Gwr Gwadd Cyntaf y Gymraeg

Mae'r blog yma wedi cyrraedd ei chweched flwyddyn mewn bodolaeth heddiw. Dwi'n falch ond dwi'n flinedig. Er gwaethaf phawb a phopeth mae'r Pysgotwr Siarcod yma o hyd ag dwi'n falch iawn o wahodd fy ngŵr gwadd gyntaf yn y Gymraeg, Andy Warby,  i sgrifennu darn amserol iawn yn y Gymru sydd ohoni. Diolch i chi fy narllenwyr ffyddlon a brwd ag y rhai ohonoch chi sydd yn troi fewn yn achlysurol mwy allan o gywreinrwydd na dim byd arall.

Darlledwyd darlith enwog Saunders Lewis Tynged yr Iaith ym 1962.

Mae cynnwys y ddarlith yn eithaf cyfarwydd i'r Cymry Cymraeg; disgrifiodd Lewis  sut oedd llywodraeth Loegr wedi mynd ati yn systematig i ddiddymu’r iaith Gymraeg. Ym marn Lewis, dechreuodd y proses gyda Deddf Uno Cymru a Lloegr ym 1536 pan gollodd y Gymraeg ei statws swyddogol a chyfreithiol a pharhaodd y diraddiad o'r iaith am dros 400 mlynedd wrth i Loegr mynd ati i homogeneiddio ei ddominiynau dros y byd. Weithiau bu ymosodiad uniongyrchol yn erbyn yr iaith fel gwelwyd gyda'r adroddiad ar gyflwr addysg yng Nghymru 1847. Roedd yr adroddiad yn rhoi bai am anghydfod a therfysgaeth dechrau'r ganrif ar y Gymraeg ac yn mynnu bod yr iaith yn anfantais fawr i'r Cymry ac yn eu rhwystro o ddatblygu yn foesol ac yn fasnachol. Efallai siom fwyaf yr adroddiad oedd y ffaith y comisiynwyd gan Gymro o Sir Gaerfyrddin. Does dim syndod felly enw'r Cymry Cymraeg ar yr adroddiad yw 'Brad y Llyfrau Gleision'

Pum mlynedd ar hugain ar ôl darlith Lewis, byddai dyn ifanc di-nod, di-gymraeg yn dechrau gweithio mewn ffatri fach ar gyrion Yr Hendy yn Sir Caerfyrddin. Pe bai'r dyn wedi clywed am Saunders Lewis rhywbryd yn ei fywyd yr oedd wedi hen anghofio erbyn hynny; prin iawn oedd dylanwad y Gymraeg ar ei fywyd ac oedd yn sicr ei farn nid fe oedd yn gyfrifol am ddirywiad y Gymraeg - ond roedd hynny ar fin newid.

Roedd gweithlu'r ffatri yn dod o'r trefi a phentrefi cyfagos a chafodd y dyn ei synnu gan faint o Gymraeg oedd i'w clywed o gwmpas y gweithle. Rydyn ni'n i gyd wedi clywed y stori am y Sais gerddodd i mewn i dafarn a phawb yn troi o'r Saesneg at y Gymraeg ond profiad y dyn oedd rhywbeth yn hollol i'r gwrthwyneb. Byddai grwpiau bach o bobl oedd yn siarad Cymraeg yn troi at yr iaith fain wrth iddo fe nesáu atyn nhw er mwyn gwneud yn siŵr ei fod e ddim yn cael ei eithrio o'r sgwrs. Am y tro gyntaf yn ei bywyd yr oedd yn medru gweld mai e oedd rhan o broblemau oedd yn wynebu'r iaith a chymerodd y penderfyniad i ddysgu'r iaith er mwyn sgwrsio a'i  gydweithwyr.

