.

AmeriCymru member Nathan Lewis Williams is a freelance musician, sound engineer and music promoter working mostly in Glastonbury, England. He is a fluent Welsh speaker and was raised in Coedpoeth in North East Wales. He sings Welsh traditional music and translates Welsh poetry into English. This year he organised the first ever Green Field ( Maes Gwyrdd ) at the National Eisteddfod held on the Vale of Glamorgan between August 4th and 11th. AmeriCymru spoke to him about the event.

AmeriCymru: Croeso i AmeriCymru Nathan and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. Can you introduce the Maes Gwyrdd for our readers? What is its mission statement?

Nathan: Thanks for the welcome. It's great to be able to connect with our American family across the water! To answer your question:

One version of our mission statement is from the front page of our programme this year:

Maes Gwyrdd: past, present and possible futures. A place where ancient culture and traditional skills may inform new perspectives and technologies. A place on the boundary of our familiar world and emerging realities. Somewhere that invites us to contemplate and consider what hopes and questions, qualities and visions we may have for a viable future together on this, our priceless Earth.

Also, our full consitutional aims and objectives, and plenty of other details, including the programme of our activities this year on the main "e-Coleg" stage, are available on our website (which now needs updating somewhat - bear with us! - www.maesg.org.uk

AmeriCymru: What for you, will be/were the highlights of this years Maes Gwyrdd?

Nathan: Every talk at the e-Coleg was a revelation; we had some dedicated speakers of real insight and passion and it's very difficult to choose highlights from what was an amazingly varied and quite erudite programme of lectures: see our website for the full line-up. I loved the talk on Iolo Morganwg, pioneer of the Eisteddfod's Bardic Order, the Gorsedd, by Emeritus Professor Geraint H Jenkins - Iolo came across as a spirited radical and proto-ecologist who might have enjoyed the atmosphere of our Green Field had he been there to see it (some people even thought, in some spiritual sense, that he was!). Bob Evans' history of early Welsh harp music, with musical performances from his Crwth and vocals duo, Bragod, took things right back to fundamental, Pythagorean harmonic principles and was very accessible and well received. And on the political side, Jill Evans, European MP and Plaid Cymru advocate was both realistic and visionary in her call for a Green Revolution worldwide to counter the many economic and social problems we face today.

Musically, we had intimate and poetical performances from Gwyneth Glyn, Twm Morys and Gwilym Morus, all personal favourites of mine, and some new blood performing for almost the first time, including new band "Plu" who may make quite a stir if they keep going as they are, and Caradog and Aneurin on harp and guitar (the former also a younger member of Cymru Radical who closed the event for us with a talk on their experience of the Occupy Movement). We also had an outdoor stage on an old (prototype, painted green) Ifor Williams trailer, with battery powered guitar amps (rechargeables of course) providing enough volume for an intimate audience. Gai Toms and Plu were highlights here.

Many traditional crafts including boat making, willow sculpture, wood turning and - very popular these days - yurt making. Many of our structures were yurts, which were new to much of our Eisteddfod-going audience, including our impressive 60 foot yurt which housed the main e-Coleg stage. Seeing people's reactions to that beautiful structure - including the Eisteddfod organisers themselves - was a real highlight in itself, as was the reaction to our beautiful sculptures: a cauldron, labyrinth, wind harp sculpture, Iolo Morganwg willow sculpture and more, created by Coed Hills Rural Artspace Community from the Vale of Glamorgan and their associated artists. Photos of all this can be seen at our facebook site, Maes Gwyrdd 2012 also accessible via the front page of our website.

AmeriCymru: We learn from your website that - "The intention at Maes Gwyrdd will be to power everything on our area of the Eisteddfod field using renewable energy," How will you achieve this goal?

Nathan: We did - almost - achieve this goal. We ran our office from the battery of an electric car (made in Wales) supplied by Dragon Cars; these can in priciple be charged from renewable sources, of course! We ran the sound system and most of our Powerpoint projection at the e-Coleg from solar panels and a bank of batteries, which worked very well. Unfortunately we found that a bright projector, which was needed - ironically to counter the sunlight which powered the panels - used slightly more "juice" than we had, so we had a back-up power feed from the Science (Gwyddoniaeth) building nearby - diesel unfortunately! We hope to solve this by next year by:

1) Blacking out our slideshow area more effectively, enabling us to
2) Use a less powerful projector and
3) Programming fewer talks. There were a lot!

Next year we intend to focus more on music, and a little less on lectures; sound requires less power than a slide projector, especially as we tend to focus on folk music and acoustic instruments - not too much volume or bass - thus a P.A. amp using less than 30W can easily fill a performance space, and not drain batteries too much.

We also used solar panels to charge the batteries that powered the amps for the wind harp sculptures, and battery powered amps for musicians on the Garden Stage (Llwyfan yr Ardd). It never ceases to amaze me that you can put three musicians, i.e. two mics and a guitar input into one small battery powered amp (if you have the right splitters and adaptors) and it's plenty loud enough - as long as people are listening. Part of our "small is beautiful" aesthetic goes hand in hand with the emphasis on folk music: small, intimate audiences who are listening do not require big P.A.'s to blast across loud talking and drinking (which is what happens on the Eisteddfod's music stages elsewhere on site).

This is not to say that you can't get lots of volume from solar power - I've seen it done well by the Triban and Small World solar stages in the U.K. for example - though it's in fairly short bursts usually, and requires using speakers with low resistance and watching power consumption quite carefully. We'll aim to move more in this direction next year so that we can put louder bands (drum kits etc) on if necessary. Watching one's power consumption is an interesting way of looking at how we use technology - quite essential when using solar rigs for stages - and I am increasingly enjoying learning which of my various amps use lots of wattage and which don't, by using a measuring device easily purchased; often when we rely on the National Grid or easy diesel generation we take for granted having as much power as we need, and more if you count wasted power through leaving things switched on... Having to limit one's consumption actually makes one more aware, which can then filter into an awareness of how much we unnecessarily lose, or waste, in our everyday 240V lives.

