Sosban fach yn berwi ana tan

john baily

Yes Rod but when would you then stop?Wales is completely unable to pay ANY of its bills and after northern ireland is the most taxpayer dependent "country" in the world.The taxpayer being of course English

teledu

Spot on Rod, spot on.
Are you by any chance related to Ann Robinson?

EyeSee

At a recent Ice Hockey match against a Cardiff team, the sound of bleating sheep was played instead of music as they stepped onto the ice. This brought strong objections from the visiting team (despite things like 'Gay Bar' having been played before at such events). I wonder what would happen if we were to refer to them as 'miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes?'

adrian drummond

As an Englishman who once had the misfortune in having to work for the BBC in Wales for a few months and got to know first hand how racist Welsh nationlists working for the BBC could be, I could not agree more. This is besides the fact, that in contrast to their London colleagues, they were completely useless.

David Ossitt

“What to do about S4C, meanwhile, is simple: close it down.”

Rod this does not go far enough, it is high time we found something useful for the natives in Wales to do, I think that I have the ideal solution.

Extreme times call for extreme measures; it is high time that we closed down Wales as a country, and reopened those damp inhospitable 8,000 square miles as a penal colony; this would permanently solve the problem of too little space in the existing prisons and at the same time provide useful employment and source of income for the indigenous population.

The wall that would be needed at the border would provide much needed hard labour for those inmates who have committed crimes of violence, murderer’s, rapists, and paedophiles could be given the extra punishment of making them learn the Welsh language.

Dafydd Pritchard

Ah, yes, the latest inhabitant of that rather crowded piece of land where the English gather to make racist remarks about the only nation it now seems is fair game.

How pathetic.

Even the Welsh in the title is wrong - so much for journalistic integrity.

dearieme

As an economy measure, the World Service will now broadcast in Welsh.

Hettie

I am really worried they will reduce the quality of the World Service and duplicate news services with the main BBC output, like Radio 4. I have given up on Radio 4 News. We need a campaign to protect the World Service from mainstream BBC.

Woodbine ' Seacole y Cwm' Willy

What, and kill the Beeb's longest running soap?

gareth

Yikes - that's quite an attack Rod. As one of those miserable. . . tribal types. . . I'd like to put a couple of things to you. HTV has long ceased to exist, so keep up. . . while S4C has, whatever its faults (and there are many), over the years, managed to find, in this land of the utterly talentless, a surprising number of performers who have done pretty well (given that they're so shit) and without S4C would perhaps have floundered with the 'dregs'. The welsh indie music scene barely existed before S4C came along and gave those "sheep-botherers" a chance to pick up a guitar instead of sheers. Perhaps Gruff Rhys of Super Furry fame will give you the lowdown. Mind you, with that hair of yours he might mistake you for a sheep and **** you up the arse. You'd deserve it mind - get a comb or some sheers. Pinch-faced, really that is rich coming from you. if ever there were a waste of face space.
As for the comment from John Baily - might I point out that the English have been more than happy to raid our country for its coal, steel. . . and anything else that could come from our land that might proves useful to you lot. But never mind eh. Now that we have nothing to give you other than, er, wool, maybe you can cast us off into the Irish sea.
And to think that this cretin was once the editor of Today.

Rod Liddle's Welsh Cousin

The statistics you quote are British wide figures making them irrelevent to judge a Welsh-language channel and the Welsh in the title is nonsense. Even an S4C employee could write better stuff than this. But then what would you expect from the bitter mouth of a ignorant racist little-englander with nothing better to do than peer begrudgingly over the garden fence while muttering to himself that anything beyond his comprehension must be shite.

Clwyd Griffith.

Minority hating is so much fun, isn't it? Everybody ought to be a white male English speaker. Rod Liddle here displays once again the racial hatred that is sadly all too common when the intolerant, bigoted and ignorant speak on such matters.

Thirladean

S4C shows Magners League rugby which our own branch of the Corporation (BBC Scotland) ignored till it consented to show some matches on its Gaelic Channel, BBC Alba. Both channels can be agreeably watched with the sound turned off - usually the best way to watch rugby on TV anyway.

Harry

Rod..you are such an ignorant human being...

David Ossitt

Dafydd Pritchard

“Even the Welsh in the title is wrong - so much for journalistic integrity”

But how would anyone know it was wrong, it is not as if the whole world wanted to learn Welsh.

Of course Mr Pritchard you are biased in favour of the Welsh; your Christian name is the giveaway.

Eifion H,

Speaking as one of those seaweed munching, sheep bothering pobol (people), I suggest we should all unite and s..g Rod Liddle (fyny ei tin) up the arse! I'm sure he'd enjoy it :)

james Murphy

Spiffing invective Rod! And against our humourless hyper-sensitive Welsh cousins too - never a bad thing, gawd bless'em! My, but you're a good hater - always a sign of the spirited and intellectually independent-minded! PS - I have a nice holiday home in the Gower Peninsular that I would be more than happy to let you have rent-free. Fire extinguishers supplied.

Llyfa fy nghoncers

Btw, It's
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y t�n

Do some research before making yourself look like a tit.

rod liddle

Uh oh. There's a lot of people with a surfeit of ws and ys in their names posting.

Just to answer one of them - and to remind the others that it was ever so slightly tongue in cheek - Gareth: if the most we can thank S4C for is that it is kept going (via our money) and helped bring to prominence the SFA (hugely overrated, alongwith Gorki's), then can't we live without it? The Arctic Monkeys managed somehow, didn't they?

rod liddle

John Bull, you can turn the taps on yourself, you hysterical little muppet. They can speak whatever language they like, you idiot. And so can you. Just don't expect the rest of us to pay for it. Do you think, for a nanosecond, that S4C would exist in a free market? A free market is not the be all and end all, I'd concede. But it can be indicative.

Kittler

What a ranting and abusive bunch you immigrants are and after stealing this island from the Celts to. Anglo Saxons go home, best before you likewise, find yourselves crowded out.

John Adlington

I used to read you avidly. I will no longer read you nor the Spectator as long as it employs you.

jane bull

Rod,
I adore reading your blog, the comments are the best part of it, so many people hate you yet the same old names write in week in week out to be shocked by you. A bit like the old maid seek out nudists to be scandalized by them. Keep up the good work

merlinthepig

Rod, I believe in a previous posting you said something to the effect that the cry of "waycist" is the last refuge of the scoundrel (and the first, I think). QED when one looks at the Welsh native postings here. The tendency is probably excerbated by the fact that such a large proportion of that country are employed by the public sector, where actively seeking out reasons to be offended is par for the course.

Llywelyn Fawr

James - Can you give me the address of your holiday home? As we say here in Cymru, we like to keep the home fires burning.

Tarquin Liddle

Those who think this column is motivated by Rod's disgust of the money "wasted" on S4C need to be aware of the real reason behind Rod's attack on Wales.

Sat 25 Sept 2010 Cardiff City 2 Millwall 1

Suck it up, Rodney. Suck it up...

Mr Ed

So we should subsidise people abroad who don't even pay a licence fee, but not S4C?

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to discriminate here. I think both the BBC World Service and S4C are equally useless. They both need axing (along with much of the rest of the BBC, most of which is in England). The ethnicities involved don't matter to me, but the economic viability does.

On that note, though, I must observe that your days as a BBC employee show through here. You flatter a group of politically correct ethnicities, but then slag off a British ethnicity in a way we know you never would with a politically correct ethnicity.

Don't get me wrong, you can do what you like - free speech and all that. It's just that this kind of behaviour is... so very BBC, don't you think?

Awen Iorwerth

Thanks for being labelled as irrelevant. I won't bother paying my taxes or paying my licence fee if I'm that insignificant. And I'll stop treating my patients as it doesn't seem to matter if I'm part of this society or not. Much easier for me, thanks. What's your role?

Falldog

Hmmm... so much dross, where to start? Mr. Ossitt, if you were as erudite as you make yourself out to be, you would know that Dafydd's surname is also a "giveaway" and while we don't expect the "whole world" to want to learn Welsh - even though it is one of the oldest languages in Europe, and which, due to English oppression, was almost wiped out. If you are going to use it for your toe curlingly embarrassing article, though, you should at least get it right. As for the rest of your drivel, I refuse to comment as to do so would qualify it unduly. In closing, I would like to point out that Mr. Baily is labouring under the misapprehension that only the English are taxpayers. Of course, given the English penchant for myopic viewpoints and unfounded arrogance, this is hardly surprising. Good evening, gentlemen - and I use the term advisedly and perhaps a little ironically.

Tom Jones

I see that Twitter has obviously rallied the few remaining Welshmen intelligent enough to string more than two coherent words together. Now you've flushed the bastards out Rod, perhaps you'd care to finish them off with your Remington 20 gauge.

Rhys Gethin

Thanks for this Rod. Can you ask AA Gill and Ann Robinson to chip in as well? Nothing is more helpful to the Welsh Nationalist cause than this kind of childish nonsense. Galvanises support, pushes people to take a position, raises the hackles. Great stuff.

Nanw

Cer i grafu. Tin wastraff lle! Cadwa dy sylwadau hiliol i dy hyn!

Joni Bach

I can't believe that you are being allowed to publish such racism on The Spectator's website. It makes me sick to think that the people making these decision are people like you.

El Bajo

Is this serious? Dude,you need to work on your basic research skills before you shoot your bigoted mouth off; you didn't even get the Welsh right in the title.

And after that disastrous start, the rest of the article goes down hill. Your survey story is old news and has long been rubbished as bad statistics. The only people who use it to back an argument are bigots with an axe to grind or who make a living out of being a tit. For more on this, see http://quixoticquisling.com/2010/01/can-we-trust-barbs-viewing-figures-for-sgorio-on-s4c/

El Bajo

I thought you were into preserving the culture and rights of the indigenous peoples of Britain?

libertarian

@ Kittler

celts are an invented Victorian myth. The people that populate England, most of Scotland and Ireland are ALL ( more than 85% ) indigenous Britons, originating from the Iberian peninsular about 20,000 years ago and populating these islands after the end of the last ice age. The fact that some of the older tribal languages linger on is an historically interesting fact but not worth spending taxpayers money on. Or else why doesn't Kernow or Manx get a look in?

Wales isn't a country its a county. Where I live ( The Kingdom of the Cantiaci) We have a tribal language too. Its called Chav but so far we haven't been allocated a whole TV station ( and there are more Chav speakers than Welsh)

Sara Williams

I wonder how the police and equalities commission would react to this racist and inappropriate attack on Wales and it's inhabitants.

aeronian glyn

O. My . Word. Out and out racism dressed up as journalism. YOu disgusting little man.

Scott Butler, MA (Celtic Studies)

You say that the "simple" solution to S4C is to shut it down. What you don't say, however, of how you would address the demands (regardless of how small or insignificant you may think they are) of those Welsh-speakers who want a TV service in Welsh? Would you suggest having more programmes in Welsh broadcast on BBC Wales? Set up a cable station, similar to how BBC Alba is now?

I understand when you say that not many people watch certain programmes (maybe this is because the programmes themselves are bad, as opposed to the language used) but surely you don't expect the Welsh to totally give up on broadcasting in their own language? The UK is no longer the 'one (English) culture' it might have been in the past; it must accept and represent its own native languages (i.e. Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish and Irish) regardless of their minority status. Giving up on them altogether won't do, and it goes against the EU Charter of Minority and Lesser-Used Languages.

To attack the Welsh as "those miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a next door neighbour" puts you in a worse light than the Welsh speakers. I can empathise with their aims of broadening their language's public use, but attacking them over their issue with English 'cultural colonisation' (which is totally understandable after so many years of cultural oppression by way of penal laws) is equally ridiculous.

To conclude, however, yes - it might be best to shut down S4C, but its void will have to be filled in some other way.

Ray

Just think how much money could be saved by not having to manufacture all those roadsigns to accommodate bi-lingual names.

So, boyos: its either Cardiff or Caerdydd, not both. Your call.

gareth

Hyleriws - enough 'y's and 'w's for you there you ittle scruffy haired toad toad? Arctic roll over monkeys. - ha! now that really is a laugh you fucking has been. " Tongue in cheek" my arse. . . John Peel would turn in his grave at your attention seeking/dangerous ranting. By the way, what is "ana" Rod you ill informed nob? I'm hugely disappointed in you for so many reasons but what you spouted in your post is (oh sorry, I forget, it's 'tongue in cheek') the thin end of a dangerous wedge and you should be ashamed of yourself. £100 million per year is, as you well know (or do you), is peanuts in the great scheme of things. The size of an unclaimed lottery win? The cost of how many lanes of red dust at the LONDON olympics, the biggest waste of the last and next twenty years. Shame on you. The Welsh language is the linguistic bedrock of these islands and far from being 'tongue in cheek' your comments are dangerous. Bryn Terfel (hugely overrated) Rhys Ifans (hugely overrated) Matthew Rhys (dreadful). . . Katherine Jenkins. . .actually, she's terrible. Awful phrasing. . . can't breathe. . .

daf

racist saxon scum - just cos we're clinging on to our identity and yours is being swept away on a tide of immigrants, you turn your ire on the easiest target - sustitute any other race for welsh and your looking at charges - typical anglo saxon mongrel ignorant fool

Ben Dudley

What a pathetic piece of 'journalism' from someone who has probably never been to Wales.

Well, if you ever do visit, I'll bash you on the head with my leek.

Mark Aldiss

Rod Liddle you are an ignorant fool. Racist and stupid. A damaged child in a modern world. You are the sort of man who keeps the problems of the world alive. I feel sad for anyone who has to live around you. god help your children. Spectator you should know better than to employ someone whose only art is defamatory rubbish. What a shame, My respect for the Spectator has gone downhill.

Teleri

Absolutely outraged to read this complete drivel.

James Murphy

MArk Aldiss "My respect for the Spectator has gone downhill.." - And you with it hopefully...

Anne Onn

Mhh, I can see why the Welsh could be bitter about having England as a neighbour after reading this.

Hanner A. Hanner

I don't think your comments (however "slightly tongue in cheek"!?)really deserve a response.. though may I suggest that you wouldn't make them in relation to a minority of a different colour.. even if you did happen to subsidise their TV station!
S4C provides a unique service to Welsh speakers accross the UK (an estimated 150,000 of which live in England, and may well sound English..like me), as well as providing wider access through subtitles (though I know we 'British' don't really do subtitles).
Welsh is a British language, a part of our shared heritage. It survives today despite (and propably because of) the sort of comments sometimes expressed here, thanks for adding a bit more fuel to the fire, Anne Robinson has been a bit quiet lately.

Alexandrovich

Thanks to some of you for the history lesson. There was me thinking you were just the English that ran away from the Romans. You know, the ones with less sense of humour than the Germans.

daniel maris

Fellow Welshmen - don't be too hard on him. You cannot expect the mixed progeny of Saxon pirate-rapists to have a very stable character. They are bound to revert to type and come up with such ethnic-cleansing fantasies. We in our mountain fastness know however that true Wales will survive and will one day be free. With our wind, our waves and our water we will soon be the Bahrain of Britain.

Tom

Rod who?
Why has anyone bothered responding to this rubbish?
He can stick his opinions in the same dark place as his bloody chariots. Racist pig.

rod liddle

Ben, old chap, I'm part Welsh, lived in Wales and began my career in Wales.

rod liddle

Do you people with ws and ys not understand, not even faintly, that the comment was not entirely serious? I think you;ve got too many saucepans bubbling on the fire.

Heather

Outragious. I watch it. And should'nt it be "ar y Tan"? I presume this is misplaced humour?

Dylan Llyr

Right, let's see. You're an insufferable boring waste of space, Liddle. And you have rubbish hair.

Yay, this journalism lark is easy! I'm already more constructive than you were earlier. Can I get a job at The Spectator now?

Clarkson does the whole baiting thing with much more panache (and even he's tedious). You're just rubbish. Give it a rest.

For actual content (something with which you're clearly not on speaking terms), here's another shout-out for http://quixoticquisling.com/2010/01/can-we-trust-barbs-viewing-figures-for-sgorio-on-s4c/

The whole "zero viewers" thing is a sham and should be ignored. A British-wide sample is bloody useless in this case.

In brighter news, Liddle coming out against S4C is probably one of the best things that could have happened to the channel. If you hate it, it must be worth keeping.

Emyr

Hear hear! Rod Liddle is an intellectual heavyweight of the highest order.
We (and by that I mean white upper-class public schoolboys) should not be bankrolling all these minorities. Ban them all I say and lets have more funding for croquet and polo.

Let's start by getting rid of the Gays - those 'limp wristed, Barbra Streisand loving, bum lovers'. And what about the Blacks? I've had enough in funding those 'fat-lipped, jungle bunnies...

Rod, get back in the cesspit you crawled out of - you pathetic excuse for a journalist.

Dylan Llyr

Sad thing about this guff is that there is a real debate that needs to be had about S4C (which is all the more reason to devolve government responsibility for broadcasting in Wales to, well, Wales). This, however, is obviously not it.

And some of the comments, Christ. Really, "they switch from English to Welsh when I walk into a pub wearing my massive fluorescent I AM AN ENGLISHMAN badge and I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I'M PSYCHIC!"? You people still believe this stuff? Crazy world.

Nicholas Williams

Surely the main point here is that residents of Wales pay the licence fee and tax so they should expect some television coverage in the language of their nation?

Being of Welsh descent but living in England I know that the only way to see S4C coverage is through digital or satellite TV so quite why it should bother people in England so much when the minimal cost is almost certainly covered by the Welsh speaking licence payers, I've no idea.

LLewellyn ap Gruffud

Rod Liddle, I'm amazed of how ignorant, bigot, racist and stupid, an englishman can be, welsh is more and more spoken in Wales, the United States and Argentina every day, because is a language that will never die, as the welsh really love their language, that is much more oldest than english, and still it is spoken. Yma o hyd, Rod. Now and in the year 3010, cymraeg will still be spoken, and many S4C will exist. Hwyl fawr, Stinky Rod!

LLewellyn ap Gruffud

Rod, we the welsh, and welsh descendants in the U.S.A, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and South Afrika, who speak, or are learning welsh, and love speaking welsh and seeing TV programs in welsh, want you to invite to our new courses of the language, so you will discover how much ignorant have you been til today, a one-language-speaking man, don�t you think you could learn a new fantastic language like welsh, and enjoy the sound of one of the oldest languages in the world?, let't try, Rod!!

Phil Bebbington

Statistics, pure statistics and lies ! no-one watches S4C ?
We even watch it in Ireland but statistically We don't count I suppose, Rod why not just go back to Saxony where your ancestors came from and leave Britain to the real Britons. Dioch !

Richard of Moscow

Surely the Beeb could sack a few pen-pushers and keep a Welsh language serveice going. Or better still, cut back a little on its extensive Arabic service. or even better, scrap the BBC and put the money into teaching history in our schools, so we don't produce any more ignorant muppets who describe the Welsh, Scots, Irish, and Cornish as 'Celts' - as libertarian pointed out, it's nothing more than a recent myth dreamt up by a few daft ponces.
We took the word 'Celt' from the Romans, who were in Britain for centuries and never saw a single bleeding Celt.

gareth

Never post after after a bottle and a half of red.

Simon Dyda

Yet another ageing hack so desperate for some attention that he has to resort to the anti-Welsh racist card. Fortunately you're English, which renders your views on Wales and the Welsh irrelevant.

Yaffle

As a Scotsman living in England, I'm often struck by the viciousness of some English attitudes towards the Welsh - there really is nothing comparable towards the Scots (tho in the wrong parts of Scotland you'll find plenty of the reverse).

Rod (& fellow commenters), you seem to have found a set of people it's still okay to hate - but it's crude, unfunny and does you no credit at all.

Howell Morgan

A very accurate summary of what many of english only speaking welsh people believe. Even the welsh speakers dont really watch it as mainly its "appalling",except its rugby coverage which has a "red button" service which gives english language coverage. The welsh "political" classes in total are totally enthralled to the welsh language "zealots",and it is being constantly rammed down our throats,mainly at public cost where it aint needed,or wanted. The education system is totally "skewed" to provision through medium of welsh language,when the results from english speaking working class areas are "terrible". Its going to get worse as the mickey mouse WAG pushes for more and more powers over our lives to satisfy Plaid Cymru (who whole aim is to seperate wales from UK)and are unfortunately in "government" in this little and benighted region (at present) of UK. As with the political classes the vast majority of welsh "media" are also partof the nation building processes down in wales and such comments would never be allowed,and journalists would be labelled as "welsh haters",as are welsh people who take a similar view to Rod Liddle. In future wales is to seek "cultural" links with North Korea as our political systems are quite close!!JOKE I THINK.

Llywellyn Mawr

@Yaffle - you hit the nail on the head there pal. Spot on: it doesn't matter who spouts this rubbish - English, Welsh or Scot. It's just nasty, small minded and wrong. By all means, argue about the funding of the S4C or whatever. But leave out the nasty, bigoted vitriol please. Especially if you're a 'journalist'.

Ian Titherington

Funny, no, accurate no, racist, yes. Rod. You really are a pathetic little man who only feeds to the myth that all English are prejudiced bigots. You haven't so much insulted Wales with your ignorance, but have smeared your own nation. Please go back under the rock you crawled out from.

Roath escapee

Ah! The sweet smell of bathos:

"racist saxon scum - just cos we're clinging on to our identity and yours is being swept away on a tide of immigrants..." (daf, October 20th, 10:36pm)

The Welsh dragon has a red neck.

Boyo

Frightfully good blog Rod. What you omit to suggest is the logical solution to the Western Question. Independence. If Wales has a Welsh National Assembly, a Language, a Capital, a Flag, an Anthem, a Rugby Team it is a Nation with a responsibility to rule itself. Every time I visit Wales I am rather taken in by how foreign it is. Not in a nasty way. I rather like Wales and the Welsh. They're not as advertised. It's just I'd rather not want them to think of us as being an Occupying Power.

Llywhgrh Ewehwllyheweyy

Steady on boyo…you'll find Welsh is virtually the second language in Chile, Bolivia and Madagascar.

