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William Shakespeare's plays were penned by a little known Welsh law clerk, Dyfed ap Davis, it was revealed today. Because Welshmen were out of favour at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1, Monmouth-born ap Davis bribed the actor William Shakespeare to put his name to what are fallaciously known as the works of the great Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon. They shared the royalties and were often seen drunk together in Covent Garden and Cardiff Bay. Many of the plays were originally set in Wales but, because of the Queen's preferences, had to be transferred to more exotic climes. The character Hamlet...

Men of Valor: Part III The 4 Rifles first trip into Basra brought more than 15 hours of fighting that left a Pakistani driver killed, dragged away and never seen again by the British. Two British killed in action and many more wounded, a convoy of banged-up vehicles that ran the damage gamut from flat tire to complete destruction, and almost no break before it was time for Major Steve Webb to saddle up and move on again, his Welsh Warriors always taking point on another convoy. Major Steve Webb fought through those 15 hours two days before. Webb...

A 36-YEAR-OLD dentally challenged cellphone salesman wins a nationally televised talent contest in Britain, and suddenly, all sorts of questions are raised about the role of classical music in our world. That is because the winner, Paul Potts, from Wales, triumphed with a rendition of “Nessun dorma,” the tenor aria from Puccini’s “Turandot,” at a contest with the trappings and audience — seemingly — of the mass entertainment world. By the standards of music critics who ply their trade in opera houses and concert halls, it wasn’t a particularly earth-shaking performance. “Mr. Potts is the sort of bog-standard tenor to...

Saint David and Saint David's Day Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus! Happy St David's Day! Adapted from a talk given at OICCU Meeting Point, in Regent's Park College, Monday, 28th February 1994 If you were lucky enough to be in Wales on March the first, you would find the country in a festive mood. Every self-respecting man, woman and child would be celebrating St. David's Day in one way or another. But who was St. David, and why is he so important to the Welsh? And just how is St. David's Day celebrated in Wales today? Well, Saint David, or...

Sunday, 30 June, 2002, 15:31 GMT 16:31 UK English and Welsh are races apart Gene scientists claim to have found proof that the Welsh are the "true" Britons. The research supports the idea that Celtic Britain underwent a form of ethnic cleansing by Anglo-Saxons invaders following the Roman withdrawal in the fifth century. Genetic tests show clear differences between the Welsh and English It suggests that between 50% and 100% of the indigenous population of what was to become England was wiped out, with Offa's Dyke acting as a "genetic barrier" protecting those on the Welsh side. And the upheaval...

Unearthing Welsh history (Filed: 01/04/2006) An archaeologist digs deep in his pocket to find a medieval town, reports Jonny Beardsall That an amateur archaeologist was prepared to pay £32,000 for 4.5 unremarkable acres at Trelleck, Monmouthshire, must mean Welsh sons of the soil are salivating with glee. But so convinced is Stuart Wilson that the field is the site of a lost medieval town, he still insists it was money well spent a year after he bought the land. Broken but valuable: archaeologist Stuart Wilson holds a roof tile dug up at the site Mr Wilson, 27, and friends at...

New research has identified the first genetic evidence of Africans having lived amongst "indigenous" British people for centuries. Their descendants, living across the UK today, were unaware of their black ancestry. The University of Leicester study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and published today in the journal European Journal of Human Genetics, found that one third of men with a rare Yorkshire surname carry a rare Y chromosome type previously found only amongst people of West African origin. The researchers, led by Professor Mark Jobling, of the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester, first spotted the rare Y...

Brussels bureaucrats wipe Wales off their annual statistical mapBy Richard Savill(Filed: 06/10/2004) Wales was wiped off the map yesterday when it failed to appear on the cover of the annual yearbook produced by Brussels statisticians. The map shows a line from Chester to the Severn Estuary along the English border, but Wales has vanished. Glenys Kinnock, the Welsh MEP and wife of the former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, said it was "quite a shocking omission", but added: "I can assure you they will not forget us again. "Maybe with computerised drawing this can happen and someone who isn't aware of...

ONE of the biggest Welsh movie stars in Hollywood kicked off a race storm last night after making anti-Muslim remarks. Outraged Islamic leaders in Wales demanded an immediate apology from Lord Of The Rings actor John Rhys-Davies, who claimed an increase in Europe's Muslim population was a "demographic catastrophe" threatening "Western civilisation". The 59-year-old Ammanford actor's comments were originally made in an interview with American journalists from World magazine, but this week they were used by the far right British National Party in a leaflet to campaign for support among cinema-goers. Last night Rhys-Davies stood by his views which follow...