Mair Williams's blog

“We’re as keen as ever to promote and foster Welsh links with Ireland; we have many similarities in terms of our traditions, culture and economies. Wales – Ireland links are more important than ever, which is also evident by Irish Government’s announcement that the Irish Consulate will re-open in Cardiff later this year.” These are the words of Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the Welsh Deputy Minister on a visit to Dublin.

Possible destinations around the coast of west Wales have been revealed as possible sites to bury Britain's most dangerous radioactive waste. Objections to the plans are mounting around Wales. Meetings are to be held in Swansea and Llandudno in March by the British Government-run Radioactive Waste Management organisation. They are searching for what they have described as “a willing host community” where waste can be buried.

On this day, 14th February 1844, the Garden Pit at Landshipping, Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Sir Benfro) was flooded by the River Cleddau (Afon Cleddau) and 40 colliers, men and boys were drowned. The community gathered today to rededicate a memorial exactly 175 years after Pembrokeshire's worst mining disaster. The waters of the Eastern Cleddau river broke through into the coal mine, a section of which ran below the estuary. On the day there had been warnings of the dangers. At about lunchtime the miners left the workings because of the quantity of salt water seeping into the mine.

New Quay (Welsh: Cei Newydd) is a Welsh seaside town in Ceredigion and lies on the Ceredigion Coast Path. The town's lifeboat volunteers rescued a sheep and a dog after separate incidents when the animals fell from cliffs on  New Year's Eve. The Audrey LJ inshore lifeboat was launched in the early afternoon after Murray the dog had fallen 50ft (15m) from the cliffs when walking on the coastal path with his owners. The crew found and rescued the dog, who had sustained a broken leg, from a small cove.

Ireland is to open a consulate in Cardiff in summer 2019. Part of the reason is maintaining future ties after Brexit. It is anticipated that the Consulate General would have an economic and political focus. The consulate is seen as an important  part of Ireland's political and economic ties with Wales and sustaining those links after Britain leaves the European Union. Ireland is Wales’ fourth largest trading partner, with about 85 Irish companies with a presence in Wales, employing just over 5,500 people.

Fishing baskets, thought to date back to the 14th Century have been discovered by two brothers walking on the Severn Estuary (Welsh: Môr Hafren), off the coast of Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy) in south-east Wales. The baskets were uncovered by recent storms having been buried under silt and clay for hundreds of years. The four baskets were found by Martin and Richard Morgan, members of Black Rock Lave Net Fishermen group. Lave Net Fishing is a traditional method of fishing practised for thousands of years.

The Welsh tradition of the the Mari Lwyd is a custom performed during winter celebrations around the dates of Christmas and New Year. Although performed over the Christmas period, the Mari Lwyd is thought to be a pre-Christian tradition believed to bring good luck. The strange and frightening horse-figure, that in the past was often made from a horses skull, but now mostly artificial, was mounted upon a pole. Which was carried by a person hidden under a cloth, which had ribbons attached, from door to door.

The State of Birds in Wales 2018 study has found one in three types of bird in Wales is in significant decline. Farmland and woodland species were especially vulnerable according to the report which was produced by Natural Resources Wales (NRW). British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Welsh Ornithological Society (WOS), and RSPB Cymru. Researchers pointed to loss of habitat and climate change as factors and called for urgent conservation action.

Neil Lambert, RSPB Cymru Head of Conservation Management said:

Three Cliffs Bay has been named in the top 20 beaches in Europe for 2018. Three Cliffs Bay is a bay on the south coast of the Gower Peninsula (Penrhyn Gŵyr) in South Wales. The bay takes its name from the three cliffs carved by the sea from 300 million-year-old carboniferous limestone that jut out into the sea. Individual beaches make up the bay each with their own names, including Pobbles Bay to the east of the Three Cliffs, and Tor Bay to the west. Although the beaches are separated at high tide, they are accessible to each other at low tide on foot over the sands.