Mentrau Iaith y Gogledd

Welsh learners are invited to get creative with a series of free bilingual workshops at Rhydymwyn Valley Works. The workshops are ideal for anybody who enjoys arts and crafts and would like to practise their Welsh in a friendly, fun environment. All sessions are free. The workshops will be held at the Visitor Centre of Rhydymwyn Valley Works, which was a secret weapons factory during WWII, producing thousands and thousands of mustard bombs!

Group mentor Dee Rivaz explained, “Everyone is welcome but the hope is that Welsh learners will take the opportunity to practise their Welsh in a totally informal situation. The focus of the craft activity will be to fashion blankets and banners that interpret an idea through images and words in both English and Welsh, by any method preferred - collage, printing, appliqué, embroidery, felt, knitting, crochet and so on. There will be tutorial support and ideas and resources to start us off. We are going to meet once a month, so please do come and join us!”

The first session will be held on Monday 27th September, between 1 – 3.30pm. Light refreshments will be provided.

Battle of the Bands

Menter Iaith Sir Y Fflint, Sir Ddinbych and Wrecsam are looking for young musicians who want to become part of the roc and pop scene in north east Wales!

BBC C2 are looking for musicians aged 16 – 21 to compete in its Battle of the Bands. Bands must sing in Welsh – but don’t worry, Menter Iaith and the Urdd are here to help anybody interested in competing. Watch this space for more details of bilingual workshops we are offering for free.

The first round will be held in L’etage club in Wrexham on October 8th. The winners of the competition will go on to the regional round, perhaps to represent the north in the finals. Nobody from the north has won Battle of the Bands since NO STAR from Wrexham in 2005 – can we change this in 2011?

For more information, e-mail gwybod@menteriaithsiryfflint.co.uk.

Rain failed to dampen spirits as festival-goers flocked to Y Ffin festival in Holywell last Saturday.

Y Ffin festival was launched in 2009 to offer Welsh language rock and pop bands a platform in north east Wales. Its organisers, Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint and Urdd Gobaith Cymru, feel that this year’s event was successful in promoting the Welsh music scene to a new audience.

Darren Morris, the Urdd’s Development Officer for Flintshire and Wrexham, said, “ It was a funky fusion of Welsh and English rock, pop, acoustic, ska and indie music. We heard every instrument from trombone to tabourine. We jammed to Welsh reggae and danced to bilingual Beyonce. Whether they understood the lyrics or not, people were dancing in the street. People were coming up to us wanting to know more about the bands, asking whether there were going to be any more Welsh gigs in the area soon. It’s great to be able to generate so much interest in Welsh music before the 2011 National Eisteddfod comes to Wrexham. We want everybody to be aware of and to enjoy the fantastic contemporary bands playing in Wales.”

Around 500 visitors attended the festival, bringing income as well as music to Holywell high street.

Gwawr Cordiner, Managing Director for Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint, said, “Our intention was to hold a real community event in Holywell; one that people could enjoy regardless of linguistic ability. From the positive responses we had on Saturday, and the wide cross-section of people who came to the festival, we like to think that it was a successful. We are already planning Y Ffin 2011! We would once again like to thank everybody who has supported Y Ffin Festival in Holywell.”

Menter Iaith Sir Y Fflint and Urdd Gobaith Cymru want to get Flintshire rocking at Y Ffin music festival! North east Wales’s answer to Glastonbury is coming to Holywell. On July 24th Tower Gardens will play host to some of the biggest names in Welsh music.
The Welsh Language Initiative and the country’s biggest youth movement are bringing a musical Mardi Gras to Holywell to promote Welsh rock, blues, pop and punk bands. Derwyddon Dr Gonzo, Racehorses, Masters in France, Yucatan and Brigyn are among the bands entertaining the crowds at the FREE festival. The full line up, along with other details, is available at www.yffin.co.uk.

