Alwyn Humphreys 3 Lle

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-I've had a painting of Menai Bridge

-in every house I've lived.

-It reminds me of my favourite view.

-This bridge is a symbol

-of arriving home...

-..from wherever I've been.

-It's my anchor.

-When I think of my childhood...

-..this bridge

-is a symbol of the excitement...

-..of going away.

-Every time I crossed the bridge...

-..I'd be going shopping to Bangor

-or on a trip to Rhyl or Llandudno.

-Crossing the bridge

-was an exciting occasion.

-Something was going to happen.

-Even though I feel

-a great warmth towards Anglesey...

-..and my upbringing in Bodffordd,

-which means so much to me...

-..there is also some resentment.

-I was raised on a farm

-and I hated it.

-I didn't have anything

-to do with the animals.

-I hated the butter, the milk

-and the smell of manure...

-..and the fact that I had to help

-bale the hay.

-I felt as if I was in a place

-that was totally alien...

-..as if the wrong baby

-had been raised there.

-As I was born at home

-rather than in a hospital...

-..there's no doubt

-that I belonged there.

-Bodffordd is a village which was

-renowned for cultural activity.

-Like every other village, many

-activities were held in the chapel.

-Charles Williams lived in Bodffordd

-and everything revolved around him.

-He organized the drama company,

-concerts and entertainment.

-He was a very influential figure.

-My father encouraged me to sing.

-I remember him teaching me

-my first hymn...

-..Rwy'n Canu Fel Cana'r Aderyn...

-..but not to the accompaniment

-of a piano or organ.

-I learnt it to the accompaniment

-of the churn!

-Every Monday morning,

-he had to churn the butter.

-My father had a natural tenor voice.

-He wasn't a soloist, even though

-he did compete a few times...

-..but he was a member

-of Bodffordd male voice choir.

-He sang first tenor but he could

-also help out the second tenors...

-..if they were particularly weak.

-I don't know anyone,

-in any choir I've conducted...

-..who could sing in the same way.

-His brother, Uncle Willy,

-was the choir's conductor.

-I sang with the choir but I was more

-interested in playing the viola.

-I felt I was too good

-to sing in a choir...

-..but I've regretted not taking

-it more seriously ever since.

-For my father and Uncle Willy...

-..choral singing was the most

-important thing in the world.

-Mam couldn't sing any better

-than a crow!

-She had no musical talent...

-..but she was still

-the family's anchor.

-She encouraged me at school.

-She didn't want me to work

-on the farm.

-My father despised

-working on the farm too.

-It was only natural that I would

-inherit that hatred of farming.

-It made me work harder in school.

-Later on, in my teenage years...

-..crossing the bridge

-meant going to the cinema...

-..to the Plaza in Bangor

-on a Saturday afternoon.

-If I was lucky, I would have asked

-a girl from Llangefni to join me.

-I'd cross the bridge

-on a Crosville bus.

-The bridge was within a stone's

-throw of the meeting place.

-Was she going to be there?

-Was she as pretty as she was

-in school? Was she prettier?

-There was so much excitement

-and tension as I crossed the bridge.

-I'd meet the girl in Bangor

-and go to the Plaza.

-If I was lucky,

-I'd find a double seat.

-It allowed me to get

-even more intimate with her.

-Unfortunately, there was always

-a light above the double seat.

-As lads from Llangefni, we'd sit

-and watch the couples coming in.

-"Ooh,

-John's taking Phyllis out today."

-That sort of banter.

-We'd watch them walking in.

-We'd change our partners regularly!

-I never thought about music

-as something I wanted to pursue.

-When the time came

-to choose subjects in school...

-..I wanted to study Welsh.

-Charles had taken me

-to the BBC studios.

-I'd taken part in radio programmes.

-I had the performing bug.

-It was exciting.

-The actors were interesting people.

-I filled in my university forms.

-Bangor was my first choice,

-to study Welsh.

-The headmaster asked me,

-"What's this?"

-A Welsh speaker asking me

-in English, "What's this, boy?

-"Music is your subject. Change it."

-It changed the course of my life.

-Back then, if the headmaster told

-you to do something, you did it.

-I ended up going to Hull University

-because I didn't play the piano.

-I only played the viola.

-You needed Grade 8 piano

-for most university music courses.

-I hadn't even reached Grade 1.

-I hadn't had any piano lessons.

-I chose Hull University...

-..because I didn't need any

-piano qualifications to study there.

-I went as far away

-as I could from home...

-..and ended up

-in this unfamiliar city.

-The landscape

-was so incredibly dull.

-People spoke English

-with a strange accent.

-I missed home so much.

-I was determined to stay

-until the end of the first term...

-..before coming home.

-I remember coming home

-on the train to Bangor.

-I travelled along this road

-and saw the bridge.

