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The Reverend John Jenkins (Ifor Ceri) parson of Ceri, Montgomeryshire is regarded as the founder of the provincial eisteddfod.

On 8th and 9th July 1819, an eisteddfod was held at the Ivy Bush inn, Carmarthen.  It was organised by Jenkins and Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David's, intending  "to make an attempt to rekindle the bardic skill and ingenuity of the principality ... by holding eisteddfodau in different places in the four provinces".  It is seen by many as the fore-runner of the modern eisteddfod.

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The first ever cricket test match played in Wales.

The match took place at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff on 8 July 2009. England elected to bat first, having won the toss, with Andrew Strauss having the honour of scoring the first ever test runs at this venue. Ben Hilfenhaus took the first wicket. The match was eventually drawn.

The SWALEC Stadium has hosted home matches for Glamorgan County Cricket Club since 24 May 1967 after the club moved from Cardiff Arms Park. A lease of 125 years was granted in 1995, with the previous leaseholders, Cardiff Athletic Club, moving to the Diamond Ground in Whitchurch. 

Neil Jenkins was born on 8th July 1971 in Church Village near Pontypridd. 

Neil is a former Welsh rugby union internationaland was one of the Wales coaches accompanying the latest British Lions tour of Australia. He played full back, fly- half or centre- half for Celtic Warriors, Pontypridd, Cardiff, Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

Jenkins is one of Wales' highest ever points scorer and is among the highest on the List of leading Rugby union Test point scorers. He was the first player ever to reach a total score of 1,000 points in international rugby matches.

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On 8th July 2007 at Cefn Coch in Mid Wales, more than 150 protestors, led by naturalist David Bellamy, registered their disapproval of the proposed construction of a wind farm in the area. 

The ongoing debate about wind farming has divided opinion throughout Wales.  Pro wind energy supporters stress the contribution that carbon dioxide emissions make to climate change, and deplore the damage caused by our reliance in the UK on large centralised power plants fuelled by natural gas, coal and nuclear energy.  They claim that up to 2000 jobs could be created by harnessing wind energy, with £2bn injected into the Welsh economy.  Anti-wind farm groups in Wales object on the grounds of potential damage to the immediate environment - noise pollution, the disturbance of wildlife habitations, the negative impact on tourism and on the aesthetic appearance of the landscape.

Eve Myles (born 8 July 1978 in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley) is an award-winning Welsh actress.

Her best known role is as Gwen Cooper in the Doctor Who inspired drama Torchwood. She also played Ceri Owen in the BBC Wales drama Belonging and was Lady Helen of Mora in the BBC fantasy series Merlin. She starred in the TV drama Frankie, and more recently in the popular television drama series Broadchurch.

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On 8th July 1557, a bequest in the will of Geoffrey Glyn resulted in the establishment of Ysgol Friars (Friars School), Bangor, which is among the oldest secondary schools in Wales. Geoffrey Glyn was originally from Anglesey and had enjoyed a successful career in Law in London. In 1538 , he acquired the grounds and building of the 13th-century friary belonging to the  Dominican Order following the Dissolution of the Monasteries.The school was inaugurated and formally recognised in 1561 by Elizabeth I. It was originally  known as 'The free grammar school of Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws',  but because of its association  with the Dominican Black Friars, the school was later renamed as "Friars School". The school was financed by the legacies  left by Geoffrey Glyn and other benefactors. It existed within the boundaries of the old friary, near the banks of the River Adda for more than two hundred years.

The school was transferred to a different location, further from the river, in 1789 and was then moved in 1900 to  Ffriddoedd Road. In 1971, in a drastic education authority reorganisation, three schools were amalgamated: Friars School, Bangor County School for Girls and Deiniol School. These combined to form a new comprehensive school, under the Friars name, but on three different sites. The entire three-part comprehensive  school was relocated to a new permanent location, Eithinog, in 1999. 

In July 1795, Ezekiel Hughes and his cousin Edward Bebb left Llanbrynmair on foot, bound for Philadelphia.  It is believed that they were the first Welshmen to settle in Ohio.  

