California o'r Diwedd / Finally in California

Just arrived in California, after travelling on the bus today for 10.5 hours leaving New Mexico and crossing the whole of Arizona. We're staying in a town called Blythe (which is just inside California) Today we also crossed our final time zone - we're now 8 hours behind Wales.



Today was the best scenery we've had from the bus all tour, crossing some fantastic mountains through Arizona - just like a western film.

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Photo 1: The Black Mountain Chorus a little ill at the moment, a nasty virus is going around, so the concert in las Cruces was very difficult for many of us.

Weather here is nice and warm and really nice views.

Teithio a mwy o deithio / Travelling and more treavelling

Dydd Sul: Gadael Topeka, KS - eira trwm wedi bod dros nos. Yn teithio tuag at Oklahoma.

Sunday: Left Topeka Kansas in heavy snow, eading south towards Oklahoma.

Dydd LLun: Gadael Elk City OK a theithio tuag at Alburquerque yn Mexico Newydd lle byddwn yn aros dros nos.

Monday: Left Elk City OK and headed towards albuquerque NM where we have an overnight stay.

Dydd Mawrth: Teithio lawr i Las Cruces ar gyfer cyngerdd, vistas gwych ar y daith lawr heddiw, cyrraedd diewdd pnawn - heulwen braf.

Tuesday: Travelling down to Las Cruces for our concert tonight. Fantastic views on the journey today. Arrived in Las Cruces in lovely sun.

Cyngerdd Topeka, Kansas Concert

Newydd cwpla cyngerdd yn Topeka, sef prifddinas Kansas. Gwych Gwych Gwych.

Roedd y lleoliad ar acwstics yn wych ar gyfer canu corawl, cynulleidfa gorau'r daith, a'r sain gorau . 97% yn ol y maestro... Cofiadwy iawn.

Just finished a concert in Topeka, the state capital of Kansas. Fantastic

The venue was a proper concert hall, with fantastic acoustics. The audience was also the best yet, as wa the performance - 97% according to the maestro. All of these three coupled together made a very memorable concert.

Ddim yn talu sylw / What happens when you dont look at the conductor!!!

Isod mae yna fideo o'r Cor - Ond Owain 'solo' Rhys Davies ddim yn talu sylw i'r arweinydd - Twt twt.

A video below of the choir singing in the reception after friday night's concert - Owain 'solo' Rhys Davies taught what hapens if you dont pay attention to the conductor!

Lluniau o'r Cor / Some pictures

Accross the wild Missouri

Neithiwr oedd ein 15fed cyngerdd yn Lexington, Missouri. Roedd y Theatr yn rhan o Academi milwrol, felly roedd nifer o cadets yn cerdded o gwmpas yn eu gwisg milwrol. Aeth y gyngerdd yn dda ar y cyfan er doedd dim lot o le ar y llwyfan. Ar ol y gyngerdd, cafon ni ein gwahodd i dy un o'r gynulleidfa i gael bwyd a diod (a alcohol!!!). Noson hwylus I bawb.

Llun1 Keith yn arwain yn y derbyniad

Llun 2: Dion ar bois gyda Daniel bach yn y derbyniad ar ol y gyngerdd.

Yesterday was our 15th concert in Lexington Missouri. The theatre was part of a military Academy, therefore there were lots of young cadets waling around in their military uniform. The concert went well although there wasn't much room on the stage. After the concert, we were invited to a reception organised by a member of the audience for food and drink ( and alcohol!!) a good night had by all.

Pic 1: Keith coinducting at reception

pic 2: Dion, the boys and baby Daniel

Nol i'r dechrau / Back to where we started

Neithiwr (nos iau) aros yn Illinois - yr un talaith a lle ddechreuon ni 3 wythnos yn ol...

Noson bant neithiwr felly mas am fwyd wedyn am gwpl o beints a gemau o pool yn y dref.

Stayed last night in Southern Illinois - the same state we started in 3 weeks ago...

Night off last night so we went out for food and then to a bar in town for a few beers and games of pool.

6000 o filltiroedd mewn bws / 6000 miles by Bus

Below is a map of the entire tour - all 6000 miles of it. Each letter is a different concert.

Isod mae'r map o'r daith gyfan - pob un o'r 6000 o filltiroedd. Mae pob lythyren yn dynodi cyngerdd.



View Larger Map

Sweet Home Alabama - SYCH!!! DRY!!!

