0:00:03 > 0:00:07In the '80s, Wales was inspired by men and women
0:00:07 > 0:00:10who followed their dreams, and through their spirit,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13they would help revitalise the nation.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Here was part of the cultural heritage of Wales that was
0:00:19 > 0:00:22so important to try and preserve.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27We were teaching people, they would come for a course,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30learn to surf and then they would be hooked completely,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32come to our beaches every weekend and surf here.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I wanted to show that the same passion
0:00:37 > 0:00:41and commitment was there in both languages for the one thing,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43and that was for Wales, and let's bring it together.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48This is the story of the trailblazers,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52whose passion for Welsh heritage led the nation's fight for survival.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Wales in the 1980s became
0:01:04 > 0:01:08a battleground for the preservation of industrial heritage.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11After the loss of thousands of jobs in coal and steel,
0:01:11 > 0:01:16local authorities were desperate to attract new industries to Wales.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Many in power wanted to do away with the old,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24but this was sacrilege for those who treasured the past.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Historian and TV presenter Richard Keen crossed swords with
0:01:29 > 0:01:34a local councillor responsible for regeneration of industrial sites.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38We were talking about the preservation of a coal mine,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and he was banging his desk with his fist and saying to me,
0:01:42 > 0:01:43"I will not rest
0:01:43 > 0:01:45"until I've removed every piece
0:01:45 > 0:01:49"of the symbol of subjection from my landscape!"
0:01:49 > 0:01:53And I thought, "Whoa, hang on, symbols of subjection."
0:01:53 > 0:01:58So I said to him, "OK, fine, you see that as a symbol of subjection."
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I said, "Well, what about Caerphilly Castle?
0:02:01 > 0:02:03"What greater symbol of Welsh subjection
0:02:03 > 0:02:05"can you get than Caerphilly Castle?"
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I said, "Surely we should be bulldozing that as well."
0:02:08 > 0:02:12He said, "No, no, no!" He said, "You can't do that, that's history."
0:02:12 > 0:02:17And there was this lovely construct concept about
0:02:17 > 0:02:19what was history...
0:02:19 > 0:02:20and what wasn't history.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26The '80s became a race against time for those who cared
0:02:26 > 0:02:30passionately about the preservation of industrial sites.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Closure of coal mines accelerated rapidly after the miners' strike
0:02:34 > 0:02:36was lost in 1985.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42It left many miners' lives turned upside down
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and the valleys transformed.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51I was in a former miner's house and he was standing in the bay window of
0:02:51 > 0:02:57his house, which overlooked the site of the pit where he worked, and he
0:02:57 > 0:03:01was standing with his back to me and he was looking out on this area now,
0:03:01 > 0:03:06which was a swathe of green grass blowing gently in the breeze, and he
0:03:06 > 0:03:10said, almost to himself, and he said,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13"What the hell was that all about?"
0:03:13 > 0:03:17And in that one statement there was...
0:03:17 > 0:03:19He encapsulated...
0:03:19 > 0:03:24the change from the industrial to the post-industrial society.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28# If I could see the Rhondda
0:03:28 > 0:03:30# Once again
0:03:34 > 0:03:38# And walk where I used to
0:03:38 > 0:03:40# Run as a child
0:03:43 > 0:03:48# The dust from that coal
0:03:48 > 0:03:52# Made its mark upon my soul
0:03:53 > 0:03:57# And I'd love to see the Rhondda
0:03:57 > 0:04:00# One more time. #
0:04:00 > 0:04:05But for those who saw a future in the past, all was not lost.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Historians and mining engineers mounted a concerted campaign
0:04:09 > 0:04:13to save Big Pit in Blaenavon, Torfaen.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16They identified it as the only colliery in South Wales
0:04:16 > 0:04:21where it would be practical and safe to take visitors underground
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and give them an experience of what mining was like.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Big Pit opened to the public in 1983.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31One of the curators was Brian Davies.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35I suppose, to my generation, it seemed self-evident that we
0:04:35 > 0:04:40should have a museum of what had been the major industry
