I thought it was great. It reminded me a little of boot camp as Carol grew into the language over the days in a similar way. My question to Carol would be this. Now you are going to be a regular visitor or resident of sir Benfro will you be switching to Iestyn on line or sticking with Aran for the duration?
3 Likes
Oh yes - she’s ultra serious about it, she’s going to be completely fluent, no doubt… we had a couple of intensive days before she filmed, and we’ll be pushing on through with more… and she’s safely northernised now, Macky… 
10 Likes
Hmmm, wait until she a regular of the Sloop in Porthgain and she may wobble westward.
Well done by the way you taught her well. I’m looking forward to Scott Quinell as he’s naturally funny and so is Sara Elgin.
2 Likes
I just finished watching it with the Welsh subtitles and was able to understand almost all of it. I learned some new words too. I think it’s a must watch for learners. I even got a little teary eyed at the end. Carol did so well!! I think she and Owain need their own show yn Gymraeg wrth gwrs. They were great together.
6 Likes
Brilliant! I’m so glad to hear that! Carol is the perfect person to help raise the profile of learning Welsh! 
And my other question is… what on earth had she got in that huge suitcase?! 
4 Likes
After finding out from the other thread Iaith ar Daith (Social Media)
that the programme had reappeared, I saw the whole episode.
I can definitely confirm my first impression and add one reflection that I found particularly interesting:
when I saw the first social video/promo for the show about why they were learning Welsh, I noticed that their background and motivations had ZERO similarities with mine when I started SSiW:
I’m not Welsh.
I have no Welsh ancestors.
I don’t live in Wales.
I had never been to Wales before.
Hardly knew the language existed, had basically no knowledge of it at all, and certainly never had learning it in my bucket list! 
However, now I’ve seen the episode, I realize my own experience as a learner experimenting my Welsh in Wales in the wild a few months after starting the Course is… almost IDENTICAL to theirs!
Well, minus the cameras following me, and being a celeb, of course. 
But I have to say that people reactions to me (a foreigner) trying to speak Welsh were always so enthusiastic that it made me feel so much like a celebrity anyway that…it’s really almost the same!
Of course well done SSiW.
Although hey @Macky, we’ll have to work on getting more Southern accent out there!
p.s. Uh, forgot to mention I’ve also noticed there’ @aran in the intro!
7 Likes
It was a great watch and hopefully will influence people to have a go. Carol did incredibly well in very pressurised situations; teaching a class and being a guide isn’t easy at the best of times! Owain was great fun and put Carol at ease and the chemistry between the two of them was great entertainment.
Having done my own ‘Taith heb Saesneg’ I can fully sympathise!
Looking forward to watching the rest of the series.
4 Likes
Yes, My wife and I really enjoyed it. Also the bilingual approach made it so interesting to non-welsh speakers. it reminded me of the bilingual gigs that are around at the moment, so encouraging. Not forgetting SSiW as well, of course.
1 Like
The next 4 people on the series will have chosen southern Welsh (I think) so it will be interesting to see if Aran sneaked a few Northernisms in whilst mentoring them. I’m glad you’ve managed to watch that episode and hopefully you will enjoy the rest. This is a really good shot in the arm for SSIW and dare I say this dreadful virus may also given people the incentive to try a second language. It’s funny that you don’t know any of them as celebs as they are very famous Welsh personalities.
Stay safe. 
5 Likes
Yes I agree. I thoroughly enjoyed it and managed without subtitles which was a great confidence boost for me too. Owain often does the weather for "Look North’ (Northumberland) so, in this part of the world, he is well known and respected for his enthusiasm and inclusive style . I also agree that
they showed that learning Welsh can be a fun experience rather than a struggle.
4 Likes
Actually, @Gisella-albertini, that notice was put up during the ad breaks, and then when the ads were done the show came back.
3 Likes
I watched the 1st episode this morning, it was great! Looking forward to the next episode
1 Like
Watched it, enjoyed it and understood more than I expected to! It was motivational too - look what you can achieve! Enjoyed seeing some familiar places too.
2 Likes
They don’t mention SSIW? It’s great how far she’s come and how much she has learnt. Just goes to show you can manage to get along with a few months learning, I bet it’s very helpful having a Welsh speaking friend! Wasn’t what I was expecting. Thought it’d be like Welsh In A Week, this was more personal than that. I’ll keep watching and maybe try it without subtitles next time.
(Seeing the Blue Lagoon at the end makes me miss going out atm lovely place I still haven’t visited yet.)
3 Likes
Really enjoyed the show. Tried to watch without subtitles first to see how much I could manage to understand and surprised how much vocab was returning from my schooldays and previous attempts to learn. Having only done the first 4 challenges it was great to find I recognised the structures and the level was just right for someone with little experience of speaking the language but a fair amount of long forgotten knowledge and I only flicked subtitles on occasionally when I wanted to check a word or two. Really excited to see the future shows.
1 Like
Exactly what I thought @jen, I heard online ap mentioned by Carol but no direct mention of SSiW, Aran or intensive lessons. Saw SSiW listed on the credits at the end of the program.
I’m on the fence with it to be honest from a content perspective, but can see celeb involvement will only be a positive thing for boosting awareness and interest in Cymraeg.
I will watch the series anyway of course as it’s SSiW :)
I think Carol could be planning a career move into Welsh TV presenting…
1 Like
S4C, as a PSB, have “product placement” guidelines every production company has to follow, and these include being careful about endorsing single products or companies too obviously - hence mentions in the credits are generally ok, but having the dialogue littered with references isn’t.
5 Likes
That’s probably to do with the BBC? I just thought it would be more about how she learnt. But I guess with those restrictions in place it wouldn’t be possible.
1 Like
No, not because of the BBC - those guidelines have applied since S4C began, way before the link with the BBC was put in place (and they apply to other PSBs - Public Service Broadcasters - like C4 too). It’s complicated and frustrating for programme makers, as well as viewers!
2 Likes