President Obama is the first POTUS, in office, to visit Wales

[Siwsan]

I don't know why that surprises me. I doubt it will happen, but it would be great if he could take a little time to see some of what is, IMHO, an amazingly beautiful and incredibly overlooked country. No doubt he will be offered a heart felt Croeso! (Welcome!)

[Aristus]

1. Cool!

Welsh to the bone. Proud and happy!

[Cha]

4. Aloha, Aristus.. I just added a link to "a gorgeous gallery of #MyWales photo".. :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5484924

[frazzled]

6. Even my family has the Welsh connection

My husband's father (whom I never knew; he had died before I met my husband) was born in Wales before the family immigrated to the US. That might not seem remarkable, but it always seemed odd to our family, for he came from a family of Russian Jews.

Recently, my daughter was doing genealogy research, and discovered in a 1901 census the town in which the family had settled--Brynmawr. And that led me to read that there was in fact a large Jewish immigration to Wales in the late 19th century, something I'd never known. Indeed, according to the article below, "Brynmawr, according to the statistical unit of the Board of Deputies, at one time had the largest concentration of Jews in proportion to the British Isles." Who knew!

http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/community/wales/How_Greeners_came_to_the_valley.htm

I've never been there, but my daughter traveled around the country for a week when she was in high school, and even took Welsh lessons so she could speak a bit of the language.

[Siwsan]

13. I found it is a place where it's easy to feel very much at home

Having a Welsh surname and coming from a long line of men named Llewelyn, pretty much everyone I met figured I might possibly just be a distant cousin. I've started learning a little Welsh, just in case I can manage to settle there, some day.

[elleng]

2. Nice, and good idea.

Stayed in rental home at foot of Menai Straights Bridge for a week or so, few years ago.

[Cha]

5. Aloha ellen.. just added

a gorgeous gallery of #MyWales photos if you're interested.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5484924

[elleng]

8. Great!

Thanks, Cha.

[Cha]

9. You're Welcome~ :)

[Cha]

3. Here's a cool map.. and a Gorgeous Gallery of #My Wales photos.. thank you, Siwsan..

Arapaho415 @arapaho415
Follow
Gorgeous gallery of #MyWales photos with @Number10gov tweet, location of #NATOSummitWales.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/nato-summit-2014-world-falls-7658372 …
5:46 PM - 30 Aug 2014 19 Retweets 12 favorites

Sneak peek..



http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/03/a-tweet-or-two-107/

[Siwsan]

12. I fell absolutely in love with the North of Wales

Betws-y-Coed, Llandudno, Conwy, Snowdonia, I could go on and on. I even made a trip to Fflint, wondering if it had some connection to my own home town of Flint, MI.

[Cha]

20. I bet.. a lot of our ancestors are from around there. :)

[bigwillq]

7. I hope he has a Wale of a time.

[Siwsan]

10. It's impossible NOT to.....

[Vattel]

11. He should stop in Fishguard. Cool place.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. Torchwood put them on the map.

[Siwsan]

15. Maybe with some help from:

Owain Glyndwr
Bertram Russell
Lloyd George
Dylan Thomas
Llewlyn Ap Gryffud
Raold Dahl
T.E. Lawrence
Henry VII
King Arthur
Emlyn Williams
Richard LLewelyn
Tom Jones
Anthony Hopkins
Sian Phillips
Charlotte Church
Katherine Jenkins

Just to name a few............................

[BrotherIvan]

22. Richard Burton

George Everest
and Pritchard, Pancho & Dainton!

[AngryAmish]

16. Men of Harlech

Love that song. Making a version of that my kids high school fight song.

[Siwsan]

17. That's one song that gives me chills and brings on the tears

Every time I hear it, no matter who sings it. Same with 'Land of My Fathers' - in Welsh or English. But then, nobody sings a song quite like the Welsh.

[AngryAmish]

21. Aint that the truth.

Well, they have a good bass section, but no top tenors, that's for sure.

