Songs of the Valleys

Escape from South Wales

Lynsey Richards muses on how to escape properly …

No matter how far we travel, or how many holidays we take…can we ever really escape our problems, stresses or worries?

This year has been a very stressful time. Nothing negative, just trying to get my columns as well as other pieces of writing done, moving home and fitting in my job.

Hard work to say the least. In 2009, I’ve had more holidays, weekends away and days out than I can remember! I noticed this whilst looking through my calendar (trying to find a free weekend to go away) we’ve just moved and it took its toll on me, so a weekend away was just what I need.

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Big Smiles at Riverside Community Garden Cardiff

There were big smiles at the Riverside Community Garden Project this Saturday…

With perfect timing the sun made a brief appearance for half an hour in Cardiff.

Jenny Howell (right in photo) gave a tour of this innovative project in the centre of Cardiff to a group of Permaculture Design students taught by Michelle Fitzsimmons (left in photo) of Edible Landscaping via Cardiff University.

Visit the Aberdare Blog Gallery for thousands more photos.

Imitations of Spencer Tunick

There is something very Spencer Tunick about many of the displays at Rheola Market.

Tunick is the American photographer known for his photographs of large numbers of nude people placed closely together. Market stall-holders arrive around four o’clock in the morning and work like fury to present their stalls ready for the public for each Saturday’s weekly show. Whether it is creating an ‘installation’ out of fruit or veg, or arranging secondhand toy figures (as below) it’s a joy to see. And it’s art.

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Lle Sbwci yw Aberystwyth

Fwy o luniau o gerfluniau a chymeriadau Aberystwyth yn y fan yma …

Welsh Bloggers Make Friends

There is a goldmine of fascinating articles on Dave Raybould Welsh Bloggers website.

Many different types of Welsh blogger have contributed their own perspective on blogging and the Welsh blogging scene.

A wonderfully pithy article published today by Al Iguana catches the mood of the Welsh voter

Trust in politicians has reached an all-time low. You won’t gain votes by being some anonymous person knocking on peoples doors once every four years and waving a manifesto at people: they’ve already made their minds up. You will get votes by making friends with your constituents, by engaging with them, involving yourselves in their lives – you know, old fashioned community stuff. Time and distance is a factor, of course it is, but with new media you have the tools to do this easily, conveniently, openly. All you need to is get past this “them and us” mindset. There is no them, just us. Trust and respect isn’t earned by a glossy flier, but it might be earned with an email, a tweet. And the sooner we all sit down round a table, real or virtual, and talk like adults the better Welsh politics will be.

Aberdare’s elected politicians have chosen not to blog. That is a great loss to the people of Aberdare because the blog is an ideal medium to engage and connect with constituents. Al Iguana hits the proverbial nail squarely on the head.

Make a Plucky Attempt to Leave Your House

Make a Plucky Attempt to Leave your House this week… for Gary Owen’s latest play Amgen : Broken at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff until Saturday 9th May.

Glam Student’s Book Launched by Cerys Matthews

Glamorgan Uni student Sarah Broughton will launch the audio recording of her first novel ‘Other Useful Numbers’ with a helping hand from Cerys Matthews this weekend.

Former Catatonia singer Cerys recorded the audio book which will be launched in Cardiff’s Borders bookstore on Saturday, 21st March, the first time she has undertaken such a project.

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Urban Beekeeping Talk

Cardiff Vale and Valleys Beekeepers are holding a talk on Urban Beekeeping at Llandaff Parish Village Hall on Tuesday 10th March at 7.30pm.

Cardiff Vale and Valleys Beekeepers is a friendly association promoting the craft of bee keeping and the benefits of the products within the hive, to the public.

They meet in Llandaff Village hall on the second Tuesday of every month from September to March and have meetings during the summer months at members’ apiary sites.

To confirm details of this talk please see the Cardiff Beekeepers website.

Bryn and Nessa on Comic Relief

Bryn and Nessa sing Islands in the Stream for Comic Relief in Las Vegas…

Aberdare Town as Theme Park

Imagine Aberdare Town as a Theme Park.

With a Welsh Warbling Barbie Doll welcoming visitors to Town…

Wales’ Heaviest Easter Egg

Parc Penallta near Caerphilly is the site for Wales’ heavist Easter Egg type installation…

“Breaking the Mould” by Andrew McKeown was installed in approximately 2000 as part of the Groundwork Organisation’s “Changing Places” programme whereby 21 projects on former industrial sites through out England and Wales were developed for the community for the 21st Century. Each one of these projects having their own sculpture.

The sculpture is set in the splendid Parc Penallta, formerly a mining tip linked to the nearby Penallta Colliery. There are other sculptures nearby including an entrance feature by Andrew Rowe. More on these later.

Enjoy the Easter Egg sculpture in the Gallery here.

Cage Prisoners in Cardiff

CAGEPRISONERS PRESENTS

TWO SIDES – ONE STORY:
GUANTANAMO FROM BOTHS SIDES OF THE WIRE

Wednesday 4 February, 7 pm
The Great Hall, Cardiff Student Union, Park Place
Admission Free. All welcome.

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Mr Transition is Coming to Town

Via Valleys Green …

Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Movement, will be giving a talk in Cardiff between 7pm til 9pm, Thursday 12th of March @ the Temple of Peace in Cathays

ROB HOPKINS will bring the ultimate transition talk to Cardiff. Covering the foundations of why climate change and peak oil need urgent action and an outline why and how transition can provide some inspiration in working towards solutions, he’ll also present a few examples of what Transition projects around the UK are up to.

Tickets £4, £3 concessions (details about where to buy tickets will be circulated nearer the time)

Organised by Cardiff Transition Project.

Visit Rob Hopkins’ home page Transition Culture here

Bring on the Sunday Beef

Talk about shock and jaw on John Clinch’s Beefcake Miner in Cardiff Bay…

This is a fantastic seven feet tall bronze situated in Cardiff Bay near the Norwegian church arts centre and not far from the Senedd building.

Entitled ‘From Pit to Port’ the sculpture celebrates the industrial heritage of the South Wales coalfields community and the close links with the Cardiff port which exported the black gold across the world.

It was unveiled in July 2005 and sculpted by the late John Clinch of Tregaron and completed by Jon Buck of Bath.

Despite the size and beefy musculature of this figure, there is an almost cartoon-like softness and exaggeration.

Enjoy the Full Set of Photos of this Sculpture on Flickr here.