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New bilingual performance Iechyd Daby Heddus Wyn Blackwell
8,000 raised after Seren Nadolig Rhos - cast hope to raise more, Oh yes they Do!
DATE: July 13th and 14th 2012
LOCATION: Theatr Stiwt, Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrexham
Rhos Theatre Company are going from strength to strength since being established after the resounding success of the S4C television programme Seren Nadolig Rhosin 2011. Members of the colourful community pantomime that was broadcasted over Christmas 2011 on S4C decided to continue performing, therefore Rhos Theatre Company was founded.
The company is pleased to announce their first performance since the television appearance, Iechyd Daby Heddus Wyn Blackwell, will be staged Friday and Saturday evening 13th and 14th of July at Theatr Stiwt, Rhosllanerchrugog.
Iechyd Da is a bilingual Comedy drama written by Heddus Wyn Blackwell. She is also one of the Directors along with Mel Drake and Dylan Glyn Williams.
Heddus said, This is a drama about Aled (Arwel Tanant Jarvis), a high school teacher and bachelor who believes hes met the perfect woman when Elen (Julie Jones) accepts a teaching job at his school. In order to catch her eye, he tries to live a healthier lifestyle with encouragement from his daughter Ceri (Iola Wright), and Bethan, his new friend (Llinos Ann Roberts). Will he successfully give up smoking? Will he enjoy the Zumba classes? Will he win Elens heart? Will his friend, James (Shaun Edwards) and Mali the dog cooperate with his plans? Come and see the performance for the answers!.
Stifyn Parry said, The initial idea of inviting S4C to film Seren Nadolig Rhos in the Stiwt was to resurrect the theatre company where I started my career. It has been encouraging to see the communitys perseverance in ensuring the future of the Drama Company. Every penny raised from ticket sales will go back to maintain the Stiwt as a center for the whole community. Our Christmas pantomime raised over eight thousand pounds which has been invested in resources for the Stiwt, and it is obvious that the good work will continue. Im looking forward to see the performance and to return to join in the fun!
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I have finally reached the crowning section of the Left Coast Eisteddfod lovespoon and will now enjoy some time bringing the guardian dragon to life. I have 'ummed and ahhed' about how I am going to tackle this little chap and have decided to carve him 'in the round' (fully 3 dimensional). The walnut I am using is of a sufficient thickness to handle it, so I think that it is the way to go.
I have been calling him "Dafydd the Dragon" as I've been working on the spoon, but I but have now decided that because Dafydd is my name, he should be called something else.
So I've decided to throw a little competition to name him and it's open to anyone who wishes to offer a good alternative. Sorry, that there are no grand prizes for this, only the glory of having the name you suggest become the dragon's name for the duration of the carving and hopefully beyond when the lucky winner takes him home! In two weeks I'll get Gaabi and Ceri to pick the winner and we'll have an official naming! That will also be my incentive to get him done! Now you may be wondering why I say it is a he when it could conceivably be a she...and there is no valid reason that I could defend in a court of law for that...I've just had the feeling he is, a he!! So there you go, if you can think of a good name for him and are inclined to send it to us; give it a shot!
I'm going to break up the carving into 3 sections for the blog. I'll round out his body and shape the back scales first, then I will move on to the head and finally, I'll shape out the wings. This week is the body.
I've decided that I want to really exaggerate the scales along his back when I carve him, so I've excavated fairly deeply in those sections. I'm hoping that will help cast a nice shadow when he hangs on the wall and will generate a feeling of movement.
Once the scales have taken shape, I will start rounding the body, legs and tail sections. My plan is to leave him 'from the knife' (that is with the cut marks clearly visible in the form of facetting) rather than to smooth him down too much. I think that leaving him facetted will make for a more vibrant and lively carving, especially when viewed from a few feet away. It will also echo the idea of a scaley skin rather than looking too smooth and featureless.
Here's how he looks so far. I have roughed out the flow of his tail and put a nice tip on it, shaped the scales and rounded the front half of the body, started shaping the leg and have ramped the chest down so that the knotwork which will become his tongue can pass over.
Next week I'll shape the neck and head and will clean up the tongue knot. I also have an idea for the eye which will either be a complete success or a total calamitous disaster...stay tuned!
In the meantime, the Left Coast Eisteddfod welcomes any and all donations! . Please consider gifting this exciting cultural event! Every dollar you donate entitles you to a ticket in the draw for this very lovespoon!
