Croeso y Gymry Welcome to Wales

8/8/2019 Croeso y Gymry Welcome to Wales

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Pilgway Project: Partnership Visit to Wales May 3-7, 2009.Hosted by CTP International www.ctpinternational.co.uk

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APPRECIATION

The authors hereby acknowledge and appreciate the support of the EU

(Grundtvig) Lifelong Learning Programme who funded the Pilgway

Partnership project from 2008 to 2010. We hope this report contributes

to the enhancement of lifelong learning as well as helps to solidify

social and cultural relationships amongst the diverse communities

within the European Union.

If, as we have done, you too would like to develop your own ideas

through a Lifelong Learning Partnership project, please kindly contact:

Grundtvig in the UK through

ECOTEC Research & Consulting Limited

Registered in England No. 1650169

Registered Office:

Vincent House, Quay Place, 92-93 Edward Street,

Birmingham, B1 2RA. UK

Tel: +44 (0)845 3137455

http://www.ecotec.com

http://www.grundtvig.org.uk

It really is worth it!




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Contents

Page

Appreciation 2

Contents 3

Background/Introduction 4

Participants 5

Pilgrim Routes in Wales 6

Pilgway Visit to Wales 8

Featured organisations 17

Photo Gallery 21

Index to Photo Gallery 27




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1. Background & Introduction

There can be no better introduction to the study of Pilgrims, Pilgrimage

and Pilgrim Routes in Wales than that offered by Peter Robins on hiswebsite, particularly in the section on Wales:

http://www.pilgrim.peterrobins.co.uk/wales/index.html

“There has been” writes Robins “a remarkable increase of interest in

pilgrimage in recent years, and a truly vast number of publications and

websites have resulted (www.pilgrimsprogress.org.uk is an excellentstarting point).”

“Wales” he notes “has been somewhat neglected, but recently there

has been a flurry of publications.”

Concerned that “Almost all the publications seem to think pilgrims are

people who drive around in cars, something he finds difficult to

understand,” Robins decided to set up a website, which suggests routes

for walking to and from the main historic pilgrim shrines in North

Wales.

According to Robins, “Pilgrimage seems to be common to most if not

all religions, and a physical journey is an obvious metaphor for the

journey through life. In many parts of the world, a journey to places

associated with founders of, or other key figures in, a religion is still

central to life. Medieval Christianity was no exception, with journeys

to the places where Christ lived (the 'Holy Land') and, as the Middle

East is a long way away for Europeans, to places associated with other

holy people - particularly where the physical remains of such people






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3. Pilgrim Routes in Wales

3.1 The Cistercian Way: The Cistercian Way is the main pilgrim route

in Wales. It is more than a long-distance path: it is a walk into theheart of Wales. The Cistercians were enormously important in the

history of Wales. Their belief in the importance of self-sufficiency and

hard work made them great farmers, and they cleared much of the

upland farming landscape of Wales. The Cistercian abbeys gave

hospitality to Welsh poets and chroniclers. It was the Cistercians who

wrote to the Pope in support of the Welsh kings Llywelyn ab Iorwerthand Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, and who backed Owain Glyndwr in his bid to

regain Welsh independence. They also looked after important

pilgrimage shrines like Penrhys. The ruins of their abbeys are among

the most beautiful and evocative places in the Welsh landscape.

Walkers can explore the great abbeys of the Cistercian order, the little

churches of the Welsh hills, the amazing geology of the Pembrokeshire

coast, Stone Age burial mounds, medieval castles and sheep-farms,

picturesque landscaped gardens and the industrial heritage of the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The route links the Cistercian Abbeys of Wales along ancient tracks,

pilgrim roads and modern long-distance footpaths. Walking along

Roman roads, medieval pilgrimage routes and nineteenth-century canal

towpaths, the route takes walkers through friendly villages, remote

mountains and spectacular coastlines and they can learn about Wales -

land of song and legends, mines and chapels, rugby and holy wells.




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Exterior of St Winefride's Well shrine, Holywell, erected in the first decade of the sixteenth century.The spring rises in the lower open crypt and flows out into the large exterior bathing pool. Above the crypt is St

Winefride's Chapel. On the right is the Crusader type changing tents used by pilgrim bathers.

