OMINICAN

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No. 91
SUMMER TERM, 1976
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Editors: Mrs. E. M. Roberts and Mr. H. Bebb
Magazine Committee:
Sioned Griffiths, Anna L1oyd, Felicity Roberts, Rhiannon Thomas, Talitha Wilcox,
Kevin Dogan, David Hilton, Ewan Thomas.
EDITORIAL
Possibly because of the pressure of other
interests, the response for articles for the Magazine
(especially from the boys) has not met with
quite the same response as in previous years: this
is not to detract from the quality of the articles
selected for publication. We are, as always, grateful to those people whose poems and articles
have not been published but would point out the
continuing difficulties of meeting costs while at
the same time keeping the balance between
reports on school activities and the Welsh and
English literary sections. We hope that the inclusion of pictures of school teams and events will
provide an extra interest for readers of the Magazine.
On behalf of a most efficient and helpful
Magazine Committee, I wish to thank the Head·
master for his willing cooperation
at all
times; Mr. H. Bebb for editing the Welsh
Section of the Magazine;Mr. W. E. Lewis
for the School Report; members of Staff
and Club Secretaries for their various reports;
and all contributors
to the literary sections.
E.M.R.
SCHOOL NOTES 1976
Staff Changes: Miss Sheila JacKson resigned from the staff in the summer of 1975 but
we are glad that she maintains unofficial contact
through the Youth Club. She has been succeeded
by Mrs. Barbara Darnell, B.A., who joined the
Staff in September 1975, as did Mr. Michael
Blackburn, B.Sc.
Mrs. Renee Williams was finally obliged by
family circumstances to tender her resignation as
Head of Girls' P.E. and, after a succession of
temporary appointments, the department has
settled down under the guidance of Mrs. Laura
Gruffydd who joined us in January 1976. Mrs.
Sheila Maskrey, to whom the school is grateful
for 'holding the fort' during the autumn term,
stays with us as Mrs. Gruffydd's part time assistant.
We are delighted to welcome back Miss
Muriel Paton who re-joined us in September after
her serious illness.
School Functions: On~e again the year has
seen the usual pattern of public occasions. On
17th October a Thanksgiving Service was held at
Twrgwyn, Upper Bangor, when the Rev. E. ap
Nefydd Roberts delivered the sermon. The above
was followed by the annual Carol Service in the
Cathedral on Tuesday 16th December. Both
services featured the choir, orchestra and soloists.
Appropriately enough, the school Carol
Service was the occasion for a small ceremony of
presenting to the safe keeping of the Dean and
Chapter a relic of the great eighteenth century
Welsh P,oet Goronwy Owen, who was a pupil at
Friars from 1737 until 1741. As a chorister in the
cathedral, the young Goronwy had carved his name
on one of the benches, and when reconstructi(j)'l
was taking place in the nineteenth century, this
piece of wood was rescued by the carpenter, a
collateral descendant of Goronwy, and has since
been treasuredby the family. During the service
Iwan L10yd Williams (VI) read parts of Goronwy's
great cywydd in which he expresses his longing
for his native Anglesey,
While on the subject of relics, how many of
the present pupils are aware that the original of
the Letters Patent, signed in 1561 by Queen
Elizabeth I, incorporating the school, is on display in the Cathedral?
Dramatic Society: The two productions,
'Eisteddfod
Bodran' by Saunders Lewis which
took place from 26-28 November 1975 under
the direction of Mr. H. M. Bebb, and 'The Gondoliers' by Gilbert and Sullivan, jointly organised
by Mrs. A. Davies and Mrs. Nia Jones, gave new
lustre to the high reputation achieved by past
productions. As ever, the scenery created by Mr.
John Williams contributed in no small way to the
general excellence.
Academic Successes: As a result of the
"Oxbridge" exams held in November, Jill Dorsett
gained admission to New Hall, Cambridge (Maths)
and Geoffrey H. Jones to Clare College, Cambridge (Engineering). Congratulations to both on
their achievement.
Collections: As a result of various internal
collections and functions, the following amounts
were donated to charity:
C.E.M. Cakestall-£15Turkish Earthquake
Fund; £8.33-0xfam;
Harvest Collection£50-Christian
Aid; Carol Service Collection£30-Shelter;
Carol Singers-£55-Save
the
Children Fund; C.E.M.-£5-Baptist
Missionary Society; Oxfam Walk (Over 80 pupils and
Staff participated) School Collections: Poppy
Day ,\ppeal-£10.47;
N. Wales Soc. for the
Blind-£25.76.
P.T.A.: There has been the usual number of meetings Besides the A.G.M., three 'Meet the Staff'
evenings and a Careers Convention on March 10th
took place, all very well attended. This could not
be said of the Open Forum which was arranged
in January. A Sponsored Swim was held in
October which gained more support from the
Lower School than from us, and in February a
Mammoth Jumble Sale took place, held in conjunction with Combined Studies.
We acknowledge with thanks the following
contributions this year:
:School Societies:·£31.40; Combined Studies£20; Dramatic Society-£30
(towards the production of the 'The GOhdoliers'); 'The New
Dominican-£25
and £15 towards the purchase of video-tapes.
Visits: More than ever, the Fifth Year, and
particularly the "Ieavers", has been 'outward
going'. The Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and
the Child Care Course already take many pupils
out of school for considerable periods, and Work
Experience scheme, although hampered by delays
in obtaining County Council insurance cover in
certain 'high risk' employment areas has gained
great momentum during the year.
Among the places of employment visited
are: R.A.F. Valley, Liverpool Docks, Manchester
T.V. Studios and various local firms and farms.
There have also been groups from both
Combined Studies and Form Six who have regularly given their time to various aspects of community work in the course of the year, at Treborth
School and with the elderly .
New Year's Honours List 1976: Huw
Wheldon, Managing Director of B.B.C. T.V., and
Old Boy of the Thirties, was awarded a knight-
hood. Also honoured were: from the Forties,
Warrant Officer (Master Navigator) C. A. Johnston (R.A.F.), M.B.E., from the Sixties, Warrant
Officer L. R. J. Nicholas (Army), M.B.E.
Extensions: Plans for extensions to the
school buildings have been sent to the Welsh
Office for approval, and if all goes well, work
should start in the near future. We shall have to
put up with some disturbance and the temporary
loss of some of the playing field areas, but we shall
eventually gain a new combined Studies area, a
Music Room with adjoining practice rooms, improved provision for Science, Art and Home
Economics, and, if the Gwynedd plans for reorganisation are also approved, a Gymnasium and a
Drama Area.
Mr. J. C. Lowe: We should like to extend our
sympathies to Mr. 'Jack' ~owe, former head of
Physics, who suffered a serious illness in Kenya
while visiting his son David. We are pleased to
record that the wished recovery is already well
advanced.
SCHOOL REPORTS.
Christian Education Movement/Mudiad Addysg
Gristnogol. Swyddogion/Officers:
Arweinydd/
Leader: L1inos Williams, UVI. Trysorydd/Treasurer: Gwyn Davies, LVI. Ysgrifenyddion/Secretaries: Eluned Bowen, LVI, Marilyn Jones, LVI.
Aelodau'r Pwyllgor/Committee
Members: Rhian
Hughes-Jones, Jacqueline Egerton, Hilary Evans,
Michael Owen, Glenda Roberts,~Norman Macdonald.
The year opened with an inspiring talk by
the Rev. Roy Davies on missionary work in
Brazil. During the Spring Term there was an
informative Seminar led by Mr. N. J. Hutchinson
on his career and the work of the Probation Service. There followed a day conference in the
Technical College, with discussions on the theme
of "Caring". These meetings have all been well
attended.
During the course of the year the group has
contributed to the following charities: South
American Earthquake Disaster Fund, Baptist
Missionary Society and Save the Children Fund.
Yn ystod y flwyddyn fe gyfranodd y grwp i
nifer 0 achosion da.
Carem ddiolch yn ddidwyll iawn i Miss Paton
am ei chymorth parod drwy'r flwyddyn.
.
Eluned Bowen, LVI
English Society: Debating in this year's
English Society has been characterised by a keen
awareness and understanding of current affairs.
Particularly significant was the emergence of an
extreme right wing element which made its
presence felt and stimulated many a heated debate.
Topics have ranged from "20th Century Agrarian
Crisis" to "Terrorism".
from "The nobility of
dying for one's country" to "Possible reasons for
supernatural phenomena". Whatever the subject
though, an atmosphere of healthy debate was
consistently achieved.
The English department has gained considerably from contact with the University and with
Theatr Gwynedd. Members of the Lower Vlth
attended an excellent one day school organised by
the English Department of U.C.N.w. A ten
weeks course of Saturday morning lectures,
ending with Professor Alan Jones' scholarly and
thoroughly enjoyable lecture on James Joyce was
also attended by Sixth formers although regrettably
many were prevented from following all the lectures by Saturday commitments. Fourth formers
saw performances of "The Tempest" and "Under
Milkwood" as well as a film of Golding's "Lord
of the Flies' and Polanski's production of "Macbeth". Further afield, Sixth formers saw "Hamlet"
at the Roundhouse, and "Much Ado About
Nothing" at Stratford. Some pupils have also seen
"The Devi I's Disciple", "St. Joan", and "The
School for Scandal"in Mold and the Theatr Bach
production of "As You Like It".
It remains to express our gratitude to Mrs.
A. Davies for organising the theatre and film "trips"
and to Mrs. Roberts for attending and providing a
stimulus to the debates. Jonathan Bradley, U.VI.A.
remarks from the cast of "The Gondoliers" (despite Casilda's comment that the orchestra consists
of "a lot of dolts") it seems-at last-that the
School Orchestra is earning well-deserved praise.
Apart from playing regularly in Assembly
(which is fortunate for the rather unenthusiastic
singers amongst the "congregation"),
the
Orchestra contributed to the success of the now
traditional Harvest Thanksgiving Service held at
Twr Gwyn and we literally played an important
part in the School Carol Service held in Bangor
Cathedral.
"The Gondoliers" was, however, the highlight of our activities this session. Mainly due to
the efforts of a certain clarinettist our responsibilities were increased, culminating in the formation
of a "special effects" department, manned by parttime trombonist, Celyn Davies.
The majority of school instrumentalists belong to the Gwynedd Youth Orchestra. Congratulations to Huw Ellis-Williams and Rhian Roberts
on being selected for the North Wales Youth
Orchestra. Finally the collection of what Luiz so
pol itely called "sordid persons" (we prefer to be
known as the School Orchestra) wish to. thank
Mrs. Eager, Miss Williams, Mrs. M. Foster, Mr. &
Mrs. Martin, Mr. Aiton, Mr. MacMahan, Miss
Davies, Janice Dorsett and Peter Mathews all of
whom assisted. May we, also, record our sincere
appreciation of the valuable advice and time
given by Mr. Hadyn Davis, H.M.I., Mr. A. Aiton
and particularly Mrs. Nia Jones, all of whom conducted our rehearsals.-Sheila Martin, LVI.
Anne
(Secretary of Sixth Form Community Thprnton
Action Group).
Carol Service 1975: As always the Carol
Service was enjoyed by one and all! Not only did
our orchestra prove its very high standard of
performance, but the choir showed proof of hard
work and a great deal of talent-especially
the
Fourth Form who provided Most of the high notes!
Our thanks are certainly due to the male members
of the school, who, though reluctant at first, faithfully attended practices, the two keenest male
members being Mr. M. Ellis-Williams and Mr. lorie
Williams.
There are two features of our Carol Service
which are anticipated and enjoyed every year: the
red blazers (long may they last!) and the recessional "Hodie", which has become associated with
our school. I hope that for many more years'
we may also add the enthusiastic and invaluable
help and support of Mrs. Nia Jones-what would we
do without her? Our thanks also to Mrs. Edwards
without whom our orchestra would not be complete (okay, so we forgot to light the candles! So
what?'lt's still talked about!) Thanks everyone.