New York Public Library presents - Welsh Music Series for Wales Week & Owen Sheers and Paul Watkins in Discussion
By Ceri Shaw, 2009-02-27
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Welsh Music Series for Wales Week, March 1-8
From the page:- "As part of Wales Week, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is presenting a week-long series, Music of Wales: Screenings from Welsh Television that includes programs of opera, jazz, popular music, and rock. Opening March 1 with a 2006 recital by the bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, the series also features a documentary about Welsh harpist Catrin Finch, The Merry Widow performed by the Welsh Opera, a concert by popular stylist Shirley Bassey, a documentary on the international hit singer Petula Clark, a jazz concert by Liane Carroll, and a rock concert by John Cale, among others. All of these videos will be having their American premieres. The programs have been donated by BBC Wales and by S4C (the rock concert) to the Library's archival collections." ... .MORE .
Wales Week: Owen Sheers and Paul Watkins in Discussion Thursday, March 5, 6:30
From the page:- "In celebration of Wales Week, renowned Welsh authors Owen Sheers and Paul Watkins will be in discussion together at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library on March 5. On Saturday, March 7 poets Samuel Menashe and Jon Curley visit the Jefferson Market Branch to share their work and discuss their craft. The Library presents more than 20,000 free public programs throughout its 87 branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island annually, complementing its broad collections and other services. ... .MORE .
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Many of you will have already noticed that we have reorganised the AmeriCymru homepage today. Why? Read on 
We have decided that the front page should contain 3 'hot spots'. We believe that this will facilitate easier navigation AND show at a glance how members posts/photos etc are doing on the site.
1. Current This is of course the Activity Feed and we encourage members to use it for any purpose which does not directly contradict site rules . For more on this please see the following post:- Status Updates or - 'I Cut My Toenails Today'
2. Popular In this section we will rotate ( randomly ) the Top Content, Top Member , Top Discussion , Top Photo , Top Video and Top Blogpost displays. Check back frequently if you want to see all the rankings. This will allow us to display the most popular content items prominently on the front page and indeed, on every page, on the site. A content item becomes 'popular' for four reasons:- number of hits, number of comments and number of 'Likes' and 'Shares'. Since this display is in the right hand column content will be widely seen on the net since every page we promote will contain prominent links to it.
3. Featured In this section we will highlight content which we believe to be particularly important, interesting or amusing. Although this section has to be updated manually we will be happy to receive suggestions or recommendations for inclusion. Anything in the 'Featured' or 'Popular' displays is likely to be featured heavily on other social networks,Twitter, FB, G+ and all the usual suspects.
We believe this is an improvement on the previous rather haphazard arrangements. Over to you dear reader....any thoughts?
( Reproduced from an email circular. For full details on CeltFest , including ticket sales, please visit WWW.CELTFEST.COM . Watch the CeltFest Video below and here . )
Cardiff International Arena - in the very heart of Wales's capital - will play host to CELTFEST '09 , a day-long festival on March 21st 2009, the day of the Wales and Ireland match - final game of the RBS Six Nations Championship - featuring the very best entertainment from both nations plus:
Largest pre- & post-match party in Wales!
Giant Screen showing Wales v Ireland game from the Millennium Stadium - the CeltFest screen is the largest screen ever used in Wales!
Largest Bar Facilities in Cardiff: world-class Welsh ales from champion brewers Felinfoel.
All Day Speciality Foods.
Celebrity hosts and comperes from the world of sport and television, including Rugby legends - past & present!
CeltFest is a Six Nations Celebration, a celebration of the very best entertainment from Wales & Ireland, an all day festival providing an amazing atmosphere and surroundings to enjoy the full experience which only Wales v Ireland in Cardiff can provide!
This is the first time such an impressive and varied line up has been presented on the same bill, it includes world star and special guest - BRYN TERFEL, Welsh Queen of Pop - CERYS MATTHEWS, Ireland's number one folk group - THE WOLFE TONES, Welsh patriotic icon - DAFYDD IWAN, plus much, much more.
CELTFEST IS THE ULTIMATE MATCH DAY ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE!.
One ticket, costing only 25, will provide admission to the venue for the full day - midday to midnight. Upon entrance to CeltFest, ticket holders will receive a special CeltFest wristband, allowing you to leave and return to the venue at any time throughout the event.
Whether you have a ticket for the game or not, CeltFest is the best place to be to savour the greatest party in Six Nations history. CeltFest will be a sell out event, early booking is recommended.
For full details on CeltFest, including ticket sales, please visit WWW.CELTFEST.COM
Watch the CeltFest Video below and here .
INTERNATIONAL EISTEDDFOD GIVE LOCAL ARTISTS A VOICE IN LLANFEST
Sunday 8 July 2012
12.00pm-19.00pm
A fantastic line up of local music and dance from local groups will be the highlight of the final afternoon on the Llangollen International Eisteddfod field. For the first time ever the International Festival will showcase the best of what North East Wales has to offer in a festival within a festival. Amongst others, there will be a chance to see:
- Ysgol Dinas Bran Community Wind Band - is a community project and currently has 60 members aged 10 -21+ mostly from Ysgol Dinas Bran. The Band has won several awards and and have a very diverse repertoire from Holst to Lady Gaga.