0:04:40 > 0:04:43in South Wales for, really, 100 years.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48It seemed just a huge gap, you know, a presentation of our history.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Right from the start, curators said the story of coal should be
0:04:53 > 0:04:57told by the people who worked in the industry.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59It wasn't difficult to find miners to take
0:04:59 > 0:05:01the jobs as guides in the museum.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09I thought it was absolutely essential to have ex-miners
0:05:09 > 0:05:12take the visitors around and tell the story.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16On days when we were really busy, I'd put a cap lamp on
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and do it myself for a couple of hours,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23and I could get it historically right, I could get it academically
0:05:23 > 0:05:29right, but I couldn't tell the kind of personal stories that the man
0:05:29 > 0:05:31who'd worked underground could tell,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and it's generally the stories
0:05:34 > 0:05:37with a personal element to it that
0:05:37 > 0:05:40visitors relate to most readily.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45And it was noticeable that the miners were quite happy
0:05:45 > 0:05:50to stay on well past their nominal retirement age, frankly,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52because this was the first time
0:05:52 > 0:05:55that they had had the opportunity to talk to people
0:05:55 > 0:06:00about a job which had been their life, and they hugely enjoyed it.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12In the '80s, the communities of long established industries
0:06:12 > 0:06:13were struggling.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15With each wave of redundancies,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19their traditional way of life was fading into history.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Yet some things they loved survived,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26thanks to a new generation of entrepreneurs.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Peter Thomas came from a family renowned for the quality
0:06:29 > 0:06:32of its meat pies in Merthyr Tydfil.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38The miners lived in an era where their entertainment
0:06:38 > 0:06:40was in their locality.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Wonderful shows in the clubs,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46with the singers and the comedians
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and all sorts of entertainment, and it was the pies
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and the pint, you know, it was
0:06:53 > 0:06:57because of those wonderful people that our business became successful.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03The Thomas brothers transformed their father's business
0:07:03 > 0:07:05into a multi-million pound company,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08selling their Welsh pies all over Britain.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17They employed 600 people at their new factory in Bedwas, Caerphilly.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21But to Peter, it was like one big family.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26I never left the factory floor, that was my domain.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30And it was all about the people. We had a family
0:07:30 > 0:07:32of people in Bedwas,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35and I'd go from one department to the other,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37and I knew everybody by name.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Minnie Mitchell, Mary the Farm... There's
0:07:41 > 0:07:45so many characters. Lil Connick...
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Morvey Jones, Terry Foley,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49our production director,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53John Griffiths, marketing, Mel Jones on sales.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57We'd been together as a family for many, many, many years
0:07:57 > 0:08:02and we knew each other's strengths and we worked as a team.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06It was loyalty and trust in people.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Even Wales' oldest industry, agriculture, was changing fast.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23In April 1984, dairy farmers vented their anger at the government
0:08:23 > 0:08:26over the sudden introduction of European milk quotas.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29The dramatic fall in the price of milk
0:08:29 > 0:08:32left many farmers facing bankruptcy.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37One farmer's wife, who felt the protestors needed more publicity,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39was Thelma Adams in Pembrokeshire.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44It was very difficult to get the message across of the plight
0:08:44 > 0:08:48that the farmers were in, so I went home and I thought a bit,
0:08:48 > 0:08:54and then I remembered the story of Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59who bathed in milk because water was too common for her, so I thought,
0:08:59 > 0:09:04"Well, maybe that is a way to get the message across that now is the
0:09:04 > 0:09:09"very opposite for us, because milk is cheaper to bathe in than water."
