History UsefulNotes / LandOfMyFathersAndTheirSheep

South Wales was more industrialised than the rest, due to immense coal deposits, though Wrexham in the North East was as industrialised also due to coal. A lot of Welsh cultural identity stems from the 19th-century mining industry, when "the Valleys" as the area was known, saw religious revivals, the enthusiastic adoption of the game of Rugby, and a great tradition of choral singing. The industry largely (and in the main needlessly) came to an end in the late eighties, thanks in chief to Margaret Thatcher, leaving the population and economy a little shell-shocked. This is why it's not cool to be a Tory between Llanelli and Newport. Very few Tories survived the 1997 cull in any part of Wales. After ten years of New "Labour", the Welsh are also beginning to perceive Labour as just another English political party. After Blair and Brown signally failed to repair the damage done to Wales by Thatcher's Tories, the hitherto unthinkable started to happen - the super-safe Ebbw Vale constituency fell to the Welsh Nationalists. The similarly Labour Heartland seat of Flintshire North also came within a few hundred votes of being lost by Labour to the Welsh Nats - and this seat is on the English border - after Blair refused to intervene to save jobs at the Shotton steelworks.

* MyfanwyTalog, Welsh-language actress, wife of English comic actor DavidJason. Now deceased but a mainstay of soap opera ''Pobol Y Cym'' for many years. Also voiced Welsh characters in English-language animations such as ''Duckula'', ''Supermouse''.

Wales is notable for its sheep population -- c. 10.9 million of them against a human population of about three million. So, the [[ButYouScrewOneGoat usual jokes]] apply. Wales is also notable for its level of rainfall -- even more so than [[BritishWeather the UK as a whole]]. Second city Swansea (Abertawe) officially holds the distinction of "wettest city in Britain".

* [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Welshy]].
* {{Welshy}}.

* It's implied and expanded upon in {{Fanon}} that Harry Potter's family are from Wales. Harry's parents hid there from Voldemort, and at least one of Harry's ancestors are buried in a local cemetery. In-universe, famous Wizard Godric Gryffindor was from a small village in Wales, which was later [[PleaseSelectNewCityName renamed Godric's Hollow]] in his honour. Incidentally, this is the afore-mentioned Welsh village where Harry's family hid and were buried.
** But Creator/JKRowling explicitly states in Deathly Hallows that Godric's Hollow is in the West Country, England, as was she.

* [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Welshy]].

South Wales was more industrialised than the rest, due to immense coal deposits, though Wrexham in the North East was as industrialised also due to coal. A lot of Welsh cultural identity stems from the 19th-century mining industry, when "the Valleys" as the area was known, saw religious revivals, the enthusiastic adoption of the game of Rugby, and a great tradition of choral singing. The industry largely (and in the main needlessly) came to an end in the late eighties, thanks in chief to Margaret Thatcher, leaving the population and economy a little shell-shocked. This is why it's not cool to be a Tory between Llanelli and Newport. Very few Tories survived the 1997 cull in any part of Wales. After ten years of New "Labour", the Welsh are also beginning to perceive Labour is just another English political party. After Blair and Brown signally failed to repair the damage done to Wales by Thatcher's Tories, the hitherto unthinkable started to happen - the super-safe Ebbw Vale constituency fell to the Welsh Nationalists. The similarly Labour Heartland seat of Flintshire North also came within a few hundred votes of being lost by Labour to the Welsh Nats - and this seat is on the English border - after Blair refused to intervene to save jobs at the Shotton steelworks.

* MyfanwyTalog, Welsh-language actress, wife of English comic actor DavidJason. Now deceased but a mainstay of soap opera ''PobolyCym'' for many years.

* MyfanwyTalog, Welsh-language actress, wife of English comic actor DavidJason. Now deceased but a mainstay of soap opera ''PobolYCym'' for many years.

* Comedian Harry Secombe, best known for TheGoonShow.

* HarrySecombe, ''GoonShow'' straight man as Harry Seagoon, comedian, singer and presenter of religious shows.

South Wales was more industrialised than the rest, due to immense coal deposits, though Wrexham in the North East was as industrialised also due to coal. A lot of Welsh cultural identity stems from the 19th-century mining industry, when "the Valleys" as the area was known, saw religious revivals, the enthusiastic adoption of the game of Rugby, and a great tradition of choral singing. The industry largely (and in the main needlessly) came to an end in the late eighties, thanks in chief to Margaret Thatcher, leaving the population and economy a little shell-shocked. This is why it's not cool to be a Tory between Llanelli and Newport.