Orchestra: "That's so like a band!": the
Schoo~ Orchestra. To judge by the encouraging
Trefnwyd y gwasanaeth a gynhaliwyd ar 16
o Ragfyr, gan Miss Paton, Mr. Bebb, ac yn gerdd-
Community Work: A remarkable feature of
this year's "Community Action" group was the
increase in numbers. This enthusiasm was particularly reflected in the twice weekly visits to
Treborth, where a few of the visitors became close
!)ersonal friends of the children.
The "Good Companion" scheme, which is
run in conjunction with the W.R.V.S., has proved
such a success that members of the Sixth Form
have accomodated any clients the W.R.V.S. can
offer.
There are visits to the Lower School, where
reading lessons take place, and members help in
the Geriatric Ward of St. David's , but these have
not proved as popular, although the activity has
been continued.
Although the vast majority of members are
girls (no sex discrimination!)
boys do participate
and the service as a whole is highly regarded.-
orol gan Mrs. Nia Jones. Casglwyd tuag at
'Shelter'. Mr. Goodwin oedd yr organydd, ac
'roedd gan y gerddorfa a'r cor ran helaeth, gyda'r
darlleniadau tymhorol gan athrawon
disgyblion
Cafwyd eitemau gan barti o'r pedwerydd dosbarth,
pedwarawd, a dau barti canu arall. Yr unawdwyr
eleni oedd Alice Chenneour, Elin Roberts a L1inos
Williams, a ganodd ddarn gan Huw Ellis Williams o'r
6ed dosbarth. Cyflwynwyd crair cysylltiedig a'r
bardd Goronwy Owen, disgybl yn yr ysgol yma 0
1737-1741, i'r Eglwys, ac yna darllennodd Iwan
L1wyd ran 0 gywydd y bardd; "Fan dirion dir".
Offrymodd yr Esgob Vaughan weddi a chyhoeddi'r
fendith. Diolch i bawb a gymerodd ran ac a weithiodd i sicrhau Ilwyddiant y gwasanaeth.
Felicity Roberts, Rhiannon Thomas, LVIA.
iCl
Friars School Dramatic Society: This year
the Dramatic Society's English presentation was
Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "The Gondoliers",
described by some local newspapers as the most
ambitious project yet attempted, and almost involving the proverbial "cast of thousands". Serious
rehearsals commenced after the period of convalescence following the mock exams, and, with
only a month to the week of performance, a
gloomy but stoical atmosphere was all but present
amongst the cast, with grave doubts as to whether
the heights reached by previous productions would
be attained this time.The
doubts were completely
swept away during the performance given for the
benefit of the critics (the school) on the Tuesdaythe audience were subdued and well behaved, but
the performance was good and gave more confidence to the cast to continue to greater things on
the following nights. Most of those who saw "The
Gondoliers" seemed to have been entertained, and
this was particularly evident on the Thursday night,
when the audience was very lively and appreciative,
inspired, no doubt" by the presence of the Headmaster and the Director of Education. Even members of the much maligned orchestra, who had been
dreading the onset of 'rigor mortis', having sat
through four complete performances, were forced
to admit that they enjoyed almost all of it.
,
Although the number of people involved in
the production is large, there are certain people
whose participation and co-operation formed a
major contribution to its success. The principalsSimon Blease, David Plimmer, Julie Wynne, Alice
Chenneour', Brian Forster, Manon Eames, L1inos
Williams, Morgan Chenneour and Geraint Griffiths-in particular, gave very creditable performances. Behind the scenes there were almost as many
helpers as there were cast. Particular mention must
be made of Mr. John Williams, whose sets, were as
always, superb, and of Mrs. Nerys Morris, whose
colo~rful costumes formed an equally important
part of the visual display, all to be seen under the
stage lights, supervised by Mr. S. Kelly. The business skills of Mrs. E. Griffiths, Mr. E. Lewis and Mr.
Plimmer proved invaluable, and the considerable
literary skill of Mr. W. E. Lewis was appreciated by
all. Thanks must also go to Mr. Peter Martin and
Mr. lorrie Williams ("the Amiable School Caretaker") for their public-spirited participation and
tolerance. The greatest debt, however, must be to
the producer, Mrs. Ann Davies, and to the musical
director, Mrs. Nia Jones, whose hard work, despite
being faced with considerable difficulties, contributed most to the success of the production, as a
whole.
It is easy to criticise amateur productions of
Gilbert and Sullivan-the singing and the acting was
hardly reminiscent of Covent Garden or the Old
Vic. Yet the most valuable feature of the good
amateur production is freshness of approach, something which professionals, tied by convention to
the music and the libretto, often fail to convey.
This year's production demonstrated this admirably.-Huw
Ellis-Williams. UVIA.
School Chess Club: The main interest in chess
this year has been supplied by the lunch time
meetings in the Middle School Library area. These
have been very popular with all pupils.
Sixth Form chess takes place in the Sixth
Form block and tends to be somewhat sporadic.
Our leading chess players have been busy with 'A:
level and scholarship work since the middle of last
term and have not been able to keep their watchful
eye on younger members in the after school meetings which have been in abeyance since last October. The club is particularly grateful to Jill Dorsett, lan Davies, Brian Forster, Huw Ellis-Williams
for the considerable help and enthusiasm they have
given to school chess during th!lir time here. May
we appeal for interested pupils in all years to take
on the responsibilities of helping to organise the
club when these pupils leave in July. Names to Mr.
H. Lear please.-H.L.
Science Club: Due to circumstances beyond
our control there have been few meetings this year.
The Lower Sixth would like any interested Fifth
formers to contact them about projects for next
year, in order to remedy this situation.
The commentary for the Tryweryn filmdespite the phenomenal number of man-work
hours Brian Forster has spent struggling with it is
still incomplete'
... due to technical difficulties.
Our apologies to the Geog. Department.Jill Dorsett, (U. VI.Sc).
A.T.C.: The last year was the most successful
for 1557 Squadron, with numbers rising from 15
to over 30. This and our new 100% examination
success won for us the 1975 Maclean Trophy, as
the most progressive squadron rated in the "Top
Ten" Welsh squadrons for proficiency in examinations.
Because of increased numbers, we were allotted
21 places (as against 10 in previous years) for flying
at R.A.F. Woodvale. We hope there will be a similar increased allocation for gliding at R. A.F.
Sealand. Sgt. Tim Evans was sent on a gliding course
to R.A.F. Newton but failed to get his wings
because of bad weather. Cdt. Iwan Ellis Williams
won his A.T.C. blue for swimming as well as the
Curtis Williams Trophy, and Sgt. Sagar won the
competition for the best hand-made aircraft. Eight
cadets took part in the C. C. Williams Postal Shoot,
competing with other squadrons in the Wing.
Last summer, cadets went on an orienteering
course organised in Anglesey by Mr. John Williams
who, also, helped in the organisation of an overnight
camp expedition in which fifteen cadets took
part as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze
Award. After attending a number of classes at the
Fire Station, for the service part of the Award, and
after completing the P.E. Section Sgt. D. Thomas
and Sgt. D. Sunderland have completed the course
A number of cadets will be taking part in initiative courses later th is year.
Thirteen cadets went to R.A.F. Stourbridge,
near Leighton Buzzard, at Easter. They visited
R.A.F. Brize Norton, Walton Safari Park, and the
Vauxhall Car Factory. Flying at R.A.F, Cambridge
provided air experience;,'.one of the highlights of
the visit was a look around the World War 1 Aeroplane Museum at Shuttleworth. Cp!. S. F.Ducker
hopes to go to R.A.F. Bruggen this summer: in
the summer of 1975. Sgt. Tim Evans went to
R.A.F. Wildenrath in Germany.
Whilst our C.O. Fit. Lt. Thomas, whom we
cannot praise enough for his interest and enthusiasm
was in hospital, the Squadron was in charge of
P.O. Owen and Squadron Leader Treen whom we
all wish to thank for their invaluable help and
encouragement. Our thanks, also, to our civilian
committee members: Mr. E. P. Jones, and the
Headmaster. On a final information note: the
Squadron shoots on Tuesday and meets on Fridays, so if anyone is interested in joining, come
along and remember it costs only 6p a week to
"Venture Adventure" .-Cp!. S. F. Ducker.
Sto~kpiler Club: Syndicate 'A': Last year's
profit of almost £9,000 was not quite equalled this
year, with only £8,5001 profit from an intial outlay of £20,000. This should, however, be seen
against last year's Financial Times Index, which
rose from approximately 150 points to 350 points
and.this year's which rose only from 350 points
to 400 points. This year's profit was thus obtained
under more difficult conditions and, therefore,
showed a wise choice of investment.
Syndicate 'B': was however, not quite so
successful, with a profit of £3,500 being shown,
but this is still a respectable figure.
Our thanks to Mr. R. Hughes and Mr. G.
Williams for their help during the year.lan Davies, U.VI.Sc.
(Syndicate A coresspondent)
Sailing Club: This has been another enjoyable season for the Sailing Club, with many fine
afternoons during the summer term. In May the
school entered for the Gwynedd Schools Sailing
Championships, organised at Port Dinorwic.
Little success was gained in the Cadet Class, though
some up and coming youngsters took part. Nick
Hornsbyand Rhiannon Harris managed to survive
early setbacks to win the 'General Hand icap' Glass.
Later in the year the Welsh Schools National
Championships were held in Merthyr Tydfil.
Although the facilities were not quite all those
expected of a host club, the spirit was good and
the wind too! Again there was little success in the
Cadet Class, although Michael Dorsett put up a
good effort. Nick Hornsby came third in the
'All-win Handicap' and fifth in the Pursuit Race.
There has unfortunately been some poor turn
outs for school sailing activities this year. We hope
more pupils will join the Sailing Club in order to
remedy this situation. Thanks to Mr. Martin and
to Mr. Hurford for their continued interest and
help at all times.-Nick Hornsby U.VI.Sc.
Field Club Report: The Club again enjoyed
two successful trips this year. On July 10th, the
summer trip concentrated on the seabird colonies
in Anglesey, Black Guillemots, a local rarity, were
seen at Fedw Fawr, together with guillemots, razor
bills, puffins, kittewakes, and fulmars. At Cemlyn
Sandwich, common and Arctic terns were seen.
The school presented an identification board of
the birds seen in Newborough Warren National
Nature Reserve to the Warden, Mr. Arthur.
The winter trip on December 18th took
place in cold weather but visibility was not hampered by rain or mist. The first stop, Point of Ayr,
Clwyd, provided one of two new species for the
School and a great surprise to all, two feral Chilean flamingos. Also at Point of Ayr were 20 grey
plover, tealrshoveller, common scoter, merganiser an(
goldeneye amongst a good selection of waders and
duck,and a great spotted woodpecker. Two black
necked grebes at L1andudno were the other new
species seen, with great crested grebe and more
seater. At Rhos Point, three purple sand piper and
several turnstone were seen and there was a fulmar
at Abergele, making a total of 56 species for the
day.
Many thanks to Mr. Martin for yet another
year's successful birdwatching'Richard Schofield (U.VI.).
Hill Walking: Once again, we have enjoyed a
varied and activ'O'season of mountain'O'ering pursuits. The rock climbing group, during "games"
periods on Wednesday afternoons early in the year
undertook several worthwhile expeditions, notably
a well spent few hours on the nursery slopes by the
Devil's Kitchen. However, these trips suffered
through a general lack of support.
Hill walking itself, however, has had more
vigorous support throughout the year and the main
summer walk, an exhausting climb up Moel Hebog
and its su-rounding hills provided some beautiful
views, although the walk degenerated at the end,
as we plodded through dense forests above Beddgelert, because of a dispute over the correct route.
Replacing rock climbing recently, Wednesday
afternoons have been given over to short, lowlevel hill walks. Th?se have been supported by a
small Qut' faithful group of enthusiasts who have
been rewarded by some superb vie',vs across land
and sea, even on the wetter days. These walks
included the Rivals (in terrible conditions);
Mynydd Mawr (the "Elephant mo'"'ntain) and the
Clynnog hills, Good spirits prevailed throughout,
despite the often unpredicatable weather.
