The End of Civilization as we Knew It; Saints on the One Side, Saxons on the Other

An Arthurian trilogy comprising nearly 1500 pages has come into my possession thanks to someone having an inkling of my tastes and generously hoping to satisfy them, I will be eternally grateful. Written by Bernard Cornwell as the 'Warlord Chronicles' (The Winter King', 'Enemy of God' and 'Excalibur), Arthur's story, recounted at the behest of Queen Igraine of Powys by Lord Derfel Cadarn, a war-lord turned monk; he fought with Arthur to hold the incoming Saxon tide that takes place in the final years of the 5th century A.D., whilst remnants of the Druidic religion live on mainly in the person of Merlin appealing to the Gods of Britain to fight back against the new eastern religions, brought to us through Roman rule before the legions left us to fight for ourselves, including Christian fanaticism, Mithraism and even the cult of Isis. Merlin's efforts fell short, Arthur had more success, better than Cnut, but in the long run, rightly or wrongly, the majority of us now take our moral lessons from the Hebraic Scriptures in English.

Magic

I woke up from a dream of closing the pub bringing a concert to an end, picked up 'Excalibur', the last in the 'Warlord Chronicles' trilogy by Bernard Cornwell, to read about Derfel losing a hand in Morgan's magic to serve to save the life of his wife Ceinwyn, put down the book, switched on the television, lighting up the screen were the words "you are still young at 59," says Minister', so I am, but what magic was that; and what a game last night with Swansea City going through to Wembley magically beating Nottingham Forest. Now Cardiff City must win tonight to guarantee Cymru/Wales a promoted team; magic!

'Enemy of God' by Bernard Cornwell, and the rest

Merlin nearly lost his life searching for the Cauldron of Clyddno Eiddyn, but he has recovered the most important of the 13 sacred artefacts he is bringing together to appease the gods and save Britain, the others being simply: a sword; a basket; a horn; a chariot; a halter; a knife; a whetstone; a sleeved coat; a cloak; a dish; a throwboard and a warrior ring. Arthur on the other hand is a more practical man, he has allied the British kingdoms and is raising an army to push the Saxons back to Germany aiming to restore peace to the Island. Considering the story takes place 1500 years ago we know what happened; it worked for a while with many Saxons/Germans returning home during the first half of the 6th century, but alas they both finally failed in their efforts and the gods left Britain forever allowing the incomers to take over, resulting in the largest part of Britain being named 'England', 300 years later they themselves were conquered by invaders from Normandy, who by preserving the name of the Country thereby distorted the telling of history centuries later e.g. English v. French 100 years war. What we don't know is will Byn find the 51,21 euros he needs to stay on the internet? My story continues......

Confidence

Caradog fought the the Romans in vain, Buddug fought back in vain, Arthur fought to repel the Saxons with temporary success, Cadwallon fought to hold the Crown of Britain in vain, Owain Glyndwr fought to realize his dream of a Crown, a Parliament in Machynlleth, 2 universities, a frontier at the Severn & Mersey and independence, in vain; hooray, the Tudors succesfully gave us a Crown, a Parliament in London, a university college, a frontier to Hadrian's Wall, peace and even the beginning of an empire, so what went wrong? Dependence, after the initial celebrations we became totally dependent on an unsympathetic centralized State that threatened to cost us our identity, 'British' began to alter in connotation, after 1707 it changed its meaning completely when the Scots allied themselves formerly with the English to create a new Great Britain. We were saved when sports associations came about during the 19th century and national teams were formed, the Scots wanted to play against 'The Auld Enemy', although not old in our terms, so why shouldn't we pick a Welsh National team, no matter that there was no Welsh nation because we had been completely subsumed into England by Henry VIII with his the Laws in Wales Act of 1535 to 1542. It was a salve to the consciences of those who didn't lift a finger and some who were downright antipathetic to their  Country to openly and rabidly declare their Welshness for 80 or 90 minutes 4 or 5 times a year, and to fly the flag at world championships but not yet the Olympic Games, not in my lifetime anyway. Proud to be Welsh, for 80 minutes! Although confidence in the Country is rising, we can see that with the introduction of primary law making powers for the first time in many centuries. Taliesin said that the Britons will lose their land except Wild Wales, and the Old Man of Pencader stated that the Welsh Language will always answer for our little "cilcyn o ddaear men cilfach gefn", our little corner of the world. 500 years of direct rule from London is not thrown off overnight, it needs patience, but we are moving in the right direction. To wean the Tudorite Kinnocks and George Thomas's of this world from believing in Henry's ideas of the Welsh being better off ruled by outsiders is a huge job, and something has to be done to alleviate their fear of Cymraeg/The Welsh Language. Fe Godwn ni eto.