So leave it out, I tell you.

exile on euro street

Oh, this is marvellous. I thought I had a tendency to bitterness but after reading all this I realise I'm positively Panglossian by comparison. Thanks Rod, you've brightened my day immeasurably. One thing though, in calling John Bull a hysterical little muppet you don't think you might, you know, have missed the fact that he was, um, taking the piss?

John Fazio

Rod, I know this is not relevant to this particular blog but as I also know you are vain enough to read comments I thought I would take the chance to comment on your Spectator article "Orange alert". Next time you visit Amsterdam write the article FIRST and then get stoned. I have never read such muddle headed nonsense from you. Exactly what point are you trying to make?

rod liddle

Llewellyn - if I moved to back Wales I would certainly learn Welsh, and it is indeed a pretty language. But my point was about S4C; it is a political sop, it is not watched - not because it is in Welsh, although that plays a part obviously,but because it isn't very good.
Gareth's point - and I don't drink red, matey - doesn't add up. Why subsidise Welsh rock music, rather than, say, northern British?

John, son of his sister

The arrogance of in-breads like you is a massive reason people don't like the English. You give yourself a bad name by acting like a brit-abroad in your own country. No cultural sensitivities, just a big-cock complex.

And the very lease you can do is get the headline right.

pickle

I think the Welsh-bashing on the Inbetweeners was much more entertaining folks.
"All Welsh birds are filth. Pretty much all British porn
stars are Welsh. And they don't even get paid, they do it for free."
Sadly, the demise of S4C, could mean we now have to charge so things are serious.

There are very many arts and cultural institutions that would not survive in the 'free market' - most of which are of no relevance to the majority of British people, not sure if this justifies scrapping them.

Anyway, excuse me, have to go, I have Welsh language porn to make. . .

Lovgreen

"miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a next door neighbour..."?
Having England as a neighbour is fine, it's ignorant wankers like you that we're bitter about.
Twll dy din di Rod.

Robert Mitchum

I can hear the sound of the 'Sons Of Glendower', or whatever they called themselves, beating a path to your front door with arson in mind.

Edward McLaughlin

John, son of his sister.

All Brits are abroad in their own country

royston

rod little, you're a nobber who, from looking at your profile picture, models himself on another nobber - Bob Geldoff!

i'm not surprised you're having a go at us welsh, because you have a go at ANYOBODY who isn't a white middle class english twat!

anyway, the survey you refer to is bollox! for a start most of the 'almost 200 of it's programmes' with ratings of 'zero' are children's programmes aimed at children who are too young to be included in the survey!

and secondly the figures are representative of viewing figures across Britain which is clearly irrelevant as the programmes are aimed at only a fraction of the population of britain - obviously!

the ratings are not representative, so that is the main source of your argument gone!

Wily Seacole Trout

I am reminded of an old Two Ronnies sketch,where they had an interactive voting system. All viewers in the British Isles had been issued with a remote handset that had a 'Yes' and a 'No' button, "except the Welsh, whose handsets didn't have the buttons - "well, who cares what they think anyway." Ah, Ronnie Barker.

Fiona Owen

It's people like you, Rod, who give the English a bad name. What an absolute load of rubbish you speak about 'the Welsh'. What a simplistic caricature! Poor you - what must it be like to be so impoverished as to be able to make such ignorant comments about a nation you clearly know so little about and understand not a jot. Fortunately, we tend to approach things with a little more intelligence and maturity this side of the border; in Wales, language and culture matters, and it is only right that we have a Welsh-medium television service. You can keep going with the silly old imperial myths about Wales if you want, but only fools need take you seriously. Time to grow up, eh?

Rhydderch ap Crachach

According to the 'out of Africa' theory... racism shouldn't really exist, in my mind it doesn't.....

Identity exists, my identity = Welsh, European.... in this day and age - I want Welsh lang. TV, I want Wales and all things Welsh to progress alongside other cultures / technologies. OK there might be quality issues with S4C.... but it can develop.

I will not tolerate or sympathize with behaviour like that of this Rod guy, English, French, Bulgarian, Japaese... whatever... who the hell is he anyway?

People like this Rod guy should be kept in a cage, because he is not human... and does not seem to believe in human spirit / goodwill. In fact... he's just a drop in the ocean of evil uglyness and twatness....

The true human spirit will ride this ocean, through thick and thin... and some day, ship into the harbour of peace and kinship.

We have to believe! Especially if your froma minority culture, choked by the bling of Anglo-American culture.

gareth

Rod, I was referring to my own drinking and my own angry posting last night - matey. As for the subsidy . . . fact is that the Welsh music scene is no longer subsided by S4C as the dimwits in charge decided that there was no room for it. Big mistake in my view as when talent like this is encouraged we see the benefits. Virtually none of those bands from the mid nineties would have 'made it ' without the stage that S4C gave them. Granted, this kind of backing may be unfair on 'northern British' but it's not relevant now anyway.
Now I'm interested that you say that it's "not very good". Has this opinion been reached as a result of you sitting down for an evening and watching the bloody thing? Somehow I doubt it. Now frankly I would say that it's a curate's egg - some of it is excellent but a lot of it is poor. That's because the wrong people are in charge and because running a channel on a budget that is less than the BBC spends on its website is pretty tough. The channel has tried to be a commercial channel when it's should (obviously) be a fine example of PSB. Sadly that's not happened.
A part of me actually thinks that the BBC taking charge might be a good thing. BBC Wales seems to make very little television for its audience in the Principality - it's become obsessed with making drama for the network, surely not its purpose. If there were one channel for Wales that broadcast in both languages and made television for its audience then that may not be a bad thing. It could be a bridge between Welsh speakers and non Welsh speakers. After all the non Welsh speaking Welsh person would surely not be able to complain given that he/she would still have some five hundred channel through which he/she could trawl to find 'quality broadcasting'. There is, contrary to what you spout in your ill advised blog, a wealth of talent in Wales. it just needs to be tapped properly. What riles people here this morning is the fact that that snotty nosed little twerp Osborne and his cohort Jeremy Hunt have showed no respect at all to any one here - a little bit like you really.

Brendan Somers

Not bad for a man from a race of monoglots. The Welsh speaker is at the very least bilingual which is a skill which not many English can aspire to. 'Mae hen Wlad fy Nhadau' is the Welsh National Anthem. What is the title of the ENGLISH National Anthem? By the way I am not Welsh but an Irishman very privileged to live among these wonderful and proud people.

Catrin

Rod, you are clearly just a sad man suffering from little man syndrome :) pathetic.

steve griffiths

Your not bitter are you rob? Get blown out by a fat valley commando when you were working on the Echo did you?

sullivan

Best thing to do Rod would be to build "the great wall of england" around all of your borders!! Then fill the middle with water!

Emily Roberts

Rod. I have many thing I would like to say, as I have trawled through the comments here and find much that would make an interesting debate.

However, I will stick with this; I understand that as a "journalist" you want people to listen, and this reaction was probably what you wanted. However, I would like it to be made aware that no one would be as offended by your article if it did not end in offenses.

Maybe your points are relevant and maybe they aren't, but an intelligent man should be able to get his point across without ending in petty and, quite frankly, racist and offensive comments.

If you are a good writer, you can write something that would cause a stir without having to become a bully, the main point is lost among your unoriginal and unnecessary insults. We Welsh can take a joke, but the only joke here is pretending this is acceptable to write because of the "long running feud" that apparently exists between England and Wales. Well, the moment I can tell and English person I'm Welsh without them immediately insulting me will be the moment I believe that this is one sided. We take enough crap, I think it's sad that someone who originated from Wales would ridicule the nation in this way, because quite frankly we really do not have a problem with English people, the only problem is the belittling attitude and the insinuations that the Welsh are somehow sub-par.

@ David Ossitt. You are missing the point of the article. It is supposed to be a satire piece on S4C, not an anti-welsh slur, and you have certainly taken it too far.

Robert Taggart

To calm things down...
One supports the new funding arrangements, well, for as long as the TV poll-tax continues.
But, who will now pay for the 75's+ poll-tax free TV licence ? Ofcourse, 'we' will all have to pay - 'we' are all in this together ! But as what ? tax payers or licence payers ? The latter methinks should be the case.

Dai Caregos

Remember the BBC2 political show Weekend? Thought not. I'll bet Roderick Liddle is one of the few who does. As its presenter, he had personal experience of a show that “LITERALLY nobody watches”, not even for the comedy factor. Described by The Independent on Sunday as "The worst programme anywhere, ever, in the history of time", it didn't last long. Perhaps that's where all his bitterness comes from.

Eddie

Also, Welsh people are 5% of the UK population and are hardly visible on TV. Compare please with Muslim Asians who are 3% max, or black people who are less than 3%. Why? Anti-Welsh racism, I think...

The great things about Wales is that is has mostly British people in it. London certainly doesn't these days!

David Stacey

Re: John Bailey

Would the utter incompetence of Tory governments have anything to do with it?

Firstly the Tories shut down much heavy industry, even the profitable bits - remember Tower Colliery?

Then the "big plan" was to replace heavy industry with screwdriver assembly plants which paid £3 an hour.

Then these screwdriver assembly plants were shut down after pathetic Little Englanders screeched so much about further EU integration we had to accept eastern european states into the EU with the net result that the screwdriver assembly plants upped shop and went to eastern Europe.

For what it's worth, a read through some of posts on here, has convinced me that Wales should finally tell England to f*** off as we're shackled to country next door that comprises a large number of arrogant, retarded, narrow minded and bigoted racists with ideas which wouldn't look out of place at the Nuremberg Conference.

Most of the English I come across haven't got a clue about Wales, but they have plenty of stunted viewpoints based on idiotic stereotypes.

Perhaps we should get rid of most of the BBC's local English regional radio stations, as they're a huge burden to the tax payer too.

Rod Little - you're an immature stunted spineless racist with the intellect of a 12 year old debating contest fuelled by a few bottles of white lightening drunk in the local park.

Dai Caregos

If his hate piece is indicative of the quality of his journalism (by the way; ever heard of checking your sources Roderick?) it's no wonder he has such a long CV. Wonder what his (numerous) ex-colleagues think of him now - all his 'old mates' at the South Wales Echo, John Humphrys (whom he so admires) etc. How they'll laugh at being described as “miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a next door neighbour”. The pathetic claim that “the comment was not entirely serious” shows just how he can't even be trusted to stand by his own words. “Part Welsh”, are you Roderick? Your ancestors would be so proud.

Eddie

Just to add: all S4C viewing figures are based on the 20% of the Welsh who speak Welsh as a first language - so the total possible audience is 600,000. A BBC programme broadcast nationwide has a potential audience of over 60,000,000.

Based on this little statistical bombshell, would anyone like to compare S4C's viewing figures to those of the BBC's PC diversity agenda programmes? How many viewers does 'Eastern Eye' get out of over 60 million potential viewers?

Let's just say, if the Welsh were black, they wouldn't be cutting anthing. Perhaps it's time for the Welsh to go down the mines again and get proper Al Johnson, boy!

Sandra Sebury

Got what you wanted, eh Rod? A slap on the back from your English countrymen and the ire of the Welsh nation. Well done. You’re probably having a celebratory drink as you sit back contentedly and survey these posts. I’ve just realised something. I could do your job! It’s easy. Just write a smug, self-serving, grammatically correct racist blog and, lo and behold, everybody knows your name. Sad really.

I bawb yng Nghymru - s’dim ots, mae’n Sais a dyw ei galon ddim yn l�n.

Maeve

"miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a next door neighbour."
-Thats an incredibly stereotypical, and narrow minded view!
There are shows that could be cut, but you have no right to slate everybody in Wales because you dont agree with S4C!
This is unacceptable!

Maeve

and its Berwi ar y tan, no ana tan!!!

Embarrased Northener

Oh dear, another example of why everyone in the WORLD hates the english, and as usual it's from an ignorant southerner who doesn't have a clue. "oooh the welsh hate us" no, the whole damn planet hates you and us up here get tarred with the same brush. The arrogance is sickening and come on! "sheep-bothering" change the record!!! when it's the germans its "oooh we won the war!! (which we didnt, the yanks did it for us) when it's the welsh it's ooooh you touch sheep" get over it!!! I'm fed up of everyone hating England because you morons keep spouting such crap that no one can help but hate us! and if you're going to try and be clever and quote welsh in a title, get it right! one good thing to come from this article is proof that the education system is wasted on some people, especially those narrow-minded, bigoted pathetic southern arrogant idiots that draw in hatred from every other nation, yet being from where you are "it's everyone else's fault, they ahte us because they're stupid" wrong! stop destroying the name of what was a pretty decent nation!! and if you can't type anything good, go back to what you do on the internet for 85% of your time, find something else to do while your "recovering"

Steve Anderson

@ Emily Roberts

"miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes"

noooo that's not a slur at all!! read the article not just the comments

Roy Lewis

A viewing figure of 0 is used for when a programme has less than a 1000 viewers, so to say "LITERALLY nobody watches it" is incorrect. Also, the vast majority of the programmes were aimed at children, and they aren't included in viewing figures. So, congratulations for being factually correct and for your racist comments. Just in case I'm accused of overreacting or not having a sense of humour, I showed the article to a Catalan work colleague. She was disgusted by it and said it should not be tolerated. I agree, so it won't be.

Slaymaker

Well done Mr. Liddle. You truly are the 'cont' in controversial

rod liddle

Gareth - all fair points. And, as it happens, I agree with you re Jeremy Hunt and Osborne, although most on here will not. I don't agree with you about me, though, but then that's because I'm me. My only cavil on your swipe at the Tories is that there are regions of England as deprived of investment as Wales or Scotland, but are precluded from having a special case to plead.

Re S4C, which was the point of the blog; yes, I've watched it a bit. But my assessment of its performance comes from its viewing figures. I'm sure it encourages the arts - of course it does, its viewers are in the main middle class monkeys from the old Chapter Arts Centre. Quite possibly they are its only viewers. It has no reach beyond Canton or Llandaff or maybe central Aberystwyth. I would like a similar channel in England, but mine is a minority view. And why should Wales have its own PSB channel when England does not?
BBC Wales is another issue, although there are political similarities in both the staffing and the output (ditto BBC Scotland).

Re SFA; they'd win out in a battle between those Blackwood stadium rock monkeys MSP and the pubrock dross of Duffy and Kelly Bloody Jones. But I return to them now because they have endured because they have been seen to be "worthy". A bit like S4C: nobody really likes it, but we think it's a good thing it's still around.

rod liddle

and Maeve, love, please get a grip.

Dan O'r Ogof

Shhh, don't remind Rod that he failed to make it as a hack on none other than that most august of publications that is the South Wales Echo! Possibly where his small-mindedness took hold...poor Rob.

Ian

Embarrassed Northerner.

I don't hate the English and certainly not because of this fool. I just despair when I see, read or hear racism or bigotry based on pure ignorance-including from anyone Welsh.

rod liddle

Roy, you're a pious bore and your Catalan work colleague must be, by now, deranged with ennui. Show her that, too.

Tarquin - yes, maybe you've hit on something there. 2-1 with a minute to go against ten men. Christ, even Owain Glyndwyr would have complained at that sort of injustice.

Jonathan

What a pathetic, narrow minded, ignorant racist Rod Liddle is. It's a saddening thought that people like this still exist in Britain today.

hm

ahh, I see what you did there, going for the left wing Garry Bushell thing, cunning.

Elbandoli

Racism? From a confirmed racist? Well, I never...

Everyone is entitled to their views as to the cuts, but to dress them up in this kind of highly offensive, inflammatory language is unforgiveable.

Funny how a lot of the anti-Welsh comments on here resort to age-old stereotypes as well, isn't it? Almost like they haven't given this any thought whatsoever...weird.

@adrian drummond: regarding your 'racist Welsh nationlists', I shudder to think what they must have done. Cheered against England during a sports match? Dared to speak their silly dialect in front of you? Thank God you're not like me, a Welsh-speaker living in Wales (of all places), who's been verbally abused (countless times) and threatened with physical violence for speaking Welsh in our own country. We have it so easy.

@Ray: funny how people complain about the cost of roadsigns in Wales, but never in England. You lot must have spent a FORTUNE on them over the years. But who needs 'em, eh? Like anyone wants to know where Windsor Castle is, anyway.

despair

Surely all these outraged posts are written by English readers winding up the Welsh. It's just not credible that so many people could really be so touchy about being called pinch-faced. Is it?
At least Rod is living up to his blog-opening promise of it becoming "the very apogee of spitefulness and narcissism, on as broad an agenda as possible".
But Rod, you've let us down by not being nearly vile enough to Yasmin Alibhai Brown and Janet Street-Porter. Or are they Welsh?

Cai Parry-Jones

I was absolutely disgusted to read this article written by someone who clearly has no appreciation or understanding of Welsh culture. I'll have you know that it's 'Sosban Fach yn berwi ar y tan' and not 'Sosban Fach yn berwi ana tan'. It is true that many programmes on S4C did receive a zero viewers rating, but many tv shows are still popular. Take a look at the figures yourself: http://www.s4c.co.uk/abouts4c/viewing/e_index.shtml
With a welsh speaking population of nearly 600,000 I don't think that these figures are bad at all. Welsh is the oldest language still spoken in Europe, and with your attitude the language may become something of the past. I hope this is not the case. Diolch yn fawr.

Julie PROUD TO SPEAK WELSH

who the hell do you think you are....I myself who speaks and writes fluent welsh watches S4C everyday...why close down a home nations tv channel Why are you and your readers against the welsh language?

AngloWelshDragon

Personally it pees me off that I can’t get S4C in Derbyshire. But really, can we all calm down and get a sense of humour? Rod is just being Rod. The dogs will bark and the caravan will move on.

Eddie

I know that S4C does the things BBC Wales used to do - like cover various cultural shows and events etc. Now the BBC decides to play wall-to-wall PC multiculti pap instead of native British culture, places like S4C have an even greater need to exist!

How many hours are dedicated to Muslim issues on the BBC? Muslims are just 2-3% of the population - how much coverage do Muslim issues get?. Wales has 5% so one in 20 people on TV should be Welsh actually.

Instead, it seems about 25% are black/asian in a 90% white country. Why? Maybe it's those BBC intellectuals thinking hard again...

The BBC is pitched at 'comparatively high intellectual level' is it Rod? Yep, I guess 7 million were studying a treatise on Anne Widdicombe philosophy of dancing like a pregnant elephant only last week...

Sion Owen

Before writing such rubbish, you may wish to correct your work. Idiot.

Twll Dydin

Ah Rodders you poor sod. I find it astonishing that there are actual professional 'journalists' that refer to the Welsh as 'Sheep-botherers'. If only we were all so blessed as you Rod - you look like a 19th century chimney sweep man-child, with an intellect to match.
It's seems at times that the whole English identity is based on xenaphobia and an irrational fear of anything not from 'old blighty'.
Fourtenatley for us in Wales Rodney, there is a massive increase in the demand for Welsh medium education, which will hopefully reulst in a truely billinguial nation. But remember Rodderick, if we speak Welsh in front of you, it doesn't mean that we're talking about you.....well, lokking at that haircut! sort it out you hippy, you haven't been seventeen in decades!

Rhydderch ap Crachach

Humour? OK.... ...... er..... er...... what English stereotypes are there? ..... er......er ......... Beefeating colonists.......... er....er ...... Yorshire pudding faced imperialists.

Quite a boring nation really.... I'd rather shag a sheep any day!

I do like your mustard.....

L H R

How can you judge something that you don't even understand?Welsh is Wales' native language.We have a right to our own channel in our own language...would you deprive any other nation of that?If you bothered to learn our language, you might appreciate the channel more...and could possibly write the title of your pathetic article out properly.Bigot.

simon silurian

As a Welsh person who has moved back to Wales people may be amazed to learn that up to a point Rod is right

S4C does have a higher % of dross than most of the other channels,

when it was a Co-Channel with Channel4 most of the Welsh langauge programs were of quite high production standard and the 30% Dross time was filled with Channel 4 content,( some good some poor) since we've gone all digidol and all content now has to be in Welsh S4C seem to have been scrapeing the barrel just to fill air time.

S4C should concentrate on the good and not braodcast the bad even if it means being a primetime only station like BBC3 or 4

Having said that the rest of the blog makes him look and sound like a stroppy tool.

Rhydderch ap Crachach

@ John Baily

"The taxpayer being of course English"

eh? What about English benefits from Welsh taxpayers?

Rhys Lewis

nice choice of picture for your 'article'! what would you have used if it would have been about London? a picture of some youths stabbing each other? a bit of racial tension in one of the ghettos? or some public school bankers haggling with some prostitutes for a jolly good rogering.
Rod, excusing this article as 'a laugh' only masks poor journalism and a lack of original journalistic talent. Trying to be controvertial for the sake of humor isn't particularly sophisticated, you just come over a bafoon because of your lack of knowledge and sensitivity on the issue.
And as for being 'pinch-faced', you look like a thin, haggered, scruffy version of Jo Brand, but at least she's funny on occasions

Gareth

Thanks for addressing my points. Dare I say I'm not a million miles from being placated. However, this matter of viewing figures has not been addressed. I have absolutely no faith in them whatsoever and Id say that using them as a basis for your 'argument' leaves you on soggy ground

Erig le Brun de La Bou�xière

Living in Brittany, a place where people speak a celtic language very close of welsh, and suffering from the french the same situation the welsh suffer from english (worse in fact), I am absolutely siderated to realize that such things can be published nowadays. Would you dare to write such things about any other linguistic minority in Britain? I mean would you bash pakistanese people? Or any other non european immigrants? probably not. Racism is allowed only wehen the victims are aborigenal populations...
Political correctness is always for the same.
Stupid git.

Glyndwr

Ahh Rod you make me laugh.
Ffwc o gont!

