Y Gwaith Coed/The Wood Work

Y Ffenest/The Window

Dwi'n sylweddoli mod i'n eratic braidd efo'r blog, ac yn ymddiheuro am hyn. Mae'n ddyddiau prysur ofnadwy am sawl rheswm arnom: fi yn gweithio llawn amser fel dirprwy yn yr ysgol a genedigaeth wyres fach yn ddau wrthdyniad mawr - yr ail yn creu mwynhad arbennig! Dylan druan sydd yn cymryd y straen i gyd o lafurio a rheoli'r gwaith yn yr adeilad. Ac yn neud joban dda iawn mae rhaid dweud! (Dwi'n gorfod bod yn ofalus, mae’n darllen hwn).  Yn ogystal â dal i redeg y busnes gwin, mae o wedi paentio'r lloriau uchaf i gyd, ac yn aros i ddechrau ar y gwaelod. Erbyn hyn, mae trydan trwy'r adeilad a'r sustem wresogi yn ei le yn barod.

I realise that the posts are very erratic - sorry about that. These are very busy days for many reasons, not least becoming grandparents for the first time! I'm also working full time at school. Dylan has been working ridiculous hours to push the project ahead and manage the work and he's doing a splendid job (I have to be very careful here, he reads this). He's been busy painting the upper floors which are nearly finished.  The electrical work is nearly complete and the heating system is in place.

Credaf fod werth dangos ychydig o'r gwaith coed newydd i chi. Rydym wedi gweld sawl enghraifft o'r hen goed yma, a phiti garw bod gymaint ohono’n gorfod diflannu'n eto am y 100 mlynedd nesaf neu fwy mae'n debyg. Dwi'n meddwl am ryw gwpl ifanc (ddim fel ni!) yn prynu'r lle yn 2104 ac yn tynnu’r lle'n racs a bydd yr hen bren yn cael dweud helo wrth olau dydd eto am gyfnod. Beth bynnag, roedd angen ceisio rhoi ffenest newydd gyda'r un patrwm a'r hen un (edrychwch ar y blog cyntaf). Felly, dyma alw ar Alan Trow a'i fab Adam. Gwelwch y gwaith syfrdanol, does angen dweud dim mwy.

I thought you might like to see the new wood work we commissioned. We have seen the examples of lovely old wood exposed and sadly, these will be covered up soon for the next 100 or so years.  Maybe some young couple (unlike us!) will come along to take it apart again in 2114 and the old beams and planks will see the light of day again briefly. However, we needed to reconstruct the beautiful window and carving that was there. Call in Alan Trow and his son Adam. Look at this stunning work, it speaks for itself so I'll shut up.

Y Darn Pwysig - Y Bar/The Important Bit - The Bar

Roedd o'n teimlo'n gam pwysig iawn i weld y sgerbwd o'r bar yn ei le - Alan Trow eto. Mae Dylan di cael llond bol, pob tro rwy'n cerdded i mewn dwi'n dweud 'Sauvignon mawr plîs!' Dwi'n enwog yn y teulu am wasgu pob diferyn allan o jôc. Methu aros i weld y top, pwy all ddyfalu o beth mae wedi'i wneud?

It felt like a really significant step when the skeleton for the bar was put in - Alan Trow again. Dylan now just gives me that resigned look when I walk in and order a large Sauvignon every time, nothing like labouring a joke until it's a husk. Can't wait to see the top.  Who can guess what we're going to use?

Gwelwch yr hen lawr leino uchod, o dan hwn roedd pren da, felly yn arbed arian trwy beidio gorfod gosod llawr pren newydd i mewn. Hwre!

You can just about see the old 'pretend wood' linoleum in the picture above. Well, it was covering a perfectly good wooden floor, so for once, we are saving money by not having to put a new floor down. 

Won't be long before customers are sitting there hopefully!

A golwg ar y gorffennol cyn darfod - hen lun o'r adeilad o ddechrau'r 20fed ganrif efallai - neu ychydig yn gynt?

Before I go, a quick blast from the past - an old picture from either the very early 20th century or possibly a bit earlier.

Cofiwch, gallwch ddilyn y blog trwy glicio ar y gofod anodd iawn i'w weld, sydd o dan y logo, a gyda lle i'ch cyfeiriad e-bost - dewch o na! Da chi'n gwybod bydd dim llif o e-byst yn eich blychau e-bost ar y ret dwi'n sgwennu! Hefyd, gallwch hoffi ein tudalen Facebook neu ein dilyn ar Twitter i gael newyddion o ddigwyddiadau blasu ayyb. Hwyl am y tro.

