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[dinas]

thats fantastic Joanna, i m going camping again in June so I'd like to do Llŷn this time. I just got back last night from a few days camping in N Wales (again). The weather was a bit wet to say the least. Think yesterday was almost torrential. I stayed in Aberystwyth the first night as I wanted to spend the morning in the National Library. I wanted to read a book ( one i used to own and had accidently thrown out some time ago)and look at the exhibitions . Then i stayed on a site just outside Bala. Liked Bala , love their dialect . arghhh and there's a friendly pub called the ship/ y Llong.

Great pub, Maynard, my friend, Derek, helps manage it. Lots of welsh there.

[Maynard]

hi Dinas, it is a nice place. Is Derek from llangefni ? i was talking to the guy running the bar i should have asked his name. he said they'd only refitted it 5 weeks ago. Do you understand the locals ( i mean when they chat together) Do you know Jan, Dinas. She is a fantastic person and runs Caffe Jan on the high street. I;m going to post a couple of pictures on here later of her cafe and of herself. Went to the cafe for breakfast and the place is so relaxed and friendly. I sat there for an hour and got to know some of the local people.

[dinas]

hi Dinas, it is a nice place. Is Derek from llangefni ? i was talking to the guy running the bar i should have asked his name. he said they'd only refitted it 5 weeks ago. Do you understand the locals ( i mean when they chat together) Do you know Jan, Dinas. She is a fantastic person and runs Caffe Jan on the high street. I;m going to post a couple of pictures on here later of her cafe and of herself. Went to the cafe for breakfast and the place is so relaxed and friendly. I sat there for an hour and got to know some of the local people.

That, Derek, I know the family. Once stayed in his pub , in Pen-y-Groes for six months. Yeah, I've met, Jan, and always eat the, Lobscous: it's a great cafe. There's a great bookshop, opposite, Y Llong, also: Siop Awen Merion. A great selection of books and staff happy to help.

[Maynard]

caffe Jan 2012b.jpg (76.85 KiB) Viewed 2792 times

If anyone goes to Bala, you'll get a real nice welcome from Jan and her staff in Caffi Jan on Bala's High Street. i told her about SSIW and the members they were so excited to hear about it. jan's eyes lit up and she kept asking 'Pam?'.

[Maynard]

this is Jan

[FiB]

Oh yes and if you did go to Bala - popping into the Welsh bookshop (at the end of the town next to Plas yn Dre, it usually has welsh music blaring out) is a must - Gwyn the owner is about the most friendly, keen, helpful supporters of welsh learners EVER and will practice with you as much as you want!!

[Maynard]

i've just started camping in wales in the summer. i have just returned from a three day trip to NW Wales and so glad i didn't take the weather forecaste too seriously. As it turned out i had quite a bit of sunshine ( especially on Angelsey and in the Llŷn peninsular). I stayed near Bala and in Llanberis which seem to be my favourite places at the moment. The good thing is i know some of the locals and am finding my Welsh is coming on leaps and bounds. Yesterday I went to the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, which is fascinating and the staff are mostly local people from the town. It's absolutely free to go in and you can easily spend all morning or afternoon there. Whilst there I joined a class of boys and girls from Llanrug school for a half hour lecture/ demonstration about slate splitting/trimming.(all through the medium of Welsh). ( hollti - split , Llechi - slate). This took place in a sort of practical classroom. The guy who did the lecture was brilliant, he got a volunteer to come and have a go at making a tile after first demonstrating) All the kids had questionnaires they had to fill in during the demo and were encouraged to ask questions. For me this was a fantastic experience just being in a totally welsh teaching environment with natural speakers. It really took some getting used to as the pace was natural and fluent but certainly one I'll always remember. I always wondered what it would be like to be in a Welsh School and i certainly got my wish.. thanks God. I also got talking to one of the staff outside the rebuilt slate workers cottages on the site. What a fantastic guy, he was so interesting to talk to.
If ever you are in the area pop in.. you'll thank your stars you ever learned Welsh.

[dinas]

As Maynard, says , a visit to the museum costs you nothing - like all the National Museums in Wales. Also, a few hundred yards down the road is the, Hydro Power, station build inside a huge man-made cavern. It's an incredible piece of engineering....Both places are well worth a visit.

[llanfairfach]

I once had the pleasure of driving deep into the mountain. It was like being in a James Bond film.