Gwynt a glaw

Mwynheuais Nadolig – bwytais lawer o fwyd blasus (cogyddes ardderchog yw fy mam), ac ymlacais o blaen y tân a’r teledu. Ddydd Mercher, aethon ni am dro o amgylch yr Ardal Lluniau a bwyton ni ginio mewn tafarn ger tŷ Beatrix Potter (Hill Top). Nos Iau daeth fy chwaer ac ei chariad, ac aethon ni i dafarn gyda’n gilydd. Yn anffodus, roedd hi’n bwrw glaw trwm ac roedd y gwynt yn chwythu pan o’n ni’n adael y tafarn, ond yn ffodus cawson ni lifft gyda chyfaill fy chwaer.

Cyrhaeddais ‘nôl yn Brighton Nos Wener ar ôl taith hir iawn ar y trên. Achos roedd gorsaf Euston yn cau, o’n i’n gorfod y “llwybr golygfaol” trwy Birmingham a Basingstoke, yn hytrach na mynd yn syth o Lancaster i Lundain.

Gaoth agus báisteach

Bhain mé sult as an Nollaig – d’ith mé go leor bia blasta (is cócaire iontach í mo mháthair), agus ghlac mé mo shuaimhneas ar aghaidh an thine agus an teilifís. Dé Céadaoin chuaigh muid ar turas timpeall Ceantar na Lochanna agus d’ith muid lón i dteach tábhairne in aice tí Beatrix Potter (Hill Top). Oíche Déardaoin tháinig mo dheirfiúr agus a fiancé, agus chuaigh go dtí an teach tábhairne le cheile. Ar an drochuair, bhí báisteach trom agus gaoth láidir ann nuair a thosaigh muid abhaile, ach ar an dea-uair dúinn fuair muid síob le cara mo dheirfiúr.

Tháinig mé ar ais i mBrighton oíche Aoine i ndiaidh turas an fhada ar an traein. Bhí stáisiún Euston dúnta agus dá bhrí sin, bhí orm bealach eile a thógáil trí Birmingham and Basingstoke, in áit ag dhol díreach o Lancaster i Londain.

Wind and rain

Christmas was good – I eat lots of lovely food (my mum is a great cook), and relaxed in front of the fire and the telly. On Wednesday we went on a drive around the Lake District and had lunch in a pub next to Beatrix Potter’s house (Hill Top). My sister and her fiancé arrived on Thursday evening and we went out to one of the local pubs – the slightly spooky one up in the woods. It was tipping it down and blowing a gale when we left the pub, which kept the vampires away, but fortunately we got a lift home with one of my sister’s friends.

I got back to Brighton on Friday evening after a seemingly interminable journey. Euston station was closed, so instead of going directly from Lancaster to London, I had to take the “scenic route” via Birmingham and Basingstoke.

Word of the day – solstice

As today is the shortest day of the year, at least in the northern hemisphere, I thought solstice would be a good word to choose. It comes, via French, from the Latin solstitium, the point at which the sun seems to stand still, from sol, sun, plus sistere, to come to a stop, make stand still.

Today is the winter solstice, or hibernal solstice in Latin, and the point where the earth tilts away from the sun the most. In some cultures, solstices are seen as marking the end and beginning of years or periods, while in other, they mark mid points. In English, for example, the winter solstice is also known as midwinter, while the summer solstice is know as midsummer.

Details of festivities connected with the winter solstice in many different cultures

Do you do anything to celebrate or mark the winter solstice?

Cultural interpreters needed?

Most British managers think they should make more effort to learn about the business practices of other countries before visiting them, and two thirds find their lack of knowledge about other cultures embarrassing, according to an article I found today.

A survey of just over 200 senior managers and directors of major UK companies found that the vast majority rely on their foreign colleagues being able to speak English, only one fifth said they spoke another language, and a quarter of them admitted making cultural faux-pas when dealing with foreign business people. In spite of this, 80% said that they often do business with people from other cultures, and 66% said they travel overseas regularly on business.

Perhaps what they need are cultural interpreters, who could accompany them on their trips and explain the culture and etiquette of the countries they visit, maybe acting as interpreters of language as well. Do such people exist?

Irish in New York

The other day while listening to Raidió na Gaeltachta, the Irish language radio station, I heard an interview with a guy from New York who has taught himself Irish over the past year or so. He works for the NYPD and has Irish ancestry, hence his interest in the language. He’s never been to Ireland and rarely gets chances to use his Irish, but he speaks it with a fluency that amazed the interviewer. He also sang a song in Irish, and did so very well, but was very modest about his achievement, saying that he still has a lot to learn.

It’s good to hear about successful language learners. It also makes me think I could do better with my studies.

Word of the day – panettone

A photo of a panettone

This week we’ve had a Secret Santa style exchange of gifts at the office. Quite a few of those involved asked for the money to be donated to charity, but there were a few actual presents. Someone very generously gave me what I thought was a large cake, but have since discovered is a kind of cake-shaped bread from Milan called panettone.

The name panettone comes from the Italian word panetto, a small loaf bread. The -one end indicates it’s large, so is a “little big loaf”, and very tasty as well. Here’s a recipe, if you want to try making a panettone yourself.

Beowulf to Virginia Woolf

The British Library website, which I came across today, has some interesting information about language and writing in the Language and the written word section. It tells the story of written English from the Beowulf, the earliest known narrative poem in English, to Virginia Woolf’s early 20th century novels, with samples of each.

The site also includes recordings of the accents and dialects of the UK, details of cook books through the ages, and a history of English language dictionaries, among other fascinating information.