Diamond Rings and More

Posts Tagged ‘celtic’

Wales has a long history of music and has been called the ‘land of song’ since at least the Nineteenth Century. This reference to Wales as the land of song, almost certainly comes from the enthusiastic singing in Welsh churches and at Welsh sports meetings, especially at rugby matches. However, Wales’ links with music go much further back than that.

Wales has a tradition of folk music which is closely linked with Scottish and Irish folk music. There are several forms of musical gathering that are comparable to those in other Celtic countries in the United Kingdom. For instance there is the twmpath (folk dance session), g?yl werin (folk festival) and noson lawen (a traditional party comparable to the Gaelic “C?ilidh”).

Modern Welsh folk musicians have often resurrected traditions which had been suppressed or forgotten, and have competed with imported and native rock and pop trends. This has been particularly the case since the 1990’s.

Despite modern Welsh trends in music, Wales will always be connected with Male Voice Choirs such as the Morriston Orpheus Choir and Treorchy Male Voice Choir which enjoy world wide fame.

These choirs were frequently made up of workers from one village or one coal mine and so it was quite natural for men to sing when one town played against another, especially if that game was Wales’ national sport of rugby. The first time the Welsh National Anthem, ‘Yr Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ (‘The Old Country of my Fathers’, normally translated as ‘Land of My Fathers’), was sung at an International sporting event was in 1905

Along side the choirs, brass bands developed in villages, working men’s clubs, churches and at work particularly in South Wales where brass bands are still very popular. In fact, the Cory Band is one of the most best brass bands in the world.

There were more than a few world famous Welsh singers in the Twentieth Century and some of them are still singing to packed audiences worldwide. Ivor Novello was one of the first who became well-known during the First World War as a singer songwriter. Then there was Geraint Evans and Delme Bryn-Jones during the Second World War.

After that, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey began their singing careers in the 1950’s and are still singing fifty years later. There were also well-liked bands during the Seventies and Eighties such as Man and Budgie and solo singers such as Shakin’ Stevens, nnie Tyler and John Cale (Velvet Underground).

In more recent times, we have seen the Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; the last two bands being notable for many their songs’ words being in Welsh.

There have always been operatic singers as well such as Rebecca Evans, Aled Jones, Bryn Tervel and Charlotte Church. Cardiff hosts the ‘Singer of the World’ competition and the Wales also has its very own Eisteddfod, where Pavarotti sang for years. It was because of Wales tradition as a nation of singers that Paul Robeson sang in Wales in the Fifties

If you are interested in a Welsh gold wedding ring, or Wales in general, go to our web site at Welsh Products Online

Wales has a long history of music and has been called the ‘land of song’ since at least the Nineteenth Century. This reference to Wales as the land of song, probably comes from the enthusiastic singing in Welsh churches and at Welsh sports meetings, particularly at rugby matches. However, Wales’ links with music go much further back than that.

Wales has a tradition of folk music which is closely linked with Scottish and Irish folk music. There are a number of types of musical gathering that resemble those in other Celtic countries in the United Kingdom. For instance there is the twmpath (folk dance session), g?yl werin (folk festival) and noson lawen (a traditional party similar to the Gaelic “C?ilidh”).

Modern Welsh folk musicians have often resurrected traditions which had been suppressed or forgotten, and have competed with imported and indigenous rock and pop trends. This has been especially true since the 1990’s.

Despite modern Welsh trends in music, Wales will always be connected with Male Voice Choirs such as the Morriston Orpheus Choir and Treorchy Male Voice Choir which benefit from world wide fame.

These choirs were often made up of workers from one village or one coal mine and so it was quite natural for men to sing when one town played against another, especially when that game was Wales’ national sport of rugby. The first time the Welsh National Anthem, ‘Yr Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ (‘The Old Country of my Fathers’, usually translated as ‘Land of My Fathers’), was sung at an International sporting event was in 1905

Along side the choirs, brass bands developed in villages, working men’s clubs, churches and at work particularly in South Wales where brass bands are still very popular. In fact, the Cory Band is one of the most best brass bands in the world.

There were quite a few world renowned Welsh singers in the Twentieth Century and some of them are still singing to jam-packed audiences worldwide. Ivor Novello was one of the first who became well-known during the First World War as a singer songwriter. Then there was Geraint Evans and Delme Bryn-Jones during the Second World War.

