Random Wales Photo thread

[cardiff]

Here is a place to show of your photographic skills, or others that you like.

prospect place



Views from the unaccesable park near sports village









My attempt at a future skyline (yes havannah quay tower needs to be other side of Altolousso and a bit smaller)



and some pannos

[cardiff]

Beddgelert

[cardiff]

Tintern

[Cambo_Dai]

Is it just me or does Isis 3D (in the 4th from top photo just off to the right right of centre) look incredibly out of place and proportion? Maybe if we had a bit of Century wharf in the shot it wouldn't look so bad.. but there it just looks like its towering over everything nearby in a rather overbearing way. I guess this will improve when Havannah Quay gets going.

[cardiff]

yes i think it looks out of place but when the other taller tower next to it is finnished it will link up ok to the south. Also the general streetscape of havanna quay will link it in greatly.

St Davids day parrade



is it just me who thinks that making it on a weekend and making it compulsory for school children to attend (making it some kind of national day) would greatly increase the crowds and numbers in the parrade? Also other events would be great.

[Cambo_Dai]

I would have resented being made to do this as a schoolchild. The idea of compulsory 'National Days' with children marching around in national costume strikes me as a throwback to the bad days of 20th century nationalism. By all means, let kids and parent do it voluntarily in school, or attend a parade, but any effort to grow this by state agency rather than by the bottom up isn't a good idea.

[cardiff]

I should have been more specific, i think secondary schools shouldnt make it compulsory but maybe some work done by them to be involved (maybe in history class for a certain school year).

[Karldiff]

Originally Posted by cardiff

yes i think it looks out of place but when the other taller tower next to it is finnished it will link up ok to the south. Also the general streetscape of havanna quay will link it in greatly.

St Davids day parrade



is it just me who thinks that making it on a weekend and making it compulsory for school children to attend (making it some kind of national day) would greatly increase the crowds and numbers in the parrade? Also other events would be great.

I'm very patriotic but I think people should be able to make their own choices. No to compulsory parades - it's got a bit of the Orange man in Ulster about it. I think this type of thing should be allowed to either grow organically or die a quiet death. I suspect the former which is fine because it's how people want to express themselves on St Davids Day rather than being told what to do. I also quite like the amateurish element to it, it makes it seem more genuine somehow.

[AEC]

Patriotism/nationalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Forcing children to attend such parades would be contrary to my libertarian values. What the hell is the point in waving a Welsh flag about? Your nation does not define you in any way.

[SixU]

Some of my own photography:

[Karldiff]

Stunning photos - is the last one Tredegar House?

[SixU]

Yup! The last one is Tredegar house mansion from the Orangery.

[cardiff]

tredegar house is gourgeous, the grounds are lovely too on a summers day. You can just feel the history there, it just left me with a feeling.

[JamesWales]

Originally Posted by AEC

Patriotism/nationalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Forcing children to attend such parades would be contrary to my libertarian values. What the hell is the point in waving a Welsh flag about? Your nation does not define you in any way.

Not quite sure what you mean, but for many people their nationality and country of origin does define them a great deal, and is really important to them.

The old Marxist argument of a borderless world free of nations may sound lovely, but it's unrealistic. Welshness, and what it represents is important to many people, and that should be respected.

[AEC]

Originally Posted by JamesWales

Not quite sure what you mean, but for many people their nationality and country of origin does define them a great deal, and is really important to them.

The old Marxist argument of a borderless world free of nations may sound lovely, but it's unrealistic. Welshness, and what it represents is important to many people, and that should be respected.

I'm not a Marxist, I'm a rugged individualist. How does your nation define you? People within it differ greatly. I suspect patriotism is just medicine for people who don't feel good about themselves who look to their country to find pride.

I find Cardiff immensly different from the concept of "Welshness", it is very British/English. What do you possibly have in common with someone from a village in Anglesey who speaks Welsh?

