COLEG HARLECH SOS...SOS...SOS!

 PWYSIG IAWN...EXTREMELY IMPORTANT SOS!

Dwi'n gyrru y ddolen ar gyfer y ddeiseb sydd yn bodoli mewn ymgais i achub Coleg Harlech allan unwaith eto oherwydd does ond 1,558 o lofnodion ar y ddeiseb hyd yma ac mae angen 5,000 - o leiaf os am unrhyw obaith i Lywodraeth Cymru drafod y ddeiseb yn y Siambr i'r diben o ystyried prynu'r Coleg yn ôl ar gyfer defnydd y genedl. Mae'n warth cenedlaethol bod y Coleg wedi ei werthu yn y lle cyntaf a hynny ar adeg lle mae Cymru'n cael ei werthu'n gyfangwbl, boed i hynny fod yn sefydliadau hynod bwysig fel colegau Harlech a Glynllifon, gwestai fel y 'Celtic Manor yn Nghaernarfon, tai, tir, coedwigoedd neu adnoddau fel ein dŵr sydd wedi ei werthu'n rhad ac am ddim am dros ganrif o flynyddoedd bellach. Ond dewch i fi ddod yn ôl at Goleg Harlech sydd dafliad carreg o Flaenau Ffestiniog, tref y chwareli a'r tref lle bu i fi gael fy magwraeth. Mae'r Coleg yn rhan o hanes yr ardal ond, yn bwysicach, mae'n unigryw fel coleg sydd wedi roi cyfle 'cyntaf' i'r dosbarth gweithiol allu cario'n mlaen a'u addysg. Mae'r Coleg yn bwysig iawn, i fi, merch i chwarelwr, am y cyfle hynny ac mae'n warth cenedlaethol iddo gael ei werthu am geiniogau ar adeg o ddiweithdra uchel lle y gallai fod yn achubaeth i lawer o Gymry sydd yn cael eu hamddifadu o addysg uwch ac hyfforddiant sgiliau - ac mae Coleg harlech ar stepan drws cymaint sy'n wir angen hynny!

Bydd y ddeiseb yn cau ar 14 Chwefror y flwyddyn nesa, mewn llai na tri mis, ac mae angen bron i 3,500 o lofnodion eto os yw'r ddeiseb i'w thrafod yn Siamber Llywodraeth Cymru. Felly, mae'n adeg o argyfwng ac oherwydd, dwi am apelio'n ddaer i fy nghyfeillion i, yn y lle cyntaf, arwyddo'r ddeiseb eu hunain ac yna i yrru'r ddeiseb i ddeg o'u ffrindiau gan apelio'n ddaer iddyn nhw, yn ogystal, arwyddo'r ddeiseb. Y nod yw creu ffurf 'pyramid' nes bod y cwota o lofnodion sydd eu hangen wedi ei gyrraedd.

Mae achub Coleg Harlech yn eich dwylo chi. Os yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn gallu cyfrannu £5.2miliwn o arian y trethdalwr i dacluso Neuadd Pantyceyn yn Aberystwyth a £6miliwn i adeiladu pont i gerddwyr i mewn i Gastell Harlech a, Duw a wyr faint o filiwnau y flwyddyn i gadw'r cestyll Eingl Normanaidd drwy Gymru ar eu traed yna, mae'n bosibl iddyn nhw gael hyd i'r arian i ail-brynu ac adnewyddu Coleg Harlech ar gyfer dosbarth gweithiol ein cenedl. Petaent ond yn gwario y cyllid blynyddol sy'n cadw un o'r cestyll Eingl Normanaidd ar ei draed, gellir achub Coleg Harlech ar gyfer defnydd parhaol dosbarth gweithiol ein cenedl!

Os na ellir arwyddo deiseb i sicrhau bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwneud y lleiafrif hynny, does dim gobaith mul o achub Cymru. Felly, rwyf yn erfyn ar bob un ohonoch i wneud eich rhan drwy arwyddo'r ddeiseb cyn ei yrru ymlaen i ddeg arall i 'w arwyddo ac i'w yrru ymlaen i ddeg arall a.y.b. Diolch bawb.

