gyda Gwyn Llewelyn Cofio

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-# Remember

-# Remember #

-Welcome once again to Cofio.

-My guest tonight collects stories

-and has done so for half a century.

-He has found them all over the world.

-Sharing some of them tonight

-is an S4C stalwart, Gwyn Llewelyn.

-Good evening.

-They say that you've retired...

-..but I can't see you being idle.

-Yes, I did retire,

-almost three years ago.

-I felt I'd reached a milestone, 65.

-I sense that some people

-stay on a bit too long, perhaps.

-Yes, I'm retired,

-but I'm back producing now.

-I do Wedi 7 three days a week,

-but I've slowed down a bit.

-I thought we'd kick off

-this evening...

-..by showing different aspects

-of your career.

-Let's start with a series

-that began in 1986.

-Here's the first programme.

-Having spent the last seven years

-travelling 200 miles...

-..to present a TV programme,

-I'll do so tonight in my own garden.

-As ever, may I ask

-"How are you this evening?"

-Welcome to the first edition

-of Hel Straeon.

-This time last year,

-petrol was 38 pence a gallon.

-Today, it's 55 pence.

-FLOSY and NLF have said

-that they'll now target...

-..army families and children

-as well as the soldiers.

-Here, near Quito, the capital

-of Ecuador in South America...

-..I have a foot

-on each side of the equator.

-I'm supposed to do something with

-this rope, but I'm not sure what!

-I don't remember

-some of those clips.

-You left school at the age of 16

-to enter the world of journalism.

-Yes. That was back in 1958 - over 50

-years ago, which is rather shocking.

-It was a unique experience

-in many ways.

-I worked on the North Wales

-Chronicle in Bangor...

-..collecting local news stories.

-One weekly task was to visit

-the Dean of Bangor in the Cathedral.

-He used to send me out

-to fetch his cigarettes for him!

-I've managed to look young

-for much of my life...

-..but at 16, I probably looked 10!

-Do you feel you missed out at all

-by not pursuing higher education?

-What I lost, or feel that I lost...

-..was the freedom offered

-by three years away at college.

-I missed out on National Service

-by a matter of a few months.

-I've had work responsibilities

-ever since the age of 16.

-That's not necessarily good.

-Everyone deserves some freedom.

-Have certain individuals

-influenced you in your career?

-Oh, yes, at Teledu Cymru

-for instance.

-The gurus were T Glynne Davies

-and John Roberts Williams.

-Before then, at the Chronicle,

-I recall Elfyn Hughes.

-He wrote under his initials "CEH".

-He looked like Methuselah to me.

-He was probably about 80 years old.

-He came from the previous century,

-an old style Dickensian journalist.

-You asked for this clip

-of C Elfyn Hughes.

-At the time, he was 82 years old

-and you were interviewing him.

-Looking back

-at your lifetime in journalism...

-..what are your feelings today?

-The big thing in journalism today...

-..is the story.

-Nobody dwelled on that in the past.

-Here's an example.

-I was working for a newspaper

-in a town up here in the north.

-This is going back 50 years.

-A cow escaped from a field.

-Do you know where it went?

-Into a nearby chapel.

-The chapel door

-had been left wide open.

-The cow went into the chapel.

-A curious thing about that event

-was that not a single word...

-..appeared in local newspapers

-about the cow in the chapel.

-Today, journalists

-and sub-editors...

-..would have created

-prominent headlines.

-An excellent tale would be penned...

-..about a cow that had entered

-the temple of the saints.

-Recognizing a good story

-is essential, isn't it?

-I remember losing out

-on one of the biggest stories.

-This is going back a while.

-I think it was in 1959.

-I was living in Tynygongl

-on Anglesey.

-I'd catch a bus from Benllech

-to Bangor to work at the Chronicle.

-One day, I heard talk on the bus

-of a shipwreck near Moelfre.

-I didn't pay too much attention.

-This was the Hindlea,

-which hit the rocks in Moelfre...

-..exactly a century

-after the Royal Charter disaster.