John Steadman

By all means be offended by our host's little contribution to this cuts issue; but do so many of you have to resort with tiresome predictability to the "r" word?
If Mr Liddle is racist by prevaling interpretations of the word then it seems to me that what is vile is not Mr Liddle but the interpretation.
Really, Rod, you ought to know by now that there's no longer a place for humour in this domain - however stinging - just virtuous inoffensive pure PC truth on the one hand, and racism on the other.

Rhodri Jones

This article and the comments from others of the same opinion as Rod Liddle is classic English ignorrance. They don't understand that Welsh is a language that is still hugely alive in many parts of Wales. It is the strongest of all the Celtic languages. 70% of people living in Gwynedd speak Welsh as a first language. There are many other counties in Wales that is of similar percentage. This is not because we want to be different or provoke the English, but because it's simply OUR language, our mother tounge. We talk, we dream, we think..... in WELSH! Just like someone in Spain would with Spanish or someone in England with English. As to education - Wales are a few years in front of England. Many research has showed that bilingualism is very beneficial hence why more and more Welsh medium schools ar being built. Even by comparing statistics, Welsh medium schools have a much higher pass rate. That's why a very high majority of the schools in Wales are Welsh medium schools.

Surely a language with such foundations are allowed their own channel Rod? After all these years of opression from the English, couldn't you just give us a break?

So...... cer i ffwcio dy Nain y basdad bach digywilidd!!

Gwyn Jones

How about we give you an "English Not" in your schools for years? Name a Welshman your English king? How about we make laws to make you as the inferior? How we move to your country and change your language?

Yeah.... not nice is it.... tit

John Steadman

By all means be offended by our host's little contribution to this cuts issue; but do so many of you have to resort with tiresome predictability to the "r" word?
If Mr Liddle is racist by prevaling interpretations of the word then it seems to me that what is vile is not Mr Liddle but the interpretation.
Really, Rod, you ought to know by now that there's no longer a place for humour in this domain - however stinging - just virtuous inoffensive pure PC truth on the one hand, and racism on the other.

Idwal Lloyd Price

Tri pheth sy'n dda gan Gymro:
Gaws wedi ei doddi
Gwen ar wyneb ei wraig
A chortyn am wddw Sais

Sion

What about welsh children? do they not deserve programs in their mother tongues? The quality of welsh children programs have always been great on s4c. Just look at Fireman Sam and superted, which was broadcasted all over the world.

Also up to 70,000 tax payers watched s4c's flagship drama Pentalar's latest episode. 'LITERALLY nobody watches it'hmmmm please check your facts. not that S4C has its problems, but to say its irelevant is a big statement.

Ian

John,
Humour usually relates to something being funny. Gratuitous insults do not generally fall into this category and as often as I read the article, I fail to see the humour or any attempt of it.
The statement becomes racist because it is defined as such under law and there is caselaw to back this. Indeed, if someone did report Liddle for such an offence, he could be in trouble. With free speech comes responsibility and Liddle with his record, should have figured that one out by now.

Branwen Gwyn

As many people have rightly pointed out, this article is hugely insulting and ignorant. I wonder if you would have dared to write similar comments about the black or Asian communities. I fear not, as you would probably be arrested for publishing such disgustingly racist remarks.

Dave Hayes

Glad to see so many people reporting this 'article' to the press compaints commission. Can I also suggest that it is reported to the police for inciting racial hatred

Jonathan Simcock

AngloWelsh Dragon. S4C is available in derbyshire via SKY on channel 134. Pob hwyl
Jon Sais
www.derbywelshlearners.blogspot.com

John Glyn

This article is racist, but as is always the case with racism, there will be no acknowledgement of its abhorrence, or any redress, until it is exposed for what it is.

Bledd

It seems Rod Little must have been raped by a person of Welsh origin as a child. Get over it! I can guarante you that the poor bastard who raped you is suffering more than you today as he has watched you grow up to be such a fine example of a man!

catrin enid

what a ffycin twat!

Balch

Chip. Shoulder.
I'm glad to say that whilst working on various occasions in England I have received a lot of interest in my strong Welsh accent, I have a number os English friends I care for dearly.
It is SAD that some people have these views (appalling for them to be aired as 'journalism') and as a Welsh speaker I have received a number of bigoted, racist remarks to my face and within earshot, but I feel sorry for them... Must be so easy to be an english speaking, white man...
The English imperialists have done their best to annihilate cultures all over the world and to make them English, it must be suffocating for them not to have succeeded on their own door step.

From someone who has one 'y' and one 'w' in her surname (both letters vowels in Welsh by the way)

Ydy'r heddlu yn curo ar dy ddrws eto Rod Bach?

Rod Liddle's Well-hidden Welsh 'Part'

You say that you base your views on the viewing figures, but haven't bothered to find out that the viewing figures you quote are irrelevent when measuring a welsh-language channel. A weekly reach of 500,000 (2009) viewers in a language spoken by roughly 600,000 people sounds like a decent rate of return. S4C could improve, but then so could BBC3 and a whole host of others.

Your problem is that you don't understand it, so you don't like it.

I had a racist cab driver the other day who said all sorts of nasty things. When I complained, he said it was TONGUE IN CHEEK, not serious.

Reading your comments to this article, Rod, is like being back in that taxi.

Yous said it, you meant it. You may have wanted the reaction you got but that doesn't make what you said to get it any cleverer.

Bigbobwales

Hi Rod
Never heard of you until today,I was looking at a Welsh blog this morning highlighting a rant against S4C by Phil Lavene,a BBC breakfast reporter,
and you rant was also refered to but worse than Levene's,the advice was to not look as it may spoil your day, but curiosity killed the cat as they say.
The difference between Levane's rant and yours Rod is he only had a pop at S4C,but you took it a stage further and slagged off the Welsh as well. So I thought who is Rod Liddle, never heard of him,so I did a google on you Rod.
It appears you are a Millwall/BNP loving racist bully.
There are numerous aricles refering to others you have slagged off and amazingly you are also a christian.
I did't realise that christians sneak off during their honeymoon to be with another woman. and then eventually thumped the poor other one when she was 20 months pregnant and try to deny it happened.
Christian my arse!
Anyhow Rod, you are now in the company of others who have had a pop at the Welsh, Anne Robinson, Jeremy Clarkson, Phil Levene.
I belong to a group who put a photo of the likes of you on to tissue paper,( bloody hell Rod you are an ugly bugger )we then keep them in the toilet.Then when we want a shit we put one photo in the toilet face up and have a good shit over it and we use another one to wipe our arse.
I think you are going to have pride of place in many a toilet for quite some time Rod.
Christ I must go Rod I am dying for a shit,keep you big racist gob open for a few minutes.
Ha ha ha

neb ap'neb

trying to do an A. A. Gill then you dull little twat? do you remember what happened after that then?
i can't wait till your home address and phone numbers go up on the hundreds of rugby club notice boards so the 'miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes' can contact you direct.
twat

Cymraes Falch

Oh dear Rod bach, how biggoted and ignorant. As someone who's very proud to be Welsh, I can only feel sorry for you that you feel the need to incite such hatred. You're obviously jealous of us Welsh or something. For your information, your title should be 'Sospan Fach yn berwi ar y tan', not 'Sospan Fach yn berwi ana tan'. For someone who thinks that they can write such a clever article, its a shame that you weren't clever enough to check your spelling before hand. Such a silly mistake!!!! Oh well. Gwell hwyl tro nesaf. (That spelling is correct by the way).

Chris Archibald

Typical response of an mongrel anglo saxon with no true cultural backgound to fall back on (and one full of hot air, to boot!!!), hence the bitterness....I would say "go back to where you come from" but that would be er...nowhere...poor lost fart!!!

A Welsh Nationalist

This is a disgraceful and racist article. Hopefully your others articles do not contain such ignorance.

Sioned Wiliam

Rod mate calm down. You've got your facts wrong again and you've been a bit silly haven't you? The answer is to think before you peddle racist drivel. And if you must do it, try and use some original analogies. Sheep shagging is so twentieth century.

Gwenhwyswr

Bydded i dwll ei din geulo ac ail-ymddangos o dan ei gesail.

Cai O'Marah

Same old ignorance that the English are so famous for. You steal our coal, rape our lands; have you NO shame, after everything the people of Wales have suffered throughout the ages at the hands of the English you STILL try and outlaw our native language.

Johnny Bach

not taking this from someone who's mental state is a bit on edge.

read this.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article519825.ece

David Ossitt

Rod Liddle wrote.

“What an epic waste of money just to assuage the sensibilities of some of those miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a next door neighbour.”

One would not have thought such an innocuous comment could have caused the cry of racist by so many.

Rod you have certainly touched a nerve, one wonders what they would have written had it been your intention to offend?

Nia Williams

What blatant racism!!! No wonder the Welsh are bitter about having England as a neighbour after that rant. Absolutely disgusting and so ignorant. Some of the comments below make me sick. It's 2010 not the middle ages. What makes every englishman think that they are superior to everyone?? At least we have a beautiful language which is spoken with pride, every jackass can speak english. As a miserable, seaweed munching member of a hill tribe I personally watch S4C at every opportunity and appreciate the wealth of acting talent Wales has to offer.

unkown

First of all you have mispel- led the word ar , it is sosan bach yn berwi AR y tan , not ana !!!. How much money does the rolyals have , and the queen still gets her 1 billion for the diamond jubille , what if she dies before that , who gets the spare billon lying around ?? All politicians are corupt , that's where all the money has gone , to their back pocket !!. How dare you use such lanaguage as "seaweed munching , sheep bothering ,pinch faced" your personal hatred against the Welsh should not be published , just because you think that , eveyone else doesn't !!! . I hope you are sacked for this article , Wales has had enough of the English coming here and nearly wiping out the language ,taking our jobs and houses . Cymru Am Byth , Twll Tin rob liddle.

Tiocfaidh Ar La

Twll tin pob Sais.

Tiocfaidh ar la

Elyn Stephens

Are you related to Nick Griffin in any way Rod?
I suppose you didn't mind the Welsh when they gave you a job at the South Wales Echo eh? And as for talentless dregs at the S4C I suppose you mean people such as Alex Jones,Ioan Gruffudd,Gethin Jones,Steve Jones, Rhys Ifans? I suppose you get my point, but then again by looking at your poor research skills, xenophobic outlook and general narrow mindedness, I doubt very much that you will.

gwtw a roth bys yn din y queen

rob liddle you are a arrogant racist with no back bone!, rather than have a rant at the welsh should'nt you have a rant at all the "wasters" living in your own country that have not done a days work in their life and are living off our taxes

mair

Well I can’t disagree more! Welsh activist campaigned for the much needed welsh channel because there was a demand for it , S4c is the only welsh channel, to close it down would be such a loss and tragedy for Wales. People do watch s4c and it’s certainly not talentless it offers great variety of programmes for everyone in all ages.
People in Wales are furious to hear about the cuts, if anyone didn’t watch it, then they couldn’t care less about its future.
So Rod, you do have you’re opinion but certainly do not speak for Wales and you should think more before choosing to do a another article/blog on S4C’s future because you have gone off the track and not been able to think of reasonable and accurate facts!

Gareth Jones

Racist.

Edward McLaughlin

Sense of humour failure by yer wasni?

German Queen Lover

Your saint's a Turk
Your Queens a Kraut
You've got f*** all to sing about!

Sioni

Oh dear! Not just bigoted, but illiterate too. What kind of journalist misspells "licence" ("license" being a verb)?

"As well as his column for The Spectator, Liddle writes regularly for The Sunday Times and Country Life as well as presenting TV documentaries." If Rod's English reflects the standard of these publications and television productions, I dispair.
There you are Rod, corrected by one "of those miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a next door neighbour" with better skills of literacy in English - and Welsh - than you.

Osred

RE:Embarrased Northener 12:22

As an Embarrased Northener and ambivalent Rod reader I would like to completely disassociate myself from your comments.

And when it comes to waycism the average taff beats the average anglo every single time in the knee jerk bigotry stakes.

Dai Bach y Soldiwr

Given the choice of a weekend on a rain-soaked hill, eating only seaweed and snuggling up to a sheep to keep warm, or a night out with you Roddy bach, I sense that you would lose out. What a prize eejit. Oh, and a racist. What a combination of talents! Your bosses must be so proud of you.

Osred

.and another thing - what about
BBC Alba. Mind you the Gaelic does sound beautiful

Rod Liddle

.

Mark A.Strong

Mr Liddle why don't you do us all a favour. If you despise Welsh people so much why don't you give some support for getting rid of us from the attachment to your precious England. Espouse giving up all the English holiday homes here so that those of us on the pitiful wages that we get as compared to those in England, can afford to buy the houses in the towns and villages where we were born and brought up. Give up the Welsh lamb because you obviously have no comprehension of how it is reared, and while you are at it forget about the cheap water that millions of English people get from Wales at the expense of us 'seaweed munching' losing our villages. Of all the very pleasant English people I count as my friends you are a disgrace to your nation with your words of hate. Please get a few decent history books from your local library and read up maybe then you might learn some respect for cultures that are not your own

O'r Glyn

Thank you Rod. By writting such ignorant and racist drivel, you have ensure a high turn out to the rally in Cardiff on the 6th of November opposing the cuts to S4C. Pawb i Gaerdydd ar y 6ed o Dachwedd - rali yn erbyn toriadau S4C. Dim iaith Dim barn!

Robin Sunday

Gyfeillion,

I have just set up a Google alert with the following key words "Cardiff City FC", "English Premiership", "Rod Liddle" and "massive coronary".

I don't intend to read anything by / or about Rod Liddle until I get an email from those nice people at Google at some point between now and May 2011 at which point I intend to either:

a) piss myself laughing
b) piss on Rod's grave whilst laughing through the medium of Welsh

Gareth Robinson

If you're going to make a valid point about a contentious issue;
1. Get the welsh in the title right
2. Leave the racism out of it, yes, calling Welsh people sheep-botherers is racist.
3. Please refrain from making comments about topics, on which you are clearly magnificently ignorant. Plenty of people watch S4C, and as Welsh is a national language in Wales, it deserves its own tv station, no matter how popular it may or may not be.

I honestly cannot believe that a journalist, writing under the name of a respected publication could be allowed to write such vitriolic rubbish. Next time, do a bit of research, speak to some welsh people, plenty of them will tell you that S4C needs sorting out. Not all of us live in the hills.

Nick

Yes, you're right about the World Service. I've recently switched to BBC4 World News Today every evening for the same reasons: more intelligent and less parochial. Get behind it before it's axed!

....diolch

Clyfar iawn Rod - ti'n helpu'r achos!

Diolch!

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

You people are complete idiots. You call Welsh nationalist racists? Most of the comments on here make me want to shove a shotgun down your throats and blow you to pieces you spineless biggots. You seem confident enough spreading your bull shit on here, but I bet none of you hav the balls to say any of this in the face of a welshman, get a life!

Lowri Ferch Carl

I am mortified, at least write an article without bias. I watch S4C on a regular basis and so do my parents. I am a Southern Walian and I'm at University. We eat Laver but not all welsh people do this. We don't have sex with sheep. You are just being racist.
I thought you would at least get the title of the article correct but no you haven't! Not all Welsh people speak Welsh, I am a Second language Welsh Speaker. The number of Welsh Speakers are on the up and so are the amount of people watching programs through the mediums of Welsh. What you write is insulting and you are lucky that you don't end up in court for Slander mate.
Write with integrity and non-bias. Welsh people pay for their tv licenses like you English, Irish and Scottish folk. So we also get a right in what we watch on TV.

Roy Lewis

So I'm a pious bore for proving you wrong eh? I read your profile on Wikipedia after posting my first comment as I'd not heard of you. Assuming Wikpedia is correct, you are an attention seeking, ignorant, arrogant, selfish and racist - and they're your good points. Bye bye Mr Liddle, I will now attempt to forget you exist.

Mared Williams

To David Ossitt:
I must congratulate you on your comedy skills because you are clearly having a laugh. No self respecting man would dare say what you have said, because wuite frankly your comment, and this article is totally ignorant and i find it really hard to take it seriously. This comes from a 17 year old.

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

You people are complete idiots. You call Welsh nationalist racists? Most of the comments on here make me want to shove a shotgun down your throats and blow you to pieces you spineless biggots. You seem confident enough spreading your bull shit on here, but I bet none of you hav the balls to say any of this in the face of a welshman, get a life!

Robin F

A former public school boy who enjoys marching around the streets of the East End with a gang of skinheads whilst raging against the perceived special treatment enjoyed by a much derided minority during times of economic turmoil and industral unrest.

Now where have I read of this phenomenon before?

Ioan Roberts

Twll dy din di'r milgi main, ti a'th siort sy'n magu chwain

Cat

I'm watching S4C right now! I wasn't aware that I didn't exist, but I must do to be telling you this.
As for all that other stuff, I'm very disappointed, as a ginger and a Welsh person, Rod's commentr were almost complimentary. (In case nobody gets my humour, it's what's known as tounge in cheek).

Rhiannon

When people ask us Welsh why don't we like English people... I really just don't know what to tell them...!

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Fychan

It is a real shame to see a journalist of any level writing this kind of stereotypical nonsense. Unfortunately for you, other "journalists" have written extensively on this matter, and have done a much better job. On top of this, considering S4C as being representative of this small but proud nation is utterly illogical thinking. Anyhow, we thank you for offering us this lame yet important wake up call for the nation. Remember what Miles Kington said after A. N. Wilson's article way back in the nineties:
"one way to unite the Welsh: insult them".

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

Sut mae cymryd peth fel 'ma o ddifri? Dydi'r lembo di-egwyddor ddim yn gwybod geiriau'r gan Sosban Fach. Mi rhwyga'i geilliau fo ffwrdd a'i bwydo nhw iddo fo. Sglyfath budur dan din

am folocs dir erthygl 'ma

Also- David Ossit you have a Christian name aswell. 'Dafydd' is 'David' in English.
Pidlan fach budur wti sy'n llyfu traed ei nain.

Cath Gilford

Gets a little tiring all this 'Tongue and Cheek' babble.
I must admit S4C for me personally isn't what I would turn onto every night of the week. But we do watch it in our house hold!
Welsh is my second language, my partners first language and we have two boys under the age of 3. So to see some programmes on a morning on S4C is a fantastic opportunity for my children to absorb as much of the language as possible.
With this tough time ahead of us with all of these harsh cuts... Yes I would like to see the BBC looking after S4C. I would much Rather the tv liscensing fee looking after the language! what a waste of money BBC4 is in my personal view and pretty much BBC3 while we're on it.
I didnt really want to rise to the 'sheep botherers' comment... but too almost identically quote what one of my farming friends told a racist ' we may 'bother' sheep..... but you still eat them'

Unknown

As you talk such crap, you're obviously someone who knows nothing at all about our country, culture or language. I grew up watching S4C and still do as a teenager. I, like everyone, have been educated about the struggle and fight we had to do to earn the right to watch television in Welsh not long ago. We wontlet someone as narrow minded and racist as you let it fade. If S4C disapears, there is almost no hope for the Welsh language and I'm scared to think that the next generation wont grow up with the language. I'm sure we as a country will do anything to avoid this
As for you, I feel sick of the thought that you worked here and it's people like you that makes me hate the English.
A dysga sut i sillafu'r teitl yn gywir cyn trio dangos dy hun.

Minnow

Why does working class (train driver`s son) Rod Liddle talk so posh? I think his rant about Wales is one of his many attempts to displace his shame and anger about his humble origins.

Willi Welsh

Yes close it down....nuke `Israel..send the wogs home...usual Tory nonsense

Mari Roberts

Having read this pile bile, which you have spewed out of your toxic little mouth Rod I would like to invite you to come and put your points across to us at our Sixth Form College. It’s all well and good making outrageous statements like ‘What to do about S4C, meanwhile, is simple: close it down.’ whilst you’re sat behind your computer in some office building, where there is security to stop anyone who might disagree with you from having a debate with you. I wander if you could be man enough to come and have a proper debate with 16 – 18 year olds. I doubt you will because you see to be unable to string a sentence of debate together without adding some form of insult. The fact that the vast majority of your article was aimed at belittling the Welsh shows your journalistic abilities. I would actually be surprised if I found you had the guts to even reply to my offer.
I find it quite hilarious that you could call the Welsh talentless, when every Welsh speaker is bi-lingual and that most English people find it hard to cope with their one convenient language. The fact of the matter is that; Rod you are ignorant. You chose your title because you heard it being sung in a rugby game. You refer to the Welsh in the way you heard the drunkards do at the pub, whilst you whir watching the game. You chose to pick on S4C because it was on the news after that Rugby game. The extent of your research is blatantly obvious.
Please RSVP as soon as possible so I can arrange that there are enough carers in the College to take care of a demented old fool like you. That is if you are man enough to come.

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

Mr.Liddle? You can kiss your arse goodbye to the editors job after posting this!

Gwyn Jones

Wel, y ffycin cont bach, tyd yma i ddeud hynna ta - y ffwc monoglot hyll. Fysa chdi'n ddigon o foi i ddeud hynna am dy gymdogion croenddu? eh? Jibbar bach haerllug.
Diolch am dynnu fy sylw at beryglon meddylfryd rhai nobs susnag.
Written of course in the tounge of your.. yes Rob... YOUR forefathers. Prove me wrong punk! X

Eleri

This kind of racism disgusts me. I'm surprised that this has been published, especially with your English AND your shitty Welsh. Make sure you do some research before you make a tit out of yourself. I think I can write better English than you and Welsh is my first language! Twll dy din a chofia fod y Cymry i gyd yn dy erbyn ar ol y cachu 'ma a ysgrifenaist. Dylet bydru.

Cofiwch Tryweryn

Reported this racist shite to the Press Commission

http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/form.html

If you are Welsh, then complain under section 12.