For over two hundred years, Ezekiel's family had lived on a large farm leased from Sir Watkin Williams Wynne. When his brother, inherited all the real estate, and continued to live on the farm, Ezekiel, who had received a good education in Shrewsbury and been apprenticed to a clockmaker and jeweller in Machynlleth, decided to visit America, with a view of purchasing a large tract of land, and making it his home.  With his cousin Edward Bebb, he gathered together a group of like minded people and in July 1795 they left Llanbrynmair on foot headed for Bristol, from where they would set sail. 

The journey began with the men having to avoid a Press Gang in Carmarthen before continuing to Bristol and when their families followed later, they sailed on the Maria on6 August 1795.  After a tedious and tempestuous voyage of thirteen weeks, they arrived in Philadelphia harbour on Sunday, 25th October.  Ezekiel and Edward decided to stay in Philadelphia over winter and headed west in the spring.  Within three months they had arrived in the unbroken wilds of the Miami Valley near Cincinnati (pictured) where they subsisted by hunting and fishing and building a cabin, clearing the land and growing potatoes, turnip and corn.

When the Government started to sell land in west Ohio in 1801, Ezekiel bought two parcels of fertile land not far from Paddy's Run in Whitewater Township.   Ezekiel returned to Wales in 1802, publicising the news that there was plentiful fertile land in the United States. He parcelled much of the good acreage  he had purchased into farmsteads and small holdings and leased them on very reasonable terms.  He was highly respected  by his tenants for his generosity, his wisdom and his fairness. He protected the interests of his compatriots from Wales who had followed him to America. He did his best to find work for them and even lent them money in order to buy land or livestock and tools.

Ezekiel Hughes won the respect of the people of Ohio, to the extent that in 1805, he was appointed to be responsible for the design of a new highway running between the river Miami to the town of Hamilton.  The following year, he was made a magistrate and was one of the founders of the Congregational Church in Paddy's Run. Ezekiel Hughes died on 2 September 1849. 

The main AmeriCymru page on Facebook is has recently changed its name from AmeriCymru - Left Coast Eisteddfod to Ameri Cymru - West Coast Eisteddfod and is growing rapidly. Help us reach the 2000 members mark this week!!!

Join Ameri Cymru - West Coast Eisteddfod here:-

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Owain Glyn Dwr Centre, Machynlleth

As an author of a book on Glyn Dwr, I am especially disappointed to hear that the Owain Glyn Dwr visitor centre at Machynlleth - the town in south Powys most associated with the great man - is suffering from low visitor numbers and a perceived lack of support putting it in peril of closure. Closing it would be short-sighted: visitor numbers have been down across all visitor attractions due, I'd say, mostly to the very poor weather we've suffered from recently; and an Owain Glyn Dwr tourism initiative has only just been put in train by the WAG that needs a place like the centre to help keep it focused and properly informed. It's recent refurbishment has made it an attractive as well as informative and historic place to visit. I'd urge anyone visiting that corner of mid-Wales to pay it a visit and see for themselves how Glyn Dwr and his campaign has shaped the nature of modern Wales.

Opened on 7th July 1948, Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, the National Museum of Wales, at St Fagans on the outskirts of Cardiff.

St Fagans is among the most popular open-air museums in Europe and is the most visited heritage attraction in Wales. It is situated in the manicured grounds of St Fagans Castle. The castle itself is a late 16th-century manor house which was donated to the people of Wales by the Earl of Plymouth. Since the museum's inauguration more than sixty years ago, in excess of forty original buildings from various historical periods have been reconstructed in the castle's 100 acre area of parkland.

These buildings include a farm, a chapel, a church, a school, and a  Workmen's Institute. Visitors can also see a variety of workshops where traditional craftsmen demonstrate their skills. The objects of their craftsmanship are usually on sale. Welsh breeds of livestock are raised in the farmyards and fields, and ancient farmyard tasks are demonstrated every day. Visitors can gain an understanding of the unique culture and heritage of Wales, and can also hear the Welsh language being used by staff, craftsmen and interpreters. There are many galleries exhibiting artefacts from daily life, farming and costume from various periods in Welsh history.

Throughout the year traditional festivals, including music and dance, are celebrated, providing insight and pleasure to generations of visitors who are interested in the language, culture and history of Wales.

During the First Battle of the Somme, one of the most brutal battles of the First World War, the 38th (Welsh) Division was given the job of attacking Mametz Wood on 7th July 1916 but were forced to retreat because of the intensity of German machine gun fire from the wood.

