#welshoclore

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LECHAN YN Y GWAED | welsh (+ welsh descendant) ocs | part two: frank

You wouldn't think it from looking at his name or hearing him, but Frank is of Welsh descent; both of his parents are Welsh, having originally come from quarryman's town Blaenau Ffestiniog (near the Eryri National Park) in Gwynedd, before they moved to Dagenham/London for work and then to Basildon in Essex to raise their family. This means that he is, technically speaking, a 1st generation immigrant to England, having been born and raised there. His only tangible connection to Blaenau is having been there as a kid during school holidays to visit family, and knowing/understanding but not being able to speak very much Welsh (and using that area's slang). He knows all the nursery rhymes/child-level limericks (Gee Ceffyl Bach, Dau Gi Bach, Fuoch Chi Erioed Yn Morio), the national anthem, and folk songs and is able to recite/sing them in the original language -- but, aside from the odd swear word and basic phrases picked up from his parents, that's about as far his ability in the language really stretched. Before he died, he had been learning more conversational Welsh in his spare time and had even taught Suzy some things so she could share in his heritage -- both particularly liked listening to bands such as Bwncath. Thanks to his parents, and having gone out of his way to learn it for himself, Frank is very much aware of Welsh history but is especially knowledgeable about the cultural and industrial history of North Western Wales and its relation to quarrying (and a very specific, unique kind of blue-purple slate, and everything attached to that - including the people & quarries involved - is now protected under UNESCO World Heritage). He knows the Nid Oes Bradwr (There Is No Traitor) history better than anything and, in the 80s, he made a point of pasting a homemade sticker version of the sign that read 'Nid Oes Bradwr Yn Y Band Hwn' (There Is No Traitor In This Band, essentially meaning 'No Scabs In This Band') onto his bass guitars and he had hand-printed a whole series of T-shirts with the same phrase on the front and frequently wore them on UK-based television appearances as an act of solidarity with Welsh miners who were striking. Although he is in his right to refer to himself as a Welshman and he does actively engage with the language, culture, and history, Frank feels it would be disrespectful because he was born in England and therefore considers himself an Englishman. He has even turned down an arbitrary Honorary Welshman title from cousins (and their friends) after Odd Foxes got big because he doesn't think it's right to call himself that when he wasn't born in the 'mamwlad'. Before he died, he was very much pro-independence and outright stated so multiple times, because he felt like Wales should be free to properly rule/govern itself instead of being stuck to the imperial colonial country next door's idea of a 'union'.

[ansicred]

LECHAN YN Y GWAED | welsh (+ welsh descendant) ocs | part one: bleddyn

I think we'll start this little series with my Welshest character: Bleddyn Ellis. He was born and raised in Gwalchmai, which is village that's smack in the middle of nowhere on Ynys Môn, having been born in a farmhouse just outside the village itself. The island, like most of North Western Wales, is a very very low-income, Working-class area - his specific area is very agriculture-heavy because of its very rural location... His mother was a homemaker and part-time laundress, while his father was a quarryman who worked at Dinorwig quarry and would often leave the home for weeks at a time, sending a good portion of his pittance of a wage back to the family on the island via the post. Both his parents were Welsh and spoke very little English, which means he grew up mostly speaking his native language of Welsh at home and with most people he came across while growing up. He didn't learn English until he was in his third year at primary school (around 7/8 years old) and didn't fully gain the ability to code-switch his heavy North Western Welsh accent until he was about 22 and he'd been living in London for four years. He is a very proud Welshman, making a point of saying so whenever he gets the chance -- especially when he's in discussion about his writing work. Though his most popular/famous writing is in English, he does have work published in his native Welsh including a book of poems entitled: Beth Am Yr Ysbryd? (What Of The Spirit?) which is full of poems he wrote about his time living in London and feeling like a fish out of water, and a three separate novels entitled: Hunllef (Nightmare) which is a horror novel, Fasiwn Stâd (lit.: Estate Fashion, contextually: What A State) which is a 'slice of life' novel, and Malu'n Racs (Broken (Into Pieces)) which is a dramedy-romance novel -- he will bring them up whenever an interviewer asks about his first English book and refers to it as his first ever book because it isn't, his first ever published book is BAYY?. Blaidd is a regular competitor at the Eisteddfod, usually submitting his poems and prose by post, and has won a total of 2 chairs. He has mixed feelings about the festival, given that it tends to favour Southern Welsh people and/or people of higher class than Bleddyn is/was growing up (ie: people with a lot of money). He has also recited his Welsh poems at various writing events across the UK (not that they got much praise outside of his homeland). His all-time favourite (Welsh) bands are (Yr) Anrhefn and Datblygu, and he often listens to them for inspiration. He has successfully gotten his non-Welsh friends into both... Mostly by accident. He has made a point of speaking Welsh to his daughter, Begw, in a bid to keep the language alive and to teach her about her heritage. He believes that it's important for her to learn the 'mamiaith' so that she can have easier access to her history, culture, and be able to communicate with family on the Ellis side of her family tree. In doing that, though, he's gotten ire from English parents and he's found his (reluctant) respect for English people slip more in recent years because of how he's been treated for the great sin of speaking to his child in a language that's more natural to him. Bleddyn was alive for a lot of the more recent-memory Welsh history, such as the drowning of Tryweryn, Cymdeithas Yr Iaith protests, the arson attacks on English-owned summer homes in tourist-heavy areas/areas of dire housing crisis due to tourism, and is pro-devolution (or pro-a Welsh Assembly, which is now known as the Senedd/Welsh Government -- something that operates separately from the UK Government in a majority of areas, including (minor) law-making, international relations, health, education, etc. and came to be in September of 1997, Blaidd's story is set between January 1997 and September 1997) & pro-independence. He wants to see a free Wales at some point in the future, but currently settles for openly talking about his culture and using his language so as to be sure it won't be lost to time.