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Gladstones Library in Hawarden - Britains only Prime Ministerial Library
Nestled in the charming Flintshire village of Hawarden is one of Britains truly unique historical buildings - a national memorial founded and maintained in honour of one of the nations most revered politicians.
American residents are familiar with the concept of presidential libraries, but Gladstones Library, built to commemorate Victorian statesman William Gladstone, is Britains only existing equivalent. The Prime Ministerial library contains some 250,000 printed items, including Gladstones personal collection of 32,000 books and non-political papers. Originally founded on the principle of making Gladstones collection available to the public, the Grade I listed building, completed in 1902, is now a busy hub of literary and academic activity.
The library's vast collection places particular emphasis on Gladstones specialist areas of interest, including history, politics, literature, culture and religion. On top of a readily accessible collection of fascinating literary works and records, the library also boasts a residential wing , comprising 26 boutique-style rooms.
Founded by the Gladstone family four years after the completion of the library, the residential wing welcomed its first resident on June 29 1906.
Now, 107 years on, the residential quarters have recently undergone a tasteful redesign.
Providing complete calm and tranquility, particularly as they have been fitted without televisions, the bedrooms provide a relaxing base for visitors to immerse themselves in literary pursuits and the library's rich collection of books, as well as the beautiful surrounding grounds.
Every year hundreds of people from around the world stay at the library to soak up its calming, creative atmosphere, including members of the US friends of Gladstones Library - a stateside group dedicated to supporting the library's activities.
The librarys Warden Peter Francis, who visited Washington DC and Minneapolis in November as part of a micro promotional tour, said the library had a longstanding relationship with supporters across the Atlantic.
Peter said: Around 10 per cent of our beds are taken by American visitors. Generally we find a lot of academics and historians, as well as clergy that are on sabbatical, like to stay here.
The library has a long association with the USA, which led to the formation of the US Friends group in 2007. Six years on we have a strong network of supporters in the States, as well as a dedicated US Gladstones Facebook page and 400 subscribers to our US mailing list.
I was very warmly received on the tour I undertook earlier this year, and we always get a great response from US visitors to the library.
We find that visitors from the States are looking for the opportunity to focus and study in a calm environment. They may have a specialist area of interest that we share, such as 19th century history, but generally we find its that opportunity to focus and study that is most attractive.
Gladstone said that nobody that has an interest in staying here should be put off by cost, which is a round-about way of saying were also an affordable place to stay!
As well as through its calming and creative environment and impressive collection of books, papers and journals, the library also attracts visitors looking to engage in its thriving programme of literary and cultural events.
The diverse schedule covers a broad range of interests, from a discussion with Gene Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated a bishop when he was elected to the post in New Hampshire in 2003, to Hearth, a cosy miniature literary festival of talks and workshops set around the blazing fire of the library's Gladstone Room.
This year will also see Gladstones Library put on its biggest ever Writers in Residence programme, where nine acclaimed writers will take up residency at the library throughout 2014. The writers, who include California-based historical fiction author Patricia Bracewell, will work on their own projects over the duration of their stay, as well as hosting a talk and creative writing workshop.
The Writers in Residence programme continues the library's tradition of providing a sanctuary conducive to creative work, with an estimated 550 literary and scholarly works having been written or researched in its grounds since 2000. The coming year will also see an alumni group from Mount Olive College, North Carolina, visit in May, and the Friends of Washington National Cathedral, who also visited in 2013, are set to return in July.
Many American visitors are also expected to return for Gladfest, a September literary festival that forms the highlight of the librarys cultural calendar. After a successful debut last year, which saw more than 1,000 people attend the inaugural festival, Gladfest 2014 features a busy schedule of literary activities and discussion from September 5th to the 7th . For more information about Gladstones Library, visit gladstonelibrary.org , or for further details of the US Friends of Gladstones Library group, email president Abigail Nichols at abigail_nichols@hotmail.com .
Beef Seeds - Newport And Wales Finest Bluegrass Band & Ryan Seacrest Winners Talk To AmeriCymru
By Ceri Shaw, 2013-12-18
Click above or here to listen to the Beef Seeds winning cover
Today we are pleased and proud to present an interview with Newport and Wales' number one bluegrass band - The Beef Seeds
Not heard The Beef Seeds yet? Don't miss out! Click this link ...or this one
BREAKING NEWS: The Beef Seeds win Ryan Seacrest's Best Cover of Avicii's "Wake Me Up"!! To read the announcement go here
To hear their winning entry on YouTube click the pic above. On behalf of all at AmeriCymru I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 'Seeds' on a well deserved win.
Beef Seeds: The Interview
Peter Thabit Jones ( editor, Seventh Quarry Magazine and WCE Poetry Competition judge ) has announced that the 2014 Competition winner will be invited to submit 10 poems ( and a two page introduction ) for inclusion in a chapbook which will be distributed with the Winter/Spring issue of the magazine.
This will be a supplement to The Seventh Quarry and the winner will receive 20 complimentary copies of the chapbook. The rest will be distributed with the magazine.
This is a great opportunity to win international exposure. We must stress that the winner will be chosen from amongst the entrants to the WCE Online Poetry Competition and that contestants are NOT required to submit ten poems. The winner will be invited to submit ten poems for inclusion in the chapbook once the adjudication has taken place.
Further Details
- You may submit up to five entries.
- There is NO entry fee.