After that, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey began their singing careers in the 1950’s and are still singing fifty years later. There were also popular bands during the Seventies and Eighties such as Man and Budgie and solo singers such as Shakin’ Stevens, nnie Tyler and John Cale (Velvet Underground).

In more recent times, we have seen the Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; the latter two bands being notable for lots of their songs’ lyrics being in Welsh.

There have always been operatic singers as well such as Rebecca Evans, Aled Jones, Bryn Tervel and Charlotte Church. Cardiff hosts the ‘Singer of the World’ competition but the Wales also has its very own Eisteddfod, where Pavarotti sang for years. It was because of Wales tradition as a nation of singers that Paul Robeson visited Wales in the Fifties

If you are interested in dogs or Welsh corgi puppies, or even Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

The stars always look so marvelous, do they not? Both types of stars do. Celebrities too. OK, we do not see them when they get up in the morning or with a severe hangover, but if we do see them, they always look at the peek of physical fitness and dressed in perfectly fitting clothes. It is their job not merely to act and learn their lines but to look great too.

most if not all of them have personal fitness coaches, dietitians and even chefs in order to help them tackle the fat, so it is not really so difficult for them as it is for us, but the penalty for gaining weight is more ruthless, they may not be offered much more work, which would mean falling out of the limelight and that would be a serious thing for any celebrity.

Therefore, it is not surprising that most stars have their own favourite tips for staying on top of the weight problem that faces most individuals every day of their lives. Here are seven celebrities’ pointers on how they accomplish it.

Jennifer Aniston: follows the 40:30:30 method of counting sorts of foodstuffs. That is:

40% of what she consumes has to be slow-burning, low glycaemic foodstuffs like beans, root vegetables (like swede and potatoes), dark-green leaves (such as cabbage) and fruit (like bananas).

30% of what she eats has to be lean-to-fatless protein such as skinless chicken, tofu, turkey, ostrich, veal, fish and low fat dairy produce.

30% of what she consumes should contain essential fatty acids such as oily fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil.

Kate Hudson; placed on 60 pounds during her pregnancy but was determined to lose it especially after the media was so cruel to her about her size. She did it in four months by concentrating on eating only high protein, but small meals often and training rigorously. This sounds a lot like the Atkins diet, but it worked for her and now she looks better than ever.

Oprah Winfrey: applies a similar plan to Kate Hudson’s. She works out at least five days a week and tries to consume mostly fish, nuts, fruit, beans, seeds, chicken and vegetables. She is especially careful to avoid, but not totally cut out, white sugar and white flour and last but not least, she does not eat anything after 19:00 hours.

Gwyneth Paltrow: has a routine that is similar again. She as well avoids white sugar and flour, but follows a macrobiotic diet of vegetables, brown rice and very lean meat and fish. She does not consume any dairy produce at all and does yoga each day.

Madonna: also does yoga every day and follows a macrobiotic diet of organic vegetables, brown rice and fatless protein. She has given up junk food entirely.

Claudia Schiffer: will eat just fruit before noon and after noon she adds salad and steamed vegetables to her diet, She drinks lots of tomato juice and herbal tea and is especially fond of black grapes.

Christie Brinkley: is a strict vegetarian, who has also eliminated all forms of junk food from her diet. She snacks on sweet potatoes and if she puts on a few pounds, she goes on a crash diet of fruit juices.

Do not forget that these celebrities have paid and almost certainly still are paying thousands of dollars for their advice, so if one of these outline diets appeals to you, do some more research and test it out free of charge. It works for them as you can plainly see.

If you want to know more about food in general or the essentials for a healthy diet in particular, just go over too Traditional Welsh Recipes

There are many presents that can be given for wedding favours, after all the point of wedding favours is to show your guests that you are grateful for them coming to your wedding and expressing their support for your wedding. Therefore, you ought to really try to find wedding favors, that your guests will like.

Of course, the present that most appeals to your guests, may not be one you would choose for yourself, but you are getting the wedding favours for your guests, not yourself. If you think about it, you should be able to come up with something that everyone will like and that you are pleased to give. In order to help you get the task done, we will offer you a few tips below.

