The Latest From Cymuned - Supporters Email

( This is not an official press release but rather the personal observations of a Cymuned supporter )

Here we are at the end of the year - and what an interesting year it's been!

From the point of view of the Welsh Speaking heartlands (the Fro), a number of encouraging policies have been adopted by the Government - the Welsh language is to be taken into account in the planning of regeneration projects in the Fro, for instance. Cymdeithas Cledwyn - the Welsh speaking 'wing' of the Labour Party - emphasised the importance of 'Bro Gymraeg' issues in future manifestos. The government have adopted elements of Cymuned policy, especially in Housing, and we have developed a useful relationship between us and the Assembly.

After May's elections, a number of our supporters are now councillors. From Anglesey to Monmouthshire, and Pembrokeshire to Wrexham, we have a voice in the policy and administration of the country's councils. And with some work on our internal structure we have released more money for campaigning.

We are in a strong position going into 2009, so what are our plans?

Firstly, the launch of the CyngorNi campaign. This is the campaign that will define our work in the Fro during 2009. If you want to do one thing in the new year to help the Fro, get in touch with is to ask what you can do for the campaign!

Secondly, the re-launch of 'Ein Gwlad - Ours Alone' - a quarterly magazine which will be free to our monthly members. We hope to produce a quality publication which will lead the debate on a wide range of subjects relevant to Wales and the Fro.

Thirdly, and partly on the back of the first two, we will be working to increase our active membership. At the moment we have a little under 2000 members. This is not enough! The unstinting work by an enthusiastic group of members has ensured our influence on politicians and national bodies, and raised our profile in the press. But many of you have taken it into your own hands to write to the press, to politicians, place stickers and talking about our policies to others, and this is proving to be the main strength of Cymuned. If each member spent one hour during 2009, writing emails or letters, or raising a petition, or supporting action / policy, this would correspond to about 4 hours a week of work for the whole year for every member of the Exec committee. Imagine if everyone was willing to write a letter a month to politicians. How many policies would be changed in answer to 2000 letters? This power is in your hands.

So - here is the New Year project. Tell 5 people about this email. If one of them subscribes, you have done your bit to double our supporter base! If more than one subscribes, then every extra one is a huge bonus...

One last thing - with the present economic situation, community action will be more important than ever as we try to protect our language and our communities. If you have ideas about things that you could be doing on a community level, get in touch so that we can publicise your ideas, raise awareness and give you as much help as possible.

Brilliant. We shall step into 2009, and wish you, and us, sweeping successes in everything that is important to us. Happy new year!

Forward!
Iestyn
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Dewi Sant told us to "Do the little things."

To see what he had in mind, have a quick look at:

www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/dewisant

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Are you a dreamer or a doer?

Cymuned can't survive without YOUR help.

Have a look at:

www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/ourfuture

to hear how to make things change.

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Coast2Coast USA - Raising Money for the Noah's Ark Appeal and the Childrens Hospital for Wales

Santa Monica - Wikimedia Commons START

St. Augustine - Wikimedia Commons FINISH

(Follow the team's progress on their blog HERE.)

Americymru member Gareth Evans and three friends are setting out to cross the continental US by bicycle, to help raise money for the first children's hospital in Wales.

The Children's Hospital for Wales, constructed next to the Universityof Wales Hospital in Cardiff and part of the British National Health Service, is intended to treat more than 8,000 inpatients and 20,000 outpatients per year and is the first hospital in Wales dedicated solely to the treatment of children. It opened and received its first patients in March, 2005 and now includes a dedicated main entrance and child-friendly reception area for children's services, two children's medical wards with bedside parent accomodation and a pediatric oncology unit which includes its own ward, day care unit, outpatient care and parent accomodation area.

The Noah's Ark Appeal is a charity campaign to raise funds to improve and expand the children's hospital and the care it offers. Noah's Ark raised the funds to build the existing hospital facilities and to provide new equipmentand fund an art program for patients, to make the children's stay thereless frightening. People from all over Wales and celebrities including Charlotte Church and Katherine Zeta-Jones have lent their time and effort to raising money to contribute to Noah's Ark.

Gareth Evans, originally from Newcastle Emlyn and now a resident of Cardiff, is himself father of an eighteen-month old girl, Gwenno-Mai, with his wife, Eleri. Gareth and friend, Andy Edwards, came up with the idea of a challenge ride, in part to help Gareth recover from an injury that sidelined him from rugby. From there it seemed like a good idea tothem to use it to raise money for a charity and the Noah's Ark Appeal was :- "the obvious one for us." Ratcheting it up to a ride across the southern United States, from California to Florida, "was a concept of making the impossible-possible'!"

Signing on for this adventure with Gareth are: Andy Edwards, who operates an outdoor activity centre in Pendine called Morfa Bay Adventure; Richard Belcher, a cyclist originally from Kent and now living in Cardiff who has prior experience as a charity fund-raising cyclist; and Phil Jenkins, of Carmarthen, Andy Edwards' brother in law. Their support crew so far consists of: Tim Wilson, Gareth's brother in law and an army medic from Llandysul; Llandysul hotelier Andrew James, Tim's father and Gareth's father in law; Carmarthen accountant, Ian Stone; Martin Jones, also from Carmarthen; Henry Jones and one additional member still to be confirmed.

Their route will begin in Santa Monica, California, on the Pacific coast west of Los Angeles proper. They'll ride through Joshua Tree and the Mojave to Las Vegas, then on to the Grand Canoyon, Monument Valley and into Taos, New Mexico. From there on to Austin, Texas, where they've found a American-Welsh welcome stopover, then down to New Orleans, across the gulf coast and intend to finish in either Saint Augustine, Jacksonville or Daytona Beach, Florida.

The entire route covers between 3500-4000 miles and their goal is to complete it in fourteen days. Riders will ride in shifts, two at a time, and the team will have to cover about 200 miles a day. They'll have two support vehicles and are hoping for a small recreational vehicle to rest riders in between their legs of the trip and for medical and maintenance services.

The Proposed Route

Gareth hopes to make contact with as many Welsh-Americans as he can to find people willing to host them along their route, help organize fundraising activities in their hometowns and "have a bit of a bash at night time." The team may have a documentary film crew following them and they'd love to be able to show them Welsh communities in the US, as well as having a more enjoyable trip making friends than staying in a hotel room can provide.

