Following the decision of Urdd Gobaith Cymru to allow alcohol to be sold on the Eisteddfod site for the first time in Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion in May 2010, an e-petition has been launched to ask the Welsh Assembly to consider only funding future Urdd Eisteddfodau on condition that alochol is not sold on the Eisteddfod site. Instigated by the Welsh Council for Alcohol and Other Drugs, the e-petition is an opportunity for anyone who has concerns about the decision to register their concerns with the Assembly. The petition can be accessed here. Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive, The Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, said, “We oppose the Urdd's decision to permit the sale of alcohol on the Urdd Eisteddfod site. The opposition is based on the fact that it is a Festival for children and young people and, as such, the great majority of competitors and their friends are under the legal age for alcohol consumption.  Evidence suggests that children and young people are more likely to become drinkers and heavy drinkers the more society normalises the use of alcohol – which is exactly what the Urdd is doing by introducing alcohol to the Eisteddfod site. Would the Urdd promote the sale of Tobacco on the Eisteddfod site? “Through this e-petition we hope we can persuade the Welsh Assembly to reconsider its funding for this event until the Urdd reverses its decision to serve alcohol at the Eisteddfod. It is a frightening fact that Welsh 11-15 year-olds drink more alcohol than those of a same age in any other European country. This impairs their health, places them in all sorts of danger and damages their hopes for the future. This is totally contrary to the praiseworthy aims and intentions of the Urdd. “The Urdd, as a movement which receives public funding from the Assembly, should act to strengthen the Assembly's policies on health and fitness not work against it. We call on the Assembly to take a stand as the Urdd's decision undermines Assembly health strategies by reinforcing practices, such as drinking alcohol, which run counter to the aim of promoting health and welfare. What justification does the Urdd have for undermining public policy? “If the Urdd is unwilling to change its policy on this matter then putting pressure on the Assembly to consider withholding its funding until the decision is reversed may well have a much more powerful effect on the Urdd’s decision making. The Urdd was, and should be, a responsible movement which puts the welfare of children and young people before everything else. This ethos is clearly no longer at the heart of the Urdd movement and the decision must be reversed.” Wynford Ellis Owen described the E-petition as “A last-ditch attempt to save the Urdd movement from itself”.

29 January 2010
Poems by the late Angharad Jones
Poems by the late Angharad Jones can be accessed by going to our 'Things Spiritual' section.

10 January 2010
Second retreat: One day at a Time  

Held at Coleg Trefeca, Brecon the Council's second retreat will be a weekend retreat of 30 people with an emphasis on living “one day at atime”. It is an opportunity to get away from the business of life and spend some time on yourself and your life. For more information on the retreat or on future retreats please contact the Council at info@welshcouncil.org.uk Download the retreat programme

04 December 2009
Ruth Andrews objects to Dr David Best’s lecture.
Ruth Andrews, a Psychoanalytical Psychotherapist from Birmingham, attended the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ Inaugural Annual Lecture at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff on 16th June, 2009. The Lecture, delivered by Dr David Best from the University of the West of Scotland on ‘Evidence of hope – what do we know about sustained recovery from alcohol and drug addiction?’, caused controversy.
 
In a letter to David Best, Ruth said:
 
‘On 16th June I attended the lecture you delivered in Cardiff. You presented data from research conducted in Birmingham and made some powerful comments about the staff working in the drug services. I would like to suggest that your comments regarding all staff and service users were based on omission of fact not on substantive data. I have therefore collated data and compiled a document illustrating the work that has been developed over a number of years by the Tier 4 service. Dates, data and comments by service users are included in order to verify the text.
 
Ruth goes on ‘Your arguments regarding the use of Methadone script is applicable to Tier 3 services and this should have been made clear. The one thing that is very evident with service users we work with, prior to and post residential rehabilitation, is the hope they have and their appreciation of being able to engage in a difficult but challenging life of real growth’.
 
At the time, Wynford Ellis Owen, chief executive of the Welsh Council, said that David’s lecture was both thought-provoking and informative. He wrote “I was left thinking, at last someone is talking sense here and he’s backed it up with solid evidence – yes, treatment is not good enough and treatment itself is not enough – it is not sufficient in its current form to support recovery. David, however, recognised that recovery does happen but that it happens in community settings where indigenous resources provide the basis for the recovery journey.”

You can access Ruth Andrew’s paper in response to David’s lecture by clicking here

The lecture, which was hosted by Gareth Jones OBE, AM, was recorded and can be viewed by clicking here.

The Welsh Council’s next Annual Lecture will be held at the Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff Bay on 23rd June, 2010. More information can be accessed on our website from January, 2010 onwards.

16 October 2009
Research has shown that there are different degrees of drinking disorders, and many people can change habits on their own.
Seventy years ago, Bill Wilson -- the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous -- declared his powerlessness over alcohol in a book by the same name. The failed businessman contended that, as an alcoholic, he had to "hit bottom" before changing his life and that sobriety could only be achieved through complete abstention... read the complete article at the Los Angeles Times

20 October 2009
Taking the message online and laying foundations for The Living Room 

The very first fundraising event in aid of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ newest initiative is being held at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, at 7pm on Sunday 25 October.  All monies raised from the musical extravaganza staged by Cwmni Theatr Ieuenctid Maldwyn will go towards establishing The Living Room Cardiff, a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre which aims to break the cycle of addiction. In time, the service will be extended to all major towns throughout Wales. The evening will also mark two further milestones for the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs.  They will not only launch their newly designed website, www.welshcouncil.org.uk, but they will also announce the winners of their nationwide cartoon competition. more