Charles III
48-489: Beddgelert ( Welsh: [bɛðˈgɛlɛrt] ) is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd , Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2021 census was 460 (rounded to the nearest 10). This includes Nantmor and Nant Gwynant . It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert . The community is large and sparsely populated and covers 86 square kilometres. The village stands in
96-471: A bedroom below. The noise was heard throughout the village, and up to the present no explanation has been forthcoming for the mysterious happening. The proprietor of the hotel, a Mr Tillotson, subsequently sold half the meteorite to the British Museum and half to Durham University, which had placed an advertisement in the local papers asking for information and offering a reward for any recovered fragments of
144-402: A document of 1269 it is recorded as "Bedkelerd". The current name of the village is often rendered "Begél" in the local Welsh dialect. The Church of St. Mary stands at the end of Stryd yr Eglwys (Church Street). This was originally a part of an Augustinian Monastery (the chapel), but is all that remains since the rest of the monastery was burnt down during Edward I's war of conquest. Rebuilding
192-448: A friendly tree elf; Ming a baby dragon and Ping Pong's pet; Edward no longer has tusks, his trunk has been straightened and he wears an orange T-shirt and brown shorts; and one of the fox twins (Ferdie) has been changed into a girl named Freda. There are new characters like Miranda the mermaid ; but characters Podgy Pig, his self-obsessed sister Rosalie and the timid Willie Mouse make no appearances. Rupert Bear, Follow The Magic ...
240-540: A majority interest in the Rupert Bear character from the Daily Express . Every year since 1936, a Rupert Bear annual has been released, even during the years of World War II , during a paper shortage. All of these books were written and illustrated by Mary Tourtel and originally published from 1928 to 1936, by Sampson Low. There were 46 books in the original series. Some of the titles were later published for
288-629: A more modern Rupert to tie-in with the CGI -animation Rupert Bear, Follow the Magic... , began. The Rupert Annual for 1960 contained a story called Rupert and the Diamond Leaf , in which he visits "Coon Island", whose inhabitants are little " Coons ". The Coons previously appeared on the cover of The New Rupert: The Daily Express Annual, 1954 and in the interior story Rupert and the Castaway . The first appearance
336-516: A red jumper and bright yellow checked trousers, with matching yellow scarf. Originally depicted as a brown bear , his colour soon changed to white to save on printing costs, though he remained brown on the covers of the annuals. Most of the other characters in the series are also anthropomorphic animals. They are all scaled to be about the same size as Rupert, regardless of species. Rupert's animal friends are usually referred to as his "chums" or "pals." Aside from his best friend Bill Badger , some of
384-634: A valley at the confluence of the River Glaslyn and the Afon Colwyn . Just above the confluence of the rivers, in the centre of the village, is an old stone bridge with two arches. Many of the houses and hotels are built of local dark stone. To the west is Moel Hebog and to the north and a series of hills rising to the Snowdon horseshoe. The A4085 between Caernarfon (13 miles or 21 kilometres north) and Porthmadog (8 miles or 13 kilometres south) runs through
432-736: Is Raggety, a woodland troll-creature made from twigs, who is often very grumpy and annoying. In the 2006 television revival of the series, Raggety has been transformed into a friendly elf with broken English. There is also a recurring country Police Officer who is an adult dog named PC Growler. There are also a few human characters in the stories, such as the Professor (who lives in a castle with his servant, Bodkin), Tiger Lily (a Chinese girl), her father "the Conjuror," and several less frequently occurring characters such as Sailor Sam, Gaffer Jarge, Captain Binnacle,
480-642: Is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest tier of local government in Wales . Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England but, unlike English parishes, communities cover the whole of Wales. There are 878 communities in Wales. Until 1974 Wales was divided into civil parishes . These were abolished by section 20 (6) of the Local Government Act 1972 , and replaced by communities by section 27 of
528-574: Is published daily in the Daily Express , with many of these stories later being printed in books, and every year since 1936 a Rupert annual has also been released. Rupert Bear is a part of children's culture in the United Kingdom , and appears in 4 TV shows based on the character. Rupert is a bear who lives with his parents in a house in Nutwood, a fictional idyllic English village. He is drawn wearing
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#1732855423043576-614: The Beatles ' producer George Martin . The song reached No.3 in the UK Singles Chart. The British video-game publisher Quicksilva adapted Rupert Bear for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum 8-bit computers, in two game instalments: the 1985 Rupert and the Toymaker's Party and the 1986 Rupert and The Ice Castle . In September 2020, Royal Mail issued a set of eight stamps to commemorate