Courtesy: http://www.saintwinefrideswell.com

A project led by Dr Madeleine Gray of University of Wales, Newport,

Wales is dedicated to developing and promoting this route, thereby

highlighting its importance to Wales.

To learn more about the Cistercian Way project, please visit

http://cistercian-way.newport.ac.uk/index.asp or contact Dr

Madeleine Gray University of Wales, Newport, School of Humanities &

Science, Caerleon Campus, PO Box 179 Newport, NP18 3YG, Wales.

3.2 St Winefride’s Well: For over 13

centuries, St Winefride’s Well at

Holywell has been a place of pilgrimage

and healing – the only such place in

Britain with a continuous history of

public pilgrimage. According to the

legend, St Winefride's Well first erupted

at the spot where her would-be rapist Caradog cut off her head with his

sword. Restored to life at the prayers of her uncle St Beuno, Winefride

lived as a nun until her second death some 22 years later. Whateverthe exact truth of her legend, Winefride herself was real rather than

legendary, and the extraordinary and enduring personality of this 7th-

century Welsh woman has meant that she has been venerated as a saint

ever since the moment of her death.

To learn more about the St Winefride’s Well, please visithttp://www.saintwinefrideswell.com/index.htm




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3.3 Llandaff Cathedral: Llandaff

Cathedral stands on one of the

oldest Christian sites in Britain. In

the sixth century, St Dyfrig founded

a community close to the ford

where the Roman road crossed the

river Taff. He was succeeded by St

Teilo and then Teilo's nephew, St

Euddogwy. The present cathedral

dates from 1107 when Bishop

Urban, the first Bishop appointed by

the Normans, instigated the building

of a much larger church.

Until the time of King Henry VIII, Jasper Tudor's kinsman, pilgrims

thronged to the shrine of St Teilo whose tomb still stands in the

sanctuary, and their gifts supported the church. When pilgrims were

forbidden and other revenues taken away it was no longer possible to

maintain the building adequately and over the next 200 years it fell

into a state of near-ruin.

To learn more about the Llandaff Cathedral, please visit

http://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk/history.htm

4. The Pilgway Visit to Wales

• Sunday May 3






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period of migration. From 1800 to the Second World War (1939-45)

people from many different countries settled in Cardiff: ‘people from

the 4 corners of the earth’. People came from more than 40 nations

and many different ethnic groups settled in Cardiff.

Dr Jordan gave us many examples, which was typical for this area –

where people with a very broad and different cultural background,

different religions, inter-married and created this intercultural

environment – a true melting pot!

Howard Spring wrote about Cardiff Bay: “It was a dirty rotten and

romantic district, an offence and an inspiration and I loved it.”

Unfortunately, many men from this area were killed during the Second

World War, when they were bringing supplies from one place to

another. However, today, the city is still a vibrant European capital

city.

In conclusion, one can say that the integration in Cardiff was really a

success, an enormous friendliness and a welcoming of differences.

Dr. Jordan at the end introduced objectives and activities in BHAC. The

Centre is a unique, innovative scheme whose work began in 1987. The

activities in the Centre involve local people in collaboration with

professional researchers, artists and media workers. The Centre

collects and preserves copies and utilises oral histories, old

photographs and other documents to recreate and preserve people’s

histories and culture. The Centre also through seminars and courses

encourages and enriches cultural heritage education.




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The Centre is founded on the belief that everybody can contribute to

culture and cultural production and that everybody should be

encouraged to contribute.

Next up was Dr Charles Willie, CEO of Cardiff and Vale Coalition of

Disabled People who gave a presentation on ‘Integrating Disabled

People in the Society in Wales’. He used a kind of interactive

workshop format in which we all reflected on the use of language in

relationship to persons with disability or special needs. The discussion

was challenging and based on the use of inappropriate and sometimes

quite offensive language or terminology in describing disabled people.

Below are a few examples terms that should be avoided:

• Handicap - relates to a person with a cap in his hand (beggar).

• Invalid – this suggests the person is not valid, or is even

unacceptable and worthless.

• Retarded – now used as a blatant term of abuse.

Dr Willie made us reflect on our native language and the words we use

in relation to disabled persons and on the situation in general for

persons with special needs in our respective countries.