- There is also a cash prize of $200 for the winner.
WEST COAST EISTEDDFOD ONLINE POETRY COMPETITION SUBMISSIONS PAGE
To our wonderful Customers & Friends.
This will be the final sale of the 2013 Christmas Season at Wise Choice British Foods! " Our deepest discounts of the Season."
Take advantage of this great offer - purchase any item from our 2013 Christmas Category and be rewarded with a 25% Discount. Purchase an amount greater than $150.00 and be rewarded with a surprise gift in your package from Santa Harry and his Elves Greg and Susan.
May we take this opportunity of thanking you for your business over the last 12 months, a very difficult period in the history of our business, but we have survived through your loyal support to serve you another year.
In the Welsh Tradition, Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Your friendly Wise Choice Staffers,
Harry, Greg, Susan and webmaster Chris James.
Welsh Author Mike Jenkins To Judge 2014 West Coast Eisteddfod Short Story Competition
By Ceri Shaw, 2013-12-10
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lloyd Jones for judging the Short Story Competition for the past five years. Diolch yn fawr Lloyd.
Today we are immensely proud and pleased to announce that in 2014, author Mike Jenkins will judge the entries in the West Coast Eisteddfod Online Short Story competition.
Poet, story writer and novelist. Mike is a former teacher at Comprehensive school level for nearly 30 years and is now a fulltime writer and is available for readings and workshops at any time. Mike has lived in Merthyr for over 30 years and was winner of an Eric Gregory Award in 1979 and the Welsh Arts Council Young Writers Prize in 1984. Mike also won the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry and the 1998 Wales Book of the Year (English section) for Wanting To Belong (Seren, 2000), a book of interlinked stories for teenagers. He was a runner-up in Academi's 2009 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition.
He is a former editor of Poetry Wales and has coedited Red Poets magazine for many years. His latest novella The Fugitive Three centres on three young people in a South Wales Valleys estate whose stories intertwine and who, despite the odds, refuse to live lives of quiet desperation. It is fast-paced and written in a tight dialect in the third person narrative. Mike is a Fellow of Academi. Read his poem for Glyn Jones here .
Mike and painter Michael Gustavius Payne have recently been successful in an application to the Arts Council of Wales to tour a body of work across Wales in 2011 and 2012. The exhibition, currently being developed, will be titled 'Dim Gobaith Caneri', meaning no hope like a canary exploring ideas inspired by traditional Welsh idioms and phrases. Mike's latest book Barkin is a collection of poems and short stories published by Carreg Gwalch.'( Read our review of Barkin )
JOIN THE WCE ONLINE SHORT STORY
( You will need to be logged in to AmeriCymru to join the group. If you wish to enter externally please read the submission guidelines on the above linked page )
Written and directed by Ifan Huw Dafydd. Following on from the success on YouTube of the excerpt from The Last Prince of Wales , Huw Davies would like to make it known that he still has several copies of the original full video available for sale. To purchase please contact Huw Davies via his AmeriCymru page here:- Huw Davies
An ideal aid for planning your itinerary when you next visit the land of your fore fathers.
We also hope that the DVD will be a valuable resource for Welsh learners the World over. Whilst impossible to make exact translations from any language to another, care has been taken to make both language commentaries as close as possible. Welsh learners will be able to hear the Welsh commentary spoken by a native Welsh speaker, whilst having an English translation on the other channel.
MADOG, our first hero. A visit to Dolwyddelan, the site of two Welsh castles and the birthplace of Prince Madog the discoverer of The Americas over 200 years before Columbus even set foot on a ship! We see the site of his birth and upbringing and follow his journey to Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, from where he departed for unknown lands in 1170.
LLANDDWYN ISLAND, an astoundingly beautiful location on the south western tip of Anglesey and the home of the patron saint of Welsh lovers Dwynwen. It overlooks the Menai Straits and the mountains of Snowdonia on the mainland. A place youll definitely want to put on the itinerary for your next visit to the Land of Your Fathers!
THE GOWER and the search for the RED LADY OF PAVILAND. Theres far more to the Red Lady than meets the eye - shes definitely no lady! But she does give us a chance to show you the gorgeous Welsh countryside of the GOWER peninsula, visiting Langland Bay, Three Cliffs Bay, Oxwich Bay, Port Eynon, Goats Hole, Worms Head, Rosili, and Penclawdd.
THOMAS TELFORDS FANTASTIC AQUEDUCT at FRONCYSYLLTE. Finished in 1805. An amazing feat of innovative engineering. In 2009 it was recognized as one of the wonders of the modern world when it joined the Great Wall of China as a World Heritage Site!. We also pay a quick visit to the home of the International Eisteddfod Llangollen.
Our last hero is fittingly LLYWELYN THE LAST PRINCE OF WALES. His death being the nadir of Wales history. We try to unravel the mystery that surrounds the last two days of his life. Was it treachery or chance? We visit Aberedw, and the ruins of another Welsh castle , the location of the enigmatic meeting that was to take place between Llywelyn and Edwards allies, the chase through the Welsh countryside to the fateful dingle at Cilmeri, and finally the grave where his headless body lies in the emotion filled ruins of Abaty Cwm Hir. Plus a bonus montage of photographs from around Wales set to Russell Sheppard playing the song thats close to every Welshmans heart and guaranteed to bring on a bout of inconsolable Hiraeth.
