wargaming in 80's- SADF in Angola

[Jemima Fawr]

More background for winter'79 in welsh
Soon a nice AAR

https://rockenmundolibre.blogspot.com/2025/06/ecos-en-los-valles.html?m=1

Great fun, though you might be interested to know that there was no central Welsh government in Cardiff at the time; that only appeared after Tony Blair came to power in 1997.  So the governmental consternation would be felt in Westminster, but not Cardiff.

[Jemima Fawr]

Oh and S4C didn't appear until 1982.  I'm absolutely certain that the main reason for the failure of Welsh Nationalism to gain any traction was due to the utterly dire Welsh-language TV programmes that we had to suffer interspersed with 'normal' BBC & ITV offerings and the knowledge that we'd never see anything else on our telly if the Plaids ever got in.

The best part of going over the border to stay with our cousins in Herefordshire was getting to see Space 1999, Dangermouse and Camberwick Green.  It was like arriving on another planet.

[mendoza]

Thanks for your information. I Will change some things in the blog.
The history  is in 1982 because I want to link It with another important war.

[CapnJim]

Interesting.  Looking forward to the report...

[carlos marighela]

Oh and S4C didn't appear until 1982.  I'm absolutely certain that the main reason for the failure of Welsh Nationalism to gain any traction was due to the utterly dire Welsh-language TV programmes that we had to suffer interspersed with 'normal' BBC & ITV offerings and the knowledge that we'd never see anything else on our telly if the Plaids ever got in.

The best part of going over the border to stay with our cousins in Herefordshire was getting to see Space 1999, Dangermouse and Camberwick Green.  It was like arriving on another planet.

Which just underlines the well known fact that Fireman Sam/ Sam Tân was a carefully crafted bit of insurgent propaganda aimed at inflaming Welsh nationalist sentiment.

The Fire Brigade, laden with its timeless image of a band of selfless heroes, had been the subject of infant televison before. In Trumpton the well honed crew of Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub stood ready under the iron hard discipline and steady leadership of Captain Flack to respond to any emergency. Along with the boys of Pippin Fort in the extended Camberwick Green universe, they were steadfast pillars of the state, as represented by the Mayor and Corporation.

In Fireman Sam the brigade is much more haphazard and relaxed in its approach to its vital task and its chief protagaonist always seems to have a degree of sympathy for the young arsonist Norman Price. It was an unsubtle message to English holiday cottage owners: 'If your house catches fire, good luck with that, we won't mind!' 

[Jemima Fawr]

Thanks for your information. I Will change some things in the blog.
The history  is in 1982 because I want to link It with another important war.

Ah, as you were with S4C then!   From the title I thought it was 1979.

Coming back to layers of government:  To clarify, there was no overall regional government for Wales. HM Government in Westminster included a Welsh Office and a Secretary of State for Wales.  Below that were the County of Councils of the counties of Dyfed, Powys, Clwyd, Gwent, Gwynedd, East Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan.  Now we have a Welsh Government and A LOT more counties.

[Jemima Fawr]

Which just underlines the well known fact that Fireman Sam/ Sam Tân was a carefully crafted bit of insurgent propaganda aimed at inflaming Welsh nationalist sentiment.

The Fire Brigade, laden with its timeless image of a band of selfless heroes, had been the subject of infant televison before. In Trumpton the well honed crew of Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub stood ready under the iron hard discipline and steady leadership of Captain Flack to respond to any emergency. Along with the boys of Pippin Fort in the extended Camberwick Green universe, they were steadfast pillars of the state, as represented by the Mayor and Corporation.

In Fireman Sam the brigade is much more haphazard and relaxed in its approach to its vital task and its chief protagaonist always seems to have a degree of sympathy for the young arsonist Norman Price. It was an unsubtle message to English holiday cottage owners: 'If your house catches fire, good luck with that, we won't mind!' 

That's right.  Had such programmes existed before the creation of S4C, we'd have been ripe for revolution, instead of dreaming of liberty and Dangermouse on the other side of the Severn.

[Jemima Fawr]

Which just underlines the well known fact that Fireman Sam/ Sam Tân was a carefully crafted bit of insurgent propaganda aimed at inflaming Welsh nationalist sentiment.

The Fire Brigade, laden with its timeless image of a band of selfless heroes, had been the subject of infant televison before. In Trumpton the well honed crew of Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub stood ready under the iron hard discipline and steady leadership of Captain Flack to respond to any emergency. Along with the boys of Pippin Fort in the extended Camberwick Green universe, they were steadfast pillars of the state, as represented by the Mayor and Corporation.

