Oxford Welsh learners group

Shall we try the Slug & Lettuce, then?
If for any reason we can’t find a table or somewhere to sit there we can move on to the Swan & Castle, so if anyone can’t find us outside the S&L they’ll be able to find us outside the S&C (if all else fails you should have my mobile number which I PM’d to everyone before our St David’s Day lunch :slightly_smiling_face:)
Hwyl, John

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It’s just occurred to me that being lunchtime everyone else might be planning to use the outside tables :slightly_frowning_face: so we might end up wandering around the Castle Quarter rather than sitting (or maybe up the Castle Mound if it’s not too windy :wind_face:) but we’ll still aim to meet up first outside the S&L :slightly_smiling_face:

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Well, what to do about our weekly meetups? :thinking: Friday’s meetup in the Castle Qtr seemed to work quite well, albeit rather chilly in the wind :slightly_smiling_face:

It all depends how things evolve over the coming days, of course, but how do you all feel about trying a 10:30am saunter+sgwrs along Christchurch Broad Walk on Wednesday if the weather permits (just wandering up and down the Broad Walk rather than carrying on around the Meadow should be better as it would make it easier for anyone arriving later to find us)?

As for Friday, maybe best to take it one meetup at a time at the moment, but all and any thoughts welcome (including any thoughts about video meetups :desktop_computer: ), so don’t be shy! :slightly_smiling_face:
Keep well!
Cofion gorau, John
PS Do any of you have experience of GoToMeeting video conferencing software? Our choir will be try it out for choir practice(!) so I was wondering whether it might work better for video meetups than Slack/Skype?

I enjoyed Friday, though I was a bit surprised that nobody from the Slug and Lettuce came out to ask us why we were not buying.

Weather etc. permitting, I would be up for a saunter along Broad Walk on Wednesday.

I have never used GoToMeeting. I have used both Skype and Slack. They sometimes work.

Hoping that everyone is well and stays well.

Sue

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I can’t make it this week as I’m planning to be asleep after my night shifts :sleeping: but I’m happy on general with the idea of open air meetups and taking it one meetup at a time. I’m also happy to try video meetups although I’ve never tried using Slack and don’t really get the difference between that and Skype.

I hope the virtual choir practice goes well John!

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It will, at the least, be an interesting experience! :rofl:

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Glad you all managed to meet on Friday! Pob Lwc John gyda Go to meeting choir practice! I will be interested to know if you all sing in time or if there is any time lag which could be difficult!!! I’ve never tried it myself. Cofion gorau Bethan

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I suspect we’ll find you’ve hit the nail on the head there Bethan! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Sorry, I can’t walk in Christchurch Meadow on Wednesday. We have an emergency shop meeting. How can you continue to run a shop where most of the volunteers are over 70 if over 70s are not allowed out? This is in a village where a high proportion of residents are elderly and depend on the shop for basic supplies. Discuss.

As an over-70, I had better say that I will not be at meetings until further notice.

I am signed up to WSP on Slack, and I even remember how to get in.

Sue

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Sorry we won’t see you on Wednesday, Sue - I do hope something can be sorted out for the shop.

I’m assuming there’ll be some qualification to the requirement for over-70s to stay indoors when this is finally brought into effect “in a few weeks time”- at the moment it doesn’t seem to have been thought through very well, e.g. it places a larger burden on GPs if they need to see more patients at home, what about over-70 farmers who need to tend animals etc etc.

Re Slack I did set up an Oxford-Rhydychen group a while back but haven’t got around to trying it out yet - maybe we could give it a go?
Cofion gorau, John
PS Where I live there’s a community group that’s set up a list of people willing to help with shopping, run errands etc and another list of people who are self-isolating and might need help from them. Is there a community group in Abingdon that might be able to do something similar?

They seem to have no idea how much over-70s do and how much community groups etc. rely on them. In Radley we shall use our common sense and keep an eye on people in the village. After all, there are many like me who “could very well pass for 69 in the dusk with the light behind them”. Apologies to W. S. Gilbert.
Sue

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This is the plan proposed for our 10:30am meetup this Wednesday (18th) meeting up in the War Memorial Garden just inside the gates on St Aldates (see map below). Do post a message if you’re planning on coming @RichardBuck @owen-mcknight @Brian-15 and anyone else who might be interested (I know Bethan, Sue & Clive are bowing out of meetups for the time being, and work commitments prevent Chris from coming this week).

I won’t be able to make a meetup on Friday (20th), but if you’d like to have a meetup do post a message for this also to let others know. Otherwise, maybe next week we can start trying out virtual meetup possibilities

Hwyl, John

Sorry to hear about the difficulties with the shop Sue. You could definitely pass for being in your sixties in bright lights too! Hopefully exact plans will be clarified soon . There are many very fit 70 year olds who do a lot! I would be happy to try a virtual meet up although I haven’t a clue how it would work !!! Bethan

Thank you for persevering with ways for us to keep meeting! I can’t make this Wednesday as I expect to be in work, nor this Friday as I have a lunchtime appointment. Happy to try a virtual meetup next week (I’ve been using Zoom, which is another software possibility).

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Hi Sue - I hope that the people of Radley are able to find ways to support each other & maybe keep the shop open over the coming weeks. Maybe I’ll see you via a computer screen sometime soon, but in the meantime take care.

Well, I guess we’d have heard by now if anyone was thinking of coming to tomorrow’s proposed meetup (Wed) along Christchurch Broad Walk so let’s say that that is now cancelled and Friday too.:sob:
Next week we can start trying out virtual meetups :computer: :slightly_smiling_face: Who’d like to act as guinea-pigs? :guinea::pig2: We could try out Slack, Skype, GoToMeeting and/or Zoom and see what works best
Hwyl, John

I am free at the usual time of 12 on Fridays 20th and 27th. Other times are becoming possible as things get cancelled. I have used Skype, but so far only 1-1 with my daughter. I did take part in a couple of Siaron’s Slack hangouts - until the microphone refused to work. Never used GoToMeeting or Zoom, but willing to give it a go if instructed.
Since @johnwilliams_6 has already created a special channel on Slack WSP, would it make sense to try that first?
Cofion gorau,
Sue

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As you say, Sue, probably best to start with Slack and see how that works for us. :slightly_smiling_face:

I guess we can be now more flexible about the days/times for virtual meetups, but would people prefer to stick to 10:30 Wednesdays and 12:00 on Fridays or, with daily schedules now thrown into chaos left, right and centre :crazy_face: would different days/times suit better now?

Cofion gorau, John

I am currently on Level 2 which I feel is very appropriate Mae nhw esiau i ni dralio yn mwy amser yn gwaithio adre which is exactly what my office have done. Pretty much from when I leave the office tomorrow I will be working from home only :frowning_face: not a fan of working on my own. I will be welcoming meet ups in whatever fashion.

Slack seems a good idea, I think, as most SSiWelshers will be familiar with it. I confess I have never been confident enough to join one though so I haven’t actually used it!

I hope to be able to join in other times as well as there will be no travel time etc and I can sneak “out of the office” :laughing:

I am away this Friday to Monday so can join you after that.

p.s. apparently we are going to a cottage near Pentir, Deiniolen. Sadly due to isolating ourselves I wont be amarfer siarad Cymraeging but we will at least have some lovely views and some walks in the countryside.

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Have a great weekend Ruth ! I don’t mind trying Slack at all however my daughter says they have been using Zoom for virtual meetups at work and she says it is easy to use and works well so we could consider that too. Bethan

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