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Welsh Film List
Sue Sit sent in the following list of Welsh
films from the of The
North American Festival of Wales Facebook page
The Citadel (1938)
The Proud Valley (1940)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
The Corn Is Green (1945)
The Lost Weekend (1946)
Tiger Bay (1959)
Zulu (1964)
Under Milk Wood (1972)
Hedd Wyn (1992)
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)
Twin Town (1997)
House of America (1997)
Human Traffic (1999)
Solomon & Gaenor (1999)
Very Annie Mary (2001)
Eldra (2002)
The Edge of Love (2008)
Sleep Furiously (2008)
Patagonia (2010)
Mr. Nice (2011)
Each could be Googled to find out how you could locate it for watching.
The North American Festival of Wales
also recommends:
Contact your local PBS stations, BBC America, Turner Classic Movies,
Fox Movie Channel and any other station you can think of to request
Welsh films be shown on St. David's Day. Below is a short list for
contact information for some cable movie channels and a short list of
Welsh films that you can request.
BBC America - http://www.bbcamerica.com/contact-us/
Turner Classic Movies - http://www.tcm.com/contact-tcm.html
Fox Movie Channel - http://www.foxmoviechannel.com/contact.php
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WSWNE
Welsh Language Group is using Skype to study together without traveling

At present,
Sherry Williams and Beth Roberts Brown are the only two active language
group members, but they hope additional WSWNE members will join them
soon.
Sometimes
meeting at Beth's home in Westfield, MA and sometimes meeting online,
using Skype to talk to each other in real time, they find they can work
together on the same learning materials.
Their sources
have included BBC Wales online language learning sites like Big Welsh
Challenge, Catchphrase and interactive children's game sites
(Snapdragon, Bowns, and Astro Antics). Other online resources include
Say Something in Welsh (SSiW) and Acen.
More traditional
materials include recorded lessons accompanied by printed text (like
Now You're Talking), Welsh-English dictionaries, plus assorted grammar
and phrase books.
Anyone
interested in joining, contact Beth
Roberts Brown edbethui@comcast.net (please include the word
Welsh in the
subject line) or phone her at 413-562-3990
WSWNE
Genealogy Group is Now Meeting To Do Research
Until
recently this had been primarily an "e-mail discussion group" sharing
information and announcements.
Now Susan Davies Sit
reports that four members of WSWNE (Beth Roberts
Brown, Susan Jenkins Meers, Susan Davies Sit, and Sherry Williams) met
at Susan’s home in October 2011 to research their Welsh Family History
(genealogy).
With lap
tops and wi-fi in action they researched using web sites such as
ancestry.com & findmypast.com. They found new information to
further their research as well as enjoying a lovely pot-luck lunch.
More meetings are planned.
Anyone interested in joining, contact Beth
Roberts Brown edbethui@comcast.net (please include the word
Welsh in the
subject line) or phone her at 413-562-3990
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Tina Davies reports a
great letter to the editor by Shirley Kiefer;
Shirley Kiefer had her letter to the
editor of the Hartford Courant (the oldest continuously published
newspaper in the country) published, giving some press to St. David and
lightheartedly setting the record straight on that other Celtic saint...
Here's what she wrote (or at least
what made the paper...) —
"The March 17 editorial "Gaelic And Garlic" delightfully
extolled the Irish and Italian saints of March. However, it left out
another important one!
March 1 is St. David's Day, in honor of the patron saint of Wales.
People of Welsh heritage celebrate it around the world with Welsh music
and feasting on Welsh salmon, an ancient Celtic symbol of wisdom.
Few people are aware that Ireland's St. Patrick was actually a Welshman
who was kidnapped by Irish pirates as a young man and forced into slave
labor in Ireland.
He escaped, became a priest and went back to Ireland to teach them a
kinder way.
So next year, be wise. Add some Welsh salmon to your beer and pasta.