-After being away from home

-for three whole months...

-..seeing this bridge

-lifted my spirits instantly.

-That happened every time

-I returned home from university.

-I'd come home, see the bridge

-and I knew I was almost home.

-The journey back over the bridge

-means so much to me.

-Coming back to Anglesey,

-returning to Bodffordd to see Mam...

-..was so important to me.

-Even though she's no longer with us,

-I'm still drawn to the place.

-My sister and brother's families

-still live here.

-There's nothing better

-than coming back to see them...

-..and rekindling that link

-to the past.

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-I'd panic if I had to live

-less than a quarter of a mile...

-..from an Indian restaurant.

-I'm very lucky

-where I live in Cardiff.

-There's a wide choice

-but this is my favourite.

-I'd crawl here if I had to do so.

-As a child, I was thin and frail.

-I hated food.

-That's why I was so thin.

-The only food I really liked

-was beans - beans on toast.

-I ate beans on toast all the time.

-When I went to university...

-..most students stayed at a hall

-of residence during the first year.

-The food there was awful. It was

-disgusting. No one could eat it.

-I remember one student describing

-the soup as "cream of armpit"!

-It didn't look appetizing.

-It was bland.

-The food was truly awful.

-Most of the time, we headed

-for the Chinese restaurant.

-I never ate for enjoyment.

-I didn't enjoy eating.

-I'm fortunate to be alive.

-I had a very serious illness

-when I was 30 years old.

-I had a brain haemorrhage.

-My life hung in the balance

-for a whole day.

-I was in a coma for a day.

-After a successful operation

-in Liverpool...

-..I started to really enjoy life.

-I stopped complaining

-about trivial matters.

-I stopped worrying

-about trivial matters.

-Possibly, that's when I started

-enjoying food - who knows?

-It does change your life

-and your attitude towards life...

-..if you've had

-a near-death experience.

-Fortunately, I'm still alive...

-..and I've had the experience

-of looking back at my life.

-After the operation,

-it all started to happen for me.

-My horizons broadened.

-I started working for the BBC. I was

-doing work I thoroughly enjoyed.

-Ever since,

-I've been a very different person...

-..from the person I was previously.

-I used to be rather insular

-in some ways.

-I'm not an extrovert now even though

-people think I'm a confident person.

-In reality,

-I'm quite a private person.

-I think I am.

-With anything that's good,

-it's hard to know when it started.

-The curry club is celebrating either

-it's fourth or fifth birthday.

-Alwyn and I used to go out

-for a curry together.

-We heard that Meic Povey and

-Geraint Jones went out for a curry.

-We decided to get in touch

-with them.

-We saw Rhisiart Arwel

-looking incredibly glum one day.

-We asked him to join us

-and that's how we formed the club.

-The five of us meet once a month.

-"How pleasant for brethren

-to dwell together in unity."

-We have a lot of fun together.

-There's a lot of leg-pulling.

-We say nasty things about each other

-but not about other people!

-We're like... Well, the term

-Alwyn uses is, "grumpy old men".

-It's a night

-that's a blessing to us all.

-When we go home afterwards,

-we're far better people.

-It's a cathartic experience

-where we exorcise our frustrations.

-We don't go home and kick the cat!

-We become far better people.

-I'd always liked visiting Cardiff

-occasionally.

-I never thought about living here.

-When the opportunity arose to become

-a radio producer with the BBC...

-..I moved down to Cardiff

-and settled here immediately.

-Meirion Edwards, Radio Cymru's

-new editor, phoned me one day.

-He asked me if I was interested...

-..in producing a Sunday morning show

-called Cywair...

-..a popular classical music

-programme...

-..presented by Frank Lincoln.

-Frank wanted a three-month break.

-Meirion also asked me

-if I wanted to present it.

-I wasn't sure about presenting...

-..because I hated

-the quality of my voice...

-..but it was only for three months,

-so it would soon be over.

-I produced and presented Cywair

-for 17 years!

-I expected a harsh reaction from

-the people listening to my voice...

-..but the exact opposite happened.

-People starting talking

-about the sexy voice they'd heard...

-..the sexiest voice on Radio Cymru.

-Sexy? Goodness me!

-People then thought

-I was putting it on...

-..and once you've created a certain

-image, you have to continue...

-..especially when people

-are writing in every week.

-I received

-some very suggestive letters.

-At the time, people didn't know

-what I looked like.

-I used to present radio shows

-from the National Eisteddfod.

-People would walk past and say,

-"Oh, you're Alwyn Humphreys."

-I remember one woman saying...

-.."I always thought

-you were old, fat and bald."

-I thought to myself,

-"I'm none of them!"

-I was quite pleased with that.

-This woman looked so disappointed!

-The picture she had of me

-was very different.

-I don't think she enjoyed

-listening to me after that!

