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Presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen visits some of the finest and least known homes in Wales, a visual feat of architecture, scenery and history. Well worth a look imho 
Click here for more details from the BBC. Click here for the Netflix page and here for a list of episodes - Neflix Instantwatcher .
Trevor Hall, Llangollen. The subject of Episode One.
Some of the other houses featured in the series:
We have three Western Hemlocks perched on a bank at the back of the house. Since we are close to the crest of a hill they are somewhat exposed to the elements. Pictured above and below is the aftermath, in our backyard, of the recent winter ice storm which passed through Portland a few days ago. About 16 branches fell off one of the trees because of the accumulated weight of ice. Needless to say, since these were falling right next to the house and just outside our bedroom window, we left home for a night or two. Sorry about the delay on various site features we were working on. Will catch up shortly
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WIN 2 Tickets to Karl Jenkins Concert in NY 'Cantata Memoria For the Children of Aberfan'
By Ceri Shaw, 2016-12-08
STOP PRESS: This competition is now closed and the winner is AmeriCymru member Meinir Heilbrun.......Congratulations/Llongyfarchiadau to our winner! ALL competition entrants will receive a discount code (via email) which entitles them to a 50% discount on show tickets for the concert on the 15th.
We are extremely pleased and proud to announce that Distinguished Concerts International have made available a pair of tickets for the forthcoming Karl Jenkins concert in New York at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall on Sunday, January 15th, 2017. The concert will feature a performance of 'Cantata Memoria For the Children of Aberfan (US Premiere)'. Read our interview with Karl Jenkins here
We are offering these tickets as a QUIZ PRIZE on Americymru!
Just answer the three easy quiz questions below ( answers can all be found on Wikipedia ) and send them to us at americymru@gmail.com ( all email addresses will be deleted when the competition closes ). We'll throw all the entries in a hat and pick the winner! Please email us by Sunday, January 8th, 2017 no later than 9 PM ( Pacific Time ). Tickets will be ready at will call on 1/15 at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall; the winner will just need to bring a photo ID.
Only one entry per email address is permitted. Duplicates will be disqualified. You do not need to be an AmeriCymru member or logged into the site in order to enter this competition.
Karl Jenkins Quiz
- What are Karl Jenkins middle names?
- When is Karl's birthday and what year was he born?
- At which Welsh university did Karl study music?
A well known publishers in Wales are launching their advent calendar today which will encourage people to read over Christmas.
Publishers and printers Y Lolfa launch their advent calendar at 12pm today which will include recommendations of books to give as gifts or to read over the holidays and in the new year.
‘We are very proud to launch our Christmas campaign which will encourage people to give books as gifts and to read over the festivities and beyond’ said Fflur Arwel, Head of Marketing at Y Lolfa.
‘Reading can bring pleasure and escapism or can be a way to learn and understand the world’ says Fflur, ‘It can also be a way to relax and capture any imagination – let alone the contribution books do to the lively culture of our country’
The campaign follows the establishing of the ‘Welsh Bookshelf’ reading blog earlier this Autumn.
The publishers will also be marking an important milestone next year.
‘2017 will be a big year for Y Lolfa as we look to celebrate the company’s fifty year anniversary’ added Fflur, ‘Look out for announcements of one big party and other events in the new year!’
‘In the meantime we would like to thank our customers and everyone who has supported us this year and all years before. Onwards to the 50 th !’ she added.
Lolian is a collection of ‘eccentric and too honest’ personal diaries that Robat Gruffudd kept since the sixties. Written over the last fifty years, the diaries are published for the first time ever this year.
The diaries are published before the 50 th anniversary of Y Lolfa which will be celebrated next year. The book delves into the publishing world but Robat emphasises that this is not an autobiography nor the history of Y Lolfa per se.
‘We will be celebrating Y Lolfa’s birthday soon. Watch this space for news of a big party and a range of other events!’ says Robat.
The book is launched officially on Friday the 25 th of November at 8pm at the Llew Du (Black Lion) in Talybont. The academic Simon Brooks will be in conversation with the author followed by live music from Tecwyn Ifan.
