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Horizons, the music project from BBC Wales and Arts Council of Wales have announced a tour of Welsh Venues for Independent Venue Week 2021. The Horizons team will be broadcasting sessions from five treasured venues in Wales, from the 25th to the 29th of January.

From the mountain top venue of Neuadd Ogwen in Bethesda to the west coast’s Queen’s Hall in Narberth, from the modern Galeri in Caernarfon, to inner city hubs of Sin City in Swansea and Le Pub in Newport, across five days this tour will take in the breadth of some of Wales's most beloved independent venues, celebrating their crucial role in fostering the next generation of grassroots talent.

Artists performing sessions include emerging Welsh artists of all different genres, those along for the trip include hip hop artist  Mace the Great,  r&b singer  Faith , rock band  Those Damn Crows , urban brother & sister  Leila McKenzie  and  K(e)nz , country singer  Jodie Marie,  alternative self produced songwriter  Rona Mac , low fi enigma  Ennio The Little Brother , a solo performance from Gwilym frontman  Ifan Pritchard , rock duo  Alffa , new female duo  Body Water , and electro pop artist  Malan .

These special sessions are set for broadcast at midday every day with special broadcasts of the sessions across BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru with sessions and mini documentaries about the venues available to view on social media.  

Bethan Elfyn, Project Manager with Horizons for BBC Wales said “ We’ve been watching helplessly as Covid-19 has kept venues and theatres from opening, keeping communities that need each other apart, keeping us from watching, supporting and growing talent in Wales, and keeping us from the benefits of wellbeing and personal growth that music brings to life."

“Independent Venue Week is a chance to celebrate everything about our map of venues around Wales, the maverick producers and promoters behind the venues, and the talent that would normally fill the empty buildings with life. The tour is a celebration of what we have, what we miss, and a nod to the future when we can get back to the community that we’ve missed.”

“ It’s not just a pub, it’s not just a music venue,”  said Sam Dabb, manager of Le Public Space in Newport, and Wales’ representative for Music Venues Trust  “ It’s important to the area, it’s where people meet, and have somewhere to be. It’s important that there’s somewhere for musicians to have a place to start out, but also just somewhere to play music, not for those who want to become huge and tour the world, just somewhere to play music!”

Rona Mac, from Pembrokeshire, said, “ I think independent venues are so important. I played at Queen’s Hall, Narberth years and years ago, when I was starting out. I’ve seen great gigs here like Ben Howard, and Lucy Rose, and at her gig I got up on stage with her to sing and had a little dance!! You wouldn’t get that at a bigger venue. It's also the opportunity to play for artists without labels - and spaces like Queens Hall are just amazing, very special!”

“ I was relying on 2020 to tour my debut album, which wasn’t possible - but there’s been other good things, and thanks to Horizons for setting this up, i’ve loved playing in a different space, with different people today!”

Jodie Marie  agreed with her “ I’ve played here since the age of six in this very hall at Queen’s Hall, and if it wasn’t for these places I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today, performing, recording, and releasing albums!”

Horizons will also have guests performing home sessions, talking about their formative experiences watching or performing shows in treasured Music Venues across Wales, including rock bands  Holding Absence, Funeral For A Friend,  and  Junior .

Horizons are also on the lookout for your stories: what are your favourite Welsh venues? What are your  favourite experiences at music venues? These stories will be shared across Horizons social media throughout Independent Venue Week.

Sessions will be broadcast across the week on  bbc.co.uk/horizons  – at midday every evening a special programme with sessions and mini documentaries about the venues.

The tour has been supported by Creative Wales and BBC Introducing.Gerwyn Evans of Creative Wales said.

‘ At Creative Wales we all love our independent venues and music. We have continued to support our music sector through the past months and are now delighted to support this tour. It is great to see music once again filling our venues with sound even though no crowds can come through the doors yet. Every venue has a great story to tell and we look forward to the successful return of live music as we come out of the pandemic. ‘

Gorwelion: Taith Wythnos Clybiau Cerddorol Annibynnol Cymru: 25 - 29 Ionawr

Mae Gorwelion, cynllun cerddoriaeth BBC Cymru a Chyngor Celfyddydau Cymru yn cyhoeddi taith o amgylch Clybiau Cerddorol Cymru ar gyfer Wythnos Clybiau Annibynnol (Independent Venue Week). Bydd tîm Gorwelion yn darlledu sesiynau o bump lleoliad eiconic i’r sin yng Nghymru, rhwng 25 - 29 Ionawr.