624-504: The Canterbury Heritage Museum , which has since closed, had collections that covered much of the history of Rupert and his friends, as well as Tourtel and other illustrators. The museum was geared toward families and those interested in the general history of Rupert. On 31 October 2005, UK Media Group Entertainment Rights (which was later bought by Boomerang Media , then DreamWorks Classics and now NBCUniversal ) purchased
672-612: The ITV network that ran for 156 ten-minute episodes. The characters were all puppets, although the opening sequence featured a toy Rupert bear sitting in a live-action child's bedroom. Rupert's friends and flying chariot appeared straight from the Daily Express pages, although he was joined by some new friends including Willy Wisp, Drizzle, Della, Jimmy, Mr Grimnasty, Gypsy Granny, Chun-Mao, The Wise Old Wizard, and Mr Koskora The theme song, written by Len Beadle (also known as Frank Weston) and Ron Roker , sung by Jackie Lee , reached number 14 in
720-457: The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 and the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 . Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is an English children's comic strip character and franchise created by Herbert Tourtel and illustrated by his wife, the artist Mary Tourtel , first appearing in the Daily Express newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from
768-466: The Woolworth's retail chain, with only 18 of the original titles. However, the titles and numbers for this series did not relate to the earlier published series. Brainwaves Limited of Basingstoke , Hampshire, produced a series of Rupert storybooks in 1991 (no author or artist credited): In addition, they published other Rupert series: Rupert first appeared on television in an ITC series produced for
816-504: The Bear; a short walk from Alfred Bestall's old home. Many films have made use of the scenery around Beddgelert, most notably The Inn of the Sixth Happiness , starring Ingrid Bergman . Parts of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life , starring Angelina Jolie, were also shot here. In 2021 the population of Beddgelert was recorded as 460, 34.5% of which were aged 55 to 74, higher than
864-475: The Crown . In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are now three communities with city status: Bangor , St Asaph and St Davids . The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title mayor (Welsh: maer ). However, not every community has a council. In communities with populations too small to sustain a full community council, community meetings may be established. The communities in
912-466: The Goat Hotel, David Pritchard, who created it in order to encourage tourism. Similar legends can be found in other parts of Europe and Asia. The village is probably named after an early Christian missionary and leader called Celert (or Cilert) who settled here early in the 8th century. The earliest record of the name Beddgelert appears on a document dated 1258, and the name recorded is "Bekelert". In
960-655: The Opposition Andrew RT Davies MS ( C ) Shadow Cabinet ( current ) Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP ( L ) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils ( leader list ) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums A community ( Welsh : cymuned )
1008-547: The Sage of Um (who is seen travelling in a magical upside down umbrella) and Rollo, the Gypsy boy. There is also a recurring Merboy . During his time as Rupert writer, Alfred Bestall added further characters such as the girl guides Beryl, Pauline and Janet, with Beryl's cat, Dinky. These characters were based on Girl Guides from Bestall's own church who asked him in late 1947 if they could have their own adventure with Rupert. They remain part of
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#17328554230431056-783: The UK charts in 1971. Rupert returned to television in 1985 to the BBC , in the form of 36 five-minute-stories. In this series, each episode consisted of a series of still illustrations and narration. The sole narrator was Ray Brooks . The short title music is credited to Brave New World. In the US, these shorts aired on the Disney Channel as part of its "Lunch Box" program. In 1991, Rupert Bear featured in an animated television series with 65 episodes and five seasons (13 per season) produced by Nelvana (Canada), Ellipse (France) and Television South (TVS) for
1104-661: The area is, however, becoming invaded by the alien plant, Rhododendron ponticum which provides a covering of pink blossom in May and June, but which is slowly blanketing out the native flora . Attempts have been made to control its spread by cutting and burning. River levels on the River Glaslyn in Beddgelert are constantly monitored by the Natural Resources Wales , in order to give advance warning of flood conditions lower down
1152-413: The art; for example, within speech balloons . Bestall developed the classic Rupert story format: the story is told in picture form (generally two panels each day in the newspaper and four panels to a page in the annuals), in simple page-headers, in rhyming two-line-per-image verse, and as running prose at the foot. Rupert Annuals can therefore be "read" on four levels. Rupert's unspectacular introduction
