17/02/2013 Degawdau Dewi Llwyd

Dewi Llwyd has recently stopped presenting Newyddion on S4C...

..after 25 years at the helm.

I had done my time. I felt it was time for the next generation...

..and some new voices to have an opportunity.

The end of years travelling back and forth...

..between the studio in Cardiff and his home in Bangor.

That is where I started, on the national radio service.

I'm going back to what one might call a first love.

After reaching a certain age...

..that 200 mile journey became a little overwhelming.

I'm looking forward to walking 200 yards to the Post Prynhawn studio.

He worked on Newyddion for three decades...

..since the very start in 1982.

It's an opportunity to look back on a career...

..in which he was a witness to history.

A very warm welcome to you...

..joining us for the first time on S4C.

They say it's easy to relight an old flame...

..but we want to light a bonfire.

'82. Owen Edwards welcoming the viewers to S4C.

What are your early memories of the channel?

There was a lot of excitement in those days.

I didn't broadcast on the first night...

..but I did broadcast on the second night.

I don't remember what I was discussing...

..but I was the first parliamentary correspondent in 1982...

..and it was a very exciting time.

In one sense, the channel was at its best in those days...

..as one of four channels.

The audience was there.

He volunteered to be the first parliamentary correspondent.

No-one else wanted the job.

His first general election was a baptism of fire.

That election in 1983 stands out...

..as the worst programme I have ever presented.

I have vivid memories of Gwyn Llewelyn and I presenting...

..and between us with a blackboard and a map...

..was a reporter called Rod Richards.

First, let's look at the map of Wales.

As you can see, Wrexham is red...

..after John Marek held on for Labour.

He had a sheet of paper and a blackboard...

..trying to explain the swing and which seats had been lost.

It was a complete mess.

The main thing I remember is announcing the Gower result.

It was a solid Labour seat and Gareth Wardell was the MP.

And we've just heard that the Conservatives have taken Gower.

That is an astonishing result.

The Tories have taken Gower from Labour...

..so Gareth Wardell has lost his seat.

We'll have more details in a moment.

Gwyn Llewelyn turned to Lord Cledwyn, the former...

..Labour Cabinet Minister, to analyse this for ten minutes.

It's a surprise because it's been a safe Labour seat.

The Tories have more than half of the vote.

I'd be surprised if there's another result like this one.

I was given a piece of paper saying it was a mistake.

I had to apologise. "Gareth Wardell is safe with a clear majority."

I'm embarrassed just thinking about it.

I've got a note here which I ignored earlier.

It says Labour have held on to Gower.

Are we correct? Can anybody confirm that?

That's the correct result on the screen.

We made a terrible mistake earlier.

Those are the figures I expected to see. Thank you.

In the 1980s, he started a career as a foreign correspondent.

One of the biggest stories was the famine in Africa...

..and it's burnt into his memory.

By watching the screen in the lounge...

..we've seen some terrible things over the years...

..but being within feet of these people who were suffering...

..was a shocking experience.

The food has arrived after six hours.

They get one meal a day from the Red Cross.

It's not enough to help them grow...

..but it will keep them going for a month or two.

You remember the details as well.

We took food like biscuits with us...

..and after seeing that, you feel like handing out some biscuits...

..but we were banned from doing that...

..in case it caused chaos or started some sort of riot.

But that feeling of being unable to help...

..is still with me 25 years later.

At times like those...

..the reporter suggests that the situation is disgraceful.

You can't fail to remember the comments of aid workers...

..because they work so hard.

Trident, for example, could pay for the UN's food programme...

..for ten years.

The reporter is a witness, is unbiased...

..and is there to broadcast. Have you ever felt that was irrelevant?

Very often. Particularly with humanitarian workers.

In that situation, you describe what is going on...

..and you hope it has an impact back home.

Charities would support that.

And if you're completely honest, you're happy that you can leave...

..all the dust and the dirt when it's time to go home.

But you are full of admiration for the people...

..who are working there for charitable organisations.

