Dai the Dap travels the map! Trivia Quiz

Answer: London

This may surprise some people, but "London" takes its name from the Roman "Londinium". This in turn was based on the Celtic name "Llundem" or "Llundein" - which is where the "modern" Welsh name for London comes from. "Llun" is the Welsh word for "Monday". "Monday" is a derivation of "Moon Day" - and the Welsh/ Celtic word for "Moon" is "Lleuad". Somewhere in all of that the derivation of the name "London" sits - but the home of the Queen of England, Tower Bridge, the Crown Jewels and Westminster Abbey wouldn't have quite the same gravitas somehow if it was known as "Moon town", would it?

Answer: Edinburgh

"Caer Edin" is literally "Edin's Castle" - a shortening of Edwin - the early Christian king who built his fort there in Brythonic times.

Heart of Midlothian and Hibernians are Edinburgh's two premier football teams, whilst the prestigious "Perrier Award" is awarded to the most promising comedy act at the Edinburgh Festival every year. Past winners of this award include The Cambridge Footlights (whose line up included Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson), Frank Skinner, Steve Coogan (aka Alan Partridge) Lee Evans, Al Murray and the League of Gentlemen.

Answer: Carlisle

Simply put, "Carlisle" and Cumberland/ Cumbria used to be part of Wales - even though it is over 150 miles away from the current border of Wales. "Caerliwelydd" means "The fort of Lliwelydd". Lliwelydd is likely to be an ancient Welsh prince, mentioned in the "Black Book of Carmarthen".

The "Black Book" is one of the oldest surviving manuscripts in the Welsh language, and is a collection of poems and essays which outlines stories from early Welsh history.

Answer: Birkenhead

Pen = Head, Bedw = Birch. Fairly straightforward translation. The Birkenhead Eisteddfod will remain forever poignantly remembered as the Eisteddfod of the Black Chair.

The highlight of the Eisteddfod week (since the National Eisteddfod was inaugurated in 1861) has been the chairing of the winning Bard. It is a ceremony of great tradition, pomp and theatre. In 1917, the Eisteddfod was held outside of Wales in Bikenhead (it has also been held twice in London, and three times in Liverpool). The adjudication of the "blue riband" poetry competition was made, and the bardic name of the winner was announced. Traditionally, the winner sits amongst the audience, and stands up at the sounding of the "Corn Gwlad" (the heraldic horn). He is then greeted by various key druids, and led to the stage where he is further lauded and feted before being allowed to "sit in the peace of his chair".

In 1917, the name of "Hedd Wyn" was announced as the winner for his poem "Yr Arwr" (The Hero). But rather then look for the winner in the audience, a black shroud was bought onto the stage and placed over the chair. It was then announced that "Hedd Wyn's" real name was Ellis Humphrey Evans, and that he had been killed in the fields of Flanders a month previously. He had written his winning poem in the trenches, and sent it by post to the adjudicators, but before he could receive his rightful award he had lost his life.

This poignant story was made into a Welsh language film, "Hedd Wyn", in 1992. The film contrasts the stark difference between the beauty and tranquillity of Evans' native Meirioneth and the horror of the trenches of Belgium in the First World War. It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1993.

Answer: Ireland

Whilst all three of the incorrect answers are Celtic nations, along with Wales and Ireland, the correct answer is The Emerald island (Scotland is the sixth Celtic nation). The "Tales of the Mabinogi" is a shared literature between both countries, telling of the trials, triumphs and tribulations of ancient princes and princesses from both nations in ancient times.

These tales also talk about both lands being joined. This seems a little unlikely at first glance, as the shortest distance between both countries these days is 64km (approx. 45 miles) - measured from Churchtown in Co. Wicklow to the Isle of Ramsey, off the coast of Pembrokeshire.

However, there is a spur of land, some two miles long, which two low tides a year reveal in Cardigan Bay. Studies have shown that this spur extends almost to the shores of Ireland, and it's quite likely therefore that this could have been a more permanent connection between both countries in times past.

Answer: Somerset

I have a lot of friends in Somerset who may well challenge the notion that it is the land of summer - they spend as much on wellington boots, umbrellas and souwester coats as we do in Wales! Somerset is only some five miles or so away as the crow flies from South Wales, my home - it can be seen clearly from Cardiff across the Severn Channel.

When I was a kid, we used to pass the signs to Cheddar Gorge and caves regularly - and for years, I assumed that they were caves made of cheese. A natural assumption for a small kid to make, I guess!

Answer: Hereford

Shrewsbury is "Yr Amwythig", Worcester is "Caerwrangon" (The Fort of Wrangon) and Gloucester is "Caerloyw". All have significant historical connections with Wales. There is no definitive proof of where the name "Henffordd" came from - but it's possible that it comes from the travels of Geral the Welshman (Geraldus Cambrensis) who finished his long journey mapping Wales in Hereford - possibly via an "Old Road"?

Answer: New Zealand

"Newydd" = New, and there's no "z" in Welsh - so "Zealand", or "Zeeland", becomes "Seland". If the Welsh love their rugby - in New Zealand, it's part of the very fabric of the society there. I was lucky enough to live and work in New Zealand for some 18 months - it is a beautiful country, with wonderful people. Being Welsh, and a rugby fan, helped me make lots of new friends for life. New Zealand has a population of just over three million people - but it occupies a larger land mass than the UK.

Answer: Argentina

The Welsh established a settlement in Chubut, in Patagonia, in 1865. This came about after an offer from the Argentine government to Professor Michael D Jones. Professor Jones had spent years in America looking at the feasibility of establishing a Welsh colony, and he was also considering offers from Australia, New Zealand and Palestine to do so.

But the Argentinians offered him 100 square miles of prime farming land, and the deal was done. By the turn of the 20th Century, it was estimated that over 20,000 people lived on the colony, all considering themselves as "Argentinian - Welsh", many carrying dual passports.

Although the Welsh language has been subsumed into the local Spanish to a great extent, around 10% of the population are still fluent Welsh speakers, and many Welsh customs and cultures are still practised there as part of normal everyday life.

The famous Argentinian footballer, Gabriel Batistuta, hails from the colony. Although he doesn't profess to be a Welsh speaker, he knows enough of the language to have been able to answer a few simple questions in Welsh on a Welsh language TV programme a few years ago.

Answer: New York

Dylan Thomas died in New York on November 9th 1953 at the age of 39. It is believed that he drank himself to death. "Newydd" is Welsh for "New", and "Efrog" is the Welsh for York. It is one of the few cities outside of the UK which has a specific translation of its name to Welsh. George L Jones, co-founder of the "New York Times", was the son of a Welsh weaver.