Music from Wales: The Second Wave?

Back in the heady days of the 90's Welsh music was synonymous with such names as 'The Manic Street Preachers','The Sterophonics' and 'Catatonia'. Together they made the Welsh accent 'cool'. Two of these bands are still with us and doing great things. Cerys Matthews' solo career continues to be of interest.

But are we witnessing a second wave of musical talent emerging from the land of song? Certainly 'The Hot Puppies' are poised on the brink of international stardom and the incredible Aimee Anne Duffy is already there ( see embedded video above ). Her new single 'Warwick Avenue' ( released May 26th ) can also be found on YouTube. This is the third single taken from her debut album. Previous releases include 'Rockferry' and 'Mercy'. Another band worthy of a mention in despatches is 'Radio Luxembourg' whose MySpace page can be found here. Others who have yet to succeed on quite the same scale can be found linked from our music page.

All in all Wales continues to amaze with the depth, variety and quality of musical talent that it produces.

Gee Williams wins 'Pure Gold'

Anglo Welsh literature has produced a number of exciting new talents in recent years. Prominent amongst these is Gee Williams whose debut novel 'Salvage' recently won one of the Aur Pur/Pure Gold prizes for 2008. The novel is a 'literary thriller' set in Wales and Chester and though there is a body ( and body parts ) this is not a work of crime fiction. Indeed the crime is almost incidental to the plot. What we are offered instead is a haunting and realistic drama, narrated skilfully from five different perspectives, in which themes of timeless significance are explored. This novel has a great deal to say about human relationships in the 21st century; emotional constancy, marital infidelity and the consequences of each. It also treats of ambition, betrayal and lust. Couple that with a first rate plot and a keen sense of pace and you have all the ingredients necessary for a stunning debut novel.

Fans of Gee Williams do not have to wait long for her next offering. Indeed a collection of short stories entitled 'Blood' has recently been published and can be purchased HERE

Aur Pur/Pure Gold 2008

Readers in libraries across north Wales have voted for books by two local authors to win the Aur Pur/Pure Gold prizes for 2008. The winning books are Hogan Horni by Menna Medi and Salvage by Gee Williams. Both fought off competition from books which have won, or been shortlisted for, major literary prizes.

Two lucky readers who cast their votes have also won hampers of books from Wales. Miss G Edwards, a member of Llangollen Library, said that “The books are relevant to today – and it was also almost impossible to put them down once I’d started!”. Ms S Dummler, a member of Llangefni Library said her choice of books “have a strong sense of place, and reflect unique aspects of Welsh culture”.

Libraries across North Wales ran the reading promotion called Aur Pur/Pure Gold to introduce readers to the good reads available at local libraries. Librarians from Estyn Allan y Gogledd, the reader development network, chose twelve books, all set in Wales but which take the reader to many different places, and readers were invited to read the books, then vote for their three favourites. Reading groups in libraries across North Wales also read and discussed the books.


The 12 books in the Aur Pur/Pure Gold promotion were:

Don’t Cry for Me Aberystwyth Malcom Pryce

Salvage Gee Williams

Resistance Owen Sheers

Dial M for Merthyr Rachel Trezise

The Master Bedroom Tessa Hadley

The Welsh Girl Peter Ho Davies

Fy Mrawd a Minnau Alun Jones

Hogan Horni Menna Medi

Sibrydion o Andromeda Emyr Wyn Roberts

Y Gemydd Caryl Lewis

Pryfeta Tony Bianchi

Gwylliaid Glyndwr Daniel Davies

Welsh Scientist Plans Destruction Of Entire Universe!

A Welsh scientist is being accused of nurturing plans for the destruction of the entire universe. Our latter day Dr Strangelove is in danger of unleashing a plague of 'strangelets' which will reduce the universe and everything in it to " a lump of dense, shrunken “strange matter” say two American accusers..

Could this be a drastic over-reaction to the removal of the Madoc Plaque by the Alabama Historical Commission? If so I have to say that we are all a bit miffed about it but surely this is going too far?

Full story HERE.

Sign the Madoc Petition HERE ( Before it's too late! )

Read latest comments on Digg HERE

Madoc and Literature: Restore the Madoc Plaque! Sign the petition HERE!

Not many historical incidents/legends have inspired not one but two epic poems! The Madoc story is one such. Robert Southey and Samuel T. Coleridge once intended to follow in Madocs footsteps. They were planning to cross the Atlantic and live amongst the Indians in a commune or "Pantisocracy". When this plan failed to materialize Southey's fascination with Madoc was displaced into his literary creations. The epic poem he wrote on this theme may not be one of the greatest products of 19th century English literature but it is a significant product of the Romantic imagination.

Southey published "Madoc" in 1805. But he is not the only author who was inspired by the legend.

Nearly 200 years later Paul Muldoon published his "Madoc: A Mystery" which is likewise based upon the Madoc legend. Both works deal with the theme of colonialism amongst others and can be regarded as political poems ( "Madoc" impilicitly and "Madoc: A Mystery" explicitly ).

Other authors who have drawn inspiration from this tale include:-

Madeleine l'Engle 'A Swiftly Tilting Planet' 1978
Pat Winter 'Madoc' (Madoc Saga, Book 1)' 1990
James Alexander 'The Children of First Man' 1994
Sanders Anne Laubenthal 'Excalibur' 1973

Surely this event/myth is worth a plaque for its effect on the literary imagination alone!


ROBERT SOUTHEY 'MADOC' 1805 ( text reproduced on iPaper )

Read this doc on Scribd: Madoc

Sign the petition HERE

Jefferson and Madoc: Restore the Madoc Plaque!

Few people who read this blog will be unaware that Thomas Jefferson was of Welsh descent but some may be unaware that he was born on this day in 1743. If you want to follow some Jefferson links you could do worse than to head on over to our Calendar page which can be found here.

The particular point of this post is not to discuss Jefferson in general, however, but to draw attention to his attitude to the Madoc legend. In the following excerpt from a letter written by Jefferson on January 22nd, 1804 he makes it clear that Meriwether Lewis ( also of Welsh descent ) will receive further instructions from a 'Mr Rees' regarding the lost Welsh speaking Indian tribes. The letter suggests that Jefferson regarded finding them as a supplementary objective of the expedition:-

In that of the 13th instant I enclosed you a map of a Mr. Evans, a Welshman, employed by the Spanish government for that purpose, but whose original object I believe had been to go in search of the Welsh Indians, said to be up the Missouri. On this subject a Mr. Rees, of the same nation, established in the western part of Pennsylvania, will write to you.

All in all today is a good day to sign the Alabama Welsh Association's petition to restore the Prince Madoc Plaque in Mobile Bay if you havent already done so.

Sign the petition HERE!

Welsh Tories Stand Up To Be Counted! Restore The Madoc Plaque!

Well OK so they were probably sitting down at the time but the important thing is that they signed up. Several Welsh Conservative AM's have added their support to the online petition and campaign to restore the Madoc Plaque in Mobile Bay and more importantly Nick Bourne ( Conservative AM leader ) has made it pretty clear that the party is officially behind this request. For this he is to be heartily thanked and congratulated by all those concerned to preserve the Welsh heritage internationally.

But this raises a few interesting questions. Why could the other parties in the Senedd not officially lend their weight to this campaign? Where is Plaid Cymru? Individual AM's from all of the major parties in Wales have signed but only the Tories have gone so far as to give official support.

Another closely related and equally interesting question is this. Why have the D.A.R. ( Daughters of The American Revolution ) not officially supported the restoration of their own plaque? Has America outsourced preservation of its heritage to the Welsh Parliament?

Sign The Petition HERE