Tywydd wedi oeri tipyn. Pawb yn gwisgo crysau-t ddoe yn cerdded o gwmpas Atlanta. Ond tymheredd wedi gostwng tua 20 C mewn un diwrnod wrth i ni fynd lan i Alabama. O dan y rhewbwynt heno. Cyngerdd rhif 14 heno mewn ysgol yn Cullman. Cyngerdd anodd gan ei fod hi'n oer iawn iawn yn yr auditorium. Mas am bryd o fwyd ar ol y cyngerdd i restaurant 'Ruby Tuesday' a darganfod rhywbeth HUNLLEFUS - ein bod ni'n aros mewn SIR SYCH. - Dim alcohol ar werth o gwbl - unrhywle - am 30 milltir. Keith yr arweinydd yn dweud "DIM HAPUS".

Teithio am 7 awr fory yn mynd trwy Tennessee ar y ffordd i gyngerdd yn Kansas City yn Missouri ar nos Wener.

The Weather has dropped from low 20s C yesterday to around freezing today. We hd a concert tonight in Cullman Alabama. Difficult concert because it was really cold in the auditorium - usually it's too warm on stage because of the lights... Out for a meal at 'Ruby Tuesdays' after the concert - where we made a devastating discovery on ordering the drinks... we were in a DRY COUNTY... No alcohol... anywhere... for 30 miles... as Keith conductor said "DIM HAPUS"

Travelling for 7 hours yesterday. Making our way north west through tennessee towards friday nights concert in Kansas City, Missouri.

Atlanta, Georgia

Travel day today through Georgia, stopped at Atlanta for a few hours. Special treat for Morgan's birthday - we went up the tallest building in the City to a rotating bar to have a few cocktails and look out over the fantastic city.

Lluniau/Pics: In front of the tower. and looking down from the rotating bar at the top of the tower towards the state capital buildings

G.E.O.R.G.I.A Brown

A sad day today as we say goodbye to two members of the choir. Gareth 'the voice' Tomos (cnob) and Anthony 'clutch hapus' Williams couldn't stay for the whole tour because of work commitments.

We dropped them off at Charlotte Airport mid morning and said our fair wells. There wasn't dry a eye left on the bus. However, it's not all sad news as Anthony has decided to rejoin us by Friday and Tedi ap Cnob yr ail also decided to stay. A wise choice. Concert in Brunswick, Georgia tonight – the final in the run of eight concert in a row.

The concert tonight was fantastic – the best so far. Full hall, and a fantastic audience. Concert was 96% according to Keith the conductor!! The weather here in Georgia in great - around 22-23 C.

Cyngerdd Hanesyddol / Historic Concert

The big 200

Our concert at High Point University was the Black Mountain's 200th concert on US soil. The theatre itself only held about 600 people but was one of the best theatres we've performed in so far.

To celebrate in style, everybody upt their game and gave a great performance (especially in the Tom Jones Medley). We even gave Peter Karrie a heart attack by coming on in phantom masks after music of the night. It was a A very special day for all - especially for Mike Evans and Keith Millward who have been present for all 200 performances.

Teithio trwy'r dydd heddiw - tua 6 awr ar bws i gyrraedd y gyngerdd nesaf yn New Bern, Gogledd Carolina.

Travelling all day today to reach our next concert tonight in New Bern, North Carolina.

Fingers....

Cyngerdd neithiwr mewn Ysgol Uwchradd yn Matthews, Virginia.Gathon ni awr fach yn yr hotel cyn y gyngerdd i ymlacio - felly hanner awr yn y pwll - a 10 munud yn torheulio!!Anhygoel fod yn tywydd tua 20 gradd Celsiws ym mis chwefror - ddim yn trofanol, ond tipyn yn brafiach na'r -10 C ychydig dros wythnos yn ol. Concert last night in Matthews High School, Virginia.

Very large venue once again. Had an hour to relax befare the concert, so had a swin and a little sunbathing!!!Crazy that the temp. was around 20C in February - not exactly tropical, but just a bit warmer than the -10C we had just over a week ago..

Michael Williams (un o'r cyfeilyddion yn dangos ei sgiliau)

Michael 'fingers' showing his talents...

from -10۫˚c to 22۫˚c in a week / Oer i sgortchio mewn wythnos

In seaford, delaware, and the weather has changed dramatically from yesterday, and even more dramatically compared to the freezing snow of michigan. It's pretty similar to a lovely summers evening back home today, around 22˚c.

Lluniau o'r Cor / Some pictures

Llun / Pic 1: The Choir

Llun / Pic 2: Some of the group outside Mr Bush' pad in Washington DC

Severna Park, MD

Cyngerdd da iawn heno - cynulleidfa o tua 850. Mas am fwyd i sports bar a gwylio canlyniadau Super Tuesday yn dod mewn. Nol i'r gwesty a gwylio'r canlyniadau yn dod mewn. Clinton ac Obama yn agos iawn, ond Clinton wedi ennill cwpl o'r talethiau mawr. Hynod o ddidorol gweld shwd mae'r sianeli Americanaidd yn darlledu'r etholiad. Siwr byddwn ni'n gweld pethau tebyg ym Mhrydain yn y dyfodol. Gareth a Eifion yn gorfod codi am 5 i siarad ar Radio Ceredigion fory! Yna bach o water aerobics cyn gadael am y gwesty nesaf yn Delaware!

