 | 16 October 2014 |
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Celebrity Team  Di Botcher
12th February 2008 Di and Rhod speak to Radio Wales about what they've achieved with The Big Welsh Challenge
22nd January 2008 After taking a part in the Welsh language drama Rownd a Rownd at the programme's set in Menai Bridge to complete her final challenge. I was perfectly prepared to take part in a Radio drama which was the original plan, but the powers-that-be said Rownd a Rownd had been very helpful and decided to write two scenes for me which was so flattering that we decided to do that instead.
I enjoyed the challenge very much. I thought everybody was lovely and really welcoming. I went in and met Ian from wardrobe who was very helpful and had picked out some clothes for me. We discussed it and came up with a costume we thought would fit the part.
The make-up lady was lovely too - she's having a baby in two weeks. I discussed the character with her. She already knew what I was wearing and had got the make-up ready.
My character is called Di and she is very happy because she has her dream date that very evening. She goes to the newsagent's and buys loads of magazines to get tips about what to wear and her make-up.
Then she sees the hair salon next door and decides to have her hair done. She shows the hairdresser a magazine and asked if she could make her look like one of the winners of American Idol who was a very pretty girl with spiky hair!
My character explains that she has a date tonight whose name is Malcolm and shows a photo of him. At that point I didn't know that the man in the photo was actually the Rownd a Rownd catering manager with a false moustache and a hat so that caused a lot of hilarity among the cast. And lo and behold, when I went for lunch there he was! He was a good sport - we had a laugh and he told me to stop stalking him! We filmed the second scene first and then after lunch we did the first scene so I met new actors who were lovely too and all very patient. I liked my character - she was very silly - quite self-deluded and totally optimistic.
There was a nice level of Welsh when I was given instructions so I could understand what I was supposed to do. I can imagine that if I did something like that for a week my Welsh would really improve. I could pick out enough of the conversations to work out what people were saying which has given me confidence. I don't know whether I'd take a Welsh language role at the moment -you won't see me knocking on doors quite yet! The size of my part on Rownd a Rownd was good and they made certain allowances for me. It was lovely if they said something in Welsh and I understood the instruction enough to do what they wanted me to do. If I didn't, they said it more slowly and as a last resort they could use English. For me the only disappointment was that I expected to be immersed in Welsh as soon as I arrived in North Wales. I thought as we got off the train and into the taxi, all we would hear is Welsh but it wasn't like that. The hotel receptionist didn't speak Welsh either.
The Big Welsh Challenge as a whole has been fantastic and I'm so glad I agreed to take part. It's completely changed my attitude and given me a real enthusiasm for Welsh. When I speak to the neighbours or people in the pub in Port Talbot they call out, "Shwmai" to me. They only have a little Welsh but they'd love to be able to speak it. Glyn has been very supportive. He's so enthusiastic and genuinely proud of me and he comes out with the most lovely things. Every time he sees me he says how much I've improved and that's a great thing for a learner to hear because you can get stuck in a rut and feel like you're going backwards.
When I was first asked to do The Big Welsh Challenge, I just thought if I could understand or say something in Welsh I would be astounded. That's all I wanted. I've loved the excitement of not knowing what the next challenge is and the ingenuity of people finding something that will test us and that's worthwhile to do. Perhaps now I'll go to Welsh classes. I'll certainly carry on reading Welsh and watching Welsh language television. I just enjoy learning so much and I intend to carry on doing it.
13th December 2007 After preparing with Glyn for the final challenge - performing in a Welsh language radio comedy drama I think it's a very good challenge really. It's a good stretch, it's comedy which is difficult to do in any language so it's going to be very difficult. I'm pleased because at least I have done a lot of radio - obviously always in English but at least it's a medium I can understand, so I really will be able to just concentrate on the language and on understand it and trying to be funny.
I want to get this script as soon as possible so I can work really hard on it. If I can master it and get just one laugh that will feel so amazing - I will be absolutely thrilled. Glyn has been a lovely mentor because he's always optimistic, he always bigs me up and he always thinks that I'm much much better than I actually am. It's much nicer to have a sunny mentor than to have somebody coming along and saying, "I think you'll find this very difficult" - he's a joy to be with.
I think he could make a good Welsh teacher because he loves the language so much and he is very kind and it's something that he's very good at. Like everything, if you're good at something, it's a joy to pass that information on. If he decides to go for it, I think he'll be a wonderful teacher. 12th December 2007 Today's been fun. I've come along to Neath Library and I've been reading a story to some children. I was very nervous because with reading you've got to be so accurate. You can't just approximate it. You've got no excuses if you go wrong. I tried to do it as well as I could really, then I relaxed into it, then I enjoyed it.
It was lovely. I liked the children. They were very nice. Their Welsh was much better than mine, their English was much better than mine and they helped me out. I read a story to them about a treasure hunt. I asked them to tell me different words and they were marvellous. I asked, "What's the Welsh for this?" and "What's the English for that?" and they were just brilliant. They were very friendly, very attentive, very well behaved and they helped me find the pieces of gold.
