"The Nineteenth century saw a great Springtime of Nations as the revolutions of 1848 saw new countries created the length and breadth of Europe. In our world today we are now seeing our own Spring Awakening with people and cultures that have long been dormant and subdued asserting their right to exist, their right to dream." Adam Price MP
Friday, 29 February 2008
Thursday, 28 February 2008
"If You Love Wales You Should Be There"
People from across Wales are being urged to take part in a series of events being organised to mark St David's Day in Cardiff . A Parade, the motto of which is 'If You Love Wales You Should Be There', will take place in Wales ' capital to mark the celebration of the country's patron saint on March 1. More than 2,000 people took part in 2007 and it is hoped that as March 1st falls on a Saturday this year, even more will take part in 2008 to show their pride in being Welsh and celebrate the country's unique heritage and history.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Why are they Forced to Demonstrate, Rally and Campaign?
The protesters make a valid point : the government pays no heed to public opinion and uses a high-handed approach to the governance of the United Kingdom. Therefore, because they do not have an effective voice and democracy is clearly not working people who wish to state their legitimate views are prevented from doing so and forced to adopt other means of attracting attention. Witness the recent occupation of the roof of the Houses of Parliament, the demonstrations at Heathrow Airport and the obstruction of the gas pipeline project, the installation of Trident at Faslane, etc.etc.
For other cogent reasons see HERE.
For other cogent reasons see HERE.
Europe 1100-1600 - How Wales Was Lost
Europe in 1600 A.D.
Note: Berwick is in Scotland
Europe in 1100 A.D.
Note: Oswestry is in Wales
Note: Berwick is in Scotland
Europe in 1100 A.D.
Note: Oswestry is in Wales
Wales Will Not Wait Another 82 Years
Forging the sword of independence Cymru....
from darkness into light.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Celts and Vikings - Little Known Facts
It was the Early Christian Celts who converted the Vikings to Christianity. In Mannin, the present Isle of Man, Celts and Vikings settled down together and formed their small independent nation with the Tynwald as their parliament. On many occasions the Celts of Wales, Cornwall and Strathclyde united with the Vikings from Scandinavia to battle against the Angles and Saxons who were taking over the eastern seaboard and midlands of Britain. They were halted at the rivers Severn and Tamar where the Celts were able to form their own independent kingdoms and princedoms and to stem the Saxon tide.
Later the Normans, who were the descendants of Viking settlers in France, and Bretons, who accompanied William the Conqueror in his invasion of Britain took over the Marcher lands on the borders between the Severn and the Dee and acted as a buffer between the sworn foes of Britons and Saxons. In south and west Wales there was considerable intermarriage between Celts and Normans and many of these Cambro-Normans established settlements in Ireland in and around Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kinsale, Cork and Limerick. Many Welsh and Norman links were established between Wales and Ireland and both place-names and family names in Ireland testify to the fact that there were strong Welsh influences in Ireland, as well as the common name "Walsh", very prevalent in eastern Ireland today which denotes a Welsh descent.
It is therefore evident that the Welsh and Irish Celts and the Vikings and Normans (north-men) eventually formed accommodations and alliances which were intended to resist and thrust back the attempts of Anglo-Saxon armies sent out to subject the Celtic peoples of western Britain to their will and increasing domination of Britain, the land of the Brythones. Northern Brittany (Llydaw) was settled by immigrants from Cornwall who found their land was not easy to defend because of the nature of the terrain. Thus Brittany became a "little Britain" populated by Britons who spoke the Brythonic language of Wales and Cornwall. Southern Brittany, which contained the Gaelic population speaking the Goidelic language of Ireland and Scotland (Gaelic), continued to co-exist with their northern British neighbours. This population comprised remnants of the Gauls which Julius Caesar had attempted to exterminate during the Gallic Wars.
(Alan in Dyfed)
Comment published, below:
Bernard (Byn) Walters has left a new comment on your post "Celts and Vikings - Little Known Facts":
In fact I had to come back to you on this because I don't know where you got that from. The Southern Bretons never spoke Gaelic, I mean you can't be Breton and speak Gaelic, that is The language of the Irish and the Scots.The Gauls spoke 'p' Celtic, a variation on Welsh; i.e. what you touched on the other day, Glasgow down to Nantes was Welsh(Brythonic) speaking.The Gaels speak what we refer to as 'q' celtic. Although the whole of France spoke basically the same language, Gaulish, Breton was never spoken in Rennes nor Nantes but Gaulish was and Welsh or Breton was a form of Gaulish that came back over the 'Channel'from Great Britain with a more limited frontier: which brings me to another point, just because someone is called 'Walsh' does not mean that he is a Brythonic Celt or Welsh,it's German to mean that he is different to the person whom he encounters, face to face. Neither the Gaelic speakers from Ireland nor the Normans with their spêcific dialect would have used this term. Admittedly William Wallace was William the Welshman because Strathclyde was a Welsh kingdom,but the name could only be used in the Germanic tongue. Walsh could just as well have been an Irishman for a German speaking Englishman.
Place-names in southern Brittany indicate that the language spoken there was Goidelic (or Gaelic), similar to the language spoken in Ireland today. HOWEVER, this assumption may be faulty, so please read comments. Alan
Later the Normans, who were the descendants of Viking settlers in France, and Bretons, who accompanied William the Conqueror in his invasion of Britain took over the Marcher lands on the borders between the Severn and the Dee and acted as a buffer between the sworn foes of Britons and Saxons. In south and west Wales there was considerable intermarriage between Celts and Normans and many of these Cambro-Normans established settlements in Ireland in and around Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kinsale, Cork and Limerick. Many Welsh and Norman links were established between Wales and Ireland and both place-names and family names in Ireland testify to the fact that there were strong Welsh influences in Ireland, as well as the common name "Walsh", very prevalent in eastern Ireland today which denotes a Welsh descent.
It is therefore evident that the Welsh and Irish Celts and the Vikings and Normans (north-men) eventually formed accommodations and alliances which were intended to resist and thrust back the attempts of Anglo-Saxon armies sent out to subject the Celtic peoples of western Britain to their will and increasing domination of Britain, the land of the Brythones. Northern Brittany (Llydaw) was settled by immigrants from Cornwall who found their land was not easy to defend because of the nature of the terrain. Thus Brittany became a "little Britain" populated by Britons who spoke the Brythonic language of Wales and Cornwall. Southern Brittany, which contained the Gaelic population speaking the Goidelic language of Ireland and Scotland (Gaelic), continued to co-exist with their northern British neighbours. This population comprised remnants of the Gauls which Julius Caesar had attempted to exterminate during the Gallic Wars.
(Alan in Dyfed)
Comment published, below:
Bernard (Byn) Walters has left a new comment on your post "Celts and Vikings - Little Known Facts":
In fact I had to come back to you on this because I don't know where you got that from. The Southern Bretons never spoke Gaelic, I mean you can't be Breton and speak Gaelic, that is The language of the Irish and the Scots.The Gauls spoke 'p' Celtic, a variation on Welsh; i.e. what you touched on the other day, Glasgow down to Nantes was Welsh(Brythonic) speaking.The Gaels speak what we refer to as 'q' celtic. Although the whole of France spoke basically the same language, Gaulish, Breton was never spoken in Rennes nor Nantes but Gaulish was and Welsh or Breton was a form of Gaulish that came back over the 'Channel'from Great Britain with a more limited frontier: which brings me to another point, just because someone is called 'Walsh' does not mean that he is a Brythonic Celt or Welsh,it's German to mean that he is different to the person whom he encounters, face to face. Neither the Gaelic speakers from Ireland nor the Normans with their spêcific dialect would have used this term. Admittedly William Wallace was William the Welshman because Strathclyde was a Welsh kingdom,but the name could only be used in the Germanic tongue. Walsh could just as well have been an Irishman for a German speaking Englishman.
Place-names in southern Brittany indicate that the language spoken there was Goidelic (or Gaelic), similar to the language spoken in Ireland today. HOWEVER, this assumption may be faulty, so please read comments. Alan
Remember Support for Patagonia Eisteddfod!
Rhys Meirion on a Mission to Save a Patagonian Eisteddfod
Wales' own Rhys Meirion, the world-class tenor from Ruthin, is heading out to Patagonia in April in an attempt to save the Trevelin Eisteddfod from extinction and he wants an army of supporters to follow him out there. Trevelin has proudly run its eisteddfod for over 100 years. But this year's may be the last if it does not raise money to cover the ever-increasing costs of mounting its annual festival. A smaller-scale version of the National Eisteddfod of Wales, it is attended by Welshfamilies from all over Patagonia who take pride in doing their utmost to win as many of the 100+ competitions as they can.
