0:00:06 > 0:00:11For over 40 years, in the first week of every August, this is what I do.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Along with another 150,000 other people.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the largest
0:00:22 > 0:00:25festival of competitive music and poetry in Europe.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Eight days solid of competition and performance.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35It's become something of a family tradition to pitch up
0:00:35 > 0:00:37at the Eisteddfod every year.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And I'm going to give you an insider's guide
0:00:40 > 0:00:43to some of the many traditions that make up this unique event.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08This year the Eisteddfod is in Llanelli in South West Wales, and
0:01:08 > 0:01:13for one week this town will become the cultural capital of Wales.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15The tradition of Welsh artists coming together to
0:01:15 > 0:01:19compete at an Eisteddfod dates all the way back to the 12th century.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Eistedd means to sit, and Eisteddfod originally meant a sitting,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27a session, a coming together.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And even to this day, the highlight of the festival is to watch
0:01:31 > 0:01:35a man or a woman sitting in a very special chair.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39So, parking one's posterior is one of the oldest traditions
0:01:39 > 0:01:41in Welsh culture.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Winning the chair, or being crowned in it,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48as a Prifardd, or principal bard, is still every poet's ambition.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Every year a new chair is specially carved
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and presented as a prize to the winning poet.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57He or she has to write an awdl,
0:01:57 > 0:02:02a 250-line poem on a specific subject, and all in strict metre.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06And this is this year's chair.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07Isn't it beautiful?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And as a nation looks on...
0:02:10 > 0:02:12a poet will be chaired.
0:02:15 > 0:02:22There's even more excitement surrounding the competition this year
0:02:22 > 0:02:26But someone did win the other main poetry prize, the crown.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28And that someone was me.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32I've won it twice now, in 2013 and in 1999,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35and it's an extraordinary feeling to be up there
0:02:35 > 0:02:37in the middle of that elaborate ceremony that
0:02:37 > 0:02:39you've seen so many times before
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and yet when you're in the midst of it you start to panic,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44thinking, what am I supposed to do next?
0:02:44 > 0:02:48And so it becomes a slightly surreal experience
0:02:48 > 0:02:51and yet it's a tremendous honour nonetheless.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57The ceremony itself is conducted by the Gorsedd of the Bards.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59HE SINGS IN WELSH
0:02:59 > 0:03:03If you roll back the years through the ceremonies of the past,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05you'd think that the Gorsedd in their druidic robes
0:03:05 > 0:03:08had been around since time immemorial.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13But looks can be deceptive.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Unlike the Eisteddfod, these druids are a relatively modern invention,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23with their roots in North London, of all places.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Welsh people have been coming to live and work in London for centuries.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35In our family, my great-grandfather was the first to come here
0:03:35 > 0:03:38from Breconshire in 1886. He worked as a draper in Oxford Street.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42I was born about three miles that way, in Muswell Hill.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46But this is Primrose Hill, and it was here, in London,
0:03:46 > 0:03:52that the first ever Gorsedd of the Bards was convened, in 1792.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57It was convened by a stonemason from Glamorgan who came here to
0:03:57 > 0:04:01showcase what he claimed was the ancient druidic tradition of Wales.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07His name was Edward Williams. Or to give him his preferred bardic name,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Iolo Morganwg.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Rhian Medi is a London-based member of the Gorsedd of the Bards
0:04:12 > 0:04:16who successfully campaigned for a plaque to commemorate Iolo Morganwg
0:04:16 > 0:04:18here on Primrose Hill.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21He was a man full of contradictions,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23a chatterbox, a polymath,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26genius, self-taught, erm...