27th November 2007 After performing the third challenge - solving a murder mystery
Dw i'n siomedig iawn (I'm very disappointed). I knew who the murderer was but my helpers, who were marvellous, both thought it was someone else. I should have gone with my instincts.
I did enjoy it though. It's so obvious but it's true that the more you prepare the more you're going to get out of it. I've just got to work and find the opportunity to speak and listen to the language.
16th November 2007 After completing the first challenge - singing Sosban Fach on the Children in Need stage
I enjoyed singing and felt I knew the song quite well so I wasn't too worried about forgetting the words. The biggest challenge for me and everyone else was learning the new (party mix) arrangement presented to us this afternoon.
Early in the afternoon, I attempted to have a chat with Dylan and Meinir on Radio Cymru in Welsh but that didn't go so well. It made me realise I hadn't got so far with my Welsh. I'm determined to carry on though. Dwi'n bwriadu dysgu Cymraeg y gorau y gallai (I intend to learn Welsh as well as I can)!
4th October 2007 I went to a Buddhist Centre last week and was introduced by a friend to a woman called Gwawr. I made the mistake of asking if she spoke Welsh. She then launched into a conversation in Welsh, speaking ten to the dozen. I said "hang on" and "dwi'n dysgu ers mis Mawrth" ("I've been learning since March"). She said she'd speak slower - only she said it really quickly again. She was obviously really pleased she'd found someone in London she could speak Welsh to. I said I had to go upstairs - "lan lofft". She started giggling because I'd used the South Walian way of saying it. I was in Sainsbury's in Clapham the other day and I could hear from the accent of the man behind me that he was Welsh. I asked where he was from and he said Swansea. I said I was from Port Talbot and he said he knew because he'd seen me in Twin Town. He was a policeman called Dai but he didn't speak much Welsh - just "tipyn bach". When I keep asking people in London if they speak Welsh I feel a bit like the Ancient Mariner: I "stoppeth one of three"! 14th September 2007 After preparing with Glyn for her third challenge - which involves solving a mystery
Today's gone well. It should be an interesting challenge. I look forward to doing as much work as I can. It will be nice meeting people and asking a lot of questions. I just hope we get to dress up! It's important I solve the mystery.
Hopefully my Welsh is improving. I am trying to work at it regularly. I listen to Catchphrase CDs and like to do a bit every day. It's important to keep it going. I was working very hard recently and didn't do any Welsh for more than a week and I do feel I've gone backwards. Sometimes in dark moments I think, "What am I doing this for?" I do think it's good if the challenges are tailored to your abilities and I think it's a case of doing a little bit often and it will go in.
Glyn's been very helpful today and he's acted out the words for me. There were a lot of words I didn't know so I'm pleased I've had some help.
25th July 2007 I'm still plugging away on my own in London. I'm trying to do an hour of Welsh twice or three times a week. I'm on the future tense now - "af i" and things like that - and I'm just dying to hear some real Welsh speakers talk so I can try and understand what they say. 22nd June 2007 - Challenge 2: Calling a dance at the Gŵyl Ifan
Di's comments on calling the steps of the dance Cwrdd Chwech: I'm very pleased. It went very well I thought - I had lovely people. They did the dance really well and even enjoyed it at the end. I didn't know where to finish but I did enjoy it - especially once they knew what they were doing and I somehow got to ask them if they wanted to do it another time with or without music. I couldn't remember the words but they knew what I meant and they just said, 'Gyda cherddoriaeth'. So they were happy to go for it - and they were marvellous... and I sort of just kept up with them. I just didn't know when to stop - I thought it was going on for about three hours!
6th June 2007 I haven't been doing my hour a day of Welsh recently - I've been on a trip to Paris which has disrupted me and I've been learning scripts so it's been difficult. But I do feel OK about the second challenge. I don't want to sound smug but I think I'll do alright - famous last words as I could well come a cropper! 18th April 2007 Di told Radio Wales that her decision to learn Welsh was inspired by a conversation she had while filming for Â鶹Éç Wales's Belonging series. She and Glyn were invited onto the Afternoon Show to talk about their progress in The Big Welsh Challenge. She told presenter Alan Thompson that she was filming in a hospital when she saw a rainbow outside the window. "I thought, 'Regenbogen' in German then I thought, 'I've got Polish friends - I'll ask them what rainbow is in Polish'," she said. "Then I thought, 'I don't know what it is in Welsh'." Di then turned to a Welsh speaking cast member who told her it was enfys. The next day she was asked if she wanted to take part in The Big Welsh Challenge. "I thought, 'now I know enfys how much more have I got to do!' It's so silly trying to learn Polish and German and there's a language here that's part of me and I want to get reacquainted with it." Glyn praised Di's commitment to learning. "I got the opportunity to teach Welsh in the (Big Brother) house with Richard and Susie. But Di is a much better student. She's really grasping it." And for Di the hard work is beginning to pay off. "You've just got to put the hours in," she said. "And when I meet up with Glyn and he talks to me I'm going, 'Oh I know that word' because I've put the hours in."
17th April 2007 After preparing with Glyn for the second challenge
12th April 2007
19th March 2007 March 2007
On her partner, Glyn:
Come back soon for updates
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