Llantrisant Folk Club is 25 years old this week - and we can raise our glasses and give thanks that we're STILL here! From our tentative, fledgling ventures in the New Inn, The Folk Club has grown to welcome major artistes from all over the world - more than 600 of them. Please join us in a special anniversary event... for Llantrisant Folk Club wouldn't exist without you, members and the public. (NB: As a special 25th anniversary, the Club is going to charge you the sum of... 30p! That was the charge 25 years ago - and there's an anniversary raffle, too!)

Why don't YOU send Malcolm an email? His address is malchrisdavies@malchrisdavies.plus.com

Why not sing a song of love - or play a lovely tune - to mark St Dwynwen's Day?

On December 7, we gathered in The Wheatsheaf, ready to 'do' Llantrisant Town - and all for Holme Towers, of course. We went in The New Inn and The Llantrisant Workingmen's Club, both in Swan Street, where we had an ecstatic and friendly welcome as we sung Can y Fari and Y Washael as loud as we could. From there, it was a short walk to O'Sullivan's Restaurant (such an enticing aroma!) and The Bear, where we supped as much real ale as we could before we said our goodbyes. There was no time to pay a visit in The Cross Keys, but we entered The Wheatsheaf again to our inevitable welcome - what an enjoyable night.

The afternoon of Sunday, December 18 meant The Mari Lwyd Tour was on the road again, and we met at The Castell Mynach, almost half-way between the villages of Mwyndy and Groesfaen, at 1.30pm. Your correspondent had to get the AA out to see to his car, and so he and his partner missed The Castell and The Dynevor Arms - but we were waiting at The Barn to see The Mari arrive. The Barn was as good as we had expected, and The Penny Farthing and The Cross Inn, too - and we drove The Mari to the end of Gower to visit The Halfpenny Folk Club's Christmas Party at Oldwalls, near Llanrhydian. The Mari's turn came, and she was a spectacle! The party finished with a ceilidh, Olly and Mick (with his tabwrdd) joining in to Five Bar Gait's dance tunes and caller Keith Lascelles taking command and obviously enjoying himself.

For Nos Galan (New Year's Eve), we paraded up Oxford Street, Mountain Ash, as the Nos Galan races kicked off. The Nos Galan races are held to commemorate Guto Nyth Bran, a famous runner who lived 250 years ago at Nyth Bran Farmhouse. Legends tell how he used to catch a hare and a bird in flight, and how he used to run from his farmhouse to Pontypridd and back - a distance of seven miles - before the kettle had boiled. Then it was up the Cynon Valley to The Jeffries Arms, The Rock, a quaint hotel the name of which escapes your correspondent, The Temple Bar (a gorgeous pub!) and The Falcon, a haven of real ale, where landlord Elwyn was waiting to greet us. What a stunning night!

The Gathering was started in 2001 and has come to be one of the leading Irish festivals in the space of six short years. Last year saw unbelievable playing from Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Brendan Begley, Aly Bain, Jackie Daly and Seamus Creagh, Nollaig Casey, Arty McGlynn, Paddy Keenan, Tommy O Sullivan, Noel Hill, Alec Finn, Liz and Yvonne Kane, Eamon Doorley, Denis McMahon, Timmy Connors, Sean Garvey, The McCarthy Family from Clare and a number of ceili bands. This year The Gathering starts on February 15 and runs to February 19 and is based at The Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney - artists include Altan, Sharon Shannon and Teada with special guests Jim Murray and Brendan Begley.  

A translation of the Welsh-language headline is: Celebrating St David's Day. Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) contains the following information: "St David, born in 521AD and died in 587AD, (known in Welsh as Dewi Sant) was a church official, later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David contrasts with other national patron saints such as England's St George, in that relatively much is known about his life.