Good concert again tonight, about 85o audience and two standing ovations again! Food in a sports ar afterwards whilst watching super tuesday on tv! C'mon Obama! Back to the hotel npw to watch the results, very very close so far. It's interesting to see how the Yanks broadcast the election. Cnob and Eifion have to get up in 4 hours time to speak on Radio ceredigion! Water aerobics then at 10 before moving on to Delaware.

Cyngerdd bob nos am 8 noson / Concerts for 8 nights running

Cyngerdd arbennig o dda neithiwr, yo gorau hyd yn hyn heb os, mewn hen theatr yn Hagerstown - agos at lawn eto. Cyngerdd gyda ni bob nos tan ddydd Mawrth nesaf... Swnio fel bach o slog, onde mae'n dda cael tipyn bach o 'routine' . Ni'n aros ar bwys y mor heno - cyngerdd yn ysgol uwchradd Severna Park, Maryland. Bach o siopa heddi eto mewn Mall arall, wedi trefnu syrpreis i gyfeilydd/bariton y cor!

Fantastic concert last night, the best so far without shadow of a doubt, in an old theatre in Hagerstown, almost a full house yet again. Concert every night for the next eight nights now, hard work but we need a routine to keep up the standrard whcich started slipping last week. Will be close to the sea today for a change, concert in a high school in Sevarna Park, Maryland. Bit a shopping in another mall in the afternoon and a surprise arranged for our accompanist!

Hofrenydd yr Arlywydd / Mr Bush in his helicopter

George Bush in his helecopter flying from the White house.

"I have a dream"

Fideo: Golygfa o'r Lincoln memorial, lle nath Martin Luther King ei araith "I have a dream" - yn edrych mas tuag at y Washington Memorial.

Video and photo: The view from Abraham Lincoln memorial, and the spot where Martin Luther King made his "I have a dream speech" looking out at the Washington memorial.

Washington DC

Ymweld a Washington DC heddiw. Gwych. fel diwrnod hyfryd o wanwyn. gathon ni'r cyfle i weld yr holl lefydd enwog. (Lluniau isod)

Visited Washington DC today. Fantastic. fantastic weather , and able to visit all the places we wanted to.

Cymru yn Ennill / Wales Win!!

Lleoliad da iawn am y gyngerdd neithiwr. Llwyfan enfawr. Ath y cyngerdd yn dda - llawn gyda dros 100 o bobl. Gyrru o gwmpas Allentown am awr bore ma yn trio ffindio tafarn i wylio'r gem. Yn y pen draw ffindion ni dafarn gyda cysyltiad i'r we a grandawon ni i'r gem ar radio Wales online. Cwpl o luniau isod yn ystod y gem. Hefyd wedi bod ar radio Cymru ar ol y gem. Nathon ni ffonio Marc G o'r bws ar y ffordd i Haggerstown MD.

Impressive venue last night - with a 70ft wide stage! Concert went ok - and a full house of 1000 plus. We drove around allentown for an hour this morning trying to find a bar to watch the Rugby game. eventually we found a pub that had wireless internet connection - connected to the internet and listened to the game on Radio Wales online. Not a great first half but the second half made up for it... below are a couple of photos during the game.



Video: Diwedd y gem End of Game
Lluniau/ Photos: Aaron the barman with tedi in his wales kit - and Gwynfryn, Peter and Dion

Allentown, PA

Newydd cyrraedd Allentown - y lle nath Billy Joel sgwennu'r gan enwog amadano. Cyngerdd heno - gobeithio fydd e'n dda gan fod yna boblogaeth fawr o dras Cymreig yma. Mae'r gem fawr yfory - 11am amser ni. Gobeithio holi pobl yn y cyngerdd heno am dafarn leol a fydd yn dangos y gem. Dim cyngerdd yfory - dim ond teithio - ar ol gweld Cymru'n ennill gobeithio...

Just arrived in Allentown PA - The place Billy Joel wrote the famous song about. Another concert tonight - hopefully a good one because this area has large population of welsh decent. Hope we'll be able to ask them where we will be able to watch the big game tomorrow - it'll be at 11am out time. No concert tomorrow - just travelling - hopefully after seeing Wales win...

Delilah

Dyma video o'r Cor yn canu Delilah yn y cyngerdd cyntaf yn Chicago.
Here's a video of the choir singing Delilah in the first concert in Chicago.

