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The top ten hardest Welshmen poll has been revamped and relaunched. Eight new nominees have been included in the list. Unfortunately it was not possible to preserve votes already cast in the old poll so we apologize for making people vote twice. This time around voting will close on December 14th in order to allow a full month for people to make their final decisions. Also the number of votes cast as well as the percentage will be visible in the "View Results" panel. Below is a list of all the candidates together with a link to their Wikipedia pages in case anyone wants to do some research. Ladies and gentlemen we leave you to your deliberations....Let the people speak!!! VOTE HERE ( just below photos in the center column )
Sir Tasker Watkins VC Charles Bronson Joe Calzaghe Owain Gwynedd Owain Glyndwr Simon Weston JPR Williams Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd Queen Boudicca Gwynfor Evans Jimmy Wilde Ray Gravell Jim Driscoll Henry Tudor Vinnie Jones Tommy Farr Johnny Owen Henry Morgan Black Bart
Member Valerie Wood-Gaiger author, grandmother and teacher recently won a contest to become one of two W-Icons, or spokespeople, for the British Women's Institute (WI). The Women's Institute is the largest voluntary organisation for women in the United Kingdom. The first British Women's Institute was formed at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey, Wales, in 1915 and today the WI boasts more than 200,000 members.
Valerie lives in Myddfai, in the county of Carmarthenshire, in south Wales. Besides her work with the WI, Valerie is active in her community, enjoys walking with her dogs, is a great-grandmother, an author and one of the founders and operators of Grandmas Stories, a small publisher, through which she will be publishing a series of books on "on pan European prehistory".
You recently won a competition to become one of two W-Icons, how did you come to be in the competition and what does that mean for you?
I read about the competition in WI Life magazine, just before closing date, and thought I could have a go at that! Got my entry in one hour before Carmarthenshire WI Federation office closed for two weeks! I only applied the day before the competition closed, and before I knew it I found myself in the top ten. We then had two days ask people to vote for me. I live in Myddfai, where there are only about five computers, so I enlisted help from my grandchildren. I was amazed that I received votes from Ukraine to California, Latvia to Australia! I am thrilled that Wales has another winner. The judges actually decided to have two winners. The other one is Emma Cunningham, a 35 year old, from Hampshire. Between the two of us we illustrate the wide age range of women involved with the modern WI.
Many people may not be aware that as well as being fun, the WI is, always was, a campaigning organisation. A current campaign is against slavery in the West. I've just returned from a conference in the Ukraine on language learning where I was the keynote speaker. While there I was able to speak to a lot of students and took the opportunity to warn them to thoroughly check before accepting jobs promised to them in the West. Usually promised jobs are bona-fide offers but there are cases, even here in Wales, where young women, have had their passports, money & mobile phones taken from them and they are forced into prostitution. W.I. is much more than simply "jam and Jerusalem" [jam-making competitions and "Jerusalem," a song many WI chapters sing to open their meetings]. We are encouraging younger women to join and it is an excellent organisation for those women who are recently retired. When retirement comes, work networks can be lost but membership of the WI can provide the opportunity to establish a whole new network of friends.
I am increasingly being asked to give talks to WI, U3A, Rotary (I am a Paul Harris Fellow, which should impress any Rotarian's reading) which I like doing. The next conference I will speak at is on eLearning in Berlin. I will introduce Inter-Generational eLearning. It is absurd that my 10-year-old grandson can produce a PowerPoint presentation and I can't. We older people can learn from the young and we have lots of skills to pass on we need to do so in a modern technological way.
How did you come to be involved in the WI?
I joined as a young woman in the late 1960s, early 1970s, when I moved to a village in Hampshire. I then lapsed when I lived in London and rejoined when I moved to Myddfai in 1999. WI is a great way to meet new people. WI are keen to attract younger members, incidentally, that is why there are now two SKY W-Icons. There was to have been just one winner but the judges decided to have two: me, sixty-seven years old and a great granny, and Emma, a young mum of thirty five. I also think that WI is ideal for ladies who have just retired and have lost work-related networks. WI is a great network.
What will you do with the grant that you've won in the competition?
The money will be donated to the 'not for profit' company, Learn with Grandma, which I co-founded after I read that 64% of grandparents look after their grandchildren on a regular basis. In the past that was something they did because they wanted to but these days, with both couples having to work and so many divorces, it is becoming a necessity. I wanted to use this money to help people all over the country have fun without breaking the bank, especially important in these economically difficult times.
One of our publications will be Grandmas Guide to Great Days Out , which will list FREE places to take your children or grandchildren, and those that offer excellent value for money, less than 25.00 for a family ticket. There will be no charge for inclusion in the guide.
