At 7.00pm on Friday 5 April Mike Farnworth will give a talk entitled “Sarn Helen: A slice through Roman Wales”.

Sarn Helen was a Roman road which went all the way from one end of Wales to the other. It wasn’t exactly straight, and it didn’t lead to Rome, but in other respects it was a typical Roman road. Most of the route can still be traced, linking sites which were important in Roman times.

This talk looks at life and travel in Roman Wales, using slides to illustrate the course of Sarn Helen from North to South and to show the places of interest on the way. It also considers the questions of why the Romans were in Wales in the first place, and who, exactly, was Helen?

Our friends at Cwmulus are hosting this on-line talk, which this time is in English rather than Welsh. Registration at this link.

Wales’ first international crime literature festival is taking place after Easter – Wednesday 17 – Friday 19 April and Monday 22 – Wednesday 24 April 2024. The physical festival is taking place in Aberystwyth, one of several other festivals/events that will make the town a lively environment, but you don’t have to attend in person …

There are two free on-line events lasting an hour every evening at 18:30 and 20:00, and recorded events at 16:00 on the intervening Saturday and Sunday (20/21 April) that will be available to watch for a month. Full details at this link. You need to book, but it’s totally free, and there are also some give-aways!

Crime Cymru is the brainchild of Alis Hawkins, whose idea it was to bring the crime writers of Wales together for a mutually supportive group in 2016. But after discussions with fellow crime writers Matt Johnson and Rosie Claverton, in 2017 Crime Cymru was officially born with a much more ambitious remit – not only to support each other but to develop new crime writers and to take Welsh crime writing to the world! From that meeting onwards, the membership grew steadily and the group as of 2022 had 40 published crime writing members and more than 30 associate members.

Here is the full menu for our St David’s Day dinner on 1 March. Still a few places available, so please don’t delay – let Jennifer know you are coming and what you would like to eat. Time is of the essence!

Starters

 either Welsh Cawl Broth with Crusty Bread and Butter

or Fresh Cantaloupe Melon with Champagne Sorbet

Mains

either Lamb Noisette with Potato Terrine, Buttered Asparagus, Peas & Savoy Cabbage and Rich Red Wine Jus

or Deep Fried Lemon Sole Fillet with Chorizo Parmentier Potatoes, Lime, Mayonnaise & Cucumber Salad

or Home-Made Jumbo Taiwanese Style Vegetable Spring Roll with Asian Slaw, Chilli, Soy & Oyster Sauce

Desserts

either Fresh Fruit Crumble with Custard and Ice Cream

or Selection of Cheese and Biscuits

To finish

Tea or Coffee

The charge is £34 each, and both the Mortonhall caterers and our Secretary need names and menu choices by Sunday 18 February. Prompt payment please either by cheque made payable to the Edinburgh Welsh Society and mailed to Jennifer, or paid by bank transfer: Account name: Edinburgh Welsh Society. Account # 00299707, Sort code 80-02-77. If you pay by bank transfer, please let Jennifer know direct that you are coming, with names of members and guests and your menu choices — phone 0131 335 3161 or email secretary@edinburghwelshsociety.org.

Our friends at Cwmulus have invited us to “Pobol Enwog a Gwrddais” an illustrated on-line talk by Dr D Ben Rees about the many famous people that he has met during his life, from childhood onwards. Dr Rees is a Welsh and English-language publisher, author, lecturer and minister in the Presbyterian Church of Wales, and a leader of the Welsh community in Liverpool. The talk is in Welsh and simultaneous translation is not available, but Welsh learners should find that the language is clear enough for them to understand the gist of what is being said.

The talk, presented by Cwmulus on behalf of Bethel Literary Society, Liverpool, is at 7:30pm on Monday 19 February, and  you can register free of charge at this link.

Paul Rees of rootsinwales.com has invited our members to a series of three free webinars, each 60 minutes in duration, with a view to having interested members join this group. The next of these, on Saturday 27 January, is on Welsh Landscapes, but we expect a Sunday repeat on 18 February, with earlier webinars on Welsh Emigration and Welsh History to be repeated on 4 February and 11 February.

You can book for 27 January at Free Webinars | Roots in Wales. There are three sessions for each, the first two being at 3:00pm and 6:00pm in the UK, with an Australasian session for night owls!

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