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Thelma and her friends dressed as Cleopatra
0:09:13 > 0:09:17and each sat in a bath of milk on a trailer.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21The convoy of protesters then made its way into Carmarthen.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24They made their point, but the quotas remained.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29If the farmers were to survive, they had to come up with a way
0:09:29 > 0:09:31to use the surplus milk from their cows.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Thelma Adams was inspired to make a Caerphilly cheese to her own recipe,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42but when she and her husband, Gwynfor, produced it commercially,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Thelma was in charge of quality control.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48I was always interested in cheese making
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and I insisted that I only make cheese
0:09:50 > 0:09:56if Gwynfor milked the cows. And I never, ever departed from that rule.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02You get a consistency then, and you can be 100% certain that you've
0:10:02 > 0:10:07followed that milk from the way it was milked to the finished article.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14That approach brought outstanding success,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17right from the start of production.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The Adams called their cheese Caws Cenarth,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26and limited the amount the sold to what they could produce themselves.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30So although it was not widely available in Wales, good publicity
0:10:30 > 0:10:34attracted customers to the farm to buy it directly from Thelma.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It was very important to bridge the gap between the farmer
0:10:40 > 0:10:44and the housewife, and one way of doing that was to open
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the farm up to people to come and watch cheese making,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52free of charge, and for me to have the time to talk to them.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58We wanted to welcome people from all over the world to come
0:10:58 > 0:11:01to our farm and appreciate the beautiful scenery
0:11:01 > 0:11:06and the way that we lived, our simple lives.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09And even after a hard day's work, we would have people
0:11:09 > 0:11:13come in at 7.30 for me to give a talk.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I don't know where I got the energy from, to be honest,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20but, you know, you were carried away with enthusiasm of the thing.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26You get a glow from that, that they like what you're doing.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Thelma became the leading light
0:11:28 > 0:11:32in a renaissance of traditional cheese making in West Wales.
0:11:37 > 0:11:43In the North, the once mighty slate industry was fighting for its life.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48By the 1980s, the skills needed to turn slate into a commercial product
0:11:48 > 0:11:52were fast disappearing as, one by one, the quarries were closing.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Here at the National Slate Museum near Llanberis, Richard Keen
0:11:58 > 0:12:03recorded the work of men who were at the heart of the local community.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08The quarrying of slate demanded very, very special skills, and these skills
0:12:08 > 0:12:14depended very much on understanding the material that you were working.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18How you quarry the enormous blocks from the mountainside,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21from the quarry face, and how you break them down
0:12:21 > 0:12:24into a workable size, constantly breaking them down,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and then being able to split those blocks
0:12:27 > 0:12:30into very, very fine pieces of slate.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Now that was something that was learnt
0:12:42 > 0:12:44father to son, brother to brother,
0:12:44 > 0:12:49very much kept in the family, whose culture extended beyond the quarry.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It was very much part and parcel of the community.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56So many of them belonged to choirs, they belonged to debating groups,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58they would belong to reading groups.
0:12:58 > 0:12:59There was this whole sense of community,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03and they were so deeply imbued with what they did.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The skills of different generations would be
0:13:09 > 0:13:11remembered for ever in the museum.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18So here was part of the cultural heritage of Wales that was
0:13:18 > 0:13:21so important to try and preserve.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31But in the '80s, there was also a very different fight for preservation
0:13:31 > 0:13:35involving industry... and it was led by surfers,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39determined to clean up the seas around the coastline of Wales.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45# I used to think maybe you love me
0:13:45 > 0:13:47# Now, baby, I'm sure... #
0:13:47 > 0:13:51The waves at Aberavon were particularly good for surfing,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55and such was the quality of home grown talent, half the British team
0:13:55 > 0:13:57at the World Surfing Championships were Welsh.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Among them was Linda Sharp, who grew up next to the beach at Aberavon.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08The feeling of actually being on the wave, riding the wave,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12nothing else to think of, it is a complete escapism
0:14:12 > 0:14:14because you can't... you can't think of anything else,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18you have to completely concentrate on what you're doing
0:14:18 > 0:14:23at the moment. And you're basically on your own, it's you and the sea.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26You don't have to fight it, you just have to go with it.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28But it's such a good feeling.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29It's just fabulous.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32# And don't it feel good?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35# All right now And don't it feel good?
0:14:36 > 0:14:38# Yeah... #
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Surfers were coming to the South Wales coastline
0:14:40 > 0:14:43from all over Britain, attracted by the establishment of the
0:14:43 > 0:14:49nation's first proper surfing school, nearby on the Gower Peninsula.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53We were, in the very early '80s, teaching people in South Wales
0:14:53 > 0:14:55to learn to surf safely.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57They would come for a course, learn to surf
0:14:57 > 0:14:59and then they would be hooked completely,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02come to our beaches every weekend and surf here.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07So, through the '80s, we just saw it grow and grow and grow and grow.