On his team's experience and preparation for the trip, Gareth says, "We've never done anything like this before. Richard and myself met on a charity cycle from London to Paris, which was 350 miles over three days. Andy has completed the 'etape,' which is a stage of the Tour de France, a couple of times. Phil is a relative novice! We are all novices. Andy and myself used to play rugby, but had to finish due to injury. We have all been training for this over the last eighteen months, as well as maintain family life and work full time. There is no way we can predict how it will go, which adds to the excitement and apprehension. We have done what we can within the time constraints as far as phsyical preperation is concerned, but as with all endurance events - it's all in the head!"

Gareth writes that all members of the team have worked hard toward this trip, given up a lot and he looks foward to making the trip a reality and completing it successfully. "Personally, my family have made a hell of a lot of sacrifices, with regards to giving up their spare time, especially as we have a young daughter, so I want to get the challenge 'ot of the way,' to spend time with them. We have worked towards this for two years by the time we start. We must finish it. Anything else would be a failure. The fact that we aim to do it within two weeks just adds to the challenge. I have no doubt that we will complete it, unless the worst happens. I also know that the rest of the guys have given up a lot, as have their families, so the hope I have is that all four of
us start together at Santa Monica and all four of us finish (hopefully greeted by our families) in Florida."

Their target is to raise £50,000 for the appeal, or $88,500.00. They are a bit over halfway to their goal but at this point the team needs to focus on physical preparations for their trip. They need assistance in raising more donations, creating attention for the campaign, and help and welcome along the way. In Toas, New Mexico, a photographer has volunteered to photograph them, a fundraiser is being organized and the community is putting the team members up for the night. If anyone can help, Gareth asks, "Please support us. If you're along the route, why not organise an event for us, or even try and host us for the evening - village halls, camper beds, anything! Please highlight the challenge and charty amongst your friends and family stateside, and relatives back here in wales. Any ideas you have would be massively appreciated."

You can contact Gareth Evans here on his member page or through the team's website. Let's all help them make their trip an incredible success.

Guest Blogger - Bob Tinsley

Reproduced from David Western's Portland Eisteddfod Lovespoon Blog

Bob Tinsley is a reader of this blog who was inspired to try his own lovespoon and has graciously allowed us to post pictures of his work, below, and to be our guest blogger:

HOW I GOT HOOKED ON LOVESPOONS

Hi, I'm Bob Tinsley, and I'm honored to be David's guest blogger. I'm from Colorado Springs, CO, and I've been carving off and on, mostly off, for close to 40 years. However if you put all my carving time together in one string, it would probably amount to about two years of experience.

During the last four months I've gotten serious about carving, doing some carving every day, mostly small figures in the flat-plane style and a lot of Santa Claus Christmas ornaments.

I got into selling my Santas with a push from my wife. After I had about 10 pieces finished and painted (8 Santa ornaments of various types, one Santa Bear full figure about 6' tall and an Old World Santa I called "Watching the Weather" because he was looking up), my wife said, "What are you going to do with these? They're starting to clutter the place up." My wife is big on reducing clutter. :)

My daughter, on one of her jaunts through one of the more touristy parts of town, saw a store called "Handmade Santas & More". So I figured, what the heck. I wrapped the pieces in brown paper, put them in a box and headed for "Handmade Santas & More". The first time I went there, the owner was out. The lady at the counter said to come back tomorrow. I went there the next day, a different lady was there, but she wasn't the owner either. Third time's the charm. The next time I went there the owner was in. She looked at my work and bought all of them on the spot. This was about mid-November. By mid-December she had sold all of them and wanted me to do a commission for a gift to a man who played Santa for a charitable organization, which I did over the next weekend. She wanted a fat, jolly Santa, so I did a fat, jolly, dancing Santa.

She liked that one as well and put in an order for next year. She said just start bringing them in around the end of March and keep them coming.

I first ran across David in the pages of Woodcarving Illustrated (WCI). I liked his enthusiasm, and checked out his website. I was floored by the intricacy and delicacy of his art. I wanted to do that, so I copied the pattern in WCI, bought a couple of 1 x 3 x 12 poplar boards, ordered his book from Amazon [Fine Art of Carving Lovespoons]and got started.

I received David's book when I was about halfway through carving my first spoon. It was like getting an early Christmas present! The book is laid out in a supremely logical manner. Without asking David about this, I can be pretty sure that this book wasn't intended to be just about how to carve a lovespoon (though that information is there). David apparently wanted a book that would introduce new people to the art and romance of lovespoon carving. In this he succeeded. Beginning with the history and lore illustrated by examples of lovespoons done by him and several other artists, the book covers the materials and tools, step-by-step instructions for three patterns, then finally patterns and something that is sorely needed in all carving books but seldom included: a chapter on doing your own designs. This, in my view, elevates Fine Art of Carving Lovespoons above 99% of the carving books on the market. And I have to say that the photography is outstanding.

My tools consist of two Pinewood Forge knives, a small sloyd and a hook knife, a coping saw, a small Japanese hand saw and a battery-powered drill. I roughed out the profile with the Japanese saw and finished it with the sloyd. Surprisingly it didn't take nearly as long as I thought. Poplar is pretty easy to carve with a SHARP knife. I emphasize the word "sharp" because, even though I can put a shaving-sharp edge on a pocket knife, until I got my first Pinewood Forge knife, I didn't realize that pocketknife sharp and carving knife sharp are two different things.

I drilled holes in the pierced areas, not just one as David shows, but as many as I could fit in. I was going to have to do the piercings by hand, so I wanted to remove as much wood as I could with the drill. I started to clean out the piercings with the knife, but realized that it would be easier if the handle weren't so thick.

I took out my handy-dandy two-sided Japanese hand saw and ripped a half-inch off the thickness of the handle. Once I had done that, I could start rounding off the bottom of the spoon's bowl. I decided to do that before I tackled the piercings again, because it looked, and was, easier.

Once that was done, I started back on the piercings. The larger ones I did only with my knife. Some of the smaller ones I did with the coping saw, but discovered that clamping and unclamping that blade after taking only five or six strokes was a major pain. So I continued with the knife.

I found that getting a clean corner where two curves came together, such as at the bottom of the heart cut-out, was not easy. Cutting down into the corner was almost always against the grain, so I had to develop a technique to get the point of my sloyd into the corner and cut up out of it (with the grain) a little at a time until I had cut all the way from the front of the handle to the back. It took a while to get the joint as clean as I wanted it.

