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Discover who served Britain's Kings and Queens from King Charles II to King George V, from 1660 to 1924, at findmypast.co.uk
North Americans and others could find they have ancestors recorded in The Royal Household Staff Lists
Records feature an American who rose to heights at court of King William III and Queen Anne
'Chocolate Maker To The Queen', 'Keeper of the Lions in the Tower' and 'Moletaker' among some of the most extraordinary roles
Have you ever wondered who works in a Royal Household, or whether you might have a connection to someone who served the Royal Family? In celebration of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, family history website findmypast.co.uk , in association with the Royal Archives, has today launched the Royal Household Staff Lists, a detailed collection made available online for the first time.
Previously only accessible at Windsor Castle by appointment, these rarely viewed records cover royal residences across the UK including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and St. James' Palace, and include 50,000 staff records from the reign of King Charles II to King George V between 1660 and 1924. With details such as name, occupation, age, length of service and salary, the records paint a vivid picture of life in a Royal court, revealing what it takes to run a Royal Household and the wide range of duties involved.
North Americans and others of British descent will now have the chance to trace their family history back to forebears recorded in these Royal Household Staff Lists. The records also include the service of at least one American who rose from colonial origins to great heights at the courts of King William III and Queen Anne. Sir Steven Evance was born in New Haven, New England in 1654, before being sent as a teenager to London to apprentice to the Goldsmiths Company. He went on to become jeweler to King William III in 1697 and then to Queen Anne in 1702.
"He eventually went broke (as many royal creditors did)", said Professor Robert Bucholz, a renowned expert on officials of the Royal Household and Professor of History at Loyola University of Chicago. "His full story is an iconic but sad one. He is a colonial boy, who makes his way to London la Dick Whittington, rises to the financial and social heights a knighthood and position at court but he then descends into bankruptcy."
Debra Chatfield, family historian at findmypast.co.uk , commented: "To be able to view these records online for the first time is incredibly exciting not only for people worldwide with an interest in the British Monarchy, but also for anyone wanting to confirm family rumours about connections to those who worked for the Royal Household! With such a broad range of trades and occupations spanning nearly four centuries of Royal Household history, almost anyone could find theyre connected to those who served the Crown!"
Pages, physicians and the 'Chocolate Maker to the Queen'
A reigning monarch typically had 1,000 staff in the Royal Household. The biggest department was the Lord Chamberlain's Department, which had on average 700 staff and was responsible for the ceremonial and social life of the Court. Traditionally, employees in this department included the 'above stairs' servants such as pages, craftsmen, chaplains, physicians, musicians, watermen and Yeomen of the Guard. There are also a number of most unusual occupations listed among the Royal Household staff:
Extraordinary Job Titles in the Royal Household*
1. Chocolate Maker to the Queen
2. Yeoman of the Mouth to Her Majesty Queen Mary in the Pantry
3. Necessary Woman to the Corridor and Entrance Hall
4. Keeper of the Lions in the Tower
5. Moletaker
6. Master of the Game of Cock Fighting
7. Groom of the Removing Wardrobe
8. Groom of the Stole
9. Strewer of Herbs
10. Laundress of the Body Linen
Professor Robert Bucholz commented: "The court at Whitehall, St. Jamess and Buckingham Palace was not just the seat of the most powerful government in the world; it was also the political, social and cultural centre of the nation. Thus the records of Royal Household staff, preserved in the Royal Archives at Windsor and now made available online through findmypast.co.uk , are the record of their service to the British Crown."
Bucholz continued: "Professional historians have long had access to these records, but now ordinary citizens from around the world have the opportunity to track down ancestors here. Indeed, even I an American of German and Mexican descent found a namesake: one George Buckholtz, livery pony boy, undoubtedly part of the German contingent serving at the later Hanoverian Court."
Professor Bucholz has in the past corresponded privately with many Americans who have already succeeded in tracing their ancestry back to Royal Household staff using information now contained in this database, but previously more difficult to find. The release of the records online will now make it far easier for others to discover a similar link.
Debra Chatfield concluded: "People across the globe continue to be fascinated by the British Royal Family, as well as the relationship between 'upstairs and downstairs' life. In the year of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, this is the perfect opportunity to explore your family history and discover whether you have an ancestor who worked for the Royal Household."