Shirley Kiefer, West Hartford"
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Welsh Supergroup Bid
for chart success in aid of recovery centre
- from our
WSWNE Fall 2010 event speaker from Wales, Wynford Ellis Owen: Chief
Executive, Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs
Welsh music stars Bryn Fôn, Elin Fflur, Brigyn (Ynyr and
Eurig Roberts), Côr Hŷn Glanaethwy and Côr Eifionydd have
come together to record a song in aid of The Living Room Cardiff, the
Welsh alcohol and drug recovery centre. The track, cân Yr
Ystafell Fyw/The Living Room Song, was written by songwriter and Tebot
Piws member Alun ‘Sbardun’ Huws and produced by Bryn Fôn.
Recorded in both Welsh and English at Sain Studios near Caernarfon, the
song will be available to download from iTunes and www.sainwales.com on midnight 1st
May. A music video will also be available to view on the Living Room
Cardiff’s own website www.thelivingroom-cardiff.com
and on www.sainwales.com
The community based Recovery Centre, based at 58 Richmond Road,
Cardiff, will provide a safe, non-judgmental space offering a range of
psycho-social programmes (including peer-based support) for
people from the Cardiff area that are in recovery from longstanding,
entrenched substance misuse problems.
Members are treated not as “unfortunate people with longstanding drug
and/or alcohol problems” but as functioning human beings with dreams,
capabilities, creativity and in possession of a life to be lived. The
new centre will be officially opened on 8th September and aims to 'open
the door to a new life' free from addiction. In time, the service will
be extended to all major towns throughout Wales.
Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive, Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other
Drugs who sponsor the new centre, said, ”I am so grateful to everyone
involved with this project as without their time and enthusiasm we
would not be where we are today. To have a roll call of stars as
we have managed to amass for this record is great and I’m sure people
are going to love the song when they hear it and that it sets the
charts alight!
“The Living Room Cardiff concept will revolutionize the treatment of
alcohol and drug dependent people in Wales. The emphasis will be on
recovery rather than simple addiction management. The idea for the
Living Room stems from the fact there is no recovery community in
Wales. As such, the Living Room has been established as a way to put a
‘face and a voice’ to recovery and to give hope to those still
struggling with addiction. From my time in America, as part of the
Winston Churchill Fellowship, it is crucial to establish a strong
recovery community first as this is the best route to success for all
concerned with recovery.”
Alun ‘Sbardun’ Huws, added, “The Living Room Cardiff is a great cause.
I’ve personally had experience of battling with alcohol addiction and
have been in recovery for twenty five years and know how difficult it
can be to find advice and support. I’m proud to be able to help in some
way.
Bryn Fôn, said, “First and foremost it’s a great song and I was
only too happy to lend my support. The fantastic voices and talents of
performers such as Elin Fflur, Brigyn, Côr Hŷn Glanaethwy and
Côr Eifionydd makes this track extra special and I hope it raises
a lot of awareness for The Living Room Cardiff.”
Dafydd Roberts, Chief Executive of Sain Records said, “It was a
pleasure to host the recording of this song and to welcome such
talented artists to the studios here, in aid of such a worthy
cause. We hope everyone’s efforts will ensure the song succeeds
in raising the awareness of this much needed resource”
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Ninnau
THE North American Welsh
newspaper (written in English)
lowers its annual
subscription to only $20.00
NINNAU is THE North American Welsh Newspaper ® (since its
merger with Y Drych in 2003) providing
complete coverage of the North American Welsh community (in articles
written in English).
NINNAU is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the vitality of
the North American Welsh community by:
- informing the North American Welsh community of local and general
news and events of interest
- publicizing individual contributions to community life
- providing a forum for discussion and individual expression
- describing Welsh traditions and places in Wales
- linking North American Welsh people and organizations with one
another and with Wales
At no charge, NINNAU has publicized all WSWNE sponsored events
in advance, published articles (including
photos) covering all of our events , and printed articles authored by
individual WSWNE members.
