#WelshWordWednesday #nosdacariad

On November 1, 2017 By Sara GethinIn #welsh, New Book, New Novel, Not ThomasLeave a comment

Today’s Welsh word, for ‘Not Thomas’ readers unfamiliar with the language, is in fact three words: Nos da, cariad.

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On page 355 of ‘Not Thomas’, Tomos is thinking about his new foster mother, Tess, and how she says ‘Nos da, cariad’ when she puts him to bed. I’m sure, given the context, the meaning is pretty easy to work out.

Nos = night; da = good; cariad = love.

As it happens, there’s a David Gray song with exactly the right title.

Sara’s debut novel ‘Not Thomas’ – a story of child neglect, love and hope, shown through the eyes of five-year-old Tomos – is published by Honno Press in paperback and as an e-book, and is available to buy direct from the publisher, from Amazon and from bookshops.

#WelshWordWednesday #NotThomas ‘Oh diawl!’

On October 25, 2017 By Sara GethinIn #welsh, New Book, Not ThomasLeave a comment

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Today’s Welsh word, for readers of Not Thomas who are unfamiliar with the language, is:

‘diawl’

On page 212, Tomos calls round to the lady next door. He doesn’t know where his mother is, so he asks the lady to ring the police. She says ‘Oh diawl, there’s no need for that.’

‘Diawl’ – which, when you say it fast, sounds like ‘jawl’ – means ‘devil’

(And call the police is exactly what the lady next door should have done.)

#WelshWordWednesday #NotThomas

On October 18, 2017October 18, 2017 By Sara GethinIn #welsh, Not ThomasLeave a comment

Today’s Welsh word, for readers of Not Thomas unfamiliar with the language, is again not a word at all, but the name of a special day – Dydd Gwyl Dewi (sorry, I can find a w with a ‘to‘ for gwyl on WordPress – anyone know where it is!?).

welsh dragon

On page 154 of Not Thomas, Miss is comforting Tomos. He thinks he might not be going to the zoo after all, because he doesn’t have his permission slip. On the wall of the school hall is a collage of a red dragon that Tomos helped make. It’s marking Dydd Gwyl Dewi otherwise known as St David’s Day and celebrated on March 1st.

But I’m guessing everyone already knew that.

#WelshWordWednesday

On October 11, 2017 By Sara GethinIn #welsh, Music, New Book, New Novel, Not Thomas1 Comment

Today’s Welsh word, for readers of ‘Not Thomas’ who aren’t familiar with the language, isn’t a word at all, but a title. It’s Calon Lân and it’s the name of a well-loved Welsh hymn that’s often sung at funerals.

Calon lân translates as ‘a pure heart’:

calon = heart

glân (which loses its ‘g’ when it mutates after calon) = clean.

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On page 123 Miss mentions to Mrs Jones, the school cleaner, that Nanno had planned her own funeral. Calon Lân was Nanno’s favourite hymn and she wanted Tomos to sing it back at home after the chapel service. Of course, Ree had other ideas…

And since I never miss a chance to play my favourite version of the hymn, here’s Cerys Matthews once again.

#WelshWordWednesday

On October 4, 2017 By Sara GethinIn #welsh, New Book, New Novel, Not ThomasLeave a comment

Today’s Welsh word, for readers of Not Thomas who aren’t familiar with the language, is croeso – a word you’ll see very often around and about in Wales. It means ‘welcome’.

It’s found on page 92 where Saint (that friendly drug dealer) whispers the word through Tomos’s bedroom door after Tomos has thanked him for helping work out when school starts again (two more sleeps).

It’s also after Saint has shamed Brick into helping Tomos get his lovely new red truck out of the box.

Sadly, that doesn’t go well.

#WelshWordWednesday

On September 27, 2017 By Sara GethinIn #welsh, Not Thomas3 Comments

Today’s Welsh word, for readers of ‘Not Thomas’ who aren’t familiar with the language, is duw – which sounds like what you might find on your lawn in the morning. It means ‘god’.

On page 86, when Tomos is the only one left without a bacon butty, the fair-minded Saint says: “Duw, you’re a heartless cow, mind Ree.”

And it’s often said twice after hearing a surprising piece of news, for example:

“Mammy turned up for the Christmas concert.”

“Duw, duw.”

#MusicTherapyThursday & Narberth Book Fair

On September 21, 2017 By Sara GethinIn Author, Music, New Book, New Novel, Not Thomas, NottheBooker, Reading, WritingLeave a comment

To celebrate Narberth Book Fair this Saturday, 23rd September, today’s Music Therapy Thursday song has a Pembrokeshire theme – it’s by Cerys Matthews, who’s originally from that beautiful part of Wales.

‘Orenau i Florida’

#WelshWordWednesday & Narberth Book Fair

On September 20, 2017 By Sara GethinIn Author, New Book, New Novel, Not Thomas2 Comments

For ‘Not Thomas’ readers who aren’t familiar with the Welsh language, today’s Welsh words for Wednesday come from page 81 and they’re spoken by Saint, or Dewi, as Ree prefers to calls him.

First is cariad which means ‘love’ and is a general term of endearment. Dewi says to Ree: “Nip to Spar, cariad.” Ree doesn’t like Dewi, so she’s not exactly won over by his use of cariad, but the £20 note he’s waving does get her attention.

Later on Dewi, or Saint, says to Tomos, who’s hiding behind the big black chair: “Dere ‘ma, bach.”

Dere means ‘come’; ‘ma is short for yma, which means ‘here’; And bach means ‘small’ but in this phrase it’s a term of endearment and could be translated as ‘little one’.

So “Dere ‘ma, bach” translates as “Come here, little one.“

Sounds a bit sinister maybe, but Tomos eventually realises that Saint means well – he’s the friendly face of Welsh drug dealing.

Thanks for reading!

Sara x

P.S. Don’t forget Narberth Book Fair this weekend, Saturday 23rd September at the Queen’s Hall, Narberth in beautiful Pembrokeshire. Lots of local authors, plus free entry, free talks, free children’s entertainment and free workshops (but please book for workshops in advance). All details of the day are on the Narberth Book Fair website.

Hope to see you there!