Get Your Signed, Dedicated Copy of 'Tongue-Tied' Here!!

AmeriCymru is honoured, pleased, and excited to announce that author Peter Griffiths has very generously donated the proceeds of the sale of one hundred copies of his novel, Tongue Tied, to the Left Coast Eisteddfod. For each copy sold, the Eisteddfod will receive $16 and the buyer an autographed and dedicated copy of Tongue Tied. This is a wonderful way for you to support the Eisteddfod while at the same time enjoying a novel which Lise Hull describes in Ninnau as "a tale of what it means to be Welsh and which should be on everyone's reading list, whether they have been to Wales or not, whether they are Welsh or not.". (http://www.ylolfa.com/henstraeon.php?first=249)

Tongue Tied is set in the Tryweryn valley, in the shadow of Arenig Fawr, in North Wales, and in the Rhondda and around Llanelli in the South. The novel recognises the tension that has arisen at times between the majority of Welsh people who can't speak Welsh and the minority who can. It suggests, with respect to national identity, that "one is Welsh if one feels Welsh." As to style, Tongue Tied is strongly influenced by Cynghanedd, an old and very strict Welsh poetic form. As a result, the novel abounds with alliterations and poetry within prose.

Tongue Tied was published by Y Lolfa just over a year ago and is already closing in on its fourth printing.

To get your copy, please send $19.00USD (shipping is already included) to MLMEF P.O. Box 80293, Multnomah Village, 97280 * or use the PayPal 'Donate' button in the right hand column on this page. If you use the PayPal option please email us at americymru@gmail.com with your postal address. Please make checks payable to the 'Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation'. Diolch!

The North American Festival of Wales - An Interview With Alan Thomas

Don't miss this opportunity for fellowship and Welsh culture in Portland! Our daytime programming will feature four days of interesting and informative seminars, workshops, concerts & much more.An Interview with Eirian Owen, Musical Director of the Cor Godre'r Aran who will be appearing at NAFOW 2010 can be found here. More info and registration here Americymru: For how many years have you been an accompanist at the North American Festival of Wales? Alan: I was invited to become accompanist for the NAFOW when it was held here in Ottawa in 2000 I think I am the only professional musician in the city who was born in Wales, so the Committee decided to invite me. I missed a couple of years after that but I have performed in several US cities ever since. Americymru: Care to tell us some of the people you have accompanied in that time? Alan: I have accompanied quite a number of singers, notably in recent years Shannon Mercer, Aled Wyn Davies and Gwyndaf Jones, all of whom were very well received at the festivals Shannon is from Ottawa, and I played for her when she was a 10-year old ! Americymru: What for you is the most enjoyable and the most significant part of the festival? Alan: I enjoy all the festival but I especially like the concert after the Banquet on the Friday evening,when the guest soloist and I perform a 45-minute recital for the assembled company Americymru: How long have you been playing the organ? Alan: I began piano lessons when I was 6 and then organ lessons when I was 13 (when I was tall enough to reach the pedals !) That makes 60 years, since I shall be 74 in June Americymru: You were born in Neath in South Wales? Care to tell our readers something about the town? What early memories do you have of it? Alan: Neath was a wonderful town for music The Grammar School I attended had a very strong vocal and instrumental program, and turned out several professional musicians apart from myself The town had a flourishing Municipal orchestra in which I played Double Bass , and a splendid Operatic Society which put on a Grand Opera every year Americymru: You were once active in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. Care to tell us more about your role with that organisation? Alan: I began playing Double bass in the NYOW and then was invited to join the staff when I reached the age of 20 (when players were considered too old to continue !) I then became Orchestral Librarian and did all kinds of jobs normally associated with that of Orchestral manager, such as visiting all the concert halls in advance and sorting things out with the staff there I was employed by the Welsh Joint Education Committee at this stage. Americymru: In 1977, you were appointed Organist and Choir Director of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. How active is the Welsh community in Ottawa? Alan: The Welsh Society in Ottawa is quite active, with a Choir, a Christmas service and an annual St David's Day dinner and concert preceeded by a Cymanfa Ganu There is a department of Celtic Studies at the University of Ottawa, which is a very useful resource for us Americymru: What, for you, will be the musical highlight of this years festival? Alan: The highlight of the festival is the afternoon Cymanfa and the Friday evening concert, but all the events are very well worth attending, including the Saturday night concert by the visiting choir. Americymru: Any final message for the members and readers of Americymru? Alan: My advice to everyone is simply to make every effort to attend this wonderful weekend devoted to Welsh music and culture in general Not to be missed !!

Interview: Ceri Shaw Email

An Interview With Eirian Owen of Cor Godre'r Aran

Côr Godre’r Aran is based in the village of Llanuwchllyn near Bala in North Wales. They will be appearing at next year's North American Festival of Wales in Portland Oregon. Americymru spoke to Eirian Owen, the choir's Musical Director about the choir and their forthcoming visit. More details about NAFOW 2010 can be found HERE.

Americymru: The Choir will be performing at the 2010 North American Festival of Wales in Portland, Oregon. Can you tell us how this came about? Have you ever been to Portland?

Eirian: I believe that the invitation to perform in the 2010 North American Festival of Wales came through a member of our choir who has contact with an official of the Festival. Côr Godre’r Aran previously visited Portland in 1971 and in 1974. I was, in 1971, newly married and the choir’s tour to USA and Canada was my honeymoon – shared with, of course, my husband - and 25 other men! A diary of that trip shows that we stayed overnight at the Royal Inn (is it still there?) , that the concert was held in a chapel and that we arranged an extra concert for the following afternoon because many people were unable to get tickets for the previous night. The chapel was full to capacity on both occasions. My 1974 diary tells that I was very impressed with the shops in the Lloyd Centre and that I decided not to go ice skating with some of our group for fear of breaking an arm and being unable to play the piano. I was at that time the choir’s accompanist and would have faced the death penalty – or worse – had I sabotaged the tour by breaking a finger or arm.

Americymru: When was the choir founded? Can you tell us something about its history?

Eirian: The choir was formed in 1949, primarily to compete at the National Eisteddfod which was, that year, held in Dolgellau. It was at that time a “penillion singing/ cerdd dant” group of about 20 young men from the village of Llanuwchllyn. The conductor was Tom Jones and the choir soon gained a strong reputation as one of the chief exponents of this traditional Welsh genre. Tom Jones retired in 1975 and I was chosen as the new conductor/ music director. I had recently graduated in music and had taken up a teaching post at a local high school. I continued along the same path that Tom Jones had established but, I soon began to feel that “penillion singing” lacked the opportunity for musical and vocal development and that the choir had the potential to succeed in other genres. Therefore, a gradual change of direction took place as I included more and more “male choir” repertoire in our programmes. Nowadays, Côr Godre’r Aran concentrates entirely on the male choir repertoire.

Americymru: What is your repertorie? Is there a particular piece that you all enjoy performing more than others? Do you have a signature piece or one that's more often requested by audiences?

Eirian: We sing a varied repertoire, from opera to musicals, part-songs, motets, popular music, hymn tunes. One of the favourites in Wales at the moment is Eric Jones’ “Y Tangnefeddwyr” . Audiences in the UK nowadays seem to appreciate a variety of male choir repertoire although, old favourites, such as “Myfanwy” are probably not performed as often.

Americymru: You have toured all over the world ( Scotland, Ireland , Portugal , Canada / U.S.A., Australia , New Zealand, Tasmania, Hong Kong , Singapore and Patagonia ) What are your most memorable experiences whilst on tour? Is there any one performance that you are particularly proud of?