At the end of our visit to BHAC, we had lunch at the Bay followed by a

personal stroll around the harbour area. Participants also had the

opportunity to visit the Cardiff Castle. During lunch, we all took time

to discuss and reflect on the experiences of the day as well as many

issues in our project.




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• Tuesday May 5

In the morning we visited the very impressive Llandaff Cathedral,

which stands on one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain going back

to the 6th century. The present cathedral dates from 1107. We also

walked a small pilgrim walk in the surroundings.

We had a very good guide Diana James who gave us a walk in the

cathedral and told us the history of the cathedral. In addition, she told

us about the old pilgrim path in Wales and she linked interesting stories

to these old pilgrim routes, which made us all feel a desire to come

back to Wales and walk the pilgrim routes.

Afterwards we visited the magnificent Wales Millennium Arts Centre

(WMC) where Bet Davies Head of Public Affairs gave us a tour and told

us the history of this impressive building. After an international

tendering and competition, an architect from Wales won the

commission and created this building with a strong feeling for the

culture in Wales and a visible impression of the very important coal and

mining industry in Wales.

The WMC opened in 2004 and is now one of the most unique and lively

performing arts centres in Europe. The vision is to be a cultural

landmark and an accessible centre for the performing arts, renowned

for inspiration, excellence and leadership.

After lunch we were received by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff , The Rt.

Hon. Kate Lloyd MBE, at her official protocol house Mansion House. The

Protocol Manager, Mr Clay, gave us a highly informative and

entertaining guided tour of the beautiful mansion with a lot of old




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treasures given as gifts in the past. We had a tour of the mansion itself,

which is now used by prominent visitors to Cardiff.

There are many valuable treasures, each piece showing and being an

outstanding example from the great collection of artefacts in the

mansion.

We also had an introduction to the people of Wales, their history now

and in the past. This helped us to better understand why there is such

a strong wish for more independence in Wales.

Afterwards the participants strolled around Cardiff to get a feel of this

vibrating and intercultural city.

In the evening discussions and exchange of culture blossomed over

dinner in the Dragonfly.

• Wednesday May 6

In the morning, Ernesto from Spain, who had created our website,

gave us a most interesting presentation to our project website and

introduced the website of the Association of Pilgrims in Jaca. All

participants thanked Ernesto for his great work. All were enthusiastic

and had many suggestions and recommendations such as:

• That we should use our logo as much as possible.

• Include the pilgrim routes in the different countries.

• Add links to our own websites as well as links to pilgrim

associations and routes in the different partner countries.

• Include cultural aspects and mention specific products




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• More directly underline the fact, that pilgrim walks can be a tool

for strengthening and understanding cultures in Europe.

• Highlight that there are many ways to have a pilgrimage – a more

metaphorical pilgrimage i.e. journey in life, journey from

exclusions, and journey from one point in life to another.

Next, we visited Fitzalan High School, Cardiff. We were received by Mr

Rob Morse, head of 6th Form also known as the ‘Academy’. Rob

introduced the school - a very vivid journey of the school, how it

changed from a Boy’s Technical School to a culturally diverse

International School. The school was bombed in World War 2, rebuilt

and, 25 years ago, changed into an open school for both boys and girls.

The school is described as “the most culturally diverse and community-

focused” high school in Wales. At the same time, the school is known

for setting high standards and having high expectations of all its

students.

Three students told us about their personal pilgrimage - three very

different stories – a metaphorical pilgrimage in each case. The first was

a Muslim girl from Pakistan who came to UK when she was nine years

old; followed by an Arab girl and a Welsh boy. They shared their

personal journey (which they are still on) and all the challenges they

are facing. They told us about their upbringing, the different

challenges they had faced and how they got to where they are today.

They also shared their dreams and wishes for the future. It was both

touching and amazing at the same time and we all expressed our

admiration and wished them continued succession on their journey.




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The school is today a big multicultural school with 45 languages spoken

and 42 nationalities represented, making it a very vibrant and lively

school. The school tries very much to inspire the students to move up

in life. Many of the students have unemployed parents and many of the

parents are also facing various social challenges.

