimage, particularly after Dewi was officially recognised as a Catholic saint in 1120. From this period on, he was frequently referred to in the work of medieval Welsh poets such as Iolo Goch and Lewys Glyn Cothi. In 1398, it was ordained that his feast-day was to be kept by every church in the Province of Canterbury. Though the feast of Dewi as a religious festival came to an end with the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the day of his birth became a national festival during the 18th century.Now March 1 is celebrated by schools and cultural societies throughout Wales. It is the custom on that day to wear either a leek or a daffodil - two of our national emblems - and for young girls to wear the national costume.

Here are some ideas for St. David's Day:Read Rhys James Jones' excellent article  St. David and St. David's Day This article is based on a talk given at the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union Meeting Point on February 28, 1994.Help your Children make a St. David Doll or color some St. David's Day pictures. Visit our Family Activities Page Prepare a Welsh Meal and invite friends over to share it with you, Yn Y Gegin (In the Kitchen)  has a sample menu and plenty of recipes to help make it a great sucess.If you are a Welsh Learner try your hand at reading this short story about Dewi Sant  Fly the Y Ddraig Gochor The St. David's Cross, wear a daffodil, attend the Local Welsh Society's Activities.

It has always been my understanding thatthat flower (daffodil) was not used as a national symbol until it was promoted as such by the Welsh born Prime Minister, Lloyd George I don't remember where I obtainedthat information, but it may be Owen A. Harries.

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Apart from writing one of my great passions is lawn bowls. I suppose it was inevitable that eventually I would combine the two and write a fictional novel about the game I love. The result was 'Jack's High'.

'Jack's High' was first conceived as a six part comedy drama centred around the hapless exploits of a Welsh Valleys' fictional lawn bowls club called Penypont. The BBC liked what they read but were not convinced that lawn bowls was a compelling enough vehicle for comedy and asked me to write about something else. I declined.

Some of you reading this will probably think me mad. The truth is I have always believed in staying true to what you believe in and I believed in the characters I had created. They were real to me and I was not prepared to abandon them.

How real are your characters to you? 

Seth Solmes recently posted on a Google+ forum:

  "Is it possible to be afraid of your own characters?"  

Seth is writing a novel about a particularly dark serial killer. It seems to me Seth is on the right track because his character has come alive to such a degree he actually gives Seth the shivers! More about this later.

To some extent the BBC was right. Bowls is not viewed as a 'sexy' sport even though it is played globally by large numbers of people like myself. Humour on the other hand is universal but how could I convince the general public at large that a novel about bowls could be both sexy and funny? Step forward Vernon Algernon Lewis.

Vernon is one of the characters from 'Jack's High' . His uniquely insensitive and  uncompromising attitude to life can frequently be described as outrageous. He is one of those people the ' politically correct brigade' would love to clap in irons. The point is Vernon can speak and behave in a way that would get 'real' people ostracised or worse!

It seemed a 'no brainer' to appoint the unsuspecting Vernon to the position of marketing director. One of the most effective marketing ploys is to give something away for free although we authors possibly flog this tactic to death when we keep giving away books that we have slaved over for months if not years.

The presumed logic is that somehow this will result in more sales. Instead why not provide teaser material that increases interest and a desire to find out more by actually buying your book? 'Jack's High' is a 346 page novel set around a bowls club. It is highly unlikely anyone is going to rush out to buy it unless they can be persuaded it actually may be quite fun. Which brings me back to Seth's very dark serial killer.

• Twitter 

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• Blogger

The call to action  on Vernon's blog has already begun to attract subscribers who are more likely to turn into fans prepared to purchase 'Jack's High' because they have begun to 'bond' with Vernon.

CLICK HERE to visit Vernon's Landing Page and see what you think?

Isn't it time  you got your characters working for you?

Wales has a rich musical heritage, and although many of its traditional instruments are not commonly heard, there are still musicians keeping the folk traditional alive, arranging and performing melodies that have been popular for centuries. Celebrating its musical roots helps confirm Wales distinctive culture. As we enjoy the tunes, dances and instrumental forms that have delighted us for generations, we can become part of the tradition as it moves forward.

