Year: 2026
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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…
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Three Castles Walk, day 2: Llangattock Lingoed to Grosmont and Skenfrith
Another hot day looms. This morning, to avoid the worst of the late afternoon heat, I’m starting out earlier, at eight o’clock. P & C have kindly given me a lift to where I left the Walk yesterday, south of Bont. A slight breeze has blown in overnight. The road leads eastward. Swifts dart about,…
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Three Castles Walk, day 1: Skenfrith to White Castle and Llangattock Lingoed
In my cycling days I used to mooch round north Monmouthshire often enough, but it’s a while since I did much wandering there on foot, except when tracking Offa. So the Three Castles Walk seemed a good way to rediscover the area – like Radnorshire, a place full of unpeopled paths and quiet lanes. It’s…
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In Nantlle
These are torrid days. On my way to the Mumbles shops this morning, on the shaded side of the road, I met an acquaintance walking with her stick and small dog. She looked down at the dog, a pug with a facial expression of one with a long prison sentence still to run. ‘He’s as…
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Canu clodydd Blaenau Ffestiniog
Byth ers imi hala cwpwl o ddiwrnodau cofiadwy yn y dref ychydig fisoedd yn ôl, wrth ddilyn Llwybr Llechi Eryri, prin fod Blaenau Ffestiniog wedi bod allan o’m hymwybyddiaeth. Rheswm amlwg oedd cael gweld Effi o Blaena, un o’r ffilmiau Cymraeg mwyaf gafaelgar ers hydoedd, yn y sinema. Addasiad yw e o’r ddrama fonolog adnabyddus…
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Diwylliant a’r llywodraeth newydd
Beth fydd ffawd diwylliant a’r celfyddydau o dan ein llywodraeth newydd yng Nghymru? Yr ateb syml yw, ‘does dim dweud’, ond mae ambell welltyn yn y gwynt sy’n awgrymu sut mae polisïau Plaid Cymru yn debyg o ddatblygu. Yn ogystal â’r adran (denau, braidd) ar ‘Gymru greadigol’ yn y ddogfen Y 100 diwrnod cyntaf, mae…
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Roman Wales: a letter to Charlotte Higgins
Dear Charlotte A few months ago, in a second-hand bookshop in Tideswell, I came across a copy of your book Under another sky: journeys in Roman Britain. I bought it, and finally I’ve got round to reading it. I know I’m late to the table – you published the book in 2013. But I thought…
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In praise of Mr Blobby
I must admit, I hadn’t noticed that Mr Blobby had made a comeback. Not, that is, till reading a newspaper article about him a few weeks ago. It seems that he’s come out of relative obscurity during the last few months to terrorise the studios of chat shows and other television programmes, by breaking objects…