They were ordered to regroup and attack for a second time on the 10th July and succeeded in reaching the wood. By the 12th July, the Germans and their machine guns had been cleared out of the woods but the Welsh Division had lost more than 4,000 men. 

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Born 7th July 1941 in Gorseinon, near Swansea, Michael Howard, politician.

He is widely remembered for not answering the same question 12 times by Jeremy Paxman during a 1997 edition of Newsnight, and for Ann Widdecombe's claim that "there is something of the night about him." 

Before he entered Parliament, Michael Howard was a barrister, specialising in Town and Country Planning.  He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1982 and entered Parliament as the Member for Folkestone and Hythe the following year. He was appointed Minister for the City in 1985 and in 1990 he entered the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Employment.  In 1992, he became Secretary of State for the Environment and succeeded in persuading the Administration of George Bush Snr to sign up to the Climate Change Convention, the forerunner of the Kyoto Agreement.  From 1993 to 1997 he was Home Secretary during which time David Cameron worked as one of his Special Advisers.

After the 1997 election, he served as Shadow Foreign Secretary.  Between 2001 and 2003 he was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and in 2003 was elected unopposed as Leader of the Opposition.  He was named Parliamentarian of the Year in 2003 and went on to take part in many memorable encounters with Tony Blair at Prime Minister’s Questions.   He led the Conservative Party in the 2005 election, after which he announced his decision to resign the leadership and was succeeded by David Cameron in December 2005.

Steve  Brace, born on 7th July 1961 in Bridgend, is a former Welsh long-distance runner.

He represented the United Kingdom in the men's marathon at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing in 27th and 60th place respectively. Brace was successful in the Paris Marathon in 1989 and 1990, and also triumphed in the Berlin Marathon in 1991.

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Glyndwr takes Carmarthen on 6th July 1403.

Owain Glyndwr, since being proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers, had been a thorn in the flesh of Henry IV of England.  However, until 1403 Owain's success had been confined to North Wales, where, along with his Tudur cousins, he had captured or destroyed several Anglo-Norman strongholds such as Ruthin, Conwy and Welshpool.  Owain had thwarted Henry's counter-attacks, captured his son's baggage train and in 1401 had achieved a major victory at the battle of Mynydd Hyddgen. 

During 1402, Glyndwr's forces had gone from strength to strength, capturing and ransoming his arch-rival Reginald de Grey in April and defeating and capturing Edmund Mortimer at the battle of Pilleth on Bryn Glas hill near Presteigne in June. This represented a significant advance into Mid Wales.  An alliance with the Mortimer family, sealed by marriage to Owain's daughter, posed an increased threat to Henry IV's power.  However, it was in July 1403 that Owain Glyndwr truly swept to power throughout Wales. His advance through his mother's homeland of Deheubarth, down the Tywi Valley secured the strongholds of Dryslwyn, Newcastle Emlyn and on 6th July, following a short siege, Carmarthen.  With his army now 8000 strong, and with hundreds of Welsh archers and experienced men-at-arms defecting from Henry's army to swell Glyndwr's ranks, this could be said to represent the almost total collapse of English rule in Wales at that time. 

Wales welcomes the World to the Llangollen Musical Eisteddfod.

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales.

Performers from different countries around the world participate in high quality competitions which are followed in the evening by concerts, where the competition winners and most enchanting competitors perform on the Eisteddfod stage alongside professional artists.  Approximately five thousand instrumentalists, dancers and singers from many different  countries perform to audiences numbering over 50,000 during the week-long event. World renowned performers at Llangollen have included in the past Luciano Pavarotti (who competed for the first time in 1955 along with his father and a local choir from their home in Modena, Italy). Julian Lloyd Webber has graced the Llangollen stage, as has Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

The Gala Concert on the final Sunday has featured Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins, Bryn Terfel, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and James Galway.

Glamorgan CCC was formed on 6 July 1888 at a meeting in the Angel Hotel, Cardiff.

Cricket was probably first played in Wales by the end of the 17th century. The earliest known occurrence of the game of cricket in the county of Glamorgan is found in a reference to a match at Swansea in 1780.

The club competed in the Minor Counties Championship for many years and then applied for first-class status after the First World War, playing its inaugural first-class match  against Sussex CCC at Cardiff Arms Park on 18, 19 & 20 May 1921, a match that Glamorgan won.

