Xmas Day

Once again this year we went on our trek to the beach on Xmas say. The weather was a bit grayer than last year, and the wind was fairly bracing, but it was a pleasant half hour and it was amazing the number of surfers enjoying the fairly good surf. See pics below:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38633890@N00/

Work

I've been working at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw for 14 years. Recently, partly for health reasons, I have been working part-time there. It has been pleasant to rest after two days work and take time off to relax and to catch up with housework and other exciting activities like washing clothes. It has also been an opportunity to try other not work related activities like going to the gym, playing music and playing badminton, all of which I have done this year and enjoyed.

Mary has been working full-time at Fairwater Comprehensive in the Language and Communication Base as the Head of the base. She has been finding the stresses of working there full-time really onerous. A few months ago she persuaded the headteacher of the school to advertise to find someone to do a job-share with her, so far this has not been achieved. We are now discussing possibility of me doing the job-share with her. I have the qualifications for it, I recently completed my MA in Autism, so that isn't a barrier. The only uncertainty is whether I will want to work 5 days a work and will be able to cope with the physical demands of doing so.

In the new year we are going to give it a try, I'll go into work with her on the two days when I am not working in Gwynllyw to see how it goes. If it seems like it could work we will make a formal application to the school to do the job-share. If it is too onerous then at least we will have tried it out.

Brownies -Sinead had a show in Brownies last Friday. Mary drew the short straw and had to go to see it. She was disappointed with the standard of presentation of the show, which was about recycling. However Sinead was brill, she made an interesting costume out of bin-bags and plastic food packets (see pic) and presented things in a very clear, easy to understand way. Well done Sinead.

Yr Iaith Gymraeg - Welsh -

When I started this I intended it to be bilingual, as I live in a bilingual family and work in a bilingual environment. The targeted readership are the few friends and family that regularly access the internet. However over the approx 18 months that it has been active I have found making entries bilingual takes more than twice as long as doing it only in one language, this is because that translating from one language to another is not always a simple process. There is often not an absolute equivalent of a phrase in one language to one in another.

Since the majority of the few readers are not bilingual it's time for pragmatism to rule over principle.

Hwyl i'r Gymraeg am y tro!

Damwain - Accident.

Gwnaeth rhywun bwrw i mewn i gefn fy nghar ddoe. Mae'n gymaint o boen pan mae hyn yn digwydd gyda cwmnoiedd ysiwriant ac ati. Lwcus doedd neb wedi ei anafu ac mae'r car dal yn symud er y tolc mawr yn y cefn. Pan mae rhywbeth fel hyn yn digwydd, a digwyddodd popeth mor sydyn 10am y bore yn syth ar ol pasio camera cyflymder, mae'n gwneud i chi sylweddoli pa mor peryglus yw ceir.

Someone bashed into the back of my car yesterday. It is such a pain when this happens with insurance companies etc. Luckily no-one was injured and the car is still moving, despite the huge dent in the back. When something like this happens, and it all happened so quickly at 10am in the morning straight after passing through a speed camera, it makes you realise how dangerous cars are.

Noson Calangaeaf - Halloween

Aeth Carwyn, Sinead a Mary i barti calangaeaf neithiwr yn nhy un o'r bobl sy'n gweithio gyda Mary yn yr uned yn ysgol gyfun 'Fairwater'. Cawson nhw amser da iawn. Enillodd Carwyn cwpan, Dyma lluniau o'r cwpan a dillad Carwyn a Sinead ar gyfer y parti.


Carwyn, Sinead and Mary went to a halloween party last night in the house of one of the people who work with Mary in the unit in Fairwater comprehensive school. They had a great time. Carwyn won a cup. Here are pictures of their costumes and the cup.

Sinead's Tongue - Tafod Sinead

Hen Luniau - Old Photos

Dw i newydd uwchlwytho hen luniau o fi, Mary a'r plant.

I've just uploaded some old pics of me, Mary and the children.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38633890@N00/#photo233052491

Tylwythen deg dant - Tooth Fairy

Dydwedodd Carwyn bod ganddo newyddion da a newyddion drwg. Roedd ei ddant sigledig wedi syrthio allan ond ei fod wedi ei golli. Yn ddiweddar wnaeth e sylweddoli ei fod wedi ei lyncu gyda ei 'cornflakes'. Roedd e'n anhapus iawn am y sefyllfa felly wnaethon ni awgrymu iddo ysgrifennu nodyn. Wedyn roedd rhaid inni esbonio iddo bod gan y tylwythen deg dant llygaid peladar X er mwyn gweld dant Carwyn i mewn iddo er mwyn rhoi'r £1 iddo. Diolch byth roedd popeth yn iawn wedyn. Problem arall plentyn awtistig wedi ei ddatrys.

