Ers nifer o flynyddoedd da ni wedi mwynhau croesawu criw o ddysgwyr a siaradwyr Cymraeg i ymgynnull i am sgwrs dros baned mewn awyrgylch gyfeillgar, diogel a chefnogol, ac wedi mwynhau gweld dysgwyr yn datblygu a chroesi'r bont i fod yn siaradwyr Cymraeg rhugl, hyderus a balch. Wrth gwrs, dros y ddwy flynedd a hanner diwethaf, da ni wedi colli gweld pobl a chlywed eu sgyrsiau, a da ni'n hapus iawn i groesawu pobl yn ôl i'r sesiwn anffurfiol hon.

An opportunity for learners to practice their spoken Welsh in a relaxed friendly environment.

Dau fardd Cenedlaethol yn Palas Print… a ddim am y tro cyntaf (ond stori arall 'di honno)! Ar hyd y blynyddoedd, da ni wedi cynnal nifer fawr o nosweithiau gyda beirdd lleol a rhyngwladol yn y siop ac yn yr ardd, yn aml mewn partneriaeth gyda Ty Newydd neu Adran Saesneg Prifysgol Bangor, neu PEN Cymru. Mae Ifor yn hen gyfarwydd â pherfformio yn y siop ac yng ngardd Palas Print, a braf yw ei groesawu yn ôl i'r ardd. Hwn fydd ei berfformiad olaf swyddogol fel Bardd Cenedlaethol Cymru cyn iddo drosgwylddo'r awenau i ddwylo diogel Hanan Issa yn Nhy Newydd yn y pnawn. Da ni'n falch iawn i groesawu'r ddau i'r ardd i gyflwyno eu cerddi i chi

Two national poets in Palas Print... not for the first time, but that's another story. Over the years we've welcomed poets both local and from all corners of the globe to the shop and garden, often in partnership with Ty Newydd, Bangor University's English Department or PEN Cymru among others, to perform in the shop and in the garden. Ifor is a regular performer here, and it is a pleasure to welcome him back, to take part in his last official engagement as National Poet of Wales before he officially hands the baton over to Hanan Issa, the new National Poet of Wales at Ty Newydd in the afternoon. We're delighted to welome them to the garden to introduce their poetry to you.

Thanks to Literature Wales and Ty Newydd for their support in organising this event

Un o'r digwyddiadau cyntaf i mi drefnu yn Palas Print oedd noson yng nghwmni Charlotte Williams, awdur Sugar and Slate, llyfr wnaeth argraff ddofn arnaf pan wnes i ei ddarllen nol yn 2002. Roedd y trefniadau (o'm ochr i) ychydig yn flêr! Doedd 'na ddim PA, dim cadeiriau, dim llwyfan... a doedd gen i ddim syniad a fyddai unrhywun yn troi allan... roedd y siop fach yn orlawn, (ro'n i wedi gwahodd pawb o'n i'n nabod), a'r awduron wedi'i sgwasho i gornel yng nghefn y siop i berfformio. Mi wnaethom redeg allan o win a diod ysgafn, ond cafwyd noson lwyddiannus iawn, a'r awduron i gyd yn hapus (dw i'n meddwl) a'r gynulleidfa wedi gwerthfawroi'r cyfle i glywed awduron yn siarad am eu llyfrau.

20 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach, ac mae Sugar and Slate yn cael ai ail-gyhoeddi, ac mae'n teimlo'n amserol iawn i groesawu Charlotte yn ôl i drafod ei hunangofiant a enillodd Llyfr y Flwyddyn yn 2003.

One of the very first events I organised in Palas Print was an event including Charlotte Williams, author of Sugar and Slate, a book which made a deep impression on me when I first read it in 2002. The event was not well organised (at my end). There was no PA, no chairs for the audience, no stage... I had no idea if anyone would come along... the little shop we had then was so full we had to keep the front door open, and the authors were squashed into a corner at the back to perform. Needless to say, the authors were better prepared than I was, and it was a great event, despite running out of wine and soft drinks. And I think we proved there was an audience for such events in Caernarfon.

20 years later, Sugar and Slate is back in print, and it feels very timely to invite Charlotte back to Palas Print to discuss her book, which won the Wales Book of the Year in 2003

"I grew up in a small Welsh town amongst people with pale faces, feeling that somehow to be half Welsh and half Afro-Caribbean was always to be half of something but never quite anything whole at all. I grew up in a world of mixed messages about belonging, about home and about identity." Charlotte Williams

Buy

Ugain mlynedd yn ôl, tra mod i'n trio dysgu sut i redeg siop lyfrau, roedd Mike Parker yn gorffen ei cyfnod o ddegawd o sgwennu a golygu The Rough Guide to Wales. Roedd y gwahaniaeth rhwng y fersiwn hwnnw o'r wlad a'r wlad go iawn yn mynd yn rhy fawr iddo, ac ers hynny mae wedi trafod sut mae o'n gweld y wlad ar y teledu ac ar y radio, acf wedi sgwennu amdano mewn llyfrau fel On the Red Hill, Neighbours from Hell?, The Greasy Poll a Map Addict. Mae Mike wedi bod yn gefnogol iawn i ni ar hyd y blynyddoedd, ac wedi cymryd rhan mewn sawl digwyddiad yn y siop ac yn Gwyl Arall, a braf yw ei wahodd yn ôl i roi sgwrs gyda lluniau i ni sy'n wibdaith trwy Gymru sy'n newid - y Gymru go iawn! Neu mor real ag sy'n bosib i unrhywun ei gael...

Twenty years ago, while I was trying to learn how to run a bookshop, Mike Parker was finishing a decade as the inaugural author of The Rough Guide to Wales. The gap between that version of the country and the real one was getting too wide for him, and since then he’s talked about the nation as he sees it on TV and radio, and written about it in books such as On the Red Hill, Neighbours from Hell?, The Greasy Poll and Map Addict. Mike has been a constant supporter of what we try to do in the shop, and has taken part in countless events in the shop and in Gwyl Arall. It is a pleasure to welcome him back again. This entertaining illustrated talk will be a whistlestop tour of a changing Wales - the real one!  Or as real as anyone can get it...

Da ni'n aml yn cael cais, gan gyhoeddwr, gan awdur, gan gerddor, gan gwsmer neu gan ffrind, i drefnu digwyddiad yn y siop, ac ar hyd y blynyddoedd, lle bo'n addas a phosib, da ni wedi trio'n gorau i groesawu a galluogi eraill i ddefnyddio'r gofod i gynnal digwyddiad. Felly pan wnaeth ffrind i Sel a'r siop ofyn fysa ni'n fodlon trefnu digwyddiad gyda Philippa Holloway ar ôl iddo'i chlywed hi'n siarad, wel dyma benderfynu ei gwahodd i'r siop i son am y nofel, The Half-Life of Snails. Dewch i glywed yr awdur yn siarad am ei nofel sy wedi ei osod yn rhannol yn Ynys Môn ac am yr ymchwil a wnaeth yn Wcrain ac ym Mhrydain wrth fynd ati i sgwennu am ddwy ochr y ddadl niwclear.

We're often asked, by publishers, authors, musicians, customers and friends, to host events in the shop, and over the years, where appropriate and possible, we've done our best to open our space up to others. So, when a friend asked if we'd consider organising an event with Philippa Holloway after he'd heard her speak, it seemed appropriate to invite her to give a talk about her nofel, The Half-Life of Snails. Philippa will talk about her novel, partly set on Anglesey, and her research, which took her to various parts of Britain and Ukraine, as she explores both sides of the nuclear argument.