The Welsh

They live in a country called Wales OP.

What do you think the deal is with them?

Their prince is a giant turd.

The don’t honor IOUs.

Stingy, cold, and closed-minded.

They invented grape juice.

R5 really?

They're the Canadians of the U.K.

Their language is mesmerizing despite sounding like Klingon.

What is their culture like and are their accents easier to understand than the Scots?

R8, wow. That doesn’t sound anything like Scotch or Irish Gaelic.

I like that video at R8.

I had no idea Matthew Rhys spoke Welsh.

It's cool.

The love the music of Lawrence Welsh, and they drink a lot of grape juice.

We have true black hair and our rivers run black from coal. We are great readers and great raconteurs.

And we have only five surnames amongst us.

39 year old actress Catherine Zeta Jones is Welsh.

The gravelly voiced among them tend to be dirty fuckers, up for it, have noteworthy stamina, and great fun.

A yw'r OP ar gyffuriau?

[quote] And we have only five surnames amongst us.

[quote] —Jones, Evans, Williams, Davies, Thomas

Don't forget Gruffudd!

"Why Richard, it profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales!"

R6 is so gullible!

So, are Welsh schools bilingual or do people just learn Welsh from their families?

When they lose a bet, they’re not good at paying the money they owe!

Their rabbits look like open-face sandwiches with some nasty goo!

They have the longest wi-fi passwords on earth.

R18...

The language may not sound anything like Irish or Scottish to us, but my dad, sister and I visited my mom's distant cousin in gaeltacht western Ireland a couple of years ago, where the Irish language has continued to be spoken and never was eradicated, and some people told us that Irish and Scottish have very little in common and they feel closest both linguistically and culturally to Wales.

Linguistically, Breton (spoken in Brittany, France) and Cornish (Cornwall, England) are the closest languages to Welsh.

I've learned a little bit about Cornwal because I like Tori Amos a lot, and she has lived there for years because her husband is Cornish. I never realized Cornwal has a whole culture and history of its own as Wales does. It is "just" a county in England, but it has an independence movement of residents who want it to receive some sort of formal recognition of independence to honor its specific culture and history. Tori released an EP called Christmastide this year, and some of the songs on it aren't exactly Christmas songs but instead are based in local Cornish pre-Christian beliefs.

I just mention it because I've been interested to learn how different these relatively small regions are and how deep their histories run.

I live in the DC area, and this area should be rich with old histories stemming back to Algonquin and other tribes, but it has been wiped out. I find it moving that Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, western Ireland et al. have been able to preserve some of their pre-colonial cultures.

Why are so many white Welsh people very tanned or even comparatively dark skinned even without any known, recent history of multiracial ancestry?

R26 It's very weird that people don't seem to register how many British people are 'swarthy,' with dark hair and sometimes more olive-hued skin. It's not uncommon at all in the British isles, but because they get little sun and are mixed with a population that includes very pale and fair people rather than a more uniform look as in the Mediterranean, it seems to be lost on people.

Wales is thought to have been settled around 30,000 years ago by Central Europeans. These are the Celtic tribes of people who brought fair, reddish hair, pale skin, etc.

Wales was conquered by the Romans beginning in 48 AD. So they became integrated with Roman people and, no surprise, the population of Celts and Romans mixing brought about a mixed-looking population. This era lasted 400 years before the Anglo-Saxon Germanic tribes came in and then Vikings from Scandinavia.

According to Wikipedia, "The Anglo-Saxons called the Romano-British *Walha, meaning 'Romanised foreigner' or 'stranger'."

So it seems the Roman influence on Wales was easily identifiable both culturally and appearances-wise. They were regarded as "strangers" in their own land by invaders.

I've been reading about British history since my Ancestry DNA test revealed that I'm about 60 percent British (now broken down into English and Scottish separately) because I never even thought of British as an ethic group in and of itself and it seemed like the most boring possible culture to have come from.

But the reality is that the British Isles have been a temperate sitting duck for millennia that have attracted invaders from all areas surrounding them, and before the Brits became colonists, they had waves of invaders from all over Europe coming in and changing their cultures endlessly. And small territories of the small islands, such as Wales, have developed distinct ethinic identities and cultures. Not all parts of Britain were successfully invaded by Rome, and Wales was totally changed by Roman invasion, which almost certainly explains why many Welsh people look 'exotic.'

