This is a horrible message to have to send, and I’ve been hoping I wouldn’t have to - but it seems unavoidable now.
What with continuing difficulties with the virus and with staff availability, we’re going to have to cancel the 2020 Bootcamps that we were hoping to be able to rearrange.
If you email admin@saysomethingin.com with your booking details, we’ll get your refunds processed asap.
I can’t (at the moment) think of a way to make up to you for this - but I’ll certainly try. If/when we’re able to run events again, we’ll certainly make sure you get first place in the queue, and maybe we’ll even be able to do something like offer you free tickets the next time we’re able to hold a birthday party (depending on our cashflow by that point!).
But for the time being, all I can say is that I’m really, really sorry.
If and when bwt camps can be held again please bear in mind that the old system of everyone scrambling to book at the same time did not work for aged I.T. phobic people like me. It was agreed that those who had previously booked would be contacted individually. Hope this will still be the case.
Many thanks
Good to have an update, even though it’s disapointing for us all inc SSiW.
Hopefully my “prize” will hold for when they start up again…?
All the best and I’m sure we’re all looking forward to more stable times.
Take care everyone
Caz
Sad indeed but not unexpected.
I will keep up hope and my fingers crossed that Bootcamps can take place once more in a (hopefully) not too far ahead future and without a constant health threat breathing down our necks
We’ll make sure that everyone who has had a Bootcamp cancelled on them are at the front of the queue for anything we’re able to do in the future, definitely.
Hopefully my “prize” will hold for when they start up again…?
Yes, absolutely! Or before then - any time you’re comfortable, really!
Thanks for your kind words, folks. It has been a hugely sad decision. I’m trying to think of ways we can come back with a bit of sparkle when travel and group activities really are reliably safe for everyone.
Is there any possibility of some online mini bootcamps to help those of us out who cannot be available for the group chat and cannot get to welsh speaking Wales without some serious travelling? I’ve had best intentions of joing at least one SSiW arrange chat each week but my life is too chaotic to commit to that. Last year I had a weekend intensive Welsh at Coleg Gwnet cancelled and then the Bootcamp fell to Covid. I’m so close to making really good progress but can’s seem to get the opportunity. Even the local Welsh speaking group fell by the wayside due to lack of availability on a regular basis.
I’ve been trying to think what aspects of bŵtcamp could be offered online, but it wouldn’t be many. The key advantages of bŵtcamp are: living your life immersed in Welsh for a week; going out and about to a variety of locations where you’ll be speaking Welsh with the locals; shopping, preparing food and eating together; and relaxing together in the evenings. It would be very difficult to recreate any of the bŵtcamp highlights online.
Depending on how your initial testing/usage goes, maybe we could do an open-to-everyone launch event, and then (if it seems valuable) do it either annually or quarterly or something like that…
Cripes! Thanks @gruntius! I don’t know about tips, but I’m sure any of us could tell you what we think has worked with ours and why, if that would be helpful at any point.
There’s a fundamental difference, though, in that we started with a group of people who could already hold a conversation in Welsh and who were in varying degrees quite confident with that. I don’t think we should underestimate what a difference that made, and even as it was, it was impossible to recreate that week-long total immersion that you get with a real live bŵtcamp. Regular sessions with challenges in between did help to keep Welsh in my mind throughout the week, though, and there is the advantage of everyone being face to face at the same time, so you interact with everyone pretty much equally. It worked really well for us, and I’m sure it could work just as well for others, but it would be a slightly different experience from the traditional real-world bŵtcamps.
