General Chat

"The Gorsedd are community of bards which promote Welsh language literature"

Have copied this from OP!!! From Cambrian News, I expect. No they are not that. That is the role of the Welsh Language Board. The ovates, bards and druids are a group of distinguished people in Wales bards, singers, writers, politicians, businessmen and women, the Queen.. Several are not natural Welsh speakers but usually are learning and have a level of competence to speak a little Welsh when interviewd by S4C at the Eisteddfod.

There are longstanding links with international bodies that encourage Welsh culture, anguage and literature in Australia, Patagonia, USA, Canada, NZ. Loads of Welsh diaspora enjoy "coming home" during Eisteddfod week.

And links with other Celtic countries. Irish, Breton, Cornish, Scots and Manx are all spoken on the stage and huge encouragement is given to the nurturing of those languages

accused of contraception!!!!!!! :-S :-S :-S

a good idea though :-D

:-D @ Ann

thanks Sue :-D :-D :-D :-D

Yes he puts a condom over his head. :-D

Well you haven't come back with sparkle have you...I'm quite disappointed to read "same old".
I wonder if maybe the checkout lady had been told if faced with foul mouthed male customers to buzz for the Manager (another male) to deal with them? Or maybe his reputation goes before him & he habitually berates people...because he can? Who knows?
He has succeeded in one thing though-he's given himself a bad name & I can't imagine the Druids will be happy even though he's the "Former" Archdruid.

IMHO writing a book doesn't give you the right to dictate how people should speak to you or anything else, at the least he's a bully.

Contraception????


(Susan10146857...rollers are a type of pigeon :-D )

I genuinely would think twice about holidaying in Wales after reading some of this thread....and yet it's always been somewhere i would just love to visit....shame.

@ Muffy, I do agree with you, having read through this thread it seems that SOME people have an obsession with "Welshness" ( is that a word)? I have several close relatives who were born and have lived most of their lives there, and I have never heard some of the comments made on here. How sad that people feel so strongly about their ethnic roots that it can cloud their judgement, but as in all of life I don't confuse their "opinions" as actual "facts". :-D :-D

Nooooooooooooooo come and stay with me (with your paint brush) :-D

There ARE some areas which are still living in the dark ages, thankfully, few and far between and these are in the more rural areas. There is little comparison between now and a few decades ago.

If you google you can find complaints about pubs/restaurants/shops etc., as well as recommendations.

I can cite a lot of places to visit where you would be welcomed :-D but I can also tell you of half a dozen places to avoid :-(

It's the few that give a bad experience to visitors that leave an impression which is mostly discussed not the many who have had a great time.

The letters section in our local paper does publish both good and bad comments from visitors and I can assure you that if your business is named as a 'no go' their income will suffer and they will have to adopt an attitude adjustment or lose revenue. It will take time but Wales relies on tourism in some areas for their annual income.

Oh and I could do with a plumber ;-)

Considering John is only Half Welsh not a full blooded Welshman,what is he trying to proove? That he,s more Welsh than anyone? or Meybe he,s trying to convince himself he is.Regarding changing from English to Welsh in Pubs Etc. He should have gone into the Pub/Hotel at the top of Sea View Rd. in Colwyn Bay,it happened there quite often to me when visiting my Mother when on leave from the Army, untill I told them where to go in Arabic and my Step Father did the same in Irish.Its sheer B ignorance by a few People of the same ilk as John and his Cronies, Most True Welsh People are Kind and Welcoming to all.**M**.

Totally agree with supercrutch.

We have at least one holiday a year in Wales (usually west Wales) and have done for the last 30 years and only twice have encountered the sort of ignorance described here. Once was on Anglesey and once in Aberyswyth.

Half my family still live in Wales, although most of them are non Welsh speaking, when we visit them and go to pubs or for meals we never have any problems.

There are pubs here in Warwickshire I won't go in because the locals are hostile to anyone new. It's the same everywhere, I think. A few ignorant people get a place a bad reputation.

Well, what an interesting thread this has been !!
Guess none of you thought you'd get to learn so much about Herr Lewis when it started, or about different shops and shop keepers, of house prices, and Druids !!

Regarding the OP, any normal customer experiencing a perceived (or real) problem whilst shopping would, I hope, request to see the manager and not continuously embarrass an assistant instead.

I'm a 'Valley's boy', somewhat further North than PontyP', and my town has been the venue for the Eisteddfod, indicating at least a degree of 'Welshness' is present in said locale.....but I admit that I have also experienced the switching from English to Welsh when, as a stranger, I've entered establishments in West and, particularly, North Wales.

