Established in 2001, the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive holds an unrivalled collection of films, TV and radio broadcasts, video tapes and sound recordings relating to Wales and the Welsh, from 1898 to the present day. The collection spans multiples formats and genres, both professional and amateur.
Ray Gravell talks to David Parry-Jones
Rugby star, broadcaster and actor Ray Gravell shares memories and pivotal moments from his life and career.
Interview with Ray Gravell, Welsh international rugby player and broadcaster. Subjects covered in conversation are the interview venue, the house where Gravell was brought up; his education and rugby playing at Carmarthen Grammar School; his father’s early death. He cites Llanelli RFC as having had a good youth policy, and rugby legend Carwyn James's coaching skills. Memorable rugby moments include Llanelli beating the 7th All Blacks in 1972, two Grand Slams, three Triple Crowns and the Lions tour of South Africa in 1980. He makes comparisons with the present-day (2000) game. Ray also talks of his TV career - including acting, and mentions celebrities he has met or worked with, such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Jeremy Irons and Keith Floyd.
The Welsh language - Cymraeg - is an endangered tongue that survives against all odds, thanks to multiple campaigns and its daily speakers.
Welsh is one of the oldest languages in Europe, spoken today by over 800,000 people. It has survived attempts to snuff it out, for example with the use in Victorian schools of the infamous 'Welsh not', and is still the butt of many a tired cliché and ignorant jokes.
But it has many less well-known claims to fame - such as the fact that Wales was one of the first countries to create laws using its own language - and in 2020 singer and language campaigner Dafydd Iwan's rousing hit 'Yma o Hyd' (Still Here) reached number one in the UK iTunes chart, and has since been adopted by the Welsh national football team and its 'red wall' of fans as its anthem.
This collection includes works both in and about the Welsh language, the tone varying from serious and sobering to witty and light-hearted. Topics range from speakers' feelings about the state of their mother tongue (we hear from children and young people, writers and artists), to the challenges and frustrations of keeping a fragile language alive in the shadow of a dominant, global one.
14 videos in this collection
Watch in libraries only
Ray Gravell talks to David Parry-Jones
Mynyddygarreg
2000
Watch in libraries only
Meredydd Evans talks to David Parry-Jones
Blaenau Ffestiniog
2003
Watch in libraries only
John Roberts Williams talks to Gwyn Llewelyn
2002
Watch in libraries only
Lwmp o Jaman!
Caernarfon
2000
Watch in libraries only
Fosia's Story
Cardiff/Caerdydd
2000
Watch in libraries only
Deg Milltir o'r Ffin
Mold/Yr Wyddgrug
2001
Watch in libraries only
Y Wyddor Animeiddiedig
2002
Watch in libraries only
Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Part 1
1990
Watch in libraries only
Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Part 2
1990
Watch in libraries only
Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Dewi Pws yn Ffonio
1990
Watch in libraries only
Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Conference and Welsh Office Demo