FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

MAY:

1: LOCAL ELECTIONS

5: PLAID CYMRU BRANCH, Bontnewydd, Rhostryfan and Rhosgadfan: Guided walk to Parc Glynllifon

10: Tribute concert to Jac Davies, Pontyberem

15: Gwynedd Business Week Gala Dinner

16: Rhosygilwen, Cilgerran

17: Ystradgynlais

24: DI+Band at Penegoes

25: DI at the Hilton, Birmingham

JUNE:

7: DI + Band at Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant

20: DI + Gari + Peter at Bedlinog, Merthyr Tudful

21: DI + Gari + Peter at Llansawel

JULY:

3: DI addresses first Wales Planning Conference, Cardiff

4: Gwyl Bro Dinefwr, Cil-y-cwm

5: Plaid Social Event, Treletert / Letterston

6: Tabernacle, Haverfordwest

7: Bontnewydd Plaid Branch AGM

AUGUST:

4: National Eisteddfod of Wales, Cardiff

30: Llanddarog Show Concert, DI+BAND with John ac Alun

SEPTEMBER :

12/13: Cynhadledd Plaid Cymru Annual Conference

27: DI + Band, Mona Showground Pavillion, Anglesey

OCTOBER:

DAFYDD IWAN A'R BAND OCTOBER TOUR:

3: LYRIC, Carmarthen

4: Theatr Felinfach

10: TBA

11: Emlyn Arms, Newcastle Emlyn

17: Ty Siamas, Dolgellau (DI + 2)

24: GALERI, Caernarfon

25: Theatr ELLI, Llanelli

FAMILY NEWS:

Caio Iwan, Dafydd and Bethan's 16 year old son, has been chosen to play for the national Welsh schoolboys football under-18 team, and his first representative game was against Australia at Merthyr Tudful on January 25th. Caio also played his first game for the Bangor City League of Wales side on December 26th, 2007.

Caio Iwan receiving his international under-18s cap after the Wales-England game at Haverfordwest, April 4th, 2008

Dafydd's latest CD, "MAN GWYN" was launched on December 15th, and is available in record shops or may be ordered on-line via the SAIN website:

(www.sainwales.com)

The songs explore the phenomenon which led so many Welsh people over the ages to seek a new life overseas, especially in the Welsh "colony" of Patagonia in Argentina. The title comes from the Welsh proverb "Man gwyn man draw" (" a perfect place over yonder").

The songs also explore various aspects of nationalism , and the dreams which have inspired Welsh people over the ages, and the necessity to create a new Wales here on our own soil, and not in some far distant land. Dreams, visions and inspiration, with tribute songs to two giants of Welsh nationalism as an extra - Michael D. Jones and Gwynfor Evans.

"MAN GWYN" : DAFYDD IWAN on the SAIN label : Cat. no. SAIN SCD 2576

Dafydd with Phil Edwards and Mark Jones and local councillors and supporters during the launch of Plaid's latest poster

campaign to welcome Blair to Llandudno on February 23rd!

Dafydd Iwan, Plaid Cymru President addressing the Bodmin rally in support of an elected Cornish Assembly. The Rally was organized by

Mebyon Kernow on the 5th anniversary of the 50,000 signature petition for a Cornish Assembly presented to 10, Downing Street in 2001.

More pictures from the Rally below.

Dafydd Iwan greets the leader of sister party Mebyon Kernow, Councillor Dick Cole, who graduated from University of Wales in Lampeter, and got his first experience of political campaigning in Ceredigion. He has remained a member of Plaid Cymru ever since, and his ambition is to see a night in Cornwall to echo the celebrations at the Park Hotel, Cardiff following the Devolution Referendum victory in 1997.

"We in Cornwall derive much inspiration from Wales, and an elected Assembly is our immediate aim, and not the re-organization of Local Government which the LibDems are trying to pass off as devolution" , says Councillor Cole.

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NO TO THE NEW TRIDENT!

Dafydd Iwan says:

"The year-long vigil at Faslane, the Trident base in Scotland, will be a defining occasion in the history of the British isles. We cannot sleep-walk into another period of spending billions of pounds on obsolete military technology. The world has moved on, and today's world calls for a new way of creating international understanding and peaceful co-existence. This money would be far better spent on international co-operation, removing the causes of terrorism, closing the gap between the rich and the poor, and on meeting the challenge of climate change.

"It was a privilege to be part of this vigil on November 13th and 14th, seeing the dedication of people from all parts of Wales, young and old, to the ways of peace, and their determination to change the culture of militarism and violence for one of peaceful coexistence and understanding.

"If international terrorism is the greatest threat facing us, a new Trident system is not the answer. The answer lies in working together through the United Nations to remove injustice and oppression wherever it exists".

DAFYDD'S SPEECH TO THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE AT SWANSEA:

We are now enduring the most centralist government Wales has ever seen, a government which has no sense of community. They tried to foist an all-Wales police force on us, and why? Because it would mean more community policing? No! Because it would create a bigger police force. And fewer, and bigger police forces are easier to manage centrally from London.

But it isn’t the size of the police force that matters. What matters to people is whether there is visible police presence on the street where they live.

