Diolch, Cat! I don’t exactly know you, but I know your voice so well! (I can second the relief and sense of achievement when Cat’s cheery ‘hwyl!’ finally comes up at the end of the lessons!) I’m so sorry about all the health challenges you’ve been facing - by all accounts you’re an absolute star.
And what an absolutely lovely performance - thanks @tatjana for sharing!
Yes. Lovely video. So nice to hear your story. I also feel as if I know you slightly from your cheerful voice. Also to know hat you lived close to us when we lived near Abertillery. Congratulations on your Seren yr wythnos!
John.
I’m a little slow off the mark here, but that does not diminish my huge affection for and admiration of Cat whom I first met at the very first bootcamp.
Obviously I endorse everyone’s tributes to her commitment to SSiW and her lovely family, her courage in the face of adversity and, of course, her beautiful spoken and singing voice. I’d like to add a little personal insight, however.
While processing the raw files from the ap Dafydd’s, I was privy to the hilarious giggles, laughter, bodily noises that passed between this marvellous couple. I also valued the difference in pronunciation between Iestyn and Cat which was in itself an important lesson for learners of Welsh, or indeed any language. Vive la différence 
Diolch am popeth, cariad!
Cat Dafydd is one of the strongest people I know. She has battled through the last few years with so much determination and gusto. On top of this she maintains admirable enthusiasm and love of life - baking and decorating the most wonderful birthday cakes for her children despite chronic pain and reduced mobility. Teaching herself to sew the cutest clothes not only for her own four kids, but also other people’s children. Admirably maintaining her essential role as a mother, whilst working and dealing with her disability. Working at and growing her career and furthering her skills. Attending work conferences and courses, to which she travelled, via public transport, on her own, despite huge challenges! Keeping up with exhausting SSiW Bootcamps in Tresaith, with four kids, whilst still maintaining a smile, inspiring learners and entertaining the groups with her wonderful singing voice.
Cat, most definitely deserves our applause and admiration as one of the strongest and most inspiring women you’ll ever have the privilege to meet.
I’m sorry that I missed my chance to reply to Aran’s wonderful dedication to Iestyn. But here we go, better late than never…
Iestyn is a rock - a rock with a great sense of humour.
I first met him through our work with Cymuned, many, many years ago. I realised back then not only why Aran was so drawn to his friendship, but why the two of them got on so well - you should see the sparks that start flying around when they get together for one of their brain storming sessions - talk about energy!!!.
Iestyn is one of the most enthusiastic and positive people I know, with a real love for life and bags of energy. He is patient and compassionate, energetic and dedicated.
One of the things I appreciate most about Iestyn is his dedication to his friendship with Aran, his respect for him and the fact that he has always been there for him, in all weathers.
He is obviously a great father and a loving and dedicated husband. Also, without him, SSiW wouldn’t be the huge success it is today. So diolch Iestyn and iechyd da!
And from now on, you might find them a little trickier to predict…
Seren yr Wythnos #4
Dee McCarney
To be honest, I’ve always secretly thought that Dee’s Welsh was far too good for her to have any actual need for SSiW.
She came on our very first ever Bootcamp, and her enthusiasm, confidence and friendliness were a huge part of what convinced us that Bootcamps were a good idea.
Ever since, she’s been the staunchest possible supporter of everything we’re trying to do.
She got the idea of handing out business cards up and running, and heaven knows how many she’s dished out over the years. She’s had other terrific ideas (like cards in shop windows) too, which she always takes action on straight away. She does absolutely fantastic work with the weekly email newsletter (which I always look forward to reading, even though sometimes I skim it quickly enough to end up asking her to put something in it when she already has!), and she’s always a calm, friendly and supportive voice on the forum.
I’ll never forget her asking her daughter to send out an internal email in the BBC in Cardiff drawing people’s attention to SSiW - which was almost immediately followed by a senior official BBC staff email reminding everyone of the BBC’s own Welsh courses… 
[I think I’d just about stopped chuckling about that two or three years later…;-)].
She has also been a huge support to Cat and Iestyn since she moved to Llandysul, always willing to lend a hand whenever possible, even when she’s had her own serious health problems to battle through.
It was a delight to see her in the recent reunion in Llandrindod of The Magnificent Saith (our very first Bootcampers) - and although we’ve never quite managed to get her to support Wales against the All Blacks, I really have to work hard to remember that Dee belongs (in part) to anywhere other than Wales.
