A FO BEN,BID BONT, 'HE WHO WILL BE A LEADER, LET HIM BE A BRIDGE'.
COLEG HARLECH WHAT NOW? IF WE CAN NOT SUSTAIN COLEG HARLECH WHAT HOPE AN INDEPENDENT CYMRU?
Just over a week ago, I had cause to visit my home town of Blaenau Ffestiniog with my sister to take care of some family business and whilst there, decided to visit Harlech and the college that was such an important turning point in my life. I had gone through a nasty divorce in 1975 and after a period of living in Ireland, I returned to Cymru and to Caerdydd and whilst there, I met up with Dr Meredydd Evans, who was an old family friend and it was he that convinced me that my next step should be to apply for a place at Coleg Harlech to continue my education - he even sent for the application form for me.
I filled out the form and sent it off and was invited to an interview. In due course, I received the notification that I had been accepted to pursue a two yr diploma course in Welsh General studies at the 'College.
This was 1977, the year of the English Queen's silver jubilee. I was already involved with 'anti jubilee protests and the producing of posters for fly posting' in Caerdydd and whilst at a book shop in Cathays, I by chance, picked up a poster/leaflet which outlined and promoted an 'anti jubilee protest' organised by Coleg Harlech students which was to take place at Harlech during the Queen's visit to the town during that month of June. I took a copy of the poster and showed it to other patriotic friends and as a result, a car load of us made the trip to Harlech to participate in the protest, followed every step of the way by a car load of 'special branch officers' who made no attempt at all to disguise the fact that thy were following us - even to the point where they stopped at Caersws, when we did, and had a meal of fish and chips in the same cafe that we did.
We arrived at Coleg Harlech, the 'centre of operations' just towards the end of the dafydd Iwan concert that we could hear was in full swing in the gym. A sheep had been donated for a barbicue by Owain Williams, one of the three that had blown up a transformer at Tryweryn in 1963, but, alas, we arrived too late to savour a taste of that as well.
Part of the protest was to hold an all night vigil outside the castle. We gathered the many Cymric republican flags that had been produced from the 'operations room' and the formation of students marched their way in the dark up the hill towards the castle and stayed there to await the royal visit, accompanied by a large number of police officers with dogs, the 'not so special branch' that had accompanied us up all the way from Caerdydd and a battalion of cackling old royalist women supporters armed with umberellas who hurled abuse at us and delivered the occasional blow with their umberellas as the students marched their way back down the hill to the college later in the afternoon, following the royal visit and the protest.
Such was my 'baptism of fire' into life at Coleg Harlech and I could not wait to return in the September of that year to commence on my two yr diploma course.
Below is the Anti Jubilee poster we were fly posting around Caerdydd in 1977, colours were in red and blue. This is a black and white photo of that poster.
Coleg Harlech was often referred to as the 'College of the 2nd chance' as, it had, initially, opened in 1927 to give those from a working class background 'a 2nd chance' to receive the necessary education that would open up their career options. Of course, in reality, this was the 1st chance for the working class to have such an education in a residential background that would give them the necessary qualifications to enter higher education, as it was the norm for children from working class families, including myself, to be expected to leave school at 15 to immediately start work in order to earn a wage to assist the family. Children of the likes of coal miners and quarry men were rarely expected or encouraged to continue with their schooling once they became of school leaving age, I know I wasn't, so, having this unique opportunity to return to full time education at a residential college in days when such was funded by the DES (Department of Education and Science) was a gift from God as far as I was concerned and, I can honestly state that my two yr experience of studying at Coleg Harlech were the happiest 2 yrs of my life
Below are 2 pics of the college when it was thriving as a vibrant centre of education for the working class,
pic of some of the students of 1977
The 'dosbarth Cymraeg of 1977 -9. Our tutor, Silyn Hughes, is sitting in the front row and I'm sitting on his left.
