Blogs

HOMES FOR SALE IN ARIZONA As an aging Taff, well I'm not really that old, though I do refer to the pic displayed as my " World War TWO" pic. I wanted to remind you fellow Taffies and the like, of the amazing deals available in ARIZONA, the land of the sun. Having long since left my London entertainment career behind, I have been a Realtor here in the Phoenix, Az. valley for the past 13 years. These past two years have been hell for many, people finding that they owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth, often a drop of 50% or more in the value in their homes. Foreclosures have been rampant, the angry inhabitants sometimes inflicting heavy damage on their property before departing, ripping out appliances, pouring concrete down the toilets, kicking holes in the walls, spray painting walls and ceilings, causing 1000's of dollars worth of damage. However, these examples are extreme, not all these homes suffer the same fate, but equally important, THERE IS A SILVER LINING. All these homes will be, and are being sold at hitherto ridiculously low prices, and people seeking new homes will benefit as will the investors pouring into the state. One of my clients is seeking to relocate to the east side of the Phoenix valley, their maximum purchase price being $500K, and we have been touring wealthy custom estates where houses originally around $1.2 million are selling for the $500K range. Wow! To my clients, it has really been an eye opener. As a contrast, I had never previously sold a house here for less than $125K, but recently I had a call from a landscaper who said he had $15K which he wanted to invest in a rental property. On searching, I was astounded to find the number of homes in the valley selling for under $20K, admittedly not custom built, but nevertheless houses which, thoughtfully chosen, and given a little work and TLC, could provide decent homes for people. I'm originally from the little coal mining village of Blackwood, Monmouthshire (now Gwent) in South Wales, my real name being RAYMOND WILLIAM GODFREY, the name Byron being adopted when I decided to enter show/music business in 1963. I would welcome comments or communications from anyone who can relate to the valleys, not necessarily seeking homes for sale in Arizona. Anyone remotely interested in buying property can find a wealth of real estate information on the homepage of my website www.ByronTheBritAzHomes.com with preset search links to property in most towns in Arizona. To better identify me, there is also a link to my PERSONAL and BUSINESS PROFILE on the homepage too, a profile which is SURE TO SURPRISE YOU.

Gmail is down at the moment. It is a known issue and this page has more information:- http://www.google.com/appsstatus#rm=1&di=1&hl=en

Bore Da - Google translate goes WelshGoogle Translate now in 51 languages1 September 2009 9:09 GMT / By Stuart MilesGoogle has added Welsh to the list of languages that you can now translate giving you plenty of ways to prepare insults and decode signs when you head over the Seven bridge into Cardiff for the next game at the Millennium stadium.According to the Mountain View based company Google Translate now boasts 51 languages.New to the mixing pot this week are a further nine new languages including Afrikaans, Belarusian, Icelandic, Irish, Macedonian, Malay, Swahili, Welsh and Yiddish.But before you go and try and convince that job interviewer that you are fluent in Welsh or even English, the company admits that "the translation quality of these newest languages is still a little rough, but it will improve over time."Google says it hopes to integrate Google Translate into some of our other products although fails to mention what those products are in the blog post announcing the new offerings.The full list now includes:AfrikaansAlbanianArabicBelarusianBulgarianCatalanChineseCroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGermanGreekHebrewHindiHungarianIcelandicIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseKoreanLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalayMalteseNorwegianPersianPolishPortugueseRomanianRussianSerbianSlovakSlovenianSpanishSwahiliSwedishThaiTurkishUkrainianVietnameseWelshYiddish

