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A brief note for anyone experiencing difficulties contacting the Welsh American Bookstore. This is a temporary problem. The contact form will work perfectly once we have finished sending out our monthly newsletter. Unfortunately the server only allows us to send out 150 emails per hour. Since we send out in batches of 150 hourly we hit the maximum figure consistently for about 48 hours while this is in progress. We will be done with the mailing some time today. Meanwhile it is easily possible to contact us on AmeriCymru or here or via americymru@gmail.com. We apologise for any inconvenience.
As for the 'suggestions' button....it is still available but only for logged in members. It became necessary to remove it from public availability after it was picked up by spammers and the inbox filled up with the usual torrent of viagra links etc.
On 30th June 1986, Maerdy Colliery in the Rhondda Valley produced its last truck of coal.
On 30th June 1937, Wales welcomed its first Basque refugee children from the Spanish Civil War. In total, of the 4000 children who were evacuated to the U.K, over 200 were to find homes at sites in Swansea, Old Colwyn, Caerleon and Brechfa in Carmarthenshire.
Edward Lhuyd (1660 – 30 June 1709) - naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary.
Born in Shropshire, the illegitimate son of Welsh parents, Lhuyd studied at Jesus College Oxford, before being appointed assistant Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, becoming Keeper himself in 1690, a post he held until his death in 1709.
Whilst employed by the Ashmolean he travelled extensively around all parts of Britain and Ireland. On a visit to Snowdonia in 1688, he constructed a list of flora local to that region (The Snowdon lily Lloydia serotina bears his name). Then in 1699, with financial aid from his friend Issac Newton, he published a catalogue of fossils collected from places around England,
On his travels through Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man, he became interested in language, noting the similarity between the two Celtic language families: Brythonic or P - Celtic (Breton, Cornish and Welsh); and Goidelic or Q–Celtic (Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic) and he was instrumental in these peoples, becoming increasingly known from the 18th century onwards as Celts.
Lhuyd is responsible for the first scientific description and naming of what we would now recognize as a dinosaur: the sauropod tooth Rutellum implicatum and the National Naturalists' Society of Wales, Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd is named after him.
Born this day 1951 in Swansea
Geoff Wheel - former Wales rugby international.
Wheel was a tough uncompromising second-row forward who was a cornerstone of the successful 1970's Welsh team. In 1977, he and Willie Duggan of Ireland were sent off following an altercation. In so doing, they became the first players sent off during a Five Nations international.
Wheel is now the organist at All Saint's Church, Kilvey in Swansea.
Thomas Phillips (1760 - 30 June 1851) - a founder of St David's College, Lampeter (pictured) and the founder of Llandovery College
Born in London to parents from Radnorshire and educated in Wales, Phillps became apprenticed to an apothecary at Hay on Wye and qualified as a surgeon in London in 1780. He then joined the East India Company and moved to India where as well as working as a surgeon, he became involved in business and the setting up of libraries, for the education of soldiers. He returned to London in 1817 a rich man and spent the rest of his life benevolently.
Phillips was a major benefactor of St David's College, Lampeter, donating over 22,000 volumes to the College and the founder of Llandovery College in 1847, to which he donated £4,666 and a library of 7,000 books. He had a major concern for the survival of the Welsh language and specified that it be taught regularly and systematically at the college, and also "for some portion of the day" to be the sole medium of communication and instruction.
T he television film Richard II was r eleased on 30th June 2012. It was filmed predominantly at Saint David's Cathedral and Pembroke Castle,
Today is the feast day of Saint Gelert
Saint Gelert c.650 - It is believed that Gelert was a missionary, evangelizing in Llangeler (Carmarthenshire) and Beddgelert (Snowdonia), and the surrounding Gelert Valley. At some stage, Gelert lived as a hermit in a cave near what is now known as the Holy Well of St Celer near Llandysul, to where pilgrims would travel for healing by Gelert. Eventually the chapel, Capel Mair was erected over the well, of which the ruins still remain. His feast day is 29th June.
However local Welsh legend more often identifies Gelert as the favourite hunting wolfhound of Llywelyn the Great.
