Radio Times article named "Man or Myth?"

"How much of Mel Gibson's Braveheart is true?
Historian Fiona Watson separates fact from fiction.

Bloody Tales
Monday 8:00pm National Geographic."

So most of the article seems ok, pointing out the myths of the film which we all know by now but then it gets to the last "myth" and here is seems strange... judge for yourself!

"Braveheart is more fiction than fact. It's also helped fuel anti-English sentiment in Scotland
That period has been a gift to Alex Salmond and the SNP. Politicians might not feel much affinity with history themselves, but they know how to make use of it. The problem with Braveheart now is xenephobia: the justification of anti-english sentiment for which there should be absolutely no tolerance in a modern Scotland. It's not justifiable, and it has happened even after devolution. In 2006 kids were still getting beaten up for wearing an England shirt. That's why i think Wallace is a harder hero to stomach today. "

Y camau sydd angen eu gwneud ar ôl etholiad gwael?

1. Derbyn bod yr etholiad wedi bod yn drychineb a chymryd cyfrifoldeb am y bai. 

2. Dysgu lle aeth popeth o’i le. 

3. Gofyn am gymorth a gwrando i eraill. 

4. Cyfaddef nad ydych mewn unrhyw sefyllfa i feirniadu eraill tra’n ceisio pwyso a mesur eich problemau chi’ch hun (mae ond yn diweddu mewn cylch dieflig, ac ys dywed rhai ‘mae’r rhod yn troi’)

5. Uno megis plaid a sicrhau bod eich neges yn un glir. Peidio â chaniatáu i unigolion rhoi neges gwahanol i’r cyfryngau nad yw’n perthyn i bolisi’r blaid. 

6. Peidio bod yn ofn newid. 

Pa gam ydych chi'n ei gymryd ar hyn o bryd? Byddwch chi’n ychwanegu cam arall? Ydy pawb wedi cymryd y cam gyntaf? Ydy rhywun wedi anghofio gwneud y camau i gyd? Trafodwch!

Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste.

Out of all of the wonderful phrases the Irish language has to offer, none ring home more true to me than this. Broken Irish is better than clever English. Often used by those who aspire to see learners gain the confidence needed to speak their indigenous language, without worrying about the grammatical nuances that come with it. This is not only a philosophy to live by for Irish speakers, but indeed - any language.

Being bilingual is great, but becoming bilingual is that much greater. The journey from a few words, to perfect fluency is one that cannot be compared with any other form of study. They say, you never truly become fluent in any language - and I guess to an extent, that is true.
  

Yesterday - I popped into a local book-store to meet up with a friend for a coffee and a chat. While ordering tea and coffee, a woman listened attentively at our conversation in Irish. Just as she left the store, she smiled and said "Bhí sin deas a chloisteáil.." Bhí ionadh orm chun an fhírinne a rá..
  

So we sat down and had our tea and coffee, happy with the acknowledgement from a stranger at our willingness to speak Irish. Only 10 minutes passed, when another woman who had been listening in at our conversation thanked me for giving her a seat. "Go raibh maith agat" she said proudly to me - delighted with a rare opportunity provided for her to use her cúpla focal.
  

It's unfortunately a rare occurrence in Ireland to hear our indigenous language spoken taobh amuigh den  ghaeltacht. Níl mórán deiseanna ann dúinn An Ghaeilge a úsáid. Sin an fadhb is mó atá againn in Éirinn.. But even where there are opportunities, people still neglect to use it. Why so?

Across the world, minority languages have far too few learners willing to use them in a practical manner. So why don't they? It all boils down to their inability to live and breathe the words: 'Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste'. People are way too self-conscious when learning a language. They fear the inevitable grammatical mistake. You know what I say to grammar? Grammar, schammar!
  

The most difficult aspect of learning a language is plucking up the courage to just give it a bash, and lose your inhibitions. I read a good analogy somewhere.. Some fella posed the question asking - 'Does someone need to be proficient at ballet, to have fun on a dance floor? Does someone really need to be an opera singer, to sing along to their favourite song?' Of course not - So why do so many people feel that special rules apply to speaking a language?