Braidd yn optimistaidd oedd y gôl honna efallai gan fod ei unig brofiad dysgu iaith cyn hynny oedd cyflawni gradd E lefel O Ffrangeg! Cymerai ddeng mlynedd o ddysgu a llwyth o diwtoriaid amyneddgar talentog iawn i gyrraedd safon digon da i'r Cymry Cymraeg beidio troi bob sgwrs yn syth at y Saesneg er mwyn hwyluso pethau.

Beth ddigwyddodd i'r dyn hwnna yn y pendraw? Wel ar ôl dros ddeng mlynedd ar hugain, mae e frwydr feunyddiol yn erbyn y treigladau yn parhau (nhw sy'n ennill gyda llaw), ac erbyn hyn mae dau fachgen gyda fe sy'n mynd i ysgol uwchradd Gymraeg ac sy'n ddwli ar gywiro Cymraeg eu tad. Fydd ei Gymraeg fe byth yn berffaith, byth yn raenus ond o leiaf mae'n cael ei chlywed ar yr aelwyd bob dydd, a heddiw mae e'n cael y fraint o ysgrifennu darn bach i ddathlu pen-blwydd blog ei ffrind a chydfilwr yn frwydr i gadw'r iaith yn fyw fel dymunai Saunders Lewis.

Felly beth yw meddyliau fi ynglŷn â thynged yr iaith erbyn heddiw?

Mae sawl tro ar fyd wedi bod ers i Saunders Lewis mynegi ei farn ym 1962. Mae twf sylweddol wedi bod yn narpariaeth addysg Cymraeg, cafodd S4C ei lansio ym 1982, ym 1993 diddymwyd y Ddeddf Uno gan y ddeddf iaith, ym 1997 pleidleisiodd Cymru  o blaid creu Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru mewn refferendwm a'r llynedd cyhoeddwyd strategaeth gan lywodraeth Cymru i gyrraedd y nod o filiwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn 2050. 

Er hynny i gyd mae niferoedd sy'n medru'r iaith heb eu newid llawer dros yr hanner ganrif diweddaf yn ôl yr ystadegau, ac wrth i mi ddychwelyd i ddechrau fy nhaith ieithyddol a chrwydro strydoedd pentrefi a threfi Sir Caerfyrddin unwaith eto dw i'n sylweddoli mai ychydig o Gymraeg sydd i'w glywed o gymharu â deng mlynedd ar hugain yn ôl pan ddechreuais i weithio mewn ffatri fach. Efallai bod hen elynion fel y Ddeddf Uno wedi'u trechu ond mae'r rhyfel yn parhau wrth i dechnoleg newydd ddod a thon ar ôl ton o ddiwylliant Saesneg i ni ar Netflix, Youtube a'r Xbox. Hefyd mae ambell 'bradwr' i'w gael o hyd yn ysgrifennu llythyrau maleisus at y Western Fail yn cwyno am y gwastraffu arian ar y Gymraeg. 

Fel Lewis dwi'n teimlo 'nad Cymru fydd Cymru heb y Gymraeg'. Rydyn ni i gyd yn gyfarwydd â'r dywediad 'cenedl heb iaith heb galon'. Tybed yw curiad calon ein cenedl dechrau mynd yn wan?

Andy Warby a'i deulu.

