FR & WHR & WHHR News

You've got it ...... Ble mae'r dafarn da agosaf? Understanding any response is another matter entirely!

 

His pronunciation isn't even THAT bad, certainly heard worse

 

I wonder how many know the story behind his naming of van 154 as the Parallelovan? That nickname was coined by me some 23 years ago after a works train I was brakesman on bufferlocked and derailed 154 in Barn cutting, and it got dragged for a distance, on its side, causing a distinct lean from front to rear. Not a particularly fun day, and the last time 154 was used as a part of the infrastructure fleet. Honestly, I'm astonished that nickname has lasted to today!

John

 

I've heard some fairly derogatory comments concerning "Gog" made in Welsh, south of the Dyfi. Honestly, tho' ... it's really not all that difficult and those who complain loudest about bothering to make the effort might be surprised how much it's appreciated.

Fifty years ago, I still recall the look on my father's face when he realised our holiday to Y Bermo involved changing trains at Machynlleth. No probs getting to the Ffestiniog, as Porthmadog was Portmadoc back then, when FfR trains only operated as far as ... Dduallt.

 

Well it's not like a nickname to stick around is it. I believe 154 was actually written off after that incident. So any likeness between the current 154 and the old one is purely coincidental.

Tim

 

Years ago, with the help of a Liverpool-Welsh girlfriend I learned a couple of Cymraeg folk songs and my listeners were very kind. I agree foreigners such as myself should try as hard as they can with pronunciation but is their really any objection to a non-Welsh regional accent?

 

I had the unenviable task of having to kick a hole in the roof of the van (along with Whizz and Malcolm Jones) as it had generators inside that had been in use up until about 20 minutes before the derailment, and we were concerned that we were going to end up with a fire as well as a derailment. The doors were utterly impossible to open. Not the finest day for me.

John

 

Perhaps a future edition of Moving Pictures could include a segment on Welsh pronunciation to help the many supporters who are not local to the railways.

 

Perhaps a whole edition - I'm sure the right person (perhaps 2 people - one a native Cymraeg speaker and the other a 'foreigner') could do it in a way that was both entertaining and informative e.g. visiting each location FfR place names must be some of the most well known in the railway preservation world but, not visiting as often as I'd like, I'm sure I'm not alone in my uncertainty of pronunciation so something like that would be great.

 

Interesting wording, that ..... given the considerable differences found between the individual dialects of Cymraeg! Think 'Rab C Nesbitt, without subtitles', or recall Cheryl Cole got the heave-ho from American X Factor because the cousins found even her 'mild Geordie' utterly impenetrable!

"Entertaining"? That's cruel. You, sir, are an utter rotter! So am I ..... sounds like a plan.

Below is the first in a series of short videos covering north and south Welsh pronunciation. The whole lot total around a half hour. VoR* and BMR aside, the NG lines are in 'Gog' (northern) territory.

For the most part, the differences between northern and southern Welsh are in pronunciation ... but ... several verbs, nouns (especially familial) and constructions differ. In accordance with Sod's Law , they are of course, very commonly used ones.



*Aberystwyth, with the Uni, is very much split into 'town and gown'. Aberystwyth is actually in one of the local dialect areas, but neither souther nor northern accents will raise any eyebrows.

 

IIRC They did a video for each of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland names a couple of years back, I can't see it listed on their youtube channel anymore though...

 

A very interesting video of a topic that often doesn't half the coverage it should and those are some very enviable facilities too. It's very pleasing to see the old blacksmith shop being brought back into use for it's original purpose.

Thank you for the explanation of the origin's of the 'parallelovan' too, that had been bugging me since he dropped it and walked off

 

van 154 is still around! It was repaired by volunteers in the Carriage Works and is just the same except for extra bracing to stop the parallelogram effect!

 

Yes I know that. It was a joke.

Tim

 

Probs best not mention 'Grand Bog Railways 1& 2' then.

 

Another short clip from Porthmadog last summer:



Ron.

 

Webcams show activity outside Blodge at the moment. From the Harbour Station end, I can't tell if it's a steam loco, or a diesel having a clagging fit. Is it boiler insurance inspector time already?

 

Hugh Napier steaming up following dry exam and ready for steam test in due course.

 

Some unfair criticism of the FR here I think. How many passengers actually used the facilities in Blaenau during their visits previously? New Snowdonia railway timetable means visitors can only stop at World Heritage Site for 45 minutes - North Wales Live (dailypost.co.uk)

 

I know this won’t be appreciated by residents of Blaenau, and it’s a bit chicken and egg (nice destinations need regular visits and regular visits need nice destinations), but 45 minutes in Blaenau feels like about 40 minutes too long. What are folk going to do? Hang around the Coop? Buy a paper at McColl’s? Unless you’re scooting off to the Slate mines, is there really much to keep folk occupied there?

We last went pre-covid and found there was a real dearth of nice places to pop in for lunch or coffee and cake or afternoon tea, let alone anything more active. Porthmadog is hardly much better, but was nicer to wander around.

Welcome tips on the delights we missed out on, but I have to say that Wales was a bit disappointing on a gastronomic front (even getting tips from the chefs on Great British Menu this week has only yielded two restaurants actually in Wales…).

Simon