O Neuadd Ogwen yng nghysgod mynyddoed Bethesda i’r Queens Hall, Arberth ar arfordir y gorllewin, o'r Galeri fodern yng Nghaernarfon, i ganolbwyntiau canol dinas Sin City yn Abertawe a Le Pub yng Nghasnewydd, ar draws pum niwrnod bydd y daith hon yn cynnwys rhai o leoliadau annibynnol anwylaf Cymru, gan ddathlu eu rôl hanfodol wrth feithrin y genhedlaeth nesaf o dalent.

Ymhlith yr artistiaid sy'n perfformio sesiynau mae artistiaid Cymreig sy'n dod i'r amlwg o bob genre gwahanol. Mae'r rhai ar y daith yn cynnwys yr artist hip hop Mace the Great, y gantores r&b Faith, y band roc Those Damn Crows, y brawd a'r chwaer wrban ifanc o Abertawe, Leila McKenzie a K (e) nz, cantores canu gwlad Jodie Marie, cyfansoddwr amgen Rona Mac, enigma]  Ennio The Little Brother.Bydd hefyd perfformiadau unigol gan Ifan Pritchard, deuawd roc Alffa, deuawd benywaidd newydd Body Water, ac artist electro pop Malan.

Disgwylir i'r sesiynau arbennig hyn gael eu darlledu ganol dydd bob dydd, gyda darllediadau arbennig o'r sesiynau ar draws BBC Radio Wales a BBC Radio Cymru a 6Music gyda Tom Robinson. A sesiynau a rhaglenni dogfen bach am y lleoliadau ar gael i'w gweld ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol.

Dywedodd Bethan Elfyn, Rheolwr Prosiect Gorwelion “Rydyn ni wedi bod yn gwylio’n ddiymadferth tra fod Covid-19 wedi cadw lleoliadau a theatrau ar gau, gan gadw cymunedau sydd angen ei gilydd ar wahân, gan ein cadw rhag gwylio, cefnogi a thyfu talent yng Nghymru, a'n cadw rhag budd iechyd, lles a thwf personol y mae cerddoriaeth yn dod inni gyd.

“Mae ‘Wythnos Clybiau Annibynnol’ yn gyfle i ddathlu popeth am ein map o leoliadau o amgylch Cymru, y cynhyrchwyr a’r hyrwyddwyr y tu ôl i’r lleoliadau, a’r dalent a fyddai fel rheol yn llenwi’r adeiladau gwag â bywyd. Mae'r daith yn ddathliad o'r hyn sydd gennym, yr hyn yr ydym yn ei golli, ac yn nôd i'r dyfodol pan allwn ddod yn ôl i'r gymuned yr ydym wedi'i cholli. "

“Nid tafarn yn unig mohono, nid lleoliad cerdd yn unig mohono,” meddai Sam Dabb, rheolwr Le Public Space yng Nghasnewydd, a chynrychiolydd Cymru ar gyfer Music Venues Trust “Mae'n bwysig i'r ardal, dyma lle mae pobl yn cwrdd, ac yn cael rhywle i fod. Mae'n bwysig bod yna rywle i gerddorion gael lle i ddechrau, ond hefyd rhywle i chwarae cerddoriaeth, nid mond i'r rhai sydd eisiau bod yn boblogaidd, yn enfawr a theithio'r byd, yn syml rhywle i chwarae a clywed cerddoriaeth!”

Dywedodd Rona Mac, o Sir Benfro, “Rwy’n credu bod lleoliadau annibynnol mor bwysig. Chwaraeais yn Queen’s Hall, Arberth flynyddoedd a blynyddoedd yn ôl, pan oeddwn yn cychwyn. Rwyf wedi gweld gigs gwych yma fel Ben Howard, a Lucy Rose, ac yn ei gig codais ar y llwyfan gyda hi i ganu a downsio! Ni fyddech yn cael hynny mewn lleoliad mwy. Mae hefyd yn gyfle i chwarae - ac mae lleoedd fel Queens Hall yn anhygoel, yn arbennig iawn! ”

“Roeddwn yn dibynnu llynedd ar fynd ar daith hyrwyddo ‘da’r albwm cyntaf, ac doedd hyn ddim yn bosib - ond bu pethau da eraill, a diolch i Gorwelion am sefydlu hyn, roeddwn wrth fy modd yn chwarae mewn gofod gwahanol, gyda gwahanol bobl heddiw!”

Cytunodd Jodie Marie â hi “Rydw i wedi chwarae yma ers yn chwech oed yn yr union neuadd hon yn Queen’s Hall, ac oni bai am y lleoedd hyn ni fyddwn yn gwneud yr hyn rwy'n ei wneud heddiw, gan berfformio, recordio, a rhyddhau albym!”