*  Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county clubs and the only Welsh one, playing cricket in England and Wales.

*  Glamorgan CCC have won the English County Championship competition 3 times;  in 1948, 1969 and 1997.

*  Glamorgan have also beaten all of the major Test playing nations.

*  The club is based in Cardiff and plays most of its home games at the SWALEC Stadium in Sophia Gardens, however, matches are occasionally played at Swansea, Cresselly and Colwyn Bay.

*  Glamorgan's all-time top run scorer is Alan Jones with 34,056 runs.

*  Glamorgan's all-time top wicket taker is Don Sheppard with 2,174 wickets.

Born this day 1736 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey (All four of his grandparents were Welsh immigrants who lived in Pennsylvania).  Picture shows the formal surrender of  General Burgoyne to General Gates, Daniel Morgan dressed in white stands proudly in the foreground.

Daniel Morgan  - American soldier, who distinguished himself in major American Revolutionary War battles.

Daniel Morgan was a wild character; lecherous, a drunkard, fond of women and fighting, and allegedly a horse thief. However, it is possible that without him, the American Revolution would not have succeeded. He was brave in battle and was adept at leading untrained troops. he was tactically cunning and calm under fire.
Morgan argued with his father and left home at a young age, never to return. He moved to the wilds of Northwestern Virginia, where despite his disrepute, he became well known for his loyalty, toughness and fearlessness in defending the 'wild frontier'.

Morgan was a big, powerful man, with unstinting courage and stamina. His prowess in frontier tactics such as marksmanship and guerrilla-style skirmishes made him a valuable asset in the conflict between British and American forces.

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On 6 July 1843 the Bolgoed tollgate on the outskirts of Pontarddulais was attacked and destroyed by a group of some 200 men, during the final stages of the Rebecca Riots

The Rebecca riots took place between 1839 and 1843, in the rural parts of west Wales, mostly in Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, and Carmarthenshire, they were a series of protests made mostly by tenant farmers against the payment of tolls to use the roads, but many other 'Rebecca' incidents were about general economic conditions. During the riots, men disguised as women attacked the tollgates. They called themselves 'Rebecca and her daughters', most likely referring to a passage in the Bible where Rebecca talks of the need to 'possess the gates of those who hate them'

The 1830's, the period leading up to riots were turbulent times. The population of the rural areas of Wales had doubled in the century before the riots and it was hard for them all to gain a livelihood. The common lands which were once available for the use of all the people in a village were now enclosed and had become the property of the big estates, they were leased out to farmers for rents out of proportion to what they could earn from their produce. On top of this farmers also had to pay tithes (a tenth of all their produce each year) to the church, to support the local church (even though most people in Wales were non -conformist). As a result of this, it was inevitable that farm labourers wages were low and if you did not have enough money to support yourself you were split from your family and put into one of the new workhouses, where conditions were worse than for the worst paid labourer outside. The last straw was the toll gate system, roads were especially bad in Wales and to remedy this, the government established turnpike trusts, which were made up of trustees (usually local businessmen and landowners) who were responsible for maintaining the roads, to fund this they were allowed to erect toll gates and collect charges from road users. Farmers were especially hard-hit by this as they used the roads to transport produce and lime to improve the soil.

Then in 1842-3, economic conditions got even worse and the outbreaks swept through the three counties. Soon not a single toll gate was standing. The government sent in troops to try to prevent the outbreaks but they were ineffective and were often sent on wild goose chases.  In the end, the government had to modify the toll gate system and amend the poor law and gradually economic conditions improved. 

Today is the feast day of Saint Erfyl.

Saint Erfyl c. 500 - was a female Welsh virgin who founded a church at Llanerfyl in Powys. 

There is an unusual inscribed stone at Llanerfyl Church, which seems to be a sub-Roman memorial stone dating from the 5th or 6th century. The inscription, in horizontal Roman capitals,  commemorates the 13 year old daughter of Paterninus, Rustica.

