Helo! A chroeso i rifyn arall o A Word From Wales. A warm welcome to another edition of A Word From Wales. This week we’ll be featuring another newsletter to the Welsh Diaspora, namely Yr Enfys, looking at an updated map of the YES Cymru groups throughout Wales, and looking forward to the publication of an e-novel set during the Welsh War of Independence.
The proliferation of pro-independence YES Cymru groups throughout Wales
THE DIVERSITY OF YES
WITH the latest independence rally due to be held in Swansea next month, the above map shows the reach of the current YES Cymru groups throughout Wales.
At present there are 52 official YES Cymru groups situated all over Wales- groups which are active in their communities promoting the message of Welsh independence to local people.
This grassroots presence is an essential component in the whole campaign , with each of these groups allowed a good amount of their own independence in deciding how best to present the message in their respective communities.
This makes a refreshing change from the mentality of the previous Central Committee which wanted to have a top-down ,managerial approach to campaigning.
It’s particularly encouraging in this map to see so many groups in the south-east of Wales where so many Welsh people live- indeed nearly 45% of the population of Wales live in the populated Valleys.
They will form a crucial part of any positive decision for independence in Wales, so the number of groups in this area augurs very well for the cause.
The only weak part of the map appears to be the sizeable county of Powys on Wales’s right flank, where there doesn’t seem to be a single group in existence.
Powys’s closeness to the border might account for this anomaly, along with some influx of people from over the border into these areas over recent years as well.
Despite its size, the population of Powys itself is relatively small and dwarfed in this respect by the population of the Valleys below.
And if it did come to a numbers game as regards independence, the lack of a YES presence in Powys needn’t be too much of a problem in thos respect.
Even so, it would be good to see YES Cymru trying to establish some foothold in the county in future.
After all, the answers and solutions to Wales’s problems that independence would hopefully provide, would be just as relevant to Powys as any other area in Wales.
The iconic image of Owain Glyndwr on the square in Corwen, Glyndyfrdwy
A novel way to raise awareness about the War of Independence
A novel set during the Welsh War of Independence is to be published on-line after Easter.
“Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr” is set in 1405, the apogee of the Welsh efforts to set up an independent Welsh state under the leadership of their last native prince, Owain Glyndwr.
Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr( The Great Upheaval) was the name given to the conflict in Wales, which lasted from 1400 to 1414.
Written by yours truly, the e-novel will take a sideways look at the war through the perspective of two monks- belonging to the Cistercian Order in Wales, traditional supporters of the Welsh Cause ever since their introduction here in the 12th century.
The two are summoned by Owain Glyndwr from their Abbey in Glyn-y-Groes in Llangollen to meet him at his castle in Harlech, where they will be tasked with a special mission on his behalf.
The e-novel will appear on-line after the Easter Holidays, with the possibility of physical copies to follow after that.
“I wanted to put it on-line first to test the amount of interest in Welsh-language material of this sort on this world-wide platform” said Aled.
“By now there are 5 billion people all over the world on-line, so there is a huge audience out there by now.English is fast-becoming the lingua franca on this platform and that’s unlikely to change any time soon.”
“Even so, I think it is important that we put out Welsh language material on-line just to gauge what the responses will be.”
“There are tools such as Bing Translate etc, which are improving all the time, so the language issue needn’t be too much of a problem for those who have a genuine interest in Welsh History.”
It’s also the case that many more authors nowadays are looking to publish on-line so as to have more personal control over the whole process of writing and publishing.
And there is also the thorny issue of royalties- especially in view of the low percentage amount usually afforded to authors as part of the traditional publishing process( 10% or 20%)
On-line publishing on the other hand can pay up to 50%- so you can see why many authors are now embracing on-line publishing, with many new on-line publishing platforms also facilitating this process.
“Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr” will go on sale on-line after Easter for £7.00.
Yr Enfys shining its light all over the world
The latest edition of “Yr Enfys”- the bilingual magazine for the Welsh Diaspora has just been published.
And once again, editor Nia Davies offers up a colourful montage of modern-day Welshness in all its different guises.
The St.David’s Day Spring Edition has a range of stories about Welsh people in Wales itself and all over the world.
As you would expect, it has stories and photographs of St.David’s Day celebrations in various locations in the world.
It also has the story about the National Eisteddfod deciding to continue to visit different areas in Wales in future rather than be located on a specific site.
Yr Enfys also features the brilliant news that innovative S4C series Dal y Mellt has been signed up by American Company Netflix- the first time ever that this has happened to a Welsh language series.
It’s well worth a read. Both for members of the Welsh Diaspora and for people living in Wales itself.
Wel, dyna ni am wythnos arall. See you all next week!
Aled