In 1989, Rob Morse had asked the students to take pictures and tell him

where they wanted to get to in life. Several years later would compare

the students’ achievements with their pictures and the comparison

often showed a very good result. Most of the students had actually

succeeded and attained their goals.

If anybody wants to see an excellent example of a school being

successful against the challenges of social exclusion and economic

disadvantage, a visit to the school is highly encouraged.

In the afternoon, we visited the Gap Centre in Newport, where Bob

welcomed us and told us about the centre. The Centre is a community

facility run by the church for the local community. It was founded by

members of Bethel Community Church, who believe that God’s love

for people can best be demonstrated by serving, supporting and

building strong relationships with others in spite of race or religion.

The centre enjoys no public funding. The services are provided by

volunteers who support the centre and come to work in the centre.

The centre’s motto is to be ‘seen, heard, and felt in the society in

which we live’. This involves helping people to reach their full




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potential and to cope with issues and pressures that make their life

difficult, and to bring them hope for the future.

Around 100 to 150 persons come regularly to the centre, but the whole

community is welcome. The local community is quite diverse with

people from the UK, Eritrea, Congo, Gambia, Africa and India. Many of

these visitors are or have been asylum seekers.

The centre offers various services including a coffee shop, ICT suite,

meeting rooms, childcare as well as provides a listing and sign-posting

service helping people to go to the right place for seeking help.

Much of the work of the centre is concentrated around refugees and

asylum seekers. The centre offers support, help and friendship. On

Wednesdays, they run a club for men and Thursday a club for women

and children. The give and buy vouchers in order to help families, they

distribute food parcels, give furniture, specific gifts, Christmas gifts

and have services for special groups.

Before dinner Emiliano Bellini together with Lua Albano gave an

interactive presentation on the ‘the importance of multi-lingualism’.

Language, they argued, is the core of our culture and our language is

embedded within our culture. Language is important for survival and

crucial for integration. When we interact and relate language is an

important aspect. When we use language people often feel guilty that

they are not as good at expressing themselves. We might feel trivial,

ordinary; no jokes; you cannot show your intelligence etc.

In small groups, we focused on three questions:




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1. What does learning languages mean to you?

2. What does learning languages mean to you in your personal

pilgrimage?

3. What is most important grammar or conversation?

We worked hard with a lot of good humour and commitment to reach a

common solution. An interesting observation was made to the effect

that it was not the answers, but the process we took to come to

agreement. We all learned that speaking other languages is not a

technical skill but it is more about socialising. You can talk with other

people when you really wish to do it!

We considered this as a very important reminder and learning point for

our future cooperation and interaction during activities in our project!

In the evening, we had our farewell dinner at China China in Newport

City Centre with a lot of conversation, laughter and friendships that

further expanded!

• Thursday May 7

All departed with much thanks to Kachi Okezie and CTP International

for organising this very successful event.

5. Featured organisations

• BHAC: Based in the heart of Cardiff Bay, BHAC is a unique,

innovative scheme whose work, which began in 1987, involves local

people in collaboration with professional researchers, artists and

media workers. BHAC collects, preserves, copies and utilises oral




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histories, old photographs and other documents to recreate and

preserve people's histories, and cultural democracy. BHAC uses

community education courses and workshops with schools and

community groups to enrich cultural heritage education.

• CVCDP: Founded, operated and led by disabled people, CVCDP exists

to promote equality and challenge discrimination in all its forms,

campaign for and promote the full participation and social, cultural

and economic inclusion of all disabled people in society.

• WMC: One of the most unique and lively performing arts centres in

Europe, WMC’s vision is to be an internationally significant cultural

landmark and centre for the performing arts, renowned for

inspiration, excellence and leadership. Moreover, although opened

only in 2004 – by Her Majesty the Queen – the Centre has already

established its reputation as one of the World’s iconic arts and

cultural destinations.

• Fitzalan High School: Described as “probably the most culturally

diverse and community-focused high school in Wales”, Fitzalan is a

thriving 11 to 18 school, with a talented sixth form known as “The

Academy.” Fitzalan makes no apologies for demanding high

standards and high expectations knowing that this will enable all its

learners to succeed and benefit from the many opportunities on

offer.