Eirian: Every tour has its special memories. Singing to the inmates in a prison in New Zealand was an emotionally charged occasion; singing as we marched down a street during a St Patrick’s day parade in Ireland was fun. Performing in Patagonia felt like singing in rural Wales as there were so many members of the audiences who spoke Welsh and the warmth of their welcome was unforgettable. Australia and New Zealand provided us with our biggest audiences – we regularly performed to 2000 people. I remember being overwhelmed by the emotion of one of those concerts and coming off the platform crying! Whilst we were in Portugal, the whole choir was invited to the British Ambassador’s residence for drinks and canapés one Sunday; his staff were rushed off their feet carrying food and drink , as the vultures from Wales gobbled everything down as soon as it appeared. We did sing for our food , though......! We have not visited the USA and Canada since the early 70’s. We were then totally inexperienced, naive and very wet behind the ears. The food was different, cars were as big as buses and drove on the wrong side of the road, the buildings touched the clouds, rivers were as wide as lakes , we jay-walked without a care and gazed in awe at all those magnificent sights.

Americymru: The choir has won prizes at the National and Llangollen Eisteddfoddau. Care to tell us a little about that?

Eirian: Winning at these Eisteddfodau is always a thrill. Choirs come to Llangollen from all over the world and we never know who the opposition might be until just before the Eisteddfod. There is a feeling of camaraderie between choirs at Llangollen – each one is supportive of the other. I believe that competition brings out the best in a choir.

Americymru: The choir won the BBC Radio Cymru competition for Male Voice Choirs. Can you tell us something about the competition and your experience of it?

Eirian: This competition ran over several months . There were several rounds , each recorded before hand and one choir would be eliminated every week. Three choirs reached the final round which was a live performance before an audience.

Americymru: The choir is based in Llanuwchlyn near Bala. Can you tell a little about the area?

Eirian: Llanuwchllyn is a village of about 700 inhabitants , almost all of them Welsh speakers. Many of the families have lived in the area for generations. There are, amongst the members of Côr Godre’r Aran, sets of brothers, fathers and sons, cousins, uncles and nephews. The son, grandson and great-grandson of the founder, Tom Jones, are present members of the choir. Llanuwchllyn and the surrounding area (Penllyn) is rich in heritage and culture and is a stronghold of the Welsh language. The area is rural and is favoured by tourists who come to enjoy the beauty of Bala Lake and the peace of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

Americymru: How does someone join the choir, what is your selection process? What kind of commitment do your choir members make, what's expected of them?

Eirian: Membership is by invitation and all prospective members go through a very informal audition . Quality of voice is the only criteria – the ability to read music is a bonus, not a necessity. Members are then expected to attend weekly rehearsals and concerts regularly. There is an average of 2 concerts a month. There is, generally, no problem with commitment , although I occasionally have to remind individuals of their obligation to the choir!

Americymru: Where can people purchase your music?

Eirian: Our CD’s are available online through Sain. Our latest CD, “Cofio” is available through the choir’s website www.corgodreraran.og.uk

Americymru: Do you have any final comments for the readers and members of Americymru?

Eirian: We look forward to meeting you all. Our members range in age from 26-70 ; we’re all young at heart and love going places and meeting people.

Ten Questions With Caroline Roper-Deyo of The Cor Cymraeg de California

Americymru: When was the choir founded and how would you describe its mission? Caroline: The Welsh Choir of Southern California ( Cor Cymraeg De Califfornia), was founded in the Fall of 1997 by Michael J. Lewis, who was it’s first music conductor and director. The mission of the Welsh Choir of Southern California (Cor Cymraeg De Califfornia) is to bring the glories of Welsh music and culture to audiences worldwide through performance and recordings. Americymru: How many members do you have and how often do you all get together for rehearsals? Caroline: Currently there are about 30 members in the mixed-voice choir. We generally rehearse weekly on Sunday afternoons in West Los Angeles near LAX. Americymru: What is your typical repertoire? Do you perform in both Welsh and English? Caroline: We sing in both Welsh and English and our typical repertoire includes new music featuring contemporary Welsh poets and composers, as well as traditional hymns and folk songs. Our performances often include the contributions of of distinguished local musicians as well as guest artists from Wales. Americymru: What are the minimum qualifications for persons wishing to join the choir? Caroline: The minimum qualification for any person wishing to sing with the Welsh Choir of Southern California (Cor Cymraeg De Califfornia) is that they must love to sing.Loving Welsh music is also a plus. Knowing Welsh is not a requirement as language coaching is provided. Americymru: Would you say that the choral singing tradition is alive and vibrant in the U.S.A. today? Caroline: Yes the choral singing tradition is not only alive and well it is growing. As evidenced by the development of choirs and festivals and competitions. Americymru: Is there anywhere online where people can go to hear the choir? Do you have any CD’s available or planned? Caroline: I’m not certain if there are places on-line where you can currently hear us sing. It is my understanding that a couple of our performances have been put on YouTube but I haven’t checked recently. Also the performance at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C was archived but I don’t know if it is still accessible. We have one CD that we released in 2002: Hearts Afire * Calonnau ar Dan We are currently working on a second CD. Grants for funding will be greatly appreciated. Americymru: What would you say was your most notable performance or experience with the choir? Caroline: It is very difficult to say which would be our most notable performance.I suspect every person in the choir would choose different ones for different reasons: Singing at the National Cathedral, May 2007 for California Day (we were chosen from over 60 choirs in the state who were considered). Singing at Saint James Episcopal Church, March 2004 where the lines were so long we were almost an hour late starting and people had to be seated in the chapel; or, Singing at Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales, July 3rd, 2003 for a packed crowded including rows of dignitaries and church officials. Americymru: Do you have any plans to perform outside California in the near future? Caroline: Yes we hope to return to Wales to tour – possibly in 2011.In the summer of 2008 we sang in Vancouver and Victoria and have been invited to return. All possibilities. Americymru: Can you tell us anything about your recent concert with Julia Bentham? Caroline: Unfortunately Julia Bentham was not able to sing with us.She became ill the day before our concert and spent the week in a hotel room in Santa Monica. It was a great disappointment but we were gratified that she was able to return to London with her daughter and is now doing well. Americymru: Any other message for the members and readers of AmerCymru? Caroline: We would like to encourage you to experience the joys of Welsh music whether you participate by singing, playing or listening. Once you do you will never again know depression without hope, darkness without light, and you will understand why Welsh music is and has been the hallmark of Wales for 100’s of years. Pob Bendith. Cariad Caroline, Chorister and Publicist

Manic Street Preachers First North American Tour in 10 years

Celebrated Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers will release their latest album, Journal For Plague Lovers, on Columbia Records on September 15th 2009. Produced by Steve Albini it’s an incredible and arresting album, sure to floor both long-standing Manics fans as well as the uninitiated.....more HERE.

Details of individual concerts and venues are linked below.

September

Mon -21 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
Tue- 22 Vancouver, Canada @ The Commodore Ballroom
Thu-24 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Fri- 25 Los Angeles, CA @ The Avalon
Mon-Sep-28 Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theatre
Wed-Sep-30 Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity Theatre

October

Thu-01 Chicago, IL @ The Metro
Fri- 02 Detroit, MI @ The Majestic Theatre
Sun- 04 Toronto, Canada @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Tue- 06 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
Wed- 07 New York City, NY @ Webster Hall
Thu- 08 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

Author’s tribute to her parents’ “awesome courage” in the face of anti-Welsh sentiment

Across the Severn is Eva Goldsworthy’s heartfelt tribute to her parents, who were forced to uproot themselves from Wales after the 1921 miners’ strike and had to face down anti-Welsh sentiment when they moved to England.