A lot of people in Wales are called Jones, Williams or Davies due to the way the Welsh {{Patronymic}} naming system was Anglicised -- people in small villages will have to get nicknames to distinguish each other. Traditionally these were often in the form of "Surname The Occupation", such as Jones The Steam [engine driver] from ''Ivor the Engine''. This results in SAT exams (see BritishEducationSystem) having to have candidate numbers in Wales. This is also the case with soldiers in Welsh army regiments, who even in the late 20th century were still identified by their unique Army number and not by one of a limited number of family names. In this troper's regimental family, 106 men and women soldiers in a 600+ strong unit were called Wiliams. Owen, Jones and Powell then tied for the next most populous name with Davies and Hughes coming up not far behind.

* Aled Jones -- another Welsh singer, most famous (as a boy) for his cover version of "Walking In The Air" from ''TheSnowman''.

The Welsh language is a Celtic tongue that pre-dates the Roman conquest. It is related to Scottish, the native language of Scotland, to Irish, the native language of Ireland, and Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man, though not so closely that speakers of Welsh and those languages can understand each other. Welsh is more closely related to Breton and Cornish (spoken in northwestern France and {{Cornwall}}, respectively).

* ChristianBale, born in Pembrokeshire but raised in Southern England from early childhood. (Incidentally, he voiced [[Film/HowlsMovingCastle Howl]] in the film's English dub.)

The Welsh language was suppressed with varying degrees of viciousness by the English from the middle ages right up until the 1960s, but since then it has become one of the best-subsidised minority languages in the world, and nowadays around 20% of Welsh people can speak some Welsh, with 14% claiming to use it on a daily basis. Northern and Southern versions differ in details, and 'gogs' ( as North Welsh are referred to in the South ) are sometimes said to sound like Russian porn stars. Welsh is accorded equal status with English within Wales, so all roadsigns and official notices have to be in both. The language is the butt of many jokes in England, usually along the lines of "Welsh is very difficult to speak unless you have either a lifetime's study, or a serious throat infection". Welsh spellings are also the subject of English humour, sometimes being attributed either to anagrams of breakfast cereal names or escapees from HPLovecraft's less well-known works.

* Fluellen, ''[[{{Shakespeare}} Henry V]]''

* [[{{Futurama}} Welshy]].

* {{Merlin}}. The original Merlin was a bard called Myrddin, the founder of Carmarthen (from Caer Myrddin, "Merlin's City").

* TomJones - world famous singer, with a reputation for women throwing their knickers at him.

* Tom Jones - world famous singer, with a reputation for women throwing their knickers at him.

* Anthony Hopkins. You know, ''AGlassOfChianti''...

* Richard Burton.

* Terry Jones of Creator/MontyPython.

* Dylan Thomas, poet, DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight. See Discworld/SoulMusic for Creator/TerryPratchett's take on this.

* Arthur Machen, an author whose ''Literature/TheGreatGodPan'' and other stories were a major influence on HPLovecraft.

* KingArthur. If he was a real person, anyway.
** Debatable. While many of the earliest stories about Arthur and his knights are from Welsh sources, the man himself and those who followed him would almost certainly have been "Brythonic". And while Wales (along with {{Cornwall}}) is one of the last remaining regions rooted in Brythonic culture, that doesn't really make Arthur Welsh. It's more accurate to say that ''some'' of Arthur's people eventually ''became'' the Welsh.
* Merlin. As above.
** In fact most of the 'Knights of the Round Table', depending on where the inspiration for them came from.

** But JKRowling explicitly states in Deathly Hallows that Godric's Hollow is in the West Country, England, as was she.

The Welsh language is a Celtic tongue that pre-dates the Roman conquest. It is related to Scottish, the native language of Scotland, to Irish, the native language of Ireland, and Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man, though not so closely that speakers of Welsh and those languages can understand each other. Welsh is more closely related to Breton and Cornish (spoken in northwestern France and Cornwall, respectively).

** Debatable. While many of the earliest stories about Arthur and his knights are from Welsh sources, the man himself and those who followed him would almost certainly have been "Brythonic". And while Wales (along with Cornwall) is one of the last remaining regions rooted in Brythonic culture, that doesn't really make Arthur Welsh. It's more accurate to say that ''some'' of Arthur's people eventually ''became'' the Welsh.

* Dylan Thomas, poet, DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight. See Discworld/SoulMusic for TerryPratchett's take on this.

* Terry Jones of MontyPython.

* The country of Llamedos on the {{Discworld}} is an extreme parody of Welsh stereotypes, best known as the original home of [[Discworld/SoulMusic Imp y Celyn]] and noted for its ''rain mines''.