Carywn said that he had good news and bad news. His wobbly tooth had fallen out but he had lost it. Later on he realised that he had swallowed it with his cornflakes. He was very unhappy about the situation so we suggested that he write a note. Then we had to explain to him that the tooth fairy had X ray eyes to locate Carwyn's tooth inside him in order to give him the £1. Thankfully everything was OK after. Another autistic child's problem solved.

Gorymdaith - Demo

Es i ar yr orymdaith yn Llundain yn galw am gadoediad yn Lebanon ( a chyfiawnder i'r pobl yn Palestein hefyd). Daeth Sinead hefyd. Roedd hi'n boeth iawn ond yn werth i'w wneud. Roedd rhwng 80,000-100,000 yno. Dyma lluniau o'r dechreuad ac hefyd llysgennad yr UDA ble roedd llawer iawn o heddlu yn sicrhau heddwch i eiddo GW, dim ots am fywydau ac eiddo pobl Lebanon a Palestein wrth gwrs. Mwy o fanylion ar y wefan www.stopwar.org.uk.

I went on the demo in London calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon (and justice to the Palestinians). Sinead came too. It was very hot but worth while doing. There were between 80,000-100,000 there. Here are some pictures of the beginning and of the US embassy where there were loads o police to protect GW's property, nobody cares about the lives and property of the people of Lebanon and Palestine of course. More details on the website www.stopwar.org.uk

Lluniau o'r gwyliau - Pics from hols


Aethon ni i aros mewn bwthyn yn 'Drefach Felindre' (yn agos i Gastell Newydd Emlyn) dros yr wythnos diwethaf. Lle diddorol tu hwnt, 2 dafarn (1 Saesneg - 1 Cymraeg), 1 siop, swyddfa post a'r Amgueddfa Gwlan Cenedlaethol. Dyma ychydig o luniau.

We went to stay in a cottage in 'Drefach Felindre' (near to Newcastle Emlyn) last week. A really interesting place, 2 pubs ( 1 English, 1 Welsh), 1 shop, a post office and the National Wool Museum. Here are some pictures.









Lluniau o rheilffordd gwili, rhan o'r llinell oedd yn arfer rhedeg rhwng Caerfyrddin ac Aberystwyth, fe cauwyd y llinell ym 1965.
Pictures from the Gwilil railway, part of the line that used to run through Carmarthan and Aberystwyth, closed in 1965











Lluniau o'r rheadr yng Nghenarth, roedd lefel y dwr yn isel iawn. Diwrnod wedyn aethon ni i'r ffatri caws yn weddol agos i'r pentref (Caws Cenarth ar gael yn Waitrose), lle diddorol iawn. Roedd y lle ar y newyddion yr wythnos wedyn pan wnaeth lori o Wlad Belge ar goll yn y llonydd cul oherwydd ei system cyfeirio lloeren!
Pictures from Caenarth falls, the water level was very low. Next day we went to the Cheese factory near the village (Cenarth Cheese available in Waitrose), an interesting place. The place was on the news the following week when a lorry from Belgium got lost in the lanes because of its sat nav system.



















Dyma lluniau o draeth 'Poppit', lle hyfryd iawn tu fewn i barc cenedlaethol Penfro. Cafodd y plant llawer o hwyl ar y traeth yma.
Here are pictures from Poppit sands, a lovely place inside the Pembroke national park. The children had lots of fun on this beach.

Cwn - Dogs

Dros y blynyddoedd, degawdau, bu fy chwaer yn cadw cwn, erbyn hyn mae hi ar y 4ydd a 5ed ci, Buster a Cracker. Mae'r plant i gyd yn dwlu ar y cwn a phob tro yn edrych ymlaen at fynd i dy Julie (fy chwaer) i weld y cwn a chael hwyl gyda nhw. Y dau ddydd Sul diwethaf buom (fi, Carwyn, Sinead a Julie) yn mynd allan gyda nhw yn y prynhawn. Mae'n amser hir ers i fi wneud hyn a roeddwn wedi anghofio cymaint yr hwyl sydd ar gael wrth perthnasu gyda cwn. 'Ffrind gorau dyn' ( a dynes?) yw'r dywediad. Ond yn pen draw y peth gorau, fel gyda babanod, yw rhoi nhw yn ol ar ol cael hwyl.