And the same goes for all the other important services. It may well be that a case could be made for an all-Wales fire service, but what matters is that a fire engine can come quickly enough to fight a fire in your street or in your village. An all-Wales ambulance service is fine, but what matters, what really matters, is whether an ambulance can get to your loved ones quickly enough to save their lives in an emergency. All services must be judged by their local accessibility. Central control is no substitute for local delivery.

Bigger does not always mean better. Again let us remind ourselves of our patron saint’s advice to “do the little things”.

No, not the trivia, but those crucial little things which can make all the difference to people’s lives. Those little things which make a big difference to the well-being of your local community.

The service which probably is in the forefront of the public’s mind and concern today is the health service. And let’s be honest, this is a service which will give any government a difficult challenge. There are no easy answers, and as people live longer, the challenge will become greater, and the cost of maintaining the service will become progressively higher.

So there are a few basic principles we have to underline:

The National Health Service must be maintained as a public service, available for all according to their need, free at the point of delivery.

• Encouraging a healthy living style is an inherent part of the service, rather than merely treating sickness. We want the accent to be on wellbeing, not welfare.
• Front-line services must be given priority and bureaucracy cut to a minimum.
• And just as important as all these, and to return to my local theme, an efficient and adequate service in the local community must be maintained. What is wrong with the present rash of hospital re-organization plans in Wales is that major decisions are taken at the top of the service without first ensuring that the community provision is in place. Let’s do things in the right order, and for the right reasons. Change there must be, rationalize we must, but never at the expense of the local community.

If I may return once more to the police service, one of the government’s greatest blunders was to link the perceived need for amalgamating the forces with the threat of terrorism. We have said in Plaid Cymru ever since 9/11 that Bush and Blair have handled the so-called “war against terrorism” in completely the wrong way. But I never thought that even Blair’s government would use it as an argument for amalgamating our police forces! What Wales needs is a police service which understands our communities, police officers who know the people, and how the community works, police officers who can work with our communities to create a spirit of harmony, and yes to protect those in any danger, and to minimise crime. And this has far more to do with the nature of the service than it has with the size of the force.

This will be a recurring theme in our election campaign. We will campaign on your door-step, because your door-step is where it matters. Politics has become a remote pastime, practised by the chosen few in far away places. Plaid Cymru believes that politics belongs to the people, healthy politics is about you, your family, your friends and your community and your nation. But your nation, our nation is not a remote concept, Wales is not something far away, it is not the creation and plaything of politicians. Wales is you and your community, linked to all the other varied and wonderful, poor and prosperous communities throughout the land. Together we are Wales. Together we are a nation. But it all starts on your door-step. Wales begins with you, and you can make a difference to Wales. The politics of Plaid Cymru is about you, your community , about Wales and the world.

And what kind of world do we want to be a part of? Well, for a start, we in Plaid do not believe that you can divide the world into good and evil. There is no such thing as an evil nation, or for that matter a good nation. There are some pretty evil regimes, and some pretty nasty dictators, but there are no evil nations, no evil countries. Bush and Blair have created this notion of a war on terrorism which has to be translated into territorial wars, and we want no part in that. The only way to eradicate terrorism in the long run is to eradicate injustice, and oppression, and the only war we wish to partake in is the war on poverty, the war on inequality and the war on want. And meanwhile, all the nations of the world must work through the UN to show that those who believe they can create peace and justice through violence are mistaken. And those who believe that killing innocent people is the will of their God are more mistaken still, and themselves are a threat to the future of mankind.

Much is made in the media of the cost of some public projects, and often there follows a public outcry against the cost of building, for example, the new Senedd building in Cardiff Bay. I find it strange that such heartfelt criticism is so selective. How many hospitals could be built for that money we say. But what we never hear is how many hospitals could we build for the cost of the unnecessary, illegal and immoral war in Iraq? A new hospital could be built every week for the money we are pouring into that tragic conflict.

And what of Britain’s arsenal of nuclear weapons? What of the Trident missile system which is costing us billions of taxpayers pounds? And now the government want to spend up to an estimated 40 billion pounds on a new Trident system! And changing the Prime Minister will not make any difference whatsoever, for Gordon Brown is already committed to the new Trident, and to the just as pointless, just as ineffective massive spend on ID cards. Wales’ share of the cost of a new Trident would be around 1,500 million pounds!

How many hospitals could you get for that, how many more doctors and nurses could you train and employ, how much more resources could you allocate to our schools, and how many of our aging council houses could you renovate? Let us make it crystal clear, next time they say there is nothing to choose between the parties, Plaid Cymru would not support a new Trident system because it is obsolete, and because it is no longer even a deterrent, and because it would be an obscene waste of your money. Indeed we believe that the present system should be scrapped. Do you remember that infamous poll of Welsh MPs by Martin Shipton of The Western Mail? 3 Plaid MPs, 2 Labour MPs and 1 independent against Trident, Mr. Lembit Opik of the Lib Dems felt he was misunderstood, 2 Tories fully supportive, and 31 of the 40 Welsh MPs did not reply. That’s leadership for you.