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little more about the ecological workshops and crafts activities that were/will be available on the Maes Gwyrdd this year?

Nathan: As well as the crafts already mentioned, we had an acoustic music studio (again, no drum kits, but cajon, hand drums and acoustic instruments!) built using straw bales and turf - Stiwdio Gwellt Hafod, whose website ( stiwdiogwellt.com ) now has tens of recordings made during the 8 days of the Eisteddfod by some of Wales' best rock and folk performers, including young bands and older figures such as Tecwyn Ifan. Permaculture Wales brought a huge turf recreation of a mountainside in Pumlumon, as it would be if farmed using traditional sustainable methods. The Currach project ( www.lynneallbutt.com/2012/06/discovering-new-territories-in-a-currach.html ) displayed their hand crafted boat, similar to a coracle, which they intend to sail dawn the river Wye to the sea next year. Cwatrochos ( www.carolisides.com ) took some very strangely coloured photos in their photo booth (again, see our facebook site) of the public holding up cards displaying "What I Would Like To See"... A solar powered cinema graced us for a day, complete with ushers in fancy dress, and blew one blogger's mind (see http://www.swoosh.me.uk/en/news/swoosh-yr-ei-2012-dydd-3/09354.html ) Kids' rides included a hand-turned carousel, climbing frame, trampolines and swingboats - all good old-fashioned human powered stuff.

In terms of workshops (all through the medium of Cymraeg, of course) we had Chi Gung meditation and Capoeira ( a form of dance / martial art from Brazil), willow fishing lines and fish for kids, basket making, pole lathe wood turning, knitting, story sharing, pottery, yurt making, a bicycle powered sewing machine repairing and making clothes (Carys Hedd's "stitch doctors") - another, similar bike-powered bit of interactive fun where kids and passers by pedalled to power a turntable playing Welsh and Breton music... also our labyrinth was pretty interactive: in the centre was simply a tree, and, if you could find it, the text of a sonnet by R Williams Parry called "Propaganda'r Prydydd" (The Poet's Propaganda) in two languages which is about as magical a poem as one can find in the modern Welsh tongue. Saul, a Welsh stonemason, carved a eulogistic poeteical excerpt praising the Vale of Glamorgan by Iolo Morganwg (himself a stonemason by trade) on an oval stone sculpture set into the ground, which we hope will become a permanent memorial to Iolo in his local town of Cowbridge:

'Y Bardd yn Dychwelyd i Forgannwg wedi bod Flynyddau lawer yn Lloegr' gan Iolo Morganwg - dyfyniad

Cyfrifir hi beunydd yn frasaf o'r gwledydd,
Yn llannerch llawenydd, a'i gwenydd yn gain,
Gardd Cymru'n dra chymwys y'i gelwir, fro gulwys,
Gwlad irlwys, paradwys tir Prydain.

Dewiswyd gan Geraint H. Jenkins

'The Bard Returning to Glamorgan having been many Years in England' by Iolo Morganwg - excerpt

She's constantly counted the grandest of lands,
As a glade of great joy, bright and fair in her mirth
The garden of Wales, aptly called, Vale of sanctity;
Green country, paradise of Britain's earth

Chosen by Geraint H. Jenkins

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about the e-Coleg? How do you see it evolving in future years?

Nathan: "ecoleg" is the Welsh word for ecology, and by inserting a hyphen, one arrives at a pun: an "e-College" - the "e" being our use of computerised slideshows etc, of course. The word "college" has bardic resonances, if one considers that the town nearest the Eisteddfod this year, Llantwit Major, once housed a Druidic College, many years before any Universities existed, a fact that would not have escaped that great reviver of modern Druidry, Iolo Morganwg himself. In the spirit of Iolo's pervading influence on our field, his prowess as a polymath, antiquarian and mystic as well as a practical craftsman and bard, we covered many subjects there, from the esoteric to the practical and political, taking an holistic approach whilst maintaining the highest possible standards of presentation and content.

Perhaps the most out-of-place speakers there were the politicians in their suits, who nonetheless gamely entered into the spirit of things, realising I'm sure that they were at an Eisteddfod in August holidays, with all the cultural overtones that has, and not a parliament or political rally! Nonetheless some very serious issues were covered, from fracking, wind power turbines and nuclear waste to supermarket food pricing and energy conservation; we used an historical context (including some very interesting academic lectures on medieval poetry for example) as a springboard to take us into thoughts about the ecology of the present, and a sustainable future for Wales. I hope that this formula for the e-Coleg forum - its informality combined with rigorous thought and debate - will develop and continue as the hub of our Green Field in the coming years.

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us more about the original artworks created for this year's event?

