School flags for Parliament
IWAS fortunate enough to be asked to attend Ysgol Porth y Felin in Conwy last Friday to present the school with a huge flag that had been designed by Tilly Dunn, one of the pupils.
In order to mark the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta a competition was launched to commemorate the event with schools from all over the country invited to design a flag that would represent their area which would be flown above Parliament Square.
I was delighted that Porth y Felin took part and was even more pleased that they were selected to represent our part of North Wales.
The flag itself is also well worth seeing with the Castle, Suspension Bridge and the mouth of the Conwy River being presented dramatically against the background of the Welsh colours of red, white and green.
Tilly and her fellow pupils are to be congratulated on their efforts whilst the school should also be applauded for highlighting such an important anniversary of an agreement that has contributed so much to the concepts of governance that we now take for granted.
It was also very appropriate that a Conwy school won the he compecompe tition since one of the he few individuals named in n the Magna Carta was Llylywelyn ap Iorwerth or Llywelyn Fawr (the e Great) as he is known in Welsh and in our history books.
Llywelyn was, arguably, the most successful of the Princes of Gwynedd, a family dynasty that t was derived from m landholdings in the Conwy Valley but who gradually came to dominateminate Wales and even challengell th the might of the English King. Married to Joan, daughter of King John, Llywelyn was in open conflict with the English King from around 1211 onwards and allied himself with the English Barons. As a result, many of his claims and his rights were recognised in Magna Carta and in 1218 he cemented his position signing the Treaty of Worcester with the son of King John John, Henry the Third. Althoug Although buried at the Abbey in Conwy his casket w was moved after the con conquest of Wales in 12 1282/3 and can now b be seen at the Church in Llanrwst. It is worth a visit.
I was delighted to hear that Glyn Roberts who farms at Dylasau Uchaf, P Padog was elected to be the President of the Farmers Union of WaleW Wales last week. A greatg advocate of Welsh agricultureag and rural lif life, IkI know that Glyn will be a fantastic servant to Welsh farmers and I wish him all the best in his new role.