So... do the Welsh not share, or the English not like em???

[Flamesparrow]

Welsh DH, living in Bournemouth... Every few months I might come across a supermarket selling Welsh butter - but they pretty much all sell Irish and Somerset. You can't buy Welsh cakes anywhere here, yet you can get all kind of American style cakey things. Its not like you need a little cake shop to get em in Wales - Tescos sell em, so surely they could ship a few through the rest of the UK???

Its sad, we haven't got much money right now, so his valentine's present was butter .

Soooo... why is it?? Are the Welsh just very possesive over their butter and cakes, or do shops think there is no market for it in non-Wales???

Yes, that's right SS- do you remember it?

My old head of dept used to teach ioan Gruffudd- says he was a really fantastic pupil

It wasn't exactly state of the art in museum terms, just completely fascinating to me because I was so convinced they were about to move!

Talking of old things- Penrhyn Castle is pretty fab if you're into old places- near Bangor- flamesparrow- and Plas Newydd onm the island- has some gorgeous gardens and the Whistler paintings

pixiefish - the sergeant didn't speak welsh either, he could tell I was English because I have a home counties accent. That was a couple of years ago now and I now have a Cardiff lilt and have picked up a few local colloqialisms like "by here" and "now in a minute" but I still sound English, that's not usually a problem in Cardiff but 2 miles over the mountain in Caerphilly is more of an issue.

Anyway, I thought I'd like to add some of the lovely fab things about living in Cardiff, Wales:-

Free Museums - we love St. Fagans, Big Pit and the Museum of Wales in Cathays Park. They've all had a big revival since being free and that's such a good thing to teach children to be interested in all that stuff.

Cheap Prescriptions - £4 now but will be free to everyone in a couple of years

Nursery schools within the primary schools not so many private ones. My dd goes to such an amazing nursery in her primary school, I think it'll really help the transition next year to reception. Also, her teachers are Welsh and are amazing. They should win an award! She learns so much and can sing 4 or 5 different songs in Welsh already and knows all the main welsh words to get by. I think learning another language is so beneficial at their age.

The fact that boys love their mams. Which basically means they have more respect for women in general and tend to like a plumper more cuddly woman (works well for me)

Following on from that, the fact that everyone is so sociable. As Sorenlorenson will say, socialising in Cardiff is a blast! Its the first place I've lived where people of all ages will mix very happily in bars and clubs with their being plenty of grandparent types mixed with 18 year olds and all the ones in between.

Match nights. I don't particularly like Rugby but the atmosphere in town when there is an international is amazing.

The fact that the Welsh are so friendly (certain moody coppers aside) and chat to each other at supermarket tills etc. I got a shock when I went back home and tried to do the same, people were so much more closed.

The fact that the Welsh are generally more accepting of children. They always stop and talk to you if you have little ones with you.

Thats just a snippet. I think Cardiff is the nicest place to live and don't want to move again, there are lots more fab reasons too.

...ooooo.... bara brith... [sobs quietly into cushion emoticon]. I don't think I even have a recipe for that.

One question: these Welsh cakes you can buy in the shops - do they tend to have sugar on the outside? My mother never does them like that, but the ones I've seen in Swansea seem to have sugar on almost routinely. Much too sweet like that.

Hockeymum: "the sergeant didn't speak welsh either, he could tell I was English because I have a home counties accent"
Well, he's even more pig-ignorant than I first thought, then. How can you judge someone's origin based on their accent?? I used to have a friend who was fervently and proudly Irish, but had a Preston accent. I moved around a lot as a child, always picked up accents and always had the piss ripped out of me at school for having the accent from the last place we lived. I cultivated an accent that was completely impossible to pin down. (Admittedly, it doesn't sound remotely Welsh, but I can do a mean Welsh accent on cue...). Some people really should get out more...

Sallystrawberry, I am so embarrassed- I suddenly realised this morning that the kitchen I was on about was in Cyfarthfa Castle, not St Fagan's at all. Still, maybe it's still there, eh?

The last time I went to Cyfarfa castel it had a display of sinclair C5 'car' thingies!

Hi Sallystrawberry.I live near Taffs well

hockeymum - "that's not usually a problem in Cardiff but 2 miles over the mountain in Caerphilly is more of an issue".

Don't think that's true - I'm from Caerphilly, and think that's a huge generalisation.

Think you were just unfortunate enough to meet a complete t**t - there's lots of them everywhere!!!!

caerphilly was posh to us. I'm a valley girl m'self

LOL mb - I taught in Aberdare and they thought I was very posh!

Conversation with pupil in my first class

Pupil :'Miss, I love the way you do say toast'

Me : 'What do you mean? How do I say it?'

Pupil : 'Well, we do say "tour-st", and you do say "toe-st".

That made me laugh!!!

Also the fact that for about 6 months I didn't realise Hirwaun was pronounced 'that' way, IYKWIM, and wondered where on earth "Irwin" was?!!

I now live in the east midlams and the kids beg me to say twenty. Tewn ti. They love it.

Whereabouts in the valleys, then, mb? [curious emoticon]

Gelli

My mum's family all come from the Rhondda originally (Cwmparc), but I'm Caerphilly born and bred!!!!

We alawys used to say they were all mad in Cwmparc

my mum was evacuated fro cardiff to the rhondda

I had to teach myself to say yee-ers instead of yurs

I still say Ures!

I am teach a whole generation of kids to probnounce complex biology vocab in a welsh accent

Synaptic Knobs are a particularly good example. As are the Nodes of Ranvier

RedZuleika - Swansea market has the cakes off the griddle and they often add sugar. Agree this is totally unnecessary. Also they are too thick - always buy one to make sure it is cooked through then buy the rest. Keeps the children quiet until their next sugar-fix at Joe's!

Zippiti - Wow! You actually went into the house. It looks on the point of collapse. Thought that there were plans afoot to turn it into some sort of re-hab place? My children were fascinated by it as it looks just the place for an adventure (a bit Famous Five-ish).
Do you know what the building (enormous double fronted three storey) on the right as you come into the main street coming from St Clears is destined to be? There seems to have been a fair bit of work going on there for some time. There were so many rumours abot the Morrisseying of Laugharne that at one point everything was apparently being bought by him or Matt (?) - other than The Mariners and Browns nothing else seems to be in their hands. He didn't get the hotel did he? I really need a subscription to the Carmarthen Journal (I did have one for a while!).

I think he got Castle House in the end and fairly sure something else, my sister is more up to date than me..

was only about 10 when I went in Sea View, it was a squat then but it was lived in until recently

I haven't been down of late, I wanted to go but was too busy..this thread is making me think I must go soon though

can't believe how big they built the village hall that isn't the buildinh you're thinking of is it?