Category: Travel

Ynys Manaw

By Simon

Mi gyrhaeddais yn Ynys Manaw y prynhawn ‘ma, a dw i’n aros yn Douglas, prif dref yr ynys. Roedd hi’n braf heddiw, ac roedd y môr yn dawel. Does dim llawer o Fanaweg i glywed neu i weld yma, heblaw ar rhyw arwyddion ac ar amserlen y bysiau. Bydda i’n cwrdd â pobl sy’n siarad Manaweg yfory.

Oileán Mhanann

Tháinig mé go dtí an Oileán Mhanann an tráthnóna seo, agus tá mé fanacht i nDubh Lios, príomhbhaile an oileáin. Bhí lá breá ann inniu agus bhí an fharraige ciúin. Níl go leor Manainnis a chluinstin nó a fheiceáil an seo, ach amháin ar roinnt comharthaí agus ar amchlár na busanna. Casfaidh mé le daoine atá Manainnis acu amárach.

Ellan Vannin

Raink mee ayns Mannin fastyr jiu, as ta mee tannaghtyn ayns Doolish. Va laa braew ayn jiu as va’n keayn lane rea. Cha nel mooarane Gaelg ry akin ny ry clashtyn ayns shoh, agh er chooid veg nyn cowrey as er earroo claare-traa nyn barrooseyn. Bee’m meeiteil ry Gaelgeyryn mairagh.

Isle of Man

I arrived in the Isle of Man this afternoon, and I’m staying in Douglas, the island’s capital. It was fine today, and the sea was flat calm so the voyage over from Liverpool went smoothly. I haven’t heard or seen much Manx here, except on some signs and on the bus timetable. I’m be meeting some Manx speakers tomorrow.

Newyddion

By Simon

Dw i wedi bod yn brysur yn ddiweddar -es i i’r Bala efo ffrindiau prifysgol ddoe, a neithiwr roedd parti yn nhŷ un o fy ffrindiau o gôr cymunedol. Nos Wener ymunais â’r Côr Dysgwyr Cymraeg, ac roedden nhw’n dathlu eu llwyddiant yn Eisteddfod Môn. Nos Iau roedd ginio efo ffrindiau o fy nghwrs, ac y penwythnos diwethaf es i i Abermaw efo ffrindiau prifysgol. Dw i wedi sgwennu chwe mil o eiriau ar gyfer fy nhraethawd hir hefyd. Yfory a i i Ynys Manaw am bythefnos, a dw i’n edrych ymlaen yn fawr ato.

Language barrier

By Simon

According to an article in The Guardian, a man who planned to walk 9,000 miles to Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace in India without money found the language barrier insurmountable when he arrived in France.

His aim was to show that a world without money is possible, and he thought he could obtain food and shelter in return for helping people, a philosophy he promotes via his website, the freeconomy community. The walk went well until he arrived in France, when he realised that the little French he could remember wasn’t sufficient to explain his mission and his dietary requirements – he’s a vegan – and people thought he was a refugee or a beggar.

He now plans to travel around the UK offering his help to people and brushing up his language skills with members of the Freeconomy network, and would like to try the walk to India again eventually.

Have you ever had trouble explaining your mission and/or dietary requirements in a foreign language?

I don’t drink alcohol and sometimes find it hard to explain this in other languages, especially when asked why. I discovered recently that you can apparently avoid drinking in Japan if you cover your glass and say kyōkai (church) – no one will mind as long as you keep their glasses topped up. Does anyone know if this works?

Happy New Year!

Anglesey

By Simon

An seachtain seo caite, tháinig mo thuismitheoirí go Bangor ar feadh cúpla lá. Thaiscéal muid páirteanna Bangor agus Porth Penrhyn, an port beag in aice le Bangor, agus tiomáin muid timpeall Anglesey (Ynys Môn i mBreatnais). Chuaigh muid go dtí an stáisiún traenach leis an ainm is faide san Bhreatain mhór – Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Eaglais Naomh Muire i log an choill bháin in aice leis an bpoll súraic tapaidh agus Naomh Tysilio na huaimhe deirge), nó Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. Níl a lán rudaí ann a fheiceáil san sráidbhaile beag sin ach an stáisiún traenach agus an ionad cuairteoirí mór in aice leis.