"It has always been a dream of mine to visit Welsh Patagonia and when I heard that the Trevelin Eisteddfod was in danger of dying, I had to do something to help," said Rhys. “We have set up a special website, www.rhysinpatagonia.com , with all the information about my trip and about the Eisteddfod. For each person who accompanies us on the official tour, we will donate £100 to the Eisteddfod's Funds."
The Trevelin Eisteddfod runs from 2 to 4 May in Trevelin, near Esquel in South West Argentina. Rhys Meirion will give 2 concerts in Western Patagonia and 3 in the East, as well as performances in Buenos Aires and at informal events. Rhys's three week tour will be from 23 April to 15 May 2008, and the tour will be no more than £2,500 per person.
rhys@rhysinpatagonia.com
Jeremy Wood
Wales' own Rhys Meirion, the world-class tenor from Ruthin, is heading out to Patagonia in April in an attempt to save the Trevelin Eisteddfod from extinction and he wants an army of supporters to follow him out there. Trevelin has proudly run its eisteddfod for over 100 years. But this year's may be the last if it does not raise money to cover the ever-increasing costs of mounting its annual festival. A smaller-scale version of the National Eisteddfod of Wales, it is attended by Welshfamilies from all over Patagonia who take pride in doing their utmost to win as many of the 100+ competitions as they can.
"It has always been a dream of mine to visit Welsh Patagonia and when I heard that the Trevelin Eisteddfod was in danger of dying, I had to do something to help," said Rhys. “We have set up a special website, www.rhysinpatagonia.com , with all the information about my trip and about the Eisteddfod. For each person who accompanies us on the official tour, we will donate £100 to the Eisteddfod's Funds."
The Trevelin Eisteddfod runs from 2 to 4 May in Trevelin, near Esquel in South West Argentina. Rhys Meirion will give 2 concerts in Western Patagonia and 3 in the East, as well as performances in Buenos Aires and at informal events. Rhys's three week tour will be from 23 April to 15 May 2008, and the tour will be no more than £2,500 per person.
rhys@rhysinpatagonia.com
Jeremy Wood
Monday, 25 February 2008
Dydd Gwyl Dewi/St David's Day in Brittany
Dydd Gwyl Dewi/St. David's Day, Plouye./Bro Gembre/Cymru/Wales-Breizh/Llydaw/Brittany
Twinning commitee Carrog/Plouye/Comité de jumelage
Municipal hall Sat. 1st March 2008/Salle polyvolente
7 p.m. Beef à la Coreff,/Boeuf à la Coreff
Cheese,/Fromage
Dessert, 12 euros./
9 p.m. Free Fest-Noz/Gratuit
Sonerien Ar Menez, Le Hir Father & Son, Marco Diraison-George Cadoudal, Yann Plougoulm, Michelle and Fanch Blejean, Jean-Marie Le Scraine and Lucien Lozac'h
NEWS FROM THE COLONIES
Dydd Gwyl Dewi - Saint David's Day
Mawrth 1af / March 1st
Semana Santa - Easter week - Y Pasg
In Gaiman, Chubut from april 1th to april 8 th 2008
Eisteddfod Trevelin
In Trevelin, Chubut from may 2 and 3 th 2008
Gwyl y Glaniad
In Porth Madryn, Gaiman, Trelew. from july 27 th to july 29 th 2008
Eisteddfod de la Juventud - Youth Eisteddfod - Eisteddfod y plant
In Gaiman, Chubut from september 11 th to september 14 th 2008
Eisteddfod del Chubut - Eisteddfod y Wladfa
In Trelew, Chubut from october 23 th to october 26 th 2008
You are Welcome!!
TRIP PATAGONIA : Hydref - Tachwedd , 2008
Gaiman, Porth Madryn, Trelew.
Also to visit Buenos Aires , Bariloche, Esquel, Trevelin, El Calafate Glaciers and Iguazú Falls
Diddordeb ? Interested?
For more information contact us: ariannin@infovia.com.ar
"Ty ´r Haul Gaiman"
tourist office in Gaiman and Buenos Aires
Mirna Jones & Armando Ferreira
ariannin@infovia.com.ar
Twinning commitee Carrog/Plouye/Comité de jumelage
Municipal hall Sat. 1st March 2008/Salle polyvolente
7 p.m. Beef à la Coreff,/Boeuf à la Coreff
Cheese,/Fromage
Dessert, 12 euros./
9 p.m. Free Fest-Noz/Gratuit
Sonerien Ar Menez, Le Hir Father & Son, Marco Diraison-George Cadoudal, Yann Plougoulm, Michelle and Fanch Blejean, Jean-Marie Le Scraine and Lucien Lozac'h
NEWS FROM THE COLONIES
Dydd Gwyl Dewi - Saint David's Day
Mawrth 1af / March 1st
Semana Santa - Easter week - Y Pasg
In Gaiman, Chubut from april 1th to april 8 th 2008
Eisteddfod Trevelin
In Trevelin, Chubut from may 2 and 3 th 2008
Gwyl y Glaniad
In Porth Madryn, Gaiman, Trelew. from july 27 th to july 29 th 2008
Eisteddfod de la Juventud - Youth Eisteddfod - Eisteddfod y plant
In Gaiman, Chubut from september 11 th to september 14 th 2008
Eisteddfod del Chubut - Eisteddfod y Wladfa
In Trelew, Chubut from october 23 th to october 26 th 2008
You are Welcome!!
TRIP PATAGONIA : Hydref - Tachwedd , 2008
Gaiman, Porth Madryn, Trelew.
Also to visit Buenos Aires , Bariloche, Esquel, Trevelin, El Calafate Glaciers and Iguazú Falls
Diddordeb ? Interested?
For more information contact us: ariannin@infovia.com.ar
"Ty ´r Haul Gaiman"
tourist office in Gaiman and Buenos Aires
Mirna Jones & Armando Ferreira
ariannin@infovia.com.ar
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Gobaith Cymreig - Wales Expects ......
Wales expects that Rhodri Glyn Thomas AC/AM, as Minister for Culture, will do his duty and provide the means for the establishment of a National Newspaper in Welsh.
It is simply what is required for the continued health and survival of Welsh culture whether or not it makes an initial profit. Culture is too important to be tied solely to economic viability, as with the Millinium Stadium and Amgueddfa Werin Cymru Sain Ffagan.
It is simply what is required for the continued health and survival of Welsh culture whether or not it makes an initial profit. Culture is too important to be tied solely to economic viability, as with the Millinium Stadium and Amgueddfa Werin Cymru Sain Ffagan.
Reawakening of Welsh National Spirit
The recent successes for the Welsh team on the rugby field have done wonders for confidence and affection for the nation. We should not underestimate the contribution that the national sport makes to the emotional and psychological health of the nation. While the government reels in London from the seemingly endless incidences of scandal, intrigue, iniquity and incompetence Wales and sister nation Scotland march on towards a greater and more noble destiny which hopefully will encompass the real values upon which society should be built, as with human relationships : those of honesty, trust, care, integrity, transparency, fairplay and compassion. This is why Wales should go it alone. British society has failed us and we need to create a new society in Wales based on spiritual and humanistic values, for the sake of the future generation.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
No Doubt Many British Citizens Could Not Pass
What is "Britishness" and why should it be perpetuated in this contemporary age, when Welshness, Scottishness and yes, Englishness, are the basis of our present reality? There is in fact no such thing as a common identity any more, though many still believe in the illusion that Britain is THE nation and the other nations are a part of it. Does this make any sense?
Britain? No Thanks, we´re Leaving!
Recent statistics show that in 2006 207,000 people left the UK for good. In 2007 it was well over 350,000.
I met one of them yesterday, on the beach in Fuengirola. She is from Llanelli (her accent betrayed her origins) and has been here for eight years. She will not be going back. There are more than three million Britons now living permanently overseas. Meanwhile thousands of foreign immigrants are entering the United Kingdom for work or residence and many of them will apply for their families to join them here. What is the reason for so many British nationals to leave their native land, be it Wales, England or Scotland? : disillusionment, seeking a better life overseas in a country which not only has a better climate, but which has a rational and responsible government. This is a sad indictment on the state of Britain today.
Let us hurry forward Welsh and Scottish independence in order to stem the tide, and create a society which is significantly different from the one from which so many are fleeing!
I met one of them yesterday, on the beach in Fuengirola. She is from Llanelli (her accent betrayed her origins) and has been here for eight years. She will not be going back. There are more than three million Britons now living permanently overseas. Meanwhile thousands of foreign immigrants are entering the United Kingdom for work or residence and many of them will apply for their families to join them here. What is the reason for so many British nationals to leave their native land, be it Wales, England or Scotland? : disillusionment, seeking a better life overseas in a country which not only has a better climate, but which has a rational and responsible government. This is a sad indictment on the state of Britain today.
