Urdd Eisteddfod 2025 third day winners confirmed
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
The winners of the Bobi Jones Medal and the Welsh Learners Medal competitions at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, Parc Margam a'r Fro 2025, were announced yesterday (Wednesday).
The Bobi Jones Medal (19-25 years old) was awarded to Joe Morgan from Cardiff and the Young Learners Medal (Yr.10 and under 19) to Lloyd Wolfe also from Cardiff.
The Bobi Jones Medal and the Learners Medal acknowledges individuals who are committed to learning Welsh, who passionately promote the Welsh language and can hold a conversation in Welsh.
The candidates were given several practical tasks on the Maes. The adjudicators for the Medals were Miriam Elin Jones and Elin Meek. The ceremony is sponsored by the National Centre for Learning Welsh who were also taking part in learner's activities on the Maes yesterday (Wednesday), on the day the Urdd celebrated new Welsh speakers at the Eisteddfod.
The Bobi Jones Medal is awarded to an individual aged 19-25 who demonstrates their use of the Welsh language on a day-to-day basis by answering questions about their reasons for learning the language, the impact of learning Welsh has had on their lives, and their hopes for the future.
Joe, who is from Cardiff, is a first-year student at Swansea University studying Journalism and Communications. He said: 'During my time at university, I've joined the Welsh Society to practise the language in a social setting and to experience more of the culture.
'I love making online videos in Welsh. I post shorter content on TikTok and Instagram, and longer videos on YouTube. I developed my passion for this during my time as a Coleg Cymraeg Ambassador, and I'm excited to continue my work with them this year.
'Overall, my journey learning Welsh has enabled me to appreciate and love the language and its culture, and I'm so grateful for every door the language has opened for me.'
Joe's brother, Gwilym Morgan, was the winner of the Learners' Medal at Eisteddfod yr Urdd 2023 in Carmarthenshire. Susanna Power from Cardiff was awarded second place, with Deryn-Bach Allen-Dyer from Bro Morgannwg in third place.
The Learner's Medal is awarded to a young person aged between 10 and under 19 who can demonstrate how they use the language on a day-to-day basis at school, college, or work and socially.
(Image: Urdd 2025)
Out of nine competitors, Lloyd Wolfe from Cardiff was the winner. Lloyd is studying A Levels in Music, English literature, Drama and Second Language Welsh at Cardiff West Community High School.
Lloyd said: "In my spare time I enjoy composing music and attending Welsh gigs such as Tafwyl and Maes B. I feel that the Welsh Language has had such a huge impact on my life as I use it in every aspect of my life. I use Welsh with my friends and especially with my work as an ambassador for the Coleg Cymraeg - it is such a great opportunity to be able to work through the medium of Welsh."
Alex McLean from Mynydd Isa was awarded second place and Georgia Jones from Flintshire in third place.
The Bobi Jones Medal was given by Dysgu Cymraeg Ardal Bae Abertawe, and the Welsh Learner's is given Tŷ'r Gwrhyd - Canolfan Gymraeg Cwm Tawe.
Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Find out what's happening near you
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
29 minutes ago
- Scotsman
I spoke to my favourite member of Pulp and discovered they're Scottish
Tom Jackson/Rough Trade Records Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... You can find pop stars in the most unusual places. As a long term Pulp fan, I never would have expected to speak to their keyboardist, Candida Doyle, from her Scottish island home, with its mercurial phone reception. It's a bit like actually discovering Jarvis Cocker in the aisle of a supermarket, perhaps in the style of the Common People video. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That's because I imagine all the band members as living in their famous hometown of Sheffield. Or the rock star epicenter of London. Indeed, it's true that Doyle spends much of her time at another base near Hackney, especially as Pulp prepares to release their first new album in 24 years, More, on June 6, with a UK tour starting on Saturday June 7 at Glasgow's OVO Hydro. However, her proper home is in Shetland, and she adores it. 'Now that the group has reformed, I'm here a bit less than usual, but it's absolutely wonderful,' says Doyle, whose maternal grandfather owned a fishing factory here. 'My family lives on the same street as me, and it's actually the road my mum grew up on and is beside a hill with a view of the sea. It's very different to London, basically'. Apparently, the band did once play in Shetland, back in the Nineties. It was a bit of a journey though, for the other members. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, she wouldn't necessarily describe herself as Scottish. Doyle, as her surname might suggest, is also half Irish and was brought up in England. 'I'm everything but Welsh,' she says. Anyway, she will be away from her spiritual home a lot in 2025. After the UK tour, later in the year, they'll be doing the US and Korea. Back in Pulp's Nineties heyday, Doyle never imagined she'd still be on the road, at 61. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She was slightly blind-sided, when the group reformed again back in 2023. (They'd also got together in 2011, for another tour). 'I knew that I would never say no, but I'd never suggest that we reformed. It was funny because Jarvis sent me a text saying, 'Can I come round? I'd like to run something by you. And I sent a text back, saying, 'Oh, God'. He said, 'No, it's nothing to worry about'. I said, okay,' she says. ' Then he came round, and we chatted, and then he said, 'I'm thinking of reforming the group. Would you be interested?' and without hesitance, I said yes, it was incredible. I was quite surprised at myself'. And, so, they're back again, and Glasgow seems the perfect location for night one of the tour. After all, the band has played this city so many times, from King Tut's to The Barrowlands. Although Doyle prefers a smaller venue, she thinks that they can still connect with a big crowd, thanks to their charismatic frontman. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think Jarvis is very good at making it feel personal. The crowd reacts well to him and it brings it all together,' says Doyle, who feels safe while slotted behind her keyboard. 'I don't know how he does it to be honest'. Doyle has been in Pulp since 1984, when she replaced the previous keyboard player, Tim Allcard. Another long time member of the band was bassist Steve Mackey, who joined in 1989 and sadly died just two years ago. The album is dedicated to him. What would Steve have thought? 'I think he'd be annoyed that he wasn't part of it,' says Doyle. Indeed, it's a fantastic album that's full of Pulp's signature nostalgia, cheek, charm and wit. The music, keyboards included, seems more sophisticated than ever. Sometimes richly orchestral, other times light and fluffy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Tom Jackson/ Rough Trade Records They have new members now. As well as the originals - Jarvis Cocker, Mark Webber, Nick Banks and Doyle - they've added Andrew McKinney, Emma Smith, Adam Betts and Jason Buckle, plus string arranger Richard Jones. The first track to be written was Hymn of the North, which they played when doing soundchecks while on tour back in 2023. The rest was recorded over the course of three weeks in November last year. Apparently that's the shortest time a Pulp album has ever taken to record. It's no wonder that, though Doyle may have got songs like Babies and Disco 2000 down pat, she hasn't quite got to grips with the new tunes. 'To be honest, I don't even know the LP that well at the moment. We did a few radio concerts recently, and we all felt a little bit under rehearsed,' she says. 'And at the moment, the songs are so new, I can't even think which I'm most proud of. I know which ones I like the most - Farmers Market and My Sex. They're quite special'. At the moment, their single, Spike Island, seems to be getting loads of radio play and wonderful reviews. Doyle wasn't sure about it at first. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I was hesitant about writing new songs. It's not an easy thing and I had some reluctance about moving forward in that way,' she says. 'And because I was reluctant, I didn't really expect that everyone else had their own opinions and would be really pleased. I thought, sometimes, if you have your favorite band, and then years later they introduce some new songs, you just want the old stuff. But that doesn't seem to be happening'. However, even though they're oldies, there are a few songs from the vast Pulp repertoire that Doyle finds harder to play than others. 