Huw Llywelyn Rees


 

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8th July

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By: Huw Llywelyn Rees
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The Reverend John Jenkins (Ifor Ceri) parson of Ceri, Montgomeryshire is regarded as the founder of the provincial eisteddfod.

On 8th and 9th July 1819, an eisteddfod was held at the Ivy Bush inn, Carmarthen.  It was organised by Jenkins and Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David's, intending  "to make an attempt to rekindle the bardic skill and ingenuity of the principality ... by holding eisteddfodau in different places in the four provinces".  It is seen by many as the fore-runner of the modern eisteddfod.

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The first ever cricket test match played in Wales.

The match took place at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff on 8 July 2009. England elected to bat first, having won the toss, with Andrew Strauss having the honour of scoring the first ever test runs at this venue. Ben Hilfenhaus took the first wicket. The match was eventually drawn.

The SWALEC Stadium has hosted home matches for Glamorgan County Cricket Club since 24 May 1967 after the club moved from Cardiff Arms Park. A lease of 125 years was granted in 1995, with the previous leaseholders, Cardiff Athletic Club, moving to the Diamond Ground in Whitchurch. 



 

Neil Jenkins was born on 8th July 1971 in Church Village near Pontypridd. 

Neil is a former Welsh rugby union internationaland was one of the Wales coaches accompanying the latest British Lions tour of Australia. He played full back, fly- half or centre- half for Celtic Warriors, Pontypridd, Cardiff, Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

Jenkins is one of Wales' highest ever points scorer and is among the highest on the List of leading Rugby union Test point scorers. He was the first player ever to reach a total score of 1,000 points in international rugby matches.

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On 8th July 2007 at Cefn Coch in Mid Wales, more than 150 protestors, led by naturalist David Bellamy, registered their disapproval of the proposed construction of a wind farm in the area. 

The ongoing debate about wind farming has divided opinion throughout Wales.  Pro wind energy supporters stress the contribution that carbon dioxide emissions make to climate change, and deplore the damage caused by our reliance in the UK on large centralised power plants fuelled by natural gas, coal and nuclear energy.  They claim that up to 2000 jobs could be created by harnessing wind energy, with £2bn injected into the Welsh economy.  Anti-wind farm groups in Wales object on the grounds of potential damage to the immediate environment - noise pollution, the disturbance of wildlife habitations, the negative impact on tourism and on the aesthetic appearance of the landscape.


   

Eve Myles (born 8 July 1978 in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley) is an award-winning Welsh actress.

Her best known role is as Gwen Cooper in the Doctor Who inspired drama Torchwood. She also played Ceri Owen in the BBC Wales drama Belonging and was Lady Helen of Mora in the BBC fantasy series Merlin. She starred in the TV drama Frankie, and more recently in the popular television drama series Broadchurch.

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On 8th July 1557, a bequest in the will of Geoffrey Glyn resulted in the establishment of Ysgol Friars (Friars School), Bangor, which is among the oldest secondary schools in Wales. Geoffrey Glyn was originally from Anglesey and had enjoyed a successful career in Law in London. In 1538 , he acquired the grounds and building of the 13th-century friary belonging to the  Dominican Order following the Dissolution of the Monasteries.The school was inaugurated and formally recognised in 1561 by Elizabeth I. It was originally  known as 'The free grammar school of Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws',  but because of its association  with the Dominican Black Friars, the school was later renamed as "Friars School". The school was financed by the legacies  left by Geoffrey Glyn and other benefactors. It existed within the boundaries of the old friary, near the banks of the River Adda for more than two hundred years.

The school was transferred to a different location, further from the river, in 1789 and was then moved in 1900 to  Ffriddoedd Road. In 1971, in a drastic education authority reorganisation, three schools were amalgamated: Friars School, Bangor County School for Girls and Deiniol School. These combined to form a new comprehensive school, under the Friars name, but on three different sites. The entire three-part comprehensive  school was relocated to a new permanent location, Eithinog, in 1999. 


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In July 1795, Ezekiel Hughes and his cousin Edward Bebb left Llanbrynmair on foot, bound for Philadelphia.  It is believed that they were the first Welshmen to settle in Ohio.  

For over two hundred years, Ezekiel's family had lived on a large farm leased from Sir Watkin Williams Wynne. When his brother, inherited all the real estate, and continued to live on the farm, Ezekiel, who had received a good education in Shrewsbury and been apprenticed to a clockmaker and jeweller in Machynlleth, decided to visit America, with a view of purchasing a large tract of land, and making it his home.  With his cousin Edward Bebb, he gathered together a group of like minded people and in July 1795 they left Llanbrynmair on foot headed for Bristol, from where they would set sail. 

The journey began with the men having to avoid a Press Gang in Carmarthen before continuing to Bristol and when their families followed later, they sailed on the Maria on6 August 1795.  After a tedious and tempestuous voyage of thirteen weeks, they arrived in Philadelphia harbour on Sunday, 25th October.  Ezekiel and Edward decided to stay in Philadelphia over winter and headed west in the spring.  Within three months they had arrived in the unbroken wilds of the Miami Valley near Cincinnati (pictured) where they subsisted by hunting and fishing and building a cabin, clearing the land and growing potatoes, turnip and corn.

When the Government started to sell land in west Ohio in 1801, Ezekiel bought two parcels of fertile land not far from Paddy's Run in Whitewater Township.   Ezekiel returned to Wales in 1802, publicising the news that there was plentiful fertile land in the United States. He parcelled much of the good acreage  he had purchased into farmsteads and small holdings and leased them on very reasonable terms.  He was highly respected  by his tenants for his generosity, his wisdom and his fairness. He protected the interests of his compatriots from Wales who had followed him to America. He did his best to find work for them and even lent them money in order to buy land or livestock and tools.

Ezekiel Hughes won the respect of the people of Ohio, to the extent that in 1805, he was appointed to be responsible for the design of a new highway running between the river Miami to the town of Hamilton.  The following year, he was made a magistrate and was one of the founders of the Congregational Church in Paddy's Run. Ezekiel Hughes died on 2 September 1849. 

Rhianne Griffiths
07/08/13 08:30:18AM @rhianne-griffiths:

Love Eve Myles! Lots of good things have come out of Ystradgynlais ... including Smith's Watches and me!