Gelert was always ready for the hunt, but one on occasion, he was not there to greet Llywelyn for a morning hunt, so reluctantly Llywelyn left without him. On his return, Llywelyn was delighted to be greeted exitedly by his faithful hound but immediately noticed that the dog was covered in blood. Llywelyn hurried in to look for his baby son and was horrified to see blood all over the room and baby's cradle overturned and empty. Llywelyn frantically searched for his son and immediately assumed that Gelert had killed his son.
Llywelyn drew his sword and struck Gelert a fearsome blow, causing the dog to let out a long-drawn out howl, before dying at his masters feet. Immediately after a babies cry was heard from under a pile of bedding that had been dispersed from the overturned cradle and when Llywelyn investigated he saw his son alive and lying next to the body of a large wolf that Gelert had slain. Llywelyn was devastated that he had killed his loyal friend and it is said that he never smiled again.
This story, however, was a fabricated in the 18th century, by David Pritchard, the owner of the Goat Pub in Beddgelert, who also made an inscribed burial mound for Gelert, in an attempt to attract tourists to the village.
So sadly, the village of Beddgelert is not named after Gelert the Wolfhound, its name derives from the early Christian saint, but tourists still come in their droves to see the last resting place of Gelert.
Born this day 1980 in Neath
Katherine Jenkins - award-winning Welsh mezzo-soprano and official mascot of the Welsh rugby team.
Her first album Premiere made her the fastest-selling mezzo-soprano to date and she later became the first British classical artist to have two number-one albums in the same year. She is also the first female to win two consecutive Classical BRIT Awards. Katherine first came to wide public attention in 2003 when she sang at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John PaulII's silver jubilee and has since performed in a large number of concerts worldwide. Katherine is the only artist in music history to simultaneously hold the number 1, 2 3 & 4 position on the classical albums charts. In 2008, she signed the biggest classical recording deal in history, for US$10 million (£5.8 million), with Warner Music.
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A total eclipse of the sun took place over many parts of Wales, just after dawn on 29th June 1927. It first hit Pen Llyn, before moving over Pwllheli, Snowdon and Conwy. Thousands of people came to Caernarfon to view the eclipse with many of them climbing local mountains such as Cader Idris and Snowdon to get an uninterrupted view.
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Born this day 1940 in Chapel of Ease, Abercarn, near Newbridge.
John Dawes OBE - former Wales and Lions rugby captain and coach.
After gaining a degree in chemistry from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dawes concentrated on rugby captaining the Grand Slam winning side of 1971. Later that year he captained the British and Irish Lions on their tour of New Zealand, who became the first and so far the only Lions team to win a series against the All Blacks. After retiring as a player, Dawes became coach of the Welsh national side in 1974, a post he held until 1979. This was one of the most successful periods in the history of Welsh rugby, with Wales winning four, Five Nations Championships and two Grand Slams. Dawes also coached the 1997 Lions tour to New Zealand.
Arddangosfa Newydd sbon i Gefn Caer, Pennal, Cymru...Brand New Exhibition for Cefn Caer, Pennal, Cymru.
By Sian Ifan2, 2013-06-29
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| #666;"> Mae'r holl gynnyrch uchod ar gael yn eich siopau lleol neu #000;" target="_blank"> www.sainwales.com #666;"> Os nad ydych yn dymuno i ni anfon manylion i chi yn y dyfodol a fyddech cystal dilyn y #000;" target="_blank"> ddolen hon . | All products are available from good music stores or #000;" target="_blank"> www.sainwales.com If you do not wish to receive information from us in the future please unsubscribe by #000;" target="_blank"> clicking here . | |||
| #fff; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center;" height="30" bgcolor="#000000" valign="middle"> Sain (Recordiau) Cyf., Canolfan Sain, Llandwrog, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL54 5TG - #999;" target="_blank"> sain@sainwales.com | ||||
The "Riot Act" was read at Mochdre in the Vale of Clwyd on 28th June 1887, during the "Tithe War".
