The celebrations to commemorate 50 years since the establishing of Y Lolfa publishers and press have begun with the publication of a calendar of old posters.  

Calendr Posteri’r Lolfa 2017 ( Y Lolfa Poster Calendar 2017 ) is a collection of commercial and political posters that were printed by Y Lolfa during the 1960s and 1970s. 

It is published to coincide with Y Lolfa’s 50 ^th anniversary celebrations in 2017.   

Amongst the posters are old favourites such as ‘ Gwnewch Bopeth yn Gymraeg’ (Do Everything in Welsh) – as seen on the front cover, the iconic poster which shows the silhouette of two lovers behind a colourful backdrop. It was designed by Elwyn Ioan in 1972 and has been reprinted many times over the decades. Other classics include the infamous poster of Eirwyn Pontshân – ‘ Gwell Llaeth Cymru na Chwrw Lloegr’ ( Better Welsh Milk than English Beer).  

Others are more political in their nature such as the popular image of Ifas y Tryc in front of the Union Jack, ‘ Britannia Rŵls ddy Wêls’, and drawing by John Jenkins, , ‘ Gwyn eu Byd y Rhai Erlidir o Achos Cyfiawnder’ that was drawn when he was in prison. 

Some of the posters also revisit the world of pop including Pinaclau Pop, the disco of Mici Plwm, and the psychdelia of the end of the sixties in the form of Y Blew – the first ever electric rock group in Welsh. Other notable icons include Meic Stecens, Dafydd Iwan, and y Tebot Piws which appear on posters that reflect the exuberance and confidence of the time. 

‘It will appeal to the nostalgia of the older generation but most importantly, I hope, to the younger generation who were not around when the company was established during the excitement of the late 1960s.’ said the founder of Y Lolfa, Robat Gruffudd. 

Y Lolfa was established in 1967 during an exciting period of fun and protest. The company evolved gradually, producing an ever widening range of popular books in both Welsh and English, and next year will be celebrating its 50 ^th anniversary.   

Calendr Posteri'r Lolfa 2017 (£10, Y Lolfa) is available now.

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Post Brexit the political turmoil continues to cast shadows and uncertainty across Wales. None more so than in our farming and rural communities previously supported by subsidies, grants and loans via the EU’s Rural Development Programme.

Hill farmer Tia Jones ’s new novel which launches at the Royal Welsh Show on the FUW stand on Thursday, 21 July, vividly depicts how the agricultural industry is inextricably linked to, and affected by, global and political developments beyond their control.

The Curlew’s Cry is Tia’s third novel in a trilogy centred around Tŷ Coch, a mid-Wales farm, where three generations of domestic drama is played out in a world of economic, and environmental turmoil.

The farming community faces constant threats to their livelihood and the timely novel, set against a backdrop of war in the Middle-East, highlights how the impact of globalisation and the effects of climate change affects rural life on a hill farm.

Bethan and her daughter are clinging on to the life they know in Llanfeni, surviving on the margins. At Tŷ Coch farm, Bethan’s family home, the enduring and constant struggle has become the way of life. The author doesn’t shy away from contentious issues that often divide rural communities such as Richard and Penny’s fight against the foot-and-mouth outbreak, which has left the neighbours wondering whether wind farming, not livestock, is the way ahead.

Passionate about sustainable farming, Tia Jones is a strong advocate of small, family-run businesses and the need for the hill farming community and its contribution to have greater visibility beyond the rural locale.

“The small farming unit is more important than ever, working in the margins as a way of life, not just enduring but prevailing against the odds, to help offset the imbalance. That also by default enables and secures the wild life a habitat and food source against the ever increasing larger indoor factory farming methods of the modern world.”

In a political climate of uncertainty and change, farming families such as the residents of Tŷ Coch continue their forebears traditions of caring for their livestock and cultivating the land. The political divide between neighbours may run deep, the tensions highlighted by the choices facing the agricultural industry highlight more than ever the deep need for Hill farmers to work together to sustain and protect this industry and its heritage in Wales.

' The Curlew's Cry is contemporary fiction at its best: deeply rooted in its place and yet engaging with the global events that affect us all.' Katie Gramich.

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Tia Jones will be launching her new novel on the FUW stand at the RWAS on Thursday, 21 July at 12pm and will be available for interviews.

The author will hold a book signing event on the Welsh Books Council stand at the RWAS at 11am on Thursday, 21 July.

The Curlew’s Cry will be available from

all good bookshops and online retailers.

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An enthusiast of all things country, Tia Jones has become an established author within the rural genre. She lives and works in mid Wales with her husband on their family run organic hill farm. She has written across various media about her passion for Wales. Originally a freelance journalist she cut her teeth as a features writer for newspapers and magazines including The Field, Window on Wales and Country Living . Tia then wrote a bilingual television drama, ‘ Llety Piod ’ , depicting the tensions between urban and rural perceptions, using the Welsh countryside as a backdrop. Originally a production broadcast on S4C, the film subsequently sold internationally. In 2008, Tia’s first novel On Open Ground was published by Gomer followed by the sequel The Moss Gatherers in 2013. The Curlew’s Cry completes the trilogy.