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Probably would have been the life and soul of the party, I would imagine.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35He sort of put together all these jigsaws of Welsh history and created
0:04:35 > 0:04:40a plausible past and convinced everyone that that was the truth.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Iolo claimed that druidic tradition had been
0:04:46 > 0:04:49handed down from the distant past, that he
0:04:49 > 0:04:52was one of the two surviving recipients of druidic lore,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56but the truth of the matter is that the Gorsedd ceremonies
0:04:56 > 0:05:01all originated in Iolo's fertile imagination.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04This is an excerpt from the Morning Chronicle's account
0:05:04 > 0:05:07of one of Iolo's ceremonies performed here.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10"Some Welsh bards resident in London assembled in congress
0:05:10 > 0:05:13"on Primrose Hill, according to ancient usage,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17"which required that it should be in the eye of the public observation,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20"in the open air, in a conspicuous place,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23"and whilst the sun is above the horizon.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25"The wonted ceremonies were observed.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28"A circle of stones was formed, in the middle of which was
0:05:28 > 0:05:31"the Maen Gorsedd, or altar, on which,
0:05:31 > 0:05:36"a naked sword being placed, all the bards assisted to sheathe it.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38"On occasion the bards appeared
0:05:38 > 0:05:41"in the insignia of their various orders."
0:05:43 > 0:05:46There was a general interest in druidism during the 18th century,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51so there was a receptive audience for Iolo's theories and ceremonies.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54But even if they weren't as ancient and traditional as he claimed,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57they have subsequently become traditional,
0:05:57 > 0:06:02and Iolo succeeded in creating a new Welsh institution.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07It might seem strange that he chose to hold his first Gorsedd here in London.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09This is where it was all happening.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10There was nowhere in Wales.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13This is the capital, this is where
0:06:13 > 0:06:18he had to come with his ideas and his projects, and he realised this.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Iolo Morganwg was one of the main forces behind the incredible
0:06:22 > 0:06:26renaissance that Welsh culture experienced during the second half
0:06:26 > 0:06:27of the 18th century.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30And, as a London Welshman, I'm quite proud of the fact
0:06:30 > 0:06:33that many of the seminal events of that renaissance
0:06:33 > 0:06:34took place here, in London.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Later I'll be tracking down the first ever chair that
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Iolo Morganwg used at an Eisteddfod.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46And we'll be finding out if somebody will claim this year's chair.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54It's not just poets that go head-to-head in an Eisteddfod.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00Over 6,000 people come here to compete in over 200 competitions.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02They come from all sorts of different backgrounds
0:07:02 > 0:07:04and from all over the world.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10WOMAN SINGS IN WELSH
0:07:21 > 0:07:26Genod Gwyrfai is a new choir based in Waunfawr, a small village in Snowdonia.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30They number teachers, nurses, farmers' wives and council workers
0:07:30 > 0:07:34amongst their members, and there's an international contingent, too.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43I'm originally from Ohio. I come from a town called Dayton, Ohio.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47I went to a university called the University of Rio Grande
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and that's where I met my husband, who's from Porthmadog originally.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53He was there on a football scholarship
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and I was studying on a music scholarship
0:07:55 > 0:07:59and we happened to meet each other and the rest is history, as they say.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02I'd never heard of Wales before, before I'd met him,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05and here I am 12 years later, living in Wales.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11Genod Gwyrfai have travelled six hours by bus to the Eisteddfod
0:08:11 > 0:08:15to compete in the competition for choirs with fewer than 35 members.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19For us particularly, with Genod Gwyrfai, it's very social,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22it's about having fun and making friends
0:08:22 > 0:08:23and just getting together
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and doing something you enjoy with the people that
0:08:25 > 0:08:28live in your community, so from that point of view we don't take
0:08:28 > 0:08:30ourselves too seriously, but then,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33if you're going to compete in the National Eisteddfod,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35you don't want to make a fool of yourself either.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40It was a tough competition, with seven other choirs competing,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43and Genod Gwyrfai just missed out on a top-three placing.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51The Eisteddfod's celebrating people coming together to keep that
0:08:51 > 0:08:56tradition alive, regular people with regular jobs, in regular communities.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57It's fantastic.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24And now for one of the most important
0:09:24 > 0:09:28ceremonies of the week, the Crowning of the Bard.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31But the identity of the winner is shrouded in secrecy.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Only three people know who has won the crown this afternoon -
0:09:36 > 0:09:40the Eisteddfod organiser, two of the Gorsedd officials,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44and of course the winner himself or herself, if there is one.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46As the winner of last year's crown,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49I'm supposed to congratulate them on stage with a short poem.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51But first I need to know who they are.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I need to find the Genod Gwyrfai,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58the Gorsedd's official keeper of the records.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08'Penry takes me into the inner sanctum
0:10:08 > 0:10:10'before letting me in on the secret.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12'There's no chance of getting a camera in there.'