Remember to follow the blog by clicking on the 'very difficult to see' space marked 'e-mail address' just under the logo - let's face it, I'm not going to be clogging up your inbox with the frequency of my posts. Also, if you're a fan of Facebook o'r Twitter you can like/follow us for news of tastings etc - click on the links below. Bye for now.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dylanwad-Da/266401160062050

https://twitter.com/DylanwadWine

Yr Estyniad Gwydr/The Glass Extension

Sialens a Hanner/A Real Challenge

Edrychwch ar y post cyntaf a gwelwch hen estyniad to fflat ar ochr yr adeilad. Hwn fydd yr estyniad gwydr ble roedd ar un tro, ychydig o iard neu gwrt bach. Fel y gallwn agor y grisiau gwreiddiol yn ôl i'r seler i gael y siop win yno, ein bwriad yw rhoi estyniad gwydr drosto a bydd lle i eistedd yma hefyd.

If you look at the earlier blogposts, you can see a bit of an ugly flat roof extension. This is will be a glass extension with seating, providing a modern contrast for the old building. Hopefully, this will retain the idea of the courtyard whilst allowing us to open the old stairway into the cellar to create a cellar shop.

Daeth Meirion y mab sydd a'r cwmni Xtreme Track i dyllu i lawr i'r seler a dyna ble darganfuwyd yr hen risiau.

Meirion Black of Xtreme Track came along with his digger to excavate and we were delighted to uncover the old staircase leading to the cellar.

Meirion & Phil - tough job on their hands.

Grisiau gwreiddiol - Original steps

Wedyn, roedd rhaid cael Wyn Rowlands yn ôl i roi strwythur dur i mewn yn barod i ddal y gwydr.

Enter Wyn Rowlands again to erect the steel structure ready for the glass.

Dyma'r agoriad i'r estyniad gwydr cyn i Dylan gael ei ollwng arno...

Here's the entrance to the glass extension before Dylan was let loose on it...

....peek a boo...

...ac ar ôl.

...and after. 

Tra mae'r gwaith yn carlamu'n ymlaen, rydym yn brysur yn y siop win/caffi ac yn cynnal sesiynau blasu: Blasu Bach Nos Wener yn rhad ac am ddim yn ogystal â mynd ar daith i gynnal nosweithiau blasu. Y diwethaf yn Llanerfyl i godi arian i Bwyllgor yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol. Wel dyma griw da oedd yma.

Meanwhile, the wine business continues in the old Dylanwad as a shop and cafe/bar in the day. The free mini tastings on Friday nights are well attended - the last one showcasing our new wines from Italy. We continue to supply shops and restaurants in the area and conduct tutored tastings too, the last one in Llanerfyl to raise money for the Eisteddfod.

Barod am y noson/Ready to start.

Terri & Dylan

Fel athrawes, mae'r pleser o wylio Dylan yn ymladd i gadw sylw cynulleidfa sy'n, gawn ni ddweud, cynyddu yn eu mwynhad o'r gwin, yn eithaf sadistaidd mae'n debyg. Dyma nhw'n gwrando'n astud...

As a teacher I admit freely to taking pleasure watching Dylan battle for the attention of a slowly mellowing audience whose inclination to listen is fading with every sip. Here's a nice quiet and attentive audience....

....hmmm, gorfod gweithio ychydig bach yn galetach ar ôl y trydydd gwin!

....and working a bit harder there to keep control after the third wine!

Diolch am eich diddordeb yn ein prosiect. Byddaf yn gweithio tuag at beidio gyrru hysbyseb pob tro mae post newydd allan, felly os hoffech barhau i gael eich diweddaru, arwyddwch i'w dderbyn trwy e-bost. Gadewch i mi wybod os oes unrhyw anhawster.

Thank you for your interest in our project. I am working towards stopping notifications of when a post is published, so if you want updates, sign up to receive them by e-mail. Let me know if you have any difficulties with this. 

Gwaith yn Dechrau/Work Begins

O Chef i Bob the Builder/From Chef to Bob the Builder

Mae'n teimlo fel blynyddoedd ers i ni gerdded i mewn i 'Threshers' fel yr oedd a phenderfynu cymryd y cam a'i brynu ond mae'r awr wedi cyrraedd ble mae'r gwaith gwirioneddol wedi dechrau. Anodd iawn yw'r dasg o gadw Dylan draw o'r lle, ond chware teg, mae o wedi ymgymryd â'r dasg o chwalu popeth mae'n gallu cyffwrdd yn racs gyda brwdfrydedd sydd ychydig yn sgeri weithiau! Roedd gryn dipyn o waith tynnu hen ganolfuriau i lawr, tynnu plaster rhydd a chlirio hen bibellau.