Nathan: The artworks were generally themed on ancient archetypes, in the spirit of Iolo's antiqurianism, and have been mentioned earlier. To list them again in more detail: a large metalworked cauldron over a fire (consisting of three large, slow burning elm logs) steaming away with a few herbs in it, and a single stone immersed (stone soup, anyone?!) - see a photo of it here:-

Amazing permaculture gardens, with quotes written on boards to get one thinking, designed by Michelle Fitzsimmons of ediblelandscapes.co.uk, again photos are on facebook

The wind harps were made of iron, in the shapes of hands, and each finger held a taut string, ten in all, tuned to the harmonic series on a C# with A at 432 Hz. Any musos may understand the implications of this tuning, for those who don't: C# at concert pitch 432Hz is the note traditionally used as a drone in Indian classical music, possibly because it is an octave of the solar year, 365.25 days - thus bringing Earth and Sun together in a musical union - or something. See it as you will. The interpretations, and reactions to the harps ranged from hostility and bemusement to enthusiasm and intrigue. My first feeling on seeing them (I was involved in commissioning them) was to be shocked at their ugliness, but then realised that they had a strange beauty of their own, and that they made a fascinating comment on (post-?)industrialism. Interestingly they were placed on the edge of Llandow Trading estate, and very near the site of an ancient burial mound (on Tumulus Way!). And they made a very beautiful sound. The gardens built around them by Michelle and co reflected the dystopian reality that their iron ugliness implied: old railway sleepers, corrugated iron and discarded bike wheels formed what Jill Bach, one of our founders, called a kind of "Mad Max" reality around them. As a piece of modern art, in shock value and cultural resonance they had a worthiness all of their own, though not everyone appreciated them. One radio interviewer was so rude about them during a live interview - and was plucking them as loudly and harshly as he could to make them sound as bad as possible (wind harps, my friend, wind harps, you fool!) that I found myself snatching the microphone from his hand and leaving him, for a while, with dead air (ah, the sweet sound of Cage's 4'33") until he calmed down...See facebook for photos of these harps and the "Mad Max" gardens:-

or check out the filmed interview with Jill Bach where she demonstrates the harps by gently plucking them.

The other garden, at Llwyfan yr Ardd, the aforementioned Garden Stage, was by contrast utopian and extraordinarily beautiful, and took many hours to create. The media, for some reason, were less interested in this one!

Little wind harp scultures by Bob Rowberry twinkled ar whirred in the breeze, and bronze figures of great naturalism and beauty all graced the field, particularly around the labyrinth, which, encircled also by trees, was probably the nearest thing the Eisteddfod has seen to a Druidic Grove for some time... Coed Hills did a magnificent job of pulling so many talented artists together, and our job was then to place things appropriately (Feng Shui!) so that the Green Field as a whole made coherent, and harmonious, sense.

AmeriCymru: What plans do you have for next year in Denbighshire?

Nathan: We'll have to scale it back a bit! We may not have the luxury of an Arts Council Grant for the visual side of things, and we've certainly got less space to play with. I'd like to see the e-Coleg continue, and programme more music so that we get more of a buzz going for the public, and draw people in even more. The kids' rides and acivities were very successful this year, and I'd like to see that continue. Also I'd like to develop our cafe, and source more local and organic food and offer more vegan options than we did this year. There are limitations imposed by the Eisteddfod as to what we can do food-wise but we'd like to develop that side if at all possible. Without as much support from Coed Hills, and their director Rawley in particular, we'll be building a new team to run things; and Maes Gwyrdd will inevitably have to re-invent itself from year to year as it travels from South to North, and back again. The idea is that a local cultural network centre, or centres, can form the hub for organising Maes Gwyrdd as the Eisteddfod moves around Wales, and form links with Wales' national festival which can be mutually beneficial. It certainly worked with Coed Hills this year; we are seeking such a centre in the North at present, and have a few ideas, but nothing definite yet.

Personally, I'm trying right now to balance being on holiday, for the first time in a long while, with keeping up the momentum of what we've just achieved, publicising what was certainly a great success for us, and updating the website and facebook pages. The latter is a little easier to deal with, so if anyone is interested ineither seeing photos, links to other articles on line, or getting involved, please do visit Maes Gwyrdd 2012 here

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Nathan: Well, it's great to hear what you guys are up to with the West Coast Eisteddfod, and if there are any links that can be made between that organisation and ours, then bring it on. I sometimes feel that those brothers and sisters on the other side of "the pond" may have something to teach us, or inform us, about fresh perspectives for Wales' own Eisteddfod. Jen Delyth has been great in allowing us to use her "Tree Of Life" design in our publicity, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Green Field, Maes Gwyrdd, makes many new friends in America, both for itself and for the National Eisteddfod itself as a whole. Diolch yn fawr, Ceri, am bob cefnogaeth hyd yn hyn. Thanks, Ceri and AmeriCymru for your support so far. I've already made contact with people here in Wales through this website so things come full circle here too!

Hwyl am y tro, a phob bendith.

Nathan Lewis Williams

Interview by Ceri Shaw

Debut novelist Jayne Joso spent the major part of her youth in North Wales, starting at primary school in Bangor and growing up around Port Penrhyn and then moving to the foothills of Snowdonia. I cant imagine a more vivid and inspiring landscape to have grown up in, the North Wales coastline and the rolling hills and mountains are a gift to the imagination and soothe the soul in much the same ways as music and literature, which is an important theme of the novel. I guess those childhood influences run deep.

Soothing Music for Stray Cats , predicted on 23 April by Ian Thomson in the Times Literary Supplement to be one of the great, eccentric London novels, is a reflective novel set in central and north London. Even though the author is a young woman, the novel will appeal to a youthful male readership and NME fans, with its themes of male suicide, Samurai philosophy, male bonding, songwriting, and its first person male narrator. Driven by its distinctive colloquial voice, wacky monologues on subjects as diverse as Mike Skinner, Ellen MacArthur and Nelson, its philosophy is upbeat, committed to a world in which strangers still help each other, even though we can seldom intervene when it really matters. Catcher in the Rye meets Kenzaburo Oes An Echo of Heaven, by way of Anne Enrights The Gathering, the text is framed by two suicides, but the messages are positive, in favour of altruism, male friendship, and the camaraderie of strangers in straightened circumstances (the latter a topical theme for the Credit Crunch era). Set in a chilly February in Finsbury Park and central London with its tourist landmarks, the authors background as an architecture journalist shows through in her strong sense of atmosphere and city spaces. Literary aspects include the shadowing of Woolfs Mrs Dalloway, and beautiful imagery ranging from cricket, London Tube lines, failing shoes on city streets, naval heroes and monuments. Carrying cover endorsements from comedian and broadcaster Natalie Haynes and journalist Joe Moran, this is a contender for literary prizes, including the Orange.