All involved in the activities would like to
thank Mr. Martin for his continuous support and
the loan of his priceless Range Rover when the
Mini-bus was unavailable. Thanks also to Mr.
Hurford for his involvement in Fourth Form
mountaineering activities.-Adrian
King (U.VI.Sc.)
Fourth Form Outdoor Activities: This is the
first time we have been offered the opportunity to go
hill walking with a school. and we have enjoyed this
term's walks immensly. The numberof people who
atlended the walks ranged from about ten to 15
peopl'J, the numbers were sometimes affected by
bad weather, and also by school hockey and netball matches which were arranged for Thursday
,afternoons so as not to clash with lessons.'
We enjoyed the walks because of their variety:
As well as s7,raight forward hill walks, there was one
rock climbing session which'was very popular, a
climbing' session in Plas Arthur Leisure Centre
L1angefni, an orienteering session in Bethesda Park,
and an unusual and amusing walk which involved
the girls climbing two hills and starting off at
one end and the boys climbing the same hill from thl
the opposite end. The object was for each party
to climb the two hills without
being seen by the
other party, but at the same time trying to spot
the other party themselves. The results of this
walk were much discussed, but all in good spirits.
A memorable walk was one up Ffynnon
L10er in extremely bad weather, and another up
Moel Eilio. The wind was blowing against us at
60 knots and it was bitterly cold and even snowing,
but the '-,.reatheradded something to the enjoyment
and sense of adventure. In contrast, was the climb
up Tryfan which took place in warm sunshine. This,
to us, was the most memorable climb, as it held the
greatest sense of schievement.
Our thanks to Mr. Hurford and Mr. L.
'-lughes for taking us on these walks, and we hope
the school will continue the activity of hill walking
for many years to came.-Sarah Jenkins and
Hawys Watkins (IV.).
The Bird Group/Astudio
Adar: Yn ystod y
flwyddyn yma mae'r grwp adar wediehangu i 15
aelod yn ein hardal. Bwriild y grwp yw ceisio
gwybod mwy am y gwahanol ,adar sydd yn ein
hardal. Ceir cyfarfodydd y grwp bob prynhawn
Milwrth am 1.30 hyd 2.40 yn ystod gwersi astudiaethau cyffredinol y 5ed dosbarth.
During the year the group has had many
visits by well-known people concerned with the
study of birds. They were Mr. Peter Schofield from
the Nature C,1nservancy who came to talk about
local birds, Dr. David Seele to talk about the life of
the cuckoo, Mr. Reg Arthur who is Warden of the
Newborough Warren came to tell us about the
problems of being a warden, and Mr. Frank Pepper
R.S.P.C.A. Inspector for Bangor who talked about
cruelty to wild birds.
Ar y 9fed 0 Fawrth gwelodd y grwp gasgliad
o wyau adar oedd wedi eu rhoi'n garedig i'r ysgol
gan hen ddisgybl yr ysgol: yr wy mwyaf gwerthfawr oedri wy barcud sydd yn aderyn i'w weld yn
uni,] yng Inghanolbarth C'.Imru ger Aberystwyth.
Mae'r grwp 0 dan ofal Mr. Watkins wedi bod allan
gyda bws yr ysgol i weld adar ein hardal sy'n
cynnwys adar y mor ac adar y goedwig.
Unfortunately,
Mr. Ken Williams, Warden
and founder of the Penrhos Nature Reserve at
Holyhead, was unable to meet the bird group at
the end of the Easter Term owing to his illnessbut he has promised to come and speak to the group
at a later date, and his topic will be the history of
the Reserve and his recent visits to Africa.
Y mae'r grwp yn rhoi croeso cynnes i unrhyw berson o'r 5ed dosbarth a ddymunai ymuno
a'r grwp er mwynhau a dysgu am adar ein hardal.David Williams, 5A, Rhys Bebb, 5A.
Badminton Club: Once again it has been a
fairly successful season. The team was included ih
a newly formed West Gwynedd Schools League, and
beat Caernarfon and Be<:hesdawithout undull
difficulty.
Unfortunately,
in the Gwynedd tourn-
at Abergele, making a total of 56 species for the
day.
Many thanks to Mr. Martin foryet another
year's successful birdwatching'Richard Schofield (U.VI.).
Hill Walking: Once again, we have enjoyed a
varied and activ'O'season of mountain'O'ering pur·
suits. The rock climbing group, during "games"
periods on Wednesday afternoons early in the year
undertook several worthwhile expeditions, notably
a well spent few hours on the nursery slopes by the
Devil's Kitchen. However, these trips suffered
through a general lack of support.
Hill walking itself, however, has had more
vigorolis support throughout the year and the main
summer walk, an exhausting climb up Moel Hebog
and its su"rounding hills provided some beautiful
views, although the walk degenera~ed at the end,
as we plodded through dense forests above Bedd·
gelert, because of a dispute over the correct route.
Replacing rock climbing recently, Wednesday
afternoons have been given over to short, low·
level hill walks. Th?se have been supported by a
small but, faithful g~oup of enthusiasts who have
been rewarded by some superb vie':Vsacross land
and sea, even on the wetter days. These walks
included the Rivals (in terrible conditions);
Mynydd Mawr (the "Elephant mo'_'ntain) and the
Clynnog hills, Good spirits prevailed throughout,
despite the often unpredicatable weather.
All involved in the activities would like to
thank Mr. Martin for his continuous support and
the loan of his priceless Range Rover when the
Mini·bus was unavailable. Thanks also to Mr.
Hurford for his involvement in Fourth Form
mountaineering activities.-Adrian
King (U.VI.Sc.)
Fourth Form Outdoor Activities: This is the
first time we have been offered the opportunity to go
hill walking with a school. and we have enjoyed this
term's walks immensly. The number of people who
attended the walks ranged from about ten to 15
peopl'l, the numbers were sometimes affected by
bad weather, and al~o by school hockey and netball matches which were arranged for Thursday
,afternoons so as not to clash with lessons.',
We enjoyed the walks because of their variety:
As well as s~raight forward hi 11walks, there was one
rock climbing session which'was very popular, a
climbing' session in Plas Arthur Leisure Centre
L1angefni, an orienteering session in Bethesda Park,
and an unusual and amusing walk which involved
the girls climbing two hilts and starting off at
one end and the boys climbing the same hill from thl
the opposite end. The object was for each party
to climb the two hills without
being seen by thp.
other party, but at the same time trying to spot
the other party themselves. The results of this
walk were much discussed, but all in good spirits.
A memorable wall< was one up Ffynnon
L10er in extremely bad weather, and another up
Moel Eilio. The wind was blowing agaJnst us at
60 knots and it was bitterly cold and even snowing,
but the 'Heather added something to the enjoyment
and sense of adventure. In contrast, was the climb
up Tryfan which took place in warm sunshine. This,
to us, was the most memorable climb, as it held the
greatest sense of schievement.
Our thanks to Mr. Hurford and Mr. L.
'iughes for taking us on these walks, and we hope
the school will continue the activity of hill walking
for many years to come.-Sarah Jenkins and
Hawys Watkins (IV.).
The Bird Group/Astudio Adar: Yn ystod y
flwyddyn yma mae'r grwp adar wedi ehangu i 15
aelod yn ein hardal. Bwriad y grwp yw ceisio
gwybod mwy am y gwahanol ,adar sydd yn ein
hardal. Ceir cyfarfodydd y grwp bob prynhawn
MClwrth am 1.30 hyd 2.40 yn ystod gwersi astud·
iaethau cyffredinol y 5ed dosbarth.
During the year the group has had many
visits by well·known people concerned with the
study of birds. They were Mr. Peter Schofield from
the Nature Cc1nservancy who came to talk about
local birds, Dr. David Seele to talk about the life of
the cuckoo, Mr. Reg Arthur who is Warden of the
Newborouqh Warren came to tell us about the
problems of being a warden, and Mr. Frank Pepper
R.S.P.C.A. Inspector for Bangor who talked about
cruelty to wild birds.
Ar y 9fed 0 Fawrth gwelodd y grwp gasgliad
o wyau adar oedd wedi eu rhoi'n garedig i'r ysgol
gan hen ddisgybl yr ysgol: yr wy mwyaf gwerth·
fawr oeds' wy barcud sydd yn aderyn i'w weld yn
unitl yng Inghanolbarth C'.lmru ger Aberystwyth.
Mae'r grwp 0 dan ofal Mr. Watkins wedi bod allan
gyda bws yr ysgol i weld adar ein hardal sy'n
cynnwys adar y mar ac adar y goedwig.
Unfortunately,
Mr. Ken Williams, Warden
and founder of the Penrhos Nature Reserve at
Holyhead, was unable to meet the bird group at
the end of the Easter Term owing to his illnessbut he has promised to come and speak to the group
at a later date, and his topic will be the history of
the Reserve and his recent visits to Africa.
Y mae'r grwp yn rhoi croeso cynnes i unrhyw berson o'r 5ed dosbarth a ddymunai ymuno
a'r grwp er mwynhau a dysgu am adar ein hardal.David Williams, 5A, Rhys Bebb, 5A.
Badminton Club: Once again it has been a
fairly successful season. The team was included ih
a newly formed West Gwynedd Schools League, and
beat Caernarfon and Be+hesda without undull
difficulty.
Unfortunately,
in the Gwynedd tourn-
ament the team was placed in the more difficult
group of the draw, but did well to come second
to John Brighfs, L1andudno, who went on to bHat
Aberconway,
winners from the other section. A
victory was gained over the Staff but we were
defeated in a keenly fought match against the
Old Pl.:pils. Many thanks once more to Mr. H. R.
Griffiths for showing so much enthusiasm ill
supporting badminton
in the school.Kathy Holton (Captain).
Hockey Report: ThfJ school hockey team has
again had a successful season, gaining victories
over John Bright's, Holyhead, Bethesda, L1anrwst,
Caernarfon, Pwllheli, Aberconway and BrynRefail. This good record was broken when we were
defeated by a strong University team.
The team in March entered the North Wales
Coasts Tournament
and unfortunately
went out
in the semi-finals, although undefeated, as the
match was decided on the number of corners
conceded. However, the team did win the North
Caernarfon Tournament.
Congratulations
to Rhiannon Thomas, Wendy
Jones and Kathv .Holton on gaining places in the
North Caernarfon team. Wendy and Kathy went
on to gain places in the Gwynedd team. In January, the Welsh trials were held and Kathy (the
North Wales Captain) was chosen as a reserve for
the match against Scotland.-Kathy
Holton, UVI.A
and Merioneth.
After some very close games
against stiff opposition,
Friars won this round to gc
through to represent Gwynedd in the Welsh Area
Championships,
held this year at Swansea.
Friars put up an admirable display in
South Wales, earning for themselves praise from
the organisers as the best Gwynedd team to have
taken part in this competition.
Although we were
last in our section, the team benefited greatly from
watching an outstanding
display of netball from
the eventual winners, West Glamorgan. Finally,
I w'sh to record our thanks to Mrs. L. Gruffydd
for her jnfl!ctious enthusiasm and for the amount
of time she has given up for coaching the team.Jan= Humphreys,
(Captain).
Athletics: The 1975 season proved to be
reasonably successful and our athletes enjoyed the
best weather that the customary meetings have
enjoyed in many years.
Enthusiasm vvas high for the school championships in mid-May.,
and the contest was so keen
that the winning House, Dyfed, came first by the
margin of only a single point over Gwent. The
middle distance events were particularly
popular
and attracted large entries.
Victrix Ludorum awards for girls were won
by Debbie Schofield and Eva Bednall, while in
boys' events outstanding
performances
were
recorded by Hugh Bellis in the Long and Triple
Jump events and by Gerallt Roberts in the Hammer event.
Our school team at the Area Championships
at the Normal College gained twelve first places
Netbilll: The first team has had a most successand after the County Championships
at the
ful season in which the school has taken part in
University
Sports
Ground
in
July,
Debbie
Schofthe North Caernarfon
and Gwynedd team trials.
ield, Hugh Bellis, Tony Jones and Gerallt
Jane Humphreys is to be congratulated
on being
Roberts were selected to represent the county at
selected for the North Caernarfon team. ConHaverfordwest.