Let us hurry forward Welsh and Scottish independence in order to stem the tide, and create a society which is significantly different from the one from which so many are fleeing!
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Monday, 18 February 2008
Buenas Dias, Senores y Conchitas...
Independence Cymru is seeing how the land lies in Spain. The answer is : some flooding in the streets of this conurbation. The Basques are still restive, but that is happening far away, up in the north. Here it is very much expatriate country, though last time I was here there were a couple of explosions outside the big hotels. That type of behaviour is not the way to achieve independence in contemporary Europe and in Wales it is a matter of "Gently, gently, catchee monkey....", though one wonders at times whether one needs to be a little more active and vociferous. Fortunately, the Press have been quite well-balanced and relatively unbiased, and letters to the editor have been published in the main, along with the inevitable riposte!
Hasta luego, mes amigos!
Hasta luego, mes amigos!
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Government by Decree?
I am talking about the central government and not the government conducted by the Welsh Assembly.
Why is it that doctors, teachers, firemen, the police service and other groups of public servants raise an outcry when the Labour government comes up with a new idea or proposal which affects the community?
The answer : government by decree; lack of consultation; ill-considered proposals (even think-tanks have no thinkers); being out of touch with public opinion; go-it-alone policies which culminate in disaster; misuse of public funds; mismanagement, incompetency and excuses for incompetence.
The solution: rapid replacement and fast-track devolution so that the other constituent nations can produce excellence where none exists under the present regime and within the present constitutional framework.
Why is it that doctors, teachers, firemen, the police service and other groups of public servants raise an outcry when the Labour government comes up with a new idea or proposal which affects the community?
The answer : government by decree; lack of consultation; ill-considered proposals (even think-tanks have no thinkers); being out of touch with public opinion; go-it-alone policies which culminate in disaster; misuse of public funds; mismanagement, incompetency and excuses for incompetence.
The solution: rapid replacement and fast-track devolution so that the other constituent nations can produce excellence where none exists under the present regime and within the present constitutional framework.
Friday, 15 February 2008
Irish folk song - Brogan's - Ennis, Clare Co.
The place to experience the real craic
Along with independence for Wales will come the celebration of the spirit of the Celtic peoples. Wales' Dafydd Iwan is Ireland's Christy Moore.
"The Blogger's Rest"
With all the star-spangled glitzy pubs that are springing up around us while most of the cosy, fireside and darts pubs close down and disappear into obscurity, let us think of a time when young and old sat down together over a pint of Welsh Ale and discussed the real issues of the day, and bring in live music and folky airs to entertain the clientelle.
Read : "Wild Wales", by George Borrow
Visit: O'Donohue's Pub, off Stephen's Green, Dublin, and Ennis, Co. Clare
Attend:
The Celtic Festival of Wales, Cwlwm Celtaidd in Porthcawl March 6-8, 2008
Read : "Wild Wales", by George Borrow
Visit: O'Donohue's Pub, off Stephen's Green, Dublin, and Ennis, Co. Clare
Attend:
The Celtic Festival of Wales, Cwlwm Celtaidd in Porthcawl March 6-8, 2008
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Ferrets Preparing for May Elections
As is predictable with certain prominent mavericks, support comes from Rural Wales where the verdant countryside is quite heavily tinged with azure. Our rather genial friendly foe readily admits to tossing his "love-bombs" from the castle ramparts (Montgomery Castle no doubt), under the rainbow skies.
By putting up a website, making it easy to switch, Plaid has done a service to the union members who have found it difficult and tedious to prevent their automatic and involuntary contributions from finding their way into the Labour party coffers. This will please union members who do not wish to be affiliated with the Labour party (and may wish to vote for Plaid), but will of course discomfort Labour as it affects their party funding. At least they will not have to worry about receiving undeclared donations.
See also Welsh Ramblings
By putting up a website, making it easy to switch, Plaid has done a service to the union members who have found it difficult and tedious to prevent their automatic and involuntary contributions from finding their way into the Labour party coffers. This will please union members who do not wish to be affiliated with the Labour party (and may wish to vote for Plaid), but will of course discomfort Labour as it affects their party funding. At least they will not have to worry about receiving undeclared donations.
See also Welsh Ramblings
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Britain's Draconian Immigration Rules
Thousands of immigrant workers who came to the UK legally, and who work in key positions, are facing deportation under new immigration laws. In some cases their families have joined them in the UK, quite legally. At the same time Britain has thousands of illegal immigrants. These draconian immigration laws discriminate against legitimate residents and ignore the problem of illegal immigration. Again, British subjects who attempt to bring their non-EU spouses to settle in the UK face extreme problems in applying for legitimate settlement. This inhuman policy results in families being split up as the non-EU spouse is obliged to return to her home country to apply for settlement to rejoin her British husband, and the application process can take months. The effect upon the family, particularly where children are involved, is catastrophic and occasionally terminal for the relationship. British law is often devoid of justice and highly discriminatory.
Did They Speak Welsh in Romania?
If you want to know the answer click here
The Gauls of France were Celts, and the name is found in the French for Wales "Pais de Galles", also in Galicia (northern Spain, Galatia (western Turkey). The Celtic kingdoms spread from Turkey in the East to Ireland in the West. Their famous musical instrument was the bagpipes or elbow pipes, found in Ireland, Northumberland, Scotland, Galicia, Asturias. the Auvergne and Greece. The wearing of the tartan plaid was widespread throughout the Celtic regions. Although the French take their name from the Frankish tribes which were Teutonic (German) large numbers of them are descendants of the Celts (Gauls). It was tribes of Gauls, speaking either Goidelic Celtic or Brythonic Celtic who penetrated Britain and Ireland (Hibernia), displacing the Iberians, small dark people, who arrived there before them and who originated in northern Spain.
"Tylwyth Teg"
The Tywlyth Teg is a pseudonym, similar to the Irish "good people" for the fairies. Dr. Rhys' Celtic Folklore says that the depiction of them is either that of small people, usually theives and tricksters, who torment unsuspecting humans, or as a little larger and stronger than humans, but still thieving milk and other food, or worse yet, were engaged in the practice of changelings. In each case, it is believed they lived in the mountains of Wales, not unlike the sÃdhe of Irish legend.
Footnote:one million Celtic Gauls were slaughtered by the Romans during the Gallic Wars and another million condemned to slavery, totalling 50% of the population, a Roman holocaust.
The Gauls of France were Celts, and the name is found in the French for Wales "Pais de Galles", also in Galicia (northern Spain, Galatia (western Turkey). The Celtic kingdoms spread from Turkey in the East to Ireland in the West. Their famous musical instrument was the bagpipes or elbow pipes, found in Ireland, Northumberland, Scotland, Galicia, Asturias. the Auvergne and Greece. The wearing of the tartan plaid was widespread throughout the Celtic regions. Although the French take their name from the Frankish tribes which were Teutonic (German) large numbers of them are descendants of the Celts (Gauls). It was tribes of Gauls, speaking either Goidelic Celtic or Brythonic Celtic who penetrated Britain and Ireland (Hibernia), displacing the Iberians, small dark people, who arrived there before them and who originated in northern Spain.
"Tylwyth Teg"
The Tywlyth Teg is a pseudonym, similar to the Irish "good people" for the fairies. Dr. Rhys' Celtic Folklore says that the depiction of them is either that of small people, usually theives and tricksters, who torment unsuspecting humans, or as a little larger and stronger than humans, but still thieving milk and other food, or worse yet, were engaged in the practice of changelings. In each case, it is believed they lived in the mountains of Wales, not unlike the sÃdhe of Irish legend.
Footnote:one million Celtic Gauls were slaughtered by the Romans during the Gallic Wars and another million condemned to slavery, totalling 50% of the population, a Roman holocaust.
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Researching Mediaeval Wales
You may be interested in clicking on this link:
http://www.castlewales.com/medwales.html
http://www.castlewales.com/medwales.html
Should the Welsh Government Claim Oswestry?
Call For English Town To Become Scottish
SkyNews
By Sky News SkyNews - 2 hours 23 minutes ago
The Scottish Nationalist Party has fixed its sights on the English border town of Berwick upon Tweed as its next battleground with England.
Christine Grahame, MSP for southern Scotland, has "invited" the people of Berwick to "come back into the fold" and swap their allegiance from England to Scotland.
Historically, the town has been a battleground between England and Scotland for centuries.
It has changed hands between the two nations no less than 13 times and was last won by the English in 1482.
