Eddie Thomas sculpture

Eddie Thomas sculpture

Keir Hardie bust at Merthyr Civic Centre

A peak at the Keir Hardie bust in Merthyr Civic Centre (Council Offices) today.

The rust from iron inserts has coloured the eyes and gives the sculpture a spooky aura.

Link to photos of Keir Hardie bust

http://www.aberdareblog.co.uk/photographs/sculptures-and-monuments/keir-hardie-bust-merthyr-civic-centre/

The Family by Robert Thomas, Cardiff Queen Street sculpture

Photos of ‘The Family’ a sculpture by the late Robert Thomas available in the Gallery.

There are 4 Robert Thomas sculptures in Cardiff Queen Street : (1) Nye Bevan statue; (2) the Family; (3) a Miner; and (4) Mother and Son.

There is also The Girl by Robert Thomas at Gorsedd Gardens, in front of the National Museum.

One Moment in Aberdare

One Moment in Aberdare (donated for free and without payment) by Dave Sewell

Aberdare Photographer Dave Sewell interprets Market Street in Aberdare Town.

Dave Sewell has published many photographs of Aberdare on Flickr.

His photostream is at http://flickr.com/photos/angelfishsolo/

There is an Aberdare photographic group on Flickr here, please join and contribute!

Another Lawless Weekend in ‘Wild West’ Town

It has been another lawless weekend in ‘Wild West’ Aberdare Town.

Monday is the day that traders pick up the pieces after the weekend’s orgy of violence and vandalism.

This weekend, the windows of the Burtons menswear shop on Canon Street were kicked-in.

The windows of the Carousel Amusements on Commercial Street were kicked-in.

And the Barnado’s Charity Shop selling books on Commercial Street did not escape having windows kicked-in.

Both streets are covered by CCTV cameras which – allegedly! – provide more effective policing.

All the vacant shops in Aberdare are a reminder of just how difficult a battle traders face today.

It’s such a pity to see the broken windows in Aberdare week after week.

Who cares ?

Perhaps one day they will close all the shops, bulldoze them over, and extend the Tesco Supermarket car park.

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s stay at Elan Valley

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s stay in the Elan Valley in 1811 and 1812 is commemorated by a sculpture in the grounds of the Elan Valley visitor centre.

Shelley stayed at Cwm Elan house for one of his stays at Elan Valley. There is a photo of this house in the Gathering the Jewels project, at http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/19732

According to Powys Council’s website : “The drowned valleys of the rivers Elan and Claerwen each contained a large and historic country house linked with the lyric poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The estate of Cwm Elan, containing the Elan Valley mansion, was purchased in 1792 by Thomas Grove. It was described then as “10,000 worthless acres, which he is now converting into a paradise.” A local touring guide published in 1892, before the start of the dams project, noted that: …the Cwm Elan Estate was purchased early in the century by Mr Grove, a Wiltshire gentleman, and it is to his fostering care that a great part of its present luxuriant beauty is due.” This Wiltshire gentleman was Shelley’s uncle, and the poet, who came to stay at Cwm Elan on two occasions, was to become very attached to the rugged grandeur of the local landscape.

See the Full Set of Photos in the Gallery here

A Blog Proud to be full of Welsh Bull

This blog is proud to be full of ‘Welsh bull’.

http://www.aberdareblog.co.uk/photographs/sculptures-and-monuments/welsh-black-bull/

The Arc sculpture in Wrexham

Photographs of The Arc sculpture by David Annand now available in the gallery.

Annand depicts two workers in an almost playful pose. It’s a very unusual composition and hard to ignore in the centre of Wrexham main shopping district.

In the Red Corner from Merthyr

Huw Lewis Merthyr Tydfil’s Labour AM publishes a pamphlet today entitled “Winning for Wales” in true fighting spirit. The pamphlet is written in plain English and offers an honest appraisal of some of the problems facing the Welsh Labour Party today.

