Beware the Welsh Teggie, witches and more - icWales

Beware the Welsh Teggie, witches and more - icWales

Feb 27 2006 Tryst Williams, Western Mail

WALES' legendary monsters will be in the spotlight this week, in a new television programme.

Beasts like "Teggie" - the nation's answer to the Loch Ness Monster, and ghoulish phenomena such as "corpse candles" will feature in a new ITV1 Wales programme Celtic Monsters.

But series producer Neville Hughes said the production was blighted by some mysterious happenings that challenged his own opinion of the unknown.

Among the unexplained events were those that occurred while working on the story of the Pontrhydfendigaid witch, Mari Berllan Biter.

"While I was editing the programme, a massive hornet appeared from nowhere and attacked me," recalled Mr Hughes. "It disappeared and I went to look for it thinking that it was very strange for the insect to be out during the winter, but it was nowhere to be seen."

A sound technician had a similar experience.

"He could hear the buzzing of the hornet behind his head," added Mr Hughes, "But when he turned round there was nothing there.

"They say witches can transform themselves into all kinds of shapes and forms - so who knows what happened?

"I've certainly changed my views on the supernatural. Before I started working on this series I didn't believe in the paranormal - now I'm not that sure."

He was also forced to think twice following a holy man's warning while shooting scenes across the Irish Sea.

"While we were filming in Ireland, a former Irish priest warned us not to meddle and to respect creatures of the unknown," he said. "Soon after that, strange things started to happen to us."

The footage the crew shot of an Irish woman telling the story of the horned witches of Sliabh na Mban, was found to be distorted. There was no technical reason for it, but they couldn't use the interview.

The series, which starts on Sunday, is presented by bard and singer Twm Morys. It aims to echo the ancient tradition of the storyteller with contributors from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany. Welsh storytellers include bards T James Jones and Ifor ap Glyn and singer Si n James.

People with first-hand experiences of mysterious happenings will also be sharing their stories.

These include Blodwen Griffiths from the Ystwyth Valley who saw the "corpse candle" - a premonition of death - and Dewi Bowen from Bala who claims to have seen Wales' own Nessie - the Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) monster.

But despite the interest in Welsh myth and legend, we don't market this aspect of our heritage the way the Scots promote Nessie.

A spokesman for the Wales Tourist Board said they did use our legends in promotional literature targeted at Belgians, Germans and French people.

"We use it discreetly or in careful measure in those markets," he said.

Lionel Fanthorpe, Cardiff author, broadcaster, church minister, and an expert in paranormal phenomena, had his own view.

He said, "We have a wealth of Welsh castles, Eisteddfodau, music, art and drama and the brilliance of guys like Dylan Thomas and among these things the monster is pretty low on our school of attractions to bring tourists and visitors into Wales. When you've got Snowdon and the Brecon Beacons, who needs them?"

He added, "I believe they may exist but would like to see evidence first - maybe a piece of fin or a tail lying on the beach at Barry Island."

Celtic Monsters starts on Sunday on ITV1Wales at 6pm

Celtic Monsters starts on Sunday on ITV1Wales at 6pm

Page 2 - Some of the Welsh myths and monsters featuring in the series

BBC history team solves riddle of Llywelyn

Daily Telegraph

Last Updated: 1:26am GMT 31/01/2006

One of the last great mysteries of the history of the independent Welsh nation was apparently solved yesterday by a group of English historians working for the BBC.

For centuries, people living in and around the chicken farm called Pen y Bryn on top of a hill overlooking the Menai Straits in Caernarvonshire have been convinced that it is a royal place.

More than that, they all firmly believed that the 36-acre farm was the last remnant of the palace of Llywelyn, the first and last prince of a "free" Wales, who died in 1282.

But Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage, says it has found traces of a medieval house about 400 yards away, near to a Norman motte, or defensive mound, that is the real site of the palace.

Today, even the current prince has become intrigued in developments after Kathryn Gibson, the owner of Pen y Bryn, tried to convince him to accept that he is the 22nd, not the 21st Prince of Wales.

