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access - Ninnau

The North American Welsh Newspaper ®
Papur Cymry Gogledd America™
Incorporating Y DRYCH™
Wales Votes to Quit EU:
Now for the Fallout
© 2016 NINNAU Publications, P.O. Box 712, Trumansburg, NY 14886
Vol. 41, No. 5
September-October 2016
By Dafydd Wigley
Magnificent Wales
Dazzle in Euro Finals
Wales fans in the US celebrate a 3-1 victory over Belgium.
Dave and Dylan Parry and Brian Geen.
By Dave Barry
In their first appearance at a
major soccer finals since 1958,
Chris Coleman’s team proved to
be the outstanding surprise
packet of the tournament. A 3-0
defeat away to Sweden a week
before the start of the tournament did not augur well, but the
team put in a string of outstanding performances to wow their
fans and critics alike.
Based in the pretty resort of
Dinard in Brittany the team
evolved into a close-knit and
outstanding team working
together in a common cause.
Star players such as Bale and
Ramsey displayed no egos
unlike other famous teams’
members and everyone united
in a common cause which
caught the imagination of the
country as a whole. Thousands
travelled to France to support
the team – often for the whole
month; vast crowds gathered at
“Fan zones” throughout Wales
to watch the matches on large
screens and share the special
feeling of support and there
were record T.V. audiences for
the games. The team’s performances and success brought a
real “feel good” factor throughout the nation.
A 35-yard thunderbolt free
kick by Bale gave Wales an
early lead against England.
Despite conceding possession
and falling back on defence it
looked as if a historic win could
be gained. However two late
goals by English substitutes
brought a 1-2 defeat.
Not downhearted, the team
bounced back to gain an overwhelming win 3-0 against
Russia with goals from
Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Bale.
This result earned the team a
place in the play-offs.
In Paris, against Northern
Ireland Wales were the better
team again and roared on by
their magnificent fans gained a
1-0 win when a defender put the
ball in his own net after a dangerous cross by Bale. The fans
were ecstatic and the vast stadium rang with the sounds of
“Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” and
“Calon Lan”.
Now the fans flocked north to
Lille where the World number
two ranked team Belgium
awaited in the quarter finals.
The town was a sea of red as the
fans gathered, sang and eagerly
awaited the match in a friendly
atmosphere – sadly some games
involving other countries had
been marked by violence by
supporters. Despite falling
behind to a long range goal the
team hit back; captain courageous Ashley Williams headed
home from a well worked corner to draw level at the interval.
Wales were the better team in
the second period and a wonder
“goal of the tournament” from
Hal Robson Kanu and a superb
late header from substitute Sam
Vokes brought a well-deserved
3-1 win.
The whole nation was ecstatic
and held high hopes for the
semi-finals against Portugal in
Lyon. Sadly without the suspended Ramsey and Ben Davies
the team went down to a 2-0
defeat to a hitherto defensive
team.
Their star player
Ronaldo set up one and scored
the other goal. Again, surprisingly Portugal went on to defeat
host nation France in the final
with a decisive late goal from
former Swansea City striker
Eder.
After the event the final
reflections are:
-The team’s overall commitment and teamwork
-The outstanding organisation
and planning of manager Chris
Coleman and his backroom staff
-The wholehearted support
and excellent behaviour of the
thousands of fans both travelling and at home
-Hal Robson’s “goal of the
tournament” award
-Aaron Ramsey and Joe
Allen’s selection for the “team
of the tournament”
-The many thousands who
turned out to welcome the team
for their open top bus parade
The European Union (EU),
currently composed of 28
European countries, first
emerged in 1957, when just six
Nations signed the Treaty of
Rome, to establish a European
Economic Community. Britain
– and the Irish Republic - joined
in 1973. Since then Welsh
industry and commerce, farmers
and consumers have enjoyed
huge benefits from membership.
Now quite incredibly, following
a referendum on 23rd June, the
United Kingdom – including
Wales– looks set to quit this
pioneering multi-national
Union, which has been the
lynchpin for our economy for
four decades.
While Scotland and Northern
Ireland voted to remain, there
was a narrow majority to
leave–by 52.5% to 47.5% –in
Wales and slightly more in
England (53.4% to 46.6%). The
overall UK result was to leave
by 52% to 48%, and to go down
the “Brexit” (ie Brit-exit) route.
So Britain looks set to leave the
European Union by January
2019.
The result has momentous
consequences. UK Prime
Minister David Cameron immediately resigned –he had little
choice, since he had led his government into a corner, with no
“Plan B”. England has never
really seen itself as part of
Europe and the popular tabloid
press have been drip-feeding
anti-EU propaganda for twenty
years. As most newspapers read
in Wales are London-based, it’s
no surprise that they had a simi-
Dafydd Wigley addresses a rally in Caernarfon.
Photo: Richard Williams
lar impact west of Offa’s Dyke.
Within Wales, the geographic
disparities were stark. Cardiff –
which has grown into a confident outward looking capital
city –voted to remain in the EU.
So did the strongly Welshspeaking areas of Gwynedd and
Ceredigion. The more prosperous areas of Vale of Glamorgan
and Monmouthshire also voted
Remain. Young people tended
to back “Remain” while older
people – many hankering for a
by-gone age–voted “Out”.
Areas that voted solidly
“Out” included the old coalfield
valleys from Gwent to Llanelli.
These were areas which had
benefitted most from European
“Federal funding” – money
allocated by Brussels to help
communities facing greatest
economic difficulty. Hardly
anywhere in Britain has suffered more from economic run-
down, than has Ebbw Vale in
Blaenau Gwent. The twin
impact of industrial decline and
government “Austerity” policies
has seen poverty and hopelessness escalate. Nowhere has benefitte more than Blaenau Gwent
from EU aid; yet this was the
area which voted strongest
against continued EU membership.
The danger in any plebiscite
is that the voters answer a different question to the one on the
ballot paper. A range of different themes arose from the propaganda spread by Brexit.
Business people were promised
that they could escape onerous
EU regulations– rules which
exist to ensure fair competition
within Europe’s single market
of 500m people. Taxpayers
were told that there would be
£350m ($450m) each week
(Continued on page 6)
WNAA Introduces eHymnal
By Evans Paschal
When you go to a cymanfa,
do you sing the English lyrics to
a favorite hymn in full voice,
but suddenly start mumbling
when a Welsh verse comes
along because you’re not sure
how to pronounce those strange
words? Do you stay in the back
of the church and sing the
soprano part to the hymn (the
tune), rather than the alto, tenor,
or bass part that is better suited
to your voice range, because
you haven’t learned that part
and can’t sight-read music?
Well, help is at hand.
The WNAA eHymnal project
was created to help those who
may not be familiar with Welsh
hymns learn to pronounce the
Welsh words and sing their
voice parts, and so enjoy in full
measure the great choral tradition of Welsh four-part singing.
The eHymnal project is a collection of recordings of readings
of hymn verses and the music of
hymn tunes in both full harmony and by individual parts. The
hymns are those in Welsh and
Nerys Evans
English Hymns and Anthems,
published by the Welsh North
American Association. This is
the hymnal used at the National
Gymanfa Ganu during the
North American Festival of
Wales over Labor Day weekend
every year, and also at many
other cymanfaoedd in North
America. You will want to have
a copy of this book at hand as
you listen to the eHymnal
recordings. A copy can be
obtained from the WNAA at
www.thewnaa.org.
The music for each song is in
five tracks, one containing the
full four-voice choir and one for
each of the four voices, soprano,
alto, tenor, and bass. The full
choir or SATB track has the
voices in full harmony, spread
across stereo space with sopranos far left, then the altos, the
tenors, and finally the basses far
right. This track is played at
normal speed with a synthesized
string quartet. The individual
voice parts are played at 3/4
speed to make it easier to learn
your particular part.
The Welsh words to the
hymns are spoken by Nerys
Jones, a native Welsh speaker
from Llanfair Caereinion in
mid-Wales, to help you learn to
read and pronounce them. She
reads them slowly, at 3/4 speed
in time with the individual voice
parts.
Though it may look a bit odd
at first glance to the non-Welsh
speaker, Welsh is actually much
What's Inside Ninnau This Month!
N INNAU™
The North American Welsh Newspaper®
Papur Cymry Gogledd America™
Incorporating Y Drych™
Copyright 2016 NINNAU Publications, Inc.
ISSN 0890-0485
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Telephone: 607-279-6499
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W. Arvon Roberts, Bob Roser, William G. Williams, Historians
Martha Davies, Y Drych Historian
Columnists & Department Heads:
David Barry, Sportscene Wales; Martin Clarke, In the Valley; William
F. Griffiths, Historical Vignettes; Wendy Hughes, Welsh Legends &
Traditions; Lise Hull, Wales Review; Ann Jones, Come and Talk;
Notes from Wales; Tom Jones, Birds of Wales; Prof. Dylan JonesEvans, OBE, Business; Joan Owen Mandry, Welsh Hymnwriters &
Poets’ Corner; James Thomas, Feature Columnist; Janet Watkins
Masoner, Feature Columnist; Louis Miller, Finding Wales in America;
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Hefina Phillips, Gair o Toronto ; Darris Williams, Genealogy; Jeremy
Wood, News from the Andes. Ian White, Tavern Signs; Phil Cope, Holy
Wells of Wales; Sian Stacey, Island Life; Thomas Lawton Jones, Welsh
Ministers; John Good; Literary Column
Book Editor: Bob Roser.
Book Reviewers: Ilene Alexander, Myfanwy Davies, Marjorie
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Our Editorial Policy is intended to accomplish the following:
Endeavor to maintain the North American Welsh
informed of local and general news and events of interest; Publicize individual contributions to community life;
Provide a forum for discussion and individual expression; Educate the Welsh people in their traditions; Serve
as a link between North American Welsh people and
organizations; Serve as a link between the North
American Welsh people and Wales.
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Page 2
Obituaries. . . . . . . . 27
Politics. . . . . . . . . 1,6
Social Scene. . . . . . . 18-20
Sportscene Wales. . . . . . 1, 10
Wales Review . . . . . . . . . . 14
Welsh Lesson . . . . . . . . . 26
Welsh Ministers. . . . . . 22
Y Drych . . . . . . . . . . .15-18
Adar Cymru . . . . . . . . . .7
Bookshelf . . . . . 16-17
Business . . . . . . . 6
Caneuon . . . . . . . 16
Coming Events. . . . . . 5,28
Croesair . . . . . . . 27
Friends . . . . . . . 5
G a i r o To r o n t o . . . . . . . . 27
Genealogy
. . . . . 4
Holy Wells of Wales . . . . .11
Humor . . . . . . . 7
John Good Literary. . . . . . . 15
On going series:
Michael D. Jones Family . . . .13
Reese Hughes Letters. . . . . . 25
Letters
Letters to the Editor.
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Send your letter by
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Singing in the Valley
To the Editor:
When the population with
Welsh blood, on that bump on
the West coast, falls below
20%, then Wales will cease to
be Wales, although she may be
called Wales indefinitely.
Welsh, like Latin, will disappear as a living language.
We in the diaspora must do
our part. We must establish a
center to perpetuate Welsh
vocal music right here (logically
at Gustavus Adolphus College)
in the beautiful Minnesota River
Valley
of
southcentral
Minnesota.
Its first task will be to revive
the September Gymanfa in
Mankato, and then it must reestablish the St. David’s Day
Gymanfa in Christ Chapel at
Gustavus.
The most joyful and best way
to continue this best part of the
Welsh culture is, to sing! The
human voice, after all, is the
greatest of musical instruments.
A few centuries from now,
Welsh songs will still echo in
the magnificent valleys of a
place that was Wales.
This is my hope for my own
valley.
Walter O. Jones
Coed Marion Farm
Lake Crystal, Minnesota
From the editor
Summer has been wonderful.
As I write this, I can’t believe
that it is the first week of
August. We have had a very hot
and dry summer in upstate NY.
It has been worrying and seriously damaged a lot of crops,
specifically corn. This has been
a great worry in our household
as my husband works in agriculture. We have felt more Welsh
than ever before living in
upstate New York as we have
been talking about the weather
constantly. Only the quite opposite of the summer Wales has
had, we want rain!
The drought aside, its been
quite the opposite in terms of
family together. We have been
blessed to have had a lot of
quality time, weekends away,
bbqs, trips to the ice cream store
and bike rides.
In June we were in Maryland
and took the boys to the
Baltimore Harbor, location of
the family photograph shown
here on the USS Constellation.
As its hard to believe that our
youngest starts full-time school
in September, the children getting older makes family adventures that much easier. Our
transatlantic trips are far easier
and exciting, now that the boys
are older.
Not long to go until I will be
packing up all the materials for
this year’s North American
A Williams family selfie in Baltimore
Festival of Wales. We have had
record Canadian registration
which is fantastic and hopefully
this will be a great opportunity
to increase Ninnau’s Canadian
readership.
At this year’s festival, I hope
to get a chance to speak with
many of our readers, contributors and friends, to thank them
for the contributions you make
to making Ninnau possible.
As I put each edition of
Ninnau together, I try and think
Erratum
In the July-August issue
of Ninnau, the article about
the Cynonfardd Eisteddfod
contained 2 misspelled
names. Please note that the
correct spelling are:
Sally Morgan DiRico and
Bette Lee Devers.
Apologies to Sally and
Bette for this error.
Congratulations to the
Cynonfardd Eisteddfod for
being the longest running
Eisteddfod outside Wales.
We look forward to publicizing plans for the 128th
Annual Event.
NINNAU - The North American Welsh Newspaper ® September-October 2016
of stories I would be interested
in reading about Wales and
Welsh connections here in
North America. I take a guess at
what types of stories our readers
are interested. I would like to
know more. I would like to hear
from you about ideas, topics,
and themes that you would
enjoy seeing become part of
Ninnau.
Megan Williams
Editor
Aberfan:
Looking Back 50 Years
By David Gwyn
At 9:15 AM on 21 October
1966 a colliery spoil tip at
Aberfan near Merthyr Tydfil
collapsed, killing 116 children
and 28 adults. The cause was a
build-up of water in the accumulated rock and shale which
suddenly started to slide downhill, hitting a farm and a row of
houses, and inundating Pantglas
Junior School. Had the disaster
struck a few minutes earlier, the
children would not have been in
their classrooms; had it struck a
few hours later, the school
would have been empty.
Men from Merthyr Vale
Colliery and other trained rescue teams worked wonders to
rescue those who were trapped
but only a few lives were saved.
The children’s bodies were laid
out in two of the village’s
chapels; one mother later
recalled being shown the bodies
of almost every dead girl recovered from the school before
identifying her own daughter.
The coal-mining valleys of
South Wales were no strangers
to sudden death on an unbelievable scale through industrial
accidents, but what made
Aberfan seem more terrible
even than Senghenydd in 1913,
when 439 lost their lives, was
that the victims were not men
hardened by their work and who
perhaps accepted risk, but children.
This did not stop some media
representatives from behaving
in a way that beggars belief – a
rescue worker heard a press
photographer tell a child to cry
for her dead friends because it
would make a good picture. The
Chairman of the National Coal
Board, Lord Robens of
Woldingham, conducted himself with remarkable insensitivity, refusing to change his plans
to attend his installation as
Chancellor of the new
University of Surrey once he
heard what had happened. The
ill-effects went on for years, and
go on to this day; parents who
had sent reluctant children to
school felt a deep sense of guilt,
and tensions arose between
families who had lost children
and those who had not. Children
did not go out to play for a long
time because bereaved families
could not bear to see them, and
they suffered a sense of survivor-guilt.
The horror of Aberfan
seemed a cruel commentary on
the hopes and aspirations of
(Continued from page 1)
easier to learn to read and pronounce than English because
the spelling is regular and
almost entirely phonetic. The
Welsh alphabet and the sounds
of the letters are given on the
last page of the hymnal, but the
easiest way to learn is to follow
along reading the words to the
hymn as you listen to them
being spoken. Each verse is
spoken in a separate track, and,
in some hymns, with a chorus
that is spoken separately as
well.
The recordings in the
eHymnal are MP3 files, which
can be downloaded from the
website www.NAFOW.org and
then stored and played on your
desktop computer, laptop,
tablet, or smartphone. They will
also work on portable MP3
players like the iPod.
In addition, the eHymnal contains MIDI files for the hymn
post-war Labour-voting Wales.
It was the nationalised Coal
Board that had continued tipping over the hillside springs
(despite the concerns expressed
by local authorities) which had
caused the collapse, a former
union official in Lord Robens
who was ultimately responsible,
and Labour Prime Minster in
Harold Wilson who refused to
accept Robens’ resignation,
much to Torfaen MP Leo
Abse’s disgust. Robens was,
after all, taking the coal industry
through a period of painful contraction and modernisation
without big strikes, and had the
support of both the industry and
the union movement.
It did not matter that he himself had said only three years
before, talking to the National
Union of Mineworkers, ‘If we
are going to make pits safer for
men we shall have to discipline
the wrongdoer. I have no sympathy at all for those people—
whether men, management or
officials—who act in any way
which endangers the lives and
limbs of others.’
Though in immediate aftermath of the disaster Robens
refused to allow the NCB to
fund the removal of the remaining tips from Aberfan, a consequence of the disaster was that
increasingly the landscape
remains of the coal industry
were rapidly eradicated, as symbols of a past that was both ugly
and murderous. The coal industry in South Wales struggled on
until Margaret Thatcher’s
Conservative administration
effectively brought it to an end.
For those who knew the valleys
in the late 1990s, this was a
strange period indeed, when the
entire surface apparatus of a
large coal-mine could be
removed in a matter of weeks,
once the demolition teams and
the scrap-men got into their
stride. Nothing could compare
to the horror of that October
morning, but a generation that
had grown up with the mines
now felt deracinated, and shorn
of a past.
Wales has gone within a lifetime from a country that in part
at least was very heavily dependent on coal and steel to one
that is post-industrial, from a
confident and in the main cohesive society to one that is a
unsure of its identity, perhaps
on the brink of much greater
social change that will leave it
very different indeed, but in a
form that no-one can confidently predict at the moment. How,
and to what extent, the evolution of modern Welsh identity
has been shaped by the Aberfan
disaster is a matter that historians will debate for years to
come, but the memory of what
happened that morning, fifty
years ago, will remain with all
those who recall it as long as
they live.
A photo of a newspaper clipping shows the aftermath of the
disaster. Photo thanks to Joyce and Merlyn Williams
Wales in Harvard
Poet Menna Elfyn reading at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop
By Colin Thomas
So what would it be today? –
“Seduced Ignorant People”,
Cynan Llwyd on the Welsh
Puritans or “That’s Not Bloody
True, I’m as Welsh as
Anybody”, Sophie Williams on
Welshness and Basqueness?
Sometimes deciding on the
most interesting talk to listen in
on at the conference of the
North American Association for
the Study of Welsh Culture and
History was agonisingly difficult.
Especially as it was held this
year at Harvard (July 20-22)
and you could also slip out and
buy an iced coffee in glorious
sunshine on Harvard Square. Or
check out the impressive range
of Welsh books on display at
the Harvard Book Store.
And in the evening you could
opt to hear Menna Elfyn reading her wonderful poems, most
of them in Welsh, to a jampacked audience at the historic
Grolier Bookshop or argue
whether Rhodri Morgan had
been over pessimistic in his talk
about post Brexit Wales over a
beer in the Beat Brasserie.
The organisers of the conference – Dr Melinda Gray from
Harvard and Prof Daniel
Williams from Swansea
University – provided a feast of
intellectual delights. Often the
insights at academic conferences come from conversations
outside the formal sessions but
this time there were revelations
inside Harvard’s hallowed halls
too.
One in particular will stick in
my memory – the ‘Transatlantic
WNAA Introduces E-Hymnal
tunes. These files can be played
with the built-in software on
most computer systems.
However, they are most useful
when used with a dedicated
MIDI player. For Windows
machines, the free program
Anvil Studio (www.anvilstudio.com) is recommended. With
this program you can change the
tempo of the music (slowing it
down, for instance), change the
volume of the different voices,
move it to a different key, and
even change the synthesized
string quartet that was used in
the eHymnal to, say, a church
organ.
This project sprang from a
discussion between Megan
Williams, Dick Donohoe, Gerri
Baker Parry and myself about
the need to print more copies of
the WNAA Hymnal in the near
future, and perhaps more copies
of the Phonetic Hymnal as well.
The Phonetic Hymnal, as you
may know, is an attempt to help
non-Welsh speakers pronounce
the words in Welsh verses while
singing hymns. It does this by
replacing the original Welsh
with pseudo-Welsh words
where the Welsh sounds are
approximated by letter combinations that will seem familiar
to an English speaker. The
Phonetic Hymnal has the words
only, without the music score.
Gerri wondered if it would be
possible to take the music
scores from the reformatted
hymnal, where the words for the
first two Welsh and English
verses are written between the
staves of music, and replace the
Welsh with the Welsh-sounding
text from the Phonetic Hymnal,
thus making a new version that
had both the phonetic pronunciations and the music. I said that
this would be possible, assuming we still had the digital files
used to typeset the reformatted
hymnal (and they were still
readable by modern software),
but tedious. Without those files
it would be much more work
than the effort was worth.
At this point, the idea
occurred to me that what we
really needed was not a new
phonetic hymnal with written
music, but an easier way for
non-Welsh speakers to learn the
sounds of the real Welsh verses,
and a way for everyone to learn
the music, especially the majority of us that aren’t very good at
sight-reading. Why not provide
recordings of a native speaker
reading the Welsh text of each
verse, and recordings of the
music emphasizing each individual voice part? I’ve successfully used the latter technique
with our local a cappella choir
to help singers practice their
parts, singers who have good
voices but (at least initially) little skill at reading music. And
so the project was born.
At this time, Nerys and I have
completed the recordings for the
Wales’ session included Huw
Osbourne on “Ivor Novello,
Wales and the Celebrity
Batchelor” and Robin Griffiths
on “Queer(y)ing Masculinity,
Stardom and ‘Welshness’ in the
Films of Richard Burton.” The
session ended with Mark
Rhodes from Kent State
University talking about the
way in which Wales has memorialised Paul Robeson and the
Spanish Civil War, pointing out
that many of the War’s memorials in Wales duck the issue of
why Welsh International
Brigaders went to fight in Spain
completely.
My own contribution to the
conference compared the situation of Welsh migrants to
America in the past with that of
migrants to Wales in the present, based on my app The
Dragon and the Eagle/Y Ddraig
a’r Eryr. I only had a twenty
minute slot but I will certainly
be making the most of it from
now on, casually dropping into
dinner party conversations “as I
said in my lecture at
Harvard….”
The window display of Welsh
books at the Harvard
Bookstore., Massachusetts
three national anthems and the
70 most popular hymns in our
hymnal. We hope to finish the
rest shortly.
Let me make one final observation. Over the last two-plus
decades we have sung an average of about 30 hymns from our
hymnal at each cymanfa. Some
of these are obvious favorites,
like Cwm Rhondda, Sanctus,
and Calon Lân, which are sung
on average at least once per
cymanfa. Of the 118 hymns in
our book, 23 are sung at least
half the time. However, many
hymns are sung rarely, and 30
hymns have never been sung
since 1994 (when I began keeping count). I admit there are a
couple of duds in this group, but
there are many great hymns
with interesting harmonies that
we just never hear. I hope that
the eHymnal project will make
these more accessible, and
maybe even popular.
NINNAU
Page 3
Genealogy
The Recovering Genealogist
By Darris Williams
While attending a recent family history conference I enjoyed
several talks about incorporating DNA testing into genealogy
and family history. This topic
seems to be generating more
interest than most other recent
developments. Conferences now
include multiple classes about
DNA testing and analysis to
help you understand the possibilities and get the most from
this tool. After sitting through
two or three classes about this
last week I was getting more
and more excited. Welsh family
historians need all the help we
can get to work with common
names and use of patronymics.
After one especially good class
I went to the front of the room
in the hope of getting a few specific tips for applying DNA testing to Welsh family history
from the instructor. The short
answer was, “that will be more
difficult”.
After digging into the topic of
DNA a little more I still have
hope that it will help me over
some of the research hurdles. It
has been quite a while since a
new tool or approach has
required so much investigation.
The family history industry has
changed a lot over the last thirty
years so learning new tools and
techniques is familiar. What
feels different now may be the
potential for change.
The basic principles for family history research have not
changed much. The growth of
the internet has changed a lot
about the way we do the
research. It seems reasonable
that DNA testing will change
the way we approach genealogy
as much as the internet
improved our ability to find
answers to questions.
I sent two email messages to
distant cousins on Sunday afternoon. That comes close to my
annual quota. To really benefit
from using DNA as a genealogy
tool I need to learn as much as
possible about all my living
cousins. That will require more
time writing to, or calling a
variety of distant relatives. One
of the family history instructors
I had at college said that a person would never do very well in
family history unless they liked
to write letters. If we enlarge
that to email and phone conversations it may be more true in
the future.
It is said that the number one
task to get the most from DNA
testing is to have your oldest
living relatives tested. There are
a lot of other tasks but having
that DNA information from an
older relative to get you started
is critical. Lucky for me, my
father had his autosomal DNA
test done by Ancestry.com last
year. Since his grandfather was
born
in
Wales,
near
Pontardawe, that should give us
a chance to learn more about
our Welsh ancestors.
At the moment there are not a
lot of people from Wales who
have taken the Ancestry DNA
test. One key to success is having a lot of people take the test.
As more get tested the results
can be compared with more
people. This opens the door to
answering questions that documentary evidence may struggle
to clarify.
Although there are only a few
thousand people in Wales who
have had their DNA tested there
are many thousands in the
United States. One of the close
matches for my Y-DNA test
links to a family in
Pennsylvania. Lucky for me I
know that one of my Welsh
ancestors had children who emigrated to Pennsylvania about
1832. If I spend more time tracing the descendants of that family, I may be able to connect the
dots between the DNA evidence
and the paper trail.
While waiting for new test
results to arrive I’ll be looking
for more information about
those distant cousins. The benefits of identifying other living
descendants of a distant ancestor can be surprising. A great
(Cymdeithas Olrhain Achau Cymry America)
Formed in 1990 in the United States
to serve as a common link
for Welsh genealogical researchers
in the US or anywhere throughout the Welsh world.
Member: Federation of Genealogical Societies
For information:
send S.A.S.E. to WAGS
c/o 60 Norton Avenue
Poultney, VT 05764-1029 USA
E:mail: [email protected]
For a sample newsletter:
please include $2.00 (US) check payable to WAGS
as well as a #10 self-addressed envelope with $.68 US postage
or appropriate International Reply Coupons (IRC).
You’ll find us on the web at:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vtwags/
Page 4
grandson of my father’s great
uncle had two pocket watches
that belonged to David Edward
Williams, our ancestor who
immigrated in 1878. It was fun
to see them and visit with the
Grey family. This distant cousin
also identified my great grandfather as a young boy in a family photo which our family was
clueless about. I need to make
contact with that family again
then begin work on identifying
new connections. Whether anyone else in my extended family
joins me in this DNA testing
adventure is a big question in
my mind. While it would be
nice to have a few brick walls
tumble down I will be happy to
find a few cousins that I can
learn from.
One of the convenient things
about the websites that cater to
people getting into DNA testing
is the messages about new
matches. In the past I deleted a
lot of those notifications about
new found matches. As I learn
more about using the website
tools I expect that will change.
Just this afternoon an email
arrived telling me that a new
match had been found. This
time for a person with the last
name Evans. He must be new to
this because the only information he shared was his name and
email address. The email
address indicates that he lives in
the United Kingdom. There
were a few Evans families in
the area where my great grandfather was born. With no more
than a very common last name
and a hint that we match I sent
an email. Hopefully Mr. Evans
will respond with details and
good news.
This DNA for genealogy
movement could really change
how we learn about our family
history. For now, careful
research is still required. With
the additional resource of DNA
testing we should be able to
clear up a few of the mysteries
that missing records, common
names and the patronymic naming system present. If nothing
more than new connections and
conversations come out of this,
the extra effort would all be
worth it. If you aren’t convinced, read the article in this
issue of Ninnau about the dream
trip to Wales. I look forward to
being able to have a similar trip
to Wales in the not too distant
future.
Reminder
Upcoming
Deadlines:
Susan Davies Sit
Presented a Welsh
Family History
Seminar
By Janice Edwards
Susan Davies Sit
Susan Davies Sit, a resident
of Glastonbury, Connecticut
who emigrated from northwest
Wales, recently presented a
Welsh Family History Seminar
in a Welsh heritage region
located in the State of Vermont,
in East Poultney.
A member of the WelshAmerican Genealogical Society,
Inc. (USA), the Gwynedd
Family History Society (UK),
and President of the Welsh
Society of Western New
England, Mrs. Sit has been an
active family history researcher
for more than forty years. She
enjoys helping others with their
genealogy research, mostly
those with ancestors in Wales
and the USA; however, she also
has researched families in
Scotland, Ireland, Australia,
Canada, England and China.
Mrs. Sit’s recent presentation
focused on how and where to
research for facts about ancestors who lived in Wales; about
those who emigrated to other
nations; the values of census
records for factual resources as
well as of birth, marriage, death
(BMD) records, US state
records, newspapers, obituaries;
use of paid websites, DNA tests
and the importance of recording
and then proving oral history
data from elder members of
families.
The family history seminar
was sponsored by the WelshAmerican Genealogical Society
and held in the Town Room of
historic United Baptist Church.
It was one of a series of Welsh
Weekend events sponsored by
the Poultney Area St. David’s
Society held June 10, 11 and 12.
The genealogy society organizers and Mrs. Sit were pleased to
have had twenty attendees. It
was an excellent size group in a
comfortable location which
enabled the attendees one-onone time with Mrs. Sit as well
as opportunity to have
exchanged questions and stories
and established new friendships
with others who share their
interests.
The attendees came from various communities within
approximately three hours travel
time within the States of
Vermont,
New
York,
Massachusetts and Connecticut,
as well as a few who lived near
East Poultney. All were interested in learning more about their
ancestors who lived in Wales or
had emigrated from Wales to
America.
“Absolutely fascinating. The
enthusiasm for Wales was fantastic! The information was
invaluable.” remarked attendee
Simon LaPlace of Connecticut.
“The event was so valuable
for us all,” remarked Nancy
Williams from New York.
“Thanks so much. We had a
wonderful time at the event. It
was informative, friendly and
enjoyable. It was a great job of
planning and organizing - you
all earned a big THANK YOU
for all your time and efforts”,
said Greta Davis and Marjie
Dennim from New York.
The Welsh-American Genealogical Society, Inc. is a member of the Federation of
Genealogical Societies.It is a
501(c)(3) organization and an
all-volunteer society. Contact
for more information: Janice B.
Edwards, Welsh-American
Genealogical Society, Inc., 60
Norton Ave., Poultney,
Vermont 05764-1029 – email:
[email protected] ;
website: www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vtwags/ and also
through its Facebook page.
November-December:
October 1
January-February:
December 1
March-April:
February 1
WAGS display at the conference.
Friends of
NINNAU & Y DRYCH
At the time of the merger between NINNAU and Y Drych a
Merger Fund was set up to help finance the operation. The
Merger was well received and completed some time ago. We
continue to receive donations as part of ‘Friends of Ninnau’.
These donations have become an important part of our operation and to those who give, we are truly thankful. Friends of
Ninnau helps to keep the paper going. Please see gifts from
friends received through August 1, 2016.
Diolch o galon.
