In the 17th and 18th centuries combing your hair with your hand was called using a Welsh comb, presumably a prejorative reference to Welsh poverty. greensdictofslang.com/entry/v3qaxka

The Largest Historical Dictionary of English Slang Now Free Online: Covers 500 Years of the “Vulgar Tongue”

Workers’ Cafe, Salford, 1957, photo by Neil Libbert.

Maliphant Street, Hafod, Swansea (study), 1956-7, painting by George Little, 1927–2017 (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales).

There are 3 fully-funded AHRC PhD studentships in Welsh History coming up at Swansea. Topics: play since 1945; anti-apartheid movement; Patagonia. All include placements with external bodies. Feel free to contact me if you're interested.

I've signed this, although GCSE isn't the real problem. We need a compulsory "Our Wales" course taken at the old keystage 3 (ages 11-14). It should cover Welsh history, how the Senedd & Welsh democracy works, and key creative writers in both languages.

150 years ago today, 4 men (a solicitor, insurance clerk, stonemason and another) met at the Wynnstay Arms in Wrexham for the first formal committee meeting of the Football Association of Wales. (An earlier plan to call it the Cambrian Football Association was quietly dropped.)

Recycling is probably the only policy area where Welsh Government has been successful and effective. I don't know why this is but there must be some lessons for other policy areas.

A perceptive essay. Well worth a read.

The loss of expertise in Welsh Universities is a blow that our nation cannot afford. It's not only our students that will suffer, but everyone who depends on the research and analysis that these academics produce. I've asked Welsh Gov't to assess the impact of their actions to support universities.

Terry Yorath was a giant of Welsh football and key to my own relationship with it. His picture always jumped out at me in 70s Shoot albums. He was Swansea manager when I first started going to matches. He managed the 1st Wales team I cared about. A real hero.

From a 1902 letter complaining that Welsh choirs are becoming too English in style.

A short essay by me on the history of advent calendars in the UK. martinjohnes.com/2020/12/01/a...

"The Labour-led Welsh Government loves to highlight the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. So why is it so comfortable in underfunding, belittling the staff of, and destroying our world-renowned national institutions?"

Call for papers #CFP Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present 18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib... Deadline: 25 Jan 2026

I can remember nothing about 99% of football matches I've been to, but I'll never forget this one.

A powerful piece about the lack of criticism in Welsh culture. llinos.substack.com/p/the-villag...

If Britain is 'sliding "into economic crisis over £85bn sickness bill', what can UK Arts, Humanities & Social Science research tell us about alternative pathways? Swansea University historians have some excellent answers. 1/4 @torstenbell.bsky.social @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social

Gebuza Nungu was a Zulu member of 15th Glamorganshire (Gower) Home Guard, born in Ulundi in 1870, he came to Britain as a lion tamer with the The Savage South Africa Show in 1898, before moving to South Wales & working in the steel industry. #WW2 #SWW #History

Wales really should just opt out of REF. There are far easier, and considerably cheaper, ways of distributing QR funding.

A fair critique here. And one that's been made before but no one in government seems to want to listen. The Curriculum for Wales requires Welah history to be taught at all levels but never specifies what that means in practice. It needs to be far more directive.

Keir Starmer take note: the way to defeat Reform is not by adopting their policies and rhetoric. #Caerphilly

CPD event on the Second World War and Empire for teachers. Travel and accommodation bursaries are available and they're keen to have teachers from Wales there. www.iwm.org.uk/learning/tea...

I'm a big fan of Robert Harris' historical novels but the idea that this would have happened in a 1914 Anglesey pub is silly.

I'm giving a talk in London on Wales and the Second World War next week: www.cymmrodorion.org/talk/welsh-n...

New research from the British Academy on declining arts & humanities provision in universities. Amongst its findings, is the fact that the number of students studying Welsh as a degree has fallen by 61% since 2011. university-council-for-languages.org/2025/09/12/b...

Labour could change the news agenda entirely by announcing referendums on PR and Europe. It could be brave and return to its values. Or it can carry on dancing to whatever tune Farage and the media plays and thus play a part in destroying the UK.

Also an ex-miner, banned for a year for attempted match fixing, ran a pub and starred in a movie. Someone should make a film about his life.

Newspaper ad for Michael Jackson at Cardiff Arms Park 1988.

Big thanks to Neath Port Talbot Stroke Group for welcoming me this morning and listening to a talk on Wales and the Second World War. A public engagement activity enabled by @ukri.org supporting the humanities.

My book Wales since 1939 is half price (£10) at the moment. Enter SUN50 on the checkout page. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719086670/

David Lloyd George appeals to Wales' military history in a 1914 speech to his "fellow-countrymen" about the role he felt they should be playing in the Great War.

Watching the Welsh rain out the window while London radio advises me how to stay cool in the heat wave.

Around 3/4 of people don’t want Reform in power. But the narrative is that they are unstoppable. First-past-the-post has warped British politics for far too long. Now it risks letting the extreme right win a majority. It needs to go. My latest guardian column: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#SportAndFashion month is a great opportunity to examine the history of your sports through its sportswear. Here Martin Johnes considers the significance of the 1970's Admiral Shirt in Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 football. Can you suggest similar iconic sportswear moments? martinjohnes.com/2024/02/27/a...

I'm always happy to give talks to secondary schools. If you'd like a talk about Welsh history or studying history just let me know.

#skyhistorians We are happy to announce our Cardiff (29/07), Liverpool (14/08) and Online (18/09) workshops for our Divergent Minds in the Archive project. We are looking for all ND archive users to sign up and tell us more about your experiences. More info on the posters. Links in next messages.

*OPEN ACCESS* ‘A Welcoming Nation?’ edited by ‪‪@catrineds.bsky.social‬, Rhys Dafydd Jones, and @laurasocres.bsky.social is out now! Read for free via the link below: www.uwp.co.uk/app/uploads/...

My book, 'Wales in England 1914-1945. A Social, Cultural, & Military History', is currently available at a more manageable price (47% off). In case you can no longer wait to hear how ideas of Wales and Welshness influenced two generations of English soldiers: www.amazon.co.uk/Wales-Englan...

Frost claims the adoption of the name ‘UK’ to describe the state he lives in has been some Woke conspiracy against national identity. He’s got it backwards: ‘UK’ was a *nationalist* adoption to distinguish GB and N Ireland from the wider global British world. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06...

I'm always happy to give talks to secondary schools. If you'd like a talk about Welsh history or studying history just let me know.

New report showing the growing trend for Welsh language house and street names.

What language does the Belgium team speak in the dressing room?

Small note on Welsh coal history since it's in the news. Welsh coal was in decline from around 1920 rather than 1979. In 1921, 271k men worked in Welsh coal. By 1980 there were just 28k employed in (deep) coal in Wales. Thatcherism effectively killed the industry but it had been dying for decades.

"No Irish or Welsh need apply". Letter in the Middlesex County Times, 1960.

Just finished Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor. Best novel about Wales I've read in a good few years.

So long and thanks for all the memories. #JoeAllen

Reform's lack of policy/understanding would have been exposed in the Senedd elections had there been an electoral system where voters choose candidates not parties. But that wasn't what the Labour Party machine wanted. At UK and Welsh level, Labour is its own worst enemy.

A free Welsh History Postgrad conference in Cardiff 3-4 June. Everyone welcome!

Mike Peters was one of my teenage heroes and his lyrics had a huge influence on me. Until recent years, he was never really appreciated by the media, even in Wales. But he was always a giant to me and many others. Rest in Peace Mike and diolch for so many great songs.