gyda Margaret Williams Cofio

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-# Remember

-# Remember #

-Good evening and welcome

-to another trip down memory lane.

-With me is a singer and actress...

-..who has graced our screens

-for over 50 years.

-The girl from Brynsiencyn

-who has enchanted us so often.

-A very warm welcome to you,

-Margaret Williams.

-Thank you, Heledd.

-Thank you, Heledd.

-

-Half a century.

-Hush, please!

-It's been a varied

-and successful career.

-What's the secret?

-Is there a secret?

-Not at all.

-I do what I did as a little girl.

-I sing - that's my life.

-It's what I used to do.

-I guess I've kept on doing it.

-No real plan then,

-you just followed your heart.

-Yes. That's it.

-I sometimes think I would have liked

-to have had a plan...

-..which I could have followed...

-..and yet, I'm not sure

-how that would have worked.

-It's not really me,

-I'm not an organized person.

-I've just done what I used to do.

-We start tonight with an iconic

-image of Margaret Williams.

-I think most people will remember you

-in the famous wicker chair.

-# Though her words

-# Are simple and few

-# Listen, listen

-# She's calling to you

-# Feed the birds

-# Tuppence a bag

-# Tuppence, tuppence

-# Tuppence a bag

-# A spoonful of sugar

-helps the medicine go down

-# The medicine go down,

-the medicine go down

-# Just a spoonful of sugar

-helps the medicine go down

-# In the most delightful way #

-APPLAUSE

-Can I use the word "stunning" there?

-Who was she?

-It was true entertainment,

-with a full orchestra behind you.

-I think that was

-the first orchestra we had.

-A family show that brought glamour

-and entertainment into the home.

-It's an important tradition

-that has never gone out of fashion.

-I don't think it has. And maybe,

-it's even more prevalent today.

-There was a period when the trend

-leaned towards the folk style.

-Today, I think the glamour

-and that style is making a comeback.

-How important has image been to you?

-It's been an integral part

-of your performances and career.

-I wouldn't sing in a concert

-wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

-I wouldn't sing in a concert

-dressed like this.

-I'm used to the long dresses.

-It depends on the style of singing.

-If I sang folk music,

-I'd dress entirely differently.

-Let's return to your roots

-in Brynsiencyn.

-Fortunately, a local doctor,

-Dr John Glyn Jones...

-..was interested in photography.

-He filmed a Sunday school trip,

-way back in the 1950s.

-Very romantic images there.

-How many do you remember?

-Yes, Gwenda, Megan and their mother.

-That was in the 1940s.

-Everyone in the village

-would go on the Sunday school trip.

-There were about four or five buses.

-I would be sick on a bus

-so I wasn't allowed to go.

-I wasn't on that trip.

-One of my brothers was there.

-He was allowed to go with the boys -

-they were older than me.

-I wasn't there

-but it was lovely to see those.

-How did you start singing?

-I sang

-in Sunday school and in chapel.

-My parents sang too. My father had

-a singing group - "Parti Min Menai".

-My brothers and their friends,

-Rovi the magician from Caernarfon...

-..and Huw Tanpencefn -

-a gang of them would sing.

-They were very good.

-I wasn't allowed to go.

-I was much younger than my brothers.

-I would sing in chapel,

-in the local eisteddfodau.

-That was my life in a way.

-In terms of a career,

-you began as a teacher not a singer.

-As a career, yes.

-I went to Bangor Normal College.

-I'd been accepted to a music

-college in Manchester when I was 16.

-I couldn't get a scholarship

-or money to go.

-I went to the Normal

-and taught in Beaumaris.

-Then I moved to south Wales,

-to the Rhymney Valley.

-I taught in Gelligaer.

-You had singing lessons in Cardiff,

-in the college in the castle grounds.

-I had voice training

-when I was 13 years old.

-I continued and had lessons in

-Cardiff first with Phyllis Kinney.

-Phyllis was very good and

-she suggested after many years...

-..she would give me

-extra advice about what to wear...