We are looking for places like St Fagan's , wonderful and FREE! In the 100-acre parkland of St Fagans Castle are over forty buildings moved from all over Wales. Roam round the late 16th-century manor house, see workshops where craftsmen demonstrate traditional skills, native breeds of livestock in the fields and galleries with exhibitions of costume, daily life, farming implements and the largest collection of Welsh Love spoons in the World. All FREE. The only charge is 2.50 to park the car and you can eat Welsh food in the caf or take a picnic. Places that offer great value for money like Ladyland Farm where, for only 6.00 per person, you get a tractor ride and a badge, you get the opportunity to get right in with the animals, to hold fluffy day old chicks, rabbits and kittens, to see the baby calves, lambs and piglets and to feed & stroke them and bed them down.
How many books have you written and what are your plans, as a writer and publisher?
I am currently working on a series of fourteen books that trace history from the Ice Age chronologically through to Roman times. The first of these, The Ice Journey 
I write from the perspective of a grandmother teaching her grandchildren and at the end include a Learn with Grandma Section with comprehension questions as well as things to do. I remembered all the things I used to do with my grandma, included those and added science and modern technology.
For The Ice Journey
How did you come to write The Ice Journey?
After some research I decided to write a history of the people of the Celtic lands. There is a lot of interest in the Celts but people do not really know much about them. I decided to start, long before the Celts, back to The Ice Age because that was the start of modern history. The only people alive were homo sapiens people exactly like you & me. Also because I hope one day to bring these stories to the American market.
When will this series be available?
Grandmas Stories is a new, small publisher. We can only afford to publish one book at a time, when we have the money to do so. Book two of the prehistory series will be out in the New Year. After that it is in Gods and our customers hands. We need more customers!
Prior to writing this book, did you have a background or an interest in archaeology, anthropology or related sciences?
No formal background but a great interest in archaeology, anthropology & related sciences. This had been fostered by my grandmother. After my children grew up most of my holidays were spend visiting ancient sites in many countries. I always did the research before going. I went on an archaeological dig in Portugal last summer. I saw it advertised on an online archaeological magazine & decided to go. It was very interesting, great fun and I loved the journey to northern Portugal. The train ride up the Douro Valley was spectacular.
What was your prior career?
Quite a few. Ranging from photographer to shop owner to soft toy agent (I earned enough from that to have a 19 room house. A Rolls Royce, send my 3 children to boarding school and run a huge overdraft!) to founding a charity to create work for disabled people, for which I was awarded MBE and, in the same week, I was made redundant, age 58. After wasting two years crying, I woke up and realised that I was not redundant, that it was time I pulled my self together & started a new life.
You have a great-grandson, how many children and grandchildren do you have?
My son Neil will be 50 on 2 December. He lives in Glastonbury has two children: Emma, nearly 25, Adam, 22 yesterday. My son, Nicky, 48, is a DJ and a teacher. He lives in Ithaca in the USA and has three children. Maria, 23, is Danish and lives in Copenhagen. She is mother to Magnus, who will be 2 years old in January, Kristian, age 12 and Lula, age 10. My daughter, Alison is married to Erik and lives in Surrey. She has two sons: Oscar, age 10, and Hugo, age 8.
Did you tutor or educate your own children or grandchildren? Have any of them followed in your footsteps?
I was only 17 when Neil was born. We had a lot of fun learning stuff together when they were children. They have all made their own path in life and live all over the world. I am now working on a new ways of maintaining contact with my grandchildren. I started writing books after Kristian said I love you grandma but I need to see you. I am "Facebook Friends" with the older grandchildren. I have now bought a webcam to tell Magnus stories and am off to Berlin in December to launch a new intergenerational e-learning project.
Can you describe the place you live? How long have you lived there?
Myddfai is a tiny village - about 30 people live in the actual village, plus second homes, Prince Charles has bought a property here. I'm very involved in my community, I go to church and chapel and help organize events to help keep the community together, so important since our pub closed. I have two dogs to walk, great walking round here! And there is the day job. It is a hill village, three miles above Llandovery and in The Brecon Beacons National Park. It is stunningly beautiful and the people have been so kind and welcoming. I thank God for the wind that blew me here. I hope to die here.
See the latest post HERE .
Follow Dave's progress week by week as the spoon takes shape. Dont forget to donate to ensure your chance to win this unique work of art.. Every dollar donated entitles you to one ticket in the draw which will take place at the event itself. All proceeds go towards the Left Coast Eisteddfod Fund. Use the donate button in the right hand column on this page.
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Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?
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Lloyd Jones will need no introduction to most of our readers. He is the author of two novels, "Mr Vogel" and "Mr Cassini", and has recently published his first collection of short stories ( "My First Coloring Book" ). In this interview he speaks about his life, work and future literary plans
Many of your writings revolve around journeys or more particularly walks. It is well known that you do a lot of hill-walking/hiking in "real life". What initially attracted you to this form of recreation?