For more information, please contact: Mick Thorburn: mick@thorburnpr.co.uk
Cwrs Goleuni'r Gogledd The Northern Lights Course
University of Alberta, Augustana Campus ~ Camrose, Alberta, Canada
Sunday, July 19 Sunday, July 26, 2009
Cwrs Cymraeg, meaning Welsh Course, is a unique educational opportunity for language enthusiasts, individuals or families of Welsh descent, or anybody interested in the beautiful Welsh language and culture. It is a week-long residential course emphasizing the spoken language and provides instruction/classes at seven levels, ranging from the absolute beginner to those who are well advanced.
At this year's course in Camrose, Alberta, Hefina Phillips will be the lead tutor; joining her from North America will be Annette Evans, Deian Evans, Marta Diaz, and Aled Llion. The tutors from Wales will be Geraint Wilson-Price and Chris Reynolds. There are approximately 5 hours of language class each day, supplemented by further language and culture-related activities in the afternoon. Evening events such as singing, folk dancing, Welsh-language films, and a Noson Lawen (talent night) provide additional opportunities to relax while enjoying a Welsh-language atmosphere.
Registration and Fees: A check or money order for $100, in US funds, reserves a place. Deposits, together with the applicant's mailing address and e-mail, should be sent to the Cwrs Cymraeg registrar: Shirley McKee, Registrar, Cwrs Cymraeg 2009; 3033 Willowbrook Way, Beavercreek, OH 45431-7702 USA. On-line registration and deposit payment will be available soon--please check www.madog.org for updates. For questions, please contact the registrar at registrar@madog.org
Make checks payable to: Cwrs Cymraeg 2009. The deposit will be applied to the cost of registration. Deposits are fully refundable until April 30, 2009. No refunds of deposits will be made after June 1, and registration will close on June 15. If necessary, we will establish a waiting list, so after June 1 check with the Registrar regarding openings.
Fees for the course include all meals, tuition, course materials, and official evening activities. This covers the period from dinner on Sunday evening, July 19 until and including breakfast on Sunday, July 26. A mid-week trip will be an extra cost option.
Adult Resident (Double occupancy) $740.00
Adult Commuter $640.00
Discount for students (off above rates) - $50.00
Tag-along (Double occupancy) $440.00
Upgrade to Single occupancy $60.00
Full payment is due by June 15. Payments after June 15 will be subject to a $50 late fee.
Scholarships: An application for a scholarship should be postmarked by April 20, 2009. The application may be submitted either online or though the mail. The $100 deposit for the course must be paid to hold a place on the course and for the applicant to be considered for a scholarship. If an applicant is not awarded a scholarship and cannot afford to attend otherwise, the deposit will be refunded in full.
Full scholarship details and application materials can be mailed to anyone without internet access. The scholarship application form and answers to frequently asked questions will be available online in February 2009 on the Cymdeithas Madog website, www.madog.org.
For scholarship information and requests, contact:
Bill Roberts
Cymdeithas Madog Scholarship Committee
875 Wilmot Road
Deerfield, IL 60015 USA
Scholarship Endowment Fund: For over 30 years, Cymdeithas Madog has provided a unique opportunity to study the Welsh language in North America. Thanks to the generosity of the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association (WNGGA), the National Welsh American Foundation (NWAF), societies and individuals, we have been able to offer a limited number of partial scholarships each year, to help students attend the course. In many cases the award makes a crucial difference.
In addition, Cymdeithas Madog has established a Scholarship Endowment Fund to provide scholarship assistance. Donations to this fund are always welcome! Cymdeithas Madog is a non-profit organization [501(c)(3)] and such contributions are US tax deductible. If you would like to make a donation to Cymdeithas Madog, send a check, payable to Cymdeithas Madog's Scholarship Endowment Fund, to the registrar at the above address.
Further Information: Visit the Cymdeithas Madog website, www.madog.org . The site will maintain updated information about registering online and other details as they become available. We invite you to start making plans to attend Cwrs Goleuni'r Gogledd--The Northern Lights Course! Veterans of previous courses already know what a rich and rewarding experience Cwrs Cymraeg is, and they extend a warm welcome to each new participant.
