Laurie Watts-Keane was born in Merthyr and raised in Aberdare until he was nine years old, before moving to Leicester, England to live.
His maternal grandfather used to speak Welsh as a child, and his paternal grandmother and grandfather spoke Irish. So, he was always a little sad that he couldn't speak any of the Celtic languages.
But an opportunity came to learn Welsh when he moved to Cardiff to work after graduating.
We had a chat with Laurie about his language journey, and life in Cardiff.
When did you start learning Welsh?
I was working for Admiral insurance company in Cardiff, and I met a girl who spoke Welsh there. She happened to live on the same street as me in Canton, and when everything was starting to re-open after lockdown, I joined her and her friends for a drink in the local pub.
This was the first time for me to be immersed in the language, with many conversations around me in Welsh. And I felt a passion in my heart - I wanted to be able to speak Welsh too.
How did you start learning Welsh?
I started online lessons with Learn Welsh Cardiff. I really like the structure of the lessons, and it was one way of making sure I practised speaking every week. I've also been on two summer courses, which were fantastic.
But as well as lessons, you have to make sure you build stuff around them, so you get to use the language in your everyday life.
It feels awkward to start asking friends if you can speak Welsh with them, but it's worth it. It’s also important to listen to the Welsh language around you and enjoy being part of a Welsh-speaking community.
You're now also doing stand-up in Welsh - how's that going?
It's going great! I've always liked making people laugh, and stand-up is almost the only place where you get immediate feedback if something is good!
I did my first bilingual gig a year and a half after starting to learn Welsh, to raise money for the Rhondda Cynon Taf Eisteddfod, and then did a show called 'Chwarae Chwedlau' in Cardiff. This was five minutes long, all in Welsh, on the theme of LGBTQ +. I was scared, but I really enjoyed it and the audience was very warm.
I'm working on a new bilingual show at the moment discussing the period when everything changed in my life – I started learning Welsh, started doing stand-up and came out as trans. I'm looking forward to performing the show for the first time at the Aberystwyth comedy festival in the Autumn.
What would be your advice to a young person who’s thinking of learning Welsh?
There’s a big world waiting for you in Welsh, and many people don't know it exists until they learn the language.
It's a really good feeling to be able to speak Welsh and I've enjoyed my language journey. I love that I can speak Welsh.
