Swansea, Wales

Post 90 Voices of the Welsh

My one-month stay at Swansea while attending an educational management course there in 1996 had me delighted at the scenic and beautiful Wales. Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales and is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. It is the second most populous city in Wales after Cardiff.

As a music lover, I found the Welsh having a very strong compassion for music and dances. No wonder Wales is traditionally known as “the land of songs”. Indeed it has a history of folk music related to the Celtic music of Ireland and Scotland. One just needs to go to Youtube “Choir of Wales” to enjoy watching and listening to the best musical repertoire, depicting Wales’s rich culture.

I was told by my Welsh friend that there were many international music and dance festivals in Wales throughout the year. He even took me to a school hall where his daughter, who also gave Harp lessons, was practising the stepping dance of Wales with a group of friends. Besides music, songs and dances, the Welsh are also rugby enthusiasts. Their annual encounter with the English team is a crowd puller.

The Welsh are generally bilingual being proficient in both Welsh and English. One can see road signs being written in both the languages.

Wales is charming and picturesque indeed.

12 April 2011