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Dylan's Great Poem opens for submissions on Thursday 28 April at 9.00 am and invites anyone aged between 7 and 25 years old, living anywhere in the world, to submit up to four lines of poetry written in English or Welsh. From these, 100 lines will be chosen to create the Great Poem.

The theme for this year’s competition is ‘hands’, after the Dylan Thomas poem ‘The Hand That Signed The Paper.’

Entries need to be sent via the Developing Dylan 100 website before 12.00 noon on Thursday 5 May .

This year, we have joined forces with Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. Selected entrants to Dylan’s Great Poem, who are between 11 and 17 years of age, and living in Wales, will be invited to a poetry writing masterclass to work on entries to the Poetry Society competition.

Dylan’s Great Poem will be edited by Rufus Mufasa and clare e. potter, and will be published online and performed on #DylanDay.

For resources, see: http://www.literaturewales.org/dylans-great-poem/

To submit lines visit the Developing Dylan website .

For more information contact Literature Wales:

07846484274 / mabananajones@gmail.com

Follow online #GreatPoem #DylanDay @DyddDylanDay

While visiting the San Rafael (CA) area I became aware that the local Civic Center was designed by internationally acclaimed Welsh American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. I simply had to get a few snaps! I have posted them below. They're not very good because I don't know the area and it appears to be difficult to get a good vantage point. The last shot on this page (of the interior) is from Wiki Images. 

From the Wikipedia :- Marin County Civic Center

"The Marin County Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is located in San Rafael, California, United States. Groundbreaking for the Civic Center Administration Building took place in 1960, after Wright's death and under the watch of Wright's protégé, Aaron Green; it was completed in 1962. The Hall of Justice was begun in 1966 and completed in 1969. Veterans Memorial Auditorium opened in 1971, and the Exhibit Hall opened in 1976.

Located away from the former county seat in downtown San Rafael, the expansive complex stretches across two valleys just east of US 101. Its pink stucco walls, blue roof and scalloped balconies are distinctive. The smaller wing is the county administration building and the larger the Hall of Justice, joined by a round structure on a small hill that houses a county library.

A battle between factions of the Marin County Board of Supervisors played out through the selection of the site and the architect, the financing of the project, and its eventual completion. The Marin County Civic Center is a state and National Historic Landmark."

Following is a tutorial on creating a Welsh castle toast sculpture by the Welsh Chef. As this project involves altering or disfiguring the toast it cannot be considered pure Baragami.

Borrowed from our Baragami and Toast Arranging Group

I have recently been inspired to scan some of my old photos which I brought with me when I migrated from Wales. The results can be seen here Old Photo Scans . More to come.

Admittedly this is not a complex task and there are several ways to go about it. You could use a phone, you could use an SLR camera with a macro lens or send them to a professional service like ScanCafe, but I'm prepared to wager that most people will use a scanner.

The drudgery of scanning photos one at a time can be alleviated by loading three or four on to your scanner bed for each pass. The problem is, of course, that you will then need to extract the individual photos from the resulting .pdf file and almost certainly, rotate them so they can be cut and stored as individual jpeg images. This is where the GIMP ( Gnu Image Manipulation Program ) comes in. If you don't have the GIMP already you can get it here:- download GIMP . It's a free open source program and it's available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Having loaded your scan pdf into the GIMP you will need to locate the Rotate tool (not the one in the Images dropdown menu which only flips in increments of 90 degrees ) and straighten out your display so that you can use the rectangle select tool. This is where you'll find it:-

Then all you need to do is 'rotate':-

When you are happy that you have one or all of your images correctly positioned you can use the rectangle select tool to cut them and save as a new image ready for download on to your desktop.

Great video from CADW!! Segontium (Caernarfon) Roman Fort Restored in CGI

From the wikipedia:-"Segontium is a Roman fort located on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. The fort, which survived until the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, was garrisoned by Roman auxiliaries from present-day Belgium and Germany. It was the most important military base and administrative centre in this part of Britain.".... more here

Storyteller: Liz Warren, Musician: John Good, 50 mins playing time, price $9.99

The Story of Pwyll and Rhiannon

The stories that comprise the Mabinogion were written down sometime between 1160 and 1220 A.D. in Wales. They seem to have been written for a sophisticated, courtly audience. It is unknown whether their author created them in this form or if they were already current in the repertoires of medieval Welsh storytellers. Scholars agree, however, that the elements, characters, and ideas from which the stories are built reflect much older and more widely spread Celtic beliefs. The story of Pwyll and Rhiannon in particular introduces us to ancient concepts of the otherworld and sovereignty while showing us how a proper medieval Welsh prince should behave.

All the stories in the Mabinogion explore the themes of friendship, marriage, and feuds. The First Branch, the story of Pwyll and Rhiannon, begins with a feud which Pwyll resolves and in so doing makes an important friendship and alliance with the otherworld. This connection enables him to meet and ultimately marry Rhiannon, who represents sovereignty. Throughout their relationship Rhiannon must first endure Pwyll’s impulsiveness and lack of experience and later must bear an unjust punishment during which she is distanced from her husband and her royal role. This separation and her ultimate redemption is an element of most Celtic sovereignty myths.

Through the story, Pwyll grows in maturity and wisdom, reflected in his efforts to balance the demands of the nobles of his court with his love for Rhiannon. By the end of the story when he and Rhiannon are reunited with their child, Pwyll has proven himself a just and wise leader and she has shown her eternal nature by surviving and rising above injustice. Together they have proven their fertility, thereby assuring the fertility and productivity of the land, while providing an heir to continue their good works. Listen to a sample from the album in the pop up player below.

Characters and Pronunciation Guide

Pwyll (Pweeth): Prince of Dyfed, Head of Annwfn. His name means caution or wisdom.

Arawn (Ah-roon): King of the Otherworld

Hafgan (Hav-gan): Defeated King of Annwfn. His name means ‘summer song’.

Rhiannon (Hree-an-on): Pwyll’s otherworldly bride, horse goddess, and bestower of sovereignty. Her name comes from a Celtic term meaning high queen.

Hefaidd Hen (Hev-ay -ith Hen): Rhiannon’s father.

Gwawl (Goo-awl): Rhiannon’s rejected suitor.

Teyrnon (Tir-non): The best man in all the world.

Pryderi (Prud-er-ee): Pwyll and Rhiannon’s son. His name means anxiety.

Cigfa (Keeg-vah): Pryderi’s bride.

Other Terms

Mabinogion (mab-i-no-gee-on): Collective name for eleven medieval Welsh mythic stories.

Dyfed (Duv-ed): Pwyll’s realm in south-west Wales.

Gorsedd Arberth (Gor-seth Ar-burth): The magical mound of Arberth.

Cantref (kan-trev): Medieval Welsh administrative district of 100 villages.