Beard, Gene; Columbus, OH
Brown, Melanie; Branchburg, NJ
Carter, Linda; Marietta, GA
Champlin, Gwyn; Ocala, FL
Cobb, Jim & Carol’ Milford, OH
Davies, Myfanwy; Ottawa, ON
Davies, Philip & Meri; Scotch Plains, NJ
Edwards, H.E. Dr; Llangefni, Ynys Mon
Evans, Olin W. Jr.; Wilkes-Barre, PA
Fix, John R.; Stonington, CT
Gambold, P.V.; Swansea, Wales
Grigor, Lynne; Fridley, MN
Griffiths, Ken; San Diego, CA
Jones, Janet; Oak Park, IL
Jones, John F.; Albuquerque, NM
Jones, Lauranne; Bloomfield, NJ
Jones, Megan; Southbury, CT
Marcus, Donald Jones MD; West Chester, PA
Moody, Penny; Portland, OR
Morgans, Kim and Ron Jones; Ferryside, Carmarthen
Owen, T. J.; Santee, CA\
Powell, Nancy; Minnetonka, MN
Pritchard, C.G., Lincoln, NE
Walters, Mair; South Hamilton, MA
Waters, Richard G.; Abergele, Wales
Whitman, Shirley; Vermilion, OH
Williams, Karen; Pahrump, NV
Welsh Society to Hold
Welsh Cheese and USA
Wine Evening
By Susan Davies Sit
The Welsh Society of
Western New England will hold
a Welsh cheese and USA wine
evening on Saturday, October 8,
2016 from 4:00 - 7:00PM.
There will be a selection of
Welsh cheeses such as
Caerphilly, Little Black Bomber
and Red Dragon paired with
American red and white wines
plus home-made Welsh Rarebit:
toasts topped with broiled
Welsh Cheddar cheese, stout ale
and mustard.
Beautiful harp music will be
provided by Kasha Breau who
is a traditional harpist and
singer playing original music
and folk songs from around the
world on modern reconstructions of medieval and renaissance harps as well as the modern concert harp. One of her
harps is double-strung which
can produce the lovely cascading waterfall effect of the Welsh
triple-harp (Telyn deires) and
she has been playing the music
of Wales for over 35 years.
Kasha is a graduate of the
Hartt School of Music and has
taught harp, voice, piano, and
organ in addition to her performances and workshops in harp
playing technique throughout
the United States. She fills her
life with more music as organist
and music director at the
Congregational Church in
Portland, CT and can be heard
playing harp and keyboard in
various bands and musical
groups.
Kasha Breau
Tickets: members $18, guests
$20. Reserve a ticket by emailing [email protected].
Directions will be forwarded at
that time and your ticket will be
held at the door.
The Welsh Society of
Western New England is dedicated to celebrating and learning about all things Welsh. We
meet at least quarterly and share
a meal and an interesting subject or presentation relating to
Wales. Many of our members
have Welsh heritage or were
born in Wales and others are
drawn to gatherings through
their interest in the country, language and culture. Our meetings
and activities occur at various
locations around Western New
England. For more information
on our activities please check
our web site WelshWNE.org or
on Facebook: WSWNE.
NINNAU & Y DRYCH
Welsh born Mari Morgan to conduct
Cymanfa Ganu in New Zealand
By Margot Griffith
The Cymdeithas Cymreig
Wellington Welsh Society (New
Zealand) will welcome Mari
Morgan as guest conductor at
the Cymanfa Ganu to be held at
the Wellington Cathedral of St.
Paul on Sunday 23 October
2016.
Mari had toured New Zealand
with her ‘North American
Welsh Choir’ in 2013 and
charmed audiences with her
passion and love of Welsh
music. Her reputation was
sealed by her extensive qualifications, much experience and
successful musical career. Her
fame as founder member and
director of Côr Cymry Gogledd
America appealed to the Welsh
of Wellington. They wished to
invite her to be guest conductor
as part of the Society’s 110th
Wellington Cathedral of
St. Paul, venue for the
October 23 Gymanfa Ganu.
Mari Morgan, right, with Margot Griffith.
anniversary.
The Welsh Gymanfa Ganu
Association of New Zealand
Inc. was founded in Auckland
in 1991. It is an umbrella organisation that oversees biennial
cymanfaoedd held on a rotational
basis in Auckland, Wellington,
Rotorua and New Plymouth. It is
generally held in October.
People travel for a ‘Meet and
Greet’ on Saturday afternoon,
followed by a Noson Lawen in
the evening. The Cymanfa is
held on a Sunday afternoon with
a Cymanfa Dinner in the
evening. People come from all
over the country and overseas.
Some seven hundred attendees
are expected at the Cathedral on
23 October 2016.
The Wellington Welsh
Society would be more than
pleased to welcome any visitors
from North America and else-
where to join in this traditional,
cultural event that celebrates
our history and heritage.
This will be the first time for
Mari Morgan, who hails from
Llanelli, to conduct a cymanfa
‘Down Under’ - New Zealand.
The Wellington Male Voice
Choir and Wellington East
Girls’ College Cantala Choir
will participate and perform
items.
To have a fluent Welsh
speaker and a person ensconced
in choirs, music and singing
will give a momentum and an
impetus that will, in all probability, be similar to the singing
that will ‘raise the roof’ as it
does at Principality Stadium,
Cardiff. Mari will make us all
feel that a part of Wales will be
with us in song, spirit - hwyl ag
etifeddiaeth - passion and heritage!
Fredericksburg Welsh Festival 2016
By Bob Roser
The 27 th Annual Welsh
Festival in Fredericksburg,
Virginia will be held on
Saturday, September 17 from 11
AM to 5 PM. The cooperation
between the James Monroe
Museum and the Welsh Society
of Fredericksburg has been
made stronger than before to
ensure a successful festival this
year.
The festival will take place on
the 900 block of Charles Street
in the old town section of
Fredericksburg in front of the
James Monroe Museum. James
Monroe, our fifth president, was
the son of Elizabeth Jones,
daughter of two Welsh emigrants, James Jones and Hester
Davis. His uncle and guardian,
Judge Joseph Jones, was a leading figure in revolutionary
Virginia.
The Stafford Regional Choral
Society under the direction of
Kevin Perry will lead off as it
has for the past three years.
They have performed a mix of
popular, classical and Welsh
songs and wowed the audience
each time. Last year two members sang the love duet from
Blodwen. Jodee James will
return this year with her beautiful Welsh singing voice after
missing last year with an illness.
She will be playing with the
Fredericksburg based Celtic/
Welsh folk band DragonFyre.
Moch Pryderi, who got their
start at the Welsh Festival will
return with a new lineup. Iona,
the premiere pan-Celtic folk
band in Northern Virginia
returns again as do the
Fredericksburg Welsh Country
dancers and Sian Frick. Moch
Pryderi will provide the live
music for the dancers.
As before there will be a full
set of performances and talks in
Mrs. Monroe’s garden. Cindy
DragonFyre will perform at this year’s festival.
Roser has organized a wonderful production of light entertainment. She will perform her
award winning Welsh storytelling. There will be Welsh language lessons, genealogy, folk
customs and tales of the
Mabinogion. We are hoping
that The Regional Rugby club
will return to tell us all about
Wales’ first sport and second
religion. John Gwyn will give
his concert of Welsh hymns and
songs, some with “new” lyrics.
The festival bard this year
will be Hal Gale who, along
with his late wife Barb, have
been major supporters of the
Welsh Society and the Welsh
Festival.
Fredericksburg is an historic
town with a long colonial,
Revolutionary War, early
American and Civil War history. There is much to see before
and after the Welsh Festival so
come and spend some time with
us.
The Festival will be held rain
or shine on Saturday, September
17, 2016. Please come and support us. Information will be on
our website: www.welshfred
.com and facebook.
NINNAU
Page 5
Wales Votes to Quit EU: Now for the Fallout
available to reduce tax-burdens
or to improve the National
Health Service.
In fact no such sum of money
available from quitting the EU:
the net cash saving would be
half that figure, some £9bn
($12bn) per annum. And that
doesn’t allow for the negative
economic impact of quitting our
biggest market. But this claimed
saving was mischievously used,
as sweeteners for different interest groups. It would fund a
dozen or more new spending or
tax-reducing programmes –
totalling £110bn ($145bn) each
year, ten times more than the
cash available. Many were
duped by this ploy.
The most dangerous aspect of
the Brexit propaganda was the
barely disguised racist messages
which were propagated. The
free movement of money and
goods within the 28 member
states of the European Union, is
accompanied by a free movement of people. So, just as a
person from New York can
move to work in California, so
can unemployed young persons
in Spain move to seek work in
London or Cardiff – and many
do.
There’s been a substantial
movement of people into
Britain over recent years,
though the immigration into
Wales is lower than that in
many parts of England. In 2015
there was a net immigration into
the UK of 333,000 people – half
from within the European
Union and half from the rest of
the world. The UK government
can control inward migration
from the rest of the world; but
can’t block EU citizens from
moving to Britain, other than
criminals or terrorists.
One irony is that Wales –
By Walter May,
GlobalWelsh
As the UK and Wales have
decided to leave the EU, ‘future
uncertain’ is now providing the
backdrop for all political discourse. Many things will have
to change and new initiatives
will need to emerge to ensure
Wales doesn’t get left behind in
a post-Brexit world.
Fortunately, there is at least
one such initiative that will have
a direct impact on the specific
challenge that Brexit presents,
namely diaspora engagement.
The GlobalWelsh initiative is
designed specifically to reach
out to the Welsh diaspora in
North America, with an initial
focus targeted at economic
development, specifically global
trade and investment.
GlobalWelsh has its origins
within the private sector emerging four years ago during the
inaugural Welsh Entrepreneurs
conference in Cardiff. A group
of ambitious entrepreneurs and
business leaders, the kind of
individuals that we will increasing rely on to face up to the
Brexit challenge, have invested
time and money amounting to
hundreds of thousands of
pounds, resulting in a detailed
plan of how the Welsh diaspora
can have a profound effect on
Wales’s economic future.
Having worked closely with
the private sector, the wider
stakeholder community, key
members of the Welsh diaspora
and Welsh Government (which
part funded the research and
played an active part in the
GlobalWelsh management
Page 6
with relatively low level of
wages – attracts only a small
number of migrants; yet voters
in Wales cited immigration as a
reason for voting “Out”, even
when they hardly met any
immigrants in their local communities. Three of the most
committed Brexit areas in
Wales, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent
and Caerffili, had only 212
inward short-term migrants over
the most recent six-year period,
compared to a total of some
18,000 for the whole of Wales.
It was the perception, rather
than the reality, of migrants taking local jobs or over-stretching
health and education services,
that triggered the “Out” vote.
This was articulated most stridently in low income areas: the
average household income in
West London is ten times higher
than that in the Gwent Valleys.
Yet it is these “Out-voting” valley areas which benefitted most
from European-funded projects
worth some £500m ($650m)
annually to Wales. This funding
will now dry up.
Another group which will be
hit by the UK quitting the EU is
the farming community. A staggering 80% of Welsh farm
income currently depends on
the EU. Sustaining agriculture
has been a central EU theme –
largely driven by the political
clout of French farmers. If this
funding dries up, Welsh farmers
will be devastated. Furthermore,
over 90% of Welsh sheep-meat
and beef exports go to EU countries. When we leave the EU,
such products could face tariff
barriers, which could price
Welsh meat out of its current
markets.
Wales, unlike England, has a
favourable balance of trade on
manufactured products – and
these too could be crippled by
tariff barriers. Some 200
American companies and 50
from Japan have located in
Wales over the past four
decades in order to sell their
goods within the EU market.
Companies such as Ford,
Siemens and Toyota are major
players in the Welsh economy.
During the referendum, such
companies warned of the negative impact on their activities in
Britain, if we were to leave the
EU.
While people thought they
knew what they were voting
against, in voting Brexit – a
protest against over-regulation,
bureaucratic
government,
uncontrolled borders and the
cost of EU membership – there
was no clearly defined alternative on the table. Some
Brexiteers suggested that the
UK relationship with Europe
should be similar to that
enjoyed by Norway – which has
full market access, but has to
accept the free movement of
people from the EU; others suggested a Swiss-type relationship; others again looked to
Canada, whose trade treaty with
the EU has taken almost a
decade to finalize!
The UK now has two years to
conclude a settlement with the
EU, defining the terms on
which it departs, starting from
the date when it makes a formal
application to leave - probably
in January 2017. The challenge
for the new UK Prime Minister,
Theresa May, is to come up
with an alternative trading relationship which doesn’t undermine the UK’s exporting industries but is acceptable to Brexit
voters. The Ministers she has
appointed to this challenging
task are leading Brexit campaigners like Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson. This is seen as a
poison chalice, since they will
scarcely deliver from negotiations, what they promised during the referendum.
If the final package is short of
what Brexiteers expected, there
could well be a second referendum – which could include the
current status quo as an option
to the negotiated package. This
is something which UK Labour
leadership contender, Owen
Smith MP (Pontypridd) has
publicly advocated. If that were
to happen, it could easily overturn the June decision since it
would only take a 4% swing to
reverse the outcome.
In the meantime, vital economic and governmental decisions are frozen by uncertainty.
This is particularly true for
Wales because of its strong
European links. In the meantime, Scotland – who voted
overwhelmingly to remain in
the EU, are demanding a further
referendum on independence, so
that they can remain in the EU,
whatever England chooses to
do.
In Ireland, also, there is consternation. The Irish Republic
will remain in the EU. If the UK
quits, the 300 mile border
between the Republic and the
north – would constitute a land
border between the UK and EU.
That means border control over
the movement of people, goods
and money – a terrifying
prospects which could rekindle
Irish troubles.
If Ireland re-united and if
Scotland quits the UK, Wales
would be left at the mercy of an
English dominated “Little
Britain” – with permanent right
wing government from London.
It is little wonder that one recent
opinion poll indicated support
for Wales securing “independence in Europe” as surging
from its previous 10% level – to
a huge 35%.
Only time will tell how all
this works out. But it isn’t a
pleasant prospect and many vulnerable communities in Wales
will pay the price for an illthought-out vote which can
send governmental structure, as
well as our economy, crashing
around us. We will then have to
rebuild it into some new coherent whole.
board) we are now ready to
implement the GlobalWelsh
plan.
We’ve had a great response
from the new Minister for the
Economy and Infrastructure,
Ken Skates, and we are working
closely with his team to deliver
the private sector investment
that will ensure this project is a
success. We already have
pledges of private sector investment, which under our proposed
model will total 75% of the first
years funding and 100% thereafter.
Prior to a crowdfunding campaign, we are seeking to recruit
a small number of founding
partners (organisations) and
founding executives (individuals) that will form the initial
start-up
funding
for
GlobalWelsh and will ideally be
matched by Welsh Government
investment.
Reaching out to our North
American diaspora is especially
important now that the UK has
decided to leave the EU. In a
post-Brexit world, we believe
there needs to be a heightened
sense of urgency to implement
the GlobalWelsh diaspora
engagement plan. It has been
stated by leading Irish diaspora
expert, Kingsley Aikins, that
there could be as few as twenty
individuals in the Welsh diaspora that could fundamentally
change the economic fortunes
of our country. So the questions
are, who are they, where are
they and what are they doing?
Also what is their capacity and
propensity to give back to
Wales and can we identify and
present opportunities for them
to do so?
Recent events mean that time
is of the essence and competition from other UK countries
will intensify as they face up to
the same uncertainties.
Brexit and its implication for
the Welsh economy makes the
case for Wales to engage with
its estimated, 2 million North
American diaspora even more
compelling. It significantly
strengthens the business case
and provides greater impetus
and urgency for implementation
of the GlobalWelsh plan. The
race is now on to help Wales
become a truly global player
and win its share of business, be
it exports, inward investment or
entrepreneurial talent.
Specifically, Brexit leads to:
-Opportunities for greater
exports, due to the low pound
-The need to place a greater
emphasis on trading beyond the
EU
-The need to overcome
greater barriers to inward
investment
-Greater challenges to attracting and retaining entrepreneurial talent
All of the above and more,
are areas of economic development that GlobalWelsh can and
is already making, a contribution to.
We should also learn from,
and capitalise on, Wales’s
recent stunning success at
Euro2016. They clearly demonstrated how #TogetherStronger
takes a team to another level.
We want to achieve the same by
leveraging our 3 million diaspora. #TogetherStronger supports
the fact we are a borderless
nation of 6 million not just the 3
million that live here in Wales.
Brexit will provide additional
challenges and opportunities in
the wider world, and that’s
where our diaspora can help
enormously. Many other countries, however, are significantly
ahead of us in engaging with
their diaspora, so we need to
move faster and be smarter. We
have learnt from others experiences and are now in a position
to become the best at diaspora
engagement.
If you are interested in knowing more about GlobalWelsh or
wish to discuss becoming a
Founding Partner or Executive
please email Walter May at [email protected] or call
him on +44 (0)7787 386127
Crowds gather in Caernarfon for a ‘Wales Independence
rally’. Photo: Richard Williams
The Urgent Case for GlobalWelsh
In a post Brexit World
Adar Cymru
Birds Of Wales
By Tom Jones
Nightjar
(Caprimulgas europeus)
Welsh .... Troellwr
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the nocturnal
nightjar is its ability to hide itself so completely while at
rest. Its mottled brown and grey plumage renders the bird
almost invisible. I once came upon a nightjar at rest on an
old fallen oak tree. I was sitting on the log and sensed a
movement at my side. It was a nightjar, no more than an
arm’s length away from me. It quickly took flight when I
moved. This adaptation for blending in with surrounding
habitat is important for night-flying birds, for daytime is
when they must rest undisturbed.
The nightjar is an amazing aeronaut, twisting and turning at high speed as it hunts night flying insects such as
moths. The long angular wings are perfectly adapted for
this behaviour. The enormous mouth of the nightjar is
surrounded by rictal bristles, effectively forming a kind of
funnel for capturing their prey. I’m told that these bristles
are actually specialized feathers, each one controlled by
muscles around the mouth.
Nightjars are classed in a family known as goatsuckers. In North America they are represented by the whippoorwill and chuckwill’s widow. These colourful names
are supposedly said to sound like the birds’ call. I can’t
make a judgement for I have never heard these calls. The
name “goatsucker” came about because these birds often
frequent pastures where cattle and goats graze. It was
erroneously believed that nightjars actually suckled the
goats! Presumably because of their large mouths.
By Billy Williams
By Ian White
ScYLaCePrNdYbLu
NO, this is not a village in
Anglesey!
For those of us who can
remember high school chemistry, these are some of the elements in the Periodic Table.
Scandium, Yttrium, and the
Lanthanides are collectively
known as the Rare Earth
Elements (“REEs”) and will be
discussed in this article.
At Ninnau, we generally
report on the activities of the
Welsh in North America. We
also feel that we have a responsibility to introduce our readers
into non traditional areas which
have huge potential impacts on
our way of life and economy.
This article covers both a Welsh
activity and a strategic economic issue of which we should be
aware.
Recently I had the pleasure of
attending a lecture given by Dr.
Kenneth G. Thomas on Rare
Earth Elements, their use, supply and importance. Dr. Thomas
was born in Llanelli and currently lives in Oakville, Ontario.
Wales has a very long history
of mining, not just coal, but
things like barium, gold, copper,
and iron. So it is not surprising
if the University College of
Wales, Cardiff had a superb
metallurgy department. Dr.
Thomas is a graduate of that
program and also has degrees
from Imperial College, London,
and Delft, Holland.
He has extensive experience
in the extraction of metals and
has worked all around the
World, especially in the
Americas and Africa with executive positions at well-known
companies like Barrick Gold,
Kinross Gold, and Hatch
Associates.
In a particular honor, the
Canadian Institute of Mining
named him a “Distinguished
Lecturer” for the 2014/2015
year. This followed the award in
2001 of the Blaylock Medal for
the advancement of mine design
internationally.
Dr. Thomas reviewed the
major elements in the REEs and
explained how the Western
world was at great risk given
the current supply and demand
situation.
As examples, let us consider
the uses of a few of them. Flat
Smile, You’re Welsh
It’s certainly time to talk
about marriage; that is, marriage that leaves a broad smile
on your face.
There are short comments:
—Marriage is when a man
and woman become one. The
trouble starts when they try to
decide which one.
And there are historical
notes.
— Adam and Eve had an
ideal marriage. He did not have
to hear about all the men she
could have married and she did
not have to hear about how well
his mother cooked.
But best are the stories which
bind two together:
—Out on the Great Plains of
America, an early morning tornado rammed into a farmhouse,
tore off the roof, lifted the bed
on which the farmer and his
wife were sleeping, and dropped
it gently in the next county.
The wife began to cry.
“Don’t be scared, dear, we’re
not hurt,” the farmer whispered
“I’m not scared,” she said.
“I’m happy because this is the
first time in fourteen years that
we’ve been out together.”
Others have a different idea
about going out. When asked
how his marriage was held
together, a husband answered:
“We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little
candlelight, dinner, soft music
and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”
Then there are the well-worn
tips.
—For the men, whenever
you’re wrong, admit it. And
whenever you’re right, shut up.
—For the ladies, the best
way to get your husband to do
something is to suggest that perhaps he’s too old to do it.
When you question your
future, just do what an elderly
man and woman did. This is
the story of Jacob, age 92, and
Rebecca, 89, who stop at a
pharmacy.
Jacob announces: “We’re
about to get married. Do you
sell heart medication and medi-
Ken Thomas
screen displays (TVs and cell
phones) need color displays that
absolutely depend on elements
like Yttrium, Europium, and
Terbium. You are not alone in
not knowing anything about
these elements.
Lanthanum is used in refining
petroleum. In power generation,
there is a huge need for magnets
made of Neodymium, Praseodymium, and Dysprosium. The
irony is that these elements are
extremely difficult to purify,
taking huge amounts of electricity to do so. 90% of the World’s
supply comes from China with
one single one mine accounting
for most of that. The Chinese
have built coal-fed power plants
to purify these elements so that
we can use them in magnets for
wind power generation to save
the Earth from pollution!!!
There is something wrong with
this picture.
Without the Rare Earths we
Welsh-American
High School
Marching Band
The Bangor Area Marching Band.
By John Reinhart
cine for rheumatism?”
“Yes, we do,” says the owner.
“Have you medicine for
memory problems and arthritis?”
“Definitely!”
“How about vitamins, sleeping pills and Geritol?
“Yes, a large variety.”
“Stuff for heartburn and indigestion?”
“We sure do!”
“Wheelchairs and canes?
“Yes, yes, yes, all speeds
and sizes!”
“In that case, we’d like to use
this store for our wedding registry.”
*******
I thank Gretel Balintfy, a
Ninnau reader in Port St. Lucie,
Florida, for providing all of that
marriage chatter. Wasn’t that
grand of her! I would thank you
too for such an array of details
about any subject. Welsh877
@Comcast.net is still the window and 100 Fairway Drive,
Camp Hill, PA 17011-2066 is
the door.
would not have “smart phones”.
Personally I am not convinced
that that would be a bad thing
but what would we do with our
teenagers? Joking aside there
are many strategic military
weapons which depend entirely
on these elements.
As mentioned above, 90% of
the World’s production comes
from China. The only US mine
producing these elements went
bankrupt and closed last year.
The small Lynas mine in
Australia has a trickle of production and has claimed to have
generated positive cashflow in
the last two quarters but may
well have a problem going forward with today’s depressed
prices.
The one big problem here is
that the Rare Earths have never
been found in any great abundance and that it takes a huge
investment to mine and purify
these elements. Most of them
have a much greater refining
complexity than does Uranium,
as an example. The second big
problem is that the West does
not have any control on the production of these metals and
there are no known substitutes.
While this is a big problem,
we should feel some small comfort that a Welshman is trying to
fix it.
[email protected]
Bangor, PA, just south of the
Poconos, was known as one of
the nation’s busiest slate
extracting sites. Thousands of
Welsh immigrants came to the
region between 1875 and 1920
and brought their slate extracting skills with them. Because of
this immigration, Bangor, PA
was home to an active and celebratory Welsh community that
created an annual event known
as ‘Bangor Welsh Day’. This
tradition carried on for 40 years.
The area was home to five
Welsh churches.
Today, Bangor Area’s High
School Marching Band is one of
the few high school marching
bands that reflect their community’s heritage in both appearance and musical choices. Many
of the individuals who support
the band today and many who
currently perform in the band
are of Welsh decent. The band’s
uniforms reflect her Majesty’s
Welsh guard. The band also displays the Welsh dragon on their
drums. The band is known
throughout
northeastern
Pennsylvania as being one of
the few military style bands and
the only Welsh band to perform
for special events.
In 2007 the band had a successful ‘Tribute to Heroes’ tour
to Wales. While there, they performed before a large crowd at
the Royal Airforce Base in
Anglesey, North Wales. They
also performed at Harlech
Castle, and the National Welsh
slate museum in Llanberis. A
highlight of the tour was marching up High Street in Bangor,
being greeted by a host of local
dignitaries and residents. They
have performed at special
events throughout North
American, including the North
American Festival of Wales in
Ontario, Pittsburgh and
Harrisburg.
The band is now in need of
new uniforms. The Bangor
community is steadfast in supporting the renewed Welsh uniform and plan to add a few new
Welsh embellishments. In an
effort to maintain this award
winning group’s Welsh visibility. If you are interesting in supporting their cause, please contact John Reinhart, 505 West
Pennsylvania Ave., Pen Argyl,
PA 18402 or call 610-863-9314.
NINNAU
Page 7
By Ceidiog Hughes
An iconic international festival in the Land of Song hit the
right note.
The
70th
Llangollen
International
Musical
Eisteddfod was a smash hit as
competitors travelled from
across the world to the picturesque town in North Wales.
The festival was established
during the dark days of 1947 in
the aftermath of the Second
World War as a way of promoting peace and harmony.
Once again Llangollen
became the town where Wales
meets the world for one week
and is transformed into a melting pot of colour and culture.
Three near sell-out evening
concerts sent ticket sales soaring significantly over last year
and higher visitor attendances
than in 2015 have added to the
bright financial outlook.
Dr Rhys Davies, who has just
completed his first successful
year as Eisteddfod Chairman,
was a happy man.
He said: “What’s helped most
are three concerts which
enjoyed almost full houses –
Iconic Festival Hits the Right Note
Tuesday’s Carmen starring
opera headliners Kate Aldrich
and Noah Stewart, Thursday’s
featuring Bryn Terfel and
Joseph Calleja, and the Sunday
show with Jools Holland.”
“Everyone in the team is also
reporting that visitor footfall is
up on last year, which helps put
us in a very healthy financial
position.”
Outlining some highlights
from the festival, Dr Davies
said: “The Carmen evening concert was absolutely splendid and
Kate, who stepped into the role
almost at the last minute when
Kathleen Jenkins had to drop
out due to a virus, absolutely
embodied the title role. She was
sexy and vibrant and sang magnificently.
“We were extremely lucky to
get such a world-class opera
singer and the audience adored
her as could be seen from the
standing ovation at the end.
“The performances by Bryn
Terfel and Joseph Calleja on
Thursday night were also truly
memorable.
“The standard of the competitions was once again extremely
high and it was good to see that
Eilir Owen Griffiths, Music Director with Mario and Gill
Kreft of Pendine Park Care Homes and Bryn Terfel.
the number of overseas people
taking part – this year from 22
countries – continues to rise.”
He added: “I feel our decision
to move the traditional
Eisteddfod parade from
Tuesday to Friday to allow
more overseas competitors to
take part was justified by the
fact that over 1,000 took part,
watched by an enormous crowd
which must have been one of
the largest in years.
“This year’s festival was generally much bigger and more
colourful than ever and had a
better vibe about it.
By Ceidiog Hughes
Kate Aldrich performing as Carmen
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Page 8
“But we can’t afford to rest
on our laurels and we have to
continue building on our story
of success.”
It was announced during the
week that Pendine Park, an artsloving care organisation has
joined forces with opera superstar Bryn Terfel, to launch a
search for the world’s best
young singers.
Pendine will be donating
£5,000 a year for the next three
years for the first prize for what
will be known as the Llangollen
International Young Singer
competition and the winner will
receive the annual Pendine
Prize.
Meanwhile, the Bryn Terfel
Foundation will be contributing
£3,000 for the singer who
comes second and the festival
itself will be giving £2,000
towards the third place prize,
making a total annual prize pot
of £9,000.
The aim is to develop the
existing Voice of the Future
contest to attract talented young
singers from right across the
world and make it a truly international competition
According to the festival’s
Musical Director, Eilir Owen
Griffiths, increasing the annual
prize pot from 2017 onwards
will “catapult the competition
into a whole new league.”
Eisteddfod Music Director
Eilir Owen Griffiths was also
delighted with the way the festival had gone.
He said: “Our competitions
have been excellent, with some
spectacular dance groups and
some phenomenal performances
by the choirs.
“The event is an awful lot of
hard work but I consider myself
a very lucky man to have the
opportunity of working so
closely with so many outstanding volunteers, staff, competitors and guest artists.”
California Choir
Strikes Gold
A choir from California
struck gold at a major international music festival.
The Bob Cole Conservatory
Chamber Choir clinched the
prestigious Pavarotti Trophy in
the Choir of the World competition at Llangollen International
Musical Eisteddfod.
Among those they pipped for
top spot was the Welsh choir,
Cȏr Glanaethwy, who were also
finalists in Britain’s Got Talent.
The winners also saw off
challenges of choirs from
Estonia, the Czech Republic,
The Philippines, England,
Finland and fellow California
choirs, the Sunday Night
Singers and the Quire of
Voyces.
According to the judges, the
victorious choir, under the baton
of the State University’s director of choral, vocal and opera
studies, Jonathan Talberg, put in
a superb performance.
In the view of Eilir Owen
Griffiths, the Eisteddfod’s
music director, says the Bob
Cole Conservatory Chamber
Choir were the “stand-out” performers in a tough competition
for the global choral crown .
He said: “They sang from the
heart and with passion while
being technically superb. Their
performance was very powerful
and they were worthy winners.
“However, the standard was
extremely high and the other
choirs, particularly the open category winners, the Welsh choir,
Cȏr Glanaethwy, were superb
and really made us think with
their innovative and powerful
programme.”
He added: “As the festival’s
music director I’m delighted at
the standard of choral work we
have seen from competitors
throughout what has been a
tough week of competition.
“The Bob Cole Conservatory
Chamber Choir really were
worthy winners of the Choir of
the World title and I hope we
see the choir return and grace
The Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir clinched the
prestigious Pavarotti Trophy
the Llangollen International
Music Eisteddfod again in the
future.”
Jonathan Talberg couldn’t
hide his delight after being presented with the impressive
Choir of the World trophy by
the festival’s president Terry
Waite CBE.
He said: “I have dreamt of
this moment all my life. I have
spent my life working in choral
music and to win the Choir of
the World title is just superb.
What a feeling! For me it’s like
winning Super Bowl, only perhaps even more thrilling.
“We have enjoyed a wonderful week. This festival is just
amazing, the people, the setting,
the flowers and the ethos of
nations, particularly young people, coming together in a spirit
of peace and togetherness is
something incredible to witness.”
Choir members Pauline
Tamale, 26, and Michaela
Blanchard, 21, were both emotional but absolutely thrilled
after winning the Choir of the
World title.
Pauline, of the Kingdom of
Tonga, said: “I am studying
music performance at California
State University and this is my
first semester so I have only
recently joined the choir.
“The experience we have had
in Llangollen is just incredible.
To see people coming together
from literally all over the world
to share music is something I
will never forget. We have all
made so many friends.
“To win this competition is
just amazing. We work so hard
and our director and conductor,
Mr Talberg, is incredible.
Thank you Wales and thank you
Llangollen!”
Michaela Blanchard, of Long
Beach, California added: “We
have had such a wonderful
experience. On the way to
Llangollen the road passed
through some trees and when
we emerged and saw this beautiful town everyone was just
open-mouthed. We all just
thought wow!
