Our President, David Hughes, writes:

Annwyl Aelod CCD,

Mae’r amser yn fflio heibio ac mae 2023 bron a dod i ben. Da ni yn gobeithio gewch chi gyfarfod hefo teulu a ffrindiau and cael llawer o bleser ac mwynhad dros y Nadolig a’r Flwyddyn Newydd. Dymuno Nadolig Llawen and Blwyddyn Newydd dda i bawb. Cymerwch ofal dros y gwyliau ac aroswch yn iach ac yn saff. Hwyl fawr.

Dear EWS member,

Time is flying by and 2023 is coming to an end. We both hope that you are able to have time and lots of enjoyment with family and friends over the Christmas and New Year period. So we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope that we can meet again early in 2024. Take care and stay safe and healthy. Best wishes.

David and Alison

At 7.00pm on Friday 29 September Mike Farnworth will give a talk entitled “Columbus – The Latecomer”.

When Christopher Columbus returned triumphantly to Spain as “The Man Who Discovered America” he inadvertently started an entirely new academic field: the study of claims that other explorers had been there before him.

Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories speculate about visits from most of the rest of the world. Who got there first? Was it the Vikings? Was it the Irish? Was it the Ancient Egyptians? Was it the Japanese? What about the Welsh?

This illustrated talk tells the stories of several different putative discoverers of America and presents some of the evidence behind the claims made on their behalf.

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

At 7.00pm on Friday 25 August Dr D Ben Rees will give a talk entitled “John Sampson, scholar of the Welsh Gypsies”.

John Sampson was a scholar with a Bohemian lifestyle. He was responsible for recording and preserving the Welsh Gypsy language, through his research and his friendship with the Gypsy patriarch Abraham Wood.

This illustrated lecture will describe Sampson’s colourful life, including the close friendship between him and the famous artist Augustus John. The pair met when they were colleagues at Liverpool University and they came to share a great interest in pubs, women, and Gypsy culture.

Dr D Ben Rees, the Minister Emeritus of Capel Bethel, Liverpool, is well-known in the city as a local historian.

Cwmulus are hosting this on-line talk, which is in Welsh, with an optional English translation. Registration at this link.

At 7.00pm on Friday 23 June Meleri Davies will give a talk entitled “Dyffryn Ogwen Cynaliadwy”, in which she will discuss the development of the Ynni Ogwen hydroelectric project from its initial idea through to the building and operation of this community energy scheme. She will also highlight the environmental and social benefits which the scheme has brought.

Meleri Davies is the Chief Officer of Partneriaeth Ogwen, one of the founders and a director of Ynni Ogwen Cyf and also a director of Community Energy Wales.

Cwmulus are hosting this on-line talk, which is in Welsh, with an optional English translation. Registration at this link.

Learn Welsh North West are running online Summer courses to give learners the opportunity to gain confidence and use the Welsh language with other learners. 

Mae Dysgu Cymraeg Gogledd Orllewin yn cynnal cyrsiau Haf ar-lein i roi cyfle i ddysgwyr fagu hyder a defnyddio’u Cymraeg efo dysgwyr eraill.

Do have a look at their website … lots of ideas for learning Welsh for folk at all levels, both for distance and in-person learning, and the prices are extremely reasonable. The Bala course on 11-13 July even has on-site accommodation available for a limited number of learners for a modest additional fee: £100 (single room), £50 (shared room).