- Subtheme- are an energetic 5 piece live outfit playing a blend of funk, house and disco.
- Out By Sunday a winning act of Wrexhams Busking Competition 2011, Out By Sunday have a weekly residency at The Queen Hotel in Chester and are commonly known for regularly busking within Chester City.
- Harriet Earis is one of the best Celtic harpists Wales can offer. She has already given harp recitals around the world with tours across America, Germany, Canada, Holland, France, Belgium and Ireland.
- Future Perfect - are an exciting North Wales based electronica duo, bringing together techno dance beats & bass-lines to create a sound thats uniquely theirs.
- Bethan Morgan - a Llangollen girl, has developed a growing audience since moving to her new home in Birmingham, her voice being compared to P.J. Harvey.
- The New Foos - a 5 piece covers band, based in North Wales playing songs from the likes of Queen, Lady GaGa, 10.CC and Stereohonics.
- Urban Fusion - is a brand of Street, Hip-hop and Break Dance group for all ages and have performed with celebrities, appeared in music videos and danced throughout the world with Celebs such as, XFactor's Olly Murs, Peter Andre, Akon, DJ's Dave Pierce and Tim Westwood.
- Llangollen Operatic Societys Travelling Troupe - Formed in July 2010, Llangollen Operatic Societys Travelling Troupe is a group of around 15 experienced, amateur performers who, along with their Musical Director, Elen Mair Roberts, aim to bring a slice of the theatrical to your event!
LlanFEST organiser Barrie Roberts said, Representatives from across the world descend on Llangollen for one week every year showcasing the best talent they have to offer. We felt that establishing LlanFEST was the best way to give the rest of the world a taste of our local talent. With only a 5 admission fee, two Bars and Food Outlets, visitors to the International Eisteddfod on the Sunday will be able to enjoy a variety of bands, performers and dancers in a fitting finale to the field events.
Weve added a few new features over on the Americymru Blog,...some tunes and a twitter feed in the right hand column. You can join the site by registering with your Google or Yahoo password and there is a comment wall and a few other "social" features enabled. We'll be adding more as Google Friends Connect adds to its repertoire:-
http://americymru.blogspot.com
Meanwhile our new chat feature and the new updated and revamped photo, video and music players are all scheduled for release on Thursday night ( probably about 7 p.m. Pacific Time ). If all goes according to plan you'll find chat in a bar at the bottom of the page ( a la Facebook ) and you will be able to access it from every page on the site. Also ( assuming that it works ok ) we'll put the new music player at the bottom of the page as well so you'll be able to access our music library while chatting or IM'ing.
More new features coming soon. Stay tuned!
Reproduced From the AC Blog - An Interview With Eirian Jones, Author of 'The Welsh Lady From Canaan'
By Ceri Shaw, 2012-06-20
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Author Eirian Jones with Bronwen Hall, the great-niece of Margaret Jones, the Welsh Lady from Canaan. Also in the photograph are Bronwens children, David and Susan. They are looking at the Australian diary of Margaret Jones which is kept at the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland in Brisbane.
AmeriCymru: Hi Eirian and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. When did you first become aware of Margaret Jones and what made you decide to record her life and adventures?
I was browsing through the Cydymaith i Lenyddiaeth Cymru [Companion to Welsh Literature] one day looking for some information about poets born in Ceredigion, when I came across a couple of paragraphs about this Margaret Jones who had written a few books, but, more interestingly, had lived in Paris, Jerusalem, Morocco and travelled around the United States before spending the last ten years of her life in Australia. Shed done all this in the second half of the nineteenth century which I thought was remarkable. A few months later I visited Margarets home village of Rhosllannerchrugog in north-east Wales and went into the library to see if they had any more information about her. Theyd never heard of her! So that was it I was hooked by her life story and wanted to find out more. Since Im also an author and love travelling, I had quite an affinity with the story of Margaret Jones.
AmeriCymru: Margaret was an exceptionally lucky and above all courageous woman. What in particular strikes you about her bravery and dedication?
