A Radnorian State of Mind

Been reading some articles by Fred Pearce on the over-population myth. this is a good summary. Even more evidence that lovable old David Attenborough is one of the most dangerous individuals in Britain. Seemingly Jeremy Irons is the latest to nail his colours to the Eugenics masthead. Why don't these people take the most obvious step to reducing the world's population?

Talking of superfluous luvvies it's the ghastly Hay Festival and it isn't raining .............. bugger! How will Breconshire's leading artist, the amazing Steffan Powell, ever complete his magnum opus without a steady supply of sodden panama hats from the festival field? His mud entombed SUV taken from the RWAS showground was such a triumph, although the ewes in the Ifor Williams trailer are getting a bit rank now. Think formaldehyde Steffan.

Finally, I've been spending a fair amount of time delving into the 1911 Census looking, amongst other things, at the last few dozen young Radnorians from established Radnorshire families who still spoke Welsh. Some of these individuals even lived on into the 1990s, like Joni said you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

Give 'em an Asbo

Watched a TV programme about drummers and Keith Moon's penchant for driving cars into swimming pools. Of course this was just another example of rock stars copying the anti-social behaviour of an earlier generation of race drivers.

Innes Ireland usually gets the blame for parking a Hertz hire car in a hotel swimming pool in California back in the early 60s, although in reality the culprit was local sportscar driver Augie Pabst. It was seemingly done to settle a bet about headlights working underwater and Hertz weren't very pleased until Pabst pointed out that their advertising slogan of the day was "you park it, we collect it."

At this point I would post a photo of French GP driver Harry Schell's little road car neatly parked in his hotel bedroom, only the copyright police might not approve.

"Fair Votes"

So what would the House of Commons have looked like if it was actually decided by "fair votes" as Billy Bragg and his mates seem to wish? Something like this:

Tories 235, Labour 188, Lib Dems 149, UKIP 20, BNP 12, SNP 11, Green 6, Democratic Unionists 4, Plaid Cymru 4, Sinn Fein 4, the Rest (around 14 parties) 17

So I guess the BNP would be up for that. Of course there are plenty of PR systems which could be worked to exclude extremist minority parties but then they wouldn't be "fair" would they?

"Fair votes" takes power even further away from communities and puts it more firmly than ever in the hands of the party bosses and the media manipulators, but hey that's just my opinion.

NOTE: I'm not sure if sacking Kay Burley is one of the conditions for Clegg joining the coalition, although it would be a fairly easy one to agree on.

Musical Interlude

You Tube gold ....... Mr Jackie Shane

Election Round-Up

I've got a stalker .... his name's Nick Clegg and he keeps sending me letters. It's all a bit unnerving.

I did think of voting for the Tory, especially after watching a determined 70 year old, who normally walks with a stick, scrambling down a cliff face to recover a Suzy Davies placard thrown there by some hater. I thought about it, but then I remembered those poor folk evicted into the snows of Rhos Llanyre in the 1830s and I realised it was too soon, give it another 100 years and maybe.

Years ago candidates actually used to turn up on your doorstep but nowadays campaigning seems to be restricted to the telly. The only one to make it down my garden path was the Labour lad, who is about 15 and hasn't yet sipped too deep at the well of cynicism.

UKIP? I hadn't realised that the only people they hate more than the Continentals are each other. If you enjoy a bit of a snigger then check out this UKIP member's blog.

Back in 1970 I hitch-hiked halfway across the country to cast a vote for Plaid Cymru. Nowadays? Well, the most interesting thing about their campaign is the age of their candidate - is she 56 or 70? In the interest of completeness I should mention that there are three looney candidates standing, one green one, one mad one and one with a silly hat.

Posh Totty

It would be a fairly bigoted Labour supporter who refused to admit that Samantha Cameron possessed a decent undercarriage. OK not enough to get one voting for Suzy Davies, but still.

Anyway while perusing today's papers I came across an article detailing some of the gel's blue blooded ancestors and one reference caught my eye, her grandmother was the widow of a racing driver. So who could this be, the article didn't say? Infact a little research revealed it was someone we've already posted about on this blog, Glen Kidston.