Bydd gan Gorwelion westeion hefyd yn perfformio sesiynau cartref, yn siarad am eu profiadau yn gwylio neu'n perfformio sioeau mewn theatrau, clybiau a lleoliadau cerddorol ledled Cymru, gan gynnwys bandiau roc Holding Absence, Funeral For A Friend, a Junior.

Mae Gorwelion hefyd yn chwilio am eich straeon: beth yw eich hoff leoliadau cerddorol Cymreig? Beth yw eich hoff brofiadau mewn lleoliadau cerdd? Bydd y straeon hyn yn cael eu rhannu ar draws cyfryngau cymdeithasol trwy gydol ‘Wythnos Clybiau Annibynnol’.

Bydd sesiynau'n cael eu darlledu trwy gydol yr wythnos ar bbc.co.uk/horizons - am hanner dydd bob dydd rhaglen arbennig gyda sesiynau a rhaglenni dogfen byr am y lleoliadau. Fe fydd y sessiynnau hefyd yn cael eu darlledu ar BBC Radio Cymru a BBC Radio Wales, ac ar BBC 6Music efo Tom Robinson [SG4]  .

Cefnogwyd y daith gan Creative Wales a BBC Introducing.

Meddai Gerwyn Evans o Creative Wales,

“Yn Creative Wales rydyn ni i gyd yn caru ein lleoliadau a’n cerddoriaeth annibynnol. Rydym wedi parhau i gefnogi ein sector cerddoriaeth trwy'r misoedd diwethaf ac rydym bellach yn falch iawn o gefnogi'r daith hon. Mae'n wych gweld cerddoriaeth unwaith eto'n llenwi ein lleoliadau â sain er na all unrhyw dyrfaoedd ddod trwy'r drysau eto. Mae gan bob lleoliad stori wych i'w hadrodd ac edrychwn ymlaen at ddychwelyd cerddoriaeth fyw yn llwyddiannus wrth inni ddod allan o'r pandemig.”

Dear        ,

The Senedd is going to debate the petition you signed – “Legislate to prevent people from changing Welsh house names ”.

Senedd Wales Petition 200105

The debate is scheduled for 20 January 2021.

You’ll be able to watch online on Senedd TV

Once the debate has happened, we’ll email you a video and transcript.

Thanks,
The Petitions team
Senedd

You’re receiving this email because you signed this petition: “Legislate to prevent people from changing Welsh house names ”.

Annwyl         ,

Mae’r Senedd yn mynd i drafod y ddeiseb a lofnodwyd gennych – “Deddfu i atal newid enwau Cymraeg tai.”.

Deiseb Senedd Cymru 200105

Mae’r ddadl wedi’i hamserlennu ar gyfer 20 Ionawr 2021.

Gallwch chi wylio’r ddadl ar-lein ar Senedd TV

Ar ôl i’r ddadl ddigwydd, byddwn yn e-bostio fideo a thrawsgrifiad atoch.

Diolch,
Y tîm Deisebau
Senedd

Rydych chi’n derbyn yr e-bost hwn oherwydd i chi lofnodi’r ddeiseb hon: “Deddfu i atal newid enwau Cymraeg tai.”.

Bryn Yemm in India

AmeriCymru: Hi Bryn and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. When did you first start singing  and when did you realise that this was to be your future?

Bryn: As an adopted little boy in Abergavenny Wales the family who took me in were a  Salvation Army family and I spent all my formative years being raised in the Sunday School, Sunday morning and afternoon. So the bands and songsters  awoke in me  a chance to sing. I tried also to learn the cornet, but due to lack of practice I soon lost interest. I was very young and wanted to be down at the river or up the many beautiful mountains  which surrounded my home town of Abergavenny. A t that time singing for a living  was a million miles away..

AmeriCymru: You were born in Brynmawr but currently reside in Abergavenny. How did you come to live in Abergavenny and what musical background did you enjoy there?

Bryn: I was born in Brynmawr , S.Wales  and as I mentioned I was adopted  by Ivor and Marie Yemm who lived in Abergavenny, which was about ten miles away and that's where I ended up. We have maintained our home in Wales until the present but due to some minimal success had homes in Cyprus, earlier years, and the in Florida USA. My musical background was influenced by the Salvation Army Bands.

AmeriCymru:  When did you release your first album and how many have you recorded over the years?

Bryn: By determination and Faith (Mark9 vs 23)  I had my first single (Black is the night)  on Columbia records in the late 60s and my springboard to turning professional  came about by me writing a song to celebrate the Queens Jubilee in 1977. Since then I have recorded many albums, around 15 plus singles and other popular tracks for special events.