0:10:19 > 0:10:22I've just been tipped off by one of the senior Gorsedd officials
0:10:22 > 0:10:24as to the outcome of this afternoon's ceremony.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29I am now the fifth person in the know but I've been sworn to secrecy
0:10:29 > 0:10:31so I'm not allowed to tell you.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38'After a couple of hours penning some suitable verses,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41'it's time for me to get changed into my bardic regalia.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'Because I've won one of the Eisteddfod's main competitions,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50'I'm a member of the white order.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58We're making our way now to the rear of the pavilion
0:10:58 > 0:11:00prior to making our big entrance.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05The crown is usually presented to the poet who writes
0:11:05 > 0:11:07the best poem in free verse.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11This year the theme is "Tyfu", or growth.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16As well as its ceremonial role,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19the Gorsedd also functions as a kind of Welsh honour system.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21All the people around me here
0:11:21 > 0:11:24have made some kind of contribution to Welsh public life.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Be that as writers, as musicians, as politicians,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31actors or even sports players.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35So any minute now the trumpets will sound, the organ will play
0:11:35 > 0:11:36and we go over the top.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38It's all exciting.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46TRUMPET PLAYS
0:11:51 > 0:11:54ORGAN PLAYS
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Somewhere amongst the 2,000 strong audience in the pavilion
0:12:05 > 0:12:07is a poet who's about to win a crown.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16The archdruid announces that there's a winner
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and calls on the winning poet to make himself known.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31APPLAUSE
0:12:31 > 0:12:32And there he is.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43There's a real buzz in the pavilion because 24-year-old Guto Dafydd
0:12:43 > 0:12:45is one of the youngest ever to win the crown.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:13:08 > 0:13:11The pageantry of the Gorsedd continues as the archdruid
0:13:11 > 0:13:14sheaths a sword above the poet's head,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19a symbolic call for peace, or "Heddwch" in Welsh.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Y gwir yn erbyn y byd, a oes heddwch?
0:13:24 > 0:13:33Calon wrth galon, a oes heddwch?
0:13:33 > 0:13:36one of the major industries of this town in the past.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37APPLAUSE
0:13:42 > 0:13:45And now it's my turn, with my tribute to the new Prifardd,
0:13:45 > 0:13:46or champion poet.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04APPLAUSE
0:14:10 > 0:14:15'20 years ago I was watching the ceremony on TV, and the colours,'
0:14:15 > 0:14:18the organ music, all the splendour of it,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21it went right to my heart, I loved it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23The other kids in school,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26maybe they dreamed of winning the FA Cup at Wembley -
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Poetry in Wales doesn't live in a book.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37It lives on the stage in front of the microphone.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Poetry is rock'n'roll in Wales.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44One of the youngest poets for a very long time,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47which makes your feat here today all the more praiseworthy.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Guto, llongyfarchiadau. Diolch yn fawr.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56I just had a quick look at Guto's poems
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and I have to say I'm very impressed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03The poems all sing, as we say in Welsh, that's to say the lines are
0:15:03 > 0:15:07all evenly weighted and euphonious. To give you an example at random -
0:15:07 > 0:15:11"A lladd lloi tenau mewn tyddynnod llwm."