Sincerely,
Cymdeithas Madog Board of Directors
Volunteer Summer Internships at the Wales Smithsonian Cymru 2009 program of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
By Ceri Shaw, 2009-02-07
A message from Betty Belanus :-
I would like the members of Americymru who are at university or know a young person who might wish to know, about the opportunity to participate in our internship program this summer. A similar announcement has been made across Wales for students there, but we would also like to make stateside (and Canadian) students aware of the opportunity. Unfortunately the internships are not supported by stipends (we wish!) but we get many applicants anyway, and I would like to consider those with Welsh connections first, as I know they will have some prior knowledge of the culture and might be interested in the opportunity to learn more.
As soon as our Festival Volunteer Coordinator comes on, I will send along information for the broader opportunity to volunteer for the event as well, this should be available in a month or so.
The following is a brief description and information for obtaining more information:
Volunteer Summer Internships at the Wales Smithsonian Cymru 2009 program of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
University or post-graduate students with a strong interest and/or background in Welsh culture are encouraged to apply for unpaid internships at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage to work with the organizers of the Wales program for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Period of internship is negotiable, to include at minimum the two weeks of the Festival, June 24 - July 5. Duties may include helping set up displays, working with participants to obtain supplies and materials for demonstrations, helping keep Festival schedules updated, and other duties to be discussed with the Festival staff. For more information about the Center and the Festival, see www.folklife.si.edu For more information about internships, or to obtain the link to the on-line application, please contact Arlene Reiniger, Intern Coordinator, at reinigera@si.edu Deadline for stateside interns is March 15. Welsh-based candidates have been solicited directly from Welsh unversities, but if additional students based in Wales would like to be considered, please get in touch ASAP, as visa requirements and other necessary arrangements take longer to process for overseas students.
Llangollen International Eisteddfod Set The Standards for Welcoming The World to Wales
By Ceri Shaw, 2012-06-01
Llangollen International Eisteddfod relies every year on its 800 strong volunteer workforce. To further enhance the work of the Volunteering team the Festival has secured funding this year to train their Volunteers through the unique WorldHostUK scheme which began during the Winter Olympics in Canada in 2010. Since then nearly one million people worldwide have trained using WorldHost which was developed to raise the standards and delivery of customer service.
Janice Hardie, WorldHost Training co-ordinator for Llangollen International Eisteddfod explained We have already seen 12 of our volunteers through the training course in Principles of Customer Service, and are putting another 30 through before the International Eisteddfod. In addition, we are putting another 100 people through the World Host Ambassador course on 2nd July, immediately before we open. The course means that their skills will be shared among the 800 volunteers, it also means that these skills can be transferred to their day to day lives and work places. We are always looking for new volunteers for many different areas, such as, Finance, Floral, Grounds, Hospitality, Marketing, and many more. If you are interested go to our website www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk/support-us/volunteering/ ,
Christine Evans, External Contracts and Project Manager at Coleg Llandrillo said, 'WorldHost training is the customer service training of choice for the Olympics 2012 in London later this year. At Coleg Llandrillo we are licensed WorldHost training providers and we are delighted that Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod are working with us to set standards for welcoming the world here in Wales too by training all their team in advance of their prestigious week long Festival in July.'
Hawys Lebbon has completed her WorldHost Training in preparation for the 2012 International Eisteddfod. The World Host Training has an international status and shows Llangollen International Eisteddfods commitment to its volunteers and to the excellent standard of customer care. It is an honor for the Eisteddfod to be able to offer the course and exam. We learnt how to welcome and assist customers and how to go that step further to ensure they have an unforgettable experience.
Sian Angharad Davies and Haf Eleri Davies are two other volunteers who have benefited from their volunteering experiences with the International Eisteddfod. The sisters started volunteering with the festival 19 years ago.
Haf returns to North Wales from London every year to volunteer, she explains that she, Started in 1993 as a Steward. We both got involved with the Eisteddfod when I had nothing to do after sitting my GCSE exams and Sian thought a week skiving six-form was a good idea. Little did we know we would be getting up earlier than ever to go down to the Eisteddfod field at the crack of dawnbut we love it!