Kidston, winner of Le Mans in 1930 and whose various dare-devil exploits earned him the tabloid sobriquet "the man who cannot be killed" finally met his maker flying in the Drakensburg Mountains, he'd recently broken the London to the Cape record. Kidston's funeral service was held at Glasbury Church on June 3rd 1931. I'm not sure if he was buried at Glasbury or at the family estate - does anyone know? Kidston's widow wasted no time finding a new husband, marrying Sam's grandfather later that year.

Howey was Howey when Llandrindod was a pup, Howey will be Howey when Llandrindod's buggered up!

It seems that the Radnorshire village of Howey has awakened from its slumbers to seek fame and fortune in the BBC and Big Lottery Fund Village SOS competition. Good luck to them.

Looking at the before and after pictures in the bilingual directory, it's something of a shock to realise that your blogger is more familiar with the village in its late 19th Century guise rather than the present day. Certainly nothing much changed until the 1970s, when the Pentis - the old wooden smithy (middle distance) and the bakehouse (foreground) were knocked down. The less said about the Bridgend Inn being renamed the Laughing Dog the better.

Incidentally, I wonder if the regenerators of Ashfield are aware that the site was originally called Shimne Wen?

Equal Treatment?

I'm trying to avoid this fantasy election but I couldn't help noticing that all the London based parties, including the saintly Nick Clegg, are now demanding that immigrants have to learn English. Can you imagine the kerfuffle if someone suggested that incomers to Meirionydd, for example, should have to learn Welsh?

In a sane country it might happen but in Wales not a chance. Even the Assembly is quite content that 30% of the public servants in it's Caernarfon office can't speak Welsh, while in the Carmarthen and Aberystwyth offices monoglot English speakers make up a whopping 70% of the staff.

Land Speed Record

click to read

I can't say I'm very interested in modern-day motor sport. Take rallying for example, time was it tested road car reliability, stamina and navigational skills. Nowadays road cars are pretty reliable, you can find your way with satnav and driving for long periods without a break is seen as irresponsible. Modern day rallying has retreated to the forests where a series of short sprints are the order of the day. What is the point?

Formula racing might have a purpose if it contributed to the most important motoring issue of the day - sustainability. As it happens 1950s Grand Prix racing - when the cars ran on ethanol for example- was far more eco friendly than the current over-blown circus.

Perhaps the most pointless exercise of all is the Land Speed Record. Who but a few eccentric Englishman would want to charge around at 700mph? Everyone else gave up when technological development meant landing on the moon, not sitting on the end of a four-wheeled rocket belting across a dried out lake.

Of course it once had a point and the holder of the land speed record at 125mph between 1914 and 1924 was one Ligurd G Hornstead - or was it? Now Ligurd is a pretty rare forename and no such person as Ligurd Hornstead exists in the public records, I once put forward the theory that the speedsters real name was Lydston Hornstedt, a son of a former British consul, born in Moscow. Now the above extract from the 1911 census seems to clinch that identification.

"the backward and pagan county of Radnorshire"

The Religious Census of 1851 would certainly have added weight to the view of mainstream non-conformist Wales that Radnorshire was a pagan county. The bare figures show just 50% of the population attending a place of worship on 30th March 1851 compared with 105% in devout Cardiganshire.* Even the heathen city of Cardiff managed a 70% turnout. Only the Rhayader district 72% shows a degree of religiosity, while Presteigne 49% and Knighton 37% are firmly in the camp of the damned.

The figures have to be treated with a degree of caution however, because they are based on Registration districts not the administrative county boundaries - it's a difference that continues to catch out researchers today. Ten Radnorshire parishes were counted in the Builth district 61% and nine with Hay 65%. Meanwhile the Knighton district contained seven English parishes while Presteigne contained fourteen Herefordshire parishes including the town of Kington.

The figures from the 1910 Report on Religious Bodies in Wales have been published on an administrative county basis and these show little difference between Radnorshire, 40% of the population shown as being a member/communicant of a religious body, and neighbouring Breconshire 44% and Montgomeryshire 45%. Yes Radnorians still lagged behind the Cardis 64% but were well ahead of Monmouth 24% and Glamorgan 31%.