"Rhygyfarch wrote that David was the son of sanctus rex ceredigionis, where Sanctus has been interpreted as a proper name and its owner honoured by Welsh Christians as St Sant, but the Latin phrase means "holy king of Ceredigion". The king of Ceredigion in the 510s was Gwyddno Garanhir, according to regional tradition. His title Garanhir (crane legs) certainly indicated spiritual accomplishment to the Druids who bestowed it. As son of King Gwyddno, David was grandson of King Ceredig, nephew of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd, and brother of Elphin, the heir to the Kingdom of Ceredigion and the foster-father and first patron of the bard Taliesin.

"He became renowned as a teacher and preacher, founding monastic settlements in Britain and Brittany in a period when neighbouring tribal regions (that were to be united as England three hundred years later) were still mostly pagan. He rose to a bishopric, and presided over two synods, as well as going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem (where he was anointed as a bishop by the Patriarch) and Rome. St David's Cathedral now stands on the site of the monastery he founded in a remote and inhospitable part of Pembrokeshire.

"The Monastic Rule of David prescribed that monks had to pull the plough themselves without draught animals; to drink only water; to eat only bread with salt and herbs; and to spend the evenings in prayer, reading and writing. No personal possessions were allowed: to say "my book" was an offence. He lived a simple life and practiced asceticism, teaching his followers to refrain from eating meat or drinking alcohol. His symbol, also the symbol of Wales, is the leek.

"The best-known miracle associated with St David is said to have taken place when he was preaching in the middle of a large crowd. When those at the back complained that they could not see or hear him, the ground on which he stood is reputed to have risen up to form a small hill so that everyone had a good view. The village which is said to stand on the spot today is known as Llanddewi Brefi. A more mundane version of this story is that he simply recommended that the synod participants move to the hilltop.

"The document that contains much of the traditional tales about David is Buchedd Dewi, a hagiography written by Rhygyfarch in the 11th/12th century. One of Rhygyfarch's aims was that his document could establish some independence for the Welsh church, which was risking losing its independence following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It is significant that David is said to have denounced Pelagianism during the incident before the ground rose beneath him.

"William of Malmesbury recorded that David visited Glastonbury intending to dedicate the Abbey, as well as to donate a travelling altar including a great sapphire. He had a vision of Jesus, who said that "the church had been dedicated long ago by Himself in honour of His Mother, and it was not seemly that it should be re-dedicated by human hands". So David instead commissioned an extension to be built to the abbey, east of the Old Church. (The dimensions of this extension given by William were verified archaeologically in 1921.) One manuscript indicates that a sapphire altar was among the items King Henry VIII confiscated from the abbey at its dissolution a thousand years later. There are unverifiable indications that the sapphire may now be among the Crown Jewels.

"His last words, according to the Buchedd Dewi, were "Be steadfast, brothers, and do the little things".

"Unlike many contemporary saints recognised by the Welsh, David was canonised, by Pope Callixtus II in 1120.

Eirwen, who appeared with Calennig and Dawnswyr Taf-Elai in Mick Tems' touring show A Tale Of Two Rivers, is the storyteller, interspersed with incidental music composed and played by Phil. Anyone who wants to go should contact Dick Berry at 029 2022 9009.

MARI LWYD EDUCATES THE EDUCATORS: Llantrisant Folk Club and the 'orse flashed up on the screens in front of a museum theatre which was filled with academics as the Ethnology And Folk Life Section, Guild Of Graduates at the University Of Wales, held a one-day conference on the Mari Lwyd. 

Juliette Wood, who delivered a paper on The Mari Lwyd: Folk Custom and Cultual Identity, even showed the New Year card, designed by Karen Cater of Hedingham Fair, showing the Llantrisant Mari Lwyd, her party and musicians - Pat Smith on the concertina, Mike Greenwood on the melodeon, and Olly Price and Phil Downing (fiddles). Ned Clamp is holding the reins of the Mari, with Mick Tems looking resplendant as the top-hatted Leader. Other photographs showed the Llantrisant Mari leading a Penarth parade - and there was a dramatic image of Cwmni Dawns Werin Caerdydd's Mari at St Fagans museum, plus a BBC film, taken in 1966, of the Llangynwyd Mari party, being held at bay by the late Cynwyd Evans, showing his considerable knowledge and inventiveness. 