Hugh won the Senior Triple
gratulations
to Fiona Evans, Alison Crowe, Jane
Jump event at the National, a timely reward for
Humphreys and Caroline Humphreys, who were
his fine contribution
to school athletics, and
selected to play for the Gwynedd team.
equally pleasing was Gerallt's second place in the
Gwynedd took part in the Welsh ChampMiddle Hammer event, which gained him selection
ionships. The standard of play was exceedingly
for Wales in the international
match versus
high, with some players being selected for the
Elngland and Scotland, held at Colwyn Bay in late
Welsh Under 21 team. The Gwynedd team beJ1eJuly.
fited greatly from the competition
which was
We are grateful to Mr. Ted Stubbs for
eventually won by South Glamorgan.
providing opportunities
in Bangor throughout
The school team has put up a formidable perforthe winter for our keen athletes to keep in trim, anc
mance throughout
the season, only losing two
feel sure that the enthusiasm for athletics in the
gam()s and drawing one of the fifteen fixtures. The
school will continue to flourish in the years to comE
climax of the season came when the preliminary
We should like to wish Debbie Schofield and her
roundf. of the Ann Smart Trophy were held. A
- family well when they move from Bangor to
North CaernaHon section consisting of John
Berkshire. Debbie has been a pillar of strength to
Bright's, Aberconway,
St. Gerard's and
the school:s cross-country
athletics team, and no
Bethesda and school competed to find the best
one trained harder than she did. Good luck to
North Caernarfon team in the Gwynedd section.
her and to all the school's athletes in 1976.
Friars won this r0und outright and went through
Inter House Competition:
This got off to
to compete against South Caernarfon
Anglesey
rather a slow start in 1974-5 and the entry for the
boys cross-country
race at Christmas, which was the
first of the sporting contests of the session was
disappointingly
low.
As the Spring and Summer terms progr'~ssed,
however, enthusiasm mounted, and by the time the
final event was staged, the Athletics Championships
interest was high. The winning house eventually was
Gwent, Dyfed was second, Powys third and
Gwynedd fourth.
This year, new contests have been introduced, including indoor five-a-side football for
boys, indoor hor;key for girls and volley ball.
Most lunch times, house teams in various sports
compete with each other-in
most often than not
friendly fashion. At the time of going to press
Gwent, the reigning champions, are leading the
contest, but things could change considerably
before the year comes to an end.-G.P.R.
Tennis, (Summer 1975)-, Despite a short
season and lack of fixtures, many showed interest
in the game. The team did well to beat John
Bright's, both home and away. and narrowly lost
an exciting match against the Staff 62~55 games.
In the Gwynedd Schools Competition,
held at
Friars the School were over-all winners.Hefin Rowlands (U.VI.Sc.)
Cricket: Cricket seems to be getting less
popular in the school and this is probably due to
the brevity of the summer term and to the short
·comings of our cricket square.
In 1975 all our matches were played away, but
now that a waterpipe has been laid across the games
field and we have two permanent groundsmen,
it
is to be hoped that a reasonably good playing surface can be produced. With a good square we hope
that a team worthy of the school's long cricketing
tradition can be formed.
We are fortuni.lte in having excellent
indoor net facilities, and fortunate also in the
encouragement
that we receive from Bangor
Cricket Club and its members. For real cricketing
enthusiasts opportunities
to play in Bangor are
many. We hope that during 1976 we may add to'
these opportunities
at school, and we trust, too
that some of the old enthusiasm for cricket returns.
Paul Davies, (U.VI.).
Friars 1st. Rugby XV: Results: Played 21;
Won 12; Lost 9; Pts For 353; Pts. Against 167.
Special congratulations
to S. Blease, C. Parry, P.
Hodgson, P. Williams and T. Jones, for their
selection to the Arfon side; to G. Owen. T.
Jones and A. Hodgson to th~ Gwynedd squad; and
to T. Jones and A. Hodgson to the North Wales
team. Friars have entertained Westcliff and Peterborough touring teams, losing th,~ former and win-
ning against the latter. Against the Old Boys, School
School won 15-10.
The team give special thanks to Mr. Terry
Lewis for splendid support and tuition during and
after school hours. Thanks are also given to Mrs. A.
Jones for her help in the kitchen on Saturday
,mornings. Our best wishes are conveyed to the
future 1st. team in Friars.-P. Williams & T. Jones.
(Joint Captains).
Soccer 1st. XI: In reviewing the past
season I recall with pleasure the large number of
younger players we drafted into the side. I do not
remember any who let the team down. although I
do remember many worthy performances
which
augur well for future seasons.
It has given me the utmost satisfaction to
Captain these "youngsters",
and it is in this
capacity that I wish to thank them for their support. Also, on their behalf and on behalf of the
team as a whole, I wish to thank the teachers who
have given up their time, in particular Mr. Lugsden
for coaching and training and Mr. Sunderland and
Mr. Geraint Williams for "tackling" the
anenviable task of refereering. We offer best wishes
for the future to next year's team,
In the Old Boys Match School won 4-0.
Season's results: Played 11; Won 3; Lost 6;
Drawn 2; Pts. 8.-Norman
Macdonald (Capt.) U.Vi.
Under 15's Soccer XI: After a poor start to
the season, Friars Under 15's came runners up in
the five-a-side Cup (Aberconway
District).
Gareth Edwards, Rhys Griffiths and Stephen Sherrington were selected to play for the County. In the
cup match against St. Mary's College, Rhos-onSea, School lost 2 goals to nil. Last year's results:
Played 11; Won 2; Drawn 2; Lost 7; Goals for 25;
Goals against 36.
Cup games: Quarter Final·-Friars
v. John
Bright's 3-2; Frairs v. Bethesda 5-2.
Our thanks to the team and to Mr. Lugsden
for all his help during the season. Stephen Sherrington
(Capt.)
School Council Report: Chairman: Paul
Davis; Vice-Chairman:
Mr. G. L1. Williams; SecretafY: Caris Edwards.
This year the School Council dealt with the
usual issues: toilet facilities; provision of lockers for
a greater number of pupils; school dinners and
firmer adherence to bilingualism.
Many of the issues have (we hope) been
settled once and for all, despite the lethargy shown
by various form representatives.
We would like to thank the Headmaster for
his co-operation and the Staff representatives
on
the Council for their advice and encouragement,
namely, Mrs. Mary Jones, Mr. Oliver, and Mr.
Geraint Williams.-Caris
Edwards (Secretary).
School Dances: Committee;
David Hilton,
(Chairman, Treasurer); Jimmy Conway (Scribe,
Advertising);
Kevin Dogan (Spokesman);
David
O. Jones (Administration);
Tony McDonald-Tipton
(Advertising).
Despite apathy from some members of the
Sixth Form, and unexpected
interuptions
on the
nights, the school dances this year have been social
as well as financial successes; The school Sports
Fund has benefitted by a hundred pounds and a
donation of thirty pounds was given to the Harvest
and Carol Services, the sum of twenty-five pounds
is being held for the A.T.C. The balance held by
the Committee is thirty three pounds.
We on the Committee would like to thank
everyone who co-operated
in producing records
for the dances. Special thanks to Mr. I. Williams
and ('Major' the dog); also to the Art Department.
We hope you have enjoyed the dances as much as
we have, and hope for your continued support.
Careers Report: A wide and varied series of
talks and discussion sessions have featured prominentl'l in the Careers programme for the year.
These were conducted by the following expert
outside speakers: Dr. Chennoeur, U.C.N.W."Un iversity Courses"; a speaker from C. F. Mott
College of Higher Education-"Courses
in
Colleges of Higher Education and Colleges of
Education";
speakers from Gwynedd Technical
College, Bangor-"Technical
College Courses"; Mr.
William Williams, Dept. of Social Theory, U.C.N.W.
"Careers in Local Government
and the Social
Services"; Civil Service representatives-'Careers
in the Civil Service"; Army, Navy and R.A.F."Careers in the Armed Forces"; Area Manager,
National Westminster Bank-"Careers
in Banking".
As in previous years the County Careers
Officers have been much in evidenee, visiting the
school on one day a week for most of the school
year to interview schoolleavers
and being present
at all the Parents' Evenings. Since the opening of a
new Area Careers Office at L1ys Gwynedd, Ffordd
Gwynedd, Bangor, the Careers Officer is now more
easily availabl~\ to Bangor pupils and their parents.
The interest and co-operation
of Bangor
employers in the Work-Experience
Scheme continues. Placements were obtained for Vlth Form
pupils at a llank, an estate agent's office and a
library. Some Combined Studies pupils have been
helped to transfer smoothly from school to work
by spending short periods in such employments
as
hairdressing, farming, garage work, office work
shop work and printing.
The interest of Bangor employers in th~
vocational guidance of pupils extends further than
the Work Experience Scheme, as members of the
the Rotary Club they have produced a leafletdistributed
to all school-Ieavers'-giving
valuable
hints on how pupils should present themselves for
and conduct themselves at interviews. Many local
employers were among the advisers present to
offer advice to pupils and their parents at the
Annual Careers Conoertion
in March. Yet again
the Convention proved very popular with pupils
and parents.-E.C.L.
School Survey: Dr. Stradling: Late in the
Spring Term it was decided to do a mini School
Survey using the Hilnsard Society Questionnaire
for
testing ~'the relative knowledge and ignorance of
current affairs amongst school-leavers".
We are most
grateful to Dr. Robert Stradlingl, Research Officer
of the Hansard Society, who provided the School
with sufficient copies of the questionnaire.
We
hope to compare our results with the findingswhich are to be published later this year-of
the 100 schools involved in the national survey.
Our thanks, also, to Mr. Bob Hughes and his
computer
team, without whose help this joint
English and Maths departments
project would not
have been possible.
Number involved in the survey: 61 (Lower
VI), 27 boys, 34 girls. Findings: 80% of the group
intend leaving school at "18 years and above".
Scorings: 11 scored 80% or over (7 boys, 4 girls)
30 scored 60-80% (14 b'oys, 16 girsl); 14 scored
40-60%
(5 boys, 9 girls); 6 scored 20-40%
(boy,
5 girls). 78% of boys/59% of girls scored 60% or
over.
Part 1 of the Survey was concerned with
subject options, the media, "political involvement"
with family and friends. " Findings: 90%/93% took
geography, history; 36% current affairs; 52% read
a dai Iy newspaper "everyday";
61 % a Sunday newspaper "every Sunday", the "Liverpool Daily Post"
and the "Sunday Express" being the most popular.
61 % watched a television news broadcast "at
least every day" with "Nationwaide"
(64%) and
"Man Alive" (42%) proving the two most popular
programmes. Only 29% listened to a news broadcast
on the radio "at least every day". Of the whole
group 55% claimed they were "very interested"
or
"fairly interested"
in politics and current affairs.
44%/42% "sometimes"
discussed these subjects wit!
their parents/friends.
A study of the 11 pupils in thE
top mark range revealed that nine read a daily
newspaper every day, 10 read a Sunday newspaper
every Sunday. Choice of newspapers, however,
seemed to have little connection with high scoring,
as only three of the eleven took "quality"
papers
(Times/Telegraph)
and 5 of the 11 (Sunday Times/
Observer); 6 ofthe 11 claimed to be "very interested" in current affairs: there were only seven in th
this group.
Part 11.The first question asked candidates
to write down what they thought was "the most
serious problem facing you and your generation".
Twenty considered unemployment/job
and careers
prospects to be the biggest problem. Communism;
East-West conflict; the economy; population
explosion were amongst other problems listed.
This was in fact a most revealing part of the
questionnaire. On the assignment of policy statements to the correct political party no one got all
eight correct. 26% (8 boys, 6 girls-only
2 of
them from the "top 11"); 40% (17 girls, 7 boys)
scored four or less.