Love spoons are a prevalent souvenir at Welsh and other Celtic weddings. A love spoon was a wooden spoon carved by a love sick man for the woman he cherished. She would then either take or reject the love spoon, although she was not bound by the acceptance of the spoon. Miniature copies are often used as wedding favours. They can be carved with dates and names and symbols of love such as a hearts, bells, vines, key holes, anchors and knots.

Wedding favours can also be edible. There are a pile of choices available for couples who wish to give their guests some type of edible favour. You can have many things personalized these days. Some firms specialize in personalized presents, which can also be given as wedding favours. Some examples of edible, personalized wedding favours might be: chocolate bars, mints, biscuits or gourmet chocolates. The box or wrapping could bear your photo or / and your names and the date.

Miniature wedding cakes are another idea for edible wedding favours. Miniature wedding cakes have a short shelf life so they will have to include a warning, which will in all probability be put on the wrapper automatically, but it is worth checking.

A half / quarter or small bottle of wine or other drink would also be quite easy to arrange as wine bottle labels can be bought in any home brew shop.

Picture frames are frequent wedding favors. You could give a picture frame and follow it up with a photo of the beneficiary of the frame enjoying your wedding reception. This might be costly and awkward to set up as you will have to keep records of who has been photographed and who has not. It would be dreadful to miss someone out, would it not? You will possibly also need a professional photographer or at least a dedicated amateur.

Wedding favours can be anything in reality, but I think that they are best if they are practical. We gave very atypical bottle-openers away at our wedding. They had a pattern of a couple getting married, our names and the date. They also had a magnet in them to collect the bottle top as it came off. I have seen dozens of our bottle-openers stuck on our guests’ fridges over the years and the wedding was three years ago.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Welsh love spoons, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

In the Twelfth Century, William de Barri owned Barry Castle, but it was attacked and destroyed by Llewellyn Bren in 1316. It is said that the Cavaliers rebuilt it, but that it was subsequently destroyed again by the Roundheads, never to be rebuilt.

The Norman interlopers were thoroughly hated by the local people and they had to build large mansions to defend themselves from the not infrequent raids on them by the people of the valleys and the mountains. During the time of the reign of Henry III, there were 12 castles within six miles of Barry; in Glamorgan, there were 30 castles and in South Wales as a whole there were 150 of those symbols of oppression.

Porthkerry and its church which lies on the wooded hill to the west of it are said to have taken their name from Ceri, who, in turn, is said to have founded a port there, ie ‘Port Ceri’. People say that Ceri ap Caid, the King of Essyllwg, lived in Porthkerry before the Christian era and that his bard, Corvinor, was the first to build a ship with sails and a rudder for the ‘race of Cymru’. Some believe that Ceri was a nephew or grandson of Caractacus (Caradog) and that he took over the leadership of the government in South Wales when Caractacus had to journey to Rome.

John Wesley later preached from the Porthkerry Church pulpit, and sometimes outside, in 1741, 1742 and 1743. There are two very old churches still in use today St. Cadocs Church in Cadoxton and Merthyr Dyfan Church in Merthyr Dyfan. 150 years ago, Cadoxton was the largest village in the area: eg in 1844 the Parliamentary register contained 25 names: 20 from Cadoxton and five from Barry. The church was dedicated to St. Cadoc, who used to spend Lent on Flat Holm and Barry Island. The village took its name from the church, which was founded in 800 AD.

Merthyr Dyfan Church, situated in the north of Barry, was founded in 600 AD and the name means Dyfan The Martyr. There were two saints of this name: one journeyed to Barry to convert the inhabitants to Christianity; the second lived in the Sixth Century and was the son of a Welsh chieftain. His sister was also martyred and the town of Merthyr Tydfil is named after her.

The Christian faith grew exponentially in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the middle of the 2nd. Century, Llewrwg, Prince of Siluria, became the first king, anywhere in the world of all time, to be baptized into the Christian faith. He sent to Rome for more Chritian teachers and was sent Dyfan and Fagan. The former was martyred near the site of the church and the latter was canonized. St. Fagan’s just outside Cardiff was named after him.

If you are interested in Welsh corgi puppies, or Wales in general, visit our website at Welsh Products Online