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Slaughtering scraggy calves on bleak smallholdings.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Some lovely alliteration there.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19But the Wales he depicts in his poems
0:15:19 > 0:15:21is very much a contemporary one.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25It's a Wales of supermarkets and bypasses and Twitter feeds
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and I think some readers will find these poems challenging.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Guto warns us not to, as he puts it,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36"Roi trefn ar glipiau papur ein gwareiddiad brau".
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Not to arrange the paperclips on our fragile way of life,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45that we shouldn't take the future of Welsh-language culture for granted.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Excellent.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Alongside the more traditional events,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54the Eisteddfod is constantly adding new competitions
0:15:54 > 0:15:55to freshen up the mix.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01One of the most popular ones sees soloists competing to give
0:16:01 > 0:16:04the best rendition of the song of their choice from a musical.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I've been given permission to tag along with the judges
0:16:09 > 0:16:11of this year's competition.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Do any of today's competitors have the potential to
0:16:14 > 0:16:17go on to the West End? It's a great breeding ground, the Eisteddfod. Yes.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22A great springboard for these young people to go on
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and hopefully create and carve out careers for themselves.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28And personally for me, I've been here in the National
0:16:28 > 0:16:31since I was six, and definitely feel that all the experience
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I've had has helped me towards getting to my final goal,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35definitely.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Out of the 28 singers who competed in the under 19 category,
0:16:40 > 0:16:41three have reached the final.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Only the Welsh language is allowed on the Eisteddfod main stage
0:16:53 > 0:16:57so all these West End hits have been translated into Welsh.
0:16:57 > 0:17:05# Yfed gwnaf dy gwpan chwerw
0:17:05 > 0:17:13# Hoelia fi i'th groes bren arw... #
0:17:13 > 0:17:15APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:17:20 > 0:17:23The first prize is a ?1,000 scholarship
0:17:23 > 0:17:27which the winner can use to further their career,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30spending it on singing lessons, masterclasses, whatever it takes.
0:17:33 > 0:17:40# Di
0:17:40 > 0:17:44# Aeth a hud y byd... #
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I think the two judges have just heard their winner.
0:17:55 > 0:18:03# Aeth a myd i gyd... #
0:18:04 > 0:18:07But to be honest, I don't think I'm cut out to be a judge in musicals.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10I wouldn't know my Cats from my Phantom.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12But judging from the audience's reaction, this competition has
0:18:12 > 0:18:15certainly established itself as a firm favourite.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Wow. Yeah, wow.
0:18:27 > 0:18:34# Ond cariad pur sydd fel y dur
0:18:34 > 0:18:41# Yn para tra bo dau... #
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Another new edition on this year's Eisteddfod field is the Ty Gwerin,
0:18:47 > 0:18:48the folk house.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52This yurt is home to folk music and dancing.
0:18:52 > 0:18:5621-year-old Gwilym Bowen Rhys is an exciting new talent
0:18:56 > 0:18:58on the folk scene here in Wales.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03He first came to prominence in a rock band
0:19:03 > 0:19:06but now he's passionate about traditional Welsh songs
0:19:06 > 0:19:08and giving them a contemporary twist.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18# Wel, dyma'r hen dy rwy'n ei garu
0:19:20 > 0:19:27# Hen dy can a phennill yng Nghymru,
0:19:27 > 0:19:33# A'r gwellt iddo'n do
0:19:33 > 0:19:39# A'r drws heb r'un clo
0:19:39 > 0:19:46# A'r mur ddim rhy falch i'w wyngalchu. #
0:19:49 > 0:19:54Beautiful. Thank you. It's not a song I'm familiar with.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58I'm presuming that the melody would be quite traditional
0:19:58 > 0:20:00but what you've done with the accompaniment
0:20:00 > 0:20:02has been more creative?