The diaries include response to events and an ‘unofficial’ yet original portrait of life in Wales over the last fifty years.
The book contains a mixture of humours ancedotes, provoking comments and memories about the twists and turns working in the pubilshing industry and meetings with authors and beyond in Wales and in bars on the continent. As a language campaigner since his early years, Robat goes into detail about his work with Cymdeithas yr Iaith, Cymuned, Dyfodol i'r Iaith – and a campaign where he refused to speak English. Also discussed are the Trefechan bridge protest and the campaign to establish a daily Welsh newspaper, Y Byd .
Other stories include the arrest of him and his wife Enid under false suspicion that they had played a part in the burning of holiday homes in the 80s.
His Jewish and German background is also illustrated – as well as the prosecution suffered by his family in Germany, which was the basis of the successful book written by his brother Heini, A Haven from Hitler, which won Book of the Year (as Yr Erlid ). It includes an entry where Robat visits Ravensbrück concentration camp where his grandmother was murdered by the Nazis during the second world war.
‘There are funny stories about plenty of people here and that’s what I’m afraid of! What will they say when they see their names in print? But the diary form asks for complete honesty,’ says Robat, ‘If you’re not honest then what’s the point? Although I may leave the country for a month or two after publication!’
Lolian by Robat Gruffudd (£9.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
In Hunangofiant Dyn Lwcus (A Lucky Man’s Autobiography) the actor Hywel Emrys opens up about the death of his wife Liz to cancer last year, and portrays his own experience of losing someone so close to the cruel illness.
‘Liz was a unique woman’ says Hywel, ‘She was strong, she was brave and full of healthy humour – even towards the end.’
‘I hope talking about my experiences in such an open way will help those who are going through the same thing’ says Hywel.
Hywel is known primarily for playing the role of Derek, the garage owner on popular Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm, and is a familiar face throughout Wales. He has also acted in many other programmes and films. In this intimate autobiography, the lovable actor tells numerous stories and mishaps along the way’.
The death of his wife is what led him to write his story.
‘It was a form of catharsis that morphed into a book’ says Hywel, ‘I lost my own father at a young age and I only have faded memories of him now so I hope that by writing this book it will act as a memory for my children when I leave’.
Praise has already been given to the book by one of his friends and the world famous actor, Ioan Gruffudd, who sais, ‘This is a witty and wonderful autobiography – Hywel is one of the most loved actors in Wales’.
Hywel was born in Carmarthen but now lives in Cardiff with his children, Ffion and Sam.
The book will be launched at the caffi bar at yr Hen Lyfrgell in Cardiff on Tuesday the 29 th of November at 7pm with Ieuan Rhys and entertainment by Lisa Angharad.
The second launch will be held the following week at Cwins rugby club in Carmarthen on Tuesday the 6 th of December at 7pm with actor Gwyn Elfyn.
Hunangofiant Dyn Lwcus by Hywel Emrys (£9.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
The two sides to the life of Carwyn James are revealed in the book, Carwyn – Yn Erbyn y Gwynt by Alun Gibbard, published this week, the public figure and the private man. As well as new information and photographs never seen before, in depth research conducted by the author reveals new information about his personal life, including his sexuality, his drinking problem and his time in Italy. There's also details on the problems between his relationship with the BBC and the Welsh Rugby Union.
‘The Welsh Rugby Union belittled him, and the BBC did the same.’ said Alun Gibbard, ‘Both organisations failed to use Carwyn’s genius in a responsible way and benefit from his experience and talent.’
Detailed is his life as a student in Abersytwyth, a young man in the Navy during the Cold War, then his period as a teacher. All of which happened before Carwyn James became famous and a familiar household name at the age of forty. ‘Carwyn James was a genius. He was also a trouble soul’ said Alun Gibbard.
‘Conversations came from what can be described as the four pillars in Carwyn’s life - rugby, literature, patriotism and broadcasting.’ says Alun, ‘It is the sign of a great man that his contribution extends over all these different fields. Who can he be compared to today, I wonder? There is no obvious answer’.