[Lyndon]

Originally Posted by AEC

I'm not a Marxist, I'm a rugged individualist. How does your nation define you? People within it differ greatly. I suspect patriotism is just medicine for people who don't feel good about themselves who look to their country to find pride.

I find Cardiff immensly different from the concept of "Welshness", it is very British/English. What do you possibly have in common with someone from a village in Anglesey who speaks Welsh?

Well, we might both speak Welsh for a start.

Have you ever made it out of Cathays AEC?

[JamesWales]

Originally Posted by AEC

I'm not a Marxist, I'm a rugged individualist. How does your nation define you? People within it differ greatly. I suspect patriotism is just medicine for people who don't feel good about themselves who look to their country to find pride.

I find Cardiff immensly different from the concept of "Welshness", it is very British/English. What do you possibly have in common with someone from a village in Anglesey who speaks Welsh?

I don't dosagree with you. I think I have as much in common with someone earnign my wage and doing my job in Belgium or Canada as I do with someone doing something completely different in Anglesey.

However, nationhood does connect with people. Sometimes it's intangible and difficult to put your finger on it, sometimes it's obvious-sharing newspapers, television, language, international sports teams etc..but the connection is there.

if you don't get a kick out of your nationality thats fine, but others do.

[Cambo_Dai]

Intellectually, many of the assumptions of nationalism - namely the requirement for a state and culture to be coterminous with an ethnic nation - have been demonstrated to be patently untrue. Nationalism has traditionally been a dangerous concept, fueling as it did the bloody European 20th century.

However whilst academics have rejected the term and its implications, it retains a great deal of influence to many people. One of the biggest signs is the conflation of a 'nation' and a 'state'. When you actually come to think of it, just what is a "nation"? For some people Wales is their nation, for others they consider both Wales and Britain whilst others consider British as their nationality (as well as their citizenship). Its a really tricky concept to pin down but I don't think we can deny that an attachment to one's nation, however defined, does mean something a lot to people (and particularly men).

In forming groups, people need to form "others" that they define against. This can be social or occupational class, as it was in the past, and as communism tried to forment. However, language and birth place has tended to dominate this as the dividing line (its easier to see others you don't understand as 'other' than those you can who lead different life), particularly as a degree of social mobility kicked in towards the end of the 19th century. Such national feelings were promoted by states, hoping to coopt them. But sometimes in doing so they fanned the flames of nationlism amongst (often linguistic or religious) minorities within the state who felt oppressed and unrepresented. 200 years of strong nationalistic rhetoric by both established states and restive minorities means it holds a powerful sway over peoples ideas about states, governance and democracy. The alternative, some kind of global polity led by the world's poor and downtrodden has shown to be a sad failure as human nature reasserts itself in communism, creating a new elite that is also tyrannical.

Incidentally, I'm reading a book about the Romans at the moment and their state was incredibly adept at keeping people in line by talking up the barbarian boogeyman. And it worked, throughout the empire, people became and felt Roman, including in Wales. The concept of nationalism is incredibly strong. And whilst it can be dangerous, it can also do good causing people with little real connection to others to support them as fellow Britons/Welsh/Americans etc.

[AEC]

Originally Posted by Lyndon

Well, we might both speak Welsh for a start.

Have you ever made it out of Cathays AEC?

It's not just Cathays though is it? Cardiff is far more developed than the rest of Wales, where else is its skyline matched in this country? The housing is much different, there doesn't appear to be much social housing unlike many areas of Wales. Ethnically speaking Cardiff is by a country mile far more of a "melting pot" than anywhere in Wales, when walking through the city centre there is a racial mix and there is always an array of accents to be heard and I'm not just on about students.

None of the above is a bad thing at all, Swansea is similar but to a lesser degree. All I'm saying is that the place you live is mostly so far removed from what the rest of Wales is like, it makes national identity a sort of myth.

[cardiff]

The idea of nationalism comes from a deep rooted need in humanity to belong to a group. Its roots are in the hunter gatherer groups our ancestors belonged to and is evedent in our local comunities, football clubs we support and of course our regions and countries.