It's a humbling experience.

You do your job, but other people do far more important work.

In Wales, the headlines were full of angst.

Political polarisation after the referendum on devolution in '79.

North Wales Police have questioned nine men from Gwynedd.

They were arrested this morning but have since been released.

There were also social divisions.

You should be ashamed of yourself! A farmer yourself...

One group after another fighting against...

..Margaret Thatcher's Tory government.

It's crunch time.

CHEERING

Wales has changed a lot, hasn't it?

The biggest change might be, during the '80s...

..there was lots of violence and bitterness...

..and there were also fierce political clashes.

We had prominent Welsh figures like the late Elwyn Jones...

..on the side of the Tories.

People were prepared to shout at each other...

..in a very emotional way.

Doesn't that please you? Doesn't that please you?

Doesn't it please any of you? Oh, cheer up. Cheer up.

Mrs Thatcher was in her pomp.

This man has done a fabulous job in the Welsh Development Agency.

Don't you think he's done a fabulous job?

A heroine to some, a villain to others...

..and a master of political spin.

The closest I got to her was when Mrs Thatcher travelled to Russia...

..in 1987 about three or four months before the election.

She got an amazing reception from the Russians in those days.

She could also milk the appreciation.

She loved being among them and I remember feeling uneasy...

..about being a reporter on that trip.

But I realized what great publicity this was...

..for Mrs Thatcher back home, three months before the election.

This was the last decade of the Cold War...

..and disarmament was top of the agenda.

Ronald Reagan from the United States...

..and Mikhail Gorbachev from the Soviet Union...

..reached an historic agreement.

There could be no winner in a nuclear war.

You were at every summit in all weather conditions.

Yes. In cold weather, the first thing to disappear...

..in my experience, was the ability to talk normally.

The bottom lip started to freeze.

I remember being in Geneva, Reykjavik, and in Washington...

..trying to talk sensibly.

Both leaders talked about a safe path towards the next century.

They carry the burden of history.

A major event, and we were broadcasting live from Washington.

Journalists like to think that they write the first draft of history.

But this foreign correspondent could rely on S4C viewers...

..to keep his feet on the ground.

It was 1986, in Reykjavik.

It was another summit between Reagan and Gorbachev.

I have no idea what I was doing talking to Miss World.

In that year, Miss Iceland was Miss World.

Her name was Hofi Karlsdottir.

Everybody was having their photo taken with Miss World...

..as Reagan and Gorbachev discussed nuclear weapons.

I decided to ask her to say "Noswaith dda" in Welsh.

SHE SPEAKS ICELANDIC

Noswaith dda.

Two of the world's most powerful leaders...

..and everyone remembers Miss World saying "Noswaith dda" in Welsh.

Noswaith dda.

It's been a long journey for the presenter, Dewi Llwyd.

Three decades on S4C's Newyddion team.

The end of an era as a witness to some of the time's biggest events.

After the Berlin Wall came down...

..there wasn't as astonishing a decade as the '90s.

This was a new world.

For foreign broadcasting in Welsh this was a golden age.

The motto back then was do everything in Welsh.

Because it was possible that's what we did.

Whatever happens in the 90s the first election in the new Germany...

..was an opportunity to thank the team that was in power...

..when the Wall came down.

I went out for the unification ceremony...

..and the first elections were being held at that time.

"I am so glad we have one Germany", said this man.

In the same year I went to Prague...

..for the first free elections in Czechoslovakia.

Election.

Good evening from Prague. Within a few months...

..the old Communist world has been transformed...

..as the wind of democracy blows across the Continent.

I remember, a Sunday night, S4C's main viewing hours...

..and we broadcast a results programme live from Prague.

It's hard to believe that here last November, 500,000 people...

..protested against the Communist regime.

It was also an opportunity to see other big European stories...

..such as the growth of the extreme right in France...

..from a Welsh perspective.

They come in their thousands to rallies such as this...

..as the National Front hope to do better than ever...