But in a poll, organised by local newspaper the Berwick Advertiser, 77% of all thosewho voted said they would like to be governed by Scotland once more.
Keith Hamblin, deputy editor, said: "I was surprised by the result. I am a Berwick man born and bred and I regard myself very much as English.
"I think, though, that people feel the quality of life is better in Scotland since devolution.
"Also, we are losing our borough council next year. It's being replaced by a new unitary authority, so all our administration wil be run 60 miles away further south.
"So people feel they're going to be left out even further on the frozen north."
The town already has Scottish loyalties when it comes to football.
Its team, Berwick Rangers FC, has played in the Scottish league for years.
Ms Grahame hopes the rest of the town will also become fans of the idea of being Scottish.
Many areas in the Marches, in Herefordshire and Shropshire, were Welsh speaking in the 18th Century and place-names give a clue to where these areas are. Oswestry was a Welsh town in the Middle Ages. So, this is put forward as a serious suggestion : invite the people of Oswestry to revert to Wales!
SkyNews
By Sky News SkyNews - 2 hours 23 minutes ago
The Scottish Nationalist Party has fixed its sights on the English border town of Berwick upon Tweed as its next battleground with England.
Christine Grahame, MSP for southern Scotland, has "invited" the people of Berwick to "come back into the fold" and swap their allegiance from England to Scotland.
Historically, the town has been a battleground between England and Scotland for centuries.
It has changed hands between the two nations no less than 13 times and was last won by the English in 1482.
But in a poll, organised by local newspaper the Berwick Advertiser, 77% of all thosewho voted said they would like to be governed by Scotland once more.
Keith Hamblin, deputy editor, said: "I was surprised by the result. I am a Berwick man born and bred and I regard myself very much as English.
"I think, though, that people feel the quality of life is better in Scotland since devolution.
"Also, we are losing our borough council next year. It's being replaced by a new unitary authority, so all our administration wil be run 60 miles away further south.
"So people feel they're going to be left out even further on the frozen north."
The town already has Scottish loyalties when it comes to football.
Its team, Berwick Rangers FC, has played in the Scottish league for years.
Ms Grahame hopes the rest of the town will also become fans of the idea of being Scottish.
Many areas in the Marches, in Herefordshire and Shropshire, were Welsh speaking in the 18th Century and place-names give a clue to where these areas are. Oswestry was a Welsh town in the Middle Ages. So, this is put forward as a serious suggestion : invite the people of Oswestry to revert to Wales!
Monday, 11 February 2008
How unBritish Can You Get?
Prime Minister Brown has tried to distance himself from the far right, the BNPs and the UKIPs and suchlike because they promote Britain to the extreme, but in fact the distance he wishes to create is an illusion - there is none. The PM is as far right as they are in upholding unBritish values and waving the unBritish union flag. His desire for unBritishness to be inculcated into the battered psyche of the unBritish nation (as it is called) is quite unbelievable and unaccountable to those of us who reject his unBritish pretensions, for after all the PM is a Scot, along with a surprising number of fellow Scots who forsook the chance to proclaim independence for the Scottish nation by flocking to the SNP, but instead trooped to Westminster to govern Scotland from a very unBritish redoubt. It has fallen to the SNP and their merry band of political cohorts, under the wise and canny guidance of their incorrigible leaders, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, to raise the Saltire banner and show those unBritish retrogressives how out of step they are with the mood of the peoples of the Celtic Twilight.
Why are they so unBritish, do you ask?
The British are the Welsh, the Cornish, the Cumbrians and the Scots of Strathclyde!
Notes
* Note 1: Strathclyde was a Brythonic kingdom, while Argyll was the heartland of the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata having been taken over, probably from Picts. Bute and Arran were Brythonic until appropriated by Dál Riata, then by Scandinavians. See Scottish people.
Why are they so unBritish, do you ask?
The British are the Welsh, the Cornish, the Cumbrians and the Scots of Strathclyde!
Notes
* Note 1: Strathclyde was a Brythonic kingdom, while Argyll was the heartland of the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata having been taken over, probably from Picts. Bute and Arran were Brythonic until appropriated by Dál Riata, then by Scandinavians. See Scottish people.
Labour's Questionable Think Tank
The Labour Party, based in Westminster, has proposed a Think Tank named Ideas Wales.
This Blog is packed full of ideas for Wales, and the government's questionable Think Tank, besides being a waste of public money, is unlikely to produce anything apart from a regurgitation of Labour's attitudes towards devolution (while retaining the status of the Union). We already have a Wales Convention to discuss these matters. More interesting are Nick Clegg's remarks on the modification of the constitution to conform to current realities. For "Ideas Wales" please consult the archive pages on Independence Cymru!
This Blog is packed full of ideas for Wales, and the government's questionable Think Tank, besides being a waste of public money, is unlikely to produce anything apart from a regurgitation of Labour's attitudes towards devolution (while retaining the status of the Union). We already have a Wales Convention to discuss these matters. More interesting are Nick Clegg's remarks on the modification of the constitution to conform to current realities. For "Ideas Wales" please consult the archive pages on Independence Cymru!
Wales, a Nation in Europe
Britain appears to have a very ambivalent attitude towards the European Community. It joined the European Common Market reluctantly. It rejected the adoption of the Euro as the universal currency in Europe. It opposed the holding of a referendum on the revised European constitution. It lacks the vision of many of the European leaders by pandering to its own electorate goaded on to oppose reform by the scurrilous media. It discriminates against its own citizens while admitting floods of European and non-European immigrants and it attempts to stifle the legitimate aspirations of its constituent nations of Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Mannin and Ulster. Britain survives on sentiment and tradition and has no place on the contemporary European stage.
Let Wales secede and become what is already is, a nation within Europe, and not a fragment of a dissolute British Empire state.
This is the view of Independence Cymru.
Let Wales secede and become what is already is, a nation within Europe, and not a fragment of a dissolute British Empire state.
This is the view of Independence Cymru.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
We Were Made For These Times
Do not lose heart. We were made for these times.
I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now. It is true, one has to have strong cojones and ovarios to withstand much of what passes for "good" in our culture today. Abject disregard of what the soul finds most precious and irreplaceable and the corruption of principled ideals have become, in some large societal arenas, "the new normal," the grotesquerie of the week. It is hard to say which one of the current egregious matters has rocked people's worlds and beliefs more. Ours is a time of almost daily jaw-dropping astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
…You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet ... I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is — we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement. I cannot tell you often enough that we are definitely the leaders we have been waiting for, and that we have been raised since childhood for this time precisely.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now. It is true, one has to have strong cojones and ovarios to withstand much of what passes for "good" in our culture today. Abject disregard of what the soul finds most precious and irreplaceable and the corruption of principled ideals have become, in some large societal arenas, "the new normal," the grotesquerie of the week. It is hard to say which one of the current egregious matters has rocked people's worlds and beliefs more. Ours is a time of almost daily jaw-dropping astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
…You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet ... I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is — we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement. I cannot tell you often enough that we are definitely the leaders we have been waiting for, and that we have been raised since childhood for this time precisely.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Saturday, 9 February 2008
The Power of Change
Change is in the air. It will affect everybody whether they want it or not - and it will affect Wales, profoundly.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that we must be the change we want to see in the world. This was well demonstrated when he helped India gain its independence. Gandhi was a revolutionary man, but he accomplished India's emergence as a nation without starting a revolution. In fact, he advocated no violence. One of the most powerful countries in the world yielded to the commitment of one man and the dream of millions.
What change can we effect? What's the difference we want to make in the world?
Gandhi said, "In a gentle way you can shake the world." Here are some things to think about how to do just that …
1. Know that all significant change throughout history has occurred not because of nations, armies, governments and certainly not committees. They happened as a result of the courage and commitment of individuals. People like Joan of Ark, Albert Einstein, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Rosa Parks. They might not have done it alone, but they were, without question, the change makers.
2. Believe that you have a unique purpose and potential in the world. It's not so much something to create as to be discovered. And it's up to you to discover it. Believe that you can and will make a difference.
3. Recognize that everything you do, every step you take, every sentence you write, every word you speak-or DON'T speak--counts. Nothing is trivial. The world may be big, but there are no small things. Everything matters.
4. To be the change you want to see in the world, you don't have to be loud. You don't have to be eloquent. You don't have to be elected. You don't even have to be particularly smart or well educated. You do, however, have to be committed.
5. Take personal responsibility. Never think "it's not my job". It's a cop-out to say, "What can I do, I'm only one person." You don't need everyone's cooperation or anyone's permission to make changes. Remember this little gem, "If it's to be, it's up to me."
