.

AmeriCymru: Your latest work A Court in Splendour is a fictional account of the first Eisteddfod in Cardigan in 1176. Care to tell us something about the book?

Liz: The title of the book comes from the description in the Chronicle of the Princes (the Brut y Twysigion) the earliest history of Wales written by monks, who told of the events at Cardigan Castle when the Lord Rhys invited a contest of 'bards and musicians'. Very few people outside of Cardigan had ever heard about it so in 2010 when Cardigan town hit its 900th birthday, as a way of celebrating I thought it would be good to recall its one really important moment in history. Lord Rhys was a mighty figure and has often been sidelined by historians in favour of later Princes of Wales like Glendower and Llewellyn the Great. I wanted to bring him back full focus and accord him the honour he deserved for being the inspiration behind the Eisteddfod as we know it today. Most people with a little knowledge of Welsh history know it has not been going continuously since the 12th century but the link is strong enough to claim that the celebration at Christmas 1176 at Cardigan Castle was the first Eisteddfod.

AmeriCymru: You tell the story from four different perspectives - Walter Map, Rhygyfarch, Rhys's son and wife. In my opinion this works remarkably well. What factors influenced you to construct the book in this way?

Liz: When I began to do the research for the story it became clear to me that there were many varying accounts of the events in the early 12th century. That particular period is called the 'dark ages' for a very good reason! No two accounts are ever quite the same and ultimately in confusion I began to think it would not be possible to write it in the third person with a definite viewpoint about what happened in that period. For instance, when Rhys took Cardigan, some historians accept that he allowed the conquered Normans to leave peacefully with half of their goods. Others however write that Cardigan was treated to a blood bath courtesy of a barbarian Rhys who killed all, Norman and Welsh alike. That is no small difference, is it?. And there were many more instances. Then I thought of the Canterbury Tales, and the clever construction of Chaucer's most famous book. It appealed to me to give several peoples view of what went on. All that was left once this decision was made, was to decide who my storytellers would be. I didn't want the Lord Rhys speaking for himself, how could he? Its obvious in literature generally that it is others who describe the hero, never the hero himself. He cannot boast of his achievements, nor acknowledge his temper and failings. So his family and his priest seemed more appropriate to give us a view of the man himself. It also meant we saw the action from ways which we might not have reached through a single voice. Gwenllians family history is of strong women and she appears in history books as one of them, equal to handling, yet respecting and nurturing, this great warrior Prince she marries. My own sense from the history books is that it was a political as well as a love match. Hwyel Sais too, is the son who stands out from all of Rhyss other sons, because of his Anglicisation. Both of them struck me as interesting characters to develop. Rhygyfarch is in all the history books for opening the gates of Cardigan to the Lord Rhys himself so I wanted to include him. But who would they be telling their stories to? Walter Map was a stroke of inspiration when I came across him in the process of researching Rhys. Here was a court gossip, a king's clerk and envoy, who was also a learned man of the church. Also known for an acid tongue on occasion, his one book 'De Nugis Currialum' translates as Courtiers Trifles and is full of trivial tales.Useless from a historical perspective but his character emerges clearly through the style and content. So I used him as the receiver of the tales. History doesn't actually say he was there at the first Eisteddfod, but I like to think he may have been. So it was a bit cheeky as a device, but hey, I think it works!

AmeriCymru: How difficult was it to find sources when you researched the historical background for the book? Are there any historical works that you would recommend?

Liz: I was lent a copy of the Chronicle of the Princes,(very expensive to buy!) which then led me to the University of Wales book A History of Wales Book II. struggled a bit to find much specific. Then I got hold of Roger Turvey's documentary book 'The Lord Rhys' which is brilliant, he really gets a hold on the man. The other books that I used are listed at the back of A Court in Splendour but actually that list is only a small summation. I tend to read very widely to get going. The big advantage of the internet too is that once you have a clue what you want to find out, it has an immense amount of information there for free. There was a huge amount of material for instance about Henry II and his relationship with Becket and the church. I didnt use a great deal of it but it coloured the way that Rhygyfarch the priest, saw the monarch.

AmeriCymru: The book was officially launched at Cardigan Castle on September 12 2009. Care to describe the occasion for us?