We were so fortunate that Dee became part of this community.
Dee, diolch o galon i ti… 
#***
How about you?
What have you appreciated most about Dee over the years?
What difference has she made to you?
Let’s give her a chance to see how much she really matters…
Iestyn ap Dafydd
Catrin Lliar Jones
Cat Dafydd
Dee McCarney
Spenny
Jeff Lewis
Ifan Baines
I already said it in the other Diolch thread! Certainly @Deborah-SSi is my personal Seren Fawr o SSiW! always helpful, runs Eisteddfod as well as n/l, great over petition and all while enduring chemo and radiotherapy! Star? She’s a Supernova! :
@Deborah-SSi was so friendly when she visited us at bootcamp. I really enjoyed learning about the work she’d done in universities and talking about New Zealand. That was a very brief meeting. Since then she’s accepted a friend request on Facebook (may not seem much but means a lot) and I’ve really enjoyed staying in touch that way.
I have seen first hand the hard work Dee puts into the eisteddfod. Unfortunately, I ended up being a bit useless as none of my attempts to connect with sponsors worked. But Dee didn’t show any frustration. She met it all with enthusiasm.
I look forward to booking her spare room in Llandysul (Emma is keen, we just need to sit down and do it).
It’s so inspiring to meet people like Dee who have learnt Welsh. It brings it home how wonderful this community and project is that it attracts people like Dee.
Dw i’n edrych ymlaen at dy weld di eto
Omaigod omaigod omaigod I completely forgot to mention the SSiW Eisteddfod! Argghgghghggh.
Dee, can you go back up there and re-read it and this time imagine that you can see stuff about the Eisteddfod in it?..
I wrote to Dee last year to ask for some advice about preparing for Bootcamp. I was surprised to get an immediate long, helpful reply, which ended with the encouraging words, ‘There is always someone there to help you.’ That proved to be true, and it was a real pleasure to meet Dee herself, as she was just as encouraging as you would expect from her newsletters and contributions to the forum. My goal is to become more like Dee as my Welsh improves….
Is this in the gpc?
if not it blydiwelsiwdbu
Dee is definitely my favourite Kiwi. Her consistent and crucial work for SSiW and support for its members are always visible and universally appreciated.
I have known her since the inaugural bootcamp seven years ago when I learned of two other of her talents. The first is her command of Esperanto and the second is her extraordinary bodily flexibility. I learned this during a bout of Twister in Tresaith. I retired early being unable to tell my pen ôl from my elbow, but she emerged victorious by being able to place her left ear, right knee and left ankle at the corners of the mat. 
She exudes warmth and kindness and I hope to feel that warmth again soon.
Its easily done pen ôl and penelin ! Add pen glin into the mix and it’s no wonder twister becomes difficult!
And as for @Deborah-SSi (can you tell i’m due to start a new teaching job). Newsletter that has praised my fledgling cymraeg, pushed my selfishly organised minibwtcamps and keeps me informed.
And who else would offer a place to stay so readily.
100% the correct choice and I’ve just remembered that I forget to mention @Deborah-SSi in my input in the “thank you” thread how could I overlook her? I think Dee was one of the first SSiWers I spoke to and her enthusiasm was evident then and still is today. I have to admire her grasp of languages too, a true polyglot if ever there was one.
Thank you @Deborah-SSi for all that you have ever done for this wonderful community.
Snap…
Omaigod I forgot to mention the Esperanto and polyglottery too 
And I’ll be less and less talkative about sêr as I’ll probably “know” them less and less.
But let’s try this week to remain within my style anyway …
@Deborah-SSi
SSi newswoman who always manages to pick just the right news for the weekly newsletter. Reading her newsletters you’ll never remain uninfurmed. You’ll know (mostly) everything you need and her letters are always put together that way that you just have to peer into the forum after reading them and see/read more. Even when I sometimes somehow thought (according to forum activities) there’s not much to report she (to my surprise) always managed to put together great amount of information which are not just informative but also pleasant to read. The news are always put together in kind and warming style praising people for what they did, acheaved and encouraging others to get involved too
Polyglot with capital P in deed. Once I’ve spoken with Dee via Skype and we talked about languages (among all the other things) and I was impressed. It seamed to me she’d really like to know each and every language of this world. At that time she told me she’s tried some Turkish but who knows if there’s not the next few languages in the queue to try already. Her passion for Esperanto is remarcable and I know she’d be happy if more people would speak that language again. And her passion for Welsh! I never thought about her as a learner especially when I heard her speaking. I always thought she’s a native welsh speaker
SSiW online Eisteddfod organizer who did huge amount of work (according to what I’ve read on the forum Eisteddfod thread) this year too despite her health difficulties and the fact that she couldn’t be as engaged into the whole event as she was previous years. I’ve participated in the event only this year with small (not too good) entry but I felt like I’m a part of something great thanks to Dee aswell.