Dyfrig Owen

I for one would be perfectly happy to rid all of the road signs of English (uh-hem) translations,and the tv of English programs as I can go about my daily tasks in either English or Welsh,as will my 1 year old son in years to come,I would gladly pay a fee to watchprograms in my native tongue,I am not happy to pay a fee for your crap that seems to be on my tv 5 nights of the week concerning emmerdale enders,coronation park and hollyoak farm.
My heritage comes with a B.C. after it....what letters can you put after yours?Your country seems to be the ones letting in all of these foreigners....what cost is this to the English taxpayer?I don`t think your country seems to care if your language dies out,what about you Rod??....no I thought not.You see,just because YOU have to speak English does not mean that everybody else does,and at current rate i dont think the queens English will take too long to go,i do hope you can get your tongue around Bengali,Punjabi,Polish and why not....most other eastern European tongues.
These low rating programs you speak of are only low rating because wan%ers like you are the reason the welsh stopped speaking it,i.e. if you just left our country alone in the first place there would be a whole country more of Welsh speakers instead of speaking a foreign language just to accommodate the likes of you.This insignificant country is so insignificant that your own royal family thought it was worth the blood of many men just to get a hold of it,not so much could be said if England turned around and said you know what....lets not be the uk anymore and just be England,Scotland could be Scotland,Ireland could be Ireland and Wales could be Wales...You see the three Celtic nations don`t want to be governed by England.I know its a tough concept to grasp but you`re not the best thing in the world.Infact I`d say you are probably one of the most hated nations in the world.....Oh yeah...one last thing,how much did the Falklands cost?....It probably would have been cheaper to buy the land from Argentina....But that`s not the English way!!

Llywellyn ap Gruffud

"I'm part Welsh, lived in Wales and began my career in Wales." wrote Rod. I can't believe a part Welsh man can disown his own blood and lineage. Maybe is the mixture with your watered down saxon blood. Rod, you have a big psychological problem to solve.

Elis Dafydd

dear rod,

whilst appreciating the current economic deficit and the need to make some cuts i'd like to refer to.... ah sod this, you're a wanker!

Rhiain Awel

What do you Englishmen know about the importance of S4C in Wales? The Welsh language is the most important thing we as Welsh has inherited, and its protection in vital. S4C is a way to hear the Welsh language in the modern world, and the presence of the Welsh language in the world of media and technology is extremely important. We are very proud people. We are proud of our language, proud of our inheritance, proud of our history and culture, and S4C is a valuable part of that.

We are tired of the English's racism and lack of respect. You have no idea how much we have fought for our nation and for a fair status for our language. S4C is an important part of our culture and identity, and you English don't know what real love towards a language and a country is. You will never understand. You are ignorant and selfish and have no respect towards other nations at all.

Oh, the Welsh in the title is 'Sosban fach yn berwi YN Y tan.' GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT. You are nothing but racist. Oh, and what's in the picture? sheep??? Very original.

C. George

Is this really about Morisons dip in form?

merlinthepig

See what you've done, Rod? You've united them (well at least that proportion that would otherwise be picking their noses and poring over the crap posted on CIF). Just imagine what they could achieve. It's hard, I know.

Lois Llywelyn

I cannot believe that such racism can be published, and this is coming from a 12 year old girl. You wouldn't understand that some people enjoy their spare time in their own language. Why pick on Welsh people? You wouldn't dare to comment on another ethnic group's culture. Personally, I believe that you live a very sad life. All i can say is Twll dy din di Rob!

Tony

I'm English and utterly disgusted by this loathsome article, and by the reaction of Liddle's little Englander supporters. Despite his protestations that the article was tongue-in-cheek, the comments about S4C are irrelevant next to the obscene description of the Welsh people. It is the worst of the English that our sense of humour seems to depend on cruel bullying, which we then excuse by asking, "Can't you take a joke?" as if that makes it OK.

Cymraes

How wonder Welsh speakers are horrified at the thought of our only Welsh language channel moving into the BBC where bigots like this have power. S4C has to make programmes for the whole breadth of society from an 18 month child to a 90 year old pensioner, we cannot simply switch channels and have an altermatove in our own language. Unfortunately the decision to cut the S4C budget was made in Westminster without any consultation with people living in Wales. As for history take a look at the following and understand why many people in Wales feel so outraged at these decisions. It's not only Welsh speakers that care about the language, thousands of non Welsh speakers are incredibly proud and supportive of it too, so much so they are sending their children and grandchildren to Welsh language schools, an education that was denied to many of them, partly for historical reasons, such as those outlined in the following link. As for those of you who have brought ethnic minorities into the debate, shame on you, we're additionally proud to see more children from black and asian minority backgrounds than ever attending Welsh language schools, and there's a huge CROESO to all. Callia Rod a pawb arall hefyd. NOS DA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treachery_of_the_Blue_Books

Ifan Arswydus

Great carry on - after all as we say in Wales - it's pointless arguing with an idiot .

Dai Bach y Soldiwr

It is nowadays not politicly correct publicly to be racist against certain minorities.

Offending the Black, Asian or Irish communities, for example, is (rightly) now verbotten and is not even deemed benerally suitable or acceptable material for comedy.

However the bile emanting from those who get their rocks off by belittling such minorities must find vent somewhere, and it appears that the Welsh have become a common and 'acceptable' target for such attacks from such bigots and hatemongers.

The acid test is whether members of that minority judge whether comments made towards them are so offensive as to constitute racism.

By dint of this, the judgement of this particular Welshman is simple: next time you look in the mirror have a good look Mr Liddle - the guy staring back at you is a racist ...

Gwyn

Read up your history you racist imbecile. And you wonder why the Welsh , and the folk of most other countries dont like you and your kind, you took our lands, yes we were here way before you lot invaded from overseas, and even banned our language. I could care less for S4C nor the BBC for that matter, why the racially inflamatory remarks. Well gladly take independence and sell you lot our precious water at a vast cost of course.

Christopher Swift

I have made a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission about the accuracy and the discrimination in this article.

Ian

Annwyl Rod,

Before I go to bed I noted that you had almost reached 200 comments in a day (199) so just to help you get there.
I would like to advise you that you have been reported to the police for race based offence and going by previous cases, you should at least get an interview and bad publicity for the magazine. Sleep tight.

Nos da.

Lois

Sosban fach yn berwi ana tan

... hahaha what a twat

Merch Gymraeg SIr Fon

It's the "few" ignorant English people like you that makes the hard working decent people of Wales hate the word England. And the chasing sheep comment is as old as the hills we live in lol.
We have famous actors, singers etc etc etc, are they sheep chasers or hill dwellers too?
Most of them started off on S4C, Our own WELSH channel, You're in the wrong job boyo, u should be sent down the mines and the lid put on it!!

aptref

As a performer working in the industry through the medium of welsh, this article really hurt me. What right do you have to severely insult another nation and its culture, and feel that you have the power to trigger its demise and "close it down". Your facts are inaccurate, your assumption of the nature and importance of S4C is terribly wrong. And your use of racist remarks is shameful. As a tax payer I despise the fact that I have to pay for the London 2012 Olympics(a cost that dwarfs the funding of S4C) which will not benefit any area outside of London. But I don't publish 'professional' rants like yours to show my discontent. I do hope that the Spectator and other publications that you contribute to realises your mistake and forces you to join the 100,000(and counting) other people who will be made unemployed by this ignorant and wicked Tory government.

Richard of Moscow

Tony, learn the meaning of the phrase 'little Englander' before trying to use it.
Muppet.

I've always respected the Welsh, they fought well alongside the English and others at Rorke's Drift, gave the world Tommy Cooper, Peter Nicholas etc etc... usually tough and funny people, and I'm sure the pathetic little whingers on here are not representative.

Plant Gwynfor

Racist drivel by a former employee of the BBC.

Strike back against the imperial BBC powergrab in Wales by attending the Defend S4C rally outside the old Welsh Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff at 11pm on Saturday, November 6.

I'r gad!

Philip Roberts

Liddle....isn't that a supermarket for chavs?Are you related Rodney?

galesa

Let's just remind ourselves that this is the man who blamed the 'overwhelming majority' of violent crime in London on African-Caribbean men. Unfortunately for Mr Liddle, that flippant comment didn't work out very well for him - he was censured by the PCC.

If you're annoyed by his comments, submit a complaint to the PCC. Maybe then we won't be subjected to any more of his drivel - anyone who has to speak 'tongue in cheek' just to get a reaction isn't worth any of our time.

Brwydrwn...

Adrian salisbury

I think that you should apologise about your arrogant and racist comments about us welsh.

Pot Head

Noel Gallagher was spot with his description of Welsh:

"The ones you meet in London are all right but the real ones are a nightmare. For starters you can’t understand a word they say.”

contes

Youre so ignorant you dont know how mutch its actually scaring me...Educate yourself before writing sutch ridiculous things youre just embarassing yourself. Why is wales 'dependant on the taxpayer'? Because after centureies of being ruled by england its needs have never been taken into consideration and although its so wealthy in natural recources english cpitalist have squezed it dry and left us with the highest chils povery in the indistialised world. Bring on indipendance!!!

Chris jones

I have to say that some if the comments here are out of order and racist. One person comments on welsh people speaking their language well do you go to Germany, France, Spain or any other place and complain that people are talking in their own language I think not.

As for getting rid of S4C if you don't like it don't watch it

SomeRandomBint

Bless. Words that would have more weight if the author showed any actual knowledge of the welsh television industry. HTV(Cymru) doesn't exist, and hasn't done for some time. Living in the past, Rod?

PS I watched S4C tonight.

Rhiannon

"its viewers are in the main middle class monkeys from the old Chapter Arts Centre. Quite possibly they are its only viewers. It has no reach beyond Canton or Llandaff or maybe central Aberystwyth."

I have to take issue with this assessment. As the majority of welsh speakers reside in North Wales, I would say that most of it's audience is there. Certainly in my time living there, S4C was well watched (even though there's a lot of the output which is very centred on the "dre"). There IS a problem with the funding, but remember that the existence of a Welsh language channel supports the welsh television industry. The cutbacks have already started to bite, sending Nant to the wall earlier in the year.

There is a lot of good that comes from S4C, and if you are going to call for an end to its funding, then you ought to be calling for the same thing of BBC Alba. Since Wales has completed the digital switch over, S4C has an identical profile to its cousin North of the border. And gaelic is even less spoken than Welsh is.

And, before I get pigeonholed, I feel I ought to point out, I may have a welsh name, but I'm not welsh. I just have sadistic parents...

Allahu Akhbar

Dai Bach y Sowldiwr wrote:

""By dint of this, the judgement of this particular Welshman is simple: next time you look in the mirror have a good look Mr Liddle - the guy staring back at you is a racist ..."

You are wrong.

When Liddle the Fiddle looks in the mirror, there is no fucking reflection!

No wonder the English are one of the most hated races on Earth.

Juan Kerr English

Little Englander Kiddie Fiddlers

normanc

You could swim in the amount of QQ going on in this thread.

Can you do us Scots at some point please Rod? Preferably mention religion or football (or even better, both with a dash of Masonic Lodge thrown in) for best results.

Welsh lad

What a racist ill-informed plonker.

A bloeddiwn gerbron y gwledydd
'Mi fyddwn yma tan Ddydd y Farn’
Er gwaetha pob Dic Sion Dafydd,
Er gwaetha 'rhen Fagi a'I chriw
Byddwn yma hyd ddiwedd amser
A bydd yr iaith Gymraeg yn fyw.

Eddie

Allahu said: 'the English are one of the most hated races on earth'.

Yes, after the French and the Germans and the Russians and the Japanese and the Chinese and the Muslims and the Africans and the Jews, quite possibly.

"Let's just remind ourselves that this is the man who blamed the 'overwhelming majority' of violent crime in London on African-Caribbean men"

Errr perhaps because 80% of mugging in London is done by black men! One thing about Wales and other non-London places in the UK (though no-one dares admit it) is that there are very few ethnic minorities - so there is no mugging! Hoorah!

I know both Wales and London well - I get irritated by the provincialism small-minded attitudes and occasionally anti-English racism of the Welsh - making sure those who do not sound like Max Boyce know they will never belong (unless they are ethnic in which case the lefties in Wales emphasise the multiculti welcome - but this is no different from the provincialism of Liverpool or Scotland or the north.

But I also get annoyed by London's arrogant sense of superiority - London is an expensive, crowded, crime-ridden mess of a place really.

Perhaps if the Welsh want to stop the kind of abuse they get then they should stop being similarly abusive to the English. Why not be abusive about the Scottish instead - their banks messed up the economy and had to be bailed out by the English after all! Or let's go back to making jokes about the Irish and Pakistanis eh? Well, we need to mock somebody!

Fy ty nain

Sosban Fach
Contributed by Lee Hickling
Mae bys Mari Ann wedi brifo,
A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach;
Mae'r baban un y crud yn crio,
A'r gath wedi crafu Johnny bach.
Sospan fach yn berwi ar y tan,
Sospan fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,
A'r gath wddi crafu Johnny bach.
Refrain: Dai bach y sowjwr, a chwt i grys e' ma's.
Mae bys Mari Ann wedi gwella,
A Dafydd y gwas yn ei fedd;
Mae'r baban yn y crud wedi tewi,
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.
Sospan fach, etc., etc.
http://www.mojairlandia.pl/download/faq/welsh/6.html

CA Jones

Sheep-shaggers? Aye, but only the ones that are then sold to the English ;)

Like The Word magazine said a few issues ago, Rod is a spectacular example of someone who's got very far on so little talent.

Depressingly predictable..

Dylan Jones

I've just read Mr Liddle's article. What a complete load of tosh. It may be advisable in the future for you to ensure that your columist undertakes some research rather than spout some rubbish about something he clearly knows nothing. S4C has been a valuable part of Wales and the Welsh language for years, it may well be argued that its presence has saved one of the oldest languages in Europe and part of the heritage and the rich cultural present and future of this counrty . May I remind Mr Liddle that though he does not live in Wales, that as a British citizen ,the language is as much his as it is mine.Does he think so little of his heritage as to disregard and devalue it so much, as suggested in his article?. What a philistine !!!

Lloyd

I don't get it. Is it meant to be funny or offensive?

Bit of a failure on both counts really, as it just makes the author seem like a chippy, poor man's AA Gill.

Still sore about your failure to progress at the Echo, Rod?

J. Evans

First A. A. Gill, now Rod Liddle! How did we poor Welsh folk lose the respect of Britain's wisest, most noble-spirited and most profound cultural commentators? Alas.

Robin Hughes

What a sad, attention seeking buffoon. If the journalism doesn't work out Rod, you can always become Nick Griffin's speech writer - this sort of hate filled nonsense is just up his street. Come to think of it, you and Nick would complement each other beautifully - he'd supply the looks and the brains and you'd supply the lazy, ill-informed and xenophobic prejudices and the pathetic ignorance of anything outside the M25.

Jamie Bevan

This is all out racism and i will be reporting Rod's abuse to the police

Timothy

We pity you Liddle. You try so hard to make any kind of controversy to fill in the void of your sad personal life.

it is common knowledge that you beat up your young wife when she weeks 20 weeks pregnant. No one can take that away from you. Or your daughter. She will carry it with her throughout her life.

Your life is nothing. You are sad. We forgive you. We pity you.

Angry Welsh woman

You complete and utter ignorant sh*t. You obviously have NO understandling of Wales and Welhs issues so why dont you just crawl back under whatever rock you came from and f**ck off you tw*T!

Rod Liddle's Agent

Good idea to spend more on the World Service. You can give them loads more cash by shutting down that left-wing, middle class inward looking organ called Radio 4. Always thought people working for Radio 4 were overpaid and had no sense of the nations it claims to serve. I especially thought that when my mate Rod was running the breakfast show.

Rhys Davies

which one of you wants to go to court then for inciting racial hatred?? monoglotic cultural empty vessels!!

Lungfish

I got my toe down on that road between Bala and Peny-y-bont yesterday- superb. Not a camera or sheep shagger in sight. I'm a bit confused at these charges of racism considering the Welsh and English pretty much share the same blood nowadays. Had a good sarney in 'The Knockin Shop' as well, cheer up Welshies.

Paul Edwards

LOL nice one Rod you have made me a happy chappy. Personally I have no problem when you Sais (English) have a go at us sheep lovers it gets the normally passive Taffs worked up and I think if you popped down here to our little country you would find the average seaweed muncher would indeed rip your head off.

As well as being a failed wannabe journo in South Wales here is a little known political fact... Rod Liddle stood for council for Labour in Cathays, Cardiff and lost to a Liberal.
Maybe it still hurts????

You are indeed a cont a funny one but still a cont. Diolch yn fawr.

Dai Pren

steve griffiths
October 21st, 2010 11:35am
"Your not bitter are you rod? Get blown out by a fat valley commando when you were working on the Echo did you?"

Even Ponty girls have standards you know! Send this tw@t up to us gogs you`ll never see him again.

Elin Dimmick

You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about and you’re therefore you’re an embarrassment to your trade as a journalist. If you made the slightest bit of research you’d know the epic struggle of Gwyfor Evans among many to get this channel established and what it means to the survival of the Welsh language. To dismiss all of that in one pathetic article, you should feel very ashamed.

Josgin

Let's bin Roddy Bach instead. Or rather let's just ignore him (like I'm not doing). Journalists like to court controversy and express themselves in over-the-top ways just to generate a reaction, so what Liddle says should not be taken seriously and the Welsh are not the only victims of his controversy courting style.

The programmes with fewer than 1,000 viewers (officially classed as zero) are daytime repeats when there are few ABC1s, at home and it is well known that speaking Welsh is most prevalaent anmong the ABC1s with 24% of the ABC1 population of Wales being fluent in reading, writing and speaking Welsh compared to 13% of C2DEs according to YouGov.

However, although Liddle's comments are indfensible, what is beyond doubt is that S4C needs to get its act together and needed a massive kick up the backside for putting on daytime or minority interest programmes at peak times like Wedi 7 and Ffermio and fishing programmes!

Also, they put the same programmes on every weeknight from 6pm till 8:25 with 10 hours of peak time telly being taken up by Pobol y Cwm and that needs to change if they are to survive any more threats to their existence. There has been too much complacency for two long and as a result, it has not been in the best position to defend itself in these turbulent times. However, what is needed reform not abolition and, speaking for myself, I'd rather see more money being spent on fewer programmes and some life injected into the peak hours.

John Williams

What a waste of space and time is this London based , Milwall
supporting bigot. What does he know of Wales and its culture.
Wales had a fourishing culture when his lot were unwashed trogs.

Owain Glyndŵr

It is quite amazing that such disgusting, racist remarks can be published in this way. Furthermore, it is shocking that such an ignorant individual is able to practice under the guise of the title 'journalist'. Mr. Liddle, please note that your arrogant imperialist, colonialist comments are not only misguided, but that they also incite racial hatred and are simply illegal. In addition, I think that you'd better brush-up on your Welsh before trying to write another erroneous 'title' in the oldest living language in Europe. Indeed, while you're at it, have a look at the 'Race Relations Act 1976' and expect a visit from the police in the near future.

Osian Williams (Welsh not British)

Do you honestly think you are making some sort of impact with this little childish and extremely racist/offensive Blog entry? Nobody cares what you have to say! Cymru am byth!

Sionnyn

@ libertarian
October 20th, 2010 10:12pm
. .. We have a tribal language too. Its called Chav but so far we haven't been allocated a whole TV station ( and there are more Chav speakers than Welsh)

- Yes you have - it's callled Youf TV as invented by Janet Street Walker - another famous admirere of all things welsh!

There is a lot of it on BBC - Anything with 'Celebrity' in the title, for instance, Est Enders is only understood by people of your ethnicity ... the list goes on and on!

Rod - you are always funny and provocative - and this piece is no different, but perhaps you thought of us as foreigners - which if you are English, we are, then perhaps you would grant us the same respect as you obviously afford the other denizens of the world who listen to the world service.

I listen to the World service, and watch S4C, but seldom find anything worth watching on the BBC1 or BBC2 these days, and radio 4 has declined since you left, so I would suggest that savings could be made by closing those!

Wyrdtimes

Personally I see nothing wrong with the Welsh attempting to protect their language. They should of course pay for it though.

As for England isn't it time more people started to dream a post union future?

England already bottom of the Barnett funding has just been clobbered with the lions share of the cuts. They say we're all in this together and stronger together but that's bullshit. "Together" the people of England carry the can but have zero representation. No taxation without representation.

England. Better off independent.

Osred

S4C must be wishing that they had as many viewers for their programmes as there are Welsh posters here.

Eddie

Sadly I think some of the posts here are displaying the kind of provincial English-hating attitude that is one of the most annoying things about Wales. NO need for it. It is bigoted and boorish and tends to prove some things said by those who criticise the Welsh.

I know people with standarde British (English) accents who have lived in Wales for 30 years and can trace their Welsh families back for 300 years who still get asked by the anti-English Plaid Cymru set where they are from!

Personally, I don't make jokes about the Welsh or English. The reason why people makes jokes about the Welsh is because political correctness has meant it's not acceptable to make jokes about the Irish or the Pakistanis. Shame really - they're far funnier, all in all!

blogdroed

@ Eddie - October 22nd, 2010 8:17am

"I know both Wales and London well - I get irritated by the provincialism small-minded attitudes and occasionally anti-English racism of the Welsh - making sure those who do not sound like Max Boyce know they will never belong (unless they are ethnic in which case the lefties in Wales emphasise the multiculti welcome."

You know both Wales and London well? Wales is large and diverse and if you think everyone in Wales sounds like Max Boyce, you don't really know it at all.

Cardiff has the oldest and largest UK-born Somali community and the ports of Barry, Cardiff and Swansea have meant that south Wales has well established diverse communities.

Your racist drivel is worse than Liddle's as you are writing what you actually believe whereas Liddle is just writing to provoke a reaction.

Predictably, he got his reaction. Some of it warranted, some of it because we Welsh are a little bit too sensitive.

Your racist drivel, however, is what all right minded folk should be challenging.

