Eisteddfod weather researchers ask for public’s memories

Tywydd Eisteddfodol (Eisteddfod Weather) is a new project by geographers and writers from the Departments of Geography and Welsh at Aberystwyth University and they will have a 'pop-up' stand on at the National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd with their partners the Eisteddfod, the Urdd, the National Library of Wales and Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd.

Dr Cerys Jones, Dr Hywel Griffiths, and Professor Sarah Davies are geographers who investigate contemporary and historical aspects of climate change, and Dr Eurig Salisbury and Dr Cathryn Charnell-White are historians of literature who are interested in the literary evidence for the history of the weather.

Drs Salisbury and Griffiths are also, of course, poets who have won the main prizes of the National Eisteddfod. Hywel was the winner of the Crown at the National Eisteddfod staged in Cardiff in 2008 and the winner of the Chair at the Maldwyn and Borders National Eisteddfod in 2015.

Eurig Salisbury won the Prose Medal at the National Eisteddfod in 2016 with his novel ‘Cai’ and he was Bardd Plant Cymru, the Welsh-language Children’s Laureate, in 2011–13. Both have explored wealther relevant themes in their poems.

"This project started when we were discussing about the way eisteddfodwyr often remember the weather at a specific eisteddfod, rather than the exact year," explained Dr Cathryn Charnell-White from Aberystwyth University.

The weather has played a key role in the National Eisteddfod for years. The 1861 National Eisteddfod at Aberdare was originally planned to be held in a large pavilion built on Hirwaun Common. But three days before the Eisteddfod it was blown away in a massive storm. The Eisteddfod had to be moved to the Town Hall and a decade later something similar happened in Tremadog.

On the other hand, the 1955 Festival was described as 'Eisteddfod Pwll-haul' by a Liverpool Echo reporter due to the fine weather.

"Simply, then, what we have in mind is a project about eisteddfod weather, which is to collect stories and memories, photos, poems, videos, etc. - the sun, the rain, the mud, the dust," said Dr Charnell-White.

As a starting point the academics have started combing through old editions of Barddas magazine and have found several englynion poems about Eisteddfod weather along with many pictures and images in the Screen and Sound Archive of the National Library of Wales.

"One of our partners in the project is Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd and they have a 'Tywyddiadur', a searchbox and offering the word 'Eisteddfod' throws up all kinds of interesting information," said Dr Charnell-White.

No decision has yet been made in which direction the project will goabout the final form the project will take. There might may be a coffee table book, an oral history archive or a TV programme.

If you have memories, stories, or pictures you would like to share about eisteddfod weather or if you know of poems or other texts that document the weather at a specific eisteddfod contact the team by sending an email to tywydd@aber.ac.uk