Tithe payments entitled the Church to a tenth of people's annual income and was usually paid in the form of produce, such as crops, wool and milk. Then in 1836, the payment became required in cash with Tithe Maps being drawn up of the Welsh landscape to show how much landowners should pay. These measures caused much contention, as most farmers at the time were Nonconformists and also contributed to the upkeep of their own churches. Being required to contribute to Anglican Churches as well, provoked bitterness and anger.
These tensions were further aggravated by the agricultural depression which began in the 1870's and resulted in many people refusing to pay the tithe. The authorities responded in the 1880's by enforcing the sale of land and property to collect the money and this led to confrontations between the farmers and the authorities, particularly in Denbighshire, where, the Welsh National Land League was established, based on the model of the Irish Land League. Also in Denbighshire, Thomas Gee, the owner of the Welsh-language newspaper ‘Baner ac Amserau Cymru’ very active in the anti-Tithe campaign.
There were violent protests in Llangwm, Llanefydd and Mochdred, where 84 people were injured including 35 police officers and the following year troops were deployed to maintain order. However the ‘Tithe War’ only came to an end, when in 1891 the Tithe Bill was introduced that made the responsibility for paying the tithe, that of the landlord and not the tenant.
The Treaty of Versailles and its Welsh connections
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty at the end of World War I, which was signed on 28 June 1919. The final conditions were determined by the leaders of the "Big Three" nations: British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and American President Woodrow Wilson and included
- A League of Nations was to be created to prevent further world conflict.
- Germany had to accept the responsibility for causing all the loss and damage during the war - the War Guilt clause.
- Germany had to pay reparations to the value of 132 billion Marks ( UK £284 billion in 2013).
- German armed forces were reduced to 100,000 troops, with no tanks. Its navy was to have six battleships and no submarines - Germany was banned from having an Air Force - All German and Turkish Colonies were taken away and put under Allied control.
- Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Czechoslovakia all became independent countries
- Austria-Hungary was split up and Yugoslavia was created.
Welsh connections;
* Lloyd George
* The reparations imposed on Germany by the treaty, in which they were able to pay some of their debts in coal production, were to have a dramatic impact on the South Wales coalfield. In 1913, 57 million tons of coal were being produced in South Wales and 250, 000 men were employed. However when many foreign markets were lost to German mines and the effects of the post-war depression came into to play, coal production in South Wales fell from being a third of world output in 1916, to just 3% in 1929.
* Leader of the Australian delegation, Prime Minister Billy Hughes ( a Welsh speaker from Holyhead) and Lloyd George were known, when agitated, to argue in Welsh.
On 28th June 1960, at approximately 10.45, an explosion took place in the West District of the Old Coal Seam at Six Bells Colliery at Aberbeeg, near Abertillery, which killed 45 men and boys. A public enquiry into the disaster concluded that the probable cause of the explosion was firedamp ignited by a spark from a stone falling onto a steel girder.
On the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2010, a 20m high steel sculpture of a miner, named "Guardian of the Valleys" was unveiled in tribute those who lost their lives.
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A Welsh-born Osprey, leg ringed and named "Black 80" on the 28th June 2006, was to become the first Welsh-born osprey known to have returned to Britain to breed. During the middle ages, ospreys would have been widespread throughout Wales and the rest of the U.K. Due to a heavy reliance on fish in the human diet, most big houses and monastic sites would have had a fishpond. These, in turn, would have attracted birds of prey such as the osprey, who were themselves hunted and killed. This led to decreasing numbers, which combined with the activities of egg collectors, and trophy hunters, resulted in the osprey becoming totally extinct by 1916.
* The Mabinogion tells the tale of “The Eagle of Gwernabwy”, described as being “the one who has wandered most”, attempting to catch a salmon from Llyn (lake) Lliw, so large that it is almost drowned. This eagle is likely to be an osprey.
* The Coat of Arms of the city of Swansea, granted in 1316, features an osprey suggesting that they once bred in the area.