I know Dee from the forum and newsletter she puts together every week and I met her at the Bootcamp twice so I can’t say I know her very well, but she was always inspiration to me. I was more then happy when I saw her for the first time in Llandysul during our visit there. I still remember how she called my name and I looked puzzled and surprised who might know me there except of fellow bootcampers. She saw my surprised look and said “It’s me, Dee, Tatjana.” and I was thankful to this world I see her there as it was just short time after her medical treatment we visited there. Dee you will never know how happy I really was to see you and I was even happier when you visited us at Noson Lawen and took part too. I didn’t have much chance to talk with Dee but the amount of time we spent in the conversation is more then precious to me. As @AnthonyCusack is, I’m thankful nad happy too that she accepted me into her circle of FB friends.
Dee, you’re real star of SSi with your warmth, passion for language and kind attitude toward each and everyone of us, always willing to help and encourage those who need to be encouraged.
I salute you! You are 
and of SSi!
I appreciate Dee for the superb work for the newsletter, organizing the SSiW Eisteddfod, for being always a friendly, supportive friend on the forum but I always remember her how I visited Wales for the first time, in 2010 with my daughter and a friend, Dee was the first Welsh speaker I met. She arranged to meet us in the Mochyn Du. Speaking with her was like speaking to a long known friend ( I still feel embarrassed, because I couldn’t stick to Welsh but switched to English).
The second was Aran and at last I met @dafyddyfelin. They all were so helpful and patient with me and they made me keep on learning Welsh.
So diolch o galon i ti, Dee, the first person who addressed me in Welsh.
The first thing you will notice about Dee is her warm, sparkling smile, because that is how she greets everyone she meets.
Dee is one of the gentlest and most compassionate people I know. She cares about people and in return, people care about her. She is kind, thoughtful, unselfish and always friendly.
Her enthusiasm and loyalty towards SSiW and all its members knows no bounds. She has worked so hard over the years to help wherever and whenever she can to make this forum a better place.
I admire Dee greatly. She has the kind of strength we all wish we had and never fails to bring happiness to your day whenever you see her, despite her own worries and challenges.
Diolch, Dee am bopeth ti wedi ei wneud ac yn parhau i wneud i SSiW. Ti wirioneddol yn seren aur. XXX
Diolch Dee, for everything you do supporting SSIW, Welsh in general and people in general! You are clearly one of those multiply-wonderful people who make the world a better place! I hope we’ll meet one of these days…
I have gone through several emotions reading this comments - from bursting out laughing at @hewrop’s comment on the Twister game (I never realised how much it stuck in your mind!), to feeling a bit teary and embarrassed at some of the other comments.
I also laughed reading @aran’s comment on Danielle’s internal mail at the BBC which I’d totally forgotten about. I can’t remember exactly how it came about now, but she was couchsurfing in my Cardiff flat at the time so she had no choice but to hear me practising my SSiW lessons in the evening and she did pick up a few words herself.
I seem to have been born with a love of languages and other cultures, so it was something very natural to me to immerse myself in the Welsh language and culture since I arrived here. I couldn’t imagine living here and not doing so. I was just ever so glad to find SSiW and be able to make my dream of becoming a Welsh speaker a reality. I know I would have got there in the end, as I am a determined sort of person underneath, but it would have been so much slower, and nowhere near as much fun! Getting to know the Fab Four, plus loads of SSiWers, has made my life in Wales even more special.
So thank you for all the comments. It’s lovely to know that you appreciate things like the newsletter and the Online Eisteddfod, and if they in any way contribute to your enjoyment of your Welsh learning, then it’s all really worthwhile.
And I hope to meet as many of you as possible, either on bootcamp, at the SSiW birthday party, at a National Eisteddfod sometime, or to welcome you to Llandysul if you’d like to stay with me through AirBnB and have a holiday speaking Welsh.
Diolch yn fawr!