Station at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Bhreathnaigh muid thart taispeántas iontach ealaín gloine sa stáisiún, agus d’ith muid ár lón sa chaife san ionad cuairteoirí. Ansin chuaigh muid timpeall an oileán agus thug muid cuairt ar iarsmalann an shuimiúil sa Port Amlwch. Stad muid i Feaumaris, ach bhí sé ag cur fearthainn go trom, agus dá bhrí sin ní stad muid i bhfad ansin. Is amhlaidh bhí báisteach ann beagnach an t-am ar fad nuair a bhí mo thuismitheoirí anseo, agus tháinig an grian amach i ndiaidh siad a fhágadh.

Last week my parents came to Bangor for a couple of days. We explored parts of Bangor and Porth Penrhyn, the small port near Bangor, and drove round Anglesey. We went to the railway station with the longest name in Great Britain – Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave), or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll for short. There’s not much to see in the village about from the railway station and the huge visitors’ centre nextdoor.

We had a look round an exhibition of art made from glass in the station, ate some lunch in the visitors’ centre, then went round the island. We visited the very interesting museum in Amlwch’s port and stopped in Beaumaris, by which time it was raining very heavily and we didn’t stay long. In fact it was raining almost all the time my parents were here, and the sun came out after they left – typical!

Aros am dywydd braf

By Simon

Yr wythnos diwethaf, sylweddolais taswn i’n aros am dywydd braf cyn mynd allan i fforio’r ardal ‘ma, baswn i’n aros am amser hir. Felly er fod hi ddim yn braf bore Iau, es i i Feaumaris, tref fach ar de arfordir Ynys Môn. Mae’n bosib i weld Beaumaris o Fangor a ro’n i’n meddwl byddai hi’n dda mynd draw fan ‘na rhyw ddydd.

Mae’r lle yn dlws, mae’r golygfeydd oddi o fo yn godidog, ac yn ffodus, roedd y tywydd yn braf pan gyrhaeddais yno. Roedd torf mawr o bobl ar y pier yn pysgota am grancod – gweithgaredd poblogaidd iawn yn ar ardal ‘ma, dw i’n meddwl.

Y dydd canlynol, es i draw i Borthmadog. Ro’n i’n bwriadu mynd i Flaenau Ffestiniog ar y trên o fan ‘na, ond roedd y trên nesaf yn gadael ar ôl dwy awr, felly es i â bws i Fetws y Coed trwy rhan o Barc Cenedlaethol Eryri, ac yna yn ôl a fi i Fangor trwy Gonwy. Hyd yn oed yn y glaw, mae’r golygfeydd yn Eryri yn ffantastig, a doedd dim prinder o law pan ro’n i’n yno.
Waiting for fine weather

Last week I realised that if I waited around for fine weather before going out to explore this area, I’d have to wait a long time. So although it wasn’t fine on Thursday morning, I went to Beaumaris, a small town on the south coast of Anglesey. You can see Beaumaris from Bangor and I’d been thinking that it would be good to go over there one day.

The place is very attractive, the views from it are wonderful, and fortunately it was fine when I arrived. There was a big crowd of people on the pier fishing for crabs – a popular activity in this area, I think.

On the following day I went over to Porthmadog. I was planning to take the train from there to Blaenau Ffestiniog, but the next train didn’t leave for two hours, so I took the bus to Betws y Coed through part of Snowdonia, and then returned to Bangor via Conwy. EVen in the rain, the scenery in Snowdonia is fantasic, and there was no shortage of rain when I was there.

Eachtra

By Simon

Tháinig mé ar ais go Bangor Dé Máirt an seachtaine seo caite i ndiaidh saoire ar fheabhas ar fad in Éirinn, Albain agus Sasana.