The Guild Of Graduates held the conference in the Oakdale Institute at St Fagans Museum Of Welsh Life, in assocation with the museum and The School Of Welsh, Cardiff University. The date, March 4, clashed with Cwlwm Celtaidd, the fifth festival of celtic celebration, and so Mick Tems was the only representative of the Llantrisant Mari party. 

Lecturer Wyn James introduced the papers, which were on the subjects The Mari Lwyd In Glamorgan (given by Allan James,) The Mari Lwyd In The Art Of William Brown (David Greenslade,) and From Carnival To Allegory: Reading the Mari Lwyd In Works By Rhys Davies and Vernon Watkins (Katie Gramich.) Siwan Rosser read Tecwyn Vaughan Jones' contribution, The Mari Lwyd and Revival. 

MINI-REVIEW: JAMES KEELAGHAN AND FINEST KIND: June 2006, and we braced ourselves for the Canadian onslaught - and it was a fabulous week of really stunning, exquisite music, too. The exciting songwriter James Keelaghan and two fabulous musicians guested, and then the exhilarating, on-the-edge-of-our-seats harmonies of Finest Kind, from Ottawa. Mick Tems took the pictures of James, and Huw Chidgey volunteered to become Llantrisant Folk Club's snapper for Finest Kind. Here are the two reviews:

JAMES KEELAGHAN: Canadian James Keelaghan is an international songwriter of great repute – and on this, his umpteenth tour to Britain, he brought two very fine musicians, five-string violin player Oliver Schroer and Hugh MacMillan. James is not only a troubadour to beat all troubadours; his voice is full of passion and conviction, and he’s justly taking his place with the other magnificent Canadian songscribes, Joni Mitchell and Stan Rogers. He calls the inspiration for songs “mining Canada’s history”, and he sure dug up a load of glistening nuggets for our pleasure. The audience sat enthralled as James wove tales and stories about the vast land 4000 miles to the west, and time seemed to vanish in a flash. James had everyone begging for more (and he plays a mean guitar – when a string broke, he didn’t bat an eyelid as he swiftly found a new string and tuned it, all in mid-song, too!) Can we have him back, soon? – MT (Photo captions: Above left, James gets into the joy of the story. Above right: That's the way to do it - Oliver and Hugh provide back-up assistance while James repairs a broken string... and he didn't miss one word, too!

FINEST KIND: Did you hear about some Canadian trio who stopped off on a debut tour and totally enraptured Llantrisant Folk Club with their incredibly superb harmonies and rapturous playing? I know, 'COS I WAS THERE! Englishman Ian Robb plays concertina, mid-western American Anne Downey plays double bass and banjo and folklorist Shelley Posen lays down these absolutely lipsmacking guitar lines, but the most joyous and pleasing thing about the group is this: the three may be extremely fine musicians, but a special spark ignites when they come together. We caught our breath at each precious note – it was that sort of Finest Kind night. The Ottawa trio have a special, amazing knack; just as you think they’ve raised your expectations with one glorious harmony, they top it all and raise the stakes again. This group are flying so high that vertigo sufferers really should beware. The evening sped by, always a good sign that the audience is enjoying itself – and it was encore time again, the crowd shouting for just one more. Ian, Anne and Shelley are such nice, pleasant guys too. It will be a pleasure to have them back. - MT

NB: That's two bands that I would love to come back - in the space of a week! Pat can bask in the kudos, but she's going to have her work cut out!

AND just because you thought the Canadians are pretty fine show-stealers, you ought to read the mini-review on Australian duo Cloudstreet...

