This story would have been in the newspapers around the year 55 AD.

At that time, there was an area called Esyllwg in south Wales, where Glamorgan and a part of Gwent are now.

Caradog, the nephew of Caid, king of Esyllwg, is alive and well in Rome.

The news was delivered by a Christian missionary called Bendigeidfran.

Caradog’s uncle, speaking from his fortress on the shores of the Severn Sea, was overjoyed at the news. ’We thought he would have been killed by the emperor Claudius,' he said, 'but he is alive and a free citizen.'

No-one is certain why Claudius was so kind to him. Caradog had, after all, spent several years fighting against the Romans in the west of Britain. 'It's possible that Claudius liked Caradog because of his courage and strength,' said one of his friends yesterday. 'If Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, hadn't betrayed him he would be with us now.'

It's likely that Caradog, who has also become a Christian, will now stay in Rome.

'He has promised Claudius,' said Bendigeidfran, 'that he will never leave his side.'

This is a blow for the Esyllwg region as Caradog had been tipped to take over as king. Ceri, King Caid's son, has now changed his plans to travel the seas and will remain in Esyllwg. His interest in the sea will, however, continue and he is already building a new port near his father's home in Esyllwg. The port, which will be named Porthceri, will look out over Steep Holm, Flat Holm and the Isle of Barry. The deep water in the port and the surrounding area will make it possible for Ceri to experiment with new kinds of ships with sails.

Magnus Maximus, Governor of the Island of Britain, has married a girl from the west of Britain!

Elen Luyddog, daughter of Eudaf, king of Caernarfon, has already had a great influence on her Spanish husband.

She has persuaded him to build a new road system in Caernarfon, Meirionnydd, Powys and Ceredigion to carry the metal mined in the mountains. These roads will be called Sarn (H)elen and they will greatly boost the economy of western Britain.

The couple have not yet announced where they will live. Maximus, or Macsen Wledig as he is known locally, is very unhappy with the way the Roman Empire is being run by the Emperor Gratian and sources close to him say that he intends to move back to Rome to take over.

If that happens, it is likely that his new wife will accompany him. He is also likely to ask for military support from western Britain. Elen’s two brothers, Cynan Meiriadog and Gadeon have already announced their intention to fight with Maximus and to take soldiers from Caernarfon.

Maximus has promised land around Nantes in Brittany to the two brothers if he manages to conquer Gratian.

No exact war plans have been announced but Maximus is a strong and intelligent general and Cynan and Gadeon are famous for their unusual ways of winning battles. According to some, the difficulty won't be to take Rome, but to hold it afterwards. Gratian himself is a weak emperor but Maximus has rivals for the position.

This morning Dwynwen, daughter of Brychan Brycheiniog died in her home on Anglesey. She will be remembered as the Patron Saint of Welsh lovers and her anniversary will be celebrated each year on the 25th of January.

Dwynwen was born into a huge family of 24 girls - and like her sisters she was expected to marry. As it happens she fell in love with Maelon Dafodrill, a local prince. Soon, however, the relationship fell apart. Some say that Brychan her father had promised her to someone else after having too much to drink one night. Others say that Dwynwen had already decided to serve God.

Maelon turned bitter and started to mistreat Dwynwen until one night she had to flee to the woods. After praying she fell asleep and started to dream. In the dream she was given a drink by God and immediately forgot her feelings towards Maelon. Maelon was given the same drink and turned into a block of ice.

On waking, Dwynwen asked for three wishes - that Maelon would not remain a lump of ice, that she would never feel the need to marry and that lovers would be able to ask for God’s help through her.

Dwynwen then went to establish a convent on Ynys Llanddwyn near the Anglesey coast where she spent the rest of her life helping lovers and sick animals.

The death was announced today of Dyfrig, widely acclaimed to be the first Welsh ‘saint’ of the Celtic church.

Dyfrig’s teaching, from his base in Henllan, Herefordshire, extended throughout south-east Wales. His church, although similar in many areas of doctrine to the Roman Catholic Church, is very different in organization. The Roman Church has a hierarchy of officials led by bishops in cities. The Celtic Church is built around individuals, religious communities and seats of learning.

Already, another ‘hard hitter’ in the Celtic church is emerging. His name is Illtud and it is known that he is interested in founding a monastery in south-east Wales – somewhere on the coast with a natural harbour to allow easy access by sea.

His hope is to found a community where people can live in peace and harmony and dedicate their lives to prayer. He also hopes to be able to give guidance to fellow Celts in Brittany and Ireland.

Beuno Sant has died in Clynnog Fawr near Caemarfon.

He will be remembered for his ability to perform miracles and to heal the sick.

Beuno was born in Powys but he was related to the royal family of Glamorgan. When the Saxons started to move further west, he and his followers moved over to Gwynedd and were welcomed by king Cadfan.

Soon news of Beuno’s powers spread. Children and the disabled would flock to his well near Clynnog Fawr to be healed by the saint.

His favourite bird was definitely the curlew. 'There was a special reason for the friendship,' said one of Beuno's followers. 'When he was crossing the Menai Rover from Anglesey to Caemarfon one night his book of sermons fell into the sea. Beuno thought that the book had been lost forever but the curlew came and carried the book all the way back to Clynnog Fawr. Beuno asked God to look after the bird and that is why it is very difficult for people to steal the bird's eggs now.'

Beuno will be buried in Clynnog Fawr but there will be a festival to celebrate the saint's life every year on 21 April.

Yesterday, on the first of March, Archbishop Dewi died peacefully at his home in St David's, Dyfed.

Thousands of messages have been sent to the Church by people who have turned to Christianity after hearing Dewi speak.

The Archbishop's history is interesting. His mother was a nun called Non. She had decided never to marry but was raped by the king of Cardiganshire, Sant son of Ceredig. After the child's birth, Non, who was a niece of king Arthur, went to live a pure and simple life on her own. She did not eat anything except bread and water.

Dewi, her son, was sent first to Aberaeron and then to Llanddeusant to be taught by the famous teacher, Paulinus. Soon, he began his missionary work - travelling through south Wales and the west of England and establishing key centres such as Glastonbury and Croyland. Later, he returned to St David's and despite a difficult dispute with local Irish prince, Boia, established a new centre which grew to be the headquarters for the Church in Wales.

