A visit to the very busy Welsh Books Council stand showed us that book publishing and the facility for online ordering is thriving in Wales.

The Welsh Books Council is an independent, national body which provides a focus for the publishing industry. It provides a number of specialist services (in the fields of editing, design, marketing and distribution) with a view to improving standards of book production and publication in both Welsh and English.

Although a number of bodies in the fields of education and the arts are concerned with aspects of publishing there is no other body in Wales concerned with the whole spectrum of publishing, from the author's manuscript to distribution and sales promotion.

www.gwales.com is the Council's Internet inquiry and ordering service. On this site it is possible to search for Welsh or Welsh- interest books using ISBN, title, author, publisher, publication date, description or category. Their database contains more than 14,000 titles in both the Welsh and English languages and their search facility uses e-categorisation. The site also highlights best-sellers and 'What's New' updates.

The site's online ordering service is linked to fourteen selected booksellers with mail-order services.

Y Lolfa was started in the late sixties in a huge, old warehouse in Talybont village, near Aberystwyth, on the middle of the Welsh coast. It was a politically lively period and Y Lolfa acted as unofficial printers to the Welsh Language Society, Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg.

However Y Lolfa's main interest was Welsh language publishing. It published a whole range of original books for children and adults (specialising in contemporary fiction), while at the same time developing a keen commercial printing service. Y Lolfa now has a four- colour press and the very latest in scanning and image-setting equipment. It employs 18 people full-time, including two editors, a graphic designer, and marketing staff. Y Lolfa carries a wide range of books both in Welsh and in English, and is at the forefront of Welsh publishing, producing 30 - 35 titles per year.

Another one that appealed to us was "The Pan-Celtic Phrasebook" - the ideal phrasebook for anyone interested in Celtic languages. With instructions in English and French, this book will help anyone learn Breton, Gaidhlic, Irish and Welsh.

All Y Lolfa titles are available through their online shop.

The Gorsedd is an association of bards, writers, musicians and artists, along with men and women noted for their services to the Welsh nation, the Welsh language and its culture. The members acknowledge their allegiance to Wales and its culture by joining together in pageantry five times a year.

Early on the Monday morning (we were up at 7am!) we attended the opening Gorsedd ceremony where successful applicants for Gorsedd membership (by examination) were received in an impressive ceremony onstage. This would have taken place outdoors at the Gorsedd Circle of Stones, but had to be transferred to the Pavilion due to rather wet weather.

Later that day, Penri Roberts, Principal of a Primary School, from Llanidloes, was crowned in the Eisteddfod Pavilion before a capacity crowd of approximately 4,000 people. The crown is awarded annually by the Gorsedd for the finest free verse poetry on a specified subject. The title for this year's Crown competition was "Muriau" (Walls) and the requirement was for a Sequence of Poems not over 200 lines but containing at least 10 poems. The subject matter of the winning entry dealt with the emotional defences people build up as they go through life.

For the writers themselves the drama started months before, as they rushed to get their entries in on time, using pseudonyms instead of their real names. The winner's identity is kept a close secret until the crowning ceremony. It's one of the most exciting moments of every National Eisteddfod. The nom-de-plume of the winning poet was proclaimed from the stage. The pavilion lights dimmed and an expectant hush descended. Arc lights swept across a sea of faces until one person, and only one, rose to his feet. Another great writer was about to be honoured with one of the Eisteddfod's greatest literary prizes, thereby entering the nation's hall of fame.

On stage, the Archdruid stood in his golden regalia while behind him the green, blue and white-robed rows of bards made a striking backdrop. To either side of the stage were the lady bearers of the Hirlas Horn and the Sheaf of Corn. The scene was further enlivened by the troop of little local girls who performed the traditional Gorsedd floral dance.

The crown this year was designed and crafted by John Price of Corris. It shows the Eisteddfod logo intertwined with mystic Gorsedd images in gold.

Mid-week, at another Gorsedd ceremony in the pavilion, the Prose Medal was awarded to Elfyn Pritchard of Sarnau, Bala. The title of the Prose medal competition this year was "Lleisiau" (Voices) and the requirement was for a volume of prose no longer than 40,000 words. There were 16 entries, and a monetary prize of £750 was presented by Denbigh Rotary Club.

At the end of the week, on the Friday, we were up early again to attend the morning ceremony, this time outdoors at the Gorsedd Circle of Stones. It was a beautiful sunny morning, ideal for the procession and pageantry which surrounded the awarding of Gorsedd membership to selected people who have done exceptional service to Wales (whether in sports, literature, community affairs or whatever.) This honour is rather like an honorary doctorate from a university.

Later that day, the Eisteddfod pavilion resounded with a very special cheer when the Eisteddfod Chair was awarded to a woman for the first time in the festival's 121 year modern competitive history. The award of the Chair to the winning poet is considered the most important and prestigious prize of any Eisteddfod and winning it immediately puts the victorious poet in the annals of Welsh literary history.

Mererid Hopwood, who has a doctorate in German from London University and is mother of three pre-teen children, only started writing six years ago in the complicated 'Cynghanedd' strict metre alliterative style required for the competition (Monday's Crown competition was for free verse). The theme for this year's competition was renaissance. Mererid's poem dealt with a woman's joy at giving birth, followed by the trauma of the death of her child; her renaissance comes with her final acceptance of the child's death.

As always, the tall-backed chair is of a unique design and this year's chair was made from quarter sawn wood, elegantly carved and designed to look ceremonial as well as simple and elegant. The chair was presented by the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (a society of London-based Welsh people).

By the way, it is interesting to note that, in order to maintain the very high standard of these literary competitions, the Crown or Chair have quite often been withheld altogether at Eisteddfodau. So this obviously adds to the air of expectancy in the pavilion before the adjudications.

For full details of the Gorsedd and the background to the ceremonies, go to the Eisteddfod website.

A visit to the Eisteddfod by a non-Welsh-speaker is bound to stir up an interest in learning some basic Welsh and this is well catered for at the festival by the many language learning institutions. Right inside the festival entrance is a pavilion (Pabell y Dysgwyr) which is a one-stop information centre for the learner.

There is a large selection of courses for adults and children to learn Welsh both online and in CD, video, cassette and publication forms. Summer holiday residential courses are also available at the Welsh National Language Centre.

The Welsh Language Board is the official body charged with language learning and its website contains a wealth of language learning aids - click on resources for adults. For learners who wish to pursue academic courses, the University of Lampeter has courses designed for distance learning.

Acen is a commercial company with a wide range of attractive learning aids, including an e-magazine. The first three units of their course for complete beginners are now available free on their website. They also have specialist courses in Business Welsh and News Welsh (understanding the impersonal language used in news bulletins). Popeth is a company with special learning programmes on CD-ROM for children.