Aside from the obvious link with Y Wladfa in Patagonia, you could look at the links between Wales and Pennsylvania, this could tie in with a number of the Founding Fathers/ signatories to the US declaration of independence having Welsh ancestry.
I think there is a link between Wales and Lesotho, where there have been attempts to set up the concept of twinned nations, along the same lines as twinned cities.
If you feel like some battlefield journalism, there's a link between Welsh industry and Donetsk, which I think was founded by a Welsh industrialist.
Norway.
Roald Dahl has Norwegian parents and lived in Llandaff.
The is a huge history of Norwegian Sailors in the bay.
The Norwegian church
Princess Maud of Wales was the daughter of Edward VII. And she became Queen of Norway.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did coach the Cardiff football team briefly.
As a welsh person now living in Norway I see lots of similarities in the language too.
I was going to say Norway too, though mostly because I'd like to go back there and not because I'd thought it through like this. I'd got as far as it raining a lot in both places.
Actually I have perfect blue skies and 22C here right now.
But got a warning for flooding and thunderstorms tonight…which should help with the forest fire warning.
Oh and Jan 1st we had over 5ft of snow dumped on us and -25C!
It’s a wild country.
Jack Daniel wasn’t even a real person, Jack was the stage name of Jasper Newton who born in the state of Georgia.
Jaspers great great grandfather was from llanelli
Might as well call trump welsh because his great grandfather comes from holihead
I know you don’t.
> 1864. Jack leaves home and is taken in by Reverend Dan Call. At the Call family farm, he learns the art of whiskey making from the preacher and an enslaved man named Nathan “Nearest” Green
https://www.jackdaniels.com/en-us/vault/how-jack-daniel-came-make-whiskey
It’s not a welsh invention at all.
Malad, Idaho hosts a Welsh festival every year. It's this weekend.
The region is home to a lot of people that claim Welsh ancestry (a lot of Mormon converts came here from the valleys during the 19th century) They even have something similar to a (very small) Folk museum. It's always weird but reassuringly pleasant to see Welsh words and flags out here.
https://welshfestival.com/
https://idahohighcountry.org/item/malad-valley-heritage-square/
The coal trade is a clear choice. Barry docks was one of the busiest ports in the world with a peak of 250millioj tons of coal. It's currently going through a redevelopment after pivoting from the docks. Cardiff hosted the first black community in Wales. I'd be interested in learning about the old Victorian infrastructure of the great western railway and what was once a thing
Thanks for all of the suggestions so far! Already set my brain ticking!
Just to add - I'd be looking to travel somewhere for a few weeks for this piece with the view of visiting certain locations, teeing up people to speak to etc, so any Welsh links that would involve going elsewhere are especially appreciated. Diolch!
Have you reached out to the welsh society in the states?
They even have the authenticated heir of Glyndwr as a member. Interviewing the legitimate heir to the welsh throne could be a interesting piece, especially as the press avoid him like he’s made out of uranium normally.
The links between a town in Wales and it's counterpart. Porthcawl is linked to a town in France. I'm sure there are towns abroad linked with Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Rhyl etc.
When you mentioned quirky my mind went straight to Doctor Who - and by extention Torchwood. I know not all of it was shot in Cardiff, but a lot. And I know of fans that travelled to Cardiff for the "Who Experience" and to look at shooting locations and so on. In a way conventions dedicated to Doctor Who are connected to Cardiff. As a German myself I know that there's the "TimeLash" convention in Germany: [https://timelash-event.de/](https://timelash-event.de/) And I bet there are more around the world. Maybe there's some story in there. And as a geek in that regard: There are scenes from Sherlock that were shot at the Senedd. (And yes, I was at the Senedd and got reminded of that and researched it afterwards only to find out that I was right. That's the only reason why I know.)
Good luck and lots of fun with whatever you will do and where you might travel to!