0:15:07 > 0:15:13The spin-off from that was just a huge boom in the surfing industry.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18The wetsuit manufacturing, the board manufacturing, the surf shops.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21# Let me hear your body talk
0:15:21 > 0:15:24# Let's get physical, physical... #
0:15:24 > 0:15:27However, there was a major problem that threatened
0:15:27 > 0:15:30this fledgling industry - pollution.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32The issue became serious
0:15:32 > 0:15:36when Welsh surfers hosted a national competition for the first time.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39We brought the British Masters Championships to Aberavon,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and two days afterwards, we had reports
0:15:42 > 0:15:48that 80% of the competitors had gone down with some kind of bug.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53We were ashamed and angry that we were presenting fabulous waves,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56fantastic venue, but it made everyone ill.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08The whole of the Bristol Channel and the whole of the Gower Peninsula,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10the water was absolutely filthy.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13There was industry everywhere, there was
0:16:13 > 0:16:16very little control about how the industry were getting rid
0:16:16 > 0:16:20of their waste, it was just going into the sea. And on top of that,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23the sewage in this area wasn't being treated properly so we,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27in South Wales, as surfers, decided, "We've had enough of this,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30"we'll get ourselves organised, pull ourselves together,"
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and we formed an association,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37together with people in Cornwall, called Surfers Against Sewage.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41The campaigns included going up to Parliament
0:16:41 > 0:16:45dressed in our surfboards and wetsuits, going up and just
0:16:45 > 0:16:49standing by the door, just showing them we need something changed,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51so there were a lot of campaigns like that
0:16:51 > 0:16:53and ultimately they worked.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00The Aberavon coast was awarded Blue Flag status in 2007.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Winning awards for conservation and preservation was crucial
0:17:07 > 0:17:10to those who cared deeply about the heritage of Wales.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Throughout the '80s, Richard Keen was closely involved with
0:17:17 > 0:17:22the saving of Blaenavon iron works, that many regarded as an eyesore.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25But for him, the old industrial site was
0:17:25 > 0:17:30so important, it was worthy of the highest recognition.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33I spoke to the World Heritage people and said, "Look, I think
0:17:33 > 0:17:36"there's an opportunity here, come and have a look,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37"see what you think,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41"whether or not this is a contender for World Heritage."
0:17:41 > 0:17:44They saw the potential, they saw this totality of the landscape
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and they said, "Yes, we think that this may well be a contender."
0:17:50 > 0:17:52We had to give it that status
0:17:52 > 0:17:56so that it became the same kind of status as the Taj Mahal
0:17:56 > 0:18:01or the Great Wall Of China. This was of supreme significance, and I think
0:18:01 > 0:18:05it was... My role was very much in telling that story,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09in getting out and about, in giving talks, in writing papers,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11in attending meetings
0:18:11 > 0:18:15and constantly repeating and re-repeating that story.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21It was giving it context, giving its place in our heritage.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29The Blaenavon industrial landscape was made
0:18:29 > 0:18:31a World Heritage Site
0:18:31 > 0:18:32in 2000.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34What happened in the 1980s
0:18:34 > 0:18:36was that we had
0:18:36 > 0:18:42the reclamation of industrial sites that were an integral
0:18:42 > 0:18:48and important part of the history and the change in culture and
0:18:48 > 0:18:53community that had taken place in Wales over the past 200, 250 years.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14The 1980s saw no let up in the drive to preserve the Welsh culture
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and its language.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Leader of Plaid Cymru Gwynfor Evans went on hunger strike until the
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Tory government committed the fourth TV channel for the Welsh language.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Sianel Pedwar Cymru, S4C, started broadcasting on
0:19:33 > 0:19:36November 1st 1982.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Gary Slaymaker was a student at the time.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43I was in college on the opening night of S4C, and we all
0:19:43 > 0:19:44gathered in the common room,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48in front of the big telly we'd rented, and just
0:19:48 > 0:19:52sat there and watched from start to finish the first evening of S4C.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56There's a term that quite often was used demeaningly for S4C,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00which was "ein sianel cartrefol" - "our friendly little channel".
0:20:00 > 0:20:03And it felt comfortable, like Dad and Mam programmes.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06It was the kind of thing that your Auntie Glenys wouldn't get
0:20:06 > 0:20:09upset by, but you never really felt there was anything for us
0:20:09 > 0:20:11out there, for the 20 pluses.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Kids were being catered for. I mean,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16it was really strange in the early days of S4C. The kids'
0:20:16 > 0:20:20programmes, I thought, were way, way better than the adults' programmes.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Yng nghanol rhes of dedis bach cyffredin roedd un heb gael ei...
