The whole point of both petitions was that funds were cut! The BBC put in a bit from License Fees, but that doesn’t bring the total back, it just pays part of the reduced income!
I’d also add another advantage to the list: it’s cheaper than the Maes Carafanau by some margin 
Y Gorlan and the tipi were new developments this year - usually the Cymdeithas site is just gigs and (usually, though not always) camping, and the Gorlan was always a Maes B thing. However I gather that this year Maes B went with someone else for the provision of hot drinks and snacks, and so they decided to serve the Cymdeithas site instead. Or at least that’s what someone told me. Long may it continue, in any case!
The showers were great. However I would point out that in some previous years, when they’ve held it at rugby clubs and the like, the showers were communal changing-room style ones 
(For info, years where I know Cymdeithas had a campsite were Llanilltud 2012, Meifod 2015, Y Fenni 2016, and this year. In Dinbych 2013 and Llanelli 2014 the gigs were at pubs in town rather than a sports club or farm so they didn’t have a campsite. Before that I can’t comment - I visited in 2010 and 2011 but didn’t know about the gigs yet 
)
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It was great to see so many SSiWers at the Eisteddfod. Although we didn’t have a stand in Maes D, it still became something of a meeting place (plus the tea/coffee is the cheapest going).
Previous years I’ve been a volunteer in Maes D, but this year I decided to bite the bullet and put myself down for the ‘real thing’. I said I was available to do one shift a day, from the first Saturday through to the Wednesday. Thursday I was singing in a choir - Dysgwyr Ceredigion - and Friday I had to come home, so I figured one shift a day on the other days would give me experience of working alongside people I didn’t know plus plenty of spare time to look about.
Of course, when they allocated me Saturday AM shift (be there at 7:45), I realised that I wasn’t going to be able to drive from Llandysul to Bodedern in time to make that. I was booked into the Cymdeithas yr Iaith campsite, but that didn’t open until 10:00 Saturday, so I had to hastily book an AirBnB room for the Friday night and head up on Friday, calling in on the Joneses and collecting @Novem on the way.
It was worth it though. I really enjoyed the volunteering. My first task on the Saturday was to distribute maps of the maes, and that was great - a chance to smile and welcome people to the Eisteddfod, and to spot anyone I knew as they arrived! I did a couple of shifts in the Pavilion, and one in the Ystafell Ymgynull (the room where people gather before going on stage).
I discovered that despite dedicated listening to Tudur Owen on Radio Cymru I struggled to understand the Gog men with strong accents, but the women were fine. I asked if a seat was available on one occasion and what came back was just like a stream of sounds. I couldn’t even pick a single word! Looks like I’d better start watching Round and Round ! If I start now maybe I’ll be fine for the Conwy Eisteddfod in 2019 
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It’s Meinir Gwilym - a big supporter of SSiW who sang at this year’s birthday party
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A pity
My singing teacher won!!
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