“To have the opportunity to
meet people from all over the
world and make new friends has
just been so wonderful and to
win the title Choir of the World
is incredible.
“The whole setting, especially
the stage and the incredible
flowers, has been amazing.
However, it’s the people that
make the festival what it is.”
Our ‘Dream Trip’ to Wales
By Conni Lynch
On May 31, 2016, twelve
“Hughes cousins” from Johnson
County,
Iowa,
Texas.
Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon,
Florida and Canada met to
search for ancestral homes in
Wales. Our excellently planned
trip was made possible by
another Hughes cousin, Sue
Walker of Michigan.
With all our input, via emails,
about the places we especially
wanted to find, she put together
a trip that encompassed sightseeing and a lot of “finding our
roots”. Since we are all related
through Hugh and Margaret
(Jones)
Hughes
of
Montgomeryshire, we definitely
wanted to find their home
places. And since we all have
other Welsh surnames in our
family trees, we wanted to see
what else we could find.
The whole trip we felt
blessed (by our ancestors?) to
not only have such good luck
finding places, but beyond the
great planning, with wonderful
weather besides. It only rained
the day we left Wales. It was as
if our ancestors were telling us
they were sorry to see us go!
Everywhere we went, we were
told “this is very unusual weather, it usually rains every day!”
We began our adventure in
Cardiff, having flown from
Dublin. There we met our
“Fearless Leader”, Sue and the
coach that she had chartered for
The Hughes descendents
couple with a little girl, and
were so welcoming.
We found that Rhos y Gallt
had been recently rescued from
neglect and remodeled to
become a vacation rental. We
had arrived when the owner
wasn’t home, and were milling
around in the road and drive,
when the owner came back. We
must have been quite an unexpected sight! But, when he
heard our story, he invited us
inside to look around. Because
of the remodeling, we were
unsure if we had the right place,
even though the name was on
the gate. But, when he told us
the story of the plasterer who
had mistakenly covered over the
St Cadfan's Chapel
us. It was the perfect size, and
both drivers we had were outstanding.
Sue had booked us into
B&B’s all the way, and they
were fabulous. Most were in
repurposed homes and the owners were so helpful. The accommodations were quite homey,
and the breakfasts were wonderful.
Of course we had to see several castles, including Cardiff
Castle, and others. We also visited Tintern Abbey, Mt
Snowdon, the Slate Mine, the
Woolen Mill and several beautiful gardens. I should also mention gift shops galore, where we
all found little treasures to take
home. But, in the middle of all
that we were able to find, and
actually enter both Hugh and
Margaret’s birthplace homes, as
well as the chapel they were
married in. Plus the home where
they lived together and raised
their children, before coming o
the USA.
We saw Dolymaen, in
Garthbeibio, Hugh’s birthplace,
Rhos y Gallt, Margaret’s birthplace, and St. Gadfan’s chapel,
near Llangadfan. Dolymaen, as
it turns out, is till owned by
“family”. They are related
through marriage, but “family”
just the same. They are a young
Discovering My
Family History
Tynton Farm, Llangeinor, Wales
initials, “W J” carved into the
huge beam across the top of
the fireplace, we knew we had
the right house. Margaret’s
father was William Jones.
Sue had made arrangements
for us to go to St Cadfan’s
Chapel, where Hugh and
Margaret were married in 1815.
We even had a look at copies of
the records. We also found the
grave of Thomas Hughes who
we
believe
may
be
Hugh’s brother who remained
in Wales.
When we tried to find Cae’rgweision, the home where the
Hughes’ raised the family, we
had to stop and ask
directions several times. Just
when we thought we were
close, the narrowing roads made
us give up because the bus was
just too big. Disappointed, we
went back to our B & B for the
night. Explaining the problem to
the owner, he generously
offered to take a couple of us
there in his car. So, we were
able to find it after all.
It had been planned that we
see Machynlleth, the original
capital of Wales. I knew that
Graig Independent chapel,
where my Tudor ancestors
(Richard and Elizabeth Lumley
Tudor) were married (also in
1815 ) was nearby. But I didn’t
realize it was just two streets
down from where we were! Of
course I rushed there, hoping to
look at the churchyard, if not
get inside the chapel. But, the
gates were heavily padlocked,
so I had to be satisfied with a
picture next to the front gate.
And since I am not sure of the
exact location of their farm in
Uwch y Coed, there was no
point in trying to find it.
Another cousin had ancestors
who had lived in Beddgelert. Of
course we had to see Gelert’s
grave, but we also were able to
go into her family’s home in the
village, which is now a gift
shop.
Then we went to their church
and cemetery where some of her
ancestors are buried.
The last “homeplace” we
found was near Mallwyd. It
belonged to the Owen ancestors
of yet another cousin in our
group. The name of the farm
was Graig Y Gronfa, and is
located high up on a hill, with a
gorgeous view. The barn has
been remodeled into vacation
rentals.
Now, I have saved the BEST
for last. Thanks to one of our
cousins who has spent much of
her life keeping track of the
ever-increasing number of
“HUGH HUGHES DESCENDANTS” all over the world, we
were able to set up a dinner to
meet some of them. They came
from Ireland, Scotland,
Germany, the Isle of Man,
England, the Orkney Islands
and Dubai. Plus there were several who live in other parts
of Wales. There were a total of
36 of us, and the restaurant had
closed to everyone else! They
made us a delicious buffet
and desserts included some
“red, white and blue” in our
honor. How wonderful is that?!
We have unanimously decided that the Welsh people are
among the nicest and friendliest
in the world.
By Martha Davies
(Martha Bethania)
By Ginger Smith
Every once in a while, an
opportunity presents itself that
may never occur again, and this
case, it is in the form of a home.
This opportunity is called
Tynton Farm, which is near the
mouth of the Garw Valley and
near Bridgend, the birthplace
and boyhood home of Richard
Price, famous son of Wales and
member of the British and
Welsh Enlightenment.
For me, it all started with a
brother who is not usually
annoying, but had the nerve to
ask me twice about the
Morgans, our great grandmother’s family. I told David that
they must be like all our other
farm families in the southeast
US… boy, was I wrong! After
the death of George Cadogan
Morgan from a science experiment gone wrong, his wife and
children
migrated
to
Stockbridge, MA. From there, a
few grandchildren moved to
middle Georgia, where our families now live.
George was a polymath as
well as a minister and teacher,
as were his brother, William,
and their uncle, Richard Price.
(You may know the term
Renaissance man instead of
polymath.) All were dissenters
to the royal crown, and Price
became famous for his work in
probability, economics, the
national budget, and his support
of the American, and later,
French, revolutions. Both Uncle
Richard and William worked
with the new concept of life
expectancies, and William
would be one of the first actuaries with the Equitable, as were
his son and grandson. He is now
called the “Father of Actuarial
Science.”
In fact, Dr. Price was offered
the position of the first finance
minister before Hamilton, even
though he did not live in the
American colonies. He declined
based on his age and family situation. He and his family were
life-long dissenters and antimonarchists, and he was the
first to propose organizations
that led to the creation of the
UN and other similar groups.
In discovering that I am a
niece of Richard Price, I also
discovered that his boyhood
home and farm is not only for
sale, but has been faithfully
restored to modern standards.
The sad reality is that it may fall
back into private hands and not
be available to those who appreciate its history. The Welsh
government has heard a petition
recommending it be turned into
a national site, but funding is
not available. We in the US
would just assume such a place
would be more than worthy of
such rescue, but it is not always
possible.
If your organization or family
is looking to buy a piece of history in Wales, this may very
well be the place. I am a member of the Richard Price
Society, and I am concerned
about the future of this historically meaningful site. It comes
with 26 acres of pasture, outbuildings, and a completely
restored original home from the
17th century.
It could be a wonderful retreat
or conference center for smaller
groups, possibly international in
origin. The price of this home
has recently been reduced and is
competitively priced for the
market. If you or anyone you
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worth your time to go online
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If you have further questions
about The Richard Price
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gingerwsmith59 @gmail.com
My Bardic Name
Preparing for my induction
into the Gorsedd of the Bards at
the National Eisteddfod of
Wales in Abergavenny, I was
asked to choose a Bardic name,
and Martha Bethania came to
mind.
Martha — the name given me
by my father who loved the
famous aria from the opera
Martha by Von Flotow — is a
name that’s a personal challenge for me whenever I hear
the Gospel story of Martha, who
lived in Bethania, or Bethany,
with her siblings Lazarus and
Mary.
Fittingly, Bethania has a
Nebraska link as well, reflecting
my role with the Great Plains
The window that inspired Martha’s bardic name.
Welsh Heritage Project in
Wymore. Welsh settlers in rural
Carroll, Nebraska established a
Presbyterian Church named
Bethany, also known by its
Welsh Name, Bethania, as seen
in a stained glass window. That
fine church is now dissolved
and sadly demolished. I will see
that the spirit of Bethania lives
on in name and deed.
NINNAU
Page 9
RUGBY
Wales hammered down
under
Whilst the Wales soccer team
were performing heroically in
France, the national rugby XV
were suffering a hiding against
the All Blacks in New Zealand.
They lost all three tests and suffered a humiliating six try 40-7
defeat to a second string
Waikato Chiefs team - a bitter
pill no doubt for Gatland from
his home province.
In the first two tests there
were some positive early
aspects as Wales tried to play a
more expansive game but fell
away to the greater fitness,
speed and attacking skills of the
world champions. The first test
defeat by 39-21 was followed
by a 36-22 loss. The final
game in Dunedin showed a real
gulf between the sides as the All
Blacks ran out 46-6 winners for
their 29th consecutive win over
Wales.
The gulf in class between the
sides was enormous and has led
to questions whether the organisation of the game in Wales and
the links between the WRU,
regions and clubs is good
enough to enable us to compete
at the highest level.
Some have questioned the
decision to award extended contracts to assistant coaches
Robert Howley and Robin
McBryde, citing a possible need
to freshen up the coaching staff
with new voices. It is ironic too
that the WRU have refused
defence coach Shaun Edwards
an opportunity to work part time
with French giants Toulon in
view of the failure of the national team’s renowned defensive
system against the All Blacks.
Under 20s disappointing
World Cup
After their “grand slam” success, the Wales under 20 team
were optimistic of their World
Cup chances. Sadly it proved to
be a disappointing tournament
overall. A 26-25 opening defeat
to Ireland was a setback to their
hopes; a below par 10-9 win
over Georgia and a narrow 1817 defeat against New Zealand
meant they failed to qualify for
the semi finals. A fourth place
play-off against New Zealand in
their next match brought an 11
try 71-12 hammering for the
shell shocked side. The final
game brought a 42-19 victory
over Scotland to clinch the seventh position.
Tough Euro draws for
regions
None of the four regions can
face next season’s European
competitions with great confidence following the pool draws.
In the Champions Cup the
Scarlets face the Champions
Saracens, former champions
Toulon and Sale Sharks and will
do very well to compete let
alone qualify with these opponents.
In the Challenge Cup
Newport Dragons face Brive,
Worcester and STM of
Bucharest. The Blues face
tough games against Bath, Pau
and Bristol whilst the Ospreys
may fancy their chances against
Page 10
Sportscene Wales
Grenoble, Newcastle and Lyon.
Welsh involvement on
Olympic Sevens
James “Cubby” Davies of the
Scarlets has been selected for
the G.B. 7s squad at the Rio
Olympics and Samantha Cross
has made the Woman’s squad.
Gareth Williams is assistant
coach to the men’s squad and
Richie Pugh has a similar role
for the women’s squad.
Other Rugby News
The WRU have announced
the reinstatement of the Wales
‘A’ team for next season as a
means of bridging the gap for
international rugby.
Paul Turner the former
Dragons coach has been given
the role of Exiles manager. He
will be tasked with identifying
and developing Wales’ qualified
players involved in the English
League system.
Pontypridd are another
Welsh team looking to improve
their playing arena with the
installation of an artificial patch
at Sardis Road. Last season
some games were played on a
quagmire surface and were far
from spectator friendly.
Former Wales stars help
Bristol
Ambitious Bristol Rugby
have regained their place in the
English Premiership. They
have parted company with former coach Shaun Holley the
former Ospreys coach. Taking
over from him are former Wales
stars scrum half Dwayne Peel
and
forward
Jonathan
Thomas.
Uncertainty affects club
game
A failure of the WRU to
secure new sponsors for the
“grass roots” league and cup
tournaments has caused problems for the rugby clubs of
Wales. With barely a month
before the start of the season
clubs have yet to receive their
fixture lists.
SOCCER
Russell Slade leaves the
Bluebirds
A month after being “moved
upstairs”, former manager
Russell Slade resigned his post
to take up the manager’s position at Charlton Ath. New manager has signed Wales fullback
Jazz Richards from Fulham
and is promising a more flexible
attacking approach as the
Bluebirds seek promotion to the
Premiership.
Swans new U.S. owners outline plans
Following the completion of
their takeover with 68% of the
shares the new U.S. owners
Jason Levien and Steve
Kaplan have outlined their
plans for the Swans’ future.
They plan to invest in grand
developments, funding new
players, increasing commercial
revenues and trying to ensure
that the club maintain its
Premiership status and success.
There are also suggestions that
the club will link up with MSL
club Washington DC and utilise
the experience of former U.S.
player Landon Donovan.
Newport County sign ex
Bluebird
By David Barry
Amongst a number of new
signings, experienced ex
Bluebird Jan Parkin has been
given a one year deal in the
hope he can maintain his prolific goal scoring record.
CRICKET
Teenager’s record score
Aneurin Donald, 19 years
old, rewrote the record books at
Colwyn Bay as Glamorgan won
their first county championship
game of the season against
Derbyshire. He smashed 234
off 136 balls and in doing so
equalled Ravi Shastri’s record
of the fastest double century off
123 balls.
Glamorgan have shown much
better form in the shorter version of the game. They reached
the T20 quarter finals with a
comprehensive defeat of
Somerset and hope to qualify
for the quarter finals of the One
Day Cup.
ATHLETICS
Rhys Williams considers his
future
Despite posting a qualification time, 32 year-old 400 metre
hurdler Rhys Williams was not
selected for the Rio Olympics.
His appeal against the decision
was turned down and now
Williams, the son of rugby great
JJ Williams, is considering
whether to retire from the sport.
GOLF
Hall shocks the Welsh PGS
Lydia Hall, the 28 year-old
daughter of former Wales rugby
star Wayne Hall, shocked the
golfing world by winning the
Wales PGA Championship at
Lydia Hall with Tenby Club Captain Gethin Evans
and Ladies Captain Irene Gilman.
Photo: Tenby Golf Club
Tenby. Her second round three
under par 67 was the best of the
tournament and she was the first
and only female to gain a victory on a PGA tournament.
CYCLING
Welshmen help Tour de
France winner
Britain’s Chris Froome was a
clear winner of the gruelling
Tour de France race. His Sky
team proved unstoppable in the
three week event and Welshmen
Luke Rowe and Geraint
Thomas were key members of
his team. Thomas claimed 15th
place amongst the 170 plus finishers and now turns his focus
to the Rio Olympics.
BOXING
Former champ Cleverly’s
must win Ffght
Former world champ Nathan
Cleverly’s three career defeats
have come in his last six fights.
Now the Caerphilly born fighter
has signed to fight Germany’s
WBA light heavyweight champ,
in a make or break fight in
October.
Wales pull out of Commonwealth Games bid
The
Welsh
Assembly
Government (WAG) have
decided to not proceed with a
bid to host the 2026
Commonwealth Games citing
“current financial uncertainty”
and ‘Brexit’ concerns. The
decision has attracted criticism
from several quarters. Critics
feel projected costs are inaccurate and excessive and that
WAG have failed to grasp the
potential benefits to be gained
by hosting the prestigious event.
Tenby Golf Club – The Oldest
Affiliated Club in Wales
By John Gilman
Tenby Golf Club was formally established in 1888, but by
most accounts there were enthusiasts knocking balls around the
links and sand dunes by at least
1875. In any event, experts
agree that Tenby stands out as
the birthplace of Welsh golf,
with the course adapted from a
9-hole to 18-hole course in
1907. Tenby was also one of the
founding members of the Welsh
Golfing Union.
Golf was more or less exclusively a Scottish sport from the
late medieval period onward,
and only started spreading
throughout the British Isles during the 19th century. Tenby was
very much at the forefront of
the new wave of this emerging
sport.
The Club evolved in line with
the bustling resort of Tenby
next door, which began attracting visitors in Victorian times.
They were lured by the new
craze of “sea-bathing”, as well
as by Tenby’s reputation as a
spa town and health resort. Part
of the Club’s original appeal for
these first golfers may have
been the same as the resort’s –
the fact that the town’s sheltered
position provided a partial
shield from the winds of the
Bristol Channel.
As the birthplace of Welsh
golf, the Club acquired a certain
prestige, attracting a cluster of
local and national celebrities to
the links – including the
renowned statesman and Prime
Minister, David Lloyd George.
He became a regular on the
links, and is pictured second
from the left in the group photo
from left to right are: R Hutton Esq; The Right Hon LloydGeorge; Mrs Clifton, and the Rev J Morris
above. He also owned a house
in Tenby town.
The first competition was
held on October 25th 1888 over
nine holes, and was won by Mr
TA Rees. He scored gross 51,
net 41 off a handicap of 10. The
first inter-club home match was
against Swansea Bay in April
1895, with Tenby winning 1513. The Club’s inaugural AGM
was held in 1889, by which date
the Club had a total of 44 members.
One of the most famous
sporting figures who has graced
the Club was Dai Rees, who
was a massive figure in British
golfing either side of the second
world war. Rees, who won 39
world titles during his career,
had a great affection for Tenby,
and a particular affinity for the
course’s third hole with its need
for absolute precision when
approaching the green. The hole
is now named in his honour.
Where are we now ?
Tenby Golf Club remains one
of the true gems of Wales’
“Best of the West” courses. As
a championship course we hold
a number of major events, most
recently (4-6th July) the Welsh
National PGA tournament
which was won for first time by
a lady golfer. In fact this is the
first time ANY National event
has been won by a lady golfer,
namely Lydia Hall. See photo
above with Tenby Golf club
members.
We would love our American
compatriots to come over and
experience the thrill of playing
our course and sample our magnificent Tenby hospitality. If
you’re a golfer (or not!) then
Tenby has a lot to offer with
fantastic beaches, award winning restaurants and scenery
unrivalled around the world. For
more details have a look at the web
sites www.tenbyvisitorguide.co.uk
and www.tenbygolf.cymru.
By Phil Cope
Exploring the wellsprings of
the Brecon Beacons National
Park Part 3
The eleventh in an on-going
series of articles for Ninnau on
the wellsprings of Wales by Phil
Cope, author of Holy Wells
Wales: a photographic journey
and Borderlands; new photographs and old tales of the
sacred springs, holy wells and
spas of the Wales - England
borders
Holy Wells of Wales:
In A Time of Fear and Shattering
The tale of the hermit saint,
Issui, who established his cell
in the Vale of Ewyas in the
Dark Ages, is a shocker. His
holy well [SO 282 225] – now
sitting peacefully on the riverbank of Nant Mair (Mary’s
Brook) in the beautiful Gwyrne
Valley, near Abergavenny –
hides a powerful and violent
secret.
It is said that the well which
bares Issui’s name (at what we
now know as Partrishow) only
became curative after the saint
They have been bringing
offerings
to the dark well, tying
rags to twigs in supplication,
leaving
flowers to wilt in that chipped
glass
uneasily perched on a dank
ledge,
making crosses from bits of
stick.
There seem so many of them,
despite
the hiddenness of the place;
as if
in a time of fear and shattering
these humble shapes are once
more
valid – raw letters spelling out
helplessness, not yet
reshuffled into words of
power.
New clouties at Ffynnon Issui.
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Interestingly, today, there
seems to be a battle of beliefs
being fought out at Ffynnon
Issui, as the once-ubiquitous
crosses are being challenged by
new spiritual offerings, a profusion of clouties with their preChristian roots.
A clout (for those unfamiliar
with the term) was, traditionally, a piece of cloth which,
soaked in the sacred spring’s
waters and rubbed upon the part
The twelfth century Preacher’s Cross at St Issui’s Church.
of the body needing attention,
was then tied to one of the trees
beside the well.
The belief was that – as the
fabric disintegrated over time –
so the ailment would disappear
… and the patient be cured.
But for those thinking of
spring-cleaning such sites –
seen by some as litter-filled eyesores – the penalties can be
harsh.
Stories are told of people who
had taken the rags or offerings
at cloutie wells inheriting the
disease or the troubles they had
been left to relieve, as the gifts,
once given, were believed to
have become the sacred property of the spirits of the holy well
for all time.
At my last visit to Ffynnon
Issui, an American dollar bill
had been left at the well, and I
wondered which of the many
troubles of your great country at
this difficult time for the world
it was quietly offered to resolve.
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The path to the medieval church of St Issui the Martyr.
Patricio 2001
A simply-constructed twig cross above Ffynnon Issui,
Partishow.
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was murdered here by an
ungrateful traveller for whom
he had provided food and rest,
and who subsequently dumped
his body into its waters. (The
name Partrishow is thought to
have come from the Welsh
(m)’erthyr’ [meaning ‘martyr’]
and Ishow.)
From that day on, the site
became a magnet for pilgrims
seeking nourishment for both
body and soul. In the eleventh
century, it was recorded that a
French visitor successful
washed away his leprosy here
and, in gratitude, was happy to
pay “a hat-full of gold” for the
first church to be built above the
well. The fine medieval church
of St Issui the Martyr contains a
skeletal ‘doom’ figure armed
with spade and hourglass (only
uncovered after its Reformation
white-washing had been
removed), and outside, an elaborately-carved twelfth century
Preacher’s Cross.
On my very first visit to
Ffynnon Issui (some nine or
ten years ago), the site was festooned with crudely-constructed
crosses of all shapes and sizes
(as well as a Maltese Cross
carved in stone, at the spot
believed to be where new
recruits for the Crusades were
enlisted).
These crosses inspired the
following fine words by the
Welsh poet, Ruth Bidgood:
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The ‘doom’ figure at St Issui
the Martyr’s Church.
A dollar bill left at St Issui’s Well.
NINNAU
Page 11
By Michèle Henderson
I live in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada. Last August I had an
amazing opportunity to do what
very few people ever get to
do….I attended the burial of my
own great-great-grandmother in
Puerto Madryn, Chubut,
Patagonia, Argentina.
Her name was Catherine
Davies, from Llandrillo, and she
sailed on the Mimosa to
Patagonia in 1865. She was
with her husband Robert, and
sons William, Henry and John.
After a 2-month journey, the
Mimosa dropped anchor on July
28 th . The landing site was
named. Sadly, baby John (11
months) had died of hydrocephalus during the voyage, and
was buried at sea.
Tragically, after 3 weeks in
their new country, Catherine
died on August 20th. She was
the first adult Welsh settler to
die in Patagonia, from the first
colonizing ship. Since they had
just arrived, they had no cemetery in which to bury Catherine.
Her coffin was placed in the
ground very close to the shore
where the Mimosa had landed.
With time and shifting sands,
and no headstone, the location
Catherine’s Story –
First Settler to Die in Patagonia
of Catherine’s grave was lost.
Her name was remembered by
everyone, however, as her story
was passed down through the
generations.
After Robert died in 1868,
William and Henry were
orphaned and raised by another
couple from the Mimosa.
William died in 1872, leaving
12-year old Henry as the sole
remaining member of his family. Henry married Anne
Williams, and farmed near
Puerto Madryn. They had 10
children, including my grandfather, William Edward Davies.
In 1902, the family immigrated
to Canada, and helped to establish the town of Bangor,
Saskatchewan. My grandfather
was 7 when they arrived.
In 1995, a construction worker named Eilyr Jones was clearing land in Puerto Madryn when
his machinery uncovered a coffin about 100 metres from the
beach. An investigation was
launched by Argentinian scientific researchers. The skeletal
remains were identified as those
of a woman in her late 30s. The
coffin also contained a button,
and the left hand was still wearing a gold wedding ring.
The scientists began to work
Catherine with her boys, taken in 1865 shortly before they left
Wales. The little boy on the right is Henry, Michele’s greatgrandfather.
diligently to determine the identity of the remains. They were
hopeful that they had found
Newyddion o Toronto
By Hefina Phillips
The Saint David’s Society of
Toronto chose the theme
“Patagonia” for its final meeting
of the season. The sesquicentennial celebrations were still
very recent, so up here in
Toronto we were eager to honour “Y Wladfa” (the Colony).
The programme began with a
talk about Patagonia -past and
present- given by Hefina
Phillips who had attended the
celebrations in Patagonia.
Merched Dewi ended this
part of the evening by singing
“Y Mimosa.” This is a very special song written last year for
the 150th anniversary by Robat
Arwyn. Arwyn has become a
dear friend of the choir and presented us with this song, which
to date has not been published.
Tudur Dylan, one of Wales’
foremost poets, wrote the lyrics.
We now regard it as “our song”!
A magnificent meal with an
Argentine theme awaited us in
the Fellowship Hall. I especially
loved the empanadas. Quite
delicious! And the Patagonian/
Chubut flags decorated the hall.
Nia Davies decorated a special
cake with a replica of the flag.
All the women were presented with a single red rose and
asked to wear it in our hair. The
Preparing for our first real Tango lesson
reason? We were about to learn
how to dance the tango and of
course needed a rose to complete the “look”! But no-one
knew how to dance the tango.
No worries! A gorgeous looking young couple arrived to
demonstrate and finally to teach
us the (VERY) basic steps.
Back to the couple: they were
superb dancers, as good as any
I’d seen in Argentina. They
managed to get everyone on the
floor- complete with roses.
Such fun was had by all.
Muchos gracias /Diolch yn
fawr iawn to everyone involved
in planning and executing such
a wonderful evening.
At Dewi Sant Welsh Church
things are fairly quiet during the
summer months. We held our
final Welsh service of the summer in June, thanks to the Rev
Eirian Wyn Lewis who had
recorded a sermon for us. Last
month we heard from the Rev
Owain Llyr Evans of Minnie
Street, Cardiff. Thank goodness
for our AV system! We are
blessed to be able to receive a
monthly sermon in Welsh from
several preachers
Catherine Davies after 130
years.
In that same year, we were
contacted in Canada by an
Argentinian woman who knew
that Henry and his family had
immigrated to Saskatchewan.
We found photographs of
Catherine and her children,
taken before they had left
Wales, so we sent copies of the
photos to Argentina.
For 20 years we kept in touch
with the scientists, and they
kept us informed about their
research. They wanted to try
DNA matching to confirm the
identity. The problem was to
find a person in our family who
could provide an appropriate
DNA sample. It was determined
that mitochondrial DNA
through a pure female line
would be required. That eliminated any of us in Canada that
were descended through Henry
and/or William Edward. A
researcher went to Wales to
look for a descendant, and he
eventually found Nia Olwen
Ritchie, a firefighter in the town
of Conwy. Our common ancestor was Elizabeth Edwards
(1738-1819). Nia flew to
Argentina in April 2015, and
provided a DNA sample
…which matched positively and
confirmed Catherine’s identity
with 95% certainty! We are
very grateful to Nia for helping
us learn more about our family
history in both Wales and
Argentina. Through Nia we also
discovered more relatives in
Wales!
I was asked if I could come to
Argentina for the re-burial ceremony of Catherine’s remains,
planned for Thursday, August
20th, 2015, exactly 150 years to
the date of her death.
I will never forget August
20th. Since Catherine Davies is
a well-known historical name in
that part of Argentina, the press
had been invited to cover the
ceremony. It began at 10:00 am
when the scientists and I went
to the research building.
Catherine’s remains (the complete skeleton) were inside a
beautiful, polished wooden box.
I was able to view them, and
they showed me some pieces of
wood and the nails that were
recovered from her original coffin. I held the mother-of-pearl
button that had been found in
her coffin, and I even got to put
on her wedding ring. That was
an especially emotional and
poignant moment.
Soon after, I was part of a
press conference that included
government officials, scientists,
and leaders of the local Welsh
Societies. I gave permission in
Spanish on behalf of my family
for Catherine and the artifacts to
remain in Argentina.
We placed special items into
Catherine’s box before sealing
it. On behalf of my family, I
placed a cross on a chain. A
stone from Catherine’s childhood house in Llandrillo was
placed; it had been brought by
Nia Ritchie a few months earlier. I was asked to choose a
piece of wood from the original
coffin to place inside.
The box was draped with a
small banner created for the
Sesquicentennial Celebrations
of the arrival of the Mimosa.
Since I was the only descendant
present from anywhere in the
world, I carried the box to the
burial site. I placed it on the
huge slab of grey-coloured
granite that would mark
Catherine’s second grave.
There were about 150-170
people there, all gathered in a
circle around the burial site. The
ceremony was in both Spanish
and Welsh; a pastor delivered a
beautiful tribute to Catherine
and to the courage of the
colonists who had arrived on the
Mimosa. I made a speech as
well, in Spanish. We sang several hymns in both languages,
as the beautiful wooden box
was lowered into the grave. The
final task that had to be done
took 13 men! Together they
moved the massive granite slab
over the hole, sealing
Catherine’s second grave.
I will never forget my first
visit to Patagonia. It is difficult
to explain the emotions I felt
during my trip. Someday I hope
to return, with my own family,
to once again place flowers on
my great-great-grandmother’s
grave.
Keep up to date!
You can check our
Calendar between
issues or to look for
additional information
by going to
A cake decorated as per the flag of Patagonia - blue and
white stripes + the red dragon.
Page 12
www.ninnau.com
Michele saying a final good-bye to her
great-great grandmother, Catherine.
By Alun Owen
My Quest for the Descendants of Michael D Jones
The gift to him she’d die to
save.
‘Your Mother
A ongoing series looking at
the search for family history
Later and submerged within
the onlookers stood our small
party of four and Jeremy, all
busy taking photographs of the
procession, when Jeremy turned
and said that another of my relatives stood nearby and intro-
Part III
Patagonia and the Wladfa
After a long flight and a few
days in Buenos Aires, covering
all the usual tourist locations
and events - including a very
enjoyable tango night out, the
four intrepid travellers were put
on a domestic ‘before-dawn’
Argentinian flight that took us
to Trelew airport and into the
capable hands of Jeremy Wood
in arrivals, our guide, interpreter
and chauffeur for the Patagonia
trip.
Around the next corner there
were Luned, Tegai, Fabio and
Lucio and immediately recognisable. They had been forewarned of my coming and I was
glad to see familiar faces
although meeting them for the
first time. I was whipped away
there and then to Trelew town
and we all posed together at one
of the Michael D Jones street
signs. Unknown to me that picture was then emailed around
the Chubut and the Andes and
even to the UK. Additionally
Luned and Tegai then broadcasted my arrival on their
Thursday or Friday night radio
programme so throughout our
subsequent travels I was often
greeted with “oh it’s you” when
introduced to strangers.
The initial few days in
Chubut were based at accommodation in Porth Madryn with
daily trips covering the sights of
the Peninsula Valdes, Trelew
and the valley’s numerous
Welsh chapels and schools,
before transferring to the lodging of Plas y Coed in Gaiman
for a further two days. Here we
continued the tours and had an
evening meal in company with
Luned, Tegai, Fabio and Lucio.
Tegai autographed my copy of
her book (Diarios del explorador Llwyd ap Iwan) I had
bought at the Landings
Museum.