He was made an archbishop during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with fellow missionaries Teilo and Padarn.

Dewi will be especially remembered for his first miracle in Llanddewibrefi when the land rose under his feet in a public meeting so that everybody could hear him. This is no certainty yet as to who will succeed Dewi as archbishop but some Church leaders are keen to move the Church in Wales' main centre from St David's to another town.

A man from Powys has lost the last of his twenty four sons in a battle against the men of Mercia near Oswestry.

Llywarch Hen said that Gwen was the bravest of all his boys. ’It was all my fault,' Llywarch said. 'I had been telling Gwen how brave I had been when I was young - suggesting that he wasn't much of a man. But he was much braver than me.'

Gwen had left his home as a young man to become a hermit. 'He didn't believe in war,' his father said. 'But when he heard that his twenty three brothers had been killed near the river Lawen, he decided he would have to try to do something himself.'

When he went home, his father didn't recognise him. Gwen became angry and rushed down to the river on his own. His intention, apparently, was to wait on the river bank until the morning but the men of Mercia returned suddenly. His uncle, Urien, had given him a horn to call for help if there were any problems. The horn wasn't used. Gwen wanted to show his father that he could stop the men of Mercia on his own.

The king of Esyllwg in south Wales, Morgan Mwynfawr has had a son.

The boy has been named Morgan, after his 67 year old father.

Some were afraid that Morgan would not have children at all and that civil war could follow the king’s death. 'Many of us were worried,' said one of the courtiers. 'But there is a rumour that Morgan was blessed by God and that he and everybody else in his family from now on will live to be very old and have children when they are very old.'

The king and his family are at present in the process of moving their court from Caerleon to Radyr near Cardiff where they will be able to keep an eye on the Danes who continue to attack occasionally from the sea. It is also rumoured that Morgan is to establish another centre in the west near Margam.

Morgan is certainly the most popular king Esyllwg has had for years. Even when he was very young he was a good fighter and diplomat. Esyllwg now includes the Forest of Dean, Gwent, south Powys and a part of Dyfed.

There is now talk of changing the country's name. 'Morgannwg', it seems, is the first choice of the people of the Rhymney Valley and Gwent but some in the west favour Gwladmorgan - Morgan's country.

The poem, Armes Prydein, is calling on the Celts to come together to push the English out of Britain - and the author also calls on the Scandinavians who live in Ireland to come and help.

The poem has already proved popular - especially among those leaders in Wales who are opposed to the King of Wessex’ announcement a month ago in Hereford that the Welsh would have to pay him taxes.

The author of the poem is a mystery but judging from the style, he is a south Walian with a thorough knowledge of the history of Britain. It is also possible that he is a monk.

Some are worried about the effect the poem may have. Hywel Dda, one of the kings of the south, has been trying to come to an agreement with the English and has spent a lot of time with the Wessex king, Athelstan.

Two years ago, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome with the king. However, many of Hywel's people are opposed to an agreement and if propaganda poems like Armes Prydein have an effect they may rise against Hywel.

The poem predicts that the Celts will defeat the English with the help of Dewi Sant, Cynan and Cadwaladr.

Some of the country’s most important people have been meeting in Dyfed to discuss the preparation of a new set of laws.

The representatives come from all parts of King Hywel ap Cadell's land and the intention is to agree on laws which will give clear guidelines and co-ordinate the work of judges in the different districts.

Hywel, or Hywel Dda as he is called, wants to ensure that the laws are very thorough. It is expected that the committee will look carefully at every aspect of life today - roles, values and expected punishments. It is also said that the king is keen to make whole families responsible for the conduct of their own members.

Women are also to be given considerable attention. It is possible, in this respect, that Hywel has come under the influence of his wife, Elen, who is a member of one of Dyfed's oldest families. New laws may even make it possible for a wife to divorce her husband for having bad breath.

Hywel himself will be leaving the meeting in Whitland next week to travel down to Wessex where he will be meeting the king, Athelstan. Hywel has already won himself a reputation as a shrewd diplomat and there are hopes that he will be able to secure peace.

The people of Britain come from Greece originally!

That’s the news released this week when Geoffrey of Monmouth, an Oxford Canon, published his new chronicle about the history of the islands.

In the chronicle, Historia Regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Britain), Geoffrey says that the history of Britain begins in Troy. When the Greeks came to conquer the city, taking an enormous wooden horse in through the gates, many of the inhabitants of Troy were killed. However, Aeneas and his son, Ascanius, managed to escape and went to Italy.

They soon began to build another city - Rome. After some years, Ascanius' grandson, Brutus, decided to go in search of another country and came to Britain - Brutus' country.

This is, perhaps, why so many words in Welsh are similar to words in the Greek language.

Geoffrey's chronicle doesn't only contain Brutus' history. The work describes the Roman occupation, the arrival of the English and the history of king Arthur. One section examines the future through the eyes of a little boy called Myrddin.

Forty six year old Geoffrey denies creating his own material for the chronicle. 'Everything has been taken an old book from Brittany,' he said. 'My work was to translate it all from the old Bntish language to Latin.'

Prince Madog ab Owain from Gwynedd has been seen alive and well in a far-away country called Mexico. The prince, who went missing at sea ten years ago, was spotted by Spaniards looking for treasure.

Madog’s brother, Rhiryd, is overjoyed. 'We were afraid that he had died,' he said at his home in Abergele last night. 'Madog was supposed to be on his way to Lundy Island to meet me, but he didn't arrive. There was nothing to suggest that his ship had gone down. There was quite a storm,' said Rhiryd, 'but usually, if there is an accident, things get washed up on the beach.'

Madog's other brothers were not prepared to talk last night. It's likely that Madog was hoping to escape from them when he went overseas. That is certainly what Rhiryd believes. 'After Dad, Owain Gwynedd, died,' he said, 'some of the brothers started quarrelling. Madog and I had had enough.'

This wasn't the first trip over the Atlantic for Madog. Rhiryd and Madog sailed out to Mobile Bay with eight ships back in 1169.

No one is certain what Madog is doing in Mexico, but according to the Spaniard who brought the news, Conez, he is leading a group of white people in the north. There is a suggestion that he has become very friendly with a tribe of Mandan Indians and that they now speak Welsh fluently.