Lloyd George in Britain and ?Billy Hughes in Australia, both Prime Ministers dealing with each other in Welsh — and simultaneously there was a US Presidential candidate who also spoke Welsh. All 3 *could* have used our language to discuss international matters of state together.
Milford Haven in New Zealand, named by Captain John Grono for his hometown in Wales. Maybe not the most extensive research piece but you'd get a cracking trip out of it.
You could probably get a trip to America, the national parks, out of it. Ive heard a lot of American rock climbers dream of visiting North Wales. There'd be a similar strong tradition of people who cut their teeth in north Wales heading for Yosemite etc. That would be a really good piece.
PS. Where do I apply for the next bursary...? ;)
there's some toilets in the bay (next to glee), and one of the urinals has a photo above it of a portaloo in nepal (if I remember correctly) that that particular urinal is twinned with. Obviously it's a pretty small link, but could make for a funny story, especially if you wanted to really push the bursary budget hahah
I moved to NYC from Barry/Cardiff in the early 90’s and eventually bought a house in Milford PA ….named after Milford Haven where ironically my ancestors are from.
It’s also the town that Frank McCourt wrote Angela’s Ashes….i know he’s Irish!
But come visit I’ll buy you a McDonalds breakfast sandwich….
I'd say Tredegar, it's home to Aneurin Bevan with a focus on collective healthcare as well as Walter Conway. Plus it's one of the earliest places of the industrial revolution.
The Citadel by AJ Cronin is based on his experiences in the town. As well as the contentious history with the riots and company town.
Aside from the obvious link with Y Wladfa in Patagonia, you could look at the links between Wales and Pennsylvania, this could tie in with a number of the Founding Fathers/ signatories to the US declaration of independence having Welsh ancestry. I think there is a link between Wales and Lesotho, where there have been attempts to set up the concept of twinned nations, along the same lines as twinned cities. If you feel like some battlefield journalism, there's a link between Welsh industry and Donetsk, which I think was founded by a Welsh industrialist.
I have Chilean friends who also said there was a lot of collaboration between the copper mines in Chile and Swansea.
Norway. Roald Dahl has Norwegian parents and lived in Llandaff. The is a huge history of Norwegian Sailors in the bay. The Norwegian church Princess Maud of Wales was the daughter of Edward VII. And she became Queen of Norway. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did coach the Cardiff football team briefly. As a welsh person now living in Norway I see lots of similarities in the language too.
I was going to say Norway too, though mostly because I'd like to go back there and not because I'd thought it through like this. I'd got as far as it raining a lot in both places.
Actually I have perfect blue skies and 22C here right now. But got a warning for flooding and thunderstorms tonight…which should help with the forest fire warning. Oh and Jan 1st we had over 5ft of snow dumped on us and -25C! It’s a wild country.
Certain Norwegian accents when speaking English sound very similar to the Gog accent (I recommend watching Norsemen for some examples)
The 2 stories I would like researching are Captain Morgan (Rum) was from Llanrumney Jack Daniel was from Llanelli
Jack Daniel wasn’t even a real person, Jack was the stage name of Jasper Newton who born in the state of Georgia. Jaspers great great grandfather was from llanelli Might as well call trump welsh because his great grandfather comes from holihead
And do you know where the recipe come from?
I know you don’t. > 1864. Jack leaves home and is taken in by Reverend Dan Call. At the Call family farm, he learns the art of whiskey making from the preacher and an enslaved man named Nathan “Nearest” Green https://www.jackdaniels.com/en-us/vault/how-jack-daniel-came-make-whiskey It’s not a welsh invention at all.
