Thursday, August 02, 2007

Learn something new every day...

I am very grateful to the Owain Glyn Dwr communicates weblong for the following:



"Such is the long historical traditional links of the game of Rugby with Prince Owain Glyndŵr. Indeed, as was recorded by 18th century antiquarian Iolo Morgannwg, It is a little known historical fact that the game of rugby was actually invented by the Welsh - when in 1315, Llywelyn Bren, Lord of Senghenydd, cut off an English tax collector’s head and tossed it to a gathered crowd of local Welsh, who upon being chased by English soldiers, gleefully ran around tossing the unfortunate tax collector’s head to each other until, finally, one of Llywelyn Bren’s sons drop kicked the head over the gate of Caerffili Castle. Thus, not only was the game of Rugby invented in Wales but Caerffili was, indeed, the very first rugby Club (named the Llywelyn Bren XV of course) in the entire world - if not the universe. Tom Brown and Rugby school is no more than an English Imperialist Invention. You don’t believe it? Trust to the truth of Iolo the Remembrancer!"

P.S. Please note I am not in anyway advocating the slaughtering of tax inspectors nor seeking in anyway to undermine their very considerable efforts to raise the revenues we all need etc. Some of my best friends are tax collectors and I have always publicly defended their role. They have often been treated as second class citizens,even in the bible, and should of course enjoy the same opportunities as the rest of us. I hope that clears up any possible misunderstanding.