HERE in North Wales, in the week following the “Jubilee celebration”, I am struck by how many Welsh flags are flying and how much bunting of red, white and green adorns private gardens and public streets alike. Almost no Union flags. In Scotland in the same week I did not see any Saltires.
Partly this can be explained by a huge cultural youth festival, the Urdd, being held in a nearby town on the same weekend as the Jubilee, but I think also there is a sense of national pride in Welsh culture and all things Welsh which is hard to find in Scotland. Good for them. They are also supportive of their Celtic neighbours and appreciative of our Gaelic language, which has so many links with Welsh.
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How can Scotland re-kindle and express a sense of national pride while respecting other cultures without invoking the backlash of hate-speak from Unionists? The Labour party here in Wales is pro-Welsh, why wouldn’t they be? Has Scotland really been cowed into submission by so many years of contempt and exploitation from our Westminster overlords?
C Walker
Denbighshire
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