Blogs

And the winner is Mr Jo Cronin . We will be contacting Jo via email to make arrangements for him to pick up his tickets for the March 6th concert at Carnegie Hall .Congratulations/Llongyfarchion Jo If you didn't win this time...fear not. There will be many more competitions with fantastic prizes on Americymru in the coming year.

Facebook integration is now live on AmeriCymru. As part of this release, youll now see Facebook links next to the Twitter links on your contents detail pages ( blogs, events etc ). To see how it works check out the Facebook button on this blog post ( below ). You should find a similar capability on all blog, event, photo and video pages ( Forums too ). Basically this means that you'll be able to share your favorite content on AmeriCymru with your Facebook friends with one simple click. Enjoy!

Reprinted with permission from David Western's blog , all material 2009, David Western --

Competitions for the 2010 Left Coast Eisteddfod have been launched on AmeriCymru and we're hard at work planning this year's physical event in Portland, Oregon.

Online competitions this year include poetry in Welsh, Spanish and English with judges respectively John Good , Geraldine Mac Burney and Peter Thabit Jones ; short fiction to be judged again this year by the very excellent Lloyd Jones; Images judged by photographer Glyn Davies .

David Western has very generously offered to create another work of art to support the 2010 event and this year will be collaborating with another artist, lovespoon carver Laura Gorun of Ohio.

David was born in Cardiff but emigrated to Canada, where he now lives in Victoria, British Columbia. Dave has been carving lovespoons for over 20 years and is the author of The Fine Art of Carving Lovespoons . This spoon will be Dave's first collabation with another lovespoon artist and he is delighted to be working with Laura on it.

Laura, a native of Akron, Ohio now lives and carves in Worthington, Ohio. Laura is of Welsh descent through a paternal grandfather and "relatively new" to lovespoon carving. More of her work can be seen here .

This year's blog will follow the process of the creation of the 2010 spoon, with contributions from both artists. As a starting point, they have decided on a theme of "Two" for this year's spoon: two countries, two carvers and the second Eisteddfod. Collaborating on the designing and carving will be a new experience for both Dave and Laura, especially since they live and work in Canada and the US, respectively, a couple of thousand miles apart. The inevitable challenges and learning experiences for both carvers working together should add an interesting twist to this year's blog and the carving experience. On behalf of the Left Coast Eisteddfod, we at AmeriCymru thank you both very, very much for the contribution of your talent, your creativity, your labor and your generous kindness and look forward to the journey of creation of this spoon.

Happy Saint David's Day 2010!

And the winner is Michael Nies of New York. We will be contacting Michael via email to arrange shipment of the prize - a copy of Geoff Brookes 'Stories in Welsh Stone'. Congratulations/Llongyfarchion Michael If you didn't win this time...fear not. There will be many more competitions with fantastic prizes on Americymru in the coming year. Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus! Happy St David's Day!

Greetings to all Welshmen and women throughout the world on St.Davids Day.Down here in NZ we start celebrating a little earlier and several of us will be meeting in the only Welsh pub in the Southern hemisphere this evening in Wellington..Hwyl

I was inspired to write this by a wooden drinking vessel which you can find in the National Museum in Cardiff, one of many such objects apparently, made from a great oak tree which blew down in a storm in 1813. The tree was called Derwen Ceubren yr Ellyll the Hollow Tree of the Demons - and it once stood on the old Nannau Estate near Dolgellau. And the legend will tell you that Owain Glyndwr once used the tree as a handy place in which to store the body of his cousin.The story of Owain Glyndwr is far too complex to explore properly here. His celebrity is based in part upon the fact that he was the last Welshman to hold the title of Prince of Wales although his dates are vague, from 1354 or 1359 to perhaps 1416. In the centuries since his death, so many different legends have accumulated around him. He has become a notable figure in popular culture and a famous military hero, beating the English forces through intelligent strategy and cunning. Like King Arthur he merely sleeps, waiting apparently for the moment when he will rise as the saviour of his homeland.He lived in turbulent times and his life was defined by conflict, leading a revolt against the rule of Henry IV. The rebellion ultimately failed and his last years were shrouded in mystery. He was neither betrayed nor captured and instead faded from view. Where he lived at the end of his life remained a mystery, although today it is generally believed that he lived with his daughter Alys at Monnington Straddel in Herefordshire, perhaps disguised as a friar.The episode which concerns me here comes from the height of the rebellion, in 1402. His cousin Hywel Sele, Lord of Nannau , was a supporter of the English crown. He invited Owain to his estate for what he claimed was to be the cut and thrust of political debate, with a bit of hunting thrown in. However, it appears to have turned into an assassination attempt.The two cousins went out hunting. Hywel Sele raised his bow to shoot a stag, but suddenly turned and fired directly at Owain. Clearly their relationship was not based upon trust on either side, for beneath his clothes Owain had prudently selected a chain mail vest. Owain did not have a particularly forgiving nature...At least that is one version. Another would suggest that as Hywel Sele aimed and turned to follow his target he suddenly discovered that he was aiming unexpectedly straight at Owain. He, well versed in the techniques of self preservation, immediately ran him through with his sword.Either way Hywel Sele was dead. Owain hid his body in the hollow oak tree and made off.Another version has an enraged Glyndwr obviously surviving the assassination attempt and imprisoning Hywel Sele in the tree before burning down his house, which just goes to show you how cross they could be in those days.But whichever version you prefer, they all come back to the idea of the body in the tree. And this legend certainly gave the tree its reputation as a haunted place of evil. Fire was said to hover above it; strange noises could be heard. It was the terror of every peasant for miles around.The family searched for Hywel but could not find him. He remained on the missing list until his skeleton was found inside the tree trunk 40 years later. Hywel Sele might have drifted into obscurity but at least the trees reputation was assured.Of course by the early nineteenth century Derwen Ceubren yr Ellyll was misshapen and ancient, in the last stages of decay. When the oak fell after being hit appropriately by lightning the wood was used to make commemorative items for the coming of age party of Robert Vaughan on 25 June 1824. He was a direct descendant of Hywel Sele and later became 3 Baronet of Nannau. It was quite a party they say, for which the Great White Ox of Nannau was slaughtered and roasted, which is certainly more dramatic than sending out for a pizza. The newspaper, the Salopian Journal said that the air was, resounding with joyful acclamations and that a number of Welsh bards and harpers were in attendance. It was definitely the place to be seen that special June day.At least the ancient tree wasnt just turned into firewood. A nineteenth century text tells us that the items made from the oak were valued by their fortunate possessors...as relics of so venerable and remarkable a parent. If you chose to believe the legends then those objects were made from a living coffin from long ago. It is one of these Ceubren cups that the museum holds.