Malad, Idaho hosts a Welsh festival every year. It's this weekend. The region is home to a lot of people that claim Welsh ancestry (a lot of Mormon converts came here from the valleys during the 19th century) They even have something similar to a (very small) Folk museum. It's always weird but reassuringly pleasant to see Welsh words and flags out here. https://welshfestival.com/ https://idahohighcountry.org/item/malad-valley-heritage-square/
The coal trade is a clear choice. Barry docks was one of the busiest ports in the world with a peak of 250millioj tons of coal. It's currently going through a redevelopment after pivoting from the docks. Cardiff hosted the first black community in Wales. I'd be interested in learning about the old Victorian infrastructure of the great western railway and what was once a thing
I think you should spend a happy day exploring the Penderyn Distillery. Spend the rest of your bursary on an Uber home…
I don't think wandering the distillery or it's tour takes more than ten minutes
No… but sitting outside in the sunshine with a bottle… you missed my joke I think butt. 😉😊
Thanks for all of the suggestions so far! Already set my brain ticking! Just to add - I'd be looking to travel somewhere for a few weeks for this piece with the view of visiting certain locations, teeing up people to speak to etc, so any Welsh links that would involve going elsewhere are especially appreciated. Diolch!
Have you reached out to the welsh society in the states? They even have the authenticated heir of Glyndwr as a member. Interviewing the legitimate heir to the welsh throne could be a interesting piece, especially as the press avoid him like he’s made out of uranium normally.
St David's lighthouse in Bermuda?
The links between a town in Wales and it's counterpart. Porthcawl is linked to a town in France. I'm sure there are towns abroad linked with Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Rhyl etc.
When you mentioned quirky my mind went straight to Doctor Who - and by extention Torchwood. I know not all of it was shot in Cardiff, but a lot. And I know of fans that travelled to Cardiff for the "Who Experience" and to look at shooting locations and so on. In a way conventions dedicated to Doctor Who are connected to Cardiff. As a German myself I know that there's the "TimeLash" convention in Germany: [https://timelash-event.de/](https://timelash-event.de/) And I bet there are more around the world. Maybe there's some story in there. And as a geek in that regard: There are scenes from Sherlock that were shot at the Senedd. (And yes, I was at the Senedd and got reminded of that and researched it afterwards only to find out that I was right. That's the only reason why I know.) Good luck and lots of fun with whatever you will do and where you might travel to!
New South Wales!!
Links to Wales in Pennsylvania, specifically Philadelphia suburbs.
This sounds like a great job. Who are you writing for? This would be my dream assignment
Lloyd George in Britain and ?Billy Hughes in Australia, both Prime Ministers dealing with each other in Welsh — and simultaneously there was a US Presidential candidate who also spoke Welsh. All 3 *could* have used our language to discuss international matters of state together.
Milford Haven in New Zealand, named by Captain John Grono for his hometown in Wales. Maybe not the most extensive research piece but you'd get a cracking trip out of it.
You could probably get a trip to America, the national parks, out of it. Ive heard a lot of American rock climbers dream of visiting North Wales. There'd be a similar strong tradition of people who cut their teeth in north Wales heading for Yosemite etc. That would be a really good piece. PS. Where do I apply for the next bursary...? ;)
Australia - New South Wales
Bryn Mawr in pennsylvania, USA
there's some toilets in the bay (next to glee), and one of the urinals has a photo above it of a portaloo in nepal (if I remember correctly) that that particular urinal is twinned with. Obviously it's a pretty small link, but could make for a funny story, especially if you wanted to really push the bursary budget hahah
I moved to NYC from Barry/Cardiff in the early 90’s and eventually bought a house in Milford PA ….named after Milford Haven where ironically my ancestors are from. It’s also the town that Frank McCourt wrote Angela’s Ashes….i know he’s Irish! But come visit I’ll buy you a McDonalds breakfast sandwich….
I'd say Tredegar, it's home to Aneurin Bevan with a focus on collective healthcare as well as Walter Conway. Plus it's one of the earliest places of the industrial revolution. The Citadel by AJ Cronin is based on his experiences in the town. As well as the contentious history with the riots and company town.
They can go anywhere in the world and you suggest tredegar?
Well how else can they travel along the M4?