Llywelyn ap lorwerth came home from a hunting trip yesterday to find that his wife had been unfaithful. He is reported to be furious.

He has already thrown his wife, Siwan, into prison and her lover, Gwilym Brewys from Powys, will be hanged tomorrow.

Llywelyn and Siwan have been married for 25 years and she has been a great help to him politically. Twenty years ago, when things the relationship between Llywelyn and Siwan’s father, king John, was strained, Siwan went back to England to persuade her father not to take any more of her husband's land.

Now, of course, Llywelyn is much stronger. He rules a large part of the country and Wales has had a number of special concessions in the Magna Carta.

There are, however, serious political concerns. Gwilym Brewys has no sons and if he dies, Llywelyn's enemies may try and take Gwilym's land in Powys.

Gwilym's daughter is married to Llywelyn and Siwan's son, Dafydd.

Dafydd ap Gwilym, one of the most important poets in recent years, has died peacefully at his home near Aberystwyth. Dafydd was 50 years old.

Many of the country’s leading figures have paid tribute to the poet. 'He has put Wales on the map,' said one. 'Now, the poetry of Wales sits with the best work in Europe. It's fresh and it's new.'

Dafydd was born in Brogynin, in the parish of Llanbadarn Fawr in Dyfed in 1320 and learnt his technical skills from his uncle, Llywelyn ap Gwilym, a key figure in the civil service in Newcastle Emlyn.

Soon, the young poet became a rebel. He refused to keep only to the traditional themes - praising noblemen and sponsors for instance - and began looking for new subjects. He immediately got into trouble with established poets like Gruffudd Gryg from Anglesey. 'There is far too much talk of love and romance in his work,' he said, 'and as for thinking of the wind and trees as people and talking to birds… well … '

Dafydd's work, however, is popular. 'People have had enough of those boring old poems about princes,' one young man said. 'It's nice to have new things to think about and there is a good deal of humour in Dafydd's work.'…

Dafydd caused more than one scandal during his life. 'Dafydd was quite a ladies' man,' one of his friends said. 'I remember he was once caught with a blonde called Morfudd. Unfortunately, she was married and we had to pay her husband a fortune to get Dafydd out of trouble.'…

Dafydd will be buried tomorrow at Strata Florida, Dyfed.…

There has been fierce fighting in Rhuthun this week between Owain Glyndwr’s men from Sycharth near Shrewsbury and Reginald Grey, Lord of Rhuthun. The problems started a few months ago when Grey moved into an area which had been given to Glyndwr by the former king of England. Glyndwr asked the English Parliament for help to exclude Grey from his land but when Siôn Trefor, Bishop of St Asaph, went to London to explain the problem, the answer he got was, 'What care we for the barefoot rascals?' Glyndwr was furious, especially when the new king, Henry IV, also refused to help him. Early this week, Glyndwr attacked Rhuthun, and announced that he was the new Prince of Wales.

It looks likely that the uprising will develop rapidly. Glyndwr, who is 50 years old, has family in Powys, his father's home, and in the south-west, his mother's home. He also has family and friends in Gwynedd.

Some of England's most important families, who are unhappy with the way HenryIV is running the country, have also said that they will support Glyndwr. Two such families are the Northumberlands and the Mortimers. Catherine, Glyndwr's daughter, is already married to Edmund Mortimer.

If Glyndwr succeeds in uniting the whole of Wales, he will certainly make some big changes. He has already said he wants to see the Church in Wales independent from the Church in Canterbury and he wants to establish two universities in the country.

There is no certainty either that Glyndwr will want to accept the authority of the Pope in Rome. It is said that he is already considering asking the people of Wales to accept the other Pope in Avignon if Charles Vl, ling of France, supports him against the king of England.

If you don’t speak English it will be impossible for you to get a key job from tomorrow onwards. The new Act of Union which becomes law at midnight tonight states clearly that the Welsh language and the customs of Wales must perish.

The act wants to abolish 'all and singular the sinister usages and customs (of Wales)'. The purpose of this, according to the people who designed the act, is to boost trade in Wales.

'The people of Wales use a language which is not spoken by anybody else in the world,' said one. 'From now on, England and Wales will be one country with one language.'

The act has been condemned. 'Only five per cent of the people of Wales are able to speak English,' one commentator said. 'This act will give all the key jobs to the same people.' Some are also unhappy that the law of England is to replace Hywel's law in Wales.

It is likely that trade wasn't the only reason for the new act. King Henry Vlll, keen to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon angered the Pope. This led Henry to make himself head of the Church. He realised that Wales and the Marches could thwart his plans and decided to unify Wales and England under the same flag.

The poets have been very quiet about the new act. 'It would be unwise for us to say too much,' said one. 'Our patrons are among the five per cent who will hold the key positions. 'We will have to wait to see if this has any effect on the Welsh language itself.'

Most people in Wales are to be given new names!

The present practice is for every man to take his father’s name. Geraint ap Llywelyn is the son of Llywelyn. This system, however, causes administrative headaches for the Government.

'The problem is that there are too many names,' a spokesman said. 'Every time a new generation is born, the family names change. The son of Siôn ap Huw is Dafydd ap Siôn. The son of Dafydd ap Siôn is Rhys ap Dafydd! It's crazy.'

Under the new system families in Wales will keep the same surname forever. 'That is what happens in England,' said the spokesman. 'And England and Wales are one country since the Act of Union ten years ago.'

So, how will you get your new name? Much will depend on the name of the present head of the family. Siôn ap Rhisiart's family will keep the Richard forever and, usually, the English word 'son' (or just the s) will be added. Therefore, ap Rhisiart will become Richards, ab Ifan will become Ifans or Evans and ap Wiliam will become Williams.

'We will be trying to eradicate some names,' said the spokesman, 'because they are too difficult - complicated names like Meilir, Llywarch and Gwalchmai.'

Therefore, some families will be given completely new names! Sometimes the new names will have their roots in the Bible but many families will also be given royal names like John (Jones), David (Davies), Richard (Richards), Henry, Harry (Harries) and Charles.

A new course has been published recently for English men wishing to read Welsh and master its pronunciation.

The author of the work is William Salesbury and the publication, ’A brief and a plain introduction, teaching how to pronounce the letters in the British tongue, (now commonly called Welsh)' has been published by Crawley's in London.