Llio dAVIES

One day,-very soon-little old England will be on it's own.No colonies,no-one to fight their useless wars with them.They will then have to really look at themselves-warts and all,and see what a divided,class ridden society that they really are.Who in thei right minds would vote a bunch of privelidged toffs to govern them?.Westminster is dead.Bring on Independence for Wales asap.
Why should we have to put up with English ignorance-by the way your whole rant about S.4.C was totally innacurate-it was tabloid lies as usual.What do you expect-you should know better.Get your facts right and don't revert to childish pathetic comments Grow up.Find out about the history of S.4.C.iT'S people like yourself that give the English such a bad name.Shame on you.

John Williams

So Liddle claims to be 'part Welsh'. They must have thrown away the best bit then.

Ian

WyrdTimes
Just two points of information. Your capital actually receives more public funding per head than Wales and Westminster is all but an English Government already. English devolution would be a good idea, though.

Forest Fan

"Nobody cares what you have to say!"

Errm...I think you just did.

Eddie

Blogdrod. I was making the point that a certain kind of Welsh person (you perhaps) is anti-English and totally racist in that, but just can't see it! Because at the same time as being rabidly racist against the English, you bang on about the wonders of multi-culturalism - all from a country with fewer than 3% ethnic minorities, so NOT very diverse at all actually. Funnily enough, most people in Wales like it that way and are grateful they don't live in Splott or Southall.

No, I do not think eveyone in Wales sounds like Max Boyce bach, I was just making a humorous point! Some people in Wales who are Welsh even sound English y'know and suffer racist abuse from comedy Welshmen like you!

I need no lectures on Welsh history, democraphics, culture of 'Welshness' from pugnacious Welsh nationalists.

To paraphrase you: Your racist drivel is worst of all because you accuse others of racism whilst being massively racist against the English yourself.

Fortunately, most Welsh people are not comedy Welshmen English-haters. Some are, and they are laughed at by most Welsh people thank goodness!

Your double standards are what all rightminded folk (not your type then) should be challenging.

twll din pob sais

'ana tan' what does that mean?? If you are going to write some Welsh, try and get the words right. Were you sober when you wrote this bile, or high on drugs? Have you been congratulated yet on the article by your mates Ann Robinson and the odious Jeremy Clarkson? Shame on you and Shame on The Spectator. Misinformed, junk journalism at its worse. Get a proper job.

Angharad Roche

Rod Liddle - your comments disgust me!

"Miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes?"

Were you DRAGGED up by your Mother?! How can you be so scathing and down right RUDE towards a nation of 3 million people?

Have you ever been to Wales? Do you know any Welsh people? I am confidently assuming that your responses to these last two questions would be in the negative! You biggot!

Your attitude revolts me and is, sadly, all too representative of the minority of ignorant English that are, quite frankly, a disgrace to England.

You are, I am guessing (by your lousy attempt to write in Welsh) a non Welsh speaker. I wonder then, what S4C programmes you've ever watched, so as to even be in a position to comment?!

"Pobl Y Cwm", "Pen Talarn", "Ar y Tracs", "Caerdydd" and "Pam fi Duw" are just a few of the class dramas that have been aired on S4C in recent times- NONE of which I assume you've ever seen.

Your attitude is disgusting, Rod Liddle, and your description of the Welsh is offensive- no- in fact, it's racist! You wouldn't dare write such a vile description of a Black or Islamic nation but, it's alright, we're only "Welsh" - we're second class British Citizens and are not to be worried about!

Well, Mr Little, as you can't appreciate education and sophistication, as you can't embrace cultural richness and diversity and as as you can't tolerate the significant number of Welsh people who consider themselves blessed to be able to speak an ancient and beautiful language that is not your Queen's English, I'll keep my parting words to you brief and succinct, in the hope that you, ignorant as you are, can understand them:

"Fuck you, Rod Liddle. Fuck you!"

Did you understand that? Have I made myself plain enough?!

Prick!

Malcolm

Dear Rod,
By reading your report it becomes obvious that you have introduced text to the nature of your own personal feelings on this subject. What relevance has “seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes” have with BBC television licence fees and services. I strongly advise that you return back to collage to refresh yourself with journalistic writing.
It is unfortunate that this report of yours can only be foreseen as partially racists and hate towards a nation who shares a close bond with it neighbouring country England.
Rod, let me take this opportunity to educate you a little. Of course, all neighbouring countries both share some resentment towards each other however, only a small minority of people such as yourself who hold such resentment. Don’t allow yourself to become entangled and fall victim to this behaviour. Stick to the facts and I’m sure people from whatever nationality would value you more.
Finally, I welcome you to join me and Johnny Bach for a long weekend here in Wales. It will be an honour for both of us to show you around our beautiful and scenic country, where you will meet the dregs who work hard and long hours on productions for S4/C including both Welsh and English speaking citizen who watch and enjoy their native channel.
I’m sure after your stay you will be overwhelmed by what you have learnt and most probably be perpetually joyed about having Wales as a next door neighbour.

rod liddle

Mari - I chose the title because my mum sang it to me as a kid. I think you ought to take a step back and perhaps not be quite so literal, you know? Yes, heppy to debate with your sixth form so long as a)it's in English and b)it's a state school.

Dyfrig - some very fair points, especially re the dross on tv. You think, given a referendum, your countrymen would choose pobol y cwm instead of X Factor? You and I may hope that they would, but they won't, will they?

And we English, or part English, are mongrel paedophile scum who you would like blow to bits with a shotgun, are we chaps? And you weren't joking, were you?

Just for the record, I didn't not make it on the Echo - it was a great paper to work for and I still read it now - and I didn't beat up a pregnant girlfriend. Nor did I stand as a council candidate in Cathays or anywhere else.

Eddie

Llio Davies. Oh Purlease - so you know that less than 10% of Welsh people want independence? Rabid Welsh nationalists are in a small minority - most Welsh people are not massive racists (against the English) and also recognise that the BRITISH Empire included the Welsh! So to blame every bad thing the British ever did on the English just shows how racist you are! Only Welsh losers with hang-ups are anti-English.

Gilli

Mr Wilson does it much better, more intelligently and far funnier than Rod. Rod's research skills never came up to much as we can see from this article, remind me again why he left the Today programme?

Machynlleth Spaceman

This is quite an amazing fellow Mr Riddle. Riddle me this would you rather be a seaweed muncher or a Saxon ? Only joking Boi bach xxx Maybe he should come to Wales and visit areas such Ceredigion and Aberystwyth and see how his fellow countrymen act towards the local people .Bit of a joke really as they seem to ship in degenerates who don't seem to want to work and yet end up getting housing which are meant to be for local nees only,the area is swamped with soap dodging hippies who want to save the world but don't give a fwc about Cymru and her culture, then take a visit to the North Wales coast and see how his fellow countrymen act up there .

I hear the cattle train coming - taxi for the hippies and degenerates ... please go home.

Amy Davies

It's nice to see you've taken the time to research this. I think you'll find it's 'sospan fach yn berwi ar y tan.' Despite being Welsh, I have no problem with the neighbours apart from when you insist on making insulting comments about us. Shame on you! Your ignorance however is impressive. Take another look at how the viewing figures are calculated- I think you'll find it's not based on the population of Wales. Any valid argument you may have had has been negated by your school playground, pathetic little jibes. Would you be so openly racist towards any other nation?

Bedwyr

Talentless? What about Rhys Ifans, Mathew Rhys, Ioan Gruffydd et al, all began on S4C. I'll ignore the 'humourous' comments about us Welsh, I do agree with you that S4C needs a kick up the backside but scrapping it is not the answer. There are many good programmes and poor ones, just like there are on the BBC, but S4C has been treated badly by the government, which should have consulted far more before making the snap decision of putting it under the funding control of the Beeb.

Little Miss Scarlet

Firstly, you may want to revise your title...inaccuracy is a real bug bear of mine.

Secondly, you may not agree with the continuation of S4C, but there is absolutely no need for such a vindictive and spiteful approach.

craig ab iago

briliant! articles like this do more for the independence for wales cause than burning a 1000 cottages. if we ever need reminding why it is exactly that we hate the english there's always rod liddle's article in the spectator. thanks. all we need now is for you to get this sort of stuff published in a publication people actually read.

Scotchman

Just as well Rod hasn't heard about BBC Alba. Has anybody outside of Scotland?

Bobby Bobson the Third

You claim the Arctic Monkeys managed to make it without the kind of support SFA got with S4C - yet the Arctics were on BBC News as nearly headline news before their album had even come out, with claims that their debut was gearing up to sell faster than the Beatles. I'd say that's considerable support right there.

David Ossitt

Rod congratulations, 265 posts to date and still counting, without any doubt you are the master, you get more posts to some of your blogs than anyone else on the Spectator web site.

Reading all of the posts so far, has confirmed my long held opinion that those who hail from the Principality are a little short on humour, but to a certain extent they make up for this deficit by being first class at hate and malice.

Nick Hughes

Perhaps if we didn't have to fund a completely pointless, outdated German heritage (the Monarchy), it wouldn't be so painful for non-Welsh Brits to accept that the Welsh language is one of the few remaining bits of original British Heritage and needs preserving.
And for those who disagree, there's a few thousand Tigers left in the world you could go and slaughter rather than reading this you know..

Nick Hughes

Oh and to John Baily, contrary to your belief, the Welsh, Scottish and Irish do actually pay tax as well, unless there is some secret Anglo-Tax that I'm unaware of?

Lungfish

Its been a good one but nobody has mentioned the huge difference between North Wales and South Wales. Down in the south, lazy good for nothing scrounging brawlers. Up in the north,hard working salt of the earth. Its a fact you know.

Neilyn

Colonies don't come cheap Rod bach, the English ought to know that by now!

John Steadman

To those of you who pour bile on Rod Liddle for this little sortie of his, fine, pour away; your right, your privilege.
To those of you who state your intention to report him, with the nauseating smugnes of those who feel the wind blowing in their direction, to the PCC or the police - pathetic, truly pathetic; victims one and all of the sinister prevailing orthodoxy of censorship of thought and free speech,not to mention advocacy of intolerance of offensive satire and humour.
I believe you are worthy of the highest contempt - and I certainly offer mine - and I believe that the day will come, alas, when Big Brother will bring home to you the error of your naive ways.

Llyfa fy nghesail,,

Sheep botherers? Really thought you would have come up with something a bit more original. You be-liddle yourself. Of course, one of the advantages of being pinch-faced hill tribesmen is that we are bilingual. We can actually speak Welsh AND English. So we seaweed munchers are perfectly placed to co-produce, with S4C, major international TV series, back-to-back in two languages. We're so good at it, in fact, that channels like National Geographic choose to buy our stuff, play and replay it to God knows how many millions of audiences world wide....Check out Rivers and Life, Nat Geo Wild. That ill-informed, bigoted opinion of yours??? Bin it Rod Bach. Bin it.

Pol Wong

Warthus!
You are very rude and outwardly insulting,surely there is a deep phsycological reason behind this kind of attack.I think you should publicly apologise to the people of Cymru,and say that you didnt mean it the way it comes across,it was meant to be funny or something like that....

COC OEN

Paul S

I didn't know the Welsh were a race.

monkeymfc

Why do some English people get so annoyed by the fact that there are some people in the world who don't want to be English?

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

You are truly an evil and disgusting man rod. Your disrspect towards our nation and racial comments towards our people are unacceptable.

Your place is in prison, not writing for a magazine. You can kiss the post of editor goodbye you biggot.

monkeymfc

Perhaps we could settle this by having Pol Wong fight Rod Liddle, if Pol wins though no English man may say anything negative, joking or otherwise, about any foreigner ever again,
we could even have it at the Den

skydog

Merlinthepig:''The tendency is probably excerbated by the fact that such a large proportion of that country are employed by the public sector.''

Signing on at the DHSS once a fortnight does not constitute being 'employed buy the public sector' Merlin ;o)

Mike

Good for you Rod. The Welsh are always moaning on about something or other. Miserable place too. Cardiff on any night of the week is like a less fun version of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Titus

I fail to see how you could even consider writing this sort of drivel and let alone publishing it. We are a separate nation and are entitled to our own services in our own language regardless of what bigots like you think. The only conclusion that I can come to is that you get some sick kick out of angering people or being a narrow minded racist. Being a pinch faced sheep bothering savage with a limited vocabulary myself I have no option but to tell you to fynd i ffwcio dy hun, but being an insufferable wanker you probably get enough practise anyway.

ELAIN

I'm offended! This is PURE RACISM!! How dare you? This is the only Welsh speaking channel we have in Wales and I think we are entitled to it! You have countless channels to suit your every need - S4C is the only one we have? How dare you publish this Blog - this is completely disgraceful! There are over 200,000 welsh-speakers that are fluent in the language - and if people like YOU were to take this channel away - there would be less of us!

S4C MUST SURVIVE AND WILL SURVIVE!!

rod liddle

I don't think that they do get annoyed, monkey. The annoyance isn't on this side, is it?

Gary Speed

Im sure Rod Liddle and whoever he writes for are quite chuffed with all these responses he's getting from this article.I think it needs to be pointed out that what this is is blatant racism and racial hatred and it is actually illegal.Thats all that needs to be known in the eyes of the law.Maybe he'd like to show the same racial hatred and bigotry towards the Bengali and Asian speaking communities as well in the name of racist consistency? This person and many like him should now be tried under racial hatred laws.The glint in the eye mocking is irrelevant.Racism is racism .Prosecute as you would a racist National Front member.

rod liddle

"Bigot", Iestyn, not "biggot". I assume, although cannot be sure, that you have spelled your own name correctly. Just to be sure, I'd change it by deed poll to "Bob".

R Gravelle

This article is simply a racist and vitriolic rant. I I I seriously doubt that this man would feel capable of issuing equivalent insults against other ethnic groups. I expect that the fact that I am deeply offended will again be put down to a Welsh lack of self awareness or sense of humour.

david rodway

If Wales is so crap can you tell me why so many English people come and live here? I mean, 30 % of our population is form England, and most of them are old, hospital-huggin, free-bus-pass abusing retirees. They don;t learn our language, and yet we constantly pay for them, change language for them when we meet them (then they say 'no-one speaks Welsh', not realising we're more polite than our monoglot neighbours), and to cap it all we then get lectured by English people about how they pay for us. We're bloody looking after thousands of you buggers on our costa geriatrica, in our beautiful natural parks etc., while our own young people can;t afford the housing.
Since you English love borders so much, why don;t you respect those others?
As for Rod's comments, they are minority-hating racism, nothing more. I've especially enjoyed the way they've smoked out other racists on the blogposts.

Mared Gwyn

Dear/ Annwyl Rod,
I would like to point out just some minor inaccuracies of your report. First of all, a four year old who has any basic knowledge of the language would realise that the title of this mediocre, immature report is blatantly, naively wrong. It is as if we wrote ‘Rod Liddle asarasist’ in English: and you call yourself a journalist? Surely publishing an article under a title that makes absolutely no sense is unjust. I would also suggest that next time you write an article, you may consider a more appropriate title; your article has nothing to do with ‘Sosban Fach’.
Secondly, I would like to point out that, we, the Welsh, are the natives of Britain. If you have any knowledge whatsoever of the history of our Kingdom, you surely must understand that we were here first. But in fact, it seems to me that you may be uneducated, your brain has obviously rotten due to your bitter, cruel nature. You are a very sad creature Rod.
I would also like to point out that racism is morally wrong. Maybe you weren’t aware of that.
I would like to extend you an invitation to our sixth form college. If you truly feel strongly that our nation and our language is a waste of space, you surely have the motivation to come and talk to young Welsh people. We would like to discuss our ideas with you. I hope to hear from you soon Rod.
I orffan swni’n licio ychwanegu sy fod di’n ddyn hyll iawn. Ateba nol reit handi boio. Ych a fi.

Polly S-J

You ignorant racists disgust me. I am ashamed to be English.

Seaweed muncher

Unsuprising comments from Liddle who's got form for being a bigot, (and also for assaulting a pregnant woman as it goes). I look forward to discussing some of his views like gentlemen during his next visit to Wales.....

Rhys Gethin

God, the English are so pathetic. Even your racism is effete and limp wristed.

Keep coughing up for S4C boys, in a century or two we might be even.

Lois Llywelyn

We are entitled to our own channel you know, and it's easy for you to say it's worthless when you have hundreds in your own language. You have no right to comment about it, because you don't even watch the channel. Aren't you supposed to be part Welsh anyway? Know your facts Rod, y pwffdar di-flew!

Robin F

Anghofiwch am y ffwl yma a sianelwch eich egni i fewn i'r brwydrau sy'n cyfri - pleidlais Ie yn y refferendwm fis Mawrth, dyfodol S4C, Swyddfa Basport Casnewydd, gwasanaethau cyhoeddus pobl Cymru

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

Oh Rod, what will we do with you? Are you honestly picking out typing errors now? I think it's funny that a bunch of sixth form students are getting the upper hand, you're pathetic my friend. Pathetic.

Oh, and it seems a little ironic that you're moking my spelling, as ou can't even spell out th words of a pre-school song. Idiot

Dafydd Willias

Hei met....ti'n sglyfath!

Dave Snowden

I think Rod Liddle is spot on. Why should someone from Essex like myself be paying for programming in any language other than English??? And estuary English at that!

Mared Gwyn

I would also like to add to my previous comment that, Rod my love, you would look lovely in a tall white hat and cape, burning wooden crosses.
Because that is truly what you are. A rotten KKK of a man, an excuse of a person. I wouldn't even feed you to the sheep y sglyfath

cris

Setting aside all cries of "racism" etc - it is worth pointing out that S4C's most popular programmes are viewed in Wales by about three times as many people as read The Spectator throughout the whole of the UK. Makes Liddle's argument seem rather silly really. But then, he IS a silly little man!

rod liddle

Mared - I'm really sorry, love, but how thick can you possibly be?

Mared Llywelyn

You may correct me if I'm wrong, Rod and others if you may, but I think you've written this article, and these spiteful comments which you say are meant to be a 'joke' because you want to get a reaction from us Welsh.
Quite right everybody sees that you'll get a reaction because we being a country that constantly gets put down and has to fight ten times harder than your country to get equal rights with our language and culture, people making crappy jokes about us shagging sheep (I myself prefer to shag cows, but hey..) and people just constantly undermining our language. You probably can't understand why we react like this because your language (english) isn't in any danger of disappearing. Christ, Gwynfor Evans nearly had to STARVE himself to death for us to get our channel, OUR channel, and we got it and it was one of the best triumphs in Wales's history.
You may still not understand why we react like this with our 'hate-filled comments' or malice or whatever, but I've tried my bloody best to show you why.

proud welshman

whilst i agree with rod liddle that s4c is a waste of time and money i think his comments about the welsh people was a disgrace and, he should appologise.these comments are both racial and offensive and, if they had been made against the muslims for example there would be a public outcry.so is it any wonder that the english are hated by every country but are to stupid to see it

Myrddin

Is little Rod your name or your nickname ? Melltith Cernunos arnat gyfaill.
Let's re-build Clawdd Offa and keep Rod and his clan from invading our beautiful, cultural and very special country.

Mared Llywelyn

You know what Rod? I don't have a clue how thick I am- will you please explain to me?

merlinthepig

300 and counting, Rod! Keep it up. And even posts from Dylan Jones and Gary Speed (apparently). What classy enemies, to be sure. I wonder when Glenys Kinnock will contribute?

R Gravelle

My entire family enjoy S4C programming daily. From my 3 year old son to my 80 year old grandmother. A woman who was punished in her school days for speaking her native tongue. A policy of ethnic cleansing that I'm sure you would have thoroughly approved of Mr Liddle. I wonder what colour shirt you were wearing when you wrote your piece. Brown or black?

L R

Oh Iestyn! What is he like, eh?!

Simone

Well the Welsh bigots were out in force on this blog.
Never mind. I'm an English woman, but I can take a bit of racism and name calling. Bring it on. We're made of tougher stuff across the border.
Welsh Cry babies :)

Gruffydd Dylan

Rod,
I would be interested to know wether you would repeat your anti-Welsh tirade to my 11 year old girl who avidly watches S4C's children's programmes or my parents, 81 and 82 respectively who also regularly watch S4C output? I think not...but then again somebody who writes such twisted and offensive drivel just might.

Gwen

you are a disgrace to the journalism profession. if you had commentated on any other race you would be facing serious legal implications.
We pay our TV license and therefore have the right to watch programmes in our own language.

Lois Llywelyn

Dave Snowden: Haven't you thought of the other side of the story? WE Welsh people also pay to run your English channels. We don't watch them, but we still have to pay (I don't personally pay, for I am only 12). Next time, think it through! Gwynfor Evans had to fight for our channel, and we are very proud of it, whereas you just have channel you want, and we are expected to ignore the fact that you are plain selfish. We could have had numerous channels, like you have. But we are happy to have our channel. If someone would take that away from us, our pride would have been taken away from us too.

Underdog

Ok fine, so long as the BBC then airs Jonathan, Tudur Owen o'r Doc, Rygbi a Mwy, Clwb Rygbi, Sgorio, Ralio and 10 Jonathan (and Pobol y Cwm for mam) on one of the BBC channels. (preferably instead of any football coverage and soap operas)

vernon

basdads digwyludd

Pazzadean

What a prick I'd love to see this nob. The funny thing is that everybody hates the English but they think there loved by everybody! Wales scots ireland n Ireland France Spain I could go on and on. Racist prick

vernon

basdads digwyludd

blodyn tatws

ha ha ha ha here we go again trist iawn very sad - some little english person who can't get any other response from anybody going over the veeeeeeerrrryyyy old story of 'Lets pick on the Welsh' - boooorrring - go back to Denmark you saxon oh and by the way oh by the way newsflash all the sheep shaggers have moved to yorkshire!!!!!!

gareth

Please, stop this now. Er mwyn dyn, os gwelwch yn dda, meddyliwch cyn taro'r allweddellau. . .

Rod, it's all got out of hand.

Cymraes i'r Carn!

Rod, isn't it obvious that your loosing this battle? So why don't you give up before you get your self even more humiliated?

Cer i grafu, dos di ar Google a cyfiaethu hwn, sna neb yn malio dim am y chdi.

