Category: General

A’ Challaid

By Simon

Mo challaid phriobaid / M'fhál pribhéad / My privet hedge

Tha callaid phriobaid i mo ghàrradh agus bha i a’ fàs ro ard agus ro bhagaideach, mar sin dheth ghearr mi i an dé. Ba mhath leam cuidhteas a fhaigh dhith gu léir, ach s’e obair mòr mòr a th’ann, agus tha mi a’ dèanamh sin beag air bheag.

Bha seisean math nam thaigh an-diugh, agus bha triùir againn ann an t-seachdain seo, a chor ‘s gun sheil aonar gun robh é DiLuain an-diugh, agus cha do ràinig é. Sin iomrall furasta a dhèanamh.

Tá fál pribhéad i mo ghairdín agus bhí sé ag fás ró-ard agus ró-mhothrach, mar sin ghearr mé í inné. Ba mhaith liom é a chur díom go hiomlán, ach is é sin obair an-mhór, agus tá mé ag déanamh beagán ar bheagán.

Bhí seisiún maith ann i mo theach inniu, agus bhí triúr againn ann an tseachtain seo, mar shíl duine amhain go raibh sé Dé Luain inniu agus níor tháinig sé. Sin botún éasca a dhéanamh.

There’s a privet hedge in my garden and it was getting too high and overgrown, so I gave it a trim yesterday. I’d like to get rid of it all together, but that’s a very big job and I’m doing it little by little.

We had a good music session in my house today, and there were three of us this week, because one of us thought it was Monday today and didn’t turn up. An easy mistake to make.

Gleann Cholm Cille

By Simon

Tá mé ar ais arís i nGleann Cholm Cille. Tá sé iontach te agus beidh sé mar seo le feadh seachtain eile, b’fhéidir. D’fhág mé Bangor maidin inniu ar a hocht a chlog, agus chuaigh mé go Holyhead ar an traein. Ansin chuaigh mé ar an an mbád go Baile Átha Cliatha, agus ar an mbus go Gleann Cholm Cille. Turas fada go leor atá ann, ach bhuail mé le cairde ar an mbus. Tá mé ag fanacht san áit cheanna agus mé ag fanacht anuraidh agus arú anuraidh.

I am back again in Glencolmcille. It’s very hot and will be like this for another week, maybe. I left Bangor at 8am this morning and took the train to Holyhead. Then I took the boat to Dublin and the bus to Glencolmcille. It was quite a long journey, but I met friends on the bus. I’m staying in the same place that I stayed in last year and the year before.

New video – The Interview

By Simon

I just finished a new video which features a job interview in which one or both or the participants is having a laugh. Or are they being serious?

If you fancy translating the dialogue into any other languages, just let me know, and I’ll send you the script.

New server

By Simon

Currently I’m in the middle of moving Omniglot to a new web server provided by Kualo. This is going smoothly so far, but if you notice any error messages of other strangeness, don’t panic! The new server is managed, so any problems that might occur should be fixed quickly. My current server is ‘managed’ by me, and I’m no expert in running one. I chose Kualo because they offer a good deal, and because they are a green company who run on renewable energy.

My home runs mainly on renewable energy, supplied by Ecotricty, and I am planning to switch to a broadband and phone provider that is run on a co-operative model and uses renewable energy. I support renewable energy because it seems like a sensible thing to do.

Clwb Uke Bangor Uke Club

By Simon

Bangor Uke Club (from left to right - Pete, Jane, Matt, Doug and Simon) preparing to play in the fireplace of the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris

Neithiwr yn y Vaynol Arms yn Nant Peris fel rhan o Ffair Nant, mi wnaeth y Clwb Uke Bangor perfformio yn gyhoeddus am y tro cyntaf. Mi wnaethon ni chwarae cymysgedd o ganeuon yn gynnwys Country Roads, House of the Rising Sun, Dark Moon Rising, Cockles & Mussels, Go West, I Wanna Be Like You, ayyb. Yn Go West mi waethon ni canu North Wales yn lle Go West, ac roedd y cynulleidfa yn hoffi hyn, ac fel encôr mi wnaethon ni canu Delilah unwaith eto. Ro’n ni’n argraffu y trefnyddion ac mi wnaethon nhw ein gwahodd ni dod yn ôl i’r ffair y flwyddyn nesaf.

Last night in the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris as part of the Nant Fair, the Bangor Uke Club performed in public for the first time. We played a mixture of songs, including Country Roads, House of the Rising Sun, Dark Moon Rising, Cockles & Mussels, Go West, I Wanna Be Like You, and so on. In Go West we replaced Go West with North Wales, which went down well with the audience, and we sang Delilah again as an encore. The organisers were impressed and have invited us back for the fair next year.

Emshir braew

By Simon

Menai Strait (Afon Menai) on a sunny Sunday in March 2012

Va’n emshir braew yn jerrey shiaghtin shoh. Va grian ayn, v’eh çheh, va’n speyr gorrym as cha row geay erbee ayn. Va’n keayn lane rea as v’eh casley rish scaaney. Fastyr jiu hie mee heose dys Roman Camp as ren mee cleasaght.

A view from Roman Camp, Bangor on a sunny Sunday in March 2012

The weather’s been lovely this weekend – sunny and warm with blue sky and not a breath of wind, and the sea was beautifully calm and mirror-like. This afternoon I went up to Roman Camp to do a bit of juggling.

New design for Omniglot

By Simon

Recently I’ve been tinkering with the design of Omniglot. This doesn’t involves any major changes, at least I’m not planning to make any major changes at the moment – it’s more a case of changing colours and logos, and trying to improve menus. You might have noticed a few changes already – for example there are new links at the top of some pages, and a new menu on the side of others. You can see more changes on this page.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

Is there anything about Omniglot you’d like to see changed or improved?

Spooky Men’s Chorale

By Simon

The Spooky Men

Jesarn hie mee dys keirdlann as co-unnaneys yindyssagh ‘syn Galeri ayns Caernarfon lesh ny Spooky Men’s Chorale, sheshaght chiaullee voish yn Austrail ta jannoo turrys mygeayrt yn Reeriaght Unnaneyssit ec y traa t’ayn. T’ad ny ard arraneyderyn, as feer aitt as ommidjagh myrgeddin, as t’ad goaill arraneyn as yn Çhorshey, arraneyn cadjin lhied “Dancing Queen” (lesh blassyn Soolynagh as idd Loghlynagh) as “Boogie Wonderland” (dy moal as dy arrymagh), as arraneyn oc hene, lhied “Don’t Stand Between a Man and His Tool”, “Sometimes I Forget Things” as “Concrete”, ynsit shin ‘syn keridlann.

On Saturday I went to a workshop and concert at the Galeri in Caernarfon with the Spooky Men’s Chorale, a choir from Australia who are currently touring the UK. They are excellent singers and hilariously silly, and sing songs from Georgia, pop songs like “Dancing Queen” (with Swedish accents and Viking helmets) and “Boogie Wonderland” (slowly and solemnly), as well as their own songs, such as “Don’t Stand Between a Man and His Tool”, “Sometimes I Forget Things” and “Concrete”, which we learnt in the workshop.