"We had all the local tradition that this was the palace site, but what we were lacking was the last documentary proof that this was the case," Mrs Gibson said yesterday after the broadcast of the programme on BBC2's History Mysteries series. "But thanks to Nick Barratt and his colleagues, we now have that."

Mr Barratt, who is The Daily Telegraph's "Family Detective" found the crucial evidence in archives at Bangor, a few miles from the site. A document dating to 1284 stated clearly that there was a "Ty Hir" or long house, at the centre of the manor of Aber, previously known as Aber Garth Celyn.

It was from there that Llywelyn was known to have written his last letter of defiance to the English. But the site near the motte was not a long house, but an H-shaped dwelling which the historians believe was an administrative centre for the infant Welsh court, but not the prince's home.

Investigations showed that the chicken farm, which has a tower attached to it tentatively, is built on the ruins of a long house. On another document, dating from the 1730s, the manor house at the centre of the lands of Aber is clearly identified as Pen y Bryn.

Mr Barratt said: "It shows that Llywelyn had two separate buildings, one domestic, one business, and that the Welsh court was much more sophisticated than English historians have portrayed it to be."

Mrs Gibson is hoping that the programme will be seeen by Prince Charles, whom she met a few years ago. "I told him that he ought to acknowledge that Edward I's son was not the first Prince of Wales and that he is the 22nd, not the 21st person to hold that title."

Is Wales the resting place of the Holy Grail? - icWales

Is Wales the resting place of the Holy Grail? - icWales

Jan 17 2006 Molly Watson, Western Mail

THE Da Vinci Code might name Scotland as the home of the Holy Grail, but according to a Welsh academic, Wales' claim to the relic is much stronger.

Since Dan Brown's bestseller was published in 2003, hundreds of thousands of visitors have flocked to Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, which the book claims is the Grail's final resting place.

But, Grail expert Dr Juliette Wood of Cardiff University said theories linking the Grail to Scotland were relatively new compared to the claims which Wales has on the ancient relic, which stretch back to the 14th century.

The Holy Grail is believed to be the cup which Christ drank from at the Last Supper and is thought to have magical powers, but its location, and whether it ever actually existed, has captured the imagination of adventurers throughout history, from the Knights of the Round Table to the imaginary Indiana Jones.

Stories suggesting the existence of a Grail first appeared in the 12th century and according to Dr Wood, who specialises in Welsh folklore and Celtic literature, evidence of the relic having travelled to Wales can be traced back to the 1300s.

In contrast, the theory which Brown's novel relies on, that the Grail was discovered by the Knights Templar who buried it beneath one of the pillars of Rosslyn chapel, did not develop until the 1960s.

The evidence shows Wales has just as much right to such a prized position on the Grail seekers trail as Rosslyn, which has experienced a 100% rise in visitor numbers since the publication of Brown's novel.

Dr Wood said, "The story of Rosslyn Chapel is only about 20 years old.

"Wales' link is much stronger. Wales has Arthurian romances which refer to the Grail, but Scotland doesn't have that. There are a number of Holy Grail romances written in Scotland but currently there hasn't been anything found in Gaelic."

First reference to the Grail having travelled to Wales can be found in the story of Peredur the Son of Evrawc, which appears in the Mabinogion book of Celtic stories. In the story a knight, Peredur of Wales, sets out on a quest to find the Grail, although when he does it appears not as a shining beacon, but in the form of his cousin's head, floating on a platter in a pool of blood.

Other theories which link the Grail to Wales include:

An ancient Celtic myth called the Nanteos Cup, about a sacred life-giving cauldron. It is thought to have been the basis for many of the later Grail stories, and was found near Aberystwyth. It is believed to have healing powers;

More recently a theory put forward by former Western Mail journalist and bard, Owen Morgan, who claimed the Grail was not an object but the landscape of Wales.

Dr Wood admits that she doesn't believe the Grail ever existed but she said the legends and myths which have grown up surrounding it are an important part of Welsh cultural history.

