Why do I feel so strongly about being Welsh?

[tomenymur]

I was born and brought up in Wales. Whilst we spoke mainly English at home, with just my dad speaking Welsh to us, I am fluent in Welsh.
I went to university in England and have lived in London ever since.
But, why do I feel so strongly about being Welsh?
I absolutely LOVE Wales, but cant move back as my job and life is here.

If I go shopping and I see that a bag of carrots are from Wales, I would buy them even if I didn't really want carrots that week.
If I can buy specialist coffee or from a wine merchant, I'd favour a Welsh one over one down the road.

Does anyone else feel like this about their home country? I almost feel like it's a duty to do everything I can to support Wales... :o as ridiculous as that sounds

Another proud Welsh person here.

Yes I buy Welsh products too. Can't get laverbread easily though here in SW England! As soon as the house sale goes thorough we'll be able to move back home permanently

I was born in Wales and lived there for 10 years. I was heartbroken when we moved to England. My parents are English and I said for years "well I'm English but I'm Welsh born!" I will always be proud of that fact. I wish we'd never moved in some ways. I miss Wales and the people, they are the best.

MIL hisband is like this .. it's so weird .. I said stereophonics were a big shit once and he had an almighty strop not because he was a fan but because they are Welsh .. so so weird . I like England but couldn't get so over excited about it like that . !

Who said anything about compensation?

Wolfgirl you sound very ignorant and uneducated!

Hiraeth

(North Wales is better)

I wish I was welsh!! I went there for University and truly it's a magical place and I get the saddest sense of nostalgia that I'm no longer there or live there. I think I'm the only English person that secretly cheers for Welsh rugby. Best place on Earth is South Wales and the shower coast.

I'm also envious of the sheer joy that being Welsh brings most people! The ST George's flag has a chavvy / racist tarnish these days and I truly wish I was lucky enough to be welsh

@MinnieMountain mbosz did (see previous page).

@slartibartfastsbeard why?

(I’m constantly correcting people calling things English when British is correct)

British applies as a geographical descriptor, but English, Scottish or Welsh would be your nationality if you are British (as in born or naturalised on the Isle of Great Britain).

The two terms aren't interchangeable, we're all British and English/Scottish/Welsh.

if something is English (like brexit) you should own it.

@chocolatedeficitdisorder

Wales voted for Brexit.

Just how you're raised. I'm the same with Yorkshire. You'd think my bones grew from the Earth there with how I go on. You feel connected to your ancestral roots and history there

I do think it's good to be proud of your nation. I'm English and British. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all special countries.

Wales and Yorkshire are the two prime examples!

In a general sense though @Wolfgirrl. Nobody has specifically said the Welsh want compensation.

@minniemountain

I didn't say they did either.

Sorry what do you mean a general sense?

Wolfgirl your comments about harking back to the past and no longer having to learn an ugly language. Cymraeg is a far older language than English and has been part of the island of Britain for far longer. Us speakers are still, in the 21st century, having to fight for equal rights to speak and use our language. People like you make it sound like a choice that we speak Cymraeg. Did you "choose" to speak English or was that the language of your home and family? In the same way that Cymraeg is the main language of my home and family for generations. While we are still dealing with prejudice then what happened in the past is still relevant today.

@slartibartsfastsbeard

When did I call the Welsh language ugly?

And what rights are you fighting for? Every road sign, public document etc are duplicated in Welsh. I believe (but correct me if I am wrong) every school teaches Welsh, and some have it as a first language.

Who cares if it is older? The fact Wales was invaded is not my fault, or the fault of anyone else that is alive today.

You sound like you have a bit of a victim complex if I'm honest.

This piece always makes me smile...

When God created Wales

In the beginning the Lord God Almighty turned to the Archangel
Gabriel, and said:

“Today I am going to create a beautiful part of the Earth and I will
call it Wales. I will make a country of breathtaking blue lakes, rich
green forests and dark beautiful mountains from which from time to
time will be snow-covered. I will give it clear, swift rivers that will
overflow with salmon and trout.

The land shall be lush and fertile on which the people can raise cattle
and grow their food, as well as being rich with precious metals and
stones that will be sought after, the World over.

Underneath the land I shall lay rich seams of coal for the inhabitants to mine. Around the coast I will make some of the most beautiful areas in the World. White sandy beaches and cliffs that will attract all manner of wildlife, and lots of islands that will be paradise to all who visit them. In the waters around the shores there will be abundance of sea-life.

The people who will live there will be called the Welsh, and they will
be the friendliest people on my Earth. They will have magic in their
blood, and songs in their souls. Their Voices when raised in song shall challenge the choir of angels.”

“Excuse me, sire” interrupted the Archangel Gabriel, “don’t you think
that you are being a bit generous to these Welsh?”

The lord just smiled and replied “You have not seen the neighbours
I’m giving them!”

Have to jump back to @TeensArghhhh reply.....crossing that bridge, be it from a days work trip, UK weekend break or travelling back from Bristol (or a further afield) Airport - is there anything quite like that feeling?!? The "almost home" feeling? My small but mighty hometown also features on the M4 signs and the one marking our M4 junction fills me with "hiraeth" whether I'm coming home from a few hours at a nearby shopping centre or travelling home from an airport after a fortnight abroad Cymru am byth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Hiraeth

(North Wales is better)

North Wales here too, spent most of my adult life abroad but born and raised here. Weird really isn't it. Always pick the Welsh butter, potatoes, carrots, you name it. even if it cost a few pence more.
Living aborad I always had Welsh fridge magnets, daffodils, and the kids had a Welsh dragon flag on the top of the play fort in the back garden.
Can't speak it well. My Welsh is pretty rubbish really. Dd is fluent, and does me proud.

OP, I'm trying to talk my dh into moving to Wales, it's beautiful.
I'm not Welsh but have a full branch of ancestors who were, going back centuries.
I visited often during my childhood mostly North and Mid.
It's pride, maybe you can retire there or find work there.
Isn't there something about going home to a welcome in the hillside?
A long holiday when this is over, go live there for a while?

When DS moved to Bermuda he packed his welsh flags etc. He found the bar/club that streamed the rugby, when he got there it was full of fellow welshmen and irishman all in their red or green tops, waving their own flags. He said it was lovely. He joined their rugby club, did some coaching. Home from home for him.

justasking. That is brilliant.

Whenever we go away, whether it be abroad or in the UK there is nothing like the sight when you come down Rhuallt Hill A55 in North Wales the mountains stand before you beyond the rolling green hills. I always sigh "Home" when I see it. Impossible to explain really.