..in the regional elections.

The people at the top were asked difficult questions.

In the case of Jean-Marie Le Pen, they were asked in French.

Is there a difference between immigrants from North Africa...

..and the English and Germans who buy holiday homes in France?

One is European and the other isn't.

The English and the Germans come from countries...

..that have close ties with our country.

20 years later, I do look back and wonder if leaders...

..would be as venturesome and enthusiastic...

..to do that again today.

I doubt it would happen for mostly financial reasons...

..and perhaps because the philosophy has changed as well.

But some foreign stories are impossible to ignore in any period.

Nelson Mandela's release was truly historic.

Then in 1994, an equal vote was given to the black people...

..in South Africa's first free election.

From a journalistic point of view...

..the biggest honour was going to South Africa at that time.

What strikes someone is that story is extraordinary...

..because, on the whole, it's a story of hope and good news.

There is an amazing atmosphere here. No suggestion of clashes or threats.

Everyone's enjoying a party spirit as they vote for the first time.

You asked them, you've been here for four hours.

"We've been waiting four centuries to be able to vote."

Do we in Britain realize we're so privileged in being able to vote?

I, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela...

..do hereby swear...

..to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa.

A day South African's will remember for ever...

..and it's all happening in such a peaceful and joyous atmosphere.

That remains a thrilling feeling.

But there was a deeper story to report...

..about a divide between black and white which was slow to close.

The blacks were not only poorer but faced daily threats of violence.

HE SHOUTS

It was there that I had one of the most frightening experiences...

..I've ever had while reporting.

We were walking through this place...

..with derelict buildings which you couldn't really call homes...

..and everyone looking at you very suspiciously.

We were a small handful of white men walking along the street...

..which had sewage running along its side...

..and suddenly, a man attacked another man and stabbed him.

He fell in front of us. What does a reporter do in that situation?

You have no choice. Nobody else was helping him.

We had to do something.

But the situation was that he didn't want to be taken to hospital.

He didn't want the police to know.

There was blood pouring out of his leg and his side...

..and we had to take him by car to his friend's home.

You feel so useless when faced with such a situation.

But you know what?

Those things happened every hour, every day, every week.

But closer to home, events beyond the news headlines...

..occupied Dewi Llwyd for a full week in early August.

I enjoyed going to the Eisteddfod.

I liked nothing better than interviewing the crowned bard...

..or whoever had won the chair in an Eisteddfod like Bro Colwyn...

..when two members of the Parc Nest family won. Fantastic.

Despite the difference in size, we are two brothers.

APPLAUSE

Hollywood writers would have found it hard to script a week like this.

It's been memorable on many counts but we could refer to it...

..as the Parc Nest Eisteddfod.

I don't remember now when he was born...

..but I was there.

The Eisteddfod always brought unexpected and unusual things.

You wouldn't believe a news presenter would do such things.

Much thinner ones than this make good chips, like Continental frites.

You try those.

I don't like the look of them!

They look OK.

They smell of old fat.

I'll try one.

The fat smells bad.

I can't eat them, I'm afraid.

In terms of news, the biggest year of the decade was 1997.

The first big challenge was the general election.

The Conservatives had been in power for 18 years...

..and people thought Labour may never be elected.

It's a sea of red.

Incredible. There isn't another election which compares...

..in terms of majority or swing or anything.

'Earthquake' isn't enough to describe this change.

We have a new Labour Government from today on.

I think I've presented...

..the results programmes of seven general elections by now...

..four Assembly elections and two referendums.

As a broadcaster, I must admit...

..they're the highlights of my career.

Gathering that information together and making it interesting...

..and exciting is one of the biggest challenges facing any broadcasters.

Welcome to the big count.

On the whole, I must say, firstly, I've enjoyed it...

..and secondly, the programmes have hugely improved.

In '97, within four months of Tony Blair and New Labour's victory...

..another big story was dominating the headlines.

We'd just returned from holiday and was starting work on the Monday...

..but very, very early on the Sunday morning...