• The Gap Centre: The Gap Centre is a community and conference

centre founded by members of Bethel Community Church, who

believe that God’s love for people can best be demonstrated by




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serving, supporting and building strong relationships with others in

our community regardless of race or religion. The centre serves its

local community of Stow Hill and Baneswell as well as the whole of

the city of Newport, providing excellent conference and event

facilities for businesses. The Gap Centre aims to make a real

difference in the life of every individual within its community. “We

believe in the intrinsic value of every human life and want to help

everyone in whatever way we can to reach their full potential, to

deal with all the issues and pressures that can make life today so

difficult and to have hope for the future. We hope that through

serving and being part of our community we can help to bring about

renewal and transformation of community life.”

• The Norwegian Church: The Port of Cardiff was one of the first to

have a Norwegian Sailor’s Church established to provide religious

and social care to thousands of Norwegian sailors that were

employed in the Norwegian merchant fleet. The Church was founded

by Herman Lunde of Oslo and built in 1868 between the East and

West Docks on land that was donated by the Marquis of Bute and was

consecrated in the December of that year. Despite becoming world

famous as a meeting place for Scandinavian sailors, the Church fell

into ruins before being restored with funds raised from benefactors

in Wales and Norway. The Church was re-opened by Princess Martha

Louise of Norway on April 8, 1992. The world-famous author Roald

Dahl spent his early childhood and school days in Cardiff where his

family worshipped at the Norwegian Church.

• Mansion House: Formerly known as “The Grove”, this Grade II Listed

building located on Richmond Road, is the official residence of the




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Lord Mayor of Cardiff. Designed by Habershon & Fawckner the

Mansion House was built in 1896 for James Howell, owner of Howells

department store.[1] It was bought by the Cardiff Corporation in

1913. The one unusual aspect of the house is that it has two front

doors. James Howell wanted to ensure that the house could be

divided in two in the future if needed.

• Caerleon (Roman ruins): Caerleon – on the outskirts of Newport city

– boasts some of the finest remains of Roman heritage in Europe

including the centurion barrack buildings, sections of the Roman

fortress wall, the amphitheatre (which once could seat a whole

legion - up to six thousand spectators!)’ and the Roman Baths. The

Fortress of ISCA has become a key visitor attraction for enthusiasts

of roman and Celtic history and archaeology.

• Llandaff Cathedral: Llandaff Cathedral stands on one of the oldest

Christian sites in Britain. In the sixth century, St Dyfrig founded a

community close to the ford where the Roman road crossed the river

Taff. He was succeeded by St Teilo and then Teilo's nephew, St

Euddogwy. The present cathedral dates from 1107 when Bishop

Urban, the first Bishop appointed by the Normans, instigated the

building of a much larger church.




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6. Photo Gallery

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Index to Photo Gallery

1. The visitors pose with Dr Glen Jordan outside BHAC on Cardiff Bay

2. The visitors pose with the Lord Mayor of Cardiff Kate Lloyd JP at her

Mansion House residence

3. Ngozi, Pina, Ezi and Victoria

4. Ruins of the old Cathedral at Llandaff

5. Diana James gives a pre-walk briefing

6. Bet Davies of WMC explains a point to the visitors

7. Dr Charles Willie speaking on Culture and Disability in Wales

8. Emiliano, Michael and Ezi Beedie sharing a joke over dinner

9. The group on Cardiff Bay promenade

10. Kachi, Pina and Karen listen to Lord Mayor Kate Lloyd

11. Rob Morse of Fitzalan College giving an interactive presentation

12. Lua and Emiliano on Cardiff Bay

13. The chalice containing a piece of the skull of St Teilo

14. Inside Llandaff Cathedral

15. With our guide Diana James in the grounds of Llandaff Cathedral

16. With Bet Davies at WMC

17. Courtyard in Llandaff Cathedral

18. Approach to Llandaff Cathedral

19. Ernesto loves the English heritage

20. Front of Llandaff Cathedral

21. Michael Abbe viewing the skull of St Teilo in the crypt

22. Plaque at St Teilo’s well, Llandaff



Designed & produced by Kachi Okezie of CTP International (for the Pilgway Project)This document is free to use and reproduce for educational purposes only.

The Pilgrims outside Fitzalan High School, Cardiff

Documents

Croeso y Gymry Welcome to Wales