6. Don't get caught up in the how of things. If you're clear on what you want to change and why you want to change it, the how will come. Many significant things have been left undone because someone let the problem solving interfere with the decision-making.
7. Don't wait for things to be right in order to begin. Change is messy. Things will never be just right. Follow Teddy Roosevelt's timeless advice, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
8. The genesis for change is awareness. We cannot change what we don't acknowledge. Most of the time, we aren't aware of what's wrong or what's not working. We don't see what could be. By becoming more aware, we begin the process of change.
9. Take to heart these words from Albert Einstein--arguably one of the smartest change masters who ever lived: "All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge."
10. In order for things to change, YOU have to change. We can't change others; we can only change ourselves. However, when WE change, it changes everything. And in doing so, we truly can be the change we want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that we must be the change we want to see in the world. This was well demonstrated when he helped India gain its independence. Gandhi was a revolutionary man, but he accomplished India's emergence as a nation without starting a revolution. In fact, he advocated no violence. One of the most powerful countries in the world yielded to the commitment of one man and the dream of millions.
What change can we effect? What's the difference we want to make in the world?
Gandhi said, "In a gentle way you can shake the world." Here are some things to think about how to do just that …
1. Know that all significant change throughout history has occurred not because of nations, armies, governments and certainly not committees. They happened as a result of the courage and commitment of individuals. People like Joan of Ark, Albert Einstein, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Rosa Parks. They might not have done it alone, but they were, without question, the change makers.
2. Believe that you have a unique purpose and potential in the world. It's not so much something to create as to be discovered. And it's up to you to discover it. Believe that you can and will make a difference.
3. Recognize that everything you do, every step you take, every sentence you write, every word you speak-or DON'T speak--counts. Nothing is trivial. The world may be big, but there are no small things. Everything matters.
4. To be the change you want to see in the world, you don't have to be loud. You don't have to be eloquent. You don't have to be elected. You don't even have to be particularly smart or well educated. You do, however, have to be committed.
5. Take personal responsibility. Never think "it's not my job". It's a cop-out to say, "What can I do, I'm only one person." You don't need everyone's cooperation or anyone's permission to make changes. Remember this little gem, "If it's to be, it's up to me."
6. Don't get caught up in the how of things. If you're clear on what you want to change and why you want to change it, the how will come. Many significant things have been left undone because someone let the problem solving interfere with the decision-making.
7. Don't wait for things to be right in order to begin. Change is messy. Things will never be just right. Follow Teddy Roosevelt's timeless advice, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
8. The genesis for change is awareness. We cannot change what we don't acknowledge. Most of the time, we aren't aware of what's wrong or what's not working. We don't see what could be. By becoming more aware, we begin the process of change.
9. Take to heart these words from Albert Einstein--arguably one of the smartest change masters who ever lived: "All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge."
10. In order for things to change, YOU have to change. We can't change others; we can only change ourselves. However, when WE change, it changes everything. And in doing so, we truly can be the change we want to see in the world.
Breaking News - Wales 30, Scotland 15
What has Rugby got to do with nationalism?
Rugby in Wales is more than a mere game; it encapsulates and exacerbates the spirit of the nation and cements a universal feeling of solidarity and community within the national psyche.
Rugby in Wales is more than a mere game; it encapsulates and exacerbates the spirit of the nation and cements a universal feeling of solidarity and community within the national psyche.
Friday, 8 February 2008
Bring Back the Laws of Hywel Dda!
British law has come into focus recently with the remarks of a Welshman, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury. There are many irregularities in British law which discriminate against different sections of society and an overhaul is necessary, though it is doubtful that this will happen. The laws of Hywel Dda were of great benefit to the people of Wales hundreds of years ago and did not discriminate, as they were based on traditional morality and religious values.
The contemporary move into a secular British society does not take into account many of the eternal values which govern human communities, particularly now that Britain has become an increasingly multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, and there is certainly a need for these concerns to be addressed. This is what the Archbishop is pointing to, and why he has raised this question and brought it into the arena of public debate. The people of Wales should reflect on whether British law and justice is entirely suited to their needs and the circumstances of Wales, or whether Welsh laws, as those of Hywel Dda, modified to suit present conditions, should be applied to the nation.
Click on the highlighted links for in-depth discussion on this topic
The contemporary move into a secular British society does not take into account many of the eternal values which govern human communities, particularly now that Britain has become an increasingly multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, and there is certainly a need for these concerns to be addressed. This is what the Archbishop is pointing to, and why he has raised this question and brought it into the arena of public debate. The people of Wales should reflect on whether British law and justice is entirely suited to their needs and the circumstances of Wales, or whether Welsh laws, as those of Hywel Dda, modified to suit present conditions, should be applied to the nation.
Click on the highlighted links for in-depth discussion on this topic
The Most Loved Anthem in Europe
The land of my fathers is dear to me,
Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free;
Its warring defenders so gallant and brave,
For freedom their life's blood they gave.
Home, home, loyal am I to my home,
While seas secure the land so pure,
O may the old language endure.
Old land of the mountains, the Eden of bards,
Each gorge and each valley a loveliness guards;
Through love of my country, charmed voices will be
Its streams, and its rivers, to me.
Though foemen have trampled my land 'neath their feet,
The language of Cymru still knows no retreat;
The muse is not vanquished by traitor's fell hand,
Nor silenced the harp of my land.
(acknowledgments to Maelgwm ap Cadwallon)
Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free;
Its warring defenders so gallant and brave,
For freedom their life's blood they gave.
Home, home, loyal am I to my home,
While seas secure the land so pure,
O may the old language endure.
Old land of the mountains, the Eden of bards,
Each gorge and each valley a loveliness guards;
Through love of my country, charmed voices will be
Its streams, and its rivers, to me.
Though foemen have trampled my land 'neath their feet,
The language of Cymru still knows no retreat;
The muse is not vanquished by traitor's fell hand,
Nor silenced the harp of my land.
(acknowledgments to Maelgwm ap Cadwallon)
Thursday, 7 February 2008
The Future for the Welsh Language
Website for future of Welsh language
Feb 7 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail
A UNIQUE online attempt to take the debate on a new Welsh Language Act away from “anoraks” was launched at Westminster yesterday.
A website, wikideddfu.com, is based on the hugely successful Wikipedia, a cyber encyclopedia that anyone can edit or amend.
Wiki Deddfu is the brainchild of Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams, who hopes the new format will encourage discussion of an issue – language legislation – that has too often been the preserve of academic experts and pressure groups.
rrent legislation only obliges the public sector to provide services within the medium of Welsh, and there are constant complaints that the 15-year-old Act is now out of date. But small businesses in particular are resistant to the idea of extending it to the private sector.
The new website will have Welsh-language and English-language versions running side by side, and Caernarfon MP Mr Williams said he was prepared for the possibility that the two sites may end up having very different content.
He said, “I want to see contributions from English speakers, they don’t seem to be particularly involved in the debate at the moment. It will be interesting to have the debate in English; at the moment it goes from ‘nobody speaks Welsh around here’ to ‘will it cost twice as much?’”
The site is also a recognition that many Welsh speakers are now “young and urban”, he added, and may have fewer opportunities to use and discuss the language than those living in the rural north and west.
Earlier this week a report commissioned by Mr Williams suggested the creation of a Language Commission with the power to take cases to court if language legislation is contravened.
The website will be open for three months, and could be adapted to encompass other policy areas a later date. The web address – “deddfu” is Welsh for “to legislate” – is deliberately wide-ranging for that reason.
Wikipedia, the model on which the site is based, has proved hugely successful since it was launched in 2001. It now has more than 9m articles on an enormous range of topics, and still allows anyone to contribute – although it now has an army of checkers as it tries to secure a reputation for accuracy.
The name comes from the Hawaiian work “wiki wiki”, which means “quick”.
The Wiki Deddfu site is the latest effort by politicians to use the internet to provoke policy debate. Labour MP for Rhondda, Chris Bryant, has set up interactive sites to discuss teenage pregnancy and at least five MPs have their own blogs.
Feb 7 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail
A UNIQUE online attempt to take the debate on a new Welsh Language Act away from “anoraks” was launched at Westminster yesterday.
A website, wikideddfu.com, is based on the hugely successful Wikipedia, a cyber encyclopedia that anyone can edit or amend.
Wiki Deddfu is the brainchild of Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams, who hopes the new format will encourage discussion of an issue – language legislation – that has too often been the preserve of academic experts and pressure groups.
rrent legislation only obliges the public sector to provide services within the medium of Welsh, and there are constant complaints that the 15-year-old Act is now out of date. But small businesses in particular are resistant to the idea of extending it to the private sector.