She said, "I don't think there are any academics who would argue the Holy Grail actually existed. It's a medieval fiction that developed in the context of Christianity.

"But there are a lot of things, although nothing concrete, which link it back to Wales. It's a very interesting part of Welsh heritage."

A film adaptation of the Da Vinci Code, due out in May, is expected to renew interest in the search for this holiest of relics.

As to why such a search for a cup should have captured the imagination of so many generations, Dr Wood said, "We like mystery and the Grail is so very compelling because there is just not enough information to tie it down and that's what we like about it."

Dr Juliette Wood will be giving a lecture, The Holy Grail in Wales, on January 25 at Cardiff University's Centre for Lifelong Learning at 7.15pm

Mistletoe disappearing

Rustlers kissing mistletoe goodbye - icWales

Dec 10 2005 Sally Williams, Western Mail

KISSES under the mistletoe could be rare in Wales this Christmas because rustlers are killing off what's left of the threatened festive plant, conservationists warned yesterday.

Mistletoe used to be widespread throughout Monmouthshire, and was fairly common in Torfaen and Newport, especially in orchards, hedgerows and ancient trees.

But due to its rising commercial value, mistletoe is being stolen and sold at markets to unwitting members of the public.

It is being lost through too-aggressive pruning from the host trees it grows on and is being killed off together when old hedgerows and orchards are ripped out.

Gemma Bode, Gwent Wildlife Trust conservation manager, said, "There are cases of 'mistletoe rustling', and once the whole plant has been removed from its host tree it won't grow back again because of its quite complex life cycle.

"But the real culprit is loss of habitat - old orchards.

"Apple trees are the plant's favourite hosts and we have lost a lot of old orchards either due to individual landowners clearing them, seeing no value to them anymore, or to make way for new houses and roads. We are not sure how much mistletoe is affected by its annual 'cut'.

"But if people have mistletoe on trees they should obviously not take the whole plant but just little cuttings.

"We want people to appreciate how mistletoe got on to the tree and the fact that it is becoming less common now."

Good crops of mistletoe can still be found in parts of Monmouthshire and the trust stresses it doesn't want people to stop taking cuttings but to be sure they do not take the whole plant.

Mistletoe is not usually harmful to the plants on which it grows and its berries are an important source of winter food for thrushes and other birds.

The trust is urging land-owners and farmers to work with their local authority and ecologist, to help protect mistletoe from the threats it faces. Mistletoe berries help birds survive the winters when other food is scarce.

The Druids believed that mistletoe could perform miracles, from providing fertility to humans and animals to healing diseases and protecting people from witchcraft.

They would cut mistletoe off oak trees in a special ceremony after the winter solstice.

The correct mistletoe etiquette is for a man to remove one berry when he kisses a woman. When all the berries are gone, there is no more kissing underneath that sprig.

Cherish mistletoe or kiss it goodbye

Dec 13 2005 Western Mail

Mistletoe comes into our homes once a year at Christmas, and has its own day, December 1, to celebrate one of our most unusual plants. Here Steven Rogers, conservation officer with Gwent Wildlife Trust, considers the unusual role this plant plays in our lives and the threats it now faces

MISTLETOE is one of Britain's best-known, but least understood plants and at Christmas time we all look forward to, or brace ourselves for "a kiss under the mistletoe". But, it's at this time of year that mistletoe is most under threat.

Mistletoe used to be very common throughout the old county of Monmouthshire, and was fairly common in Torfaen and Newport, especially in orchards, hedgerows and ancient trees.

However, due to its commercial value, mistletoe is "rustled" - that is stolen - and sold to unwitting members of the public.

But, it's not only at Christmas time that mistletoe is threatened. It is also being lost through pruning from the trees where it grows, trees containing mistletoe may be cut down on building sites or for new roads, and the removal of farm hedgerows and orchards has also led to it being less widespread.

Mistletoe is not usually harmful to the plants on which it grows and its berries are an important source of winter food for thrushes and other birds.

So, if you are lucky enough to have mistletoe on your land, do not cut it from your trees or hedges (although, a small amount for Christmas will be OK).