AmeriCymru: You met The Beatles in 1963. Care to tell us a little more about this experience?

Bryn: Meeting and hanging out with the Fab Four.(The Beatles)    I built up a solid name for myself in S.Wales and the Beatles came to appear at our local Theatre.The local mayor invited me to the event  and I spent most of the day in the dressing room with all four. Plus met and chatted with the bands Manager Brian Epstein who invited me to to visit him in London. As I had no money I didn't take up the offer.

AmeriCymru: In the course of your long career is there any one song or album that you are particularly proud of, or that stands out for you in some way? 

Bryn: Over the course of my career , after the success of the Jubilee party I was asked by FW Woolworths  UK  if I had an album, so I jumped in without delay to present one. With special help from my lifetime friend Kingsley Ward Of Rockfield studios ,Wales  we produced "Hello Bryn Yemm"  to this day it's one of my favorites, maybe because it was the first album, but over 15 years more followed ,along with  TWO lovely DVD's...MY Tribute from Wales the Land of Song and to my utter delight.. "FOOTSTEPS filmed in ISRAEL....and the other favorite "I'll Fly Away"  an album that features my wife Ann, daughter Tracy and a dear friend ( deceased)  Christina Marlow...one of the UKs top singers ...the girls did all the backing singing and the songs are wonderful. I love it and it holds many great memories.

AmeriCymru: You visited the States in 2003. Care to tell us a little more about that visit? Any plans to return?

Bryn: MY first visit to the USA was an invitation by top Welsh businessman  John James. John and his Father George owned four Casinos in the UK. John invited us to sing at his Daughters wedding in Fort Lauderdale. Of course we loved the experience , and it fuelled our enthusiasm to spend more time in the States. As things progressed  IN 2003  the company in Israel I worked for decided to bring a Cruiseship  from Haifa to Cape Canaveral , being the Entertainment Director for them I was invited  to join the venture and be  Cruise Director and Entertainments manager. After a year we bought a home in Cape Canaveral and loved it. We have now been in the states for twenty years , but never gave up our home there  in Wales were our heart is.

AmeriCymru: What are you working on at the moment? Any new recordings in the works?

Bryn: Thanks to the pandemic, I found myself stranded in Wales, when all work closed down for all of us in America and the U.K. It's been a hard time, but as always I found plenty to do like writing a new book which will be my second and also trying hard to get a new U tube channel together with my friends at Ameri-Cymru  in Portland Oregon. I am planning a new album when we gather the funds to do it maybe in Charleston Carolina, with my friend  Michael Howard's Big Band....hope so.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Bryn: I am very Grateful to Ameri-Cymru  for their help and encouragement especially lovely Gaabriel at their studio. The Ddraig Goch..(the Welsh Dragon ) depicts three things NO four!  The earth, The Sea, The Sky and the speech of the Cymru.. IT leads the Welsh people in an unending  war for the perpetuation  of our language......Join us in lifting up Wales  and inform the world of the great heritage of our country  here and across America...DIolch yn Fawr...God bless Wales...and God Bless America.

Bryn Yemm with Mother Theresa

Many of our readers will be following Welsh Word of the Day on Facebook, Twitter or AmeriCymru. If not, here are the urls:

Facebook

Twitter

AmeriCymru

BUT how do you access older posts? How do you search for older Welsh Word of the Day entries?

Fortunately the Croeseiriau Cymraeg Geiriadur is now fully searchable from this page:

Geiriadur Introduction

When you search a term from this page e.g. peryglus-dangerous (as in the screenshot above) you will be taken to a search results page that looks like this:

Clicking on the links above will take you to the relevant wordcard pages for the linked terms. There is a wordcard for the term 'peryglus' itself ( pictured below)

On the wordcard page you will find a sample sentence, help with pronunciation and links to other wordcards, grammatical resources etc.

Furthermore, on the search results pages, you will find links to other wordcards where the search term has been used in the sample sentence . For example hudolus - magical (see below)

The AmeriCymru Geiriadur enables people to study these terms in a number of different contexts. We believe that providing the opportunity for people to thoroughly familiarise themselves with words and phrases that they search will greatly facilitate a more rapid mastery of the language. The search page is an important milestone in the development of our comprehensive Welsh language course: Croeseiriau Cymraeg .

Mwynhewch / Enjoy

On the 4 ^th  of December HMS Morris will be releasing an EP called ‘Pastille’ - 5 songs recorded and released in 2020. The collection represents a fairly coherent period, when circumstances required a particular mode of composing, producing and being. This EP sums up all the band’s 2020 feels.