0:20:23 > 0:20:25SuperTed was a runaway hit
0:20:25 > 0:20:29and quickly boosted the profile of the new TV channel.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31It's creator, Mike Young,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35produced the series in Cardiff to help build up local talent.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Nid tedi cyffredin mohono bellach...
0:20:39 > 0:20:42It was the fact that he was a Welsh speaking superhero teddy bear
0:20:42 > 0:20:45and the fact that the series was based in Cardiff, because
0:20:45 > 0:20:48the opening titles, you were outside Cardiff Castle, so all of a sudden
0:20:48 > 0:20:52you know where SuperTed is based and you're going, "How cool is this?"
0:20:52 > 0:20:54HE SCREAMS
0:20:54 > 0:20:56The success of SuperTed
0:20:56 > 0:20:59kick-started the animation industry in the capital.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01O! Ti wedi newid, SuperTed.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07S4C was at the vanguard of a media revolution,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10bringing independent Welsh language programmes to the screens.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16The well-funded dramas were a great opportunity for actors
0:21:16 > 0:21:18like Sharon Morgan.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22What was wonderful about it was that it was people who really believed
0:21:22 > 0:21:25in Wales and giving Wales a voice,
0:21:25 > 0:21:26who are now making the programmes,
0:21:26 > 0:21:31as opposed to people who are working for a large company, corporations
0:21:31 > 0:21:33from outside Wales.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36And so that was really, really heartening.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41There was a tremendous self-belief, a tremendous confidence
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and excitement about it at the beginning, it was amazing,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46it was wonderful.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Rhtthy Dwr, 114, take one.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51Action!
0:21:51 > 0:21:54The budget of S4C, really, was fantastic,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58and during the '80s, I went to Italy twice, to Brittany
0:21:58 > 0:22:01for a fortnight, to Amsterdam,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04to make drama programmes for S4C,
0:22:04 > 0:22:09and it was...that was, in itself, was a fantastic thing to do, really,
0:22:09 > 0:22:14because we felt very European. We were now, because of S4C, in a sense,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18we had a stake in the world and it wasn't confined just to Wales,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21that we could go and make programmes abroad where,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24you know, they were all in Welsh,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28but that we could be part of Europe, we could be part of the world, and
0:22:28 > 0:22:32that was very exciting, because the budgets did allow that to happen.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Ni'n dechrau deall ein gilydd, o'r diwedd.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Though there were high hopes for S4C, Welsh language activists
0:22:45 > 0:22:48continued campaigning on issues like English immigration,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51education and equal status of the language.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Many people were driven to break the law, even though there was
0:22:57 > 0:23:01a strong possibility of arrest and imprisonment.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Sharon Morgan was arrested after painting
0:23:08 > 0:23:10slogans on the walls of the Welsh Office.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15We were arrested and I spent the afternoon in a police cell.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18We were only there for a matter of, well, I don't know,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22hours, but it was incredible when we were released. My gosh,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I take my... I don't know how people do it.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Just the sense of the loss of your freedom for that amount of time,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32you know, is incredible, so I have tremendous admiration for all
0:23:32 > 0:23:35those people who spent so long in jail.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Many, many members of the Welsh Language Society have been
0:23:39 > 0:23:43jailed for months and months, and years sometimes,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47for what they've done for the Welsh language and culture.
0:23:48 > 0:23:54But the 1980s saw some activists take the campaign to a whole new level -
0:23:54 > 0:23:56the burning of holiday homes.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02The tactic was to destroy property that they felt should have
0:24:02 > 0:24:04been available for the local population.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10This extremely controversial campaign shocked many people in Wales.
0:24:13 > 0:24:1723 of those arrested for the crimes were put on probation.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Another was jailed. In all,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23there were over 200 arson attacks.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30One Welsh musician who did not agree with the campaign of arson
0:24:30 > 0:24:33was Mike Peters of The Alarm.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38I didn't want Wales to become locked in this terrorist battle,
0:24:38 > 0:24:39didn't want to see...
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I was all for the peaceful protests
0:24:42 > 0:24:47and the direct action about saving the language, but when it got into
0:24:47 > 0:24:50real violence and that somebody's life could have been lost, I thought
0:24:50 > 0:24:54we would lose all sympathy for the battle...
