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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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As promised photos of Sauvie Island after our exploration earlier on today.
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Hang about. It isnt a full moon now. Its broad daylight!
You might think she's an ordinary girl leading an uneventful life but when her wacky Aunty Gwen is mugged and taken to hospital, Nia uncovers a startling secret in her aunts cellar
Jenny Sullivans latest novel, Full Moon , published by Pont Books , combines the life of the average teenager with a good dose of the supernatural. Nia loves her family but wishes that they could be a bit more normal. Theres Mam whos desperate to be a TV star but cant act for toffee while big sister, Ceri, is offered a part in a new TV series but is worried about her mothers jealous reaction. Last but by no means least, is little brother, Steffan, who thinks hes a superhero!
One moonlit night, Nias life is changed forever following an encounter with a pair of muggers. Unable to confide in anyone, the girls got a lot on her plate - finding the attackers, keeping up with her schoolwork and dodging the Kid Cops, solving Ceris dilemma, looking after Steffan and, of course, getting ready for her first date with Ryan OBrien! Will she manage to juggle everything and unravel the mystery of the fierce creature at Aunty Gwens which only makes an appearance when the moon is full . . . ?
Jenny Sullivans fast-paced, witty style of writing is sure to captivate the reader and ignite the imagination of anyone over ten with a taste for the supernatural.
Award-winning author Jenny Sullivan is both popular and prolific. She now lives in Brittany, but returns often to Wales, visiting schools and libraries across the country to conduct writing workshops. In 2006, she won the Welsh Books Councils highest accolade for childrens literature; the Tir Na n-Og Award with her historical novel Tirion's Secret Journal .
Full Moon is available to buy from all good bookshops and online retailers.
For more information please visit www.pontbooks.co.uk
Many thanks to John Good for drawing our attention to this excellent website:- http://whywelsh.wordpress.com/
It seeks to answer misconceptions and explode some myths about the Welsh language.
Launched 5 th November 2011 (Kindle edition available January 2012)
Kings Hart Books
http://www.kingshartbooks.co.uk/index.html
The final instalment of Ambrose Conways Reso trilogy is set for publication in the beginning of November.
The first book, set in the sixties, The Reso was published in May 2007 and charted the adventures of David as he negotiated the conflicting worlds of the notorious Reso estate in Rhyl, North Wales and the insistent voice inside his head, which sounded eerily like his mothers, trying to steer him clear of trouble. Beyond the Reso , published in 2009 documented Davids teenage years in Rhyl and the traumas and triumphs of adolescence. Resolution moves the action into the eighties, the leaving of Rhyl, life at university and finding a first job as a teacher.
The Reso and Beyond the Reso have formed part of a major regeneration project in Rhyl and Denbighshire focussing on raising achievement and employability among those not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs). The author has worked with BAFTA award winning filmmakers Huw and Lal Davies to develop a community film about growing up in Rhyl. The Reso is now being developed as a text for a multinational learning project linking Kenya, the USA, Greece, Sweden and Argentina.
Resolution follows the hero to University in York and a very different world from the Reso.
Past, present and future blur as some of his most treasured beliefs are subjected to broader scrutiny.
David weathers the first few weeks at university, facing the interminable conversations about A level grades in the Fresher ice-breaking social gathering. He endures the scribbled notes attached to yoghurt pots of communal kitchen living. He develops a singularly unsuccessful signature dish to woo desirable female students, only to find his first date is a vegetarian, and he intends to serve Gammon and Pineapple. The ensuring argument as to whether his quick-witted replacement dish, Pineapple Totale , consisting of pineapple in a jus of pineapple, constitutes a first course or a sweet casts a cloud over the first date.
In the spirit of solidarity David takes part belatedly in the occupation of the university administration building, although he cannot remember the outrageous demands of the administration! which prompted it.
Amongst the class labelled the Slugs , David finds an entrepreneurial business plan as eloquently developed as anything Lord Sugar is capable of producing. All his students require to pull it off is a deceased elephant, a strong constitution and an industrial sized fridge.
