Tredegar: ‘Fachan Ifanc’ 1897

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PENSHWN I HEN DDYNON.
Ma’n dda gyta 1fi fod y dynon mawr yn yr House o Commons yn dechre acor i llyced bothti 2rho’ ticyn 3o help i hen ddynon ar ol ffaelu gwitho. Ma’n gwilydd na fysa nhw wedi dechra’n nghynt, wath 4 ma miloedd o hen withwrs caled wedi cal marw o isha bwyd, ar ol slafo’n galad 5trw’u bywyd. Ma llawar hen goliar clawd 6wedi ala hanar can mlynadd yn y pwll glo, a wedi ffaelu, mor ddigownt 7 a hen geffyla. Yn yr amsar ma nhw wedi gwitho ma nhw wedi doti ffortshwns yn boceti’r mishdri, a doti miloedd o buna yn mocad Budjat y wlad, a wetin yn cal i ala i’r workws i farw, a odd yno i’r bedd mwn hen gart.

PENSIONS FOR THE ELDERLY. I’m pleased to hear the grand men of the House of Commons are starting to open their eyes to giving some help to old men who can no longer work. It’s shameful they have done nothing until now, as thousands of old workers have already died of hunger after labouring hard all their lives. How many broken colliers have there been, weakened through working fifty years of labouring in the pit, were then treated with less worth than an old horse. While they worked, they put fortunes in the pockets of their masters, and thousands to the government. Afterwards, they’ve been sent to the workhouse to die and thrown to the grave from an old cart.

cario’mlæn – continue >
  1. gyda/ with[↩]
  2. o gwmpas/ about[↩]
  3. tipyn / bit[↩]
  4. achos/ because[↩]
  5. caled/ hard[↩]
  6. tlawd/ poor[↩]
  7. unimportant[↩]

Almost like Gorganzola – Fel Gorganzola bron

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Odd Næd yn lico caws cryf iawn ag ar ôl prynu’r caws at y gaea o’r ffermydd, odd Mam yn dewish un o nw ar gyfar Næd ag yn shico’r cosyn. Odd i’n citsho yn y cosyn a i ddala fa ar i ochor yn i erbyn ag yn ishgyd a’n sharp. I shico fa, fel odd i’n gwed. We’ny 1odd y cosyn na m’myn naill ochor or’wth 2y resd, ag erbyn basa Næd yn dechra i fyta fa, odd a’n llawn magots bach yr un lliw a’r caws a fob un a trwyn du. Ag odd gwynt cryf gin y cosyn a glasu yndo fel Gorganzola bron. Dim ond Næd odd yn byta’r caws’ny, alsa neb arall i fyta fa. I bopi fa o flæn y tæn odd Næd, a wi’n cofio nawr gymyd o fraw 3odd arno i wth weld y platid caws yn gyhwfyd o fagots o flæn y tæn a reini’n toddi’n ôl i’r caws, fel odd wnnw m’popi, eb atal dim sbota bach duon i trwyna yn blasdar drws y caws i ddangos ym’le on nw wedi bod!

Source: Tafodiaith Nantgarw; Ceinwen Thomas; 1993. Translated from phonetic script.

Dad liked very strong cheese and after buying some for the winter from the surrounding farms, Mam would choose one for him and would give it a shake, hold it on its side and strike it sharp. To ‘shico‘ it as they’d say. After that the cheese would be stored away from the rest, and by the time Dad would start to eat it, it was full of maggots, the same colour as the cheese and with a little black nose on each one. The cheese had a strong smell with blue running through it almost like Gorganzola. Only Dad would eat the cheese, no one else would! He’d toast it on the fire and I remember how afraid I was, seeing the plate of cheese moving with maggots in front of the fire. They melted into the cheese as it baked, without leaving any of their small black noses to show where they’d been!


  1. wedi hynny/ after that[↩]
  2. oddi wrth /away from[↩]
  3. cymaint o fraw / much of a fright[↩]

Send the fool onwards! -Anfonwch Iolyn ymellach!

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Tasa gwæs bæch newydd gin ffermwr, odd a’n lico wara ‘anfonwch Iolyn ymellach’ arno. Ar dydd fwl Ebrill, fe roisa lythyr iddo a gwed wthdo am fynd ag e i’r fferm a’r fferm. Yno basa’r ffermwr yn c’meryd arno 1 y llythyr ag yn gwed wth y crotyn bod isha mynd a’r llythyr nawr i ryw fferm arall eto. A dyna fel basa’r crotyn yn cæl i ela o fferm i fferm nis bo i’n 2ddeuddag o’r gloch, a pryt’ynny, fe fasa’r derbenydd dwedda 3yn dangos y llythyr i’r en grotyn a odd y llythyr yn gwed: ‘anfonwch Iolyn ymellach’.

If a farmer had taken on a new farm-hand, on the next April Fools Day he’d play ‘Send the fool onwards’. The farmer would instruct him to take a letter to next farm. Once received, the next farmer would pretend to read the letter and tell the lad he’d need to take it further to some other farm. And that’s how it would carry on, sent from farm to farm until midday. At that time, whoever had received the letter would show it to the lad and the contents read ‘Send the fool onwards!’

Source: Tafodiaith Nantgarw; Ceinwen Thomas; 1993. Translated from phonetic script.
  1. cymryd arno /pretend[↩]
  2. hyd nes bod hi’n /until[↩]
  3. diwetha, olaf /last[↩]