In Fireman Sam the brigade is much more haphazard and relaxed in its approach to its vital task and its chief protagaonist always seems to have a degree of sympathy for the young arsonist Norman Price. It was an unsubtle message to English holiday cottage owners: 'If your house catches fire, good luck with that, we won't mind!' 

It's also occurred to me that the real reason that Meibion Glyndwr were an abject failure is because they didn't embrace the real traditions and revolutionary zeal of their 1830s revolutionary forebears.  If they'd called instead themselves Merched Beca, raided their Mam's wardrobe and expressed some deep-seated repressed issues, they could have been a terrifying movement (or at least caused some terrifying movements in anyone who encountered them).  Steve Strange could have been their Aunty Ho.

[carlos marighela]

Indeed. All those years of hoarding shawls and stovepipe hats for the Eisteddfod gone to waste. Arise ye sons of Glyndr! You have nothing to lose but your Welsh Rarebit and much to gain in terms of gender ambiguity! Why storm the Westgate Hotel when the Stonewall Inn is there for the taking?

[italwars]

'We're still here, despite it all. '

Here's a quick primer  Jim.



Oh and btw back in the 80s old Daffyd would have probably been part of that gaming scenario. 

Now just get yerself a bucket hat and a shirt and you'll be good to go. 

Thanks for posting..Very nice song and video,,that i did nt know before....i like all those anthems of nationality proud such as , for example, the also beautiful , "Flower of Scottland" and why, not all those European anti-goverment national dissent cultural expressions like in Catalonia ecc..i m  also  amused that, as concern UK,  those beautiful  anthems are,  obtorto collo, "tollerated" in stadiums despite their defiant lyrics..it could'nt have been possible in a bigot country such as mine as concern, for example, my beloved Lega Nord.

[FinnN]

Welsh language programmes were indeed pretty dire, and ‘local content’ did indeed displace some programmes (usually to odd times rather than completely replacing them) - local content could include dull English language content such as bowls! That said I watched all your examples on HTV/BBC Wales so probably something else at work there.

I grew up in the Welsh speaking heartlands and there was certainly a fair amount of sympathy for the arson campaigns. Before legal protection came in it wasn’t uncommon for people to be sacked for speaking Welsh in the workplace (indeed it sporadically, albeit very rarely, happens today). Bear in mind this is in a region where it’s the day-to-day language for the majority so it doesn’t have the same political subtext that say someone speaking Irish would have. Other more subtle forms of economic discrimination occurred more frequently. However unlike for example Northern Ireland this discrimination didn’t cross over the line into physical discrimination or violence, which I believe is why it didn’t escalate into something worse. The closest would probably be the police response which often targeted Welsh language or cultural figures and activists rather than wannabe terrorists (and unsurprisingly as a result they barely found anyone). For example I went to an English language school and a number of teachers, including one active in the Welsh music scene, had their cars searched for bomb making equipment.

Clearly there were some people that were, at the very least, flirting with more - for example this guy who was about the only person prosecuted (more than 10 years after the arson campaign started) whose fashion sense is clearly ‘inspired’.

[carlos marighela]

The Taff RA. Yes, he nicely blended the school cadets meets first job interview at Wimpy meets PIRA at a cemetary look . I must say the feather arrangement gives it an exotic and fun carnaval aspect. Rio in February meets Pontypandy in March. It's only the 1970 World Snooker Championship badge on the beret depicting Ray Reardon and John Pulman that lets it down.  At least his weapons and personal kit would have been more practical. Container of Esso Blue and a box of Swan Vestas wasn't it?

Fear not, the 1970s had some pretty dire telly to contend with generally speaking. If you were missing out on say 'Love Thy Neighbour', Robins Nest, 'Are You Being Served?' or the fucking Waltons you can consider yourself to have dodged a bullet. It wasn't all The Sandbaggers, Callan and I Claudius after all.

[mendoza]

They are some problem with play with It? I want to burn wels... in the winter'79 background.

[FinnN]

Brief clip of a march in this trailer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0g0x3gw as well as some ideas for unit markings such as the dragon with a Kalashnikov and a beret (I remember seeing a more competent version of this with a red/green background).

If you’re looking for more inspiration check out the near future dystopian tv series ‘Knights of God’ on YouTube which has 1980s Welsh partisans in the first episode.

https://youtu.be/CurRpNXduV8?si=tU0lHNIZxJVRaCMb

[Rick]

Blimey - Bulman and Blake in the same series! 
Not seen that before.