Resolution continues the quest for fine detail, beautifully recounted, established in the earlier books and it serves as a portrait of life in the late seventies and early eighties.
Ambrose Conway was born and grew up in Rhyl and has lent heavily on his teaching career from rural Cambridgeshire, suburban Cheshire and inner city Nottingham to develop and test the ideas behind the books on a live and demanding audience. In Resolution, the students have formed the inspiration for the tales of teaching as the lowly life form known as the student teacher, and the painful metamorphosis, through the educational absinthe of its day, Banda machine fluid, to the fully-fledged teacher.
As well as his schools audience, Ambrose has a growing Welsh and international following, his books selling particularly well in Canada, Australia and the USA, thanks in some part to his involvement with Americymru, the Welsh cultural organisation in North America.
( This is not an official press release but rather the personal observations of a Cymuned supporter )
Here we are at the end of the year - and what an interesting year it's been!
From the point of view of the Welsh Speaking heartlands (the Fro), a number of encouraging policies have been adopted by the Government - the Welsh language is to be taken into account in the planning of regeneration projects in the Fro, for instance. Cymdeithas Cledwyn - the Welsh speaking 'wing' of the Labour Party - emphasised the importance of 'Bro Gymraeg' issues in future manifestos. The government have adopted elements of Cymuned policy, especially in Housing, and we have developed a useful relationship between us and the Assembly.
After May's elections, a number of our supporters are now councillors. From Anglesey to Monmouthshire, and Pembrokeshire to Wrexham, we have a voice in the policy and administration of the country's councils. And with some work on our internal structure we have released more money for campaigning.
We are in a strong position going into 2009, so what are our plans?
Firstly, the launch of the CyngorNi campaign. This is the campaign that will define our work in the Fro during 2009. If you want to do one thing in the new year to help the Fro, get in touch with is to ask what you can do for the campaign!
Secondly, the re-launch of 'Ein Gwlad - Ours Alone' - a quarterly magazine which will be free to our monthly members. We hope to produce a quality publication which will lead the debate on a wide range of subjects relevant to Wales and the Fro.
Thirdly, and partly on the back of the first two, we will be working to increase our active membership. At the moment we have a little under 2000 members. This is not enough! The unstinting work by an enthusiastic group of members has ensured our influence on politicians and national bodies, and raised our profile in the press. But many of you have taken it into your own hands to write to the press, to politicians, place stickers and talking about our policies to others, and this is proving to be the main strength of Cymuned. If each member spent one hour during 2009, writing emails or letters, or raising a petition, or supporting action / policy, this would correspond to about 4 hours a week of work for the whole year for every member of the Exec committee. Imagine if everyone was willing to write a letter a month to politicians. How many policies would be changed in answer to 2000 letters? This power is in your hands.
So - here is the New Year project. Tell 5 people about this email. If one of them subscribes, you have done your bit to double our supporter base! If more than one subscribes, then every extra one is a huge bonus...
One last thing - with the present economic situation, community action will be more important than ever as we try to protect our language and our communities. If you have ideas about things that you could be doing on a community level, get in touch so that we can publicise your ideas, raise awareness and give you as much help as possible.
Brilliant. We shall step into 2009, and wish you, and us, sweeping successes in everything that is important to us. Happy new year!
Forward! Iestyn* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dewi Sant told us to "Do the little things."To see what he had in mind, have a quick look at: www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/dewisant * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Are you a dreamer or a doer?Cymuned can't survive without YOUR help.Have a look at: www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/ourfuture to hear how to make things change.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the second of an occasional series for Welsh learners we are pleased and proud to present Dwy Afon / Two Rivers by Mike Jenkins. Mike is an acclaimed poet from Wales who is himself a Welsh learner and he has agreed to provide an occasional poem for the site in both Welsh and English to help AmeriCymraeg students and independent learners. Mike has been in Portland recently for the AmeriCymru/PSU event 'Culture Wars' and the Wordstock literary festival. Go to this page for a video of the Culture Wars panel discussion. Meanwhile you will find a selection of Mike Jenkins works on the Welsh American Bookstore here:-
DWY AFON
Enw yr un afon yw Gorffennol
ac mae en symud
yn araf ac yn ofalus
fel hen ddyn yn y pentref,
gwisgo cot brown, het llwyd
a siarad mewn llais sibrwd.