 Dewch yn ffrindiau gyda nhw ar

 https://www.facebook.com/andyjwarby

Group Think Gangsters

https://nation.cymru/2017/neil-mcevoy-groupthink-carl-sargant-gareth-bennett/

In the 6th Anniversary year week (January 19th 2012) for this blog, it would be remiss not to write a post about last night's shenanigans at the Arsembly. 
I have condemned unequivocally Carwyn Jones's behaviour in his playing it by the book in the Carl Sargeant case and now I condemn unequivocally the Group Think Gangsters of Plaid Cymru who expelled AM Neil McEvoy last night whilst he was in the middle of watching a film about injustice. If there is anything that rubs my rhubarb or gets my goat it is injustice especially when it involves 'The Group' against one man/woman. The Group with Carwyn Jones as its head brought down Carl Sargeant and 'The Group' led by Leanne Wood has brought down Neil McEvoy. I thought it was only bad boys in public schools that got expelled by their headmasters. Plaid Cymru seem to be following the mantle of the British Nationalists at the Arsembly and keeping the undesirables at arm's distance as in the case of Mandy Jones 
The Senedd will now have a top table of members voted for by their constituents but deemed undesirable by their parties. It is the timing of this expulsion of McEvoy that is troubling. The day after Leanne Wood's relaunch as leader and re-branding of Valleys' Socialism at the St David's Hotel in the Bay (or the Swamp as Donald Trump might call it) the Plaid Cymru Group expel the only person who might have been able to challenge Leanne for the Leadership of this rudderless ship. Leanne and Neil have a lot in common as regards their background. They are both working class but she is being worked by the middle class cognoscenti within the party and  is being protected by the Rhondda cabal. Neil as the new kid on the block wants to make a difference in politics. His vox-pops to camera are a work of art. He is a pugilists' politician who is not afraid to get his hands dirty for his people. Unfortunately once again in the 'Land of the White Gloves' there has been no serious crime and no criminal trials need be heard. Even though Karma is an Indian religious concept I can see this episode coming back to bite Plaid Cymru on its hairy, pimply posterior.

Non Welsh Speaking Santa at Castle Cock.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-42663389

The Phallic Folly of Castle Cock

stands

in 

Tongwynlais

you knows

not far from

Gwaelod-y-Garth

above the 9 hole Golf Course.

Of Course!

You've got it now?

This Story is on BBC Wales News

but not on

Cymru Fyw

so it makes you ffink that the English speaking elves

at the Corporation are making mischief.

When the new head of the WJEC cannot speak Welsh

who do give a flying fig roll whether a Siôn Corn 

straight out of the Job Centre can speak it?

Cym On! We've got bigger fish to fry.

Saunders didn't say in 1962 in Tynged yr Iaith

make sure that every Santa and his hat speaks Welsh

did he?

Mam? 

What is Luvabella Doll in Welsh so I can ask Siôn Corn? 

Mam what is PJ Masks Headquarters Playset,Lego Ninjago Samurai X Cave Chaos,Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck Playset,Hasbro FurReal Tyler the Playful Tiger,Hatchimals Surprise,Melissa and Doug Chef's Kitchen,Toilet Trouble,Zoomer Chimp in Welsh?

"Egwyddor Cariad"

Trip to Cardiff

http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/11/prince-harry-meghan-markle-going-trip-cardiff-7222080/

This bad poetry to be read out in broad Cardiffian

Meghan Markle and her sparkle

will be visiting Cardiff Castle

Princely Harry dressed as a Nazi but shouting Invictus and Help for Working Class Heroes who die for the crown will be dining at the
🐐 Goat Major 🐐

surrounded by sycophants of a Royalist Nature.

They won't be eating pâté de foie gras

but smarties and mars bars and clarks pies

and singing hark hark the lark 

before being told that the Cardiff Arms Park is no more

and that it is now the Principality in their honour.

The fact that these bum lickers are Welsh is neither here nor there for they are drumming up support for their nuptials amongst the common herd at Windsor.

It wont be a pauper's wedding on May 19th because they will have been swept off the streets by "Conservative Cleansing" an offshoot of Carillion

Princess Michael of Dungeoness and her blackamoor broach and Prince Phillip with his slitty eyes will be watching on.

One blessing for the happy couple is that the potty mouthed POTUS wont be in attendance because he said that the place they had chosen to tie the knot was a shit hole.

God Save the Queen and the Fascist Regime  

Right to Reply

The National Newspaper of South East Wales have been at it again and given top billing to this piece of wordsmithery from Dennis Coughlin of Cardiff. I have replied but knowing them, knowing me, they wont publish it but I demand my right to reply.