..there was a call from the editor in Cardiff.

I was awoken from a deep sleep to hear, "Dewi, come to Cardiff now.

"Diana has died."

The whole world has been shocked and saddened...

..by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Central to it all was the emotional service at Westminster Abbey.

I remember how much emotion there was.

People thought there was a change in the British people...

..for displaying their emotions to such an extent.

You look back at significant events...

..and retrospectively, it may not be an historical milestone...

..but yet at the time, it was a big event.

And just a fortnight later, another big story.

Less than 20 years after the electorate...

..opposed devolution in '79, another referendum.

Amazing is the only word to describe the night.

I had a panel of politicians, Rod Richards among them.

Dafydd Iwan was another one. For him in particular, it was a big night.

For him, this was the culmination of a lifelong battle.

At 3am, I remember Dafydd having to leave the studio...

..because there were tears in his eyes and he wanted to go outside.

He was emotional because he realised that the battle was lost...

..and the 'No' vote would win.

After that, I doubt we can win tonight.

On the other hand, Rod Richards was all smiles.

You don't have to show it every time, some Assembly talking shop...

As the clock moved towards 4am...

..I suddenly sensed John Meredith trying to tell me something.

The situation may well change after we hear Carmarthen's result.

I know we shouldn't speak before the result...

..but the 'No' campaign has almost a 16,000 majority.

Are you telling me in some kind of code...

..that the majority may be more for the 'Yes' in Carmarthenshire?

The simple answer to that, Dewi, is yes.

John, of course, said yes. That was revealed before any other programme.

There was soon official confirmation.

The majority in Carmarthenshire was enough to swing the vote...

..in favour of the 'Yes' campaign.

It seems to me that this appears to mean...

..that the Assembly has received the approval of the majority of voters.

We're dramatic people, that's all I'll say.

It's the most significant day in the history of Wales as a nation...

..since Owain Glyndwr's rebellion over 500 years ago.

It culminated in the opening of the first Assembly in 1999.

Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to Cardiff Bay...

..on a big day in the history of Wales.

The trouble is, work and pleasure can often collide.

It seems the most memorable occasion...

..so memorable that I can give you the date right now...

..May the 26th, 1999.

That was the day Manchester United finally reached...

..the Champions League final in Barcelona.

I'd been to the games right through the competition.

I had a ticket to go and see this big game.

All I had to do was ask the editors for two days' leave.

The request was refused.

The Queen was coming down from London...

..to open the first Assembly.

Your Royal Highnesses...

..modestly but with pride, we come together today...

..on a crossroads in Welsh history.

I sincerely hope the viewers will forgive me...

..but that was the one day in my career...

..when I didn't want to be broadcasting.

It's not my place on a day like today to pour cold water on things...

I didn't see a frame of the game until the second half.

I was sitting in a portakabin in Cardiff Bay...

..with two technicians, watching this big game.

Of course, the result was excellent with United winning 2-1...

..in the final minutes.

Have you forgiven the bosses now?

The story may be forgotten...

It isn't!

..but I'll remember that day for many reasons. For ever.

This is an historic day for Wales.

I would like to wish her well from the bottom of my heart.

Dewi Llwyd has retired from presenting the Welsh language news.

He's leaving Cardiff and returning to North Wales.

There is no better sight than crossing Bwlch yr Oerddrws...

..towards Meirionnydd, with Snowdon and Gwynedd ahead of me.

I know I'm on my way home.

In three decades, one event above all else remains in the memory.

Oh, my God!

September 2001 and the world turns its attention...

..to the terrorist attacks that defined the new century.

I remember, as do so many of my colleagues, the day it happened...

..because you just stood in shock in front of the TV screen.

You had seen one plane crash into the Towers...

..and you stood there open-mouthed as a second crashed.

I remember turning to my colleagues and saying, "Terrorists."

You were immediately aware this was an hugely significant incident.

Terrorism against our nation will not stand.

I didn't arrive in New York until three weeks later.

