Nash and Nando are the product of years of hard, relentless campaigning by our daughter Angharad. But it was the two weeks we spent in Greece, watching her surround herself daily with feral felines and seeing the absolute joy it brought her, which eventually pushed these two, reluctant, dog loving parents over the edge.
They are incredibly beautiful, funny, intelligent, sociable, playful and are settling in well. I’m still finding life with cats a little strange and I can’t understand them for the life of me - it’s a weird kind of relationship, but we may well be able to make it work…
I can’t understand them for the life of me - it’s a weird kind of relationship
Is it the cats, you’re talking about
Nash and Nando are indeed beautiful, but that’s the problem. When Pala looks at me (as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth) after perpetrating the most destructive deed, I still have to pick her up and cwtsh her.
Don’t think I’ll get a chance to post on Monday, so I thought I’d update now - I’m sitting in Manchester airport waiting for a flight to Hong Kong, where I’ll be meeting up with Jesse, Jeff and a friend of mine called Tom (who’s an Oxford physicist with a passionate interest in accelerated learning in all fields, currently setting up accelerated schools in China).
We’ll be spending the week in a series of presentations and discussions with a Chinese conglomerate called Revenco, with a view to working with them to produce an English course through the medium of Mandarin. Ifan has worked his socks off to get us some SSiEnglish/Mandarin demos (including pulling an all-nighter last night to make sure we had video versions as well), and Jeff and Jesse have pushed to the limit to do the best possible presentations, as well as committing to crazy travel schedules…
If it goes well, we’ll be committing to a larger scale test with their employees in the new year, and then potentially to rolling it out, which could of course give us a whole new ability to invest in promoting Welsh and supporting Welsh learners
I’m a bit daunted at the moment - I don’t like being away from Catrin and the kids, and it all feels fairly unknown territory - I really wish Catrin was here in the airport with me right now! - but I’m delighted that Jesse and Jeff and Tom are going to be there, because they are a genuinely top class team - and it’s obviously worth being away from home for a while if it gets us to the kind of growth we’ve always wanted to reach…
Cross your fingers for us, folks. We’ll do our very best to represent this amazing community and the methodology behind it to the level you deserve…
Pob lwc! I have studied and taught languages on and off for the past three decades and have never seen anything as effective as what you have. For this reason alone, I am sure you will blow them away!
I envy you the challenge of what’s ahead on this trip, but what I have learned about you is that you’re the man to transmit your vision, competence and enthusiasm. I don’t need to cross my fingers.
Enjoy!
There’s a a weird kind of comfort in knowing that even you get nervous sometimes, with far less reason, when you have a methodology to offer that is unique and life-changing. I’m not worried about it at all (and I don’t often say that.)
If you look back over the past 10 years you will see that SSIW has just gone from strength to strength, all the while keeping that core humanity that makes it so very special. This trip is just another step not really very different from all the other brave steps that you all have already taken. Paid poeni
Wherever you are right now, I’m with you in my thoughts. All will go well. I believe in you and your methodology and in your team (all the team) behind the scene aswell. That’s why I’m still here after about 8 years (and counting).
Aran arrived Hong Kong successfully after a fairly easy (if long) and hassle free flight via Dubai. He was able to sleep more or less as soon as he arrived at his hotel and managed to get about 5 hours shut eye before the next day begun.
Their initial (finance) meeting was by all accounts a good one and they (Aran, Jesse and Jeff) are now on their way via train to Guangzhou for the next phase of meetings.
He was able to record and send to me a video of Hong Kong this morning, with a message for you all…
Saw absolutely no interest in HK at all. And now in a communist country for the first time in my life, and it’s all quite fascinating so far. But we’re currently very, VERY tired!
Exciting going into China for the first time! Hope the trip is a fantastic success for you and the team. I feel it will be. I work for a company based in HK with colleagues in China, so if you need any help with regards a Mandarin/English speaker just let me know! Am sure you won’t as you are working with Revenco but thought I’d make the offer. Best of luck to you.