I am posting the link for the petition that can persuade the Welsh Government to discuss the re-purchasing of Coleg Harlech again now as there are only 1,558 signatures on the petition and 5,000 are needed if there is to be any hope of it being discussed in the Welsh Government chamber. It is a national disgrace that the Coleg was sold so cheaply in the first place - and this at a time when Cymru in its entirety is being sold 'wholesale', be it priceless institutions such as Coleg Harlech and Coleg Glynllifon, Hotels such as the Celtic Manor in Caernarfon, housing, land, forestries and, of course, our resources such as water that has been just 'taken' for free for over a century now. But, let's get back to the crises that is Coleg Harlech for this post. The Coleg is a stone throw away from Blaenau Ffestiniog, a slate quarrying town that has been robbed of that industry and that has at least five generations of people that have never had the chance of employment or skill training. Coleg Harlech is an integral part of the history of the area but, and more significant, the Coleg has given the opportunity for working class adults, such as myself, the daughter of a quarryman who left school at 15 to work) to have a chance to pursue their education later on in life as a mature student. For that reason, it was labelled the 'College of the 2nd chance' but, in reality, for those that were privileged enough to be chosen to study there, it was the 'College of the first chance' and it really is a disgrace that it was allowed to close at a time when it could have continued to be used as an educational and skill training establishment for the working class of the area and Cymru as a whole.

The petition will close on the 14th of Feb next year, just three months away and there is a need to get another 3,500 signatures if it is to be discussed in the Welsh Government Chamber so, its a 'crises' situation and I am now appealing to all my f.b friends to not only sign the petition themselves but to send it on to ten of their friends to sign it and for those friends to send it on to ten of their friends and so on. The aim is to achieve an ever growing pyramid until we reach, at least, the 3,500 signatures urgently needed. Can we all do this to save this unique establishment to be refurbished and used again by the working class population of Cymru?

Saving Coleg Harlech is now in the hands of you and all your friends and, after that, in the lap of the Welsh Government and the Gods! If the Welsh Government can find £5.2million to contribute towards the refurbishing of the Pantycelyn Hall of Residence for students at Aberystwyth and can find £6.million to build a footbridge into Harlech castle and God knows how many millions annually to keep the Anglo Normans castles dotted all over Cymru standing, surely they can find the money to re-purchase Coleg Harlech and refurbish it for the continual use of the working class of our nation. The budget for the annual upkeep of one of the Norman castles would be enough to do this and if we all cannot fight the case of Coleg Harlech, there is no hope of saving the rest of our nation. So, I plead to one and all of you, to sign the petition if you haven't already done so and to send it on to ten people with a request for their cooperation to get the much needed number of signatures. Diolch pawb.

Y Ddeiseb...The Petition: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/200218

Y DIWEDDARA PARTHED Y DDEISEB I GEISIO AG ACHUB COLEG HARLECH...LATEST NEWS IN REGARDS TO THE PETITION TO SAVE COLEG HARLECH.

 

Signatures on the petition when I looked this morning ( 6th Nov 2020) stands at 1,479 which is pretty pathetic in a nation which has a population of 3.15 million and also taking into consideration that the petition has been distributed worldwide.

 How can the number of signatures be so low? We have a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, with a membership of 10,000 in 2019 according to  https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05125/

and a movement in Yes Cymru which, according to their website, has 7,000 paid up members? Both Plaid Cymru and YesCymru are purporting to be in favour of and are campaigning for Cymric Independence so, you would expect both to have ensured that they, as bodies, would have pulled out all the stops to plead with their members to sign the petition to try and save Coleg Harlech so that it could be put back into use as an educational and skill teaching college for the working class of Cymru. Had they done so, their members votes, alone, would have ensured that we reached the target of 5,000 signatures - and more by now, to qualify to have the 'called for' compulsory purchase of the Coleg discussed in the Welsh Government chamber but, this is not an issue that should be left to nationalist sentiment and vote alone though, this is an issue that should be of importance to EVERY person in Cymru (regardless of their political creed) who cares about such facts as the future of the working class, Cymric Industry, and the future of Cymru itself as a nation facing extinction because, what is happening to Coleg Harlech is a reflexion of what is happening to Cymru as a whole. 

I do not wish to repeat myself again in regards to the history of Coleg Harlech as an educational establishment for the working class since 1927, for anyone who is still not familiar with this history, all is revealed in my previous blogs which can be accessed via the links on the right side of this page or via the following links to the Coleg Harlech The Diploma Years  and the Coleg Harlech WEA facebook pages.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031256977126037

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6612307011

The petition is running until Feb 14th next year so, it has just over two months to go and, we MUST all, if we care about the Coleg - and the SELLING OFF OF CYMRU, pull all the stops out to ensure that the petition reaches, at least the 5000 signatures to force the Welsh Government to open their eyes as to the seriousness of the issue. So, what can we do from here on?

One ex Coleg Harlech student, Peter Evans, came up with the suggestion that all individuals could ask a friend or a family member to appeal, personally, to another 10 friends to sign the petition and that those ten then, in turn, could request another ten friends to sign and pass on therefore creating an active on-going 'pyramid' method of getting signatures and, he has had some success so, well done Peter! We can all follow Peter's example, I will, myself, do so, this weekend - who else reading this will? Who else caring enough about the selling off of Coleg Harlech and the selling off of Cymru cares enough to make that minimum of effort out of this nation of over 3.15million? 