Liz: For a start it was a glorious autumn day, with sunshine and warmth. Entirely unexpected after a week of rain. During the weeks before I had meetings with several local people from town, most of whom are known as 'drama' enthusiasts, to rehearse, and we ran through the pieces chosen for them to read aloud. We managed to raid the wardrobe at Theatr Mwldan our local theatre, and put together some of my storytelling outfits to make them all look convincingly medieval. They looked great, and they were so good with the readings it was like seeing my characters coming back to life! What made it more extraordinary was that we were all conscious of actually being on the castle site itself where the whole thing had happened all those years ago. The castle is currently the subject of efforts to see a massive restoration programme carried out, and bids are in for funding. It is not generally yet used for public events so you can imagine what an honour it was for the Trustees of the Castle to invite me to have the launch there. We had the readings, and book signings, then some friends talked in Welsh on camera about their memories as children of the National and we had medieval music played by a friend and local dignitaries giving the people an update on the castle. My three sons and friends all helped in putting up marquees and serving trays of food. We had a scrumptious afternoon tea served from a marquee far too small for the crowds to sit down in, so we ended up with hundreds of people strolling and sitting all round the grounds with platefuls of pastries and cream buns and muffins. It was a great afternoon, so its no wonder it was a popular event is it?

AmeriCymru: Which of the major contemporary Eisteddfodau (Llangollen or the National) do you think the first Eisteddfod was closer to in spirit?

Liz: Ah! This is a point in dispute. Personally I lean toward the idea of the International being closer to The Lord Rhys's original intention which was to bring in other countries to compete. He invited Ireland, England, Scotland and France and perhaps he thought that by getting together to hear great music and poetry and to network (though I'm sure he would not have called it that) it would heal pisions and create a bit of harmony. However, I am locally in a minority in this reading of it. Cardigan is in Ceredigion, one of the heartlands of the Welsh language, and the feeling amongst some is that the Lord Rhys was an early member of Plaid Cymru and his idea was to display the gifts of the Welsh bards as a kind of one upmanship. Seriously though the singular link is the Chair, which is still the high accolade afforded at the National to the best of the bards. A local artist, Aneurin Jones has produced a painting of the First Eisteddfod, and it is in essence, the National. So was my depiction in the book, with the white robes and so on. The idea of the International was a twentieth century idea which grew out of the National. It came out of the British Council after the Second World War as a way of promoting Peace through the Arts. So although I certainly think the Lord Rhys would have approved of it, I don't think it's worth falling out about. I have had compliments about the book from people who have read it and stand on both sides of the argument. I have also attended the International at Llangollen to read from the book this year, a huge honour and I love the idea of being connected with it, however loosely.

AmeriCymru: You are also the author of several volumes of children's fiction in particular The Dreamstealers Trilogy. Would you say that it is more challenging, or less, to write for a younger audience?

Liz: Life experience has a lot to do with it. I began my career as a teacher, then I set up and ran junior Youth Theatres in Wales and in England. The age group I knew best through these experiences were the seven to twelve year olds. When I wrote Dreamstealers, this was the age group it was intended for, and I found it quite easy to write for them because I knew how I talked to them (same thing in the end) and how they talked to each other. But I do know it varies from one person to another and if you haven't spent time with children I imagine it is difficult. I actually preferred writing for an adult audience but the trilogy came to me because of my love of standing stones, and burial chambers etc and how I saw them as portals to another world. Well you can't really write magical/fantasy for adults without getting twee or sentimental, or gorily surrealist maybe. The stories are about inter-dimensional travel, based very generally in the Mabinogion, so I wrote it for children and thoroughly enjoyed it.

AmeriCymru: Dreamstealers Trilogy was described as the 'Welsh Harry Potter' by the Western Mail. How do you feel about the comparison/description.

Liz: Oh at the time I just thought how lazy the press are. I personally have worked in the newspaper business for years on and off so I speak from personal experience too! It's easier to relate back to a known name or title than think up something original. Look at the tabloids, their headlines are almost always puns on well-known names of phrases. However I have been told that using the Harry Potter reference persuaded more people to buy the books. How disappointed they must have been to find that it did not resemble Harry Potter at all! One bitter reviewer said the first thing that was wrong with it was that there were only two adventurers, not three, and therefore it couldn't work! Ha Ha...he also thought there were lots of other things wrong with it, but the review by the Welsh Books Council and the Cambrian News were very flattering so one just has to take the knocks!

