'N glws gweithia os gallwch chi ei gael*

Conversation in the Tavern recently turned to Muffled Vociferation's post on translation services in the UK - costing an estimated £120million - and an interesting allegation came to light.

It may simply be Tavern gossip, but a visitor from out of town tells us that, should an English speaker wish to transact business in that language in certain Welsh government offices, the staff will, without cracking a smile, call for an interpreter, at the taxpayers' expense, who will solemnly translate the words of the anglophone visitor for the staff and relay the Welsh reply in perfect English.

This despite the fact that the staff almost certainly speak fluent English - even pro-Welsh agencies admit there are now no adult monoglot Welsh speakers - and, in any case, for anything invented after the industrial revolution, the pronunciation is virtually the same, even if the spelling is rather more creative.

*'Nice work if you can get it' (or possibly 'illiterate English prepared to believe sh*t internet translation')