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Yes, lots of people do this with folk songs.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06You keep true to the old melody... Yeah.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08..but the accompaniments can be anything you want.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12These old songs, I heard somebody describe it, it was like evolution.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Only the strongest and the best survive, you know?
0:20:16 > 0:20:20If it's not very strong, you forget it, you know, if it's memorable,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24the words to some of these old songs are just poetry put to music.
0:20:26 > 0:20:27When he's not singing,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Gwilym can be found in the seaside town of Criccieth
0:20:31 > 0:20:33helping to maintain another Welsh tradition.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38He's just started an apprenticeship as a clog maker.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44And his training is being funded by none other than Prince Charles,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48who stepped in after learning that Wales' last full-time clog maker
0:20:48 > 0:20:49was about to retire.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Prince Charles put finance and support
0:20:54 > 0:20:59forward to pay for Gwilym to be trained here for a year.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I sort of look at myself as like a line, the end of the line.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05I don't want it to stop at me.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08I've got a moral obligation to make sure it gets
0:21:08 > 0:21:11passed on, which is what I'm hopefully doing with Gwilym.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17There's no-one really at all else in the trade doing any training, and
0:21:17 > 0:21:21you've got a really simple equation. No clogs, no clog dancing.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25It just comes down to culture.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28What makes this bit of land different from that bit of land
0:21:28 > 0:21:31is the culture and people and history, you know? Yeah.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34And it's important, to me, anyway, to keep that alive,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37or everywhere will seem the same, which will be quite boring, I think.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The Eisteddfod tradition is unique to Wales
0:21:43 > 0:21:47as is the bardic pageantry of the Gorsedd ceremonies,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49initiated over 200 years ago in London
0:21:49 > 0:21:52by the stonemason Iolo Morganwg.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55But the two weren't brought together until 1819
0:21:55 > 0:21:59when the Eisteddfod was held in the nearby town of Caernarfon
0:21:59 > 0:22:03and at the local museum is the actual chair that Iolo Morganwg
0:22:03 > 0:22:06used to unite the Gorsedd and the Eisteddfod.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11This, I think, is it. Yes, the 1819 Eisteddfod chair.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Iolo had a real affinity with this particular chair.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18It's said that every time he visited Caernarfon, he liked to sleep in it
0:22:18 > 0:22:21because, being asthmatic, he preferred to sleep upright,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25and this was his chair of choice.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27The chair's location was something of a mystery
0:22:27 > 0:22:30until Welsh furniture historian Richard Bebb
0:22:30 > 0:22:32chanced upon it six years ago.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36Despite its importance within Eisteddfodic tradition,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39this chair was actually lost for quite a while, wasn't it?
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Yes, we knew there was a chair given in 1819
0:22:43 > 0:22:46because it's mentioned in the Eisteddfod proceedings as being...
0:22:46 > 0:22:50It was made of indigenous oak in a pure gothic style
0:22:50 > 0:22:54and it was put on display on a table for people who desire
0:22:54 > 0:22:56sort of winning it to enter. Right.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59And then it's mentioned going to Llangynnwr Vicarage,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02where it was before 1850, but from that period,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07it's just been lost to lots of scholars of the period.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09But recently found. Very recently, yes.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14The Gorsedd ceremony at the 1819 Eisteddfod
0:23:14 > 0:23:16was quite a modest affair.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Iolo Morganwg created a Gorsedd circle
0:23:18 > 0:23:21with a handful of pebbles from his pockets.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Then he went on to admit poets as druids, giving them
0:23:28 > 0:23:32white, blue or green ribbons according to their rank.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Iolo Morganwg was certainly a colourful character
0:23:40 > 0:23:43with a colourful if not controversial past,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47but despite his somewhat creative approach to history,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50the Gorsedd tradition that he initiated in London
0:23:50 > 0:23:53and then integrated with the Eisteddfod here in Caernarfon,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55using this very chair,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58still continues to this day nearly 200 years later.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04As the week draws to its close at this year's Eisteddfod,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08one chair stands alone in the spotlight,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10and the way you win a chair has hardly changed
0:24:10 > 0:24:13since the days of Iolo Morganwg.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15So what exactly is required?