Sian Angharad Davies says that, Being involved with Llangollen Eisteddfod for so many years is like being with your extend family, so catching up with friends that you may only see once a year is definitely time for a party and socialising at every opportunity. Its also great just to do something that is completely different to my work life. Being part of a team and knowing we are making a difference is so rewarding.
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AmeriCymru: You write like you''re writing, not as though you''re working to "be" anything in particular: have you ever created consciously with the objective of trying to be a particular type of writer or to try to convey any particular moral message or do you write just to write the story you''re writing?
Rhys: I don''t like preaching and I never try to convey specific moral messages in my writing, but I guess that an author''s own value judgments must unavoidably inform what he or she writes at some level, even if a conscious effort has been made to go against moral habits. And the subtext of a piece of fiction can be more revealing in this regard than the surface text. I''m sure that my own ethical beliefs saturate everything I write, even though I like to think they don''t, even though I try to present an ambiguous face. I feel strongly about the environment, about fair play, about liberty. Do any of these values overtly announce their presence in my fiction?
But when it comes to wanting to "be" a particular type of writer on a technical level, then yes, I have definitely attempted this numerous times. My most recent novel, "Engelbrecht Again!", was a fully conscious effort to write a sequel to the Maurice Richardson classic set of stories about a dwarf surrealist boxer called Engelbrecht. Richardson''s original stories were published in the 1940s and are utterly imbued with the flavour of a Britain that had just emerged from a devastating war. I did my best to write like Richardson on several levels, to capture his dated but still effective surrealism. British surrealism is different from other kinds, more theatrical and less psychosexual. Spike Milligan, J.B. Morton and W.E. Bowman were other masters of the style, but Richardson was the most inventive and original of the bunch.
However, my most deliberately organised attempt to "be" a particular writer came about three years ago. I wanted to prove that I could write straight realism as well as fantasy. It was something that had been on my mind for years, but reading Calvino''s book of linked short stories "Marcovaldo" really spurred me to try. In "Marcovaldo" nothing is false, everything is completely real but it''s also absurd and this relentless absurdity gives the developing story an aura of the fantastic without diminishing its poignancy. The result is a bittersweet epic, one of Calvino''s best books, the one that synthesises most perfectly his opposing urges towards fable and reality. I wanted to use that book as a model of the way the techniques of fantasy can deal with the situations of reality.
But of course my own book quickly went its own way. It became a sort of benign satire on myself! It contains the only autobiographical material I''ve ever written, semi-autobiographical I should say, as some events have been reinterpreted to catch more closely echoes of other events. The title of the book is "My Cholesterol Socks" and that''s a direct, if somewhat obscure, reference to Welsh literature. I wanted to be as painfully genuine as I could when writing it. The absurdity it contains is always possible, never impossible, and in most cases the absurd events really happened, if not to me then to people I knew.
I''m planning a pair sequels, "Your Saturated Stockings" and "Our Malignant Slippers", to close the loop. The overall title for the sequence will be "The Unfeasible Footwear Trilogy" and I''ve based its structure around inter-subjectivity. In other words, the first volume is narrated by a character who exaggerates his bad qualities and downplays his good. In the second volume the same events are told from the viewpoint of his girlfriend, who always exaggerates the good. The third volume will outline the perspective of a third character whose investment in events is hampered by the principles of fair play, neutrality and non-interference. But in fact his presentation of the facts isn''t the true one either. Each viewpoint forms the point of a triangle and the "truth" is located at the centre, available only at the reader''s discretion!
Rhys: Certainly. Absolutely. I know that Dylan Thomas was a great writer, many writers I admire cite him as an important influence, but I just don''t feel inspired by him. I find his work pretty but boring. Pretty boring. Having said that I have no problem with the fact he''s universally regarded as the greatest writer Wales has produced. My own candidate for that honour is Arthur Machen, but I never expect this to be more than a minority opinion... I can''t say that "Nowhere Near Milk Wood" is a direct assault on Dylan Thomas, but it''s definitely a challenge to the restrictive myth that has grown up around him that Welsh literature has to be sentimental if it''s not politically blatant.