[greatauntoftriplets]

18. Wales is lovely.

I learned recently that my ancestors spent about 100 years in Pembrokeshire in the 12th century. They were among the Normans from northern France who ultimately settled in Ireland.

[pinboy3niner]

19. It's not a huge state visit

It's just a miner trip.

I'm one of those with a Welsh surname, because my Irish immigrant grandmother married a Welsh coal miner in PA. The other 3/4 of me is Irish. Love 'em both!

[Major Hogwash]

23. You are a very interesting person.

Have you ever considered writing a book about your life?

[pinboy3niner]

27. Didn't we promote you to Colonel? :)

I feel like it would take a book just to reply to you, but thankyou. If I come up with a somewhat condensed version (doubtful) I'll get back to you.

[Cha]

24. I have a Welsh surname, too.. courtesy of my ex husband. I'm Irish and Scottish..

English, French, and Ojibwa.



http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/03/from-estonia-to-wales-the-world-admires-and-respects-president-obama/

[pinboy3niner]

26. Nice mix, Cha!

I'm told my surname is VERY common in Wales. I don't know if it's the most common, but apparently it's way up there. I did reveal it here once, but I can only think of one member who might re-member, and she knows who she is.

That's a great front page from Argus. President Obama likely will be nearly as popular there as he is in Ireland.

[Cha]

28. Mine is Very Common too.. we probably have the same last name. LOL

Well, there's tweets like this..

Sue Vincent-Jones @mrssvj
Follow
is proud to see Obama touch down on Welsh soil - a truly historic moment and our chance to showcase Wales to the world #NATO #Newport
12:05 PM - 3 Sep 2014 22 Retweets 13 favorites

Martin Wade @ArgusMWade
Follow
Our live blog on Obama and all things #Natonewport-related has racked up 36,000 page views today. Thanks for reading http://bit.ly/1CoXHJS
12:29 PM - 3 Sep 2014 24 Retweets 8 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/03/wales-welcomes-president-obama/

[pinboy3niner]

29. It's nice for the Welsh that they'll have a chance to enjoy this

Last edited Thu Sep 4, 2014, 04:34 AM - Edit history (1)

And nice for the President that he's got such an overwhelming reception in contrast to what he has to contend with his home country.

And just to show you that I'm not paranoid about hiding my surname, I'll give you a veiled, subtle hint: it's one degree of separation from this guy...



Oh, darnit! That may not have been so veiled and subtle after all.

[Cha]

30. Damn it, I knew it!

I'm freaking psychic!

[pinboy3niner]

31. When I went out to Ohio to volunteer for the final months of the Kerry campaign...

...I ended up managing their phone bank in Columbus. When I briefed each shift of volunteers coming in, my opening icebreaker was to tell them that I'd come in from California and I was overwhelmed by how friendly Ohioans are.

"I don't know how you knew I was coming, but I really appreciate all the welcome signs you put up all along the highway...'Bob Evans' 'Bob Evans' 'Bob Evans'..."

[Cha]

33. Such a sweet

coincidence! lol But, darn that must have been especially rough.. volunteering for Kerry in Ohio..

[pinboy3niner]

34. Not rough at all there

That was Franklin County, where Kerry kicked ass, 55-45. Our field office was in the union offices across from the old steel mill once partly owned by GHWB.

Apart from the end, my saddest moment was meeting a woman on election night who told me she voted for Bush because he screwed everything up and he should be the one to fix it.

[Cha]

35. Oh Sorry.. I just meant that since you worked so hard there and that's where it came down

to the wire and we were on the wrong side of it.

Where you were in Franklin County does sound very rewarding, though.

People are funny.. not. "Apart from the end, my saddest moment was meeting a woman on election night who told me she voted for Bush because he screwed everything up and he should be the one to fix it."

That would have driven me crazy on the spot!

No, lady.. it's like this..


