Quick And Easy Welsh Words You'll Love To Learn - 24 words

 

I started reviving my Welsh on Duolingo. 

I went back to Spanish. I saw the Spanish word sofa. Easy-peasy. Would there be similar words in Welsh?

In my languages A5 notebook I kept one page of words which were just learned, in alphabetical order. I started a second page on words which were the same or almost the same in English, so I could look at them last thing at night, instead of counting sheep, counting in another language, or before a bus or train journey, to remember the same and similar words and repeat them to myself.

Then I thought, why am I bothering to compile a list of same words? Just find a list in google using AI, or in Wikipedia, and put it in alphabetical order so I can remember it.

Here is my result in Welsh

Welsh - English

bedd - grave (a bed for the dead)

beic - bike

bont/pont - bridge

caer - castle or fort, for example, Caerleon, which is near Cardiff, Caerphilly, 9 miles north of Cardiff, gives its name to Caerphilly cheese, and Caerphilly castle.  Possibly Caerphilly came from Philip's castle, or castle of Philip. 

capel - chapel

car - car

castell - castle

coffi - coffee

croes - cross/crossroad

cwm - combe, a steep, narrow valley

Glynn - Welsh boys' first name, from Glwn - glen/valley/deep valley

helo - hello (older spelling hallo)

mam - mother

mawr - large (more of it)

melin - mill

Rhil - yr-the+hill

merthyr - martyr (Merthyrtidfil)

siop - shop

siop goffi - coffee shop

soffa - sofa

tabl - table

tad - dad/father

tren - train

tref- town/village + fôr / mawr - large (major, think of the English word more) - Trevor

English - Welsh

bike - beic

bridge - bont/pont

car - car

castle - castell/caer

chapel - capel

coffee - coffi

coffee shop - siop goffi

dad/father - tad

glen/valley - gwyn/Glynn

grave - bedd

hello (older spelling hallo) - helo

mother - mam

mill - melin

shop - siop

sofa - soffa

table - tabl

train - trên

Trevor - tref=village+mawr  /fôr large

In Spanish

Spanish - English

sofa - sofa

tren - train

English - Spanish

sofa - sofa

train - tren

Useful Websites

translate Google

wikipedia - similar words in Welsh

wikipedia - Welsh Wikipedia

Useful Websites On Welsh Words And Names

https://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/welsh

Welsh Placenames

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_toponymy

Souvenirs of Wales

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/landofmyfathers

See more about Wales in my previous posts

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2022/02/prepare-to-celebrate-st-davids-day.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2021/04/welsh-words-on-stations-and-buildings.html

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Post being updated. Come back in half an hour and later today and tomorrow.

Hanging Bikes

 You can buy devices for hanging bikes in bike shops. Why would you want to hang up a bike? 

If you want to work on it to repair it. Easier to see. Less likely to roll away from you if is secured.

To protect your bike, you might want to buy a bike cover.

No longer need a bike? Sell it or hang it as decoration.

Love bikes? Visit handlebar in Singapore where you can drive through for drinks and food.

Useful Websites

https://www.facebook.com/HandlebarSGGillmanBarracks/

https://www.instagram.com/handlebaroriginal/?hl=en

https://www.amazon.sg/FAVOMOTO-Storage-Mountain-Bicycle-Display/dp/B096KK9CT5/ref=asc_df_B096KK9CT5/?tag=googleshoppin-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606349408013&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3586585188852099241&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9062510&hvtargid=pla-1965390241426&psc=1

https://www.amazon.sg/FAVOMOTO-Storage-Mountain-Bicycle-Display/dp/B096KK9CT5/ref=asc_df_B096KK9CT5/?tag=googleshoppin-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606349408013&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3586585188852099241&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9062510&hvtargid=pla-1965390241426&psc=1

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Be Prepared, Hiking or Biking: Hikers' Hazards, Safety Supplies & Precautions

As the scouts say, be prepared. Save worry for yourself, your family, and potential rescuers. In some areas, hiking trails are marked as easy or difficult.

 Things to do

1 Find a friend. Do not travel in the outback or forest alone.

To join groups starting from cities, contact Hash house harriers with the name of the city. They often meet once a week or once a month, and may have groups for men, women, or families, or families with pets, or different language groups, and may make a charge to visitors, especially if they provide a meal at the end of the run. 

2 Check weather reports and suggested supplies for the route.

3 Pack your car with a sleeping bag and first aid kit.

4 Route References Registered

Inform in the USA a ranger of your route.

Leave a map of your route and estimated time of return for your family.

5 Pack food and drink. 

Enough for a week in case you get stranded. In containers which stop predatory animals attacking you for food. 