Arthur, Myrddin/Merlin & the Harp

The harp is the national instrument of Cymru, and until recently every welcoming hearth possessed one. Arthur was the all conquering Welsh hero, he may not have been a king and 'Arthur' may only have been his nom de guerre, but he kept the marauding Germans at bay both in Brittany & Britain (Franks, Angles, Saxons and Jutes),  his victory at Mount Badon earned 50 years of peace and a golden age for the Britons while he lived. What do these people have in common: Alan Stivell; Alison Kinnaird; An Triskell; Ar Lôg; The Barra MacNeils; Cecile Corbel; Chris Newman; Claire Hamilton; Cormac de Barra; Corinna Hewart; Crasdant; Delyth Jenkins; Dominig Bouchaud; Elinor Bennett; Grainne Yeats; Gwenael Kerleo; Gwenola Ropars; Laoise Kelly; Sayo & Sebastien Lipman; Llio Rhydderch; Maire ni Chathasaigh; Meinyr Heulyn; Myrdhin; Rhes Ganol; Rachel Ann Morgan; Robin Huw Bowen; Siân James; Siobhan Owen; Soazig; Violaine Alfaric; Wendy Stewart and Ysbryd Chouchen? They are all playing the harp for me today accompanying my reading of Bernard Cornwall's 'The Winter King', to be followed by 'Enemy of God' & 'Excalibur', 3 volumes of 'The Warlord Chronicles', a high moment of my life that I've unknowingly waited 60 years for, strange how things come together. If I don't read another book I've found what I was looking for, and so has Merlin. Ysa Harpiste is another that would normally be on this list as she is one of a small group, numbering Alan Stivell, An Triskell, Ar Lôg, Elinor Bennett, Gwenael Kerleo, Siân James and Violaine Alfaric whom I've had the pleasure of seeing live, unfortunately she is not in my collection. Ah, my senses are touching on the sublime. The past is but a thread to the present & the future, not to be sat upon, but that's a mixed metaphor.

Being Welsh

Don't forget the mindset that goes with being Welsh, once having ruled Britain, having fought the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, the Normans conquered the Principality i.e.the north & the west, built towns for the English, of which Caernarfon was the largest, took away our citizens rights, whilst in the southern Marches we were autonomous under the Breton & Norman Lords where the King was not allowed to interfere. When Rhys ap Thomas after a thousand years of non stop warring, don't forget that Ireland & Scotland didn't have this history, placed the crown on the head of Henry Tudor we thought it was all over, one of his first acts was to return Cymru to normality, everyone who was anyone in Cymru moved to London, he repealed the anti Welsh laws, put the Red Dragon on the Royal Coat of Arms, he named his first son Arthur to realize at last the prophesies of old; Arthur, Owain Lawgoch, Owain Glyndwr, Henry himself, and finally Arthur of the Britons (Welsh) on the throne of Britain, unfortunately he died young and the throne was passed to Arthur's younger brother Henry VIII who 'for the betterment of the Welsh' took the Country by the scruff, abolished the Marches, united them with the Principality, losing some important parts of the border territory, created a Wales of Shires administered by English law absorbed by England, his sister, aware of her background, built a new Welsh university in Oxford, Wales had taken over England completely but on England's terms, Welsh gentlemen counselling the Queen were transformed into English gentlemen, Seisyllt became Cecil, Welsh Britishness was transmogrified into English Britishness, Welsh British heroes of old became English British heroes of old. When the Stuarts took over, the Red Dragon was taken off the coat of arms and that was that for Cymru until the romantic movement of the late 18th & 19th centuries touched the consciences of the London Welsh exiles who established societies such as the Gwyneddogion and the Cymreigyddion to restore a sense of pride that had been lying dormant, There was a new awareness that something of value had been lost, Cymru was waking up from a 300 years sleep. National institutions were created but the Capital was London. Welsh had been banned in the schools and although it was still the first language of the majority, parents were persuaded the futility of handing it on to their children if they wanted them to get on. Workers were fighting a war of solidarity, political parties & trades unions were founded, Lloyd George created an all Welsh movement but when they met, the South Walians of Newport & Cardiff didn't want to know. Welsh Nationalists who joined the British parties were either voted out or were lost to ambition. A National Party was needed that put Cymru first and Britain second,   so Plaid Genedlaethol was formed, not an easy job in the wake of the First World War and still not an easy job today. A country with a 2000 years plus history can afford to be patient, we have the responsibility of the language, the Scots don't, rightly or wrongly the people in Glasgow & Aberdeen are not afraid of having Gaelic rammed down their throats the way they are afraid of Welsh in Rhyl, Wrecsam, Haverfordwest & Monmouth, and even Ebbw Vale & Merthyr come to that, the oil if there's any left may still be an added incentive. The first million pound cheque was signed in Cardiff but there's no money any more, its all been siphoned off. We have to stay with it, history is on our side and no matter the temporary setback today May 6, 2011. We may not be on a roll but we have the impetus.

