#powys

[mothmiso]

Sgwd yr Eira waterfall (2) (3) (4) by David Gallimore

[cassolotl]

Machynlleth Pride, Year Two

TL;DR: A tiny crowdfunder for a tiny Welsh town's Pride festival, which means a lot to me and many people in my community!

~

The LGBTQ+ community in my unique and beautiful rural Welsh home town is once again hosting its own Pride festival.

Last year was absolutely epic, it was such a beautiful day, hundreds of people came - all the queers in one place just heals your little queer heart. <3

I had a little stall for my handwarmers and zines, and met and re-met queer and trans people of ALL ages and listened to so many moving stories. I am hoping to host a stall again this year.

It was a genuinely beautiful and overwhelmingly positive event - but we had our share of small town bigotry backlash too:

We put up Pride bunting around the town centre, in places where others put bunting and flags and banners all the time, and it was immediately taken down by knobby busybodies and we couldn't track it down, we assumed it had been thrown out.

The venue were happy enough to profit from hosting Pride - and then the venue manager was openly stirring up bad vibes against Pride on Facebook, provoking harassment of a local queer journalist who covered Pride in a positive light. (This year it's taking place in a new location.)

Being queer in rural Wales is very isolating, but the nice thing is that we don't need a fortune to host Pride. The goal on the crowdfunder at the moment is only £750 (~$570 USD), and it's already at 16%. If you have a few quid to spare and you like to get a lot of heartwarming bang for your buck, we promise to put it to very good use - employing local queer people and buying [probably rainbow-themed] supplies to make a critically fun and supportive day for a lot of people who really need it, all organised by passionate volunteers.

Please click here to send us some cash, and we promise to get REALLY GAY with it. 💖

[world-of-celebrities]

Catherine, Princess of Wales, waves to well wishers as she arrives for her visit to the Oriel Davies gallery on February 26, 2026 in Newtown, Wales.

[gnosisandtheosis]

Today, 27th May, is the feast day of Saint Melangell, patron saint of hares, rabbits, and small animals.

Saint Melangell was a Welsh hermit and abbess in the 7th or 8th Century. She was born an Irish princess and fled an arranged marriage to become a consecrated virgin in the Kingdom of Powys in Wales. She lived in the wilderness of Powys for fifteen years before being discovered by a Welsh prince named Brochwel Ysgithrog. In 604AD Prince Brochwel was hunting near Pennant when his dogs led him to a "virgin beautiful in appearance" silently praying. The hare they were chasing ran under the hem of Melangell's dress. The dogs retreated from the hare and refused Brochwel's commands. After hearing Melangell's story Brochwel gifted her the land, granting perpetual asylum to both the people and the animals of the local area. Melangell lived in the area for another 37 years and founded a community of nuns of which she became the abbess. The hares and other wild animals of the area were known to act towards Melangell as if they were tame.

Up until the early 1900's people in the area of Pennant Melangell refused to kill hares and gave them the nickname Ŵyn Melangell (Melangell's Lambs). It was even said that if someone saw a hare being chased by dogs and cried out "God and Melangell be with thee" the hare would escape.

(accompanying painting by Jemima Jameson)

[travelbinge]

By Matprice

Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales

[coffeenuts]

[lovewales]

Wild Horses, Libanus | by Boys in Bristol Photography

[gawrkin]

Llacheu's grave in Crickheath?

(Source: Arthur in Early Welsh Poetry, by Nerys Ann Jones)

(Source: Arthur in the Celtic Languages, by Cerridwen Lloyd-Morgan and Erich Poppe)

Llacheu, a famed son of King Arthur (and presumably Queen Guinevere), was traditionally believed to have died in battle and was buried in an area called Llech Ysgar.

It is believed that this 'Llech Ysgar' is to be identified with Crickheath Hill, near Llanymynech on the border of Shropshire and Wales. This is a very curious location to me as this is located just to the south of Oswestry, Shropshire:

In the northern part of Oswestry, there is an Iron Age Hillfort site known as Old Oswestry, which local folklore refers as "Hen Dinas" ("the old city") or, more relevant to Arthurian Legend, "Caer Ogfran/Ogyrfan" - "Ogfran" being the name of Guinevere's father in the Welsh tradition with Old Oswestry thought of as her birthplace.

If so, then the placement of Llacheu's grave in Crickheath becomes very interesting, for if he really was Guinevere's son, then he could've fought and died, possibly in defense of, his mother's home province.