"I had been very ill, mentally and physically, following a major breakdown caused by stress and alcohol in 2001. As I recovered from my near-death experience I found that walking was the best medicine for body and soul. It still is - I go for a walk every day. Every walk is a celebration of the concept of freedom".
To what extent is "Mr Vogel" autobiographical?
"Almost all the book is based on my life. I walked completely around Wales, a journey of a thousand miles, in 2002/3 and I have walked across the country eight times in eight different directions since then. Also, I was a patient at Gobowen hospital in Shropshire, strapped to a metal frame for a year, when I was aged about six. The bonesetters of Anglesey, featured in my book, were a real family and they have descendants in America".
You have published a collection of poems which were distributed privately. Do you have any plans to publish further poetry anthologies?
"No. Friends have assured me that my poems should remain in a locked drawer. I have written a narrative poem for 2008 with an entry for each day - and it''s still going strong, in November. It will have 369 poems eventually, and will be published to critical acclaim when I''m dead; if my family burn it my mini-epic will be remembered as the great lost poem of the twenty-first century. Or maybe not."
It has been suggested that "Mr Cassini" is an attempt to explore and elucidate modern problems and neuroses utilizing ancient Welsh myth and legend. Is this true and if so, what role do the stories of the Mabinogion play in the book?
"Yes, Mr Cassini is an Arthurian book based on the legend of Culhwch ac Olwen - probably the first Welsh story ever recorded. Mr Cassini is also a voyage around my alcoholic father. In the Mabinogion legend, the beautiful Olwen''s father is a nasty giant who forces Culhwch to perform a number of Herculean feats before the two can wed. Arthur (Duxie in my book) helps them in their quest. I have tried to use the Arthurian legend in a contemporary Celtic context - as a reaction to the romantic and sentimental rubbish promulgated by TV and film directors."
It has often been suggested that short story writing is a very different art to novel writing. Did you find this to be the case in the course of writing the stories which make up "My First Colouring Book"?
"Short stories are supposed to be a Welsh speciality. The form doesn''t sell particularly well in Britain but it''s popular in North America. Compared to the novel, the short story is a different kettle of fish, and I enjoyed reading a wide range of exponents, from Chekhov and Maupassant to O''Henry and Kate Roberts before tackling the form myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the micro form after writing two macros."
Is there any particular theme which unites the stories in this collection?
"Eros and thanatos - love and death. And colours, obviously. There''s a mysterious, recurring house which links many of the stories. This house demanded its own presence."
What are your future writing plans?
"I have just completed the first draft of a novel in Welsh called Y Dwr (The Water), due to be published by Y Lolfa in 2009. I plan a year off in 2009: I hope to travel to India with my daughter and cross Wales for a ninth time, if I live. It''s going to be a walking year, I hope. Can''t wait. I have no plans for a book after that because I think I''ve dumped enough poo on a very patient Welsh public. Maybe some more short stories?"
Do you have a particular process when you write? Do you have to set yourself up to write or just jot it on candy bar wrappers or do anything in particular to grease your creative wheels?
"Every book is different and has its own dictates, but I tend to write on a laptop in short bursts in the early morning, on my own, in absolute silence. I write a first version, leave it for a while, then return to it. At some stage I engineer a transaction to another person, during which I perceive what needs to be done without words being exchanged. I see myself as a free range hobby writer who delivers bantham eggs complete with shit and straw."
How important is Anglo-Welsh literature to the future development of a distinct Welsh cultural identity?
"Sport, war and literature are possibly the most important components of nationalism. Wales has constantly reinvinted itself to stay ''alive''. If there are enough people who feel passionately about the country, Wales will survive; but the country is under enormous pressure at the moment because of a massive incoming and other global forces, so the next 100 years could be decisive. I wouldn''t like to predict the outcome. We are at the crossroads: Wales could go the Cornish way or it could go the Scottish way. My own writing could be another tiny evolutionary addition to Welsh morphology, or it could be one of its death throes."
Any plans to visit the US?
"American foreign policy under Bush really frightened and angered me: I found it hard to be objective and optimistic about the USA for quite some time. Also, our TV channels are clogged with poor American programmes; I fear that Britain is losing its identity, almost becoming a ghost American state like Puerto Rica. It seems to me at a distance that America is two countries, one dominated by thoughtful liberal people who tend to be on the Democrat wing, and another ''country'' dominated by the Republican Christian right. The latter is a big turn-off for me, so I have to fight a tendency to be bigoted against America with its putrid Hollywood/cool/gunslinging culture, although I know that the continent has also produced a huge amount of excellent stuff in the last century. I suppose I have become reactionary about hawkish America, while tending to forget that America is stuffed full of normal, decent people. Perhaps I have fallen into the trap of simplification and generalisation. But I get the impression, with the election of Obama, that America is now more willing to listen to the rest of the world. I would like to shrug aside my bigotry and come over to see the many beautiful places in America."
