Gafr wen,wen,wen

I love goats. In the past we've had three: Heti, Beti and Jemima, all remembered fondly.

This one lives a couple of miles up the road. It's a gafr wen (white goat), and my title comes from a well-known Welsh folk song/nursery ditty, Oes gafr eto? (Is there another goat?) or Cyfri'ir geifr (Counting goats). It runs through several differently coloured goats and the tune gathers speed - supposedly it's a test of sobriety to get the words in the correct order.

There are two recent reasons for a Welsh blip today. Wales won the Rugby Grand Slam again yesterday, and three days ago Plaid Cymru (The Welsh National Party) elected Leanne Wood as its new leader. Not only is she the first woman to hold the post but she is a socialist and an environmentalist who was once arrested for protesting against nuclear power. In 2004 she got into trouble in the National Assembly for referring to the Queen as Mrs Windsor and refusing to withdraw the remark.: "I don't recognise the Queen, I called her that because that's her name."
Leanne Woods is a breath of fresh air who makes independence for Wales a real possibility in the next few years.

You can listen to Oes Gafr Eto sung either by a male voice choir or by a harpist - both equally typical of Wales.

Where is the goat?
It's time for milking,
Off among the craggy rocks
The old goat is wand'ring
Goat white, white, white,
With her lip white, lip white, lip white,
With her tail white, with her tail white,
With her tail and flank white.
White, White, white..
Etc.