Radnorshire was no doubt a less chapel frequenting county - in 1910 the Anglicans on 41% of the religious still outnumbered the Baptists on 36% - but was it quite as pagan as the 1851 figures might suggest?

*The figure was arrived at by comparing the number of worshippers with the population, of course some attended more than one service and would be counted twice.

We'll Keep a Welcome

I'm probably way out of touch with this but I've finally noticed that Radnorshire is now covered by Google Snooper. Ex-pats especially will welcome being able to check out all those sights they know and love from back home - vandalised shop fronts for example.

Elf and Safety

There seems to be a bit of an internet campaign against Icelanders at the moment because of their belief in elves - see picture.

I can understand the tendency towards Icelandophobia given the recent history of cash and ash, but, honestly, are we any more rational with our trust that computer simulations can predict chaotic systems?

Anyway, with a population a little over twice that of Powys, Iceland is certainly punching above its weight on the international stage at the moment.

Radnor Lily

No, not a good time girl from Llanbadarn y Garreg but Radnorshire's very own native flower, see here.

Anyway if you're fed-up with Cleggophilia, volcanomania or Britain's Got Talent, why not check out Radnorian flora and fauna with this useful site.

Relativity

One thing that gets on my goat are well-off folk who pontificate about the wonderful value for money of the BBC's licence fee.

Maybe it is, although £145.50 is quite a large sum for a low paid worker earning, say, 8K a year. A couple on the average wage would be paying out over £900 if they were charged at the same percentage of their income, while a couple of middle managers in the public service would be forking out £1500. Still good value for money or would we start to hear some squeals?

Forgotten Radnorians - Sir Harford Jones

With a collection of his papers recently selling at Sotheby's for £217k, Presteigne born Harford Jones (1764-1747) can hardly said to be forgotten by those with an interest in the history of Iran and Iraq. An adventurer, linguist, agent of the East India Company, jewel merchant, author and ambassador to the court of the Shah of Persia, Harford Jones spent the years between 1783 and 1811 in places that feature prominently in today's headlines; Basra, Baghdad and Tehran.

Of course Radnorians will be interested in his local connections - what for example happened to the three children, by his Armenian mistress Maria Gorjee, brought back to Boultibrooke by his wife?

In his recent book on Radnorshire politics Keith Parker describes Harford Jones as pompous, yet many will surely sympathise with his enlightened political standpoints. Jones was a supporter of parliamentary reform and of the cottagers in their struggle against the enclosure of the commons, he also opposed tithes and was a campaigner against the abolition of the Court of Great Sessions.*

* Many people seem to think that an independent Welsh legal system ended with the laws of Hywel Dda. Infact the Court of Great Sessions was a separate and powerful Welsh institution until it was abolished in 1830.

Oh Look It's Snowing!

No doubt there will be plenty of April Fool posts out there on the internet today, but really what is the point when reality is so much more far-fetched. Llanwrtyd's bog-snorkelling listed as one of the world's top 10 events, Llandrindod as the best place to go out in Britain - that's go out, not get out of - and anyway shouldn't it really be Rhayader. Of course Llandrindod does seemingly have four single women for every man, not much point taking them to Rhayader for a curry though, who is going to look after the kids.

"Coming from the border means that I feel like I am from Wales."

A couple of months ago I was quite unkind to Ellie Goulding - for any old fogeys reading, she's a rising young pop singer - because, bamboozled by the hopeless Western Mail, I believed she was from Knighton, a fact which she seemed to ignore on her twitter page. Now it turned out that the WM had confused Knighton with Kington, well it is a long way north of the Gabalfa flyover, so apologies to Ellie who actually hails from Lyonshall. What is interesting is that Ms Goulding herself does on occasions express a certain ambiguity about her ethnicity.

Perhaps someone will remind me who it was remarked that the border between England and Wales was a gradual progression, with England proper not starting until east of Llanllieni (Leominster). Anyway, I've always been interested in those snippets of history, uncontaminated by academic veracity, which ordinary folk believe - the kind of thing you read on tea-towels about Welsh being the oldest language for example. One such is the belief that Herefordshire used to be a Welsh county but that every hundred years or so a Welsh county is transferred to England. This belief actually contains a grain of truth, namely that, objectively, the aim of the powers-that-be has always been the destruction of a separate Welsh identity.