The new website will have Welsh-language and English-language versions running side by side, and Caernarfon MP Mr Williams said he was prepared for the possibility that the two sites may end up having very different content.
He said, “I want to see contributions from English speakers, they don’t seem to be particularly involved in the debate at the moment. It will be interesting to have the debate in English; at the moment it goes from ‘nobody speaks Welsh around here’ to ‘will it cost twice as much?’”
The site is also a recognition that many Welsh speakers are now “young and urban”, he added, and may have fewer opportunities to use and discuss the language than those living in the rural north and west.
Earlier this week a report commissioned by Mr Williams suggested the creation of a Language Commission with the power to take cases to court if language legislation is contravened.
The website will be open for three months, and could be adapted to encompass other policy areas a later date. The web address – “deddfu” is Welsh for “to legislate” – is deliberately wide-ranging for that reason.
Wikipedia, the model on which the site is based, has proved hugely successful since it was launched in 2001. It now has more than 9m articles on an enormous range of topics, and still allows anyone to contribute – although it now has an army of checkers as it tries to secure a reputation for accuracy.
The name comes from the Hawaiian work “wiki wiki”, which means “quick”.
The Wiki Deddfu site is the latest effort by politicians to use the internet to provoke policy debate. Labour MP for Rhondda, Chris Bryant, has set up interactive sites to discuss teenage pregnancy and at least five MPs have their own blogs.
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Lowering the Voting Age to Sweet Sixteen
It is interesting to speculate on the possible voting patterns should the voting age be lowered to 16, as is proposed. Within Wales this change might result in the younger age-group voting quite differently from their elders, many of whom would be dyed-in-the-wool Labourites. On the other hand it is likely that a large number would abstain from voting at all. Again, there is a distinct possibility that Plaid would benefit from the vote of the younger age-group who may have the vision of a new future for Wales, a future that is not tied to the purse-strings of Uncle John. Whatever the outcome, it might serve to provide younger people with a new political savvy which mainland Europeans appear to exhibit and which is practically non-existent in the UK.
Follow this link to learn more :
call-to-lower-voting-age
Follow this link to learn more :
call-to-lower-voting-age
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Advice on Learning Welsh - Dysgu Gymraeg
Cynghorion i Ddysgwyr • Advice for Learners
"Isn't Welsh miserably difficult?"
Welsh has an entirely undeserved reputation for being a very difficult language to learn. Its initial consonants jump around, it switches its verbs and sentence subjects, and there is some angst over precisely what part of speech a typical verb actually is. Not only that, but the writing is cryptic and the pronunciation of some consonants is so difficult that your tongue will quite literally tie itself in knots trying.
Well, that's the myth. The reality is quite a bit different. The initial consonants of words do shift, but in very predictable -- and more importantly, in completely regular -- ways. Tad is the Welsh word for "father." Ei dad means "his father," but ei thad is "her father" and fy nhad "my father." That one letter /t/ shifts between /d/, /th/, and /nh/. However, when you learn about these consonants shifts -- called mutations -- you realize that they are in fact completely regular and not difficult to understand.
And while Welsh switches its verbs and subjects in some ways, the jury is still out on precisely how engrained that is. In most of the commonly conjugated (long-form) verbs, the inflection comes before the subject, but the verb, strictly speaking, does not. Short-form verbs are another matter, but what seems to be happening is not that the verb starts the sentence, but that the inflection does. In English questions, this also happens. Consider the sentences "Do you want to go to the store?" and "Did you want to go to the store?" The verb to do is meaningless in that sentence, but functions as a sponge to soak up the verb tense, which must "bubble up" to the front of the sentence in English questions -- present tense in the first example, past in the second. The only difference between English and Welsh is that in English, this process only occurs in questions whereas in Welsh, it happens in all sentences.
And the much-feared Welsh "verb-noun" is also nothing unusual in English, where we simply add an -ing ending to a verb to create a noun. "To ride" is a verb; one rides. However, "riding" is a thing, a pasttime. Welsh does the same thing, only leaving off the -ing.
And unlike English, where the -ough at the ends of words like "through," "though," "cough," "bough," and "enough" are pronounced completely differently, the words in Welsh are (for the most part) pronounced precisely as they are spelled. Granted, when one is confronted by a word like "llongyfarchiadau," that might not be terribly reassuring, but if you take it slowly, you will know exactly how the word is pronounced. The voiceless /rh/ and the signature /ll/ of Welsh -- called a lateral fricative and not really that scary at all -- are not hard to get a grip on, any more than the oddball English voiced /th/ that comes in front of words like "this" and "that," and the even stranger and harder to characterize American English /r/ sound, which is found in very few other languages on Earth.
In short, just about everything that is called strange and intimidating in Welsh happens in other languages. We've examined the movement of inflection to the head of the sentence above, but that's not all. Spanish softens consonants in some contexts, where the first and second /d/ in a word like dedo sound completely different. The "stacking" nature of possessive and genitive phrases in Welsh is very similar to Arabic, where "your brother's phone number/the number (of the) phone (of) your brother" in Welsh is written as rhif ffôn eich brawd/number phone your brother. In Arabic a similar construction would be used for a phrase like "the bank manager's name/the name (of) the manager (of) the bank" -- ism el mudir el bank/name the manager the bank. In both cases, the nouns are "stacked" in the reverse order of English, with the linking "of's" knocked out.
Not only that, but the language is breathtakingly regular! All those consonant shifts? When the rules require them, they happen. Without exception. The odd sentence structure? Graven in stone. There are five irregular verbs in Welsh, and four of them are very similar. One, bod or "to be," is used to conjugate just about everything, so you'll memorize it in short order.
So drop your fear of all those enormously long words and mutable consonants. It's really not that bad at all. Speaking as someone who began studying French when I was 10 and was once fluent, and who has since picked up no small amount of Spanish from living in southern California, I can tell you right now: compared to the Romances languages, Welsh is a breeze. And the abundance of resources for the learner make the speaking of it even more of an attainable goal.
"Isn't Welsh miserably difficult?"
Welsh has an entirely undeserved reputation for being a very difficult language to learn. Its initial consonants jump around, it switches its verbs and sentence subjects, and there is some angst over precisely what part of speech a typical verb actually is. Not only that, but the writing is cryptic and the pronunciation of some consonants is so difficult that your tongue will quite literally tie itself in knots trying.
Well, that's the myth. The reality is quite a bit different. The initial consonants of words do shift, but in very predictable -- and more importantly, in completely regular -- ways. Tad is the Welsh word for "father." Ei dad means "his father," but ei thad is "her father" and fy nhad "my father." That one letter /t/ shifts between /d/, /th/, and /nh/. However, when you learn about these consonants shifts -- called mutations -- you realize that they are in fact completely regular and not difficult to understand.
And while Welsh switches its verbs and subjects in some ways, the jury is still out on precisely how engrained that is. In most of the commonly conjugated (long-form) verbs, the inflection comes before the subject, but the verb, strictly speaking, does not. Short-form verbs are another matter, but what seems to be happening is not that the verb starts the sentence, but that the inflection does. In English questions, this also happens. Consider the sentences "Do you want to go to the store?" and "Did you want to go to the store?" The verb to do is meaningless in that sentence, but functions as a sponge to soak up the verb tense, which must "bubble up" to the front of the sentence in English questions -- present tense in the first example, past in the second. The only difference between English and Welsh is that in English, this process only occurs in questions whereas in Welsh, it happens in all sentences.
And the much-feared Welsh "verb-noun" is also nothing unusual in English, where we simply add an -ing ending to a verb to create a noun. "To ride" is a verb; one rides. However, "riding" is a thing, a pasttime. Welsh does the same thing, only leaving off the -ing.
And unlike English, where the -ough at the ends of words like "through," "though," "cough," "bough," and "enough" are pronounced completely differently, the words in Welsh are (for the most part) pronounced precisely as they are spelled. Granted, when one is confronted by a word like "llongyfarchiadau," that might not be terribly reassuring, but if you take it slowly, you will know exactly how the word is pronounced. The voiceless /rh/ and the signature /ll/ of Welsh -- called a lateral fricative and not really that scary at all -- are not hard to get a grip on, any more than the oddball English voiced /th/ that comes in front of words like "this" and "that," and the even stranger and harder to characterize American English /r/ sound, which is found in very few other languages on Earth.
