Happy St David’s Day! Lest you ever doubt what it’s like here in Baroque Mansions… I found (a slightly different version of) this in my inbox this morning. No doubt there will be another one when my mother gets up, five hours behind. And yes, it really makes me want to go to Wales.
Interestingly (I suppose; or not), my sister has done more gneealogy than most people will ever hear of; our ancestors as early as the 12th century were Welsh, all ap Llewellyn and so forth – and were to be found in London. Plus ça change, eh.
It’s also a beautiful thing that I still get these email cards, where I used to get physical ones, from the older members of the family. My kids may never get a St David’s Day card if they don’t get one from me. Hmm…
There were versions of the song with lyrics scrolling, but you can have the lyrics here; it’s such a beautiful language:
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mâd,
Tros ryddid gollasant eu gwaed.
Chorus:
Gwlad, Gwlad, pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad,
Tra môr yn fur i’r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i’r heniaith barhau.
Gwlad, Gwlad, pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad,
Tra môr yn fur i’r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i’r heniaith barhau.
So the daffodil pin comes out, & off we go for another year! Happy St David’s Day everyone. Try and read some Welsh poetry today. (Now there’s a post I should have written in advance, and haven”t got time for now. Suffice to say there are Welsh poets everywhere; there are probably those who would say that a poet must have a drop of Welsh in him somewhere…)
Editing in: you see? This just in from Mom:
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Speaking as a Welsh, of sorts, the language has a certain lyrical quality that is missing in English, and it is ideally suited to strict metre poetry. But the Welsh language is invariably used to convey the most sentimental crap imaginable. That, and S4C soap operas.
As for the national anthem, it doth make me cringe!
Ffor ffycs sêc, mun!
Francis, my grandfather said it was a very good language for playing golf in. So it can’t be all sentiment… I get what you mean though! I wonder what current Welsh=language writers are writing…
Well, this once in a blue moon Welsh-language writer’s contribution to St David’s Day can be found here…
http://sedgemore.com/2012/03/cyn-belled-ag-y-gall-y-llygad-weld/
Few words, but the meaning should be clear enough.
I don’t know about playing golf, but Welsh can be a good language for conveying cultural and political sentiment in their most visceral forms. For poetry, you could start with Twm Morys, whose target is those who would spend their lives worrying the carcass of a dead sheep.
Dear Katy, happy St David’s Day to you too. I’m half Welsh and proud to be so. Viva daffodils, leeks, rugby and rain.
Catherine I tried to make Welsh cakes but the shop was out of currants. Less Wales than Moscow in the Cold War round our way – but I got some Welsh cakes in M&S yesterday! A the daffs are blooming on the table
Dear Katy
St David’s Day has always been important to me largely becuase March 1st was also my beloved mother’s birthday. You can see the Welsh origins of my surname in the word ‘Gwlad’ which means land.
Best wishes from Simon
Simon – interesting about your name! And a belated wish for you.