1200-467: The centenary of Rupert Bear. Featuring Bestall's artwork, they comprised two second-class stamps, two first-class, two at £1.45 and two at £1.70. A cartoon of Rupert superimposed on a Robert Crumb drawing, showing the bear in a sexual situation, was a notable part of the notorious edition of the British underground magazine Oz guest-edited by schoolkids. Subsequently, the adult editors and publishers of
1248-524: The comic series even today. The series often features fantastic and magical adventures in faraway lands. Each story begins in Nutwood, where Rupert usually sets out on a small errand for his mother or to visit a friend, which then develops into an adventure to an exotic place such as King Frost's Castle, the Kingdom of the Birds, underground, or to the bottom of the sea. Sometimes one of the Professor's inventions opens
1296-745: The community boundaries within their area every fifteen years. The councils propose changes to the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales , which prepares a report and makes recommendations to the Welsh Government . If the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations, then it implements them using a statutory instrument . For example, in 2016 four new communities were created in the City and County of Cardiff . The legislation surrounding community councils in Wales has been amended significantly in
1344-697: The covers for the annuals until his retirement in 1973. Much of the landscape in Rupert is inspired by the Vale of Clwyd in North Wales (Alfred Bestall himself lived for many years in the north Welsh village of Beddgelert ) (the Professor's castle is based on Ruthin Castle), the Sussex Weald and East Devon . Bestall's successor was Alex Cubie. Cubie created Rupert annual artwork between 1974 and 1977. His images are recognisable from
1392-404: The door to one of Rupert's adventures. At the end of the story Rupert returns to Nutwood, where all is safe and well, and where his parents seem perfectly sanguine about his adventures. Unlike most modern comic strips , Rupert Bear has always been produced in the original form of strip with illustrations accompanying text, called " text comics ", as opposed to text being incorporated directly into
1440-448: The first season (13 episodes), with Scottish TV taking over control from season 2 when Television South lost its ITV franchise. The show followed the style and tone Bestall established in the Rupert newspaper series, with many of the stories being almost direct adaptations of his or others' panel stories from the Daily Express . It was aired in syndication on YTV in Canada. In the U.S.,
1488-871: The meteorite. There have only ever been two such verified meteorite falls in Wales: the Beddgelert incident, and an earlier incident 14 miles (23 kilometres) away in Pontllyfni in 1931, at the other end of the Nantlle Ridge. Community (Wales) Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister ( list ) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS ( L ) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS ( L ) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS ( PC ) Leader of
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1536-542: The most enduring pals are an elephant (Edward Trunk), a mouse (Willie), Pong-Ping the Pekingese , Algy Pug (who actually pre-dates Rupert), Podgy Pig , Bingo the Brainy Pup , the identical twins Freddy and Ferdy Fox , the identical twins Reggie and Rex Rabbit , and Ming the dragon . The kindly Wise Old Goat also lives in Nutwood, and helps Rupert in some of his adventures. One of the most unusual and evocative characters
1584-439: The national average of 25.1%. The largest ethnic group is White, making up 97.2% of the population, higher than the national average of 93.8%, with the second largest being Mixed with 2.2% of the population, higher than the national average of 1.6%. The largest religious group in Beddgelert is No religion with 46.5% of the population, which is also the national average, with the second largest being Christianity with 42.6%, lower than
1632-544: The national average of 43.6%. On 21 September 1949 a meteorite struck the Prince Llewelyn Hotel in the early hours of the morning, causing damage to the roof and a bedroom in the hotel. The following week the Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald reported the incident: STRANGE HAPPENING.- About 3 a.m. on the morning of September 21st, a piece of metal weighing about 5 pounds fell through the roof of Prince Llewelyn Hotel to
1680-455: The rival Daily Mail and Daily Mirror . In 1935, the stories were taken over by Alfred Bestall , who was previously an illustrator for Punch and other glossy magazines. Bestall proved to be successful in the field of children's literature and worked on Rupert stories and artwork into his nineties. More recently, various other artists and writers have continued the series. About 50 million copies have been sold worldwide. The comic strip
1728-487: The same Act. The principal areas of Wales are divided entirely into communities. Unlike in England, where unparished areas exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in urban areas . Most, but not all, communities are administered by community councils , which are equivalent to English parish councils in terms of their powers and the way they operate. Welsh community councils may call themselves town councils unilaterally and may have city status granted by