Early in the morning I quietly
left the lodging and met Luned
in her old car and was chauffeured along the gravel tracks to
the old family estancia of
Bodiwan a few miles out of
town. All was deserted as I
gather the owners now live
mainly in town with a ‘manager’ in attendance but he was not
in at the time. I wandered about
and wondered what the walls of
that house could tell since
Llwyd’s widow and children
moved in in 1911. It apparently
remains virtually the same since
that time.
Before leaving Gaiman I
managed a full pleasurable
evening with them at their family home at Plas y Graig overlooking the town. It was full of
discussions about our other relatives in the Andes and Buenos
Aires and between numerous
cups of tea from Tegai’s large
blue bottomless teapot I had
managed to take note of several
kinfolk that I might still bump
into. The evening ended in the
early hours with Fabio driving
me for a bumpy tour round the
deserted streets of Gaiman
before dumping me back at Plas
y Coed.
The next two days were spent
crossing the ‘Paith’ (pampas)
and with one night stop at Los
Altares and instead of the direct
westerly normal route to Tecka
we turned northwest at Paso de
los Indios and followed the
gravel roads and the fascinating
route of the river Chubut (as
taken by the first settlers and the
Rifleros lead by General
Alun with Luned, Lizzie and Tegai at Llwyd’s grave.
Fontana) through Corre Condor,
Paso del Sapo, Piedra Parada to
a further night in the Mapuche
Indian village of Gualjaina
before arriving and staying at
Esquel over the concluding
week.
This was the week and weekend of the annual Trefelin
Eisteddfod. Luned and Tegai
were driven over by Lucio and
Ruth and ‘camped’ (as Luned
put it) at their cousin Rhiannon
ap Iwan Gough (all grand
–daughters of Llwyd ap Iwan)
in Esquel. Rhiannon had two
sons Michael (who farms the
Merino sheep near Mynydd
Llwyd, Andes) and Martin
Gough, who I didn’t meet until
later. Rhiannon celebrated her
90th birthday in 2015.
On the first Saturday we were
treated to the Rifleros’s Asado
at ‘School 18’ before they all
mounted up and rode to the top
of Craig Goch in celebration of
the first sighting of Cwm
Hyfryd from there in 1886.
Later in the day we were taken
to Arroyo Pescado (Nant y
Pysgod) where the CMC
(Chubut Mercantile Company)
store was located early in the
century and Llwyd ap Iwan its
manager before being shot by
bandits in 1909. It’s empty
pampas nowadays with no trace
of the original structures and
only bits of broken glass and
rusty tins strewn around. In the
centre is a memorial stone within low metal railings inscribed
with ‘Y Lle Lladdwyd Llwyd
ap Iwan Rhagfyr 29 1909’ (The
place where Llwyd ap Iwan was
killed December 29 1909).
The site is private property of
the estancia nearby and we had
to park in the road and discreetly hop over the fence to the site.
After wandering around and
taking photographs there was
another vehicle parked in the
road when we returned. This
was the warden of the estancia
and he initially thought we were
poachers as the Rio Tecka and
the Rio Pescado. Jeremy turned
and noted to me that he was a
relative who turned out to be
Martin Gough, Rhiannon’s son.
That day finished with the
Saturday evening Trefelin
Eisteddfod at the chapel hall.
This event was exceedingly
interesting and inspiring
although held mainly in Spanish
but with side by side commentary in Welsh.
Down the road from
Rhiannon’s house in Esquel was
Lizzie Jones who had married
Edgar Lloyd (another cousin)
and had Ariel and Veronica,
both married with children. I
had time at the residence of
both Rhiannon and Lizzie and
later in the week Lizzie took
Luned, Tegai. Lucio and myself
to see Llwyd ap Iwan’s grave at
Esquel’s cemetery - (his headstone is the only one with
inscriptions in three languages).
Mihangel, his brother, chose the
wording, and sent them to his
mother Ann Lloyd on a typed
sheet with his letter in 1910. He
requested that she organised for
this headstone, similar to his
fathers but not so large, to be
inscribed and shipped out to the
Andes. This inscription note is
now in the archives at Bangor
University.
I also met Ariel (Lizzie’s son)
with his three young boys at the
Sunday evening Eisteddfod’s
Cymanfa Ganu (Singing
Festival). The singing was passionate and very moving and as
good as if it were in Wales, in
my limited opinion.
On the Monday the Trefelin’s
annual birthday parade was taking place with the whole town
and neighbouring districts in
attendance. Following speeches
in Spanish by the local dignitaries the Argentinian military
Llwyd ap Iwan’s memorial
band played their national
anthem followed by ‘Hen Wlad
fy Nhadau’ (The Land of my
Fathers). This was very strange
and moving and even more
when the whole crowd started
singing to it. The parade then
took off in procession led by
bearers of the Welsh and
Argentinian flags. They certainly recognise and respect the
contribution by the first Welsh
settlers to the Chubut and Cwm
Hyfryd.
Just prior to the proceedings
commencing I had been
approached by a lady dressed in
an old Welsh Victorian period
dress and large hat that was to
be in the parade. Jeremy had
told her who I was and that she
was Maria de la Marced (nicknamed ‘pompa’) and married to
Federico Guillermo Iwan, a relative of Llwyd. In her hand was
an English Bible and when
opened it had an inscription by
Ann Lloyd Jones (MDJ’s wife)
– ‘Llwyd ap Iwan, Bala,
Merioneth, North Wales. 30th
February (his birthday) 1877’.
Also a verse:
Remember, love, who gave
thee this
When other days shall come;
When she who had your earliest kiss
Sleeps in her narrow home.
Remember ‘twas a mother
gave
A woman in Trefelin with the
Llwyd Bible
daughters. He is also a descendant of Llwyd ap Iwan. I also
met him later at our final
evening meal in Esquel and
again with some of his family
on Bala’s high street when he
briefly visited the UK in May
2014.
Before departing Patagonia,
Luned had given me the details
of other descendants of Llwyd
and Mihangel ap Iwan (the
other son of MDJ) who lived in
Buenos Aires (BA). We were
due a clear day there before
returning to the UK and perhaps
I could contact them. As they
lived in the outskirts of BA
however it was a bit too risky
trying to visit one or two of
them even by taxi. In the end I
managed to telephone and speak
briefly to both Iris Myfanwy
Lloyd de Spannaus (Llwyd’s
grand-daughter) and Elizabeth
Dean de Rivas Molina (Liza) Mihangel’s grand-daughter. I
promised to write to them both
in the hope of establishing further family details. While the
life and details of Llwyd ap
Iwan is well documented we
scarcely had any details of
Mihangel, his life and family at
that time.
University of
Aberyswyth Alumni
Meet
duced me to Teddy Lloyd from
Esquel with one of his young
By Bob Roser
Cindy and I were invited to
attend the latest meeting of the
University of Aberystwyth
alumni in Alexandria. VA, on
May 26. We were in for quite a
treat – and I don’t mean the
wine.
April McMahon, vice chancellor of the university introduced the program and several
guests and alumni. The focus of
the gathering was the partnership between the University and
the Welsh murder mystery program “Hinterland/Y Gwyll”. 65
students work on the set of the
program getting valuable experience.
Ed Thomas, the creative
director for the program and
originally from the Swansea
Valley, gave a very interesting
talk on the background of the
program and its development
and its selection of the area of
West Wales around Aberystwyth.
Each episode is filmed in
Welsh and then in English,
though even in the English version some of the scenes are in
Welsh with English subtitles. It
seems that the Welsh language
version is the more popular,
many viewers, including many
throughout Europe and especially in Germany, preferring
the more “original” feel of that
version.
British journalist Jane Bryant
interviewed Mr. Thomas on the
stage in one of the theaters of
the film center where the meeting was held. Mr. Thomas
commented that the unique
scenery in West Wales serves as
one of the characters for the
program. The program tries to
remove all Welsh “stereotypes
and clichés”. Contemporary references have been kept out giving the plot lines a more universal standing. It has a small budget, but has found additional
funding from Europe (not the
EU; this gathering was before
the BREXIT so it is not clear
how this loss of funding may
affect the production schedule.)
Interesting side note: more peo-
The popular series filmed
near Aberystwyth
ple watch Hinterland in
Germany than in the UK, but
has a 92% approval rating from
the BBC.
Hinterland will be available
on American Public Television
beginning 30 June in 13 US
market cities. It is already
available on NETFLIX and the
DVDs are available through
amazon though the Welsh language versions are only on amazon.uk.
The Season II, episode 2 program was then shown to the
guests. I had already seen several episodes from the first season
and though some of the crime
scenes are very realistic, I found
the programs very well done
and sympathetic to its characters. The episode we watched
covered many of the personal
problems which have dogged
DI
Mathias
(Richard
Harrington) since the outset and
are now explained. Season III
is currently in production and
the first episode will be shown
on S4C in October 2016.
We were told that an interactive version where viewers can
play the characters is in the
works.
NINNAU
a
Page 13
A ROW OVER which name
Snowdonia National Park
should use for one of its most
well-known mountains has
finally been settled. Park
authorities have decided to
adopt the name Cader Idris,
rather than Cadair Idris, despite
advice from the Welsh
Language Commissioner. Park
officers also said the authority
should use the standard Cadair
title. But members said the local
significance of the name Cader
meant it should be permanently
adopted. The issue arose in
April when NRW submitted
plans to point the way to Cadair
Idris, rather than Cader Idris, as
it is called and known locally.
THE WELSHEST pub, shop
and street in the world have
now been officially identified,
following a competition in
which all the winners were
nominated and voted by the
public. Becws Islyn in
Aberdaron clinched the title
“Welshest Shop in the World”
and Black Boy Inn from
Caernarfon took first spot as
“Welshest Pub in the World.”
Stryd y Plas, Caernarfon, came
out on top as the “Welshest
Street in the World.” As one of
Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig’s first
pilot projects, the Welshest
Businesses in the World
Awards were established to
highlight how the Welsh language is one of the most valuable assets in Gwynedd.
CARDIFF, SWANSEA and
Newport have been named as
three out of 10 places in the UK
with the highest number of asylum seekers per head of population, according to figures
released. Welsh capital city
Cardiff was the first place in
Wales to appear in the list, coming in at fifth with one asylum
seeker per 263 people living in
the local authority area.
Swansea was one place behind
at sixth, with one per 272, while
Newport came in at eighth in
the list, with one asylum seeker
per 302 people. Middlesbrough
topped the list with one asylum
seeker per 167 residents, with
Glasgow and Rochdale following as numbers two and three in
the list.
A PLAQUE to commemorate
Gwynfor Evans’ victory as
Plaid Cymru’s first MP 50 years
ago has been unveiled in
Carmarthen. The Carmarthen
by-election on 14 July 1966 is
said to have changed the face of
British politics, as the SNP won
a seat in Scotland soon afterwards. It is seen by many as the
political spark that fired the
long journey to devolution in
both countries. The plaque was
unveiled outside the town’s
Guildhall.
ONE OF BRITAIN’S rarest
species have their latest newcomers, after pine marten kits
were born near Aberystwyth in
the Rheidol Valley. The pine
marten carries the title of
Britain’s second rarest carnivore
after the wildcat, and conservationists have called the births “a
very significant moment in the
conservation of this native
mammal.” At least three of the
10 female pine martens brought
to mid Wales from Scotland last
autumn by The Vincent
Wildlife Trust have given birth.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
leader Chris Grayling has
rejected calls from MPs to overturn a ban on speaking Welsh at
Westminster. Grayling said it
would not be “sensible” to
spend taxpayers’ money on
translation facilities. He said
Page 14
Wales Review
ministers might review the ban
if a new MP could not speak
English. Grayling was responding to a call from his Labour
shadow, Chris Bryant, who suggested MPs could be allowed to
speak Welsh during meetings of
the Welsh grand committee.
Bryant asked him: “I understand that the language of this
House is English, but Welsh is
the mother tongue of many of
my compatriots and constituents
so is it not time we allowed
Welsh in the Welsh grand committee?” Grayling replied: “I
have given this careful thought.
In my judgement, given the fact
that English is the language of
this House and given the fact it
would cost taxpayers’ money to
make a change at this moment
in time, if somebody arrives in
this House who cannot speak
English we may need to look at
this issue again. But I think we
have considered this issue very
carefully and we should retain
the situation where English is
the language of this House.”
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL
dig near a West Wales village
has uncovered part of a
Mesolithic site which could
yield important information
about Stone Age hunter gatherers who lived there. The dig,
part of lottery-funded research
by Pembrokeshire’s Heritage
Llangwm project, set out to find
traces of the village of
Llangwm’s 12th century
Flemish founders, identifying
medieval artefacts which are
still being analyzed. But it has
also unearthed a surprising collection of flints now thought to
date back to late Mesolithic
times, around 6,000 to 8,000
years ago.
THERE IS A record number
of guillemots on Skokholm
Island, according to recordings
carried out by wardens. An
average of more than 4,000 of
the birds have been counted on
the island, breaking last year’s
record of 3,500. This is the first
time they have reached those
numbers since 1927. The numbers of guillemots for each plot
would usually be between 850
to 900, but the wardens noted a
record number of 1,000 for a
single area. Skokholm is also
home to puffins whose numbers
have also risen this year, reaching just under 7,000 - 100 more
than 2015 and about 800 more
than 2014.
A RELIGIOUS relic which,
claimed by some to be the Holy
Grail, has gone on permanent
display at the National Library
of Wales. The fragile piece of
wood is all that remains of the
Nanteos Cup, a wooden chalice
named after the mansion in
Aberystwyth where it was once
kept. Some believe it was the
cup from which Christ drank at
the Last Supper and that it has
healing powers. It was stolen in
2014 before being returned to
its owners a year later. It has
now been donated to the library
in Aberystwyth where thousands of people are expected to
view it over the coming months.
The cup is claimed to have been
brought to Britain by Joseph of
Arimathea after the death of
Christ and then taken to
Nanteos Mansion by seven
monks from Strata Florida,
Ceredigion, during the reign of
Henry Vlll.
A PORK PIE from celebrated butcher Edward’s of Conwy
has been named the best in
Britain. TripAdvisor company
holidaylettings.co.uk set out on
a search to find the top 10
British foods and the best places
By Lise Hull
in the UK to eat them. Pork pies
were on the list of Britain’s
favorite dishes and the tasty traditional savory snack served up
at Edward’s was top of the list
of the pies to try. The traditional
pie has won more than 20
awards over the years, most
recently Best Pork Pie in British
Farm Produce Awards and two
highly esteemed Great Taste
Gold Stars.
THERE ARE concerns that
sewin or sea trout could be on
the verge of extinction in
Wales. A range of issues have
been blamed for the decline but
anglers believe an increase in
poaching is a big factor. Natural
Resources Wales said it was trying to stop poachers despite
fewer monitoring officers due to
budget cuts. Steffan Jones, from
Llandysul Anglers Association,
Ceredigion, said: “We are facing losing the most emblematic
of all Welsh fish.” He said numbers were at a low level despite
anglers using “catch-andrelease” methods to fish.
A BLUE PLAQUE honoring
a prominent miners’ leader and
trade unionist has been unveiled
in Rhondda Cynon Taff. Arthur
James Cook was general secretary of the Miners’ Federation
of Great Britain from 1924 until
1931, which included leading
the miners during the 1926
General Strike. Born in
Somerset in 1883, soldier’s son
Cook spent his childhood growing up in the West Country
before moving to Porth in the
Rhondda Valley aged 18 and
later to Merthyr Tydfil to work
in the coal mines. He became
involved in politics while working at the Lewis Merthyr
Colliery in Trehafod, coming to
prominence during the 1910
miners’ strike. As well as
becoming general secretary,
Cook’s other roles included
becoming secretary of the
International Miners’ Federation. He died in 1931, aged 47,
after a battle with cancer.
SKELETONS uncovered at a
Pembrokeshire burial site may
be the remains of contemporaries of the Patron Saint of
Wales, archaeologists believe.
The discovery was made during
the third and final excavation at
St. Patrick’s Chapel at
Whitesands Bay, St. David’s. It
found Christian burial sites dating from the early-6th Century
when St. David was a bishop.
This means a medieval plot
found during a previous dig
there was not the earliest use of
the site. The excavation was led
by Dyfed Archaeological Trust
and was carried out to avoid
archaeology being lost to the
sea, after winter storms in 2014
exposed graves. Since the first
dig, the remains of almost 100
skeletons have been excavated.
PUBLIC BACKING for
Welsh agriculture has risen to
new highs as awareness grows
of the industry’s value to the
nation’s countryside and economy. An NFU-commissioned
survey by OnePoll found that 72
percent of Welsh respondents
have a “favorable” or “very
favorable” view of Welsh and
British farmers – a rise of 17
percent since 2012. It also
found that two-thirds of the
Welsh public think farmers
should continue to receive support payments. The survey also
found that 91 percent of Welsh
respondents think farming is
important to the nation’s economy – and a similar proportion
think it is important to see a
productive farming industry.
A 93-YEAR-OLD war veteran from Cardiff has received
France’s highest military award
for civilians in recognition of
her wartime role in the D-Day
landings. Sylvia Wild was one
of the first woman to have landed on the D-Day beaches while
working with Field Marshall
Montgomery’s 21 Army Group.
She stayed with Montgomery’s
headquarters all the way to
Germany and saw a concentration camp liberated. She
received the Legion D’Honneur
from the French consul.
Wild initially joined the
Auxillary Territorial Service,
the women’s army branch,
before volunteering for overseas
service and was one of few
women to join 21 Army Group,
which oversaw the UK and US
forces involved in the Operation
Overlord invasion. She landed
in Normandy shortly after DDay and provided administrative services to the team in
charge of rebuilding the road
and rail network. She was billeted with French resistance fighters in Rouen while there were
still German snipers on the
rooftops and moved on to
Brussels and into Germany.
THE NATIONAL Library of
Wales in Aberystwyth has won
the Beautiful Buildings category
in WalesOnline’s Special Places
2016 campaign. Since its foundation block was laid in 1911 it
has gone on to become a stunning example of Welsh architecture. In addition to books, it
cares for archives, films, sound
recordings, paintings, photographs and artworks. National
treasures kept there include
important manuscripts such the
Black Book of Carmarthen, the
earliest manuscript in the Welsh
language.
THE POKEMAN Go craze
that has swept the nation has
helped visitor numbers to
Portmeirion swell. Staff at the
Italianate village said visitors
were going Pokémon crazy with
the cult critters “all over the
place,” including the rarely seen
Pikachu. The tourist site has
seen a 13 percent hike in the
number of people through the
gates - partly driven by
Pokémon interest.
84 MILLION tourism day
visits were made by British residents to Wales, and these visitors spent £3,168 million. The
volume of trips is up 5.5 percent
in comparison with the 12
months previous, while related
expenditure is up 23.8 percent.
Average spend per day trip in
Wales is higher than in Great
Britain as a whole. GB visitors
staying overnight in Wales are
also on the increase. In the 12
months April 2015-March 2016,
the number of trips to Wales
increased by 1.6 percent in
comparison with the 12 months
April 2014-March 2015.
Expenditure by these visitors
also continues to increase and
rose 7.4 percent in the 12
months ending in March 2016.
THE APARTMENT where
Welsh wordsmith Dylan
Thomas slipped into a coma
four days before he died has
been saved following a legal
battle. The Swansea-born poet
was staying at the Hotel
Chelsea, in Manhattan, New
York City, when he was taken
ill at midnight on November 5,
1953. He was admitted to the
emergency ward at St Vincent’s
Hospital in a comatose state. He
died at noon on November 9
while still in a coma. A nineyear legal battle to save the
apartment where Dylan Thomas
spent his last conscious
moments has now finally been
won after a campaign punctuated by protests and violence.
A COMMEMORATIVE
£20 coin with a Welsh dragon
design has been released by The
Royal Mint to celebrate the spirit of the Welsh people. The silver coin, produced at The Royal
Mint in Llantrisant, is designed
to be collectible and not to be
spent. The team behind the coin
said the design also marks The
Royal Mint’s journey from the
heart of London to the “home of
the dragon.” They hope the coin
will highlight the craftsmanship
of their designers, engravers and
toolmakers, as well as encouraging more people to visit The
Royal Mint Experience.
FIVE WELSH restaurants
have been named among the
best in the UK. The Walnut
Tree in Llandewi Skirrid has
been named the Best Restaurant
in Wales at the National
Restaurant Awards. And it’s
ranked number 11 in the UK in
a list of 100 that also includes
Stephen Terry’s The Hardwick
at number 40, Wright’s Food
Emporium in Llanarthne which
is number 70, Tyddyn Llan in
Corwen at number 76 and
Ynyshir Hall in Machynlleth at
number 85.
DURING CONSTRUCTION
on the Maerdy Wind Farm in
Rhondda Valley, Wales, workmen have unearthed a series of
decorative wood carvings. The
carvings are believed by experts
to be Europe’s oldest wooden
carvings, dating back more than
6,000 years. An archaeologist
from Heritage Recording
Services Wales named Richard
Scott Jones examined the artifacts and said that they were
“priceless.” He added that the
wooden pieces would be
unveiled to the public once they
were sent to the National
History Museum in St. Fagan’s.
According to Jones, the wood is
likely to date back 6,270 years
to the Late Mesolithic or Early
Neolithic period.
ROYAL COMMISSION
publication Welsh Slate –
Archaeology and History of an
Industry has won the British
Archaeological Award for Best
Archaeological Book. Welsh
Slate was shortlisted for the
award in June alongside St
Kilda: The Last and Outmost
Isle and Stonehenge: Making
sense of a prehistoric mystery.
The winning book was
announced at a ceremony held
in the British Museum on 11
July, compèred by television
and radio presenter, writer and
archaeologist Julian Richards.
The book was recognized by the
panel of judges for increasing
our understanding of the past
and introducing it to new audiences and marks the perfect end
to a publication project which
began in 2007.
THE UNEMPLOYMENT
rate in Wales has dropped to its
lowest level in a decade with a
dynamic Welsh jobs market
outperforming the rest of the
UK. Labour market statistics
published in July show more
than 1.4 million people are now
in work – just below record levels. The unemployment rate in
Wales fell faster than any other
UK region over the year - and at
4.6 percent is now 0.3 per cent
lower than the unemployment
rate for the UK as a whole. The
employment rate is at a new
record high of 72.6 percent with
NINNAU’s
Literary Section
Pages 15-17
The Oldest Welsh Newspaper in the Americas.
Ynys Llanddwynn in Anglesey. The name Llanddwyn means “The church of St. Dwynwen”. Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, born in about
400AD and she is the Welsh equivalent of St. Valentine. She pleaded with her father to allow her to marry the man she loved, but her father insisted she
marry another. Devastated, Dwynwen prayed to be released from her true love. The story goes that her love, Maelon, was turned into a block of ice,
though a reversal of the curse also prevented Dwynwen from ever marrying. She safeguarded the fates of true lovers from then on. The ruins of St
Dwynwen’s Church can be found near the lighthouse. Photo by Gary Matthews, Broxbourne, UK.
The True Meaning of 'British'
Considering the mayhem soup (cawlach) surrounding and particularly following the coining of the word
and voting on Brexit, I thought I’d heat up and stir my
insidious, verbal cauldron and re-serve my take on…
By John Good
The True Meaning of ‘British’
For some time I have found myself wanting to interrupt people when I hear them use the terms ‘Britain’
and ‘British’. Celtic people in general and expatriates
in particular are anxious for others to be aware of the
pride they feel in their ancestry and, to this end, I will
try to set the record (as it appears to me) straight and
I’ll weigh in with the heavyweights, the university professors.
The dictionary tells us that ‘British’ comes from
Middle English ‘Bruttische’, Old English ‘Brettisc’,
Saxon ‘Brettas’; a form of Latin ‘Britannia’; originally
of Celtic origin, akin to Welsh Brython (Briton). We
also learn that the Brythonic (British) group of languages includes Breton, Cornish (fighting back from
extinction at the moment), and Welsh (proponents
fighting each other for centuries). They are all linguistic descendants of the Celtic language of the ancient
Britons of Caesar’s day. Joseph Shipley, Dictionary of
Word Origins, goes further, saying, “The British draw
their name from Celtic (Welsh) brython, meaning tattooed.” In fact the modern Welsh word for a Pict
(ancient tattooed inhabitant of Scotland) is still
Brithwr. Brithyll is a speckled trout and brithwaith is a
mosaic; all related to the word brith, meaning spotted.
Oliver Padel, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse,
and Celtic (University of Cambridge), wrote to tell me
pretty much the same thing, that ‘Britain’ came from
‘Britannia’, Greek ‘Pretannikoi’ and before that Celtic
‘Prydein’ (Modern Welsh Prydain). While Anthony
Harvey, Editor, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from
Celtic Sources (Royal Irish Academy), added that “a B
rather than a P (is found in Latin) because that is how
the Romans heard it when they came, thence generating the Latin word ‘Britannia’, which was then borrowed back into Celtic… the word ‘British’ has been
Section Y Drych
(in reverse order) English, Celtic, Latin, Celtic.”
Prydain could also be traced back to Pryderi, a son of
Rhiannon (Pagan, Welsh Goddess). He became Lord
of Dyfed (South West Wales) and as the Mabanogi
relates, “under an enchantment he was trapped in the
Otherworld (Annwn).” Down through Welsh history
there have been many Pryderis, some real, some mythical, but more on this later.
To sum up, a Briton was a Celt who arrived on the
island, perhaps beginning as early as the 7th or 6th
century BC, and undoubtedly mixed with its latter-day
Stone Age aborigines. At the same time, the Irish were
doing something very similar in what was to become
Erin and would be known as Gaels. In Ireland they
spoke Gaelic, in Wales and the mainland, Brittonic
(proto Welsh).
The Invaders
Caesar’s invasion (55 BC) was intended to prevent
the Britons from aiding their kinsmen in Gaul. Julius
writes in the third person, “And so it was about 10 a.m.
when Caesar arrived off Britain with the leading ships.
Armed men could be seen stationed on all the heights,
and the nature of the place was such, with the shore
edged by sheer cliffs, that missiles could be hurled
onto the beach from the top. Caesar considered this a
totally unsuitable place for disembarkation, and waited
at anchor till 3 p.m.”
Later we find his famous and rare description of the
inhabitants, “Most Britons are dyed by blue woad and
this makes them look fiercer as warriors. They have
long hair and shave everywhere except their heads and
moustaches.” Yes, the Britons fought in their birthday
suits! Other than the Picts in Scotland, these
“Britanni”, as he calls them, were the only inhabitants
of what is now Britain. Britannia means ‘beyond the
sea’ in Latin. Claudius, the island’s final conqueror,
even called his son Britannicus, in honor of his victory.
The Saxons (English-to-be) began to arrive in the
Fifth Century and, in response, St. Gildas wrote his
The Ruin of Britain (De Excidio Britanniae), AD 456.
Despite being educated in Wales, he had nothing good
to say about us and even less about the Saxons. The
Venerable Bede wrote A History of the English Church
and People, circa 625. As the title suggests, he was
pro-Saxon and even more prejudiced against his
British neighbors in Wales, Cornwall and the north of
England.
During this period, Brynley Roberts tells us, “The
duty of the poets as a learned class (was) to conserve
and transmit the traditional history of the Welsh, (making) references to elusive characters like Prydain fab
Aedd, probably an eponymous founder of Britain.”
Ceri Lewis is quite specific, “Entirely different in
mood is The Prophecy of Britain (Armes Prydein); a
poem of just under 200 lines, written around 930 probably by a member of a monastic community in South
Wales, who was bitterly opposed to the policy pursued
by his king, Hywel Dda (Howel the Good, no relation),
of recognizing the overlordship of the king of England,
of living on peaceful
(Continued on page17)
NINNAU
Page 15
The Lost Welsh Kingdom
By John Hughes Reviewed by Elizabeth S. Spragins
In The Lost Welsh Kingdom,
John Hughes offers a thoughtprovoking glimpse into the
world of 11 th -century Wales.
His fictional account of the
reign of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn
develops through the eyes of the
beautiful Elen of Caerfyrddin.
The novel opens with her marriage to Hywel, ruler of
Deheubarth, but the happiness
of the newlyweds is short-lived.
Four days after the ceremony,
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn and his
raiders attack. Elen is captured, carried off to Gruffuth’s
court at Rhuddlan, and forced to
marry him. As Gruffudd’s
power grows, her hope of rescue fades, and she faces a bleak
future as the property of a ruthless and jealous king.
Whenever Gruffudd goes to
battle to expand his territory,
the queen welcomes the relative
freedom that comes with his
absence. During one such campaign, she discovers that Rhys,
steward of the Rhuddlan port,
has fallen in love with her. As
their clandestine relationship
evolves, the risk of discovery
intensifies.
Likewise,
Gruffudd’s raids become more
daring. Thus, Hughes strengthens the cohesion of the novel by
maintaining parallel military
and emotional tensions.
This account of the rise and
fall of a fierce leader who
becomes king of all Wales provides the reader with a realistic
portrayal of a turbulent historical period. Unfortunately, the
dialog in this novel is surprisingly modern, but an engaging
plot and effective character
development compensate for
any verbal anachronisms.
John Hughes earned a doctoral degree in chemistry from
University College of Wales.
A retired high school teacher,
he has published two other novels that explore life in the
Middle Ages from a feminine
perspective:
Glyndŵr’s
Daughter and Llywelyn.
Published in 2015 by Y Lolfa.
Paperback (English). Available
from Amazon (new) for $17.00
and Amazon CA for $22.00
CDN.
First World War Curiosities
By Terry Breverton Reviewed by Bob Roser
Welsh author Terry Breverton
has come out with an interesting
book called First World War
Curiosities just in time (published in 2014) for the 100 th
anniversary of World War I.
Though technically not a book
about “Wales”, the Welsh were
very much affected by the war,
40,000 Welshmen having died.
The affect on the Welsh speaking population was devastating.
Breverton’s book cannot be
seen as a “history” book per se.
Though it is possible, this is not
the kind of book you simply sit
down and read cover to cover.
The book is divided into topical
areas and then presented by key
words in each topic listed alphabetically. The lack of an index
though keeps the reader from
searching for particular subjects
he or she might find of interest.
For example, did you know
that the first use of poison gas
was by the French not the
Germans in August 1914 right
at the beginning of the war? The
gas grenades were ineffectual
and unnoticed.
In the chapter titled “The
War’s Firsts, Lasts, Greatests,
and Factoids lots of little known
facts are listed. The next chapter, “War Terms and Slang” has
a Welsh story, “The Angel of
Mons”.
J.R.R. Tolkien was in the
Battle of the Somme from July
1916 until he was invalided out
in October with trench fever.
He began writing The
Silmarillion while in hospital.
Many of the scenes of slaughter
in the Lord of the Rings were
influenced by this experience.
Subjects are weighted heavily
to the British Commonwealth
but American, French and
Russian experiences are covered.
First World War Oddities is
published by Amberley Press
and available on amazon us, ca
and uk.
The History of Wales
By J. Graham Jones Reviewed by Elizabeth Spencer Spragins
In this concise yet comprehensive work, Graham Jones
sketches the history of the
Welsh people and the development of their cultural identity
from the Stone Age to the present. The initial chapters summarize the cycles of events that
ultimately resulted in invasions
by the Romans, the Normans,
and finally the English. Jones
then focuses on specific aspects
of life in Wales following the
loss of independence in 1282.
Major topics include religious
life, the agrarian and industrial
revolutions, political issues,
education, and modern trends.
Although the volume offers a
historical overview rather than
in-depth analysis, noteworthy
details appear in related text
panels. The brief digressions
cover such subjects as Roman
forts, Dewi Sant (St. David),
motte-and-bailey castles, David
Lloyd George, Welsh sport, and
Dylan Thomas. Through these
snapshots of key historical
Page 16
figures, places, and events, the
author inserts an engaging level
of specificity.