Once I had the cut-outs finished, but before starting the rounding, I used the hook knife to hollow out the bowl. I thought that the ridge going down into the bowl from the top was going to be difficult, but it wasn't. I also didn't have much trouble with the grain at the bottom of the bowl. I don't know whether this was because of the wood or the sharpness of my hook knife. I suspect it was the wood.

I began the rounding process on the handle and quickly discovered where the grain changed direction. A very light touch with a very sharp knife was the key to making these areas smooth.

I like tool marks on my carvings, so I didn't sand at all. Any place I thought was too rough, I smoothed out with numerous shallow cuts with my knife. I did use a cabinet scraper on the inside of the bowl.

I finished the spoon with a hot application of neutral shoe polish applied with a toothbrush to get in all the nooks and crannies. I wiped off the excess with a rag, then buffed with a soft brush.

I enjoyed the process as well as the result. It's really not as hard as it looks. I've already started my second spoon, so I guess you could say I'm hooked!

Thanks, David, for the opportunity to do this.

Welsh Composer - Karl Jenkins To Play New York!!!

Karl Jenkins on Wikipedia


Karl Jenkins Website


Karl Jenkins on YouTube



Karl Jenkins: The United Kingdom's Most Popular Living Composer To Have Three Premieres At Avery Fiher Hall On Monday, January 19, 2009, 8 PM

Concert to be Presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York - Purchase tickets HERE

(DCINY) Will Feature World Premiere Performance of Jenkins’ Violin Concerto, Sarikiz; US Premieres of His Te Deum and Stabat Mater; Jonathan Griffith and Karl Jenkins, Conductors

Karl Jenkins was voted the United Kingdom’s most popular living composer for the past five years by listeners on BBC Classical Radio One, and entered Classic FM’s “Hall of Fame” at number eight, the highest position ever for a living composer. Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) is proud to present two US premiere performances of new works by Mr. Jenkins, as well as the world premiere performance of his violin concerto, Sarikiz. This evening of choral and orchestral works will take place on January 19, 2009, 8 PM, at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, and will feature the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra International and the Distinguished Concerts Singers International.

Sarikiz will showcase the talent of the Kazakh violinist for whom the piece was written, Marat Bisengaliev. Mr. Bisengaliev has performed in over thirty-five countries, and was the winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s “Instrumentalist of the Year” award in 2007. Featured in the US premiere performance of Stabat Mater will be mezzo-soprano Charlotte Daw Paulsen, whose recent appearance in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle was called “dramatic in the best sense and utterly gripping” by the New York Times. Ms. Paulsen’s Western classical singing will be juxtaposed with the Middle Eastern-based vocals of Belinda Sykes, who will also demonstrate her virtuosity on the “mey”, an indigenous Middle Eastern reed instrument. Mr. Jenkins himself will be conducting, marking his Lincoln Center debut.

The opening piece of the evening, and the first of the US debuts, will be Te Deum, commissioned by Liverpool’s Welsh Choral. The text is based on an early Christian hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Jenkins’ setting of Te Deum was reviewed as “a joyous, theatrical piece of music…which alternates between dynamic, brassy flourishes and the lush rise and fall of massed voices” by the Liverpool Echo in 2008. At the baton will be DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan Griffith.

Sarikiz was commissioned by Kazakh philanthropist Sapar Iskakov. It is dedicated to his ancestor, Tlep Aspantaiuly, composer and master of the kobyz, a Middle Eastern relative of the violin. Throughout, Jenkins makes references to native folk themes, and employs two traditional percussion instruments, the dabel [hand drum] and the kepshek [tambourine].

The second half of the evening will consist of Stabat Mater. The 13th-century poem, a meditation on the sorrows of Jesus’ mother Mary during his crucifixion, has been used as a theme by composers from Vivaldi to Verdi. Mr. Jenkins’ 21st-century interpretation of the verse includes six texts not from the original poem, including a section of the Epic of Gilgamesh as well as a poem by 13th-century mystic poet Jalal al-Din Rumi.

In Jenkins’ words, “The Epic of Gilgamesh…is the world’s oldest written story. It is from the ancient Babylonian civilization, which means, of course, that it comes from what is now Iraq, so it has real resonance for our current time. Rumi…had an intense relationship with a spiritual mentor called Shams al-Din Tabrizi, whose apparent murder turned [him] into a poet and mystic who sought consolation in the Divine.”

Karl Jenkins has received numerous critical accolades and extensive academic honors, and has achieved wide-scale popular appeal as well.

He is a recipient of the Order of the British Empire for his “services to music”, and his innovative work with the jazz ensemble Nucleus won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. The album on which he initially appeared as part of the seminal progressive rock group Soft Machine, entitled Six, won the Melody Maker “British Jazz Album of the Year” award. He has twice won industry prizes in the advertising field, and his work Palladio has become iconic for the De Beers diamond company. He is both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where a room has been named in his honor. Additionally, he has been bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate in music from the University of Leicester, and a Chancellor’s Medal from the University of Glamorgan.

Date & Concert Programme

Karl Jenkins at Avery Fisher Hall
Monday, January 19, 2009, 8:00 PM

Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
Te Deum (US premiere performance)

Sarikiz, violin concerto (world premiere performance)

Stabat Mater (US premiere performance)

Karl Jenkins Conducts "Palladio"

New Left Coast ( Online ) Eisteddfod Poetry Competition!

Today we are pleased to announce the details of yet another competition category in the Left Coast ( Online ) Eisteddfod! Details of the Poetry Competition can be found below. All submissions should be made in/ or linked from a separate group discussion in the Left Coast Eisteddfod 2009 Poetry Competition Group ( see details below ) .

THE LEFT COAST (ONLINE) EISTEDDFOD COMPETITIONS

Read all about our Short Story competition HERE. Win $100!

Read all about our Poetry competition HERE. Win $100!

Read all about our Pirate Lookalike competition HERE. Win $50!

In the next day or so we will be announcing details of our photographic competition. Others to follow. Keep checking back for further details.

POETRY COMPETITION RULES FOR SUBMISSION

You may submit your entry in either Welsh or English. The two language categories will be judged separately and there will be a prize for each. Accompanying graphics are not permitted. There is a US100 dollars (approximately 50GBP ) prize for the winners in both categories. The final submission date is July 31st 2009 and the winners will be announced at the Eisteddfod ( August 2009 ). The judges have yet to be selected and a further announcement will be made soon. The judges decisions will, of course, be final. The winners will also be entitled to free admission to some Eisteddfod events. Runners-up prizes will be announced later.

