What is going on at the top??

[trim it out]

Originally Posted by melmothtw

Indeed, in Bosnia the Welsh language was used as a means to secure comms from Serbs who were listening in.

The Serbs cracked BATCO?

[BATCO]

Originally Posted by trim it out

The Serbs cracked BATCO?

Held at gunpoint, conditioned by cold, and robbed, but I didn't crack,

Batco

[langleybaston]

Originally Posted by 622

...I believe its still used in certain Welsh pubs against the odd English tourist!

Very easy for the English to be paranoid. As in:

"I went into a pub in Caernarfon and, before I could speak a word, all the locals started talking in Welsh!"

[BEagle]

On my Gnat course, one of our number went into a shop in Llangefni, whereupon the locals started sniggering and talking to each other in Druid-speak, very obviously about him.

Big mistake. HUGE. Our chap was a native Welshman and shall we say, gave them a one-way debrief.

[SLXOwft]

Meanwhile in the land of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité where "In early May, France’s education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, announced a ban on the use in schools of an increasingly common—and contested—writing method designed to make the French language more gender-inclusive."
France resists US challenge to its values

Mind you language is a slippery beast and changes constantly, trying to control it in either direction is a demonstration of foolish bigotry. I was brought up to stand by 'sticks and stones ...' and not react. As (mis)attributed to Confucius 'He/she/it who takes offence when none is intended is a fool. He/she/it who takes offence when offence is intended is a bigger fool.'

Quoting Beowulf out of context in the original gendered English:
'Him se yldesta andswarode,
werodes wisa, wordhord onleac:'

I remain Sadam, your (dis)obedient servant,
SLXOwft (guess/keep guessing)

[Corporal Clott]

I like this meme doing the rounds on WhatsApp, similar to that of minigundiplomat at post #213. Made me laugh out loud!

[Bob Viking]

English Paranoia

It never ceases to amaze me how that particular urban myth pervades.

I’m an Englishman through and through but I’m married to a (North) Welsh Girl.

Since I have spent many happy years in the company of her and her family I can tell you quite categorically that their speaking Welsh is not for the benefit of English tourists. It is their language. It should come as no more of a surprise than Frenchmen speaking French or Germans speaking German.

Honestly I sometimes whince at the crap that my (English) countrymen come out with.

BV

[Ewan Whosearmy]

Bob

It's not an "urban myth" if people on this forum have witnessed it happening. I have, and so too have others. Maybe you should be less quick to judge "the crap" your fellow countrymen come out with?

[Bob Viking]

Ewan

Fine. You stick with it.

I have witnessed many, many Welsh people speaking Welsh both before and after English people have entered a room.

I used to spread the stories myself until I grew up.

BV

[Lima Juliet]

Problem solved. Sailors, Soldiers and… Crabs! I don’t why we didn’t think of it before?

[Ewan Whosearmy]

SMH

Originally Posted by Bob Viking

Fine. You stick with it.

I have witnessed many, many Welsh people speaking Welsh both before and after English people have entered a room.

I used to spread the stories myself until I grew up.

BV

I don't recall anyone here saying that Welsh people don't speak Welsh. What is being said is that it has been known for them to switch when they don't want to be understood.

Two other people on this thread appear to have said it happened to them/people they knew. And I will stick with it, thank you very much, because it has also happened to me.

[minigundiplomat]

Originally Posted by Lima Juliet

Problem solved. Sailors, Soldiers and… Crabs! I don’t why we didn’t think of it before?

it’s that LGBT lot in their war canoes paddling around like the village people who started all this nonsense in the first place.

[Fortissimo]

Lester May is an inveterate RAF-hater who takes every opportunity to have a pop via the letters pages of those papers stupid enough to print his bigoted drivel. This latest ‘emission’ means it is probably approaching time for his annual campaign to disband the RAF and divide its assets between the other services.

[Brian 48nav]

Originally Posted by Bob Viking

Fine. You stick with it.

I have witnessed many, many Welsh people speaking Welsh both before and after English people have entered a room.

I used to spread the stories myself until I grew up.

BV

Bob, Normally you are one of my most respected posters here - you have an amazing way of putting us 'Old Farts' down without us being insulted or even realising that you have done so. I can assure you that when I was on my tour in Stornoway as a CAA ATCO, the staff, who were all Gaelic speakers, would normally converse in English unless they didn't want either myself or the other English ATCO to follow what they were saying. They even did that on the fire service R/T channel! Particularly when we were trying to catch them boozing on duty!.

Relax! Have a good holiday with your family and all the best for the new year.

[Roland Pulfrew]

Originally Posted by Vortex Hoop

So have I...with the RAF (not as a reservist!)...at the height of each campaign. Yet as I am a recent Service Leaver he feels empowered to denigrate me and my opinions on how the RAF should be run. Opinions which are held by the majority of the RAF and on here.

As I said to him earlier. He has been given short shrift here and should refrain from telling us what to think. His sad handbag-swinging about 'values and standards' belong in the bin, along with his trite (and often wrong) Thin Pinstriped Line Blog, where he pontificates about military matters based on his experience as a civil servant. Ha ha ha.

My views exactly. Some RNR bloke telling those that are still serving that we don't know what we (the silent majority?) want!! None of those currently serving, regular, RAF personnel, that I have spoken to, supports this change. Almost to a man and woman (or is that person) they thought there were far more important issues to be solved.

[PaulH1]

I too have witnessed the Welsh reverting to the Welsh language when a member of the services walks into a pub. Similar to a previous post, when I was at RAF Valley in late 70s, going for a local pint usually resulted in this behaviour.
The early morning weather ship the following morning would then always perform a NE low level departure - at full throttle! And we wondered why they turned their backs on us the next time we went to the pub!

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Originally Posted by Roland Pulfrew

My views exactly. Some RNR bloke telling those that are still serving that we don't know what we (the silent majority?) want!! None of those currently serving, regular, RAF personnel, that I have spoken to, supports this change. Almost to a man and woman (or is that person) they thought there were far more important issues to be solved.

Yup, another vote here for that. Straw poll in the crew room and nobody supports the change and all firmly believe there are far greater issues of importance to tackle.

[Krystal n chips]

Originally Posted by Ewan Whosearmy

I don't recall anyone here saying that Welsh people don't speak Welsh. What is being said is that it has been known for them to switch when they don't want to be understood.

Two other people on this thread appear to have said it happened to them/people they knew. And I will stick with it, thank you very much, because it has also happened to me.

You are far from alone in this respect given just about everybody who was at Valley in the 70's experienced this at some point and it's far from being an urban myth, at least during that period.

However, it's worth pointing out demographics and cultures change over time. This was very obvious when I used to deliver items for the NHS for a while and one of my runs took me to addresses in the heart of the island, previously almost exclusively inhabited by locals born and bred along with, quite naturally, speaking Welsh. And not forgetting the state of the housing.

Not any more. The changes were significant when you were in a position to make a direct comparison between then and now.

[dervish]

Simply awful, isn't it. These people who insist on speaking their own language.

[langleybaston]

Originally Posted by dervish

Simply awful, isn't it. These people who insist on speaking their own language.

Well said sir.