* A Flemish engineer working on drainage systems in the Dyfi estuary in 1604 mentioned several “fishey hawkes” breeding close together along the River Dyfi. This is almost certainly a reference to ospreys and the earliest date that can be given to them breeding in Wales,
Ospreys had been reported as migrating over Wales for many years. Llandudno in 1828 and Caernarfon in 1937, but it wasn't until May 2004, that a pair of ospreys were found nesting near Croesor in the Glaslyn Valley, becoming the first to be officially recorded as breeding in Wales. On 26th May 2008 Black 80 a male from the 2006 Glaslyn nest became the first Welsh-born osprey known to have returned to Britain to breed.
Pentre Primary and the Resignation of Leighton Andrews, Minister for Education and Skill
By philip stephen rowlands, 2013-06-27
Hopefully either the Echo or the Western Mail will post this in full:
"It began as a campaign to oppose the closure of our local school and from the outset we resolved not to become embroiled in local politics. Ironically it has resulted in the forced resignation of the Minister for Education and Skills, Leighton Andrews, who also happens to be the Assembly Member forRhondda.
First Minister Carwyn Jones was quoted as saying, The ministerial code aims to define the boundaries between the two roles and, on this occasion, I believe those roles were confused."
How were they confused?
The Assembly Government has a clear policy relating to surplus places in schools. School closures are invariably sensitive and emotive issues and therefore under the directive of Leighton AndrewsLEAs were required to refer to stringent guidelines set out in The School Organisation Proposals. Indeed, as of 1 st October they become a legal obligation for each and everyLEAwhenever they propose a closure of a particular school.
It is transparent that the letter of objection Leighton Andrews wrote to theLEAmerely draws theLEAs attention to the fact they have not complied with the guidance set out in theWAGdocument. In fact in many instances they have totally disregarded the guidance. This, in fact, forms the basis of the legal challenge presented to theLEAby the Pentre Action Group.
We fail to see how this can be construed as undermining his own policy, when in essence his actions were intended to ensure that the policy guidelines themselves were given due and proper regard. Where is the conflict? We have grave concerns that in not supporting his Education Minister the First Minister has given carte blanche to local LEAs to proceed without due regard toWAGguidelines. Is it a case of, If you tolerate this then your children will be next?
Amid all the political and media frenzy it is easy to forget that at the centre of this debacle lie the concerns of parents for the safety and well being of their children. Should the proposal to closePentrePrimary schoolbe ratified children will inevitably be placed at risk given the distance they will have to travel to their new school along a heavily congested route. This, I know, was one of Mr Andrews concerns as someone familiar with the geography of theRhondda. It is to his eternal credit that he was prepared to demonstrate those concerns regardless of the consequences.
Surely, the safety of our children should transcend all other considerations whatever the colour of our political allegiance. How we protect the most vulnerable in our society, the elderly, the infirm and the young, defines us as a nation, not what particular policies hold sway at any given moment in time. As a group we feel that political opportunism has taken precedence over the interests of our children to the detriment of us all.
With regard to our local council we feel that whatever directives they have received to ensure the reduction of surplus places their first priority must always be the safety and welfare of the children in their charge. The fact that they have not undertaken a safety assessment of walking and cycling routes prior to bringing forward the proposal to close the school is indicative that this has not been their primary concern. Currently these are guidelines laid down by theWAGthat will shortly become a statutory code of practice forLEAs acrossWales. However, given the proposed development of a new Tesco store and filling station adjacent to the route children must take any meaningful safe route assessment can only be undertaken after the development is complete. TheLEAcannot abdicate its responsibility for the welfare of our children by hiding behind the surplus places policy. It has a duty of care in respect of our children that it has palpably failed to discharge.
The issue of surplus places in the case of Pentre has also been exaggerated. Currently the number on roll in Pentre is 104 and not 73 as stated by theBBC. This discrepancy within the proposal was pointed out to theLEAat an early stage in the consultation process but has not been amended. While we realise the issue of surplus places has to be tackled theLEAoffered no alternative proposals to closure although more cost effective solutions exist which, crucially, would not place children at risk.
We have also been dismayed by the way our campaign has been callously manipulated by political opponents of the Minister and sections of the media. Interviews we gave to theBBCin good faith on the assurance they would not be used in a political context merely demonstrated our naivety. Not only were they used in a deliberate attempt to embarrass the Minister but inaccurate statistics were broadcast nationwide to the detriment of our campaign. We were incensed to learn that theBBChad been working on this story for two days prior to the interviews.
