We had one of Steff’s comedian friends staying with us on the weekend, lovely lad called Sam from Singapore. He had never been to Wales before, and he requested that we take him to a Welsh restaurant so he could try Welsh food
That’s surprisingly difficult, actually. Like a lot of Welsh culture, our culinary traditions have not exactly been applauded over the years, so you don’t really see them. But a lucky Google search revealed a brand new one has just opened in SA1 called the Welsh House, so great! Away we went.
Fuck me, they went all in.
It wasn’t just the menu (though fuck me, what a menu - one of their ‘for the table to share’ options was little mini leek and cheddar Welsh cakes with salted butter and they were paralysingly good). It wasn’t just that every alcohol was Welsh, even including the wine (surprisingly good btw, called 'Naturiol’.)
The table centerpieces were daffodils. All signs for the toilets were Welsh only. The walls had photos of Wales, modern and historical; the windows had the fleur de lis; the specials board (pork belly in Welsh cider and damson sauce with honey and wild garlic glazed carrots) had dragons on. I realise this is probably normal for country-themed restaurants, but I’ve never been to one for Wales before.
But the best bit, see, was the music
I clocked, when we walked in, that they were playing If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next by the Manic Street Preachers (you always clock the Manics). Ah, I thought. A Welsh song! In a Welsh restaurant! Ho ho ho.
As they seated us, it became What’s New Pussycat. Ah! I thought. Another Welsh song! Fu fu fu.
Then they played Monster by the Automatic and I was like my god are they only playing Welsh music?? That’s so cool! What an eclectic mix that’s going to be. We should suggest to them they should look into Welsh language music too, really mix it up.
And then they played Anrheoli by Yws Gwynedd and lads, Steff and I lost our shit. We lost our fucking shit. Sam’s sitting there, utterly bewildered. The staff are nervously edging away from us. We don’t care. It’s the first time I have ever heard a Welsh language song played outside of a Welsh language setting. We’re so excited.
“They’re playing Welsh music!!!” says Steff. “Holy shit!!!”
“Imagine if they played Sebona Fi!” I say, humorously.
“Nah,” says Steff. “You can’t in a restaurant. There’d be a riot, it’s faerie music.”
“…what?” says Sam
We explain the cultural phenomenon that is Sebona Fi. The song changes: Primadonna Girl, by Marina and the Diamonds.
“She’s Welsh??” says Sam.
“She’s from Abergavenny!” we beam.
“I don’t know what that means,” nods Sam, who is from Singapore.
Next: The Bartender and the Thief, by the Stereophonics. We’re in high spirits. The extraordinarily Welsh wine arrives, as does the rarebit on sourdough starter. Sam, a gay man, delightedly orders the faggots and peas.
They play Ben Rhys by Gwilym Bowen Rhys, and we lose our shit again. Sam is now used to this, because comedians are adaptable. “They even have daffodils!” I say, misty eyed. “Is that relevant?” Sam asks, fascinated.
They play Hiraeth, by PLU. Hard to explain that one. Very hard to explain the effect it has when it’s played in a restaurant, but Sam looks around the suddenly muted room and whispers “Are we in church?”
“It’s about Hiraeth,” whispers Steff. “So kind of.”
Next: the Masses Against the Classes, by the Manics. Utter tonal whiplash. This playlist is not remotely restaurant appropriate. It’s perfect.
“You’d think they’d pick like… a genre,” Sam says dreamily. “We just went from church to the barricades.”
The faggots arrive. “I forgot it would be a western sized portion,” Sam says morosely, of what to me is a normal sized plate of food. He tries one, and brightens.
They play Sebona Fi.
The place erupts.
I tried to send this to my darling Welsh friend but tumblr made it awful
I… feel compelled to add that it also isn’t anyone who served us in the restaurant. Welsh-themed SA1-based restaurant the Welsh House contains zero funeral clowns, to my knowledge
me, having deeply fallen out of the practice of writing poetry: I can’t write any more, I am now a Talentless Hack
the voice of my 11th grade journalism/12th grade creative writing teacher who rly did know everything: if you stop writing for a while the words will build up and stagnate. to clear the water, you will have to open the dam completely, and accept the fact that what initially comes out will not be palatable
This. This is so true. Starting again is more important than what you actually write. You are rusty. You’ll build up momentum again. All you need to do is start.
you can tell this website is autistic as hell because someone posts a video with a mildly catchy phrase in it and no one shuts up about it for an extended period of time. or image even. image with a mildly catchy phrase in it even. we love phrases here on tumblr dot com love to repeat them. due to the autism
I don’t know when “plot progression” came to mean “scenes of action driving the story forward” instead of “scenes relevant to driving the story” but, when writing advice says things like “scenes should always include plot progression” that can (and does!) also refer to the subplots as well, which include character development arcs, relationship arcs, arcs relevant to the setting etc. not just the singular “main” plot, and it is decent advice, honestly
“plot progression” does not mean non-stop action. plot progression can include flashbacks, “downtime”/breather scenes, time spent enveloped in the setting, even detours to the main plot if thedetourdedicates time to arcs/subplots within the story
Typically, what it means is, don’t waste words on scenes which add nothing to the story/plots/subplots. Everything should count.
I hate that planned obsolescence is starting to reach fandoms. I hate that fandoms are starting to die after two, three years, I hate that whenever you stop getting content that means the fandom will die and be gone.
I need people to stop trying to brush off old interests as being ‘cringe’ as soon as you lose interest, or worse: make it seem like it’s imoral to like something that they themselves held so dear before.
Fandoms are meant to last for years and years, the moment content stops being created is the moment we truly thrive because we keep creating the content ourselves the way we love it and expand on the things that are already there for us.
I don’t care if you lost interest on something, it’s fine and normal even, but stop trying to blame and make fun of people who still do love the fandom and the content and the things we can create.
When I was a kid I thought dulce de leche was pronounced douche the loosh and whenever we went for ice cream my dad would say “okay honey ask if they have that caramel flavor you like… what’s it called again?” And I’d yell it and my dad would have the biggest grin while the server would sigh and say “no, this is the fourth week in a row you’ve asked me this, and we don’t have that. I don’t even know what that is.”
She always got her revenge because my dad would get a sundae and he’d get everything but nuts so she’d announce his order was ready by yelling “no nuts, where’s Mr. No Nuts” as loud as possible
