THE ESTEDDFOD: Stuck in the past???

The 'Chairing of the Bard' (watched from outside the packed tent). For those not in the know this is the equivilent of the World Cup for Welsh langauge poetry

I talk about the festivals I go to as if they were the only type of festival there is. Today I attended what is probably the oldest festival in Wales, the Eisteddfod.

I did not get to see as much of it as I would have liked to, I was working on a trade union stall, but I did get to have a little wander. Much of the site is made up of stalls for colleges, charities, banks, even Sw@nsea City FC. In fact there are so many stalls of this type it is hard to find any culture.

But you can find culture, there is a massive 3,000 capacity pink marquee which holds all sorts of cultural events, from clog dancing and choirs to poetry and harp playing. I think it good a showcase for Welsh language culture exists, but I think it sad that it is stuck in some bygone era. The Druids and all that malarkey are a spectacle and I am sure they would be even more interesting if I knew what the f@ck they were on about, but the whole thing ignores contemporary Welsh culture. How about Brith Gof (contemporary performance art), Llwber Llythog, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, or one of the numerous adventurous welsh language bands that are about.

I might be wrong and the modern is represented, but if it is it is well hidden.

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