Sunday, September 06, 2009

What's the Welsh for Wilfing?

OK, I guessed that Welsh language blogs dealing with Radnorshire topics would be thin on the ground but there are a couple. Y Dysgwr Araf seemingly lives in Llandrindod and you certainly have to agree with his comments in this post. No translation necessary surely!

The author of O'r Parsel Canol lives in Aberystwyth but her posts seem to indicate a Radnorshire connection. There's mention of an old primary schoolmistress of mine on the blog who I seem to remember teaching us about the likes of eighteenth century Republican Jac Glan y Gors - pretty heady stuff for Radnorshire in 1960. I like this blogger's use of colour, as in this photo of some tiles at Old Radnor church. It makes me want to dust off my cameras and start snapping.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you like the blog, and yes I am the genuine Radnorian item myself, like you a former pupil of the National School in Llandrindod, and Grammar School ( Hooson Owen for Chemistry, Big Jenks for Physics). The picture of the tiles in Pencraig (old Radnor) by the notice about Peter Conradi's book was actually taken by my colleague, bara-koukoug, not me. Gwenddolen O'r Parsel Canol

Anonymous said...

ahhh big jenks!!!!

an amiable fellow
unlike the other jenks in the art department now he was viscous

Anonymous said...

Was that Dave Jenkins I think who used to teach in the Sec. Mod. before Granmar became comprehensive?

radnorian said...

I hadn't realised that Mrs Haycock had recently passed away, condolences Gwenddolen. I can't be sure we were taught about Jac Glan y Gors back in the old National school, but there were certainly plenty of lessons on Welsh heroes and how else would I have heard of him back then?

As for Big Jenks' first name .... I have no idea, I didn't think teachers had first names back then.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. Big Jenks was Gwilym, from Tre-clawdd near Swansea. The Art man was I think called David Jenkins, a different kettle of fish entirely. I'm trying to work out whether you are older or younger than me -- younger I think because David Jenkins came when the school went comprehensive (1970, the year I left). I remember Jac Glan-y-gors as well in the Nash — right on there!!

Anonymous said...

I am wondering whether you are at New or Old Radnor somewhere. Interesting that Harpton was apparently calqued in Welsh as Tre'rdelyn — and wrongly so since the original Old English name contained 'horh, horu' (meaning filth, slime, etc. prhaps referring to wet or muddy land where the settlement was). The Middle English harp was an attempt to clean up the name, according to Richard Morgan, Study of Radnorshire Place-Names, p. 61, before 1304.

Anonymous said...

Pen-clawdd, the cockle place was Big Jenks' heimat, not Treclawdd!

sorry about the blip there.