It feels like years since we first walked into the old 'Threshers' and took the plunge by making an offer. Now, the real work has begun at last. Keeping Dylan out of the building is impossible and he has taken to the task of ripping everything down with worrying gusto - anyone would think he'd been locked in a kitchen for 25 years! So once he'd done the job of clearing old partition walls and removing piping and loose plaster, we were ready for the workers.

Dadorchuddio pethau sydd yn waith pleserus, dwi'n gweld hwn mor hyfryd ac yn atsain o'r gorffennol sy'n anodd ei ddisgrifio. Efallai na fyswn yn ofnadwy o hapus gyda rhai o'u dulliau adeiladu dyddiau yma!

Revealing funny bits like this is part of the pleasure, it's such a poignant and interesting echo from the past - not to mention spotting some pretty 'interesting' methods our past builders must have adopted at times!

Gwelwch ar y chwith o dan yr hen blaster bod mwy o wal 'plank & muntin'. Credwn fod yr adeilad gwreiddiol o'r efallai 16eg ganrif yn darfod rhywle yma.

Look carefully on the left under the plaster and you can see it is more plank & muntin partition. We believe that the original building from somewhere around the 16th century ended here.

A rhai pethau yn ddychrynllyd! Ar ôl tynnu’r planciau fyny oedd yn amlygu sut mae'r hen le 'ma wedi cael ei adeiladau, ei ddarnio, ei 'batchio' a 'bojio'. Edrych i lawr i'r darn siop o'r adeilad rydym yn fan yma, ac mae golwg fel petai rywun wedi stwffio darnau bach i mewn i'w gael yn sefydlog. Coeliwch neu beidio, mae'n teimlo'n gadarn hollol - di o ddim yn neud llawer i fy nerfau!

And some things are just downright terrifying! After removing the floorboards on the second floor, the joins became apparent and where it has been built, chopped, botched and patched. This is looking into the shop section of the building. It's woven together in parts with some random bits of wood stuffed in to give a bit of stability. Believe it or not, it is totally stable under foot - doesn't stop my nerves jangling though!

Peep-po!

Barod i dynnu'r hen ffenest allan! Mae CADW wedi rhoi grant i ni atgyfodi'r hen ffenest oedd pawb yn hoffi gymaint.

Ready to take the old window out. CADW have generously supplied a grant to resurrect the original window.

Gwelwch ble mae'r wal frics wrth y ffenest, bydd agoriad i'r estyniad gwydr yma a mynediad i'r siop seler.

The brick wall by the window is where we will knock through to the glass extension and the stairs down to the cellar shop.

Ar ôl y clirio Wyn Rowlands oedd y cyntaf i mewn i ddechrau gwaith a rhoi trawstiau dur i sicrhau diogelwch yr adeilad.

After the clearing, Wyn Rowlands was first on site to come and put the steel structure in place to will hold the building up safely.

Yn y cychwyn, roedd yn edrych yn debyg bod un o'r trawstiau mawr yma wedi cael ei dorri a dim byd wedi ei wneud i'w gysylltu â'r ochr arall o'r llawr. Poeni wedyn am beth oedd yn dal popeth i fyny! Ond, ar ôl tynnu plaster amlygodd y pin enfawr yma sydd wedi'i daro i mewn i ben y trawst ac yn bachu gwaelod y llawr. Roeddwn dal yn falch o weld trawstiau Wyn yn eu lle!

Initially, we were alarmed to see that a huge beam seemed to have been cut off and simply ended in mid-air. This led to question the security of the upper floors. So on removing the casing, we were relieved to see the presence of this massive pin that has been hammered into the end of the beam a provides support for the added floor. I am still happier with Wyn's steel girders in place!

This was what was holding it up!

Closer view

14eg o Orffennaf 2014 yw'r dyddiad agor wedi'i benodi. Diwrnod Bastille yn Ffrainc. Dwi'n hoffi hynna! (A penblwydd hen ffrind - bydd dim maddeuant am roi diwrnod hanesyddol cyn Ken!) Ar y funud, oherwydd ein bod heb werthu Dylanwad Da, rydym yn agor o 10 tan 4 o Ddydd Mawrth i Ddydd Sadwrn fel siop/bar/caffi ac yn cynnal ambell sesiwn Blasu Bach ar Nos Wener. Dewch i ddweud helo - neu byddwn ni yn gorfod yfed y gwin i gyd!

