Hi everyone,it's Nicky.
I've got to say that I've had...
a bit of a quiet week
and my Twitter feed has been quiet too...
I don't know why?
If you haven't heard
I;ve been....busy this week
because I had a bit of
a bad experience in a shop
a new shop in town, a coffee shop
called "Tatws" I got a bit of
a bad experience
from their manager
when I was trying to buy a drink in Welsh
and when I was giving CDs out
to them - just in order to help them learn the language
and I got a bit of um..
bit of abuse back
on our language. So if you want to find out more about it
I was on
BBC Radio Cymru
Wednesday afternoon
speaking about it with Garry Owen
who is a nice guy
I've been on the show before
this time last year, so it was nice
to go on the show again
I'll just leave you watch it
"Have you had a bad experience"
"Have you been dissappointed perhaps?"
when going into a shop or a cafe
and you start a conversation in Welsh
maybe, you see Welsh signs in the shop?
and the response you get disappoints you?
Nicky Roberts from Aberystwyth has spoken to me about
the experience he got in a cafe in the town
he said all the signs in there were bilingual
and when he went in - he was disappointed
by someone making offensive comments
he says, about the Welsh language.
well, the manager of the cafe says that they are looking into the matter
and on Facebook they are apologising
and saying that the language is important to them
well, we've spoken to the company
and they say the matter is sorted.
but to start, let's have a word with Nicky Roberts from Aberystwyth
and here is what he says happened when he went in
to get Coffee in Tatws, Aberystwyth
I went for a walk on Monday
and I saw a new place that had opened in the town.
so I wanted to see what they do.
they had a Welsh name
they had a Welsh menu
I could see that the Welsh language was in front of the English everywhere.
so I thought "Wow, shall we try this out?"
and, I went to the counter
I started to say something like "Can i have a large Americano with Soy Milk please?"
and out of nowhere from behind the counter
the lady says "Sorry I don't speak Welsh"
"No problem, no problem" I said.
I finished the order in English
and I started to speak with the lady
I told her the story of how I learned the language
myself, because...
I've only been speaking the language since Christmas 2016 myself.
the lady was very nice, I have to say.
and before leaving I said "Right, I'll bring you in a couple of learning CDs"
some "Say Something in Welsh" for you, something like that - try it out
so, I went home - Tuesday afternoon, yesterday
I burned a few CDs for them
I went for a walk up to the place
I walked in - I saw the same lady
who said "How are you?" to me
Which was great, and fair play to her for trying
but I heard a man behind the counter shouting "You're not learning Welsh are you?"
the lady answered back "Well, we've..
..got a Welsh name, we've got a Welsh menu, we've got to learn a bit havent we?"
he said "Why would I want to learn that Crap Language?"
I have to say now, I was angry
I was in shock to tell the truth - so much so, that I said the figures incorrectly!
when I said them back
I was saying something like..
"Mate, 62% of people in Ceredigion speak Welsh"
lots of your customers will see that you've got a Welsh menu
they;ll come in and they'll speak it.
He said back "I was born in India"
"But I come from England" "I speak English" "That's all we need"
"No-one here speaks Welsh" "and I wouldn't employ someone who does"
well, I was wrong at first
because I think the number of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion
is more like 57%
but my point still stands
I couldn't believe it to tell the truth
Garry: Was there anyone else in the shop at the time?
there were a couple more customers
I don't think that
they could hear me to be honest.
As I was saying, I couldnt believe it
I've been speaking the language myself for something like 15 months
But I have never experienced anything like this before.
I;ve heard of the same thing happening with other people, but...
it hasn't happened to me until now.
Garry: we are going to speak to Tatws and get their side of the story Nicky.
but Can I just ask?
from listening to what you have said
does it make you think about
the attitudes of people towards Welsh at all?
that is, it seems to me that you were very happy
to see a shop in Aberystwyth with Welsh signage
and a Welsh name - Tatws isn't it?
clearly outside.
so, the signage, the everything
suggests that things are moving forward
but you say that you came across an attitude
thats the only way to describe it
the matter we're discussing
from your experience
is there more we can do about the attitude?
was it just one occasion?
well thats the thing - because Aberystwyth is a town where
you can live your life entirely through Welsh
if you want - there are loads of shops
that speak the language
and there are loads of shops
that try to get their staff to learn the language
so I don't understand why I had the problem I had yesterday.
well, I worry if the
attitude of shops like that
is because... well, if you think...
of a town like Aberystwyth - they have to
display bilingual signage
so, I worry sometimes that the shops
are paying "lip service" as the English say, to the language.
and thats what worries me to tell the truth
because if you set the standards...
well, like me. I saw the sign in Welsh
so I was going into the shop thinking
"I can speak Welsh here"
I worry that people are just using the language as a selling point
not as a way of communication
thats the thing Garry: thats the thing
but how do you deal with that?
how do you change the attitudes of people?
the type of comment you had Nicky.
when you went in the shop
how does that change?
It;s a difficult question because I've been speaking with a couple of people
about this matter
and the thing you've got to think about
are you trying to change their thinking on the thing?
of people like that?
and try to be more open with people like that?
and show them that the language is important? or do you go to other places
where they are more than willing to help you
through the Welsh language? Garry: Nicky, thank for commeting on this!
Garry: and we will look into it here on Taro'r Post
and look into where we go from here.
but thanks for you time, thanks Nicky!
Nicky: no problem at all, nice to speak to you again.
there we are: Nicky Roberts from Aberystwyth.
Until the next time... Happy Easter! Enjoy it!
See you later!
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