Visitors of the Day: Tuesday

Strolling around the Maes, it’s hard not to notice the wide range of people that have chosen the attend the National Eisteddfod 2014. From young families to groups of couples, everyone appears to be getting involved in the festival spirit and perhaps none more so than Alan and Rhiannon, who were more than happy to speak to me after I decided that they qualified for Tuesday’s Visitors of the Day.

The couple have travelled from the Vale of Glamorgan (just for the day) and try to do so every time the Eisteddfod is in the South of Wales. This year is particularly special for Alan given his historical connections to Llanelli, so you could be forgiven for presuming that they were always going to make an extra effort to attend this year’s event.

It’s one that – so far – hasn’t disappointed. I spoke Alan and Rhiannon at 11.15am in the morning so they were yet to experience all of what the Maes had to offer, but explained that what had struck them the most so far was the general format and presentation of the festival. The entrance, they claimed, was a particular highlight, providing a perfect welcome for visitors as they are provided with a beautiful view over the Council Field that encourages further exploration. The length of the Maes also worked well, they thought, spreading the exhibitions over three fields and increasing the impression of scale.

The couple were also keen to note the increase in English signs on last year. Although both fluent Welsh speakers, they are pleased to see the increase in bilingualism on the Maes in the hope that it will attract more people to the festival and encourage them to develop their Welsh as a result.

Having recently returned from Alaska on a 14-day holiday, post-break blues might have been expected – but there’s no sign of that here. It’s obvious that Alan and Rhiannon are really positive people – “every day’s happy”, they say, before deliberating my final question; “if you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

Rhiannon pauses and decides on bread, but quickly adds: “different varieties” while Alan follows up with “seafood” having had time to mull over an answer.  I’m more of a gammon steak and chips kind of guy myself, but regardless of their dietary choices, Alan and Rhiannon were two of the friendliest people I’ve met this week and I wish them both a fantastic day at the Eisteddfod 2014.