The date earmarked for the opening of the new shop is 14th July 2014. Bastille Day. I like that! (Not forgetting an old friend's birthday - we haven't forgotten you Ken!). For now, in the absence of any customers for Dylanwad Da, we have decided to open as a shop/cafe/bar there and are open 10 - 4 from Tuesdays to Saturdays until the new Dylanwad is ready. We are also going to have free mini-tastings on Friday evenings so call by to say hello.

Adeilad o Goed o Ddau Oes/ A Wooden Building from Two Ages

Ffwrdd a Ni! 
Chocks Away!

Hwre! Mae'r gem yn dechrau go iawn erbyn hyn, oherwydd mae'r cynlluniau i gyd wedi eu derbyn ac mae Rhys wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed iawn gydag adeilad gallwn ddim ond ei ddisgrifio fel lletchwith ar y gorau! Ond, mae popeth yn dechrau symud rŵan a'r gwahanol weithwyr wedi trefnu yn barod i ddechrau mor fuan â phosib. Felly, beth sydd angen i wneud? Wel, lot!

At last! We can begin the real work now that the planning permission is through and Rhys (the architect) has worked tirelessly on a building which I can only describe at best as awkward and interesting - and no, I don't appreciate the application of the same phrase when in reference to me husband dear! So, a variety of builders have now received instructions. So what's to do? A shedload of work, that's what!

Rhys Llwyd Davies, Pensaer/Architect - Bala

Y Coed/The Wood

Wrth chwilota, chwalu, thyllu a thaflu daeth yn amlwg bod yr adeilad yn lawer hyn nac yr oeddem wedi sylweddoli. Wrth dynnu plaster rhydd, roedd yn amlwg fod yr hen waliau pren yn ymestyn i fyny yn ogystal â thuag at flaen yr adeilad. Roedd rhaid yn gyntaf cael triniaeth i'r coed felly dyma alw ar Preservation Ltd a wnaeth job andros o dda yn socian y lle o dop i waelod i gael gwared â phry ayyb. 

Whilst smashing things up and digging it became apparent that the building is much older than we first supposed. Removing the loose plaster revealed more old wooden walls that date back to possibly Elizabethan or older. These extend upwards to the first floor and towards the front of the shop, about halfway. We needed to treat all of this wood quite urgently so we called in Preservation Ltd, who did a thorough job of the building.

Oedd angen paratoi trwy dynnu rhai o'r estyll iddo allu mynd at y distiau, felly dyma roi Dylan wrthi i wneud hyn (mae o'n andros o handi tu allan o'r gegin hefyd wyddoch chi!). Wrth godi'r coed yng nghefn yr adeilad, sylweddolodd na ddim distiau oedd o dan ond set arall o estyll. Dyma od! 


Beth oedd wedi digwydd? Yn syml iawn, roedd y gweithwyr 19eg ganrif wedi penderfynu peidio â thrafferthu i godi'r hen estyll a oedd yn dirywio ond rhoi'r estyll newydd ar ben yr hen rai. Cowboi bildars go iawn!

Preparation was needed for the treatment and floorboards had to be lifted to gain access to the joists so I set my trusty workman (he has uses that extend beyond the kitchen) to task. It was surprising to find underneath the floorboards, not joists, but another set of floorboards that looked pretty rotten. 

What had happened was that the 19th century builders decided to lay the new boards on top of the old crumbling ones. Cowboy builders or increasing the insulation of the property?

Coed llawn pry o dan yr estyll mwy diweddar/Woodworm infested wood under the newer floorboards

Hen hoelion yn yr astell wreiddiol/Old nails in the original floorboards.

Golyga hyn ein bod yn edrych ar adeilad mwy diddorol a hyn nac oeddent wedi dychmygu a gyda chymorth y Parc Cenedlaethol, cawsom archeolegydd i'r adeilad i ymchwilio ymhellach.


Daeth wedyn mwy o waith coed i'r golwg, sef y plank & muntin enwog erbyn hyn sy'n dyddio cefn yr adeilad ymhell yn ôl i 17eg neu'r 16eg ganrif. Felly, mae'n edrych yn debyg bod y tu blaen yn dyddio o gwmpas 1820 a'r cefn efallai 200 mlynedd gynt. Waw! Dwi'n ecseited!