After an initial blaze of glory, during which they became (and still remain) the only non-English club ever to win the coveted FA Cup and came within a whisker of winning the old First Division title, Cardiff City began a slow, painful descent down the footballing hierarchy, into relative obscurity.. Sometimes, however, miracles do happen.

Buy From The Ashes here

Following Cardiff City's historic promotion to the Premier league it is only to be expected that the team will attract more international attention and publicity. Indeed. this season both Cardiff City and their local arch rivals, Swansea City ( promoted in 2011), will be enjoying a bonanza of promotion courtesy of NBC who are broadcasting 380 live matches after securing Premier League broadcasting rights from ESPN and Fox Sports. Premier league sides have been allocated areas in New York and NY Taxis are sporting the teams colors and logos in a bid to increase viewing figures. Cardiff City got Brooklyn and The Swans got the Upper West Side.

Against this background Christian Saunders new book could not be more timely. 'From The Ashes' is an easily readable and enjoyable account of City's more than one hundred year history which charts the rise, fall and rebirth of the side from its humble beginnings in 1899. It doubles as a superb reference work with full accounts of fixtures, results and team personnel for every season from the earliest days to the present.

City's early glory days ended soon after 1927 when they won the F.A. Cup and the team spent a long time in the doldrums till a succession of inspired owners and managers led them back to the top of the English football league system. This is the story which is recounted in painstaking detail in Christian Saunders book.

Wikipedia has this to say about Cardiff's historic 1927 F.A. Cup final win:-

"On St George's Day, 23 April 1927, at Wembley Stadium in London, the FA Cup was taken out of England for the first time when Cardiff City beat Arsenal 1–0 in the Final, cult hero Hughie Ferguson scoring the only goal of the game.

In the 74th minute, collecting a throw from the right by George MacLachlan, Ferguson hurried a tame shot toward the Arsenal goal. Dan Lewis, the Arsenal goalkeeper, appeared to collect the ball but, under pressure from the advancing Len Davies, clumsily allowed the ball to roll through his grasp. In a desperate attempt to retrieve the ball Lewis only succeeded in knocking the ball with his elbow into his own net."

Ernie Curtis, the 19 year old centre-wing said of the goal:

"I was in line with the edge of the penalty area on the right when Hughie Ferguson hit the shot which Arsenal's goalie had crouched down for a little early. The ball spun as it travelled towards him, having taken a slight deflection so he was now slightly out of line with it. Len Davies was following the shot in and I think Dan must have had one eye on him. The result was that he didn't take it cleanly and it squirmed under him and over the line. Len jumped over him and into the net, but never actually touched it."

It is believed that this cup final attracted one of the highest audiences ever, as it was the first to be broadcast by BBC Radio. Captain Fred Keenor received the FA Cup trophy from King George V only 7 years after Cardiff City had entered the Football League and six seasons since they had been promoted to the top division.

The South Wales News reported the historic win in the following terms:-

"To the people (of Wales) it was more than a struggle between two teams: it was a struggle between two nations. This may not be exactly logical but sentiment transcends logic. So this years Cup Final will remain in consideration a Welsh victory."

Today Wales is represented in the Premier League by two excellent sides ( Cardiff and Swansea ) and any true Welshman will wish them both well. Christian Saunders entertaining and informative book is the history of one of them, Cardiff City; arguably the biggest football club in Wales and the only Welsh side to bring the F.A. Cup home to from England. A 'must read' for all Cardiff City and Welsh football fans.

Try our Cardiff City FC quiz below. Download Cardiff City Football Club Quiz Answers here

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Wales and World War One by Robin Barlow is the first English language, single volume, full treatment of Wales and the First World War.

Thousands of books have been published on the First World War with ‘Britain’ in the title, yet one will search in vain through the index of nearly all of them for references to ‘ Wales ’, or indeed ‘Scotland’ and ‘Ireland’. The old cliché still applies: ‘For Wales , see England’.

Wales paid a heavy price for a place on the international stage between August 1914 and November 1918.

Over 30,000 Welshmen sacrificed their lives on the battlefields of the First World War , a war which continues to create, even as it is commemorated, great controversy. For some it was a futile and wasteful war ; for others it was an unavoidable necessity.

Inspired by the fact that the distinctive contribution that Wales made during the First World War has never been fully documented in a single volume, Robin Barlow aims to describe and explain what happened on the home front in Wales during the war and what happened to Welsh men and women abroad. With more than 80 photographs, Wales and World War One also includes extracts from diaries and letters not previously published.

Dr Robin Barlow lives in Myddfai and was, until his retirement, Higher Education Advisor at Aberystwyth University. Prior to that he was a teacher, headmaster and schools’ inspector. He has written extensively on Welsh involvement in the First World War , notably in the A New History of Wales series (Gomer) and The Great War , Localities and Regional Identities (Cambridge Scholars Publishing).

Wales and World War One is available from

all good bookshops and online retailers.

For more information, please visit www.gomer.co.uk

The Welsh Euro 2016 squad returns to Cardiff ( photos by Bernadette Shaw)