The novels cover carries endorsements from top journalist Joe Moran (Skilfully melds the esoteric and the everyday, the surreal and the banal, to create a strangely gripping narrative full of dark humour, and comedian and broadcaster Natalie Haynes (An unexpected and moving story about the redemption of misfits and the consolation of strangers), as well as artwork by Japanese artist Hiroke Godengi, reflecting the authors Japanese connections. Having lived and worked in the country, and continuing to write extensively on Japanese arts & culture, Jayne Joso explains the Eastern inspiration for the novels character, manic student Kazu, struggling to survive as a lonely and isolated student in London,

I came across The Way of the Samurai when I was living in Japan. For Kazu, the single biggest influence on his life is Hagakure the code of the Samurai. But it was a British work of fiction that first enticed me to the country: Angela Carters Fireworks. This short story about a young Englishwoman and her Japanese lover in Tokyo, captivated me as much for its descriptions of space and environment as for the erotic elements. Fiction, and fiction reading indeed, are the main themes of Soothing Music for Stray Cats, with songwriting being included under the same banner. In the protagonist, Mark, I wanted to show a character both sub-consciously and consciously engaging with ideas and thoughts even snatches of sentences - presented in fiction. Great songsters such as Leonard Cohen and bands like The Clash and The Verve also help him face the crisis following his best friends suicide.... Another recurrent theme in my work, however, because of my tremendous passion for architecture, will always be finding the right place, be it geographical, physical or psychological.

Jayne Joso has written extensively on Architecture, including for Architecture Today magazine, and on Japanese arts & culture. Her first childrens book, How Do you Feel? was recently published by Benesse in Japan, and her first play, Chinas Smile, commissioned for Chinas Childrens Day, enjoyed a long theatre run and was later televised. This is her first novel.

Jayne will be signing her books at Llandudno Waterstones, Monday 18 May at 11am and 3p

.

In a recent academic study which looked to measure "sing-ability" of patriotic songs, a musicologist found people more willing to join in with a chorus from Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau than the UK's official anthem, God Save the Queen, and USA's Star-Spangled Banner. Musicologist Dr Alisun Pawley conducted the study as part of her PhD at the University of York with Dr Daniel Mllensiefen, a German music psychologist at Goldsmith's, University of London. Le Marseilles came top with our Welsh anthem in second position.

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion in the British media about the status of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau with the Tory Minister for Tourism, John Penrose suggesting that Hen Wlad fy Nhadau was a song rather than an anthem as well as the recent scandal of Welsh foot-ballers refusing to sing the so called British anthem that of God Save the Queen during the Olympic Games.

This is the perfect backdrop to launch an App to learn to sing the Welsh National Anthem ! The App was launched in Wales at the time of the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llandough this year by Member of the European Parliament Jill Evans (Plaid Cymru) and the App is now available in the Apple App store. The singer & political activist Dafydd Iwan will be launching the App in the Casey Ballroom , in the Hilton Hotel, Scranton , Pennsylvania, Friday the 31 ^st of August . It will be an honour to launch the App in America in Scranton in the North American Festival of Wales.

The broadcaster and performer Gwenno Dafydd is very experienced in leading and singing the Welsh National Anthem in numerous public places. As a Welsh Masters International Athlete, she went to the Welsh Amateur Athletics Association in 2010 and suggested to the Chief Executive Matt Newman that a tradition be established to sing the Welsh Anthem during their National Championships. She had the honour of being not only the first singer to do this for the Welsh Championships and Commonwealth Games Trials in Cardiff International Stadium in Leckwith Summer 2010, but also sang it for the second time in the Welsh Championships in 2011.

Gwenno sang the anthem to celebrate local athletes who had represented Wales Internationally in athletics in a ceremony before the Olympic flame came through Fishguard, and also sang the Anthem at the end of the Geovation weekend camp competition to create Apps to promote the Welsh Coast Path. Here she was approached by Melinda Russell and invited to sing the anthem on a new App that Melinda from www.mjrsolutions.co.uk was developing at the time.

Gwenno was very keen to share this amazing opportunity with the young and highly talented musician Harri Davies. He has already performed as a soloist on the stage of Saint Davids Hall in the Rememberance Concert in 2011 & recently performed on the Glanfa Stage in the Millenium Centre in Cardiff Bay. All of this whilst just eighteen years of age.

http://itunes.com/apps/dragonsongs

This is the most comprehensive App to learn the anthem available on the market and it contains the following elements:

• Gwenno Dafydd singing the Anthem with Harri Davies accompanying on the piano.

• Seperate piano accompaniment by Harri Davies.

• Harri Davies performing a totally new and fresh version on the acoustic guitar.

• A short film with Gwenno Dafydd enunciating the words clearly with sub-titles passing by at the same time.

• The words in Welsh with an English translation.

• A phonetic version of the words.

Gwenno has a previous family connection with America. One of her great, great, great Uncles, William Bebb, was the 19 ^th Governor of Ohio in 1846 and a park called the Governor Bebb Metro Park till exists in Ohio

http://ohio.llgc.org.uk/people-bebb.php

This is the first song in the Dragon Songs series and the second song will be the Saint Davids Day Anthem, Cenwch y Clychau i Dewi (Ring out the bells for Saint David) Words: Gwenno Dafydd. Music: Heulwen Thomas.