But that should not surprise us of course. They are only following the example of their leader in Wales. The First Minister who refuses to say whether he is for or against a war where young Welsh men and women are expected to put their bodies on the line every day in a conflict for which there was no rational justification, and to which there cannot be a satisfactory resolution.

Plaid Cymru has been absolutely steadfast, consistent and coherent on these matters from the very beginning. And at a time when faith in politics and politicians is at an all-time low, thanks mainly to the actions of Bush and Blair, the consistency of Plaid’s message is clearly gaining support. While the other parties are sinking in ever-increasing debts, we have laid firm financial foundations in Plaid. Of course we need more funds, but at least we can build on a solid base. And while the British parties are losing members, our membership in Plaid Cymru is growing. And this Autumn, as an integral part of our election campaign, we today announce our “October Challenge”, with the aim of making Plaid the party with the largest membership of any party in Wales. The National Campaign Unit has created special membership packs for you, and over the next month we will contact everyone who has indicated support for Plaid during recent canvassing and give them the opportunity to join in this great venture of creating a better Wales. We can work together to create the kind of modern, successful nation which the people of Wales so richly deserve.

Localism and environmentalism go hand in hand, and the work of reducing Wales' carbon footprint is one which we cannot delay any longer. Real prosperity comes not by measuring everything in GDP or GVA, not by putting economic growth at the top of every agenda, but by growing our businesses in a local context, in an organic way, and acknowledging yes that success means happiness and quality of life and belonging to a community just as much as making money. We have seen recently the policy of pouring grants into companies coming into Wales coming seriously unstuck. It is time we gave priority to indigenous businesses, investing more in research and the development of our own talents, and investing in companies that will stay and grow here in Wales. Let LG be the last of its kind, and let us put our trust in our own small and medium-sized businesses.

Plaid Cymru has great ambitions for Wales, and we believe in creating in Wales a new patriotism that brings us together in a common mission – a new bargain between the people and their country – a social contract to equip us for the twenty first century. We want to create a new, inclusive, progressive, civic-based and outward-looking nationalism.

We want to help you create a nation united by hope. Together we can create a new Wales, a Wales our children can be proud of, a nation united by fairness and equality, a nation united by hope.

JOIN PLAID AND DAFYDD IWAN IN THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND FREEDOM!

"Plaid Cymru is the only party which believes in a Wales united, North and South, East and West, rural and urban; whether we speak Welsh or not, our hearts beat for Wales, and whatever background we come from, as we have made our home here in Wales, Plaid Cymru is for us.

Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales, is the party which values the past but looks to the future. Plaid Cymru is the party which believes in your local community, but which looks out to the world. Plaid Cymru is the party which will ensure the survival of the Welsh language as part of a living modern culture, but believes strongly in a diversity of cultures. Plaid Cymru is working to take power in the government of Wales,  power not for its own sake, but power for a purpose, to create a better, fairer and more prosperous Wales for all our people. We will leave behind the tired government of New Labour for a new start with Plaid Cymru - the true Party of Wales.

Dewch gyda ni, gyfeillion, i'r Gymru Newydd!"

Plaid Cymru -The Party of Wales, Ty Gwynfor, 18 Park Grove, Caerdydd/Cardiff CF1 3BN, Cymru / Wales.

Dafydd Iwan
01286.676004
07961098311
dafyddiwan@cymru1.net
dafydd@sain.wales.com

DAFYDD IWAN
THE PRACTICAL IDEALIST
Throughout his life, Dafydd Iwan has sought practical answers to the problems facing Wales.

=He was convinced from an early age of the need for self-government for Wales. He joined Plaid at 14, and he was elected as the first Chairman of Plaid's Youth Section in 1962.

=He saw that his compatriots often chose academic courses at the expense of vocational ones, so he studied architecture, graduating at Cardiff in 1968.

=In the 60s, the Welsh language had no official status in its own land, and he campaigned with the Welsh Language Society, becoming one of its most effective leaders.

=In the early 70s, the increase in holiday homes threatened the viability of rural communities. He founded an independent housing charity which still provides for the homeless.

=He saw that the new technology had to be introduced into the world of Welsh entertainment, and he founded SAIN which is now Wales' leading recording company, employing 30 people.

=He was one of the small band of people who helped Dr. Carl Clowes realise his dream of saving the village of Porth-y-Nant and creating the Nant Gwrtheyrn Language Centre.

=He was a member of the team who helped R. Gwynn Davies set up one of Europe's most innovative and pioneering centres for people with learning disabilities, Antur Waunfawr.

= His work with Sain and Gwynn has ensured that hundreds of Welsh composers and musicians are being properly paid and acknowledged for their work.

=Seeing so many local properties and businesses being bought up by companies from outside the local economy, he founded with others the company Arianrhod which buys properties to let to local businesses.

=He knew that Welsh had to be a vehicle for contemporary entertainment. He has led by example, encouraging hundreds of singers and performers to realise their potential.

=And all this never stopped him from being a Plaid Cymru candidate in Westminster, European and local elections. He is a member of Gwynedd Unitary Authority since 1995, where he heads the Development portfolio (Education, Leisure Facilities and Economic Regeneration)