‘Pastille’ features an extended version of ‘Partypooper’ and an exclusive track ‘Marshmallow’ and will be available on a Ltd Edition 12” Pastel Blue Vinyl limited to 100 copies – you snooze you lose.

Here’s the story behind Pastille EP, which will be released on December 4th on Bubblewrap Records:

Pastille is a collection of 5 songs we’ve written (or at least finished off) during 2020, and as such is a chronicle of our experience of one of the most significant years in living memory. There’s been plenty of time to think seriously about our life choices, as well as much pondering of superficial silliness. We’ve reacted to political turmoil first with a call to arms, and then with lots and lots of samba-charged escapism.

Even the method of Pastille’s release is a reflection of 2020. This year signifies the end of the old-school music industry, which has been on life support ever since CD sales stopped pumping at the turn of the century. Ever more dependent on touring income, the industry faces a bleak future as the ban on live music events lingers on.

One bright point has been the growing profile and importance of Bandcamp. The platform has long been the most direct way of turning fans’ money into musicians’ lunches, and this year they’ve stepped up their support even further by waiving their fees on the first Friday of every month. It’s in recognition of Bandcamp’s role in the emerging 21st century music industry – and in recognition that we need to eat! – that we are releasing Pastille exclusively as a vinyl package on that platform.

We realize that asking fans to pay directly for our music might seem cheeky, presumptuous, or be annoying for people who already pay a subscription for a streaming service, so we’ve worked hard to make Pastille as special as possible, a package that’s infinitely better than just streaming the tunes.

So thanks in advance for your support, and take care everyone x (Heledd/Sam)

Tracklist: HMS Morris 'Pastille'

01. Partypooper (5:23)
02. Poetry (4:28)
03. Babanod (3:53)
04. Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol (4:05)
05. Marshmallow (3:26)

Pastille EP features an epic extended version of Partypooper, an exclusive track, Marshmallow, and re-mastered versions of Poetry, Babanod and Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol. It comes on a limited edition 12” pastel blue vinyl (download code included), and will be available to pre-order from November 6th on HMS Morris’ bandcamp page:

hmsmorrisband.bandcamp.com/

or direct from Bubblewrap Records:

bubblewrapcollective.co.uk/shop-bubblewrap/

The standard package will include a disk, download code and enamel pin-badge, while the deluxe package also includes a t-shirt. All artwork and merch has been created in collaboration with Ceredigion artist Mari Elin Jones, who generally showcases her creations here:  www.instagram.com/mari.melyn/

It will be available to pre-order alongside some new merchandise on November 6 ^th  from the following websites -  https://hmsmorrisband. bandcamp.com/  &  https://bubblewrapcollective. co.uk/shop-bubblewrap/

All 2020 merch and artwork has been a collaboration between HMS Morris and the artist Mari Elin. We thank her for all her imagination and we thank you for all your support during a turbulent time for artists and makers.

Standard Package – Vinyl, Enamel badge and digital download code, £20.00
Deluxe Package – Vinyl, Enamel badge, T-Shirt and digital download code, £35.00

Gadewch i ni roi terfyn i’r flwyddyn ddomllyd yma gydag ychydig o newyddion da!

Ar Rhagfyr y 4ydd fydd HMS Morris yn rhyddhau eu EP ‘Pastille’ – 5 cân welodd golau dydd yn 2020. Mae’r casgliad yn cynrychioli cyfnod cyson a ddigyfnewid pan oedd amgylchaidau yn gofyn am ffordd go benodol o gyfansoddi, cynhyrchu a bod. Mae’r EP yma yn crynhoi holl deilmladau 2020 y band.

Mae ‘Pastille’ yn cynnwys fersiwn estynedig o ‘Partypooper’ a trac ecsgliwsif o’r enw ‘Marshmallow.’
Fydd yr EP ar gael ar finyl 12’’ glas golau – 100 copi yn unig – peidwich bod yn gysglyd.

Fe fydd ar gael i’w rag-archebu ar y 6ed o Dachwedd yngyd â chrysau-t a bathodynnau o’r gwefannau canlynol -  https://hmsmorrisband. bandcamp.com/  &  https://bubblewrapcollective. co.uk/shop-bubblewrap/

Mae holl waith celf 2020 y band wedi bod yn gyd-weithrediad a’r artist Mari Elin! Diolch iddi am ei holl dychymyg a diolch i chi i gyd am eich cyfnogaeth yn ystod cyfnod go gythryblys i artistiaid a gweithwyr creadigol.

Pecyn Sylfaenol – Vinyl, Bathodyn enamel a côd lawrlwytho, £20.00
Pecyn Ffansi – Vinyl, Bathodyn enamel, crys t a côd lawrlwytho, £35.00