'Dishes is really hard to play because I'm very exposed, while Common People is such a loud song that if you make a slight mistake, you can get away with it,' she says. 'I Spy is really exciting to play live, and to be on stage and playing one of your favorite songs and looking around and the whole band's there and you're all together is an intense thrill'. Doyle's toughness is admirable. As well as not knowing that she's a Shetlander, I didn't realise, until just before our interview, that she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and has kept it under the radar for years. Now, she's totally open about the condition. It slightly improved after the menopause, as there are links between hormones and the condition. However, she cut down her medication too much, on the last tour, so her knee swelled up and hasn't completely recovered. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There have been other highs and lows in her epically long career in Pulp. 'The build up to getting famous was really exciting. From '92 up to mid '96, we just got higher and higher and bigger and bigger,' she says. 'It was really, really exciting, and then, and then I was exhausted, and had this big panic attack on tour, and then went off touring. And that was mid June, 1996. And so for the rest of that year and the next year, I felt a bit unstable. I'd say that was the low point'. I mention the recent autobiography, Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success, by Lush frontwoman, Miki Berenyi. In it, she shares a lot of the misogyny that was rife in the Nineties, and seemed to be very much knitted into the Britpop scene. Thankfully, Pulp always seemed to be the good guys (and girl). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Doyle hasn't read the book. However, she tells me that she didn't experience any nefarious behaviour. 'Being this lead singer, she's in a much different position to the one I'm in,' says Doyle, in reference to Berenyi. 'And the thing is, being in a band with Jarvis, he's so charismatic that the rest of the band are quite often overlooked. He just naturally attracts attention. I often thought of leaving the group, because we had some really hard times, but one of the reasons I stayed was because there weren't enough women in groups, and I thought I've got to stay just to show other women that you can do it'.
North Wales Live
3 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Urdd Eisteddfod 2025 Main Prose Writer winner announced
The winner of the Main Prose Writer for the Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, Parc Margam a'r Fro 2025, has been announced at the main ceremony yesterday (Friday). The title was taken by Mali Elwy, originally from Tan-y-Fron near Llansannan. Catrin Morris from Llanberis came second, and Elain Roberts (the winner of Thursday's Chair) from Pentre'r Bryn, Ceredigion took third place. The ceremony was sponsored by Cardiff University. The requirements of this year's Crown competition were to compose a piece or pieces of prose over 2,500 words on the theme 'Toddi / Ymdoddi' ( to melt). A total of 17 entries were received and the adjudicators, Menna Elfyn and Emyr Lewis, were 'particularly pleased with each of the entries". They both agreed on the winning entry: 'This is the story of a young woman whose relationship has broken down, and she decides to follow an evening creative writing course. We gradually get to know her and her history. There is humour and intensity here – a story within a story. 'This is a mature writer who knows how to craft a story. This is an exciting new voice that fully deserves to win the Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, Parc Margam a'r Fro Crown.' 24-year-old Mali now lives in Y Felinheli. A former pupil of Ysgol Glan Clwyd, she graduated in Welsh and Creative Writing from Bangor University and works as a freelance facilitator in Gwynedd. This is the first time she has competed for the Crown, and she said she would like to thank Dr Marged Tudur and staff at the School of Welsh, Bangor University for all their support, and Ysgol Glan Clwyd for inspiring and encouraging her to start writing many years ago. Nicola Palterman from Neath created this year's Crown, and the prize is given by primary schools in the West Glamorgan Region. 'I wanted the design to be based on the steel and sea theme,' explains jeweller Nicola Palterman. 'The waves of the coastal landscape in the Aberavon area can be seen, while the birds are a strong symbol in this year's Welcome Song and offer much hope for the future. But the design also recognises the importance of the steel industry, which has been the lifeblood of people over the years.' It was Siân Lloyd, winner of the crown exactly 50 years ago at Eisteddfod yr Urdd 1975, who presented the winner with the crown today. The top three will be invited to take part in a course at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, Literature Wales in memory of Olwen Dafydd. This is made possible through the Olwen Griffith Trust.
Cambrian News
4 hours ago
- Cambrian News
The hills are alive with the sound of robots
'Despite the interest in the robot, I suspect that the two shire horses shown by the Caernarfon Royal Welsh Ambassador, Rhys Griffiths will still steal the show. Shire horses were an integral part of farming life, and we are grateful to Rhys for bringing these majestic animals to Hafod y Llan.'