Turn Texas Blue @UniteBlueTX
Follow
Abbott's Houston raid w/ guns Shuts Down Voter Drives in Hispanic areas http://share.d-news.co/ivFYXUZ #TeamWendy #UniteBlue
3:44 AM - 31 Aug 2014 232 Retweets 67 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/08/31/dianne-feinstein-go-fight-in-iraq-yourself-2/

[muriel_volestrangler]

36. Most common surnames in Wales:

Jones - 60.57 per thousand
Williams - 37.81 per thousand
Davies - 36.76 per thousand
Evans - 24.66 per thousand
Thomas - 22.97 per thousand
Roberts - 17.14 per thousand
Hughes - 13.38 per thousand
Lewis - 12.96 per thousand
Morgan - 11.7 per thousand
Griffiths - 10.9 per thousand
Edwards - 10.33 per thousand
Owen - 8.85 per thousand
James - 7.66 per thousand
Morris - 7.5 per thousand
Price - 7.5 per thousand
Rees - 7.3 per thousand
Phillips - 6.34 per thousand
Jenkins - 6.23 per thousand
Harris - 5.79 per thousand
Lloyd - 5.64 per thousand
Richards - 5.51 per thousand
Powell - 4.72 per thousand
Parry - 4.49 per thousand
John - 3.65 per thousand
Watkins - 3.39 per thousand
Howells - 3.25 per thousand
Pritchard - 3.14 per thousand
Rogers - 2.71 per thousand
Matthews - 2.37 per thousand
Rowlands - 2.35 per thousand
Humphreys - 2.22 per thousand
Pugh - 2.19 per thousand
Ellis - 2.17 per thousand
Bowen - 2.17 per thousand
Hopkins - 2.14 per thousand
Martin - 1.91 per thousand
Bennett - 1.86 per thousand
Bevan - 1.69 per thousand
Pearse - 1.65 per thousand
Adams - 1.61 per thousand

http://welsh-american.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/top-40-welsh-surnames-find-your-family.html

They can even make up rugby XVs from famous Jones, Williams and Davies players: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/jones-davies-williams-xvs-famous-5393189 . In 2004, 6 of the starting Welsh 15 were Joneses: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/news/11190.php

[Cha]

25. More Pics from BBC Wales.. Beautiful!

BBC Wales ✔ @BBCWales
Follow
Wales - from World-class drama, to Barack Obama » http://bbc.in/1pJvmtL ... MORE!
Croeso i Gymru, #NATOSummitWales.
9:17 AM - 3 Sep 2014 66 Retweets 30 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/03/wales-welcomes-president-obama/

[Skidmore]

32. I'd love to visit Wales although

I feel like I've already been there many times. Several years ago, in FB's infancy, I made a friend on FB who lives on a slope of a moutain in Wales. Another woman half a world away. I used to have lots of problems with insomnia so I was up in the wee hours of the morning and she was waiting after finishing her chores to go pick up her daughter at school. We met over a game and started to chat, one of many chats we've had over the years. We began to phone each other periodically. Our daughters became friends too on FB. We've shared good times and bad times--graduations, weddings, births of grandchildren, birthdays, holiday jaunts, travails of DIY projects, gardening tips, recipes, silly pictures and jokes and, yes, even illnesses and losses of loved ones.

Between the two of us we forged a group of 10 women who we had met online playing that silly little game. The game no longer exists and I can't even remember the name of it, but the friendships have. Women from all over--Wales, US South, Midwest, England, Canada, Italy, and Norway. Sometimes I amazed at how close we all have become without being in geographically near one another.

My friend kept me company online during my treatment regimen for cancer and now I am doing the same for her. I will lose my friend to her rare incurable cancer. She has held on much longer than the time she was given by the doctors. I spoke with her yesterday and got to visit Wales again over the wires. She and her family are lovely people. I'll forever have a deep abiding love and respect for her and for Wales because of her.