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Make new friends, but keep the oldOne is silver and the other gold.How many of us sang this song as a child? This song, as well as many others, was written by Dr. Joseph Parry, once of Danville. ..... MORE

"Steely editor-in-chief Anna Wintour may be the public face of American Vogue, but as a new documentary about the magazine, The September Issue, makes clear, creative director Grace Coddington is equally as influential. Harriet Quick pays homage to this Welsh-born model-turned-superstylist, and explores her tense but creative partnership with Wintour" ..... MORE.

And the winner is...Alisha Bowen! The winning entry was selected by line number from the email account we set up especially for this competition . We have contacted both the winning entrant and Welsh Country Magazine and she should shortly be in receipt of both a free years subscription to the "Welsh Country Magazine" together with a signed copy of "Stories in Welsh Stone" by Geoff Brookes. Congratulations/Llongyfarchion Alisha!

Subscribe to 'Welsh Country' magazine.

'Stories in Welsh Stone' by Geoff Brookes

Friday Nights Concert with Jesus Presley , Western Aerial , Runaway Norm and The SlimJims

The Rev Tony Hughes of Jesus Presley

Jesus Presley on stage at the Crystal Ballroom

Western Aerial at the Crystal

Geoff Metts of Western Aerial

Edward Channon pipes Western Aerial on stage

All photographs courtesy of Buko.net except the last which was kindly provided by Paulette Channon

Saturday - The Mayors Visit

Chris Needs pictured with Eisteddfod organisers Gaabriel Becket and Ceri Shaw.

Chris Needs with members of the Portland Welsh Society .

Portland's Mayor Sam Adams with Chris Needs and Ceri Shaw..

Chris Needs records an interview for the Mayor's blog ..

Mayor Sam Adams with genetic genealogist Emily Aulicino .

Many thanks to Paulette Channon for the above photographs.

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A message from Peter Thabit Jones .... Adjudication It was good to see the range of poetic forms and subjects submitted for the Competition. Each poem offered something to the reader, be it an imaginative mind-picture, an original phrasing of an emotion or a striking statement. Poetic devices (such as alliteration, internal rhyme and repetition) were handled in a confident and effective way. Those poets that tried a specific form displayed a control of stanzas and rhyme-patterns, which contributed to a sense of rhythm in their poems. I really enjoyed entering into the world of each poem. I reduced the large batch of entries to an impressive short-list of twelve potential winners.*****************************************I feel the following poets deserve a mention for their very good poems:Bee Richards, Jolen Whitworth, Stephen Hughes, Heidi Falk and Elnaz Rezaei Ghalechi.*************************The RUNNER-UP of the Left Coast Eisteddfod 2009 Poetry Competition (English language Category) is Lines on Mt. Washington by Peter Lewis.**************************It is a poem that builds up steadily and climaxes in an excellent and appropriate last line. The tone of the narrator engages; and there is some quite skilled sound-texturing throughout the work.*************************The WINNER of the Left Coast Eisteddfod 2009 Poetry Competition (English language Category) is Imprint by Sherry Weaver Smith.********************************It is a poem that presents an emotional and very human experience in a striking and original way. The poet controls the unfolding of the poem with admirable confidence. She utilises language for maximum effect and her poetic voice is powered by a quiet integrity. It is a poem that calls one back to it time after time and it still retains its obvious strengths. It will be a real pleasure to publish the poem in Januarys Issue 11 of The Seventh Quarry Swansea Poetry Magazine.Peter Thabit Jones, August 2009Congratulations to Sherry and Peter....

A message from Lloyd Jones .....

Thank you for inviting me to judge the Americymru short story competition - I wish I hadn't agreed now because choosing a winner proved very difficult!I'm afraid that I discounted the autobiographical stories because they didn't fit the short story criteria, but I urge the authors to carry on with their work and produce complete autobiographies beacuse their stories are interesting and well-written.Some of the other stories I discounted because they were fragments, or tended towards the sentimental.The whole process is entirely subjective and one person's delicacy is another's poison, so please forgive me if you disagree with my choice - and for heaven's sake don't stop writing if your name isn't featured in the winning line-up: tastes vary enormously and another judge might choose a completely different line-up. That's right - it's a lottery!I ended up with a shortlist of five, namely: Care and Feeding of Clutter Blobs by Jennifer Brodeur The Fortuneteller's Fate by Elizabeth Addie A Touch of Class by Beryl Ensor-Smith A Flurry in Time by Linda Lenehan Coppers' Cash and Convenience by Ian Price.I chose Care and Feeding of Clutter Blobs as the winner simply because it's the most entertaining.The Fortune-teller's Fate I picked as runner-up by a whisker from the others.Well done the lot of you - and do carry on writing!

Congratulations Jenniffer..