Newport woman’s Welsh competition win at National Eisteddfod
A woman living in Newport has won first place in a Welsh prose competition at the National Eisteddfod – despite having only lived in Wales for a year.
Julie O’Donnell, who only began learning Welsh 11 months ago, won for her prose on the designated theme of a ‘Chat in a Chip Shop’, anonymised under the pseudonym Jay Young.
She was presented with her prize by Helen Prosser, chairperson of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Eisteddfod executive committee, at the Eisteddfod in Pontypridd.
The judges were impressed by her “warm and moving” take on the topic, writing a conversation between a daughter and mother with dementia about eating fish on Fridays.
Ms O’Donnell, a north-east England native, moved to Wales after living in Somerset and France.
Having written for national newspapers and magazines, and with several published books to her name, she is no stranger to writing and wanted to learn Welsh as she loves languages.
Her winning prose, ‘Chat in a Chip Shop’, is among the winning entries in a book, Cyfansoddiadau a Beirniadaethan, published by the Eisteddfod, now available from Cant a Mil and other specialist booksellers.
By Elizabeth Birt (South Wales Argus)
‘Chat in a Chip Shop’ was the theme for a 100-word entry in the learners’ homework category in the National Eisteddfod held this year in Pontypridd.
My first visit to an Eisteddfod – in the most atrocious weather, unfortunately. This was my entry:
Sgwrs mewn siop sglodion – mynediad lefel
‘Edrychwch! Mae’r cytew yn byrlymu!’
‘Ni allwch weld dros y cownter.’
‘Ond dwi’n gallu CLYWED. A gallaf arogli’r finegr priodol. Ooh – sglodion trwchus! Dim o’ch nonsens “frites!”’
‘Wyt ti eisiau pys, Mam?’
‘Dim ond os ydyn nhw’n pys stwnsh – dim pys gardd. Wyt ti’n gwybod, dyn ni bob amser yn bwyta pysgod ar dydd Gwener?’
‘Ie. Wyt i’n dweud bob wythnos.’
‘Ai dyna pa mor hir yr ydym wedi bod yn aros?’
‘Na, Mam. Felly, ar ôl hyn, byddaf yn mynd â chi yn ôl i’r cartref nyrsio. Iawn?’
‘Iawn. Ydyn ni’n bwyta pysgod bob dydd Gwener?’
TRANSLATION:
‘Look! The batter is bubbling!’
‘You can’t see over the counter.’
‘But I can HEAR. And I can smell the proper vinegar. Ooh – thick chips. None of your nonsense ‘frites’.’
‘Do you want peas, Mam?’
‘Only if they are mushy peas – not garden peas. Do you know, we always eat fish on a Friday?’
‘Yes. You say that every week.’
‘Is that how long we’ve been waiting?’
‘No, Mam. So, after this, I’ll take you back to the nursing home. OK?’
‘OK. Do we eat fish every Friday?’
JUDGES COMMENTS:
Although there were minor linguistic errors in the three (top) pieces, the three authors managed to delve deeper into their conversations….
…. But the award is deservedly given to Julie O’Donnell for her simple, warm, and heartbreaking conversation between an elderly mother who was allowed to go from the care home to a chip shop with her child every Friday, to order the same food, and repeating the same conversation.
Warm congratulations to all the competitors for their fantastic work.