I was sent a link to the documentary produced by S4C on the closure of Coleg Harlech, it is an excellent documentary giving a full history of the Coleg and its closure and it depicts the sad state of deterioration. Ironic, when you think about £6 million being spent on a footbridge to 'enhance tourism experience' at Harlech castle, located just above the Coleg and another £16 million spent on refurbishing the Neuadd Pantycelyn Halls of Residence at Aberystwyth. SHAME ON THE WELSH GOVERNMENT for placing the pleasure of tourists and the comfort of students at one halls of residence as a priority and preference to saving Coleg Harlech and the future of working class Cymry for the coming generations. But, to get back to the S4C documentary, my only criticism of the programme is that it was not produced with English sub-titling as, in my view, had it been subtitled in English, it would most certainly have had world wide appeal and could be of great assistance to highlighting the predicament that the Coleg now finds itself in and now,  could also be of great value and assistance in regards to getting signatures on the petition and could be sent to the Welsh Government to show them exactly what they have allowed to happen. I do not have the right to put a link to the programme on this blog but, I have now contacted the programme makers and S4C for permission to do so. I had a reply from the Producer of the programme who stated that she could not give me the requested permission as S4C have the copyright for another 5yrs but that she would ask about the possibilities of sub-titling. I have not received a reply from S4C to date so, it would be worthwhile if others could write to them with the same request. The commissioning producer of the programme is Non Griffiths and her email address is: Non.Griffith@s4c.cymru

I have also sent a letter to the Wales Cooperative Centre who, according to their website claim that:

" The Wales Co-operative Centre is the UK’s largest co-operative development agency, providing business support for social businesses and co-operatives, including growth and new start businesses; social care co-ops, housing co-ops, and community-owned facilities.

We also work with organisations to improve the use of digital technology for health and well-being, and help communities develop businesses or projects which value people and the environment as much as profit.

Our aim is to influence, inform and respond to Welsh public policy. It is publicly supported and funded and is a leading support and training organisation for co-operatives and social enterprises in Wales.

So whether you run a social enterprise and need support, looking to start co-operative housing, considering employee ownership or anything in between, we’re here to help you.

We work across Wales to promote social, financial and digital inclusion through a range of projects" 

You can browse through their website via the link below:

https://wales.coop/?fbclid=IwAR0nHqby40gyUGIU0QBSyU9SYtmTCOPw8p5gP3o7wbN1VXI1VG268tjm35k

Anyway, I have written to them to ask them if they would be interested and are able to help to save Coleg Harlech as an educational and skill training college for the working class of Cymru. After all, Michael Sheen the actor and one of their sponsors is of a working class background isn't he?. Again, thus far, I have received no reply so, again, it would be worthwhile if others also wrote to them with the same appeal for assistance.

See one more link which will clearly show how 'outsiders' who are active in the process of buying off Cymru are 'savvy' in getting financial backing from the Welsh Government and other bodies in Cymru to set up their ventures. This particular one concerns Knighton Library and although the 'selling pitch' on this fb page is a load of crap that has so obviously been composed to 'money grab' we can see that this person, like hundreds of other 'newcomers to Cymru, have made it his priority to research where money can be accessed from. These sources COULD be used for Coleg harlech if a local community co-op was formed to form a business plan to forward to the Welsh Government? It's a worthwhile straw to consider. See link:

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/649767958914960/permalink/654619728429783/

Nothing will happen of course until the Welsh Government is persuaded that Coleg Harlech needs to be re-purchased and, as of yet, I have not found out who purchased the complex at the recent Auction. Has anyone got any definite information on this? Until we have this information, we can but continue to go all out to get signatures on the petition so, who now of our nation of 3.15 million care enough about the fate of this 'unique' establishment, the future for the working class of Cymru and the Cymric economy and, the fate of Cymru as a nation to continue as an entity? Do you care? does Plaid Cymru care? does Yes Cymru care? Does every other political party and pressure group in Cymru care because, if we don't, we can stop farting off about Independence' and forget any delusions about a CYMRU RYDD because, if we cannot save this Coleg for the nation, we have no hope of saving the nation.

SIGN THE PETITION IN THE LINK AND PASS IT ON AND ON UNTIL VICTORY IS ACHIEVED AND WE SEE STUDENTS AND STAFF MAKING FULL USE OF A REFURBISHED AND REVIVED COLEG HARLECH ONCE AGAIN!  

 https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/200218