The author says, “This book is an account of two people I loved. From one angle their lives were uneventful but they illustrate the great courage inherent in the Welsh as a people – the way they stick to a task and make the best of difficult circumstances. May and Joe stayed true to this tradition even though they would have been the last to admit it.”

More than a family’s story, Across the Severn is also an excellent piece of social history. Events in the lives of the protagonists are constantly rooted in the wider context of the turbulent politics of the early 20th century. Goldsworthy examines the devastating effects of pit closures in the Valleys and the 1921 miners’ strike, which left her father with no choice but to seek work in “hostile” England. On a trip home to Ogmore Vale in 1926, the author observed firsthand the “obvious signs of poverty” following the General Strike. She says, “I remember boarded-up shops and thin, grey-faced men hanging around on street corners. The coal mine owners had taken their revenge and there had been savage cuts in employment, most of all for the so-called ‘agitators’. The burning aim of most of the youngsters in Ogmore was to get out.”

The author also includes her reminiscences of the time she spent working on the development of radar and nuclear fission during the Second World War. Socialism, the emancipation of women, and the swan-song of the English gentry are amongst the other wide-ranging topics which form a background to this fascinating story of how individuals coped with the difficulties they faced during an era of unprecedented change.

Eva Goldsworthy was born in Wales but spent most of her life in London as a mathematics teacher. She has three daughters and now lives in Llanfyllin. She is also the author of A Flat-Pack in Greece.

The Latest From Cymuned - Supporters Email

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

As I mentioned in the last email, I am in Lannuon, Breizh (Britanny) this week, though it's not the sea breeze in my hair, but a whole lot of rain. It feels quite homely!

To keep the Breton theme going for a bit, I noticed an article in the local paper saying that the Breton Democratic Union hac written to the French Football Federation asking for them to play "Bro Gozh ma Zadou", (Land of my fathers), the Breton anthem, before the French Cup Final to be held in Paris next week. The game is between Rennes and Guingamp, two Breton teams. Considering the attitude of the French authorities towards the linguistic minorities within France, it will be interesting to see the Federations answer to this particular request.

Anyway, back in Wales, we held our AGM last Saturday. After a few difficult years, both financially and in terms of the perception of our direction, we heard some very positive reports regarding our future. Because of the restructuring that has happened over the last two years, the movement is now in a firm position, with the ability to fund our main campaigns from now on. For instance we have an idea or two for the promotion of CyngorNi.com that will certainly draw attention - but I shall give no details just now, because we are discussing with others first!

On a less happy note, Dewi, our treasurer, is giving up the position for personal reasons. One of the attributes of a good treasurer is the ability to carry out his work without others noticing, so with everything in its place, the tax man etc happy, we will wish Dewi all the best, and thank him for his conscientious work throughout the last year.

We have received a very positive response to the first issue of Ein Gwlad, with copies sent to all our monthly members, and to those who've ordered copies. We'd like to hear your views on the new magazine, so that we can improve it and adjust it to reflect your interests and taste, so contact us with your ideas and comments. if you haven't yet received a copy, we have ordered a few more copies than we needed, and will sell them on a first come first served basis.

We will have a double stand this year again at the Eisteddfod, and will be promoting the new movement "People's Council for North Wales", which has been founded in order to fight the official and public plans to subsume the North-East of Wales into a greater Merseyside. Although this isnt a 'Fro Gymraeg' matter at the moment, the plans talk of Conwy being a part of their 'North East Wales' plans, and various other phrases give the impression that the new economic area will expand westwards. More about this in future emails.

And finally, Seirian and her partner, who are members here in the South, have started to sell Owain Glyndwr Rygbi shirts on Ebay. If the shirt is a success, they hope to produce more items that pay homage to Wales's history. You can see the shirts at:-

Owain Glyndwr Rygbi shirts on Ebay

Best of luck to them in their enterprise.

Until next time

Iestyn * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cofion cynnes/Warm regards,

Pwyllgor Gwaith Cymuned
(the Cymuned Executive Committee)