Rebecca Davies, Language and Heritage Officer for Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint said, “It’s no exaggeration to say that we have some of the best bands in Wales playing at Y Ffin 2010. Between them, these band have released stacks of successful albums, and have performed across Wales, Britain, and places as far away as the USA and Japan! They’ve had lots of air play on Radio Cymru and Radio 1, and now they’re here in Holywell. There are no tickets, no entry fees and everybody is welcome. So bring your picnic, bring your deck chair and come down to Holywell on July 24th to enjoy Y Ffin Rock Festival!”

The festival will kick off in Tower Gardens at 12pm, with Ian Rush opening the show, a lively local rock band described by the late John Peel as producers of “Top tunes from the land of song". Reggae and blues band Tacsi will follow, along with pop from Hufen Ia Poeth. Later on in the afternoon, Brigyn will be playing selections from their three melodic albums, and Yucatan will be filling the streets with acoustic rock described by Radio 1’s Hugh Stevens as “stunning music from a special place”. To get the audience on their feet to end the evening, Masters in France will be playing their infectious indie songs, and Racehorses will be performing tracks from their first album, ‘Goodbye Falkenburg’. Headlining the evening will be Derwyddon Dr Gonzo, a funk and ska band from Llanrug by Caernarfon. The boys are no strangers to the festival scene, having performed in a number of large gigs including the National Eisteddfod. The band is famous for their crowd pleasing, catchy songs and their mischevious costumes!

The event is being organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru and Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint, with support from Holywell Town Council. Cadwyn Clwyd have kindly contributed £7,160 to the project from their Cultural Celebrations fund, which is funded by the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

On June 14th members of Cylch Ti a Fi Terrig and Terrig Meithrin came together to enjoy an evening of pampering. Guests enjoyed relaxing head and shoulder massages, make-overs and manicures. The guest speaker for the evening was Beryl H. Griffiths, talking about her book ‘Wild Welsh Women’. She introduced us to some of Wales’s most famous women, and this led to a discussion about who the group would select to include in an updated edition. We look forward to reading Beryl’s next book!

Congratulations to Saint Richard Gwyn Catholic High School who won the Daniel Owen Film Award 2010, and to Flint High School who came second in the competition. The Awards Evening was held on Mai 20th at Clwyd Theatr Cymru. The evening was a well-deserved celebration and a fitting end to the film project. All the schools involved came together for the premier, an evening of entertainment and also to thank the producers, directors and organisers of the project.

If you would like to buy a copy of the films on DVD, please contact Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint’s office on 01352 744040.

Shrek, Avatar, How to Train Your Dragon ... Animation has never been more popular! Now, thanks to Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint, the Urdd and Cadw’s Lifelong Learning Programme, a group of youngsters from Flintshire will have the opportunity to become animators and make their very own film....Click here for more.

Again, Menter Iaith joined forces with the Urdd to offer a series of one day workshops aimed at local Welsh-speaking primary school pupils. They were given the choice between Art, Drama and Dance workshops held in Ysgol Glanrafon over February half term. The children had a lot of fun creating a wild animal mural, masks and decorating t-shirts during the Art and Craft day. Cari Sioux from Llanuwchllyn conducted the dance session where the children learnt hip hop, tap and street dancing amongst others. The workshops came to a close with a lively drama workshop based on refugees. The children were beside themselves learning how to mime.

Holi Hana

A special visitor popped in to see the pupils and friends of Ysgol Glanrafon on the afternoon of November 25th. Characters from S4C’s Holi Hana were in Mold for the afternoon. Hana the duck who acts as an agony aunt to the other animals, and the small bear Bert, received a warm welcome from the children in the form of hugs and kisses!
The event was organized in partnership with Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin in order to raise awareness amongst parents of the benefits of bilingualism in the home. Rhian Davies, Menter Iaith’s Business Officer said, “It was a brilliant afternoon, and the children were overjoyed to meet Hana. We had the opportunity to pass worthwhile information on to parents. The amount of children choosing Welsh education is rising across the county and we are keen to celebrate this. More and more parents are seeing the advantages that come from bilingualism. There is ready made support to be had from Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin and Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint for families who are interested in introducing Welsh in the home.”
Marian Antrobus, the Development Officer for Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin in Flintshire added, “The Holi Hana characters and others alike are available to watch on S4C every morning from 7.30am until 1.30pm, this is a great way to introduce Welsh into the home. Children at this age are like sponges and pick up languages so easily. It was also great to see so many parents from the Cylch Meithrin and the Ti a Fi groups attending the activity along with their children.”