AmeriCymru: Where can our readers obtain copies of 'A Court in Splendour' and the 'Dreamstealers Trilogy'?

Liz: All of them are available online, through Amazon, but specifically from the Welsh Books Council on www.gwales.com ; and A Court in Splendour direct from the publishers at www.llanerchpress.co.uk ; and the Dreamstealers comes separately as The Fizzing Stone, Shapeshifters at Cilgerran, and Manawl's Treasure, all available from www.ylolfa.co.uk

AmeriCymru: What's next for Liz Whittaker?

Liz: My new book is on the way though it's growing slowly as there is an enormous amount of research, and Im not in a hurry because I do love this stage of the process. Outside right now here in Wales it is dark and cold and rain is arriving in the wind. This is the best time of year for closing the curtains against the miserable late afternoon, putting another log on the fire and getting out the books and notes. This next novel is written in two time-lines and it centres on St Davids in West Wales and Glastonbury England. (Yes, the home of the nearby famous festival,) For my purposes it is the Abbey and its strong connection with Welsh history, particularly St Caradog, that fascinates me and is informing the story.

Also I am performing from A Court in Splendour at a big Eisteddfod event for the town at the end of December for the grand finale of 2010 and our 900th celebrations. This will be my last stand-up. I have been a storyteller for years and anyone can see me doing it all over Youtube if they really want to. But there are so many good up and coming young storytellers and I find I prefer to be in the audience to watch them, rather than on the stage these days!

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

Liz: I can only say that I am genuinely pleased to have been invited to contribute to the website - thank you! Americymru is a fantastic way of bringing people together, and this experience of answering questions has been very enjoyable, taking me back to my motives and ideas. I would also like to mention Jacob, my son, who is also on Americymru. He does all my book cover illustrations and the one for A Court in Splendour, which is very special, was an idea taken from an original of a page from Rhygyfarchs psalter, which Jacob developed specially for the project. He also made the video of the launch. Check out his website at jacobwhittaker.co.uk and mine at lizwhittaker.co.uk

Facebook commenting now added to book listing pages on the AmeriCymru Welsh American Bookstore. Do you have a favorite title by a Welsh or Welsh American author that you would like to recommend to your friends on FB? No problem! Browse thro ugh our selection ( more than 2000 titles and growing daily ) and comment on the page. You can even include a short review. Don't forget to check out all our other features...book news, interviews, guest reviews and articles

Example Page: Bel Roberts - Opportunity Mocks

Dont worry things are not going down the pan. Here is an explanation from our platform provider:-

So, what happened?
The first outage resulted from back-end optimization work our engineering team has been doing over the past three months. The team has been making changes to our architecture to take advantage of newer equipment and powerful new cloud services that werent available when the back-end was originally designed. Our expectation is that the optimization process will result in stronger performance and improved disaster recovery in the long-term. However, one of the changes that was made caused a key set of databases to fail, leading to the outage on November 22nd. The engineering team has corrected the issue so it will not recur.
The outage yesterday was unfortunately the result of user error by an engineer on our operations team during normal back-end maintenance. Were revising our systems to prevent this type of error from occurring again.
We closely follow the feedback you send to our support team and here on Creators, and I want you to know that Im aware some of you or your members have been experiencing intermittent issues with pages on your network not fully loading CSS or JavaScript correctly. We believe these issues are also related to the back-end optimization work weve been doing. We have two engineers working full-time to resolve this issue.
Again, I realize how important platform uptime and performance are for you and your members, and I apologize for the impact of the outages this last week.

SO....please continue to keep us posted if you experience 'issues' with the site. We will either deal with them ourselves or pass them on where necessary.

Diolch

AmeriCymru

A message from the dotCYM Campaign.

"Dear supporter,

It's with a heavy heart that I contact you today to inform you that dotCYM Ltd. will most probably be unable to apply for a top-level domain (TLD), .cymru, for Wales.

Instead of working with dotCYM to create a strong application for a top-level domain for Wales, the Government has invited Oxford-based Nominet, the company running .uk domains, to come to Wales to compete against dotCYM for governmental support, thus allowing it to kill the local competition and protect its monopoly of the UK market. Since Friday (9th December) there's a public invitation for any company to compete for the ownership and control of the Welsh name online ( http://sell2wales.co.uk/notices/display.html?NoticeId=28474 ).