Salesbury's dictionary was published three years ago.

In his introduction Salesbury notes that he was approached by merchants and administrators from the Marches who need to communicate with Welsh speakers. Welsh speakers themselves have not been appointed to many key positions since the Act of Union 14 years ago. It is though that much interest has been expressed by those working with the Marcher Council at Ludlow.

Salesbury was also approached by those who had moved from Wales at a young age and were eager to renew their Welsh links. There is a huge Welsh presence in many centres in England. In London, the Welsh account for 20% of the population.

Philanthropists who have a love of all languages have also expressed an interest in the course. Salesbury hopes that the work will increase mutual friendship and brotherly love.

The whole Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament, is now available in Welsh, thanks to William Morgan, vicar of Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant in Clwyd.

The first copies have already received a warm welcome from churchmen and poets like Siôn Tudur and Siôn Dafydd. The Queen, Elizabeth 1, has decreed that a copy must be deposited in every church in Wales by Christmas.

Not everybody wanted to see the Bible in Welsh. Many believed it would be better to teach English to the people of Wales and let them read the English version. However, 43 year old Morgan argued successfully that the spiritual future of the Welsh people depended on having a translation of the Bible.

He began the work some years ago but nearly gave up at one point. ’I had been through a difficult period,' he said. 'Working on the translation without a library was hard and I was experiencing personal problems and financial difficulties.'

Last year, however, he received a letter from Archbishop Whitgift asking him to go to London to finish the work. The language Morgan uses in the Bible is natural and simple. This has been welcomed by those who believed that William Salesbury's old translation of the New Testament was too complicated.

Morgan himself is now interested in becoming a bishop - possibly in Llandaf. He also has ideas for a number of other books including a new Prayer Book and a Welsh dictionary.

A huge flood has killed over 2,000 people and affected 355 miles of coastline around the Severn Sea (Bristol Channel) coastline.

The flood which hit coastal areas suddenly at the end of January swept homes, farms and livestock miles inland. Only sturdy buildings such as churches have survived. In some areas, even huge stone buildings were destroyed. In Cardiff, St Mary’s Church collapsed into the river Taf.

Survivors reported a huge wall of water which seemed to be on fire approaching at an incredible speed. The disaster happened early in the working day and most people didn't have time to secure their homes or workplaces.

Many villages such as Cogan completely disappeared and are unlikely to be rebuilt on their original sites. Those individuals who did survive now face poverty and illness.

The priority now is to rebuild communities. In time, it is expected that plaques will be erected in a number of churches such as Goldcliff, St Brides, Redwick and Peterstone.

Edward Lhuyd, the scientist from Oswestry, has been arrested in Brittany for spying, Lhuyd, 39, was in Brittany collecting archaeological data for the Archaeologia Britannica, when he was captured. He had already completed work in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall.

The French police are always suspicious of foreigners. ’They are now starting to believe his story,' said one of Lhuyd's friends. 'We're hoping that he will be released by the weekend.'

If the French authorities agree, Lhuyd will be staying in Brittany to finish his work before going back to Oxford. It is hoped that the first Archaeologia Brittanica will be published by 1707.

Lhuyd has also been collecting information about plants. 'Plants are his first love,' said another of the family's friends. 'He knows about every plant in the country. When he went to college in Oxford he had the opportunity to see the important botanical work being undertaken at the Ashmolean Museum,' he said.

Lhuyd left college before finishing his course and was given a job in the museum. He has been working hard in the fields of botany and archaeology ever since. He speaks a number of languages and it is said Lhuyd has been making notes on vocabulary and grammar while travelling from country to country.

During a visit to north-west Wales he is reported to have found the grave of the tyrant Gwrtheyrn in a valley under the Eifl mountain.

It was announced this week that the quarrel between Howell Harris, the first organizer of the Methodist Revival, and the other leaders, William Williams, Pantycelyn and Daniel Rowland is over at last.

The situation turned sour six years ago when Harris, now 46, decided to follow John Wesley. Williams and Rowland had already chosen to accept Calvin's teachings.

Some of the Methodists were also very concerned that Harris was spending so much time with Madam Sidney Griffiths, a married woman from Cefnamlwch.

Harris has been industrious during recent years. Following the initial quarrel he established a Methodist commune in Trefeca, Powys and three years ago a printing press was added to the facilities.

Trefeca was where Harris had been born and had his religious conversion. 'He was 21 at the time and a school teacher,' said a friend of the family. 'One morning he went to listen to the vicar of Talgarth preaching and decided that he wanted to become a priest.'

He went to college in Oxford but only for a few days. 'He didn't enjoy the life there,' the friend said, 'so he came back hoping to be ordained locally.'

The bishop, however, didn't want him to be a priest. 'He was quite a rebel,' another friend commented. 'He wanted to preach out in the open air and in private houses.' Soon, Harris turned to the Methodists. Now, after years of disagreement, it is hoped that Harris, Williams and Rowland will be working closely together again.

The first Gorsedd druidic ceremony has been held on Primrose Hill in London.

This follows the amazing discovery by Iolo Morganwg of ancient manuscripts in Raglan Castle which detail how such ceremonies should be conducted. Iolo was supported by local bards resident in London and by the Cymmrodorion - an organization established to further Welsh culture.

The establishment of the Gorsedd of Bards on 22 September - the autumnal Equinox - is one of a number of initiatives designed to give more prominence to the Welsh language - still spoken by 80% of the inhabitants of Wales. London Welshmen have also been influential in supporting eisteddfodau and Welsh publishing projects and sponsoring Welsh scholars and litterateurs.

There is, of course, no link at the moment between the Gorsedd of Bards and the eisteddfodau of Wales - although some are interested in bringing the two concepts together.

The establishment of the Gorsedd is seen by some as part of the popular anti-centralist radical movement in London. It comes at the end of a century which also saw the French Revolution and the Boston Tea Party.

Reports are emerging that a French invasion force has been defeated by a group of Welsh women in Abergwaun.

The women, led by 47-year-old Jemeima Nicholas, realized that the local soldiers, the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry, were away on a training course and wouldn’t be back in time to stop the French.

The women dressed in traditional Welsh dress with tall black hats, black skirts and red shawls and armed themselves with farm tools. They then went up to the cliffs where the French would have a clear view of them.

