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0:00:48 > 0:00:51- I haven't moved far - from where I was raised.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56- Many people say they wouldn't want - to return to their birthplace...
0:00:56 > 0:00:58- ..because it's changed so much.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03- This place has changed, - but I've lived with the change.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06- I could never live anywhere else.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39- I've lived in this area all my life.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48- Well, I've moved three miles - from where I was raised.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52- I attended the secondary school - in Penygroes.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56- I didn't like Penygroes - and the Nantlle Valley at the time.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01- I just wanted to go somewhere - and explore the world...
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- ..just like any other young child.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- I always imagined - there was something better.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12- There's a magnificent view - from the school...
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- ..and you can see - Cwm Dulyn and Cwm Silyn.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19- The teachers told us that we lived - in a wonderful area...
0:02:19 > 0:02:22- ..but for me, that was the norm.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- It's a privilege to live here.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- Not many people can say - they live in an area...
0:02:33 > 0:02:36- ..where their favourite poet lived.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- I don't have to travel there. - I'm just down the road.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41- I see the mountain shapes.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46- TH Parry-Williams - wrote about their unending bareness.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48- I can see Llyn y Gadair.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53- The poetry and landscape become one.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- I haven't moved far - from where I was raised.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05- I was raised three miles away, - in Llanwnda.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09- I had a happy childhood. - Five of us - five sisters.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12- We were all born two years apart.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- It was like living - in a girls' boarding school.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23- I only have one child.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Thinking about Mam - with five children...
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- ..I can't imagine how much work - it was for her and Dad.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36- Dad always read us a story - when we were children.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- For me and my older sister...
0:03:38 > 0:03:43- ..the highlight of our day was - listening to Dad reading us a story.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45- He must have been so tired...
0:03:46 > 0:03:50- ..because he would often - fall asleep as he read the story.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- We'd never wake him up.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56- He'd open his eyes and we would - all look up to him patiently.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- "Yes? What happens next?"
0:03:58 > 0:04:02- As a parent, I can understand - how much of an effort it is...
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- ..to read a story - at the end of the day.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24- One thing that certainly - influenced my childhood...
0:04:24 > 0:04:26- ..was living without a television.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- In the 1960s, when everyone - bought a TV, it was a burden.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- Children played games in school...
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- ..and you needed to know - about TV programmes.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- I had no idea.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- Even though - I was one of five sisters...
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- ..looking back, I'm glad - Mam decided not to buy a TV.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51- We had to find ways - of entertaining each other...
0:04:51 > 0:04:54- ..during the hours - when we could have watched TV.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59- It was easier - because I had so many sisters.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03- It also inspired us - to be more creative.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17- The longest period of work I had - was when I wrote Rala Rwdins.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- I created the characters - when I was 23 years old...
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- ..but I never thought - it would be my livelihood...
0:05:24 > 0:05:26- ..for almost my entire career.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- If I was to be honest - with myself...
0:05:29 > 0:05:34- ..I survive because I write stories - about non-existent witches!
0:05:34 > 0:05:38- It's a rather strange way - to make a living.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- Whee!
0:05:45 > 0:05:50- When people want to know - the origins of the characters...
0:05:50 > 0:05:53- ..I say that there's a lot of Mam - in Rala Rwdins.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59- The woman who's trying to do - countless tasks at the same time.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02- She's busy all the time, making jam.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- She's the anchor in Gwlad y Rwla.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07- Mam is our anchor.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- She's often referred to - as Rala Rwdins's mother.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- She is Rala Rwdins.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21- My youngest sister - was the mischievous one.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- I based Rwdlan on her.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- She was up to no good all the time!
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- Well-known as an author...
0:06:35 > 0:06:39- ..having written 14 children's books - and three plays...
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- ..she has now won the Prose Medal - at the National Eisteddfod.
0:06:44 > 0:06:50- Every novel I've written has been - inspired by the National Eisteddfod.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- There's a title, - a closing date and a prize.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56- It's something to aim for.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- I always leave things - until the last minute.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- I don't write - over long periods of time.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- I have these panics.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- There's a closing date - in three months' time.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12- I have to detach myself - from life's hustle and bustle.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16- It's a process - of filling your head with ideas.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- You almost live in this fake world.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- It's a very intense period, - day and night.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- It's the only thing on your mind.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- What the characters do, - where the plot leads you...
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- ..how the complete work is created.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38- I close myself in that world. - I don't even answer the phone.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40- You can't live - in that world forever.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45- It's a two to three-month period - every few years.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49- It's very stressful. - That's why I don't do it very often.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55- The counterpoint to that - is writing children's literature.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00- It's something you can live with - and it's far less stressful.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- I've gone away, - but I've always come back.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- I've travelled extensively - and stayed with friends...
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- ..but I have strong feelings - for this area.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19- It's somewhere to drop anchor.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23- People say they wouldn't like - to return to their birthplace...
