Nothing like a good graveyard

One benefit of Husband's hospitalisation is that it gave me the chance to visit a chapel I've been meaning to see for a number of years.

Driving back from visiting yesterday afternoon, with a little time in which I didn't have to be anywhere, I stopped at Mynyddbach Chapel, now known as the Calon Lan Centre. It's famous for its links with Daniel James who wrote one of the best-known of Welsh hymns - indeed sometimes called the second national anthem - Calon Lan.


Born in 1848, Daniel James worked hard all his life in the tinplate and coal-mining industries, hard labour that no doubt gave him the thirst that he slaked at his favourite pub, the King's Head in Treboeth, where apparently he even had a special chair, from which he would compose verses for anyone who would buy him a drink.

He was a bard who wrote under the name of Gwyrosydd. I was unsure exactly what being a bard meant so I did some research. It has a very long history. "There are among them composers of verses whom they call Bards; these singing to instruments similar to a lyre, applaud some, while they vituperate others."
Diodorus Siculus, Histories, V, 31, 1st century BCE

So basically bard is another name for a poet although these days according to the The British Druid Order it can mean anyone in the creative arts. I thought Bard had druid and eisteddfod connotations, which it does but not necessarily it seems.

Having read up about the man I rather like him.

The chapel was closed but I had a look around the graveyard; I do like a good cemetery.

They're currently in the process of burning the weeds that took over the graveyard during the time the chapel was closed before being re-opened.