Gwenno had the idea for a special song, an anthem for Saint Davids Day way back in 2005 when she was taking part in the National Saint Davids Day Parade (NSDDP) and since that time the song has been performed both Wales wide and world wide, in Toronto, Ontario, Los Angeles, Patagonia, Disneyland Paris, Once in Llandaff Cathedral, Twice in the Houses of Parliament, Three times in Saint Davids Cathedral, Once in the Brangwyn Hall, Five times in the NSDDP and this year it was performed in both English and Welsh in the All Wales Saint Davids Day Service.She will be singing the Saint Davids Day Anthem and the National Anthem during the American Launch.

SEE YOU AT SCRANTON

In the year in which a film about his life was produced, Aberystwyth born Charles Bronson is now publishing a new book called Diaries From Hell - his diaries from Monster Mansion in Wakefield Prison. As one of the most notorious prisoners in the UK these new diaries show what life is really like and how difficult things are for him to fight for justice in such grim conditions.

Living in a cage in Monster Mansion, Wakefield Prison is as hard as it gets. Living with people like Robert Mawdsley (described as our own hannibal the canibal) leaves you in no doubt that these really are diaries from hell. Monster Mansion is the ideal place to study Loonyology the phrase created by Bronson for the crazy world we live in. The loonyology of the prison system that hes fought for 35 years would drive most people mad and to give up. But not Bronson, who continues his battle for justice in one of the most difficult conditions imaginable.

In these diaries, written in his own words, follow the thoughts, battles and dreams of Britains most famous prisoner in 2008. During this period he follows the production of the film, Bronson and meets the actor Tom Hardy who plays him in the film that was released to such great acclaim in 2009. You also get to know his friends and family who are so dear to him and share the joy of their visits and letters.

Diaries From Hell is also a book of loonyology with a soul and shows how proud Bronson is of supporting charities in all parts of the world. It shows Bronson as a man of warmth and talent, and includes numerous great art works and poems produced in his lonely cage in hell. It has been rumoured that Charles Bronson will settle in Aberystwyth, where his mother and brother still live, when he is released from prison.

Diaries from Hell is published by Y Lolfa on 10th of May, and copies can be ordered online from www.ylolfa.com .

An interview with Runaway Norm who will be appearing at the Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland Oregon 2009. The Left Coast Eisteddfod is a Welsh performing arts festival. It's purpose is to provide a shop-window for contemporary and traditional Welsh culture in the North Western USA. It should also be one helluva party.

Americymru: Ok...who is Norm and why is he running and who from?

Geoff: Norm is a 10 year old Golden retriever who during our first couple practices loved to runaway in pursuit of female canines in the local neighborhood. A real Romeo he is. We once lost him for a few days as he chased tail only to find him through an online search of the county animal controls web site. Poor guy been picked up by the animal control so like a good friend we bailed him out.

Americymru: How did the band come to be formed and how long have you been playing together?

Geoff: We've been together for about four years now. Put together through a series of six degrees of separation. Tygh Colton (Guitar/Vocals) and Geoff Gillam (Drums/Percussion/Vocals) started their friendship in Jr. High School where each played in the school band but then went on to different colleges. Tygh met Matt Lavoie (Lead Guitar) at Oregon State where Matt and Tygh became Sigma Chi fraternity brothers and eventually played in a band together. The fraternity connection continued as Tygh was introduced to Nick Montgomery (Lead Vocals) through another chapter of Sigma Chi at University of Oregon. Fast forward to a Monday night in March 2005 and our first open mic performance. Tygh had called Geoff to play percussion for a 2 hour acoustic set with Nick, Matt, and himself. Through the fraternal networking of friends we brought about 100+ people. We played through a lot of nerves but had good feedback and the pub booked us for a weekend gig that night. Through another fraternity connection we found our missing link in Mike Yesenofski (Bass) and really took shape as a full band. Mike brought so much more musically to the group with his music experience and studio production background. We started writing more music, playing more shows and eventually purchased our own studio where we record and self produce all of our material.

Americymru: Who would you count amongst your foremost musical influences?

Geoff: I grew up with Jazz and 80's pop. Tygh was influenced with Steve Miller and Boston. The rest of the guys would probably mention anything from Oingo Boingo to The Beatles and Guster. I'd say the five of us really see influences in our own music through groups like Led Zepplin, Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Guster.

Americymru: How do you rate the current music scene in Portland? Would you say it was healthy? What more could be done to gain exposure for local bands?

Geoff: The Portland music scene is growing everyday. We've watched groups like Calobo play at the Crystal Ballroom and in the last year The Decemberists and The Shins. It seems like each year we hear another local group opening the ears of the nation. I think Portland's got a good music scene especially on the Indie side. Locally a lot of bands know each other and support each other. We play at the same spots and have crossover fan bases. If you can grow the fan base through word of mouth you know you're doing something right. The media outlets available to network are a great start but I would also love to see more local music festivals. There are some good opportunities through the local media to gain exposure but it's all about growing your fan base and music festivals are a great way to bring the cross over fan bases together.

Americymru: Several band members are of Celtic heritage ( Irish/Welsh ). Are there any Celtic influences in your music?

Geoff: Let's see, we have a mandolin and drink Guinness and Jameson on occasion. Oh, and our first gig was at a place called "The Dublin Pub". Coincidental influences? Maybe?

Americymru: Who writes most of the bands material?

