Thank you again Deborah–and the whole team, and Gareth, because you have all helped me make a dream come true…
Ten years ago I still had an unfulfilled dream to study Celtic Studies, including Welsh, at Lampeter–at least on-line. As a deaf/hard-of-hearing person living in Vancouver that might seem a bit of a stretch. But on 1st January 2016, I signed up with SSiW and have kept up my subscription ever since, reviewing and revising all the courses regularly (except AutoMagic because I am not sure if my subscription covers it or how to access it).
Thanks to SSiW, I plucked up the courage to apply for the MA and completed it at the start of COVID, so graduated on-line during those first lockdowns. However, UWTSD has always held out the invitation to attend a ceremony in person, so here I am, at 75, about to enjoy that opportunity–flying over to ‘graduate’ at the Brangwyn Hall on 25th November. The last time I was there was 60 years ago to attend a symphony concert as preparation for taking O-Level Music (deafness came later, following unsuccessful surgery).
There are folk on the Forum who have also helped and cheered me on over the years–they know who they are. I owe them a huge debt of gratitude too–thank you!!!
I am one of those who has to ‘listen’ to things many, many, many times, at maximum volume and with fantastic hearing devices that send signals to my brain, before being able to guess then imitate the sounds–that’s where transcripts and grammar books, then answers to questions are essential. I am fine with English, because I grew up speaking it, and benefit from a smattering of Welsh at school, back when my world was young.
In preparation for this trip and dream-come-true, I have been working through SSiW–yet again 
Yes, I did the year of Welsh at UWTSD, plus Sylfaen, Canolradd and a little of Uwch, plus a lot of DuoLingo, but chwarae teg, while each one enriched and expanded my understanding, SSiW is the only course that has ‘stuck’ and given me the confidence to speak the language.
Just yesterday I led a Remembrance service at the Vancouver Welsh Society, and tomorrow I will be speaking to a friend in Welsh who I met via SSiW and Slack. So, take a bow and please share my thanks–perhaps migrating this message to a more appropriate area of the Forum if necessary.
Gwych–diolch yn fawr iawn,
Mari/Marilyn