All poetic styles and conventions are welcome ( limericks, however, will not be considered for a prize ) There is no upper or lower word limit. Entries need not reference Wales in any way , shape or form. You may submit up to three entries and work which has appeared elsewhere is acceptable provided you have not surrendered your copyright.

The winner and his/her work will also be featured on this site on what we hope will be a heavily trafficked page.

How To Submit Your Poem

Members

1. Simply join this Group and post your poem (and any links) as a separate discussion in the group forum ( see "Lorem Ipsum" example below). If you wish to include a link to your website or blog please do so but remember you must link back to us.

2. Post your poem your website or blog and post a link to the relevant url as a separate discussion in the group forum ( see "Lorem Ipsum" example below).. Once again you will need to link back to us.

Non Members

1. Post your submission on your blog and email us with the url ( americymru@gmail.com ). We will include it on the Group page. We would appreciate a link to this page or to the blog home page.

2. Email your submission to us and we will post it on the group page and credit you as author. ( in this case mutual linking is an option but not required )

The Fine Print

1. There is no entry or submission fee for this competition. The requirement to backlink if you are posting on your own blog and linking here ( or submitting a link to your blog on this page ) is obligatory and designed to be mutually beneficial.

2. Any materials submitted in this group will remain the sole property of the author. We guarantee not to display any story or any portion thereof on other pages or sites without the express permission of the author. Likewise materials submitted here or linked here can be removed or unlinked at any time by the author or at his/her request.

Details, details - and tools

Reproduced from David Western's Portland Eisteddfod Lovespoon Blog

Now that the spoon bowls are nicely shaped, I am going to move on to the vines. These need to work over and under each other, but don't need the formality and regularity of Celtic knotwork. The idea is that they appear organic and natural, so I will round them over much more than a Celtic knot and try to get a more 'random' feel to their movement up the spoon handle.

To achieve this look, I begin by gently ramping down the wood on either side of an 'over', thus creating the 'under'. I don't take too much off initially; I just take enough so that I can see the over under pattern clearly. By taking a shallow cut, I can rectify mistakes in the 'over/undering' or can change the pattern if I prefer a different order. If I commit to a deep cut and make an error, I can easily find myself in hot water. I use a simple straight knife for this process. The straight knives I use tend to have very short and pointy blades. These give me access to tight areas and keep me from getting carried away and cutting too much material at a pass. I am a great believer in taking multiple shallow cuts rather than getting all excited and pulling off great heaving strips with big deep passes. Its easier on the hands, the spoon and the state of my mental health to take my time and not push things. When the over and unders are completed, I round over the edges quite heavily with the knife and with some small files. With the rounding over looking good, I finish the vines with some cloth backed abrasive paper which I tear into thin 6 inch strips and draw back and forth over the edges for a final rounding.

In response to questions I have received about the knives I use, I have included this slightly blurry shot of my straight knife collection. These knives are the ones I use for all my spoon carving. They are all inexpensive tools but they are the workhorses of my art. As long as the steel is of good quality and will hold a sharp edge, any one of these little knives is capable of helping me to carve a beautiful spoon. Nothing fancier or more technical is necessary!

I began my spoon carving career with the chip carving knife at the bottom of the photo. This economical knife will do everything a beginning carver requires and it won't break the bank when you visit the tool dealer!The pointy Flex Cut brand knife above it was my second knife and has an ergonomically designed handle which makes long carving sessions a much more comfortable proposition. The skew bladed Japanese knife second from top is one that I use for getting into tight corners and for shaping edges. Its a lovely knife, but its skew shape has taken some getting used to and it might not be a good knife for a beginner.

But it is the top knife which currently has my heart! A Flex Cut brand knife endearingly known as a 'pelican', it is an absolutely sweet little knife. With a tiny blade and comfy handle, pelican and I spend many hours together and I would recommend this style of knife above all others for serious lovespoon carving.

The Welsh History Calendar & Famous Americans of Welsh Descent

Today is the birfhdate of William Floyd ( signatory of the American Declaration of Independence ) You can read more about him on our new Welsh History & Famous Americans of Welsh Descent site which has been transferred to a blog. This way it will be much easier to update and maintain.

There is still some work to be done on the right-hand column so its still a work in progress. In fact,.... very much so. All of the existing links have been preserved but they will gradually be replaced as we add more content to the blog. If anyone has any suggestions vis a vis navigation, presentation etc plaease append them as a comment to this blogpost. Also if anyone has suggestions for date entries that we have missed or overlooked please add them here.

Not every entry will be serious or factual. We may well decide to throw in some "spoof" entries on days that would otherwise remain blank. You should,nt have any difficulty spotting them.

Iolo Multnomah

Who is Iolo Multnomah? What's in his pipe? What is the mysterious "Pine Egg"? Read on here http://iolomultnomah.blogspot.com and all will become unclear.

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Americymru Blog Nominated for December Blognet Trophy Contest!!

We proudly reproduce an email from the BlogNet Awards Team below:-

"It is with pleasure that we inform you that your blog has been nominated for the December BlogNet Trophy Contest. Before a site is accepted to our site, we do a manual review to make sure that it meets our standards for content and quality. Congratulations, your blog has passed and is now viewing on our site.

Should you win the monthly award your blog will hold a prominent position for the following month on our front page and on all the sites who display our widget, and you will be included in the year end competition for our Annual award.

This is a Free contest that is fun and will give your site more exposure and traffic! The best way to create a buzz for your nomination is to let all your readers and viewers know about this contest, from friends, family and all your contacts in the various communities and forums that you are with. To encourage people to vote and comment to your nomination, we have created a Comment Contest. People need to REGISTER to have their votes and comments counted and the benefit to them as an added bonus is that they can create a backlink to their own primary business, not to mention the cash prizes that they can win. Nominations close on the 15th of the given month, but the voting and commenting goes to the last day of the month.

Again, congratulations and best of luck!"

Dear members, readers and friends. We need your help more than ever before with this one. We think voting the "Americymru" blog as number one in its category in this competition is an excellent way to promote Wales and also your own sites and blogs at the same time ( see above quoted email, paragraph 3 ) Please dont be shy...get along to BlogNet Awards now...register, vote for us and comment, comment, comment! You'll be doing us and yourselves a favour.. You know it makes sense! Have Fun.

