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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog

Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church

For details of how to sponsor see this post

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My daps finally gave up the ghost today. One is split at the toes and the other is split at the heels. Guess I'm going to have to invest in new footwear soon. Meanwhile I was reminded of a typically helpful remark by our top commenter Swansea Jack ( he loses a buck for every day he misses ) who suggested some time ago that I consider running barefoot. I decided to investigate

It seemed to me that the risk of stepping on broken glass or rocks and gravel whilst running barefoot far outweighed any advantage that might accrue from the more natural stride that this practice supposedly encourages. But...lo and behold....I came across this article about barefoot running shoes !!:-

The running life: New things, like barefoot running, worth trying

Now perhaps I am missing something here. It might seem natural to suppose that barefoot running would involve running with no shoes on. But apparently not. What it actually means is that you run in bizarre daps with individual toe spaces buit in. There is a pic in the article linked above.

Another article I found lauds the benefits of running in 'barefoot sneakers':-

Get out and (barefoot) run

Has anybody tried this? Should I?

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A musical theatre superstar, a classical singer also known for his star role in a TV advert, a world-famous music conductor and an opera sensation are among the artists set to perform at the 2012 Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

The 2012 line-up features music favourites Alfie Boe, Wynne Evans, Karl Jenkins and Lesley Garrett among its highlights. Instrumentalists Alison Balsom and Nicola Benedetti, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, soprano Fflur Wyn, opera star Mark Llywelyn Evans and Cr CF1 have also been confirmed to perform at the Eisteddfod.

The announcement came at a press conference at Llangollen Pavilion on Wednesday 16 November by new Music Director Eilir Owen Griffiths. Tickets for the concerts will be released on general sale from Monday 5 December at the Box Office and online.

Wynne Evans was also at the launch and gave the press a sneak preview of whats to come at the 2012 Grand Finale concert with a specially written song about Llangollen to the tune of the Go Compare adverts.

The tenor from Carmarthen says,The Llangollen International Eisteddfod has such a rich tradition and is well supported by locals and visitors from four corners of the world. Its an honour to be invited to perform on such an iconic stage for the first time in front of an international audience. I am ashamed to say I only visited the Eisteddfod for the first time last year and I was amazed by the broad spectrum of musical styles and cultures there. I can honestly say there is something for everyone. As soon as I felt the atmosphere in the pavilion it became my ambition to sing there and now I am delighted to be headlining the final night concert. The line-up for 2012 looks fantastic and Im sure the demand for tickets will be as high as ever.

Music Director Eilir adds,2012 is an exciting year for Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Weve managed to attract an exciting mix of accomplished artists and instrumentalists to complete an attractive Concert Series. This year also sees the launch of The LIME Festival Chorus and The LIME Orchestra as well as the brand new All Singing, All Dancing Showchoirs competition, which Im personally looking forward to.

Annual favourites including the fantastic International Competitors, Childrens Day, Folk Friday and the inaugural and internationally renowned Choir of the World finale all return. We certainly have got something for everyone. And personally, Im looking forward to the challenges that my first year in the role will bring.

The 2012 Llangollen International Eisteddfod kicks off on Tuesday 3 July with the annual Parade of Nations through Llangollen town centre. Later that evening, competitors from across the globe will perform at the One World, One Stage, One Llangollen Welcome concert (7.30pm).

Classical Brit award winner and trumpeter Alison Balsom, soprano Lesley Garrett and violinist Nicola Benedetti will perform with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert on Wednesday 4 July (8.00pm).

Lesley Garrett explains,Llangollen Eisteddfod is an amazing festival that brings many genres of music together. This is a cultural festival with great longevity and a fabulous history. Some of the worlds best singers have headlined here over the past 65 years. Im also looking forward to performing at Llangollen again and sharing the stage with the fantastic Alison Balsom and Nicola Benedetti. They are wonderful instrumentalists and performers.

Broadway and West End star Alfie Boe best known for his role as Jean Valijean in Les Misrables makes his first appearance at Llangollen on 5 July to launch the All Singing, All Dancing Showchoirs competition (7.30pm).