Born on this day 1913 in Cwm Rhondda, Glamorgan

"I was born in 1913, the following year was even worse"

Gwyn Thomas   was one of the foremost Welsh writers of the 20th century. He wrote novels and short stories, plays for radio and stage, and was also a scriptwriter and presenter for television, as well as a much-loved columnist in Punch. He has been called 'the true voice of the English-speaking valleys'.  Once described as 'the greatest talker in the world' he was the veteran entertainer of The Brains Trust and Tonight and is also remembered for his empathetic commentary in a moving programme on the Aberfan disaster.

A former schoolmaster turned novelist turned programme maker, Thomas's  included among his friends Richard Burton, Stanley Baker, Sam Wannamaker and Donald Houston. Yet beyond the world of celebrity, he was a writer passionately committed to a humane socialism, most of whose work, novels, stories, plays, are set in or informed by his native Rhondda valley. Writing about the appalling poverty he and his fellow south Walians suffered during his early years, Thomas was inspired by his community and chose not bitter despair, but humour in the face of adversity.

The Battle of Aqaba was fought on 6th July 1917 for possession of  the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Under the leadership of Auda ibu Tayi and advised by T.E Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), the advancing forces of the Arab Revolt were victorious over the Turkish defenders.

The capture of Aqaba helped to re-establish vital supply lines between Egypt and the Arab and British forces stationed further north in Jordan and Greater Palestine.  More importantly, control of Aqaba reduced  the threat of a Turkish offensive onto the strategically important Suez Canal.  Aqaba was subsequently transferred to the British protectorate of Transjordan in 1925. 

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by the charming and generous host of the new literary YouTube channel BookView TV, Denis Campbell.

The interview took place on Skype, with me in my studio , and Denis in his, making it very easy.

I talk about the genesis of my HarperCollins YA novel and planned series Hybrids; the characters, like Johnny Online, Kestrella Chu and their parents, Malcolm Winter and the Gene Police; what the novel means to me; the process of writing; and my hopes for the future of the series and a television/film project.

It's in three parts:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

If you happen to be in the Pacific North West this autumn, come and see me at WORDSTOCK, Oregon Convention Center Portland - October 5th/6th
Good times guaranteed!

The National Health Service was created on July 5th 1948, an embodiment of the ideal that quality healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth or social status.

On the day that Aneurin Bevan, as Health Secretary, opened Park Hospital in Manchester it was the fulfilment of an enormously inspirational dream  to bring good healthcare to every Individual in the UK. For the first time in British history, the provision of doctors, nurses dentists, pharmacists, opticians and hospitals was brought under the auspices of a single organisation that was ' free for all at the point of delivery.'

The underlying philosophy was clear: the health service was intended to be freely available to everyone. It was to be financed in its entirety  from public taxation, which meant that everyone contributed to it directly from their salary and according to their means.  It was Aneurin Bevan's most famous achievement as Minister of Health , it was he who initiated it's establishment and he tendered his resignation when a subsequent government proposed to charge patients for eyeglasses and dentures. 

Today is the feast day of Saint Cenydd

Born in 525, Saint Cenydd  was a prince of Breton origin, born allegedly from an incestuous union,  at Lougher on the Gower Peninsula near the modern city of Swansea.

He was born with a physical disability, and as was customary at the time, was cast into the river on the orders of his father, Deroch. According to legend, he was baptised by a local priest before being placed in a willow basket and set adrift in the River Lliw, a stream which joins Afon Llwchwr ( Lougher River) before reaching the open sea. The story is that a sudden storm swept the makeshift cradle towards the Worm's Head promontory, Ynys Weryn, where the waves carried it onto a beach, where a flock of seagulls miraculously carried the child to a place of safety where they used their breast feathers to make a warm nest for him. The seagulls used their wings to protect the baby from the harsh elements until he was eventually discovered and adopted by a childless fisherman and his wife.

In adult life Cenydd chose to be a hermit, with only a dishonest servant as his companion whose unreliability was evident when he stole a spear from one of a party of brigands who had been offered hospitality by Cenydd. The servant escaped to the rocky outcrops around St Davids, where he lived like an animal, completely covered in bodily hair. For seven years Cenydd  prayed for his servant's well-being, and the man eventually returned in penitent humility to his master. It is claimed that in 545 Saint David cured Cenydd of his disability while on a journey to the Synod of Brefi but Cenydd chose to remain as God had intended him and begged David to restore his disability.

