Mair Williams's blog

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

“It happened in Wales but it could have happened anywhere that suited the expediency of the British State. The nationals of the Celtic countries were aborigines to be ignored or used!”

Tryweryn and what happened there should matter to all the Celtic countries because it is symptomatic of the contempt which the Westminster government had at the time for the Celtic Nations in the 1950s and 60s.

They were places to be used and places to dump things that you did not want in your own backyard.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Ten years ago Liverpool was told ‘they can keep their apology’ - today the decision to flood the Tryweryn valley is still as controversial!

It is still an emotive issue is Wales and you can still see signs today in parts of North and mid Wales reminding Welsh people of the sense of outrage felt when the Welsh speaking community in the Tryweryn Valley was submerged to provide a reservoir to service Merseyside

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The status of Cornish people as a National Minority has been recognised formally by the United Kingdom. See this link for a statement from the Department of Communities and Local Government:

https://www.gov.uk/…/cornish-granted-minority-status-within…

Also link here for an interview with the BBC given by Loveday Jenkin, deputy leader of Mebyon Kernow the Cornish nationalist party:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Wales Minister, Alun Cairns has said the flooding of a Welsh Valley in Gwynedd to provide drinking water for Liverpool was "a shameful chapter in Welsh history".

The village Capel Celyn, one of the last Welsh only speaking communities, was flooded 50 years ago to create the Tryweryn reservoir and Cairns said it marked "some of the darkest and some of the most regrettable days in modern Welsh history".

A dozen houses and farms were submerged and 48 people dispossessed.

News From The Celtic League

Last week it was announced that Cornwall Council staff will be encouraged to use the Cornish language when engaging with the public, amid a torrent of criticism levied at the Council from the media in response to their initiative.

Below the General Secretary of the League, who is based in Cornwall, sets out why he thinks it is about time that the Council ‘upped their game’ in their support of the Cornish language.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

HSBC are not living up to their reputation as the ‘world’s local bank’ according to renowned Welsh harpist Robin Huw Bowen.

Mr Bowen found himself barred from the Aberystwyth branch of the bank after he criticised the prominence given to the Welsh language on a sign at the entrance.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Plaid Cymru Leader Leanne Wood AM has said that the UK Government’s regressive Trade Union Bill must not apply to Wales and she has pledged that Plaid Cymru would do all it can to step any attempt to get legislative consent for the Bill in the Welsh Assembly.

The Plaid leader said:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The second annual Cornish language research conference was held on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th September 2015 at the Tremough university campus in Penryn, Kernow (Cornwall).

Congratulations to Wales who warmed Celtic hearts yesterday with a stunning victory against England in the Rugby World Cup group stages. Achieving a great win on foreign soil (the game was played in London, the English capital), Wales overcame a 10-point deficit and a series of injuries to pull off a sensational win against England in a tense and gripping World Cup contest.

A man walking his dog on a Welsh beach made a very valuable find. It was piece of the whale vomit known as 'ambergris'. It is formed in a sperm whale’s digestive system and is passed as vomit. Scientists believe it is used to coat irritating objects in the whale’s intestines. The dog walker found the item on a beach in Anglesey (Welsh: Ynys Môn), which is an island off the north-west coast of Wales (Cymru). Yesterday the 2.4lb (1.1kg) chunk of ambergris was sold at auction for £11,000.