According to the historian Percy Enderbie, writing in 1661, Welsh was spoken over a large part of Herefordshire. Not just in the districts of Erging (Archenfield) and Ewias, south of the Wye, but also in the old Marcher lordships of Clifford, Winforton, Willersley, Eardisley, Huntington and Lugharness - the parishes of Stapleton, Willey, Kinsham, Combe, Rodd, Nash, Lttle Brampton and Titley. No doubt Welsh disappeared from these areas fairly soon after Enderbie's time, although a browse through the field names of some of these places north of the Wye will show plenty of examples of Welsh names surviving until the mid-nineteenth century.

Of course the real stronghold of the Welsh language in Herefordshire was south of the Wye in parishes such as Craswell, Clodock, Longtown, Llanveynoe and Michaelchurch Escley. Here eight out of nine defamation cases between 1712 and 1774 were in Welsh and a 19 year old from Michaelchurch Escley who came before a court in 1757 was described as a "strainger to the English tongue." It's usually cited that the last speakers of Herefordshire Welsh died in the mid-nineteenth century and an initial glance at the 1891 Census doesn't show any residual bilingualism amongst folk from Herefordshire parishes who had migrated to the coalfield.

Even before DNA, bloodgroup evidence suggested a divide between the east and west of the county and surnames are another example of the Welsh origins of many Herefordians. How Welsh any of these folk actually feel is debatable however, perhaps someone could research the loyalties of public house boozers during Wales/England rugby matches. Unlike Cornwall, there seems little evidence of Herefordians acknowledging it's old language and culture.

Over the years there have been various half-hearted calls for parts of Herefordshire to be included in Wales. I remember a parish council in the 1960s, Brilley perhaps, voting to join Radnorshire. More recently an NFU official caused a stir by claiming that Herefordshire farmers would be better off in Wales. The subsequent comments on a local BBC website are interesting as some of the most vehement opponents of reunion are those with Welsh surnames, one can hazard a guess as to why.

Forgotten Radnorian

The former Mrs Gibson-Watt

Favourite tweet on Ms Hewitt's £3K a day price tag " .... is she a perm footballer?"

Interlude Musical

Book of the Month

Radnorshire is fortunate to fall within the area of interest of the Logaston Press, if the county had to rely on Welsh publishers alone, then good books of local interest would be few and far between. It's also noticeable that the Herefordshire publisher seems to survive without recourse to the public purse. The county is also fortunate to have an author such as Mr Parker, who on this occasion has turned his attention to the local politics of the nineteenth-century.

The first half of the book details the elections to the county's two Parliamentary constituencies - the county seat and the Radnor Boroughs seat, which survived until 1885. This is the tale of local gentry rivalries, alliances and accommodations told in a lucid manner with excellent illustrations of the protagonists and their mansions.

In the second half we move on to a Welsh dimension with the widening of the franchise and the emergence of more modern politicians such as the Liberal MP Frank Edwards. The author also has three chapters covering those extra-Parliamentary activities of the small farmers and labourers: the cottagers revolt against the Enclosures, the Rebecca Riots and the later Rebeccaism of the salmon poachers. Although the author recognizes the positive outcomes of such challenges and the local establishment's fear of and willingness to compromise with the commonality, I do notice a hint of disapproval of, for example, the cottagers' champion Cecil Parsons. While an old established family like Lewis of Harpton refused to enclose long established encroachments onto the common, the newcomer James Watt was less cautious. Thomas Weale's wife Margaret may well have had an ungovernable temper and was carried, in her bed, and dumped on the floor of a local public house rather than out on the common, but the fact remains that the Weale's home was demolished and the family and their six children evicted into the snow. Likewise Richard Page and his wife may have been evicted for the non-payment rent, but what is not recorded is that the couple were in their eighties.

Although mentioned in passing, I would also have liked to have seen a separate chapter on the party politics of the new county and district councils of the 1890's, Radnorshire's passion for Independent councillors came only later. Like Mr Parker's previous Radnorshire book, this is a thoroughly researched and well-written work, at £10 it should be in the library of every Radnorian with an interest in the history of our county.