1776-574: The show also airs daily on Qubo channel, although only the latter 26 episodes are being shown. In South America , the show was aired in Brazil by the TV Cultura channel between 1998 and 2008. In 2000, the Canadian producer Nelvana made plans to produce a feature film about Rupert at Hollywood studios, but the project was not implemented. In 2006, a new Rupert Bear stop-motion-animated television series
1824-707: The show first aired on Nickelodeon (as part of Nick Jr. block) before moving to CBS in January 1999; repeats of the series came to Qubo 's digital service in January 2007. The show was aired in the United Kingdom on CITV . In Australia, the show was aired on the ABC and on TV2 in New Zealand as part of the Jason Gunn show . The show has been returned in the United Kingdom on the satellite and cable network Tiny Pop . As of 2009,
1872-441: The thicker black outlines around the characters and the use of more vibrant colours than Bestall employed. A Rupert Annual is still produced every year and Rupert appears each day in the Daily Express . In 1978, his new adventures became illustrated by John Harrold; his drawings in the annual were usually coloured by Gina Hart . In 2008 John Harrold was succeeded by Stuart Trotter and a new style of annual ( sans serif typeface) with
1920-551: The urban areas of the cities of Cardiff , Swansea and Newport do not have community councils. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census , there were 869 communities in Wales. 84 percent, or more than 730, have a council. They vary in size from Rhayader with an area of 13,945 hectares (34,460 acres) to Cefn Fforest with an area of 64 hectares (160 acres). They ranged in population from Barry with 45,053 recorded inhabitants to Baglan Bay with no permanent residents. The twenty-two principal area councils are required to review
1968-402: The valley. Beddgelert has a range of hotels with public bars, guesthouses , cafes , and restaurants . The car park in the village provides the easiest access route for climbing Moel Hebog , the mountain which directly overlooks the village. Part of the restored Welsh Highland Railway runs through the village. In April 2009 the railway station was reopened to the public. The line links
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2016-524: The village with Caernarfon to the north and Porthmadog to the south. Other local attractions include the Sygun Copper Mine . The village is also linked with the Rupert Bear stories, as Alfred Bestall wrote and illustrated some of the stories whilst he lived in the village, in a cottage at the foot of Mynydd Sygun . There is even a small area known as 'Rupert Garden' in the village, dedicated to
2064-453: The village. The outdoor equipment company Gelert originated in Bryncir then moved to Beddgelert but later moved its headquarters to nearby Porthmadog. The folk tale of the faithful hound " Gelert " is often associated with the village. A raised mound in the village is called "Gelert's Grave" and is a significant tourist attraction . But the grave was built by the late 18th-century landlord of
2112-522: Was first aired on Five from 8 November 2006 until 1 February 2008. 52 ten-minute episodes were broadcast and subsequently repeated. A short film directed by Geoff Dunbar based on ideas/music/songs by Paul McCartney was made in 1984, titled Rupert and the Frog Song . It follows Rupert as he explores the country one night and finds a special gathering of frogs. The film contains a song titled " We All Stand Together ", written by McCartney and arranged by
2160-485: Was in a single panel, the first of 36 episodes of the story "Little Lost Bear" written by Herbert and drawn by Mary Tourtel. Bestall expanded the stories and plots of Rupert; and in addition to precise and detailed drawings for the Daily Express panels he also created beautifully crafted illustrations in the Rupert Annuals. Bestall drew the Rupert stories for the Daily Express until 1965; and continued to illustrate
2208-686: Was in the 1946 soft cover summer special Rupert on Coon Island . Rupert appeared in Paul McCartney 's 1984 music video " We All Stand Together "; McCartney also made an animated video starring Rupert called Rupert and the Frog Song . The short film, produced by McCartney won the British Academy Award . Tourtel's home was in Canterbury in Kent, and the Rupert Bear Museum , formerly part of
2256-569: Was probably not completed at the time of the suppression of the monastery in about 1536. Parts of the building date from the 12th century and is still in active use today. Beddgelert is a significant tourist attraction, its picturesque bridge crossing the Afon Colwyn just upstream of its confluence with the Afon Glaslyn. It is also the nearest village to the scenic Glaslyn gorge, an area of tumultuous river running between steep wooded hills. Much of
2304-444: Was produced, skewing almost entirely towards small children. Changes to the characters are that Rupert wears trainers and his fur has a slight tan; Bill wears a dark blue leather jacket and blue pants with yellow stripes instead of his suit and bowtie, and tends to carry a personal digital assistant with him at all times; Pong Ping has become a girl who uses magic and had her name reversed; Raggety, who rarely appeared before, has become
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