She was extraordinarily brave and courageous at a time when women were only expected to raise a family and werent supposed to do much else. Margaret was born in 1842, in poor and unfortunate circumstances and she only received three weeks of formal schooling. There were no ambitious female role models to follow in her home village of Rhos, so her expectations in life must have been pretty low. But, her lucky break in taking a position as a maid with a family in Llangollen and then being asked to work as a maid for another member of the same family in Birmingham (a missionary with the London Jews Society) opened up wonderful opportunities for global travel to her. Margaret was evidently an outgoing personality from her upbringing in Rhos. When she lived in Paris and Jerusalem she could have just worked as a maid and kept herself very much to herself. But no, she wanted to fully experience living in these places: she learnt the languages, visited the important sites and related all her findings back to her parents in letters. In Jerusalem she told her parents about cholera outbreaks, plagues of locusts descending on the city, death threats to Christians from the Sultan etc. And in Jerusalem also, her time was particularly difficult personally, because she suffered from a badly twisted knee. Shed hoped to stay in Jerusalem for ten years, and it was only after being hospitalized due to the condition of her knee that she was persuaded to return home to Wales to receive treatment. So she showed particularly brave and dedicated attributes to her character at this time.
AmeriCymru: In Part IV ('The Length And Breadth of Wales') of the book we are treated to a fascinating account of the chapel lecture circuit in late 19th century Wales.. How much prejudice existed against women lecturers and how difficult was it for them to gain acceptance?
It was very difficult. According to the vast majority of people in those days a womans place was in the home and certainly not speaking publically from the pulpit! To some extent Margaret agreed with this, but she also argued that she had a very good reason to travel the land lecturing from pulpits about Canaan, because she was trying to raise money for the Palestine Missionary Fund so that enlightened information could be given to the people living there. Some commentators in newspapers and magazines were very rude about the handful of travelling female lecturers, saying that the world had come to an end when they saw a female lecturer in the pulpit, or that these ladies didnt belong to one gender or the other! These commentators were largely ignored and, to be honest, these lady lecturers were so very popular (in particular with female audiences), that it was a case of men being envious of their success rather than anything else.
AmeriCymru: Again in Part IV we are introduced to another female lecturer, Cranogwen. Can you tell us a little more about her?
Cranogwen was a fascinating lady too, and spent time travelling around the United States also. She was raised in the old county of Cardiganshire and during her lifetime she was a sea captain, a poet, a musician, a preacher, a temperance movement leader, a school mistress and the editor of a Welsh womens magazine. Shed been sent away by her mother at the age of fifteen to learn to be a seamstress. She hated the work so much that she ran away to sea, and enjoyed life as a sailor for two years. In time she would gain her master of the seas certificate. At 21 years of age, she decided to live on dry land for a while. She took charge of the school in her local village, Pontgarreg, near Llangrannog. She was headmistress for six years, before succumbing to itchy feet once more. She was a promising public speaker, and so she joined the expanding popular lecture circuit and started visiting chapels around Wales. She travelled the land for three years, lecturing and preaching on subjects such as Wales, her religion and education, Money and Time, The Home, Things that go wrong and the female Welsh hymnist Ann Griffiths. Cranogwen became more and more well known the length and breadth of the country, and one rather envious poet quipped that she was the two sovereign, difficult Goddess. Cranogwen was paid two sovereigns for each of her lectures. It seems that the male poet wished to ridicule her popularity. She was yet to turn 30 years of age. And to celebrate that birthday, she went on a voyage to the United States in 1869. There she spent several months lecturing to Welsh audiences in states bordering New York City. She then ventured west to the Rocky Mountains. This was not an easy journey to undertake; it would have been even more fraught for a foreign single lady travelling on her own.
AmeriCymru: There is some speculation in the book about the reasons for Margaret's failure to record her experiences in America in the mid 1880s. Any further thoughts on that?
It saddens me a great deal that I havent been able to find more information about Margarets two-year stay in the United States. Several papers record her arrival in New York City in 1883 and the fact she spoke at several Welsh chapels in the city before moving on to Utica. But after that initial piece of information, theres nothing recorded in newspapers at all. For a lady who wrote so many letters and kept a detailed diary, its very strange that there is no more information about her time in the US. It makes me then wonder if her trip to the US actually lasted as long as two years. After all, she was largely on her own there; she didnt have any constant company with her and if she was moving from place to place, it could have been quite lonely for this gregarious lady. Perhaps, after a few months, she decided to go home.
AmeriCymru: Is it possible to obtain copies of Margaret's books?
I used copies held at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth during my research. Margarets two books Llythyrau Cymraes o Wlad Canaan and Morocco ar hyn a welais yno are both digitalized as Google eBooks.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Eirian Jones?
In conjunction with Blaenpennal History Society Im writing and editing a bilingual book about the history of Mynydd Bach in the old county of Cardiganshire (where I was raised) and hopefully this will be published either late this year or early 2013. The book may be of interest to Welsh descendants who live in the Gallia and Jackson areas of Ohio, as nearly three-quarters of the residents of Mynydd Bach emigrated to Ohio in the 1860s.
Author Eirian Jones at the grave of Margaret Jones, The Welsh Lady from Canaan, in Ipswich, Queensland.
Interview by Ceri Shaw
