I reckon our little group of “dim-bwtcampers” (there are a few of of us staying on Pen Llyn from Weds-Weds in our own unofficial “mini bootcamp” and coming to the party) will be around from early afternoon, looking for sgwrs Cymraeg too. Would be great to meet up with anyone who is coming along earlier than the evening.
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My mother-in-law has booked a lovely holiday for the week of the party so has left us with no babysitter 
. My wife, the amazing woman that she is, has insisted that I still attend the party while she stays at home for the weekend. So, as I will be alone, prepare to be blagged. 
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Probably won’t make the afternoon meet up, so will be meeting everyone for the first time in the evening (although I have stumbled my way through a few chats with Catrin, so I will know someone!) Looking forward to meeting you all. Please be kind to me. I’m hopeless when I’m nervous (Catrin will vouch for that) and I will be very self-conscious in the presence of so many seasoned SSIers.
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If I manage to get off work early then I will try get to The Black Boy at 2:30pm for a panad but reckon it’s more unlikely I will get an early finish than likely
Don’t worry @franhunni I will be just as nervous as you are 
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Sounds great! See you there.
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Oooooooooooh, 16 days to go!!!
Here’s some updated and more detailed info on the party.
See this above message for information regarding our post party Saturday afternoon meet up.
See this message for some fabulous parking info from @siaronjames !
The party will begin at 7pm at the Galeri in Caernarfon. As you walk in you will find the public bar - a great place to relax, meet and greet. The party itself will be in Stiwdio1, down the corridor to the left of the bar and through a door on the right (not difficult to find).
Stiwdio1 will be arranged with round tables - please sit where you wish, there are no formal seating arrangements. Wine lists will be available on the tables and the bar will be open all evening.
@gruntius has very kindly volunteered to make name tags for all guests. So please look out for the smart gentleman with the impressive beard to get your name tag soon after you arrive.
The hot and cold buffet will be served at 7.30 followed by birthday cake and Prosecco toast about 8.30 - 9pm. This will be followed by tea and coffee.
Our special guests for the evening will be Meinir Gwilym and her partner Bryn, Nia Parri and with the exciting addition of Manon Steffan Ros! I’m sure that if you have any Meinir Gwilym CDs or Manon Steffan Ros books that they will be happy to sign them for you - as long as it doesn’t take up all of their evening.
There will be a book exchange table in Stiwdio1, see this message for more info.
There will also be a photo corner filled with interesting and silly Welsh themed props. We encourage you to indulge us by taking several amusing photos and selfies with the props and posting them on Twitter with the hashtag #PartiSSiW17. 
Please feel free to tweet and use the hashtag #PartiSSiW17 at any time during your weekend - it will be interesting to read them back and it’s a great way to involve those who can’t be there for any reason.
Also, we will have prepared a lovely free raffle hamper. All guests names will be put in a basket and the winner will be drawn later in the evening.
As we have done in the past there will be an informal and fun awards ceremony.
We encourage guests, should they feel inclined, to move from table to table to get to know other learners.
In the past we have had open mike sessions and have encouraged learners to contribute in any way they want. We are not doing this in any formal way this year. But there will be a mike and if you wish to contribute anything at all to the evening, please get in touch with me by PM and we can discuss further.
I haven’t yet made any formal plans for the Sunday - I’m still thinking about it. But if you are around on the Sunday and would like to extend the weekend a little then put your hand up so we can see how many people are interested.
Diolch yn fawr iawn!
If you have any further questions then please let me know.
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[quote=“catrinlliarjones, post:177, topic:6163”]
smart gentleman with the impressive beard
[/quote]I prefer impressive gentleman with the smart beard but comme ci, comme ça.
I was thinking of just having some sticky labels and a marker pen and scrawling the names on as we go, nothing special. I’m thinking of colour coding the labels for Welsh speakers and non-Welsh speakers so we all know at a glance whether to try out a “ti’n iawn” or not. 
I’m really crap with names so it will help me out more than most I would think.
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“Impressive gentleman with impressive beard”, I’d say 
Would you be offended if I brought my left-over Eisteddfod badge? I met some very interesting people wearing it.
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Brilliant idea, but I also want you to wear one of mine on your forehead. It’s ok though, it’ll probably be hidden by your tie by the end of the evening.
Ooh, by the way, it looks like I kicked off the #partiSSiW17 on twitter this afternoon.
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As well as the Lingo Newydd issues to supplement Geraint’s I shall bring a couple of Cartoon based Welsh learning booklets by a very 70s Heini Gruffudd (“Welsh is Fun” and “Welsh is Fun-tastic”) Politically correct they are NOT
If anyone expresses an interest here, I’d also bring a small (14cm x 10 cm) Bibl Cyssegr-Lan Darluniadol. Its tooled leather binding is in poor condition and the printing requires good eyesight but the illustrations are fine and there are maps of the “Holy Land” at the end. I can’t see a date but I know from its family origins that it must be getting on for a century old. (In case you are wondering, I have a duplicate from the other side of the family).
Even though I’m an atheist, I’d want it to go to someone who would value it for its original purpose.
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I’m preparing for the party on and off today and tomorrow, getting decorations ready, baking the cake (total of 3 baking disasters so far) and checking and re checking lists. Looking forward very much to seeing you all, raising a glass and chilling out a little. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s going on…
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Just a word about dress code. We’re not in the business of telling anyone what to wear, so come in what you feel comfortable. I’m going for a black dress and I’m suspecting that Aran will be in shirt and trousers, but probably no tie.
Dress up, dress down, dress silly, it’s all OK with us!!!
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Don’t forget to tweet your pictures of the night…
#PartiSSiW17
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Quick translation for our newer learners: ‘I’m currently planning on making Aran wear a shirt and trousers’…
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Quick translation for our newer learners: ‘Aran will be wearing a shirt and trousers’…
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Wait… lower right… that’s not Matt Johnson (of Hwb fame) as a daffodil is it
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Quick translation for our newer learners: ‘Aran will be wearing a shirt and trousers’…
Diolch byth! The alternative is too horrible to contemplate 
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I shall probably wear a tie. Should I wear anything else?
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I have some perfectly respectable bermuda-ish shorts and flip-flops, sir.
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Prynhawn da pawb! I have a ticket for the party tomorrow but am now sadly unable to go… I hope someone else can fill this space. I have been speaking Welsh to myself, children, dog etc. since September last year here in Suffolk… will have to wait a little bit longer to try it out properly in the wild…although I did try and have a chat with some butchers in Pwllheli at Christmas who were quite amused!?
Hope it is a wonderful evening and hope to meet some of you sometime soon.
Diolch for a fantastic concept and course as intro to Welsh to the SSI team.
Hwyl fawr am nawr. Charlotte