cymuned@cymuned.org
www.cymuned.org

An Interview With Peter Thabit Jones

The Man Peter Thabit Jones was born in Swansea, Wales, Great Britain, in 1951. His work, particularly his poetry for children, has been featured in books from publishers such as Penguin, Puffin Books, Letts Educational, Macmillan Educational, Heinemann Educational, Oxford University Press, Simon and Schuster, Heinemann Centaur (South Africa), Scholastic Publications (Australia), and Titul Publishers/ British Council Moscow (Russia). The latter was a major British Council Moscow educational project to teach English to secondary school children throughout Russia.His poem Kilvey Hill has been incorporated into a permanent stained-glass window by the leading Welsh artist Catrin Jones in the new Saint Thomas Community School built in Swansea, Wales, which was officially opened in July, 2007. Peter has been invited back to America in May 2009. He will carry out a a series of poetry readings and literary talks in New York, where he will be hosted by Professor Sultan Catto of City University of New York, The Graduate Center, and his American publisher Stanley H. Barkan. Whilst in New York he will also participate in a new project with Stanley, who is planning to produce a dvd based around the popular Walking Guide of Dylan Thomas's Greenwich Village , written by Peter and Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan's daughter, which was commissioned by Catrin Brace of the Wales International Center, New York in May 2008. Peter will produce a narrative contribution and Swansea singer-songwriter Terry Clarke, a frequent participant at The Seventh Quarry/Cross-Cultural Communications Visiting Poets Events, will sing original songs and compose the incidental music. Peter Thabit Jones is also one of the judges of the Left Coast Eisteddfod Poetry Competition. The Interview Americymru: Where else in the US are you visiting this year? Peter: Firstly, I have literally just returned from the World Conference in Boulder, Colorado. I was visiting poet for ten days. I had a truly wonderful time, spent with a variety of leading creative people from around the world (a filmmaker, cowboy singer-songwriter, jazz musicians, politicians, Irish storyteller, scientists, journalists etc.) on stimulating debating panels and I also read my poems whilst there. In mid-May I go to New York, as visiting poet, sponsored by Professor Sultan Catto of CUNY, The Graduate Center, New York, and Stanley H. Barkan, my New York publisher (Cross-Cultural Communications). I will be giving readings and talks, including a major event at the Mid-Manhattan Library, whilst there. I will also be involved in the making of a celebration dvd built around the Dylan Thomas Guide to Greenwich Village, which I wrote with Aeronwy, his daughter, for the Wales International Centre, New York. The dvd is being produced by my New York publisher, who came up with the idea, and will feature original songs about Dylan by singer-songwriter Terry Clarke, and a group of Cross-Cultural Communications- published poets from across America. Americymru: Do you set out to write a collection for publication, or do you simply write and eventually gather up the ones that seem to go together? Peter: I tend to write poems in batches and eventually shape them into a collection, Usually, my final choice is powered by poems that seem to fit into certain themes, such as childhood, people etc. However, my last book, The Lizard Catchers, was a kind of Selected Poems for the American market and it comprises poems taken from my books published in Britain. Americymru: Is poetry a priestly calling for all poets, or just a few? I’m thinking of “The Priest-Poet R.S. Thomas.” Peter: I think it is for the true poet. R.S. said, 'Poetry is religion, religion is poetry' and I think he was echoing Wordsworth's 'priest-like task'. Poetry for me is a vocation, like the priesthood, and I certainly believe a poet can have - to quote St John of the Cross - 'a dark night of the soul', when he doubts the importance of poetry, in the same way some priests go through moments of doubt about their faith. Alternatively, a true poet can experience visions of eternity. I am, in fact, a real admirer of R.S. Thomas's work. Americymru: Are poets born or made? Peter: Well, John Clare, echoing Horace I believe, said 'A poet is born not made'. However, we have Edward Thomas, the First World War poet ( he's of Welsh descent and gave his three children Welsh names), who started writing poems around the age of 37 years at the suggestion of the American poet Robert Frost. Thomas had written quality prose for decades and Frost pointed out that some of the passages were ideal for turning into poems. I have taught potential poets for sixteen years at the Adult Education Department at Swansea University. I think the hardest thing is to develop an individual vision and poetic voice. Maybe one is born with those two vital things. Americymru: When you teach writing, what’s the most important thing you want your students to apprehend and incorporate in their writing efforts? Peter: I try to get over a real sense of the importance of craft. Vernon Watkins, Dylan Thomas's much under-rated friend, said, 'Cold craftsmanship is the best container of fire': an important statement. It's craft that takes over from that initial and exciting spurt of inspiration. I cover metre and poetic devices and try to get over the importance of the musical aspect of poetry, 'the colour of saying', to quote Dylan Thomas. Americymru: Post-modern “cool” poets write in free verse. Why do you choose rhyme & metre? Did you choose them, or did they choose you? Why do you like the traditional styles so well? Peter: It's possible we chose each other. I think it is because I believe passionately in the music of poetry, the sound as much as the sense. It's also, of course, a Welsh thing: Dylan, the Welsh-language bardic poets. I was lucky in the 1980s when I met the Welsh-language poet Alan Llwyd, the cynghanedd master, who taught me quite a bit about cynghanedd devices. He won the Chair and the Crown twice at Royal National Eisteddfods. I also think the rubber band of poetry can be stretched to take in all kinds of poems. For me, though, if I write free verse I try to sound-texture it with poetic devices. When I toured America last year (and at Colorado a few weeks ago) it was something people pointed out time and time again: the musical quality of my poems, which for me was rewarding when it was noted. I like the traditional styles because I see them as an adventure rather than a strait-jacket. Americymru: Why do you think landscape is such an important witness and mnemonic device for you? How do you think it holds memory the way you’ve depicted it – I’m thinking of Kilvey Hill and the Lion’s Head here? Peter: My first memory is of landscape. I recall, as a toddler, looking through the open kitchen door of my Grandmother's home (she and my Grandmother raised me) and seeing this huge, sulking shape dominating every thing: Kilvey Hill. As soon as I was old enough to explore it, I explored every corner of it. For me, Kilvey and the landscape of Eastside Swansea (Dylan's ugly side of his 'ugly, lovely town' - luckily for me he did not write about it!) confirms a pantheistic belief in me that we are connected to nature (The force that through the green fuse drives the flower). Kilvey Hill is also, for me, the touchstone to that reality that down the years has changed into a memories: my first bonfire night, first gang of boys, first camping out experience, first love etc. I have just finished, after ten years of working on it, a verse drama, The Boy and the Lion's Head, based on my Lion's Head poem and my grandfather's experiences as a soldier on the Somme. It is about the impact of a grandfather's stories and a particular landscape (the industry-spoilt Eastside Swansea) on a boy's imagination. I am very excited by it and two American friends have been very, very enthusiastic about it. Americymru: How many years of your life do these poems in “The Lizard Catchers” cover? Peter: From adolescence (My Grandfather's Razor) to poems written recently (Night, The Green Bird), whilst in my mid-fifties. Americymru: How long did it take you to find your voice as a poet? Peter: A long time. The turning point for me was a deep personal grief in my life, the death of my second son, Mathew. I did not write for a long time. When poetry came back to me I knew I could not fall back on someone else's voice or experiences. To be honest, though, I think it is only in the last twelve years that I have really started to understand and use, as I would like to, my own voice. My dear friend and mentor, Vince Clemente, a New York poet and critic (an expert on Walt Whitman) has helped me immensely since we first started corresponding in 1997 and showing each other poems-in-progress. Americymru: Why do you think it is that you can see so deeply into the world? Do you think this is a native ability or did you have to cultivate it? Peter: Even as a small boy I was curious about the reality of things, the depth of experiences. Also, my only memories of my grandfather are of him, seriously unwell, in a bed in our parlour. I think such nearness to death at such a young age makes one really focus on life, the living things. The part of the landscape of Wales where I was born and raised offered so much to focus on, Kilvey Hill, the nearby (then) busy docks, the beach, and the (then) seaside town of Swansea. As I got older I read famous poets, such as Wordsworth, Tennyson, R.S., Ted Hughes, and I soon realised I was not alone in wanting, almost needing, to see 'shootes of everlastingness' beyond the curtain of reality. So I suppose I 'cultivated' my inborn strengths. They say the Welsh are a curious people and I certainly have that trait. Americymru: What is it about the little things and passing vignettes of life that catch your attention? Peter: I think the little things are all revelations of the big things, thus when observing soemthing like a frog or a lizard one is observing an aspect of creation, a thing that is so vital and part of the larger pattern that none of us really understand. Edward Thomas said, 'I cannot bite the day to the core'. In each poem I write I try to get closer to the core of what is reality for me, be it the little things or the big things such as grief and loss. Americymru: When you write, do you write a poem and then pare it down to its bones, or, do the bones come first? Peter: For me the bones come first, a word, a phrase, a line, or a rhythm, usually initiated by an observation, an image, or a thought. Then once I have the tail of a poem I start thinking of its body. Nowadays, within a few lines I know if it will be formal or informal. If it is formal, all my energies go into shaping it into its particular mould, a sestina or whatever. If it is informal, I apply the same dedication. Eventually after many drafts, a poem often then needs cutting back because of too many words, lines or ideas. R.S. indicated that the poem in the mind is never the one on the page, and there is so much truth in that comment. The actual writing of a poem for me is the best thing about being a poet: publication, if possible, is the cherry on the cake. Americymru: You have such an elegant and clean style; how did you develop it? Peter: Thank you,. I think from reading and studying the great poets, especially the Welsh ones (R.S., Dylan T., Vernon Watkins and Merthyr-born Leslie Norris) and the Irish ones (Yeats and Heaney). I also believe a poem should last for more than one reading, that a reader should be able to enter a poem again and again and get some thing from it. So, again, I think if I have such a style it is connected with my commitment to craft. Americymru: You paint such impressionistic word-pictures the way you hyper-focus on little details and hang the whole rhythm of the poem on them. Can you remember how old you were when you first encountered Monet, and what the process was for you to acquire that same technique he had in paints, for yourself with words? Peter: I first encountered a painting by Monet in a library book (I joined Swansea Central Library when I was sixteen, mainly to take out poetry books) and the real thing on a school trip to the National Museum in Cardiff. Again, I think by carefully focusing on the little things, and by trying to choose the right words to convey, indeed replicate, a visual experience, you can present a larger picture. Robert Frost (I'm paraphrasing) said that one first had to be provincial to be universal. Also, in the Welsh-language they talk of a poet 'being a master of the exact word', the ability to choose the right and only word. It was a single word rainbow in the Welsh poet W.H. Davies's The Kingfisher that started me writing at the age of eleven. My teacher at Danygraig Boys' School, a superb teacher called Mr. James, read out the poem to the class. The opening line did it for me, 'It was the rainbow gave thee birth'. I could not believe that one single word could convey so much. It lit up in my mind and kick-started my love of language, my love of the wonder and magic of words. Seamus Heaney said, 'Words are doors themselves' and I love that possibility, that way of using them. Americymru: In Psalm for the Twentieth Century you talk about what a sacrilege we’re committing on everything that is sacred. Is there something about that desecration you see, that makes the planet more blessed? Can environmental degradation somehow bestow blessings? One line really stood out “Blessed is the child that the city drives wild.” Do you think the cities bring out the native wildness in children, or do they shatter it? Do you think that the urban wilderness can give us mad and prophetic poets like Lailoken and Taliesin? Peter: I think as one gets older, certainly for me, the world becomes more incredible, my part in it so insignificant; and, despite what we are doing to it, it is still full of wonders and I do try to see the loveliness amongst ugliness, and the ugliness amongst the loveliness. So I do see the blessings. I think in that line about the child I was thinking of both things: that the packed, impersonal city can impact dreadfully on a child's physical and mental being, and, of course, it can push them into using their innate survival equipment in order to survive. Well, poets like Allen Ginsberg certainly faced many of the obvious problems of modern life in a very individual and impressive way. I think good poets, whether country-based or city-based, attempt as best as they can to respond to their immediate surroundings, and, yes, many are prophetic in their own way. As Wilfred Owen said, 'All a poet can do today is warn. Americymru: How did you get the job working with special needs children, why did you take it, and did it change or enhance the way you see the world? Peter: I was a freelance writer and I was doing a lot of work in schools, colleges etc. The opportunity came up to learn sign language on a college course (I used to ride a motorbike - my first one at the age of thirty something - from Swansea to Barry College, very scary and exciting). Then from that came the opportunity to do work with special needs children. I took it because I wanted to experience a world beyond my world, a world unknown to so many of us. It changed me in that it changed my perceptions of their world, their daily problems, their incredible bravery, and, at times, sheer tenacity. I'm sure, as with all ultimately rewarding and humbling experiences, it contributed to the way I see the world. Americymru: The themes in The Lizard Catchers – childhood and its traumas, the relationships of children to adults and vice versa, the loss and grief they inflict on each other, illness, death, mortality, urban ruin and the omnipresence of Nature even in the pit of industrialization – make this a very emotional collection. If our humanity is the connecting thread, then do you really think it’s possible to re-arrange the beads on the rosary as it were, to get them all to make sense? Peter: I certainly believe our humanity is the connecting thread. We all share these things, childhood, relationships, grief, the environmental demise of our world etc. We are all, ultimately, very fragile. One of the panels at the World Conference in Boulder, Colorado, was titled Death: Go Gentle into that Good Night, and one of my contributions was that if we all actually considered our own mortality more often then maybe we would be nicer to each other. These things, though, don't occur in sequence, For example, some experience death very early in life, others very late in life. So it is often difficult to get them to make sense, in a logical, a rosary-bead way. Again, getting older places some of them in more of a context and a kind of acceptance that starts to make sense. Americymru: Why do you think grief makes all the little things stand out so starkly? Why, or how, does it cause the hyper-focusing that comes out in your poems? Peter: Because it is such a cliff-edge thing, a paring down to the real basics, the real essence of what we are: fragile and naked. You see this in the big tragedies, world wars, 9/11 etc. People suddenly focus on what really matters, the little things, and they focus more deeply. Many soldiers in the First and Second Worlds Wars suddenly started writing poems, men who had never written one in their lives. When we find ourselves in the the cold corner of grief, the cul-de-sac of shock, the little things seem to light up, be of more importance: a child's smile, a friend's hug etc. The playwright Dennis Potter said in one of his last interviews, before dying of cancer, that the blossoms in his garden seemed to be more bright than they ever were. In my poems, the little things are a kind of reassurance, a kind of confirmation of a small pattern in the bigger pattern of it all. Americymru: Is childhood really that terrifying an experience for a majority of people, do you think? I’m thinking of the Boy and the Lion’s Head and The Protest. Peter: Probably not. But I do think children experience fears of what is not understood, such as the boy in the poem about the strange man and the Lion's Head. The Protest is one way of me looking at my not having my real parents as a child. It's not, of course, as emotional or as powerful as John Lennon's Mother. Americymru: So, Seamus Heaney has been known to praise Eminem’s rap-poetry. Any thoughts on that, on rap as a poetic form born of urban ruin, and on where that might fit into a 1000 year old poetic tradition? Peter: I can understand Seamus Heaney's praise for Eminem, certainly the musical quality. I have always liked Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues, probably the first 'rap song'. At the World Affair Conference I shared the stage several times with Lynne Johnson, a young female Hip Hop poet from New York, who was really great, engaging, musical and exciting. Rap seems the ideal response of young people to urban ruin and I'm sure the form will snuggle into its rightful place in poetic tradition. Americymru: Wildness and Nature always seems to overcome our best efforts to cage, encrust, or otherwise tame it. Why do you think so many people, and the “modern” world as a whole, think they can best it? What is it about people, do you think, that they just have to keep trying at that? Peter: Well, man has to dominate, not just nature but each other. Man strives to be godlike and getting nature/wildness under his thumb maybe confirms that side of his ego. Maybe there is an element of envy too, the freedom of an eagle in the sky, the sheer force of a river, the dignity of a mountain. Modern man has also lost his respectful relationship with nature. Pre-literate people understood and appreciated the preciousness of the world they inhabited, that they were mere brief visitors to the Earth, protectors of it for the generations to come. Americymru: Do you think mankind can save ourselves from our own bloodthirsty destructive tendencies, and if so, how do you think we’re going to be able to do it? Peter: I hope so but one feels so pessimistic for so much of the time. Materialism seems to gnaw away at our sanity, fool us into not wanting to see what damage we are actually doing. We have to try to do something for future generations, our grandchildren and their children and so on. To achieve changes, we have to consider this whole business of materialism, this 'fast food' approach to everything, this 'I want, so I must have' mentality. Maybe mankind will arrive at a cliff-edge that cannot be ignored, a natural or man-made catastrophe that will stop everything in its tracks: and then force a real change in things. Americymru: Are we going to destroy ourselves do you think, or will Nature beat us to the punch? Peter: A big question again. I hope no-one is mad enough to set off the first bonfire of vanity that will mean our mutual annhilation. Our daily destruction of the actual planet is probably a bigger threat and one we cannot ignore forever. Nature, of course, can happily get on without us. Interview by Kathleen O'Brien Blair