I am periodically accused of being non-political, of having no social conscience. I once gave a reading to students and was interrupted by a professor who bellowed, "How dare you write like Umberto Eco! He is a traitor to the working class!" He went on to claim that social realism was the only acceptable form of fiction that a Welsh writer should ever produce and that anything ''clever'' was a knife in the hearts of poor people. I was astonished to be thought of as an imitator of Eco, whom I''ve never read, but not really surprised by the rest of his rant. The Welsh literary establishment has a fixed idea of what constitutes authentic Welsh literature. It must be a semi-Marxist warhead in a lush lyrical delivery system!
But I actually think the professor was more upset by the form of my story than the content, because its guiding principle probably seemed unbearably self-indulgent to him. I read a piece that parodied myself in the style of a reader. What I mean by this is that I''m often told by readers and critics what kind of writer I am and it''s often at odds with the kind of writer I think I am. So I decided to write a story in the style of a writer who really was how I was being defined! I''m sure it was this ''smug'' conceit, rather than the story itself, that prompted his indignation...
AmeriCymru: Jorge Luis Borges is listed amongst your key literary influences. "The New Universal History of Infamy" is one of your better known and more easily accessible works. What inspired you to write a work (loosely) based on the old Borges classic?
Rhys: I have always admired Borges for the way he expanded the function of the short story to include totally abstract themes. His most famous tales have no plot, no dialogue, no characterisation, no psychological interaction, yet they are utterly fascinating. It takes a special writer to do that successfully. Olaf Stapledon managed it, of course... But in the case of Borges I''m thinking of stories such as ''The Library of Babel'', ''Pierre Menard'', ''The Circular Ruins'', ''The Lottery in Babylon'', and a few others. Those texts break all the rules of narrative construction taught in Creative Writing classes. They posit mind-bending ideas, then take those ideas to a logical limit and beyond, and sometimes return them to the original state, as in ''The Congress'', my favourite Borges tale…
But my own tribute to Borges came about by accident. A publisher asked me to write a set of essays on odd people for a history book. I produced an essay on Baron Ungern-Sternberg, who ruled Mongolia in the 1920s, but the publisher went bust, so I was left with a piece that resembled one of the semi-fictions in Borges'' book "A Universal History of Infamy". It seemed natural to write more essays in the same style and collect them together, not as a pastiche of Borges but as a tribute, also as a challenge to myself. It was Harlan Ellison who once said that to imitate Borges is impossible, and because I respect Ellison I had to make the attempt! It was intended to be a low-key project, something that would be issued in the ''Album Zutique'' series, in other words as a tiny pocket book. I was surprised when it developed into a much grander volume and turned out to be my best-selling title!
I find it difficult to anticipate what will capture the public imagination and what won''t. The books I''m most satisfied with often sell poorly and the ones I care less about end up being successful. I don''t know what that says about my own judgment and taste! This doesn''t mean I''m not fond of my ''Infamy'' book, but I do regard it as unfinished. I''m slowly working on a unifying sequel called "A Brand Old Universal Futurology of Infamy" and the first essay from that, on Margaret Thatcher, is already written and available on the internet. Other essays will include non-person-centred topics such as ''Precision'' and ''Sequels''. The last essay will be called "An Exactly Contemporary Universal Presentology of Infamy" and I hope to make that one a parody of all the essays in both books, including itself. Quite how I''ll manage that, I don''t yet know!
AmeriCymru: Some of the action in "The Postmodern Mariner" is set in Porthcawl. You have said previously that Porthcawl is a very atypical Welsh town and that this was an advantage for your fiction. Can you explain for an American audience how Porthcawl differs from other towns in Wales with which they may be more familiar and how this difference benefited you?
Rhys: I''ve often said that Porthcawl didn''t feel very Welsh to me when I was growing up. I regarded it more as a micro-nation, a small independent country, and my friends seemed to feel the same way. Tourists who came to visit in the summer were divided into three categories. The ''English'' were the lowest caste; a little higher came the ''North Welsh''; and finally the ''South Welsh''. All were regarded as foreign. The fact that we lived in a Welsh town and were also Welsh just didn''t register… Although the English were at the bottom of our scale, we feared the North Welsh more, because we knew they lived in caves and were cannibals…
This attitude did have a beneficial effect on my writing, because it meant I never felt constrained by tradition. I was free to write whatever I chose, without reference to a discernable heritage, simply because I wasn''t aware that any specific heritage was mine. That''s a positive way of looking at it, but our attitude can equally be regarded as just another manifestation of a provincial, backwater distrust of anything beyond its own borders. I hope our mentality was more ironic than that, but it''s hard to be sure!