Geoff: We all contribute to the writing process. Mike tends to write a lot of our melodies but we have each introduced a song of our own at one point or another. If a song doesn't have lyrics Nick and I (Geoff) usually work through that process. New music is one of the best parts of being in this group. The excitement of creating a new song and playing that for the first time for someone is always a highlight.

Americymru: Any plans for live performances in the near future ( A plug for the Eisteddfod is perfectly acceptable here.....lol )

Geoff: You can find all of our show dates on line at www.myspace.com/runawaynorm.com . We're very excited to play at Eisteddfod this year. To play at the Crystal Ballroom and share our music with the crowd and other artists will be a great experience for us. Get ready to dance on air with Runaway Norm.

Americymru: Any ambitions to tour in Europe?

Geoff: If we all toured Europe I'm not sure we would end up in the same country or even bring any instruments. One guy might be in the Alps with a backpack, another in Ireland with a set of golf clubs, maybe a glass of wine in France or Italy. Our music aspirations in Europe are not on the horizon but that's not to say if the passports and opportunities aligned we wouldn't board the plane. If we do tour Europe we'll defiantly have bring Norm a treat when we get home.

Americymru: Where can people hear/purchase your music?

Geoff: You can find the music of Runaway Norm on iTunes, CDBaby.com, or on MySpace as well as our live shows.

Americymru: Any other message for the members and readers of Americymru.

Geoff: We hope you enjoy our music and come raise a pint with us Friday, August 21st, 2009 at Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon.

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

.

Reproduced with kind permission from David Westerns Portland Lovespoon Blog

.

Last time , I was ready to begin sanding. Lots of sanding....
I usually start at around 80 or 100 grit - especially for the larger areas like the bowl. This first grit of sanding inevitably reveals little connections and overlaps that I end up wanting to carve to refine a little further, again, this time more than usual. I think I even made 4 or 5 new piercings, not to mention sharpening lots of little corners, and maybe even a little slight re-shaping here and there. With all the nooks and crannies, the needle files were a big help this time, too. So, I find that the first pass probably takes 4 or 5x as long as any other grit. I assume, also that the reason for that is because I don't carve nearly as cleanly as someone like Dave. That means more shape refining in my first pass. It's probably been years since Dave's had to deal with that issue.

Next came 180, 220, 400, 600 and 800. In these pictures, it was at 800, and still drying the first time. You can see, the scratches are pretty much gone, but the surface still looks pretty rough after wetting it this first time. Through these first several grits, my main focus is removing scratches from the previous grit, or from the carving tools as well as I can. By 600 or 800, it starts to get a sheen, and it mostly stops creating dust. At this point, I like to wet down the spoon with water to bring up the fibers of the wood (I just pour water all over it). Then, I repeat 800, wet it again and see if it roughs up any more. Once it doesn't rough up after wetting it, then I move on to the remaining grits.

So - it looks rough here, because those little fibers are all standing up, but it wasn't long now, before I was through all the rest of the grits (about 9 more). Probably only 3 hours or so.
At this point, I think of it more like polishing than sanding, so I don't feel the need to get all the way into every nook and cranny with these very high grits. Of course, that's why these higher grits go so quickly. There's no more dust, and no more scratches, but if I can see a difference in the polish with each grit, then I keep going until either the polish stops improving, or I run out of grits. With most of these harder woods, that's usually 12,000.
Someone said something about video... so, I figured I'd give it a try. I don't think I'm any good at it - hope you don't get motion sickness watching it! Anyway, here it is, with the sanding all done...

( Go here to see the video:- David Westerns Portland Lovespoon Blog )

Last thing - maybe a coat of oil to protect it a bit... Earlier, I was thinking it might be better to just leave it sanded, not oiled, but after seeing how dirty it got from handling it, I changed my mind, and decided a coat of oil would be a good idea. Also, I finished it on a Saturday, so I couldn't mail it until Monday anyway, so why not?

Here are some pictures against a medium-color background, just for a change of pace.

Well, time for me to part with this thing. That was really really fun! Thanks, Dave & friends at Americymru for letting me be a part of this! I can't wait to see Dave bring the top alive, and pull the whole thing together - It's definitely becoming reality. My only regret is that it took me so long. Sorry, Dave! Don't forget to get your tickets - you really won't want to miss your chance at this one!

Next, packaging it so it won't break in the mail, and then we all get to see Dave make it into something really special!

Interview with Wayne Yendle HERE. Visit the IeuantheLion Memorial Fund page HERE.

Ieuan Jonathan Thomas-Yendle, born on 4th March 1994 and flew away on 3rd July 2007.Youngest son to Rose and Wayne and a new brother for Louis and Ben who were given the honour of naming him. Louis chose Ieuan after Ieuan Evans the Welsh Rugby Player and Ben chose Jonathan after Jonathan Davies another Welsh Rugby Player. These names were then put into a hat and drawn out as Ieuan Jonathan.

Ieuan made a very quick entrance into this world, it was that quick his dad Wayne did not make it to the actual birth.

He was beautiful, like a little mouse, another Son, and a new baby Brother for Louis and Ben, Grandson to Maureen and Billy, Gwenny and the late Ken. Nephew to Helen and cousin to Rebecca he had another eight weeks to wait for his new baby cousin Scarlet to arrive. He was our third Musketeer.

As the weeks went by Ieuan began to thrive and grow more beautiful, beginning to notice, smile and make baby noises.

Going into the second week of July 1994, Ieuans feeds became a bit of an ordeal, refusing to take them after only a small amount, but he seemed alright in himself, a week passed and it was still a bit of a battle, and then a tooth appeared, Ieuans mum was so pleased, she rang her mum to say panic over Ieuans cut a tooth and assumed this was why he was off his feed. But things still did not seem right.