-I was at school in Amlwch with

-the sons of Moelfre lifeboatmen.

-There was often talk in school

-about the lifeboat's missions.

-I thought no more about it.

-My journalistic initiative

-ought to have told me...

-..to head for Moelfre

-to land this great Hindlea scoop.

-You moved from newsprint

-to the screen.

-What sort of transformation was it?

-What sort of transformation was it?

-

-It was a gradual thing, in my case.

-I came to Cardiff aged 20,

-to be a Western Mail sub-editor.

-Three months later,

-I joined Teledu Cymru...

-..the old commercial channel,

-which went bust.

-Teledu Cymru only lasted 10 months.

-I worked with T Glynne Davies

-and John Roberts Williams.

-Gradually, I began

-to appear on screen.

-There was no definite

-starting point.

-I never thought, "From tomorrow,

-I'm a television reporter."

-I did present the news

-for Teledu Cymru on its last night.

-You went on to travel the world.

-Here's a clip

-of your first foreign reporting job.

-You were sent to Aden in 1967.

-That goes back some way.

-Aden is a real hole.

-It's on the eastern side

-of the Red Sea.

-I've deliberately called it a hole.

-That's literally

-how best to describe part of it.

-Over there,

-beyond the mountains, is the Crater.

-As the name suggests,

-that part of town is built...

-..on the site of an old volcano.

-It has been dormant for centuries.

-Today's eruptions are different.

-Those homes you see over there...

-..belong to British people

-and other wealthy people in Aden.

-Beneath me is Ma'alla Main,

-now better known as Murder Mile.

-They wouldn't let you stand there

-in your shirtsleeves today.

-Reporters are now trained,

-and they wear flak jackets.

-The only training I got

-involved grenades.

-If one was thrown at you,

-hit the floor, feet facing it.

-It's better to lose your legs than

-your head and never throw it back.

-Was it exciting

-to go to somewhere like that?

-Did you feel you had reached

-the heights by being a war reporter?

-Oh, yes. More recently than that,

-I was in Beirut.

-I was up in the mountains there.

-I was with an American

-who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

-I was a bit gung-ho in my attire,

-with chest pockets and epaulettes.

-He said to me, "If you don't mind,

-I won't walk with you."

-His reason was that we might be

-spied upon from across the valley.

-He said that if shooting started,

-they'd kill me and not him.

-They wouldn't want to waste bullets

-on some floral-shirted idiot!

-He spoke a lot of sense.

-In a war zone,

-don't look like a soldier.

-Trouble wasn't confined

-to foreign lands.

-There was unrest here in Wales.

-The run-up to the Investiture

-was a tumultuous time.

-There was Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru,

-the FWA and others.

-You didn't know who they all were,

-and things moved so quickly.

-We now have a clip showing you,

-standing outside the tax office...

-..in the wake of a large explosion.

-There's now no doubt whatsoever

-that a bomb caused this explosion...

-..at the Inland Revenue

-in Llanishen.

-At 2.00am this Sunday morning,

-a bang was heard for miles around.

-A link can't be ruled out

-between this explosion...

-..and the one late last year

-at Cardiff's Temple of Peace.

-Enquiries are continuing

-in that respect...

-..and in all respects.

-Many people are being questioned

-in an attempt to find the culprits.

-I was referring there

-to the Temple of Peace.

-I worked for HTV at that time.

-My programme, Y Dydd, sent a crew,

-as did Report Wales - duplication!

-It wouldn't happen these days.

-But only Y Dydd's film unit

-was available at the time.

-I was there with John Humphrys,

-who's now world-famous of course.

-John said, like this,

-"I'll go first today."

-And I said, "Why?"

-"Well, we're the English programme."

-As if it gave him

-a stamp of authority.

-I'm a placid guy, but I saw red

-and punched him in the face.

-We fell to the floor,

-amidst all the mess.

-The policemen were laughing

-as they came towards us.

-They'd come to catch bombers,

-not to separate two reporters.

-Amusingly, many years later,

-I was back in Cardiff with the BBC.

