The Welsh Language – Sounds Like I’m Trying To Spit On Someone!

Today is the first day of the Welsh Travel Blogging Junket and I’m in Cardiff, the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales (see Visit Cardiff) to undertake a half day course to learn the Welsh Language.

God bless them – the Welsh have been stubborn enough to annoy the English for so long, that they’ve kept their heritage alive by still practicing this somewhat difficult language. Welsh has been in existence since the 9th century, and it’s undertaking somewhat of a resurgence amongst younger people – who want to keep their culture and identity going, so good on them. About 25% of people speak Welsh in Wales, and it’s particularly spoken in rural areas.

I need a big Welsh Language Translation!

I had a crack at learning some Welsh, and made a complete dog’s breakfast (this is slang for a ‘mess’) out of it.  I’m glad there was someone there to provide a Welsh Language Translation for me – as now I know what it must feel like to have locked in syndrome. The only word of Welsh I seem to remember is cwru (pronounced curro), which means beer. But I know the word ‘beer’ in every place I go to, because I need beer for my travel survival mechanisms.

Actually, this is how you order beer (or cwru) in Welsh – you’ll see what I mean about it being so difficult!

If you’re keen, print off this conversation below on how to have a conversation in Welsh about beer in a Cardiff pub!

For this post, I have to somehow teach you some basic Welsh, and then you have to leave a comment using at least two Welsh words using Google Translate to show me your Welsh Language Translation. That’s probably two words better than I can manage at the moment.

Normally, I’m not too bad at learning another language – I know a bit of Spanish to get by in South American countries, which have opened up a lot of new experiences for me. But trying to learn Welsh was bit like trying to talk underwater with a mouthful of concrete whilst trying not to let my projectile saliva hit some of my fellow travel bloggers.

Here goes – some of the words I learnt include the following:

Other things we learnt was one of the world’s longest town names: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

I would say the Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch sign is bigger than the actual town itself. It literally means “The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio’s of the red cave”.

I’m just wondering who the hell would type that into Google?

So there you go – have a crack at a Welsh Language Translation, and use Google Translate to do it. Leave a comment below with at least two Welsh words!

You know what? Even if you left some profanities in Welsh, I couldn’t tell because I can’t even understand normal Welsh words!

Anyway, leaving a comment will get you in for practicing to win a Flip Mini HD! So comment away!

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One other great thing that is both refreshing and frustrating is ‘Africa time’.

You could be waiting for 4 minutes, 4 hours, or 4 days (maybe 4 weeks sometimes) for a bus to leave!

But think about it – no one else in Africa is going to hurry and be stressed out, so why should you?

The below Funny Bumper Sticker Quote that I spotted in the Serengeti, Tanzania, says it all!

There’s heaps more Funny Bumper Stickers on Amazon!

There’s today’s Funny Bumper Sticker Quote.

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Notting Hill Carnival – a day of awesome carnage!

The Notting Hill Carnival has been an annual event in London since 1964. It’s one of the world’s largest street festivals and over a million people descend on one small location in London to party up a storm for two whole days. To read more about the Notting Hill Carnival, check out Wikipedia, or the official Notting Hill Carnival website.

I’ve been right in the thick of it, staying at the Umi Hotel in Bayswater, which is walking distance to the Notting Hill area.

I spent a large chunk of Monday 30 August 2010 walking around Notting Hill to check out some of the amazing sights that the Notting Hill Carnival brings out.

I even spent time walking in the parade – that’s because I wanted to take some photos and couldn’t find a way out, so I thought it was better to just enjoy the march and lap it up!

Here are some of the photos that I’ve taken of the Notting Hill Carnival in 2010!

We must be early! There’s no-one here!

We’re only just getting started.

Is it over yet?

Just having a load of fun!

Everyone can join the party.

Oh no, I thought the Vuvuzela had died after the 2010 World Cup!

I’m Beautiful, so Beautiful…

It’s a bit cosy down here!

Just cruising!

Nothing to see here!

I love sign posts!

Whose bladder will burst first?

Are you sure you’re at the right festival?

Checking out the crowd below

All I wanna do is party!

Chicken Man!

How are we going to fit these back in the car?

Oh, this is the car!

Anyone for shots?

Anyone have a rubbish bin?

The Long Way Home

I had an awesome time at the Notting Hill Carnival – I’ve never experienced anything quite like it, and I’ve never seen so many people together having a great time in one place!

Stay tuned for a video production about the Notting Hill Carnival 2010 at a later date! I’ve got some awesome footage!

Thanks to Visit Britain for organising my trip here, and the Umi Hotel for putting me up so close to the Notting Hill Carnival!

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London Walks with an Offbeat Twist!