Over the years, decades, my sister has been keeping dogs, by now she is on her 4th and 5th dogs, Buster and Cracker. the children all love the dogs and every time look forward to going to my sister, Julie's, house. the last two Sunday's we (Sinead, Carwyn, me and Julie) have gone with them in the afternoon. It's a long time since I have done this and I had forgotten how much fun you can have relating to dogs. 'Man's (and woman's) best friend' is the saying. But in the end the best thing, like with babies, is to give them back.

Llun o'r plant - Picture of the children

Weithau mae'n anodd cael lluniau da o'r plant yn enwedig Tomas, yr hynaf, sy'n ceisio osgoi lluniau yn cael eu tynnu ohono fe. Dyma llun ohonyn nhw tu allan i Tesco's Parc Spytty ac hefyd llun o Mary a Sinead tu mewn i goedwig Wentworth. (Cofiwch glicio ar y llun i weld y maint cywir)

Sometimes it's hard to get good pics of the children, especially Tomas who tries to avoid pictures being taken of him. Here's a picture of them outside Tescos in Spytty park and a picture of Mary and Sinead inside Wentworth forest. (Remember to click on the picture to see the correct size)

Carwyn yn dweud "celwyddau" - Carwyn telling 'lies'

Mae'n anodd i blant awtistig dweud celwyddau mae'n golygu elfen o ddychymyg nad oes ganddynt. Yn ddiweddar mewn cyd-destun chwarae mae wedi llwyddo i ddweud celwyddau diniwed. Mae'n rhywbeth i'w groesawu oherwydd mae'n dangos datbylygiad yn ei ddychymyg. Y bore'ma roedd enghraifft hyfryd. Fe ddes i lawr a roedd Carwyn yn eistedd wrth ochr Sinead oedd yn cuddio o dan blanced. "Ble mae Sinead" meddai wrth Carwyn "Dw i wedi ei bwyta hi" atebodd e gan ymestyn ei plat brecwast llawn o friwsion ataf. Roedd e'n foment i'w drysori.

It's difficult for autistic children to tell lies it needs an element of imagination that they have difficulties with. Recently Carwyn, in the context of a game, has begun to tell 'innocent' lies. This is something to welcome because it shows the development of his imagination. This morning there was a lovely example. I came down and Carwyn was sitting next to Sinead who was hiding under a blanket. "Where's Sinead?" I said to Carwyn "I've eaten her" he answered passing his plate of breakfast crumbs to me. ROFL

Cinio yn Waitrose/Dinner in Waitrose

Mae'n braf pryd rydym yn llwyddo i ffeindio lle arall i fynd a'n dau blentyn awtistig. Rydym yn arfer siopa yn Waitrose yn Y Fenni gan ei fod yn brofiad siopa ymlaciol iawn yn enwedig y system 'shop and scan' sy'n osgoi mynd trwy'r 'checkout'. Yn anffodus does dim llawer o fwydydd gall Carwyn (diet heb glwten) a Sinéad (diet cyfyng iawn) fwyta fel pryd bwyd yn y caffi. Hynny yw hyd at heddiw. Daeth y moment ewreka heb i fi dynnu fy nillad (yn wahanol i Archimedes wrth gwrs). Felly bacwn a wyau i Carwyn, tost a banana i Sinéad a chawl (tomato a basil – hyfryd) a rholyn bara i fi. (gweler llun)

Ffordd da o dreulio amser cinio dydd Sul i rhywun sy’n affyddiwr ac aeth i weld Jerry Springer the opera yr wythnos diwethaf yng Nghaerdydd. Dal i ddisgwyl am y mellten!

It’s great when we succeed in finding another place to take our 2 autistic children. We often go shopping in Waitrose in Abergavenny because it’s a relaxing way of shopping especially the ‘shop and scan’ system which avoids going through the checkouts. Unfortunately there is not much food that Carwyn (gluten free diet) and Sinéad (very limited diet) can eat as a meal in the cafe. That is until today. The Eureka moment came without me removing my clothes (unlike Archimedes of course). Therefore bacon and eggs for Carwyn, toast and banana for Sinéad and soup (tomato and basil – very nice) and bread roll for me. (see picture)

A good way of spending lunch time on Sunday for someone who’s an atheist who went to see Jerry Springer the opera last week in Cardiff. Still waiting for the lightening bolt!

Yn ol - Back


Dyma fi eto yn ol yn bloggio am fy nheulu gwallgo. Wedi cael seibiant am wahanol resymau ond nawr mae bywyd wedi dychwelyd i ryw fath o normalrwydd mae'n amser i fi ail-gymryd yr awennau i ddifyru fy nghynullfeidfa enfawr.

