Noson codi arian i'r ysgolion Diwan / Diwan Schools Fundraiser

Ar nos Sadwrn yr 11eg o Chwefror, cynhaliwyd noson hynod lwyddiannus, llawn ffroes/crempog/pancos/crêpes (!!) a seidr gan gangen Caerdydd i godi arian at weithgarwch ysgolion Diwan yn Llydaw. Cafodd pawb lond eu boliau o fwyd a seidr a llond eu clustiau o gerddoriaeth draddodiadol drwy'r nos! Ysgolion sydd yn dysgu trwy gyfrwng yr iaith Lydaweg yw'r Diwan, a thrwy Lydaw, amcangyfrifir bod tua 14,000o blant yn derbyn addysg trwy gyfrwng yr iaith. Canran fychan iawn o blant a phobl ifanc Llydaw yw hyn, fodd bynnag, wrth ystyried bod nifer tebyg yn derbyn eu haddysg drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg yn Rhondda-Cynon-Taf, Pen-y-bont a Merthyr yn unig. Ni dderbynia'r ysgolion fawr ddim cymorth ariannol oddi wrth y wladwriaeth Ffrengig, felly maent yn dibynnu ar roddion a charedigion yr iaith. Er ein bod yn dal i boeni am sefyllfa'r Gymraeg, i raddau, pwysig iawn ydy cyfrif ein bendithion trwy ystyried pa mor anodd ydy hi ar nifer i iaith leiafrifol arall yn Ewrop. Codwyd dros £65. Trugarez mat/ Diolch yn fawr i bwyllgor y gangen am drefnu.

On Saturday the 11th of February, a very successful evening, full of pancakes and cider, was held by Caerdydd branch in aid of the Diwan schools in Britanny. Everybody had a great time eating Breton crêpes and drinking (cheap) cider to the accompaniment of folk music all night! The Diwan are schools that provide education through the medium of the Breton language to around 14,000 children throughout Britanny. However, this is a very small percentage, considering that the same amount of children receive their education in Welsh in Rhondda-Cynon-Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr alone. Hardly any support is given to them by the French state, so the schools depend heavily on donations by people who are supportive of the language. Although we still worry about the situation of our own language, it's important to count our blessings on ocassions like these and stand in solidarity with minority languages in Europe who are in a far worse situation. Over £65 was raised. Trugarez mat / Diolch to the Branch committee for organizing the event.

Leanne for Leader

I for one will be supporting Leanne Wood AM in the Plaid Cymru leadership election and I will tell you for why. I met Leanne the first time I became a member for Plaid, I think in 2008 – seems a lot longer than four years ago now; I believe it was at the Newport spring conference. Leanne was and still is a down-to-earth person, someone people can relate to and social enough that she can communicate with anyone she meets.

Since that first meeting I have watched Leanne and looked back at the work she has done, not just for Plaid or Wales, but for her local community and Leanne is one of the most hard-working politicians there are. Her grassroots attitude (a Plaid core attitude) inspires people I feel, to take on the issues that matter to them. I have never seen a politician on so many picket-lines as Leanne. Leanne is a true socialist, fighting for workers’ rights and pushing the issues that matter most to the working classes at the forefront – let’s be honest, Wales still has a very large hardworking working class people who seem to be forgotten about and the first to take the brunt of any cuts or redundancies. Without those workers there would be no middle classes, which some tend to forget. With a Wales that is working (please see Leanne’s Greenprint for the Valleys initiative) we can close the gap between the rich and poor and pull people out of poverty – creating a more equal society.

I was privileged to have won a placement with Leanne Wood in 2010; given to me by Aberystwyth University. Here I saw first-hand how busy a politician she really was; always popping off to meetings or to a rally and receiving large amount of letters from her regional voters who knew that they would receive a fast response and that she would do her utmost to help them with their issues – we must remember that it is our communities and constituents that put us in the place we aspire to be – a place where we can influence government to help them and better their lives.

