AUDIO BOOK. The third amusing diary of librarian Blodwen Jones who continues to suffer many personal and professional misfortunes. The last in a popular series for Welsh Learners, adapted for level Sylfaen learners, with useful notes and glossary footnotes.
English review follows Dyma drydydd dyddiadur Blodwen Jones, ac fe welwn o’r cychwyn cyntaf ei bod yn dal yn bur anfodlon ei byd. Oes, mae ganddi ddyn ar hyn o bryd – ac mae cael dyn yn bwysig iawn iddi – ond mae bywyd gyda Siôn yr adarwr yn gallu bod mor ddiflas. Mae gorfod mynd allan i wylio adar bob munud – neu wylio coed yn hytrach! – yn mynd ar ei nerfau, ond pa ddewis sydd ganddi? Wedi’r cyfan, mae hi’n 38 oed ac mae dynion yn brin. Sylweddola bod yn rhaid gwneud ymdrech os ydy hi am gadw dyn ac mae’n fodlon gwneud hynny i raddau. Ond mae’r dyddiadur yn datgelu pa mor ddiflas y mae’n teimlo ar brydiau. Dydy’r gwaith ddim yn helpu ’chwaith. Mae cwsmeriaid y fan lyfrgell yn gallu bod mor gwynfannus ac mae Gwen, sy’n cydweithio â Blodwen yn y Llyfrgell, yn dân ar ei chroen yn siarad Saesneg o hyd. Mae Blodwen yn dal i fynychu’r dosbarth Cymraeg ac yn mwynhau hynny i raddau, ond mae gweld Andrew a Menna bob wythnos yn anodd ac yn dod â llawer o broblemau i’w bywyd. Y gwir amdani yw bod Blodwen eisiau dyn, ond mae’n ansicr iawn pa fath o ddyn ac mae hyn yn achosi i bethau fynd yn ddyrys iddi. Fel yn y ddau ddyddiadur arall, llwydda’r awdures i ddifyrru’r darllenydd gyda stori dda sy’n llawn o sylwadau doniol a chraff. Mae hi’n manylu ynglŷn â beiau Siôn – y bagiau te gwlyb ar y topiau yn y gegin, y sinc yn fudur ar ôl iddo siafio a’r drych yn y stafell ’molchi bob amser yn blastar o smotiau past dannedd – y problemau bob dydd y gŵyr y mwyafrif ohonom amdanynt! Gan mai dysgwraig yw Blodwen Jones, cymerir y cyfle i egluro geiriau anodd mewn modd hwyliog a fydd yn aros yng nghof y dysgwyr sydd yn darllen, megis: ‘beth ydi defrost? O, dad-rewi. Dw i’n hoffi hynny. Swnio fel rhoi dad mewn rhewgell.’ Unwaith eto, ceir geirfa i gynorthwyo’r dysgwyr ar waelod pob tudalen a nodiadau gramadegol defnyddiol yng nghefn y llyfr. Yn sicr, dyma lyfr gwerth ei ddarllen. Mae llyfrau sy’n syml o ran ieithwedd ond yn aeddfed o ran stori yn brin ac felly mae dyddiaduron Blodwen Jones yn werthfawr iawn i ddysgwyr ac yn siŵr o roi pleser a dysgu ambell wers i’r Cymry iaith gyntaf hefyd! Eirlys Jones * * * This is Blodwen Jones’s third diary, and we can see from the outset that she remains quite discontented with her life. Yes, she has a man at the moment – and having a man is very important to her – but life with Siôn the ornithologist can be quite boring. Being obliged to watch birds every minute – or watching trees rather! – gets on her nerves, but what choice does she have? After all, she is 38 and men are scarce. She realises that keeping a man means making an effort, and she is prepared to do so – to a certain degree. But the diary reveals how miserable she feels at times. Her work doesn’t help much either. The library van’s customers can moan a lot, and Gwen, who works with Blodwen at the Library, annoys her all the time by speaking English. Blodwen continues to attend the Welsh class and enjoys it to a certain extent, but seeing Andrew and Menna every week is difficult and brings a lot of problems to her life. The truth is that Blodwen wants a man, but is uncertain what sort of man, and this causes a lot of complications. As in the other two diaries, the author succeeds to entertain the reader with a good story that is full of comical and observant remarks. She details Siôn’s faults – the wet tea bags on the kitchen worktops, the dirty sink due to his shaving, and the bathroom mirror always splattered with toothpaste – the everyday problems most of us have to put up with! Because Blodwen is a learner, the opportunity has been taken to explain difficult words in an eloquent manner that will stay in the reader’s memory, such as ‘defrost’ that translates as ‘dad-rewi’, which the author likens to placing father in a freezer. Once again, to aid the learner, a vocabulary is included at the bottom of each page, and useful grammatical notes are to be found at the end of the book. This is certainly a book that is worth reading. Books that are linguistically simple with a mature storyline are rare, and therefore Blodwen Jones’s diaries are very valuable to learners, and are sure to please and teach a lesson or two to native Welsh speakers as well!
~Eirlys Jones @ www.gwales.com
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