Wales

A place of ancient Celtic culture that was flourishing long before the English even existed. Much of the culture is long lost but there is wealth of mystery, richness, beauty and fame connected to Wales that most people have no idea about. To look beyond the sheep jokes, daffodils and rugby and it is important to recognise it was one of the first literary cultures on Earth. Celtic way of life was overflowing with poetry and great legends some little known and some world famous and more often than not, very wrongly, attributed these days to England. They lived, on the whole peacefully, believing in nature, song, literature, dance... basically life just being fun. It was actually one of the first nations where women were treated in many ways equally to men! They even lived at peace with the Romans after the Roman invasion into Britain developing a sophisticated, ahead of its time nation! Unfortunately the English (at that point Normans, Germans, French) i.e. the Anglo Saxons came to Britain and ruined most of it. Wales has so much to be remembered for, namely some of the greatest legends, such as that of King Arthur and his round table which yes, was Celtic (WELSH) legend - though it is thought much of the legends are based on true figures. Though nowadays people tend to think King Arthur was English when what he did was in fact fight the Anglo-Saxons, he was in fact half-Celtic, half Roman. Wales has many other great stories, A welsh Indian tribe existed in America long before Columbus ever arrived, thus proving that the Welsh were in fact the first to sail to America. In fact on the American declaration of independance 13 of the 17 signatures are signed by Welsh men, and America was very nearly going to be a Welsh speaking country! A land with stories of great people, Owain Glynd, Aneurin Bevan, Richard Burton, Dylan Thomas, David lloyd George, JPR Williams!, Roald Dahl... the list is endless...Many great singers, actors, artists and writers have come from the small country of Wales (can't forget Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Anthony Hopkins for modern legends, even Kylie who is half Welsh!) Not to forget it is a country of great beauty, much of the countryside breathtaking but unseen by many. It is a nation, of what i have seen, (and that is much!), of polite, kind, talented people. This is of course a generalisation but i do not know how Cardiff can be accused of being violent fans when England are world-renowned for the behaviour of their football fans!! There is a national Eisteddfod each year bringing together talent from all over Wales, yet the contest is not publicised or known to many outside Wales... a great shame. I could go on and on, Wales is far too over stereotyped and it is by people that have no idea about the truth at the core of this remarkable country.