Black bears unable to reach backpacks. Photo from Wiki.

6 Print a map and have GPS finder.

7 Select Suitable Clothes For all weathers. Wear a ski jacket which enables you to be found in snow with a bleeping device. A helmet for cycling or motorbikes. Insurance. Anti-tick socks. Goggles for swimming and sun in the snow. Hats and caps which tie on so they don't blow off or get lost. I have a swimsuit with a hood so I don't need a swimming cap.

8 Have a suitable jacket.

9 Wear insect repellent and carry bite soother.

10 In snake-infested areas, sing and throw stones ahead to make snakes move away.

11 Carry a mini tent like an umbrella for shelter in winter or bad weather.

12 Carry hand warmers. (Sold in ski and hiking areas.)

13 Have spare clothing.

14 Have an empty water bottle and wet wipes in case you need a toilet and or can't move because you have hurt your ankle.

15 Do not hike when menstruating because blood attracts dogs and bears and other animals to attack you just as they would attack a bleeding animal for food.

16 Carry a sewing kit. 

17 Put a survival guide on your phone.

18 If lost without paths, go downhill to the river in a valley to get drinking water, find a road, or hail passing boats.

19 If stuck in one place, such as a beach or a clearing, or even a road, use clothes or branches to make a large sign to attract searching aircraft. 

20 Check on local safety sites.

Online you can buy whistles, torches and knives as well as waterproof clothes and pickpocket proof clothes.

Wiki has advice on what to do when lost.

You can also buy survival guides. In France you can get guides to edible mushrooms.

Useful Websites

California Hiking Safety tips - and tips for bikers and others

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30043

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11464643/Body-teenage-hiker-disappeared-popular-New-Hampshire-trail-four-day-search.html#reader-comments

https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Safety/s?k=Hiking+Safety

http://www.wiki-safety.com/postdtl/en/-C2079/2165/

http://www.romehash.com/ 

amazon.co.uk/s?k=anti-tick+socks

Temporary dental repair kit

https://dentemp.com/dentemp.html

How Road tax differs in the UK and Singapore

In Singapore you must check in which order to do apply for vehicle testing, insurance and road tax.

1 In Singapore you first have to test that your vehicle, car or bike, is roadworthy. 

2 If so you can then apply for insurance.

3 After you have a roadworthy, insured vehicle, you can then pay your road tax and use your vehicle on the roads.

In the UK your vehicle has to pass the MOT and be taxed and insured.

Useful Websites

Singapore

https://onemotoring.lta.gov.sg/content/onemotoring/home/owning/ongoing-car-costs/road-tax.html

UK

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax

Forwarding your luggage, for train travellers, bikers and airline travellers

Photograph by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problems
BIKE
You can't take a big suitcase on a bike. You have to be out of your hostel or hotel early during the trip or on the last day and don't want to leave luggage behind.
TRAIN
Your luggage is too heavy to take on the train. The bulk is a nuisance when walking along the aisles.
You are scared to take too much luggage by car in case it gets stolen or makes your vehicle a target. A real nuisance lugging two suitcases onto a train which has a large gap between platform and train, the wheels get caught, bulky in rush hour.
PLANE
You are worried that you will have excess luggage on the plane and have to wait ages at the airport when you are rushing to a conference or business meeting.

Answers
Send luggage ahead.
Less to carry.
Quicker to change routes without waiting for luggage.
No worry about leaving big luggage at the end of the train when your reserved seat is in the middle of the carriage.
No need to leave big suitcase unattended when you go to the toilet.
Save money by taking local train from the airport instead of a taxi.
Luggage should not get thrown about by handlers - you can photograph the condition of your case before releasing it for collection.
Save time at check-in and security.

Luggage Transport
If you are travelling solo, there are companies which collect your luggage a week in advance and drop it at your holiday destination a couple of days in advance (avoiding the risk of delays). This can cost as much as £100 for a large suitcase, even within the UK. I heard about this from an elderly lady who was disabled. She used the system to travel in the UK and all over the world.

Cost of Sending Luggage
Costly! Yes. However, it might save you the nuisance of carting luggage around on the train. It works out cheaper per person if a family of two or four, or two or more friends can share a suitcase. It's an added convenience, an option, if money is no object. Also good if you are cycling not to save money but to keep fit, or keep your family fit, or enjoy the scenery, well worth while.

If you ever win a free trip in a competition, you might like to indulge yourself. The cost might also be a business expense if you were cycling for a living or reconnoitering to lead a group holiday for a business or not for profit club.

