MADAM,

The silly ongoing debate regarding the whereabouts of the Welsh border must be seen in historical perspective. The truth of the matter is that a handful of English Imperialist zealots have, over the years, tried to annexe dear old Gwent/Monmouthshire through some dubious brainwashing and with some fanciful history - without success!

As Gwent was not included in the Act of Union then, in reality, the county is still an independent part of "Old Wales." Over the centuries the English Crown was able to snatch large chunks of Wales, notably South Herefordshire, where Welsh was spoken until the 19th century, helping with the retention of its original Welsh place-names. The failure to solemnly annexe Gwent when they had the chance has given the zealots heartache ever since.

Should there be any doubt about land west of the Wye then it should be pointed out that over 2,000 years ago when the Welsh occupied all of Britain, the Welsh place-names of Kent, Dover and London, for example, were adapted by the Romans together with most of the river names such as the Thames, and then later adopted by the incoming Germanic English. After some double crosses and an unfortunate plague the English border settled on the Wye and no amount of huffing and puffing has changed the position - the letters to your newspaper from Don Stroud and myself exactly two years ago gave a fuller debate.

The jibe about devious Welsh politicians "hi-jacking" Gwent in 1972 has gone down in history as an amusing anecdote. Does this mean that the English were beaten at their own game? I realise that Don Stroud will never give up his fight for English dominance over our fair county but I felt he was taking matters a little too far with his threat of entering his preferred earldorman, Lord Tebbitt, into the arena. The noble lord, dressed in his frightening English regalia and waving his fists at the locals in Monnow Street, may be a trump card but this scary prospect has already been anticipated. The nationalist Highways' authorities blocked the Hereford access with parked cars and even now are practising blockades of the other approaches with school buses. I hope that the Monmouth Naval Association will be keeping an eye on the River Wye.

To put it into a nutshell, Gwent/Monmouthshire has retained its rightful and moral position within the bosom of Wales - and its place-names, languages and harmony will, forever remain intact. For my part, I will chuckle sympathetically at each display of sour grapes and wait with bated breath for the Ordnance Survey to alter their maps.

David Borderperson Hancocks

Abermynwy.