When the French fleet landed with 1,000 troops on board they mistook the women for trained soldiers and held back long enough to allow Lord Cawdor and the Yeomanry to return. Thinking they were now facing two armies, the French surrendered. It is reported that Jemeima Nicholas herself took 14 Frenchmen captive.

It is believed that the French fleet originally intended to land in Ireland, where they were to fight for the rebel United Irishmen. They were, however, blown from their course in a storm. When they realized their new position they changed their plans and had hoped to march on Bristol and then London.

Twenty two men were killed and 50 were badly injured by Government soldiers in Newport yesterday.

Problems began early in the morning when 20,000 people ran down Stow Hill to the city centre to protest against poverty and a lack of democracy. When they reached the Westgate Hotel the soldiers who were inside the building started shooting.

Three of the protesters’ leaders, John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones, were arrested. It's possible now that the three will be sentenced to death or sent to Australia.

This is not the first protest in south Wales this year. There was trouble in Llanidloes in April and, in May, Henry Vincent, one of the workers' leaders, was arrested. Matters however became far more serious in July when the Government in London refused to accept a new workers' charter.

The charter had been signed by 1,250,000 men and it demanded a vote for every man, fair electoral districts, a Parliament to be elected every year and pay for members of parliament. The charter also called on the Government to scrap the rule which stipulates that members of Parliament must be landowners. Their hope was that it would be possible for ordinary workers to secure a place in Parliament.

A new act has been passed which prevents women and boys under ten years of age from working in coal mines.

There are no clauses relating to hours of work in the Act.

Conditions in the mines have been a concern for many years. It has been reported that women have worn tight belts around their waist and chains between their legs to pull heavy loads - even when pregnant. Children have been left to work alone in cold, damp and dark environments for long periods of time.

Dangers in the mines have also been highlighted in recent years. Methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide have all been detected. Efforts to ventilate and light the mines have led to explosions. The health of the miners - especially women and children - has become a key issue. Problems include stunted growth, crippled legs, curvature of the spine, skin irritations, heart disease, ruptures, asthma, bronchitis and rheumatism.

Many columnists have also commented on the fact that women are expected to wear trousers in the mines. This is seen as morally unacceptable.

Despite the harsh conditions, many women are unhappy about the new act as it affects their ability to earn a wage. The miners enjoy good wages compared with some other occupations and standard of food and clothing at home is generally better than the work conditions might suggest.

It is reported that the two ringleaders found guilty of inciting the recent ’Rebecca' Riots in West and Mid Wales laughed when told that they would be sent to the prison island of Australia.

The two were arrested following September attacks on tollgates at Builth and Rhayader.

The sentences bring to an end the five year spate of protests which started on 6 June 1839 when farmers - unhappy about the tolls (road taxes) they were being charged to travel around on horseback and take animals to market - destroyed a toll house (tax point) gate - burning it to the ground. The farmers were dressed in women's clothing.

According to the farmers, the tolls have been a huge burden at a time when harvests have been poor and stock prices have been low at market. Protesters have also drawn attention to the increase in tithe payments they have had to make to the Church.

It is not certain why the name 'Rebecca' was chosen. Some say that she was the woman who gave items of clothing to the protest leader, Twm Carnabwth, at the beginning of the campaign. Others refer to a passage from the Old Testament in which Rebecca was told to 'be the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gates of those that hate them.'

Nobody is entirely sure which reason for the name is true, but both could be the right reason!

The authorities will be pleased that the protests have now come to an end. There is no doubt that the situation was becoming serious and a detachment of the 7th Fusiliers had been stationed in Rhayader.

A report about education in Wales has caused a storm this week. The three-volume report claims that there aren’t enough schools for children in Wales, that the schools themselves are in a very poor condition and that there is a shortage of books.

The report also say that the teachers don't know what they are doing and that truancy levels are extremely high.

The authors of the report claim that children do not learn to speak English properly in Welsh schools and are therefore disadvantaged in the world.

What has angered people throughout Wales, however, is the suggestion that the Welsh are dirty, lazy, stupid, superstitious and drunk!

The three authors, all non-Welsh speakers, Lingen, Symons and Johnson, have been criticized by parents, teachers and chapel-goers.

'How could they understand what was happening in the schools?' asked one parent. 'They don't speak Welsh.' One chapel-goer said that he was concerned that the report had been compiled to harm Nonconformity. 'They are churchmen,' he said. 'Anglicans. And the people who sent them here are Anglicans. We're not superstitious at all.'

It was William Williams, the Member of Parliament for Coventry, who asked the Government to commission the report and its purpose, originally, was to look at the opportunities children of Wales had to learn English.

The covers of the report are blue and some in Wales are already openly talking about the Treachery of the Blue Books.

For the first time ever, two thirds of all Welsh families earn their wages from industries other than farming. This means that we are now the world’s second industrial nation – England being the first.

The change has been remarkable. Only a hundred years ago, the country was almost completely rural and most of the half a million living here lived off the land.

Other industries were beginning to develop. Coal was being mined in Glamorgan and north-east Wales, the silver industry was developing in Flint and Cardigan and copper was being mined in Swansea and Neath. These were, however, fairly small-scale developments.

The mining industries really took off because of the need of iron, lead and coal to fuel the wars against America, Napoleon and the French revolutionaries. By 1830, south Wales was producing half of Britain’s iron exports.

As Britain’s influence grows, it is expected that industry in Wales will flourish. There are vast high quality coal resources in south Wales and some industrialists are already talking about the possibility of building new port facilities to cope with the exports. Wales certainly faces new challenges in areas of social development too. Huge numbers of workers from outside Wales are already beginning to move to the country. These numbers could increase dramatically if heavy industry develops in line with expectations.

Rugby clubs from all over Wales came together this week to establish a Welsh Rugby Union. From now on the new Union will organize Welsh games.

It is only ten years since rugby came to Wales and at the beginning it was only middle class boys in the seaside towns who used to play. Suddenly the game has become popular throughout the valleys of the south-east and a national team is to be formed to play against upper class teams in England, Scotland and Ireland.

However, any Saturday night celebrations from now on will have to end at midnight. New legislation passed in Parliament this week means that every public house in Wales will have to close on Sundays. This is the first time since the Act of Union that a law has been passed which only affects Wales.