This meant that we have a more interesting building than we originally anticipated and with the help of the National Park, we enlisted the help of an archaeologist to investigate further. More woodwork was exposed that showed the plank and muntin walling extending up to the top floor. This leads us to conclude that the front half of the building dates to somewhere around the 1820s and the back to the 17th or possibly 16th century. We await the full report with excitement!

Gobeithiwn allu cadw gymaint â phosib o'r hen waliau yn olwg ond mae'n fater o gydbwysedd o sawl peth. Yn gyntaf, mae diogelwch a rheolau tan, ond hefyd rhaid ystyried mae ei orchuddio gyda phlastr calch mae'n debyg fyddai wedi digwydd. Hmmm! Ond, mae'r diddordeb hanesyddol yn caniatáu i ni adael rhywfaint ohono i arddangos.

Hopefully, we can keep some of the old walls exposed but this is going to have to be balanced with fire regulations and what would have been done during that period: i.e. if the wooden walls were covered in lime plaster, then to restore the building, that is what we should do. However, we can compromise a bit in order to allow a glimpse of history to be on display to the public.

Llyfr Bwyd a Gwin/Food and Wine Book Dylanwad Da

Helo Eto! Back Again!

Wel mae hi di bod yn dawel yma yn tydi! Beth ar y ddaear maen nhw wedi bod yn gwneud clywaf chi'n dweud! Wel, dim llawer o symud ar yr adeilad ond llawer iawn o brosiectau eraill ac wrth gwrs, o'r Pasg tan ddiwedd Medi mae'r bwyty Dylanwad Da yn brysur iawn.

Un darn o newyddion yw ein bod wedi ysgrifennu llyfr! Llyfr Cymraeg am fwyd a gwin. Mae hanesion Dylan ynddo yn mynd i chwilio am winoedd yn Ewrop ac yn sôn am rhai o'r gwinllanoedd teuluol rydym wedi bod yn prynu gan dros y blynyddoedd. A hefyd, mae 'na ryseitiau o Ddylanwad Da. Dechreusom ysgrifennu ym mis Mawrth ac roedd angen gorffen erbyn Gorffennaf yn cynnwys tynnu lluniau. Ar ôl y profiad yma, tyfodd fy mharch at bobl sy'n ysgrifennu llyfrau yn eithriadol. Stress neu be!! Cofiaf ffrind yn mynd i gerdded y GR20 yng Nghorsica flynyddoedd yn ôl ac yn dweud dan chwerthin ei fod yn llwybr enwog am dorri priodasau. Wel, mae cyd-weithio efo gwr anghofus i ysgrifennu llyfr yn dod yn agos iawn hefyd. Peidiwch â sôn dim bo fi'n dweud!

Gwelwch y llun o'r gwahoddiad i'r lansiad yn Nolgellau, tydi Branwen o Lolfa wedi gwneud joban ffantastig? Dwi wedi plesio'n fawr efo'r clawr hefyd. Pan ofynnodd Meinir oedd syniadau gennym i'r clawr, rhaid i mi ddweud, doeddwn heb roi eiliad o ystyriaeth i'r peth (na chant a mil o bethau eraill i ddweud y gwir) ond mae clawr mor bwysig! Wel, diolch i'r tîm yn y Lolfa, mae hwnna hefyd yn edrych yn grêt. Phew!

Cynhelir yr ail lansiad yng Nghaerdydd ar y 8fed o Dachwedd yn y Clwb Cameo, Pontcanna. Bydd cyfle i griw o ffrindiau a cyn-staff yn ogystal â theulu ddod i'r un yn y de ac mae dipyn o ffrindiau sy'n trydar ar 'Yr Awr Gymraeg' am ymuno hefyd. Mae Branwen o'r Lolfa yn brysur yn llenwi ein dyddiadur efo digwyddiadau yn wahanol drefydd i hybu'r llyfr, felly amser prysur iawn ond hwyl ar y gorwel. 

Am y tro, dwi'n addo byddaf yn ôl gyda newyddion am y Tŷ Blasu Gwin yn yr wythnosau nesaf!

How quiet we have been over the summer months, I'm sure you thought we'd given up, but no, we're back! Not a lot has been happening in the wine shop (we'll get to that in the next post) and as well as the busy summer season we have had other projects to occupy our time.