As a social enterprise dotCYM was set up specifically to work closely with the Government to deliver a successful TLD that was accountable to the Welsh people. It does not have the financial or human resources to compete against a large, wealthy corporation that seeks to protect its monopoly of the market - especially when it has strong civil service and government support.

Any large company in the world can now compete for Welsh Government support to own and run the Welsh name online. As far as we're aware Wales is the only community to do this. The London, Scottish, Breton, Basque and Galician governments are all understandably protective of their top-level domains so they all work closely with local companies to run them and only outsource the technical services. dotCYM has worked with the Government for four years in the same way but the situation changed when Edwina Hart became the minister responsible for a Welsh top-level domain.

The probability is that Nominet will win and it will apply for a .wales. It may be persuaded to apply for .cymru as well but, since it's not accountable to anyone, no one will be able to ensure that they market it or manage it well. Nominet will own the TLD and Wales will never be able to recover ownership or control.

Please read a more detailed summary of recent events below with more information on how you can help. Without help from its supporters and politicians dotCYM can't stop the Government and Nominet from acting against the wishes of the majority of the Welsh community worldwide.

Contact maredudd@dotcym.org for more information on how you can help.
Follow us on Twitter ( @dotcymru ).
Contact your politicians and the press and make your views heard.
Forward this email on to anyone who would be interested and supportive.

Thanks for your continued support over the years
Maredudd ap Gwyndaf
Director, dotCYM

*******************

dotCYM has been ready for years to apply for a TLD. The company was structured to ensure that it was accountable to the Welsh community. The technical side was ready to sell domains worldwide. dotCYM has even secured a $185,000 loan to pay for the application in case the Welsh Government reneged on its promise of a loan.

dotCYM were, however, unable to convince the civil servants that Wales should have its own TLD, run from Wales, by the Welsh and accountable to the Welsh people. "What's wrong with .uk?", "why don't we just get Nominet to do it for free? ". The civil servants showed no ambition or imagination. No understanding of top-level domains and no urge to work towards bringing innovation, expertise, jobs and money to Wales.

Unfortunately, before the submission date was announce by ICANN, the governing body of names on the Internet, (12th January 2012 - 12th April 2012) there was a change of government. dotCYM warned Plaid Cymru and Ieuan Wyn Jones, who was the minister responsible for a TLD for Wales, that unless they took urgent steps to guarantee that the Welsh TLD would be run from Wales there was a high risk that the new Labour minister would approach Nominet to apply for a .wales.

Nothing was done. Edwina Hart became the Minister responsible and she has refused to talk to or meet dotCYM and the civil servants approached Nominet to bring them into the game.

Carwyn Jones and Edwina Hart have stated that the Welsh Government has no interest in doing anything except for giving one applicant the "letter of no objection" that is needed as part of the application. It is unheard of for a Government to show so little interest in its own top-level domain. The London, Scottish, Basque, Galician and Breton Governments are working very close with their local applications for their names online.

Nominet has commissioned London Economics, LE Cymru and YouGov to create a document that shows that the name of the TLD should be .wales instead of .cymru, although the majority of the people of Wales want a .cymru. Instead of doing its own research the Government seems to be clinging on to every word of this research document. Yes, since the civil servants don't understand TLDs the Government is taking advice from the document commissioned by the corporation trying to protect its monopoly of the market! dotCYM has never been consulted and there is no one else to questions Nominet's misleading polls and research.

Last Friday the Government invited potential applicants to compete for the letter of no objection that's required from the Government as a part of the application to ICANN ( http://sell2wales.co.uk/notices/display.html?NoticeId=28474 ).. With a deadline of 6th of January, just three weeks away and over the Christmas holidays, this makes it almost impossible for dotCYM to find the 300,000 investment it needs and so the civil servants and the Government have successfully paved the way for Nominet, an Oxford-based company, to take ownership and control of .wales (and they may go for .cymru as well if forced to). Once Nominet owns Wales' name and brand online, the Welsh will never regain control of it. Nominet are not accountable to the Welsh people in any way. They can create a Welsh front with an Advisory Committee and even open an office in Wales with a token Welsh-speaker to give phone support, but that doesn't change the fact that the policy will be decided by people foreign to the Welsh community.

Of course, as well as losing ownership and control of our TLD, this will result in the loss of the jobs, special expertise and money that would have come into Wales.