PRESS RELEASE - DATGANIAD I’R WASG Unique Welsh Mass Launches Series of St. John Roberts Commemorative Events

Unique Welsh Mass launches series of St. John Roberts commemorative events.

St. Teilo’s Church welcomes a unique pilgrimage.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas looks forward to “an important event in Wales’ historical and religious calendar”

On Saturday, April 25th, St. Teilo’s Church, St. Fagans will play host to a very different Mass; for the first time ever, a Welsh language Mass will take place in this historic church. All seats have already been taken for the Mass, which is to be the first in a series of events scheduled to take place across Wales to celebrate the 400th anniversary of St. John Roberts of Trawsfynydd’s martyrdom.

The event organiser, Sue Roberts who is Vice-Chairman of Cylch Catholig (Catholic Circle) said: “The response has been incredible. We could have easily filled the church three times over and the fact that this is the first Welsh Catholic Mass to be held in this church for almost five hundred years, makes this a truly unique occasion.”

St. John Roberts is an important Welsh historic and religious figure and is even more celebrated in France and Spain, where many commemorative celebrations will be held in 2010. Born at Rhiw Goch farm, Trawsfynydd, he was educated at Cymer Abbey, near Dolgellau, he then went on to Oxford to study Law before moving to France where he converted to Catholicism. Following his time in France, he moved to Valladolid, Spain where he trained as a Priest, he then returned to London to care for the poor but was exiled many times by the anti-catholic authorities before eventually being sentenced to death in Tyburn on December 10th, 1610. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. (See image attached of St. John Roberts).