A couple of days ago, I went on some awesome London Walks with Insider London Tours.  Because Visit Britain think I’m weird, they booked me on a Quirky London Tour to see some of the bizarre and offbeat London history that’s occurred throughout the years – and I wasn’t disappointed!

Most of us are guilty of taking the ‘Guidebook’ version of local history when we travel somewhere. This strategy might be OK, but you definitely miss out on a lot of interesting information, most of which you would have no idea of unless someone pointed out a quirky fact for you.  A guide book, at best, can only give you an overarching level of details, whearas something like this Quirky London Tour delves into so much more!

So I’m going to do this today with a few photos and videos of the Quirky London Tour I went on – one of the many great London Walks you can do.

My guide for the day was Hedley – and he showed me some of the interesting stories, a lot of them pretty seedy, about the history of London Town. Here goes!

1. Prostitutes and Other Dodgey Characters

London must have been hell on earth around the Industrial Revolution. Hedley told of a story where pretty much everyone had mistresses and delved into using prostitutes. For example, he mentioned one lady of the night who kept a diary of all the services she had provided to everyone – and this list included relatives (eg. uncles), businessmen, priests, and even a cardinal! He explains more here, especially about the Covent Garden Area, one of the oldest areas of London.

2. Penis Severing and Re-Attachment

One to make your eyes water. This is more recent history, and this story happened before John Wayne Bobbit! Note the irony of the restaurant name in the background!

3. Trafalgar Square – Police Stations, Prisons and Pussycats

Check out this photo of Trafalgar Square. Millions of people have visited this icon, but would have no idea about some of the bizarre facts surrounding it. For example, during construction, a group of people had dinner on top of the column.

Another one is this structure that most people would take notice of. Check out the lamp looking thing on the right. Any idea what it is?

It’s England smallest police station and lockup! And it’s still officially one, but it’s never used!

Also, many of us have seen the lions at the base of Lord Nelson’s column. However, a painter was commissioned to do these, even though he wasn’t a sculptor.

He requested that real lions be brought in so he could model them. Problem is, they had to kill them first, and a decomposing big cat wasn’t very representative of a ‘real lion’. The lions would rot faster than he could model them! In the end, he modelled the lion’s feet from his own domestic cat!

4. Crossroads – A Grim Purpose

Ever wondered what their original purpose was? They used as a great location to bury people with a stake through their heart. No, this isn’t a vampire story, but the belief was that people who had suicided would become bad spirits.

In order to stop them from annoying people, they were buried at a crossroads, so that if they woke, up, they would not know which direction to go.

5. The Origin of Freakshows

We go to the Theatre now to see plays. Back then, medical curiosities were considered good entertainment. Like public surgeries. Hedley explains more:

6. Bizarre Guests and Rituals at the Savoy Hotel.

Everything from Fred Astaire scaling the roof to sing, to African animals staying in the rooms, to making sure you don’t have a dinner party of 13 people.

7. Governments have always introduced new taxes, taxpayers find ways to avoid paying them

This is Charles’ Dicken’s old flat.

Notice that two of the windows are bricked up. That’s because if you could afford windows, you could afford to be taxed. So therefore, less windows = less tax!

So, is the Quirky London Tour it worth it?

Overall, I really enjoyed this offbeat tour about Quirky London history. What you’ve seen here is only a small version of a very comprehensive tour. That’s right, there’s crap loads of interesting stuff here! So the answer is Yes!

There’s a lot more information you will learn on this tour which will make you wonder why the British Empire lasted so long!

So the next time you go on some London Walks, think of this one!

Disclaimer: Thanks to Visit Britain and Insider London for providing this for me!

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Indian Food Time! Yummy!

I love Indian Food, and I like to have the odd Curry here and there that packs a bit of kick.

That’s why I was excited to try out a Curry House in Brick Lane, located in London’s East End just before embarking on my Wales Blogging Junket.

However, there is a certain etiquette when you are after a curry there – Brick Lane is home to over 60 Curry Restaurants, and it’s pretty fierce competition to try and stay in business. That means that every single Curry House has a spruiker (slang for a ‘promoter’) outside wanting you to go into their curry shop. And they are willing to cut some good deals with you just to get you in the door.

For example, they might offer a hefty discount of the total meal price, or maybe throw in a couple of free wines or beer with your Indian Food. You will probably be asked to go into every single Curry Restaurant in Brick Lane, but it’s pretty laid back and it’s worth wandering down the street to see what appeals to you. You won’t have a lack of choice!

Here is an interview that I recorded with one of the the East End Curry House promoters about the process!

As for myself, I had a superb Sulemani Chicken there, after scoffing a couple of lamb samosas. Sulemani Chicken is a mango based mild curry that took me about 5 seconds to finish off because I a) was hungry and b) found the dish delicious.

So the next time you are in London, make sure you head out to the East End and get stuck into some Indian Food!

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