Meanwhile, the remaining 40ish percent of my background is from western Ireland, which is totally opposite: the lands there are barren and the weather is rough and so they never were invaded until the Brits annexed them--but even then, unlike the rest of Ireland, the people in the region my family came from never were forced to give up the Irish language. So genetically, the population of far Western Ireland is concentrated unliked mixed populations of most of the British Isles, and the closest genetic relative to the people of that region of Western Ireland is the Basque people from Spain and France. That is likely because they fled Spain as refugees, sailed up the coast and crashed in the rough waters off the west coast of Ireland, and survivors integrated with the local people. It is likely that some seafaring Iberian people also ended up in Wales given where Wales is geographically, and so that would introduce more dark features in addition to the Roman influences.

R27 Fucking hell you're boring.

A friend of mine speaks Welsh as her first language. We trained together as mental health nurses. The first time she wrote up a patient’s admission, she wrote it entirely in Welsh. The ward manager thought she was having a psychotic episode.

R28 is a proud know-nothing.

[quote] The first time she wrote up a patient’s admission, she wrote it entirely in Welsh. The ward manager thought she was having a psychotic episode.

I actually laughed out loud.

Gaslighting cruel cunts

I was told we’re good singers and drinkers who will flirt with your grandma and then piss in your cupboard.

Of course, there’s been a lot of dilution since they immigrated to the US so it’s not like we can give Wales all the credit.

Well hung, good stamina, hairy holes. Uncut.

I could pick out Catherine Zeta-Jones from any crowd based on R34's description!

Soap opera. It's no Coronation Street.

I grew up with Pobol y Cwm. I've lived in Lloegr a Ffrainc (England and France) for the last three decades, so I rarely see it these days. There is currently a cute gay couple in it, though.

Yes, Iolo and Tyler, r37. But they're divorced, I thought -- though it's a soap so... love Tyler's beard.

I haven't seen it for a couple of years, and I thought they had only just got married back then! Still, as you say, things are different in Soapland.

Men of Harlech on to glory, this will ever be your story, keep these burning words before ye, Welshmen will not yield!

To get from Conwy in the North to Cardiff in the South takes well over 4 hours, they are only 150 miles apart but it's quicker to drive back into England and then cross back into South Wales.

So, one of the most striking, adventurous, ultra exhibitionist men I’ve found on Twitter is this guy. He’s switched up his name many times, but used Lawrence quite a bit. He’s like the ultimate renaissance man, he plays music, is an artist, avid outdoors man, world traveler, athlete and a very proud and unapologetically gay man. He’s tall, very manly, extremely well endowed, kinky and fetishictic and will basically be my concept of what Welsh men are like. I know already many of you will hate on his face, butter and all that, but I find him handsome and charming. He also has on OF, but there’s enough content on his Twitter I can’t imagine needing more. I would run away with him for the rest of my life if he asked me and die a happy man.

My paternal grandfather and his mysterious ancestors (long story) are from Pembrokeshire and I've lived on the Wenglish border most of my life, so even though I don't speak Welsh fluently (broken, basic conversation is my limit) and my passport says I'm English, I do consider myself partially Welsh (a third, perhaps). I've inherited the pleasant singing voice and the liking for poetry as well as the fair ruddy complexion with curls, but I'm also a blond and not in the least bit outgoing or flirtatious (which is the Anglo-Saxon part of my DNA, I suppose). Shamefacedly, I also have to admit I don't enjoy the rugby, and I don't drink like a champion either. Personally I find the full-blood Welsh locals to be thoroughly decent and hospitable sorts for the most part, certainly more fun than the English, but also somewhat insular and provincial. I like it here, but I'm not sure if I can stay the rest of my adult life if I ever want to fulfil my ambitions and find a chosen family of fellow gays. AMA.

When I’m in the Main Line outside Philadelphia I always feel magically transported to Wales from all the names.

It is a civilized land, where men like OP are locked in county jails.

Yes, r42. OOMPH

Don't let them get sweaty!

Their BO smells like leeks.

Youngish Burton was a dream bottom

^And spoke elegantly too!

their politicians wear plaid

they have rare bits

Wales has some really beautiful landscapes. I've been to Pembrokeshire many times and the coastal landscape is stunning.

Extraordinary interview of Richard Burton, in which he describes his Welsh upbringing, and the tough working-class life of many of them, including his. A miner's life was typical of so many of them. In fact, being a miner was a source a pride for them, since they considered it to be specialized craft superior to others associated with working-class people.