Diolch

Ceri Shaw


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David Western Interview on Canadian Radio

If you go to this url http://www.cbc.ca/nxnw/ you can hear a half hour interview with David Western master lovespoon carver. Its a fascinating interview dealing with the history and techniques of the craft. There is also a link on the page to his blog http://davidwestern.blogspot.com. The blog has a link to the donation page for the Left Coast Eisteddfod. We would like to encourage all our members and readers to listen to the interview, read the blog and consider donating to the Left Coast Eisteddfod fund. Every dollar you donate entitles you to one "ticket" in the online raffle for the unique lovespoon which David is carving to support the event. Enjoy!

Hear the Interview here.

David Western's Portland Eisteddfod Lovespoon

The Left Coast Eisteddfod

Buy David's book here.

Crafting the Spoon

I have been working on the spoon bowls and have roughed them out to almost their final look. The first pic shows the front view and the second shows the back.

I am a firm believer that a good lovespoon must have a really well carved bowl. My research through the museums of Wales has shown me that in the olden days, a great deal of effort was put into the bowls, no matter how adept or crude the carver. When you stop to consider the rather meager tools that many of these young men would have had access to, some of their work borders on miraculous.

Many of the spoons I see for sale on the 'gift shop' type lovespoon sites suffer from extremely poorly designed and carved bowls. In many it appears the bowl was just an afterthought which was only grudgingly included so that the piece of wood is recognizable as a spoon. I think this is a great shame as the bowl lends a quiet dignity to the proceedings. Lovespoons are busy and vibrant things with the handles often being a veritable riot of activity. An elegant bowl acts as a real visual anchor and can have a quieting effect on the overall design. It also is a real measure of a carver's skill to get it even and fair with the right 'look'. I spend a good deal of time fussing with the bowl and I honestly believe that the effort I put in on an easily overlooked detail pays big dividends at the end of the job.

But that is enough sermonizing (is that a word?...it is now) for one day. I just hope that you'll agree with me that so far this double bowl has a very romantic feel to it and that it is doing a good job symbolizing 'union'.

Thank you for dropping by to see how things are progressing! I hope that you will be inspired to join our efforts to initiate an Eisteddfod in Portland and I look forward to reading your comments.

Remember, Remember, Llywelyn Day on 11 December

To mark the anniversary of the death of Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, the last leader of an independent Wales, Y Lolfa will be publishing A Stone for Remembrance – a fantastic collection of short stories based on the most well-known and loved Welsh legends.

Commissioning editor Rhys Parry explains: “This book coincides with the commemoration of Llywelyn II on 11 December and gives interesting interpretations of some of the stories and heroes of Welsh history, hopefully entertaining and encouraging readers to learn more about Wales’ past.”

Editor Barrie Llewelyn says, “This book brings together 16 of the best loved traditional Welsh stories, which are retold in new and interesting ways by writers who live and work in Wales.”

Readers will discover the exploits of Llywelyn and Gelert, Merlin, Dic Penderyn, Caradog and Owain Glyndŵr in tales of battle, intrigue, romance, mystique and magic.

A Stone for Remembrance is the perfect introduction to the colourful stories which form such a vital part of the heritage of Wales. It will appeal to the general reader as well as parents and teachers who wish to introduce these culturally important stories to the next generation in an easily digestible format.

The collection includes:



Llywelyn and Gelert by Rhys Parry

A Vision of Merlin by David Morgan Williams

The Battle of Ynys Môn by Andrew Peters

Rhiannon: Lady of the Horse People by Fiona Collins

A Stone for Remembrance by Sally Roberts Jones

Princess Gwenllian by Robert Soldat

The Boy Who Saw Dic Penderyn by Mike Jenkins

Christmas 1176 – The First Eisteddfod by Liz Whittaker

An Interview With Paul Child - Official Singer of the Welsh Rugby Union

How does it feel to stand on the pitch of the Millenium Stadium in front of those crowds and be the guy who gets to sing the national anthem?

It is every Welsh singer's dream to perform at The Millennium Stadium, It was certainly mine and I can still remember when I got the call for the first time, it's like one of those moments when you remember where you were when you heard that Elvis had died. I usually do a soundcheck about 2 hours before kick off, before the gates open so the stadium is empty apart from the stewards - it's an amazing feeling, and then to perform and lead the Welsh National Anthem in front of 75,000 Welsh fans is absolutely incredible.

Paul Child at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

How did you start singing, what made that happen? What were your goals as a vocalist then?

I started singing at the age of 15, in a school rock band and later on I joined another band who did fairly well locally. We were mainly a covers band, playing Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Whitesnake. I wanted to be Jon Bon Jovi and we were having a great time, playing bars and clubs. Rock singing is, in my opinion, the hardest style to do properly - partly because you are expected to be running around on stage like a lunatic at the same time! This is why I started taking opera and classical singing lessons, learning to breath and project properly when I was 16.

Later, you were a cabaret singer on the Spanish island of Tenerife, how did that come about? How long did you do that and what was it like?

I went on holiday to Tenerife in the early nineties, it was just when karaoke was taking off in a big way and I was offered a job as a karaoke host. It was an ideal job as, early on in the evening, when there were no singers from the audience I had to sing and I used to let the audience pick songs for me to have a go at. I had developed quite a large range by then through my rock singing and classical lessons so I found I could sing just about anything. I would sing Neil Diamond, Elton John, Guns & Roses, Rod Stewart, and my 'party piece' was Meatloaf's 'Paradise By The Dashboard Light' - both the male and female parts! I stayed on the island for four years and while I was there I met fellow Welshman David Alexander - he was hugely popular on Tenerife and sadly he passed away there in February 1995. I returned to Wales a year later in 1996 and when I started singing in the workmen's clubs of Wales, I sang a couple of David's songs.

Now I go back to Tenerife once a year to visit old friends and I always do a show or two while I'm there - it's great because all the Welsh holiday makers pack the venues so it's just like being back in Wales - but its sunny!

You raised the money to self-produce your album, "Wales Forever," as a tribute to Welsh vocalist David Alexander, how did that happen? What inspired you do this album, what was your process in creating it?

When I returned to Wales and started performing on the workingmen's club circuit, I started doing some of the songs that I had heard David doing on Tenerife. I was getting asked by audiences all the time if I had an album available so I decided to go about producing my own. I wanted to do an album of contempory Welsh tunes - songs that have never been huge hits but are part of our folklore in Wales. I approached Johhny Caesar, who wrote the songs 'If I Could See The Rhondda', 'Come Home Rhondda Boy' and 'The Price Of Coal' and we based the album around those three songs. I had already been performing the songs with a male voice choir for some time so we took the choir to the recording studio between Fisguard and Haverfordwest in West Wales and recorded the album in three days.

