Dear MoodyMoody,
GORSEDD
Although I live in the North, I have long been a Member of an organisation called "Celtic Languages Of The South" (CLOTS).
These Celtic languages are, of course, Breton, (France), Cornish, (England), and Welsh, (Wales).
Scotland, (Gaelic), and Ireland, (Erse), are NOT in the South, so, ipso facto, despite being part of the Celtic family, they are forbidden to join the organisation. (Our Secretary, Rhys Ap Llewellyn, from Cleck-up-cum-Chorly, Lancashire, is a stickler for Rules.)
The language we are discussing today is Welsh, and the Word is "Gorsedd", or "Gorse DerwydD" (Shortened to GORSEDD = "Druid �s Gorse").
The national flower of Wales is, today, the Daffodil, but in olden times, Florist �s Shops hadn �t been invented. So, the national flower was gorse, which proudly bloomed on the side of every Welsh valley, hill, and mountain. It blossomed everywhere and at all times ... in shade, sun, or snow!
Druid �s Gorse was a flower, a bush, a tree, a hedge; a home for wild-life; a fertiliser; a source of nitrogen; a perfume; a medicine; a food, a drink, a fruit, a fuel --- everything!
This spiny, woody, ugly, beauty covered the land. It was ubiquitous; it was ridiculous; yet it was marvellous!
There is an old Welsh saying, which I have translated for you: "When gorse is out of blossom, kissing is out of fashion".
Les Douglas