Said the Professor Gareth Wililams, ‘This is a Grand Slam of a biography that breaks new ground in Welsh sport literature and beyond. One of the books of the year, there is no doubt.’
‘A moving and comprehensive portrait of a Welshman who lived two lives in one – a politican, a teacher, a broadcaster and author as well as one of the world’s greatest rugby strategist. Carwyn continues to inspire’ added Jon Gower.
The biography is the result of extensive research including over a hundred conversations with Carwyn’s family and the greats in his areas of interest including Colin Meads, Lord Elystan Morgan and Huw Llywelyn Davies.
Alun Gibbard is a full time author from Llanelli who has published almost thirty non-fiction titles and one novel. He contributes weekly to the Welsh magazine Golwg. A broadcaster for over 25 years before he began his writing career, he still contributes to radio and television.
‘Carwyn as a popular man but it was just him, on his own, at the end in Amsterdam. This is an attempt to understand the life of ‘...a man that everyone knew his name but nobody knew him’ according to his friend, the author Alun Richards’ explained Alun.
Two launches will be held in the company of Carwyn James’ family and the author Alnu Gibbard to celebrate the life and contribution of Carwyn James.
The first launch will be held at Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth, Cefneithin on Wednesday 23 rd November at 7pm.
The second launch will be held at Aberystwyth rugby club on Thursday the 24 th of November at 7pm .
Carwyn – Yn Erbyn y Gwynt by Alun Gibbard (£14.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
Pantywennol by Ruth Richards tells the story of Elin Ifans – a lively young woman in her teens who is hindered by the rural life of Pen Llŷn during the nineteenth century. Because of her obsession with the supernatural Elin is given the name ‘Bwgan Pantywennol’ (the Pantywennol Ghost) by the locals, which raises tensions and conflicts within the community between religion and supersition.
The novel is based on a true story which was kept alive by word of mouth.
‘I suppose what inspired me what the combination of studying nineteenth century literature for my MA and memories of old stories from Pen Llŷn I heard from my two Nain (Grandmothers)’ said Ruth Richards, ‘I got hold of a book by Moses Glyn Jones and Norman Roberts about the history of the ‘bwgan’ (ghost) and was somewhat surprised that no one had turned the story into a novel. What was so exciting was that there was plenty of history that had survived to form a basis which allowed me to construct a narrative around it myself.’
The novel revolves around the frustrations of a teenager who realises that the contraints of her Victorian life will allow little opportunity or adventure for her.
‘The fact that Elin was so young when the trouble happened was very appealing to me,’ explains Ruth, ‘I tried to recognise a certain ‘punk’ spirit that belonged to her. The kind of energy and raw defiance that makes the process of shaming her so much more unjust, and her fate even sadder still’.
The novel recieved high acclaim during the Medal Ryddiaith (Prose Medal) competition during the National Eisteddfod in y Fenni this year and came close to winning the top prize.
Fe gafodd y nofel ganmoliaeth uchel yng nghystadleuaeth y Fedal Ryddiaith yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol y Fenni 2016 gan ddod yn agos at gipio’r brif wobr.
Judging the competition, Dafydd Morgan Lewis said,
‘From the outset I doted on this novel. I fell in love with her really’ says Dafydd, ‘This isn’t just a compelling story but very powerful writing as well’
Jane Aaron added that the novel echoed some American Gothic literature, such as Arthur Miller’s famous play, The Crucible .
Pantywennol is Ruth Richards’s first novel.
Ruth grew up in Cemaes, Anglesey, but now lives in Beaumaris. She was a student on the MA Creative Writing course at Bangor University and works for the lobbying organisation, Dyfodol i’r Iaith.
The novel will be launched at Oriel Plas Glyn Widow in Pwllheli at 2pm on Saturday 26th November . There will be readings from the novel and performances of ‘Baled y Bwgan’ (‘Ballad of the Ghost’) which is an old ballad about the story. Professors Angharad Price and Gerwyn Wiliams will also be in conversation with Ruth Richards.
Pantywennol by Ruth Richards (£7.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
Please note: this book is in Welsh