-I shared a desk with Beti George.

-Who should walk into the newsroom

-with the late Deryk Williams...

-..Deryk was a pal of mine,

-a news producer...

-..but John Humphrys,

-who came over for a chat.

-He then went out again with Deryk.

-I asked Beti, "Do you think

-he remembers my punch?"

-Apparently,

-he raised this with Deryk.

-He said, "I wonder if Gwyn

-remembers the fight we had?"

-John Humphrys stayed

-in the world of hard news.

-You followed a different path

-by joining the Hel Straeon team.

-Was it hard to change direction

-and leave the news?

-I didn't regret it at all.

-To be honest, with the news...

-..you tend to pursue stories

-which involve disputes or quarrels.

-I've made more friends

-with all my work subsequently.

-But I must have missed

-one aspect.

-After being on Hel Straeon

-for a few months...

-..I was feeling melancholic.

-I'm not prone to depression,

-but I didn't feel well in myself.

-I remember chatting at length

-to Dafydd Huws, the psychiatrist.

-He said, "Good gracious!

-"I knew someone who wanted to do

-research work on people like you."

-It seems that it affects pilots,

-policemen, firemen and presenters.

-When you have a shot of adrenalin,

-and that leaves your system...

-..you can get this feeling.

-Ever since, I've been alright!

-In part two,

-we'll travel abroad a bit...

-..and we'll see you

-wandering the globe.

-Don't go far.

-Join us again in two minutes.

-# Remember #

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-# Remember #

-Welcome back to Cofio

-with Gwyn Llewelyn.

-You've travelled far and wide

-with your work.

-Did you enjoy all that travelling?

-Did you enjoy all that travelling?

-

-Very much so!

-It was in my blood.

-In fact,

-I became worried at one stage.

-There's a word

-for an incessant desire to travel.

-"Dromomania".

-I think it affected me.

-You don't want to be where you are.

-I was on a Kenyan beach

-with the film crew once.

-In the sky, I could see

-these white jet streams.

-I said to the crew,

-"Gosh, I'd like to be on that now."

-That feeling's gone now.

-I still like to go on holidays,

-but the travel bug has gone now.

-But you never liked sea travel?

-I've had bad experiences sailing.

-At one time, I'd sail a lot.

-We took a boat from Cricieth,

-Corwynt, on a race around Ireland.

-I sailed with Richard Tudor...

-..prior to his two sailing trips

-around the world.

-There were some awful experiences!

-There were some awful experiences!

-

-We'll see you suffering now.

-At two o'clock this morning,

-it's Tuesday, I think...

-..I was up on duty...

-..but the sheer effort

-of putting on heavy clothes...

-..down here in this heat...

-..got the better of me.

-When I reached the deck...

-..I was ill for the first time

-since we started.

-A fierce wind was raging by then.

-We were sailing hard through it.

-At least that's behind us,

-but we're now heading into the wind.

-That has made the boat's movements

-go from bad to worse.

-I'm afraid I shall be here

-until the wind subsides...

-..with a bucket by my side.

-Painful memories!

-Heledd, that was after

-what I thought had been a day.

-I was then told I had been

-out of it for almost two days.

-When I came round, I had no feeling

-in the lower half of my body.

-I thought I was paralysed.

-The boys had changed shift,

-with water going everywhere.

-They'd thrown their "heavyweathers"

-on top of me.

-With the weight, I couldn't move!

-You were unconscious for two days.

-So I was told, yes -

-it was a horrific experience.

-You were a pro to do that link.

-You didn't see the camera tilting

-towards my bucket, thank goodness.

-Yes, I'm quite glad of that too!

-You also travelled a lot

-for your series Gwyn A'i Fyd.

-You were the Welsh Alan Whicker

-or David Attenborough.

-It was a great experience,

-visiting 30 different countries.

-We did three series in all.

-We were looking

-for interesting Welsh people abroad.

-Amazingly, we kept finding them!

-I still keep in touch

-with two or three of them.

-It was a most enjoyable time.

-You spent a lot of time

-with other people back then.

