It was lovely to meet you too (and all the other lovely SSiWers, of course)! The name of the radio programme is Beti a’i Phobl - you can find it as downloadable podcasts, so that you can listen to them whenever you like. 
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It was great to be at the Eisteddfod for the first time, unfortunately I wasn’t online so I couldn’t catch anyone to meet up there. It was all a bit spontaneous. I went to maes D a couple of times and asked about ssiw but no luck. Next year I’ll plan this all a bit better.
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Lovely to see those I saw! On the way home now.
I think there’s a new mathematical law of steddfods that the greater the size of any given group in Maes D the more likely it is to be a SSIW group!
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We’re like an army.
An army of individuals fighting for a common cause.
Making a hindrance of ourselves wherever we go.
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What a week!
You need a week for it too. I hardly started to see all the things I’d have liked to have seen. Mind you, that was mostly because I was making sure the kids were happy - and would want to come back. But it was amazing just to be there and soak up the atmosphere.
We were struck by how incredibly friendly everyone was. People would just come up on the campsite (with beer!) and join in as if we were one big group. My husband made a valiant effort with the Cymraeg he could dredge up, and now he’s all fired up to learn properly!
Our brilliant but elderly Ebay tent faired remarkably well, compared with some of the more modern ones around us. And the puddles on the floor on Sunday night were far less upsetting than they would have been in a posh tent with integral groundsheet! (Actually we had a great night playing cards with all the kids squeaking in the rising water!)
I need to boast about the illustrious neighbours too… On one side we had Aneirin Karadog’s family. (The kids spent a lot of time playing frisbee.) One night I braved the showers (!) and when I came back, my friend had been playing frisbee with Jerry Hunter! (Jealousy! Maybe best not to bother with washing…)
I’m sorry I missed the big meet up on Wednesday - no way was my husband coming to North Wales without spending a day in the mountains! But it was lovely to see so many SSIWers at other times, old and new. I’m starting to feel like a proper Cymraes, with a whole load of people to catch up with every year.
It was lovely having so many visitors at the campsite too. We’re definitely planning on camping again in two years time, as are our friends. If anyone fancies joining the group, just let us know!
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Last autumn I was with my Syrian refugee friends in Sir Gar who live in the same village that Aneurin lives in. Papa went out for a walk and came back with him. “Ond ti’n enwog” I said. At least I remembered to say it yn y Gymraeg!
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snap!!! And diolch for one of the best Eisteddfod reports I have ever read!!!
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Thank you for all your Eisteddfod reports. It’s heartwarming and encouraging to hear that you all had such fulfilling and rewarding experiences at Europe’s largest cultural festival.
How awesome it it that you have not only fallen in love with our wonderful language and made it your own, but are also head over heels with this incredibly vibrant, ancient and constantly evolving culture. In this current challenging political climate, I’m deeply touched and heartened by the enthusiasm of Welsh learners.
Loved hearing about your adventures @netmouse! What a fab week you have had! I love it that your only two negatives of the week were a small puddle in the tent and missing out on a game of frisbee with Jerry because of a shower! That’s such a lovely story! We’ll pass it on to him when we next see him… 
Did you know that it is Jerry’s wife, Judith, who played Jini Owen in the Hedd Wyn ffilm?
We have just waved goodbye to Milla (@Novem) and Gareth @Y_Ddraig_Las who popped in quickly to say hello on their way to Cardiff !
Keep your Eisteddfod stories coming!
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I did know Dysgwr y flwyddyn was on Dal Atl this morning, but hadn’t realised it would be so well covered! i no longer feel S4C missed it out! Anything but! I also found that Deiniolen, which somehow my ‘Auntie’ and I always seemed to not quite reach, is quite a big place! of anyone is thinking of entering next year, I notice that the finalists all came from the north and so maybe the winner next year is more likely to come from the M4 corridor between Newport and Bridgend? 
