The Latest From Cymuned - Supporters Email

( This is not an official press release but rather the personal observations of a Cymuned supporter ) Cardiff, the Assembly and YouGov Firstly, a word of cheer: Quiet campaigning by individuals works! The story comes from Cardiff, where Coop have been working to freshen the image of their Llandaf shop. This involved, amongst other things, getting rid of the old bilingual signs and replacing them with "easier to read" English-only versions. But, in the words of the shop manager, she received a "strong reaction" from shop customers that convinced her to return to bilingual signage. Yes, it is awful that we still have to "campaign" in the 21st century for something as basic as recognition for the language, but this story shows that it is possible to change some things by quiet words in the right ears! Which brings me neatly to an appeal for contributions! The Assembly's Heritage Department are starting the process of creating a new language strategy to replace "Iaith pawb" - the current blueprint for a bilingual Wales. They would like to hear the ideas and views of the public and relevant organisations to help them in their work. You may very well have your own ideas about the way forward to securing the Welsh's place as a vibrant community language, so now is the time for you to make them known in a way that can make a real difference. Perhaps you remember an earlier email telling of a language Board conference where one recommendation was to encourage public bodies in the 'Fro' to use Welsh as their internal language - This shows that the ideas of CyngorNi are already being considered. Its time for us to push our message to the Assembly in the most powerful way available- through the submissions of the electorate and others that love the country. Please contribute, so that we can develop a strategy that will turn the vision in Iaith Pawb of: "a truly bilingual Wales ...a country where people can choose to live their lives through the medium of either or both Welsh or English..." into reality. The consultation closes on the 29th January. Contributions by post to: The Welsh Language Unit, Welsh Assembly Government Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ Online at cymru.gov.uk/topics/welshlanguage Or by e-mail to cymraeg@cymru.gsi.gov.uk. It was interesting to see the YouGov opinion poll during the month, giving details of voting intentions in a general election and Assembly referendum. At the tail-end of the poll there was a question regarding the usage of Welsh showing that 42% of the population of Wales have some amount of Welsh (18% were fluent). This is excellent news until you read the following question. Even in the North, and the "West and Central" regions, less than 30% of the Welsh speakers used their Welsh "all or most of the time" in their own homes. Now, predictions of disaster cannot be made as a result of one poll, especially when the question was just for sorting statistics rather than an important element of the poll, but I think that supporters of the Welsh language are justified in worrying about this statistic. However important a new Welsh Language Act may be, I'm not sure that people who don't use Welsh in their own homes are going to be all that enthusiastic about a right to use Welsh in a bank or with a mobile phone company. Then again, promoting Welsh as the language of work amongst public bodies in the 'Fro Gymraeg' would certainly ease the pressures on people to use English on every occasion. Until next month! Iestyn * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dewi Sant told us to "Do the little things." To see what he had in mind, have a quick look at: www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/dewisant * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Are you a dreamer or a doer? Cymuned can't survive without YOUR help. Have a look at: www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/ourfuture to hear how to make things change

The Story Of A Welsh-Russian Town Hughesovka - Multi-Media Package

Thursday 26 November sees the Cardiff launch of Y Lolfa’s first book-DVD package, at Womanby Street’s bar, Y Fuwch Goch. Multi-prize-winning TV documentary film maker Colin Thomas’ awards include three from BAFTA Cymru, as well as the Prix Europa, the Gold Award at Houston International Film Festival, and the Jury Award at the Celtic Film and TV Festival. Now for the first time, his documentary Hughesovka and the New Russia, presented by Professor Gwyn Alf Williams, is available to keep. First transmitted in English to the UK network on BBC2 in 1991, the three-part series won BAFTA Cymru’s inaugural Best Documentary Award of that year. The DVD is published together with Colin Thomas’ first book, Dreaming a City: From Wales to Ukraine, which brings the story of Hughesovka, the town established by Welsh people in Ukraine, up to the present day. Colin Thomas and Gwyn Alf Williams had a long and productive working relationship respectively as film producer and presenter, mainly on popular Welsh history programmes such as The Dragon has Two Tongues, made by the co-operative company Teliesyn. But they also formed a strong friendship, and this honest account of the bonds – and occasional blow-ups – of this creative relationship in television from 1981 to the Professor’s death in 1995, make Dreaming a City a fitting tribute to a fine historian and well-loved figure. Author Colin Thomas said, "I have always thought that what happened to the city founded by John Hughes and his Welsh workers told a much bigger story. But I have been surprised to discover, in writing a book about a place that has fascinated me for years, the degree of personal revelation involved. I have found myself exploring my own hopes for a better world. For many years I shared some of those dreams with the late great Prof Gwyn Williams and I'm delighted that this book/DVD package will form a tribute to Professor Williams, as well as bringing the Hughesovka story bang up to date." Both DVD and book tell the remarkable tale of a city created in the 1870s by Welsh capitalist John Hughes and his team of seventy Welsh miners and steelworkers. Its transition from Hughesovka in Russia, to Stalino in the Soviet Union, and then to Donetsk in the newly-independent Ukrainian nation, is a story of Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union in microcosm. Dreaming a City traces the town’s growth from patriarchal beginnings through the Russian revolutions, Bolshevism, Stalinism, Nazi occupation and the collapse of Communism, Nineties rising Ukraine nationalism, to Ukraine post-independence in the present market economy. Partly a revisiting of the making of the television series Hughesovka and the New Russia, this book is Russian and Welsh social and political history; travel journalism, and a tribute to Welsh historian Gwyn Alf Williams, as well as being a personal memoir of a life in TV and history. Above all, though, it explores the tensions between a belief in social change and the danger implicit in utopian visions. Extracts from Hughesovka and the New Russia will be shown at the launch, which commences at 7.30pm at Y Fuwch Goch/The Red Cow, Womanby St, Cardiff. The book/DVD package is available at good bookshops and from amazon, gwales and www.ylolfa.com.