Tips
Compare company prices. Free quote from:
http://www.excess-international.com/baggage-shipping

See more companies in previous post.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to learn and remember Welsh words

Problem
I am planning to visit Wales later this year. I can recognise a few words on the map but want to learn some more and understand signposts and what people are saying.

Answers
You can learn Welsh for free online using Duolingo.

I find it easier to revise and keep track by going through words alphabetically.

GRAMMAR NOTE
Welsh omits 'a' and 'the'.

Free words which are written the same
car - car
lemon - lemon
pasta - pasta

Words with initial letters the same
(Spaces inserted to forestall spell checker.)
y d w - yes

Words with the first two letters the same
o r e n - orange

Words with the first three letters the same
Welsh - English
b a c w n - bacon
c a t h - cat

Words with the same letters in different order
b e i c - bike
r e i s - r i c e

WORDS ALPHABETICALLY
Welsh - English
a f a l - apple
b a c w n - bacon
b e i c - bike
car - car
c a t h - cat
ci - dog
lemon - lemon
oen - lamb
oren - orange
pasta - pasta
y d w - yes

English - Welsh
apple - a f a l
bacon - b a c w n
bike - b e i c
car  - car
cat - c a t dog - ci
lemon - lemon
orange - oren
pasta - pasta
yes - y d w

Tips
www.duolingo.com
http://www.visitwales.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages.
I have other posts on visiting Wales, learning Welsh and learning other languages.
Please share links to my posts. 

Why You Should Not Feed Monkeys

Problem
Children were shrieking, running after a monkey which ran up a tree. The girls were trying to feed the monkey. A boy was chasing the monkey with a stick.

I said to one of the girls: "You're are frightening it. There are twenty of you twice its size."

She replied, "I'm trying to feed it."

I said, "You shouldn't feed monkeys. They will attack you."

She retorted: "We fed it and it didn't attack us."

Days later I spoke to a security guard who said:

"Yes, we know all about the monkey. We think it got separated from a group. Lots of monkeys live on Bukit Timah. (Central Singapore.) We called the NEA. The National Environment Agency. We aren't allowed to kill it. We have to catch it and release it.

"We've been trying to catch it for days. But it's too clever. We put food down in the open to lure it, and more food inside a cage. It took the food from the open but would not go inside the cage. Would you go inside a cage? I wouldn't. We are supposed to be descended from monkeys but monkeys are cleverer than we are.

"The reason you're not supposed to feed monkeys is that it stops them being able to fend for themselves. They aren't born knowing how to catch food. They learn from their elders. If you stop a baby monkey learning, it doesn't know how to survive and can't teach its children.

"Once a monkey learns that it gets food where humans live it hangs around. If it gets food three or four times it waits for some more. Then if somebody comes back from shopping with food in a bag the monkey will try to take it.

"We had one monkey climbing up the balconies to one of the upper flats. Luckily it didn't get inside. A monkey indoors creates havoc, hundreds of pounds worth of damage, a huge insurance claim."

A biker who is also a hasher (a member of a worldwide running group which in Singapore runs through the jungle) told me"
"We see the monkeys if we have a run through Bukit Timah. Th government used to put up little signs asking you not to feed damage. Now the signs are huge. Monkeys can be very aggressive and destructive. They can get on your bike and tear the saddle."

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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Getting Around London: bus, bike, cable car, river boat, taxi

You have loads of options.

Walks
You can walk around pedestrian areas such as Carnaby street. Enjoy walking in the parks. Taking a walking tour of London. Loads of choices: Shakespeare, Beatles, Jack the Ripper. and many more. 

You will see walking routes from some suburban stations.

Buses and hop on hop off buses go to Regent Street, Upper Regent Street, and Oxford Circus (walk to Carnaby street).

Routes
Use satnav on your phone. Get a free local map of the area from your hotel. Google Streetview will show you the building you are looking for, whether it's a museum, shop, or department store.

Bus and Train
Buy an Oyster card for the trains and buses.Tube map in the racks at most stations or ask the ticket office for a map. 

There are a few late night or all night bus routes.

Route Planning
London Transport has a website giving prices, times, distances, routes. 

Hop on Buses
Bus and There are also hop on hop off buses run by two or three different companies.

Taxis and hire cars.

Bikes
On a clear day hire a bike from the banks of bikes to hire. For example, take the underground to Baker Street station to visit Madame Tussauds and/or the adjacent planetarium.  Cross the road and you find a bank of bikes waiting to be hired.

You can get aps so that you only use safe taxis and cars.

River boats
You can take a trip or tour on a river boat. And walk along the Thames riverbank.

Aerial travel
You can take the cable car across the river. 

Helicopter
Or a helicopter tour.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Several thousand more photos, similar and different, available. Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.