He also was fluent in Welsh, his native tongue, and spoke it with his father. Watch this interview if you have the time; it's very enjoyable and insightful.

Very Annie Mary is a good portrayal of eccentric Welsh. Rachel Griffiths is fantastic in it.

HM The Queen’s hat at Prince Charles’s investiture as Prince of Wales was pretty far out.

R45 A friend of mine lives in Pembs. Beautiful part of the world. Lovely to visit the national park. Beautiful beaches, St David's etc. Love going there.

[quote] That doesn’t sound anything like Scotch or Irish Gaelic.

Are you referring to Scots - an English dialect - or Scots Gaelic? Scots Gaelic has its roots in Irish but is separated by about 700 years and is considered a separate language. Neither of those sound at all like Welsh - while all three are Celtic languages only Irish and Scots Gaelic are of the same language family (along with Manx).

Some other facts about Wales:

There are only three last names: Davies, Jones, and Rhys. If they need to create more they hyphenate any two in combination.

In a typical village in Wales you’ll find just one Gay living there at any point in time.

They’re welchers! They never pay up!

Genetically speaking, they are more closely related to whales than any other people.

The Welsh are known for their singing and choruses. The language has had quite a revival in the last century.

Burton's real name is Jenkins, another very common Welsh name.

I'm trying to remember which Brit said the Welsh were the only people in Great Britain who didn't have hang-ups surrounding sex - that they were a quite horny lot, and he was surprised the rest of the kingdom managed to have sex often enough to replace themselves.

Maybe it'll come to me.... Don't think it was Stephen Frye or John Cleese... somebody like that.

He is fucking fabulous R42 !

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

R27, according to some troll on DL the Welsh have to be POC.

The national dish of Wales. It is served weekly in each home.

R64, I thought it referred to rare meat.

...........

They produce some pretty boys.

I am a Brythonic Pagan of several years, Wenglish in origin (Welsh grandparents), feel free to AMA about the lore (not the language though, I barely speak it lmao).

....

They are very homophobic. Like most UK people and Australians.

[quote]In a typical village in Wales you’ll find just one Gay living there at any point in time.

R56, you mean Dafydd!

[quote]Very Annie Mary is a good portrayal of eccentric Welsh. Rachel Griffiths is fantastic in it.

She really is fantastic, apart from the accent.

Michael Sheen was so cute in 30 Rock.

[quote]So, are Welsh schools bilingual or do people just learn Welsh from their families?

There's been a strict policy to increase Welsh medium education in Wales. Most new schools built are Welsh language and in the bigger towns and cities there comes with an element of selection, i.e. middle class parents will try and get their kids into Welsh schools because they're seen as more prestigious.

Some public sector services are now limiting employment opportunities to Welsh language speakers which will inevitably be challenged by racial minority groups who are less likely to speak Welsh.

The problem with limiting employment to Welsh speakers in schools and public services is that you have a very small pool to recruit from. Everyone speaks English as well so can work anywhere in the UK, Ireland, Commonwealth countries etc. You end up with low calibre employees because that's all that's available.

Sir (Philip) Anthony Hopkins from Port Talbot.

I'd love to go to Wales, but I'm not really sure where to go and the most beautiful parts appear inaccessible without a car

The designer Laura Ashley was influenced by early visits to her elderly grandmother’s house in Wales, and later established her studios and print factory there.

Of course, not sure how Wales felt being associated with THIS...!

More gingers per capita than any other people. Or is that the Scots?

[quote]The designer Laura Ashley was influenced by early visits to her elderly grandmother’s house in Wales, and later established her studios and print factory there.

Charlotte Church has purchased Laura Ashley's old mansion and is turning it into a centre for superior people.

[quote]Our community will be held together by a system of non-hierarchical participatory democracy, where each member of the community has the right to an equal say and vote on decisions about how the community is run.

What could possibly go wrong.

My last name is Welsh, but we’ve been ne’erdowells in the US since 1800.

Of course, my dream is to open a commune for violent old homeless lesbians if I win the lottery, So I fully support Charlotte’s endeavor.

Jason Hughes from Midsomer Murders. Yum.

R37/R38/R39 currently I'm watching Iolo's romance storylines from the beginning, to improve my Welsh listening and speaking.

His first serious boyfriend, William the policeman, was really hot and a total sweetheart. Am dreading that he'll turn out to be a piece of work by the end of their arc, though (I'm only about 10 parts in)...

