Just want to say I absolutely love the course, so big thanks to the course creators, it’s fantastic I’m originally from Carmarthenshire, but never got the opportunity to learn welsh, so this has been a brilliant experience for me.
I have just subscribed and moved onto the second course, but I think that finding some people to really speak with in welsh is the next step for me.
Last year I was living in Spain, and what really got me learning the language was speaking it with real people, though not necessarily always with native speakers (Erasmus students etc.)
Unfortunately I’m not in Wales so I don’t get the opportunity to speak welsh on a daily basis, but would I love to find some people to practice with. Does anyone know of any groups in/around Bristol that I would be able to practice with, or are there any people interested in starting one here in Bristol?
There is an email that goes out regularly to anyone who signs up for it that includes a list of weekly or monthly meetups. Unfortunately, a quick look at a recent list doesn’t seem to be showing one for Bristol.
I would have thought Bristol was big enough to potentially have enough learners / speakers to mount a group, so hopefully you might be able to encourage one to start. Hopefully some Bristolians will reply here, or maybe PM you.
An alternative might be finding people to talk with via Skype or Google+.
If you have Gumtree (or something similar) in your area, you might try putting a short free ad in there, asking if there are any Welsh speakers or learners around who want to get together.
Dyma ni:
(You could try putting it in “Community” for example - also of course, worth looking to see if anyone has already advertised).
(I have forgotten how to sign up for the regular email, but if @Deborah-SSi sees this, she will perhaps post the instructions or link.
I’m sure there must be lots of Welsh speakers in and around Bristol, but of course the trick is finding them. I do know one myself - the daughter of some friends who went to a Welsh medium school near Pontypridd but now lives in Bristol with her English husband and has mentioned to me that she misses the chance to keep her Welsh up. I’ll get in touch with her and see if she is interested in joining a meetup group at all.
A very warm welcome to the forum, Flynn, and thank you very much for your kind words
If you’d like to try and get a group set up, @Deborah-SSi is the person to talk to - Dee, maybe a plug in the next email seeing if there’s anyone else in Bristol interested in a meet up?
Thanks a lot for the replies, I really appreciate the response
Yes, it would be fantastic to set up a meetup here in Bristol
Is there somewhere I can look to find people who are interested in speaking online? As I would be interested in that as well, as it’s something I did to help my Spanish in the past as well.
I crossed the bridge to visit a friend in Bristol on Sunday. We went to Homebase and by luck I was able to spend about five minutes talking in Welsh to a female member of staff who originates from Carmarthenshire.
In one of the classes I went to just over 12 months ago four of the participants who lived in Bristol crossed the bridge for the class every week.
At least two learners from Bristol used to come to Chepstow for a discussion in the book shop.
I have the email address of some of them and I could always ask if they are willing to contact you.
There are quite a lot of Welsh speakers living and working in Bristol. It is a case of making contact. Initially I would try the universities.
You could try ffrindiaith.org - although we don’t really have the necessary critical mass yet. Otherwise, carrying on asking here on the forum from time to time, and working with @Deborah-SSi to plug it in the email, would probably be your best bet…
I’ll definitely get it in next week’s email for you and see if we can find a few more SSiWers in the area. There is a monthly meet-up in Chepstow:
Cas-Gwent - 4th Sat of the month, 10.30, The Lime Tree, Chepstow (contact Dave Rogers)
which isn’t too far from you.
Also, I’ve emailed my friends’ daughter who lives in Bristol to see if she knows of any groups or if she’s interested in meeting up to keep her Welsh up. I’ll keep you posted!
Dave Rogers has not been to the group for several years now. organisation is done by Aneurin (Nic) who lives in Gloucester. Although the distance between Bristol and Chepstow is fairly short over the M48 Severn Bridge (half an hour to/from Aztec West) the toll cost is unfortunately £6.50.
We would be very happy if you could make it at any time. If you do, park in the Tesco car park, three hours free, and walk to the Lime Tree (Pysgwydden).
I don’t have a vehicle ( Still at university here) but a bus goes from Bristol bus station to Chepstow (also right by where my father lives so a good excuse for a visit), so that is a definite possibility, so I will find out more details about that.
Also I have found out that there is a welsh society at my university, so I will message them to see if they do anything resembling a language meet up, or if any of their members would be keen to do so
I will also try ffrindiaith.org, to see if there are any local welshies to chat with
Just updating to say I have found a group from the University of Bristol that meet each week, so I will be able to have some weekly speaking practice
I think I would definitely like to come to the Chepstow one as well though, so I will message you nearer the date @llanddinol , is it the 4th Saturday of every month, so next one on the 28th of November? It will have to depend how my University workload is looking though as it will be near the end of first term!
Thanks again for all the help its really appreciated
I’m originally from Carmarthenshire, but never got the opportunity to learn welsh, so this has been a brilliant experience for me.