0:08:23 > 0:08:24- ..because it's changed.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- This place has changed, - but I've lived with the change.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- I could never live anywhere else.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- It helps you - when you finally realize that.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39- I knew that fairly early in my life.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- It's linked to the sea, - it's linked to the mountains...
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- ..and it's linked to Welshness.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- I can live my life here through - the medium of Welsh every day.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- I don't think my English - is good enough to live anywhere else.
0:09:00 > 0:09:01- .
0:09:04 > 0:09:04- 888
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- 888- - 888
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- I saw a picture of this caravan - in a book.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- I asked my son if he'd like - to have a holiday in that picture.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- Would he like to go - into that picture?
0:09:52 > 0:09:56- I didn't think it would be as nice - as the picture seemed, but it was.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- We had three days here, - staying in the caravan...
0:09:59 > 0:10:04- ..listening to the river and going - to the beach in Llangrannog.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14- I think it has much to do - with being close to nature.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- It can get so dark here, - without street lighting.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- I can't hear a river as clearly - when I'm home.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25- I remember the nights, - listening to the crackling fire.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27- I felt like a gypsy.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- I've travelled throughout my life.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39- It all started - when Dad bought a caravan.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44- We had a large, - 18ft static caravan.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50- He'd site it at Red Wharf Bay - or Rhosneigr on Anglesey...
0:10:50 > 0:10:55- ..anywhere close enough for him - to travel back and forth to work.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- I have memories of being out - on the beach all summer.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- I lived in the great outdoors.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- He then bought a touring caravan - towards the end of the 1960s...
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- ..when travelling with a caravan - was quite uncommon.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18- I loved the freedom and excitement - of waking up in a different place.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23- Every morning, you didn't know - what the day had in store for you.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25- The transient lifestyle.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- My sister had pets - and we had to take them with us...
0:11:28 > 0:11:32- ..if we couldn't find someone - to look after them.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35- The rabbit and budgie - in the back of the car.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- The budgie's cage - sat on the back seat.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42- I remember opening the cage once - and letting the budgie fly out.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- My father was trying - to drive the car...
0:11:45 > 0:11:48- ..and the budgie - was perched on the steering wheel.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55- Some people think - she's a very serious woman...
0:11:55 > 0:11:59- ..but she's a funny woman - and very humorous.
0:11:59 > 0:12:07- There are strong political and - socialist links within the family.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12- She comes from a religious family.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18- All these aspects have been - perfectly and purely embodied...
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- ..in Angharad's life.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25- That purity has benefited Wales - over the years.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- I'm optimistic by nature, I'd say.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- You have to be if you're Welsh - in this day and age.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- I remember having - a serious bout of depression...
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- ..after giving birth.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- I didn't think I'd come out of it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- Many people said - that I would get over it...
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- ..but I wasn't convinced at the time.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- People told me to fight against it...
0:12:56 > 0:13:00- ..in the same way I'd fought - to preserve the Welsh language.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- It was an entirely - different experience.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- The only thing - I can compare it with...
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- ..is the experience - of being in prison.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12- I had no appetite for life.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- When I hear that someone's - suffering from depression...
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- ..I have nothing - but sympathy for them.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21- As I look down the river now...
0:13:21 > 0:13:27- ..it was as if everyone was on the - other side and I couldn't get there.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- They were all beckoning me over...
0:13:30 > 0:13:34- ..but I couldn't cross, - however hard I tried.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35- I couldn't shrug it off.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40- Finally, I managed it. When it does - happen, you know you're better.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- I've seen how dark it can be - in the deepest depths.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54- I appreciate more than most people - the thrill of being alive.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58- Living life to the full every day - is a very fulfilling experience.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Had someone told me then...
0:14:42 > 0:14:47- ..that I'd marry a non-Welsh speaker - from Gwent, I'd have laughed.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- Ben's background - is so different to mine.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54- He has a working-class background - from a coal mining area.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57- His family didn't speak - a word of Welsh.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01- Traditionally, - the family voted Labour.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- I came from Welsh Gwynedd - and had a chapel upbringing.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- We had nothing in common - until we started talking.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- To understand my background, - I told him he had to visit Gwynedd...
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- ..and get to know - the Welsh-speaking community.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18- He visited within weeks.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24- He invited me down to learn - about his background in the valleys.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28- He brought me - to the rocking stone first.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32- That's why this stone - is so important to me.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37- The image I had of the valleys came - from Alexander Cordell's novels...
0:15:37 > 0:15:41- ..the Merthyr of Dic Penderyn - and coal mines.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- A very industrial area - and a very ugly area.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51- When I arrived and sat on the stone - and looked around...
0:15:51 > 0:15:56- ..it completely shattered - all my preconceptions.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19- I wouldn't have been able - to move here to live...
0:16:19 > 0:16:21- ..and feel at home.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25- Fortunately for me, - Ben agreed to move to North Wales.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- As part of the deal, I'd stop - eating meat if he learnt Welsh.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- We came to an understanding.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37- I'm eternally grateful that he agreed - to move to North Wales.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- When we come down to visit - Ben's family, they ask...