One of the St. John Roberts anniversary celebration’s co-organisers, Keith O’Brien from the Llys Ednowain Heritage Centre in Trawsfynydd, a centre that documents the history of St. John Roberts and Hedd Wyn, said that the Mass “is a really great way to launch the commemorative celebrations in Wales, while ensuring that the celebrations will be as impressive in the Saint’s native country as on the continent.”

The celebrations will continue in 2010 with a Mass in the ruins of Cymer Abbey, Dolgellau on June 6th, 2010. Following this there will be a series of performances of the ‘St. John Roberts Requiem’ by Brian Hughes, with the part of the saint played by operatic tenor Rhys Meirion with the accompaniment of choirs and orchestra. The Requiem will be performed in six cathedrals across Wales. In July 2010 there will be a pilgrimage from Rhiw Goch to Tyburn, with the highlight being a multi-faith service at Westminster Cathedral attended by the Heads of all Churches.

This will be the first time ever for a Welsh Mass to be conducted in St. Teilo’s Church, that was moved from Pontarddulais and re-built at the Museum of Welsh Life in St. Fagans two years ago. The Archbishop of Cardiff; Peter Smith, the Bishop of Wrexham; Edwin Regan and the former Bishop of Menevia; Daniel Mullins, will be conducting the service along with a number of Welsh priests. Also giving readings in the Mass will be pupils from the Catholic Schools of South Wales. (See image attached of St. Teilo’s Church - please credit Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.)

The colourful ceremony, will start at 2pm with a procession from the Workmen’s Institute to St. Teilo’s Church, led by the Archbishop, bishops and priests, all dressed in their ceremonial robes with the altar boys carrying the cross and incense.

Archbishop Peter Smith said of the event: “I am extremely glad that we are able to draw on old Welsh traditions and celebrate a Welsh Catholic Mass in this fantastic church for the first time since the Protestant Reformation. The fact that the Mass will be conducted in Welsh shows that the Church plays an active role in modern Welsh life. I would also like to extend an invitation to the public to come and watch the colourful procession that will take place prior to the Mass.”

Another exciting element of the celebration will be the use of the Dowlais Chalice, which dates from the same period as St John Roberts. In addition, a 100 year old replica of the Cymer Abbey Chalice and Paten, which is the abbey where St John Roberts received his early education, will be on display on the altar (kindly on loan from the National Museum of Wales).

St. Teilo’s Church will be full to the rafters with 150 guests attending. Bishop Edwin Regan of Wrexham said: “I’m very excited that people from all over Wales will be taking part in the Mass and it’s a pleasure to have contributions from Welsh learners from the Catholic Schools of South Wales. Our roots as Welsh Catholics lie in St Teilo’s and the children can be inspired by this for the future. It’s fantastic to see this church restored to its former glory and I can’t think of a better way to launch a year of celebrating Wales’ martyrs than with this Mass.”

Amongst the distinguished guests will be Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: “I’m looking forward to the Mass as well as all the performances taking place over the next year that will draw attention to an important event in Wales’ historical and religious calendar”.

Press and Media Enquiries

For more information please contact: Lydia Jones at Mr Producer

Tel: 02920 916 667

Email: lydia@mrproducer.co.uk

Mass at St. Teilo’s Church, Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans: General Information

The Mass will take place in St. Teilo’s Church, Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans on Saturday 25th April 2009 at 14:0)Entry to the Museum of Welsh Life in St. Fagans is free. Car Parking £3. Museum of Welsh Life

St. Fagans
Cardiff
CF5 6XB
Phone: 02920 573500
Website: www.museumwales.ac.uk

The Archbishop Peter Smith, Bishop Edwin Regan, Bishop Daniel Mullins and Alan Jones, who is studying for the priesthood in Milton Keynes, will all be taking part in the Mass.

Special guests include: Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the Ambassador for Lithuania; Anthony Parker, Welsh folk life expert; Dr Robin Gwyndaf, Dafydd Pritchard and Prof. David Thorne

2010 Events

‘St. John Roberts Requiem’ by Brian Hughes with Rhys Meirion will be performed across Wales to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St John Roberts.The celebrations are organised by Sue Roberts (Vice-Chairman of “Cylch Catholig” (Catholic Circle) and Keith O’Brien (Director of Llys Ednowain Heritage Centre, Trawsfynydd)

Sue Roberts Delfryn
Yr Ala
Pwllheli
Gwynedd
LL53 5BL
Phone: 01758 614 977
E-mail: sue@inc-cyf.com

Keith O’Brien TrawsNewid

Llys Ednowain
Trawsfynydd
Gwynedd
LL41 4UB
Phone: 01766 540 528

Celebration Timetable 2010

· 6th June 2010 – Open-air Mass in the remains of Cymer Abbey, near Dolgellau (over 1000 people expected)

· St. John Roberts Requiem performances

· 11th June 2010 – St Giles, Wrexham

· 12th June 2010 – Bangor Cathedral

· 13th June 2010 – Aberystwyth University

· 18th June 2010 – Brecon Cathedral

· 19th June 2010 – Llandaf Cathedral, Cardiff

· 20th June 2010 – Swansea Cathedral

· 8 – 10 July or 15 – 18 July 2010 – Pilgrimage from Rhiw Goch to Tyburn

There will be a special book launch of ‘Achub Eglways Sant Teilo’ on Saturday 26th April. A new book on the history of St. Teilo’s Church, the medieval church in St. Fagans which has grasped the imagination of so many people over the years. Discount copies will be available in the Mass on the 25th April 2009.

The Archbishop of Canterbury officially opened St. Teilo’s Church in October 2007. The church was moved stone-by-stone from its home on the flood plain of the River Loughor near Pontarddulais and today stands proudly at St. Fagans.

The fully restored medieval church now looks as it would have done in about 1520 and contains all the elements associated with a late medieval Catholic church including a striking rood screen and a loft elaborately carved out of oak. The interior is decorated with copies of an extremely rare series of colourful wall paintings, which were discovered under layer upon layer of paint.

Offeren Gymraeg unigryw yn lansio cyfres o ddathliadau Sant John Roberts.

Eglwys Sant Teilo, Sain Ffagan yn croesawu pererindod unigryw.

Yr Arglwydd Dafydd Elis-Thomas yn edrych ymlaen at “ddigwyddiad pwysig yng nghalendr hanesyddol a chrefyddol Cymru”.

Ar ddydd Sadwrn, Ebrill 25 eleni, cynhelir Offeren dra gwahanol yn Eglwys Sant Teilo, Sain Ffagan; am y tro cyntaf erioed, bydd Offeren Gymraeg yn cael ei chynnal yn yr eglwys hanesyddol hon. Mae pob tocyn eisoes wedi mynd ar gyfer yr Offeren, sef y digwyddiad cyntaf mewn cyfres o ddigwyddiadau ar draws Cymru i ddathlu pedwar can mlwyddiant merthyrdod Sant John Roberts o Drawsfynydd.