One of these projects was writing a Welsh language book about food and wine. It has stories of Dylan's travels to small wineries in Europe to buy wine and recipes from our Dylanwad Da restaurant. We started writing in March and needed it to be finished by July, photographs and all. My respect for writers has grown enormously I have to say. A friend who years ago was about to go to walk the famous GR20 trail in Corsica joked about it being a marriage breaker - co-operating to write a book came close at times! But we survived! I'm sure he realises how wrong he was looking back.

Anyway, it's all very exciting, the Dolgellau launch is on the 1st November in Dylanwad Da and the Cardiff launch in the Cameo Club, Pontcanna on the 8th November. Here's the invite to the Dolgellau launch, I thought the Lolfa publishers had made a very nice job of this. As they have the book cover, which I have to admit, we hadn't given a second thought as to what it should look like. Actually  there were a million things we hadn't thought about, but the book cover is a pretty important one - Lolfa team to the rescue again! So I have been busy delivering invitations today. Very difficult because we can only accommodate about 40 people for that evening in Dylanwad but we'll also be promoting it during Dolgellau Late Night Shopping on the 28th November.

For now, I promise to be back very soon with news from the Wine Tasting House!

Dolgellau Book Launch Invitation

Darganfod Rhyw Bethau Od! Peculiar Discoveries!

Hen bryd i gael post arall ar y blog gweld bod fy ffrind Jane wedi rhoi hwb bach i mi ac atgoffa mod yn araf braidd gyda'r nesaf! Diolch Jane, mae hwn i ti! Hefyd mae Dylan wedi mynd i Ffrainc i chwilio am win (mond newydd ddod yn ol o'r Eidal mae o! Da chi'n medru gweld pwy di'r Cinderella o'r bartneriaeth yma mae'n siwr!)

Erbyn hyn, rydym wedi chwalu popeth sy'n bosib i'w gael gwared ohonno ac yn aros i gynlluniau gyrraedd a cael eu trafod gyda'r Parc Cenedlaethol. Cawsom sgwrs fuddiol iawn rhyw bythefnos yn ol gyda dau aelod o'r Parc ac mae'n edrych yn debyg ein bod yn meddwl yr un ffordd am beth dyle fod yn digwydd i'r adeilad, sy'n newyddion da!

Mae'r lle yn ddiddorol dros ben gyda rhai darnau hen iawn yn y cefn ond mae na bethau wedi cuddio hefyd. Gwelwch y llun cyntaf, dyma ble roedd cegin fach i staff wneud te ac yn y blaen. Dechreuodd Dylan a minnau dynu'r cypyrddau ffwrdd a sylwais gyntaf ar y llawr bod llechen yno. 'Mae hwn fel stepen ddrws,' dwedais wrth Dylan yn meddwl dim ohonno.

About time for a new post as my dear and attentive friend Jane pointed out! Also, Dylan has gone (having only just arrived back from Italy I hasten to add, you can see who the Cinderella of this partnership is can't you?) on a French wine finding mission for a few days, so here we go. 

By now we have cleared the whole building and are simply waiting for the plans to be approved and to make changes necessary. A meeting with officials from the Snowdonia National Park was very productive and I think our aims are the same for the building, which is good news. It was great to see how excited they were about the the place, especially the old floor on the first floor and the reflection of different eras that can be seen.

It is still yielding a few surprises. The kitchen area for staff on the ground floor needed to go, so Dylan and I went about demolishing it (we're good at that!) only to see a slab of slate under the kitchen unit. I mentioned it looked like a doorstep, only to find it was a doorstep on further exposure! Complete with stained glass panels. It obviously used to lead outside, now it leads to a brick wall.

Dyma'r hen gegin staff/The old staff kitchen

Wedyn, ar ol tynu un neu ddau o ddarnau eraill, edrychwch beth oedd yna! Drws cyfa! Mae'n edrych yn debyg mae drws yn mynd syth allan i'r stryd oedd hwn. Mae'n hollol gyfa ond wal frics sydd yr ochr arall iddo!

A dyma oedd tu nol iddo! And this is what was behind it!

Un peth arall dawsom ar ei draws oedd yr arwydd yma. Tra roedd Dylan yn cael gwared o sbwriel o rhyw dwll arall, daeth o hyd i hwn wedi ei ddefnyddio i gau bwlch. Dwi wedi holi o gwmpas y dref, yn cynnwys y teulu Walker ond heb gael unrhyw wybodaeth am Mr Walker. Oes rhywun allan 'na efo syniadau neu gwybodaeth am hyn?

Another little puzzle was this brass plaque Dylan found blocking a hole in the floor. We've asked around Dolgellau and even enquired with the local Walker family but no joy. Does anyone think they know anything about Mr Walker? Please get in touch if you think you do.