Despite its brevity (168
pages), this work provides an
admirable introduction to the
geographical, social, and political elements that ground mod-
PUBLISHERS:
Please submit books for review to:
Robert Roser
1203 Harbour Dr
Stafford, VA 22554
USA
ern Welsh life. In his final chapters, Jones expands the scope of
his narrative to highlight artistic, musical, literary, and architectural achievements in the last
century and the new millennium. He also delves more deeply
into the relationship between
political movements and current
social issues, such as poverty,
unemployment, and public
health.
Although
Jones
acknowledges the severity of
these challenges, he nevertheless maintains a positive outlook for the future. For example, he observes that the abundance of Welsh publications,
“which continue to flourish
mightily in our little land” (page
204), and a resurgence in scholarship illustrate the cultural
resilience of the Welsh. A list of
important dates concludes this
scholarly yet readable reference.
J. Graham Jones earned a
doctoral degree in history from
the University of Wales and
served as the Senior Archivist
and Head of the Welsh Political
Archive at the National Library
of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Published in 2014 by the
University of Wales Press and
distributed in North America by
the University of Chicago Press.
Available from Amazon.us
(new) for $15.00. E-book format is also available. Available
from
Amazon.uk
and
Amazon.ca as well.
Caneuon Cymraeg Heddiw
Gan Edward W. Reid
I have two albums to review this month, and the first of these
is by a new band that’s not really new at all – basically they’re a
new line up for old favourites Anweledig under another name.
The second CD is by modern traditional group 9 Bach, and this
is their third album for what still seems like a fairly new group.
Brython Shag – self titled debut album
Anweledig was a group
from Blaenau Ffestiniog who
were one of the best Welsh
rock bands ever, and they
were probably the most innovative and original band of their
time (the late 1990s and early
2000s) at a time where there
was less Welsh rock music
activity in terms of gigs and
releases overall. Since officially ending as a band the
two main members have gone
in different directions with
different other bands and projects. Gai Toms ended up in a
fairly acoustic vein with firstly Mim Twm Llai, and then solo
albums under his own name. By contrast Ceri Cunnington
went and formed Twmffat which continued the harder edged
more political side that Anweledig was well known for.
Most Welsh music fans had felt that it was unlikely that
Anweledig would reunite after a one off reunion gig in 2006, as
it had seemed that the projects of Gai Toms and Ceri
Cunnington were too far apart musically to be compatible for a
new project as either Anweledig or another group. However,
somewhat to my surprise, the two main architects of
Anweledig have reunited for a new album with the name of the
band not being Anweledig but instead Brython Shag. I suspect
that the reason for the name change was not only that the other
musicians were different, but also there is a slightly different
emphasis in style- as Anweledig was originally (as was the
case for almost comparable Serbian counterparts Darkwood
Dub) formed as a reggae and ska influenced band but ended up
(like Darkwood Dub) playing some of the most relevant and
original rock music that we have seen in recent times. Brython
Shag has a stated emphasis on rock music so possibly the slight
change in emphasis, the new members and the desire for a new
start and to be recognised as a ‘new’ band (even if it’s not really in my opinion, but other reviews I have seen have used the
term ‘new’) led to Brython Shag.
Musically Brython Shag is largely a continuation of the latter Anweledig and Twmffat, with basically a rock sound with
some funky elements, but nothing acoustic here. It’s harder
edged and with Ceri Cunnington leading on the vocals again
the tunes are quite interesting and humourous, though they are
not overtly political as Twmffat or Anweledig were. The
album itself is very good, with every tune being good here,
though the first two “Bywyd eu hun” and “Pinc tu mewn” are
probably the best on the CD. There is surprisingly a tune in
English as the end, “St David’s Cross” (inverted and reverted,
two tracks) for which the title is apparently based on the old
Cob Records (Bangor) logo. Overall the Brython Shag debut
CD is very good and I give it 4.5 out of 5.
Anian – 9 Bach
9 Bach has been one of my
favourites in the increasingly
important genre of Welsh traditional music and this group
is among the leaders in making traditional music relevant
to younger Welsh speaking
music fans once again (as
many groups, such as Mabon,
appeal mainly -by accident or
design - to English speakers
and people outside of Wales).
9 Bach (the work “nine” in
English is pronounced the
same as “Nain” (grandmother) in Welsh) started off with an
album of traditional Welsh tunes completely reinterpreted in a
modern fashion. I was very impressed by this album overall
and particularly the first track “ Bwthyn fy nain” which was
powerful and appeared to show the way forward in Welsh
modern traditional music. Their second album, “Tincian” had
original compositions instead of reinterpretation of traditional
tunes, but it remained fairly upbeat, even if it was a bit quieter
and more introspective than their debut. 9 Bach used fewer
electric instruments on Tincian but they were still present and
were well used, even if the band became significantly more
acoustic and introspective on this album.
Subsequent to their release of TIncian the band was signed
up by Peter Gabriel’s Real World records and this was considered a bit of a success within the Welsh music world as Welsh
music releases (in Welsh) on major labels, however they are
defined, are rare. The first 9 Bach release on Real World is
“Anian” and after a few listens to tunes that sounded interesting on Radio Cymru programmes I duly went out and bought
the album.
Though I had much anticipation when I bought the album,
my impression when listening to it all the way through was different and really this hasn’t changed since. Overall it was a bit
of a disappointment to me with too many quiet tunes and
indeed on occasion somewhat depressing tunes that didn’t
inspire me at all. In spite of this the performances on the
album are very professional and there are a number of tunes
which break out of the general trend on the album, notably
“Anian” and “Cyfaddefa”, which are well worth a listen. There
is also the extra bonus CD here that has different interpretation
of the tunes by other artists, which adds to the overall value of
the CD and adds interest. However I was a bit disappointed
with Anian overall in spite of its undoubted positives at times
in the musicality and the performances, and I give it 3.5 out of 5.
Section Y Drych
Llyfr Plant
Eat Up Emlyn!
By Angela Morris Reviewed by Cindy Roser
“Eat Up, Emlyn” is a picture book intended to be
read out loud to young children – especially those boys
who aren’t interested in eating their food. There are
vivid, humorous illustrations on every page; many
in dragon red color.
The book is written and
illustrated by Angela
Morris born in Burry Port
and now teaching in North
Wales. She was inspired to
write the book by her
grandchild who is definitely not a hearty eater.
This is another Welsh children’s book where nain saves the
day. The toddler’s brother is big, his dad plays rugby but how
will he get big when he won’t eat? Only nain’s favorite dish
once again comes to a family’s rescue.
Starting to read this book to picky –eating boys of a young
age could lead to a future for many years to come of World
Cup champion rugby teams!
A Welsh language version of the book, “Cawl Mam-gu”, is
also available.
This book is published by Pont Books, the children’s publishing section of Gomer Press.
Wales in Donetsk
By Colin Thomas
To the sound of distant gunfire, school children in Donetsk
are now learning about their
Welsh past. Lily Revenko, a
teacher in the war torn city, got
curious about its origins and
contacted the Glamorgan
Archives to learn more.
She learnt that it was originally Hughesovka, founded by
Welshman John Hughes. Born
and brought up in Merthyr, he
began work as an apprentice in
the Cyfarthfa ironworks, developed his own business in
Newport and then London and
finally, with the help of hundreds of Welsh workers, established the city named after him
as the centre of the coal and
steel industry in Ukraine. After
the 1917 revolution, it became
Stalino and Hughes was written
out of its history but, since it
changed its name to Donetsk,
the city has been prepared to
acknowledge that it was founded by a Welsh capitalist and a
statue has been erected to him
there.
When I last visited the town
in 2008, it was becoming
increasingly interested in its
own history and a poster at the
British Council office proclaimed Croeso i Gymru –
Welcome to Wales. It was
advertising a series of twenty
four seminars ranging from
“Welsh: the Eighth Wonder” to
“Welsh Nation Builders” who,
the course decided, include
Saint David, Tom Jones, Laura
Ashley, Catherine Zeta-Jones
and Prince Charles. Did anyone
turn up? I asked; certainly, was
the reply, the course was over
subscribed.
What Lily Revenko calls “this
horrible war” about whether the
city is part of Ukraine or Russia
has made it very difficult for her
to continue her historical
research – over 9000 people
have died since the conflict
began in 2014. She wrote to me
asking for a copy of Dreaming
A City, a book I have written on
Hughesovka/Stalino/Donetsk.
My first attempt to post it to her
earlier this year failed and the
package was returned to me,
presumably turned back at the
disputed frontier.
But somehow the second
attempt succeeded and she is
now using the book as the basis
of what she calls “investigative
journalism” by her pupils, a
means by which they can both
improve their English and discover more about the origins of
their city. The book comes with
a DVD of the BBC’s three part
series Hughesovka and the New
Russia and an email I have just
received from her refers to “the
brave and artistic voice” of its
presenter, the late Professor
Gwyn Alf Williams.
She also told me that she will
now set her pupils a set of questions of the book and DVD –“it
will teach them not only about
the past but also will teach them
how to live in the present, how
to work in a way that will make
sparks fly.”
The Hughesovka and the New
Russia book and DVD is available
at
$18.95
from
amazon.com
Need a gift idea for a friend’s birthday?
Think about a one year subscription to
NINNAU & Y DRYCH.
See coupon on page 28.
Section Y Drych
Y Lolfa Begin 50th
Anniversary Celebrations
The celebrations to commemorate 50 years since the
establishing of Y Lolfa publishers and press have begun with
the publication of a calendar of
old posters.
Calendr Posteri’r Lolfa 2017
(Y Lolfa Poster Calendar 2017)
is a collection of commercial
and political posters that were
printed by Y Lolfa during the
1960s and 1970s.
It is published to coincide
with Y Lolfa’s 50th anniversary
celebrations in 2017.
Amongst the posters are old
favourites such as ‘Gwnewch
Bopeth yn Gymraeg’ (Do
Everything in Welsh) – as seen
on the front cover, the iconic
poster which shows the silhouette of two lovers behind a
colourful backdrop. It was
designed by Elwyn Ioan in 1972
and has been reprinted many
times over the decades. Other
classics include the infamous
poster of Eirwyn Pontshân –
‘Gwell Llaeth Cymru na Chwrw
Lloegr’ (Better Welsh Milk than
English Beer).
Others are more political in
their nature such as the popular
image of Ifas y Tryc in front of
the Union Jack, ‘Britannia Rŵls
ddy Wêls’, and drawing by John
Jenkins, , ‘Gwyn eu Byd y Rhai
Erlidir o Achos Cyfiawnder’
that was drawn when he was in
prison.
Some of the posters also
revisit the world of pop including Pinaclau Pop, the disco of
Mici Plwm, and the psychdelia
of the end of the sixties in the
form of Y Blew – the first ever
electric rock group in Welsh.
Other notable icons include
Meic Stecens, Dafydd Iwan,
and y Tebot Piws which appear
on posters that reflect the exuberance and confidence of the
time.
‘It will appeal to the nostalgia of the older generation but
most importantly, I hope, to the
younger generation who were
not around when the company
was established during the
excitement of the late 1960s.’
said the founder of Y Lolfa,
Robat Gruffudd.
Y Lolfa was established in
1967 during an exciting period
of fun and protest. The company evolved gradually, producing
an ever widening range of popular books in both Welsh and
English, and next year will be
celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Calendr Posteri’r Lolfa 2017
(£10, Y Lolfa) is available now.
The True Meaning of 'British'
(Continued from page15 )
terms with the English, and of
paying an oppressive annual
tribute of gold, silver, cattle,
hounds and hawks.”
Lewis
continues,
“Negotiations were in progress
between certain of the Celtic
and Norse inhabitants of the
British Isles, the Irish, the
Danes of Dublin, and the peoples of Wales, Scotland,
Strathclyde, Cornwall and
Brittany (a Cornish-Welsh
colony in N.W. France), with a
view to forming a pan-Celtic
coalition that might resolutely
oppose the aggressive policy of
Athelstan. On one of his coins
and in many of his charters he is
proudly described as ‘King of
the English and ruler of all
Britain’.”
From Armes Prydein:
In forest, in field, in hill, in
dale,
A candle will march for us in
darkness,
Cynan leading the charge in
each assault,
Saxons will sing their lamentations before the Britons.
The last line, in Welsh, reads
“Saesson rac Brython gwae a
genyn” and “Saeson” (Saxon) is
still the Welsh word for an
Englishman. Cynan is the son of
prophecy (mab darogan), who
will return from the past to lead
this Celtic federation under the
banner of Saint David.
Unfortunately, in 937, Athelstan
won a decisive victory at
Brunanburh.
Even the Irish got into the
‘British’ sweepstakes. “All of
them (Nemedians) the sea
engulphed / Save only three
times ten.” (Poem by Eochy 0’
Flann, c. 960.) Britan, their
chief, settled in Britain, giving
his name to the country; while
two others returned to Ireland,
after many wanderings, as the
Firbolgs and People of Dana. If
this is true, ‘British’ is Irish in
origin!
Regum Britanniae) appeared
about 1136, claimed that
Brutus, great-grandson of
Aeneas, was the first king of
Britain. Brutus came from the
Mediterranean and was said to
have led the enslaved Trojans to
the Island of Albion, as the
British Isles was known; suggesting that the original Britons
were from Troy. Brutus is
reported to have defeated many
giants including ‘Gog’ and
‘Magog’, “then called the island
Britain from his own name, and
his companions he called
Britons. His intention was that
his memory should be perpetuated… A little later the language of the people, which had
up to then been known as
Trojan or Crooked Greek, was
renamed British, for the same
reason.”
All this was taken, according
to the author, from an “old book
in the British language.” But
More Trouble
1066 saw the appearance of
Haley’s comet and Norman
troops in Hastings. Geoffrey of
Monmouth, who’s History of
the Kings of Britain (Historia
mythical or not, the Historia
filled a gap in British history;
providing the Normans with a
history of their adopted land,
confirmation of their superiority
and the Welsh, their first coherent history of themselves.
Geoffrey ended his book with
the comment that he was leaving the history of the “English”
to fellow historians, William of
Malmesbury and Henry of
Huntingdon.
Of more recent times, the
superb historian John Davies
tells us, “In 1577, John Dee, a
London Welshman, claimed
that King Arthur had won a vast
empire in the north Atlantic,
and that the voyages of
Madog... had confirmed the title
of the Welsh to those territories.
By the Age of Elizabeth, he
asserted, they were under the
sovereignty of the queen as successor to the Welsh princes. It
was Dee, it would appear, who
coined the term British Empire;
British in the sense of
Brythonic. Gwyn A. Williams,
in his uniquely provocative
way, has argued that it is “fitting that the term was coined by
a Welshman. Inventing the
British Empire would be a sufficient source of pride or shame.”
Elizabeth the First was fond
of the Welsh. Some say her
grandfather, Henry the Seventh,
had spoken the language. He
was crowned on Bosworth Field
mainly because of the heroism
of soldiers from Wales, the land
of his birth. That day was also
the first recorded occasion when
the modern Welsh flag–Y
Ddraig Goch (the Red
Dragon)–led an army to victory.
I’ll give the last word to
Antone Minard, University of
Wales, Aberystwyth (Center for
Advanced Welsh & Celtic
Studies). “‘British’ and ‘Welsh’
was the same thing until the
1800’s… but it hasn’t been for
centuries. Now, I hear people
(even people from Wales) saying ‘British’, meaning people
from England only!” So if you
see any naked, tattooed, blue
Welsh people wandering around
the neighborhood, be kind to
them, they might be Ancient
Britons.
NINNAU
Page 17
Peniel Church Gymanfa Ganu, Rewey, Wisconsin
by Mary Williams-Norton
Especially nice late spring
weather brought a large group
together to sing, listen to readings, and enjoy the te bach at
the gymanfa ganu held on June
12 at Peniel Presbyterian
Church located in the
Pecatonica Settlement area near
Rewey , Wisconsin. Geraint
Wilkes of Hartland was the
director, Trefor Williams from
Milwaukee the co-director, and
Barbara Brown from Mount
Horeb provided piano accompaniment.
The singing began with and
enthusiastic rendition of The
Star Spangled Banner followed
by Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
Providing interesting background information about each
one, Geraint led the group in the
singing of 14 hymns.
The memorial hymn, Nes I
Dre, was dedicated to Betty
Timm. Betty was an enthusiastic participant in cymanfaoedd
canu for many years, served on
the Board of Trustees of the
Welsh
Gymanfa
Ganu
Association of Wisconsin, and
worked with her friend Janet
Morgan to report on cymanfaoedd canu and other events to
Ninnau & Y Drych. Betty’s role
was to photograph highlights of
the events while Janet prepared
the text of the articles. Betty
died May 26, 2016, after a
Peniel Presbyteriam Church
courageous battle with cancer.
Although performances of
special music are usually given
between groups of hymns at
Wisconsin cymanfaoedd canu,
Geraint announced that special
music would be replaced by
readings. He gave the first one,
excerpts from the Congressional Record from February
17, 1971. Here the Honorable
Thomas M. Rees, a representative from California, spoke
about Welsh in America. Rees
gave many examples of how
people from the small country
of Wales had made major contributions to the United States of
America. For example, he noted
that the captain of the
Mayflower as well as 20 percent of the Pilgrim Fathers were
Welsh. U. S. Presidents as well
as a number of university presidents (e.g. Yale and William
and Mary in Virginia) were of
Welsh descent. In his address
Rees challenged his colleagues
to walk up the steps inside the
Washington Monument to see
the stone inscribed “FY IAITH,
FY NGWLAD, FY NGENEDL,
Wales, CYMRU AM BYTH”.
Trefor Williams read Y
Llwynog (The Fox), a poem by
R. Huws Parry. He also read a
passage from Daniel Owens’
book Enoc Huws wherein the
character Wil Brian discusses
“On the Fellowship”. His
humorous critique of Church
versus Chapel customs seemed
to be a particularly interesting
and pertinent piece to be heard
by a chapel full of people
attending a cymanfa ganu.
Before the last two hymns—
Cwm Rhondda and God Be
With You—Geraint led his
favorite hymn, Mae D’eisiau, a
hymn he has included in all the
cymanfaoedd canu he has
directed over the years. He
announced that because of
painful medical problems he
would probably not be directing
cymanfaoedd canu in the future.
His leadership shall be missed
especially at Peniel Church in
Rewey.
Before leaving Peniel the
group enjoyed a te bach with a
generous selection of treats. As
always, the local organizers
confronted the group with a
long table loaded down with
snacks and beverages so no one
was likely to go home hungry.
Residents of Wisconsin and
neighboring state look forward
to several more cymanfaoedd
canu in the state during the
summer and fall. Dates, times,
and locations are given at
http://wggaw.org .
A Resounding
Success!
First Congregational United
Church of Christ Gymanfa
by Devin L. Scherck
It is often said that neither
snow nor rain, nor gloom of
night can keep the postman
away. This statement can very
much apply to the tradition of
cymanfoedd canu as well. For
though the weather was threatening and gloomy outside,
inside the atmosphere was
bright with song at the Gymanfa
Ganu held on July 10th at First
Congregational United Church
of Christ in Redgranite,
Wisconsin.
The singing was led by Mr.
Trefor Williams of Milwaukee
with organ accompaniment by
Reverend Thomas White of
North Fond du Lac. The session began with a gallant
singing of the “The Star
Spangled Banner” and ended
with stirring renditions of “Hen
Wlad Fy Nhadau” and “God Be
With You Till We Meet Again”.
Other hymns featured included
such poignant pieces as “Llef”,
“Ebenezer”, and “Penparc”; as
well as triumphant hymns such
Trefor Williams
as “Calon Lan”, “Blodwen”,
“Cwm Rhondda” and the children’s hymn “Dring I Fyny
Yma”.
Although it is typical for special music to be interspersed
between song sets, Mr.
Williams thought that in light of
the horrific acts of violence
going on throughout the world it
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Page 18
might be interesting if he and
Mr. Geraint Wilkes of Hartland
spoke on the history and effect
of war on Wales and its people.
A men’s ensemble consisting
of Christopher Guy (of
Plymouth), Geriant Wilkes,
Trefor Williams, Devin Scherck
(of Fond du Lac), Chris Cutts (
of Wild Rose) and Thomas
White provided the music for
the offertory by singing the
hymn “In the Cross of Christ I
Glory” to the tune “Lausanne”.
Throughout the afternoon,
Reverend Gene Krueger of
Wautoma provided prayers and
humor. After the festivities, a
generous te bach was provided
by the people of the church.
More information about future
cymanfaoedd canu held in
Wisconsin can be found at
wgga.org.
Ninnau’s New
Correspondent
for Wisconsin
Devin Scherck is Ninnau’s
new Wisconsin correspondent.
He is 19 years old and will be a
sophomore at the University of
Wisconsin Fond du Lac in the
fall. He is a music education
major with hopes of becoming a
band director. Devin first
became interested in Welsh
hymns and hymn singing when
his grandmother and he went to
a Gymanfa at the Peniel church
four years ago. She had known
Tom White many years ago and
happened to see in the paper
that he was playing the old reed
organ at the Gymanfa and she
thought it would be interesting
to go. Since Devin had a strong
interest in liturgical music it
didn’t take much coaxing for
him to go along either. Since
then he’s been to every
Gymanfa in the state save for
Three Lakes.
Croeso Devin!
The Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir
By Alan Sadegursky
The 20th Anniversary Gala
Concert at Christ Church Deer
Park on May 14th, 2016 was a
resounding
success.
Expressions of appreciation
from our nearly sold out audience tell us that the event was
enjoyed by all. The energy in
the room was electric as our
current membership, past choir
members, pianist/ accompanist
Matthew Coons, guest soloist
soprano Shannon Mercer and
celtic flutist Amy O’Neill took
to the stage. Everyone had a
great time, people were asking
when our next show will be, we
believe we received many more
followers for our website, standing ovations by all who attended, gave the TWMVC great satisfaction on a job well done...
Strawberries and
Welsh Cakes!
The Southern Tier Welsh Society’s tent in the Strawberry
Festival, Owego, NY.
By Janet Allen
Members of The Welsh
Society of the Southern Tier of
New York gathered in June for
their annual picnic, which has
become a firm favorite in recent
years.
A few days later some members of the Society ran a booth
at the annual Strawberry
Festival in Owego, New York,
promoting Wales and Welsh
events. A good time was had by
all.
A Welsh Summer in Upstate New York
By Ted Engle
On June 1, 2016 the Utica St
David’s Society held their regular Executive committee at
Ebenezer’s Café in Sherrill,
New York. It is traditional to
hold the end of the season meeting as a relaxed dinner meeting
with members and spouses. The
Rev. Roger Williams had the
invocation and Robert Jones led
the group in singing the Welsh
National Anthem.
Twenty-two members and
guests were in attendance and
each person related their personal family Welsh roots and
where in Wales their original
ancestors
came
from.
Ebenezer’s is the only restaurant in our area that has a Welsh
décor and serves Welsh deserts.
It is located about eleven miles
South of Interstate 90 near
Utica.
The Society does not have
regular meetings in June and
July which allows the members
to participate in other area
Welsh events. Two area events
regularly attended by our members are the 168th Enlli celebration at Remsen and the French
Road (Hebron) Chapel songfest
in Steuben NY.
Members of the St David’s
Society of Utica attended the
168th Anniversary celebration
of the founding of the Capel
Enlli church outside Remsen,
NY on May 15 th , 2016. The
building ceased to be a church
about fifty years ago and is now
maintained by the RemsenSteuben Historical Society.
Several members of the Utica
Society including Shirley
Tolbert and Sue Bartholomew
were also organizers of the
event. Cathy Martin led the oldtime hymn service and Sue
Bartholomew was organ accompanist. A Tech Bach reception
was held after the ceremony.
Many small chapels once dotted the landscape of northern
New York with the arrival of
the Welsh starting in 1795 but
only a few remain standing
today as a reminder of the
Welsh influence to our region
The name Enlli is the Welsh
name for Bardsey Island (Ynys
Enlli) just off the coast near
Aberdaron on the Llyn
Peninsula in Northwest Wales.
The island was known as the
island of 20,000 saints and
housed a monastery from 516
AD to 1537 since its founding
by St. Cadfan. The island still
has visitors and summer residents and can be reached by
boat from the village of
Aberdaron. Many people were
buried there and it was a site of
religious pilgrimages.
The early settlers to Upstate
New York were from the surrounding villages on the Llyn
Peninsula and in this instance
from the island itself. That part
of Wales was never densely
A reminder of the many small Welsh chapels that once dotted
the upstate NY landscape.
populated even during the
1800’s but approximately 1,650
Welsh emigrated to the United
States from the Llyn region
between 1795 to 1860. There
were over 400 emigrants from
the small village of Aberdaron
and surrounding hamlets alone.
The second area event was
the annual French Road Welsh
songfest held on the third
Sunday of July.
On July 17 th , the French
Road Cemetery Association
held their annual Welsh song
fest at the French Road
(Hebron) chapel 20 miles’
northeast of Utica NY in
Remsen, NY.
Welsh immigrants formed the
Calvinistic Methodist congregation in 1828 and the chapel was
completed in 1836. Because of
the small size of the congregation they always shared pastors
with other churches and it was
disbanded in the early 1900’s.
The association has maintained the chapel and adjacent
graveyard and has yearly ceremonies to commemorate the
Welsh heritage in Upstate New
York. At one time there were
over 75 small Welsh chapels in
the area and events like this are
held to help maintain the historic remaining structures. The
organizers were Rev. Paul and
Barbara Credle of the Cemetery
Association that maintains the
chapel and cemetery.
This year the song fest was
led by Hugh Jones who has led
A Full House for Old Man’s
Creek Gymanfa
Service Leader Cathy Martin
By Conni Lynch, Kelli
Rozinek
We were so excited to see our
little church on Old Man’s
Creek in Iowa City, IA, completely filled, on July 10th. So
with the wonderful turn-out, we
are already gearing up for July
9, 2017. Hopefully it will be
bigger, and it definitely will be
even better.
We could have squeezed a
few more in, but next year we
plan to have more seating available, plus re-introduce a
potluck. But for this time, we
were very pleased with the
numbers.
Through emails (What DID
we do before the “net”?), phone
calls, and outright help from
many others, we were able to
pull it off. There are just too
many to name all, but we sincerely thank everyone so much
who came and/or lent a hand
As in the past, Richard Tiegs
was a wonderful director and
Susan McGuire played the
piano and pump organ flawlessly. Our stand-in minister, Rev.
Richard Crooks did a fantastic
job, both for the morning
church service and also at the
The church on Old Man’s creek was completely filled for the
first gymanfa in 20 years.
Te Bach and Gymanfa.
The Great Bluegrass Herons
kept everyone tapping their toes
during the tea and joined
Richard during the Gymanfa by
playing Ash Grove. Paul
Roberts and wife Julie, plus
Janet Wilson and husband Mark
have ties to many of those who
make up the Welsh descendants
of our church. They also live in
the area.
It was so rewarding to see
many relatives, old friends and
new faces who made the effort
to join us. Some came from a
distance, and we thank them for
that. All in all, everyone
seemed to thoroughly enjoy
themselves and we hope next
year to build on that enthusiasm.
So please, MARK YOUR
CALENDARS right now so you
don’t forget JULY 9, 2017!
a
many songfests and Gymanfa
Ganu’s in the region. Mr. Jones
was originally from our area
and returned after retiring from
government service at the
Pentagon in Washington DC.
He currently serves as Director
of Music Ministries at the First
United Methodist Church of
Oneida. The guest vocalist was
Evelyn Simanowski accompanied by Doris McDonald. Ms.
Simanowski is a Middle School
student at Adirondack Central
School and has appeared with
the Adirondack Community
Chorus and the Dodge Pratt
Northam - Pratt Players.
Rev. Paul Credle read scripture, gave a short message and
provided the Benediction. A Te
Bach followed the songfest.
More information about the
St David’s Society of Utica or
future area events such as our
Fall Gymanfa Ganu on October
2nd or our Informational Booth
at the Remsen Barn Festival on
September 24-25 th can be
found on our website
www.saintdavidssociety.org or
315-768-7115.
Vocalist Evelyn Simanowski and Songfest Leader
Hugh Junes
St. David’s Society of
Utica 2016-2017
Scholars
By Ted Engle
Eight scholarships were
awarded to students connected
to members of St. David’s
Society of Utica according to
President Ted Engle. He noted
that there was an outstanding
group of applicants this year.
According to Engle, the understanding, promotion and perpetuation of the Welsh-American
culture is a primary mission of
St. David’s Society. Awarding
scholarships to those who
appreciate their Welsh heritage
is a means for accomplishing
this goal.
Scholarships ranging from
$400 to $500 went to the following individuals:
Michael A. Dousharm III, son
of Michael and Melissa
Dousharm of Stittville, will be
starting his first year at
Mohawk Valley Community
College.
Courtney L. Doxtader, daughter of Thomas and Linda
Doxtader of Utica, is enrolled
in the dental hygiene program at
SUNY Canton.
Avery R. Jones will be starting her second year at SUNY
Canton to work toward a career
in dental hygiene. She is the
daughter of Gwynn V. Jones of
Rome.
Brandon T. Pugh, son of Nora
and Mark Pugh, will be attend-
ing Clarkson University with a
major in Electrical Engineering.
He resides in Whitesboro.
Emily J. Rhoades of New
Hartford is in her second year at
Siena College with a major in
English. She is the daughter of
Laura and William Rhoades.
Krista Rounds, of Whitesboro
is a third year student at SUNY
at Geneseo majoring in Biology.
She is the daughter of Daniel
Rounds and Karen RoundsCleary.
Rebecca G. Williams of
Clinton will be starting her second year at Hamilton College
with a major in History. She
resides in Clinton and is the
daughter of Jay G. Williams III
and Lillian V. Williams.
Alexandra L. Wynne is in her
fourth year at Ithaca College
majoring
in
Integrated
Marketing Communications.
She is the recipient of a special
scholarship presented by the
family of L. John Blumberg in
his memory. She is the daughter
of Douglas and Jill Wynne of
Holland Patent.
According to St. David’s
Society Scholarship Chair
David Dudgeon, donations to
the scholarship fund may be
sent to St. David’s Society Trust
Fund in care of Treasurer Cindy
Gilbert, 3 Woodstock Court,
New Hartford, NY 13413.
NINNAU
Page 19
Highlights from the Malad Valley Welsh Festival
By Jean Thomas
The 12 th annual Malad
Valley Welsh Festival, held
June 24-26, celebrated the 152
years of Welsh heritage in
Malad, Idaho. Beginning in the
1860s, Welsh Mormon pioneers
crossed the plains and settled
the Malad Valley just over what
became the state line between
Idaho and Utah.
Educational presentations are
always a highlight of the
Festival.
Lucie Thomas
Washburn brought a littleknown part of Welsh history to
life with “Yr Hen Ogledd: The
Ancient Welsh in Scotland.”
Boyd Roberts talked about “The
History of the Roberts Family in
Oneida County.” Coming from
Wales, Wil Aaron, a documentary film maker, presented on
“Walking Wales: The Sites and
Sights” and showed clips from
his award-winning films.
Continuing the tradition of
the Welsh being famous for
their music, four concerts were
held during the Festival. Over
20 young musicians performed
piano, vocal, and instrumental
numbers at the youth concert.
The Friday evening choral concert featured three local and
regional choral groups and
began with a short presentation
by Dr. Ron Dennis about the
importance of music to Wales.
After 12 piano ensembles, the
piano duet concert concluded
with a rousing arrangement of
“Stars and Stripes Forever.”
The final concert of the
Festival was the only event on
Sunday. Dr. James Drake, an
internationally known organist,
performed on the organ that
began his career when he was
growing up in Malad. Dr.
