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In article <DtpK4p.C1v@exeter.ac.uk>, RDavies@exeter.ac.uk (Roy.Davies) writes: >>the only mention of Wales was in the introduction to her report when she referred to "devolution to Scotland and Wales." Apparently the cliques in charge of the British (or supposedly British as opposed to English) media think that the future of Wales is about as relevant as that of Burkina Faso. Elements of the Conservative Party seem to share that opinion but of course they can't see that their indifference is a good argument for devolution.<< I certainly agree with your observation, Roy. I write about Welsh matters in the US for a Welsh-American newspaper and use Welsh sources, UK press releases, UK newspaper sources, private sources, Internet sources, etc., to amass background information. I am appalled at the lack of mention of Wales in the UK, or if mentioned, Wales is at the bottom with such as "also Assembly for Wales," etc. Prime Ministers' Questions Time is received on our C-span cable each week, and the condescension toward Wales is also evident here whenever a Welsh MP (particularly Plaid Cymru) delivers a question. Earlier this year a group of PC MPs protested that the question time in general was stacked by the Tories. The picture which has emerged in my mind is that the unconscious attitude in the UK press is to keep Wales as a toy place which should not be given equal hearing status. This grates very poorly on the ears of people on this side who recognize that such an attitude is one way of controlling the "child" so that he not dare to become an "adult." One of Dafydd Wigley's comments when he was touring the US last Fall was that he was amazed that his audiences were so receptive and noncombative while listening to his speeches and participating in questions and answers. This is because we have no bias concerning Wales here, but very few Americans are really aware of its existence as a unique culture at all. Part of this is the above effective blockage of mention by the "powers that be." I do not believe that there are "conspiracy" tactics in all of this. Not recognizing Wales in a positive light probably reflects long-standing attitudes. Another interesting anecdote appeared in one Welsh-based news article which mentioned a group of Americans questioning this very thing at the Hay-on-Wye book festival recently. A group of English writers were presenting a motion, I read, without mentioning the cultures of Wales, Ireland and Scotland and their contributions to "English: British" literature. The Americans, probably somewhat innocent of the extent of this long-standing neglect, formally protested to the surprise of many English attending. This entire issue has confounded me since my beginning interests in Wales. Hwyl, Barbara