Cenydd's feast day is celebrated on 5th July (colloquially referred to as his 'Mapsant day', from the Welsh words 'sant' - holy, and 'mab' - son) The day was traditionally noted by displaying an effigy of a bird from a pole on the church tower. This was intended to represent the seagulls from the legend who rescued the infant Cenydd from the waves. A dish similar to bread and butter pudding called 'whitepot', made from dried fruit, milk, sugar and flour was also consumed  to mark the occasion.

Born this day 1755 in  the "Shoulder of Mutton" public-house (now called the Sarah Siddons), Brecon.

Sarah Siddons - best-known tragic actress of the 18th century.

Sarah was the eldest of 12 siblings born to Roger and Sarah Kemble, a couple who were actor-managers to a popular company of traveling players. She received a surprisingly broad education as a result of her mother's insistence on her attending school in the towns visited by the company.  In her teens, she fell in love with and married, despite the initial disapproval of her parents, William Siddons, who was an actor in her father's troupe.  

By 1774 she was assuming leading acting roles, and in 1777, she joined the company on a provincial acting tour. her reputation as an accomplished actress grew over the next six years, especially in the provincial capitals such as York and Bath. When she made her first appearance on the London stage at Drury Lane in 1782 she was hailed as a 'sensation'. This sparkling debut was the beginning of a twenty year career in which she was recognised as the 'queen of Drury Lane'. Her status as a contemporary celebrity has been called both"mythical" and "monumental," and by 1785, Sarah Siddons reputation was considered iconic.

She was most renowned for her presentation of Lady Macbeth,  a role which ideally suited her range of talent. She was, apparently, a tall and very striking beauty, with extraordinarily expressive eyes and a dignified demeanour, which enhanced and enriched her portrayal of tragic female characters, particularly Lady Macbeth.

Many anecdotes testify to the power she had over her audiences. Once, while playing Aphasia in Tamburlaine, in the scene where she sees her lover strangled in front of her, her cries of agony as she fell lifeless on  the stage were so convincing that the audience believed she was actually  dead, and it took the intervention  of the theatre manager to persuade them that her collapse was make-believe!  During another performance, a member of the audience became so involved with the acting that he experienced breathing difficulties and went into paroxysms.

In 1802 she left Drury Lane and made occasional appearances at Covent Garden, where on 29 June 1812, that she gave her final public performance, aptly in her famous role of Lady Macbeth. At the end of the 'sleepwalking' scene, the applause from the audience was so intense and prolonged that the play could not continue. When the curtain eventually reopened it was to Sarah Siddons in her own clothes, no longer in the costume of her stage character. She delivered a highly emotional speech of farewell which lasted for eight minutes before the curtain closed on her for the final time.

Born this day 1934 in Merthyr Tydfil.

Philip Madoc - Actor.

Perhaps his most famous role was as the title character in the BBC Wales drama "The Life and Times of David Lloyd George". However, he had already achieved public acclaim in two television serials, firstly in 1969 as SS Officer Lutzig in the popular WW2 serial "Manhunt", and again in 1971 taking the role of the brutal Huron warrior Magua in a televised series of "The Last of the Mohicans". His acting style in both roles featured an understated, restrained sense of menace which was much more effective  than obvious aggression.

He revisited the character of Lutzig later in his career in an episode of the popular television comedy series Dad's Army, "The Deadly Attachment", where Madoc played a U-boat Captain held prisoner by the  Home Guard's Walmington-on-Sea platoon. His performance, alongside seasoned and experienced comedy actors, was considered masterly.

On 5th July 1952, six miners were killed in a mining accident at Point of Ayr colliery in Flintshire. 
 
Point of Ayr ( Y Parlwr Du) is the northernmost point of mainland Wales, ands sits on the estuary of the river Dee. There had been a colliery at Point of Ayr for many years, situated at the northern edge of the Flintshire Coalfield, and it was to become  one of the last deep mines operating in Wales.

The initial exploratory mining took place in 1865, under the direction of Lord Mostyn, owner of the Mostyn Colliery which was several miles away. The results were promising and the Prestatyn Coal Company was consequently established to find a viable seam Unfortunately the project was abandoned before a rich enough seam was found. Less than ten years later, further investigative borings  by a different company, the Western Mostyn Colliery again proved unviable, and it was not until 1890 that a third company, the Point of Ayr Colliery Company struck a viable seam.