Evan-Evans Top Welsh Brewer - Cwrw top Welsh Brand at British Beer Festival

Award winning Brewer Evan-Evans was voted the top Welsh drink at the True Taste of Wales Awards at Abergavenny last night (Nov 19). The award is the second major prize for the company’s brands in the last 12 months.The company was voted the third best brewer in the UK in the Best Bitter Category at the Great British Beer Festival, the UK’s leading consumer Beer Festival. Chief executive Simon Buckley said: “This year my family celebrate 240 years of family brewing in Wales. “We have had a record year for winning awards. Cwrw has been voted the best beer in Wales for draught beer, and now for the bottled version. I am extremely proud to win this award in this very special year for us as a family. I am also very proud to be carrying on the tradition of brewing great beers. We hope that Cwrw will now become the National Ale of Wales. This award is a huge credit to our brewing team in Llandeilo, and they are now unquestionably the best brewing team in the specialist market in Wales. We are now brewing for some of the biggest national and regional brewers in the UK, and hope to launch a series of new cask ale brands in the early spring. There is little question that the market is difficult and likely to get worse, but there is no doubt that winning these awards will keep us at the very top of Welsh brewing.” The brewery is based in Llandeilo West Wales. Some Facts About Cwrw Cwrw is Welsh for beer. Evan-Evans is owned by Simon Buckley, 51, whose family have brewed in Wales since 1767, Evan-Evans has a reputation for brewing the highest quality cask-conditioned beers. Evan-Evans is Wales’s largest specialist brewer of cask ale. The company started brewing in 2004 to produce specialist cask ales for the Welsh and national guest ale market. A few words about the Buckley brewing tradition The brewing heritage of the Buckley family stretches back to the early 19th century after the Rev James Buckley married the eldest daughter of Henry Child who had founded Childs Brewery in Llanelli. It was set up to slake the thirst of the town’s tinworkers, who were rapidly increasing in numbers. The clergyman’s 18-year-old namesake James Buckley is today part of the seventh generation and each one before him has been directly involved in the industry. His father, Simon, was the last Buckley to brew at Llanelli before moving to London in 1984. Buckleys Brewery had the distinction of being the only Welsh brewer to hold a royal warrant. In 1991 it became Crown Buckley when it was taken over by a subsidiary of Guinness. It was sold to Brains in 1997 and the Llanelli Brewery closed a year later. Evan-Evans was actually founded in Llandeilo in 2003 and began brewing in 2004. It is named after William Evan-Evans who married into the family four generations ago. This summer Mr Buckley acquired the remains of Archers of Swindon for an undisclosed sum. Archers, which until March this year brewed in Swindon, went into administration following a period of difficult trading. The brewery has been acquired by the Buckley family to extend its Welsh brewing operation, and to give it access to new markets in the South West along the M4 corridor into London. In July, Mr Buckley opened a new traditional pub in Cardiff - the first traditional pub to be built in the city for 25 years. The £1million development in the former RAFA club in Cathedral Road represented a significant investment in the capital city for West Wales-based Welsh Estates Ltd and the Evan-Evans Brewery. Mr Buckley was responsible for the development of the Cayo Arms in Cardiff in 2000. The pub was voted one of the top 50 pubs in the UK after its launch. The new pub in Cathedral Road is called Y Cadno (The Fox).