I am happy to see the various actors that have come out in support of our Leanne. From our most prominent of members and ex-politician Adam Price to the other swift and hardworking AM Bethan Jenkins. She also has support from the most charismatic of AMs Lindsay Whittle ex-leader of Caerffili County Borough Council and also that of our newest MP at Westminster, who is a tough campaigner and works extremely hard for the party in the foreign Parliament, Jonathan Edwards.

It is not just people in political circles that are backing Leanne – Menna Machreth of Cymdeithas yr Iaith; proof that Leanne has worked tirelessly on Welsh language issues though she is only a learner. She can gain support not just from those of us, like me who only speak English, but those that speak the two languages of our nation. The academic Daniel Williams and the arts critic Sioned Williams have pledged their support for Leanne as well as the Chair of the Fire Brigade’s Union in Wales, Cerith Griffiths – this just shows the wide range of people that Leanne can pull in and that is just what Plaid needs – to reach out to everyone in Wales, no matter where they come from.

Plaid needs to rejuvenate itself – take a few steps back and ask itself, why are we a political party? What are our aspirations? Leanne has taken the bull by the horns and has pledged to put our main objective at the heart of her leadership role. Like the SNP, she will not push aside the aim of independence – the aspiration of nationalists around the globe. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see your nation become free and sovereign and its people to become responsible – we have a talented lot in Wales, we should be inspiring them, not rolling over and letting Westminster and the unionist-British nationalist parties bully us in believing that we are lazy and worthless. From 51 sovereign states at the end of WW2 to 193 today, many the same size or smaller than Wales, many with their own voice in the EU and UN – Plaid is not an exclusive ethnic party, but a global inclusive civic party, with the same aspirations of sovereignty as those current 193 states, including that of recent South Sudan, Serbia, Montenegro, Czech Republic and Slovakia – where were the cries from London opposing their freedom?

Leanne has proven to attract people from all walks of life and she has also changed with the times and has become a modern activist on the World Wide Web – appealing to those that use social networking sites and drawing in the youth of today – the future of Wales. Plaid will win a Welsh general election and be in government once again, but not just with votes from those old enough to vote now, but those that are coming of age. Her work in schools is inspiring young people to get involved in politics and showing them that politicians will and must listen to them as they are the most vital part of our nation.

So, when that polling card comes through my door I will be putting my mark beside Leanne Wood AM; beside the name that is the next true leader of our party; beside the name that can draw support from English and Welsh speakers, the young and the old, the private and public sector, the cities, towns, villages and valley areas – a politician that will stand up for the Wales at a time when Wales needs them the most. I hope that I have persuaded many of you to take a look at Leanne and see why I am pledging my full support to the next First Minster of Wales.

Iago ap Steffan – 29 years old
Masters student at Cardiff University, ex-student of Aberystwyth University – English speaker, Welsh learner – from Cardiff but a Pontypridd boy since 2000 – currently works part-time at the National Assembly for Wales and Plaid candidate for the 2012 council elections - Hawthorn ward; from a working-class background. : )

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i bob un ohonoch. Mae'r flwyddyn hon yn flwyddyn llawn potensial i'n mudiad ieunectid. Bydd etholiadau llywyddiaeth y Blaid yn gyfle i ni drafod ynglyn a dyfodol ein Plaid a’n mudiad ieuenctid, elfen allweddol o unrhyw blaid wleidyddol. Edrychwn ymlaen at gael gweithio gyda phob un ohonoch i sicrhau bod Cymru X yn mynd o nerth i nerth – rhaid i ni sicrhau ein bod yn parhau i fod yn lais radical a ffres yn ein cenedl a'n plaid.

A Happy New Year to all comrades. This year promises to be a year full of potential to our youth movement. The Plaid presidency elections will give us a chance to reflect and debate about the future of our party and youth movement. We look forward to working with all of you to ensure that Cymru X goes from strength to strength – we must continue to be a radical and fresh voice for change in our nation and party.

Leanne Wood 2012 (English post)

Here is the translation of the Blog below, that I have promised to a few people!

Last week, I was heartened to hear that Leanne Wood, Assembly member for South Wales Central, had put her name forward to stand in the Plaid Cymru leadership elections in 2012. Being of Rhondda stock myself, I know Leanne well, as my family hails from the same village, Pen-y-graig. And like many a young Plaid member, I’ll be behind Leanne one hundred per cent.