Pawb yn y teulu yn iach ac yn hapus. Mae Sinead (9 oed erbyn hyn) yn brysur iawn y dyddiau hyn rhwng pel-droed, 'brownies' ac athletau. Mae Carwyn (13 erbyn hyn) wedi gwneud yn andros o dda yn ei ysgol uwchradd newydd gyda chymorth yr uned awtistig yno. Mae'n anhygoel cymaint mae'n llwyddo o gyflawni mewn ysgol uwchradd gyda safon iaith o leiaf 4 blynedd tu ol ei gyf-oedion. Mae Tomas (15 oed ac bron mor dal a finnau) yn ymdopi gyda'r ysgol heb lawer o frwdfryfedd, ond pa blentyn 15 oed sy'n frwdfrydig mewn ysgol? Mae e'n cywno bod gwaith cartref yn amharu ar ei amser hamdden!

Mae Mary wedi gweithio caled iawn eleni i sefydlu'r uned awtistig (yr un mae Carwyn ynddi) ac erbyn hyn ar ol 6 mis heb lawer o gymorth gan y prifathro yno yn gweld ffrwyth ei llafur yn y ffordd mae'r plant yn llwyddo i integreiddio i mewn i weithgareddau a gwersi y prif-ffrwd. Fy hunan dw i wedi cael blwyddyn iawn gan ddysgu mwy o wersi Technoleg Gwybodaeth sy'n siwtio fi i'r dim. Dw i wedi gwneud llawer llai o waith gwleidyddol sydd wedi fy nghadael gyda llawer mwy o egni i wneud pethau fel mynd i'r 'gym' ar fy niwrnodau heb waith ac bod a mwy o egni i'r teulu. Mae'n bwysig i drio ffeindio cydbwysedd mewn bywyd.

Pob hwyl i bawb.

Back

Here I am again blogging about my mad family. Had a break for a number of reasons but now that life has returned to some sort of normality it's time to grasp the nettle again to amuse my enormous audience.

Everyone in the family is healthy and happy. Sinead (9 years old) is very busy these days with football, brownies and athletics. Carwyn (13) has done extremely well in his secondary school with the support of the autistic unit. It's amazing how much he succeeds in achieving in a secondary school with a language level at least 4 years behind his peers. Tomas (15 and almost as tall as me) is coping with work in school without much enthusiasm, but what 15 year old child is enthusiastic in school? He complains that homework interferes with his leisure time!

Mary has worked very hard in setting up the autistic unit (that Carwyn goes to) and by now, after 6 months without much support from the headteacher, is seeing the fruit of her labours in how well the children are integrating into lessons and activities in the mainstream. Myself, I have had an OK year in school teaching more IT lessons than usual, which suits me. I have much reduced my political activism which has left me a lot more time on my days off to relax and do healthy things like swim or go to the gym, it's also left me with more energy for my family. It's important to get a balance in life.

Good luck to everyone.

Blwyddyn Newydd

Blwyddyn Newydd
Ychydig o fisoedd ers y 'blog' diwethaf. Dyma llun o Sinead gyda dau foch cwta newydd ein ffrind Justine. Does dim llawer o newidiadau ers y tro diwethaf. Mae Sinead dal yn hapus iawn yn yr ysgol, er iddi orfod dechrau cynllun i ddysgu sut i golli mewn gemau yn y dosbarth, ac yn ddigon hapus fel arall. Mae hi'n dal yn bositif at y Gymraeg ond dw i dal heb dysgu hi llawer, ar ôl diwrnod o waith mae'n anodd weithiau magu digon o egni i gynnal gwers gyda eich merch.

Mae Carwyn hefyd yn dal yn hapus yn ei ysgol ond mae Tomas yn dal i ddangos ddiffyg brwdfrydedd at fynd, effaith bod ym mlwyddyn 10? Dydy Mary ddim yn hapus yn ei swydd newydd mae'r plant yn yr uned yn llawer mwy anodd nac oedd y disgwyl. Pob hwyl am nawr.

New Year
A few months since the last post. Here's a picture of Sinead with the two new guinea pig of our friend Justine. There's not much change since the last time. Sinead is still very happy in school, although she has had begin a programme to learn how to lose in games in the classroom - a difficult concept for her, and she is happy enough otherwise. She remains positive towards Welsh but I haven't taught her very much, after a day at work it's hard to have enough energy to teach your daughter.

Carwyn also is happy in school but Tomas still shows little enthusiasm,maybe it's a function of being in year 10? Mary still isn't happy in her new job, the children in the unit are much more difficult than expected. Best wishes for now.