David Roberts

We are used to remarks by idiots in Wales we have an old welsh saying "Twll tin pob sais"

Bethesda!

You’ve got issues, your head is messed up.
You think your clever correcting peoples spelling, but your not aren’t you?! Hahaha.
your just a sad old twat that’s pulling people to your head, kids even know that it’s wrong what you’re saying. When I heard about this I laughed because I thought it was a joke. But your actually serious about this aren’t you ? HAHA! What a stupid twat. What a dick to be honest, your an Ignorant English Twat! It was ok for you English to walk all over us and steel our water and force people out of there own homes. And come travelling around our mountains going up the mountains in stupid weather and spending thousands of pounds for the mountain rescue to go look for you’re English people. Scum that’s what you are! What a grate role model you are get a grip and act your age in stead of being on this slagging us of because where would you be without us? And to correct you we don’t shag sheep, we eat them ;) Ma dy cock yn y lle anghywir met mau’o ar dy ben ar y funud

Simone

Look, I think we can all agree that you Welsh posters have given Wales a bad enough name already. Rod hardly needs say anything.
So please go away now. Go and be hysterical elsewhere.

Malcolm

Rob Liddler
You are simply an embarrassment to British Journalism and to see that you even argue with your readers makes you nothing more than a trouble maker.
Further to your quote “Do you people with ws and ys not understand, not even faintly, that the comment was not entirely serious?” I do hope that the editor of the Spectator reads this blog, surely any fool can see that your journalistic abilities are fraud.
No wonder there are so many racism and hatred in this world today especially where fools like you entice such behaviour and then state that your comments was not entirely serious. Time you ended your career Mr Liddler before you create further damage.
I also would like to see that you are legally dealt with. People like you should not be allowed to reside in a democratic country not alone employed to write freely your racial thoughts in any journalistic articles.

we hate rod liddle society

I think that you are a horrible little man, whos very racist towards Wales and its inhabitants, you are a very ignorant pillock.

Lloyd Evans

Difficult to pin a race hate crime on Rodders for this. Any QC will analyse the anti-Welsh comments as follows.

Miserable –descriptive

Seaweed-munching – a compliment in organic households

Sheep-bothering – innocuous, although the echo of ‘sheep-buggering’, if intentional, is skilfully concealed, and evidently calculated as a humorous provocation to the paranoid.

Pinch-faced - descriptive

Hill tribes – descriptive. Wales has hills and everyone coalesces into tribes.

Rodders is within the law. And he’s right about S4C which is not appreciated by the English-speaking Welsh communities. That’s all. Must dash. The kelp soup is bubbling on the hob and Larry needs a service.

Lloyd Evans

Cymraes o Gaerffili

Are you still employed, Rod Liddle? If you are, then I view The Spectator with the same contempt as I view you.

Do you consider yourself a serious journalist? By definition, they research a subject, then after much deliberation, write about it and express opinions. Where was your research?

The only "research" seems to be that you "once lived in Wales". Whatever else you learned from that experience, it wasn't our native tongue. As for statistics, you quoted the tabloids whose findings had been dismissed. When The Spectator advises you to take your career in another direction, your CV doesn't make impressive reading, unless the reader likes violent racist bigots.

And to come to my point - S4C is not perfect by any means. But is any TV channel? Unlike English channels that can specialize in certain genres - documentaries, drama series or light entertainment - S4C has to do it all. If you had bothered learning the language when you lived in Wales, you could tune in and you would find excellent programmes that you might enjoy as well as not-so-good programmes that you could switch off. However, even the worst of S4C's output has got to be better than blogs composed by racists posing as journalists for The Spectator!

We as viewers of S4C have a right to comment on the standard of programmes and to make recommendations. We actually pay taxes, though this article suggests that we do not! And S4C should be funded by public money and controlled by Welsh people. We fought for our one channel, we need the one and only TV channel we have in our native language. A government in Westminster and the likes of Jeremy Hunt, who has as much knowledge and understanding of the situation as Rod Liddle and The Spectator, should never be allowed to decide whether or not it should remain.

Hands off S4C! Hands off the Welsh language! If you have nothing constructive to say, give up journalism and go and fill supermarket shelves - just make sure it's a supermarket on your side of Offa's Dyke, not ours!

Meanwhile, I shall continue to watch television through the medium of Welsh, and if a programme is not my cup of tea, I'll switch to one of the hundreds of channels on offer in English then switch back when there's a Welsh programme I want to watch. S4C is available with English subtitles so we even share our Welsh programmes with those who don't speak the language but who wish they did.

When you're unemployed, Rod Liddle, you'll have time on your hands to do the research you should have done before your wrote this drivel.

Tony

@ Richard of Moscow:
"Little Englander is a term applied to English people who are regarded as xenophobic and/or overly nationalistic and are often accused of being ignorant and boorish."

Strikes me that this definition is perfectly appropriate.

Wanker.

LLewellyn ap Gruffud

Simone, what's the problem with you??, the only bigots here are the english morons like you, fortunately most of them have more brains in their heads.
Come to Cymru, merch, to take some of what you deserve. Ych y fi.

Nic Dafis

> I didn't know the Welsh were a race.

They're not. Neither are Jamaicans or Pakistanis, if you'd like to defend Liddle's right to abuse them in pursuit of a cheap laugh.

Christopher Swift

Simone, the Welsh are hardly being hysterical or bigots in this instance, especially when compared to Rob here. Need I remind you that this "journalist" has failed to research the topic of the article at all, has failed to even spell the title of the article correctly nor has he maintained a civility in his initial article by clearly insulting the Welsh but also in his comments here too? A professional writer wouldn't do any of these things hence why I've formed an official complaint against him with the Press Complaints Commission.

Oh and by the way Simone, I'd like to see how happy the English are when all that they are forced to watch on TV is Spanish and French programming in place of their native and natural tongue, English. You seem to forget that the Welsh are tax payers too so we are entitled to the same rights as you English folk, you have more than 6 BBC channels dedicated to your language (BBC 1, 2, 3, 4, News, Parliament off the top of my head) as well as countless radio stations compared to our S4C which isn't part of the BBC and Radio Cymru which is. I've never heard a complaint from an English person about BBC Alba before despite the incredibly low number of speakers in comparison to Welsh who are able to watch it and understand it fully.

I can't see why you'd want to side with somebody who beat up his 20-week pregnant girlfriend and is a racist as can been seen in his previous works about Afro-Caribbean men and how he seems to think that they are all criminals as well as his labeling of Muslims as "Muslim savages", not a view that I hold personally. I'd love to take him into my own college as a previous commenter has suggested and see how his views stand up against those of 16-18 year olds. I'm more than certain that they could counter anything that he has to offer against them in reasoning for this xenophobic behaviour towards the Welsh and the slander of S4/C.

Andy Bell

The level of cultural superiority demonstrated by, presumably, monolingual types as they comment on this issue is beyond astonishing.
Therefore...
Twll eich tinau diawled di-feddwl
Which means "Smugness is so nice".
Well, it is according to Rod Liddle's Welsh dictionary

Oglaigh na hErireann

OOh Ahh

Up The 'RA

OOh Ahh

Up the FWA

(Sorry Mr Warfield)

Ian Wright

Storm in a teacup.
In Australia, we could not tell the difference between a person from Wales and a person from some other place in the UK even if our lives depended on it. They look the same, sound the same, all just Brits to us.

Richard Edwards

David Ossitt, you disgust me.
I'm with Dafydd Pritchard on this.
CYMRU AM BYTH!!!

Richard Edwards

If English were the minority language here, and they faced the threat of their only english TV channel being cut, they'd defend it - bunch of bloody hipocrites. Do yourselves a favour and go pick on people who aren't even natives of Britain!!! Idiots.

Sion

Ian Wright, Can't tell differences in Australia can you not? How very convenient for you. Bet the real Australians can still spot you lot who colonized them!

Huw

Oh, for some perspective. Liddle's "sin" isn't so much casual racism as employing hackneyed, boring, cliches in pursuit of a response.

Like most channels trying to appeal to its constituency, S4C produces or shows a range of programmes: from Ffermio to Rasus to Pobl to Clwb Rygbi. Some of these attract a small audience and aren't to my taste, any more than, say, Emmerdale. I do, though, recognise that other people enjoy and value them. The argument that nobody at all watches S4C is specious and lazy - and just plain mischievous.

The latter being the point of the blog piece, unless I'm mistaken. And Liddle's been reasonably adept that - now and in the past.

I've come on here to see what the fuss is about. So he's also been successful in drawing to The Spectator site. Ych y fi! The Spectator isn't exactly renowned for its insightful, balanced, elegant and liberal commentary, is it?

Move on, people. Nothing to see here other than a boring load of recycled, reactionary nonsense.

Richard of Moscow

Tony
October 23rd, 2010 1:34am
@ Richard of Moscow:
"Little Englander is a term applied to English people who are regarded as xenophobic and/or overly nationalistic and are often accused of being ignorant and boorish."

Strikes me that this definition is perfectly appropriate.
Wanker."

It is also 100% wrong, you retarded little prick. Try again - you have Internet access, for Christ's sake.

Christopher Swift: "A professional writer wouldn't do any of these things hence why I've formed an official complaint against him with the Press Complaints Commission."

Hence why?

Another semi-literate muppet.

Simone

Christopher Swift, what has Rod's personal life got to do with any of this?

As I said on the other blog, there are a lot of nasty hysterical Welsh posters here without a sense of proportion. This is just a blog.
We're discussing a TV channel, for heavens sake, not ethnic cleansing!

I'm prepared to excuse some of the posters on the basis that they are clearly children.
Others are obviously mentally unstable. Some are just plain nasty.

If TV means so much to all of you, then you need to get a life.

I can hardly take any of you seriously when you are all whingeing about racism (oh please).
It's also hugely hypocritical for some of you to complain of racism and then make racist remarks about Rod and the English.

If you have good arguments, then make them.
So far, these posts have been hugely embarrassing for Wales.

Oglaigh na hEireann

Ian Wright, you Aussies have no place to talk what with the shameful way the Aborigines, native Australians, have been treated over they years.

They were there before their land was populated by English convicts.

Hmmm I am noticing a pattern here.

Ooh Ahh Up The 'RA!!

R Gravelle

Simone, what is your motivation for putting yourself up as an Eva Braun for Rod by defending the indefensible.? And I'm confused by the posting from the Australian contributor? Perhaps we shouldn't be taking advice from a nation with a rather chequered history of dealing with it's own Aboriginal people.

Janstie

RL's blog on S4C and the Welsh in general made me LoL! Very amusing indeed, but not to be taken seriously, I hope.

Blogs on all subjects are the essence of free speech. However, I'd like to promote the principle that objective science and intellectual integrity must always be at the heart of every debate, not point scoring.

Christopher Swift

Richard of Moscow
Semi-literate? At least I am able to communicate well in 3 languages without having any problems in understanding. I've made a very common grammar mistake that happens a lot in speech, shock horror, English isn't everyone's primary language.

Boi da!!

Be di'r boi ma?!?! sad go iawn. Come to wales and you will see how beautiful it is.....it's a land of natural beauty, bearly touched by man!! HOW DARE YOU!! I hope you get everything that's coming to you, yo've touched the nerves of 3 million proud welsh men/women!! What a TWAT! Am adra a chd'r cont gwirion!

laverlover

There has been, of late, a discernible sense of apathy amongst Welsh speakers regarding the potential demise of the only Welsh language channel in the world.Until now that is! Thank you Mr Liddle, for stirring up such passion and re-igniting the fires of Glyndwr's sons and daughters. The cheque from Cymdeithas yr Iaith is in the post.

Simone

R.Gravelle: I despise political correctness and I believe we should have free speech in this country. Rod is not politically correct; he tells it as he sees it.
For that, I applaud him. We need more people like him.

More and more minorities are demanding "respect", yet the more they demand respect, the more they actually lose respect.

If the Welsh posters had come in here with a sense of humour, yet fought their corner with intelligence and good argument, then they would have gained respect.
But all this outrage and hatred just makes me want to dismiss their concerns.
They can get lost.

blogdroed

@Eddie October 22nd, 2010 12:40pm

I'm just wondering if you couldpoint out which part of my message made you decide I was anti-English and a racist.

It's quite an accusation.

Sorry if I'm taking this away from Liddle's piece, but as I pointed out earlier, he's just writing for a reaction - one he certainly has achieved!

alan

reading your comments on s4c makes one realize why the english are hated by virtualy every country in europe.they are tolerated because they spend money.go to any country in europe when they find out you are not english their atitude changes to one of friendliness not toleration

rod liddle

Christopher Swift; you will now be sued for defamation. Get yerself a good lawyer.

David Ossitt

The incandescent hate and loathing that has been directed at Rod Liddle in particular, and at the English people in general, by the great majority of those who have posted hear is both amusing and illuminating.

That the people of a vassal state should show hate, and loathing towards their masters is quite understandable, this deep resentment is exacerbated by the fact that the vast majority are either employed by the state or are in recite of state benefits, in either case the revenue needed to provide this income is in the main paid for out of taxes paid by the English, and deep down the Welsh understandably find this humiliating.

Stuart Seacole Smith

Heavens above, what a tsunami of foolishness. My Mum's welsh. Love her dearly, but she's got very little sense of humour either. Well, people slipping on banana skins and things go down quite well, but that's about it.

As a half welsh person, I remember once being told by a bolshy welshie that there's no such thing as half welsh. How charmed I felt!

Cardi a Chymraes

Bilingualism, whatever its definition in the Oxford dictionary, is conceived differently by monoglot Englanders. In Wales and the rest of Europe, bilingualism means the ability to communicate - converse, read and write - in two languages and switch from one to the other naturally. However, in a part of Europe, situated between the English Channel and Hadrian's Wall, it means communicating in English while boasting a French 'O' level and having the ability to say, "un cafe, si'l vous plait" when on holiday, then switching from French to speaking slowly in English and pointing to the pain au chocolat or croissant they want, boasting of their efforts to communicate in the native language. It's no wonder that Welsh people prefer to describe themselves as Welsh and European rather than Welsh and British.

"Hill tribes who are perpetually bitter about having England as a neighbour," says Rod. I have nothing against the English as neighbours, as long as that's what they are - neighbours. Although I rule the roost in my own household, I do not expect to throw my weight around in my next door neighbour's house. Neither do I expect my neighbours to interfere in my household's affairs. It is none of their business. What do toffs in Westminster understand about S4C or the Welsh language? "A high fence makes a good neighbour," so the old adage goes - Offa had the right idea, he was probably familiar with your ancestors, dear Rod.

Why can't the unemployed, forced to work or face losing benefits, be ordered to rebuild Offa's Dyke? If The Spectator was a reputable publication that opposed racist journalism, you would be among the labourers.

Mared Gwyn

Oh Rod, LOVE, how hard I do laugh at your joke! 'How thick can you possibly be', is that really the best you can do??! Ha!
If you really feel that my previous comment wasn't intellectually stimulating for you, perhaps I should challenge you and write it in Welsh????...

Dwi'n teimlo dy fod di'n ddyn hiliol, ac yn ragrithiwr mawr. Ma'r erthygl yma'n sarhad ar genedl o bobl, ac os wt ti'n teimlo y dylia S4C ddatblygu a gwella, nid dyma'r ffordd i fynegi dy deimlada y diawl dandin.'

Can't understand it?
hmm, Rod- how thick can you be?!

Serina

Ian Wright, that's quite alright, in Wales, we can't tell the difference between you or people from New Zeland, you all look the same...sound the same...

Lia and Megan

We (Wales) have to live in your shadow, we don't even get recognised as a country by many, we fought long and hard for this and as many have said Gwynfor Evans was prepared to starve himself to get us our channel and you say you were prepared to bin it? As simple as that. YOU RACIST PIG < that, my dear friend, is an insult to pigs!
It is easy enough for you to say "bin it" because you simply don't understand, but this channel is precious to many of us and if this is your attempt at being humorous - you should not become a comedian.
"LITERALLY nobody watches it" you say. We’re afraid we'll have to disagree with you there. We, do remember watching s4c tonight and every other night if it comes to that. And before you say that we are only a small amount of people- if you scroll up this page you'll find that there are many others who will agree with us.
We are both young adults and as we’ve said we turn to watch s4c regularly! Our parents, grand-parents and our siblings do as well.
And lastly how do you expect us to cherish you, the English, as next door neighbours when we’re being called “miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes”?
We just want to keep our channel, something to keep our language going, and you won’t even let us have that. It was fine for you to force people out of their homes that you can have a place to store the water that you don’t even use but it’s not fine for us to be able to keep our channel? Something doesn’t seem right.
We both think that you’re a bloody racist who thinks that you have a right to talk about anyone just how you like, instead of keeping your racist, disgusting comments to yourself!

Sion M Jones

Dear rod rhech mewn potal liddle and all you other "rod" tod people who likes roddy boy from inglandd (wpsi, rong spelling. Why oh why do you read other people's comments and have nothing better to say back than to point out spelling mistakes, toad). Aniwai, what a pathetic thing to do with your pathetic little life, you have nothing better to do than to make sad disgusting remarkes about a country which is BETTER than yours? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a very nice country, with very nice people living there, but do you know which ones get on my nerves, ceilogod pen clawdd fel chdi y rel llipryn, real piece of wrinkly lump of diarreah (i don't care if i miss spelt it I don't even want to speak the language you posses of, because of you), Iesu Grist bach a mawr o bendraw'r Sowth maisio gras chi!! GO HOME

Jo Davies

If you'd had a go at any other race you'd be pilloried. We pay tax too and our cash goes to various shite that Westminster dictates-e.g. Iraq murder. S4C has won many awards including Oscars for great animation, drama etc and gave international talent such as Ioan Gruffudd, Duffy, Matthew Rhys, Rhys Ifans, Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch etc. Jealous of a minority that has managed to retain its identity, culture and language, the PCC should ban you from peddling this racist tripe!

ling ling

I've been gone a while, but from afar, the Beeb offers the best TV anywhere in the world. The world service, which is what I relied on when I was first a foreigner in central Europe a dozen or so years ago, was pretty dreary then. But along came 24 hour news and a great antidote. As for S4C, its very good on the music festivals. What I also noticed abroad was that some English people, Rod is probably one of them, can barely supress a resentment of the resilience of Wales and the language...Labour devolution of some power to the regions has spooked them more... Resource allocation is political and imperfect, everywhere. We could probably find a lorryload of questionably deployed taxpayer dosh in England too if we went for it. As for The Spectator, I'm astonished it's still going. Last time I looked it was a right wing thing of the eighties. The New Statesman threw off much much more talent, Amis, the Hutch usw. Lastly, I was really alarmed recently by DCameron's proclamation from a Cornish beach that Snowdonia was among his favourite spots, ugh...hope the grockles didn't notice that one and want to buy it all up with banker inflated lolly...

Dafydd ap Llywelyn

Cachgi huliol.

Twll dy din di.

Disgwyl dim gwell gan rhywun sydd yn gallu ymosod ar fenywod beichiog.

A dim ond cael rhybudd gan yr heddlu an wneud ffasiwn beth.

Cythraul brwnt budr.

Dos i lyfu dy bidyn bach washi, da ni'n gwybod fod y dawn gen ti i wneud hynny.

Dafydd ap Llywelyn

Cachgi huliol.

Twll dy din di.

Disgwyl dim gwell gan rhywun sydd yn gallu ymosod ar fenywod beichiog.

A dim ond cael rhybudd gan yr heddlu an wneud ffasiwn beth.

Cythraul brwnt budr.

Dos i lyfu dy bidyn bach washi. Da ni i gyd yn gwbod fod y ddawn gen ti i wneud hynny.

Ian

I am aware of a few people who have reported you to the police. The police are speaking to the Crown Prosecution Service to see if there is a likelyhood of a conviction and of course they would not go to the CPS in the first place, if they did not think that a law had been broken.
What pleasure do you gain from upsetting so many people, whose only apparent failing is being Welsh?
I suspect that you had a glass of wine in front of you when you typed this particular blog but of course, that is no defence in law.
I am curious to know if you actually regret anything that you have typed above, or if you stand by every word? Your excuse of it being humour is not going to wash and some sort of apology, even partial may just calm things down a little.

Ffani Tastig

Well, I'm Welsh and worked in the Welsh media for over a year (S4C). He's got a point. Don't know why he brought inane racism into it though. Think before you think, blodyn.

Boxhead

Good on yer Rod. Political correctness gone mad. Can't even throw bananas on the pitch at the Den any more.

Joni Bach

The English won't accept that they don't really belong on this island. Welsh is the native language of this island and as long as us Welsh speakers exist this fact will grate with the poor English, as is evident from little Rod's attempt at a blog. Go home to Friesland Rod you monolingual dunce.

Iestyn

this liddle man irritates my face see

Richard of Moscow

Can S4C's content really be as bad as that of BBC News 24?

If, say, 10,000 people watch S4C to learn Welsh, surely that is more deserving of state subsidy than 500,000 watching some airhead spouting silly lies on BBC News 24.

Christopher Swift, we all (I hope) make grammatical slips, and neither you nor I would have learnt others' languages without plenty of trial and error, but it's a bloody good idea to avoid them when you decide to highlight someone else's spelling mistakes.

Lungfish

I'm really disapointed- not because of all these up in arms shocked and disgusted Welshies, but because I'v just been to The Trout down by the Thames.
Last time I went it was a fairly decent boozer, its now a restaurant with hijab wearing women with babies drinking orange juice and lift music piped in. I took Mrs Lungfish, telling her it was a fairly commercialised confection- the remnants of a proper pub and worth a look. Some arsehole has ripped out the flags and torn down the joists, it now has no more cultural relevance than an ice cream van. I had to come home and watch No Country For Old Men :-(

Archie

But Tommy Cooper was Welsh!