And, if friends and neighbours have it on their land, tell them it's precious and should be looked after.

Most importantly of all, report the presence of mistletoe to the ecologist at your local authority. They can then offer advice on how you can help protect it from the threats it faces.

Mistletoe got its name in the second century from the Anglo Saxon Mistle (=dung) and Tan (=twig). It is a parasitic plant of trees, particularly hardwoods like oak and apple, and it is easy to spot in winter because its leaves stay green all year round.

The latin name Viscum album refers to the berries which are white (album) and these contain a sticky viscous fluid (Viscum).

It spreads via birds, especially flocks of winter thrushes, who eat the berries and in turn deposit their seed-rich droppings as they move from tree to tree. The birds also help spread the seed by wiping their beaks on the tree bark to clean off the sticky seeds after they've eaten.

Mistletoe is familiar to everyone at Christmas time, but it also has a history deeply embedded in ancient lore.

The Druids believed that it could perform miracles, from providing fertility to humans and animals to healing diseases and protecting people from witchcraft. They would cut mistletoe off oak trees in a special ceremony following the winter solstice.

Priests gave out the mistletoe sprigs to the people, who believed they would then be kept safe from evil spirits and storms.

They also saw it as a sexual symbol, because of the consistency and colour of the berry juice.

So, why do we kiss under the mistletoe? This tradition could have come from either the Viking association of the plant with Frigga, the goddess of love, or from the ancient belief that mistletoe enhances fertility.

The correct mistletoe etiquette is for a man to remove one berry when he kisses a woman. When all the berries are gone, there is no more kissing underneath that plant. It was believed that an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe would remain single for another year.

Mistletoe also has reputed medicinal powers traced back to the fifth century BC.

It has been used to treat hypertension and osteoarthritis. Together with blackthorn it was used to strengthen the "tired", weakened heart. It was also used for attacks of dizziness, epileptic states and as an ointment for sores and festering wounds.

More recently, laboratory studies have suggested that mistletoe may enhance the activity of the immune system so that it releases more of the chemicals that damage cancer cells.

But, it is also a poison and eating mistletoe can cause severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea, and in some cases can be fatal.

So, mistletoe is valuable to us for many reasons: it provides the opportunity for a kiss at Christmas, it's a traditional, but diminishing part of the countryside, its berries help birds survive the winters when other food is scarce and it may prove to be a very important medicine

If you have lots of mistletoe on your land or in your area, your local authority ecologist would like to know. If you would like to know more about how to protect mistletoe, Gwent Wildlife Trust or your local authority biodiversity officer can provide you with a leaflet that covers all the facts. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.wildlifetrusts.org.uk/gwent

Dozens of UFOs reported over Wales - icWales

Dozens of UFOs reported over Wales - icWales

Nov 16 2005 Robin Turner, Western Mail

DOZENS of UFOs that the Ministry of Defence cannot explain have been sighted in Wales in the past three years, the release of confidential papers has revealed.

The MoD confirmed that a green, circular object seen hovering in one position over Mumbles in January 2002 was classed as a UFO.

And another bright object seen hovering over West Swansea in January of this year is also being put down as a UFO.

However, Julie Monk of the Ministry of Defence's Directorate of Air Staff made it clear a UFO classification simply meant no rational explanation for a sighting could be found, not that it was extra-terrestrial in origin.

MoD figures show 28 reports of UFO sightings in Wales in the past three years cannot be explained.

The close encounters include a black object hovering over Rhyl, a flying disc over Newport and a spinning craft with legs spotted in the skies above Rhondda.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show that there were seven sightings in 2002, eight in 2003, four in 2004 and nine so far this year.

Whitehall-based Mrs Monk said, "The MoD examines any reports of UFOs it receives solely to establish whether what was seen might have some defence significance.

"That is, whether there is any evidence the UK's airspace might have been compromised by an unauthorised aircraft.

"Unless there is evidence of a potential threat to the UK from some external source, and to date no UFO report has revealed such evidence, we do not attempt to identify the precise nature of each sighting."