Now NINNAU needs our help, in the form of our subscriptions.
Due to financial and staff limitations, their publishing schedule is
being reduced to every other month. The
issues will be mailed towards the end of January, March, May, July,
September, and November. Their hope is
"that publishing every two months will result in larger issues of a
better publication. An added benefit is that the
yearly subscription will cost less" - only $20 per year vs. $25
previously.
In addition to the paper copy, subscribers can also read the paper
online (usually well before the paper copy
arrives) and access their website, www.ninnau.com, for fast-breaking
news, such as additions to their calendar
of events.
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Older
News
& Information Menu
(click on each
for further information or scroll down)
- The story of St
Dwynwen's Day - Jan. 25
- WSWNE members
Berwyn Jones & Martha
Davies on the cover of the supplement to Cambrian News (Aberystwyth)
- Caroline Cannings
introduces WSWNE to her
father's book, "Every Day was Summer" (the tale of three
young
sisters who grew up in the small Welsh town of Harlech in the years
before the First World War.
WSWNE member John Bollard has published a
new translation of the
Mabinogi, "The Mabinogi: Legend and Landscape of Wales".
- Share Your Photos of Wales Photos of Conwy,
North Wales, supplied by Sue Davies Sit
- WSWNE President Tom Bernard
has
published a book titled The Twelve
Days of Christmas : The Mystery and the Meaning
- WSWNE
member Margaret Lloyd's book-length cycle of poems
titled A Moment in the Field: Voices
from Arthurian Legend
- Wales Display
by Beth Roberts Brown in Southwick Library
- Welsh Genealogy Group
- Welsh Language Classes
The story of St Dwynwen's Day - Jan. 25 -
in recognition of the Welsh
patron saint of lovers, the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine.
Note: this is a retelling that Tom Bernard particularly liked
and requested be shared with all:
St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, the Welsh equivalent of
St Valentine. She lived during the 5th century and was one of the
prettiest of Brychan Brycheiniog's 24 daughters. Dwynwen fell in love
with a prince called Maelon Dafodrill, but unfortunately her father had
already arranged that she should marry someone else.
Dwynwen was so upset that she could not marry Maelon that she begged
God to make her forget him. After falling asleep, Dwynwen was visited
by an angel, who appeared carrying a sweet potion designed to erase all
memory of Maelon and turn him into a block of ice.
God then gave three wishes to Dwynwen. Her first wish was that Maelon
be thawed; her second that God meet the hopes and dreams of true
lovers; and third, that she should never marry. All three were
fulfilled, and as a mark of her thanks, Dwynwen devoted herself to
God's service for the rest of her life.
She founded a convent on Llanddwyn Island where a well named after her
became a place of pilgrimage after her death in 465AD. Visitors to the
well believed that the sacred fish or eels that lived in it could
foretell whether or not their relationship would be happy and whether
love and happiness would be theirs. Remains of Dwynwen's church can
still be seen today
WSWNE
members Berwyn Jones & Martha Davies on the cover of the Nov. 2006
supplement
to Cambrian News (Aberystwyth) regarding their Great
Plains Welsh Heritage & Cultural Center
in Wymore, Nebraska - which they left our
area to develop and direct several years ago.
Caroline Cannings introduces WSWNE to her
father's book, "Every Day was Summer"

At our March 3, 2007 St. David's Day Gathering,
Caroline Cannings introduced those present to the book, "Every Day was
Summer", written by her father, Oliver Wynne Hughes.
Oliver Wynne Hughes was born in Pwllheli and lived his boyhood years in
Cricieth, Caernarfon and Ffestiniog. Educated in Liverpool and at
London University, he also took an MSc in Strategic Studies at
Aberystwyth. He has been a schoolmaster, was Bursar at Coleg Harlech
and for 24 years was a regular army officer, serving in Hong Kong,
Malta, Gibraltar, Cyprus and West Germany as well as in the United
Kingdom. He retired in 1983 and is now an Executive Recruiter. He has
three adult children and lives with his wife Kim in North Wales.