MINI-REVIEW: CLOUDSTREET: Nicole Murray and John Thomson came, sang and conquered with twinkling smiles in their eyes and lots of ambitious music in their hearts. I have loads of respect for Cloudstreet; both of these Australians have luscious, superb voices, so beautifully controlled at the drop of a hat – but when they mean business, those magnificent voices soar and swell and fly away. That’s not clapping you hear, but the collective sound of jaws dropping. Nicole plays a neat flute and John’s no mean guitarist, but the most satisfying and pleasing aspect is that both are such thoroughly nice people. Not only that, but Cloudstreet keep the crowd very, very happy with good deal of imaginative, well-thought-out and original takes on well-known folk songs. It’s 18 months since they were last here, and they repeated themselves at least six times with their repertoire – but the audience wanted to hear these old pieces again, perhaps to work out just what Nicole and John were doing to these songs and what magic they were working. You go to a Cloudstreet gig and it feels as though the clouds have lifted and the sun’s shining again – that’s the effect they have on you! - MT

MARI AT THE BEASTS FEAST: The Llantrisant Mari Lwyd broke the law at the Banbury Hobby Horse Festival - along with a whole host of startling creatures this week. A local act which dates back to the 17th Century forbids men to dress up as animals - and it has never been repealed. The Town council, however, welcomes the festival and this year let the organisers have the Town hall for The Feast Of The Beasts, a sumptuous celebratory dinner at which the Derby Tup, the Kentish Hooden Horse and a plethora of strange animals strutted their stuff.

The Mari was invited to the Banbury festival, which is an absolutely stunning, friendly weekend of Morris dance and traditional ceremony. The Mari was unique in that the horse's skull was genuine - and she's been going out visiting in Llantrisant for nigh on 25 years. The Minehead Sailors' Horse really stole the show, however - this splendid vision only comes out once a year, on May Day, where it dances from dawn to dusk, accompanied by five drummers. The frame of the Sailors' Horse is really heavy, only allowing each solo dancer five or 10 minutes to carry the horse. 

The Mari Lwyd would like to thank the Hobby Horse Festival (and Fine Lady's Fool Verna Wass) for being such heartwarming, considerate, efficient organisers - and for arranging for stroke-survivor-who-can't-do-camping Mick and Olly to stay in the Whately Hall hotel at no charge! These pictures were taken by Mick Tems and Olly Price: 

Top right: The Minehead Sailors' Horse, accompanied by the drummers, comes dancing down the street.

Two pix in Banbury Town and two in Banbury People's Park: Anne Abel, the Mari and Olly get ready for the procession in St Paul's school, haven of camping (left); and Morris dancers gather round Banbury's Fine Lady statue in Banbury Cross (right); the Kentish Hooden Horse (left); and a reindeer poses (right).

Chris, former Capital Radio DJ and presenter and quizmaster of the rip-roaring hit show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Tarrant on TV, was filming for the ITV series Tarrants' Way, which should be broadcasting in the autumn. In it, Chris and his wife, Ingrid, discover some interesting places, highways and byways around Britain - and they end up in the Old Town of Llantrisant, where former Llantrisant Observer editor Dean Powell fills them in on the Freemen of Llantrisant and they meet Noel Henderson, owner of the magical but tiny Traditional Toys shop.

The venue was The Wheatsheaf, that ancient real-ale tavern; Chris, Ingrid and the crew had just finished filming at the Doctor Price statue in the Bullring, right in the centre of Llantrisant. The Mari Lwyd was re-enacting the midwinter custom where she wanders from pub to house to pub in the town. The Mari - and all the Folk Club regulars who made up the Mari Party - did themselves proud, and Chris and Ingrid were obviously intrigued and delighted at this ancient Welsh custom. At the end, both Tarrants, grinning broadly, danced with the Mari Party - our Debbie must have been pinching herself when Chris Tarrant tripped the light fantastic with her! Chris even went under the head of the Mari skull - and he was offered the chance to survey the incredible panorama of the Vale Of Glamorgan from the Gent's open-air toilet, a sight, sadly, where the ladies are barred. 

It could have been the fact that Chris was shown the Gents' toilets by a bearded bloke in a dress and red handbag, or that he was confronted by Pwnsh wearing a jester's hat and carrying a rubber udder, or a man wearing a skull who thinks he's a horse - nevertheless, Tarrant declared: "You are all stark, raving bonkers!"There were some difficult camera conditions in the Wheatsheaf, but our snapper kept clicking away. 