I returned there a year later.

One Welshman considers himself lucky.

Stephen Evans was on the ground floor of one of the Towers.

Are people still discussing what happened?

In the city itself, people aren't really talking about it.

People are thinking about it, but not many are talking.

As the 16 acres are prepared for new development...

..there remains one concern...

..the fear that a similar incident could happen again.

I returned there 10 years later...

..and the city had returned to the way it was...

..full of excitement, as busy as ever, but the scars remained.

Welcome to New York on the day America remembered...

..those killed exactly a decade ago.

A ceremony was held at Ground Zero, in the memorial garden...

..built on the site of the Towers that fell on that chilling day.

That was possibly one of the biggest stories...

..during my time as a presenter.

It led to two wars.

The war in Afghanistan still rumbles on...

..along with the controversial decision to enter Iraq...

..to topple Saddam Hussein.

When the history books look back at Tony Blair's time in charge...

..they'll focus on what happened in Iraq.

Following the Iraq War, came the nightmare of 7/7...

..a cruel terrorist attack on the streets of London.

You remember the shock that such a thing could happen in the UK.

We were used to reporting on IRA bombs...

..but this was a different enemy, a mysterious enemy...

..born and brought up in Britain.

Pawb a'i Farn featured Welsh stories.

Despite retiring from Newyddion, Dewi Llwyd continues to present...

..the weekly show.

We've visited this area many times before.

Pawb a'i Farn has given attention to the important subjects...

..over the years - the economy, certainly the language...

..and without a doubt, agriculture.

The farming unions are prepared to complain about all sorts of things.

Foot and mouth disease is another.

I remember one person complaining that we discussed agriculture...

..so regularly on Pawb a'i Farn.

"I'm tempted to call you Pawb a'i Fferm, Dewi!"

Meeting the audience, you enjoy that.

Yes, that's true.

Broadcasters need to remember the audience.

Who's watching, who's interested? That's not easy in modern Wales.

You try to appeal to everyone...

..and there are different concerns in different parts of the country.

But I've been lucky during this past 15 years...

..going out and meeting the Pawb a'i Farn audiences...

..the people who watch S4C.

The council want us in the dark. Maybe Tesco will sneak in!

Well done! I like that!

When I'd return to Cardiff for the News Department meetings...

..I could voice the concerns held by the general public.

In 2008, Dewi Llwyd was on the road once again.

This time, following presidential candidate Barack Obama.

He's reported on every US election since 1984.

Good evening from Washington, and the dawn of a new political era.

Bill Clinton is the first Democrat to win since 1976.

In the end, it was a comfortable victory.

I was fascinated by America.

It's possibly the biggest culture and power...

..as far as the modern world...

..and you therefore felt it was a good place from which to report.

And I got my opportunity.

I had the privilege of travellingacross America...

...from Cardiff in California to Bangor in Pennsylvania...

..and that of course imitated my weekly commute...

..from Bangor to Cardiff.

There was great excitement at the prospect of a black president.

This is a crucial election in a country that has seen...

..great change and is less certain of itself than it once was.

And the rest of the world is watching.

We love this country too much to let the next four years...

..go like the last eight.

The country has been uncertain, insular and isolated.

The two candidates, in particular Barack Obama...

..say they're keen to change that, but whoever wins the election...

..faces quite a challenge.

It was a chance to interview Welsh speakers across the country...

..no-one more memorable than two contributors...

..in Bangor, Pennsylvania.

We visited the home of Richard and Bronwen Pritchard.

How have you managed to maintain your Welsh? In chapel?

Yes.

And at home, my mother and father's home.

What about the election?

Too much talk and too little action. I don't know.

I don't care who wins.

Both of them spoke Welsh and neither of them was born in Wales.

They'd been to Wales once on holiday.

The Welshness was strong here.

They showed me a photo of the Sunday School in the '30s.

Dozens of people at this Welsh Sunday School in the 1930s.

I chatted to them in Welsh with this couple who were in their 90s.