Mae en cymryd llawer lawr :
meddyliau am y rhyfel,
am y daith ir ddinas,
am yr hen iaith oedd yn ddiwerth,
y dociau oedd yn tyfu;
rhifo pob rhan or glo.
Enw yr ail yw Dyfodol
ac mae en brysio
yn gyflym ac yn ddiofal
fel bachgen ifanc yn y dre,
gwisgo siaced wyn, cap glas
a siarad mewn llais uchel.
Mae en cymryd llawer eto :
meddyliau am ffindio gariad,
am y daith ir tywyllwch
pan fydd en gadael adre,
y cwrdd yn yr aber
ac ar ol, y mor anferth.
MIKE JENKINS
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TWO RIVERS
..
The name of the first is The Past
and it always moves
ponderously and carefully
like an old man in the village
wearing a brown coat, grey hat
and speaking whisperingly.
It carries a heavy weight :
thoughts of the wars,
a journey to the city,
the old language fading away
as the docks spring up ;
counting the cost in coal.
The name of the other is The Future
and it always hurries
quickly and carelessly
like a young boy in the town
wearing a white jacket, blue cap
and speaking in a loud tone.
But it also carries a load :
thoughts of finding love,
the journey into darkness
when it will leave home,
the meeting at the mouth
and , afterwards, the great ocean.
(non-literal translation by the author)
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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
.
Gaynor asked for a running pic a few posts ago so I thought I'd include a couple of shots of your cabbage patch action man in the 'wild'. I realise they are all a bit distant but I can photoshop them if necessary. Running went well today...probably about 20 minutes and I have kept to my pledge to quit smoking . Not one so far today ( 7.10 pm PST ). Gaabriel will comment later if I make it through the whole day
Pics of Sauvie Island to come tomorrow hopefully and of course the KStart or Indiegogo sponsorship app. Bit of a delay on that as I havent quite decided which one to use yet. Meanwhile the West Coast Eisteddfod page on this page is at last under way. Only very minimal details so far but we will be adding more in the coming days and weeks. SO....keep checking back for more info!
Me running
Ditto
Ditto again
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The recent success of Swansea City Football Club will go down in history forever thanks to Welsh historian Geraint H. Jenkins who has put pen to paper and published the story of the 2010-11 season in a new book published next week. In the book called The Swans Go Up! Geraint H. Jenkins claims that the Swans success this year is up there with the greatest in the clubs history.
Geraint Jenkins said: By any standards, the 2010-11 season was an unforgettable experience. It showed that playing an attractive passing game, in the Swansea way, can bring rich dividends. The Jack Army has every reason to be proud of the manager and his players."
Geraint, a supporter of the Swans since 1964, and who took his wife to the Vetch on his first date, has only praise for Brendan Rogers and the current crop of players.
The author is also writing the official history of Swansea City Football Club to be published for the centenary next year.
The Swans Go Up! is published by Y Lolfa and includes a foreword by Swansea captain Garry Monk. Garry describes the book as a Must-read book It will bring back wonderful memories for the Jack Army.
The Swans Go Up! presents the full, dramatic story of the 2010-11 season and the story of the club from the crisis of near extinction in May 2003 to the dizzy heights of Premier League football. It includes vivid portraits of the players as well as great photographs of some of the highlights, including that game against Nottingham Forrest and the fantastic trip to Wembley.
The Swans Go Up will be available in bookshops and www.ylolfa.com for 4.95.