Rebecca Davies, Language and Heritage Officer for Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint added, “This has been an extremely exciting project. The Welsh learners had the opportunity to practice their Welsh in a relaxed, social atmosphere, learning new vocabulary and a bif of herritage and history of local industry along the way. The art work created entirely from paper, glue and paint is worth seeing. The work is so effective that it tricks the eye into thinking it’s real pottery!”
The mural will go on public display in the near future.
Pictured (left to right): the artist, Mari Gwent, Dee Rivaz, Peter Davies and Robbie Burton.

Proposed Flintshire Language Centre
For more information click here
Nomination form click here

Talent FfM
The Urdd, Menter Maelor and Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint’s talent competition is back, and bigger than ever. The competition, which is similar to ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, is now in its third year, and has expanded to include competitors from Denbighshire and Conwy this year. If you are between 11 and 25 years old and think you have a talent that could win you £150, then click here for your application form.

You can do practically anything, from clog dancing to hip hop, from juggling to cocktail mixing, from singing Cerdd Dant to a Rock Band, come show us your talent! The Flintshire prelims will be held at Ysgol Maes Garmon on the 16th of November, and the final will be held at the Springfield Hotel, Hollywell on the 1st of December. The judges on the evening will include beat box artist Ed Holden, Marc Evans (BBC’s Your Country Needs You), and Siân Beca (S4C’s Rownd a Rownd).

New Technology
Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint have reached the Twenty First Century!! It is now possible to follow the Menter Iaith’s events on Facebook by joining our Facebook page by following this link (Click here).
The Menter Iaith is also advertising it’s events by Twittering on Twitter! Follow us! click here
We have also invested in some new software that allows us to send Text Messages to members and supporters to remind them of Welsh language events in the area. If you would like to receive these, please email us with your mobile number, or send a text directly to Rhian on 07919177373. In the same way, if you wish to be removed from the list at any time, please contact us.

Y Ffin
The new Y Ffin rock and pop music festival held at the Rec, Mold on Satuday 25 July was a resounding success. Over 1500 people attended the event, and enjoyed some glorious sunshine to accompany the local and national Welsh and anglo-Welsh bands who performed throughout the day.

Gwawr Cordiner, Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint Managing Director said: “We had to deal with some difficulties with very wet weather on Friday, as we were about to set up, but thankfully we re-located to the Kendricks field first thing on Saturday morning and were extremely fortunate to enjoy a glorious sunny day for the event. I would like to thank all staff, volunteers, our partners, in particular Urdd Gobaith Cymru and theabsurd, members of the Round Table plus all our sponsors for ensuring the day was such a wonderful success. This was our first Y Ffin festival, and we hope to be able to develop and build upon the success of last weekend. The local community’s feedback was brilliant, and it certainly placed Flintshire on the map in terms of promoting the Welsh language and rich culture we have here in Wales.”

Entertaining and interesting performances were heard from a number of local bands, including The Lupin Thieves from Mold, Meilir from Caerwys. One of the festivals highlights was the lively performances by Derwyddon Dr Gonzo and the Sibrydion.

Clwb Gwawr
20 young (!) women from the area got together on Friday the 4th of September in the Rainbow Inn at Gwernymynydd to start Flintshire’s first Clwb Gwawr. Following an energetic walk, there was a meal in the pub, before deciding on an official name for the club. Gwawr Fama was chosen as the official title for the club, and the members volunteered to draw up a programme of events for the year, as follows:

6th November, 2009 Buddug Selway-Jones and Nan Powell-Davies, Feast for the Belly!