What a fantastic experience!

How have you managed to continue speaking Welsh?

The chapel...

..reading books and looking at photographs...

..and a little longing.

Unfortunately, they have both passed on...

..and the Welsh culture is fading in America.

Obama, the world's most powerful man, made more history...

..in winning a second term in 2012.

But in Wales, the story of a vulnerable little girl...

..made the headlines.

We are desperate for any news. April is only five years old.

There are so many occasions where there are worrying stories.

I've just been in Machynlleth, reporting on April Jones.

It was a quiet town.

Today, people could not believe such a thing could happen here...

..such a frightening development on the streets of this small town.

Great sadness, but also the people of the town coming together...

..uniting in an heroic effort to try and find her.

It was very hard to deal with people who were so concerned...

..and after a couple of days they were grieving...

..as they realised that maybe April would not return.

That kind of thing certainly affects you as a presenter.

It's one of those stories I will remember for the rest of my life.

Dewi Llwyd's journey through TV news is drawing to a close.

So too, decades of travelling between Cardiff and Bangor.

If I had the right to an opinion, maybe we should have...

..a better road linking North and South Wales.

This must be an extremely odd experience.

You're not asking the questions. You're answering them.

It's a strange experience.

On the whole, it's an experience I've managed to purposely avoid...

..because I prefer to ask the questions...

..and on the whole, I don't have anything much of interest to say.

I'd say there is a performer's ego in there somewhere...

..but I would argue you don't need too much of that.

A performance can come between the viewer and the story.

And the story being told is the most important thing...

..not the person telling the story.

The presenter is in the living room night after night.

They always know you're "that news man!"

I was in Bangor and this woman dragged her husband over...

..and said to him, "Look, it's Arfon Haines Davies."

That was me put in my place!

She knew I presented the news...

..but wasn't sure of the name and what does it matter?

Were you ever nervous or anything?

I must admit that on the whole, I never really got nervous.

You can't be too nervous because when things go wrong...

..you need the presenter to be there to smooth things over.

You're trying to be like the traditional swan...

..calm above the surface, but paddling madly under the desk.

I remember coming across Brian Hanrahan in Geneva...

..asking, "How's Dewi? He could have been so big in London."

Did you ever feel the urge to work in English?

You could have interviewed anyone.

Honestly, no. I never felt the urge to do that.

I have nothing against colleagues, like you, Bethan...

..doing that, but I made a decision very early on...

..that I wanted to contribute through the medium of Welsh...

..and in Wales, where possible.

But that closed so many journalistic doors.

I had the opportunity to be with people like Brian Hanrahan...

..and Martin Bell, John Simpson and so on travelling the world...

..and I had two or three offers to go to London...

..but I wasn't tempted.

I wasn't looking for that - "You could have been so big."

I was entirely happy doing what I was doing. I felt privileged.

Dewi Llwyd remained faithful to BBC Wales and S4C...

..but little else remained the same in the world of broadcasting.

There were great technological changes.

You have seen a revolution in the way news is collated and presented.

We're in a world of Twitter, Facebook.

You have to smile when you look back...

..because there's been a revolution.

I started with the old-fashioned typewriter...

..where you bashed those keys.

You couldn't work here without noticing the influence...

..of the image and hours of footage reach us here.

As far as the technological revolution, it's remarkable.

And now I have far younger colleagues who are so talented.

They have to do the camera work and can do the camera work...

..they can edit, then can carry the whole thing into a hotel room...

..edit their own work and send it from wherever they are...

..via the internet, it's a miracle, and that is the future.

And that's the end.

Yes, stand by VT5.

But you could argue that everyone's a journalist now...

..everyone takes photos on their phones.

Does that dilute the craft, if it is a craft at all these days?

Well, it means that there are endless sources available.

Everyone can contribute.

We can receive information from anywhere.

With Twitter, for example, if it is managed properly...

..it can be an invaluable resource.

It is advantageous for our democracy, in general.

