Dwdl

Oops, it's been a month. Have an owl, or a gwdihw if you prefer. Gwdihw is one of the Welsh words for owl and it's pronounced goo-dee-hoooo, like the sound an tawny owl makes. Welsh is an ace language. My beginners' WLpan course is nearly over and I'll soon be enrolling on the next course up. Gwych!

Other brilliant words for animals: 
bochtew (fat cheek) = hamster.
Dwrci (water dog) = otter
Llygoden ffyrnig (fierce mouse) = rat
Moch daear (earth pig) = badger.

Dwy'n dechrau dysgu Cymraeg eto!

Apologies for any mistakes in the above. I haven't learned Welsh since GCSE and 10 years of living in England mean I can barely say bore da. So what I'm trying to say is that I'm starting to learn Welsh again! I signed up for Cardiff University's Wlpan course, which is two hours two evenings a week, and by the end of the year you're fluent (and I have friends who've done this course, English friends to boot with no prior knowledge of the language, who are now fluent, so this is a sort of cast-iron guarantee).

Although I'd be just fine designing and laying out copy in the language at the moment (hey, I've laid out perfectly well in German, French and Russian and no polyglot am I, I can assure you), I'm looking forward to being able to offer clients a full Welsh-language service. And also nosing in on people's conversations on the train, obviously...