Part III provided further tests of political
knowledge. All except two girls could name the
Prime Minister; four (3 girls) failed to name the
L~ader of the Opposition; 3 (2 girls) didn't know
who was the Leader of the Liberal Party; 15 (12
girls)-a high proportion-didn't
know who was the
Foreign Secretary.
Only 20 of the 61 (12 boys, 8 girl's) got the
number of M.P.'s right at 635, while 34 (56%) 16
girls 18 boys) knew the names of their M.P.'s,
although 4 of the girls in this group assigned their
M.P.'s to the wrong political party. No one scored
full marks on political facts about Parliament
(Q.20) but 13 (11 boys) got 7 out of 8 correct. On
the assignment of responsibility for various public
services, however, 41 (22 girls) answered all
correctly.
The most interesting question in this section
asked which 4 pressure groups exerted most
influence on the government. 19 assigned first place
to the Trade Unions with I.R.A. (10) coming next.
Part IV asked questions on
international
affairs. The scoring in this section was comparatively
low. Only 13 (9 boys) could list the 9 Common
Market countries; only 19 (12 boys) knew which
countries had Communist Governments; only 5
(3 boys) answered correctly (True/False/I am not
sure) to such questions as "South Africa is no
longer a member of the Commonwealth".
Part V aimed at testing reaction to "law and
order" situations. Space forbids the publication of
a breakdown of this most important section. The
results are, however, available (as are spare copies
of the Questionnaire) for anyone who is interested.
Two results deserve mention 46% claimed to
"be fairly knowledgeable" about politics and
political events "compared with most people you
know": even more significant 85% answered "yes"
to "Do you think you ought to know more about
current affairs and politics" and 70% "agreed
strongly" that it was important "to use your
vote".-E.M.R.
Eisteddfod Bodran: Does dim dwywaith na
dyma ymdrech fwyaf uchelgeisiol y Gymdeithas
Ddrama hyd yn hyn, i Iwyfanu drama Gymraeg.
Gwn 0 brofiad, mai drama anodd iawn i'r cynihyrchydd a'r actor ion yw "Eisteddfod Bodran"
gan Saunders Lewis, ond pleser di-gymysg oedd
cael bod yn y gynulleidfa ar un o'r tair noson y
IIwyfanwyd y ddrama ym mis Tachwedd diwethaf.
"gwamalrwydd mewn tair golygfa" yw
disgrifiad yr awdur ohoni a chyflwynodd
hi fel
"deunydd chwerthin". Ac yn wir, dyna a gawn yn
y ddrama-Ilond
bol 0 chwerthin iach ar ben rhai
o'n sefydliadau cenedlaethol a rhai o'r gwyr sy'n
hunan bwysig yn ein cymdeithas.
Dychan yw'r arf a ddefnyddiodd Saunders
Lewis i'n cymell i chwerthin. Dychanir yr eisteddfod a phopeth sy'n perthyn iddi, byd addysg a'r
gyfraith. Mae'r archdderwydd pwysig, yr offeiriad
lIengar, yr athro twp, a'r genhedlaeth ifanc ansicrohoni-ei-hun i gyd yn y darlun a bortreadir ar y
IIwyfan.
Daw hyn a mi yn naturiol i grybwyll mor
hynod 0 Iwcus yw'r ysgol i gael gwr mor ddawnus
a Mr. John Williams i baratoi a chynllunio'r
golygfeydd. 'Roedd y IIwyfan yn wledd i'r
Ilygad cyn gynted ar yr agorwyd y Ilenni. Ac y mae
caelllwyfan wedi ei baratoi mor ddyheuig yn siwr
o fod yn gymorth ac yn ysbrydoliaeth i'r actorion.
Cafwyd portreadu cymeriad penigamp gan
bob un o'r actor ion yn ddiwahan. Yr oedd Iwan
L10yd Williams yn cario baich enfawr wrth chwarae
,rhan Manawydan
ond IIwyddodd yr actor hwn yn
rhyfeddol i greu cymeriad credadwy ar y IIwyfan.
A phwy well a ellid fod wedi ei chael fel Rhiannon,
ei wraig briod ddeniadol na Jennie Wynne Cottrell?
Yr oedd Mair Rhiannon fel yr athrawes, Gareth
L10yd Davies (ef oedd yn cymryd y rhan y noson
y bum i yno) fel yr offeiriad a Gwynne L10yd
Williams fel yr archbencerdd yn hynod 0 dda.
Mwynheais yn fawr gyflwyniad cynnil Rowland
Jones fel criwr Bodran, a Ilifeiriant geiriol Mari
Owen yn ei chyflwyniad 0 Cigfa, er fod ambell air
yn tueddu i fynd i ddifancoll oherwydd y rhyferthwy 0 berfformiad a gawsom ganddi hi. Yr oedd
Gwyn T. Davies fel Heilyn ap Gwyn, y sylwebydd radio, H. Elwyn Williams fel Pryderi, y
plismon of nus, Sian Eirian Jones fel Gwenno'r
forwyn, yn hynod bwrpasol hefyd, a dylai'r B.B.C.
gofio am Bethan Roberts pan fyddant yn .
chwilio am ferch i gyflwyno rhaglenni.
Y cynhyrchydd oedd Mr. Hywel M. Bebb, a
charwn fanteisio ar y cyfle i'w longyfarch ar
gynhyrchiad diddorol. Mae ei gyfraniad ef dros y
naw mlynedd diwethaf, i fywyd Cymraeg yr ysgol,
ac yn arbennig i hanes cyflwyniadau Cymraeg y
Gymdeithas Ddrama yn haeddu clod arbennig.Eifion Williams.
Y Gymdeithas Gymraeg: Gydag esgyniad
aelodau'r pedwerydd dosbarth o'r Ysgollsaf
chwyddwyd rhengoedd y Gymdeithas, ac ehangwyd gweithgareddau'r gymdeithas hefyd. Agorwyd
y flwyddyn gyda chyfarfod yn croesawu'r aelodau
newydd ac yn trefnu gogyfer a'r tymor. Sefydlwyd
pwyllgor y Gymdeithas hefyd, a phenderfynwyd
gofyn i bob dosbarth yn eu tro am gyfraniadau
a chafwyd ymateb brwd. Cyfraniad y pedwerydd
dosbarth oedd cyfres 0 gomediau byrion yn son am
helyntion "Eunice a Hermon", gan ddangos fod
gobaith i'r Gymdeithas Ddrama Gymraeg (hyd yn
oedwedi " 'Steddfod Bodran"). Cafwyd amrywiaeth ddiddorol gan y pumed dosbarth; ambell
"Amser Cinio L1awen" yn cynnwys jocs, adroddiadau a sgetsiau 0 bob math. Hefyd cynhaliwyd dadl
boeth ganddynt ar y testun "A ddylai dynion
archwilio'r gofod?". a gwelwyd ochr ddifrifol y
Gymdeithas am unwaith. Canolbwyntiodd
aelodau'r cheched isaf yn bennaf, ar weithgareddau a
oedd yn golygu iddynt eistedd i lawr. Ar ddechrau'r
tymor cafwyd hanes "nia Ben Aur" gan Meleri a
Rhiannon, gyda'r record hir o'r un enw yn gefndir
cerddorol i'r stori. Bu'r chweched isaf yn gyfrifol
hefyd am gynnal cwis "Call My Bluff' Cymraeg yn
y Gymdeithas a brofodd yr un mor ddifyr. Cynhyrchiadau mawreddog yn null Cecil B de Mille
oedd pr if gyfraniad y chweched uchaf. Yn gynnar
yn y tymor cafwyd "Ffug Brawf" o'r diwinydd
enwog Mr. E. C. Lewis, ac yna, cyn y Nadolig, gyda
chymorth aelodau o'r chweched isaf cafwyd y
pantomein "Siwan". ganddynt. Cynhaliodd Gwynne
L10yd Williams ei "Biparbop" traddodiadol hefyd.
Bu'r Gymdeithas yn brysur y tu allan i'r
ysgol hefyd. Mae rhai aelodau yn paratoi ar gyfer
Eisteddfod yr Urdd ym Mhorthaethwy, ac fe
ddymuna\
gweddill yr aelodau'n dda iddynt.
Trefnwyd nifer 0 dripiau gan aelodau o'r Gymdeithas i flasu peth ar ddiwylliant cyfoes Cymru,
h.y. "Edward H. Dafis",:'Chwys",
Josgin" etc.
Bu tim yn cystadlu mewn cystadleuaeth siarad
cyhoeddus a drefnwyd gan fyfyrwyr Coleg y
Gogledd. Mae'r Gymdeiths wedi cynnig, ac mae'r,
aelodau wedi blasu sawl agwedd ar ddiwylliant
Cymru heddiw, a gobeithio y bydd i'r Gymdeithas
ffynnu yn y dyfodol.
Iwan L10yd Williams, (VI Uchaf, Ysg.)
Yr Urdtl: Eleni ymaelododd tua 80 0 ddisgyblion
a'r Urdd, a bu'r flwyddyn yn un brysur a IIwyddiannus. Oherwydd costau Eisteddfod Genedlaethol
yr Urdd, trefnwyd nifer 0 weithgareddau i godi
arian, a bu rhai o'r disgyblion yn cynorthwyo.
Bu nifer o'r aelodau yn cynrychioli'r
ysgol
yn Eisteddfod Sir yr Urdd a gynhaliwyd ym
Mangor fis Ebrill. Enillodd Angela Jones, o'r
chweched dosbarth ar yr unawd piano ac fe
fydd hi'n cynrychioli'r
ysgol yn Eisteddfod Gen-
edlaethol yr Urdd ym Mhorthaethwy. Cafodd
Carol Parry yr ail wobr am adrodd, ac er nad oedd
y grwp pop a'r parti canu yn Ilwyddiannus haeddant ganmoliaeth am eu hymdrechion. Bu rhai
o'r disgyblion hefyd yn cyfansoddi ar gyfer yr
Eisteddfod, a chyhoeddir y canlyniadau ym mis
Mehefin.
Ym mis Mai fe fydd rhai o'r aelodau yn
cymryd rhan mewn rhaglen arbennig ar y radio,
sydd wedi ei threfnu gan y Parch. J. Gwilym Jones
yn gysylltiedig a Dydd Ewyllys Da.
Bu rhai o'rchweched dosbarth yng ngwersyll
yr Urdd Glanllyn yn ystod yr haf, a hefyd ar
ddechrau'r flwyddyn. Bu aelodau o'r pedwerydd
dosbarth yno am benwythnos hefyd. Mae rhai/
hefyd,yn bwriadu treulio ychydig 0 wythnosau yno
yn ystod gwyliau'r haf.
Hyderwn y bydd yr aelodau yr un mor
weithgar yn y dyfodol.
Rygbi: Cafwyd ymateb brwd eleni gan aelodau'r tim dan 15eg, er mai braidd yn siomedig
oedd canlyniadau'r gemau a chwaraewyd. Cafwyd
buddogoliaeth dda, serch hynny, yn erbyn Peterborough, (26-6). Gobeithiwn am dymor gwell y
flwyddyn nesaf.
Bu'r gemau'r tim dan 16eg yn lIawer mwy
IIwyddiannus. Chwaraewyd 4 gem gan golli dim
ond un. Cawsom fuddugoliaeth ysgubol yn erbyn
Ysgol Aberconwy (18-0), gyda nifer o'r
chwaraewyr yn disgleirio.
Diolchwn i Mr. Lewis a Mr. Geraint Williams
am eu diddordeb a'u lIafur caled.Tomos Morgan, Capten timau
dan 15eg ac 16eg.
Pennod 0 Hanes Cymru yn null Theophilus
Evans.