In short, just about everything that is called strange and intimidating in Welsh happens in other languages. We've examined the movement of inflection to the head of the sentence above, but that's not all. Spanish softens consonants in some contexts, where the first and second /d/ in a word like dedo sound completely different. The "stacking" nature of possessive and genitive phrases in Welsh is very similar to Arabic, where "your brother's phone number/the number (of the) phone (of) your brother" in Welsh is written as rhif ffôn eich brawd/number phone your brother. In Arabic a similar construction would be used for a phrase like "the bank manager's name/the name (of) the manager (of) the bank" -- ism el mudir el bank/name the manager the bank. In both cases, the nouns are "stacked" in the reverse order of English, with the linking "of's" knocked out.
Not only that, but the language is breathtakingly regular! All those consonant shifts? When the rules require them, they happen. Without exception. The odd sentence structure? Graven in stone. There are five irregular verbs in Welsh, and four of them are very similar. One, bod or "to be," is used to conjugate just about everything, so you'll memorize it in short order.
So drop your fear of all those enormously long words and mutable consonants. It's really not that bad at all. Speaking as someone who began studying French when I was 10 and was once fluent, and who has since picked up no small amount of Spanish from living in southern California, I can tell you right now: compared to the Romances languages, Welsh is a breeze. And the abundance of resources for the learner make the speaking of it even more of an attainable goal.
Monday, 4 February 2008
Don't Forget it - Pancake Day is today
Today is Shrove Tuesday, Pancake day so don't forget to toss the pancakes.
If you want to know about the history of Shrove Tuesday click HERE.
If you want to know about the history of Shrove Tuesday click HERE.
The Major Political Parties - an Overview
The New Labour Party : a party which has few principles, let alone socialist principles, and little concern for the welfare of society. Has alienated public opinion through deception and devious practices, mismanagement, nepotism and incompetence.
The Conservative Party : lost its policies to New Labour, so is now trying to reinvent itself but lacks devolutionary initiative. Not very comfortable in a social democratic state and clings to the unionist status quo.
The Liberal Democratic Party : discussing abandoning the Democratic appellation by recognising the fact that there is little sign of liberal democracy returning to politics. Also lacking in enthusiasm for devolution.
The Welsh Nationalist Party - Plaid Cymru : the only party that puts the interests of the people of Wales first and maintains its radical outlook. Has progressive ideas for the reconstitution of communities and the restoration of social and national values.
Vote : YDW / YES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
See : http://welshramblings.blogspot.com/
The Conservative Party : lost its policies to New Labour, so is now trying to reinvent itself but lacks devolutionary initiative. Not very comfortable in a social democratic state and clings to the unionist status quo.
The Liberal Democratic Party : discussing abandoning the Democratic appellation by recognising the fact that there is little sign of liberal democracy returning to politics. Also lacking in enthusiasm for devolution.
The Welsh Nationalist Party - Plaid Cymru : the only party that puts the interests of the people of Wales first and maintains its radical outlook. Has progressive ideas for the reconstitution of communities and the restoration of social and national values.
Vote : YDW / YES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
See : http://welshramblings.blogspot.com/
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Saving the Patagonian Eisteddfod
Rhys Meirion on a Mission to Save Patagonian Eisteddfod
From Jeremy Wood
Esquel
Patagonia
The Annual Welsh Eisteddfod in Trevelin in Patagonia, which has been going for over 80 years, is in danger of folding because of lack of funding. This year's festival in May may be the last.
Rhys Meirion, the world-class operatic tenor from North Wales has agreed to attend the Eisteddfod, conduct the Cymanfa Ganu and give concerts in each of the five major Welsh towns in Patagonia to help raise money to help save it. He will waive his normal concert fee and his expenses will be paid by the Argentinean Province of Chubut (where all the Welsh colonies are). The Welsh societies in the 5 towns where Rhys will be singing are vying with each other to give him and his family the best welcome, to show off their particular part of the world and to introduce Rhys to the Welsh people of the region. Supporters can take part in the tour and will be invited to all the same parties, receptions and barbecues to which Rhys is invited by the local communities.
See
www.rhysinpatagonia.com
2008 Welsh events in Patagonia:
"Remember the most important 2008 welsh events in Patagonia"
DEWI SANT NOSON LAWEN on Friday evening, 29th of February at the Old Bethel Chapel in Gaiman.
TRELEW SAINT DAVID´S SOCIETY ANNIVERSAY DINNER on Saturday, March 15th, in Trelew.
Dydd Gwyl Dewi - Saint David's Day
Mawrth 1af / March 1st
Semana Santa - Easter week - Y Pasg
In Gaiman, Chubut from april 1th to april 8 th 2008
Eisteddfod Trevelin
In Trevelin, Chubut from may 2 and 3 th 2008
Gwyl y Glaniad
In Porth Madryn, Gaiman, Trelew. from july 27 th to july 29 th 2008
Eisteddfod de la Juventud - Youth Eisteddfod - Eisteddfod y plant
In Gaiman, Chubut from september 11 th to september 14 th 2008
Eisteddfod del Chubut - Eisteddfod y Wladfa
In Trelew, Chubut from october 23 th to october 26 th 2008
You are Welcome!!
TRIP PATAGONIA : Hydref - Tachwedd , 2008
Gaiman, Porth Madryn, Trelew.
Also to visit Buenos Aires , Bariloche, Esquel, Trevelin, El Calafate Glaciers and Iguazú Falls
Diddordeb ? Interested?
For more information contact us: ariannin@infovia.com.ar
"Ty ´r Haul Gaiman"
tourist office in Gaiman and Buenos Aires
Mirna Jones & Armando Ferreira
ariannin@infovia.com.ar
From Jeremy Wood
Esquel
Patagonia
The Annual Welsh Eisteddfod in Trevelin in Patagonia, which has been going for over 80 years, is in danger of folding because of lack of funding. This year's festival in May may be the last.
Rhys Meirion, the world-class operatic tenor from North Wales has agreed to attend the Eisteddfod, conduct the Cymanfa Ganu and give concerts in each of the five major Welsh towns in Patagonia to help raise money to help save it. He will waive his normal concert fee and his expenses will be paid by the Argentinean Province of Chubut (where all the Welsh colonies are). The Welsh societies in the 5 towns where Rhys will be singing are vying with each other to give him and his family the best welcome, to show off their particular part of the world and to introduce Rhys to the Welsh people of the region. Supporters can take part in the tour and will be invited to all the same parties, receptions and barbecues to which Rhys is invited by the local communities.
See
www.rhysinpatagonia.com
2008 Welsh events in Patagonia:
"Remember the most important 2008 welsh events in Patagonia"
DEWI SANT NOSON LAWEN on Friday evening, 29th of February at the Old Bethel Chapel in Gaiman.
TRELEW SAINT DAVID´S SOCIETY ANNIVERSAY DINNER on Saturday, March 15th, in Trelew.
Dydd Gwyl Dewi - Saint David's Day
Mawrth 1af / March 1st
Semana Santa - Easter week - Y Pasg
In Gaiman, Chubut from april 1th to april 8 th 2008
Eisteddfod Trevelin
In Trevelin, Chubut from may 2 and 3 th 2008
Gwyl y Glaniad
In Porth Madryn, Gaiman, Trelew. from july 27 th to july 29 th 2008
Eisteddfod de la Juventud - Youth Eisteddfod - Eisteddfod y plant
In Gaiman, Chubut from september 11 th to september 14 th 2008
Eisteddfod del Chubut - Eisteddfod y Wladfa
In Trelew, Chubut from october 23 th to october 26 th 2008
You are Welcome!!
TRIP PATAGONIA : Hydref - Tachwedd , 2008
Gaiman, Porth Madryn, Trelew.
Also to visit Buenos Aires , Bariloche, Esquel, Trevelin, El Calafate Glaciers and Iguazú Falls
Diddordeb ? Interested?
For more information contact us: ariannin@infovia.com.ar
"Ty ´r Haul Gaiman"
tourist office in Gaiman and Buenos Aires
Mirna Jones & Armando Ferreira
ariannin@infovia.com.ar
Waiting Game - Scotland Wastes No Time!
The Scottish Independence Convention
We exist to further the cause of restoring Scotland’s independence. Our platform draws together all the disparate groups, parties, organisations, politicians and individuals, in Scotland and beyond, who share this one basic, democratic objective.
The Scottish Independence Convention was born on St Andrew’s Day, 2005. Since then we have been busy working for the day when Scots will be invited to vote in a referendum on regaining our independence from the British state. We are an umbrella organisation—hence our logo—working to unite and encourage all who want independence for Scotland to meet on common ground and have their say in the growing debate on Scotland’s constitutional future.
We welcome everyone, regardless of party political affiliation, who shares our vision of Scotland being a free and democratic independent state. Your support will hasten the day when Scotland is reborn as an independent member of the international family of nations.