"Wales Forever" went on to become the biggest-selling independently-released album ever in Wales, selling over 100,000 copies - how did it feel when it started selling that well? Did you know it would do well or was it more of a gamble?

The first pressing of the album was 2,000 copies and it was my intention to just sell them at live shows and small independent local stores but then I started getting calls from UK retail giant WHSmith, asking for two hundred copies per store! We had to move very quickly to supply the demand and, eight years later, that album is still selling all over the world - it's an incredible feeling and with the advent of iTunes and Amazon, more and more people all over the world are downloading it!

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=278809279&s=143444

How did you come to be "the official voice of Welsh rugby"? What does that mean exactly? 2006's "Bread of Heaven" is the official album of the Welsh Rugby Union. Can you tell us some more about that?

Although I was very proud of what we achieved with the 'Wales Forever' album, it was done 'on the cheap'in that the music was produced by sythesisers rather than real instruments so when I was asked to record the Official Album for the Welsh Rugby Team a few years later it seemed a perfect opportunity to revisit some of these songs and record them with a full live orchestra as well as a male voice choir. They had never been recorded in this way before and we felt that the songs deserved the very best production available.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=251423677&s=143444

Your latest album is "Shine," Can you tell us a little about it? Where can fans see you perform and buy your music?

I have really enjoyed recording 'Shine' - It's very exiting for me because it has a couple of original songs, like the title track and also 'Where The wind Blows'. I have mixed the styles up a little on this album because, going back my early days, I do like to sing in different styles so there are showtunes like 'Bring Him Home' from Les Miserables and even a cover of Journey's 'Faithfully' (one of my all time favourite songs). I've also included a live version of 'One Day / The Answer To Everything'. My live show is something I'm very proud of - we have a live orchestra on stage and the sound they produce is fantastic.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=280973295&s=143444

I'm looking forward to St Davids Day next year when I will be at The Princess Royal Theatre in Port Talbot - it's a great theatre and we have the Ospreys Choir with us for the first time. My website www.paulchild.com has all the tour details, album details and also a selection of live videos from shows and at The Millennium Stadium.

I have recently been involved in producing singles for the four regional Welsh Rugby Teams. All four singles are being released at the same time with the proceeds going to welsh Charities. Go to http://indiestore.7digital.com/welshmusic/ for full details!

I'm also hoping to be able to perform at the Left Coast Eisteddfod next year so maybe I'll get to meet some of the Americymru members! In the meantime I'd like to take this opportunity wish all of the members a Merry Festive Season and a very Happy New Year.

Join Derek Brockway for More Weatherman Walks

Following the success of his radio and television series Wales’ most popular weatherman is back with More Weatherman Walks – a second book of his favourite tramps around Wales.

Derek says, “After the first book, lots of people wrote to say that they bought it and pledged to do every walk in the book – and it would be great if lots of people did that again. I’ve done them all and thoroughly enjoyed them. Remember, if I can do it – so can you!”

The twelve routes are suitable for the general walker, and each one has been chosen for a particular month of the year. As Derek explains: “The aim of the book is to get you walking through the year and to enjoy the different seasons.” He hopes the book will “inspire you at home to want to get out and about and explore our wonderful country.”

This reasonably-priced book includes stunning colour photographs, maps and comprehensive directions to accompany each walk. They are all introduced by Derek and an experienced local guide, and feature background information on social history, heritage, wildlife and topography by the BBC’s Julian Carey. There are also details of walking festivals throughout Wales.

Derek Brockway was born in Barry, South Wales and has been passionately interested in the weather ever since he was a young boy. A qualified meteorologist, he has been employed by the Met Office for over 20 years and became the main weather forecaster for BBC Wales in 1997. He now presents a number of radio and television programmes, including Derek’s Welsh Weather and Weatherman Walking, which had one of the highest viewing figures in Wales. His autobiography, Whatever the Weather, was published in 2007, and his leisure activities include walking, squash, skiing and learning Welsh.

More Weatherman Walks is published by Y Lolfa and is now available in bookshops around Wales for £8.95.

The walks included in the book are:


Pen-y-Fan, Brecon Beacons

Newborough Beach, Anglesey

Dylife, near Machynlleth (part of Glyndãr’s Way)

Pontneddfechan Waterfalls (Glyneath)

Merthyr Mawr, Glamorgan Heritage Coast

Y Lliwedd (part of the Watkin Path, Snowdon)

Llangollen

The Sugar Loaf, Abergavenny

Gower (Worm’s Head and Rhossili), Swansea

Pontypool Park

Llanwonno, near Rhondda

Bethlehem, near Llandeilo


Derek will be signing copies of his new book More Weatherman Walks at the following venues:

06/12/2008

WH Smith’s Brecon 11.00 - 12.00

Waterstone’s Abergavenny 14.00 - 15.00

The Chepstow Bookshop 16.00 - 17.00

13/12/2008

WH Smith’s Barry 15.00 - 16.00

20/12/2008

Waterstone’s Swansea 12.00 - 13.00

Cover to Cover Swansea 14.00 - 15.00

Welsh Pirate Look-Alike Contest for Portland, Oregon Left Coast Eisteddfod on Americymru - Show Us Your Inner Black Bart!

We're announcing a pirate look-alike contest as part of the Left Coast Eisteddfod online activities.

The group url for the contest is here:

http://americymru.ning.com/group/leftcoasteisteddfodpirates

Here is the direction and announcement in the group:

"PIRATE IMPERSONATORS CONTEST - Show off your inner Pirate! Win $50 and acclaim! We're looking for Pirate Impersonators to send us photos in all their glory! Show us your John Callis, Howell Davis, Robert Edwards, John Evans, privateer Henry Morgan and last but by no means least, the Dread Pirate Bartholomew Roberts. As equal opportunity pirate lovers, we are, of course, also looking for Black Bartinas and Henrietta Morgans!

"Members and non-members may submit, you don't have to be a member of this network to participate, but if you're of Welsh ancestry or just like Wales, please do join us. First prize is $50.00 plus international renown/infamy and free admission to the Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon. Runners up prizes to be announced.

"Please submit jpegs no larger than 50kb - if you're unable to edit your photo, send it to us and we'll be happy to do it for you. Americymru members may submit directly, by starting a new discussion and posting their photo in it.