… or perhaps, Skewen 
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Just wanted to note that I’m so disappointed that there has been essentially no Eisteddfod coverage available internationally. I started learning Welsh in May 2015, and that August there was lots of coverage available on the S4C international website. I watched lots and lots of competitions in all kinds of areas, thoroughly enjoyed all of it, and learned so much about Welsh culture even though I couldn’t understand a lot of Welsh at that point. Last year, there was very little available internationally, and I did email S4C and got the “rights restrictions” answer. This year all I can see is the Cyngerdd Hedd Wyn. I’m not sure what the rights restrictions accomplish - what a lost opportunity to showcase Wales, the Welsh language, and the Welsh culture to the world!
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@siaronjames do you have any ideas about what @AnnaC is reporting to us? why ever would the only tv channel to film have no right to put it on an international site? what is the point of us petitioning for funds if many of our friends can’t see such important footage?
to @JohnYoung are you going to enter? We’ll all be cheering you on!
I might give it a go in 10 years time
The issue with rights restrictions is basically money. Almost any third party material used in a broadcast will be under copyright and needs to be licensed in order to use it. There is a huge amount of third party material used in the Eisteddfod - music, lyrics, arrangements, artwork, readings, plays, even choreography - all falling under various copyright terms. A licence to broadcast on one channel (S4C) in one country (Wales) costs a lot as it is, but to licence it for a larger area (e.g. BBC network covering the UK) costs even more, and to licence it for worldwide viewing is even more again - far too much to stream the whole thing everywhere.
The Cyngerdd Hedd Wyn, being a brand new work, will more than likely have had terms written into everyone’s contracts right from the start, enabling worldwide broadcast for a more reasonable cost, but unfortunately it’s not possible to do that with every piece of third-party work.
So it’s not that the full rights can’t be obtained, it’s that they cost too much to obtain - so there’s still every point petitioning for funds!
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I’m guessing legal restrictions if subcontractor filming?? How about Radio Cymru on line or perhaps Twitter/Facebook feeds? say #Eisteddfod. Ok it’s mostly stills, but there are a few videos.
The majority of filming was done by the BBC, although other, smaller, production companies cover smaller bits. Radio Cymru is also BBC of course. Social media feeds are technically not ‘immune’ from licensing restrictions, but of course many members of the general public post videos of performances without even considering copyright - broadcasters and production companies, however, cannot get away with blatant copyright violation. With stills, it’s slightly different - if you are posting a photo that you took, you are the copyright holder so there is no violation.
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@siaronjames Thanks for your input, Siaron. I understand how the licensing can be exorbitantly expensive. I guess if I’d never seen any coverage I’d have a different feeling about it, but since there was so much coverage two years ago, it’s hard to have had it once and then have it taken away. I don’t know what worldwide viewing figures would be, but if @henddraig’s petition is any indication, I’m far from the only one watching! It’s such an amazing cultural event, I just wish more people could be exposed to it.
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Wow, what an amazing few days on Mon! I really need sleep but am still buzzing.
There have been many conversations about how it will be very different in Cardiff next year. However may I thank @robbruce and heartily recommend staying at the Cymdeithas yr Iaith campsite for the Eisteddfod, for so many reasons:
They have hot showers.
Breakfast/ Coffee is provided by a wonderful group of Christians, Y Gorlan, those not from Wales do an intensive two week Welsh course and then provide food and drink in the mornings and evenings, they are just lovely lovely people.
You get to camp and chat in the shower queue with a host of top ‘slebs cymraeg’.
An area/ Ti Pi is provided with comfortable seating and the opportunity to charge phones, where I had some very interesting chats with an incredible assortment of people: a group of Irish speakers, Breton speakers, Eisteddfod old hands, etc
They also provide their own excellent evening gigs if you can’t face the craziness of Maes B.
There were a fair number of non-Welsh speakers, so even if you’re lacking confidence in Welsh, especially after a long day on the Maes, you are assured of a friendly welcome.
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So have there been budget cuts this year? The Eisteddfod certainly used to be one of the things that was routinely available to overseas viewers on Clic so presumably used to license stuff accordingly. Would be a pity if that funding has been lost.
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I think it’s a case of an accumulation of budget cuts and freezes over the last few years coupled with the cost of licensing not falling or freezing. Same principle as enduring a wage freeze when the cost of living still goes up - the end result is effectively a drop in wages so what money there is doesn’t go so far and luxury (worldwide rights) has to be sacrificed for neccessity (as much coverage as possible but UK only). 
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