A lot of people in Wales are called Jones, Williams or Davies due to the way the Welsh {{Patronymic}} naming system was Anglicised -- people in small villages will have to get nicknames to distinguish each other. Traditionally these were often in the form of "Surname The Occupation", such as Jones The Steam [engine driver] from ''Ivor the Engine''. This results in SAT exams (see BritishEducationSystem) having to have candidate numbers in Wales. This is also the case with soldiers in Welsh army regiments, who even in the late 20th century were still identified by their unique Army number and not by one of a limited number of family names. In this troper's regimental family, 106 men and women soldiers in a 600+ strong unit were called Wiliams. Owen, Jones and Powell then tied for the next most populous name with Davies and Hughes coming up not far behind.

* Dylan Thomas, poet, DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight. See [[Discworld/SoulMusic Soul Music]] for TerryPratchett's take on this.

* Author JasperFforde was not born in Wales, but lived there for a while, and "[[BalkanizeMe The Socialist Republic of Wales]]" features prominently in several ''ThursdayNext'' books. Its background and AlternateHistory are [[http://www.jasperfforde.com/sovietreppage2.html All Here]] [[AllThereInTheManual On The Internet]].

* ''Hornblower'' actor Ioan Gruffudd, also Cymraeg - but Welsh-Speaker from South Wales (Glamorgan).
* [[Music/CharlotteChurch Charlotte Church]], from Cardiff.

* Iwan Rheon, singer and actor (Best known as Simon in {{Misfits}}), from Cardiff.

* Catatonia

* [[Music/LostProphets Lostprophets]]

* Several characters from Channel 4's classic sketch show ''Absolutely'', particularly DIY 'expert' Denzil and his equally repulsive wife, Gwyneth (played by Welsh comedy actor John Sparks and Morwenna Banks).

* Catherine Zeta-Jones - world famous actress. Oh, and singer (sort of) in ''{{Chicago}}''

The Welsh language is a Celtic tongue that pre-dates the Roman conquest. It is related to Scots Gaelic, spoken in parts of Scotland, to Irish, the native language of Ireland, and Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man, though not so closely that speakers of Welsh and those languages can understand each other. Welsh is more closely related to Breton and Cornish (spoken in northwestern France and Cornwall, respectively)... but good luck with actually finding a Cornish speaker in Cornwall, or anywhere else for that matter.

In [[AncientRome Roman times]], the parts of Great Britain now called England (the words "England" and "English" refer specifically to the Germanic invaders you're about to meet), Wales, and Southern Scotland were inhabited by a Celtic population. During the [[DarkAgeEurope Dark Ages]], the Germanic [[AngloSaxons Anglo-Saxons]] invaded and pushed them into the little corner of the island we now call Wales. Wales was conquered by the English in The Middle Ages, and became legally a part of the Kingdom of England -- which is why there's no "Welsh Bit" of the Union Jack, which was formed from the flags of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and, later, Ireland. Being conquered and repressed has given Wales both a strong sense of identity and the mother of all chips on shoulders. [[BerserkButton Do not call a Welshman English]]. It will cause immediate and lasting discomfort (The Scottish are often portrayed as having similar tendencies).

* Charlotte Church, from Cardiff.

A lot of people in Wales are called Jones, Williams or Davies due to the way the Welsh {{Patronymic}} naming system was Anglicised -- people in small villages will have to get nicknames to distinguish each other. Traditionally these were often in the form of "Surname The Occupation", such as Jones The Steam [engine driver] from ''Ivor the Engine''. This results in SAT exams (see BritishEducationSystem) having to have candidate numbers in Wales.

South Wales was more industrialised than the rest, due to immense coal deposits, though Wrexham in the North East was as industrialised also due to coal. A lot of Welsh cultural identity stems from the 19th-century mining industry, when "the Valleys" as the area was known, saw religious revivals, the enthusiastic adoption of the game of Rugby, and a great tradition of choral singing. The industry largely came to an end in the late eighties to nineties, thanks in chief to Margaret Thatcher, leaving the population and economy a little shell-shocked. This is why it's not cool to be a Tory between Llanelli and Newport.

* The country of Llamedos on the {{Discworld}} is an extreme parody of Welsh stereotypes, best known as the original home of [[Discworld/SoulMusic Imp y Celyn]] and noted for its ''[[BeyondTheImpossible rain mines]]''.

-->"Wales -- The hills and... the hills. Old as time, and not half as boring. About a quarter though."
-->-- '''Griff Rhys Jones, Welsh person.'''