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Let me explain through the medium of fish and chips.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27A chair is awarded for a poem written exclusively in strict metre.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Each line of the poem must be written
0:24:30 > 0:24:31according to the rules of cynghanedd,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35and broadly speaking there are three different kinds.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38The first kind involves internal rhyme.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44As you can see, "ips" there,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47rhymes with "ips" in the penultimate syllable there.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48Ips, chips.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55OK?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The second kind of cynghanedd involves alliteration.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07T-N-F, "sh".
0:25:08 > 0:25:12T-N-F.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16"Tuna fish is not in fashion." That's alliteration.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18We've had rhyme, we've had alliteration.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21The third kind of cynghanedd is a combi-cynghanedd.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25It's a fish-and-chip cynghanedd - it involves both internal rhyme
0:25:25 > 0:25:27and alliteration.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31"No-one trips on fish and chips by choice."
0:25:31 > 0:25:36So again you've got the rhyme "ips" and "ips"
0:25:36 > 0:25:39but we also have an element of alliteration.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43"Ch" and "ch". "Ips" and "ips", "ch" and "ch".
0:25:43 > 0:25:46"No-one trips on fish and chips by choice."
0:25:48 > 0:25:49Simple.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55It's time for me to don my robes once again
0:25:55 > 0:25:58as the Gorsedd of the bards prepares for its penultimate ceremony
0:25:58 > 0:26:00of the week.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05Within this stone circle, new members are admitted into its ranks
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and today's a special occasion for our family because my wife's cousin
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Haf Thomas is being honoured by the Gorsedd for her work with charities.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30I'w adnabod yng Ngorsedd fel Haf o'r Llan.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32CHEERING
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Y gwir yn erbyn y byd. A oes heddwch?
0:26:51 > 0:26:53ALL: Heddwch.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Once again, the Eisteddfod pavilion is packed
0:27:00 > 0:27:02for the chairing of the bard.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Sefyll, os gwelwch yn dda.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08And in front of 300 members of the Gorsedd of the Bards,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10the winning poet stands on his feet.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14CHEERING
0:27:14 > 0:27:17And as the warmth of their reaction suggests,
0:27:17 > 0:27:18he's a familiar face to his crowd.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Ceri Wyn Jones won the crown five years ago
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and this is the second time that he's won the chair.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29And so in accordance with one of our oldest traditions,
0:27:29 > 0:27:34this year's champion poet is chaired.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36APPLAUSE
0:27:44 > 0:27:47The glory of the National Eisteddfod is its incredible variety,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49the fact that it can be so many different things
0:27:49 > 0:27:51to so many different people,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55a tremendous tapestry of tradition and innovation.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Because tradition must embrace innovation if it is to survive.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03It must also appeal to the younger generation
0:28:03 > 0:28:05because they're the ones, of course,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08who will carry it forward into the future.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Guto, llongyfarchiadau. Diolch yn fawr.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14And for me, coming to Eisteddfod each year
0:28:14 > 0:28:16and plugging into that incredible variety
0:28:16 > 0:28:19is like recharging your cultural batteries -
0:28:19 > 0:28:21it energises you for the year ahead
0:28:21 > 0:28:24until the next Eisteddfod comes around.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Hello, Edinburgh!
0:29:03 > 0:29:06MUSIC: "Changing" by Sigma feat. Paloma Faith
0:29:06 > 0:29:0850,000 performances across one city,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10in one extraordinary month.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14# Got to let go-oh-oh-oh-oh. #
0:29:14 > 0:29:17We get you closer to the best live comedy,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19theatre, dance,
0:29:19 > 0:29:20literature,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22cabaret and music,