Alfie Boe says,Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has played host to a great number of international singers and performers in the past and Im thrilled to be able to follow in their footsteps. Its also exciting for me to launch the 2012 Show Choir competition and as Wales is traditionally known as Land of the Song Im sure the standard will be high.

The winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World 2011, Valentina Nafornita, is the special guest singer during Karl Jenkins The Peacemakers on Friday 6 July (8.00pm). Swansea-born Jenkins returns to the Eisteddfod having led concerts in 2010.He was also Day President at the 2009 Eisteddfod.

On Saturday 7 July, the weeks competitions come to a head in the spectacular Choir of the World finale (8.00pm).

Brothers Wynne and Mark Evans lead an exciting musical extravaganza on 8 July as they perform at the Grand Finale (7.30pm). The classical singers will be joined by opera singer Fflur Wyn, Cr CF1 and many more in closing the 2012 festival.

On Monday 19th 2008 Gareth Williams addressed the masses and he spake thus:-"Ha. That William Wallace was a pussy! Big OG WOULD HAVE KICKED HIS HAGGISY ASS RIGHT BACK TO STIRLING. Dont be fooled by the Saxon/Norman propaganda machine. Owain and Elvis run a fish and chip shop in Corwen. My mate Edgar swears to it"We need evidence! Does anyone have any photographs?. ( hint, photoshop skills required ). I think there should be a prize on here for the best pic. Perhaps a jar of of "G&P's Homemade Pickled Eggs ". I hear they are a legend!

Seren will be opening a pop-up shop in Castle Arcade, Cardiff, throughout December. The National Theater of Wales have very kindly let us use their shop front at 30 Castle Arcade, for the month of December, while they are busy promoting their latest project, Silly Kings.

In addition to selling great books we will be hosting many author events with Francesca Rhydderch, Rhian Edwards, Robert Minhinick Ivy Alvarez, Damian Walford Davies , Phil Cope and Grahame Davies all due to make an appearance Books make great presents, signed books make even better ones.

We will also be giving out a secret daily discount code to be used in the shop, so keep you eyes on our Twitter and Facebook accounts!

The shop will be open every day up until Christmas from 10am 5pm . So come and join us for great offers, author events and a mince pie.

Author Events @ The Seren Christmas Pop-Up Shop:

Thursday 5th December Robert Minhinnick, 12pm
Robert will be in the shop to promote his latest title, The Island of Lightning , in which he travels all over the world, from Porthcawl, to Argentina, China, Finland, Iraq, Tuscany, Piemonte, New York, Zagreb, Lithuania and the lightning island of Malta A perfect present for the armchair traveller.

Saturday 7th December Festive Fiction, 2pm
Francesca Rhydderch ( The Rice Paper Diaries ), David Llewellyn ( Ibrahim & Reenie ) and Kate Hamer (author of 1976 , our short story of the month) will all be at the shop reading their fantastic fiction. Come and join us for an afternoon of great stories, mulled wine and mince pies.

Wednesday 11th December Rhian Edwards 2pm
Wales Book of the Year Winner Rhian Edwards will be reading from her award winning collection Clueless Dogs . Rhian is a recipient of the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry, so this is an event not to be missed.

Thursday 12th December Phil Cope, 11am
Phil Cope will be in to tell us about the ancient myths and magic tales behind the sacred wells in the disputed Borderlands between England and Wales. Beautifully illustrated in colour throughout, the wells from Cheshire to Monmouthshire, from the Dee to the Severn are displayed in all their glory, be they in remote countryside or city centre.

Friday 13th December Ivy Alvarez, 2pm
Ivy will be reading from her debut collection Disturbance , a novel in verse that chronicles a murder case, in which the family was gunned down by its patriarch. Each poem plays out like a piece of evidence, slotting together to give us the full case. We hear from the family, the neighbors and the authorities who all could have acted to avoid this tragedy.

Saturday 14th December Short Story Season, 2pm
Maria Donovan and Mary-Anne Constantine will be reading from their short story collections on the 14th. These bite sized stories are perfect for reading in a spare 15 minutes with a cup of coffee and a biccie. Pop in and join us for a minced pie.