Erbyn y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg 'roedd
y genedl Gymreig yn alarus ac yn wyneb-drist
gan y genedl Seisnig, a oedd fel yr Aifftwyr yn
gorthrymmu'r
Iddewon gynt, felly'r Cymry' druain
yn dioddef illach finiog chwip y Sais. Felly ymhen
talm 0 amser cydfwriadodd nifer o'r genedl, a
hannai 0 Gomero adael eu gwlad a mynd i
wladychu i'r Amerig, lie y tybiai'rCymru
roedd
gardd Eden. Ond yma mae inni ddal sylw"nad
Amerig ydoedd yr enw a adwaenir fellyheddiw
ond Patagonia, sy'n tarddu o'r gair L1adin "Patens"
sef yw hynny, lie agored braf, gall unrhyw ddyn,
ie, a hanner lIygad ganfod y cysylltiad rhwng y gair
yma ag ardal Patagonia. Gadawodd y Cymry eu
gwlad a lIygaid dyfrllyd, megis y gwe~ch chwi
wlith y bore cyn tarfu arno gan heulwen hat, a'u
calonnau'n drwm gan dristwch. Y gwr a oedd fel
Noah gynt yn arwain ei gyd-tafodogion ydoedd
Michael D. Jones, gwr a hannai 0 barthau'r Bala
deg. Yr oedd a'i fryd ar arwain y genedl i
Batagonia, ond roedd yn gynnil 0 wybodaeth
mewn lIawer gwybodaeth gain a chelfyddgar. Fel
defaid yn cael eu lIygad-dynnu gan borfa frasach,
felly y rhedodd y Cymry i'w hysgraffau a mordwyo dros y mor gan ddilyn Michael D. Jones, a
oedd fel Madog ab Owain Gwynedd gynt yn
"ddewr ben lIyngesydd".
bobtu deuddeg dydd ar
hugain a gymerodd y genedl ddewr i gyrraedd
Patagonia, ac roeddynt mor lIuddedig wedi tirio
ag y gwelwch chwi ysgyfarnog ar 01 rhedeg rhag
cyfarthiad a brathiad bytheuaid. "Och! mi a fynnaf
oresgyn y wlad hon i Gymru" medd Michael D.
Jones, ac fel Jwl-Caisar gynt ef a wladychodd yr
holl wlad gan ymlid y crwydredigion ladronnach
a diriai Patagonia ymaith i'r mynyddoedd-y
rhai
a frawychasant wrth weld cymaint 0 ysgraffau
(tua wyth cant 0 rifedi). Gwasgarwyd y genedl
Gymreig, megis y gwelwch chwi haid 0 wenyn yn
ymadael 0 gwch gan ddilyn eu brenhines, i bob
cwr o'r wlad.
Gwyr difraw a musgrell oedd y brodorion, a
cl;1ynllwynasant pa fodd i ladd y Cymry 011."Eu
lIadd", eb hwy, "sydd anrhydeddus a rhagorol".
Bu peth frwgwd alladd rhwng y ddwy genedl, ac er
ennill y dydd ar y Patagoniaid arfog, roedd gelyn
arall mwy dichellgar a chyfrwys y tu hwnt i'r ~orwel
sef yr Ariannwyr, cenedl a hannai o'r Ital ac
sydd a Archytas yn ben arnynt. Ar 01 talm 0 amser
bu i'r Cymry droi eu cefn ar y gwir Dduw. Hwya
adeilasant ddetw fawr 0 bres i'r duw IBaall, ac a'i
haddolasant, megis y gwelwch frodorion Cymru
ben-baladr yn addoli'r celficyn un lIygeidiog y
teledu yn ein dydd ni. Mawr oedd lIawenydd a
gorfoledd y Cymry wrth blygu glin i'r gau-dduwiau.
Gwelodd Duw hyn ac fe a ddaeth newyn dirfawr
dros, holl Batagonia ac udai'r Cymry am gynhaliaeth
fel bleiddiaid newynog. Yr oedd yn well ganddynt
fradychu eu ceraint nag ymladd a'r Ariannwyr,
(cenedl bechadurus a dichellgar yn 01 Mr. D.
Arthur Jones-gwr dysgedig ond opiniynus). Fel'
y dywedais uchod, pen gad-pen yr Ariannwyr
ydoedd Archytas, gwr call a chyfrwys fer IIwynog.
Felly lIaddwyd dros ddwy fil 0 Gymry ysgeler, a
, rhedai'r gwaed coch megis rhaedr Abergwyngregyn, a dyna paham y geilw'r brodorion y lie hyd
heddiw yn, Traethcochachosdrosddwyfilogymrvalas"
L1addwyd Michael D. Jones (gwr dysgedig
ond hawdd ei gamarwain) a bu heddwch 0 gylch
tair blynedd, ond ymddangosodd perygl gwaeth na
min c1eddyf sef yr iaith Sbaenaidd. Daeth siarad
yr iaith hon yn ffasiynol' ymhlith y Cymry, a hwy
a gollasant eu hiaith frodorol megis y gwelwch chwi
lawer o'n cyd dafodogion yn siarad Saesneg heddiw.
Chwarddai Archytas gan rwbio'i ddwylaw ynghyd
wrth weld y Cymry fel defaid ffol yn parablu'n
swnllyd yn yr iaith Sbaeneg, gan adael i'w hiaith
frodorol ( a ddesgynasai 0 Gommero) edwino a
marwfel machlud haul dros y gorwel (0 gylch
blwyddyn yr Arglwydd 1865y bu hyn); Yn y
,bennod nesaf bwriadaf adrodd hanes trist dirywiad
0
yr iaith Gymraeg yn ynysoedd Prydain, Ynys
Manawa larllaeth Caer.-Dafydd A. Jones, 6ed Uchaf.
Ofn.
'Roed:Cadwaladr Thomas yn.:ddeugain oed, yn
bum troedfedd ac wyth modfedd 0 daldra, yn ddibriod ac 'roedd braidd yn dew. Er hynny, nid oedd
yn ddiog, ond eta nid oedd yn gor-wneud pethau
chwaith. 'Roedd ganddo ddigonedd 0 arian yn y
banc ac yn ei boced, 0 ganlyniad i bymtheng
mlynedd 0 waith caled fel newyddiadurwr i bapur
dyddiolenwog.
Pe na baech yn ei adnabod yn dda,
credech ei fod yn berffaith ..
and roedd i Cadwaldr Thomas un gwendid
afu'n farwol iddo : .. Trigai Cadwaldr (fel y'i
gelwid gan ei gyfeillion) mewn fflat yn y dref ar ei
benei hun. Hoffai'r 1I0nyddwch 11 gai yno, heb neb
i aflonyddu ar ei ddarllen a'i ysgrifennu. Ryw noson
eisteddai'n darllen yn braf, pan gofiodd y dylai
olchi'r lIestri ar gyfer drannoeth. Aeth trwodd
i'r cegin, ac 0 gornel ei Iygad gwelodd rywbeth a'i
gorfododd i neidio gam yn 01 gyda golwg 0
atgasedd IIwyr ar ei wyneb. Yn y sine roedd pry cop
anferth. Oddi ar ei blentyndod roedd ofn pryfed
cop ar Cad. Iddo ef, symbol cnawdol o'r diafol ei
hun oeddynt. Roedd eu presenoldeb mewn ystafell
yn halogi'r ystafell honno i Cad. and yr hyn a
achosai arswyd iddo oedd i bry cop gyffwrdd
ynddo, neu gerdded drosto .... yn wyth coes
blewog yn heglu fel melin dros ei groen. Credai
ICadl yn argyhoeddiedig y byddai farw pe deuai'r
pry cop yn rhy agos ato. Trech bygythiad fel hyn
na rhesymeg. Wrth gwrs, dysgasai Cad' reol i a
meistroli rywfaint ar ei ofnau dros y blynyddoedd.
L1wyddodd hyd yn oed i ladd ambell un trwy
ollwng pwysau trwm arnynt. (Cadwai bentwr 0
Iyfrau teliffon yn unswydd ar gyfer yr amcan hyn).
Er hyn, bob tro y gwelai bry cop, rhewai yn y fan
gan ddychmygu canlyniadau cyffwrdd ynddo.
Y tro hwn, fodd bynnag, IIwyddodd i feistroli
ei ofn cynhenid yn weddol fuan, oherwydd fe'i
cysurodd ei hun ei fod mewn sefyllfa ddelfrydol
ar gyfer yr ymryson hon. Dim ond iddo droi'r
tapiau dwr ymlaen, ac ni welaj'r pry cop byth '
wedyn. Roedd nerth lIi'r dwr yn ormod i'r
creadur, ac ymaith ag ef yn belen 0 flew a
choesau .... i lawr y beipen dywyll y dringasai
ohoni funudau ynghynt. Gadawodd Cad 1j'r dwr
redeg am gyfnod hir .ler mwyn bod yn siwr). and
of er oedd ei ymdrechion ! Ymhen eiliad neu ddau,
ail ymddangosodd y pry cop, yn wan wrth gwrs;
ond, er hynny, yn benderfynol. Collodd calon
Cad I guriad wrth iddo ail gychwyn !lif y dwr.
Roedd hi'n rhy hwyr ! Erbyn i'r dwr ddechrau
lIifo'n gryf, roedd y pry cop wedi IIwyddo i redeg
i un ochr o'r sinc-allan 0 gyrraed y prif lif, a'r
trobwll oedd wrth geg y beipen. Roedd yr hen
bry yn ddiogel yn ei gornel. Sylweddolodd Cad
mai of er oedd gadael'j'rd.;\tr redeg. gofynnai'r sef·
yllfa am fesurau mwy pendant. Wrth feddwl beth
i'w wneud, dychmygodd Cad am y pry cop yn
ymdrochi'n braf, a'r dwr yn cyrraedd ei bengliniau!
Wedi pendroni, penderfynodd gysylltu
pibell blastig wrth y tap dwr, gan fwriadu anelu
ffrwd gyflym 0 ddwr i gyfeiriad y pry, a'i orfodi i
ymadael il'i gornel. Gnd ni fu Cad erioed yn fedrus
a'i ddwylo (onibai am ei ysgrifennu wrth gwrs).
Y tro hwn roedd ei wendid yn dyngedfennol.
Gwyddai, ym mer ei esgyrn, y byddai'n siwr 0
ollwng y bibell wrth geisio ei chysylltu ~'r tap. Er
Hypmy, gwnaeth a fedrai. Digwyddodd yr hyn a
ofnai. Disgynnodd y bibell a gorffwys i ffurfio
pont a rai gyfle j'r pry cop i ddringo allan o'r
sine. Dechreuodd Cad chwysu. Cai anhawster
anadlu hefyd. Disgynnodd y pry ar y lIawr yn
hollol ddi-swn. Troellai ei goesau blewog yn rhy
gyflym i Cad fedru eu gweld. Camodd yntau yn 01
gan geisio sicrhau pellter 0 ryw bedair troedfedd
rhyngddo a'r anghenfil. Y tu 01 iddo roedd ffenest
fwyaf y fflat. Clywodd cymydog yn y fflat uwchben dincial y gwydr, a sgrech Cad wrth iddo ddisgyn i'r stryd isod.
Y rheithfarn yn y cwrt oedd hunan laddiad.
Yr un diwrnod roedd golwg hunan foddhaus ar y
pry cop wrth iddo nyddu ei rwydwaith 0 we ar
draws y tapiau dwr.-Robin
Gwyn Jones, 6ed Isaf.
Y Proffwyd
'Does neb yn deall beth a geisiai'i ddweud,
Na neb yn gwrando ei frawddegau blin ;
"1i)oesneb ystyria beth a geisia'i wneud "Fe chwyth eieiriau'n ddistaw rhwng y pin,
Ac yna syrthiant, fel yr hadau gynt
Ar ddaear galed,ddiffrwyth,
a chyn hir
Hed haid 0 adar ar adennydd gwynt
Nu cipio cyn cant siawns i dreiddio'r tir ;
Gnd gwrando wnant cyn hir ei neges bur,
Pan fydd negesydd blin yn cyrraedd tref
Gan yngan fod y gelyn wrth y mur,
Ac nad oes model osgoi ei gleddyf ef ;
Paham nad wyt am wrando, ynfyd ddyn,
Ar eiriau'r proffwyd yn ei wlad ei hun
Iwan L10yd Williams, 6ed Uchaf.