Lots of rugby players.

R8/R11 I had no idea Matthew Rhys was straight.

Black-haired Welshmen can be so beautiful - think Ivor Novello.

When the Potato Famine drove them out of Ireland, my family settled in Wales for a hot minute before they came to America in 1920. They left lots of written accounts of their time there. Swansea seemed like a very modern city, a nice place to live. A family full of working class girls were able to afford a whole boarding house with a yard in the middle of the city.

R87 Swansea of now is also quite a lovely place, with sea air and jovial locals and a calm breezy quaint atmosphere, though in some areas rather shabby due to lack of funds (think pebbledashing, full bins, the occasional dead rat or pigeon in the street).

What is the current Welsh slang word for 'slag/slut/stop-out'? It's for research.

Hope everyone's Owain Glyndŵr day was tidy like!

Wales, my dahlings? She doesn't have the range!

Anyone tuned in to the Wales-Poland game of the Nations' League currently in progress?

We're half an hour in and goalless so far. Speedy striker Dan James so nearly put one in, but alas. We aren't controlling the ball enough or creating options.

Love Cardiff City stadium, haven't been for years or specifically for the football though (home ground is elsewhere). Really I must go to a game one day.

Welsh football fans are the best-behaved internationals in Britain, honestly. Cleaner, more respectful, quieter and more polite than the English, Irish & Scots. We even cleaned up after ourselves in Brussels the other day.

My gorgeous baby boy Neeks was just booked :(

R23

The same place name comes up at the end. This song is a parody of The Girl From Ipanema.

Am currently learning 'Sosban Fach' to sing to my little 5-year old nephew. He's not Welsh, but he loves music and dancing around, so I think he'll like it.

gareth bale. face card… not perfect by any means but i wholly admit and hold my hands up: i would allow this man to jackhammer the soul out of my body. there is something about the skipper that makes me lose my nut i dunno WHAT it is… he’s got a feral werewolf air about him or something i know he’s a different beast under cover of night and i need to figure out what sort. would love to bring him out with me so other blokes are too scared to crack on

^^aged well that did ;)

Two of my favourite Welsh innuendos I've learned lately:

Hufen y Ddrai (Eng: 'dragon cream')

Bysedd llugaeron Eng: ('cranberry/jam fingers')

I've known 2 Welshpersons. One was, I kid you not, a member of the national rugby team, built like a tank, and a perfectly nice guy. The other is your standard liberal in all regards EXCEPT that he is a sensitive Welsh nationalist and is ready to hear insults about the Welsh when they were not spoken and the Welsh are the most oppressed people etc. etc.

Tom Jones... Black hair on his head, his chest and allegedly a patch, as large as the amount of hair on his head, surrounding his cock.

First appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.

Last Tom Jones post...

Welshman Gruffydd Wyn appeared on Britain's Got Talent a couple of years ago. His rugby team is there for moral support. Simon Cowell is a jackass to him, but he pulls it together.

Kieffer Moore isn't called 'Top Shagger' for nothing...

All that singing.....

It's because of all the rain R106. Same as for the Irish & Scottish.

Hope at the next Wales world cup match vs. Iran on friday, some of the hoyw fans (if any snuck in) start singing the Manics in protest. Can't have people thinking we're ok with anti-gay discrimination, even if the full Saes won't speak up about it.

Those GIFs going round of mi capten Bale motivating the dragons in the Cup game vs USA....I am drenched

Ydych chi'n hoffi fy ngheiliog Cymreig pidyn?

R110 gesundheit.

I find it funny absolutely no one ever mentions John Cale in the discussions of Welsh. He was born and raised in some small mining town and didn't speak English until he was in primary school.

Is he too niche? The Velvet Underground gets a lot of play these days - enough for an Apple TV documentary! For my money, he is one of the most innovative avant-garde musicians of the last 75 years. Did the Nick Cave thing way before Nick Cave. He's cooler than Tom fucking Jones at least....

R112 for the festive season...

I'd love to learn Welsh (at least a bit) since it's one of the last remaining Celtic languages.

I really don't get the Welsh writing system though. Truly weird.

I recommend you give SaySomethingInWelsh a try, R114, and of course there's always Duolingo as well...

The writing system is actually quite phonetic and makes sense in its own way, see the linked resource.

The dual language programming on S4C when it comes on it so funny.