Cathy Clayton of the University
of Utah performed on the harp,
the instrument for which the
Welsh are famous, and told
about the importance of the harp
in Welsh culture.
Several Celtic music groups
performed on the outdoor
amphitheatre on both days of
the Festival. The finale concert
began with a traditional gymanfa ganu, a sing-along, where
attendees learned some Welsh
words and phrases through folk
songs.
Displays featured the family
histories of 32 of the first pioneer families to come to Malad
Valley. Pedigree charts, census
records, and family treasures
were on display throughout the
Festival. Exhibits about life in
Wales, including food, clothing,
agriculture, and mining, showed
attendees what life was (and is)
like in Wales.
Tours were given of the oldest church in Malad Valley –
the 135-year-old Presbyterian
Church. On both afternoons of
the Festival, wagon tours took
visitors along two historic
routes in Malad: Bannock
Street, which was a cutoff of the
old Oregon Trail, and Main
Street, which was known as the
Gold Road because it was the
freighting route between the
railroad in Corinne, Utah, and
the gold and silver mines of
Montana. Signs along the routes
indicated the owners of the
properties in 1910, according to
the oldest extant plat map of
Malad Village (as it was known
in 1910 because it didn’t have
enough people to qualify as a
city in Idaho).
There were a lot of events for
kids at the Festival this year. A
bouncy castle, a coloring contest, face painting, and the
opportunity to paint their own
dragons (the mascot for Malad
High School) were fun for all
kids. They also played the
games their ancestors may have
played in Wales and as they
crossed the Plains to Malad
Valley. The Malad Middle
School MathCounts Teams
organized the heritage games
for the Festival. The 8th graders
of Malad Middle School who
won the history project competition presented their essays
about historic Malad Valley
sites.
The photography exhibit and
competition featured pictures of
Wales taken by the many Malad
residents who have visited the
2016 NAACLT Convention
Albany, NY
by Robert J. Jones
The 2016 North American
Association for Celtic Language
Teachers (NAACLT) annual
conference was held from June
8th to the 11th at the Desmond
Hotel and Conference Center in
Albany, New York. The conference moves from location to
location throughout Canada and
the United States with periodic
trips to the six Celtic nations,
most recently to Ireland in
2014.
Each year one of the six
countries is chosen as the focus
for the conference; this year it
was Wales.
The conference opened on the
evening of June 8 th with an
open-bar reception in one of the
indoor courtyards of the hotel
next to their koi pond. The
Desmond is built around the
concept of a colonial town with
indoor courtyards with live
plantings from small plants to
full-size trees so guests can
enjoy the sense of being outside
throughout the year.
On Thursday June 9 th and
Friday June 10th around twenty
papers and presentations were
delivered touching on nearly
each one of the Celtic languages. This year as Wales was
the focus country, there were a
few more papers on the Welsh
language than normal, but
Breton, Cornish, Irish and Manx
were also represented including
a paper on Irish language medium schools, the role of Irish in
the events around the Easter
Rebellion, and the significance
of punctuation in Breton language publications.
Topics of Welsh interest
included the evolution of color
words in the language, the
importance of institutions in
maintaining Welsh in Patagonia
and a history of the tradition of
Welsh hymnody in the United
States.
The conference included two
specially invited speakers. Our
keynote speaker was Hefina
Page 20
NAACLT Attendees listen to a presentation on
Irish language medium schools.
Phillips who is well known in
Welsh-North American circles
and to the readers of Ninnau.
She spoke on the rhetorical
question of why we should
work to maintain the Celtic languages. Speaking from the heart
and from her lifetime experiences as the daughter of a fervent Welsh nationalist, she gave
many examples and arguments
as to why it is worthwhile to
fight for the survival of our
Celtic and all minority languages.
In addition to our keynote
speaker, we were also delighted
to be paid a visit by Michael
Henry of Point Productions and
the University of Missouri who
spoke on his new Welsh language learning program called
Cada Día Welsh. The program,
currently in beta and funded by
the University of South Wales,
blends a live online learning
component with social media
and Duolingo.
On Friday evening the conference attendees gathered in the
Lodge of the Desmond for our
annual banquet at which we
were regaled with a variety of
arrangements of Celtic music on
the harp played by local WelshAmerican musician Darhon
Rees-Rohrbacher. The evening
concluded with impromptu
recitations, songs and jokes by
the attendees themselves.
Finally on Saturday most of
the attendees also went on the
annual field-trip. The theme of
the conference itself was “Celtic
Builders and Their Languages:
The Erie Canal and Beyond,” so
for our trip we went west from
Albany along part of the route
of the Erie Canal. Our first stop
was a short walking tour of
Schenectady’s Stockade neighborhood with homes dating the
turn of the 17 th into the 18 th
centuries. Next we stopped at
the Mabee Farm, the oldest
farm in the Mohawk Valley,
before having a picnic lunch at
Fort Hunter, one of the few
places were all three iterations
of the Canal can be seen at one
place and which is also home to
the famous ruined aqueduct
across the Schoharie Creek. In
the afternoon we toured
Johnson Hall, home to Irish
North-American Sir William
Johnson, and then finally went
to Fort Klock, a fortified farmstead along the Mohawk.
Despite its name, NAACLT is
open not only to teachers, both
professional and community, of
Celtic languages, but also to
language activists, enthusiasts
and Celtic language musicians.
If you would like more information about NAACLT, please go
to www.naaclt.org. We would
love to see you at a future conference.
land of their ancestors. The
Oneida Quilters’ annual quilt
show afforded attendees the
opportunity to vote on their
favorite quilts. Just a short drive
out to Samaria allowed attendees to visit the places where
the Welsh pioneers first settled
in Malad Valley.
The Festival’s community
meals included the Senior
Center-sponsored hamburger
cookout and the Samaria
Community Foundation-sponsored pancake-bacon-egg-potato
breakfast. Vendors sold deli-
cious foods and unique home
crafts.
The Festival was partially
funded by generous donations
from businesses and individuals
in Malad, donations to the
Malad Valley Welsh Society,
and grants from the Idaho
Humanities Council, Idaho
Commission on the Arts, Rocky
Mountain Power Foundation,
and Union Pacific Railroad
Foundation. See www.
welshfestival.com for pictures
of the Festival.
The Influence of Welsh
Hymn Writers Found in
Many Denominational
Hymnals
A display of Welsh items put together by Mair Alsgaard.
By Mair Alsgaard
The Saginaw Valley Chapter
(Michigan) of the American
Guild of Organists presented a
program in May at Trinity
Episcopal Church in Bay City,
featuring hymn tunes written by
Welsh composers,
Presenters were Rev. Andreas
Teich, Pastor of Messiah
Lutheran Church in Bay City,
and Rev. Stephen Starke, Pastor
of St. John Luther Church in
Amelith
The program featured ten
hymn tunes found in the majority of present day hymnals
Featured were Ar Hyd y Nos
(All Through the Night),
Blaenwern (Holy Spirit God
Proceeding) Cym Rhondda
(Guide Me O Thou Great
Jehovah) Gonfalon Royal (O
Saviour of the Fallen Race),
Hyfrydol (Love Divine, All
Loves Excelling) Lledrod (Hail
to the Lord’s Anointed)
Rhosymedre (My Song is Love
Unknown) Rhuddlan (Judge
Eternal) and Suo Gan (Now the
Heavens Start to Whisper) —the latter found in the recently
published Presbyterian Hymnal.
Organists and AGO members,
Patti Bowen and Dr. Steven
Egler accompanied the hymn
singing as well as offering
Preludes based on Welsh tunes
The audience participated in
singing all thee hymns, led by a
community choir directed by
Robert Sabourin, Dean of the
Chapter.
Following the festival, a
reception was held featuring
Welsh Cakes, Tea and assorted
goodies. Various promotional
items about Wales were supplied by Mair Alsgaard- these
included maps, brochures,
Welsh Lovespoons and copies
of Ninnau.
The American guild of
Organists is the national professional association serving the
organ and choral fields and
serves approximately 17,000
members in more than 300
chapters throughout the USA.
Founded in 1896, the guild
seeks to set and maintain high
musical standards promoting
understanding and appreciation
of all aspects of organ and
choral music.
YR ENFYS
Quarterly publication of Welsh expatriates the world
over. Your link with Wales and the overseas Welsh
communities. Bilingual content.
Published by Wales International.
For further information contact:
J.B. Jones, 7 Victoria Rd., Old Colwyn,
Clwyd, LL29 9SN, Wales, U.K.
By Danny Proud
Notes from Welsh Heritage Week 2016
Welsh learners in North
America come alive each year
as the calendar turns over to
Gorffennaf—the month of
July—because their favorite
weeklong Welsh course beckons. For me that course is
Welsh Heritage Week, which
almost always falls on the last
full weekend of the month. This
year WHW (pronounced ooohoo) ran July 17-24 at
Algonquin College in Ottawa,
Ontario.
Every year WHW is different.
New teachers from Wales join
the staff, new students from the
host community show up, and
unpredictable and magical
things just happen throughout
the long week. For a returning
dysgwr such as myself, it is
exciting to reunite with old
friends
from
Kansas,
Pennsylvania,
Virginia,
California, Illinois, New York,
Delaware, Ontario, etc.
The early birds who came for
the Saturday pre-course tour of
Ottawa were all there when my
sister Kit and I arrived on
Sunday afternoon with harps in
tow. That evening everyone
received their course books
from director Beth Landmesser
at the welcome in the dorm
lounge, the students and the
staff were introduced, and then
the sgwrs (talking) began in
both languages.
Every day we got up for
breakfast and then walked over
to the classroom building for
announcements and language
classes. Rhian Hughes plunged
my class into Cymraeg, a shock
for some of us who hadn’t kept
up with the language for a year!
It’s fun to learn things like
erchyll (“horrible”) and bwlio
(“to bully”). Following class,
we assembled for ysgol gan, the
singing school where Iwan Guy
guided us in pronouncing Welsh
lyrics and singing in parts.
Afternoons all week long you
get to take your pick of
Literature, More Welsh, Folk
Dance (led this year by
Prydwen Elfed-Owens), Session
Band (led by newcomer Bili
Efans), Folk Singing, and Harp
(led by first-timer Ann
Hopcyn). It drives me crazy that
we cannot squeeze all of these
offerings into the four hours
after lunch without having to
skip something!
Monday night we had our
meeting in the lounge and then
the movie made in Wales,
Pride. Tuesday was pub night at
the Clocktower Brew Pub, featuring the best cwrw from
Ottawa and the best caneuon
werin from Wales. The competitions for the eisteddfod were
announced, so that people could
start working on their sentences
(words beginning with the letters “ONTARIO”), limericks,
poetry and prose entries. And
our minds’ wheels began turning for what we could perform
in the recitation and music competitions.
Wednesday night we enjoyed
the participants’ noson lawen.
Thursday the staff entertained
us with their considerable talents, and then came Friday’s
twmpath, featuring Prydwen
calling the dances and Bili’s
band providing the music.
Shining on all faces was the
sheer joy of experiencing Welsh
dances and tunes coming
together.
By Saturday morning,
exhaustion had crept over our
group. Our last ysgol gan session in preparation for Sunday’s
cymanfa was listless. Bodies
dragged themselves back to the
dorm rooms following lunch.
Then, somehow, the evening of
A Service to
Commemorate
By Barry Morgan
Archbishop of Wales
During this summer, many
communities in Britain have
been holding services to commemorate the centenary of the
start of the Battle of the
Somme.
The
Welsh
Government held one such service at Llandaff Cathedral and
the Western Front Association
decided to hold one in Mametz
Wood in Northern France, one
of the bloodiest battles of the
Somme, on 7th July.
As part of the Battle of the
Somme in July 1916, the 38th
(Welsh) Division was sent to
capture Mametz Wood, the
largest wood on the whole
Somme battlefront, lying
between the German front line
trench system which had been
captured and the second line
trench system a few miles
North. Mametz Wood lay
between the two and was a mile
wide and a mile deep. It was
thick woodland and was heavily
defended by the Prussian
Guard. The Welsh Division
consisted of soldiers from all
over Wales and several Welsh
regiments including the Royal
Welsh Fusiliers, the South
Wales Borderers and the Welsh
Regiment. It was a battle that
was to last 5 days and a thousand men were killed, several
thousand wounded as well as
thousands on the German side.
As we gathered to hold a service to commemorate all this,
facing the woods itself, it was
hard to believe that such a battle
had taken place in such a small
and now peaceful place with the
terrible loss of life. The people
of Mametz have never forgotten
what happened and the small
village of Mametz was full of
Welsh flags and a reception was
laid on afterwards by the Mayor
and the District Governor for
the Welsh soldiers who came,
the descendants of those who
had been killed, the First
Minister of Wales, the Presiding
Officer of the Assembly and the
leaders of all the main political
parties in Wales. During the
service, led by me, at which the
Male Voice Choir of Treorchy
led the singing, the First
Minister spoke in Welsh,
English, French and German,
since a representative of the
German government was also
present.
Wreaths were then laid at the
memorial on a hill opposite the
wood. This consists of a large
Welsh dragon by David
Peterson, the Blacksmith sculptor on a concrete plinth, all of
which was completed in 1987
after huge fundraising events in
Wales.
The Battle of the Somme was
one of the longest battles of the
First World War and among the
bloodiest in human history since
there were a million casualties
in all. It was good to remember
the Welsh contribution to all
this during the day. Ironic however that the service took place
two weeks after Britain had
decided to withdraw from the
European Common Market – a
subject which our hosts were
too polite to mention. The
bonds forged in 1914 – 16 however will never be broken.
Dancers Ruthanne Ankney and Danny Proud, Leslie Coxall and Kit
Reynolds, and Gwen Dodson and Will Fanning prepare their entrance
for the Welsh Cwac in the dance competition.
the eisteddfod arrived with our
energy restored and our group
transformed into costumes and
dress clothes. What an evening!
First places in the various
eisteddfod categories were
awarded to Ruthanne and
Leslie, as Llenci Mul (dance);
Tegwen with a poem on Capel
Celyn (recitation); Cor Cymry
singers with “Sia Hamba”
(group singing); Rhian’s Posse,
the literature class, with Robat
Gruffudd’s “A gymri di
Gymru?” (group recitation);
Nancy with Delyth Evans’
“Mwynder Maldwyn” on the
harp (solo instrumental); the
Tom Jones Memorial Session
Band on an original arrangement by Bili Efans of
“Marwnad Llywelyn ein Llyw
Olaf” (group instrumental); and
Nancy and Judy in a new category (conversation recitation).
Donna won the sentence competition and Danny had best
limerick. Whether it was
because of the participants’
exertions competing multiple
times in the eisteddfod and the
noson lawen or because of the
tiring travel required each day
between buildings in the heat
and humidity, no poems or
prose pieces were submitted for
adjudication. The most stunning
visual of the evening and of the
week was the sight of 12
harpists at their stations together
playing a medley of Welsh
tunes arranged for them by Ann
Hopcyn.
The week’s hymn singing
rehearsals culminated with the
cymanfa ganu on Sunday morning, Iwan Guy directing. John
Albert Evans departed us this
year, and many words were
shared to honor his memory. He
will be missed and celebrated as
long as WHW goes on.
The sad moments of taking
leave of each other at week’s
end were fleeting, for now we
look forward to our next gathering in 2017 at the Colorado
School of Mines in Golden,
Colorado.
The Welsh At Mametz Wood
By James Thomas
The Welsh at Mametz Wood
is a series of pieces on this battle in July 1916 that still reverberates in Wales today. Several
poets who served in Welsh units
in or near Mametz during the
Somme Campaign in the First
World War remembered it in
verse. Other writers are more
recent. Rewritten from the first
versions posted on the St.
David’s Society of New York
website Blog, these pages will
now appear in Ninnau. I would
also like to note the useful prose
of Phil Carradice from BBC
Wales History, Andrew
Dickson of The Guardian, and
author Andrew Green of gwallter, “a blog and more from
Swansea.”
Prologue: The Battle of the
Somme 1 July 1916 and
“Aftermath”
At 7:28 am on 1 July 1916,
British Lt. Cecil Lewis, flying
reconnaissance over the German
trenches, heard an “ear-splitting
roar.” 8,000 feet below his
monoplane, a blast from a mine
nicknamed Lochnagar had just
exploded 50 feet beneath those
trenches. Another burst from Y
Sap, The Tunnel, ripped the
earth and the “two enormous
cypress trees” swelled up
almost a mile above the northern French village of La
Boiselle in Picardy. At 7:30 the
British infantry went over the
top. The Battle of the Somme
had begun.
The repercussion from
Lochnagar swatted Lt. Lewis’s
Morane-Saulnier sideways
while a “strange gaunt silhouette” invaded the sky over “the
two white eyes of the craters,”
each 300 feet across and 70 feet
deep. At the western end of the
Albert Road (now the D929),
the Lincolnshire Regiment, the
Grimsby Chums, advanced into
the remaining German troops.
Unfortunately for the British,
not all the trenches or German
guns had been destroyed by the
land mines or the artillery bombardment of the week before.
Divisions from the British
Third and Fourth Army under
General Sir Douglas Haig
advanced north of the Somme
River on German positions. The
French Sixth Army under
Marshall Joseph Joffre attacked
to the south. The German
Explosion under Hawthorne Ridge, 1 July 1916:
Ernest Brooks
Second Army commanded by
General Fritz von Below crumbled on its left flank on the
south. The British left flank further north had its own troubles.
The Battle of the Somme,
called “141 days of horror,”
lasted until 18 November 1916,
and was the largest battle of the
First World War on the Western
Front. In less than five months,
there were more than one million casualties from the three
armies, killed, wounded, or
missing in action.
On the first day alone, the
British army, in round numbers,
took 60,000 casualties, including 20,000 dead. Official numbers later listed 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 killed.
The French had perhaps an easier day with a total of 1,590
casualties. German sources are
not as well known in English,
but their Second Army probably
lost about 10,000 men on that
first day.
On the Somme the Allies
tried to lower the pressure on
two other major military problems at the time. Further south
in France, the Battle of Verdun,
more famous in French history
than the Somme, had begun on
21 February 1916 and lasted
until 18 December. In round
numbers the French took a half
million casualties with 160,000
killed, the Germans 400,000
casualties with 140,000 dead.
On the Eastern Front the
Brusilov Offensive had Russian
armies attacking German and
Austro-Hungarian troops along
200 miles from Belorussia to
Romania from 4 June to 20
September 1916. Russia took
500,000 casualties while the
Austrian and German empire
casualties totaled 1,325,000.
This “June Advance” was the
greatest success of the Russian
Empire before dissolving in its
1917 Revolution.
In 2016 at 7:28 am BST on 1
July, a two minute silence was
observed across the United
Kingdom. In northern France at
the Thiepval Memorial just
north of La Boiselle, the actor
Charles
Dance
read
“Aftermath” by poet Siegfried
Sassoon. Attached to the 1 st
Battalion, Royal Welsh
Fusiliers, Lt. Sassoon fought at
the Somme in the sector at a village near a small grove of trees
called Mametz Wood.
Have you forgotten yet?...
For the world’s events have
rumbled on since those gagged
days,
Like traffic checked a while
at the crossing of city ways:
And the haunted gap in your
mind has filled with thoughts
that flow
Like clouds in the lit heavens of life; and you’re a man
reprieved to go,
Taking your peaceful share
of Time, with joy to spare.
But the past is just the same—
and War’s a bloody game...
Have you forgotten yet?...
Look down, and swear by the
slain of the War that you’ll
never forget.
NINNAU
Page 21
Samuel Davies- Evangelist of Religious Liberty
By Thomas Lawton Jones
In a Presbyterian meeting
house in Hanover County,
Virginia, a bright young boy listened intently to the preacher,
trying his best to absorb every
word. He had too. For he knew
that his mother and older sister
would quiz him on the sermon
during the carriage ride home.
That boy would grow up to be
the eloquent American patriot
Patrick Henry, who would credit that influential preacher for
much of his oratorical skill, as
well as his view of liberty. That
preacher was Samuel Davies,
acclaimed as “the outstanding
preacher of Colonial America”
and “the animating soul of the
whole dissenting interest in
Virginia and North Carolina”
(Sweet, 65).
In the struggle for religious
liberty in the American
colonies, two Welshmen stand
out: Roger Williams in New
England (see Ninnau JulyAugust 2015) and Samuel
Davies in Virginia and North
Carolina.
Samuel Davies was born
November 3, 1723, to David
and Martha Davies, Welsh
Baptists of New Castle County,
Delaware. The Davieses were
deeply religious, and Martha
named her son after the prophet
Samuel with the hope that he
would enter the ministry. Yet
when Samuel was of age, the
Davieses lacked the finances for
a university education, so they
sent him to be tutored by the
Rev. Samuel Blair in Blair’s
academy in Faggs Manor,
Pennsylvania. Blair’s institution
was one of several disparagingly dubbed “log colleges.”
The first so-called Log
College was founded in 1735 by
the Rev. William Tennent to
educate his younger sons and
other promising young men for
the ministry, one of whom was
Samuel Blair. After Blair
assumed a pastorate in Chester
County, Pennsylvania, he
opened an academy similar to
Tennent’s. Samuel Davies was
to be his most renowned graduate and leader of The Great
Awakening in the Southern
Colonies, particularly in
Virginia.
The Anglican Church had
held official status in Virginia
since its founding, receiving tax
support from the colonial legislature. Dissenting religious
groups were tolerated, but their
right to formal worship was
effectively denied. In 1743, the
colonial legislature of Virginia
licensed Presbyterian “reading
rooms” in Polegreen and three
communities in and around
Hanover County.
Samuel Davies was commissioned as an evangelist to
Virginia in February of 1747,
and at age twenty-three he set
out for the South with his bride
of four months, Sarah
(Kirkpatrick). Davies was determined to minister to folk of any
denomination, preaching in dissenting communities and evangelizing wherever the opportu-
In Wales in the days of
Elizabeth I (1559-1603) a
young Welsh Puritan named
John Penry (1559-1593) of
Cefnbrith, Breconshire, had
excited the malice of
Archbishop Whitgift by discovering that the clergy could exist
on voluntary offerings and was
executed as a traitor at St.
Thomas-a-Watering.
His martyrdom, instead of
tending to suppress the
Puritanical movement, gave an
impetus, and Penry’s hint to his
co-religionists that they could
obtain in another land that freedom of worship denied to them
in their own, possibility turned
the thoughts of the Pilgrim
Fathers to New England.
There were 102 aboard the
Mayflower
when
on
Wednesday, September 6, 1620,
the good ship headed out to sea,
and proceeded upon her historic
voyage for the New World.
Half-way across the Atlantic,
fierce gales were encountered,
and during one of them John
Howland (believed to be of
Welsh descent) was washed
overboard, but catching hold of
a rope, managed to get back into
the ship and was saved. After
nearly 8 weeks at sea, the
Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod
on November 11th, with 102 on
board-the same number who
Page 22
nity arose.
In September of 1747,
tragedy struck: Sarah Davies
died in childbirth only a month
before their first anniversary.
The loss hit Samuel so hard that
he began to believe that he, too,
always of frail health, might not
have long to live. That thought
drove Davies to redouble his
evangelistic efforts. By 1748,
Davies had set up his base of
ministry in Hanover County,
Virginia. In October of that
year, he married Jane Holt from
a prominent Williamsburg family. They would have six children together, one dying at
birth.
In the 1740’s, Davies was the
only revivalistic – “New-light”
or “New Side” – Presbyterian
preacher in the county. There
were, however, a few traditional
– “Old Side” – Presbyterians,
who presented little threat to the
Established Church. Davies was
determined to avoid conflict
with the Established Church
clergy, so his sermons were free
of rancorous rhetoric or attacks
on other denominations. He
focused, instead, on careful
exposition of Scripture and
clear presentation of the Gospel.
The strategy worked, much to
the chagrin of the same
Established clergy Davies had
studiously avoided attacking. In
1752, Commissary William
Gilbert Tennent on an elevenmonth fundraising tour of
England and Scotland on behalf
of the College of New Jersey,
an outgrowth of Tennent’s Log
College, during which Davies
preached sixty-three times. The
mission raised six thousand
pounds, including a large contribution from the grandson of
Oliver Cromwell.
In 1759, Davies was offered
the presidency of the College of
New Jersey (which became
Princeton University in 1898),
succeeding Jonathan Edwards,
who had died after only six
weeks in office. At first Davies
demurred, believing someone
else more qualified, but he
eventually accepted. Davies’s
own tenure was also to be short.
He died on February 4, 1761, at
the age of 37.
Few American ministers have
had as much impact on the formation of the yet-to-be-founded
United States of America as
Samuel Davies. Davies influenced not only the eloquence,
but also the principles of the
noted orator and patriot Patrick
Henry. Davies’ fight for religious liberty in the middle and
southern colonies, formed the
groundwork for the First
Amendment of the United
States Constitution.
As for Davies’ spiritual contribution, historian William
Sweet sums it up well:
“Among the many prolific
eighteenth-century preachers,
few if any can be read more
profitably today than Samuel
Davies.” (Sweet, 70)
Resources
Sweet, William Warren.
Revivalism in America.
Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith,
1965.
http://www.sermonindex.net/
modules/articles/index.php?vie
w=category&cid=221
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Lord,_I_Want_to_Be_a_Christi
an
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Samuel_Davies_(clergyman)
The Mayflower and Pilgrim Fathers
The log college
By W. Arvon Roberts
Samuel Davies
Dawson wrote the following to
the Bishop of London:
The Dissenters were but an
inconsiderable number before
the late arrival of certain teachers from the northern colonies. .
. . But since Mr. Davies has
been allowed to officiate in so
many places . . . there has been
a great defection from our religious assemblies. The generality of his followers, I believe,
were born and bred in our communion. (Cited in Sweet, 66)
Davies would eventually
establish seven Presbyterian
congregations in five counties
and win greater religious freedom for dissenters of all denominations. Through his legal
astuteness, he was able to
secure in Virginia the application of England’s Toleration
Act of 1689. His advocacy of
the principles of the “free-born
mind” or “liberty of conscience,” after the model of
Roger Williams, eventually led
to the establishment, after
Davies’ death, of Virginia’s
Declaration of Religious Rights
(1776) and Statute for Religious
Freedom (1786).
Few colonialists, especially in
the South, questioned the propriety of that “peculiar institution” of slavery, nor did Samuel
Davies oppose it. He did, however, conduct a vigorous and
extensive ministry to the slave
population. Unlike the Baptist
and Methodist missionaries who
focused on a personal experience of salvation alone, Davies
insisted that slaves be taught to
read since an understanding and
application of the Bible was
essential to the Christian life.
Davies himself estimated that
he had ministered to over a
thousand African slaves and had
baptized hundreds. African converts were admitted into his
congregations and were permitted to preach. He even wrote
specific hymns for African ministry. The Negro spiritual,
“Lord, I Want to Be a Christian
in My Heart,” is believed to
have been inspired, if not composed, by Samuel Davies.
In 1753, Davies accompanied
fellow Presbyterian minister
started, one having died and one
birth balancing the loss.
The expectant eyes of the
voyagers were greeted with the
sight of low sand hills, wooded
to the verge of the sea, and
numerous wild fowl rose at their
approach, and whales were seen
playing in the bay where they
anchored.
On November 27th, accompanied by the Cpt. Named
Christopher Jones (sounds
Welsh but was a native of
Harwich, Essex), nearly all the
men set out to explore the coast.
The wind was rough, and when
they waded ashore for the night,
snow began to fall and a severe
frost set in, so they must have
spent the night in darkness and
misery.
The result of their explorations, however, was that they
selected an excellent, good harbor, known today as Plymouth
Bay. Upon going ashore the pilgrims in affectionate remembrance of the port in England
from which they had started,
determined to call their settlement New Plymouth, Massachusetts.
I cannot dismiss the claim of
some authorities during the centuries that of the 41 persons
known as the Pilgrim Fathers
were of Welsh origin. Although
there were names such as
Thomas Williams, Thomas
Rogers, Stephen Hopkins and
William Trevor (sometimes
spelled Trevore) who were
believed to have been of Welsh
descent. I am unable to find any
of them being connected to
Wales.
From 1630, during the reign
of Charles I there was a constant influx of Welsh into New
England. Amongst them were
Edward Garfield from Chester,
on the border of Wales, yet of
pure Gaelic stock. He emigrated
with John Winthrop in 1630 and
settled in Massachusetts. James
A. Garfield (1831-81), the martyred US President, traced his
ancestry to Edward Garfield. By
1630 it is computed 4,000
Welsh people had emigrated to
America and by the end of the
century, the total number had
increased to over 80,000.
Why does the delicate and
fragrant artubus bear the name
Mayflower?
One morning Capt. Miles
Standish and John Alden and
Priscilla, whose relations to
each other are well known to
readers of Longfellow, were
walking through a field together. A light covering of snow lay
on the ground but Priscilla’s
eyes perceived a little flower
peeping through it.
‘Stay Cpt. Standish’ she said,
but was too late to prevent his
heavy boot from treading on it.
John Alden made haste to pick
up the flower, which the maiden
A postcard depicting the Mayflower
tenderly nursed. Standish cast a
vexed look at Alden and said,
‘Puritan soldiers have something else to look after besides
flowers.’
‘Nay,’ rejoined Priscilla, ‘but
we need not trample down any
beautiful gift from God’s earth.
Look at it, Captain; it is fragrant
as well as pretty; and is it not a
sturdy little soldier too, battling
with the snow?’
The Captain strode on, and
was presently leading another
attack on the Indians; but
Priscilla and John wondered
about the fields and gathered
many of these blossoms, and
found in them a still small voice
of courage amid the bleakness
of that wintry coast. Such
courage had led the Pilgrims
across the sea in the season of
snow-storms; so Priscilla named
the blossom ‘Mayflower’ after
the ship on which they had voyaged, and wore a spray of them
at her breast when she married
John Alden.
NINNAU & Y DRYCH
The paper of the people
Continuous Publishing
since 1975
Dewi Sant Welsh United Church:Celebrations!
By Hefina Phillips
Do you enjoy birthdays and
anniversaries? Perhaps you are
one of those lucky people that
don’t really need an excuse to
hold a party. You always have
a few bottles of wine in the
fridge and can whip up some
hors d’oeuvres while I’m still
taking off my coat! No, I’m not
one of those either, but I certainly love being invited to a
party.
I am now inviting all of you
to a party- a HUGE party, one
that will stretch over the entire
year. Write this down on your
calendar now: next year, (2017)
is the 110th birthday of Dewi
Sant Welsh United Church in
Toronto, Canada!
Wow, you may say, 110 years
is indeed a long time and
deserves a major celebration.
You may also be somewhat surprised that there is a Welsh
church in Toronto. To be honest, Dewi Sant (named after our
Patron Saint) is the last remaining Welsh church in Canada and
as far as I know, there is now
only the one church in the
States (in New York City)
where services are held regularly in the Welsh language.
North America attracted thousands of Welsh immigrants
from the 17th century onwards,
and as a result there were many
By Reuel S. Amdur
Welsh churches/chapels all over
the continent. Welsh was the
language of these churches as
they successfully attracted
preachers from Wales to minister. keeping the Welsh language
alive and flourishing in North
America proved to be nigh
impossible, probably because
the government policy was “one
country, one language.”
This was not only true of the
Welsh language but other immigrants, in order to assimilate,
turned their backs on their
mother tongue and spoke the
new language, English. Within
a generation or two, English had
become the lingua franca.
Here in Toronto the Welsh
Church has played a pivotal role
in so many aspects of the lives
of the Welsh Diaspora.
Not only is it a place of worship (in both English and
Welsh), but members are our
“family” away from Wales.