However, being Teflon-coated, it really doesn't bother me, but can certainly appreciate how others may feel when experiencing the same.

As for the influx, the 'colonisation', by the English (Dr L), and associated comments - utter balderdash. Overall, I find Dr L to be a left-wing Nationalist, possibly with fascist leanings. I reiterate, this is my opinion.

Mention was made of Welsh phrase-books for visitors - why not? They are readily available, after all. Personally I use them all the time when travelling overseas, and have well-thumbed copies in Greek, Spanish, Portuguese and German, not so well thumbed in Dutch :o( , and an American one that I got fed up with, having to regularly correct the spelling... ;o). Phrase books can be the avenue to further language study, after all.

My OH and I were bilingual - English and 'edgewise', I never did get the hang of the latter.....

The Gorsedd - Prince of Wales is an honorary member (in response to earlier post), same as QEII.

Ok, what's next Sue ????
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Oh Muffs,

You have just got to go its breathtakingly beautiful. and the fold aint half bad either.)) the few oddities are few and far between,,,,,,its not so much the holidaymakers that are hissed at,its the ones that want to take root there and want a English life.

The old codger wont be sightseeing anyway.

dont go to north Wales unless you want a Skeggy atmosphere...


How can you be half of anything.........you are either one or the other..

you can be of -------parentage......but not half born anywhere....

Johns English............isnt he.........but taken to be a full born again Welshman........

:-D :-D :-D.

Oh Mr Daff its at times like this I dearly miss that wonderful woman........with her bum smacking answers. ;-) :-D

Well Johns life on GR is whatever he wants it to be ... pure fabrication.

I have read the thread since the beginning but not posted but I just have to say, I always have enjoyed holidays in Wales (OH's Mother was half Welsh born in Merthyr but left there when she was 19, although her family remained. OH still has second cousins in the Glamorgan area.), We have have had about 7 or 8 holidays in Wales North and south, plus having lived on the border in the Forest of Dean we had many day trips into Wales, wonderful scenery everywhere and lovely holidays (many of them wet I might add). Only had one occasion when the changing to speaking in Welsh not English occurred in a shop, that was up near Bangor. I would holiday there any time so don't let this thread put you off Muffy.

I have to say that if you want to experience being made to feel like an interloper (amd here my experience is going back to 70s/80s not sure if it still applies) you should try living in the Forest of Dean as we did. There you were not considered a local unless you had lived there at least 25 years. Everybody was related to almost everyone else so you didn't dare speak about anyone in case it was somebody's cousin, aunt, sister. But I loved living there even if I couldn't always understand what they were talking about or saying. (a language all their own!)
There were also a lot of Welsh people living in the area having moved just over the border. :-)

Gawd, I daren't raise another (I thought) fairly tame topic ;-)

I have to say though there have been some really interesting posts :-D

There is nothing wrong with showing pride in your heritage but there is absolutely something bad in doing so to the point of extremism which only causes harm to the 'cause'. This also tars everyone with the same brush.

Once bitten twice shy does apply. If someone has a bad experience anywhere it inevitably does colour their view of the whole country. You can still drive through the hills near Aberystwyth and see painted grafitti which isn't very nice for English visitors to see. You may even see a household flying the Welsh flag on their very own flagpole with racist slogans.

Would this be tolerated in England? Does it happen in England? I don't know because I visit so rarely.

It's a sad world sometimes. A few making a lot of trouble for so many over an issue which is not a life or death choice.

Oh and I need a hunky man to demolish a garage ;-)

Just checking here sweetie, do you mean a hulky or hunky man to demolish the garage :-D :-D :-D

I dont thinks she'll be fussed Paula as long as he can shift the garage :-D

and has a faint pulse!!!! :-D ;-)

well in my neck of the woods here in Welsh Wales you are always sure of a welcome in the hillsides - whenever anyone new moves into the road in the vicinity of my house, I always introduce myself and at Christmas time pop a card through the door

The week before Christmas I noticed a young Indian couple moving into the house across the road - went over and introduced myself - they did likewise and introduced their young children - they said they were going home to India just before Christmas for six weeks - I thought about this and popped a note through the door pointing ut that as they have a glass porch, all mail and flyers will be there to indicate no one is at home and if they wished, any of the neighbours would be happy to collect the post till their return

I now have the key and check on the porch every day - they say they are bring some sweets back from India for me :-D :-D

I note from the mail that he is a doctor