He writes that “in order to create a party that can win elections over the next generation we must react to the 2007 result as though it were a heavy defeat – any other response will not be sufficient and we will sleepwalk to a very real loss in 2011 where the number of marginal seats we will be contesting will be unprecedented in modern electoral history. The only way to successfully combat these challenges is to create a self-sufficient genuinely Welsh Labour Party which can properly shape this next exciting phase of devolution. ( pg. 11; our emphasis)

And this gem : “the priorities of working people and their member organisations should be at the heart of any progressive party of government” (pg. 13)

Finally, he draws attention to the use of new technology for communicating a political message : “The final and most fundamental point we must address in making our party more open and democratic is discovering new ways to reach out to new people and organisations… The creative use of the internet, email and accompanying technologies allows you to converse quickly – and cheaply – with thousands of interested parties. We are exploring these options encouragingly through Labour’s mpurl network, but we must also be thinking about broadening our online conversations. IT, properly used, is a low cost high-speed connection to half the households in Wales. (pg 24-25)

Merthyr has more statues for boxing legends than any other Welsh town. This is a tough Valleys town where people are proud to stand up and fight for what they believe in. Huw Lewis’ contribution is like a breathe of fresh air. One wonders what good it will do for a Welsh Labour Party with its head so far up its own arse it can lick its own tonsils.

Remembering the Raglan Coach Crash

Twelve years ago many families in Aberdare were devastated after a coach crash at Raglan claimed the lives of ten people from Aberdare. Thirty three other people were seriously injured. A memorial garden and benches were erected at Aberdare Park in memory of those who suffered and died in the Raglan Coach Crash, July 1995.

Photographs of the Raglan garden memorial are available in the Gallery.

Meditations and Ministers

We took the charabanc to the West Wales coast for the annual August pilgrimage this week. After a miserable June and July and a heart-breaking summer harvest, a spell of sunshine gave us precious time to ’stand and stare’ and re-charge our batteries whilst enjoying the Welsh countryside.

On Wednesday the sky was cloudless and the beaches of Cardigan Bay filled with holidaymakers, sunseekers, the sea-sports people, and families from near and far. As the hot sands teased our toes, we joined them for a refreshing dip in the serene Ceredigion sea. It was clear that day and below you could survey the wonders of the sea-floor. Above the aircraft scribbled ugly white trails against a pristine azure canvas.

We swam like a paddling of ducks who had been deprived of water for far far too long. We splashed each other and our selves. We dived deep and touched the floor, grabbing a handful of sand and coming to the surface to hold our prize ‘pearls’ aloft. We kicked and danced, bobbed and gyrated.

We held our heads under the water and listened to the strange hypnotic humming of the sea. We teased and laughed at each other as we made wild claims about crabs biting toes, octopuses ogling legs, squids and that mythical creature, the great white Cardigan Bay shark.

As we meditated on our uplifting surroundings and the creatures that inhabit the seas, we noticed Rhodri Morgan, the Welsh Assembly First Minister, and his wife Julie Morgan, the Cardiff MP, swim past us. They swam with grace at ease with themselves and the other swimmers enjoying the unusually calm Welsh sea. The Morgans swam far out to the deep and swam several times that afternoon.

Given a choice between spending time gnawing the proverbial bones of a dead culture in Mold, North Wales, or enjoying what nature has to offer in West Wales, he has clearly made a wise choice. Yes, he definitely swims in a circle. He swam with vigour, encircling the beach as if tracing the contours of the Welsh landscape as an act of appreciation.

* Some photos and video of the Two Legged Minister Swimming in a Circle on YouTube.

Anadl Barddoniaeth

Yng ngheiriau prosiect Casglu’r Tlysau : “Cofeb Evan a James James, awdur geiriau ac alaw anthem genedlaethol Cymru, ‘Hen Wlad fy Nhadau’. Cafodd y cerfluniau eu cynllunio gan Syr William Goscombe John a’u dadorchuddio gan Arglwydd Treowen ym 1930 gerbron torf o 10,000.

Roedd Evan James (Ieuan ap Iago, 1809-93) yn wehydd a gwerthwr gwlân wrth ei alwedigaeth ac hefyd yn berchen tafarn yr Ancient Druid Inn yn Argoed, Bedwellte, Sir Fynwy. Symudodd i Bontypridd pan oedd ei fab James (Iago ap Ieuan, 1833-1902) yn fachgen ifanc. Evan James a’i fab James a gyfansoddodd anthem genedlaethol Cymru, ‘Hen Wlad fy Nhadau’ ym 1856. Roedd Evan yn barddoni a chredir mai ef a ysgrifennodd y geiriau ac mai ei fab James a gyfansoddodd yr alaw. Cyhoeddwyd y gân yn y gyfrol ‘Gems of Welsh Melody’ (1860) a daeth yn hynod boblogaidd ymron ar unwaith. Nid yw’n sicr pryd yn union y cafodd y gân ei mabwysiadu fel anthem cenedlaethol Cymru.”

Welsh Mine Shaft Worship

Aberdare has been basking in the sun for the past few days. It is the right time to revive the old Welsh custom of dancing around mine shafts… video clip on Youtube.

Music by Brad Sucks