Arthur sleeps on

Arthur sleeps on; Labour can thank its post war government with Aneurin Bevan's NHS, rehousing, new factories and nationalizing the mines, and fear of the Tory party; people forget the nepotism & corruption when they became the establishment party attracting all & sundry to their bandwagon. Safe in the knowledge that they were unseatable a blind eye was turned to Cymru/Wales for over 50 years, and the abiding mantra was 'what can I get out of it', worse, we lost our valleys to English reservoirs, our heritage was forgotten and our children were killed, with their most shameful episode, Harold Wilson dipping in to the Aberfan fund, money that came from all over the world to better the life of the survivors, to pay for the clearing of the remaining tips. Labour is the enemy within, Conservative the enemy without. Fear has handed back unfettered control to 'our' party who's strongest point has never been principle & scruples. Cymru will have to wait while she once again gets put on the backburner. Scotland is marching on but they didn't have the same fear of losing their socialist heitage. Fe godwn ni eto.

Plea

This is a plea for 964,72 euros to stop my electricity being cut off on May 9

Reflexions

To put it succinctly; The positive aspects of my life outweigh the negative ones heavy though they are. Life isn't meant to be easy and doesn't owe anybody anything but the horizon promises me better things to come; this is my sixtieth year, my second of fettered freedom, I could have been a prisoner of an office, factory or mine, I wasn't, and anyway I'm a believer in destiny. Most people would be planning retirement, I am planning going back to my regular job. I have always taken the good with the bad and the help from my friends sustaining me until I get back on my feet does not go amiss, for that I am very grateful, it will enable me eventually to reciprocate from a position of strength, when the storm clouds will be blown away and music will once more be heard in Ty Elise. These were never meant to be sob stories, I can't dwell on the bad when the quality of my life works against it, they are meant to be snapshot updates so that my friends can see exactly where & how I stand at any given moment, I report the downs which can be serious, but I also report the ups which paradoxically I wouldn't have but for the roots of the latter, fortunately they are more numerous, in other words although it rains a lot the sun shines longer and brighter. I have lived in Breizh/Brittany for a greater period than I did in Cymru/Wales but outside of books, conversation & music, my knowledge of the Country was limited, yet I know Cymru inside out, I have a lot of catching up to do and when finances allow I go off the main road with my camera to try and capture the essence of Ma Breizh/Fy Llydaw/Ma Bretagne/My Brittany, to share this glorious Country with you. Hope some of you appreciate my efforts.

Sponsorship Required

 I publish a lot of photos, they don't come free, it costs 30 euros for a weeks petrol to get around, it used to be 60 euros when I began in earnest; if I want to try and sell them it costs 50 euros for an evening's ink, my money has to go towards food, ironically I have a taste for cheese and yoghurt which I never used to like and now miss when I can't afford them, otherwise I manage alright on rice, tomatoes, onions, ham or chicken or sausages, and breakfast cereal, and when I run out I've got a store of pasta, but I need sponsorship if I am to carry on with my photos and eat.