"Every Day was Summer" is by and large the tale of three young sisters
who grew up in the small Welsh town of Harlech in the years before the
First World War. Their stories, some sad, some amusing, but all of them
endearing, light up the pages of this book. The interweaving of their
lives with those of their young friends and their relationships with
English visitors, many of them members of the aristocracy, others from
the world of entertainment, sport, literature and the arts who visited
Harlech each summer, make a tapestry that is a social history of a
small Welsh community during the early years of the 20th century.
"Every
Day was Summer"
is available from Amazon.com
WSWNE member John
Bollard has published a new translation of the Mabinogi, "The Mabinogi:
Legend and Landscape of Wales"
WSWNE member John Bollard has published a new translation of the
Mabinogi, "The Mabinogi: Legend and Landscape of Wales". The Mabinogi
is the jewel in the crown of Welsh literature and it is perhaps the one
Welsh work, above all others, that anyone Welsh or interested in Wales
should be familiar with. To quote from the dust jacket, "Its Four
Branches are tales of heroism and heartbreak, of love and disloyalty,
that for all their magic and mystery, remain rooted in the emotional
realities and moral complexities of everyday life. They are also rooted
in the very soil of Wales, in a landscape relatively unchanged since
these tales were first told in the early Middle Ages." The sixty
stunning photographs by Anthony Griffiths provide for the first time a
striking view of the landscape of these tales throughout Wales. The
book is available from Hiraeth Celtic Goods at www.hiraethcelticgoods.com
or from Hiraeth Celtic Goods, 77 Cranberry Drive, Duxbury,
Massachusetts 02332-4106
Check out The Mabinogi website http://themabinogi.googlepages.com/
WSWNE
President Tom Bernard has published a book titled The Twelve Days of Christmas : The Mystery
and the Meaning
Book
Description - from Amazon.com website
The Twelve Days of Christmas
is a popular Christmas song which people generally sing with great
gusto - but with almost no understanding . The basic premise of Dr.
Bernard's book is that there is a logic to the twelve sequences. His
hypothesis is that the lyrics reveal a cartographic code of an esoteric
route map by which pilgrims in the Middle Ages can make the long
journey from England to Jerusalem.
About the Author - from Amazon.com website
Dr. Thomas L. Bernard was born and raised in Scotland , and received
his education in Wales , and in the USA where he earned a doctorate
from the University of Massachusetts and a postgraduate certificate
from Harvard University . His professional career as an educator,
professor, administrator and lecturer has spanned over 50 years with
service on five continents . He has authored or co-authored over a
hundred books or articles, and takes particular pride in The Twelve Days of Christmas : The Mystery
and the Meaning, which he feels is the first significant attempt
to explain by translation the underlying message of the twelve parts of
this popular Christmas song.
WSWNE webmaster Ed Brown has said, "Tom Bernard's unraveling of the
hidden meaning coded into a well known composition brings to mind both
the allure of the popular fictional work, The Da Vinci Code, and the
fascinating true story of how the lyrics of spirituals were used as
code by slaves in the American south to guide their journey to freedom
in the north".
Copies of The Twelve
Days of Christmas : The Mystery and the Meaning may be obtained:
- Locally from the Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., S. Hadley, MA
01075. 413-534-7307
- Online from Amazon.com
or Barnes
and Noble
WSWNE
member Margaret Lloyd has published a book-length cycle of poems
titled A Moment in the Field: Voices
from Arthurian Legend
Margaret
Lloyd writes:
The new book, A Moment in the Field:
Voices from Arthurian Legend, released by Plinth Books on
October 1st, 2006, is a book-length cycle of poems that remains
faithful to early Arthurian sources while being contemporary in its
style and concerns. While these poems primarily focus on female
experiences which have
often remained hidden or gone unnoticed, they
also evoke aspects of male experience not traditionally accessed in
Arthurian narrative.