0:16:41 > 0:16:43- .."How's the weather up north?"
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- I feel like a penguin - who's travelled from the North Pole.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- Then again, - we live in the same country.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55- Apart from the language, - there's a strong Welsh spirit here.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- That's a rather strange experience.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03- They feel just as passionately - about Wales and socialism as I do.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- I think Angharad - has a sense of conviction...
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- ..and a strong sense - of responsibility...
0:17:12 > 0:17:16- ..towards her community, - her family, Wales...
0:17:16 > 0:17:20- ..the language, naturally, - and mankind really.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- Injustice, - being aware of injustice...
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- ..and wanting to do - something about it.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30- One of her famous sayings is, - "Let's just do it then."
0:17:30 > 0:17:35- She doesn't want to talk about it, - or be philosophical or theoretical.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38- She wants to act.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42- Cymdeithas Yr Iaith has played - an important part in my life.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- It has shaped my personality.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49- I've come to know - the whole of Wales...
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- ..through working - with Cymdeithas Yr Iaith.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- We found a lot of support - in the valleys...
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- ..when we were - collecting signatures...
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- ..to establish - a Welsh Education Development Body.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08- It was one of the first chances - Rhys Ifans had to act.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12- Rhys Ifans collected - more signatures than anyone.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- I asked him - what his opening line was.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17- He said, "Roll up, roll up...
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- "..sign here for your free holiday - in the Bahamas."
0:18:21 > 0:18:22- Everyone signed!
0:18:22 > 0:18:27- Humour has been an integral part - of the language campaign.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- I don't know - how we managed to do it.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33- We had no money and no resources.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- We were trying - to achieve the impossible.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41- Everyone told us that we were - trying to achieve the impossible.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47- Having a healthy dose of humour - was often very important.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08- When I went to college, - one of the first protests...
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- ..involved climbing a mast - at Crystal Palace.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- I was rather scared of doing this.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18- I didn't know if it was physically - possible to climb the mast.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22- I remember being very scared - the previous night.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- But I knew that admitting - to being afraid...
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- ..would have been a sign of weakness.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- I could have jeopardized my part - in the act.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35- After reaching the base - of the mast...
0:19:35 > 0:19:38- ..a ladder was put in position - and we climbed up.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44- We were sentenced - to five days in prison.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- Once you've been imprisoned...
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- ..it's far easier - to imprison you again.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- It caused great worry for my parents. - I'm still ashamed of that.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- Mam always said I wouldn't - understand her concerns...
0:19:59 > 0:20:01- ..until I had children of my own.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05- At the time, - the only thing that concerned me...
0:20:06 > 0:20:08- ..was doing what I wanted to do.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12- I wanted to show - that neither prison or a fine...
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- ..would stop us achieving our aims.
0:20:16 > 0:20:22- Our hope was to sort Wales out - within 20 years and then retire!
0:20:23 > 0:20:27- I think Angharad is someone - I could describe as stubborn...
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- ..but many members of Cymdeithas - Yr Iaith have been called stubborn.
0:20:31 > 0:20:37- As I said, it sits side by side - with her intense and serious side.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42- For someone who has spent time in - prison and carried on campaigning...
0:20:43 > 0:20:48- ..thankfully, there is a sense - of stubbornness in her personality.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56- Over the years, I was imprisoned - for a month, sometimes two or three.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00- You'd steel yourself - and get through the sentence.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- The worst part - were visits from my parents.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- All of a sudden, - I had an hour in their company...
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- ..and all the love and concern - would flow towards me.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- I had to be brave - during those visits.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19- After that, I was hopeless.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- I'm looking forward to the day - when we won't have to protest...
0:21:40 > 0:21:42- ..during the Eisteddfod.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46- Until that day comes, - and to ensure that day does come...
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- ..we have to continue this action.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- When I was 25 years old...
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- ..people would ask me - why was I still campaigning?
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- My question to them was - why have people stopped campaigning?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03- It's part - of my Christian conviction.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- We've been put on this Earth...
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- ..to do something in the name - of our Lord Jesus Christ.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16- If we don't do anything...
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- ..we're obeying - the forces of darkness.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25- This quote has stayed with me.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- "It's better to light one candle - than curse the darkness."
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- You can do something every day...
0:22:33 > 0:22:37- ..for Wales, - for the Welsh language, for justice.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- That's the vision - that keeps me going.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48- As I look at this stone...
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- ..it sums up the Welsh language.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54- Waldo once said - "a dangerous girl is she."
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- For me, this stone is a symbol - of the Welsh language...
0:22:58 > 0:23:02- ..always teetering on the edge.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- You're never sure - if it will fall off the edge...
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- ..but in reality, - it's stuck fast to the ground.
0:23:10 > 0:23:16- In memory of Ffion Haf, - 1964-2011, Angharad's sister