Renaming of the Severn Bridge
With some 40,000 having signed a petition against the proposal by Secretary of State for Wales to rename the Severn Bridge - Prince of Wales Bridge - here is Lord Elystan Morgan's take on it all.
Answers questions such as why such a proposal came about and why the Welsh Government acquiesced in the whole episode;
What does it say about political leaders in Wales and of what significance is the proposed renaming of this gateway to Wales,
and much more including quoting from Shakespeare's Henry 1V and the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr.
Discusses Gorwel’s study advocating a Royal Residence in Wales.
Elystan considers that such a proposal does not elevate us as a land and nation at all;
Reminds us of the Act of Union, and the effort to subsume the whole life of Wales in the Crown;
Sees it as 'a remnant of imperialism festooned in the cobwebs of our life';
Considers what is Wales, where and why these ideas emerge and from time to time;
Finally what about the claim it will bring tourists to Wales and boost our economy.
This the last video in the latest series regarding Rod Liddle's outburst
Liddle in early April commented on the Welsh people and the issue of the renaming of the Severn Bridge said -
'The Welsh, or some of them, are moaning that a motorway bridge linking their rain-sodden valleys with the first world is to be renamed. They would prefer it to be called something decipherable with no real vowels, such as Ysgythgymingwchgwch Bryggy. Let the have their way. So long as it allows people to get out of the place pronto'.;
Here is Elystan's response is that he regards Liddle as 'an object of pity and contempt' including advising him to 'learn a little'. Then his memorable phrase on the 'cobwebs of imperialism' and quotes Kipling's words of the Irish 'What know they of England that only England knows' reversing that in relation to Wales.