Wales has an unbroken tradition of harp playing. It was used as a dance instrument and for playing tunes and airs. The tradition owes its survival to the gypsy families of Wales who kept harp playing alive, and Nansi Richards, the famous harpist Telynores Maldwyn. In Wales the triple harp was popular, an instrument with three rows of strings as opposed to the conventional harp which has one row. It has been the tradition in Wales to play the harp on the left shoulder with the right hand playing the lower strings and the left playing the higher ones. This style of playing is possibly unique to Wales. The growth in popularity of the singly strung classical harp at the beginning of the 20th century had a negative impact on the popularity of the triple harp, with the result that today there are few triple harp players in Wales.

One of the oldest of traditional Welsh instruments. The crwth is a form of stringed lyre which uses a bow to play the strings. There is archaeological evidence to suggest that similar instruments were in use 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. The range of notes is limited, with a range of just a single octave, and all the strings are played at the same time. The sound created has a droning quality, which can be strange to the unfamiliar ear. There are a number of crwth players in Wales, including Cas Meurig, who continues to develop the crwth repertoire, and Robert Evans, who with vocalist Mary-Anne Roberts, recreates 'cerdd dafod', literally 'dance of the tongue'. Cerdd dafod was a form of singing with crwth accompaniment, which flourished in Wales from the beginning of the 14th century to the end of the 16th century.

The pibgorn is a simple reed instrument once popular with shepherds and cattle drovers. It is made up of a wooden pipe and the horns of a bull. One horn is used as a mouthpiece and another to form a bell end which helps amplify the sound. The pibgorn consists of six holes for the fingers and a thumb hole at the back, similar to a recorder, giving a range of 8 notes. It was used for playing dance music and passing the time on the cattle droves. Pibgorns are rare instruments, although they can be made to order by specialist instrument makers. The musician Stephen Rees, who plays with the folk group Crasdant, continues his work in bringing the pibgorn sound to new audiences.

The penny whistle or tin whistle has been a popular instrument with players through out the world owing to its low cost, ready availability and ease of construction. The oldest whistle found in Wales is believed to be 900 years old and was found at Chirk castle. It appears to have been made from the bone of an animal. Other historical evidence of its use in Wales includes the Nant Garw sunday school annual tea parties which took place during the 19th century when it was used to accompany the dancing when no harp was available. "And when you heard the tin whistle, the children ran to watch them practicing the dancing" - Margretta Thomas, 1880-1772 A close relation of the whistle is the flute. Until the late 1800s most flutes were made out of wood, although most are now made from metal. It was usually played with other instruments such as the harp and fiddle. The black wooden flutes we see traditional players using today were once orchestral instruments that were discarded when the modern metal version came into use.

Wales' other unbroken tradition, apart from harp playing, is its step or clog dancing. The dance was originally performed by farmers and slate quarry workers and often came in the form of a competition where dancers would show off their stamina and athleticism. The difference between Welsh clogging and other step dance traditions is that the performance will not only include complicated stepping, but also 'tricks'. For example, snuffing out a candle flame with the dancer's feet, 'toby stepping' - similar to Cossack dancing - and high leaps into the air.

Wales has a long tradition of fiddle playing and its music was popular with the great Romany familes of Wales. Three people who were renowned for playing both harp and fiddles were Cornelius, David and Adolphus Wood. Unlike the harp there is no unbroken tradition of fiddle playing in Wales, but because the players wrote down their tunes the repertoire has been preserved. We don't know how the fiddle actually sounded so have no idea of styles. Many manuscripts from 18th and 19th centuries contain tunes which appear very similar in style to contemporary classical or popular music.

The carving of lovespoons has been a part of Welsh Culture going back many centuries. Now though they are seen more as a memento of Wales, be that as a result of a trip to Wales, or for an exile longing for the green and pleasant land, still called Home. The carving and giving of lovespoons has not survived the test of time, and many of the love spoons bought today are machine made., Welsh Lovespoons are a unique Celtic Craft.

As their eyes met across the Welsh village square, he knew what was needed. He had to carve her a lovespoon. Any available time over the coming months, would be spent carving the spoon. He had his pen - knife, a scrap of sharpened metal to act as a scraper, and so his labor of love had begun. He would need to show her father that he was good with his hands. He hoped she love would see his carving as an indication of his desire to build a home with her. He would carve a heart on the spoon to show that his heart was hers, the keyhole to show his desire to share his home with her, and a vine to show them growing together. When the spoon was finished, he would then offer it to her in hope she would accept it and his heart as well. If she accepted his heart they would spend many happy years together, the lovespoon that had brought them together all those years before would take a place upon the wall of their living room. Now, it had passed through the many generations that followed, keeping their love alive and everlasting.