Was Threshers once a Solicitor's office?

Gyda llaw, mae'n reit ddiddorol i wybod ym mha iaith mae pobl yn darllen ein blog? Hefyd, does dim llawer yn arwyddo i gael y blog wedi ei yrru yn syth i chi pan mae post newydd, oes rheswm am hyn? Gymaint o adborth a phosib yn help mawr, diolch.

By the way, it would be interesting to know which language you use to read our blog - maybe both! I also note that even though there are a few thousand page views, very few people actually sign up to receive posts automatically. Would you mind letting me know reasons for this if you have time? In fact, any feedback at all would be very useful. Thank you .

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! Happy New Year!

AMSER TAWEL O'R FLWYDDYN - A QUIET TIME OF YEAR

Wel, mae pethau wedi bod yn dawel braidd fel yr ydym yn aros i gael cynlluniau i roi ger y Parc Cenedlaethol ond mawr obeithiwn cawn weld datblygiad yn y misoedd cyntaf o'r flwyddyn newydd yma. Rydym hefyd wedi bod yn brysur yn Dylanwad efo partioedd nadolig a datblygu un ochr o'r busnes fel siop i ddechrau datblygu syniadau. Mae'n rhaid dweud, cawsom hwyl ar werthu anrhegion nadolig, roedd y siop yn brysur, sy'n addawol iawn i siop newydd gobeithio! 

Mae ambell un ohonnoch yn gofyn beth yw'r cynllun ac, yn FWY PWYSIG! Beth sy'n digwydd i Dylanwad Da? So, dyma'r plan!

Bydd busnes newydd o'r enw Gwin Dylanwad Wine yn agor yn yr hen Threshers. Siop, selar win a lle i eistedd a chael gwydrad gyda tamad ysgafn i fwyta (caws/jamon ayb). Y bwriad yw bod dim gwaith coginio trwm - dwi'n trio cadw'r hen Dyl mewn siap go dda gweld ei fod ddim yn 'en primeur' ddim rhagor ond mae dal potensial dda iddo wella gyda oedran gyda storej gofalus a handlo reit ddelicat. Bydd, os cawn ganiatad, ystafell flasu ffurfiol fyny grisiau a hefyd cwpl o ystafelloedd bach cyfforddus i grwpiau o ffrindiau ayb eistedd.

Targed i agor? Tachwedd 2013. A'r bwyty Dylanwad Da? Ei roi ar y farchnad i werthu fel ac y mae o yn y flwyddyn nesaf yma. Ia, a hithau'n 25 mlynedd arnom ym mis Awst! Ond dyna ni, mae angen gwneud lle i rhywun newydd a byse'n gret meddwl am berson ifanc lleol efallai. Nabod rhywun??

It's been pretty quiet whilst we await the plans to present to the Snowdonia National Park but we're hoping that we shall soon be able to see some developments in the first months of the year. We have also been busy with Christmas parties and with the side of the restaurant we have developed into a shop. I'm pleased to say that it's been very busy, which is very encouraging and hopefully a sign of things to come in the new premises.

One or two of you have been asking about what the timescale is and, more importantly, what are we planning to do with the restaurant! So, here we go!

A new business will be opened under the name Gwin Dylanwad Wine in the old Threshers building. Primarily a shop, wine cellar and a place to sit and enjoy quality wines and have a light bite to eat, the idea is to not have a heavy burden of cooking - I'm trying to keep Dylan in good shape as he's no longer 'en primeur', there's still good potential for developing some rough tannic edges to mellow fruitfulness with careful handling and storage.

Target to open? November 2013. And the restaurant Dylanwad Da? We shall put it on the market to sell as a going concern this year after 25 years of cooking this August! Time for a young and enthusiastic chef to take over. Know anyone?? 

YN OL I 'ROSIE'S'  -  BACK TO ROSIE'S

Rwan, da chi'n cofio'r enw Rosie's, y ddynes siop ddillad? Ar ol dipyn o holi, roedd Dylan wrth ei fodd i gael llun o Rosie ei hunan diolch i Margaret Roberts, merch John Roberts, perchennog Cigydd Roberts, Dolgellau sy'n dal yn nwylo'r un teulu heddiw.

Remember Rosie's? The woman that owned the clothes business? After some enquiries, Dylan was delighted to be given a photograph of her. This was thanks to Margaret Roberts, daughter of the late John Roberts who owned the butcher's shop in Dolgellau square.

