Eisteddfod Chair empty, music medal unwon

ONE of the peculiarities of the National Eisteddfod is that if entries don't measure up to standard then prizes remain unawarded. This year the Bard's chair remains empty and the Music Medal unwon.

Branwen Jarvis, Gwenallt Llwyd Ifan and Ceri Wyn Jones had the task of who would take the Eisteddfod's highest honour and occupy the Chair designed and created by Dilwyn Jones of Celfi Derw in Maerdy. Seven competitors tackled the subject 'Disturbance' an entry which disappointed the judging panel who found a lack of vision, lack of thought, and a lack of consideration for order and clarity in the entries.

No musician composed an entry worthy of a Medal either. Entrants were asked to produce six songs and Lyn Davies and Shân Cothi decided no-one had reached a sufficiently high standard this year.

Bardic Chair. Photograph by the National Museum Wales. Reproduced under the Creative Commons 2.0 Licence