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and so I spoke out about it.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Mae'n ddrwg gen i. Dydw i ddim yn siarad Cymraeg.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Rydw i'n dysgu siarad Cymraeg.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Sorry, I don't speak Welsh, but I'm learning the language.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07APPLAUSE
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Mike Peters voiced his concerns to the Welsh Language Society
0:25:10 > 0:25:13in Aberystwyth and at concerts across Wales.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19There are people waging an arson campaign in this country.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23And I feel and believe that it is time
0:25:23 > 0:25:26to speak out about that, because I believe that...
0:25:27 > 0:25:31..that should their campaign bring about the loss of life,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34and I feel that that loss of life could be very, very imminent,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38I feel that that would affect every single person here in Wales.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:25:40 > 0:25:44We must now speak out against all acts of violence.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48We needed to be beyond that kind of stuff,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51we needed to strengthen our voice through unity
0:25:51 > 0:25:55and find a Welsh voice that was...
0:25:55 > 0:25:57that could embrace everybody who
0:25:57 > 0:26:00lived in Wales, whether they spoke the language or not.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08In 1989, The Alarm released their new album in two language versions.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12MUSIC: Dim Ffiniau by The Alarm
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Gary Slaymaker worked as a DJ on Radio Cymru at the time.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I think I used to play at least two Alarm tracks in Welsh every
0:26:25 > 0:26:29week on the radio show, and it was excellent because you'd be able
0:26:29 > 0:26:31to hear The Alarm tracks going out on Radio Wales
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and The Alarm's Welsh tracks going out on Radio Cymru,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37and no-one had done this that I recalled.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40And even if you weren't the big Alarm fan,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42by the time you'd heard the Welsh language version,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44"Oh, I'll have to go and watch this band."
0:26:44 > 0:26:47# Going out in a blaze of glory Setting your sights for the sky
0:26:47 > 0:26:51# They can offer you anything at all
0:26:51 > 0:26:54# But your dreams must not be sold... #
0:26:55 > 0:26:57I consider myself to be Welsh,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and just because I couldn't speak the language,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03I did not consider myself any less Welsh than somebody who did.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06So I thought if I built a bridge into my own culture,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09I could make a difference, you know, and I thought the only way
0:27:09 > 0:27:13I could do it is through music, really, that's what I know.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17I wanted to show that it was the same passion
0:27:17 > 0:27:20and commitment that was there in both languages, for the one thing,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24and that was for Wales, and let's bring it together.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26# Early one morning
0:27:26 > 0:27:29# Across the fields of dawn
0:27:29 > 0:27:32# Crooked is the shadow
0:27:32 > 0:27:35# That falls on my land
0:27:35 > 0:27:37# Storm clouds overhead
0:27:37 > 0:27:40# Like birds of prey in wait
0:27:40 > 0:27:42# How can we undo
0:27:42 > 0:27:45# What cannot be undone?
0:27:45 > 0:27:48# I feel the darkness heavy
0:27:48 > 0:27:50# Heavy on my heart
0:27:50 > 0:27:53# There's distance between us
0:27:53 > 0:27:55# Tearing us apart
0:27:55 > 0:28:00# Oo, mi groesai'r afon drosot ti
0:28:00 > 0:28:03# Stormydd ar y gorwel
0:28:03 > 0:28:06# Cymylau yn y gwynt
0:28:06 > 0:28:11# Oo, mi groesai'r afon drosot ti!
0:28:11 > 0:28:13# A'r cyffro'n gwneud
0:28:13 > 0:28:19# I'm calon guro'n gynt ac yn gynt... #
0:28:21 > 0:28:25The burning of holiday homes ceased a few years later.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Mike Peters personified the fighting spirit that brought Wales
0:28:30 > 0:28:34together in its battle for survival in the '80s.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37It was this kind of tenacious spirit that helped the nation
0:28:37 > 0:28:40overcome a painful industrial decline
0:28:40 > 0:28:43and face the future with confidence and pride.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48# Oh, how many rivers must I cross?
0:28:48 > 0:28:53# Somehow, somewhere I will find a way
0:28:53 > 0:28:55# To cross. #