Tag Archives: Welsh

10 Basic Welsh Phrases To Impress Your Friends

Most of us struggle to learn French, German, or Spanish in an effort to make our holidays abroad a more fulfilling experience. Being able to converse with taxi-drivers, order local delicacies in restaurants, and haggle in the native tongue when in local markets, all help create a more enjoyable holiday, as well as impressing the natives.
What though, if you prefer to spend your leisure time closer to home, Wales for instance. Rugby Union fans can visit Cardiff Arms Park. Those with an interest in culture can enjoy the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The National Parks, castle ruins, countryside, fabulous coastline and pristine beaches all help attract thousands of visitors to this beautiful country annually.

Be different – speak Welsh:

Learning a few phrases in the unique Welsh language will surely make you stand out from the crowd. And I mean stand out from the crowd. Although Welsh is taught in schools, less than 20% of the Welsh population can actually speak the language.

Try to memorise these few phrases and impress not just your friends, but many of the locals as well.

Greetings:

Hello. Helô, Hylô

Good morning. Bore da

Good afternoon. P’nawn da

Good evening. Noswaith dda

General Phrases:

Pleased to meet you. Mae’n dda gen i gwrdd â chi.

Do you speak Welsh? Ydych chi’n siarad Cymraeg?

Please speak more slowly. Siaradwch yn arafach, os gwelwch yn dda.

Please write it down. Wnewch chi ysgrifennu hynna, os gwelwch yn dda.

Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawn

Goodbye. Dab o chi.

The devolved National Assembly for Wales through its education system is trying very hard to retain a language which unfortunately appears to be in danger of dying out. For many years prior to devolution, learning Welsh has been a compulsory subject in schools. Official documents, official signs and road and street names all have to carry the information in both English and Welsh.

While Welsh speaking appears to be in decline within the country, in a land thousands of miles away there is a colony where the Welsh language remains alive and well. The colony of Y Wladfa, in the Argentine province of Chubut, retains Welsh as its foremost language. So perhaps, on your next visit to South America, taking the trouble to memorise a few Welsh phrases may well assist you converse with the local taxi driver, or help you find out how to get where you need to be.

Wales in Rugby – A History of The Six Nations Championship

 

With the Six Nations Championships now well underway for the 2015 season, Welsh rugby union fans’ confidence will be riding high in anticipation of a successful campaign, undoubtedly matched by a steely determination to win back the title after losing grasp last year. The welsh team have an enviable record in the competition having won outright twenty six times since in all and winning jointly on a further nine occasions.

In actual fact, Wales did not feature in the predecessor to the current competition which featured only two teams – England and Scotland – when they played the first international rugby union match in 1871. With the inauguration of the Calcutta Cup in 1879 as the prize for the winners of sporadic matches between the two countries, the appetite to participate in international rugby union grew in Wales (as well as in the other Home Nations) and in 1883 the Home International Championship was launched, featuring England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

The Welsh team enjoyed early success in the competition and came to be the dominant force in the final years of the competition, winning six out of the last ten championships in the first decade of the 20th century. With a surge in popularity of rugby union on the continent, France was admitted to the competition in 1910 and the Five Nations was born, although the advent of World War in 1914 led the tournament to be suspended for the duration of hostilities and for two further years beyond.

With allegations of financial mismanagement, the French were ejected from the competition in 1931, with the five Home Countries continuing to compete until world war intervened for a second time and the tournament was suspended again. On its resurrection in 1947, France returned to the fold and the Five Nations resumed, although this time the French proved to be a formidable competitor, winning a string of titles over the next two decades. Welsh dominance in the 1970s, in particular, proved that the Red Dragons were anything but a bit part player.

For the best part of half a century the format of the Five Nations remained unchanged until Italy’s admission in 2000 led to the tournament being renamed the Six Nations Championship. With Wales cementing their reputation as a rugby union powerhouse through continued success in the competition, fans will be passionately urging their team to reclaim the title at the end of the 2015 season.

Have Yourself a Very Welsh Christmas – Past Celebrations of Christmas in Wales

In Wales on Christmas morning, it was traditional for men to go to church very early to sing in harmony and welcome in the dawn with a service that would go on for 3 hours. They would then go home and begin the day of feasting and drinking. This tradition called Plygain is being revived in some parts of Wales and can now be enjoyed by both women and men. Families would wait up together for Plygain and whilst waiting would make taffy – a special kind of toffee. This is called Noson Gyflaith.

Many Welsh traditions actually pre-date Christmas itself. A well known one of these is Mari Lwyd, which is Welsh for Grey Mare. In December or on New Year’s Day, a horse’s skull is decorated with bells and ribbons plus false ears. A sheet is used to represent the body of the mare. People then take the Mari Lwyd around the neighbourhood calling on local households. The residents are challenged to a battle of wits using Welsh verse. After the battle, which is called pwnco in Welsh, the visitors are then invited in to refresh themselves with drinks. This led to the tradition being associated with drunkenness, which led to the tradition dying out in some areas during more austere periods. Mari Lwyd is still celebrated though in some parts of Wales, in particular in Llangynwyd on each New Year’s Day.

A very popular New Year’s custom in Wales was to give a gift, called a Calennig. Much like modern day trick or treating, children would go from door to door with symbols of good luck such as skewered apples plus evergreen twigs and a cup of water from the local well. They use the twigs to splash people with the water and are given the calennig as a present. This would often be small coins. This tradition has mostly died out but in some places children still call door to door to be given gifts of money.

A Guide to The Six Nations

If you’ve been in Cardiff within the last month you may have felt a palpable buzz in the air about the Six Nations. The Six Nations is a massively popular event within the whole of Wales, which depending on the results, can make the entire country scream with joy or despair.

The Six Nations Championship is a Rugby Union competition which has been going in some form or another for over 100 years. Its current incarnation dating from 2000 consists of the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) along with Italy and France.

Every year these nations compete, playing each other team once for the Championship Trophy with the lowest scoring team being awarded the dreaded ‘Wooden Spoon’. There isn’t just one trophy up for grabs however, some fixtures also have their own trophy attached to them. For example whilst England and Scotland are competing for the Calcutta cup, France and Italy will be battling it out for the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy which commemorates the French born man who unified Italy. The Triple Crown Trophy can be awarded to a Home Nation if it conquers the other 3 Home Nations. Wales were the last to achieve this in the glorious Nations of 2012, where they also won the Championship.

You can find out more about how the Six Nations is going on the official website.

A Brief History of Welsh Beer

You might not think of Welsh beer as one of the classic British beers, but brewing in Wales has a long and rich tradition. Ancient legends claim that Welsh beer could give its drinkers poetic inspiration and even the gift of immortality. In the middle ages, Welsh brewers produced a strong ale called bragawd or braggot, which was mixed with honey and spices such as ginger and cinnamon to give it a fiery kick. Braggot was distinguished from ordinary ale, which was less expensive and less of a luxury.

Although the temperance movement cut down on brewing in Wales in the 19th century, the tradition of Welsh beer remained alive. German immigrants established some of Britain’s first lager breweries in Wales in the 19th century, although they are now closed, while modern Welsh breweries continue to produce a wide range of dark ales, bitters and stouts.

If you would like to give some delicious welsh ales a try, come on down to our Sports bar. We’re open from 2pm every day or 12pm on a home match day. If you want to keep up with when we’ll be open early follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.