In Éirinn bhí sé an deas daoine a bhuail mé leis ag an scoil samhraidh anuraidh a fheiceáil arís, agus ag bualadh le a lán daoine eile. Bhí mé sa rang a sé i mbliana, agus bhí i bhfad níos mó deiseanna ann mo chuid Gaeilge a cleachtadh na a bhí sa rang a seacht anuraidh. Bhain mé triail as Gaeilge a labhairt an t-am ar fad taobh amuigh den rang freisin. Sa tráthnóna rinne mé an amhránaíocht sean-nóis le Gearóidín Bhreathnach agus bhain mé an-sult as.

Bhí ceolchoirmeacha ann san oíche le ceoltóirí, amhránaí agus scéalaí den scoth, agus seisiúin sa tithe tábhairne i ndiaidh sin. Sheinn mise an fheadóg íseal beagnach gach oíche sa seisiúin chomh maith -ní raibh gach port agam, ach bhí roinnt acu agam. Caithfidh mé níos mó a fhoghlaim de ghlanmheabhair -is féidir liom a lán port a sheinm ón ceol scríofa, ach ní féidir liom a oiread a sheinm gan ceol. Bhí roinnt againn ag seinn i ngach áit – sa tithe tábhairne, sa bhialann, sa lóistín agus nuair a bhí muid amuigh ag siúil.
Adventures

I got back to Bangor on Tuesday of last week after a fantastic holiday in Ireland, Scotland and England.

In Ireland it was lovely to see so many of the people I met at the summer school last year again, and to me many others. I was in the level 6 language class this year, and there many more opportunities to practice my Irish than there were in level 7 last year. I also tried to speak as much Irish as possible outside class. In the afternoons I was in the sean-nos singing class with Gearóidín Bhreathnach and really enjoyed it. Some of us in the class couldn’t help breaking into song wherever we happened to be – in pubs, restaurants, lodgings and while out walking.

There were concerts in the evenings with top musicians, singers and storytellers, and sessions in the pubs afterwards. I even played my low whistle in quite a few of the sessions – I didn’t know all the tunes, but could play along with some of them at least. I need to learn more tunes by heart – at the moment I can play plenty of them with written music, but not nearly so many without the music. I say this to myself everytime I go to Ireland, and am gradually building up my repertoire of tunes.

I’ve decided to write in one main language each time on this blog, rather than trying to write in Welsh, Irish and sometimes Chinese every time. This is mainly because it takes me quite a long time to write everything in two or three languages. And because I think it’s better to write directly in each language, rather than translating from Welsh into the others, as I usually do. So today it’s Irish (and English), yesterday was Welsh, and tomorrow I might have a go at Scottish Gaelic. When I get round to it, I’ll write English versions of the posts – sort of loose translations with extra bits.

Fforio

By Simon

Yn ddiweddar dw i wedi bod yn fforio Bangor ac yr ardal hon. Dw i’n arfer dilyn pob llwybr ydw i’n darganfod i weld i le maen nhw’n mynd. Echddoe, er enghraifft, mi ddarganfodais lwybr sy’n mynd i lawr i’r lan o Ffordd Siliwen, y ffordd sy rhedeg ar hyd y môr o’r pier, ac mi gerddais ar hyd y lan cyn hir ag medru i, ac yna i lawr â fi i’r prifysgol. Ddoe es i i Borth Penrhyn, ac wedyn mi ddarganfodais lôn sy’n mynd i fyny Mynydd Bangor hyd at Clwb Golff St. Deiniol. Roedd llawer o fwyar ar hyd y lôn ac mi ddynnais a fwytais cryn dipyn ohonynt – roedden nhw blasus iawn. Heddiw mi ddarganfodais lwybr sy’n mynd i fyny ochr arall Mynydd Bangor, lle roedd llawer o fwyar a golygfeydd hyfryd dros y ddinas i Eryri. A i yn ôl i dynnu mwy o fwyar cyn bo hir, a bydda i’n ceisio peidio â bwyta nhw i gyd cyn i mi cyrraedd adref! Bydd rhaid mi i ofyn i fy mam am rysetiau sy’n defnyddio mwyar.

