Bŵtcamp August 2023 - 21st to 28th - Lampeter

This is the official thread for news relating to the August Bŵtcamp.

It will be held in Llambed (Lampeter), Ceredigion - an area with a sizeable Welsh-speaking population - and the accommodation will be in the same large house as last year. Garth Newydd has 3 twin rooms and 3 single rooms available for bwtcampers.

As with previous Bŵtcamps, the most important rule for the week is the WELSH ONLY rule. Once the set up for the week has been explained in English during the introductory session, there will be only Welsh spoken until the Bŵtcamp is declared officially over.

Bŵtcamp is NOT a Welsh course. There are no “lessons” or class type activities. Rather it is a chance to have a total immersion holiday in Welsh - enjoying fun activities and outings, meeting new people, having new experiences, all through the medium of Welsh.

For that reason, the experience is most successful if you have a certain amount of Welsh under your belt already. A minimum is to have completed Level 1 SSiW, though if you’ve completed Level 2, you are likely to benefit more. It’s also useful if you’re already started using your Welsh a little with others - either face-to-face, or in a Zoom chat group - however, if you haven’t had that opportunity but feel confident you could cope in a Welsh Only situation, don’t hesitate to apply.

The cost for the week will be £600 (£500+VAT) for a Twin Room and £660 (£550+VAT) for a Single Room. As well as your accommodation this includes the organisation, admin and time spent by Nia and Deborah, your evening meal on the first night, and as many of the activities as we can budget for. If there happens to be a particular special event during a bŵtcamp week, e.g. a concert or theatre performance in Welsh, we will ask if participants are willing to pay to attend it.

There will be a communal ‘purse’ which everyone will need to contribute to equally at the beginning of the week and that will cover the costs of the food for the meals prepared during the week in Garth Newydd and picnics. When we eat at a cafe, individuals will pay for their own meals.

Bŵtcampers who act as drivers during the week will need to be compensated for their petrol costs, so we will ask those who are passengers during the week to contribute towards their driver’s costs at the end.

If you’re interested in knowing more, send an email to deborah [AT] saysomethingin.com or click on my username and send me a Message.

We will be using the same booking system as trialled last year, rather than the pre-pandemic method which used to see places filled in 2 minutes and people missing out. Instead, we’re inviting applications from everyone who is serious about coming and we will look at how the group would fit with the accommodation available.

If there are more applicants than spaces, we will hold a live “lottery” on Zoom with all the names in a hat, and the lucky bŵtcampers will be selected at random. Those who miss out will have priority for subsequent Bŵtcamps.

Pob lwc!

EDIT: Note that just clicking on the saysomethingin.com doesn’t link to my email address. I’ve disguised it to deter spambots, so you need to put it together again, replacing the [AT] with @

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Is there anyone else interested in coming to this bŵtcamp?

I had exactly 9 people, but one has had to pull out, so I’m one male short. I’m looking for someone able to share a room with another male.

As this is the only bŵtcamp that those working in schools can get to, we’re really keen for it to go ahead!

UPDATE: I’ve managed to fill that spot now, but I would still like a couple of people on the Backup Waiting List if possible.

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Hi Deborah.
Im on the backup wait list for the June Bwt camp and could also go onto the August one. I dont have to do school holidays though so i agree anyone in that position should have preference. Diolch yn fawr.

That’s great, diolch @Rwth, I’ve added you to that backup list as well.

Hi Deborah, I’m interested in attending the August Bootcamp. It’s the only one I can attend as I drive a bus for the schools during term time. If the Bootcamp is full can you put me on the reserve list, please?
Thanks,
Robert.

I’ve added you to the reserve list, Rob. Would you be willing to share with another man if a space comes up in a Twin room?

I would rather have a room of my own as I am a very restless sleeper.

I’ll note that with your name on the list, diolch :slight_smile:

Looking forward to meeting everyone on the Aug bwtcamp.

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Hi I’m Ann. I live in LLanarth-looking forward to meeting everyone! But feeling a bit nervous :joy:

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Sut mae @annpgriffiths , @carin-harris - I forgot that we have a thread of our own! At least two Anns then - bydd esgus da i edrych yn ddryslyd :sweat_smile: (at least sounds a good excuse to me… :crossed_fingers:).
Ann dw i, ac dw i’n byw yn Norfolk…

Think feeling a tad nervous totally normal AnnP, (do hope so!), but really looking forward to meeting everyone too. We can do this together :slight_smile:

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I think we’ll all be a bit nervous but we’ll be chatting signing and filling that jar with peas before you know it lol
See you all soon

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Lovely to get some names! Not sure how many of us there are in total? Still trying to practice… :joy:

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Shwmae i bawb-I am John and originally I came form Swnasea but I have lived in the north of England for 50 years. Firstly In Newcastle and now Sheffield.

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Sut mae @John-ODonovan - dyna pedwar ohonon ni :slight_smile:

I’m thinking that there’s still another five people for us to meet…?

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Sut mae pawb. I shall be travelling from London where I have lived for most of my life, although born in Llanelli. Quite nervous but hope everyone will be kind.

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Good to see both @annpgriffiths and @jocelyn-lewis here already! I have you down to share a room together, so you can get to know each other a little here :slight_smile:

2 weeks to go eeeeeeek

Don’t think it’s long enough to practice :joy:

Looking forward to meeting you Joscelyn