Gallwch weld Rosie a'i gwr yn y llun a John Roberts ar y dde. Roedd yn mynd ar ei wyliau gyda nhw pan oedd yn hogyn ifanc. Credwn eu bod ar y ffordd i Iwerddon ac efallai maent yn sefyll o flaen siop yn Gretna Green. Diolch Margaret am y llun, roedd yn dod a atgofion o dy dad yn ol hefyd a dwi'n siwr bydd sawl un wrth eu boddau yn ei weld.

You can see Rosie and her husband in the photograph with John Roberts on the right. He used to go on holiday with them when he was a young boy. We think they may have been on their way to Ireland and this picture could be at Gretna Green in front of the old Blacksmith's shop. Thank you for kindly allowing us to have a copy of this photograph Margaret, it's lovely to see and I know lots of other readers will be delighted.

Dechrau Chwalu - The Demolition Begins

Yn Y Siop/In The Shop

Er mwyn gallu mesur a gweld yn union beth sydd yma, mae'n rhaid cael gwared o'r silffoedd a does dim dewis ond eu malu'n racs i'w cael allan. Dwi'n meddwl bod hyn yn rhoi mwynhad mawr i Dylan sydd i weld wrth ei fodd yn waldio pethau nes ma nhw'n deilchian - a fo'n ddyn mor dawel ac addfwyn! Oes neges yma?

With me at the helm in the very important role of supervisor Dylan begins to take down the old shelving. No hope of salvaging any of it and actually, I don't think we want to. We're doing so much to the whole place anyway, we prefer to have exactly the shelving that we want there. When this is down Rhys can measure and we can see what we're dealing with more.

Dylan yn gweithio//Dylan working

Mae'r llun isod yn dangos ar y dde wrth ddod i mewn trwy drws Threshers, a mae sefyllfa reit od yma! Yn amlwg roedd drws neu ffenest yma ar un adeg yn edrych tuag at y Sgwar.

This is just on the right as you walk in through the door and it is becoming apparent that there was once a door or a window facing the direction of the square.  How interesting!

Dyma ni - gallwch weld ble sydd wedi bricio i gau twll rwan - a'r darnau bach mwya od wedi stwffio mewn - da chi'n gweld y planc pren gwyn na efo 'bow' bach arno? Dros ben o pryd oedd siop ddillad yma efallai?

Here's the full view of the bricked area, you can just see Pobty'r Dref out of the window on the right so that you can get some sense of direction. Some sad little remnants pop up every now and again; can you see the little bow on the white plank above the bricked in area? From the days of being a drapers maybe?

Efallai bod mynedfa arall i'r selar wedi bod yma - mae llwyth ohonnynt! Hefyd, gwelwch y garreg fawr na'n sticio allan i mewn i'r ystafell yn y gwaelod ar y chwith.

This looks very much like yet another entrance to the cellar, probably from the outside. One or two people have talked of steps going down from the outside with railings. 

Mae'r plastar yn rhydd ac yn disgyn oddi ar y waliau tu nol i ble roedd y silffoedd.

This was what was behind the shelving: the plaster falls off with a touch!

Mae lliw ar y wal yn ddiddorol, fel pwdwr glas golau a pinc, hen liwiau dwi'n dychmygu.

On the walls there are very pale powdery colours: pink and blue.

Oh! Dwi'n caru pethau bach fel hyn! Darn bach o bapur wal ar ol o amser gynt.

I love little bits like this! Beautiful little glimpse of a previous life. How pretty it is!

Chi'n cofio fi'n son am y Plank & Muntin (ges i row am beidio roi'r & mewn tro blaen)? Wel dyma fo ar y ffordd lawr i'r selar.

Here's the much admired Plank & Muntin which dates back a considerable time. Personally, I'm more into my scraps of wallpaper. Still, it's quite impressive, just wish we had a whole wall of it like Ty Newydd.

Diolch o galon unwaith eto am y sylwadau ac awgrymiadau mae gymaint ohonnoch yn gwneud. Mae gymaint wedi digwydd yma dros y blynyddoedd a llwyth o newidiadau wedi eu gwneud i'r adeilad yn ogystal a llawer o atgofion am y lle. Daliwch ymlaen i gysylltu oherwydd mae'n help mawr.

Thank you so much for all of the comments and suggestions. So many people are taking an interest and helping to develop a picture of the history of this lovely building, both of the people who lived and worked here and the actual building. Keep them coming, it's a great help and so interesting.