They are our friends, we socialize with them, we participate in
events organized by church
committees, we share our talents with them, we chat in
Welsh with those who are bilingual, we share our traditions
and language with the children,
ensuring that they know that
they are little Welsh-Canadians,
we hold choir practices (and
sing almost 100% in Welsh).
To be honest, it is difficult to
enumerate how important this
church is in our lives.
Do you know any people who
are approaching their 110th
birthday? Me neither. But if I
did, I would expect that person
to be fragile, perhaps in illhealth and be completely aware
that his days were almost at an
end.
Unfortunately the same could
be said about our beloved
Welsh church, Dewi Sant.
Membership is at an all time
low, and those of us who attend
services regularly are “getting
on in years”! We seem incapable of attracting young, new
members and even those who at
one time were dependable, regular members, we now see only
at funerals, weddings and baptisms. (I’m sorry to admit there
are more funerals these days
than weddings and baptisms!)
Please make an effort to
attend events and services at
Dewi Sant so that we can keep
the doors of this church open.
A handful of members works
incredibly hard with those aims
in mind, but the doors will not
stay open unless YOU support
this church, not only financially
but in person. Haven’t been
here for a while and “shy” about
returning?
The Birthday Celebration will
give you a bona fide excuse to
start re-attending. Come to the
Joan Hughes and Nancy Jones with their floral decorations.
concerts that are organized, the
special Music Sundays, support
the children by attending their
special services. Above all,
share your talents. We all have
special gifts- recognise yours
and don’t take them for granted.
According to Pablo Picasso, the
purpose of life is to share your
gift with others.
Can you imagine a special
birthday party and no-one
turned up to share in the cake,
laughter and songs? Please
come to next year’s celebrations. We promise you a wonderful party. There will be several special events throughout
the year, so “watch this space”
for constant updates. Also keep
checking out the Eblast and our
website for the latest news:
dewisant.com
Welsh Church in Toronto: A History
The year 2007 was the hundredth anniversary of organized
Welsh worship in Toronto.
Those taking part at the start
were recent immigrants from
Wales. At the time of the early
20 th Century, the wave of
Welsh immigration affecting
Toronto was looking for something other than the burgeoning
coal mines, with their dirt and
danger.
J. Humphreys Jones, historian
of Dewi Sant and former minister of the church, wrote of the
Toronto experience. Wales was
experiencing a religious revival
at the time, and the immigrants
brought that zeal with them.
They were “Welsh men and
women seeking to worship God
in the way they were accustomed to in their homeland.”
In 1906, the St. David’s
Society of Toronto was established. The next year, two
Welshmen, John Roberts and
William Thomas, set out to put
down the roots of a Welsh
church.
Roberts, from
Anglesey, was a member of
Cook’s Presbyterian Church at
the time, and Thomas, from
Denbighshire, was a congregant
at Metropolitan Church,
Methodist. They put their
denominational differences
aside to favor a common Welsh
religious experience.
They began with a meeting
room at Cook’s, one hour after
Sunday services, for Bible
classes. They built their numbers up to 28 for their July 28
service that year, and people
began to meet mid-week in
homes for prayer. The growing
numbers led them in 1908 to
seek a larger venue.
The band of Welsh worshippers moved to Temperance
Hall, for Sunday Bible classes
and evening services. And of
course a choir was formed.
Humphreys Jones characterized
the Welsh religious experience
as “informality of our worship,
the rich tunes of our four-part
singing, the centrality of preaching, the emotional content and
friendliness of our gatherings.”
The Welsh church, Dewi
Sant, was formally established
and affiliated with the Welsh
Presbyterian Church of
America. It called its first minister, R.J. James, like Roberts a
son of Anglesey. He stayed till
1911, only to return to Wales.
His history is one that was often
repeated. The church sought
spiritual leadership from the
homeland, but many ministers
felt the pull of that homeland,
leaving Dewi Sant to seek
again.
Welsh worship moved to a
couple different rental locations
before first renting and then
buying what had been the
Christian Workers’ Church. It
was purchased with $6,000 lent
on favorable terms by the Welsh
Presbyterian
Church
in
America.
The support of American
Welsh Presbyterians was something of a conflict for Dewi Sant
parishioners. In 1925, Canadian
Methodists, Congregationalists,
and most Presbyterian congregations joined together to form
the United Church of Canada.
What would Dewi Sant do, join
the United Church or stay with
the dissenting Presbyterians? In
spite of past favors, it chose to
join the new denomination.
Some Dewi Sant members left
over the issue.
When its minister retired in
1936, the church had to struggle
on a decade later, until the end
of World War II, with lay-led
services. Recruitment of a minister during the war would have
been fruitless.
The Welsh diaspora shares a
common fate with other immigrant groups, assimilation. The
force of assimilation on the
Welsh was especially strong for
several reasons. Virtually all of
the Welsh newcomers were
already fluent in English, the
common language in Toronto.
As well, the openness on the
part of the Welsh and the acceptance by their Torontonian
neighbors, many with British
background, enhanced the effect
of assimilation. Over time,
there was a loss of Welsh fluen-
Rev. Hepburn outside Dewi Sant in Toronto
cy.
Dewi Sant has had difficulty
attracting and keeping Welshspeaking ministers. Currently,
there are fewer theological students in Wales, and those who
graduate are in demand at
home, it is said. As a result, its
appeals for new candidates have
been rather disappointing.
Dewi Sant has advertised in
newspapers in Wales and
appealed for interested persons
on the BBC.
Toronto’s Welsh church has
had to fill its pulpit with nonWelsh ministers. The United
Church of Canada had been
dubious about the church’s staying power, but Gordon Nodwell
is one of the interim pastors.
He was formerly chairman of
the board of the United Church
Observer, the magazine of the
denomination. Eilert Frerichs, a
well-known Toronto social
activist, has also served as interim minister.
The church undertook a
building program, completing
its current edifice at 33 Melrose
Avenue, in 1960, after three
years meeting in neighboring
church facilities.
Anne
Hepburn, the current minister,
appointed in 2013, has some
Welsh roots but only limited
Welsh language capacity. She
is Dewi Sant’s first female minister.
Today, Dewi Sant pulls above
its weight. It is the only Welsh
church in Canada. It serves as
the address of the world-famous
Toronto Welsh Male Voice
Choir, and its principal accompanist, Matthew Coons, also
serves as church organist.
Dewi Sant is part of
Toronto’s multicultural scene.
A Korean Methodist Church
meets in its building. And
social responsibility also plays a
role. Kathy Greiner, a volunteer
with Sleeping Children Around
the World (SCAW) told us that
Dewi Sant supports SCAW’s
program of supplying bed-time
kits for children in the developing world.
While Dewi Sant endeavors
to remain Welsh, offering twice
a week Welsh classes for 20
regular students, it also offers a
Welsh spiritual experience. As
J. Humphreys Jones expressed
it, “In so far as we are able, and
in so far as it is useful, we must
preserve the melodious
cadences of our Welsh tongue,
especially in the hymns of our
faith. We must jealously guard
our tradition of fervor and
friendliness, maintaining at all
times what St. Paul has called
‘the spiritual glow.’ History has
molded us into what we are.
We do not claim superiority but
distinctiveness. When we lose
that distinctiveness it will be
time to die. For as long as we
cherish it in the Master’s service, we believe that Dewi Sant
has still a long way to go.”
Tramor
Welsh-American
Acoustic Project
6RORSHUIRUPHU
:HOVKSLSHVKDUSIOXWHV
ZKLVWOHVDQGYRLFH
6WRU\WHOOHUSRHWOHFWXUHU
:HOVKWHDFKHUWUDQVODWRU
'LUHFWRURI&\PDQIDRHGG
Sioni Dda
John Good
www.tramormusic.com
[email protected]
www.youtube.com/TramorMusic
602-509-5223
NINNAU
Page 23
A Walk on the Wild Side – in Wales
Glyndwr’s Way
Rhys David finds solitude and
interesting signs of a new vitality on a trek through the middle of Wales
“Of all the beautiful sights in
the world, I am not sure if there
is anything more lovely than the
Welsh hills. It is as if the character of the nation – its underrated strength and vitality – is
contained and channelled in
those meadows and rolling
slopes.” These comments by
Matthew Syed, sports columnist
and diarist, writing just a few
weeks back, had a particular
resonance for those like myself
walking those very hills in June
- fortunately in the best weather
window in months.
There is something magical
and even reassuring about being
a short distance from a sizeable
settlement, such as Shrewsbury
and the neighbouring West
Midlands, and yet in countryside so remote the number of
people to be seen during the day
can be counted in single figures,
with possibly even fewer cars.
Instead, one’s constant companions almost everywhere on the
horizon and sometimes much
closer in this part of the world
are sheep in their thousands.
This is the evocatively-named
Glyndwr’s Way, a 135-mile
long wishbone shaped trail from
Knighton to Machynlleth, with
a return leg back to Welshpool,
the 80 mile first section of
which my party of two men and
three women covered. Opened
in 2000 Glyndwr’s Way purports to follow the route taken
by the legendary Welsh hero
Owain Glyndwr. Supported at
one stage by French forces who
marched to within eight miles of
Worcester, Glyndwr inflicted
several crushing defeats on his
English opponents in the early
15 th century – notably at the
Battle of Pilleth near Knighton
in 1402 – before mysteriously
disappearing without trace in
1413 but not from Welsh people’s memory.
Today’s route is just a convenient fiction for although
Wales’s Braveheart controlled
the area for long periods there is
more to connect him with the
various towns – notably
Machynlleth, which he made his
capital and seat of his
Parliament in 1404 – than with
the trail that bears his name.
The linking of various UK
national trails to historical figures has been a shrewd marketing initiative, however, and one
that can probably claim some
credit for the growing popularity of long distance walks.
Our group walked another
such route – St. Cuthbert’s Way
from Melrose in the Scottish
Borders to Holy Island off
Northumberland last year and
there are plenty more to choose
from, including Wales’s other
eponymous trail, Offa’s Dyke.
After all, who wants to walk
just from A -B, struggling to
follow footpaths through remote
fields, even for one’s health’s
sake, when you can retrace the
(supposed) steps of a hero along
a scrupulously waymarked
route, pointing you in the right
direction at every unclear fork
or open vista.
But it is not just walkers who
have cause to rejoice at the
spread of new national trails.
Walkers have brought trade and
led to facilities being put in
place along the routes in towns,
villages and other smaller settlements where there was previously not a lot on offer to the
outsider (or even the insiders
sometimes).
Abbey Cwm Hir, one of our
stops, is about as remote as it
gets yet now boasts a splendid
B&B, and walkers are a new
potential market for the owners
of a quirky country house,
Abbey Cwm Hir Hall, built for
London lawyer, Thomas Wilson
on the site of a Tudor house in
1833 and purchased four years
later by Francis Phillips, a
Lancashire landowner and businessman.
Renowned as a roadbuilder
(on which subject he published)
Phillips is assured of a minor
place in history for catching
Spencer Percival, the only
British Prime Minister ever to
be assassinated, as he fell to his
knees dying from shotgun
wounds in the House of
Commons in 1812. The hall’s
latest owners have opened it to
the public for viewing the series
of eclectic collections they have
put together. The nearby ruins
of Wales’s biggest abbey, are
getting more visitors, too, and
educating new generations in
Welsh history. Wales’s last
native Prince, Llywelyn ap
Gruffudd, is reputedly buried
here – minus his head which
stayed in London where it had
been on grisly display following
his defeat at Cilmeri in
Breconshire in 1282.
There are signs of new business in other points along the
route. Restaurants have sprung
up to serve a growing market in
Knighton; a pub has re-opened
in another tiny place,
Llangunllo; the community
shop and café at Llanbadarn
Fynydd is getting a few more
customers; and there is more
business, too, for the teashops,
restaurants and mini-markets in
Llanidloes and Machynlleth.
Knighton, in particular – once
one of the biggest sheep markets in Britain – has gained a
new lease of life. It benefits
from being not just the starting
point for Glyndwr’s Way,
accessible from the Swansea or
Shrewsbury directions on the
very scenic Heart of Wales railway line, but from its position
near the centre of the much
older Offa’s Dyke path. It hosts
the visitor centre for this trail.
Traditionally very much a
border town of divided loyalties, its main street now vies to
be the most patriotic in Wales,
bedecked with the flag of
Dewi Sant
Welsh United Church
Eglwys y Cymry
The Welsh Congregation of the
City of New York
33 Melrose Avenue
Toronto, Canada
Tel: 416-485-7583
English Service - 11 am, every
Sunday
Welsh Service - 7 pm
(First Sunday of the month, Sept. to
June)
CROESO / WELCOmE
Page 24
Glyndwr’s Way
Glyndwr (four lions passant
guardant, red and gold quartered
and counter-changed). Having
besieged the town’s castle in
1402 and then destroyed it and
much of the town, Glyndwr
would no doubt now have been
giving a wry smile of satisfaction.
These and other developments form part of a more general welcoming feel throughout
the area, or so it seemed from
our admittedly brief observations. At Llangunllo the
Greyhound Inn opened up specially mid-morning to serve us
coffee. At Velindre, our first
stop, the owner of the holiday
accommodation we stayed in
drove us several miles to the
nearest pub serving food and
picked us up later. Our host at
the Lion Hotel in Llanbister,
(who proudly claimed his family had farmed the area for 1,000
years and had the records to
prove it!) picked us up from
several miles away on the route
at the end of one day and took
us back the next morning. (His
was the nearest accommodation.)
At remote, remote Cwm Biga
Farm, near the Clywedog reservoir and now self-catering
accommodation, the owner had
taken over an historic Welsh
mixed farm, owned successively by the Welsh prince Gruffudd
ap Gwenwynwyn, the monks of
nearby Abbey Cwm Hir, and
(after the dissolution) Robert
Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
Chancellor
of
Oxford
University, he passed it on his
death in 1588 to University
College, which held it until
1920. After a short period in
private ownership the land was
requisitioned by the Forestry
Commission in 1939 on the outbreak of World War Two and
its 1,300 acres largely planted
with conifers. Having semiretired the new owner like many
in the area now has a portfolio
career, providing financial,
environmental and IT advice to
local businesses and groups as
well as cooking for guests if
required
There are other signs of a new
entrepreneurialism. Public road
Church Directory
236 West 73rd Street
New York, NY 10023
Rev. Dr. Phillip R. Newell
Bilingual Services
Second Sunday of the month at 3 pm
Exception is May, third Sunday
CROESO - WELCOmE
Information: 212-664-0734
Rehoboth Capel Cymraeg
Delta, PA - Cardiff, MD
1029 Atom Road
Delta, PA 17314
Rev. Richard Price Baskwill,
Pastor (nondenominational)
Meeting every Sunday
at the church:
5 pm Welsh Language Study
6 pm Bilingual Service
Gymanfa Ganu - First weekend in May
Second Weekend in October
transport was never plentiful in
this area and has now largely
disappeared but a small network
of taxi companies will ferry
people about – and just as
importantly take walkers’ luggage from one night’s stay to
the next. This was a service we
used. (We did meet more hardy
walkers, such as Elvira, a Swiss
living in the south east who was
walking the full 135 miles
stretch in nine days with what
looked like a 30-40lbs backpack.)
The same minibus taxis take
children to school helping people to stay in the area, as does
another relatively new service,
the Post Office Travelling Shop.
We came across the familiar red
livery in Llangunllo, a van
equipped inside to sell stationery, greeting cards and other
similar items, as well as offering bank cash withdrawals and,
of course, selling stamps and
taking parcels. The van travels
around to different small communities, parking for an hour or
so in each on set days each
week, providing services which
in some cases, such as simple
banking, will have never been
seen in the village or settlement
before.
Other services are not so
available. Mobile phone coverage is patchy, though the extent
differs from provider to
provider, depending on the area.
I did receive one call on the roof
of Wales between Llanidloes
and Machynlleth where there
was not a settlement in sight.
“Hi, I’m ‘Alex’”, an Indian
voice announced, “and I’m calling you from Windows
Technical Department about
your computer”. The scammer,
to paraphrase Stanley Baldwin’s
famous comment in 1932 will
always get through, I suppose.
It barely does justice to mid
Wales to say the scenery is
breath-taking and the weather
on our walk was ideal – 20-25
degrees C with a slight breeze.
After you have ascended from
the valley towns at the start of
each day most of the walk is at
between 1,000 – 1,500 feet over
rich green hills just asking to be
climbed over, or around at a
Bryn Seion Welsh Church,
est. 1884
22132 S. Kamrath Rd,
Beavercreek, Oregon 97004
Rev. Greg Tatman
Non-denominational, bilingual services held every
second and fourth Sundays
of the month at 11:00 am
followed by a potluck lunch
lower contour level, if you are
lucky. The odd farm or other
building has to be passed
through and there are short
stretches of stone track or even
road but overwhelmingly the
terrain is grass or narrow trackway.
The sights, too, were magnificent and accompanied by a constant chorus of birds, with cuckoos particularly prominent
throughout the area. Kites have,
of course, remained native to
this region even when they had
been driven out elsewhere and
are relatively common alongside buzzards, and plenty of
other smaller birds – curlew,
dipper, skylark, meadow pipit,
wheatear and redstart to name a
few.
There are occasional small
rocky gashes in the hills where
stone has been taken, probably
to build the nearby farmhouse,
but the main sign of former
industrial activity is at the huge
Clywedog dam, near the walls
of which is an old lead processing works, one of several dating
back to the 19th century in this
area. In the tributaries that run
into this giant reservoir with its
235-ft high concrete buttress,
river trout dart about, their presence one of the reasons for the
re-establishment of the osprey
in the area. A pair can be
viewed from a hide alongside
the 11 billion-gallon reservoir
where Natural Resources Wales
have set up a special telescope
to enable visitors to see the
female on the nest and her partner nearby.
How tough is the walk? The
ground everywhere apart from a
few very small, somewhat
boggy patches, is good and
firm, and clear of obstruction.
There are some steep climbs but
most of the inclines are relatively gentle, if rather frequent.
Weather is, however, all-important. Over much of the area
there is relatively little cover
once up in the hills. The walk
can, of course, be taken in
stages – one long walk for the
fittest, and section by section, if
this is more appropriate.
The growth of interest in this
type of get-away-from-it-all
holiday has led to the emergence of a number of companies
that will make all the necessary
bookings. We used The
Walking Company, based in
Monmouth, which took our proposed itinerary and booked the
various hotels and B&Bs, and
the taxi luggage transport, as
well as providing a comprehensive guidance kit consisting of
the excellent Harvey map and
Cicerone booklet, and other
valuable advice and information.
There is perhaps one other
invaluable companion on such a
trip, George Borrow, the nineteenth century East Anglian
author of Lavengro and The
Romany Rye was devoted to
Wales and in 1854 tramped over
most of Wales with his wife and
daughter, wondering at the
scenery, talking to local people,
and learning about the country’s
myths and history, all faithfully
recorded in his masterly tome,
Wild Wales.
www.thewalkingholidaycompany.co.uk/
www.harveysmaps.co.uk
www.cicerone.co.uk
Rhys David is the author of
Tell Mum Not to Worry. A
Welsh Soldier’s World War One
in the Near East. ISBN 978-09930982-0-8
Chapter 3. “Robbing Pillars Seventy Years Ago”
Reese Hughes Describes the First Cave-in Known in the Anthracite Region; Took Place in Carbondale.
Reese Hughes migrated from
South Wales to Carbondale, Pa.
with his family in 1833. He
entered the anthracite mines as
a boy, became a mine boss, an
owner-manager, and then travelled extensively as a mineral
prospector and consultant. His
friends convinced him to commit his life story to paper, and
between June 1913 and
February 1914 the eighty-five
year old Hughes published his
reminiscences in The Druid, a
Welsh American newspaper.
They appeared in five chapters
one of which is reprinted
below.—Ronald Lewis
In December, 1841, a letter
came to father from his father in
Wales, asking him to make a
trip back to report all he knew
about America. So in April the
following year father went and
was gone eight months.
He returned with a present of
fifteen hundred dollars from his
father, and bore also a communication for Mr. Thomas of the
rolling mill Slocum Hollow.
Mr. Thomas advised him to
buy a lot and build a home and
that he would give him and his
sons work so father bought a lot
of Samuel Slocum for twentyfive dollars across the roaring
brook, where the Laurel Line
station is now in Scranton, Pa.,
and built a house that summer,
1843. In the fall we moved from
the farm and I worked with
John Coleman, blacksmith, as a
striker, while father started
some coal mining for the rolling
mill. The mill was located close
to where the Laurel Line has its
electric plant now. A nail mill
was built adjoining the rolling
mill, and in the winter of 1844
and ’45 I heated the plates for
the nail machine.
The next winter I had
changed my occupation and was
driving in a little mine where
the Diamond is now on the
West Side, working with
Thomas Williams—Twim Beili
as he was called—for Benjamin
Trip, who supplied country
farmers with coal as well as the
people living in what is now
North Scranton.
Mr. Tripp also provided the
people with lime for he had a
kiln above where the D.L. & W.
Railroad crosses North Main
Avenue at present. A four-horse
stage plied between Carbondale
and Wilkes-Barre at this time
and it passed us daily about 10
A.M. One morning in March,
1846 it brought news that the
Carbondale mines had caved in
and that many men were killed.
I immediately looked for an
old cutter, for the snow was
thick on the ground, and hitched
the mule I had in the drift to it
and started up in company with
Tom Williams because my
brother William worked in the
dip and Twim Beili’s brother
worked in No. 1. Twim was
fond of his drink and the result
was we had to stop at ten mile
tavern then at eight mile—old
Lilliebridge and again four mile,
which is now the town of
Jermyn, in consequence of
which it was eight o’clock in
the evening when we arrived at
Carbondale.
The cave in had taken place
in No. 1 and the pressure of the
air had blown coal dust all over
the West Side Shanty Hill. I
remained in Carbondale over
two months helping to find the
dead and clearing up the mine.
Mr. Tripp’s mule I sent back by
William Bronson’s nigger
hostler! The number killed in
this mine calamity was seventeen, all Irish with the one
exception
of
Ebenezer
Williams, my friend Twim
Beili’s brother. His body was
found on the fifth day, nine others were all we got out and
these nine were buried at the
Catholic church, where the present parsonage now stands; the
bones were removed to the new
cemetery back of Welsh Hill
when the parsonage was erect-
ed.
This was the first mine cave
in in the country and was
caused by reckless mining, for
no pillars at all were left to support the roof. The experience
was a new one and consequently doubly tragic, a dense pall
had fallen both on the minds
and hearts of the people, and it
was a long time before [they got
over it].
William Maxey, John
Jenkins, Enock Jones and some
others of the elderly men, in
going into the mines that morning, and who were not caught
under the falling roof, had the
experience of their life. Their
light was blown out and they
lost their way, and giving up
their effort they held a prayer
meeting in the dark. They were
rescued in due time, and old
Enock Jones delighted to relate
the story as long as he lived,
pointing out the providential
care of God over His beloved.
In July, 1846, father leased
Thomas Price’s mine at Pittston,
Pa., for so much per ton delivered on board the canal boats,
and I worked there with him for
some time. In the spring and
summer of 1847 a malarial
pestilent-fever and ague raged
from Pittston to Nanticoke.
Every person shook, and it was
said that the dogs shook in the
streets, raising the dust therefrom! It proved a dire calamity
to us, for on August 28 my
mother died, was taken up to
Carbondale to be buried, there
was no cemetery at Pittston
then, and our home was broken
up, sister Mary Ann going to
New York and father to
Carbondale to sister Martha
Morgan. I went to Pottsville,
Pa., and secured work at Eagle
Hill, near Five Points, where I
sank a slope for Mr. Oliver in
the spring of 1848, and drove a
heading for Mr. Parker at New
Philadelphia in the summer.
The war with Mexico was
now on and a company of twenty-three of us enlisted. I should
have stated that it was here in
Five Points I was baptized into
Christian fellowship by the Rev.
William Morgan, pastor of the
Baptist church of Pottsville, Pa.
The company of raw soldiers
was ordered to Harrisburg—the
canal between Pottsville and
Reading had newly been
opened, on which we rode
between the two points, then
walked from Reading to
Harrisburg, a distance of fifty
miles or more.
We camped in the capital
grove for three weeks without
arms or ammunition, and the
result was, word came that the
war was over and we returned
home!
I worked some time at Beaver
Meadow, Pa. In the spring of
1849 father prevailed on me to
come and build a house for him
on the farm at Welsh Hill,
Susquehanna County, Pa.,
which I did, then went to work
in the mines at Carbondale,
where I got married in 1850.
My brother-in-law was hurt in
the mines about this time working in a chamber as pusher for
Thomas
Phillips
(Cyw
Ionaqwr), father of our well
known Col. Phillips, general
manager of the mines for the
D.L. & W. It was the spring of
this year a calamity occurred in
Carbondale by the bursting of
Durfes’ dam on Recett Brook,
flooding then broke over the
river bank and rushed down the
slope into the mines.
William and David, two sons
of William Davis called Will
Caerphily, were working in No.
6, heading on the basin line, the
freshet caught them with no
place of escape, and they were
both drowned. Mr. Harris, the
mine foreman sought volunteers
to get them out. The water did
not subside sufficiently for anyone to go in for some days, anyway. Miles Edward and myself
volunteered. We had to go
through water to our waists and
higher than that in many places.
We found them at last, having
crawled to the top of a cave in
an old chamber and had died in
each other’s arms. There they
were stiffened and it was a difficult job to separate them. They
were 27 and 23 years of age
respectively, the only children
of their parents and living at
home. I shall never forget the
poor mother; she was frantic
beyond compare, and William
Maxey and Samuelo Jones
holding her and trying in vain to
console her.
The funeral was the largest,
up to that time, seen in
Carbondale.
In the fall of 1852 I received a
letter from my grandfather asking me to visit him in Wales.
So, on March 1st, 1853, after a
week’s visit with my brother,
Joseph, in Philadelphia, my
wife and I sailed from that city
on the ‘S.S. City of Manchester’
and landed in Liverpool March
17 th , putting up at the Welsh
Harp Inn, where the renown
blind harpest Dick Dywyll was
celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!
(to be continued)
[The Druid, 8 January 1914,
p.2]
Agronomy Department, where
she taught and did research for
over forty years, retiring as a
professor in 1990.
In 1953 the structure of the
DNA molecule was discovered
— a great boon to researchers
like Rosalind Morris. She
observed, “It was a joy for me
to sit at the microscope and look
for those beautiful chromosome
spreads. These studies were a
forerunner for molecular
research on wheat chromosomes
and genes.” Wheat seeds from
lines developed by Rosalind
Morris and her assistants have
been sent all over the world for
use in wheat research.
Since
her
retirement,
Rosalind has been active in the
Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
and the local Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute, and she continues to celebrate her rich
Welsh heritage, as we celebrate
Rosalind, herself.
Nebraska Resident With Welsh and Canadian Roots
By Martha A. Davies
The story of Mary Jones who
walked 26 miles to obtain a
Bible from the Rev. Thomas
Charles of Bala is dear to the
hearts of many and has taken on
legendary proportions. Thus it
was a pleasant surprise for us in
Nebraska, to realize that our
longtime friend, Lincoln resident Rosalind Morris, is a
descendant of that noted clergyman who founded the British
and Foreign Bible Society in
1804.
Rosalind revealed many wonderful family stories to us along
with her family collection,
which she gifted to the library
and archive of the Great Plains
Welsh Heritage Project,
Wymore, Nebraska.
Rosalind’s ancestry includes
the Rev. Thomas Charles of
Bala (1755-1814), her 3rd great
grandfather; the Rev. Lewis
Edwards (1809-1887), her
maternal great grandfather, who
was President of Bala
Calvinistic Methodist College
for 50 years; and the Rev.
Thomas Charles Edwards
(1837-1900), her maternal great
uncle, who was the first
Principal of the University
College
of
Wales
at
Aberystwyth.
We
were
acquainted with the memorial
statues of her ancestors long
before we ever met Rosalind.
Over the years we’ve enjoyed
the company of Rosalind Morris
at many “nationals,” as we used
to call the North American
Festival of Wales. Since living
in Lincoln, we’ve learned more
about her background.
She has lived in Lincoln,
Nebraska since 1947, though
she was born in Ruthin, North
Wales. Her parents had met
while teaching at the same
school in Towyn. Her father
served in World War One and
did not regain his health after
falling victim to the flu epidemic, so the doctor recommended
working outdoors. The family
immigrated to Canada where
Rosalind and her brother had a
happy childhood.
Rosalind remembers: “We
lived on a 50 acre fruit farm in
southwestern Ontario near the
small town of Forest, about 60
miles west of London. The
Salem picture [of Sian Owen
and her shawl in Salem chapel]
was on our kitchen wall above a
settle and close to the stove
where my mother cooked so
many meals. Our meals were
eaten at a large kitchen table.
My parents sat on the ends
while my brother and I and a
succession of hired men from
Wales and England had seats
along the sides. A German
Shepherd dog waited patiently
Rosalind Morris
for a morsel from my father.”
“The farm was owned by our
family from 1925 to 1963. My
brother, Penri, lost his life on a
bombing raid over Germany in
1944 at the age of 21. He was a
navigator on a Lancaster
bomber. He had received training in Canada and England and
was attached to the Royal Air
Force. My mother died in 1955,
and my father lived alone on the
farm until 1963 when he sold
the farm and came to live with
me in Lincoln until his death in
1969.”
Rosalind Morris was drawn
toward a career in Crop
Genetics and earned a PhD from
Cornell University’s Department of Plant Breeding in 1947.
She came to the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln as an
Assistant Professor in the
Ninnau is sent via periodicals class mail
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Page 25
Wales Review
over 1.45 million people in
work.
OSPREY chicks have
hatched for the third year in a
row at their nest in Hafren forest, near Llanidloes. The
progress of the three chicks is
being closely monitored by
Natural Resources Wales,
which manages the site. Five
chicks have been successfully
reared in the nest over the last
two years, and staff will continue to record the birds’ breeding
behaviors and track how things
develop.
A PILGRIMAGE has been
held to mark the 1,500th birthday of the abbey on Bardsey
Island. The Island has been
noted as a place of pilgrimage
since the early years of
Christianity, but there are signs
of settlements on the island that
date from earlier periods. It
became a focal point for the
Celtic Christian Church, attracting devout monks, and it is
believed that St. Cadfan began
building a monastery on the
island in the sixth century. The
Abbey ruins that are preserved
today are the 13th century
Augustinian Abbey of St
Mary’s which was in use until
the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 after which Bardsey
was left to the pirates and
marauders until the establishment of a farming and fishing
community in the mid-18th century. The well-known reference
to the island as the burial place
of 20,000 saints dates from the
early middle ages, when three
pilgrimages to Bardsey were
said to equal one to Rome.
BUSINESS experts predict
the fairytale success of the
Welsh football team at the
Euros will generate a £25 million economic boost for the
country. They say the brilliant
campaign
when
Chris
Coleman’s side and the Welsh
fans captured the world’s imagination will also help attract
more companies to set up shop
here. That’s the view of business leaders including Ceidiog
Hughes, managing director of
leading Denbigh-based PR firm
Ceidiog Communication, reckoned the value of the positive
worldwide publicity generated
for Wales by the Euro 2016
campaign was at least £25 million.
A TURQUOISE-blue lagoon
which looks like it could be in
the Mediterranean has won our
search for the best place to take
your family in Wales. Abereiddi
Blue Lagoon beat off competition from 19 others to be named
Best Family Attraction by
WalesOnline. Near the Blue
Flag awarded Abereiddy beach,
the luscious turquoise-blue
lagoon is used by adventure
groups for coasteering and also
diving.