The Pictures show:

1. Top Right: Chris looks bemused at all the Mari Lwyd antics.

2. Middle Left: Chris dons the Mari garb as the camera focuses on his nostrils.

3. Bottom Left: It's just too ridiculous - Ingrid (with the camera) and Pat (white dress) collapse into giggles as Chris poses between Ned (Pwnsh) and Andy (Siwan.) 

MARI LORE: Pwnco (in Welsh, pwnc, a subject) is a question-and-answer "battle" between the Mari Lwyd Party and the people in the house, or pub.  This is in verse and is quite difficult - in fact, when it became known that the Mari was on her rounds, poets used to be hired to keep the Mari out. Some tussles of wits could last as long as an hour. The Mari and her Party wanted to be in the house, so they could drink their beer and eat their food, and the people barring the door were not giving up that privilege. 

The Mari Party started singing: 

"Wel dyma ni'n diwad

Gyfeillion dinewad

I ofyn cawn gennad

I ganu"

("Well, here we are, kind friends, asking your permission to sing...") 

The people in the house responded (in verse) that the Mari Party's horse didn't look too well, the singers were drunk and sounding terrible, and in fact the entire company whiffed a bit - all good, lighthearted banter... and now it was time for the Mari Party to come back at them, still retaining the strict verse. 

The pwnco verses are what makes the Mari Lwyd tradition unique - apart from the horse's skull, that is. But in Llantrisant, Llanharry, Llanharan and in all the villages and towns, sweeping Anglicisation meant the abandonment of the pwnco. In Llantrisant, the Party sing The Mari Lwyd's Song, Can Y Fari, apart from other songs - and in 25 years of appearing in the Llantrisant area, the Mari has only once been challeged in Welsh by an elderly native of Brynsadler. 

SONGWRITING WORKSHOP: Would Llantrisant Folk Club members like to get involved in a songwriting workshop? Anne Louise Wirgman, who freelances for the BBC, has emailed: “I am doing some work for the BBC Radio 2 Web site, Sold on Song. Last year we set up four pilot songwriting clubs in Dundee, Norwich, Nottingham and Plymouth.  They ranged from a membership of seven to 30 and met fortnightly to share ideas, get feedback from each other and also acted as a place where those who could write but not play could meet musicians and vice versa!  We are now looking at expanding it to a UK-wide initiative where we list areas in the UK with venues individuals could contact if they wanted to start up a songwriting club.  We would support them with a pack which we are in the process of writing at the moment based on how the pilot clubs ran last year. 

"My reason for contacting you is to see whether we could link the club in with the Llantrisant Folk Club, either by suggesting the Windsor Hotel as the best venue, or by putting the actual club as the contact.  It may be that your members already work together on songwriting?” 

Contact Anne Louise at Al.Wirgman@bbc.co.uk .

A SONG FOR IRELAND: Lashings of Guinness, loads of tasty soda bread, some heartwarming Paddy whiskey, even more heartwarming and hearty Irish breakfasts, late-night sessions, breathtaking scenery  and friendly, generous celtic hospitality - and only four days to drink it all in. Welcome to Ireland, and The Gathering!

Llantrisant Folk Club president Mick Tems and secretary Olly Price flew to Ireland with two of their fellow members of Dawnswyr Glanllwyd, Alun Rhodes and Sue Oates, to soak up this marvellous traditional festival, which takes place in The Gleneagles hotel in Killarney in the Kingdom of Kerry. But more of that later...

We landed in Cork Airport (Eddie Butler was flying on Air Wales, about eight seats away!) where we hired a car and drove for one-and-a-half hours to Ballydehob, West Cork. You couldn't miss The Chestnut Tree, standing right in the centre of the village. Bertie and Annie Moran were waiting for us in there, and after a welcome glass of the black stuff we were off to their delightful and remote home in Schull.

