Car rolls into Llangollen Canal at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Car rolls into Llangollen Canal at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct


Mr Williams was out for a walk with his girlfriend when he heard his car had gone into the canal

Unlucky motorist Tomos Williams has been left counting the cost after his car rolled into Llangollen Canal.

North Wales Police helped him recover the Toyota Avensis from the water near Pontcysyllte Aqueduct after its handbrake is believed to have failed, allowing the car to roll down a jetty.

Mr Williams had been on a walk with girlfriend Jayne Roberts when told of the drama while in a canal-side pub. He said it marked the end of a bad week after learning he could lose his job.

Mr Williams from Caerwys, near Mold, Flintshire, works at Flint-based ready meals firm Creative Foods, which announced it could close by May with the loss of 149 jobs. "I've had the worst luck," he said.

Mr Williams said a fellow motorist who had parked near to his car heard a loud "snapping" sound which made him think the handbrake cable failed, allowing the car to roll into the water.

He said he returned to where it had been parked to find canal boat users fishing his possessions out of the water before the car was winched back on to dry land on Friday afternoon. "I can see the funny side of it now," he added. "No one was hurt."

The car was taken to a recovery yard where Mr Williams said he expects checks will be made to establish what happened.

[TonyK]

There are worse places to have the car roll into a canal, although I struggle to think of one. Pontcysyllte (pronounced almost "punky sister", with a lisp on the second s) aqueduct is single track traffic, and very popular.

"I can see the funny side of it now," he added. "No one was hurt."

Says it all, and makes it funny.

[Cynthia]

There are worse places to have the car roll into a canal, although I struggle to think of one. Pontcysyllte (pronounced almost "punky sister", with a lisp on the second s) aqueduct is single track traffic, and very popular. 

"I can see the funny side of it now," he added. "No one was hurt."

Says it all, and makes it funny.

Ah, thank you for the pronunciation guide, FT,N! Unfortunately I still can't thay it.....




Edit note: Quote marks fixed, in the interests of clarity. CfN. 

[TonyK]

Ah, thank you for the pronunciation guide, FT,N! Unfortunately I still can't thay it.....

Edit note: Quote marks fixed, in the interests of clarity. CfN. 

A simple exercise will aid you to perfection. Say, ten times daily, "The Leith police dismisseth us, and sympathiseth with us". Should help you, Thynthia.

[Cynthia]

Ah, thank you for the pronunciation guide, FT,N! Unfortunately I still can't thay it.....

Edit note: Quote marks fixed, in the interests of clarity. CfN. 

A simple exercise will aid you to perfection. Say, ten times daily, "The Leith police dismisseth us, and sympathiseth with us". Should help you, Thynthia.

Ha!  That made me chuckle, FT,N! !  Bit my tongue at the second attempt, and still can't say Pontycysyllte.  Just relieved the car didn't roll into the sea at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch..........

[chuffed]

Global warming muth thave cum thearly to that parth of Thanglethea....cuz last time I looked LlanfairPG was a mile or so inland.....

[TonyK]

Yr oedd tir pan ymwelais diwethaf, ond yr oedd yn 1974

[trainer]

Yr oedd tir pan ymwelais diwethaf, ond yr oedd yn 1974

Google Translate says:

The land was when I visited last, but it was in 1974

I'm sure you meant something like this  .

[Cynthia]

Well, thank goodness that's been clarified then, 'cos I thought it meant 'Oi 'ad one 'o them, but the wheels fell off in 1974'........

[ellendune]

There are worse places to have the car roll into a canal, although I struggle to think of one. Pontcysyllte (pronounced almost "punky sister", with a lisp on the second s) aqueduct is single track traffic, and very popular. 

"I can see the funny side of it now," he added. "No one was hurt."

Says it all, and makes it funny.

Ah, thank you for the pronunciation guide, FT,N! Unfortunately I still can't thay it.....

Edit note: Quote marks fixed, in the interests of clarity. CfN. 

I would not recommend it anyway I am not sure it is the correct pronunciation. 

I know Welsh is different in the various regions, but I thought that the t and the c (always hard like k) were always pronounced. I usually pronounce Pont kersuchte (that's as near as I can write it).  But I may be wrong as well.

[TonyK]

I aimed for an approximation, likely to remain in the mind. The more accurate guide would be "Pon-kay-suth-ter", but that isn't exact. I'm of Irish descent, via Lancashire. If you want an exact pronunciation, ask three Welshmen, which should guarantee at least four versions.

Other similar guides to foreign phrases that I have learned on my travels include the Turkish for "Good morning", "G^naydın", pronounced similar to "Good hiding"; the Hebrew for the same phrase "Boker Tov", or "B*gger off"; the Magayar for "Thank you" which is "K^sz^m", or "Cursin' 'em"; the less precise Russian "привет", or "Privet-hedge", meaning "Hello"; the word "Mercy!" being "Thank you" in not only French but Farsi; and my favourite snippet, learned in England via my work, is the Somali for "Thank you", "mahadsanid", or "My hat's on it". The Somali word for "Rubbish" is "Hashish", which I find hilarious. The Turkish for thank you, "Teşekk^r ederim", was told to me as "Two sugar and dream" by a Turkish waiter after a bigger tip. It is closer to "Te-shecker-eder-um".

I love languages, and have done since I left education. I learned Latin at school, which helped, even though I failed my O-level, for personal reasons. I speak French well enough to do my job in it if my interviewee does not speak English well, plus "get by" Spanish and German, and a smattering of Italian. I can order beer in most other European languages. It means I enjoy my holidays, and lets me compare the roots of the diverse languages we were left with after the Babel thing.

[Red Squirrel]

I once had to get a taxi to Ystradfellte - an easy pronunciation, you might think; something along the lines of 'ustrad-vechtuh' ought to do it... Hah! When I finally showed the bemused driver a bit of paper with it written down, he said 'Ah, Istrad-felt'.

Those who know the line west of Swansea will know that the tunnel near Llangynllo station (with the y pronounced 'uh' in English) is Llangunllo Tunnel (so presumably pronounced 'ih'); my guess is that one of them is half-Anglicised, but how is an anglophone supposed to know which?

Be interested to know what Welsh-speaking contributors make of all this..!