So seo an pointe atá agam. Déan iarracht - Is cuma cén saghas ábaltacht atá agat. A language only dies if people stop speaking it.. And as we say in Ireland - Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.

by guest blogger Seán Ó Briain

Scottish Tory leader resigns.

Today, the Scottish Conservative leader has decided to resign. Just hours after a leading financial backer to the Scottish Conservatives called for leader Annabel Goldie to resign after that poor display in the election.

She is the third Scottish leader to step down after the Scottish Nationalist party's ecstatic win in the Holyrood election. All three are pro-union. The leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie (who would support an independence bill) has confirmed he won't be next to resign. So that brings the question, what now for unionism in Scotland? Who will be the next leader of the three parties? and who will lead the No campaign for Independence?

Interesting times ahead for Scottish politics!

The Power of Positivity.

Two elections have passed since I have taken an interest in politics. One of the first issues i raised in a branch meeting was about negative campaigning. At the time, Plaid had lost their campaign against Labour in Llanelli. That campaign passed and they went ahead by using the same tactic in the Assembly election. While some will call me a liar, I stand by what I say. 

"I think there was a problem within the campaign itself where there appeared to be a determination to be as negative as possible towards our previous partners in government.

Campaining very negativley against labour which didn't work as I said it wouldn't at the time." - Dafydd Elis Thomas on The Politics Show 8/05/11

If Dafydd El was saying it wouldn't work and they didn't listen, what hope do I have that people will listen? Ah well, worth a second try! 

I shall quote from Blog Banw: 

Someone told me outside the polling booth in Glanaman, 'I like Plaid Cymru, but my issue is they seem to be moaning and winging about everything, be it placard theft, lies in a leaflet, lack of press coverage, their endless stream of moans and groans makes them seem pessimistic and archaic'. I am guilty of it and most of the plaid activists I have seen on-line and out on the street are guilty of it. You may say but Plaid is in a no win situation, and it wasn't our fault, and you get a constant stream of defensive jibber jabber when judging Plaid Cymru. Be it 'people of Wales don't know what they're doing' 'people of Wales are servants to the establishment' blah blah. None of this kind of talk is constructive and to this I attribute the main cause of Plaid Cymru's downfall - yes DOWNFALL in this election.

It saddened me to see Plaid leaflets full of Labour. I seem to remember one with a big headline "Labour lied. Vote Plaid".

Is  that what people want to read when they pick up a Plaid Cymru leaflet? I don't think so. In my opinion, the only thing that negative leaflets do is infuriate the opposite party. I am not saying the other parties are not wholly guilty of negativity. I have collected some of the leaflets that have come through my door from this past election. Lets start of with Plaid's "Llanelli Voice". Headline: STOP PRESS: LABOUR EXPOSED. A whole A4 sheet of paper dedicated to the opposition. Secondly, Helen Mary's leaflet. A whole page on the inside as you open, dedicated yet again to Labour (for people living locally, the orange part). Plaid Cymru have great policies and an ambitious vision for Wales. Something which I think Labour lack. Now lets look at Labour's leaflets... None of which mention any other party, or Helen Mary. Although i have been told they said Helen Mary would go into coalition with the Tories on one leaflet... which i have not received through the door.

I have great faith that Plaid Cymru will pick themselves up and move forward but to move forward you have to learn from the past. I hope they mean what they say when they say that lessons will be learned. I hope the recent results have given them that wake up call and they start to listen, to their members and to great ideas. Of course this is just one aspect I think we need to look at.

I'm bitterly disappointed Helen Mary lost to Keith Davies. She was one of the best AM's Wales had, worked extremely hard and delivered for Llanelli like no other. 80 votes, just 80 votes were in it! As Helen said in her speech, Fe Godwn ni Eto, We will rise again.

"I hope after this result we'll see an end to negativity and scaremongering in Scottish politics - no more insults to the intelligence of the Scottish people." - Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland.

Alex Salmond seems to think negative campaigning and scaremongering insults people and I agree.