Throughout all the changes and the digital revolution...

..Dewi Llwyd has continued to support quality programmes...

..in grammatically sound Welsh.

Welsh broadcasting, I want to ensure that works...

..as best it can and I always thought that part of it...

..in the newsroom was that the relationship...

..between the two big corporations, S4C and the BBC...

..could have been better, at times.

And that was something that disappointed me a little...

..because both were like a couple of fighting cockerels...

..and using public money in doing so.

The impression I get is that things are improving...

..and that will benefit the programmes and the language.

What do you make of the language in broadcasting?

We need to be clear, brief, understandable...

..but we need to be correct and we need to pass on a language...

..that is worth passing on.

I'm not that worried about the language of our contributors.

It reflects the Welsh language in Wales right now.

But as far as broadcasters, I'm afraid that over the years...

..I have continued to expect the highest standards.

But there have been calls for us to simplify language over the years...

..including over the past few months.

I'm not sure if I can simplify what I broadcast any further.

And maybe I would not like to see if diluted any further.

I'm not sure if it's our place to change language...

..to make it more understandable.

You would not expect to see that happening in the English bulletins.

The sober presenter in a suit and tie...

..was never afraid to laugh at himself either.

A few clips still raise a smile.

You're ashamed of them over 20 years later.

What on earth was wrong with you?

But as I suggested, the people back at the office in Cardiff...

..want to see you on the spot.

Good evening from the Shetland Islands.

The weather is making it impossible to cope with this disaster.

As you can see, the waves are crashing into the rocks...

..beneath my feet.

Why make a fool of yourself?

It's a classic example of everyone at home looking at you...

..wondering, "Dewi, what are you doing?"

They're not listening to a word you're saying.

What will happen to the ties? The glasses have shrunk over the years.

It will be so different.

I won't need as many ties and you're right about the glasses.

I don't know why I wore them!

Fashion!

They looked awful.

And the ties, well, I had an excess.

If I sat down and began counting, until six months ago...

..I'm sure it would have been around 400!

Blimey!

I don't love ties, but that was the ideal gift.

If someone was looking for a gift, they'd choose a tie for me.

Do you have a favourite? A lucky tie?

There is a tie I wore for a couple of elections.

Good evening. The polling stations are about to close..

..and the drama is about to begin.

It was chosen carefully because all four colours were there.

The red, the blue, the green and the yellow.

Extremely balanced!

You learn how to walk the middle path, unbiased...

..and in that, maybe my surname says it all!

You tend to see the grey!

You've interviewed all kinds of people. The best?

The most interesting conversation?

Interviewing the Dalai Lama was a great experience...

..because I still remember over 20 years later...

..that smile, it's like a treasure, sunshine...

..smiling upon you as you interview him.

That's the personality, the image he presents...

..and that's what he was like for an hour in his company...

..when I visited India, the Tibetan leader...

..now in exile for over 60 years.

It is here that the language is kept, traditions treasured...

..and religion, above all, has a central place.

A religion of which the Dalai Lama is the main Earthly representative.

You can't help but be charmed by this man...

..who was criticised for not using violent means...

..to secure a motherland for his people.

Through violence, you may gain something.

And superficially, some result.

But at the same time, it very often creates another problem.

I'm certainly a more tolerant person, I think...

..than I was in the early days.

I am a redhead and I may have been more fiery back then.

But I do remember when I was working alongside Martin Bell...

..a wonderful correspondent, and he always emphasised...

..in the midst of all this, before we all become bitter cynics...

.."Dewi, don't forget the wonder of it all."

In the midst of the horror and the boredom, there is wonder.

I'm really looking forward.

I always suspected I would return to the radio.

I will miss Newyddion.

I will definitely miss the spirit of being the member of a big team.

And that's what I will remember, the excitement in the team...

..coming together to put together the best possible programme...

..the viewers deserve.

And that's Post Prynhawn. Join us again at 5:00 as usual.

Until then, thanks for listening and goodbye.

S4C subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

.