I owe my thanks to Dr Meredydd Evans, Coleg Harlech, my tutors and my fellow students during my two yrs at the college for the unique experience of such 'an opening of my mind' which has provided me with the appetite to continue learning right up to the day I die so, when I visited just over a week ago, you can imagine how horrified and dismayed I was to see that, not only was such a 'jewel in our Cymric crown' up for sale but, that it had been allowed to decay to such a sad state. I took the following photographs in the hope that such will prompt a strong enough protest from all who believe that the college should be saved for the use of the working class of Cymru, who deserve and are owed a 1st chance to learn, both via academic and practical courses, so that they can contribute fully to the building of a new nation in the 'hoped for' new 'equal for one and all' democracy of an Independent Cymru.
In between the photos that I took below are links to an abundance of further info on the college, its background and its current state of despair. There is even a very long video taken from somebody that has filmed the inside of the college in its present state;this video will break the hardest of hearts and there is also a link to an excellent article from the Planet magazine. Strongly recommend you watch the video and read this article.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coleg-Harlech-First-Fifty-Years/dp/0708306578
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-21778126
https://www.facebook.com/UrbanExplorerShropshire/videos/abandoned-coleg-harlech/511470562729675/
https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/9200182/6CB1E68D0FF8649EE003030A73D7635789A022FD
So, now having read this blog and researched the accompanying links depicting clearly the dire straits that this 'once' unique and magnificent complex is in, are not, one and all, ' angry' enough to be determined to save it for the continual use of the working class of our nation? How on earth was this situation allowed to happen? Where were our politicians and Gwynedd County Council?
We have lost so many national treasures over the centuries due, initially, to ignorance of their existence and then, due to apathy in regards to demanding the return of such treasures. This is another 'Jewel in our Crown' that we are about to lose due to ignorance and apathy and it is an irony that Cadw, a department within our "Senedd" can save, preserve and upkeep the castles of our Anglo Norman oppressors but they cannot save this historical 'jewel' that has done so much for the working class and Cymru!
The destruction of this complex is every bit as destructive as the destruction of the monasteries at the hands of Henry VIII! How can we march in our thousands for 'Cymric Independence' when we cannot even protect such 'jewels in our Cymric crown - and ones that can, and should be employed to good use to train and prepare our people in industries that will be needed to get our Independent new nation on its feet?
A post Covid-19 world is going to be a totally different world to the pre Covid-19 world we were familiar with. Economies will be destroyed - as we are already witnessing in progress, and nations and economies will need to be rebuilt. Common sense will dictate that all employable tools, in both human and constructional terms are going to be needed to rebuild nations and their economies and there we are here in Cymru, sitting back in total apathy whilst every bit of land and all the remaining 'jewels in our crown' such as Coleg Harlech are sold off for 'peanuts' to outsiders to capitalise on!
INDEPENDENCE! Don't make me laugh...and don't make the world laugh! We cannot protect what we have left so, what, and who, exactly is the Independence that is being called for going to benefit? Certainly not our nation, in territorial terms, as it loses more ground and its remaining resources and gets smaller and smaller, and certainly not the working class of our nation who will remain on the scrap heap until there is no Cymru left and they will then remain on the lowest scrap heap of a struggling post Covid-19 England!
So, how can we fight the above horrific scenario? I suggest that we start by facing the truth of it and commence the fight back immediately by ENSURING that Coleg Harlech, this unique 'jewel in our crown' is re-purchased IMMEDIATELY by the "Senedd" in collaboration with Gwynedd County Council, to be renovated and put back into use as a residential college to educate and train the Cymry in all the practical, technical and professional skills needed to re-built the structure and economy of our nation for the equal benefit and prosperity of all our people.
I, myself, will be personally issuing every AM and PM and every Gwynedd County Councillor with a link to this blog in the hope that it will be a 'wake up call' to them. I suggest that all serious about the cause of Cymric Independence should write to the Senedd and Gwynedd County Council stating that they MUST issue a re-purchase order to the present owner to ensure that the Coleg Harlech complex is bought back as property of the nation.
THE FUTURE OF THIS 'JEWEL IN OUR CROWN' IS IN OUR HANDS AND IF WE CANNOT SAVE IT THEN, DO NOT HOPE TO SAVE OUR NATION!
THIS SELLING OFF OF OUR LAND, RESOURCES AND 'CROWN JEWELS' HAS TO END!
posted by WELSH REMEMBRANCERS @ 08:56
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