Tesco silent on Welsh language decision

As a regular to the Tesco Extra store on Western Avenue, Cardiff, I could not help but notice the aisle signage throughout the store. I am aware that the English and Welsh language should have equal status but not in Tesco, apparently.The Welsh language not only gets top billing but the font is twice the size of the English and is bold. I have no doubt that at any given time only a handful of Welsh speakers would be in the store and, based on most of the Welsh speakers I’ve met, they wouldn’t give a monkey’s which language the signage is in.So why does Tesco choose to make English less clear to the vast majority of their confused, poor- sighted, and elderly customers? It’s to be expected in the public sector, where it’s becoming more difficult to get employment if you don’t speak Welsh, but in the private sector equal opportunity and non discrimination is of paramount importance for established and respected companies.I did write to the manager but didn’t get a reply, although the logic behind the decision belonged to someone more senior. Is Tesco currying favour with the Welsh Government for some reason? Someone in authority at Tesco has made the decision to positively discriminate in favour of the Welsh language, to the detriment of most of their customers, and we should know why. 
Dennis Coughlin Cardiff

In reply to Mr Dennis Coughlin's diatribe against the Welsh Language 8/1/2018, unlike his beloved English Language in Tesco Western Avenue, he gets top billing in the letters page of the National Newspaper of  Wales. To use the vernacular Mr Coughlin 'Tesco are no mugs'. Even though the Welsh Speakers you 'claim' to have met 'allegedly' wouldn't give a monkey's which language the signage is in, Tesco KNOW that the language is very dear and important to those who speak it and also KNOW that the Welsh Speakers in Cardiff generally have more money to spend than the confused, poor sighted and elderly customers of which he claims to be one. I have also written to the manager commending him in big and bold type for his decision to give equal billing to Wales' first and indigenous language, after all Mr Coughlin, Welsh was spoken across the continent of Europe before English was even a scream in the forests of Germany.

The Shark Fisherman of Wales

Grangetown

Yr ysfa i sgrifennu yn Gymraeg

http://cymraeg.gov.wales/?lang=en

Mae'r ysfa i sgrifennu yn Gymraeg wedi dod drosta’i eto ond am beth y tro yma? Well, mi rydych ddim eisiau pregeth cyn i chi fynd allan i noson iasoer Ionawr. Rhywbeth bach i gnoi cil drosto fel rydych yn bwyta eich brie a cranberry ciabatta gyda latte levy neu ryw ddiod feddwol. Y mis yma ydy chweched pen-blwydd y blog bondigrybwyll yma. Chwe blynedd o fwydro fy mhen a fy ngeiriadur. Saesneg oedd popeth yn y dechrau ond mi fydd y darllenwyr cyson wedi sylweddoli fy mod yn gwneud yr ymgais yn ddiweddar i sgrifennu mwy yn y Gymraeg. Dwi wastad yn teimlo yn well ar ôl ceisio gwneud rhywbeth yn Gymraeg fel ei fod yn rhyw fath o weithred wleidyddol ac yn wir erbyn hyn ag erbyn degawdau bellach mae unrhyw beth i wneud gyda'r iaith yn weithred wleidyddol. Siŵr fod rhai yn gweld o fel baich a phwysau trwm ond mae'n well i ni gyd weld o fel her! Weithiau ar ôl rhyw sylwad annoeth ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol mae yn teimlo ein bod mewn sefyllfa amddiffynnol ac mae'r meddylfryd yma o warchod ag amddiffyn rhywbeth yn un cyfarwydd iawn i'r Cymry Cymraeg erbyn hyn ond pa mor iachus ydy hwn i ni ag ein hiechyd meddwl. Allwn ni gyd freuddwydio am filiwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn 2050 ac mae'n hollol anorfod i gael targed ond weithiau mae dyn yn meddwl ag ydy hwn wedi rhoi ffug gobaith i ni. Fel dywedodd y Farwnes Eluned Morgan mae gan bawb ddyletswydd dros yr iaith ond gyda llai yn ymgeisio i fod yn athrawon cyffredin pa arweiniad ydy hyn i athrawon sydd eisiau dysgu Cymraeg? A sut fath o Gymraeg fydd hyn? Bratiaith fel yn iaith i neu rywbeth gwbl gywir ag a fydd hwn yn ddigon i droi meddylfryd bobol ifanc ddi Gymraeg ei iaith tuag at yr iaith. Mae'r Comisiynydd Iaith wedi gwneud gwaith dryw dros y blynyddoedd ond talcen caled ydy brwydro fel hyn ac weithiau chi'n teimlo byddai'r Gymraeg yn cael ei fendithio gan beiriant cysylltiadau cyhoeddus gwell. Sut allwn ni fel y rhai sydd wedi cael y rhodd o'r iaith perswadio ein cyd Gymry fydd o fendith a lles iddyn nhw ei ddysgu? Yn anffodus mae dweud nag iaith wreiddiol, gynhenid ein gwlad ddim yn ddigon o berswâd. Rhywbeth i ni gyd feddwl amdano fel i ni yn claddu ein McDonalds ag ein Starbucks! 

