Hwre! Dyma Nodi

Pretty much every evening these days, as soon as we get home, D and I are treated to an imploring TJOML standing next to the TV and in a plaintive tone repeating, "dak-dak¹", "doddee²", "baaa³","ooh-ooh, doddee", "Amma, doddeeeee", "Appa, dak-dak"... hoping we would respond to her request soon.

Absolutely cute and maddening at the same time!

D bought Hwre! Dyma Nodi and Wil Cwac Cwac for TJOML a while back. And of course, we already have a 2-disc set of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, Vol 1., a gift from my parents.

¹ Wil Cwac Cwac
² Nodi
³ Nursery Rhymes (Baa Baa Black Sheep is the first one on disc 1 here)

Now, both TJOML and I don't quite understand or speak Welsh fluently. However, I believe she speaks and understands Welsh a little better than I do sometimes. She, of course, has an advantage: she is only 19 months old.

TJOML adores Nodi and Wil.

I have come to adore Nodi as much or more than TJOML does these days. Partly because it is a bit challenging but very rewarding when I pick up a few words here and there and put them together to improve my Welsh - the characters speak quite clearly; and partly because the animation is well done and appealing.

I have also begun to appreciate Wil Cwac Cwac a bit more nowadays, after watching closely and trying to make sense, because: in quite a few episodes, Wil's parents play pranks on poor little Wil!

If it wasn't obvious by now, Wil is a duck who goes to school, lives in an idyllic hamlet with his mom and dad, has fun with his friends - a turkey, a rooster and such. But, my frustration sometimes stems out of the fact that the characters speak Welsh like a duck or a turkey would speak Welsh and that complicates things for me.

Noddy is a character created by Enid Blyton. I grew up reading The Famous Five when I was little - I was particularly curious about Georgina who prefers to be called George. But that's another story for another day. Nodi is the Welsh version of Noddy, a boy who lives in ToyTown and drives a red and yellow car.

It must be quite a sight: TJOML cuddling in my lap, with a nice blanket around us, staring intently at the TV while our brain cogs can be heard for miles cranking away vigorously trying to process it all!

Hwre to Educational Entertainment!