Dont forget to tune in to IRFT Celtic Radio for 38 hours of music by Welsh artists in celebration of St. David's Day! http://www.irftradio.comlu.com/stdavids.html Starting at Noon (12:00 p.m.) Pacific Standard Time, February 28th, and running until 2 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, March 2nd! Add Your St. David's Day Greeting Here!

Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus/Happy Saint David's Day Check out our St. David's Day USA page for ideas and events to help you mark the occasion. Please feel free to add your St. Davids Day greeting in the comments boxes below:-

Wales Week in NYC
If you love music:

come to Karl Jenkins Carnegie Hall concert

Music Masters of Wales at Carnegie Hall with a premiere ofthe Euphonium Concerto by renown composer Karl Jenkins, and a premiereof Dewi Sant by ArwelHughes. (March 6)

Karl Jenkins: Euphonium Concerto (US Premiere) & SacredSongs (Selections)

Karl Jenkins, Guest Conductor/Composer
David Childs, Euphonium

Arwel Hughes: Dewi Sant (New York Premiere)

Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director & Principal ConductorPennsbury High School Concert Choir & The Pennsbury Community Chorus
James Moyer, Director
Susan Holsonbake, Tenor
Mark Womack, Baritone

Location: 881 7th Ave at 57 ^th St.

Time: 8pm

Price: $20-$100

or come to this tribute:

Its Alec Templeton Time! with Rhian Davies and pianist SimonCrawford-Phillips showcasing and performing the work of the famous blindcomposer-pianist at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Bornin Cardiff, Wales, on July 4, 1909, the blind composer-pianist Alec Templeton wasbrought to America by the bandleader Jack Hylton in the mid 1930s. Templetonsoon had his own weekly radio show Alec Templeton Time sponsored byAlka-Seltzer and relayed coast to coast on the NBC Red Network. Templetontoured widely in America and crossed over to television and film, earning apersonal star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This show combines archive filmfootage, broadcasts and recordings with live performances from SimonCrawford-Phillips of Templetons classical, jazz and blues compositions. (March6)

Location: Bruno Walter Auditorium, 111 Amsterdam Ave., between 64 ^th St. and 65 ^th St.

Time: 3pm

Price: Free

or hear David Enlow's Organ concert

The Organ Works of Cesar Francks Southfield Organ performed byWelsh-Canadian organist David Enlow at Rutgers Presbyterian Church (March 7)

• Grand Piece Symphonique
• Fantaisie in A Major
• Pastorale
• Choral No 1 in E Major

Location: Rutgers Presbyterian Church, 236 West 73 ^rd Street at Broadway

Time: 4pm

Price: Free

,

and if you like poetry:

join Peter Stead on a walking tour of Dylan Thomas Greenwich Village
Meet outside the Church of St. Lukes in the FieldEpiscopalean Church, 487 Hudson Street at the corner of Grove Street

Time: 9.30 11.30 am

Price: $25 (limited space, contact catrin.brace@wales-uk.com

or come see rare photos, letters and poems at the Morgan Library and Museum 2 - 7th March free
Madison Avenue at36th Street, New York, NY 10016

www.walesweekusa.com