Corgis, Lost Lands, and Ryan Reynolds: A Story about Welsh and the Importance of Language

29th Nov 2021.Reading time 11 minutes.

A Nation with a Heart We have an old proverb here in Wales, “cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon”. That is, “a nation without a language is a nation without a heart”. And Wales is a nation that almost lost its language. In 1847, Wales was in a state of social unrest. That unrest had […]

More Jumbled Thoughts from the Midst of a Pandemic

24th Nov 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

Shadowy spectre-like figures peeking into the gaps in curtains, conspiring to steal my sister and me away in the night. Those figures were recurring visitors in some of my most vivid childhood nightmares. They had terrified little me. I’d deduced that the only way to protect my family was to go to extra efforts to […]

Failing with Style

17th Nov 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

“This isn’t flying, this is falling with style!” Eight-year-old me cheered as Buzz Lightyear embraced the very line Woody had first flung as an insult towards him. It was a joyous, fist-punching-in-the-air moment in Toy Story, as the two companions soared away from imminent danger. Magic! At that moment, the idea of falling with style […]