Especially for St. David's day:
1) Shown the English how to play rugby.
2) Invented cheese on toast, 'Welsh rarebit'.
3) Dylan Thomas
4) R. S. Thomas
5) Doubting Thomas - must have been Welsh with a name like that.
6) Ivor the Engine - better than Thomas the Tank Engine any day. Could Thomas (not Welsh because Thomas was his first name) sing Cwm Rhondda (see here)? Er, no.
7) The Severn Bridge that ensures England is not cut off from civilisation.
8) The bloke from The Alarm's mullet.
9) Majestically mournful minor key hymn tunes, Aberystwyth, Trewen, Llan Bagan.
10) Powerful preachers, John Penry, Vavasor Powell, Howell Harris, Daniel Rowland, William Williams, John Elias, Christmas Evans, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones....
Need I say more?
8 comments:
They also gave us some of the best opera singers the world has ever known, as well as some really great names. (Isn't 'Owen' Welsh?)
By the way, cheese on toast is the best thing on earth after the Bible and "Star Trek: The Next Generation".
Some deep, insightful, thoughts, Guy - I think that the Alarm (and especially their mullets) should be seen as a worthy contender for a significant cultural export...
You did, of course, give us some fabulous castles. More correct to say, I think we stole them. Or did we destroy them; or build them ourselves? Please do help me!
Excellent comments, Guy - some heavy weights here - especially the Alarm and Mike Peter's mullet!
And what about the castles you gave us. Or did we take them? Or destroy them? Or build them in the first place? Really not sure. Do enlighten the English masses, and please keep the cultural enrichment going!
Erm, as I recall it was the English who built the castles to subdue the unruly Welsh.
Leslie, I had Wales' contribution to music covered under points 8 & 9. I could have gone on and mentioned Bryn Terfel etc., but I'm not one to boast. I had cheese on toast for lunch today. Wasn't Caerphilly, mind you, but it was good.
Not to mention Birminghams water supply and target practice for many English armies. Dont you love it!
David
I did think of including water for Brummies on the list, but other stuff seemed more important, like the Alarm bloke's mullet.
Unaccountably you have missed out the best thing I ever remember from visits to Wales: the (monoglot)sign at the eastern end of the Severn Bridge saying "Welcome to England".
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