France has long had a reputation for being steeped in romanticism. Ystrad Mynach, not so much. But one Eurostar train manager's brilliant Gallic pronunciation of the Valleys town's name could be set to change all that.
In a recent tweet by Eurostar staff Justin and Abdel - aka @eurostarjustinp and @eurostarabdel - the latter can been seen reeling off a list of destinations on South Wales' Rhymney line, which runs between Rhymney and Cardiff Central. And his take on some of them, including the aforementioned Ystrad Mynach - or 'Eestrad Minaj' as Abdel puts it - has proved a huge hit online.
"Is it me or has @EurostarAbdel made Ystrad Mynach sound like an exotic dish?" said Justin, who, along with his onboard team mate, has built up quite a following on social media thanks to their entertaining rail-related posts. He admitted the pair had received a lot of requests from fans to do some train announcements in Abdel's "special style," with a number of Welsh stations figuring high on the wish list. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Read more: Google is telling people how to pronounce Welsh place names wrongly
And, in fairness to the Frenchman - who's been a familiar face on Eurostar services since 2019 - he coped very well with some of the trickier place names. Even potential tongue twisters, at least to a non-Welsh person, like Llanbradach and Llanishen were handled with aplomb. Read here about 13 weird sayings people in Wales picked up from their parents.
But, unfortunately, Ystrad Mynach - or 'Eestrad Minaj' as it shall now be known - would prove just too much for Abdel. Although plenty of his followers on Twitter thought he imbued the old place with a hitherto missing 'va-va-voom'.
"These make my day every time I see them," posted one person, while another added, "That's brilliant! Da iawn, Abdel."