Leanne is a natural choice for many on many counts. Like me, she’s a socialist, a nationalist, a republican, a keen environmentalist, and importantly she has experience of life outside politics. Her experience working for the Probation Service and for Women’s Aid shows that she understands the serious problems facing many parts of our society. Those who doubt her skills in the Welsh language may be pleased to her that she has been hugely supportive of Cymdeithas yr Iaith campaigns – much more so than many a fluent Welsh-speaking AM from the West. Leanne’s vision for a Greenprint for the Valleys that would radically change the Welsh economy puts economic regeneration and green issues on the forefront of her political agenda. Moreover, Leanne’s love towards Pen-y-graig, the Rhondda and her nation sets an excellent foundation in her bid to become the leader of our national party.

I am aware that many of the more traditional members in Plaid Cymru will be dubious of Leanne’s ability to lead our party. Even though Leanne is learning Welsh, she is not a fluent speaker, and after all, Leanne doesn’t have a traditional, rural background. Leanne is a valley girl, an area where Plaid Cymru has succeeded in becoming a credible party of opposition but has not progressed to become a first choice for many voters. But that is the exact reason why I believe that she is what we need in Plaid Cymru. What is needed is somebody who can represent the interests of everybody in Wales – not only the farmer and the Welsh speaker, but also the hairdresser from Caerffili and the Nurse from Aberdare.

As a Welsh speaker, born and bred in the Valleys, (I represent both sides of the party in that respect!) I am convinced that Leanne has the ability to lead our party into victory in the Assembly elections of 2016. This is our opportunity to change the party – not to lead our party astray, as many more traditional members may believe, but back to the radical and nationalist values of Plaid Cymru. After all, it was in Valleys that the red flag was waved for the first time – and I hope that it’ll be a Valley girl that’ll be the one to restore the radical values of our party and our nation in 2012.


This is a blog by Emyr Gruffydd, the Chairman of Cymru X Caerdydd. These views are entirely my own.

Leanne Wood 2012

Wythnos ddiwethaf, roedd hi'n hynod o galonogol i mi gael clywed bod Leanne Wood, Aelod Cynulliad dros Ganol De Cymru, wedi cyhoeddi ei bod yn bwriadu sefyll am arweinyddiaeth Plaid Cymru yn 2012. Yn ferch o Ben-y-graig yn y Rhondda, rwy'n nabod Leanne yn dda, gan bod fy nheulu i yn hannu o'r un pentref. Ac fel nifer i aelod ifanc o'r Blaid, rwy'n bwriadu cefnogi ei hymgais gant y cant.

Mae Leanne yn ddewis naturiol i mi am nifer o resymau. Fel fi, mae hi'n sosialydd, yn genedlaetholwraig cadarn, yn gefnogwraig brwd o achosion gwyrdd, yn weriniaethwraig, ac yn bwysig iawn, mae ganddi brofiad o fywyd y tu allan i wleidyddiaeth. Mae ei phrofiad yn gweithio yn y Gwasanaeth Prawf ac i elusen Cymorth i Ferched yn dangos ei bod yn deall problemau dyrus ein cymdeithas. I'r rhai sydd yn cwestiynu safon Cymraeg Leanne Wood, mae hi wedi bod yn hynod gefnogol i ymgyrchoedd Cymdeithas yr Iaith - yn llawer mwy cefnogol na nifer i AC Plaid Cymru o'r Gorllewin sy'n rhugl ei Gymraeg. Mae gweleidgaeth Leanne am Gynllun Gwyrdd i drawsnewid economi Cymru yn rhoi materion gwyrdd ac adfywio'r economi yn glir ar ei hagenda wleidyddol. Yn ogystal â hyn, mae cariad Leanne tuag at Ben-y-graig, at y Rhondda ac at ei chenedl yn gosod sylfaen ardderchog i'w bwriad i arwain ein Plaid genedlaethol.