Nominet has tried to persuade the London and Scottish governments that it should own and run their TLDs. Both rejected the idea and are working with local companies to deliver a successful TLD. Nominet may eventually run the technical side of .london but it would not own and control it. The Bretons, Basques and Galicians are doing the same - a local company, accountable to the people it represents, cooperating closely with the Government. But this is not the case in Wales where there was no support or interest in a local initiative.

It's very unlikely that dotCYM will be able to put a bid up against Nominet on the 6th of January. Even with the big potential return of investment we've found that companies can't make decisions quickly enough to turn this around before the deadline. If someone has access to money that they are able to invest, please contact us.

All hope is not lost. A top level-domain is not a devolved issue; the last word resides in London. The real letter of no objection must come from Ed Vaizey, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries. dotCYM hopes that the Conservative and Liberal Democrat politicians can show the leadership needed here to try to save this grave injustice and ensure the Welsh keep control of their name online.

You, as dotCYM's supporters, have as much power as dotCYM now to try to make the Government realise the error of its ways and keep control in Wales and ensure that there's an application for a .cymru as well as a .wales. dotCYM had the resources to apply for and run a TLD but not to compete against Nominet. Your help is now vital.

You can contact your local AM and MP. More Labour politicians need to become aware of the situation and Conservative and Lib Dem politicians can put pressure on the UK Government. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport in London has experts in Internet governance that understand the importance of community TLD applications such as ours to increase diversity and competition on the Internet. Since this is not a devolved issue it's important that they realise that it's their responsibility to ensure that Wales gets the TLD it wants and needs and not one that has its policy decided in Oxford.

For more details on the situation or information on how you can help please contact me ( maredudd@dotcym.org ) and follow us on Twitter ( @dotcymru )

Please forward this email on to anyone who would be interested or supportive"

Llangollen town looks set to honour the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfods 65th Anniversary by erecting a Hollywood Style Sign in the Beautiful and Iconic Hills over looking the Festival Site.

Last night (31st March) the councils planning applications sub committee gave the go ahead for a 500,000 sign to be built in the breathtaking vista above Llangollen town amongst the Berwyn Mountains. The sign will mark the councils gratitude to thousands of competitors and visitors the Eisteddfod brings to Llangollen each year.

Cllr. Joe King deputy chairperson of Llangollen Towns planning applications secondary sub committee, said: This new landmark for Llangollen is a fitting tribute and celebration of the millions of people who have visited the Llangollen Eisteddfod over the last 65 years. Cllr. King went on to say It is a sign of this countys gratitude to these exceptional people who organize the Eisteddfod year after year and it will stand as an iconic Welsh monument marking how music and culture can bring people from all walks of life and all nations together.

The proposal is promoted by the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, and Mervyn Cousins, Chief Executive of the Eisteddfod was thrilled by the result. Some members of the board were worried that we might have opposition to the sign from some locals, but it just goes to show that yet again, this small town can pull together and make a big difference. Local shopkeeper Faye Kinnit, who helped the campaign for the sign has said I grew up wanting to live in Hollywood, but with all the global superstars who come to Llangollen every year theres never been a need for me to make the move. Its only fitting that the sign has been approved.

This years music festivals has attracted a host of stars including McFly, Russell Watson, Lulu and Julian Lloyd-Webber. There will also be over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 100,000 over the 7 days of the event.

If you, your school, choir, church or dinner wants to sing the Saint Davids Day song which has already been performed in Ontario, Patagonia, Vancouver, Disneyland Paris, the Houses of Parliament, Llandaff and Saint Davids Cathedral, by choirs and schools throughout Wales then you can buy a manuscript copy online from: http://www.ylolfa.com/dangos.php?ISBN=9781847711342 SATB, Male Voice, Female Voice and Piano and Voice versions are available.

More info about the St David's Day Song and Pembrokeshire Banner here. www.gwennodafydd.co.uk/4.html

Cenwch y Clychau i Dewi - Piano a llais by Gwenno Dafydd a Heulwen Thomas, published by Y Lolfa
www.ylolfa.com Chwilio'r catalog | Search the catalogue,Y Lolfa - Welsh Books. Buy online: books in Welsh and English for adults, children, Welsh learners and visitors to Wales from Wales' leading printers and publishers.