Meddai Sue Roberts, Is-gadeirydd y Cylch Catholig, sy’n trefnu’r dathliadau: “Roedd yr ymateb i’r Offeren yn anhygoel. Gallwn yn hawdd fod wedi llenwi’r Eglwys deirgwaith drosodd. Ac mae’r ffaith mai yn Gymraeg fydd yr Offeren Gatholig gyntaf i’w chynnal yn yr Eglwys ers bron i bum can mlynedd yn rhoi blas arbennig ar yr achlysur.“

Mae Sant John Roberts yn gymeriad hanesyddol, yn ogystal â chrefyddol, pwysig iawn i Gymru gyfan ac mae’n enwocach fyth yn Ffrainc a Sbaen ble bydd nifer fawr o ddigwyddiadau i’w goffáu yn cael eu cynnal yn 2010. Yn enedigol o fferm Rhiw Goch, Trawsfynydd, cafodd ei addysg gynnar yn Abaty Cymer, ger Dolgellau, yna aeth ymlaen i Rydychen i astudio’r gyfraith cyn symud i fyw i Ffrainc ble cafodd ei droedigaeth a’i dderbyn i’r Eglwys Gatholig. Aeth ymlaen i Valladolid yn Sbaen ble cafodd ei hyfforddi’n offeiriad, yn dilyn hyn, dychwelodd i Lundain i weini ar y tlodion ond cafodd ei alltudio sawl gwaith gan yr awdurdodau gwrth-gatholig cyn cael ei ddedfrydu i farwolaeth yn Tyburn 10 Rhagfyr, 1610. Cafodd ei ganoneiddio yn 1970 gan Pab Pawl VI. (Gweler darlun o’r Sant wedi atodi).

Soniodd un o gyd-drefnwyr dathliadau coffa Sant John Roberts, Keith O’Brien o Ganolfan Treftadaeth Llys Ednowain, Trawsfynydd, sef canolfan sy’n olrhain hanes Sant John Roberts a Hedd Wyn fod yr Offeren “yn ffordd wirioneddol wych o lansio’r digwyddiadau i gofio am y sant yng Nghymru a sicrhau bod y dathliadau’r un mor wefreiddiol yn ei wlad enedigol ac y byddant ar y cyfandir.”

Bydd y dathliadau yn parhau yn 2010 gydag Offeren yn Abaty Cymer, Dolgellau ar Fehefin 6, 2010. Yn dilyn hyn, bydd cyfres o berfformiadau o ‘Requiem Sant John Roberts’ gan Brian Hughes; caiff rhan y Sant ei berfformio gan Rhys Meirion gyda chyfeiliant côrau a cherddorfa. Bydd y Requiem yn cael ei pherfformio mewn chwe eglwys gadeiriol ar draws Cymru. Fis Gorffennaf 2010 bydd pererindod o Riw Goch i Tyburn ac uchafbwynt fydd gwasanaeth cydenwadol yn Eglwys Gadeiriol Westminster gyda phenaethiaid yr Eglwysi’n bresennol.

Dyma’r tro cyntaf erioed i Offeren Gymraeg cael ei chynnal yn Eglwys Sant Teilo a gafodd ei symud o Bontarddulais a’i hailgodi yn Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, Sain Ffagan ddwy flynedd yn ôl. Archesgob Caerdydd; Peter Smith, Esgob Wrecsam; Edwin Regan a chyn-Esgob Mynwy; Daniel Mullins, fydd yn cyd-ddathlu ynghyd â nifer o offeiriaid Cymru gyda darlleniadau gan ddisgyblion ysgolion Catholig De Cymru. (Gweler llun atodedig – Eglwys Sant Teilo. Angen cydnabod - Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales).

Bydd y seremoni liwgar yn cychwyn am 2 o’r gloch gyda gorymdaith o Sefydliad y Gweithwyr i Eglwys Sant Teilo dan arweiniad yr Archesgob, yr Esgobion, Offeiriaid a’r gweision allor ifanc, i gyd yn eu gwisgoedd seremonïol. Bydd un o’r gweision yn cario’r groes ac un arall yn cario’r arogldarth.

Dywedodd yr Archesgob, Peter Smith “Rwyf wrth fy modd ein bod yn gallu tynnu ar hen draddodiadau Cymru a dathlu Offeren Gatholig Gymraeg yn yr eglwys hynod hon am y tro cyntaf ers y Diwygiad Protestannaidd. Mae’r ffaith fod yr Offeren yn cael ei chynnal yn y Gymraeg yn dangos fod yr Eglwys hefyd â rhan lawn ym mywyd Cymru heddiw. Hoffwn hefyd estyn gwahoddiad i’r cyhoedd ddod i wylio’r orymdaith liwgar cyn yr Offeren.”

Elfen gyffrous arall o’r dathliad fydd y defnydd o Gwpan Dowlais (Dowlais Chalice), sy’n dyddio o’r un cyfnod a Sant John Roberts. Hefyd bydd ‘replica’ amrhisiadwy o Gwpan a Phaten Abaty Cymer (Cymer Abbey Chalice and Paten), sef yr abaty ble cafodd Sant John Robert ei addysg gynnar. Bydd y gwpan, sydd dros 100 mlwydd oed ac ar log hael gan yr Amgueddfa Cymru, yn cael ei arddangos ar yr allor yn ystod y seremoni.

Bydd Eglwys Sant Teilo dan ei sang gyda 150 o westeion yn mynychu’r gwasanaeth. Dywed yr Esgob Edwin Regan o Wrecsam “Rwyf wrth fy modd fod pobl o bob rhan o Gymru yn yr Offeren ac mae’n bleser cael plant sy’n dysgu Cymraeg yn ysgolion Catholig y de-ddwyrain i gymryd rhan. Mae ein gwreiddiau fel Catholigion Cymraeg yn Eglwys Sant Teilo ac mae’r plant yn gallu tynnu maeth o hynny at y dyfodol. Rwy’n hynod falch fod yr eglwys hyfryd hon wedi’i hadfer. Mae dechrau ar flwyddyn o ddathlu merthyron Cymru gyda’r Offeren hon yn rhoi’r dechrau gorau posibl i’r holl ddathliadau yn 2010."

Ymysg y gwesteion anrhydeddus fydd Llywydd y Cynulliad Cenedlaethol, yr Arglwydd Dafydd Elis-Thomas. “Rwy’n edrych ymlaen yn fawr at yr Offeren yn ogystal â’r digwyddiadau eraill fydd yn cael eu cynnal dros y flwyddyn nesaf a fydd yn tynnu sylw at achlysur pwysig yng nghalendr hanesyddol a chrefyddol cymru.”

Diwedd-
Ymholiadau’r wasg a’r cyfryngau

Am fwy o fanylion cysylltwch â Lydia Jones - Mr Producer

Ffon: 02920 916 667

Ebost: lydia@mrproducer.co.uk

Cyfweliadau ar gael ar gais cyn yr Offeren ac ar y dydd.

Croeso i newyddion radio a theledu ar y dydd, cysylltwch ar swyddfa i drefnu os gwelwch yn dda.

Manylion cyffredinol Offeren Eglwys Sant Teilo, Sain Ffagan

* Bydd yr Offeren yn cael ei dathlu yn Eglwys Sant Teilo, Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, Sain Ffagan, ddydd Sadwrn, Ebrill 25, 2009 am 14:00.

* Mae mynediad i Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, Sain Ffagan, yn rhad ac am ddim, parcio ceir £3.
Amgueddfa Werin Cymru,
Sain Ffagan,
Caerdydd,
CF5 6XB
Ffon: 02920 573500
Gwefan: www.amgueddfacymru.ac.uk

* Mae’r Archesgob Peter Smith, yr Esgob Edwin Regan, Esgob Daniel Mullins ac Alan Jones sydd yn astudio am yr offeiriadaeth yn Milton Keynes i gyd yn cymryd rhan yn yr Offeren.

* Gwesteion arbennig yn cynnwys: yr Arglwydd Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Llysgennad Lithuania; Anthony Parker, Dr Robin Gwyndaf sy’n awdurdod ar fywyd gwerin, y Prifardd Dafydd Pritchard, Prif Lenor Harri Pritchard Jones a’r Athro David Thorne.

* Digwyddiadau 2010

* Requiem Sant John Roberts gan Brian Hughes gyda Rhys Meirion, a fydd yn cael ei berfformio ar draws y wlad i ddathlu pedwar can mlwyddiant marwolaeth Sant John Roberts.