Mrs Monk said rational explanations could be found for such sightings but it would be "an inappropriate use of defence resources" to go into great depth on each report.

Instead, a number of the reports are simply classed as UFOs and a database of sightings in Wales has now been built up from 2002 onwards.

Because of the large number of reports before 2002, the MoD says the cost of examining, logging and placing them all on a database would be too expensive.

The MoD holds reports of UFOs in Wales going back 25 years.

Cardiff-based UFO researcher Chris Fowler said, "There are credible sightings of unidentified objects in the sky.

"Either these are our craft, which means we've got technology far more powerful than the ones most of us know about, or else they're somebody else's. I don't know more than that."

There have been a number of UFO watching groups in Wales including the Welsh Federation of Independent Ufologists.

The strangest report given to the federation involved a family travelling by car to the Great Orme on November 10, 1997.

They could not account for several "lost" hours when they suddenly became aware of resuming their journey, according to investigator Margaret Fry.

She was told of their account by a friend of the family.

Margaret says the couple and their children where driving on the Bodfair/Landernog road when they found their car engulfed by a purple triangular craft.

The next thing they remember is the purple craft had gone.

She said, "But they could not account for considerable hours of time lost.

"The father was having trouble afterwards with a top molar tooth and he had to go to the dentist.

"A black unknown object fell out while he was at the dentist ... but he had no fillings."

There was a raft of "cigar- shaped object" sightings in Pembrokeshire in the 1970s which prompted an RAF inquiry.

And in January 1974 there were reports a spacecraft "as big as the Albert Hall" landed in the Berwyn Mountains.

Last year, Alison Moore, 26, took footage of a floating disc in the sky above her Trehafod, Rhondda, home.

Although astronomer Mark Griffiths said "it could have been Venus" he said the incident deserved further investigation.

Wicca in Wales

Professionals spell the end for hag-ridden witchcraft - icWales

Oct 31 2005 Western Mail

THOUSANDS of children - and adults - across Wales will be dressing up for Hallowe'en.

But minus the stereotype of cloaks and pointy hats, Wales still has modern-day covens of witches.

They meet in forest clearings to worship pagan gods and goddesses and have been described in a TV series exploring Wales' links with the Otherworld.

Anglesey is revealed as a hotbed of paganism where witches regularly meet to call on the spirits of the earth, using symbolic props like broomsticks, daggers and cauldrons.

And followers like Kris Hughes, who holds down a professional job by day, have spoken of turning their backs on Christianity to find new fulfilment in the world of the Wicca.

The series Blas Y Cynfyd (A Taste of the Ancient World) has explored the myths and realities behind our images of witches - as evil, satanic crones who put their alleged powers to no good.

Mr Hughes, a high priest of a group of witches on Anglesey, formerly studied in Bible College but found it unfulfilling.

He has been involved in paganism for 15 years and says, "I now live as a pagan - it is my life. It was the answer to the black hole in my mind. The church could not fill it.

"To be honest I have never been so happy."

He says his beliefs revolve around cause and consequence, and adds, "We have to take responsibility in our lives, in the way we treat everything, even plants and animals."

He is seen leading a group of chanting followers, mostly women, as well as demonstrating paraphernalia like knives and chalices.

But it is a long way from when witches were burnt at the stake by church and state - although some institutions such as St David's College still refused to take part in the filming.

The image of the witch has undergone transformations over the centuries, from the wretched old hags of Shakespeare's Macbeth to the sparky Hermione in the Harry Potter books.

Eirlys Gruffydd, author of Gwrachod Cymru (Witches of Wales), said, "The traditional idea is of a witch as a haggard old lady with her crooked nose and her boils, who hates everyone and damns and curses.

"But she can also be a white witch who used potions for positive outcomes.

"Historically, witches always walked a fine line between holding the respect and the fear of the common people. They needed their skills with herbs but they also feared their powers."

The programme was produced by Michael Bayley Hughes, for Teleg TV, who said learning about witchcraft was fascinating but strange to imagine in his native Wales.