TICKETS FOR Wales’ first
exhibition of the iconic poppy
sculpture Weeping Window
have been released to the public. Commemorating the First
World War, the striking
Weeping Window artwork –
featuring thousands of ceramic
poppies – is to go on display at
Caernarfon Castle from October
12, as part of a tour organized
by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts
program for the First World
War centenary. The installation
will be displayed inside the castle daily until November 20,
making it available to the public
on both Remembrance Day, and
the centenary of the end of the
Page 26
Battle of the Somme on
November 17. It will flow from
the Watch Tower inside the castle walls and onto the grass
below. Advance morning and
afternoon tickets can be booked
via . A further 1,000 tickets will
be made available on the door
each day.
A RECORD number of
parks and green spaces in Wales
will be flying a Green Flag
Award this year. A total of 161
sites across the country have
met the high standard needed to
receive the Green Flag Award
or Green Flag Community
Award. Last year 110 Welsh
parks and spaces got the award meaning the figure has risen this
year by almost 50 percent.
Among this year’s recipients of
the award are Cyfartha Park in
Merthyr Tydfil, Penllergare
Valley Woods in Swansea,
Newry Beach Sunken Garden
on Anglesey and Ynysangharad
Park, in Pontypridd, Rhondda
Cynon Taff.
MORE THAN seventy precious artefacts, including a rare
surviving group of medals and
insignia associated with a key
participant of the Battle of
Waterloo, have been accepted
for the nation in lieu of inheritance tax, Wales’ Deputy
Minister for Culture, Sport and
Tourism, Ken Skates, has
announced. The collection of 72
items, formally known as ‘chattels’, includes 35 paintings, 13
pieces or sets of furniture, two
clocks, two busts, three items or
pairs of ceramics and two
groups of medals. They have
been accepted by Welsh
Ministers
through
the
Acceptance in Lieu scheme
from the estate of the 7th
Marquess of Anglesey. The
Acceptance ensures continued
public access to the remarkable
collection, which is on display
at The National Trust property
Plas Newydd.
THE NATIONAL Library of
Wales should be given a “far
more prominent role” by the
Welsh Government, its president has said. Rhodri Glyn
Thomas raised concerns about
the Aberystwyth facility in the
wake of the vote for Brexit. He
told BBC Wales there was a
danger that Wales could be seen
as a “region rather than a country” if national institutions are
not strengthened. The Welsh
Government said it recognizes
the “important role” of the
library. Thomas described the
library as a “unique institution,”
and said the Welsh Government
should use it to “to create a
sense of nationhood and identity.”
A WELSH MP is calling for
a posthumous pardon for a
Welsh miner hanged after the
Merthyr Rising 185 years ago.
Stephen Kinnock led a group of
campaigners to the Ministry of
Justice to deliver a 600-signature petition calling for Dic
Penderyn to be pardoned.
Penderyn, also known as
Richard Lewis, was a laborer
and coal miner who was found
guilty and hanged for the stabbing of a soldier with a bayonet
during the 1831 riots that
gripped Merthyr. Some 11,000
people signed a petition protesting Penderyn’s innocence at the
time and it was widely suspected that he was hanged because
of a desire to punish a scapegoat. Campaigners say that a
confession made 40 years later
by another man, combined with
a later admission by a witness
that he had lied at trial, shows
that Penderyn should be posthu-
mously cleared. Merthyr has
held a music festival in recent
years called first the Penderyn
Festival and more recently
Merthyr Rising. It is held in
Penderyn Square.
BRYN ERYR, a lost 2000year-old Iron Age farmstead,
has been recreated at St.
Fagan’s National History
Museum in Cardiff. The two
roundhouses are based on an
archaeological site found near
Llansadwrn, Anglesey, in the
1980s. The buildings feature
six-foot thick clay walls and
conical thatched roofs. They
were constructed with the help
of hundreds of volunteers and
school children from Ely and
Caerau. The farmstead, which
originally dates from the time of
the Roman conquest, is the first
building to be completed as part
of a multi-million pound
scheme to redevelop St.
Fagan’s.
AN EMINENT historian and
archaeologist from Bangor
University has been made a
Fellow of the British Academy.
Nancy Edwards, professor of
medieval archaeology at Bangor
University’s School of History,
Welsh History and Archaeology
receives the fellowship, which
is the highest honor in the UK
for a scholar of the arts and
humanities, in recognition of
her outstanding contribution to
research in archaeology. She is
also the only academic from a
Welsh university among this
year’s new fellows. Edwards’
research focuses on the archaeology of Wales and Ireland in
the early medieval period. Her
particular interests include
inscribed stones and stone
sculptures and the archaeology
of the church. She is also a
Fellow of the Learned Society
of Wales, a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries and has
served as a member of several
public bodies to advise on
archaeology in Wales.
SOSBAN AND The Old
Butchers Restaurant, in Menai
Bridge, has won the Good Food
Guide’s Reader Award for Best
Local Restaurant in Wales.
Sosban and The Old Butchers
Restaurant doesn’t offer a physical printed menu to diners.
Instead, customers are served a
“Surprise Menu” of dishes
which changes depending on
what local produce is best in
season. To be eligible for nomination, the restaurant had to
meet criteria including being
independently run, being able to
demonstrate a strong relationship with local suppliers and
regularly changing menus at
reasonable prices.
ACTRESS Catherine ZetaJones has been honored by her
home city of Swansea for services to the city internationally.
The US-based star sent a heartfelt video message of thanks
which was screened at the
Brangwyn Hall for the Lord
Mayor’s award ceremony. ZetaJones said she “truly loved”
Swansea and would always call
it her home. Other honors went
to singer Bonnie Tyler and
broadcaster Huw Edwards.
Swansea City coach Alan Curtis
and rugby union former Wales
international Geoff Wheel were
honored for services to sport,
while four Swansea poppy sellers received recognition for services to military and defense.
Swansea City Football Club
also won the honor for services
to Swansea’s global reputation.
DEWCH I SIARAD
(Ann M. Jones)
GWERS 138
We’ve already looked at the concise Future Tense forms
of regular verbs in Gwersi 121 – 126. As you know by
now, there are 5 main irregular verbs in Welsh - ‘bod’ (to
be), ‘mynd’ (to go), ‘dod’ (to come), ‘cael’ (to have) and
‘gwneud’ (to do / make).
Yn ein gwers ddiwethaf (In our last lesson) fe edrychon
ni ar ffurfiau Dyfodol ‘mynd’ (we looked at the Future
forms of ‘mynd’ – ‘to go’).
The concise ‘bod’ forms are well known to you because you’ll remember that we use those forms to form
the ‘long’ Future Tense of all other verbs
Fe / Mi fydda(f) i
- I will be
Fe / Mi fydda’ i’n rhedeg - I will be running
Fe / Mi fydd Tom
- Tom will be
Fe / Mi fydd Tom yn canu - Tom will be singing
Yn y wers ‘ma (In this lesson) fe edrychwn ni ar ffurfiau
cryno Dyfodol ‘dod’ (we’ll look at the concise Future
forms of ‘dod’ – ‘to come’ - ‘I will come’ as opposed to the
‘long’ Future Tense ‘I will be coming’).
cryno-concise
GEIRFA
ffurf(iau)-form(s) eto-again
1. Ffurfiau cryno Dyfodol (The concise or ‘short’
Future Tense forms of) ‘dod’
Fe / Mi ddo(f) - I’ll come Fe / Mi ddown ni- We’ll come
Fe / Mi ddoi di
- You’ll come
Fe / Mi ddowch chi - You’ll come
Fe / Mi ddaw e/hi He/She’ll come
Fe? Mi ddewch chi
Fe / Mi ddaw Tom Tom will come
Fe / Mi ddôn nhw
- They’ll come
Fe ddo’ i ar y bws. - I’ll come on the bus (by bus).
Mi ddaw y plant gyda Mary. - The children will come with Mary.
Fe ddown ni i nofio yfory. - We’ll come to swim (swimming)
tomorrow.
2. As with the regular verbs, we form the negatives by
dropping the positive markers ‘Fe / Mi’ and adding ‘ddim’
– but keeping the Soft Mutation.
Ddo(f) i ddim
Ddown ni ddim Ddoi di ddim Ddowch chi ddim Ddaw hi ddim
Ddewch chi ddim
Ddaw Tom ddim Ddôn nhw ddim -
I won’t come
We won’t come
You won’t come
You won’t come
He/She won’t come
Tom won’t come
They won’t come
Ddoi di ddim yma ar dy ben dy hun.
- You won’t come here on your own.
Ddôn nhw ddim i’r gwaith yn y car bore yfory.
- They won’t come to work in the (by) car tomorrow
morning.
Ddown ni ddim yma eto.
- We won’t come here again.
3.To form direct questions, just drop the positive
marker ‘Fe / Mi’ – keeping the Soft Mutation
at the beginning of the verb. And to reply, for the time
being, use the verb itself.
You might also remember that in Gwers 122 I told you
that the concise forms of ‘gwneud’ (at which we’ll look in
detail in a future lesson) can be used to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to
Future Tense questions. This is true of all verbs, regular or
irregular.
Ddaw Tom i’r gêm ddydd Sadwrn?
- Daw, gyda Gareth. / Gwnaiff!
Will Tom come to the match on Saturday?
- Yes (he will come), with Gareth. / Yes (he will do)!
Ddewch chi gyda John?
- Dof! Down! / Gwnaf! Gwnawn!
Will you come with John?
- Yes (I will come) (we will come) / Yes (I will do) (we
will do)
Ddôn nhw i’r parti’n gynnar?- Na ddôn! / Na wnân!
Will they come to the party early?
- No (they won’t come). / No (they won’t do)
4. We can also form questions using the usual interrogatives at the beginning of the sentence
Ble do’ i? Where will I come?
Pryd dôn nhw?When will they come?
Pwy ddaw? Who’ll come?
Gyda phwy dewch chi? With whom will you come?
Sut daw hi?
How will she come?
Am faint o’r gloch doi di?At what time will you come?
Merely place ‘na’ in front of the verb to form a negatine question
Pam na ddaw Bill?- Why will Bill not come?
Dyna ni am y tro. That’s it for the time being. See if you
can extend the questions in number 4 again, to form longer
questions. Pob hwyl.
Welsh Language
Gair o Toronto
Gobeithio maddeuwch i fi,
annwyl ddarllenwyr, os wna’ i
gyfadde’ mod i’n eitha di-galon
ar hyn o bryd. Fel arfer dw i’n
llawn brwdfrydedd a mae fy
ngwydr yn llawer mwy na thri
chwarter llawn. Ond ddim ar
hyn o bryd. Pam? Stori hir!
Fel y gŵyr nifer ohonnoch,
ein capel Cymraeg yma yn
Toronto (Dewi Sant) yw’r capel
Cymraeg ola yng Nghanada.
Dw i’n siwr bod dim rhaid ychwanegu pa mor bwysig mae
Dewi Sant ym mywydau ni’r
Cymry Cymraeg yn ardal
Toronto. Nid yn unig safle
addoli yw ond hefyd dyma lle
‘dyn
ni’n
cymdeithasu.
Aelodau Dewi Sant yw ein
“teulu” oddi cartre. Dyma lle
mae Merched Dewi (côr
merched) yn ymarfer a chanu
(yn Gymraeg). Dyma lle mae
Côr Meibion Cymry Toronto yn
ymarfer. Mae Cymdeithas
Dewi Sant yn cwrdd yma ac yn
cynnal eu cyfarfodydd arbennig.
Daw ymwelwyr o Gymru i
chwilio’n hynt. ‘Dyn ni’n
ceisio trwytho’r plant bach yn
eu diwylliant a’u hanes. Ac
wrth gwrs mae gwasanaethau’r
Sul yn Gymraeg yn hynnod
bwysig.
“Wel pam wyt ti mor ddigalon, ‘te?” yw’r cwestiwn.
Achos taw bregus iawn yw ein
dyfodol.
Hyd yn gymharol ddiweddar
‘dyn ni wedi bod yn ffodus i
allu denu gweinidog Cymraeg
i’n harwain ond ers chwe
mlynedd bellach ‘dyn ni heb
lwyddo i neud hynny.
‘Dyn ni wedi gwneud ein
gorau glas i chwilio am
Gymro/Cymraes. Yn ol yr hyn
dw i’n ddeall, does dim digon o
weinidogion sbâr yng Nghymru
felly ‘sdim gobaith caneri coch
‘da ni i gael un, ‘ta faint o hysbysebu ac erfyn wnawn ni.
Ydw i’n disgwyl gormod?
Ydw i’n realistig? Ydy hi’n
bosib cadw drysau’n heglwys
Gymraeg yn agor?
Oes
pregethwyr Cymraeg ag awydd
dod ma’s i weinyddu i Gymry
dramor? Beth sy ‘ma yng
Nghanada i’w denu? Onid yng
Nghymru mae eu lle? A dw i’n
cael ar ddeall bod gweinidogion
heddi â dyletswydd am nifer o
gapeli, nid un gweinidog i un
capel fel dw i’n ei gofio. A’r
cwestiwn pwysica i gyd: faint o
Gymry sy’n mynychu’r capel
bellach - yng Nghymru neu yma
yn Canada? Os oes Cymry’n
allforio i Toronto, ydyn nhw’n
chwilio am gapel Cymraeg - fel
nes i ddeng mlynedd ar hugain
yn ôl? Ydy pethau wedi newid
gymaint fel bod yn rhaid
wynebu ffeithiau? Beth yw’r
ffeithiau?
Sori i fod mor isel fy ysbryd,
ond mae ein dyfodol mor ansicr.
Os clywch chi am weinidog
fyddai â diddordeb mewn dod
ma’s atom ni am gyfnod,
rhowch wybod i ni whap. Chi
fyddai’r person mwya poblogaidd yn ein cymuned!!
Dw i’n gorffen gyda gwên wrth feddwl falle clywa i
wrthoch chi â newyddion da cyn
bo hir.
Obituaries
Elizabeth A. “Betty” Timm,
age 87 of Monroe, WI, died
Thursday, May 26, 2016 at St.
Clare Friedensheim following a
courageous battle with cancer.
Betty was born December 2,
1928 in Monroe, the daughter of
Walter
and
Thelma
(Kundert) Timm.
She graduated from Monroe
High School in 1946 and attended Green County Normal
School. Betty earned a
Bachelors degree and Masters
degree in elementary education
from U.W. Platteville.
She taught rural school before
teaching elementary school in
Brodhead until retirement. Betty
was an avid Wisconsin Badger
fan attending many sporting
events and was a big booster of
Monroe Cheesemaker athletics.
She enjoyed traveling with her
friends, Janet Morgan and Ruth
Peterson.
Pat McCaughey
She served as president of the
Iowa Welsh Society for 17
years. She published the society
Elizabeth A. Timm
Betty Timm
She was a member of St.
John’s United Church of Christ,
St. John’s choir, Monroe
Booster Club, Retired Teachers
Association, Sweet Adelines of
Alpine Valley, Welsh Gymanfa
Ganu Association of Wisconsin,
Symphony of the Hills, National
Historic Cheesemaking Center,
and
Rudy
Burkhalter’s
In Church
Gan Meira’r Tawelfor
Clues in English, answers in Welsh
Patricia Edwards McCaughey 1928-2016
The Iowa Welsh Society is
saddened to report the passing
of Patricia Elsie Edwards
McCaughey, Des Moines, Iowa,
a past president of the Society.
Pat, age 88, passed away at
Calvin Community,
Des
Moines, Iowa, June 26, 2016.
She was born February 19,
1928, in East Grand Rapids,
Michigan, to Charles E. and
Elsie Mae (Dunn) Edwards.
Pat earned baccalaureate and
masters degrees from Iowa
State University and then served
as a registered Dietician and
Director of Food Service for
Calvin Manor (now Calvin
Community) for 25 years. She
wrote menus and diet plans for
thousands of residents, trained
many food service personnel
and created Calvin Manor’s first
computerized food inventory.
CROESAIR
Hefina Philllips
newsletter as well and her
newsletter garnered a tie for
first place in a contest sponsored by WNGGA, now known
as WNAA, for society newsletters. She served as the local
venue registrar for Cymdeithas
Madog’s Cwrs Cymraeg at
Simpson College, Indianola,
Iowa, in 2002 when Iowa Welsh
Society was the local host. She
was a lifetime member of
WNAA and a member of Great
Plains Welsh Heritage Project.
Pat was preceded in death by
her husband James McCaughey
in 2015. She is survived by
nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held
July 7 at Calvin Community,
Des Moines, IA.
Submitted by Mary Alice
Butler and AdaMae Lewis
Accordian Band.
She is survived by her sisterin-law, Barb Timm; nieces and
nephews, Dennis (Lori) Timm,
Beth (Jack) Schramm, Donna
(Brian) Geissbuhler, Brad
(Cathy) Timm, Dudley (Henri)
Timm, David (Lori) Miller,
Rodney
(Ann)
Miller,
Nancy (Barry) Boone, Jim
(Audrey) Miller, Paul (Chris)
Burtner; several grand nieces
and nephews; and her friends,
Janet Morgan and Ruth
Peterson. She was preceded in
death by her parents; a brother,
Don Timm; and a sister,
Mary Miller Burtner
For years Betty, along with
lifelong friend, Janet Morgan,
was a dedicated Ninnau contributor, sending articles about the
wonderful gymanfa ganu events
held throughout Wisconsin.
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AR DRAWS
1. He usually sits at the front of
the church
7. It’s received in Communion
10. Request to the Lord
11. Rubble
13. Sea bird, g—
14. Closed, wedi ei —
15. Fast, —an
17. Again
18 Fire
19. Topic
21. One of the Apostles
23. It sits on your neck, p—
24. A sewing technique
25. More or — (mutated)
27. Book after Ioan, without
consonants
28. All, i —y—
29. Part of the Bible
30. Cor Cymry — Califfornia
32.Breeze, a—
33. Strand by the sea, ba—
34. A bike usually has two
36. Near, by, —r
37. There is one in the kitchen
40. An edible bird
41. Door
42. A city in NW of the US, —
ttle
43. Church, ll—
44. Table, b—
45. A mill
48. To give birth
50. To deny, to disown
51. Men and women
52. A seat for the deacons (2
words)
8. A personal book
9. Dafydd — Gwilym
10. Church pastor
12. Profit, —dd
16. Lonely
18. A book’s name
19. A bird with colorful
plumage (fem)
20. An important person in
church (2 words)
22. A mountain mentioned in
the Bible
24. Generous
26. A certain bone
27. Time
31. Take advantage of, profit
35. Part of 23 across
36. Bottom
38. From below
39. Serpent, snake
41. Over
44. It’s found in farms
45. Suffocation, without vowels
46. Uncle
47. A pair, c—l
49. Small coal, —ec
The digraphs ch, dd, ff, ll, ng,
ph, rh and th go in one square.
Solution to
Previous Puzzle
I LAWR
1. To eat
2. It grows white or violet flowers
3. Eva’s boyfriend/husband
4. Our, ” — Tad”
5. Church musical instrument
6. Now in North Wales
7. To christen, —dyddio
The ideal resource
for Welsh learners
Find those missing mutated words!
The Guide to the Use of
the Welsh Dictionary
By Robert A. Fowkes
Order your copy from:
NINNAU PUBLICATIONS
11 Post Terrace, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Only US$5.00 (includes S & H)
NINNAU
Page 27
SEPTEMBER
Calgary, Alberta
September 1-4 - North
American Festival of Wales.
Featuring Iona, soloist Edith
Pritchard, Côr Meibion Colwyn
and the 85th National Gymanfa
Ganu. Plus eisteddfod, seminars, marketplace, tea room,
informal singing, tours, and more.
Info: IHG@ theWNAA.org, 607279-7402, nafow.org
New York, NY
Through September 3 - Wales'
Motherlode Theatre presents the
North American premiere of
"The Good Earth", The Flea
Theater, 41 White St. Tickets:
$15-35. Play about group of
Welsh villagers fighting to stay
in their homes when a new
development comes to town. In
English with Welsh language
folk songs. Info and tickets:
www.theflea.org/
U.S. and Canada Tour
Through October 9 - CALAN,
folk band from Wales, will perform concerts in Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Maryland, New
York, New Hampshire, Maine,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Massachusetts and
Ontario. For complete calendar
and ticket details, see Ninnau
facebook page: www.facebook.com/ninnau.drych/posts/1
0155077756457942
Washington, DC
September 3 - Welsh Conversation Group meets 10:30 amnoon, at Teaism Penn Quarter,
400 8th Street NW (a block
from the Archives-Navy
Memorial Metro Station). All
levels welcome. Get your food
& drink upstairs & meet downstairs. Sponsored by the St.
David's
Welsh-American
Society of Washington DC.
Info: www.washingtondcwelsh.org
Pittsburgh, PA
September 10 - St. David's
Society of Pittsburgh Owain
Glyndwr Pub Crawl, 6:15 pm,
Southside, locations TBD. Toast
to Owain Glyndwr at 7:00 pm
sharp, raffle, and singing.
Wilkes-Barre, PA
September 14 - Monthly meeting of
the St. David's Society of the
Wyoming Valley, noon, Genetti
Hotel & Conference Center, 77 East
Market St.
U.S. & Canada Tour
September 17-October 13 Tom Jones in concert, Windsor,
ONT; Rama, ONT; Upper
Darby, PA; NYC; Boston;
Mashantucket, CT; Washington,
DC; Montclair, NJ; Pittsburgh,
PA; Northfield, OH; Louisville,
KY; Chicago, IL; Kansas City,
MO; Thackerville, OK; San
Calendar of Events
Francisco, CA; Hollywood, CA.
Details and tickets: www.ticketmaster.com/
Fredericksburg, VA
September 17 - Fredericksburg
Welsh Festival, 11:00 am-5:00
pm, near James Monroe
Museum, 908 Charles St. Info:
www.welshfred.com
Pittsburgh, PA
September 17 - St. David's
Society of Pittsburgh Family
and Friends Picnic, 3:00 pm,
Finley
Pavilion,
Pine
Community Park, 230 Pearce
Mill Road, Wexford. Hot dogs,
hamburgers and beverages provided; please bring salad, side
dish or dessert to share. Info and
RSVP (by Sept. 10): Jan
Kowalski, 724-991-3851.
Lincoln, NE
September 18 - Annual
Cymanfa Ganu sponsored by
the St. David's Welsh Society of
Nebraska, 3:00-5:00 pm, St.
Matthew's Episcopal Church,
2325 S 24th St. Joe Corbin conducting. Donation. Info:
www.facebook.com/SaintDavid
sWelshSocietyofNebraska or
Lori McAlister, 402-742-0477,
[email protected]
Sarasota, FL
September 18 - Gulf Coast St.
David's Welsh Society Summer
Gathering. Details to be announced.
Info: www.sarasotawelsh.com
Wild Rose, WI
September 18 - Gymanfa Ganu,
2:30
pm,
Wild
Rose
Presbyterian Church, 501
Jackson St. Director Ann E.
Lemmenes; Reed Organist Rev.
Tom White. Info: wggaw.org
Vancouver, BC
September 19 - Vancouver
Welsh Society Welsh speaking
group, 10:30 am, Cambrian
Hall, 215 East 17th Ave. Info:
www.welshsociety.com
Vancouver, BC
September 20 - Vancouver
Welsh Society Genealogy
group, noon, Cambrian Hall,
215 East 17th Ave. Info:
www.welshsociety.com
Glastonbury,CT
September 24 - Welsh Society
of Western New England
Genealogy Group monthly
meeting, 10:00am-5:00pm.
Bring your Welsh family tree
and a lunch dish to share. Info &
RSVP: [email protected].
Directions will be forwarded.
Mankato, MN
September 25 - 2016 Minnesota
Welsh Hymn Festival, 1:30 pm,
First Presbyterian Church, 220
E. Hickory St. Dr. James
Casssarino, conductor; Riverblenders of Mankato, performing choir. Te bach following.
Sponsored by the Minnesota
Welsh Association. Info:
mnwelshassociation.weebly.com
Rio Grande, OH
September 25 - 144th Gymanfa
of the Central Southeast Ohio
Association
of
Welsh
Congregational Churches,
10:30am to 1:00pm, Nebo
Church. Moderator is Evan E.
Davis. Nebo Church is located
near the intersection of Nebo
Road and Wolfe Run Road, off
of Rt. 325 South outside of Rio
Grande. Info: Madog Center for
Welsh Studies, 740-245-7186.
OCTOBER
U.S. and Canada Tour
See September entry for
CALAN
U.S. & Canada Tour
Through October 13 - Tom
Jones in concert. See Sept. entry
Southern CA
October TBA - Gymanfa Ganu.
Date, time and location to be
announced. Sponsored by the
Welsh League of Southern
California. Info: www.welshleagueofsocal.com
Los Angeles, CA
October 1 - Reading of selections from Dylan Thomas'
Under Milk Wood, read by Joe
Praml, 11:30 am, Palms-Rancho
Park Branch Los Angeles
Public Library, 2920 Overland
Ave.
Free.
Info:
www.lapl.org/branches/palmsrancho or www.joepraml.com
Washington, DC
October 1 - Welsh Conversation
Group meets 10:30 am-noon, at
Teaism Penn Quarter, 400 8th
Street NW (a block from the
Archives-Navy Memorial Metro
Station). All levels welcome.
Get your food & drink upstairs
& meet downstairs. Sponsored
by the St. David's WelshAmerican
Society
of
Washington
DC.
Info:
www.washingtondcwelsh.org
Connecticut
October 8 - Welsh Society of
Western New England Welsh
Cheese and USA Wine
Evening, 4:00 - 7:00PM.
Presenting a selection of Welsh
cheeses paired with American
wines, & sample Welsh Rarebit.
Harp music by Kasha Breau.
Guests $20. Info and RSVP:
[email protected]. Directions
will be forwarded.
Cambria, WI
October 9 - 72nd Annual
NINNAU The North American Welsh Newspaper®
Now incorporating Y Drych
P.O. Box 712, Trumansburg, NY 14886, USA
Please enter a one-year subscription for:
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.........................................................
o New, $20.00/yr. o Renewal, $20.00/yr. o Gift, Special rate (below)
(provide subscriber #)
(if donor is a subscriber)
For gift:
Donor’s name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.........................................................
Please enclose check or money order in US dollars or, if not a US resident,
in your local currency: $27.00 Canadian or £17.
Reduced price for gifts to North American addresses: $15 US or $15 Canadian or £10.
Page 28
Gymanfa Ganu, Cambria First
Presbyterian Church, 121 West
Florence St. Sessions at 2:30
and 6:00 pm with supper served
between sessions. Director
Sheryl Clay-Newell of Toronto;
Organist Steven J. Jensen of
Milwaukee. Donation. Info:
wggaw.org or Neal Lloyd, 920348-5657.
Delta, PA
October 9 - Fall Gymanfa Ganu,
2:00-5:00 pm, Rehoboth Welsh
Church, 1029 Atom Road.
Featuring Rehoboth Welsh
Choir.
Info:
rehobothwelshchurch.weebly.com or
www.welshchoir.org
Pittsburgh, PA
October 9 - Fall Gymanfa Ganu,
3:00 pm, St. David's Episcopal
Church, 905 East McMurray
Road, Venetia. Jay G. Williams
III, conductor; Jan Kowalski,
organist; harp music. Te Bach
following with a puppet show of
Welsh Folk Tales during the Te
Bach. Info: Bob Dayton,
[email protected]
Wilkes-Barre, PA
October 12 - Monthly meeting of
the St. David's Society of the
Hotel & Conference Center, 77
East Market St.
Fredericksburg, VA
Fredericksburg monthly meeting & program, 7:30 pm,
Faulkner Hall, St. George's
Episcopal Church, 905 Princess
Anne St. Info: www.welshfred.com
Pittsburgh, PA
October 16 - Celtic Culture
Event-Welsh/Irish/Scottish,
3:00-5:00 pm, Frick Fine Arts
Center, Oakland area of
Pittsburgh. Bagpipes, solos and
folk
dancing.
Info:
[email protected]
Westerville, OH
October 16 - Gymanfa Ganu,
2:30 pm, Central College
Church, 975 Sunbury Rd.
Sponsored by Welsh Society
of Central Ohio. Info: www.
welshsocietyofcentralohio.org
Glastonbury,CT
Western
New
England
Bring your Welsh family tree and
a lunch dish to share. Info & RSVP:
[email protected].
Sarasota, FL
October 23 - Gulf Coast St.
David's Welsh Society Annual
Picnic, 1:30-3:30 pm, Turtle
Beach Picnic Pavilion, Turtle
Beach, 8918 Midnight Pass Rd.
Food, games, singing, and
more. Burgers and hot dogs provided; bring a dish to share.
Picnic free for members and
children under 16, $5 for guests.
Info: www.sarasotawelsh.com
Lincoln, NE
October 30 - Contemporary
Welsh Forum sponsored by the
St. David's Welsh Society of
Nebraska, 3:00-5:00 pm, St.
Matthew's Episcopal Church,
2325 S 24th St. Artist Todd
Williams, the official painter for
Nebraska's 150th Celebration in
2017.
Donation.
Info:
www.facebook.com/SaintDavid
sWelshSocietyofNebraska or
Lori McAlister, 402-742-0477,
[email protected]
NOVEMBER
Oakville, Ont
November 5 - Burlington Welsh
Male Choir Rememberance Day
Concert for Royal Canadian
Legion, 7:30 pm, Glen Abbey
United
Church,
1469
Nottinghill
Gate.
Info:
www.burlingtonwelsh.com
Wilkes-Barre, PA
November 9 - Monthly meeting
of the St. David's Society of the
Hotel & Conference Center, 77
East Market St
Waupan, WI
November 13 - Christmas
Gymanfa Ganu, 2:30 pm,
Immanuel Lutheran Church,
525 W. Main St. Director Rev.
Thomas White; Organist Ann
Lemmenes. Info: wggaw.org
Glastonbury,CT
November 19 - Welsh Society
Bring your Welsh family tree
and a lunch dish to share. Info &
RSVP: [email protected].
Dundas, Ont
November 25 - Burlington
Welsh Male Choir Concert,
7:30 pm, St. Augustine's Parish
Church, 58 Sydenham St. Info:
DECEMBER
Omaha, NE
December 2 - Ethnic Holiday
Festival, interactive booth by
Nebraska Welsh, 4:00-9:00 pm,
Durham Museum, 801 S 10th
St. 20+ culture displays, shopping, performance. Museum
admission. Info: www.facebook.com/SaintDavidsWelshSo
cietyofNebraska or Lori
McAlister, 402-742-0477,
[email protected]
East Windsor, CT
December 3 - Welsh Society of
Western New England Annual
Christmas Holiday Luncheon,
Nutmeg Restaurant, 297 South
Main St. Enjoy Christmas
crackers, program, and Welsh
holiday
music.
Info:
WelshWNE.org
or
[email protected]
Stoney Creek, Ont
December 3 - Burlington Welsh
Male Choir Concert, 7:30 pm,
St. Francis Xavier Parish
Church, 304 Highway 8. Info:
Burlington, Ont
December 9 - Burlington Welsh
Male Choir Christmas Concert,
7:30 pm, St. Christopher's
Anglican Church, 662 Guelph
Line. Info: www.burlingtonwelsh.com
Wilkes-Barre, PA
December 14 - Monthly meeting of the St. David's Society of
the Wyoming Valley, noon,
Genetti Hotel & Conference
Center, 77 East Market St.
Glastonbury,CT
December 17 - Welsh Society
Bring your Welsh family tree and
a lunch dish to share. Info & RSVP:
[email protected].
Visit our online calendar
for up to date events:
http://www.ninnau.com

access - Ninnau

Transcription

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