I am in awe...
I am in awe at how the small nations of Cymru and Catalunya have survived centuries of concerted attempts to wipe out their unique language, culture and identity. In ways that are more subtle, these attempts are still going on.

A bit more about Sue Davies

This website is about the current affairs, culture and history of two European nations – Cymru (also known as Wales) and Catalunya (also known as Catalonia). My email address is suedavies@mail2europe.com – emails to that address will always get a reply.

I was born in Caerdydd (Cardiff), the acapital of Cymru. My dad had moved with my mother from North Wales in search of work. Unable to find suitable work he joined the RAF Regiment and I spent much of my childhood on RAF bases across Britain and abroad. I have two brothers who both joined the RAF. All my adult life I have lived in Caerdydd’s Whitchurch district. I have a lot of family across North Wales and I visit a lot.

Nationalist and republican
I’m a long-standing Welsh nationalist and republican. Politically, I have always leaned to the left, but not slavishly – I regard communism and capitalism as the two greatest evils of this world. I used to be a member of a political party but I grew tired of having to toe the party line so I have not been a member of any political party for many years. Nor do I join any kind of pressure group – no matter how much I sympathise with their aims.

I’ve been commenting regularly on a wide range of issues in the letters columns of newspapers in Cymru and Spain for more than 10 years.

Spanish Civil War
At university, I studied the terrible Spanish Civil War and its dreadful aftermath and I have closely followed politics there ever since. I’ve been a frequent visitor to Spain since the early 1980s, in particular to Catalunya, which I like almost as much as Cymru.

I started out as a history teacher but I left the profession because a lot of Welsh history taught in schools is little more than propaganda, in particular to shore up the English monarchy. I felt I was not being allowed to teach the full truth.

For many years I’ve helped run an enterprise which straddles the private and public sectors. It’s work that has involved much travel, mostly to Ireland (a good model for Cymru) and Spain. Now that I’m semi-retired – regretfull, after some long illnesses – I’ve stepped up the travel and spend almost as much time in Catalunya as I do in Cymru.

There are lots of sources
As I said above, I have been visiting Spain for more than 20 years and have studied its history and stayed in touch with the subject. I follow current affairs in Spain and Cymru avidly.

Over the years I’ve developed a number of good friends and contacts there – a mix of Catalans, Spaniards, Brits and a few others – several of whom keep me informed when I am out of the country and bring items to my attention. Some have become such close friends they let me stay with them when I am in Catalunya, even if we don’t always see eye to eye with the arguments going on until the small hours.

So the posts here include a mix of sources and often will include the views and observations of others. But I take responsibility for my posts. And don’t forget, I encourage you to comment, even if you disagree (which is why we have a Your Views page).

I’m not very internet savvy, so I am grateful to those who look after that side of things for me.

Your views are welcome

I welcome your views even if they are opposed to mine. You can email me direct at suedavies@mail2europe.com. Anyone who leaves an email address will receive a personal reply.

You can comment at length if you wish, or even introduce new topics.

I appreciate that English may be some people’s second language and I may summarise such comments, but if the writer wants the entire comment included without corrections then that is OK.

Comments/letters policy
I will have to hold out text that may leave me facing legal action or which infringe generally-accepted terms and conditions concering hate and racisim.

Typically, “You may not publish any material that is grossly offensive to the general on-line community, including but not limited to, exploitation of children, blatant expressions of bigotry, hatred, harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy or excessive profanity (cursing). This includes material that defames, abuses, harasses or threatens any person or group.”

In the event of any such comment being received, I will always endeavour to resolve the matter with the writer if I can contact them.

Beyond that there is no censorship at all. There’s already far too much of that in the world.