Toby St. J. Featherstonehaugh-Carruthers

Rod Liddle claims his mother sang the above words to him. Either her memory was faulty, or he is cloth-eared, or both. In any event, he is neither original nor funny. Obviously, he is trying to keep his nose brown in respect of that shower at Westminster, and his shirt clean in respect of the crew who pay his wages. No, sorry, it's the other way round. He's trying to keep his nose clean, and his shirt ... in any event, what he needs is a nice quiet dark room where those nasty Welsh people can't get him, a cup of camomile tea, and a couple of hours to calm down. [Note to the professional staff who come to help poor Mr. Liddle - you'll need to have the carpet replaced.]

Catarina

What a horrible human being you are RL. My Welsh parents, God bless them, taught me not to say hurtful things. I have many English friends and come into contact with many English people from day to day. and find them to be lovely people, and then along comes your type who for some reason hate the fact that we are a bit different and have through losing blood and sweat managed to keep our lovely language alive. What is the problem your type has with this I honestly dont know. Surely a little help from our neighbours wouldnt come amiss to keep S4C alive.

Gwilym Evans

Pen bach o sais yn de!!

Simone

Ian, I have even more exciting news for you!
I know that some people have complained to their teachers.... and their MUMS!
Their mums said that Rod is a very nasty boy indeed. And Mums, as we can all agree, know BEST!
So there!

Ivor Rowlands

First point Mr Liddle (of two failed relationships,late of the S.W.P,L.P and BBC) of Kent.
The London as you know it would not exist if it had not been for the Welsh or maybe you and some of the bird brains who have entered comments are not aware of that fact.
As for the Welsh being dregs, well there is not much chance of anyone obtaining a job at the BBC outside north of London as the large mouthed small brained people from Essex and Kent hog all the jobs.
And as for a command of the English language by media journalists :- Thank you is now /There you go,Progressive policy/Fast track, Equal status/ Level playing field,No problem / when there is one, Enjoy yourself/Get a life, Pay attention/Listen up,At this moment/Right now, Frightening,/spooky, Schedule/pronounced Scedule and not forgetting Wow after any type of startling news.
Why don't you all clear off to America and let the civilised indigenous inhabitants of this country run their own affairs without the generations of boom,slump and war you have imposed on us?
H.G. Wells was correct when he described Essex as a swine of a county with pigs for people, a great shame he failed to include Kent in his comment.
Remember Mr Liddle plant bach, "Fe godwn ni eto","Honi soit qui mal y pense".

Richard Abington

the ugliest language in Europe!

Thomas Roberts

Three million people living in Wales paying 17.5% VAT + retired people who once worked in the public sector before it was privatised having to pay 20% tax on their pension = 37.5% tax. Then we contribute towards the £46bn road fund licence charge together with all the other taxes imposed on us going into the London government coffer and you have the audacity to advocate taking away our only television channel.
That is what I would refer to as "Norman Justice",little has changed since 1066 !

Julie Cooper

Shame on you Rodney Liddle for making light of a social problem which strikes at the heart of Cotswold life. Have you any idea how divisive the practice you euphemistically call “sheep worrying” has become in this part of the world ? This disgusting perversion is only fit for animals !

Richard Littleone

Has Rod Liddle ever been to Wales ? Well let me tell you, I have and it was full of the sort of people he describes, particularly in North Wales. It saddens me that a once beautiful country has been overrun with Welsh people. Isn’t it time that we stood up for the silent majority in this country and said SEND THEM BACK !

Old Slaughter

It seems shoulder chips are being worn large this season.

With the warm exception of some, the more howling protests from the celtic loons on here, the more Rod's jokes seem reasonable and just commentary.

I love Wales and enjoy my considerable time spent there, but most writers here do it a massive disservice. Oh, and for the dreamer threatening us with independence, go ahead, make our day. Reality bites and you'll be dead by Christmas.

Christopher Swift

Richard of Moscow
A fair point but as (I assume) a non Welsh speaker he could've just entered "Sosban fach" into Google and I'm sure that it would've returned line that he was looking for within the first page of results.

Christopher Swift

rod liddle (or a poser)
As I understand it you have threatened many people, organisations and websites with getting sued for defamation. Under my understanding of English law, defamation must include false information to bring down the reputation of another entity. By quoting what one has written in their blogs and articles and indeed their own admissions to the police, I fail to see how that qualifies for defamation.

Sincerely

Mae Rod Yn Wancar!!

Diced!!!

kelly

and I wonder why so many people hates the english.....

Malcolm

LADDIES & GENTLEMEN, GUYS & GIRLS, BLOGGERS from whatever part of this planet.
It obvious by studying Rod Liddle’s psychology, that by reacting to his comments makes him tick. And for the Spectator they love it because it gives them publicity which in the long run increases their advertising revenue.
Scruffy looking Liddle loves himself simply for the fact that he thinks he is better than anyone with words. Don’t you Rod? This is clearly visible when you see him correcting people, and from what I see he will correct anyone whatever nationality that portray him to be weak.
Rod also thinks of himself as a highly respected journalist, simply because he has an ability to scramble his wording from various contexts to describe a meaning, for example: Sheep Bothering. This in term makes him feel superior and he adores himself when he chooses to use such wording. What’s wrong with sheep shaggers Rod? Or are you afraid that this can be foreseen as being more direct.
Even though Rod sees himself as an excellent journalist who makes numerous spelling mistakes is nothing more than a brainless toad who tries his HARDEST to push the boundaries. If he was as successful as Ali G or Chris Moyles from Radio 1 at taking the piss or jokingly either out of the Welsh or any other nation then he would NOT have these comebacks. I laughed at both Ali G and Moyles when I hear their comments and feel that it damm good entertainment. As for you Liddle, you FAIL miserably and undoubtedly fall into Ann Roberson’s category.
Whatever nationality or religion you may be. Don’t fall victim to his comments. Don’t allow him to TICK. – This smart Welshman can read him like a book.
LET THE DOG STARVE including the DREGS (My sincere apologies for choosing your word here Rod) – I’ll use my own, the undervalued who all run the Spectator.

Brycey

English people smell.

Johnny Bach

Mr Liddle, your facts are untrue, what you speak of in regard to S4C is incorrect, and quite frankly, you're an englishman, who doesn't know what he's talking about! If i were to turn around and discriminate against you, your culture, your language, and your country, i would be labelled nothing other, than a racist! So your above blog,...is racist,...and you are a racist! Hope you're happy with yourself....You evidently need to get laid!!

john owen

I notice that the Press Complaints Commission that a blog posting on the Spectator’s website, published on 5 December 2009, contained inaccurate information in breach of Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.
Surely this judgement would apply to his comments about the Welsh being
'miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes?'. It would appear that once more there is one law for Afro Caribean ethnic minorities and one for the Welsh, who can insulted with impunity.

Alan

While I don�t agree with the idea of closing S4C down, I do think that the BBC move is a good one. S4C for too long has had a "jobs for the boys" culture. Combine it with the BBC, and you could get rid of most of the management structure without having any effect on the programming. In fact more money could be channelled to making better programs.
People have been bleating on about losing an independent broadcaster - but the BBC already provides S4C's news bulletins so it doesn�t have any real independent journalistic voice of its own anyway.

As a first language Welsh speaker I do believe that provision of Welsh Language programming is very important and worthy of state financing, but I don�t think many people would shed any tears if all the over paid executives that run the channel get the boot.
Retain and improve programming and I don�t think any viewer would care if the channel is �independent� or BBC controlled.

Llinos

I am really shocked at how closed minded you English who commented here are (not meaning all English people) but you lot certainly give the english a bad name. First of all, English isn't an original language, welsh is, oh and english has used a lot of welsh words to create it's language so as a bastard language I don't think you should be slagging the welsh language and people off when you've blatantly stolen words and land, especially as you were clearly not on the british isles first. I have no problem working along english people, and infact I have met many great English people who I have enjoyed working with, but of course there are the odd one that I would have preferred not too, as some of you have met some english, I think those kind of "people" are everywhere, but I think this attitude and dissrespect is unacceptable. I am welsh and I pay my taxes, I am also proud of my heritage, and I think those english who call welsh nationalists are just jealous because they have no passion for their "made up country" just bitterness for those around. Why don't you look up your history, before makein silly, childish comments. x

Ryan Job

Im afraid your article above is extremely racist given that Wales has provided the UK with more resources than ever. Without this small country to the west of the island, the British Empire would not have been so great. Wales was the powerhouse of the 20th and 21st Centuries. It supplied coal, tin, iron, wool other primary resources to fuel the government's need for wars, fuel and exploration. Without the Welsh i afraid England, Scotland and Northern Ireland would perish simultaneously.

What is apparent is that whilst Wales has less to offer to the UK in the modern days of today, it is important to note that its language is one of the oldest in the world, pre-dating back towards the days of Latin (remember that it was being spoken far earlier than conventional english with some words and phrases stemming from Welsh). Thus in an era of Globalisation, where the spreading of ideas is causing languages, cultures and even religious ethnicities to die out, the fact that the s4c has had funding shows that the UK wishes to shift to the latter. Although this channel may not be the most popular, it is testament to the true importance of Wales as a country and as a partner to the others who lie within the UK.

Im afraid your sinicism, inadequate information and very poor journalistic talent has not only provided you with a bad name, but has also created a whole list of complaints as seen above!

What can be made clear from the outset is that Wales and its residents no longer find it suitable to create comedy remarks about its cultures and about its languages. Yes, there are some nationalists within our borders but England to has its fundamentalists also. What can be made clear however is that Wales will always keep its language alive - in the aim of decreasing the full effects of localization, globalization and such. If that means s4c can continue broadcasting, well its a win for our culture and our language.

Owen

Nice to see such an ill informed and ignorant piece Rodney. You should be commended for the churnalism that this was based on and the lack of understanding you have shown.

Bravo Spectator you've got a good one here.

H. Jones

what do our dear English neighbours have in common with the Germans, answer they have little respect for our nations and cultures.
When God gave us a beauiful land of green patures we thought we was been spoilt until we seen who were our neighbours!

Welsh is a living language and very much alive!!!!

Please get your facts right before writting such stupid comments.

Les

Not only is the blog full of innacuracies it is blatanty racist. Awful journalism. Teh spectator should be ashamed

Victoria

um...Rod, do ytou realise what youve just said is RACIST. tell me, please where did you get a degree in journalism? was it the same place Hitler, Franco, Salazaar got theirs? or maybe kim jong il? anyway, its good to see such a 'respected' journalist post a couple of words of perpetual hatred. im disgusted taht you have this odd sense of superiority over other nations. whats more i have always been taught when referencing a source always provide the link/ evidence. Also if you kow so much about the workings of a monolith like the BBC and its peripheral industries, tell me, why arent YOU the CEO in with the board of directors giving ou tthese STELLAR ideas to make the station a better more 'ARYAN' place hm? yeah, DIDN'T THINK SO. Additionally you appear to be a bitchy little man that has nothing else to do but clamour and cry about the state that one television station may or may not be in. so in future, when slagging off a whole country i urge you to be mindful that racist idiots are not welcome ANYWHERE.

Zak 'the welsh guy'

and now you understand why we hate the english :):)and why probably most of the world does aswel .. bunch of stuck up self loving bast**ds

Huw Jones

You are such a silly boy you need to do research first before writting such English language trash!!

HTV Cymru is no longer called HTV it,s ITV1 Cymru/Wales we keep our language alive and our dear neighbours have no culture or a pure langauge!!!!

You take words from other languages so you have no culure or language you saxon scum get a life!!!!

Huw Jones

Cnycha bant y ffycin bastard sais!!! fuck off you fuckin English bastard!!! this is why you make us want to hate you English scum! just like the Irish, Scots and Cornish hate you and your sort!!!
S4C am byth!!!!!!

cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb enaid!!!!!!!

Timac

I love wales and love the welsh. I don't have much of an opinion on publicly funding minority language broadcasting nor regionalism. What I do have to say is this:

CALM DOWN, ALL OF YOU!!!!

p.s. Super Furry Animals are overrated

Oedipus Rex

@ Alan - at last! A sane and sensible response from a Welsh speaker actually debating the prime content of the blog, viz the future of Welsh language broadcasting.
Being a Londoner (a very mongrel Englishman therefore) I have no knowledge of the pros and cons but it is interesting to see that a few of the non-hysterical (or is it 'passionate') Welsh contributors have conceded there is a problem with S4C.

As an aside - there are no 'pure' languages or indeed cultures. We all have precedents and are in constant but gradual state of flux.

John Owen "It would appear that once more there is one law for Afro Caribean ethnic minorities and one for the Welsh, who can insulted with impunity."
Well welcome to the real world mate.

I think the Welsh should be insulted with impunity just as I think the English, too, should be insulted with impunity and, of course, any other national or racial group!
Why? Because insults, even when uncalled for or even plain wrong, are part of human expression and interchange. We should all learn to take it a bit. As a Bangi mate of mine said to me down the boozer sometime ago: (in a cockney/Bengali accent) "Geez, it's sticks and stones, innit?"

Llywellyn ap Gruffud

400 years to the saxons to conquest some lands in old welsh britain, and only few hours to lose them in an only battle against the normans. Bad luck that of Harold and the saxons, they couldn't preserve the old german language,and it turned into a mixture of latin, french and changed-for-ever-ango-saxon-dane words. The old saxon couldn't survive as welsh did. Maybe is envy, jealousy the reason of englander's racist adn bigot attacks to welsh people.

Llew

Bitter about having England as a neighbour? Or rather proud that after so many countries across the world crumbled under the "British" Empire - we're one of the only ones you failed to corrupt. This statement strengthens my picture of the way that the English strive to seek out disappointment and misery everywhere they go.
After reading up that you're a graduate of Social Psychology - I'm confused as how your narrow minded and outrageous remarks ever landed you a name as a journalist.

Even the pinch-faced have their uses

Rod - will Fraser give you a prize if you get 400 comments on this post? Surely it's a Speccie record.

sam

look at all the appalling number of dimwits bleating on about "racism" as well.

further proof that the word has no meaning any more - and has been appropriated by the mentally weak as their insult of choice.

Nearly always a sign of pathetic over-sensitivity, complete sense-of-humour failure, or absence of argument/manipulation.

Jenny Ann Hopkin

What a complete and utter racist pig.

Fitzmark2

What bile, as usual, there is on this blog, from the minority nationalist faction in Wales - democratic hypocrites to a man and woman, the lot of them.

In 1997 a fundamental change to a constitution was pushed through on a wafer thin, so called winning margin that remains a damning black mark on the Welsh body politic.

But does it bother them? Nah,they are victims of English oppression and we must treat them with respect and understanding.

But in the real world,of financial restraint, cuts etc. far from Rod Liddle apologising for a witty no holds barred appraisal of S4C, Welsh nationalists and their supporters should apologise to the Welsh and English tax payers for the way they have ripped them off for the last thirteen years.

The self aggrandizement and mismanagement that has gone on during that time in your so called Senedd has been truly staggering.

Recent reports into the economic well being of the regions of Britain, by respected research foundations, has shown that after thirteen years of nationalistic nonsense the region of Wales is lagging behind most of the English regions as far as social and economic well being is concerned.

And now nationalists want tax raising powers!!! It beggers belief. I wouldn't have them run a whelk stall.
Hip, hip, hooray for charlatans.

Al

Cont. Ti'n llawn cachu. Haliwr, ffwcia oma. Dos i chwarae efo dy ci.

Fitzmark2

And would all posters in Welsh please include a translation so the rest of us, poor souls, know what the hell you are on about.

Sion

Mae yna lot o betha gwirion bost yn cal ei deud yn fama rwan does? Dwi'n awgrymu llif o sylwadau yn Gymraeg i'w drysu nhw!

daniel maris

To widen out this debate, I think Wales woudl have a fine future if it declared its independence. I think that alone would boost its tourist trade hugely. Then there are all the natural resources: wind, wave and water that can be tapped to create the electricity to power England.

Toby St. J. Featherstonehaugh-Carruthers

It has come to my notice that some of you have been photocopying Master Roderick's little essays, and posting them to the 'Spectatory' without a stamp, thereby causing the publishers to disburse funds on his account. This childish and irresponsible practice is th cease IMMEDIATELY.

Sion

Fitzmark2, google translate will give you some idea.

Dafydd ap Gwilym

I Rod:

Gwas cas coesfrith chwith chwyth lawdr letpai--gwan
Gwyn ei fyd a'i crogai;
Gwasg dasg desgldraul caul cawlai,
Gwar gwrcath gwydn chwiltath chwai.

M. Le Chien

Here in a foreign country, the laws require a minimum content of our mother tongue to have a percentage of the broadcasting waves. The production of dramas, books, films etc can be or are subsidised by the government. This system is here to protect the mother tongue and its' culture. Ironically, the mother tongue is spoken in a few countries abroad. Our language is not a minority language but still it needs support. Yes, I live in France. The French don't complain about this subsidy, since they have a hard time trying to eliminate other vernacular languages within it's borders. How many languages do the French speak? Breton, Basque, Catalan, Alsation, *Please add more if you know others.
My question would be, How much of the licence fee a welsh speaker must pay to subsidise the production of English speaking programmes?
I've spoken to a couple of Welsh people here who insist Mr Liddle
is God Sant.

Huw Jones

I have reported your magazine to the PCC and as a native Welsh Speaker i am very angry that a trash magazine should be allowed to publish such statements from Rod Little who knows nothing about our beautful culture or language.
R.i.p Rod Little

Fitzmark2

Sion
Well I've done as you suggested, to your post, and it seems that you are attempting to confuse, to deceive, and I ask my self why the need?

If you object to his comments why not address them in the natural language of the people of Wales, which is of course English.

Then we would all be able to judge the worth of your and other poster's comments who chose to write on this blog in a minority language that the vast majority of us can not understand.

Llywellyn ap Gruffud

Fitzmark, learn welsh, cymraeg is a beautiful language that will expand a little your narrow mind, and will save you to be a monoglot englander. Next step, the only official language in Cymru will be cymraeg. You will have to learn the names of cymraeg cities in welsh, as well as road signs, of course.
And remember, Fitz (sounds german), CYMRU AM BITH!

Sion

Fitzmark2, my counsel was that we temporarily suspend our normal practice of acceding to your request, in the hope that it might afford a valuable opportunity for the linguistic diversity of these islands to be demonstrated and respected. Obviously still a vain hope on our part.

P.S. Google translation is great fun though isn't it?

Oedipys ap WRexham

@ M. Le Chien - * Provencal, Occitaine, Arabic, Vietnamese, etc..

@Llewellyn ap... - Fitz is not German. It is Norman French (the french 'fils' = son is it's modern form). Irish names such as Fitzpatrick (son of Patrick) show the influence of the Norman conquest both there and on our island. The Normans were, of course, French Vikings & their descendants. (Dublin, Wexford & Waterford are all Viking names, incidently).

@Sion - you make a rather narrow minded assumption that, by not speaking Welsh, the English are monoglot. I speak good French, a bit of Spanish, my son speaks good German & Polish and so on.

There is a stronger tendency in large, more successful nations towards being monoglot - particularly since now English is THE international language. It is not to our advantage - on the contrary, bi-lingualism leads to greater mental agility and a potentially broader range of understanding. But should the necessity to become polyglot in the future ever arrives, it will be Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Russian even that will be learned. You can count Cymraeg out.

Sion

Oedipys, erm...think you've got the wrong guy there. I don't think that I've ventured anywhere to suggest that by not speaking Welsh the English are thereby monoglot. A case of prejudicial perceived positions being projected upon your political adversaries perhaps?

Oedipys ap WRexham

Sion - you're right, got the wrong feller. Not an instance of prejudice but rather hasty downward scrolling. The point, however, still stands - the assumption was made by a few of the mini-volcanic nationalist uprising above.

I do agree that all this exposure to Welsh has sparked a little linguistic interest on my part.

Let's be honest. We all have to thank Rod for this.

Owain Harries

Surely a good journalist would check his title is correct? I watch S4C, but don't watch BBC4, does that mean I think BBC4 should be scrapped? No.

Sion

Pax

Huw Jones

Cer i,r grafu!!!! Rod little in the bastard language of English you are better off dead!!!!
Cymru am byth!!!

Iechyd dda bob cymro a twll tin bob ffycin basdad o sais!

Ryan Job

Im afraid your article above is extremely racist given that Wales has provided the UK with more resources than you may think.

Without this small country to the west of the island, the British Empire would not have been so great.

Wales was the powerhouse of the 20th and 21st Centuries, the true dynamo of growth. It supplied coal, tin, iron, wool and other highly valuable primary resources to fuel the government's need for wars, fuel and exploration.

Wales created the first canned beer; which given your highly racist attitude and perspective on the country I can only assume you sit on the sofa all day watching Jeremy Kyle and drinking the can of Carling, and without the Welsh I'm afraid England, Scotland and Northern Ireland would perish simultaneously.

What is apparent is that whilst Wales has less to offer to the UK in the modern days of today, it is important to note that its language is one of the oldest in the world, pre-dating back towards the days of Latin (remember that it was being spoken far earlier than conventional english with some words and phrases stemming from Welsh). Thus in an era of Globalisation, where the spreading of ideas is causing languages, cultures and even religious ethnicities to die out, the fact that the s4c has had funding shows that the UK wishes to shift to the latter.

Although this channel may not be the most popular, it is testament to the true importance of Wales as a country and as a partner to the others who lie within the 'Great' UK.

Im afraid your sinicism, inadequate information and very poor journalistic talent has not only provided you with a bad name, but has also created a whole list of complaints as seen above! (what I can also concur is that a number of other complaint will be made below my statement also, I am merely repeating my post due to my blind fury to your article, causing a couple of grammatical errors... I wish to repeat my statement and add another bulk of information!)

What can be made clear from the outset is that Wales and its residents no longer find it suitable to create comedy remarks about its cultures and about its languages. Yes, there are some nationalists within our borders but England to has its fundamentalists (take yourself for example). What can be made clear however is that Wales will always keep its language alive regardless of your claims and of your wishes - in the aim of decreasing the full effects of globalization. If that means s4c can continue broadcasting, well its a win for our culture and our language.