Many people in the US are concerned to promote Wales to the wider American public.. What do you think is the most important thing that Americans can learn from the history and culture of Wales? "
Small countries face a constant battle for survivial. Their biggest threat is the screen. Television, cinema and computers have made it increasingly possible for people to live in a virtual world, and that''s the most striking change during my lifetime: the virtualisation of the world. I won''t even watch nature programmes on TV now because it''s too convenient to watch pretty-pretty ahhhh material on the screen whilst the real thing is being wiped out all around us. People will watch panda bears on TV whilst never thinking of looking at a live robin in their garden. Wales is real and it''s different. Wouldn''t it be awful if everywhere in the world were the same? I''m planning to visit India next Spring. Wouldn''t it be terrible if India were full of little Lloyd Joneses? I''d throw myself in the Indian Ocean! As the French say, Vive le difference!"
"Wales has survived against incredible odds. Many thousands of people, probably millions, have died in the fight to keep Wales ''different''. The story of Wales is amazing. The literature of Wales is amazing. And the people of Wales are amazing. It''s a tiny, beautiful country with fabulous diversity. But the Welsh are now an endangered species; the old, shy upland folk are disappearing. Do your bit to save a truly original and different minority. Help to save Wales any way you can...and the best way is to say proudly: I''m Welsh!"
This is a new (and probably the first-ever) novel based on the French invasion of Pembrokeshire in 1797 to be aimed at older children and young adults. This important historical event is one of the most dramatic events in Welsh history and provides an ideal setting for this tale of adventure, treachery and teenage love.
The author William Vaughan, being a former teacher of History and English, has the experience to know what inspires the imagination of youngsters. He says: I deliberately wrote the novel in a light, fast-paced style with the aim of transforming a brief chapter in school text-books into a vivid and gripping reality.
The Black Legion will be an ideal introduction to the subject of the French invasion for schoolchildren. William Vaughan says he does not accept that todays teenagers are uninterested in Welsh history. The last invasion of Britain is an exciting period which deserves to be remembered and I trust this adventure novel will help to serve the purpose.
The central characters in the novel are Tom, a young servant, and Megan, a Majors daughter. They have feelings for each other but are constrained in declaring their emotions by the class divide. However, they witness the invasion together and are soon caught up in dramatic events which will change their lives forever.
The author has interwoven historical details into the action-laden plot in order to portray the period accurately. Scenes of brutality on board convict ships and rat-infested gaols are contrasted with shimmering, candlelit ballrooms and portrait-lined castles. The Black Legion will delight older children and young adults who enjoy a well-written, swashbuckling tale.
The author was born in Cardiff and studied History and English at Leicester University, obtaining BA and MA degrees. He gained a PGCE from University College, Cardiff and taught History and English in Leicestershire and at the Cathedral School, Llandaff, before becoming a writer of fiction. He has also written The Midnight Ghost, a novel for children, which was published by Gwasg y Bwthyn in 2004.
Gwasg y Bwthyn in 2004.
Teitl / Title
The Black Legion
Dyddiad cyhoeddi / Publication date
14.11.08
Pris / Price
5.95
Awdur / Author
William Vaughan
One of Britain’s brightest football managers, Roberto Martinez tells his story
By Ceri Shaw, 2008-11-11
My story so far
When I have a day off, I must admit, I take the whole day off, away from the game. Roberto, on the other hand, is still living and breathing football on his free day. Jordi Cruyff
Roberto Martinez is one of the sharpest minds and most inspiring personalities in Welsh and British football today.
At only 33 years of age Roberto Martinez decided to bring a premature end to his playing career after being offered his dream managers job at Swansea City. After only fifteen months in the job he won the club the first division title and for himself the LMA Manager of the year award.
Since then Roberto has won the praise of countless managers, pundits and players, but none more so than from Swansea City supporters. At Swansea the fans recognise what he did as a player and captain, helping saving the club from relegation from the football league, before earning them respect in the Championship as one of the most exciting teams in the second tier of British football.
Originally from Balageur in Catalonia, Roberto Martinez played for his home town in the Spanish third division before moving to play Real Zaragoza in La Liga. In 1995 he was spotted by Dave Whelan, the millionaire owner of Wigans famous Three Amigos, alongside Jesus Seba and Isidro Diaz. He then played for Motherwell, Walsall, Swansea and Chester before deciding to follow his fathers footsteps into management when offered the job at Swansea City in 2007.
In Kicking Every Ball Roberto Martinez looks back over his life on the move and the ups and downs of his playing career. From his early days in Catalonia to his current role as one of the brightest managers in British football today. The book, published by Welsh publishers Y Lolfa, also includes a forward by the internationally renowned football player Jordi Cruyff.
KICKING EVERY BALLRoberto Martinez
12.95 ( 20.1968 USD approx )
Y Lolfa