Roedd fy ngwyliau yn Iwerddon, yr Alban a Sir Gaerhirfryn yn wych dros ben, gyda llaw. Yn Iwerddon roedd hi’n hyfryd gweld cymaint o bobol ydw i wedi cwrdd â nhw y llynedd, ac i ddod i nabod llawer o bobol newydd. Roedd gen i llawer o gyfle i siarad Gwyddeleg yn y dosbarthiadau a thu allan, mi ddysgais cryn dipyn o ganeuon newydd yn y prynhawniau, roedd cyngherddau gwych yn y nos ac wedyn sesiynau yn y tafarndai lleol. Mi ganais fy chwiban yn rhai o’r sesiynau hyd yn oed.

Y cwrs caneuon Gaeleg yn ngholeg Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ar Ynys Skye roedd yn ffantastig hefyd. Mi ddysgais mwy na 30 o ganeuon efo tiwtor ardderchog efo llais hyfryd, Christine Primrose, cwrddais â llawer o bobol diddorol, a siaradais cryn dipyn o Aeleg a Gwyddeleg – roedd torf fawr o siaradwyr Gwyddeleg yno sydd yn dysgu Gaeleg. Mae lle yn hyfryd hefyd, yn arbennig harddwch gwyllt y mynyddoedd a’r môr. Hoffwn i’n mynd yn ôl yn y dyfodol agos, ac efallai bydda i’n gwneud cwrs mewn Gaeleg a cherddoriaeth draddodiadol yno ar ôl i mi orffen y cwrs ym Mangor.

Beidh mé ag scríobh rud éigin as Gaeilge faoi m’eachtraíochtaí in Éirinn agus Albain amárach.

Tá mé ar ais anois / Tha mi ar ais a-nis

By Simon

I’ve now returned from my adventures in Ireland and Scotland. Well, in fact I’m currently staying with my parents in Lancashire for a few days on my way back to Bangor.

Oideas Gael, Gleann Cholm Cille, Donegal, Ireland

The summer school at Oideas Gael was as brilliant, and it was lovely to see so many of the people I met last year again, as well as to meet many new people. With such a gathering of friendly, interesting, talented and knowledgeable people you couldn’t help but have a great time.

I decided to go for the level 6 Irish language class rather than the level 7 one I did last year, which I found a bit too challenging and lacking in opportunities to speak Irish. The level 6 class was good fun and we all got to speak plenty of Irish. In fact I spoke Irish most of the time both inside and outside the classroom.

My Irish has now got to the level at which I can converse comfortably about everyday topics. When talking about more specialised areas my vocabulary isn’t always sufficient, but I can often find alternative ways to get across my meaning even if I don’t know the relevant words.

In the afternoons I did the sean-nós singing class with Gearóidín Bhreatnach, as I did last year, and enjoyed it immensely. We went over some of the songs we learnt last year, and learnt quite a few new ones. As well as explaining the backgrounds to the songs, Gearóidín also told us many interesting stories related to music traditions in Ireland.

A number of musicians and singers from Donegal and other parts of Ireland performed at concerts in the evenings, and I was particularly impressed by to Donegal fiddlers whose playing was outstanding. On other evenings there was story telling and a talk about the future of the Irish language. I found most of the stories quite difficult to follow, but could understand most of the talk.

After the evening concerts there were informal music sessions in the local pubs, and this year for the first time I played (the low whistle) in some of the sessions, as well as singing along with the songs I knew.

There’s a video made by one of the guys at the summer school here, and a video of Gearóidín and her daughters singing here. I even appear briefly in the first one.

After leaving Gleann Cholm Cille I travelled to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye for a week of Gaelic Song with Christine Primrose. The journey, which lasted two days, took me through some very beautiful scenery in both Ireland and Scotland. When I arrived at the college, the sun was shining and it continued to do so for the next few days. The second half of the week was quite wet, as it was in Ireland, but this did nothing to dampen my spirits.