Each poem in A Moment in the Field is written in the voice of a
character from Arthurian legend. My primary narrative source was Sir
Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur , although I have also drawn upon early
Welsh Arthurian poetry and prose, Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the
Kings of Britain , and the courtly romances of Chretien de
Troyes. While writing these poems, I strove to remain
faithful to characters and events in this early literature as I
explored emotional moments, situations, and psychological states
suggested by the texts.
The following are some early
endorsements of the book:
“The old stories and the old characters are not as old as they are
deep. They need to be awakened regularly to tell us their secrets. They
require an enchantress to bring them back and help us hear
them. Margaret Lloyd performs this priestess, Merlin,
Cassandra, Mercury service here in splendid and powerful fashion,
showing how our daily passions, strong and subtle, light and dark, give
us our humanity. You need courage to take these poems in, given the hot
blood and sharp edge that Margaret Lloyd brings to them.” —Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul
and Dark Nights of the Soul
“The power of Arthurian legend, and of the hold romantic love has over
human beings, is shown again here in this moving sequence which speaks
almost entirely in the voices of the women of the stories. . .
.Margaret Lloyd has gathered all this to her with haunting empathy for
human life and the life of the natural world.” —Jean Valentine, author of Door in the
Mountain , winner of the 2004 National Book Award for Poetry
“Margaret Lloyd uses the names and stories of legendary women, and some
men, to write a book of love poems in a fresh, contemporary voice. . .
. [T]he old stories [are given] new life in this excellent collection.”
—Gillian Clarke, author of The King of
Britain’s Daughter and Making the Beds for the Dead
Here is some information about my background: I was born in
Liverpool , England of Welsh parents and grew up in a Welsh community
in central New York State . I received a Ph.D. from the University of
Leeds , England , and have published a book on William Carlos Williams’
poem Paterson (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press).
Alice James Books published my first poetry book, This Particular
Earthly Scene. I have received a number of awards and fellowships,
including one to Hawthornden Castle , an International Retreat for
Writers in Scotland , where I completed A Moment in the Field.
Presently, I chair the Humanities Department at Springfield College ,
Massachusetts .
A Moment in the Field can be ordered directly from the press:
Plinth Books,
P.O. Box 271118 ,
West Hartford , CT 06127-1118
or through Small Press Distribution
http://spdbooks.org/
ISBN: 1-887628-08-8
paper
$12
ISBN: 1-887628-09-6
cloth $24
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Wales Display
- Beth Roberts Brown, on June 30, took down her three month cabinet
display of
items related to Wales at the
Southwick, MA public library where she is a librarian. See top shelf
photo below.
The WSWNE
Genealogy Group members share contact information, update
each
other on progress
and to tap each other's research skills.
An "e-mail discussion group" has been created whereby members can
e-mail
the entire group or individually.
Anyone interested in joining, contact Beth
Roberts Brown edbethui@comcast.net (please include the word
Welsh in the
subject line) or phone her at 413-562-3990
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WELSH
LANGUAGE CLASSES
Beginning
Welsh language classes continue to be held sporadically.
New students are always welcome. For further information:
Anyone
interested in joining, contact Beth
Roberts Brown edbethui@comcast.net (please include the word
Welsh in the
subject line) or phone her at 413-562-3990
SHARE YOUR PHOTOS OF WALES
SHARE YOUR
PHOTOS OF WALES with WSWNE members by link from this
website to your
photo site on the internet. Just send the internet address (URL) where
you have posted
your photos to WSWNE
webmaster, Ed Brown
edbethui@comcast.net
Alternatively,
simply notify
the webmaster that you have photos that you would like to share and we
will try to get them up on either our own server or on other server
space.
Photos of Conwy, North Wales supplied
by Sue Davies Sit click
here
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