It has been a long time since I was last in Porthcawl and I wrote for many years without mentioning it in my fiction because I craved exotic locales instead. Then I finally realised that to other readers Porthcawl itself might seem exotic. Hence the stories in "The Postmodern Mariner"… I can''t say why it took me so long to become reconciled to the place. It''s a pleasant town, not remarkable for anything but tranquil enough, and I''m grateful I spent my formative years near the sea.
AmeriCymru: Your story ''Castor on Troubled waters'' from "The Postmodern Mariner" features a great strategy for getting out of buying your round at the pub. Have you ever tried this? If so… how did it go?
Rhys: No, I''ve never tried any tricks of that nature, not through lack of desire but because I don''t have the confidence or eloquence to carry them off. I try not to get into rounds in the first place! I don''t drink much beer these days anyway, nor any kind of alcohol. I can''t stand hangovers. When I was a student I imbibed vast quantities of spirits, wine and anything else I could get my hands on. Now such overindulgence just makes me feel ill. The last time I got very drunk was in Poland in 1999. I went to a bar in the Tatra Mountains and drank several mugs of something called ''Tea for Sad People'' that was actually vodka of some kind. All I really remember after that is dancing around a central fireplace with some Australians, head-butting a big iron cowbell on each circuit…
My character Castor Jenkins doesn''t really resemble anyone I know. He is something very rare, almost unique. An authentic Welsh stereotype! So he drinks beer and eats chips at every available opportunity and plays tricks to get out of paying for them. Writing the stories that feature him gave me another opportunity to indulge myself in a genre that I find very appealing, the ‘Tall Story’… I''ve written many of those kinds of tales, for example I have linked sixty together in a volume called "Tallest Stories" that isn''t published yet, but I''m especially pleased with the Castor Jenkins adventures. "The Postmodern Mariner" is perhaps my most accessible book and one that has a special magic for me, but I don''t regard Castor''s tricks as laudable or even workable!
AmeriCymru: You have said that you plan to write 1000 stories. So far you have 400 in print. Any projects that you are currently involved in that you care to share with our readers?
Rhys: I don''t know if I have 400 stories in print. I stopped keeping records a few years ago. It might be more than that number, probably less. I know I''ve written 472 stories but many haven''t even been submitted yet. But I set myself the target of exactly 1000 stories because it gives me a destination that is independent of how popular or unpopular my work becomes. I don''t want to fizzle out. The thousand-story target helps to prevent me becoming demoralised, which is a constant danger with an open-ended writing career. I don''t want to continue forever, I want there to be a time when I''ve finished, when everything is tied together, when the rest of my life has no relation to writing.
But I''m not even at the halfway stage and it has taken me twenty years to get this far! Estimated date of completion of my thousand is around the year 2030 but will probably take rather longer, if I manage to stay alive! I expect to slow down as I get older. At the moment I''m concentrating on reaching the 500 mark. I have several projects in progress right now. I''m writing two novels, "The Pilgrim''s Regress" and "Twisthorn Bellow", and preparing two new short story collections, "Salty Kiss Island" and "Mirrors in the Deluge", which is a neat Welsh reversal of the Merritt title I mentioned earlier. There will be others…. But my next published book should be "Mister Gum", a novel that is partly a satire on the teaching of creative writing. It''s very filthy and I only recommend it to readers with salacious and deviant minds!
Looking further ahead, of the many projects I have planned, I guess two are more relevant to American readers with an interest in Wales than the others. The first is "Gulliver in Gwalia", the shipwrecking of Jonathan Swift''s hero on the shores of Wales, which turns out to be a stranger land than Lilliput or Brobdingnag… And the second is a Welsh Western called "Fists of Fleece", about a man press-ganged in Cardiff Docks and taken to the USA who recovers consciousness believing he is still in Wales. That novel will require me to expand a map of Wales big enough to be superimposed on a map of the USA, as the character travels across forty states thinking they are regions in Wales. There will be an opportunity for a link to the Madoc legend, and I''m excited about the other possibilities it raises, but I need to visit America before I can write it, and I''m not sure when such a trip will be feasible…
Buy the book here:- http://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/3273798
AmeriCymru: What is Coed Uchaf?