-You were with the crew on the boat.

-However, you describe yourself

-as a private person.

-Was it hard to live with others

-in such conditions?

-I'm fine with people

-that I know well.

-I've no background in public life.

-I didn't sing or recite

-or anything like that as a child.

-I was an only child,

-raised in Tynygongl on Anglesey.

-There weren't many

-children of my age there.

-I'm probably more of a loner

-than I'd want to be, if I'm honest.

-I'm fine with my friends.

-I'll avoid crowds

-if I think they'll know me.

-Are you ill at ease

-if people come up to you?

-I can handle it perfectly well.

-You wouldn't think

-there was any problem.

-Avoiding the contact altogether

-would be my inclination...

-..if I thought it might happen.

-I've never been comfortable with it.

-We have an exotic clip

-from Gwyn A'i Fyd.

-There's no natural fresh water

-on the Galapagos Islands.

-As in dry places

-elsewhere in the world...

-..animals have adapted accordingly.

-And yet, if you spit

-on the palm of your hand...

-..the birds around me

-are very appreciative.

-They come from all directions.

-You must learn a lot

-doing programmes like that.

-You have to do your research.

-You do that,

-but I've heard others say this too.

-You cram in a great deal quickly...

-..and learn a fair amount

-about some pretty obscure topics.

-Unfortunately, it goes in one ear

-and out the other!

-I wish I'd managed to hold on

-to more of the information.

-It's a transient thing.

-That's the difference

-between broadcasting and writing.

-If you put something in print,

-it'll survive after you.

-In our game, it's gone

-almost as soon as it's absorbed!

-We've seen you travelling

-quite a bit in tonight's show.

-You're a petrolhead too.

-Why do you like cars?

-It's just as well that I do.

-For seven years, I drove weekly

-between north and south Wales.

-That's when I was with the BBC.

-People were forever complaining

-about the A470.

-I enjoyed travelling along it,

-but I knew it well.

-If I gave people lifts at night,

-and cut corners, they'd tense up!

-I was familiar with the road

-and knew there was nothing coming.

-Let's see you in action.

-There was an element

-of doing something that I loved...

-..and then trying to convince others

-that they would like it.

-In one motoring series,

-I drove Aston Martins and Jaguars.

-I drove them for a week

-and enjoyed it immensely.

-Only one British car

-now sells for less than 1,000.

-You'd get 2 back from that 1,000

-if you bought the Hillman Imp.

-For 898, you could buy this car,

-the cheapest car in the show.

-The Citroen Deux Chevaux,

-the Citroen 2CV.

-It's on sale in Britain

-for the first time in many years.

-This car is making its debut

-in Britain today.

-The Volkswagen Golf.

-It's on the market for 1,300.

-Every year, manufacturers roll out

-the fastest, most expensive...

-..and most luxurious cars

-at the show.

-This year, this is the fastest -

-the Ferrari GT4 Berlinetta Boxer.

-Is the Ferrari on top of your list?

-Is the Ferrari on top of your list?

-

-No, not really.

-I remember the first brand new car

-I bought was 500.

-I was a regular visitor

-to the Motor Show.

-Interesting times.

-We've seen a cross-section

-of everything you've done.

-You've had so many different

-experiences.

-Why haven't you published

-an autobiography?

-You're not the first to ask.

-I've been asked three times

-to write one.

-I don't know.

-I've had so many

-interesting experiences.

-They've been interesting for me -

-I've enjoyed them.

-Would they be interesting

-for others?

-I don't think an autobiography

-can be completely honest.

-I like to speak my mind.

-I fear I would upset a few people

-if I wrote an autobiography.

-Perhaps I'm just lazy!

-I mentioned that you were retired.

-Enjoy your retirement.

-Who knows what the future holds

-for Gwyn Llewelyn?

-Thank you for your company.

-That's all for tonight.

-I'll be back next week

-for another trip down memory lane.

-Until then, goodnight.

-# Remember

-# Remember #

-S4C Subtitles by Simian 04 Cyf.

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