On the Thursday of that week it was baby clinic and Ieuan went along to be checked and weighed and the health visitor did not seem to be concerned about anything we then went down to Ieuans nana Mo, Mos with Helen and Scarlet. Helen and Nana Mo were still not really happy with Ieuan and his feeding pattern. That afternoon we contacted the GP with our concerns as Ieuan seemed to be blue around his mouth, we were told to take him to the hospital to get him checked by the paediatricians. When we arrived Ieuan was seen to as priority and was admitted to the childrens ward, where he was put on one and half litres of oxygen as the blueness around his mouth was because his body was lacking in oxygen. Things seemed to move quite quickly, being connected to a heart machine, oxygen monitor amongst many other checks and blood tests. Ieuans consultant did think that Ieuan may have to be moved to the Heath Hospital in Cardiff as he was so ill and at one point did not think he would make it through the night, but with the help of the medication and care Ieuan pulled through, and we were in hospital with him for about three weeks.

He was due to be Christened whilst he was he hospital with a big celebration party, but unfortunately this had to be cancelled, and there was concern that he may even have to be Christened in hospital. We overcome this and he was Christened in St. Michaels, Newport on 7th August 1994.

At this point we were still in the dark as to what the problem had been at one point the doctors thought he had Eosinophils Leukaemia as his Eosinophils level was raised quite high.

Ieuan was referred to the Eileen Thompson Oncology Clinic Llandough Hospital in Penarth to see if they could find out what the problem was. After undergoing lots of blood tests, lumber punctures scans and various checks in March 1995, we had a telephone call from Oncology Clinic at Llandoungh to ask us to go down to see the Consultant (Dr. David Webb) to go through the results and the findings.

Ieuan was diagnosed with Hypergammaglobulin Anaemia (CD 40 Lygand Deficiency) which is a rare immune deficiency of the blood.

This meant that Ieuan would have to receive monthly intravenous infusions of Sandoglobulin which is a replacement of the immune system as his body did not produce this as it should and also take antibiotics every other day as a cover. Neutropenia was also a problem that Ieuan had, which is part of the immune system, if the Neurtrophils level is down in your body you are open to a lot more germs. Children are more open to infection, and the areas of concern in Ieuans case were mouth ulcers like craters, ear and throat infections. Ieuan had to have a daily injection of G-CSF to combat the Neutropenia as you can imagine this was not very nice for Ieuan being only just one year old to have everyday. Mum and dad was shown how to administer this on a daily basis, otherwise it would have meant either a nurse calling to the house everyday or going to the hospital daily, this would have been even more traumatic, but we battled on and even though Ieuan did not like it, we explained why and it became part of his life. He was very very brave. He also had weekly blood counts which we would do at home and then take them up to the hospital to get checked out. This procedure went on for a number of years on a weekly basis, but Ieuan still kept smiling.

Ieuan was admitted to hospital when a bad infection occurred and he would have intravenous antibiotics and with his monthly infusion and regular blood counts believe it or not lived his life to the full, he did not like having to go to the hospital to have needles put into him, but we explained that this had to be done to keep well. Llandough Hospital Oncology Clinic became part of our life, and the doctors, nursing staff and play specialists made the visits so much easier for Ieuan and his mum. They were our friends too.

Ieuan had very little time off school, only for hospital appointments and of course if he was not well.

An example of what could happen if his neurtrophils were low, we were on holiday in Tenby, we had been there for two weeks, on the last day Ieuan accidentally slipped in the shower and banged his mouth. Ieuan became quite poorly and on our way home from Tenby the next day we rang the hospital to explain what had happened and he had now developed a temperature, they told us to call in and get his blood count checked, this we did and the blood count showed that he was Neutropenic. Ieuan was then admitted to hospital with an infection in his mouth as he had bit his lip when he fell in the shower, Ieuan was there for two weeks on intravenous antibiotics.

Dr. David Webb Ieuans consultant left to go to work at Great Ormond Street in London, and his new consultant was Meriel Jenny. Ieuan had a lot of confidence in her. As time went by Dr. Jenny wanted us to go up to Great Ormond Street to see Dr. Graham Davies a Haematologist to have regular checks on his liver, as all the medication he received may have some impact on the organs within the body.

We went up for this visit and we were hit with another problem that could happen with this immune deficiency (CD40 Ligand Deficiency). If Ieuan caught the germ Cryptosporidium from drinking water, where a person who did not have this immune problem would have severe sickness and diarrhoea, in Ieuans case the germ if not detected could live in the liver and slowly destroy this organ. This meant we would have to go to Kings College Hospital on a yearly basis for Liver and Spleen scanning. This was a bit of a blow, but as long as Ieuan was ok we would go anywhere. Dr. Davies then prescribed more antibiotics to take on a daily basis to cover this germ and Ieuan was not allowed to drink any water bottled or tapped, we had to have a special filter tap fitted which hopefully kept this bug away. Ieuan was a very sensible your boy and understood no drinking water only from his special filter from home or sterile from the hospital, the school was given a regular supply of this.

The only cure for this immune deficiency was a bone marrow transplant.

After reading this account of Ieuans illness as you can imagine it was a lot for a young child to cope with but he did. It was part of his life and as long as he had his treatment and medication and it kept him well he got on with it. Smiling singing and dancing and doing all the things he loved.

