Cwlwm

Cwlwm Cwlwm is a new quality magazine for Cymru, delivered via email. https://cwlwm.substack.com/

'27 May 1999. On Bute Street in Cardiff’s docklands, a man crouches in the middle of the road, lining up a shot. In an h...
25/05/2024

'27 May 1999. On Bute Street in Cardiff’s docklands, a man crouches in the middle of the road, lining up a shot. In an hour’s time, the Queen of England is due to pass this way in the landau she normally uses to attend horse races at Ascot. Together with her husband and eldest son – the heir to the throne, a man whose title has borne the name of the nation since 1282 when its last native prince was killed – she is en route to officially open the National Assembly for Wales, a new institution that will give the country a degree of self-governance for the first time in more than six hundred years.'

Cwlwm is proud to publish Nick Treharne's iconic photograph, capturing a decisive moment in Welsh history. Words: Dylan Moore

The small act of that authors’ letter did, in fact, start an important conversation – public and private, formal and inf...
24/05/2024

The small act of that authors’ letter did, in fact, start an important conversation – public and private, formal and informal, and not just at the festival and in the media, but much more widely, too, because the question of Baillie Gifford sponsorship doesn’t solely pertain to the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Baillie Gifford also sponsors the other two biggest literature festivals in the UK: the Hay Festival in Wales, and the Cheltenham Festival in England, as well as the high-profile non-fiction Baillie Gifford Prize, and a range of other cultural, science and social projects. Nor does this question pertain solely to Baillie Gifford.

The issue (if not the text of the protest letter) demands much bigger questions be asked about arts sponsorship, and the problems inherent in corporate support for cultural production. As Vicky Allen pointed out in the Herald, ‘the cultural landscape of recent years lies littered with the crumpled logos of past shamed sponsors.’ - Jasmine Donahaye in Cwlwm

Jasmine Donahaye wonders if anything we do in the face of climate catastrophe can ever feel meaningful

More lovely content from our community workshops. This one led by Llanelli's brilliant Joshua Jones.
22/05/2024

More lovely content from our community workshops. This one led by Llanelli's brilliant Joshua Jones.

Press Play to hear about Cwlwm's workshop in Llanelli, January 2024. Audio and photographs by Glenn Edwards

'Finally we were at the National Theatre, on its biggest stage. Why has it been so long and so hard to get Welsh stories...
18/05/2024

'Finally we were at the National Theatre, on its biggest stage. Why has it been so long and so hard to get Welsh stories here? Can it happen again? It got me thinking about the state of theatre in both Wales and the UK. Do we have the infrastructure to support the next generation of talent?' - Tim Price

Tim Price just told a Welsh working-class story on the biggest stage in the UK, but warns this won't happen again soon unless governments take the arts seriously

'In 2012 the building was taken down brick by brick. It has now, in 2024, been restored to its 1915 glory' - Peter Finch...
11/05/2024

'In 2012 the building was taken down brick by brick. It has now, in 2024, been restored to its 1915 glory' - Peter Finch on Cardiff's beloved pub, The Vulcan

As Cardiff's most famous Victorian boozer reopens its doors at St Fagans museum, Peter Finch stands where once a working class community thrived

'Music is unique in its power to heal and rehabilitate. It does not discriminate, and people from all backgrounds can co...
04/05/2024

'Music is unique in its power to heal and rehabilitate. It does not discriminate, and people from all backgrounds can come together to sing freely.' – James Bessant Davies meets The Choir With No Name

James Bessant Davies joins choirs for people experiencing homelessness in Cardiff and Texas, finding inspiration among those working to change perceptions of those living on the streets

Welcome to the 15 new subscribers who've signed up to Cwlwm today! Here's a selection of events going on across Wales - ...
01/05/2024

Welcome to the 15 new subscribers who've signed up to Cwlwm today! Here's a selection of events going on across Wales - there really is something for everyone!

Our merry monthly briefing, connecting communities across Cymru – recommending books on music, roads, rugby and poverty; daytime discos; festivals of literature, Irish pipes, Star Wars and seaweed

'The Kingdom of Gwent may not have lived beyond the early medieval period, but its name survived through the centuries, ...
28/04/2024

'The Kingdom of Gwent may not have lived beyond the early medieval period, but its name survived through the centuries, taking on new meanings with the passing of time.' – Gareth Leaman

What makes our idea of a place? Gareth Leaman considers the work of the poet Idris Davies from Gwent in the imagining of our corner kingdom

A lovely story that arose from one of our in-person workshops, in Llanelli.
24/04/2024

A lovely story that arose from one of our in-person workshops, in Llanelli.

A chance encounter with a briefcase in Llanelli prompts Oli Usher to recall her west London schooldays

Catch up on stories you've missed by subscribing to Cwlwm via what they call the 'post page prompt'
24/04/2024

Catch up on stories you've missed by subscribing to Cwlwm via what they call the 'post page prompt'

To mark Eid, and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Mariyah Zaman writes about events that have taken iftar meals into new places in Wales this year

One from our thoughtful co-editor, Merlin Gable.
24/04/2024

One from our thoughtful co-editor, Merlin Gable.

Exploring old railway lines leads Merlin Gable to consider how our rural histories can be more complicated than they seem

A lovely and superbly told personal story from an unexpected place. This is why we exist.
24/04/2024

A lovely and superbly told personal story from an unexpected place. This is why we exist.

Martha O'Brien explores generations of association with Llanishen through the lens of an unlikely building

'For the years I lived there, I thought of Pennorth only in relation to what it lacked. No shop. No pub, no post office,...
13/04/2024

'For the years I lived there, I thought of Pennorth only in relation to what it lacked. No shop. No pub, no post office, no public transport. Nothing, or so I thought, of note.'