Peak People

New Year's Day is for waxing lyrical and I saw the old year out by going for a couple of days walking in the Derbyshire Dales. Staying at Hartington YHA which was a stunning and atmospheric building. I had started using the accommodation provided by YHA when I studied for my Masters in Playwriting in Salford back in 2013 and I have been a convert to the charity movement ever since. It is said that Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed at Hartington Hall on his way to Derby from Scotland. I wonder if he played chess in the snow. On the Friday, the snow had come down heavy in the night and only 4X4's and Land Rovers were getting through. It appeared that Land Rovers were the required mode of transport for Peak People. 

Hartington village was particularly picturesque in the snow and the above picture of the Union Jack and the British Legion sign could have been from any era had it not been for the cars in the background. The Devonshire Arms in the village was without doubt the most welcoming hostelry I had ever been in and when you go in make sure you ask for the Soup of the Day. I was fortunate that on my day the soup was 'Mushroom & Stilton'. Bendigedig as they say in Welsh. My walking companion (who shall remain nameless for security purposes) and I managed to complete two circular routes, one of 8km and one of 12km and we also had time for a flying visit to the Spa Town of Buxton where I had last visited as a snotty nosed, miserable teenager with my parents back in the early 1980's. We had visited Little John's grave in Hathersage back then and a woman had heard us talking in Welsh and told us in the same language where the gravestone was. This time, towards the end of the first circular walk, a young lady, who was sat on a rock clearing her head, heard myself and my companion chatting in Welsh and she engaged us in conversation. Alex from Bangor and her boyfriend George from Athens were on a mini break in Hartington and they offered us a lift in to Buxton in the afternoon. Bendigedig again a diolch iddynt am y cymwynas!  

The museum in Buxton was excellent not least because it was free and the museum in Eyam which we went to on the way back to Wales was also competitively priced at £2.50. It was here that we were confronted by the Plague Doctor who had obviously provided the inspiration for the Wombles of
Wimbledon Common.  

What really impressed us about the Peak District was the people. Peak people were down to earth and welcoming. On our journey home we got to waxing lyrical about the English. We cheered every time we saw a flag of St George and booed every time we saw the Union Jack. The Union Jack is a very presumptuous banner with a history to make Guardianistas squirm. In 2018 as visitors and tourists to England, we urge you to promote England and Englishness, your distinctive cultural identity rather than Britishness and we hope that you will reciprocate when you visit Wales by encouraging us to identify as Cymry rather than British.  As Welsh Nationalists we are very loathe to praise others other than our own people, for all their Belisha Beacon faults like voting for Brexit, but in my opinion the Peak People were nicer than the Welsh so stick that in your clay pipe to keep your plague away.