January 8th, 2010 Catrin Wilde and Delyth Brown, Fair Image Night

5th March, 2010 Beth Voice and Pauline Malia, Go Karting

7th May, 2010 Helen Dumbleton and Vicky Weale, Good Housekeeping Night

2nd July, 2010 Bethan Williams and Bethan Jones, Open Air Adventure

We are yet to confirm the locations and times of the events, and activities may be subject to change. We welcome any women from the community who would like to join, there are no rules on age – welcome to anyone who wants to socialise in Welsh with a group of women who enjoy having fun! If you would like more information, please contact Rhian Davies on 01352 744040 or click here

Tegeingl
A weekend to remember was had on the 10-12th of July. There was a feast of entertainment with the pub sessions, two concerts and a twmpath. An overflowing Pentan pub was entertained by Irish band Lasair on the Friday night. The session at the Ruthin Castle pub on Saturday afternoon with Lasair and Carreg Lafar was just as lively. By Saturday evening, Bryn Coch School hall was worth seeing, without even mentioning the fantastic folk entertainment. Following performances by Lasair (Ireland), Tom Kitching and Gren Bartley (England) and Carreg Lafar (Cymru), a fantastically lively twmpath was had.

The weekend came to a close with a Three Choir concert at St Mary’s Church on Sunday afternnon, as mixed choir Côr y Pentan, Male voice choir Côr Meibion Caerwys and ladies choir Chôr Merched Y Rhos sang together.

Year 8 pupils at Ysgol Maes Garmon and Year 9 pupils at Ysgol Alun had great fun on the 18th of September song writing with jolly band Gwibdaith Hen Fran. The band chose the best composed songs to perform during their gig at Mold Food Festival. Victorious was a group of boys from Ysgol Alun with the following lyrics:

Mae ‘na rhywbeth yn y muffin,

Siocled, Mefus, Chicken Stuffin,

Mae ‘na Rhywbeth yn y muffin o hyd.

Mae ‘na rhywbeth yn y muffin,

Siocled, Mefus, Chicken Stuffin,

Mae ‘na Rhywbeth yn y muffin o hyd.

Yn y bore dwi’n cael muffin da

Panad o de a hufen ia.

The tent was heaving for the family twmpath, and a sea of smiling faces was to be seen singing along with the popular Gwibdaith songs. Band member, Phil Jones, said: "Our music is all a bit silly; we sing about food and clothing and just have a good time. It’s all about the feel-good factor". That’s exactly why the band from Blaenau Ffestiniog appealed so widely to local families, young people and Welsh Learners.

Language Technium
Flintshire’s Welsh Language Forum has commissioned a very interesting piece of research recently. Cwmni Mabis was commissioned to do a feasibility study into the possibility of opening a Welsh Language Technium or Centre in Flintshire. The research work has been done, a possible site has been found and the final report has been presented to the Forum recently. If you would like to receive a copy please contact Gwawr Cordiner.

The main results of the research show a need for a location that could provide the following services:

Resources and space to conduct Welsh language classes for adults
Child Care/Nursery – Play space
Offices/Rooms

We would very much like to hear your opinion on the matter, and we will be looking for representatives of community organisations to sit on the Welsh Technium/Centre’s Executive Committee. If anybody is interested, or would like to nominate somebody on behalf of your organisation please contact Gwawr click here at the Menter.

Menter Iaith Sir y Fflint have moved!
Our new address is:

Uned 3
Parc Busnes Yr Wyddgrug
Ffordd Wrecsam
Yr Wyddgrug
CH7 1XP
Phone: 01352 744040
Our e-mail addresses will remain the same, i.e. name@menteriaithsiryfflint.co.uk.

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