-..ideas of which I knew nothing.

-I'm grateful to her

-and she suggested I should go...

-..to the College of Music and Drama

-in Cardiff.

-We haven't found footage of you

-in the College of Music and Drama...

-..but we've got the college itself.

-Look carefully

-at the end of the clip.

-You'll see a familiar face,

-the actor Ronnie Williams.

-# Under the pondweed

-do the great fish go

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# In the green darkness

-where the rushes grow

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# The King is in Hao

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# Under the pondweed

-do the great fish lie

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# Down in Hao, the sunny hours go by

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la

-# The King holds revelry

-# Under the pondweed

-do the great fish sleep

-# The dragonflies

-are drowsy in the heat

-# The King is drinking deep

-# La-la-la-la-la-la-la #

-Ronnie there in the background.

-I wasn't there full-time.

-I went twice a week to Madame Julia

-Hilger. She'd been an opera singer.

-I used to go regularly for years.

-In those days, you could drive

-a car along Queen Street in Cardiff.

-You could drive the car

-into the castle.

-We would park

-where that door was...

-..and go up those stairs.

-Manon was a baby.

-I'd take the carry-cot with me.

-She was a young adult

-when I finished.

-How did you decide

-to take up singing professionally?

-After 1964 when I was lucky

-to win the major Eisteddfod awards.

-I won solo competitions in the Urdd

-in June, Llangollen in July...

-..and was awarded the Blue Riband in

-the National Eisteddfod in August.

-In 1964 - the same year...

-..the BBC formed

-a light entertainment department.

-I slotted in there quite neatly.

-The Eisteddfod brings

-so much publicity.

-I was in the right place

-at the right time, luckily.

-Meredydd Evans

-was looking for people...

-..and Ryan and I were among

-the first to be offered a contract.

-We'll hear more about that part

-of your life after the break...

-..but for now, thank you, Margaret.

-We'll be back in two minutes.

-# Remember #

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-# Remember #

-Welcome back to share the memories...

-..of singer and actress

-Margaret Williams.

-You were talking

-about yourself and Ryan Davies.

-Many of the early programmes

-were live broadcasts...

-..but we have found a clip

-of you and Ryan with Aled Hughes.

-Not "Noson Lawen" but "Sgubor Lawen".

-# I'm off to London, fellows

-# Tomorrow I shall start

-# I shan't stay in Wales

-# To break my little heart

-# Oh, the little golden beer

-# The little golden beer

-# I'll take a sip

-just now and then

-# Of the little golden beer

-# In London, there's good money

-and dinner - aye, that's right

-# And walks with pretty little maids

-'til ten o'clock at night

-# Oh, the little golden beer

-# The little yellow beer

-# I'll take a sip just now and then

-of the little golden beer

-# When I go up to London,

-I'll see no pigs or sheep

-# I'll go to bed so early

-# And have a good long sleep

-# Oh, the little golden beer

-# The little golden beer

-# I'll take a sip just now and then

-# Of the little yellow beer #

-From where did that come?

-I'd never seen it before.

-That was you and Ryan Davies

-back in 1966.

-With Aled, from the duo Aled & Reg,

-standing on the other side.

-He was a star of the time,

-wasn't he?

-Aled & Reg - yes.

-I'd known Aled since childhood.

-I was brought up

-with a little niece of his.

-Josephine and I

-were the best of friends.

-They lived next door to us.

-We'd listen to Aled,

-when he was a young man.

-His sister was Josephine's mother.

-He'd yodel and Nain would say

-that no-one could rival him!

-He'd yodel with Aled & Reg.

-They were both so remarkable

-and I was so fond of them both.

-You were seen there

-singing with Ryan, of course.

-We now have a very early film

-showing more of his own talent.

-Could you come out, please?

-No, I have to sell the ice creams.

-The TV is here,

-and we'd like to interview you.

-How are ice cream sales

-in Eisteddfod week?

-It's going well, plenty of licking

-going on in this Eisteddfod.

-Is ice cream popular with the bards?

