Blogs

The National Assembly for Wales will now be known as the Senedd Cymru. The name change enjoys approximately 75% popular support.

The legislation to change the name of the Assembly for Wales to the Senedd Cymru was passed by the Welsh Parliament  in November 2019 and received  Royal Assent in January

The 60 members of the Senedd Cymru will now be known as Members of the Senedd (MS) or Aelod o’r Senedd (AS) in Welsh.

To the southwest of the Ulster city of Derry in County of Donegal, near the town of Raphoe, is a Neolithic Celtic monument known as the Beltany Stone Circle.  The Beltany Stone Circle is estimated to have been constructed approximately 5000 years ago based on recent archeological research funded by the Irish Heritage Council.  Dating Beltany from about 3000 BC makes this monument older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids (some published sources conversely date the construction of the stone circle at between 1300 and 800 BC).

Picture courtesy of Culture Vannin:

Myr yiarragh shin 'sy Ghaelg (As we would say in Manx Gaelic) - Gura mie eu, Hirveish Slaynt Ashoonagh! (Thanks to our NHS)

Draconian measures have been undertaken in countries around the world in regard to the coronavirus pandemic. New legislation has been introduced and rushed through many parliaments, without the normal scrutiny, in a bid to enforce unprecedented lockdown measures and physical distancing to slow the spread and death toll from Covid-19. To a large extent many people have accepted the need for emergency powers at this time. However, these powers have more in common with those of a police state rather than a western democracy.

Erwan Evenou who was born in French Algeria on 14 February 1940 has passed away on 25 April 2020.

He was a Breton writer, linguist, political activist, and teacher.

Evenou was a strong advocate for the Breton language and was a recipient of the Ordre des Palmes académiques for his work.

He ran as the Breton Democratic Union (UDB) candidate for Morbihan in the 1973 French legislative election, but was defeated.

He was active in the Syndicat national des instituteurs, and carried out militant activity in Brittany.

Edward Glynne Millward born 28 June 1930 and recently passed away on 18 April 2020 also known as Tedi Millward, was a Welsh nationalist politician.

Married to Silvia Hart, they had two children: Llio, who is an actress and singer; and Andras, an author and martial arts trainer, who died in October 2016.

Millward studied at Cathays High School in Cardiff and then the University College of South Wales, before becoming a lecturer.

There has been a surge in interest in Scots Gaelic in recent years and observers are pointing to a tipping point having been reached. Interest in Gaelic is increasing at the same time polling shows renewed support for Scottish Independence.

Cornwall Council calls on government to give Cornwall the recognition it deserves on sixth anniversary of Cornish minority status

Friday 24th April, 2020 marks the sixth anniversary of the Cornish being recognised as a national minority – and while Cornwall Council’s immediate focus is on responding to the coronavirus crisis, the council and partners have expressed concern that the Census Order (England and Wales) laid before Parliament on March 2, 2020, ignores the wishes of many people in Cornwall by not including a Cornish tick box in the 2021 Census.

Another recent stamp issue by the Isle of Man Post Office focuses upon a number of principal artist/lecturers who inspired successive generations of painters at the Douglas School of Art.

Although this year marks the centenary of the school as a publically-funded, educational establishment, its history extends into the nineteenth century. Pupils of the school made their mark world-wide, but recognised their debt towards those who inspired them and fostered their creativity.

Since its inception in 1996, Mooinjer Veggey (Little People) has been successfully promoting Manx Gaelic, through its network of pre-school groups across the Island and its support of the only Manx language school - Bunscoill Ghaelgagh. But it now needs your help to raise more money to enable the organisation to fund its goal of training further staff and production of Manx resource material.