* Sunny Spells with only patchy cloud* 15C - 19 kph windUpdated 9:48am 1 September 2009:Welcome bynwaltersYour account | Log outTom Jones to play gig in a pubSep 1 2009 by Nathan Bevan, South Wales EchoComment (1)Recommended (1)ITS not unusual for Tom Jones to enjoy a pint of Guinness so much so hes going straight to the source by playing a gig in a Dublin pub.The Pontypridd singing legend announced the low-key September 24 show, so hush-hush that the location of it wont be revealed until minutes before its to due to start, to mark the 250th anniversary of the world-famous Irish stout.Well, you know, Im Welsh and its a Dublin pub its a perfect fit, said Jones, speaking from his Las Vegas hotel suite.And I enjoy a pint of Guinness myself, although I hope I dont consume too much of it before I start singing, he joked.The 69-year-old Voice Of The Valleys added that he was relishing the idea of getting back to up close and personal with his fans and playing an intimate venue more reminiscent of his club circuit beginnings.Sometimes, to be musically stripped down like that is really good, he said.Some people are scared of it, they cant perform unless they have a full-blown sound system, musicians and all the business they get thrown.But if you love to sing, or perform, then sometimes its good to go into areas like that.Its certainly a marked difference from having stormed the stage at Glastonbury earlier this summer in front of more than 100,000 screaming revellers.Whether youre in front of a dozen people, or thousands, you still have to put on your best performance, Jones added.Glastonbury was great, though, they were all shouting, We want Tom, We want Tom before I came on and the Red Dragon was flying high and so was I.And despite all the glitz and the glamour of his jet-setting Beverly Hills lifestyle, Jones added hes never forgotten his homeland.Ive always been a working-class person, he said.Ive never forgotten where I come from and Im proud of it.I loved singing in the clubs in Wales and only went to London to record because I couldnt make enough money gigging at home to turn professional, added Jones.But I had a ball there at home.Comment (1)Add a commentReport item as: (required) XComment: (optional)User Imagebynwalters wrote:I'm from Merthyr, same culture as Ponty, he can come and play in my pub; I can pay him 250 euros to start and pass the hat around for the rest; I can guarantee 50 to 70 people at the bar with the windows open so the people on the terrace can hear it as well.I can't serve him Guinness but I have 'Coreff* Stout' which is smoother and not so bitter, brewed by local boys and not multinational multi-millionaire financiers/industrialists.The address is 'Tavarn Ty Elise, 29690 Plouye, Finistere, Brittany, Tel: 33(0)298999644bynwalters@libertysurf.frhttp://bynbrynman.ning.comhttp://crwtynrhifnaw.blogspot.com* Coreff is the North Breton form of Cwrw (Beer)1/9/2009 12:13 PM BST on walesonline.co.ukRecommend

Google heard you! They have now added Welsh to the Google Translate product: Read the full article here Hopefully they will continue and add it to the rest of their products!

2010 sees the 40th anniversary of the InterCeltic Festival at Lorient on the 6th to the 15th Aug.; l'anne de la Bretagne

Home > Lehigh Valley News > Breaking NewsFire in historic Welsh church in LansfordThe Morning Call6:43 a.m. EDT, August 31, 2009Firefighters in Carbon County are on the scene of a working fire in an historic church in Lansford this morning.The fire was reported around 5:05 a.m. in the old Welsh Congregational Church in the 200 block of W. Abbott Street at Pine Street.Fire companies from Lansford, Summit Hill, Tamaqua, Nesquehoning and Coaldale are on scene, the Carbon County Communications Center said. Initial reports indicate damage may have been contained to the interior and is under control, but fire crews are expected to remain on scene for several hours. Most streets in the area of the church are blocked with fire equipment.It is the oldest Welsh church in the region, founded by coal miners who settled in the Ashton section of Lansford in the 1800s. The church has not been used for services since the 1930s, but it is considered one of the Panther Valley's historic treasures. It was restored in the 1980s and received a state historical marker in the 1990s.The building, constructed with land and lumber donated by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., was dedicated Dec. 26, 1850 as the Old Welsh Church. It became the First Congregational Church of Ashton in 1854 and later the English Congregational Church of Lansford to reflect a change from Welsh to English language services.The Welsh Congregational Church Preservation Society re-dedicated the church in 1985 following the restoration, which was completed by the return of the original lectern and altar chair. - Reporting by Tracy Jordan, The Morning Call*The Morning Call, 101 North Sixth Street, Allentown, PA 18101

I am from Dowlais and I've just discovered that there is a residential area of Rockville named Dowlais Drive: how did this come about? Dowlais had the largest ironworks in the world, with many of the workers moving to Pittsburgh for higher wages, also Donetsk in the Ukraine was founde by the Dowlais engineer John Hughes who was invited by the Tsar to build a works there, it was originally called Yuzovka before it's subsequent re-baptism to Stalino, but Maryland ?

Right back from the Left Coast Eisteddfod, John Good of Oceans Apart talks about his music and the group. It's an extended interview and includes two tracks by Oceans Apart. Lots of ways of listening:- straight from my website - by iTunes subscription - from the Spoken Word website If you are a windoze user you may have to install the Quicktime player for some of the links (it's free).Enjoy (and all the other Welsh and Local music that's in my regular show - all on podcasts.)