The new law has pleased the thousands of abstainers who are worried that alcohol is harming the country and leading to crime and poverty.

When the news was announced on Wednesday night hundreds ran out into the streets singing Henry Lloyd’s famous temperance hymn, 'I bob un sy'n ffyddlon'.

Over the last few years the anti-alcohol movement has been growing. Novels have been written to draw attention to the dangers of drink and societies have been formed for non-drinkers. One of them, the Band of Hope, is very popular among young people.

This week, one of Wales’ most famous ministers - Samuel Roberts - died. He was 85.

Mr Roberts, or S.R., will be remembered for his radical ideas. He was against English imperialism and the use of slaves and he believed that there was too much London interference in the education system in Wales.

Samuel Roberts was born in Llanbryn-mair, Powys in 1800 and went to school in Shrewsbury and Llanfyllin. He was ordained a minister when he was 27 and worked in the same chapel as his father in Llanbryn-mair for many years.

In 1843, he launched his famous magazine, 'Y Cronicl' - which became a platform for his radical ideas.

At the age of 57 and following a serious quarrel with the Williams-Wynn family who owned 150,000 acres of land in north Wales, he decided to leave Powys and move to Tennessee, America.

America, however, was embroiled in a civil war and Samuel Robert's ideas about pacifism were not popular. He proved popular with both the north and the south and after ten years in Tennessee, he came back to Wales - a poor man.

He continued to attract attention through 'Y Cronicl', and campaigned for an integrated rail system for Wales and votes for all - even women. He was a staunch believer in the evils of drink and the dangers of closed shops in factories.

This week, David Davies, one of the greatest businessmen of this century, died. Mr Davies was 72 years old.

Wales will remember him as an industrialist and politician but he was brought up in poor circumstances. His father had a timber business in Llandinam in Powys and David Davies went to work there after leaving school at the age of 11.

He spent the next seventeen years teaching himself about engineering and at 28 he was given a commission to build a bridge over the river Severn in Llandinam. The bridge was a great success and David Davies was soon offered new commissions laying railways.

By 1864, Davies, who was then 46 years old, had sufficient resources money to begin to build a coal business. He moved down to the Rhondda Fawr and established the Park and Maendy pits.

Soon he was also managing the Ocean Merthyr pits and in 1887 he established a new company, the Ocean Coal Company, which quickly became famous throughout the world.

Only one thing held the company back - the high cost of exporting coal through Cardiff docks. After a quarrel with Lord Bute, the Cardiff dock owner, Davies decided it would make economic sense for him to build a new dock. Barry, ten miles to the west of Cardiff, was the obvious choice because there was a natural deep harbour there which had been in use since pre-Roman times. Now it is expected that Davies’ grand-daughters, Gwendoline (8 years old) and Margaret (6) will inherit a great deal of his money.

A new college will open soon at Bangor for student ministers.

The college, Coleg Bala-Bangor, is the brainchild of Michael D Jones, the former principal of Coleg y Bala.

Mr Jones, from Llanuwchllyn, has already made a name for himself in Wales and in America. Forty five years ago, when he was 25, he travelled out to Cincinnati to support emigrants forced out of Wales by the high land rents. Many, on arriving in America, had been deceived by land sharks and were facing financial hardship.

It is there that Michael D Jones had his great vision - a special settlement for Welsh-speaking Welshmen in America! The idea was that the settlement would be independent and that there would be ’a chapel, a school, and a parliament'.

At first Mr Jones wanted to see the settlement in north America but he was concerned that the English language was already too strong there and that it would be difficult for the Welsh to keep their language.

South America, and Patagonia in particular was far more appealing.

When his father retired as Principal of Coleg y Bala, Michael D Jones came back to Wales to take his place and to gain support for his vision. He started an appeal to raise money and soon the first Welshmen were on their way to South America.

Some time ago, he resigned as Principal of Coleg y Bala after a dispute. The new college will be opening soon in a large red building in Upper Bangor.

Lady Llanover has died at the age of 94. She will be buried at St Bartholomew’s Church in Wales alongside her husband who passed away 29 years ago.

Born, Augusta Waddington, in 1802, to parents from Nottingham, she married Benjamin Hall of Abercarn, an MP for 22 years until 1859 when he became a peer. Hall, whilst in London, fought for the Welsh language and the rites of Welsh speakers.

In 1828, Sir Benjamin and Lady Hall commissioned the design of a new home, Llanover House, which would be a centre for the promotion of Welsh culture and language. Estate workers, tenants, and guests were obliged to wear traditionally made and styled Welsh rural clothes made from Welsh wool. They were also obliged to speak Welsh and for this reason, many were recruited from West Wales.

The harp was given pride of place at Llanover House. Triple harp players were given permanent employment and local harp manufacture was encouraged. Folk music was collected and published and world-class musicians and composers such as Brinley Richards, Edith Wynne and Joseph Parry were invited as guests.

At the Eisteddfod held at Cardiff in 1834, Lady Llanover, writing under the name Gwenynen Gwent (The Gwent Bee), won an award for a work entitled 'The Advantages Resulting from the Preservation of the Welsh language and National Costume of Wales'. She became a sponsor of eisteddfodau and inspired and helped organize the Abergavenny eisteddfodau held between 1834 and 1853.

These fresh new eisteddfodau did much to breath new life into the bardic competitions of the time and paved the way for the inception of the National Eisteddfod.

The lock-out at the Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda, is over.

After seven years of hostilities between Lord Penrhyn and the district’s craftsmen the doors are open and the men have gone back to work.

The lock-out has had a terrible effect on the Ogwen Valley and the people who live there.

There were 3,000 working in the quarries before the dispute began. Since then, over 1,000 have moved to other areas, many of them to south Wales, and there are fears that they will never return. The question now is whether there are enough craftsmen left to maintain a successful industry.

There are other problems. The quarrymen's families have had to live on hand-outs from workers in other areas for years. There are very bitter feelings towards those who have been breaking the strike and the police and soldiers who have been guarding those men on their way to work. The slogan 'There is no traitor in this house' can be seen on several homes in the area and there are fears that people will never forget the bitterness.

The lock-out began when Lord Penrhyn, an Anglican and a Conservative, overturned his father's decision in 1874 to allow the quarrymen to be members of the North Wales Quarrymen's Union.