Bydd nifer o aelodau mwy traddodiadol Plaid Cymru yn debygol o fod braidd yn amheus o allu Leanne i arwain y Blaid. Er bod Leanne yn dysgu Cymraeg, nid yw'n siarad yr iaith yn hollol rhugl, ac wedi'r cyfan, does dim cefndir gwledig, traddodiadol gan Leanne. Merch o'r Cymoedd yw hi, ardal lle mae Plaid Cymru wedi sefydlu ei hun yn wrthblaid cadarn ond heb dorri trwyddo i fod yn ddewis cyntaf i nifer o etholwyr. Ond dyma pam rwyf yn credu taw hi ydy'r union beth sydd angen ar Blaid Cymru. Yr hyn sydd angen yw rhywun sydd yn cynrhychioli buddiannau pob un person yng Nghymru - nid yn unig buddiannau'r ffermwr a'r Cymro Cymraeg, ond hefyd rhai y ferch trin gwallt o Gaerffili a'r nyrs o Aberdâr.

Fel Cymro Cymraeg sydd wedi fy ngeni a'm magu yn y Cymoedd, rwy'n gwbl argyhoeddiedig mai gyda Leanne mae'r gallu i arwain ein Plaid i fuddugoliaeth yn etholiadau'r Cynulliad yn 2016. Dyma ein cyfle ni i newid cyfeiriad ein Plaid - nid i arwain ein mudiad cenedlaethol ar gyfeiliorn, fel y dywed nifer o'n haelodau mwy traddodiadol, ond yn hytrach yn ôl at werthoedd radical, cenedlaetholgar Plaid Cymru. Wedi'r cyfan, yng Nghymoedd y De y chwifiwyd y faner goch am y tro cyntaf - ac rwy'n fawr obeithiol mai merch o Gymoedd y De bydd yn gyfrifol am ail-ddeffro gwreiddiau radical ein cenedl a'n Plaid yn 2012.

>Gan Emyr Gruffydd, Cadeirydd Cangen Cymru X.Caerdydd. Dim barn Cymru X yw hyn o reidrwydd. >

This is a blog by Emyr Gruffydd, the Chairman of Cymru X Caerdydd, in support of Leanne Wood's campaign for leader. This is not necessarily the opinion of Cymru X.

Prifysgol Caerdydd / Cardiff University

Hoffai'r Pwyllgor Gwaith Cenedlaethol estyn longyfarchiadau cynnes iawn at ddau o aelodau CymruX, sydd hefyd ar bwyllgor CymruX Caerdydd (Myfyrwyr Plaid Cymru), Emyr Gruffydd a Dan Lawrence yn eu llwyddiant yn is-etholiadau Cyngor Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd.

Pam na ddewch chi draw i noson gymdeithasol CymruX Caerdydd i ddathlu'u llwyddiant heno 'ma? Hon fydd y noson gymdeithasol gyntaf. Bydd yn dechrau am 7yh ym Mango's (Cathays, Caerdydd).

Llongyfarchiadau eto, fechgyn!

The National Executive Committee wishes to extend its congratulations to two of CymruX's members, who are also committee members of CymruX Cardiff (Plaid Cymru Students), Emyr Gruffydd and Dan Lawrence, in their success in Cardiff University's Student Council by-elections.

Why don't you come along to CymruX Cardiff's social evening tonight to celebrate their success? This will be the first social evening. It will start at 7pm in Mango's (Cathays, Cardiff).

Congrats once again boys!

Cerith Rhys Jones
Ar ran y Pwyllgor Gwaith / On behalf of the NEC

Noson Gymdeithasol CymruX Caerdydd Cardiff Social Evening

Chwilio am rywbeth i'w wneud heno? Dewch draw i noson gymdeithasol CymruX Caerdydd (Myfyrwyr Plaid Cymru) am 7yh ym Mango's (yn agos at dafarn y Flora yng Nghatays, Caerdydd) i gwrdd, trafod a mwynhau gyda'ch cyd-genedlaetholwyr!

Looking for something to do tonight? Come to the CymruX Cardiff (Plaid Cymru Students) social evening at 7pm in Mango's (near the Flora in Cathays, Cardiff) to meet, talk and enjoy with your fellow nationalists!