Coal  was brought to the surface by a team of pit ponies at this time, and soon a second shaft was sunk. By 1896, 356 men were employed here, producing coal for both industrial and domestic purposes.  According to the Inspector of Mines records, in 1896 the pit employed 356 men producing coal for domestic and industrial uses. After the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947, the mine was operated  by the National Coal Board, which sunk a third shaft which meant that the underground workings extended into the Irish Sea. By 1953, 738 men were employed here, producing 213,000 tons of coal each year. Point of Ayr colliery eventually closed on 23 August 1996

Focal View Digital ePublishing welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with Americymru because we have a shared aim to bring people together and find ways to make the most of interests and skills.

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Focal View

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Focal View aims to support creative photography of all levels through training, competitions, e-publishing collections and books, portfolio presentation and profitable collaboration with writers and poets.

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Who is Focal View?

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We are a business partnership with many years of combined experience

Brian has a long background in advertising and professional photography, is a member of the Royal Photographic Society, a photography tutor and also an international competition judge.

Adrian is a teacher trainer, ex-head teacher, environmental educationalist and computing trainer. He creates and manages the web-site, digital publishing and presentation of work.

Together, we have found a way to support all those with a passion for the creative image and to present their developing expertise to the world. We have a special aim to make pictures work. We do this by finding photographers through the competitions we run and judge, presenting photography through eBooks and portfolios and then going the extra distance to promote new authors work and then going on to find the opportunities for them to collaborate commercially with writers and poets.

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Now with Americymru

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We have the ideal opportunity to promote new authors and photographers together.

ETO brings together new writers and poets in the biennial compendium of stories which in turn provides excellent collaborative opportunities for photographic illustration. This leads to an illustrated version of ETO as well as individually published new collaborative eBooks which form strong beginnings to what we hope will be long and successful careers in both writing and photography for a purpose.

We have another strong link. Focal View began as a business based in Wales and most of the photographic contribution has come from new photographers in Welsh clubs and societies. Our word has spread through kind recommendation and we now take in work from around the world. It was through these connections, that we discovered Americymru and in particular, the American Welsh Bookstore and Ceri Shaw.

Americymru is all about Wales abroad and provides cultural ties with what to many is their home country even though these connections might sometimes be through past generations.

This shared interest in the culture of Wales and the opportunities that working together affords, enables modern connections through writing and photography, which will bring people together and make for new friendships and understanding.

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The Focal View Americymru International Salon

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We are expanding this process now by inviting photographers at all levels, anywhere in the world, to enter the Focal View Americymru International Salon competition.

The competition is free to enter. There is a two month cycle and the top five images are awarded prizes that include publishing opportunities. The current competition cycle will also provide the front cover of the next edition of ETO

We publish all images by permission and so new work can be seen all over the world. We undertake to look for collaboration opportunities as well.

Visit http://www.focalview.co.uk/americymru_international.html to learn more and to find out how to submit your entries.

The competition is open to anyone anywhere and to maximize the commercial potential of your winning images, we recommend you purchase the latest edition of ETO and use this as your base material to illustrate. ETO is included in the fees for the Focal View Photographic Course. The competition winning criteria are based upon the likely value of the image for commercial collaboration.

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Focal View Photographic Course

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For all those not sure about your skills and potential for collaborative illustration, we provide our training course which specifically sets out to enable new photographers to know where and which images to take and how to fit them into writing.

The Focal View Photographic Course runs for ten weeks from enrolment and includes individual tuition and image critiquing as well as a full copy of ETO. All tutorial and learning resources are included as well as entry into the international salon. Images are chosen by the Course Tutor and a selection panel of professional photographers.

A feature of the course is the opportunity for literally anyone with a reasonable camera, from whatever background, to learn more about commercial photography and to start bringing a hobby and a passion into a financially rewarding business opportunity.

Experience is optional but enthusiasm is essential.

Visit this url - http://www.focalview.co.uk/fv_photo_course.html to enrol on the Focal View Photographic Course

Focal View is a photographers website. We offer training, we support and present excellent images through our portfolio exhibitions and we look for commercial opportunities. We are a limited business in that we focus only on photographic excellence. We critique and judge to the highest recognized standards and we present exhibition images to other photographers. This means that criticism of new work is constructive and detailed. We know that serious photographers would expect nothing less.