Seven thousand appeared in the streets of Penarth yesterday as composer Dr Joseph Parry was taken from his home - `Cartref’, 23 Plymouth Road - to Bethel Chapel, Plassey Street and then on to St Augustine's Church on Penarth Head.

Born in Merthyr in 1841, he started work at the age of nine at the Roblins Pit. At 13, he emigrated with his family to Danville, Pennsylvania in 1854 and started work in the Rough and Ready Rolling Mills. It was there that his interested in music, first kindled in Cyfarthfa, began to develop. The local churches provided his first platform.

At the age of 22 he decided to compete at the National Eisteddfod which was held at Swansea that year. He competed in every composing competition and won huge acclaim. He competed again in 1864 in Llandudno and in 1865 in Aberystwyth – when he decided to return to Wales for the festival – a three week journey. It was following this visit that he was accepted into the Gorsedd of Bards under the title of `Pencerdd America,' and a fund was set up allowing him to attend the Royal Academy in London.

By 1871 Parry had been awarded a Bachelor of Music from Cambridge. Still comuting back and fore over the water, he established a Music Institute at Danville but decided to return permenantly to Wales in 1874 taking up post as Chair of Music at Aberystwyth. He moved to Cardiff in 1888.

Among people of Wales he became known as Y Doctor Mawr. His most famous popular works were Myfanwy and Blodwen. The later caused an immediate storm. Until the day the work was released, there were no recorded instances of Blodwen as a Christian name. Following the release, Blodwen became a common name – especially in South Wales.

The religious revival in Wales which began last year shows no signs yet of abating.

Chapels have been packed since the popular young minister Evan Roberts received his own calling and started to travel around Wales with his message. Chapels have been holding prayer meetings which have lasted until 3.00 a.m.

The revival has had a huge impact on Bible sales. Orders to the Bible Society ’for Scriptures from Wales' during November and December 1904 were over three times greater than the month on month sales for 1903.

More importantly, the revival has had a huge impact on social life in Wales - without any new legislation. Huge crowds have been attending the meetings. Bible verses now cover the doors down in the coalmines. People have taken their parents from the workhouse. Political meetings and even football matches have been postponed. Quarrels between trade-union workmen and non-unionists have been resolved.

The revival promises to have an impact on Welsh GDP. Employers have noticed a great improvement in the work produced by their employees. Leading judge, Sir Marchant Williams has reported that his work has been much lighter especially regarding drunkenness and related offences.

The revival in Wales is now spreading to England, Ireland and Scotland. Over 2,000 attended a prayer meeting in the city of Bradford this week.

Lloyds Bank has bought the Bank of the Black Ox in Llandovery.

The bank, which has just celebrated its 110th birthday, was established by David Jones, High Sheriff of Carmarthen. He was from an important family of drovers and had made his fortune taking cattle and sheep from Dyfed to markets and fairs in England.

Many will be sad to see the old name coming down. The drovers have played a key role in the economy of Dyfed and Wales since the 15th century.

’Years ago,' said one of the people of Llandovery, 'you would hear them shouting 'Haiptrw Ho! Haiptrw Ho!' around the country. 'And the public houses would be full of lively and interesting characters who carried stones from place to place.'

Not everyone liked the drovers. 'I remember my grandmother telling me not to go near them because they were coarse people,' said another of the local people.

Over the years they have been criticized by writers like Ellis Wynne for drinking too much and deceiving people.

The Bank of the Black Ox however has a good reputation and many will miss it. Lloyds Bank also has Welsh roots. The business was started in Birmingham in 1765 by the Quaker Charles Lloyd from Dolobran, Powys. The bank's main office is in London.

There was silence in the auditorium of the National Eisteddfod in Birkenhead this week when it was announced that Hedd Wyn, the winner of the chair, had been killed six weeks ago (31 July) during the battle for Pilckem Ridge, Ypres. The chair was draped in a black pall amidst death-like silence and the bards came forward in long procession to place their tributes on the draped chair.

Hedd Wyn whose real name was Ellis Humphrey Evans was a Trawsfynydd shepherd who, despite being a pacifist, had been encouraged to become a soldier as the authorities did not accept that more than two sons were necessary to manage a farm. Ellis’ older brothers were already involved in the business.

He was a gifted poet and a master of cynghanedd - a strict set of rules governing Welsh poetry and had decided to send work to the National Eisteddfod in Birkenhead before joining the 15th battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

The terrible conditions in the trenches inspired his work Yr Arwr (The Hero) which describes the realities of war for both the soldiers. The work was sent to Birkenhead under the bardic name Fleur-de-Lis.

There is now talk of a petition to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to request that his grave in Belgium will read Y Prifardd Hedd Wyn (The Bard, Hedd Wyn).

The Church in Wales has chosen its first archbishop.

His name is A G Edwards and the new Church in Wales has received one million pounds from the Government in London to establish itself. This means that the Church in Wales, like the Church in Ireland, will at last be able to look after its own affairs.

The move follows half a century of hard campaigning. Watkin Williams, the Member of Parliament for Denbigh, was the first to ask the House of Commons to separate the Church in Wales from the Church of England. That was in 1870.

Prime Minister Gladstone, was strongly against the idea even though the Church in Ireland had just been disestablished. ’Wales,' he said, 'is in a completely different situation to Ireland.'

By 1895 there was much more support and the radical, Lloyd George, and others succeeded in getting the bill through the House.

Some remained strongly opposed. One commentator said that the decision had 'shocked . . . every Christian throughout Europe'. It was not until 1914 that the bill became law.

By then, a Royal Commission had shown that Anglicanism was very unpopular in Wales and that three quarters of the people of the country wanted to see the Church in Wales separate.

There were more delays before the law became reality because of the 1914-18 war. Now the income which comes from the secular property of the Church in Wales will go to the county councils.

There was another skirmish last night between police and groups of colliers who are on strike in the Rhondda.

Some are now afraid that the situation will become ugly. Soldiers have already been sent to the area to deal with any trouble.

The strike began at the beginning of May and now the shortage of food and essential supplies is causing anger and frustration among the men and their families.

'We were poor before,' said one man, 'but now we have nothing.'

Some soup kitchens have been opened by the Miners' Federation and the strikers are determined not to go back to work yet.