The channel may have had a lack of viewers over the past few years of its service, but without this valuable form of resource, the Welsh Language along with its communal spirit, its educational facilities and its essence of 'neighbourliness' within the towns and villages would dissapear. Personally I am absolutely chuffed to see that this channel has had funding, especially in a town (Llanelli) which for decades has been the true core for providing the UK with raw materials.

Huw Jones

Iechyd dda pob cymro a twll din pob sais yn arbennig i Rod y goc oen bach! Cnycha bant sais bach!

Lungfish

Put a sock in it Huw.

Old Slaughter

"English isn't an original language, welsh is"

Original what? Like the gods handed it down fully formed to the hill people who were there from the dawn of time?

Yawn.

Funtimes

Oh the Welsh Nationalists on here are hilarious. Almost as bad as Rod himself.

"We're a nation we are! And soon you're going to have to learn our language!"

Well, you're at best a principality, you'll never be independent as you can't sustain yourselves, and your pathetic pan-celtic nationalism is, like all nationalism in the peripheries of Britain, an invention of the 18th and 19th centuries, and in particular romanticism.

So no, 'Llywellyn ap Gruffud', we won't be learning your language anytime soon. Feel free to learn it yourself, but I'll stick to something useful, like Mandarin or German.

'Yingyu shi hen hao! Wei'ershiyu mei you yong!'

Louise

This blog is brilliant for my colloquial Welsh. Who needs Pobol y Cwm? Shame I didn't have a few of the more choice phrases to hand when I accidentally strayed into a less than Sais-friendly Welsh pub recently.

Y bonheddwr Huw Jones

funtimes cer i,r grafu cau dy ben ,coc oen bach,
Mae,r saeson yn dwp iawn!

LLewellyn ap Gruffud

Oedipys ap wrexham (correct form is Oedipys ap Wrecsam), my friend, a long time since I know all about the Fitz as a prefix to patronymic surnames of Anglo-Norman origin, imagine, I'm of welsh descendants, that make me an expert in those matters. You didn't catch the sarcasm, Wrecsam, because.....Fitz is also "a stand-alone German surname originating in the Palatinate region of Germany" (learn it in Wikipedia). Keep trying...

Sion

Funtimes, sorry you're wrong - see Simon Schama on concepts of 'nostra nation' in early Wales and Scotland. 'Britishness' however is obviously very much a later construct, and an imperial one at that!

Lungfish

Are you trying to play the noble savage like Lt. John Dunbar in Dances with Wolves Huw?. Emphasising your defiance to the evil oppressor by issuing insults in your native tongue?.

Dai Sgeti Cross

Cacha bant y gont fiaidd!! Come to Cymru and say that you mochyn hiliol. Oppression, Oppression, Oppression - no wonder we don't like you lot. Mochyndra!

Geraint Owens

Rod Liddle, I've just come across your article and can only conclude that you are an idiot. You had an opportunity to generate some informed debate on an important issue and you chose to write this hateful, racist drivel instead - just to earn a few tittles from the middle englanders.

And don't try justifying yourself by telling us you're 'part Welsh'. I'm part English - does that give me carte blanche to slag off the English?

Lungfish

I was up the Llyn peninsular all last week Dai-

Cymrobach

To David Ossitt - '265 posts and counting' - a significant chunk of which seem to be yours. Get yourself a girlfriend, mate.

cymrobach

I can't help feeling that this Welsh-bashing is just an English response to finding themselves without an empire. Just another small nation of little global concern, perched on the edge of Europe.

To Funtime, lungfish, David Ossitt et al. - welcome to the club.

cymrobach

Lungfish - there's no 'r' in 'peninsula'. Maybe you should learn to use your own language properly before moaning about ours.

Old Welsh Rarebit Flashy

Hell's bells, is this still going? This lot make Celtic fans seem almost sane. But not quite, I note one popped up near the end pretending to be Irish, obviously got on the wrong offended bus at Buchanan Street.

Funtimes

Sion, I didn't say Britishness was any better. But the fact remains that the modern forms of nationalism on the celtic fringe have largely 19th century origins. Schamas work is valid however, and I take your point. The fact remains however, that regardless of its origins, Welsh (much like Scottish) nationalism is rather pathetic and the nationalist parties have utterly unsustainable policies.

Sion

Funtimes, well those 'nationalisms' would obviously quite likely date from the 19th century if referring to 'modern forms' wouldn't they? As again of course does 'Britishness' at its zenith, but which now it could be argued, with the demise of Empire and the rise of a peaceful and secular Europe, has the least prospects for future sustainability of all. Depends then I suppose, in that context, on your definition of 'pathetic' doesn't it?

Fitzmark2

Llywellyn ap Gruffud

"Learn Welsh" you instruct!!

What's this? Learn a language that's on a life support machine, being kept alive by continual infusions of hard pressed tax payer's money. No thank you.

You have only to take into account the tiny, tiny minority in Wales that watches S4C to gauge its popularity.

And then you have the cheek to call me a "narrow minded englander". How very dare you sir! I'll have you know that in my youth I travelled widely, meeting peoples from every nationality under the sun. On one occasion I went as far afield as Tynemouth Long Sands.

And the way you use the piffling definition of the name "Fitz" has a derogatory onnotation that is typical of sad Welsh Nationalists.

And you say that your precious language is beautiful. I'm sure it is to the native speaker, but all languages are beautiful to the native speaker. You should get out more.

Et en ce qui me concern la langue francais est belle et il est parle et compris dans beaucoup plus de pays, plus de pays, de meme qu' anglais, que Gallois. Please add accents where you see fit.

So you know what you can do with your instruction to learn your heavily subsidised minority language, don't you? And it's not far from your rear end.

Sion
Far from the Goggle translation program being fun, whoever wrote the program should be sent to one of your Welsh indoctrination schools for retraining.

The translation of your text and of others came up with an approximation that was nothing short of gobbledegook.

Y Bonheddwr Huw Jones

Independance is possible we could survive without the ffycin English!
The Irish people did in 1922 when Michael Collins freed Ireland.

Llywellyn ap Gruffud

Of course Cymraeg independence is possible, Y Bonheddwr, and it's not far away, first Ireland, next Alba and Cymru. Will be the best way to preserve cymraeg culture and language.

Fitzmark2

Michael Collins did not free Ireland, he signed an agreement with the British government that kept Ireland inside the Commonwealth.

And for Welsh Nationalists to even associate themselves with the Irish independence movement is a further piece of nonsense.

And "English persecution" of the Welsh is complete and utter nonsense.

Nationalists need to get a grip of themselves before their paranoia turns into a psychosis and men in white coats turn up to take them away. If not, I'm sure the Welsh public will do for them whenever the Bay of irrelevance in Cardiff sets the date for that referendum on more powers.

Sion

Losing again Fitz?

Fitzmark2

Losing? Far from it. I put a tidy little wager on Newcastle beating West Ham.

And I'll put an even bigger wager on the Bay of Irrelevance losing the referendum on more powers.

Nationalism in Wales is a busted flush, as the last national election showed. And the only way S4C can survive is if it becomes a digital channel. Simple really

Timac

Seriously people, and no pie council shennanigans from me this time (though, huw, you are a tool), can we not think in terms of nationalism (with all it's nasty side effects) and instead think of devolution as a localization of power to the people. That's something we can all agree is a good thing, right?

Sion

Fitz et al, don't you realize it's over? Taking it upon yourselves to rule others, empire, colonialism - these things are not things to be proud of, or to try to perpetuate. They represent major disfigurements on the face of the history of humanity, disgraceful episodes to be repented of, and their remnants rescinded of as soon as possible.

Lungfish

@Sion - Why are you Welshies still harking back three hundred years?- We fought two world wars together didn't we?. I really don't get this Welsh master race crap- if you all want independence go ahead. I'v crawled all over the Welsh mountains and its very dramatic and moody etc.

Sion

Lungfish, my father spent five years on the destroyers, first in the north Atlantic, and then with the Russian convoys. None of that common experience is forgotten or disparaged in our family- to the contrary. All we seek is a long overdue recognition of his, and our own national identity. Is that too much to ask?

Fitzmark2

Well what a pious little speech that is Sion. I'm certainly not taking it upon myself to "rule others" - what a strange notion that is.

To be quite frank I think there's a strong whiff of a persecuted Welsh person behind those words. You're not per chance a vicar, are you?

Irrespective of whether you are or not your assertions about Empire don't, I think, stand up to analysis.

Unlike Welsh Nationalists, I don't think the British Empire was totally malign.

The British at the time of Empire in India established a system of jurisprudence that is still extant in India today. Britain built the railways in India to name but one utilitarian benefit. The British outlawed the practice of Sati (the forced or voluntary burning of the widow on a husband's funeral pyre). Britain was the first to officially abolish slavery in 1807; and proactive British diplomacy in the following decades, backed by Royal Navy patrols finally ended the European slave trade. All that needs qualification but essentially that is what happened.

And the one critical point that Nationalists ignore or deny is that you and your fellow separatists/nationalists did not and do not today live in a political or social vacuum.

The Welsh are an integral and indivisible part of the notion of Britishness and they were at the time of Empire as complicit in the excesses of Empire as anyone else.

Sion

Thanks for that sensitive response Fitz. Yes, there were many individual Welshmen complicit in slavery more's the shame, but as a polity no. I won't begin to try to answer all your other points, by making mention for example of who were the main perpetrators of the slave in the first place, as obviously you belong to that dwindling minority who actually still believe in the validity of the civilizing mission.

Bob.

You obviously write whatever that will get the most attention. I won't think of you as too much of an idiot as you do write insulting things about everyone and everything so your hate doesn’t end with the Welsh. I understand your point on S4C,there is much contemplation about it's existence but your statistic is not right and I know more than enough people who do enjoy S4C. Although everyone has the right to express an opinion your articles always go a little bit too far. You seem a little bitter rod. I dare you to write a real thought-provoking piece that doesn’t insult anyone and see if you can depend solely on your intelligence and skill instead of trying to shock everyone. Pob lwc.
David Ossit, you’re a fool. Your comment is ridiculous- that is all.

Y Bonheddwr Huw Jones

The Celtic nations have alway,s had trouble with the Ffycin English from Edward 1 of England to Oliver Cromwell.
But Michael Collins showed how to deal with them ffycin lot when he got the English out of Ireland, just like Robert the Bruce won independence for Scotland in Bannockburn in 1314!

Yma o hyd!! as we say

R Thomas

As a lot of the English commentators on this blog appear to share Mr Liddle's 'satirical' view of the Welsh, here's a 'satirical' view of the English shared by the Welsh. We view the English as a nation (?) of Germanic, pederastic, monoglotic, genocidal, over breeding bullies. I'm sure that you'll all appreciate the jocular nature of this description.

Tim

I've tried posting a link to the Press Complaints Commission website to complain about this article but the Spectactor moderators are refusing to publish it. Google the PCC and you can complain under clause 12.

Stuart

Hear hear. I'm Welsh and the entire outfit is nothing but a job creation scheme for a particularly odious class of Welsh speaker.

Archibald

Come on now, we've all had a drink.
As an observation on nationalists in general, and speaking as a proud Scot who is also proud to be British, why is it that nationalists always seem to be those who offer least but complain most? Society has clearly let these people down to some extent, and we ignore them and racists like them at our peril – they shouldn't be allowed to wallow in bizarre Hollywood style interpretations of history. After all, we're all bastards together, although from reading these posts, some are more so than others.

Marcus

S4Cs average daytime audience is higher than the circulation of the Spectator

Archibald

Marcus, the idiocy of your point, and the inability for you to even begin to comprehend its idiocy, makes a stronger comment against you and the other Welsh posters here than any words from Rod ever could. Thanks for coming out.

Bethan Crowley

Oh shut up you stupid Pleb. I'm welsh, yes, I myself am a student, and don't pay taxes, but my all my family sure as hell do. Uneducated idiot. Oh and just to point out, I don't like sheep, I'm not miserable, and I can't stand seaweed.

Daniel Owen

Perhaps we should look at Rod's history in the TV industry I believe the creatively titled 'Weekend' was described as "The worst programme anywhere, ever, in the history of time".

To many of the English posters calling Welsh a dying language perhaps they should look at the Welsh-language comprehensive school system which has outperformed the corresponding English-language schools in the same areas and is growing significantly. I believe it shows the benefit in learning another language something the English, uniquely in Europe, choose not to do.

I'm an 18 year old student from a Welsh-language comprehensive school and I was brought up like many of my friends watching both the BBC and S4C and it gave us a wider view of the world. We can all pick silly holes in each other's cultures but perhaps one day some of the close-minded people commenting here will try and learn another language and see its historical and cultural importance.

Cymro

Racist bastard.
Dim ond rhyw cach hiliol prydeinig yw'r erthygl 'ma. Pam dyle ni dderbyn y fath peth?Maen hen bryd i ni cael chwyldro ar y syrydoedd yn erbyn y fath peth.
CYMRU RHYDD!

Archibald

Let's just all agree that from now on we'll call Welsh nationalists what they really are – Welsh fantasists – and then we can all get on with our lives.
'Tarquin, Who are Plaid Whatsit?'
'That's those Welsh fantasists, love.'
'Ah, bless.'
'Let's hope they succeed in their campaign to have the Diana memorial moved to Cardiff, where it belongs.'

Daniel Owen

Archibald that's a very dismissive way of talking about a political party, perhaps you'd ban Plaid ahead of the BNP or the EDL as the latter two seem to fit more with your views.

I'm not a nationalist and automatically associating it with S4C is just wrong and shows that you don't appreciate the range of viewers the channel has.

Archibald

Sweet Lord, I give up. Yes, Welsh education truly is being held up as an example to us all here.

I personally find the views of groups like the BNP and EDL far, far more abhorrent than the fantasy politics of Welsh or Scottish nationalists – at least the latter tend to be relatively harmless inadequate people who seek to blame their personal failures on some mythical bogeyman.

That said, at least the BNP and EDL are behaving as they do - in a disgusting, hideous way - to 'problems' they perceive now. Not some fantasy version of history from many hundreds of years ago.

And if anyone could be accused of racism on this blog, it's the numerous Welsh posters who internally deny the almost certain fact that their blood is just as much of a cocktail as anyone else in the entire continent of Europe, while pointing out the mongrel origins of the English. I'm sure the likes of Colin Jackson, Colin Charvis and Joe Calzaghe will be delighted to hear that.

Daniel Owen

I'm glad you agree with me about Welsh education and a key part of Welsh-medium education is creating a Welsh language culture within the school something that would be impossible to achieve without Welsh speaking icons from S4C and Radio Cymru.(I also know you were being sarcastic but I'd direct you to look at the comparisons between Welsh and English medium schools in Wales for proof)

I don't like the throwing about of the word racist and notice I never branded you with that tag. It's just I think your views on nationalist parties are wrong, they are serious parties campaigning for constitutional change in Britain and that's why they have many voters. By accusing them of being fantasists you are also calling all their voters fantasists and this is patently not true. Some people believe that Wales deserves more power for self-government not through fantastical belief but through genuine thought about the matter. They have a right to this belief just as you have a right to yours.

The Welsh language is the oldest living language we have in Britain and it would be a crying shame for it to take a step backwards rather than forwards.

Archibald

Daniel, you would do well to actually read the posts of your level-headed compatriots who have happily bandied around the word racist. You would also do well to read your own comment, just right above the last drivel you've offered, that suggests my views fit with those of the BNP and EDL. If that's not implying the same, then I don't know what is. As far as my fantasy remark – my view that nationalists are fantasists is based on anecdotal evidence, most recent of which I have gleaned from the above comments. That is to say, those who believe they can do well on their own tend to be those who have failed so miserably in their lives thus far, and bring little or nothing to the table. It's therefore a fantasy in my view that the dream would be anything other than a nightmare. I have no argument at all about the Welsh language surviving or not, I could care less – although as far as S4C is concerned, if it was as popular as people here seem to think it would financially viable on its own.
Now, can I finally suggest you get yourself a sense of humour. I don't think one person from Wales has made anything even approaching a witty response to Rod's tongue-in-cheek remarks, as they are all so far up their own a*seholes. It's really very, very depressing indeed. Don't get dragged down with them.

Lleucu Llwyd

Sosban fach yn berwi ANA tan!! pahahaaaa! ai can sbel sdyff incorectyli az wel! ffwl!!

Anna Elin Haf

I'm watching it right now, I quite enjoy a bit of 'rownd a rownd' tbh! Lleucu Llwyd = lejynd!

eluned

I've only one word and that being one syllable for you Rob Liddle. Dick.

Open your mind. If you had any brains you would understand that if you said this to a black man, or insult their country that would be racism. But somehow you think this isn't. And as I say again. Dick.

Daniel Owen

It's very difficult to have a sense of humor about a such a serious issue. I agree that the comments on both sides have been rather reactionary that's why I commented to try and give a more measured opinion.

I actually quite like Rod's writing usually it's just I find this piece so poor journalistically in that the title is spelt incorrectly and the reasoning that the Welsh can't take offence because he's part Welsh is just ridiculous.

I made the BNP and EDL comparison because if you compare an English idea of a nationalist party with that of the Scottish and Welsh it reflects rather better on us in my opinion. It's not fair to call them fantasists as over the last few decades devolution has happened and probably will continue to happen.

Archibald

When I said 'fantasist' it doesn't mean it won't happen, although I really can't see it, the fantasy is it would be a success. Sorry, I thought that was clear. I would also suggest some interpretations of history and assumption of blood lines is pretty fantastical also, but lets not go down that route now as life's too short, there are far more important things in the world.

As for your BNP/EDL claim, I'm not buying that I'm afraid, there's pretty clear inference in your words, you're surely not going to deny that.

And some of the comments are so clearly about the Welsh as a 'race', which if followed through, would mean your delightful compatriots don't think that anyone of black, Asian or any other non-Celtic origin could really be Welsh. I don't think you can so easily dismiss this sordid side of nationalism that blights every area of the UK, and assume that the English are the worst just by picking out the two most extreme groups there.

Anyway, I'm now going to click through the advertisements for Welsh language lessons with S4C that have made it on to the sponsored links. Every journey begins with a single step...

Nan

Writer is a Sha bi in Chinese.Stupid racist

Lewis Hancox

Welsh people are not "miserable, seaweed munching, sheep-bothering pinch-faced hill tribes". We are just like everyone else. English are very friendly and so are Scottish and Irish. So what is the point of Rod's excellent description of himself. And also Welsh Speaking residents to need a program for them self, English speaking people have to many programs and Welsh speaking residents have 1 program.

Mark Chataway

Would the dregs be the Welsh speakers who know how to spell the noun, "licence" properly in UK English? Or those idle and cretinous enough to rely on whatever the default spell check tells them to do?

Sion Davies

David Ossitt,

In response to your rather laughably poor riposte to Dafydd Pritchard's statement, people would 'know it was Welsh' for- believe it or not- some people have the broadmindedness and capacity to speak more than one language.

You're biased towards the English- your smug ignorance is the giveaway.

Trystan Morris-Dafydd

The Spectator's readership is around 75,000 a week, and has been known to drop as low as 26,208.

S4C reaches around 460,000 viewers on average every week.

It is comforting, therefore, to know that the seaweed munching, pinch-faced hill tribe people must outnumber the backward, unintelligent, anti-intellectual, neo-nineteenth-century buffoons who read this right-wing rag.

For this reason, the world must surely be a better place than we initially thought it was upon reading Rod's little rant.

craig

can anyone tell me if rod was reported to the police for this
article?

Y Bonheddwr Huw Jones

Mae David Cameron ddim yn ddeall y byd go iawn,
Mae,n amlwg erbyn hyn y basdad o sais ddim yn becso dam am y werin, dim ond y Home Counties yn Llunden, Surry a chaint.

Glam Magic

Quick rod, throw in a cursory "ya mum does" to C Swift or some other loony to keep the comments a flowin’. Pure lunch break entertainment gold.

Iestyn Tyddyn Adi

Craig. Rodd was reported to the police by Myrddin Ap Dafydd, Plaid Cymru MP. But I should guess nothing was done about it.

Matthew Stuart Palmer

I would love to take you seriously as a journalist; if only what you were saying were both true and actually had a point (oh, and not pathetically vile and racist). Apart from that though...

Georges

I'm afraid this behaviour is typical of the english limeys.
The English don't really exist as a people or country, they are German immigrants.
They are a conquered people when Frenchman William the conqueror defeated and conquered england despite his smaller army crossing the channel.
They are ruled to this day by the Monarchy as set up by the Normans who conquered the english.

cymro

you racist, pathetic people have no idea what you're talking about. We don't like the fact that we're stuck to a snobby country that think they're better than anyone else either. No wander everybody hates the English and England and why so many of you English people move into our country, steal jobs and refuse to learn the beautiful language. I am very disappointed in the racism in this article too, as a 'professional' journalist I think yo're just pathetic and jealous that we've managed to hangv on to our culture which you have not.

Ffraid Gwenllian

Are you serious? Don't know where you found your little survey, but i can tell you where to stick it, because that is absolute bollocks. S4C is the only welsh channel for Wales, and you are actually as ignorant as that to write this, and not give a toss for our country - yes our country, because we don't want to be part of yours - it just shows how stupid, and small-minded you are. You wouldn't know anything about the protesting and the fighting that has been done to get us that channel, many of them in my own family, so before you start talking about issues you don't understand, and don't deserve an opinion on, you better get your facts right, you fucking moron.

and as we say in Welsh, 'Tyfa falls a deda hynna yn gwynab fi'r cont hyll'

Ffraid Gwenllian

Are you serious? Don't know where you found your little survey, but i can tell you where to stick it, because that is absolutely ridicilous. S4C is the only Welsh channel for Wales, and you are actually as ignorant as that to write this, and not give a monkeys for our country - yes our country, because I for one don't count it to be a part of yours - it just shows how stupid, and small-minded you are. You wouldn't know anything about the protesting and the fighting that has been done to get us that channel and to get us our rights, many of them in my own family, so before you start talking about issues you don't understand, and don't deserve an opinion on, you better get your facts right, you unimaginable idiot.