FIFTY years after poet Dic Jones won the chair at the Aberafan Eisteddfod, the chair for this year’s Monmouthshire and District National Eisteddfod has been presented to the executive committee in his honour.

The chair has been designed and made by Emyr Garnon James, Head of Design and Technology at Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi, who used to visit Yr Hendre, Dic Jones’ family home.

This year marks half a century since Dic Jones won the chair at the Aberafan Eisteddfod for his ode, Y Cynhaeaf (The Harvest), and to note this important anniversary, the chair is given by the family in the poet’s memory.

The task this year is to compose a sequence of poems in full cynghanedd of up to 250 lines titled Ffiniau (Borders / Boundaries).

Emyr said: “I used to call at Yr Hendre, and the Aberafan Eisteddfod Chair was in the corner of the room. I never imagined that I would be chosen to create an Eisteddfod chair in memory of Dic himself. It has been an honour and a pleasure to create this chair, and I thank the family for the opportunity.

“One thing was certain from the start when speaking to the family, it had to be a ‘no-fuss’ chair, the wood being the main attraction. I returned to Yr Hendre to see The 1966 chair, which was a very modern chair in its day, a simple chair with beautiful wood.

“I chose to work with black walnut, and created a simple design with straight lines, a design which would, hopefully, have been appreciated by Dic himself.

“Working with the black walnut has been a special experience, and I have learnt how to cast bronze into the wood to create the inscription and the Nod Cyfrin (Gorsedd of the Bards symbol). I may well use some of these techniques in future projects with pupils at school, after exploring different ways of working when creating the chair.”

Speaking as he accepted the chair on behalf of the local committee, chairman Frank Olding said: “It is a great pleasure to be here tonight to accept the chair on behalf of this year’s Eisteddfod. The ceremony is one of the week’s highlights, and we sincerely hope that we will have a worthy winner for the chair in a few weeks’ time.

“Our thanks to Emyr Garnon James for his work on the chair, and the families of Dic Jones and Islwyn Jones for their donations.”

The chairing ceremony is on Friday, August 5, at 4.30pm. Anyone wishing to attend the ceremony should ensure they have a reserved seat ticket as the Pavilion will be very full.

The Monmouthshire and District National Eisteddfod is held on Castle Meadows, Abergavenny, from July 29-August 6. For more information go online at eisteddfod.wales.