You must know Bertie - nicknamed 'Dublin' Moran, he lived in Newport, South Wales, where he organised Cardiff Folk Club and Newport Folk Club, often appearing with club members in the BBC and ITV Wales shows. He and Annie retired to Schull, where they set up The Mizen Irish Set Dancers (after Mizen Head, that local beauty spot), who are regular and enthusiastic invitees at the Tredegar House Folk Festival in Newport each May. That evening we walked to the sea, with Cape Clear looking imposing in the distance. Dusk had fallen by the time we reached the house - we just love Schull.

Master chefs all (they used to run a restaurant in Newport), Bertie and Annie soon had a warming and filling stew shoved down us - then it was off to The Chestnut Tree for a session. The Chestnut Tree, run by this friendly landlady who seems ageless, doubles as a tiny bar-cum-funeral parlour, and there waiting to greet us were Dick Miles and his partner Cathy. Dick, an East Anglian singer who emigrated to West Cork, resembles a most hardy Irish native now, playing an English concertina and singing some amazing songs - and Cathy is a mean fiddler, too, her instrument filling in with Olly's fiddle in perfect harmony. The Guinness, elixir of life, flowed freely, Bertie played melodeon and sang with gusto, and another singer/guitarist even joined in the fray. We had no idea what time it was, but time in West Cork is time enough. We said our goodbyes and went into the late night, where Bertie and Annie sent us to bed with lots of soda bread, cheese, hot lemon, Paddy whiskey and cloves. 

The next day we drove to Crookhaven, a place of startling beauty just on the western tip of Ireland. The bar serves really mouth-watering snacks, including prawn sandwiches - but we had breakfasted at the Morans and we couldn't eat a thing. West Cork is Murphy's country, too, and we each had a pint of Murphy's so we could compare it with the Guinness (at The Chestnut Tree, Cathy named the 12 chemicals you find in a pint of Murphy's - Guinness has dozens of them!) 

At Bantry the girls went scouting for shops, and Mick brought a sky-blue grandad shirt - at Bantry Bay, a haven of peace, it was difficult to imagine the horror that fell on the town when a vast tanker, unloading at Whiddy Island, exploded all those years ago. That night was dance practice night in Schull, and Sue, Alun and Olly joined in as Bertie and Annie trained the Mizen Irish Set Dancers - a taste of what was to come at at The Gathering festival. After a night of hard dancing, we adjourned to The Corner House for a session, the dancers playing and singing, Olly playing her fiddle, Mick on the tabwrdd and Alun and Sue getting in on the act as well. 

We rose early the next day. Bertie and Annie were down before us, and we breakfasted on sausage, bacon, Irish white and black pudding and lots of lovely soda bread ("That'll set you up for the day," said a cheerful Bertie) until we followed Bertie's mobile caravan on the way to The Gathering. The scenery was great, too - we saw the ruined monastery where St. Finbarr, founder of Cork City, contemplated peace and found it, too, among the quiet, still lake where the mountains sweep down to the Lee Valley. We saw the beautiful and tiny church which was built in memory of St. Finbarr - and the magnificent roundhouse-bethatched conveniences, proud winner of the "Ireland's Top Toilets" competition. We even entered a Gaeltacht, a "national park" where the Irish language is guarded and preserved, with a village at its centre, and discovered a sale of bargain Aran sweaters at Quills, the village store. We drove to Killarney, where the vast and beautiful mountains of McGillycuddy's Reeks overlooked the town, and we booked in to our apartment at the hotel. No ordinary hotel, The Gleneagles was pretty vast - and our apartment was pretty vast, too, with twin bathrooms and bedrooms and a spacious kitchen, eating area, lounge and TV. And it was very cheap, considering the fact that we were all on a festival package and didn't have to pay. Marvellous bargain! 

We had each vowed to do one more trip to The Gathering, which that year played host to an army of artists including Nollaig Casey and Artie McGlynn, Aly Bain and Brendan Begley, Jackie Daly and Seamus C