"Non-members, please send your photos to defnydd@gmail.com and include "Pirate Competition" in the subject line so we don't miss them!"Please include your name and contact information with your photo, and a contestant/user name you'd like us to identify your photo with, as well as a brief bio you'd like submitted on our site with your photo. All images must be the property of the person submitting them and remain the property of the person submitting them but by submitting your image(s), you give us permission to post your image(s) on this site for purposes of this contest."The Left Coast Eisteddfod will be held in Portland, Oregon, and as a native I can say that Portlanders love pirates. Many of us celebrate September 19th, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, we have lots of pirate groups in the area and every year we have the Portland Pirate Festival:

Competition On Hywela Lyn's Website - Americymru Members and Readers Invited to Participate!

Americymru has received the following email from member Hywela Lyn who is celebrating the launch of her new novel "Starquest" today.

"Yes - it's officially in print today! It's even more beautiful in 'real life' and the starry background carries on to the back cover.

To celebrate I'm holding a contest to win:

1. An autographed copy of 'Starquest'

2. A special 'Starquest' Teeshirt with the cover printed on the front. Large or Medium - winner's choice

3. A handy Desk calendar for 2009

4. A pair of tiny 'blue rose' earrings'. (To see find out the significance of the blue rose you need to read the story)

To enter - just go to my WEBSITE and read the first chapter of Starquest to find the answer to this question -

What is the name of the DESTINY'S computer? When you've found it, Email me at Contest@hywelalyn .co.uk before 27th December, making sure I have your email address. I'll get the prizewinner's pack out to them early in the New Year. Good Luck!

Don't forget, books make wonderful presents and if you'd like an autographed copy for a Christmas gift, just email me at Lyn@hywelalyn.co.uk or go to my website where there's a purchase link.



I hope you're all doing well and not getting too stressed in the run-up to Christmas. Remember it's not the value of the gift but the thought behind it that really counts. Please find a moment to enter my contest."

Latest from David Western's Lovespoon Blog

David Western's Lovespoon Blog

Well, the fun stuff has finally started. I've been busy scroll sawing out the shape of the spoon and am very pleased with how the wood has responded. There is lots of lovely grain patterns which should make the bowl and the leaf look really vibrant and the wood has been cutting evenly with no splitting or shattering. Wood this old and dry can sometimes be a bit brittle, but this walnut seems very good. The dowel that I came across last week shows up pretty well in this photo, but won't be quite so visible when the spoon is complete. I'm very pleased with the proportions and am even more confident that this will be a very smart spoon when complete.

In the second picture I have begun carving out the spoon bowl using a hand-made bent knife. These are specially made for me by Mike Komick at Preferred Edge Tools who specializes in crafting razor sharp, beautifully made blades. In the old days, the Welsh carvers used a ferocious looking bent bladed knife called a 'twca cam' which was often fashioned from whatever metal was at hand. Thankfully for me, I can rely on Mike to use the very best steel so that I can reap the benefits of a good, keen edge. Many carvers use gouges, electric grinding tools and curved scrapers to achieve the same ends, but I personally prefer the bent knife.

Carving the spoon bowl is one of my favourite parts of the process and is one I am happy to spend a good deal of time on. I tend to think that a lot of spoon carvers consider their bowls an afterthought with the lack of attention they give them showing up as a clunky and unsightly end to their hard carving efforts on the handle. But I'm starting to get preachy, so I'll get back to the tools and see how things shape up.

Before I go though, I hope that you are enjoying the blog so far and that you will feel inclined to donate a dollar or two to the Left Coast Eisteddfod! Every dollar you gift will equal a chance to win this spoon when it is completed. I hope you'll join in and I wish you good luck!

The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus - "Not Your Average Choir!"

"Founded in 2001, The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus is a Canadian choir based upon the Welsh Male Choir traditions" - An Interview with Julian Murray.

Find more photos like this on Americymru

Where is the choir based?

The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus is based in Burlington Ontario, (just West of Toronto)

Who is the choir director? Other officers or positions in the choir?

We have a new Choir Music Director, Janice Beninger and are recruiting a new accompanist to join her in a revamped music team!

How many members does it have?

We have 70 registered members currently. approximately 50% are Welsh or of Welsh descent, then there are the Barbarians - Canadians, Scottish, English, Irish, Zimbabweans, ...

What is the history of the choir. When was it formed?

BWMC was formed in Sept 2001 when a few members from another choir and some new recruits joined with the famous director and arranger Mr Lyn Harry to recreate a Welsh choir in Ontario. Our 1st rehearsal was 23 potential members, and our 1st concert was March 1st 2002!

How would you describe your repertoire? Is it largely traditional?

We have a varied repertoire, usual choir line up of Traditional Welsh folk and hymns/spirituals; and opera choruses. We throw in different instruments when we can (guitar; flute; trumpets) to add colour.

Are there songs that you frequently perform or are known for? That your audience requests?

Gwahoddiad is a favourite of the choir and the audiences, if we dont do it, people always ask why!

As a Welsh choir in Canada, people come expecting to hear that Welsh MVC sound and the traditional songs, so we dont disappoint - but we add in different elements as well to make it interesting

How much time do you spend in rehearsal? How often do you practice together?

We meet once a week on a Friday for 2 hours, then to the pub to welcome the weekend!

Where do your members come from? Is there an audition process?

There is a strong Welsh presence in the Golden Horseshoe around Hamilton/Burlington/Toronto, so word of mouth has led to significant growth as well as links to the Rugby Clubs and pubs! We are a very welcoming choir, we do not formally audition, but each new member is given a voice test to determine their range and which section they belong in (Tenor 1; Tenor 2; Baritone or Bass).

How many performances do you do a year?

We do on average 12 events between September and May

Where have you performed?

All over S. Ontario, Cayman Islands 2003; Wales and Royal Albert Hall London in 2006; Boston; Carnegie Hall New York and Pennsylvania in 2008.

What is the largest audience you've performed before? What was your most memorable?

As an individual choir we sang 2 songs at Carnegie Hall which was a great experience, as well as being part of the massed choir with Bryn Terfel this year. The Royal Albert Hall in 2006 was very moving as part of an 800 voice choir, ex pats coming home to sing!

You have played several gigs with Jon Langford - how did that association come about? How would you describe the shows you do together?

