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This week, thousands of people have descended on the National Eisteddfod, a festival celebrating the Welsh language - but not all of them spoke Welsh.

People in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which is not a Welsh language heartland, currently have Europe's largest cultural festival on their doorsteps.

But what is it like to go along, to take in the activities and entertainment, when you do not speak the language?

One Pontypridd resident said she had never heard so much Welsh being spoken in the area and it made her wish she knew more, but others felt the festival could do more to cater to learners.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, has urged the UK Government to take “a much tougher stance” in holding social media companies to account for the spread of “racial and religious intolerance” on their sites.

The Plaid Cymru leader also warned that social media giants, together with traditional media and politicians bear responsibility for a ‘rise in racial and religious intolerance’.

False information spread on social media about the identity of the alleged Southport knife attacker has been seen as playing a role in sparking the recent violence across parts of the UK, leading to calls for tougher regulation.

Even if you don’t speak Welsh, you’ll at least partly understand perthyn – belonging – and hiraeth – longing for what’s lost. They’re deep, deep links to the land

Many of us have enjoyed accessing different spaces around our town of Pontypridd over the years. Spaces that provide us with a strong sense of perthyn, of feeling related to and belonging with these places.

People make spaces, places, and in the act of doing so, name them. In their turn these places may also leave us with a strong sense of hiraeth, a longing for spaces that hold a special place in our hearts, long after we have left them, or they us. We carry our memories and our names for them in our hearts, wherever we may go.

People visiting the National Eisteddfod are being encouraged to use public transport as the annual event visits the south Wales valleys.

Based in the town centre of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, this year's eisteddfod will be "different and urban", according to the local council.

Ynysangharad Park is providing the focus for most of the activities, with 150,000 visitors expected over the course of the week.

With no event parking near the festival, those attending are being urged to walk, cycle or take the train or bus.

Eluned Morgan has admitted that some Welsh Government services will have to be “de-prioritised” following her election as First Minister.

Baroness Morgan was appointed to the top job after a vote in the Senedd on Tuesday (August 6).

The former health minister replaces Vaughan Gething who was forced to resign after four members of his cabinet quit in protest against his leadership last month.

Welsh Labour spent the 118 days of his short tenure in turmoil with rows about donations to his leadership campaign from a convicted criminal and the sacking of a junior minister.

Baroness Morgan will embark on her new journey leading the Welsh Government alongside deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies – a former member of Mr Gething’s cabinet.

Baroness of Ely Eluned Morgan has been confirmed as the First Minister of Wales after a vote in the Senedd.

The former health minister who grew up on a council estate in Ely will succeed Vaughan Gething who bowed out in July after only four months in the role.

Baroness Morgan received applause from the Chamber after saying it was the greatest honour of her life to become the first woman to become the First Minister of Wales.

Figures published by the Welsh Government show casualty reductions as follows for the period January to March 2024, in comparison with January to March 2023:

All severities at all speeds: 811 (2024); 4348 (2023);

20mph. All severities: 300 (2024); 662 (2023)

Killed or seriously injured: 63 (2024); 144 (2023)

Slightly injured: 237 (2024); 518 (2023)

30mph. All severities: 77 (2024); 1522 (2023)

Killed or seriously injured: 15 (2024); 343 (2023)

Slightly injured: 62 (2024); 1179 (2023)

40mph. All severities: 74 (2024); 397 (2023)

Killed or seriously injured: 20 (2024); 98 (2023)

Slightly injured: 54 (2024); 299 (2023)

50mph. All severities: 94 (2024); 273 (2023)

Killed or seriously injured: 23 (2024); 67 (2023)

Slightly injured: 71(2024); 206 (2023)

60mph. All severities: 214 (2024); 1235 (2023)

Killed or seriously injured: 71 (2024); 401 (2023)

Slightly injured: 143 (2024); 834 (2023)

70mph. All severities: 52 (2024); 259 (2023)

Killed or seriously injured: 12 (2024); 73 (2023)

Slightly injured: 40 (2024); 186 (2023)

Ken Skates, the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Transport, and North Wales, has released a long-term strategy for Cardiff Airport. This commits the government to making a maximum £206mn investment in the airport over the next decade. As always, with any government spending on Cardiff Airport, this has provoked a mixed reaction.

In Skates’s written statement, the strategy is set out with two main objectives. First, to attract and grow the aviation and aerospace business linked to the airport. And second, to have a programme of route development that focuses on connectivity to global air hubs and destinations of economic importance to Wales.

In June I went to the land of castles and spoke the tongue of the dragon. By which, of course, I mean Wales and Welsh, Cymru and Cymraeg. For my first proper holiday in over 20 years, I planned the trip and went by myself. As a single person, I had two choices: travel alone, or don’t travel. I chose to travel.

Many people have mentioned that it can be hard to find Cymraeg speakers with whom to practise. While in Cymru, I think I figured out some of the reasons why. They may be simpler than one might think, and they’re certainly not personal only to me.

Health Secretary Eluned Morgan has ignored the advice of Britain’s top expert on failing maternity units and refused again to order a public inquiry into the Singleton Hospital maternity unit in Swansea.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden said this week that an independent review into failings at the Singleton unit, commissioned by the Swansea Bay University Health Board, was “not fit for purpose” and should be “closed” immediately.

Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon – A nation without language is a nation without a heart, and over the coming months there will be a real opportunity to ensure that the next generation will receive the gift of education in our national language.

During the final week of the Senedd term, amid countless resignations by Cabinet Secretaries and the First Minister of the Welsh Labour Government, the Government’s Welsh Language and Education Bill was brought before the Senedd.

We have a likely new First Minister. Eluned Morgan, the Baroness of Ely, has replaced Vaughan Gething as the Labour Party’s leader in Wales. Gething, of course, having belatedly fallen on his political sword, following months of scandal and the resignation of a substantial chunk of his cabinet.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate that, for the first time in our country’s history, we have a female leader. This is a truly historic moment and one to be cherished, as it shows clear steps forward for our society. I understand and share concerns around the Baroness’s ministerial record, but that’s a topic for another day. It will no doubt feature heavily as Morgan establishes herself in the role.