As a group we feel the consultation process has now been prejudiced beyond recall at both local and assembly level. For us the primary issue has never been about surplus places or ministerial policies but the valid concerns for the safety and well being of our children. This is still the urgent and pressing issue that should not be lost upon all concerned."
If you would like to keep updated with and support our campaign please visit our blog http://pentreprimary.blogspot.com
The Millennium stadium was opened this day 1999 in Cardiff.
The Millennium Stadium is the National Stadium of Wales and the home of the Welsh National rugby union team, it was was built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup. It replaced Cardiff Arms Park, which had a capacity of only 53,000 and the conversion to an all-seater stadium would have reduced the capacity to 47,500. In addition to the problems of capacity, it was well hidden by the neighbouring buildings and access to the ground was also very restricted.
* The first major event to be held was an international rugby match on 26 June 1999 when Wales beat South Africa by 29–19, the first time they had ever beaten the Springboks.
* It has a seating capacity of 74,500, additional seating can be added and the current record attendance is 74,576, recorded at Wales' 30–15 victory over Scotland in 2008
* It is the second largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and by capacity, it is the largest rugby stadium in the world with this feature.
* The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million.
* The natural grass turf is laid on top of some 7,412 pallets which can be moved so the stadium can be used for concerts, exhibitions and other events.
* Further stadium development is expected to commence before 2020which will make the stadium bowl shaped and will increase capacity to approximately 80,000.
* In each of the stadium's bars, so-called "joy machines" can pour 12 pints in less than 20 seconds. During a Wales Vs France match, 63,000 fans drank 77,184 pints of beer.
* The stadium has a resident hawk named "Dad", who is employed to drive seagulls and pigeons out of the stadium.
Today is the feast day of Saint Branoc ( c.550 )
The Saint who sailed from Wales to Devon in a stone coffin and established a monastery. ( This coffin could have been a ‘lech’ or tombstone which all the Celtic saints supposedly carried with them on their pilgrimages)
When Branoc arrived in Braunton in Devon the area was covered in forest and Branoc began teaching the pagan natives about more productive farming techniques, as well as trying to convert them to Christianity. The site of his monastery was given to him in a dream in which an angel told him to build it where he found a white sow suckling seven piglets.
Another story tells us of the thieves who killed Branoc's favourite cow and put it in a pot of water to cook, however, the water would not heat and Brannoc was able to breathe life back into the cow to revive it. The Braunton crest features Brannock with a cow resting behind him. sdfwefwe
Born this day 1885 in Rhydcymerau,
D. J. Williams (David John Williams) - Prominent Welsh nationalist and one of the most respected, twentieth century Welsh-language writers.
Williams studied English at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and Jesus College, Oxford and for most of his life, he taught English at the Grammer School in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. He was one of the founders of Plaid Cymru and along with Saunders Lewis and Lewis Valentine, spent nine months in prison in 1936 for the protest burning of a bombing school at Penyberth in north-west Wales.
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The "drought of the century" - June–September 1976
This was the period when Wales and the rest of the U.K. sweltered under the heat of consistent temperatures of between 26.7°C and 32.2°C. There was virtually no rainfall and rivers almost stopped flowing. It was the driest period in recorded history in the U.K and the situation was so severe that the government appointed Drought Committee, which implemented a hosepipe ban and advised people to use washing up water to flush water and to bathe in no more than five inches of water.
For Special Promotion
We are currently offering the main advertising banner on AmeriCymru ( see graphic below ) on a rotating basis ( every third day ) for a six month period.. The rate for this promotion will be $150 dollars. and will include other features ( promoted interviews, blog posts etc as part of the package )
If you have goods, services of Welsh or Welsh American interest to offer and are interested in advertising on the premier Welsh American niche social site ( and through our associated channels on FB, Twitter etc ) please contact us on americymru@gmail.com
THIS IS A LIMITED OFFER AND WE WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTING ONE PARTNER.
We also have limited spots in the right hand column ( 125x125 or 250x250 ) - see this blog post
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