Simon: Coed Uchaf is a special wood where 100 trees were planted in 1885 standing alone overlooking Penrtefoelas were they planted to celebrate Queen Victorias Jubilee?
AmeriCymru: How did you come to create this project and to choose that spot as its focus? Did you choose the location for this project
Simon: The project was inspired by passing spaces seen in a brief moment from a car or train window, small woods in fields or on hilltops with a mysterious identity shaped by history.
I discovered the wood driving West along the A5 which gradually climb s until reaching the brow of a hill when the dramatic profile of Snowdonia unfolds clearly etched against the sky. The mountains of Eryri, the abode of the eagles. Snowdon, Crib Goch, Lliwedd and Siabod.
No more than a mile further on, a small but distinctive wood, Coed Uchaf, appeared on the right of the road overlooking Pentrefoelas.
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us about your process in creating the book? Was every step planned in advance or did it evolve organically as your work went on or something in between?
Simon: For o ver three years I photographed and researched Coed Uchaf, known locally as Coed y Nant, learning about woods, trees (specifically the Beech)and the history of Pentrefoelas.
The Upper Conwy valley is rich in history, a key route between England and the North Wales Coast and I discovered that Coed Uchaf would have been a lookout post as the Iberians, Celts, Romans, the Medieval Welsh, Kings and Queens all passed by.
AmeriCymru: Was your own view of Coed Uchaf changed as a result of creating this book? How?
Simon: I knew nothing about the wood when I first started the project and discovered a fascinating history and these unique landscape photographs reveal connections to a fascinating distant past including the Romans, Fairies, Queen Victoria and even a Vicar's daughter.
AmeriCymru: What do you hope readers will take away from the book? What effect will it have on them?
Simon: I hope the images inspire and encourage further exploration of the fascinating history of North Wales and Pentrefoelas . I want them to share the mystery and visual power of the Copse.
AmeriCymru: How has the response been to the book so far?
Simon: The response to the book has been very positive and being available on line has enabled over 1000 people to preview, particularly the various Welsh societies Ive contacted across the world. There was also an exhibition of prints in September 2011 at Llangollen Pavilion https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1802176050 and images from the show can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.173274709420448.43953.172966859451233&type=3
AmeriCymru: In addition to photography, youre also an independent media producer - what are some of your other projects?
Simon: Im currently developing photo documentary projects as well as continuing with my landscape photography. My website gives more details http://www.memorybox.org.uk/Croeso.html
AmeriCymru: Whats next for Simon Collinge?
Simon: After teaching Animation, film and photography for over 35 years, Im thoroughly enjoying practicing what I preached and planning further exhibitions of my work.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members of AmeriCymru?
Simon: Landscape Photographs really need a good story?
Only Men Aloud and Bryn Terfel: The First to support the Song for Saint David’s Day
By Ceri Shaw, 2009-02-04
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AmeriCymru in association with the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation is pleased and proud to announce that Tramor ( John Good and Billy Parker ) will be appearing at the 2012 West Coast Eisteddfod at the Multnomah Arts Center in Portland on October 13th. This news is hot off the press and the events page has not yet been revised to reflect their performance times ( it will be later today ). John Good will also be assisting our panel of judges in their deliberations in the live Storytelling, Poetry and Comedy competitions. He will also lead the singing of the national anthem at the opening ceremony.
For more information about Tramor please read on .....
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Tramor
(Overseas) is the new traditional music project of John Good, formally of Oceans Apart. John is well known through out the West, South, Midwest and in his native Wales as a multi-instrumentalist, Welsh piper, singer/songwriter, composer and poet. Veteran of many Celtic festivals and concerts, including Estes Park, Chicago Celtic Fest, San Diego and Denver, he brings the subtly different flavor of traditional Welsh music to the Phoenix stage. On this occasion he is aided and abetted by mandolin virtuoso Billy Parker
John Good - Biographical Outline
John good was born in 1949 in Cwmafan, South Wales, UK., into a house where the Welsh Language was spoken. Educated in Sandfields Comprehensive School, Hull then Cardiff Universities, where he studied with renowned Welsh composer Alan Hodinott. Taught in the London School system for several years. Immigrated to the USA in 1975, living and performing in San Francisco, Los Angeles then moving to Phoenix in 1989.