-I hate listening to myself,

-I always have.

-I hate seeing myself on TV.

-I never watch or listen to myself.

-I don't know why other people would

-want to but that's their choice.

-Every time I pass this restaurant...

-..I think of the close bond the

-five of us have in the curry club.

-The socializing we do together,

-along with the food...

-..makes it an event

-I look forward to every month.

-I enjoy every minute of it.

-ORGAN MUSIC

-As soon as you leave the M4

-and head for Morriston...

-..one of the first sights in view

-is this chapel's tower.

-It's known as the

-Nonconformist Cathedral of Wales.

-It's more than a chapel,

-it's a magnificent building.

-It's the type of building that takes

-your breath away when you enter it.

-# Llanfair #

-sung by a male voice choir

-The sound of a male voice choir is

-the most exciting sound musically.

-It's the ensemble

-that produces the greatest emotion.

-I'll never forget the first time

-I walked in here...

-..to conduct

-the first annual concert...

-..a few months after being appointed

-as the Orpheus's conductor.

-They didn't believe in rehearsing

-in the afternoon.

-When I walked in and the chapel

-was packed, my legs were shaking...

-..as I made my way up here.

-The choir filled one side

-of this area.

-It was an electrifying experience.

-Every time I come here, I remember

-that night. I was so nervous.

-# Amen

-# And amen #

-I'd been a conductor with

-Risca male voice choir for a year.

-A friend told me about an advert

-he'd seen in the Western Mail...

-..for a conductor

-for the Morriston Orpheus.

-Why should I try for it?

-I was happy with Risca.

-My friend told me it would be like

-promotion to the First Division.

-There was no Premier League

-in those days!

-I attended the interview...

-..which lasted for 45 minutes in

-the deacons room in a nearby chapel.

-I heard the sound

-of men walking into the vestry.

-It was rehearsal night.

-The chairman put two pieces of music

-in my hand.

-"Now," he said, "You will go into

-the vestry and conduct the choir."

-I'd never seen them before.

-I thought, "This is unfair."

-You always want to prepare

-before something like that.

-After half an hour,

-the chairman stood up.

-"Thank you, Mr Humphreys,

-you may now go."

-They treated me like dirt.

-On the way out,

-I started feeling ill.

-I ran out

-and I was literally sick...

-..on the chapel wall.

-It was an awful experience.

-I drove home and promised myself

-I'd never return to Morriston.

-They phoned me a few days later and

-invited me for another audition...

-..to conduct the choir

-for an entire rehearsal.

-I said, "Thanks, but no, thanks.

-I'm happy with my choir."

-But they told me I could choose

-which songs the choir would sing.

-I came back

-and I stayed for 25 years.

-# For everyone who is loyal

-# Fighting in His name #

-I become a different person

-when I'm standing on the podium.

-In reality, I'm quite shy...

-..but when I'm there, I turn

-into a conductor and a master...

-..because there's a job to be done.

-Socially, I never lead

-conversations - I hope I don't!

-I'm happy to follow

-on those occasions.

-There's an element of performing.

-Otherwise,

-I couldn't have done what I've done.

-Having said that, if there's

-criticism, I take it to heart.

-I'm very sensitive.

-That's why I left Morrison Orpheus

-after 25 years.

-I felt that it was going well

-at the time.

-It could only go downhill from

-then on because I was getting older.

-A time comes in one's life when

-you must make a crucial decision.

-That's one of the very few

-crucial decisions I've had to make.

-I'm in touch with the choir.

-My wife was the accompanist -

-she's now the conductor.

-I'm still in touch with them

-and that's very pleasing.

-At the same time,

-I'm glad I walked away when I did.

-Every time I visit Morriston...

-..and I see this building,

-there's a warm feeling inside me.

-I think about the community

-and the sound of the choir.

-The choir is a group of people.

-Those people have shown me

-such generosity.

-I'm so happy to be back here...

-..to have the thrill

-of walking into the building again.

-It's the same feeling every time.

-I feel so passionate

-every time I walk in.

-Here, more than anywhere else,

-I sometimes had a problem.

-I used to tell myself

-to rein in my emotions.

-Often, I'd think back to my father's

-days with the choir in Bodffordd...

-..and the experiences he had,

-along with Uncle Willy.

-They thought they were

-in the Tabernacle...

-..when they were singing

-in Capel y Gad, in the vestry.

-That's the connection.

-I'd have given anything to see them

-in just one concert in this chapel.

-One of the main advantages I've had

-in life is not having an ambition.

-I don't have any ambitions now...

-..apart from being

-happy and healthy...

-..and to enjoy what I'm doing.

-I'm still nervous

-in front of an audience...

-..but at the same time...

-..I enjoy being involved in two

-media which bring such pleasure...

-..not only to me

-but also to other people.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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