Stanley Baldwin's Government is, however, in a strong position and there are doubts as to whether the strike can last very much longer. Some have already gone back to work risking being labelled as social outcasts.

Communities in the valleys of south-east Wales have been doing their best to keep spirits up. One obvious development is the jazz and Gazooka bands which have been springing up in the Rhondda, the Cynon Valley and the Taf Valley. The Gelli Toreadors, the Treharris Indians and the Cwmparc Gondoliers are now famous throughout the area.

Megan Lloyd George, daughter of the former Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, has been elected to represent the people of Anglesey in London. This is the first time that a woman has been successful. She is a member of the Liberal Party.

Although it has been legally possible for women to stand as parliamentary candidates since 1918, very few have taken up the challenge. The first, Millicent Mackenzie (Labour) stood for the University of Wales seat in 1918. There were three female candidates in the 1922 General Election, but only one in 1924.

The movement to ensure the vote for women in Wales was started in 1907 and David Lloyd George, when Chancellor of the Exchequer faced serious protests from women in London in 1910, at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Caernarfon in 1912 and at his home village of Llanystumdwy in 1912 when a simple ceremony to open a village hall nearly led to the drowning of a woman protester in the River Dwyfor.

The vote was finally given to women over 30 in 1918 and last year, in 1928, the right to vote was extended to women over 21 years of age.

Megan Lloyd George is well acquainted with London. She spent her childhood - from 6 to 14 in Downing Street - starting at Number 11 - the home of the Chancellor and moving to Number 10 in 1916 when her father became Prime Minister.

It has been reported that coal exports from Wales have dropped to 3% of world output.This has had a huge effect on the Welsh unemployment and poverty figures.

Only 16 years ago in 1913, 57 million tons of coal was extracted from the Welsh mines and South Wales produced one third of the world’s coal exports. Over a quarter of a million men were employed in the industry and 40,000 of those were in the Rhondda valleys.

Coal has been mined on a small scale in South Wales since Roman times but real interest in mining coal developed in the 18th century because it was need to smelt iron. The market changed towards the end of the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century when coal began to be used worldwide to drive the trains, ships and hardware of the industrial revolution.

Welsh miners, aware of Wales' key role in the world, took a keen interest in world affairs and educational movements such as the WEA organized discussions and courses to quench the new thirst for information. The first meeting In Wales, held in Barry, discussed the nature of the Japanese economy.

The industry suffered greatly during the First World War when key foreign markets - especially those in France - were lost.

Yesterday, 17 September, the Home Secretary William Whitelaw announced that Wales would have a new Welsh language TV channel. This follows over a year of protests and campaigns.

In May 1979, in the run-up to the election, all the main political parties had agreed to support a specific channel for Welsh language programmes. However, by September 1979, the Conservative government had changed its mind. William Whitelaw and others were of the opinion that it would be advantageous to ensure Welsh language programmes on all channels.

By January 1980, 2000 people were refusing to pay for their TV licenses and, in May, Plaid Cymru’s Gwynfor Evans, vowed to begin a hunger strike unless a Welsh language channel had been promised by 6 October. This caused particular concern due to Mr Evan's age. He was 68 at the time.

It appears that Mr Whitelaw reconsidered his decision after a meeting with the Archbishop of Wales, Gwilym Owen Roberts, and the former Secretary of State, Cledwyn Hughes.

On 19 October Iorwerth Cyfeiliog Peate - the founder of the Welsh Folk Museum in St Fagans near Cardiff died. He had realised the importance of folk museums during early trips to Scandinavia.

Iorwerth Peate was a poet and a pacifist. His pacifism led to his exclusion from his post in St Fagan’s in 1940.

He also believed in the importance of natural Welsh speaking communities and saw dangers in the concept of bilingualism.

Thirty nine soldiers from Wales were killed and 79 were injured in an explosion near the Falkland Islands yesterday. The soldiers were on the troop carrier the Sir Galahad when a 2000 pound torpedo hit the ship. The ship was destroyed.

As the soldiers hadn’t had time to wear their asbestos suits, a number of them were badly burnt in the water.

The Sir Galahad was one of a number of ships which had been sent to the Falklands. The hope had been to land in Bluff Cove and travel overland to Port Stanley. But 17 Argentine Airforce planes attacked them.

The Sir Tristam and the Plymouth were also seriously damaged.

This week saw the loss of one of Wales’s greatest literateurs, Dr Kate Roberts.

Born in Rhosgadfan, the daughter of a local quarryman, she graduated in Welsh at Bangor and started her teaching career in Llanberis, Ystalyfera and Aberdare. She met her husband, printer Morris T Williams, during a Plaid Cymru summer school and they married in 1928. Together they established the Gwasg Gee Press which produced leading edge publications such as Y Faner.

Kate Roberts started her serious writing career after losing her brother in World War I – but she was 45 when she produced her first great work – Traed mewn Cyffion (Feet in Fetters) which was later made into a film. Following the death of Morris in 1946, more great works appeared - Y Byw Sy’n Cysgu (1956), Te yn y Grug (1959) and Tywyll Heno (1962) as well as valuable collections of letters, articles and short stories. Many of her works concentrated on the role of the woman in society. She became known as ‘Brenhines ein Llên’ (The Queen of our Literature).

Kate Roberts received an honorary doctorate from the University of Wales in 1950 at the age of 59.

Some have already voiced the opinion that a Heritage Centre should be established in her name in Cae’r Gors, her old home in Rhosgadfan.

The last deep coal mine in Wales has been bought by the miners themselves and will now be re-opened.

The mine was closed eight months ago when the Coal Board decided that the mine was unviable for geological reasons. The workers were given redundancy packages but were acutely aware that it would be difficult to find new work in the Cwm Cynon area.

Plans for a workers’ buy-out began to emerge and, led by Tyrone O'Sullivan, himself a miner in the Tower for 28 years, 200 of the former employees agreed to invest £8,000 of their settlements in the pit. In October this year, the buy-out was given the go-ahead and on the 23rd of December, a cheque for £1,000,000 was handed over to Coal Board.

It is hoped to re-open the mine immediately and begin production of coal in January.

Coal has been produced at the Tower for 130 years. It was named after the nearby "Crawshay's Tower" a folly built in 1848.