Over the last 35 years he has worked in America as performer, session musician, producer, teacher, recording engineer, concert/festival organizer; has led workshops/residencies and given bilingual presentations on Welsh and Celtic Culture, including poetry, music and literature to various societies and organizations including Phoenix area Universities, schools, college and library systems, at Welsh/Celtic Festivals and Highland Games, on local radio and television and for the Humanities Council. His session work includes recordings with Robin Huw Bowen, Jack Bruce, L. Shankar, Tony Williams and Zaker Hussain.
In 2009 John was made director of the Celtic Harvest Festival, Sedona, Arizona and 2010 marks Johns re-emergence in the choral world, being asked to direct the Cymanfa Ganu (singing festival) at Bryn Seion, Oregon; the oldest Welsh church on the West Coast.
Publications
Columnist, Desert Shamrock Newspaper, Phoenix.
Cambria Magazine, Wales/International.
Yr Angor, Welsh Language Newspaper, Wales.
Y Drych, Welsh/American Newspaper.
Ninnau, Welsh/American Newspaper.
Articles and poetry in various magazines, newspapers, newsletters and on many web sites, including the BBC.
Societies
President, Welsh League of Arizona
Former Vice-President, Phoenix Poetry Society
Member, Cymuned (Society)
Member, The Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association (North America)
Member, Cymru Annibynnol
Performances/appearances
Celtic Festivals & Highland Games
Longs Peak (Estes Park) [received 2 of only 4 standing ovations given in 30 year history]
Rocky Mountain (Denver)
San Diego, Salt Lake
Tucson, Flagstaff, Mesa,
Camp Verde, Phoenix,
St Patricks Day Faire, October Festival, (Phoenix)
Welsh Festivals
Welsh Weekend of Song,
St. Peter MN
Welsh Festival, Malad ID.,
100 th . St. Davids Day Celebration,
Minneapolis, MN.
Capel Cymreig, Los Angeles
Wymore Days, Wymore NB
Phoenix, Canon City, CO
Other Events
Plainsong Folk Festival (Lincoln)
Sea Shanty Festival [On the Star of India sailing ship] (San Diego)
Chamber Music Society of Sedona [Standing ovation!]
Fallbrook Americana Series,
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Annual dinner
San Diego Folk Heritage
Goal
To strengthen a fledgling, Welsh and Celtic cultural presence in the Southwest and North America, by creating regional focal points, where American and Welsh/Celtic-born people with an interest in their heritage, culture and language would come to reconnect with their own living history.
Y Gymraeg (Celtic Welsh), as with the languages of all cultures, is the foundation on which to build. Welsh League of Arizonas language class (now in their 7 th year, John Good head teacher), are producing small numbers of enthusiastic and proficient speakers of the old language. With their new, permanent home in the Irish Cultural Center and under the auspices of the Academy for Celtic Studies, with even fairly modest financial aid, the language class would surely allow interested, local residents -- and national and international visitors -- to experience the numerically healthiest of living, Celtic tongues.
Billy Parker - Biographical Outline
Billy Parker grew up in musical family in the New Jersey and began playing mandolin at age 12 when he realized that if he played an instrument, he could stay up as late as everybody else at the many late-night jam sessions held at his family home. Billy has played ever since and has performed professionally throughout the Pacific Northwest and now, Arizona where he has become well known as a performer and studio musician.
Billy is one of the best and most versatile mandolinists in the Southwestern United States. Also an accomplished guitarist and vocalist, Billy works in a diverse variety of musical configurations across the United States, and has entertained and toured with national acts such as Bill Monroe, David Grisman, and the late country music legend, Faron Young.
Billy moved to the Phoenix area in the mid 90's and has been in demand in the studio, appearing on over 40 nationally marketed album projects, and on stage, performing in Celtic, Bluegrass, Traditional Jazz, Western, Blues, and other Folk Music festivals from Connecticut to California and all across the U.S. Billy lives in Chandler, with his wife, Brenda, and daughters, Emily & Kelsey.
For contact and/or booking (480) 786-5332, bbekpark@cox.net , or visit Billy on www.myspace.com/billysbands