Monday 16th December Grahame Davies, 11am
Grahame will be stopping by the shop at 11am on the 16th for a meet and greet. Grahame is the author of several books including, The Dragon and the Crescent, Everything Must Change , Real Wrexham , The Chosen People and Lightning Beneath the Sea as well as co-editing The Big Book of Cardiff with Peter Finch.

Friday 20 ^th December Damian Walford-Davies, 11am
Damian will be signing copies of his latest poetry collection Witch . With the narrative pull of a novel and the vibrancy of a play for voices. Witch offers a thrilling portrait of a Suffolk village in the throes of the witchcraft hunts of the mid-seventeenth century.

Saturday 21st December Dai George, 2pm
Dai George will be calling in to the pop up shop at 2pm . His brilliant dbut novel The Claims Office mixes straightforward narrative with elaborate and strange textures and imagery. This rich surface is undercut by an interesting attitude: a mix of rebellious energy and unflinching satire. His nature poems are often anti-nature poems, there are lively pieces about London and New York and skewed love poems.

From member Betty Belanus :-

"The Smithsonian Folklife Festival will feature Wales this summer. The temporary Festival position of Participant Assistant is listed below. Please note, the closing date is listed as past, but we are seeking fluent Welsh-speakers based in the U.S. due to potential visa problems for Welsh-based candidates and therefore the position will be open until filled as stated. We urge suitable candidates to get applications in as soon as possible. This position is based in Washington, D.C. and the starting date is negotiable. For more information about the event, see www.folklife.si.edu and click on Festival 2009; for application procedures, click under Opportunities/Employment. If you have specific questions about this position, please contact Betty Belanus at BelanusB@si.edu or by calling 202/633-6582.

2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Vacancy Announcement Number: SFF-2009 Opening date: November 24, 2008 Closing date: January 09, 2009 or until filled

Participant Assistant 04-13-09 07-17-09 IS/GS 6 $17.81/hr. salary

Participant Assistants Assistants help the participant coordinator in making logistical arrangements for event participants; help prepare correspondence for participants. Make travel, housing and other arrangements. Spanish Language desired for one position. Welsh Language desired for one position."

This is the Welsh Blogs page of the AmeriCymru Network and AmeriCymru Blog. It features some of the liveliest blogs from Welsh writers, artists and ex-pats. Check out the latest posts from some of our friends and partners below. Posts will update regularly via RSS and new blogs will be added frequently. If you have a blog you would like to see included please contact us on AmeriCymru.

AmeriCymru Welsh Blogs

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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog

Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church

For details of how to sponsor see this post

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Well, today was my day off. I try to take at least one day off from AmeriCymru, running, blogging etc per week. I freely admit that I have spent the day catching up on the latest series of 'Breaking Bad'. If you haven't seen 'Breaking Bad' yet you are in for a treat. Easily the best show on TV at the moment imho.

But back to running. I was amused to see the following in a post on the site about the about the World Alternative Games in Wales :-

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The man vs. horse race, an event at the World Alternative Games in Wales, has been around for three decades; a man has won three times.

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I guess, over a short distance, the horse should win every time. But I seem to recall reading somewhere that native Americans would capture and break wild horses by tracking and running after them for long distances. The horse would obviously bolt whenever its pursuer came into view but would eventually tire, provided the pursuit was kept up for long enough. I also recall reading somewhere that this has to do with the fact that horses have a thick coat and are unable to lose body heat as effectively as humans . Consequently when it comes to endurance over long distances ( provided one is super fit ) a man can indeed outrun a horse.

I wouldn't swear to any of this and I cant remember the sources of my information. Maybe it's just a mental 'barnacle' ( in the words of Aldous Huxley ) that I have picked up somewhere along the way.

Anyway I dont plan to outrun any horses on July 4th....just finish the course and maybe celebrate with a pint or two. Of course I have to perform the 'Grangetown Dap Dance' before I can get down to any serious celebrating ( all part of my pledge ) but I still don't know the steps. I'll repeat my appeal for info on this . Does anyone know the right moves?

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