Mmm… I’d say ‘sut bydda i’, but it’s pretty common to hear people sticking softenings in moderately unexpected places with stuff like this! Go with what comes fastest to you, and don’t worry too much about it - you’ll end up using it in a similar way to the people you talk to most often… 
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Thanks, @aran, I’m glad to see this…After I read @Asteroid’s question yesterday, I listened to that part of the lesson. I also hear Iestyn and Cat say “sut fydda i’”. I thought it should be “sut bydda i’”, too, so instead of being able to answer Astrid’s question, I was left wondering, too 
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Doing an action replay of the race… Both Gwers and Challenge 25 are brilliant in helping me focus on a few areas that need some attention, so I am revisiting those segments strolling around the course at a more leisurely pace, having raced around in break-neck speed.
What I am finding is that I have learned a huge amount and it has ‘stuck’ but by taking the time to practice certain patterns more my confidence is increasing. So my training goal between now and Christmas is to become more sure-footed, gain some new vocabulary from those sessions, and keep Skyping, so that in the New Year I will be in great shape to tackle the next big race–Course/Level 2.
In the meantime, I will continue to visit the Forum and no doubt have more questions. Onwards…
Marilyn
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Hey @MarilynHames! I’ve already missed you! Glad to see you back! 
[size=10](Oh, I’m soo happy seing people return!!! I LOVE THIS BIT!!![/size]
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Thank you Tatjana, as always your cheerful encouragement makes all the difference, it really does!
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Ah … diolch yn fawr iawn!
And your stories are something so wonderful to read …
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Thanks, @aran , @AnnaC and @ramblingjohn ! I’ve asked a friend of mine who has been learning Welsh for a bit longer and he says that you generally soften to “f” if there is a negation or a question, and apparently that includes question words like “sut fyddai…” I suppose as with many things there is a lot of variation amongst natural speakers… I’ll definitely listen out for it in future, though.
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This is the key point, and it’s why we always fall back on ‘Don’t worry, just speak’…
It’s going to be exciting seeing you getting towards the end of the 2s and turning into a genuine Welsh speaker…
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Hmmm … I think I should ponder my thoughts about the tittle of the 2nd book. - hehe
OK Tatjana, I might as well start the new year the way I plan to continue… I already need your help please to edit the graphic so that it reads ‘Book 2’ because I’ve just signed up for Part 2–a new race, new challenges, and new year.
Folks I will complete my ‘memories’ of the first race (comparing the two approaches of Lessons vs Challengs) over the next couple of weeks for the benefit of anyone still wondering which way to go, but bottom line–both did me a power of good.
Three pieces of great news, thanks to SSiW: Having joined the Vancouver Welsh Society, I was able to go to their Christmas dinner and sing Welsh Carols (a first in too many yeas to count–it was great); I have made some wonderful friends (may I call you that please?) via this forum and am Skyping a lady who is a marvellous mentor too – how lucky can you get? (we share so many common interests and experiences, including being hard of hearing); lastly, I have gained so much confidence through this experience that I no longer think of myself as ‘deaf’ so am wondering how I can edit the title to this topic so it no longer reads ‘…for the hard of hearing’ and becomes more generic.
How’s that for a great start to the new year? Now to saddle up, sounds like I’m being called to the starting line, though I confess, I’m carrying extra weight which is a handicap 
See you later,
Marilyn
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Go to the first post - this means to the beginning of the topic and click pencil mark besides title of the topic. Clicking on it it will open the chance to edit the title. If you are not - for any reason - able to do so, let me know what title you’d like and I’ll do it for you.
For the cover … I didn’t have in mind editing it but rather composing something different. I already have something in mind and will post later when I finish things.
Now … yes … to the next race of your “Challenge” and “Level”.
I’m honoured to be called this way. Thank you in deed.
And now …
[size=30]Ready, set, … GO![/SIZE]
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OK, @MarilynHames. Here it is!
I hope you like it and the most that it souts. However, the race didn’t begin yet so we can not know for shure what it will be like.
Enjoy anyway.
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Wow, I love it Tatjana!
This really captures the amazing positive energy that learning generates, especially overcoming the hurdles we all face in tackling a language. But it shimmers with mystery too–a fitting symbol of the ancient roots Welsh has and where it may lead…
This also has an epic quality, so maybe the race will take on mythic proportions as it opens up new horizons. So watch out friends, this time there will be no going around in circles (as in a normal track), but plenty of challenges and lessons to learn as we break free thanks to the magic of SSiW.
So here we are, at the starting line, but wait… Gwers is so keen, it started before the ‘off’, ignoring the ‘Zero Lesson’ (for South Walian). Back up Gwers! OK, now that little misunderstanding has been sorted out and is behind us, yes… THEY’RE OFF! Gwers flying like the wind… What fun we are going to have as we join them in all the thrills and spills.
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I’m glad you do. I did my best and use a lot of imagination (as always. )
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Are there any lesson guidelines to Level 2–if so, where do I find them please?
Thank you,
Marilyn
They are not officially published on FAQ page yet, but you can find them here:
Course guide to level 2 - Southern - Scroll down the topic and you’ll find notes for Challenges as they were released.
Course guide to level 2 - Northern - The same thing … scroll down the topic and you’ll get them all.
I hope it helps … of course it helps! Those are level guides. - hehe
Hwyl!
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Brilliant Tatjana–you come to the rescue yet again. That certainly helps.
Diolch yn fawr iawn,
Marilyn
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Diddleum, diddleum, diddleum, diddleum…
No, this isn’t some newly-minted Welsh word despite the ‘dd’ in the middle (and I certainly hope it isn’t one to be found in any dictionary, and turns out to be rude or nasty). It’s the sound of hooves gaining momentum as both Gwers and Challenge head out again.
As I suspected (and Tatjana predicted in her Book Cover) this ‘race’ will be quite different–more like a competition in search of the Holy Grail aka ‘fluency’. Only one day into the second stage of this quest, already Gwers had to go back to the start (to go over lesson Zero–sneaky that, but Aran did issue a clue and a warning at the start of Lesson 1), and then Challenge had to go in search of the Lesson guides (Notes). Fortunately, although hidden from my immediate sight, Tatjana came to the rescue with the link to faithful work done by ‘Faithless’–one of the Angels, or Magicians I’ve now met along the way.
So folks, now I know how to speak in the ‘Southern Negative’ like a native, it’s on to the next clue, next hurdle able to say “I do not want that” or “I am not going there”
Diddleum, diddleum, diddleum, diddleum…
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How one thing leads to another…
While our two trusty steeds (Gwers and Challenge) have both negiotiated the third parts of this next (intermediate) stage in the quest, they do not seem to be racing, but rather exploring new ground together with some very unexpected surprises…
One found a magic email that said ‘Open me if you dare’. I opened and read it–it provided a major clue on this adventure to discover my roots and recover my heritage–the chance to do an MA in Celtic Studies… But it meant ‘getting a move on’ in applying, tracking down people and information. Was this going to be a detour, or the path that leads to the Holy Grail?
Friends, amazing as it seems, I am taking that path, with my two magical horses to carry me and whatever I need for the journey. Tally ho:horse_racing:
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Now that sounds like a HUGE amount of fun… 
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