Rhybudd
Yng nghylchoedd ein trafodaeth heddiw rhaid
I'r Eglwys hithau ddod 0 flaen ei gwell,
A sefyll yn y lIys heb neb o'i phlaid
Yn barod i'w dedfrydu'n ol"i'w chell. I.
Yn 01 y barnwr (Hollwybydol ddyn),
Ni cheir o'i mewn ond rhagrith a sarhaa
Nid gwir Gristnogion sydd yn plygu glin
A chanu HalEiliwia yn nhy'r Tad ;
Gnd gwyliwn rhag i ninnau golli trem
Ar wirioneddau sydd o'i mewn 0 hyd,
A lIewych seren ddisglair Bethlehem,
Trwy'r Eglwys, eto'n dal yn olau byd
I'n harwain drwy'r tywyllwch i'r crud gwair
Lie gwelwn wir ogoniant Baban Mair.
Iwan L10yd Williams, 6ed Uchaf
Cymylau
Y rhimyn pcrffor rhwysg
Yn gorwedd ar y gorwel
Gwaedliw, aur; gedy\lun
Diangof ar y cof cudd.
Tra din y pibau arian rith
Alaw rhyddid Ili'r ddidor aig
G'r traethau hiraethc;f am hwylio
Draw at y mynyddoedd dros y mor,
At Ion galonnau glewion
':-rwyr, rhyfelwyr ein rhyddid.
Borffor lechweddau, braff riwiau luchiwyd
Fel cwmwl, i falu cam hud,
I ennyn dagrau brau o'm breuddwyd.
Gymhleth dywyll gymylau a tharth,
Ganed hwy ar y gwynt
Magwyd mewn gwag garchar
I ffoi i nwy creiriau ffenics,
Cynhaliaeth gobaith gwan,
Seiliau'r cestyll tal-seleri celwydd oer.
Rhiannon Wynn Thomas, 6ed Isaf.
Yr Alltud 0 Haearn
(Aderyn wrth weld carcharor yn y ffenestr)
Torrwyd y barrau cryf 0 gariad gynt
Torrwyd y gadwyn sigledig o'th fywyd yn deilchion
Torrwyd pwrpas, A beth oedd y gobaith? Os oedd
crefydd.
Nid oes mynegiant
Heblaw, wrth gwrs
rwydd
Sy'n chwerthin yn
Tuag at y rhain.
Yr alltud 0 haearn
yn perthyn iti am yfory,
y noetlini 0 orfoledd unigdy Iygaid
anfarwol.
Y Carcharor:
Bwyteais yr afal a myfi oedd ffefryn y Creawdwr,
A oes maddeuant am hyn?
Ble mae maddeuant a chyfiawnder Dy Eglwys,
a Greawdwr, i mi? L1wch y gadwyn.
Mae dy oleuni sanctaidd yn cyrraedd y gweddill,
and mae'n ddistaw a thywyll yma, tu 01 i'r alltud.
(Yr Aderyn):
Bydd distawrvvydd arbennig, a thywyllwch
A hapus i tithau, ryw ddydd
F'annwyl alltud,
A byddi rydd !
Pan ddryllia Duw y barrau haearn.
Carol Parry, 5C.A.
cynnes
Wedi'r Ddrama
Dim:
and ambell gopi brwnt mewn cornel fler
A byrddau pren lie gynt oedd pentref clyd ;
Dim:
and adlais, lie bu unwaith leisiau'r ser
A IIwch nosweithiau hir a Ilwyfan mud;
Rhesi 0 wisgoedd mewn cypyrddau pren
Er cof am gymeriadau gynt yn fyw,
.
Nawr 'does ond Ilwch ac amdo Iwyd y lien
Yn cadw iaith y meirw 'mhell o'r clyw,
Heddiw:
Mae'r seddau eto'n barod am y dydd
Pan welir cyffro y tu 61 i'r lien
Flino'f actorion, ac i'r gwaith a'f gen
and gwyliwn rhag i'n hofn a'n diffyg ffydd
A fwriwn arnynt, dewi'r iaith a'r gan
Sy'n cadw'n gwlad a'n crefydd ar wahan.
Iwan L10yd William, 6ed Uchaf.
Ymhen byr amser
Mae'r ardal brydferth yn cael ei hanharddu
Gan y bobl ddi-ofal a phobl mor ddiog,
Mae crafangau'r gelyn yn gafael ynom ni,
Yn araf a diarwybod inni, yr euog,
Mor dywyll yw'r darlun tua'r dyfodol,
Mae sefyllfa'r amgylchfyd yn hynod ddifrifol,
Bydd ein bra wedi ei difetha gan drachwant dyn
Ymhen byr amser, ac anodd dianc rhag hyn.
Gynt bu'r olygfa'n ffrwythlon mewn harddwch,
and nawr, yr hyn sydd ar 01 yw ysbwriel a mwg,
Beth yw amcan y dinistr a'r diffeithwch?
Ai pwerau'r diafol sydd, a'u dylanwad drwg?
Etyb y dyn yn y stryd mai ni sydd ar fai
Yn rheibio'r ddaear o'i holl nwyddau crai,
Mae ein bra wedi'i difetha gennym ni ein hun,
Amhosibl osgoi'r olygfa ddi-hun.
Meurig L1wyd Williams, 4CB.
Y Teledu
Prin pedair oed:
Deffrowyd Dafydd Alun gan svvn modur
Yn c1ecian ar y graean ger y drws ;
Brysiodd; gofynnodd ,ac atebwyd iddo
"T.V. newydd sBon, dyna iti syrpreis".
L1ygaid ar led, distawodd ei fusnesu ;
Agorwyd byd lIiw newydd eang o'i flaen,
Maes pellach i'w ymholiadau ;
"and Mam", medd Alun, "be' ma' nhw'n ddeud?"
Siom, dadrithiad ;
Pam roedd o'n wahanol i drigolion y byd Iliw?
Pam 'roedd o'n anghyflawn.
Nid celwydd yw'r teledu i rai heb brofi gwell,
and ffaith sy'n adlewyrchu byd estron, Seisnig
pel!.
Iwan L10yd Williams, 6ed Uchaf.
"Hamlet" at the Roundhouse.
Towards the end of February, a small party
from the English Sixth went to see the R.S.C.is
production of "Hamlet" at the Roundhouse in
London. With memories of Stratford we were more
than a little disappointed to find that the Roundhouse appeared nothing more than a rather small
room with ordinary chairs and benches within
the circular brick building. However, a good play
is a good play wherever it is produced-the
surroundings are in this respect irrelevant; and this
point was effectively driven home-after ten
minutes or so, no-one remembered how hard their
seat was.
In fact the rather drah room enhanced the
atmosphere with which "Hamlet" is enshrouded
The technique of reversing the concept of
"Theatre in the Round" and thus, placing the
audience in the centre with the action surrounding
them increased involvement: we were on the
very ramparts of Elsinore, we were in the court of
Claudius, we were at the graveyard and we witnessed
every action as if we were participants.
However, aside from that, there were the
marvellous production 'techniques-for
example, the
basic elementary idea of spot lighting an actor was
carried further-in
the opening scene on the ramparts of Elsinore, the whole room was in pitch
darkness: the only light eame from three torches
held by the actors themselves and focussed just
below their faces, giving them,very appropriately,
mysterious and almost mishapen features shining
out from total obscurity. Another "innovation"
was the costume-the dress was modern, giving the
play even more obvious connections with the present,
and emphasising Shakespeare's universal and timeless portrayals of the workings of m'en's minds,
Furthermore, there was no scenery as such, merely
four white sliding screens at the back of the stage,
allowing for the entry and exit of the characters,
and doubling up as the arrasi-through which
Polonius is killed.
Not only were new dimensions added to the
actual scenic effects, Ben Kingsley's brilliantly
sustained Hamlet was new-he was quick and
witty, his "antic disposition" was lively and
"zany"; and he was alive in the true sense of the
word. For once, he was not merely an introspective selfpitying philosopher; and consequently his
plight was shared by all present. Again, Ophelia
did not suffer from subdued derangement-she
was wildly lunatic, and thus her part was even more
poignant. George Baker's Claudius was perhaps a
little effeminate. This interpretation concentrated
more on his sly hyprocisy than his villainy, and
consequently he was not so "strong" as oroe might
have expected. Polonius was highly comical; and
thE:Ghost's first scene with Hamlet was one of
the most moving in the whole play-this Ghost
was indeed more than "an entrant from the grave"
which cynics could reject-he was paradoxically a
"person" with emotions of love (for Hamlet), and
hate (for Claudius).
One of the highlights of the play was the
"Dumb Show". The miming was superbly
elegant and graceful and highly effective: and
the Shakespearean convention of a young boy
taking the woman's part was .adhered to in this
"play within the play". In fact, the whole concept
of non-illusory theatre-where the audience is fully
aware of the fact that they are watching a play in a
theatre-was observed. Actors playing minor
parts doubled up as other characters, as indeed th
they would be in Shakespeare's own time; but
this did not in any way detract from the production's effectiveness. Indeed, I personally was quite
over-awed on leaving the Roundhouse, and we all
had plenty to talk about on the journey home. All
concerned would like to thank Mrs. Ann Davies
very muc/l for taking us on the trip which turned
out to be so memorable.- Manon Eames, U.VI.A.
You'll be old some day
You'll be old some day.
Will you like it, if someone young
Knocks you over in the street
And laughs'
On unsteady feet
Stumbling homeward slowly you go,
Someone young stands idly by
And looks.
Sitting in your house
All alone,
.
Very cold, very hungry,
Very tired.
Can't even be bothered.
Without fire!
No more food! Go tomorrow!
Cold and tired.
People's voices-distant-clearThey're outside
"Shout! Shout! Can't hear any more
I'm tiredl "
Knock at door: milkman comes
-milkman goes.
Bottle on the doorstep,
One more.
Sound in the hall: postman next.
Try to shoutCry aloud for helpJust can't.
"Someone, please, come,
Can't shout
Will no one hear me,
Help me out".
Julie Rycroft, (IV).
The Corn Hawk
Born on the wind
and breeze, they die,
The cry of a crow,
the claws of a hawk;
Strange and powerful is he
as he rides his slave, the sky.
And in the Spring,
the crow-hawk takes to wing,
as a kite flies, as a plane glides,
the crow-hawk flies.
With a lift of the wings,
.and down he spins downwardsand a scuffle of wings
and another creature falls.
But life is short lived
and old age awaits
in the wings of the stage
The crow hawk strange,
strange and powerful is he.
But he, too, grows old
like you and me.
Robin Stamper (V).
Time
Images
Does the wind howl for nothing
'Gainst the stable and the mill
Or are there ghostly trappings
Which keep VIle world until
Reflections of the other-life
Are hurtled onto the earth,
With messagesof after-death
Or images of birth?
Delyth EIIis (U.VI.A.).
Coming, going-time!
Help and hindrance!
I sometimes wish
that I could sometimes recall
Fleeting moments of time.
Time .... ,
the wrapping paper
enveloping past events,
Gently but firmly accompany us.
Time ...
relentless as the tide-time!
Talitha Wilcox (LVI. Se.)
11
Images reflected on the waters
Of time long gone by,
Images reflected in man's eye.
Images of a freedom long since past.
Images of people, from the tears of their eyes.
Images of
Reflected
Images of
An image
Born to Die
In a few moments of drunken satisfaction
and lust
I was conceived.
At the culmination of nine aggravating and
resentful months,
I was born;
After months of contempt, hate, and
Jegradation
I died;
And with a kind of thankful weariness.
I was received into the dark Nothingness of
the Unwanted.
Megan Grey (IV).
death in mourning clothes,
in self-conscious mirrors of time,
tomorrow in peoples of todaykept hid from God's searching eye.
Glenda Roberts (U.VI.A.).
Born to Love
Light, Warmth, Bright
Hope,
Unseen, unexpected, unthought,
Love;
ISeen, expressed, conceived,
In a glance,
Feelings too deep to voice
Softly shown in silence.
Gentle trust, quiet longing,
Revealed in a touch.
Beauty ....
In a world of
Seething hate.