Jon and I know each other from our young lives in Newport, Gwent. He went on to great things with The Mekons* etc, our band split up! We meet up whenever he plays in Toronto,so we got talking last year about a project to put a choir vocal behind his band to do the Skull Orchard songs, so I got a subset of the choir engaged. We rehearsed and debuted it in Chicago in 2007 and wherever its been done its very well received. The cross genres of the hard hitting band and the choir harmony just works and strikes a chord .


Hear The Burlington Male Voice Choir Performing with Jon Langford here:-

Jon Langford & the Burlington Welsh Male Voice Choir on YouTube

What other guest artists or other artists have you performed with?

Don't tell Langford but we sang with Elvis Costello on his encore song at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco in October this year. Bryn Terfel in New York, Jason Howard and Rebecca Evans in London.

You've got a cookbook for sale on your web site - how did that come about? Any favorite recipes in there?

We need money! It was a fundraiser for our 2006 UK tour (we are self funding) how many would you like? Best Faggotts recipe known to man (dating back to 1773). ( Hopefully the ingredient are of more recent vintage...Ed ). Purchase Cookbook HERE

Have you released any recordings? Where can people buy them?

We recorded our annual concert in the spring of 2006, available at concerts or through the website. We hope to record a new CD this year. Purchase CD HERE

Where can people hear the choir online?

There are some pieces on the website and some choir/Langford events on youtube.

What are your plans for the future?

We have just engaged a new music team, so our focus is on solidifying that relationship and growing musically under the new director - she is Canadian , very capable and understands the Welsh culture and loves the sound! We do a major tour every two years, so there is talk of West Coast USA / California in 2010.

Where can people catch you live? Any tour dates coming up?

Our Website has a calendar with all performances, we aim for 1 concert per month in season and have events in dec and through the spring. In discussions with Jon Langford for more events and eventual world domination. Left Coast Eisteddfod maybe?!

Julian Murray

Burlington Welsh

"For those of you who are not acquainted with the work of the mighty "Mekons....Shame on you! Here are links to two of their classic numbers on You Tube:- "Millionaire" "Cockermouth"

The Burlington Male Welsh Choir - "Not Your Average Choir!"

Find more photos like this on Americymru

Where is the choir based?

The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus is based in Burlington Ontario, (just West of Toronto)

Who is the choir director? Other officers or positions in the choir?

We have a new Choir Music Director, Janice Beninger and are recruiting a new accompanist to join her in a revamped music team!

How many members does it have?

We have 70 registered members currently. approximately 50% are Welsh or of Welsh descent, then there are the Barbarians - Canadians, Scottish, English, Irish, Zimbabweans, ...

What is the history of the choir. When was it formed?

BWMC was formed in Sept 2001 when a few members from another choir and some new recruits joined with the famous director and arranger Mr Lyn Harry to recreate a Welsh choir in Ontario. Our 1st rehearsal was 23 potential members, and our 1st concert was March 1st 2002!

How would you describe your repertoire? Is it largely traditional?

We have a varied repertoire, usual choir line up of Traditional Welsh folk and hymns/spirituals; and opera choruses. We throw in different instruments when we can (guitar; flute; trumpets) to add colour.

Are there songs that you frequently perform or are known for? That your audience requests?

Gwahoddiad is a favourite of the choir and the audiences, if we dont do it, people always ask why!

As a Welsh choir in Canada, people come expecting to hear that Welsh MVC sound and the traditional songs, so we dont disappoint - but we add in different elements as well to make it interesting

How much time do you spend in rehearsal? How often do you practice together?

We meet once a week on a Friday for 2 hours, then to the pub to welcome the weekend!

Where do your members come from? Is there an audition process?

There is a strong Welsh presence in the Golden Horseshoe around Hamilton/Burlington/Toronto, so word of mouth has led to significant growth as well as links to the Rugby Clubs and pubs! We are a very welcoming choir, we do not formally audition, but each new member is given a voice test to determine their range and which section they belong in (Tenor 1; Tenor 2; Baritone or Bass).

How many performances do you do a year?

We do on average 12 events between September and May

Where have you performed?

All over S. Ontario, Cayman Islands 2003; Wales and Royal Albert Hall London in 2006; Boston; Carnegie Hall New York and Pennsylvania in 2008.

What is the largest audience you've performed before? What was your most memorable?

As an individual choir we sang 2 songs at Carnegie Hall which was a great experience, as well as being part of the massed choir with Bryn Terfel this year. The Royal Albert Hall in 2006 was very moving as part of an 800 voice choir, ex pats coming home to sing!

You have played several gigs with Jon Langford - how did that association come about? How would you describe the shows you do together?

Jon and I know each other from our young lives in Newport, Gwent. He went on to great things with The Mekons* etc, our band split up! We meet up whenever he plays in Toronto,so we got talking last year about a project to put a choir vocal behind his band to do the Skull Orchard songs, so I got a subset of the choir engaged. We rehearsed and debuted it in Chicago in 2007 and wherever its been done its very well received. The cross genres of the hard hitting band and the choir harmony just works and strikes a chord .


Hear The Burlington Male Voice Choir Performing with Jon Langford here:-

Jon Langford & the Burlington Welsh Male Voice Choir on YouTube

What other guest artists or other artists have you performed with?

Don't tell Langford but we sang with Elvis Costello on his encore song at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco in October this year. Bryn Terfel in New York, Jason Howard and Rebecca Evans in London.

You've got a cookbook for sale on your web site - how did that come about? Any favorite recipes in there?

We need money! It was a fundraiser for our 2006 UK tour (we are self funding) how many would you like? Best Faggotts recipe known to man (dating back to 1773).

Have you released any recordings? Where can people buy them?

We recorded our annual concert in the spring of 2006, available at concerts or through the website. We hope to record a new CD this year.

Where can people hear the choir online?

There are some pieces on the website and some choir/Langford events on youtube

What are your plans for the future?

We have just engaged a new music team, so our focus is on solidifying that relationship and growing musically under the new director - she is Canadian , very capable and understands the Welsh culture and loves the sound! We do a major tour every two years, so there is talk of West Coast USA / California in 2010.

Where can people catch you live? Any tour dates coming up?

Our Website has a calendar with all performances, we aim for 1 concert per month in season and have events in dec and through the spring. In discussions with Jon Langford for more events and eventual world domination. Left Coast Eisteddfod maybe?!

Julian Murray

Burlington Welsh

"For those of you who are not acquainted with the work of the mighty "Mekons....Shame on you! Here are links to two of their classic numbers on You Tube:- "Millionaire"      "Cockermouth"