Dylan Moore revisits Pennorth, Powys, the village where he grew up in a time before the internet and smartphones

It's not all about numbers, of course, but it helps to know people are interested in what we're trying to build. We're n...
09/04/2024

It's not all about numbers, of course, but it helps to know people are interested in what we're trying to build. We're now just 16 short of 500 subscribers. Please share Cwlwm with those friends and family members you know would enjoy receiving stories from across Cymru. We've got some great stuff in the pipeline.

Cwlwm is a new quality magazine for Cymru, delivered via email. Well-written, in-depth stories about culture, events and people from every corner of Wales. Click to read Cwlwm, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

'As humans we are never created in a vacuum. We are deeply complex and influenced by everything and anything, even thing...
06/04/2024

'As humans we are never created in a vacuum. We are deeply complex and influenced by everything and anything, even things that have happened a hundred years before we were born. Gwerin is an idea for expressing this.'

Hedydd Ioan writes about the burgeoning rap and folk scenes in Wales, the idea of gwerin, and how tradition plays a role in how we express our identity

'It’s not every day you’ve got somebody in your back garden building crucifixion crosses...'
03/04/2024

'It’s not every day you’ve got somebody in your back garden building crucifixion crosses...'

Richard Parry takes us on a journey from the Roman amphitheatre in Caerleon to St Illtud's Church in Llantwit Major, via pubs, prisons and poems, in search of answers

'The church’s role in a post-Christian society isn’t to cling to the past but to chart a new course — one that embodies ...
30/03/2024

'The church’s role in a post-Christian society isn’t to cling to the past but to chart a new course — one that embodies the radical love and compassion of Jesus Christ.'

Ahead of Easter, and this year’s Llanw Christian festival in Llangrannog, Rhys Llwyd caught up with Arfon Jones, a veteran of the Welsh language Christian scene – and no stranger to a prison cell

Cwlwm arrives on the north coast. Great piece from Beth Mcaulay about how we think about our seaside towns, and what the...
23/03/2024

Cwlwm arrives on the north coast. Great piece from Beth Mcaulay about how we think about our seaside towns, and what they do and don't have to offer for young people who live in them.

Beth McAulay explores the promenades and piers of the north Wales coastline, reflecting on why we should reconsider our nostalgic attachments to our seaside resorts

Essential matchday reading.
21/03/2024

Essential matchday reading.

On the eve of the men's Euros playoff semi-final, Darren Chetty introduces his television series The Dragon on My Shirt, and we exclusively reveal the poster

David Pike writes about the drowning of Capel Celyn in relation to local links with a man who could be considered Wales'...
17/03/2024

David Pike writes about the drowning of Capel Celyn in relation to local links with a man who could be considered Wales' first pop singer.

David Pike remembers Bob Tai'r Felin, a chapel stalwart and 'Wales' first pop singer', whose passing marked the end of an era

'And just as Joshua Jones’s stories lift the voices of the ordinary people of Llanelli, People Speak Up has breathed new...
13/03/2024

'And just as Joshua Jones’s stories lift the voices of the ordinary people of Llanelli, People Speak Up has breathed new life into what Eleanor Shaw describes as ‘a post-industrial town that had lost its voice, and its identity’.

Eleanor Shaw tells Dylan Moore how finding her own story led to founding a charity that is radically impacting the culture of a town

'It’s mad to think of how many school trips I went on up to that big black wheel on the mountain, not knowing the story,...
09/03/2024

'It’s mad to think of how many school trips I went on up to that big black wheel on the mountain, not knowing the story, munching on juicy jam sandwiches, oblivious to the blood in the ground beneath my feet.' – Rhian Elizabeth

Rhian Elizabeth recounts the story of her grandfather, the Cambrian Colliery disaster, and how she came to understand the importance of 'those bloody miners'

9 weeks in and we've hit 400 subscribers. Diolch yn fawr pawb! Please keep sharing – the more people we reach, the more ...
07/03/2024

9 weeks in and we've hit 400 subscribers. Diolch yn fawr pawb! Please keep sharing – the more people we reach, the more we'll be able to do in future.

Cwlwm is a new quality magazine for Cymru, delivered via email. Well-written, in-depth stories about culture, events and people from every corner of Wales. Click to read Cwlwm, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

In the 1960s Talyllyn’s status as a railway village came to a very abrupt end with the closure of the line during the fa...
06/03/2024

In the 1960s Talyllyn’s status as a railway village came to a very abrupt end with the closure of the line during the famous ‘Beeching cuts’... Now very little remains of the station and the junction except in the experiences and memories of those who worked on it – but what about all those stories and memories?

From the world’s longest railway tunnel to the world’s smallest railway museum, Roger Reese sketches out more than two centuries of history at Talyllyn Junction

The thing missing from most media commentary on Islamophobia is the perspective of people who have experienced it direc...
02/03/2024

The thing missing from most media commentary on Islamophobia is the perspective of people who have experienced it directly. Cwlwm will always provide a platform for people to tell it how it is.

Irram Irshad recounts a life of facing up to racists and racism in south Wales

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus pawb! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
01/03/2024

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus pawb! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Our monthly briefing, connecting communities across Cymru – news, stories and recommendations

'I found myself perusing the shelves every other weekend, not so much to look at the books, but to wonder about the peop...
28/02/2024

'I found myself perusing the shelves every other weekend, not so much to look at the books, but to wonder about the people who had owned them. How long had they been in Russia? What had been the final straw? Where had they returned to? The books weren’t just books, but fragments of people’s minds.'

Cwlwm continues to mark the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with our reporter's story of the Moscow bookshop Western expats left behind

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