* Trefnir y dathliadau gan Sue Roberts, Is-gadeirydd y Cylch Catholig a Keith O’Brien, Cyfarwyddwr Canolfan Treftadaeth Llys Ednowain, Trawsfynydd.
Sue Roberts

Ffôn: 01758 614 977

Ebost: sue@inc-cyf.com


* Keith O’Brien
Trawsnewid
Ffon: 01766 540 528

Amserlen dathliadau 2010

· 6 Mehefin 2010 – Offeren awyr agored yn adfeilion Abaty Cymer, ger Dolgellau (disgwylir dros 1000 o bobl)

· Perfformiadau Requiem Sant John Roberts

· 11 Mehefin 2010 – St Giles, Wrecsam

· 12 Mehefin 2010 – Eglwys Gadeiriol Bangor

· 13 Mehefin 2010 – Prifysgol Aberystwyth

· 18 Mehefin 2010 – Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu

· 19 Mehefin 2010 – Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf

· 20 Mehefin 2010 – Eglwys Gadeiriol Abertawe

· Pererindod i Lundain – 8 – 11 Gorffennaf neu 15 -18 Gorffennaf 2010

* Ar ddydd Sul, 26 Ebrill, bydd lansiad llyfr arbennig 'Achub Eglwys Sant Teilo'. Dyma hanes yr eglwys ganoloesol yn Sain Ffagan sydd wedi gafael yn nychymyg gymaint o bobl dros y blynyddoedd. Bydd copiau ar ddisgownt ar gael ar y 25ain.

Agorodd Archesgob Caergaint Eglwys Sant Teilo yn swyddogol yn Hydref 2007. Symudwyd yr eglwys fesul carreg o’i chartref ar orlifdir afon Llwchwr ger Pontarddulais, a heddiw mae’n sefyll yn Sain Ffagan. Mae’r eglwys ganoloesol wedi ei hadfer yn llwyr erbyn hyn, ac mae’n edrych fel y byddai wedi bod tua 1520 gyda holl elfennau eglwys Gatholig o ddiwedd y cyfnod canoloesol, gan gynnwys croglofft drawiadol wedi ei cherfio o goed derw. Addurnwyd y tu fewn i’r eglwys gyda chopïau o gyfres brin iawn o furluniau lliwgar, a ddarganfuwyd dan haenau di-ri o baent.

An Interview With Mike Brooks of Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons have released three CDs, "Alcohol & Rain, Celtic Bonding and "Bright New Tomorrow".Their live shows have had crowds dancing and partying in festivals and venues across Europe and in the USA. From 2009 they will also be offering an "Unplugged" set for more acoustic venues.They've played to many thousands of people around the world. Their largest crowd was 30,000 in Bologna. Americymru: Who are Here Be Dragons? Mike: A band who play wild Celtic music from Wales. Mike Brooks Vocals (and various stringed instruments), "Big Willy" Morrsion on drums, Kyle Jones on bass, Helen Blackburn fiddles and Delyth Jones squeezes (Accordion) Americymru: What are the backgrounds of the people in the band and how did you end up together? Mike: I originally formed the band when I was an expat; I was living in London. Lineups have changed over the years but Will has been there since pretty much the beginning. The rest we met as friends of friends. Kyle is from Cardiff like me. A friend from West Wales told me his sister plays accordion in a duo with a fiddler and that's how we met Del and Helen. Americymru: You perform your own version of "Sospan Fach" . This , of course, is a traditional Welsh folk song about a small saucepan. For the benefit of our American readers can you tell us a little about this rather surreal ditty? Mike: Sospan Fach words are silly but the song is more than the words. It's sung pasionately at rugby matches to support Wales or Llanelli (Town in West Wales). It was also sung going to te trenches in the first World War. So it's sort of more about the singing than the song, if that makes any sense. Sospan Fach Americymru: You've played the States before? Can you tell us a bit about that? How did you enjoy the experience? Mike: We've come across twice for Celtic festivals in Florida and Chicago. On our first trip Will kept shouting "Where are we?" and we'd joyfully answer "In America!" it was a big deal, a big trip. The gigs went well and we were well recieved. I wrote the song "One Night Stand" on that trip - enough said! Chicago was great too. A well organised Welsh society, The "Chicago Taffia" met us there, with a limo. In fact both trips we got met at the airport and were given beer to drink on our way back from the airport. Each time I thought "I could like this country!" (Easily bought, eh?) Chicago is a huge and impressive town. The festival was big too, big crowds and a warm reception. It was great standing on stage looking at the Chiacgo skyline behind the crowd in Grant Park. That night we got to meet the locals to which always helps, if you can't do that then why travel? We're still in touch with a people in Chicago. I hope we return before too long. Americymru: OK...now for a dumb question. A lot of your songs are about drinking. How important is that in Welsh culture and in particular in Cardiff? Mike: Anyone who has seen St Mary's Street on a Friday or Saturday night would know. On those nights 50,000 people come into town to get drunk. Hen nights, stag nights, nights out with the lads or girls, birthdays, work nights, you name it. Drink is part of the culture the way food is in France or Italy. In Europe there is a North South divide with drink. Wales along with Irish, Scots amnd Scandinavians drink way more than those in the South. Tonight Cardiff Blues Rugby won a major cup so the fans will get drunk to celebrate. Cardiff City (Soccer) lost six nil so, to drown their sorrows, the fans get drunk. I'm Not Drunk Americymru: You have a song entitled "The Senghenydd Explosion" Care to tell us a little about the background to that? Mike: This is true story about the worst mining disaster in Britsh history. 439 died in an explosion in a mine not that far North of Cardiff. Mining is a big part of the history of South Wales. To anyone who comes here I'd reccomend a visit to Big Pit mining museum where you actually go underground and get a glimpse of what life was like. Mining was and is a horrible job but it binds the community together as every day the miners put their lives in each others hands. Obviously this is true of miners the world over as well as of soldiers and sailors. Americymru: "Auntie Henrietta o Sicago"...any resemblance to any real person alive or dead? Mike: I didn't write this so I can't say if she was real. It's a fun song in Welsh about Chicago so we had to sing it when we went there. It's nice to sing about places you visit. Our accordion player at the time has an Auntie in Chicago so we dedicated it to her. I like to write songs about places we visit often blurring fact and fiction like in a drunken memory. "Celtic Bonding" is like that. I enjoy singing "The Modena Rambler" in Modena (Italy) or about Cardiff in Cardiff. Any Welsh songs about Portland? Auntie Henrietta o Sicago Americymru: Where can people go to hear you play and buy your music? Mike: We're on Silverwolf Records in the USA. If you can't get a CD in your local idependant record store, I'd say go to our Website www.herebedragons.info and we'll sell you one. I'll sign it too if you like. If you're too stingy to buy a CD then you get (different) songs for FREE buy joing the supporters club on the same site. Americymru: What are your future recording and performance plans at the moment? Mike: Well both are work in progress. We have gigs in the pipe line for Italy, Wales and the USA. The Left Coast Eisteddford is on 22nd August in Portland, Oregon. Hopefully we'll get a few other dates around it in the USA. At the moment we're working on three albums:- A "Best of" in English and Welsh translating songs we've done before, an album of songs connected with Welsh rugby and a new album of original material. Americymru: Any further message for the members and readers of "Americymru". Mike: Keep flying the flag, singing the songs and drinking the beer when you can. Also don't keep Welsh culture a secret, let non Welsh friends have a taste too. Hwyl fawr! Mike Here Be Dragons Interview by Ceri Shaw Email