Celtic Resurgence
The resurgence in Celtic language and identity, as well as 'regional' politics and development, has contributed to forces pulling against the unity of the state.[10] This was clearly demonstrated when- although some argue it was influenced by general public dillusionment with Labour- the Scottish National Party became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament by one seat. Alex Salmond (leader of SNP) has since made history by becoming the first First Minister of Scotland from a party other than Labour. The SNP rule as a minority government at Holyrood. Nevertheless, recent opinion polls have suggested that nationalism (i.e. a desire to break up the UK) is rising within Scotland and England. However, the polls have been known to be inaccurate in the past (for example, in the run up to the 1992 General Election). Moreover, polls carried out in the 1970s and the 1990s showed similar results, only to be debunked at elections. While support for breaking up the UK was strongest in Scotland, there was still a clear lead for unionism over nationalism.[11]
The current Scottish Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998 and its first meeting as a devolved legislature was on 12 May 1999. The parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability. Another of its jobs is to hold the Scottish Government to account. The "devolved matters" over which it has responsibility include education, health, agriculture, and justice. A degree of domestic authority, and all foreign policy, remains with the UK Parliament in Westminster.
The public take part in Parliament in a way that is not the case at Westminster through Cross Party Groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of alongside Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).
(Wikipaedia)
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Wales Wins at Twickenham against all odds
A big boost in confidence for the people of Wales from the point of view of national consciousness and sense of nationhood.
Friday, 1 February 2008
Campaign to Save the Wall - Cofiwch Dryweryn
The wall is falling down and £30,000 is required to save the wall on which the slogan "Cofiwch Dryweryn" has been a constant reminder for the past forty years. The farmer who owns the wall is willing for it to be repaired if the money can be found. We add our support to this campaign as another campaign in our catalogue of campaigns on behalf of the people of Wales. Tryweryn is the reservoir which was created by flooding a beautiful valley to supply cities in England with water.
The Fallacy of British Democracy
The Fallacy of Democracy
Somebody said : “ Democracy is the rule of the majority, for the majority, by the majority… but who wants to be ruled by the majority?” The majority is English, isn't it?
If you are one of the majority…..maybe there is no problem for you. But what about if you are one of the minority, possibly one of the 48% who lost the election?
We have had autocracy, theocracy, oligarchy and democracy, at various times and in various places.
Is democracy the answer to equitable and ethical government? The President of the United States would say so, and he would like to impose American-style democracy on every nation in the world, as a cure for the world’s political ills. Indonesia claimed to be democratic under Suharto, and the government chose and approved the opposition candidates. The Philippines is ruled by an elitist oligarchy, intent on staying in power, yet it is vaunted as a democracy. Democracy comes in a number of guises.
The Democrats in America are in the minority – just, but the country is dominated by the majority – the Republicans. In fact it remains split down the middle. Many have diametrically opposing views, but only one side calls the shots. Can any country be democratic if the majority party is elected, and the minority is not also in power? Is this truly democratic? In a multi-party ‘democracy’, the majority party may be in power by gaining only one third of the votes. It would seem that any opposition to or criticism of American policy (the policy of the majority) is considered unpatriotic. This harks back to McCarthyism.
It took 400 years for democracy to evolve in the United Kingdom, and we have observed that true democracy does not exist without all the people being represented. Three candidates stand for election to a constituency, one wins, and the votes cast for the others are discounted. Can this be in any sense truly democratic?
Democracy is claimed to be the best form of government we have, but is it suited to every nation and every circumstance? Can it work in a country which has had no tradition of democracy? A country benefits from the quality of its leadership, not necessarily from its form of government. An example of this is Singapore under Lee Kwan Yew.
An answer might be a gerontocracy - a Council of Elders, perhaps, where the nation is guided by a group of wise men and woman who are chosen for their altruistic service and integrity.These people may be chosen by a consensus of the people. Do you feel that you are truly represented, and do you agree with what is being done in your name? If you do, you are obviously part of the majority. If not, what?
Alan in Dyfed
Somebody said : “ Democracy is the rule of the majority, for the majority, by the majority… but who wants to be ruled by the majority?” The majority is English, isn't it?
If you are one of the majority…..maybe there is no problem for you. But what about if you are one of the minority, possibly one of the 48% who lost the election?
We have had autocracy, theocracy, oligarchy and democracy, at various times and in various places.
Is democracy the answer to equitable and ethical government? The President of the United States would say so, and he would like to impose American-style democracy on every nation in the world, as a cure for the world’s political ills. Indonesia claimed to be democratic under Suharto, and the government chose and approved the opposition candidates. The Philippines is ruled by an elitist oligarchy, intent on staying in power, yet it is vaunted as a democracy. Democracy comes in a number of guises.
The Democrats in America are in the minority – just, but the country is dominated by the majority – the Republicans. In fact it remains split down the middle. Many have diametrically opposing views, but only one side calls the shots. Can any country be democratic if the majority party is elected, and the minority is not also in power? Is this truly democratic? In a multi-party ‘democracy’, the majority party may be in power by gaining only one third of the votes. It would seem that any opposition to or criticism of American policy (the policy of the majority) is considered unpatriotic. This harks back to McCarthyism.
It took 400 years for democracy to evolve in the United Kingdom, and we have observed that true democracy does not exist without all the people being represented. Three candidates stand for election to a constituency, one wins, and the votes cast for the others are discounted. Can this be in any sense truly democratic?
Democracy is claimed to be the best form of government we have, but is it suited to every nation and every circumstance? Can it work in a country which has had no tradition of democracy? A country benefits from the quality of its leadership, not necessarily from its form of government. An example of this is Singapore under Lee Kwan Yew.
An answer might be a gerontocracy - a Council of Elders, perhaps, where the nation is guided by a group of wise men and woman who are chosen for their altruistic service and integrity.These people may be chosen by a consensus of the people. Do you feel that you are truly represented, and do you agree with what is being done in your name? If you do, you are obviously part of the majority. If not, what?
Alan in Dyfed
The Welsh National Anthem by Lorraine King (Celtic)
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau wedi annwyl i nhw ag o rhyddid collasant eu gwaed.
Blogtrotting to Freedom for the Celtic Diaspora
From Blogtrotter (Ffionchu)
We are exiles within
our own country; we eat bread
at a pre-empted table. 'Show us,'
we supplicate, 'the way home',
and they laughing hiss at us:
'But you are home. Come in
and endure it,' Will nobody
explain what it is like
to be born lost?
from R. S. Thomas, 'The Lost';
published in: No Truce with the Furies (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Bloodaxe Books, 1995).
This verse serves as my defense for all of us who claim our Celtic roots in the face of naysayers and buffoons. All of us who get jeered at for not having the right surname, degree, or passport. If the Net's to claim its territory as truly global, it's both a particular site and a world without borders for us to debate-- nationalism in a networked realm. A perfectly complicated, contradictory subject?
For those valiant few who are serious defenders of truth and justice and who are committed to the cause of freedom for their homeland I suggest that they take the time to read the deeply informative and educative writings of Ffionchu (see link).
Alan in Dyfed
We are exiles within
our own country; we eat bread
at a pre-empted table. 'Show us,'
we supplicate, 'the way home',
and they laughing hiss at us:
'But you are home. Come in
and endure it,' Will nobody
explain what it is like
to be born lost?
from R. S. Thomas, 'The Lost';
published in: No Truce with the Furies (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Bloodaxe Books, 1995).
This verse serves as my defense for all of us who claim our Celtic roots in the face of naysayers and buffoons. All of us who get jeered at for not having the right surname, degree, or passport. If the Net's to claim its territory as truly global, it's both a particular site and a world without borders for us to debate-- nationalism in a networked realm. A perfectly complicated, contradictory subject?
For those valiant few who are serious defenders of truth and justice and who are committed to the cause of freedom for their homeland I suggest that they take the time to read the deeply informative and educative writings of Ffionchu (see link).
Alan in Dyfed
Yr Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
Wales is the 'secret garden' Celtic nation within the British Isles.It's tourism 'honey pots' are everywhere. It is now a dynamic business centre with Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham leading the way. The world has heard of the culture and the iconography of Scotland and Ireland but not to much of Wales. Now it is our turn as the new 'Celtic Tiger' with a new confidence. The Welsh language is a powerful force,survived over millenia even against the constant legal and physical attacks of our bigger and more powerful neighbour. Wales is the birthplace of King Arthur (the whole story started here and taken over as theirs by a close neighbour). The three National Parks are havens of peace and beauty. The little Irish sea villages and bays are still untouched. For more information go to VISITWALES on the web. To travel around Wales contact enq@wales-tours.com
*****HEAR THE WELSH NATIONAL ANTHEM***** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUWd2CrAXj4
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