In March 2004 Ieuan was now 10 years old, it was very mild but we noticed Ieuan seemed to be slightly unsteady, holding things, a bit clumsy, and Ieuan in the past had been very independent. Ieuan had beautiful handwriting, this also was changing. We mentioned this to his Consultant and she referred him to Dr. Johan Water De Naude, Neurological Consultant at the Heath and after some tests he was diagnosed with Sydenhams chorea, which is a movement disorder that can develop after a certain infection and hopefully go like it comes, and could get worse before it gets better. Ieuan learnt to cope and live around this horrible thing in the hope one day it would go like it came and at one stage seemed to plateau.

As time went by Ieuans walking became very weak and his speech began to disappear, but we still lived in hope. In September 2005 Ieuan started the High School at St. Josephs but after only about two weeks had to have a wheelchair and assistance from teachers and sixth form students to enable him to go to school.

Ieuan underwent many Brain Scans, lumbar punctures, blood tests, Dr. Johan Ieuans Neurologist informed us that whatever this problem was it had now gone beyond Sydenhams chorea. Ieuan had visits from two professors and his problem was shared with European Countries, but no positive answers were coming through.

In 2006 Ieuans health was deteriorating and was virtually solely dependent on his parents.

In November 2006 for four weeks he was given a treatment Rituximab to see if this would help with what was going on within the brain area of his body and was also given a higher dose of the Sandoglobulin as this can sometimes help with any swelling within the brain, he developed a twitching within his body which did lead to a massive fit, this was so frightening especially for Ieuan, this then had to be controlled by more medication. In December 2006 Ieuan finished this Rituximab treatment we then had to wait and see if this would have any effect.

After all this intense treatment Ieuan went back to school for 4hours a day in the middle of January 2007, he was exhausted when he used to come home and would sleep for about 6 hours and then wake up for something to eat, this went on until February 14th 2007 Valentines Day, he did not go to school again after this date as he was too weak, he managed to get to his 13th Birthday on 4th March 2007 where all his close family and friends came to the house for his birthday party and we had a clown, he still managed to smile and looking back on it now it was just unbelievable how this young boy kept going, having everything taken away from you bit by bit with no explanation.

On 9th March 2007 Ieuan was very unwell he was sleeping a lot he did not have the energy to do anything for himself, he had a turn where he was focused with no movement, we had to take him to hospital where he was admitted.

Ieuan was now being fed through a tube as his swallow was now very poor, but we knew he was now getting all the nourishment his body needed and we were so grateful for this for him.

After two weeks Ieuan had started to put on weight, and even though he could only communicate with expression and his thumb he did not look so gaunt, and we still had hope.

Dr. Johan Ieuans Neurologist suggested a Brain Biopsy as all the other tests, scans gave no lead to the problem, this was decided and the procedure was carried out.

We lived in hope for our boy, but nothing came back only slight inflammation of the brain.

On Thursday before the Easter Weekend we brought Ieuan home from hospital to nurse him, this weekend was the worst weekend of our lives especially our beautiful boy who could not tell us where it hurt or how he felt, he just lay there crying, little did we know this was a transitional period where Ieuan was losing his sight. Another week passed and we nursed Ieuan at home with lots of medication and help from the community nurses.

We were then approached by Ieuans consultant to see if we would like to take Ieuan to Ty Hafan Children's Hospice you can read about this story within the website.

On 30th April, 2007 Dr. Jenny Ieuans Consultant told us our worse fears, that there was nothing they could do to help Ieuan and his body was beginning to shut down, it could be weeks or months.

We then went back to Ty Hafan and were there for 2months and 2days and on 3rd July 2007 at 4.40pm Ieuan flew away to a better place.

On 4th July Ieuans body was taken to University Hospital in Wales for a post mortem.

There were fears that this horrible thing that attacked Ieuan could have been CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ) Because of this suspicion he was Police Escorted to the pathologist.

In February 2008 we received the results of the post mortem it was not CJD. Encephalitis was found, but the pathologist could not find why this had occurred, he named Ieuan as a very unique case. So even his illness was unique just as he was through his life.

Samples have been kept by the pathologist with our permission to send over to America to see if they can research into unknown brain diseases and perhaps one day we may have an answer and this research may help somebody and save them the suffering and torched that Ieuan our very brave Lion King had to bare.

Today was the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth ( August 22nd ). I waited all day for some reference on the web. I checked the usual suspects; Welsh groups on FB, Welsh political blogs etc. But...not a single mention.

This is perhaps hardly surprising. There are more topical issues and Bosworth's place in Welsh history and national consciousness has always been slightly problematic. Ever since , and indeed before, the Armes Prydain and Geoffrey's History of the Kings of Britain ( a reference work unrivalled for its authority and accuracy until the advent of the Wikipedia ) the Welsh had been waiting for a Mab Darogan/Son of Prophecy who would unite the tribes of Britain to defeat the Saxon invaders and drive them from the land. After a few glorious but spectacular failures ( Owain Lawgoch, Owain Glyndwr ) Henry VII put in a bid for the title.

He was born in Pembroke Castle and had a Welsh speaking nanny so he may well have understood a few words of the language. He began his quest to claim the English throne from Richard III by landing at Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire on Sunday 7th August 1485. The rest as they say, is history. You can follow the plot in outline from the text in the picture below.

It is of course a supreme historical irony that this 'Mab Darogan' went on to found the Tudor dynasty whose major contributions to Welsh autonomy and independence were the Acts of Union of 1535 and 1542.

Anyway I just wanted in closing to draw your attention to an artefact ( see below ) which was gifted to me some years ago and, apparently, purchased in an antique/gift shop in Tenby. It hangs on a wall and gathers dust behind me in my study. I thought today would be a good day to give it an airing.

( For a most eloquent discussion of Bosworth and it's place in Welsh history and consciousness the following poem by R.S. Thomas is highly recommended:- A Welshman At St James' Park )

.

Click to Enlarge