"I was familiar with witchcraft in Africa and South America but it was an eye-opener to film witches on my home island of Anglesey," he said.

"I have heard that there are around 13 covens on Anglesey alone. They still suffer a lot of prejudice. I did not know what to expect and was nervous.

"But Kris explained everything and I think we were fair in representing his beliefs.

"It is easy to be reactionary but it is what they believe; so why is that any different from Christianity?"

Blas y Cynfyd, Sundays, 10pm, S4C

Celtica to close

The seed of an idea that never germinated

Sep 10 2005 Rhodri Clark, Western Mail

Mid Wales is to lose one of its ambitious tourist attractions after its funding was pulled this week. Rhodri Clark explains why he always thought the project was doomed

THE decision by Powys County Council to close Celtica in Machynlleth is a shame. There was the seed of a great idea in Celtica, but sadly it never germinated.

The venture was announced by some excited men in suits at a press conference more than a decade ago. I covered the event for the Western Mail and remember puncturing the euphoria with a question about the number of original Celtic artefacts to be displayed at the new centre, pictured right. None, was the answer.

The promoters set great store by the fact that Celtica was designed by the man responsible for the successful Jorvik Viking centre in York. But at Jorvik the hi-tech gadgetry is the icing on an historic cake, not the cake itself.

Visitors take a slow funfair-type ride around the actual foundations of Viking buildings, learning as they go about Viking history and the story of the foundations' discovery and conservation. At the end there's a fascinating museum packed with (hornless) helmets, coins and games found at the site.

The officials behind the Celtica concept, mainly councillors and officers of Montgomeryshire District Council, chose not to see the difference.

After the press conference, where I also had the temerity to ask if Machynlleth had enough tourists to make Celtica viable, I was asked to provide positive coverage, as if the headline would make or break it.

I visited Celtica soon after it opened in 1995, with what I hope was an open mind. Visitors walked from room to room to see dioramas of different aspects of Celtic life. At the end there was a video, which included footage of children at the Urdd Eisteddfod and views from an aircraft swooping over Snowdonia, to the rather banal backing of Dafydd Iwan singing Ry'n ni yma o hyd (We're still here).

Some of the information at the diorama stage was interesting . But overall I was left with a sense that Celtica was too focused on Welsh identity, rather than putting Wales in its international historic context.

The most interesting exhibit in Celtica was a book fixed to a shelf, which did explain about Celts internationally. But visitors weren't paying the admission fee to read a book.

Celtica might have worked had it either been in an area of mass tourism or held some genuine Celtic treasures, which would have enticed people off the beaten track.

There was great potential in the concept of a centre devoted to Celtic culture and history. It could have featured interactive displays showing how Celtic artists used symbolism, perhaps with a facility for kids and big kids to compile their own Celtic images on a computer.

There could have been displays to show how Celts across Europe influenced modern-day European and other languages, place names and cultures.

Imaginative features on the contribution of the Celtic diaspora to the US and other countries could have pulled in the expats, including perhaps the lucrative Irish-American trade.

I can't say, "I told you so" now that Celtica is to close in March 2006. I didn't expect it to last this long.

Its longevity is not down to success, however. It needed 90,000 visitors in its first year, rising to 110,000, but the most it ever received in a year was 34,000. It has always operated at a loss.

The main lesson to be drawn from the venture is that local authorities aren't very good at establishing tourism and leisure attractions. Montgomeryshire isn't the only culprit. Huge debts were run up in the mid-1990s on ill-conceived upgrades to the seafronts at Rhyl and Prestatyn, for example.

To see how it can be done, you only need to take the short trip to Corris, where an entrepreneur has set up a tour of an abandoned slate mine.

Instead of telling the history of slate mining, King Arthur's Labyrinth presents bits of the Arthurian legends in an unusual, entertaining way. The kids love it, and it's a fair bet the Americans do, too.

King Arthur's Labyrinth was made on a shoestring, compared with the millions spent on Celtica, but the concept was sound and every penny is made to work.