Gettysburg

Today we arrived in the famous town of Gettysburg where a very important part of the American civil war took place. Had an interesting bus tour over the battle fields and our new friend mr. tourguide enlightened us on what is historic, original and owned by the government. Had a nice swim, sauna and jacuzzi back at the hotel then went out for a meal and quite a few drinks and games of pool. No more singing in pubs by order of Keith!

Lluniau / Pictures: Gettysburg park - where the battle took place. The last photo is of the farm where President Eisenhower lived.

'Tuck shop' Tedi

Trydydd cyngerdd heddiw yn Lewistown, Pennsylvania. Cynulleidfa gorau hyd yn hyn.

Dim ond 3 awr o deithio yfory, ac yn cael y cyfle i ymweld a Gettysburg. Edrych ymlaen at hwnna.

Third concert today in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. Best concert and audience so far. Not such a heavy days travelling tommorrow. 3 hours - but will get the chance to visit and have a tour of Gettysburg - so looking forward to that.

Llun: Mae Tedi ap Cnob yr ail wedi dechrau siop fach ar y bws.]

The Phantom in the Boot

Peter Karrie in the boot .

Bws... Bus...

Mae'r gyngerdd nesa nos yfory yn pennsylvania, felly wedi bod ar y bws trwy'r dydd yn teithio 400 milltir.

The next concert is in Pennsylvania tomorrow night, and so we travelled all day today, 400 miles, On the bus at nine, and got to the hotel at 6. More of the same tomorrow...

Cyngerdd gyntaf / First Concert 26/01

Ymarfer trwy'r pnawn mewn eglwys yn Hammond IN, ac wedyn y gyngerdd gynta yn y nos. Aeth y gyngerdd yn dda iawn, y lle yn llawn gyda dros mil o bobl.Roedd y gyngerdd mewn auditorium ysgol uwchradd, ond mae'r adnoddau tipyn yn wahannol i beth sy da no gytre. Mae'r Auditorium yn yr ygolion draw fan hyn cystal ag unrhyw theatre ym Mhrydain.




Long practice in Hammond IN, followed by our first concert in the night. Concert went really well. The place was full with over 1000 people in the audience.The Concert was in a school auditorium - but the auditoriums over here are as big, and as well equipped as the best theatres in the UK,

Teithio 3 awr yn y bore i gyrraedd Muskegon yn Michigan. Cyngerdd pnawn gyda ni yn theatre ffantastic gyda 1600 o bobl. Bwcio mewn i'r gwesty ac wedyn syth mas am bryd o fwyd a cwpl o ddrincs.Aethon ni mlaen i bar ar ol. Roedd Karaoke mlaen, gyda'r rhan fwyaf o bobl yn canu ganster rap - ddim exactli'n easy listening , gathon nhw dipyn o sioc i glywed 15 o fois yn canu delilah. Cyrraedd nol i'r gwesty yn hwyr a deffro gyda pen tost y diawl.

Travelled 3 hours in the morning to reach Muskegon in Michigan. Matinee concert in a fantastic theatre in front of 1600 people.Booked in to hotel and then straight out for a meal and a couple of drinks, Then on to a bar, Karaoke on with most of the people singing gangster rap! - not exactly easy listening. Still they has a shock when 15 boys started singing delilah! Pretty late night... bad heads in the morning.

Cyngerdd gyntaf / First Concert

Ymarfer trwy'r pnawn mewn eglwys yn Hammond IN, ac wedyn y gyngerdd gynta yn y nos. Aeth y gyngerdd yn dda iawn, y lle yn llawn gyda dros mil o bobl.Roedd y gyngerdd mewn auditorium ysgol uwchradd, ond mae'r adnoddau tipyn yn wahannol i beth sy da no gytre. Mae'r Auditoria yn yr ygolion draw fan hyn cystal ag unrhyw theatre ym Mhrydain.


Long practice in Hammond IN, followed by our first concert in the night. Concert went really well. The place was full with over 1000 people in the audience.The Concert was in a school auditorium - but the auditoriums over here are as big, and as well equipped as the best theatres in the UK,

Arriving in Chicago Cyrraedd / Cyrraedd Chicago

Arrived in Chicago yesterday. Freezing and and a lot of snow.

We're staying about and hour south of Chigago in a place called Hammond. As usual, the hotel is far from any town on the side of a freeway.

Couldnt sleep easily last night so had to go out for a few pints... Today we have a full practice at 2pm and then a big concert tonight in Munster. The Chicago "Taffia" Welsh Society are meeting us after the concert and supposed to be taking us to a brewery.

South Carolina Primary today. Hopefully Barack will will.