Year: 2026
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Letter from Instow
On an imaginary bridge across Môr Hafren we’d have arrived here in much less than an hour. As it is, we faced a car journey of over four hours. Add the fact that neither of us has been here before, and the result is that this spot in north Devon seems remote and exotic. (C…
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Esther a’r llyffant
Ar ôl hala tipyn o amser yn ddiweddar yn Llanybydder, tynnais i fy nghopi o Y llyffant o’r silff. Nofel hunangofiannol yw hon, sy’n adlewyrchu profiad yr awdur, Ray Evans, o dyfu lan yn ferch fach yn y pentref rhwng y ddau ryfel byd. Ac ar ôl ei hailddarllen, allwn i ddim peidio â dod…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 5: Llanybydder to Llandysul
In the Black Lion in Lampeter I have an early breakfast and take the T1 bus back to Llanybydder. Rain has arrived overnight, thin rain that’s no bother now but might be if it continues for hours. The clouds are low, and visibility poor. On the bus and round the village are figures in high-vis…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 4: Lampeter to Llanybydder
These days Lampeter is a quieter place than it was. The main reason is the loss of St David’s College. The closure of a university is a blow for any town, but when that town is small and rural and far from a rail line, and when it has no other economic focus, then the…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 3: Llanddewi Brefi to Lampeter
In Llanddewi Brefi the night has been hot and close, and sleep difficult. Awaking before five o’clock, I find it impossible to nod off again; a wood pigeon sets up a constant call as soon as it becomes light. So I have an early breakfast in the New Inn, pull on my boots and make…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 2: Pontrhydfendigaid to Llanddewi Brefi
I’d arranged to meet a friend, H., for breakfast in the Black Lion in Pontrhydfendigaid, but she rang to say that, because of her asthma she’d need to stay indoors at home in the morning to avoid inhaling the wildfire smoke. So I make an early start, pass through the village, cross the Teifi bridge…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 1: Teifi Pools loop to Pontrhyfendigaid
Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) is the official starting point of Teifi Valley Trail. At least it is if you’re walking from source to sea, which is the best way, unless you’ve mastered the art of reading guidebooks backwards. It isn’t the easiest place to get to, if you start out from Mumbles, as I have. …
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Michael’s universe
Before long Michael will be moving home, from a small London flat to a small house a mile or so away. This is the kind of change, you might say, that happens all the time. Most people manage it without much stress or fuss. After the initial disruption and excitement, they get on with their…
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Celf a geiriau
Hwn yw testun Darlith Goffa Ieuan Rees a draddodwyd yn y Lle Celf, Eisteddfod y Garreg Las, Llantwd, Sir Benfro, ar 8 Awst 2026. Rwy’n ddiolchgar iawn i’r Eisteddfod Genedlaethol a’r Lle Celf am y gwahoddiad i draddodi’r ddarlith hon er cof am Ieuan Rees. Bu farw Ieuan ym mis Hydref 2025, yn 84 oed…
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The second death of Kilvey Hill
Swansea, like Rome, is built around several hills, but the tallest of them is Kilvey Hill, just to the east of the city centre. The Welsh form of Kilvey is Cilfái (‘nook in an open place’), though the original name, it seems, was Y Bigwrn. Pigwrn means ‘peak’, but it can also mean ‘ankle’, and…