I care - but not dreadfully 
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I know, but I think it was not meant that way … of course we care! If not we wouldn’t learn the language in the first place.
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I’m sure gareth knew that. Hell even first language speakers make mistakes.
The other week a first language speaker paused and then forgot about the mutation. Not a problem i’m sure and after ‘a’ many don’t bother.
I’m just happy to be understood and responded to in welsh.
And talking of which…this week’s thank you is to the manager of wetherspoons in shotton. He knows i’m learning welsh and today when passing my table said “popeth yn iawn?”. That was a great moment for me.
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Diolch i ti @AnnaC! And diolch to everyone who has a go and participates in the SSiW Eisteddfod. It makes it all worthwhile, and it’s always such a pleasure to see all the entries.
I’m glad you find the newsletter useful too. 
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I’ll second that!
I don’t often appear on the forum these days but I still like to read Dee’s letter.
It’s good to read Gruntius’s comments too about the early days of the forum, which did so much for my enjoyment and encouragement in learning the language. There are a lot of language learning sites around on the internet but SSiW with its forum is unbeatable - many thanks indeed to the “Fab Four” .
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So, here’s Wednesday again and the time for new “Diolch” post.
But let’s go with some more replies first (as usually)
@AnnaC It was that moment of inspiration which momentum I just had to use and spending my free time was all double pleasure as I was doing what I love to do - videos of all kinds - and doing a good deed with that creativity of mine (if one could call it creativity ) I am glad if my little creations reaches its aim - to inspire, to help people going on … Diolch
The same as with me, believe me. One another seren would come and be where I am now but to be honest it’s pleasant and heart warming feeling to know you are at the right time at the right place doing just the right thing. This doesn’t happen too often to me in my life though.
@gruntius thank you for taking the time to say a word or two with me at the Eisteddfod last year. It meant a lot.
One day I might appear there in hope the group will still meet …
I miss @dinas on here and wondered many times where he might be and if he’d ever come back … If you read this dinas, then all the best to you!
Now, my second thank you goes to one who is the most deserving of all that I came here in the first place. The huge thank you goes to Dave Rogers (for who I believe is @Dysgu-Cymraeg on here and you might see why And if you’re not the right one, let me be excused for this “mistake”, please. ) who gave me all support on twitter with my attempts of learning before I came to SSiW and start properly in deed. First he gave me the guide to 1st Course so I could write on twitter (gee I tweeted more in Cymraeg at that time then I do now) more properly and after that quite long tweety conversation (Cymraeg-Saesneg mixture of it) one single tweet
@Celtes_Cymru @KnightGhost Your English is good, so you could use this website: https://t.co/bN6PXWgK It's what I use.
— Dave Rogers (@Dysgu_Cymraeg) February 11, 2013
with the link to SSi made/enabled me to come and start properly (however (sorry) not without too much moaning at the beginning).
Huge thank you Dave for your support in the times where I dispared the most and for directing me to real course of Cymraeg which everyone who’s learning the language should try. If there wouldn’t be you and that historic tweet I might never come on here, or I’d find it much later than 4 years ago. Thanks to this I today can speak and write Cymraeg, it made me possible to find SSiW, to be visited by Welsh learner here in Slovenia, to go to Cymru, participate in the bootcamp and explore Eisteddfod and a bit of Cymru and meet quite many of SSiW/online frineds, some famous people, and, of course, “The magnificent (legendary) 4”. Diolch yn fawr iawn!
To be continued next week …
A little edit posted in this post.
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There’s never enough time to talk to everyone for long enough is there? 
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Yes. Agree with this completely … But they also say it’s always the next time so I hope to that next time to come.
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A big thank-you to fellow boot campers who have travelled to Machynlleth to stay with us. You may have felt I was doing you a favour, @lynne_freudigmann, in offering accommodation, but believe me, the pleasure was mutual. And a special thank-you to @elkiedeadman, for sitting and singing to my mam, who was transported. Thank-you in advance to @brigitte, who’s booked in to visit next. We’re waiting eagerly to be entertained (no pressure)! I know, @tatjana, that it’s difficult for you to visit, but you were the person who first offered to help me practise speaking Welsh, so our home will always be open to you.
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Well another thank you, this time to the owners of the cottages at the next two mini bootcamps who emailed me in Welsh to say they are looking forward to meeting the next two groups of siaradwyr and to speaking welsh with us. So many first language speakers i have met who are genuinely delighted when they find out that not only are we learning but are actually using the language in the real world and not leaving it in a classroom.
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I did.
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I would like to give a special ‘Diolch yn fawr fawr iawn iawn’ to @Deborah-SSi! The n/l has done wonders for the S4C petition and put me in contact with a lovely Welsh Choir member in Washington State and a lady on Orkney! Dee has soldiered on through chemo and radiotherapy and I worked long enough in cancer research to have some idea how awful that is, a good enough idea to be very glad I haven’t had personal experience of how it feels.
@Deborah-SSi you are an example to us all and an inspiration! All the very best for the future from the nuisance who asks awkward questions about how to enter the SSiW Eisteddfod when the real answer is that my Welsh isn’t good enough, and also plagues you with info on who has written what about S4C from where!
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On that note, everyone’s Welsh is good enough for some part of the Eisteddfod
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Fridayyyy…
So now I’d like to thank Rob Dery, who was my first genuinely cool Welsh tutor, and showed me how important it is to laugh as often as possible while you suffer…
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And another thankyou to once again @Richmountart who met up with me for a chat in corwen today and slapped a pile of dosh in my hand (honestly i was surprised he was prepared to pay so much to speak with me…you fluent types may be able to charge double).
Also to mamddraig, i mean @henddraig who has been a constant support whilst my natural mother has been in hospital, and even vets dates for me!
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I do NOT ‘vet’ dates! Impossible from a different country, and I wouldn’t anyway
I wasn’t being serious
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Is that the correct word order
Cheers J.P.
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Friend of mine - excellent tutor!!
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Apologies for coming so late to the party. I haven’t been doing much on the forum lately, as a very dear friend (and proud Welshman) passed away from ALS last week.
I did want to express my thanks here, though, too.
I want to thank my friend Sarah Graham, who is not on this forum but introduced me to SSiW when I was despairing of finding any good way to study from Canada. She has Skyped with me weekly in Welsh. I remember practicing what I was going to say in my head before that first Skype and feeling exhausted after just 5 minutes. This week, we happily rattled on about programming (we’re both programmers), and I couldn’t believe it when I looked up and found more than half an hour had passed.
I’d also like to thank Sarah’s first-language Welsh speaking boyfriend Meurig who told me a few months ago that I sounded “natural” speaking Welsh and that he thought I was “eitha rhugl” (fairly fluent). I literally cried when he said that, because I really didn’t think I was that good.
One of the reasons I am improving all the time is due to my lovely new friend @Novem who I met on the SSiW forums and Skypes with me weekly in Welsh also. I enjoy every conversation we have, and we’ve talked about so many subjects - her school work, walking tours, earthquakes in Italy and tornados in Canada - I never know where our conversation is going to take us.
Finally, I want to thank @Aran and @CatrinLliarJones and the rest of the team and forum family at SSiW. There is no possible way I could have gotten to the level I’m at, while living in the depths of Canada, if it weren’t for you. Beyond the “oh so practical” lessons, through you I learned that I could listen to BBC Radio Cymru and watch S4C online. Your encouragement in the forums has meant more to me than you can imagine.
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