Caris Edwards (U.VI.A.).
Old Bangor
Anyone who lives the near the pier in Bangor-as I do- will know it has a century of history
attached to it.
Next to the Pier was the Sir Henry Lewis
Jetty, very important in the old days when boats
landed with flour and animal foodstuffs which
were stocked in Taja, an old warehouse situated
where Garth Swings now stand. A horse and cart
would take the stores to red warehouse Y1
Dickie's. Passenger boats also landed there to take
people to and from Liverpool. A truck ran on
rails along the Pier: this was used for carrying
Cl
passenger's luggage; A ferry boat used to run from
Garth to Beaumaris, Menai Bridge, and Glyn
Garth. A horse and carriage used to run from
Garth to Bangor Station.
In the middle of the Straits an old sailing
ship' called the "Cleo" was anchored to which
young deliquents were sent to be disciplined and
to be taught seamanshiP·ln later years H.M.S.
Conway was moored near the Pier, before she was
moved to L1anfair P.G.
The Pier was once rammed by a ship and
partly damaged. As a result the middle sector had
to be rebuilt with concrete. More recently it has
withstood attempts to demolish it, on the grounds
that it was unsafe .•
I think it's a great shame that the Pier has
been left to deteriorate,
especially as it has such
a long and interesting history. It's the only
unchanged Victorian Pier in the country: unless
it is preserved, an important part of Old Bangor
will be lost.-Julie
Williams (IV).
TRUE? or FALSE? (for Staff and pupils; an
exercise in popular misconception).
1
School is a necessary establishment
for the
furthering of one's education?
False-it's
nothing
more than a means of keeping young people off the
the dole (see R.O.S.L.A.).
2
Examinations
are an integral part of a young
person's traini{)g for the world outside? Falseexaminations
alienate people from society. where
"brain power" is not measured by pieces of
paper assessing attainment
for a limited period
of time spent under controlled conditions.
3'
School dinners are value for money? Falsethere's often not enough and we all pay the same
directly or indirectly through taxation.
4
Homework is essential training for working
on one's own, particularly for pupils aiming at
college or University? False-it would be truer
to say that syllabuses are too wide to be covered
in school..
5
The School Library is a place where the
gentle art of recreational
reading is nurtured?
False-it is a glorified battlefield where only the
fittest survive, an uphill struggle to persuade the
staff on duty that while one is apparently not
doing enough academic work one is still pursuing
an education goal-but
of a different kind!
6
The issue of te~:t books-and
the more the
better-is
of paramount
importance
in the
achievement of academic success? False:""they
simply clutter up one's home/Locker
(if one has
onelI/desk/library/floor-all
of which could be
put to a better purpose.
7
That School is an establishment
built for the
sole purpose of keeping Eric Evans (Builders) in
business. False-it was built as part of a vocational
training scheme for apprentice glaziers/carpe nters/j 0 iners/ p lasterers/ e Iectr ici ans/ arch itects;
deliberate faults having been made in the original
building to provide practical trainiog for all these
categories.
8
That uniform is an anachronism
fit onlyyou've guessed it-for Public Schools? False-uniform is needed to identify casual and habitual
truants, it's needed to stop "plain clothed"
truants
off as having "left
school passin!il
last year,themselves
sir!".
Gary Pritchard (U.VI.A.).
Just a story ... ?
"O.K. so it's crude, but it is a bomb".
Location: Room 4, second floor, second
house down.from supermarketi.High
Street; a
Town.
Dramatis Personae: 1 Female, F itzgerald,
Margaret: Male (1) Pitt, Robert Andrew: Male(2)
Lay ton, Simon C.
Action: Margaret sighs deeply but abruptly;
folds arms sharply, walks round table in corner of
room; Lay ton, agitated, puts himself back in
trance of concentration
broken by talking; Pitt
remains motionless, elbows on table, watching
Lay ton re-apply himself to mass of gear on said
table.
The atmosphere of tension was spr:ead
taut as a cobweb, across the room. M~rgaret felt
tight; her legs ached. It was as though one was
pres,ing against a strand of the silvery web, and
just a tiny bit more tension would snap its
springiness and make the threads fall limply.
She stood sti 11, appreciating the strain on Simon.
His hands moved slowly, almost imperceptibly,
easing the detonator
into place. Only the faint,
faint purr of his steady breathing could be heard.
His hands moved slightly quicker. Now suspended
in mid-air; now stopped .... they moved up, up,
slowly, having released the death bed below them;
moving carefully, with pained attentiveness
....
up ....
Then, with a quick jerk, he threw his hands
clear of the box and collapsed visibly in his
wooden chair, Andrew closed his eyes and let his
head drop onto his arms. Margaret sank slowly,
through her knees, to the floor. The web was
snapping, silence.
"If you .. " another thread broke, "had
only ... " snap, snap, more, "punctured
that
detonator film ... " The wind swept everything
away, leaving only the light.
"Yea!
Well, I might just 'ave, wot with
your damn well tawkin' to me, yer made me jump.
I've told you before, you're stupid". Simon's
accent was deteriorating
into a broad drawl from
his Public School precision-which
he nevertheless
retained in hand and mind. Silence again, and all
three enjoyed letting waves of weariness flow.
At four-fifteen all three filed down to the
cramped dingy hall. Margaret opened the door
Andrew sprang down the steps and into the car
outside which he drove away at speed. The sodium
street lights mingled with the dusk's winter mistiness, filtered in through the corners of the door.
Margaret and Simon stood facing each other, lean~'
ing against opposite walls of the hall. He gave her
a cramped smile and moved to go.
"Why do you have to make the thing and
plant it?"
Simon closed his eyes and swallowed.
"Margaret. It is the last one. There will be no
more, after tonight. After tonight, we are leaving
this place. We are going back, you and me, together". He spoke but felt nothing. Simon was
nervous. So was she but she was numb. Mechanically she ha~ded him the black attache case and
admired Burton's Executive look! The trance was
broken. Margaret opened the door, let in the hiss of
th-e traffic, let Simon out, then dimmed the sounds
to the obscurity of silence.
Upstairs she put on her coat and gloves,
picked up her case. Standing at the door-had she
forgotten anything? Letting her mind go blank
she hoped that the 'anything' might flash itself
there. Nothing. She could hear the dim hiss of the
traffic through the window. She switched off the
light. Then switched it on again for a last look
round the tidy, run of the mill flat. Margaret
closed the door on an hour of her life. The hour
she had borrowed to live.
It was cold on the station. Blasts of cold
fingers came hurtling at her. It would be the next
train. This one went to Crewe. The tense aching:
was back. She could not think. She lighted a fag
and smoked it intensely, drawing the smoke into
the crevices of her soul. The train arrived, squealing,
to a stop. She walked over to it and opened the
door to the empty second-class carriage. She
stepped over the dirty abyss at her feet; the
door slammed hollowly behind her.
There was an explosion. Andrew started,
mortified, in the parked car. The bomb wasn't
meant to detonate for-not for ages yet anyway.
He knew what it meant. His head was hot inside
his body limp. Now what? Andrew had a slight
problem.
Margaret's head jerked back as the train
began to move. Her fag was almost down to the
filter. The platform was moving, the buildings, the
few waving people .....
"Yes, this is the flat, Inspector, Number
Four. Oh ! locked !"
"Thank you Mrs. Anderson. Wilson !"
Wilson came up the uncarpeted stairs. One nod
from the Inspector, one nod in return. He
steeled the muscles in his left side, and swung
back to get momentum. Then he lunged forward
The door snapped open on the empty flat, the
light still on.
Rat-ta-ta-tat. The jerking movement swung
Margaret slightly from side to side. The rhythm
began to slow down. Far on the long curve ahead
she saw the station. She reached for her satin
make-up bag and made for the toilets. She tried
so she tried the one
the right hand door-"Hoi
opposite, and got in.
!"-
There was not very much time. The interior
of the bag revealed a small glass vial and syringe.
Everything seemed so surgical, all cold glass and
steel. The needle penetrated the rubber top cif the
vial; she could feel it snap through. The syringe
inhaled the contents of the glass ,vialand was
inverted. Air bubbles and a few drops of liquid
spurted out. She could feel one layer of skin in
the fold of her elbow. puncture under the pressure
of the needle. It did not take long.
The train had stopped. Margaret was leaning
out of the window in the door. Her third fag-end
fell onto the platform, bare, grey, empty. She
was dying to tell him-she had wanted to tell him
here. Hell where was Simon? It was getting late.Rhiannon Wynn Thomas, LVIA.
Things to come !
Today, with previously exorbitantly priced
calculators down in price to under £20, many
people are buying a piece of equipment which a
few years ago was either unknown to them or
beyond their pockets.
As it is, the great scramble to the red display
have begun. each prospective buyer looking for
an instrument with a better specification, better
fuel consumption, better performance than his
friend's.-one that boasts that it has the reverse"
"Polish friend's the contents of memories A Band
C can be interchanged with the contents of
memories X Y and Z !"
Now the executive, the scientist, school child
and handy man has his own type of calculator.
And, when he's not busy trying to find the compound interest on 2p for a fortnight or 200%; or
the length his bed should be to serve as a T.V.
aerial; or the answers to some fiendish log.
questions which specify "using tables only"; or the
number of books he can put on a new shelf
before it falls off the wall, he can just play games
on his new "machine". For instance, if 07734 is
punched in and the calculator inverted, the display
reads "hello" or a slight variation.
A final word of advice-should the use of
calculators be permitted in future exams, make sure
your batteries are "healthy" or you may end up
like a group of American students doing their
exams who ended up with nervous breakdowns
when their red displays began to fade away.• Simon Ducker (V).
City of Dreams.
Paris is a city that stays long in one's memory;
I think I shall remember my first visit to Paris for
the rest of my life.
There were no idle moments in the crowded
five days we spent there and, at the end of it all,
I could boast of climbing to the top of Notre Dame,
seeing the Mona Liza in the Louvre, standing under
the Arc de Triomphe, struggling up the Eiffel
Tower, sitting in the Concorde, eating creme
caramel after midnight as we sat and watched the
Parisian scene go by.
But what about the Sacre Coeur and the
Latin Quarter and Montmarte you ask. Yes, we
saw them too and even paid a second visit to the
Eiffel Tower, one sweltering hot morning, wearing
the thinniest summer clothes and then going up
in the lift with that rather sick feeling in my
stomach that I always get in lifts. And then getting
out at the end of the first stage where, at this
"slightly" higher level, it was so cold amil windy
that I wished I had a huge down-to-my-ankle
fur coat to wrap myself up in ! But on we pressed
until we reached the top and all Paris lay below us,
mathematically
perfect.
I don't remember a day during our visit
when the sky wasn't a beautiful shade of blue, the
evenings even more lovely with the sun staying
golden until the minute it finally disappeared from
our sight.
Two such evenings found us in the
Senior
Tuiterie Gardens, entranced amongst other things
by the beauty of the fountains. Paris is full of
fountains. Another evening we visited the Place de
Trocadero to find that the fountain wasn't
working. Then, in a single instant, all the fountains
together powered out a cascade of water. It was
marvelously spectacular and a happy prelude to
the end of the evening which we spent sitting
at a little round table, under a parasol, drinking
'coffe at treble the price it's offered inside,
enjoying one of the best Parisian experiencesespecially if the cafe is on the Champs Elysee
with a majestic vista of the lighted trees leading
up to a flood-lit Arc de Triomphe.
Just to have been to Paris is an experience
of a lifetime. I knew this to be true before,
months later, I read Ernest Hemingway's
words:
"There is never any ending to Paris, and the
memory of each person who has lived in it
differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter where we were ....
Paris
was always worth it and you received return for
whatever you brought to it".Susan Perry (V).
Hockey
Xl and reserves
Rugby 1st. XV and reserves
Senior
Netball
Team
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WELSH.
THE
GONDOLIERS
EISTEDDFOD
(1976)
BODRAN
(1975)
Soccer
WELSH
UNIVERSAL
1st. Xl and reserves
PRESS, High Street, Bongor