Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Ammanford-based comedian Phil Evans has invented new ‘Twitter-speak’ to boost the power of the world-famous Welsh ‘cwtsh’. “As a comedian, I am very accustomed to LOL – laughing out loud!” Phil said. “But, as a keen Twitter user, I’ve been a bit frustrated at the lack of any Twitter-speak or Internet-slang to get across the emotional kick of the ‘cwtsh’, the traditional Welsh hug. “I’ve always been an advocate that everyone needs their five a day. Five cwtshes is the minimum to top up a human being’s emotional batteries in Wales. The power of the cwtsh is well documented and we all feel so much better, both giving and receiving a cwtsh. “I wanted to find some way of getting the ‘cwtsh’ message across in Twitter-speak, so I’ve come up with CWX at the end of my Tweets, emails and text messages. “You can do it two ways – ‘CWX’ in capitals is a big cwtsh and ‘cwx’ in small letters is a small hug. In personal research, I’ve found that the power of the small ‘cwx’ about a third of the big ...

It’s not every day that Ammanford comedian Phil Evans feels as if he’s on the losing end of a joke. But he’s spent the last couple of weeks spelling it out to his fans and explaining why he’s now having to see the funny side of Swansea Bay’s City of Culture bid. The City of Culture bid carries the slogan ‘Cwtch The Bid’. And in the eyes of Evans, his fans and many students of the Welsh language, the slogan has a glaring spelling mistake – ‘Cwtch’ should be spelt ‘Cwtsh’. The comic who puts the ‘Cwtsh’ into comedy sparked an internet debate on the use of the word last year. “I thought that I’d said enough about the correct spelling of ‘cwtsh’ last year, but plainly the boys in the Swansea Bay City of Culture bid are coming back for more!” chuckled Evans. “It’s a question as big as ‘To be, or not to be? in Wales: should the favourite Welsh word for a hug be a ‘Cwtsh’ or a ‘Cwtch?’ – that is the question.” Evans, who is often billed as the resident ‘Hug-meister’ of Wales, is convinced t...

The Welshman who puts the ‘Cwtsh’ into comedy has sparked an internet debate on the use of the word. Should the favourite Welsh word for a hug be a ‘Cwtsh’ or a ‘Cwtch?’ – that is the question. According to Phil Evans, the resident ‘Hug-meister’ of Wales, the correct spelling of the word is Cwtsh. “I am sure there will be plenty of Welsh scholars out there willing to say different, but in my book it should always end in ‘sh’ rather than ‘ch’,” said Evans. The debate started when Evans billed his St Dwynwen’s Day gig at the Pontardawe Arts Centre as ‘Comedy and Cwtshes’. “I’ve always been adamant that the correct version is ‘Cwtsh’, so it has been interesting to follow the debate on social media sites. “In particular, I’ve been interested to see that Huw Irranca-Davies, MP for Ogmore, has been having his say on the debate. “I think it would be better if we stopped short of a Parliamentary debate or a Prime Minister’s Question on the matter, but it is very interesting to hear people’s ...