A view of Àrainn Cholm Cille campus of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is located on the Sound of Sleat (An Linne Shlèiteach) in the south of Skye (an t-Eilean Sgitheanach) and just up the road from Armadale and Ardvasar. It has two campuses – Àrainn Ostaig and Àrainn Cholm Cille. The former is the original campus and was where I stayed. Our singing classes also took place there. The latter is a new campus just down the road with spectacular views across to the mainland. The college runs short courses during the summer in Gaelic language, music and singing, as well as a number full-time degree courses taught through the medium of Gaelic during the rest of the year.

There were 15 of us in the Gaelic song class from many countries, including Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Norway, Catalonia and Germany. Only three of us spoke Gaelic or had much knowledge of the language; the others found the pronunciation of the words quite tricky. Even so, in just five days we learnt over 30 songs, including waulking songs (òrain luaidh), mouth music (puirt a bheal), love songs (òrain gaoil), lullabys (talaidhean) and reels (ruidhlean). Christine, who is a great tutor, also told us the stories behind the songs, and about life on Lewis, where she grew up.

In the evenings there was more singing, and also dancing, films, a Gaelic conversation circle, and music sessions in the bar on Àrainn Ostaig. I went to some of the conversation circles and spoke a bit a Gaelic there. I also spoke Gaelic with a number of other people who were doing Gaelic classes, and with some of the tutors and staff, and realised that I can speak Gaelic reasonably well, at least at a fairly basic level. My knowledge of Irish certainly helps. I also got to speak plenty of Irish with some of the Irish speakers who were doing the Scottish Gaelic course for gaeilgeorí.

Gleann Cholm Cille

By Simon

I arrived in Gleann Cholm Cille in Donegal yesterday evening after a long but trouble-free journey by train, ferry and bus. The Irish Sea was very calm and the crossing was so smooth that if I hadn’t been looking out of the window, I wouldn’t have know that I was on a boat. It was more like a floating shopping centre in fact with numerous shops, cafés, bars and a small amusement arcade.

After arriving in Dun Laoghaire, I took the train into central Dublin, had some lunch at the bus station, then got the bus to Gleann Cholm Cille. The bus routes have changed a bit since last year and now go via Dublin airport, which adds half an hour or so to the journey. I slept or dozed much of the time, except for the last part of the journey between Donegal Town and Gleann Cholm Cille, the part with the best scenery.

I’m staying in the B&B I stayed in the first time I came here four years ago and sharing a room with Murt from Dublin, a native Irish speaker who hasn’t spoken the language much for many years. There are a couple of other Irish people staying here, both of whom speak Irish well, though are somewhat out of practice, and a couple from Holland or one of the Scandinavian countries – I’m fairly sure their speaking a Germanic language, but haven’t worked out which one yet. My hosts here, Margaret, is an excellent cook and her husband, Martin, is a professional chef in a local hotel. When I turned on my laptop yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have wifi here I can use.

Many of the people who were here for the summer school last year are here again this year, including the President of Ireland, so there are plenty of familiar faces. The programme is similar to last year as well. Last night we had the usual welcome talk from Liam, the director of Oideas Gael, and today we will be sorted into classes. There are eight levels of classes – last year I chose level 7, which was very interesting but more like a series of lectures than a typical language class, so this year I’m going to try level 6, which I hope will give me more chances to speak Irish.

Apart from a brief shower on the way here, the weather has been warm and sunny so far.

Long journey

By Simon

Tomorrow morning I’m off to Ireland for a week of Irish language and culture at Oideas Gael in Donegal. After this I’ll be going to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye, for a week of Gaelic song, and should have plenty of opportunities to speak Scottish Gaelic there as well.

Even though the journey will be long and complex involving trains, ferries, buses and planes, plus an overnight stay in Glasgow as it’s not possible to get from Donegal to Skye in one day, I’m really looking forward to it as it will take me through some beautiful scenery.

I probably won’t have internet access during the first week, but might during the second, so it could take a while for me to reply to your emails.