-Oh, the bards all come out,

-you know.

-They all love a little refresher

-after they argue in there.

-Which ice cream goes down best

-with the bards?

-I think it's this one here,

-strawberry split.

-I see. Well, thank you very much.

-Thank you, bye-bye!

-We'll move on now

-to meet someone else on the Maes.

-I liked that little "bye-bye".

-Wonderful. It's Ryan's singing that

-fills me with longing for that era.

-We laugh at his acting sketches,

-as we all should...

-..but there was something

-about his singing voice.

-I remember singing with him.

-He played the triple harp.

-He was quite exceptional.

-His voice had a nostalgic quality.

-He could sing a melancholic ballad

-such as Myfanwy.

-He could sing with a big band

-behind him too.

-We'd sing Hywel and Blodwen

-together in every concert.

-Nobody could sing it like Ryan.

-He sang it properly.

-He was amusing with it.

-How I kept a straight face,

-I'll never know.

-What about Ronnie?

-You worked a lot with him as well.

-Yes, a great deal. Ronnie had

-his own BBC programme - Late Call.

-It was on late every Tuesday night.

-Dave Allen, Jimmy Edwards and

-The Beverley Sisters were guests.

-They'd take part in the chat show.

-I was the regular singer.

-Ronnie presented it. He also

-scripted a show called Stiwdio B.

-That series was similar

-to That Was The Week That Was.

-David Frost did it in English

-but ours was in Welsh.

-That was the first one we did,

-back in 1964.

-Stewart Jones was in that series.

-I remember him coming along

-with a newly-created character.

-Wil Sam had written his script.

-There was a truck

-in the studio...

-..for the weekly live broadcast.

-Stewart portrayed

-the man with the truck...

-I'd look forward to his performance.

-He and his script

-always made me laugh.

-You went on to act with him

-in Ifas y Tryc, didn't you?

-Yes, in the 1980s, I was invited

-to play the role of Ifas's wife.

-That was in the film

-based on the Ifas character.

-Here's a clip right now.

-She'll kill me, she'll kill me -

-my days are numbered, lad.

-What are you going on about?

-The minute my missus sees

-this blighted scrap on the yard...

-..my life won't be worth living.

-What's this?

-Must I suffer seeing this heap

-for the rest of my life?

-It's only temporary.

-It won't be here long - temporary.

-We'll shift it from here

-as soon as we can.

-The same old story.

-Shame on you, man.

-Swapping my tallboy with this.

-But...

-But...

-

-You'll suffer for this.

-Excuse me, the tallboy's

-on the back of the truck.

-And there's more to the story.

-Selling the dresser was the start.

-Look. I'm warning you now.

-This old scrap or me.

-If this hasn't gone in two days,

-I'll go.

-This time, I mean it.

-If I get up

-and this is still in the yard...

-..I'll be leaving you, right.

-That's a hell of choice, guv.

-Make sure that scrap is out of sight

-and stays out of sight.

-Don't cross Margaret Williams.

-That's telling it as it is.

-I remember

-they blackened under my eyes.

-They wouldn't bother now,

-it's there already.

-Making that was pure pleasure.

-Mici Plwm was there too.

-I admired Stewart so much.

-I was used to seeing him

-in the eisteddfodau...

-..when I used to compete.

-He'd compete in the open recitation.

-I'd known him for years.

-You stepped

-into a very different role there.

-Did you enjoy acting?

-Yes, I enjoyed it a great deal,

-I must say.

-I do enjoy it.

-Lleifior came next.

-Then many plays by T James Jones,

-Eigra Lewis Roberts...

-..and Islwyn Ffowc Elis, of course.

-I enjoyed myself

-in Lleifior and Pobol y Cwm.

-Sometimes, someone would say,

-you don't look right for the part.

-Sometimes that would go against me.

-We'll finish where we started,

-with your series.

-Here we see you

-with the Pendyrus Male Voice Choir.

-# When spirits are flagging

-# You're wondering what's in store

-# Forget your troubled load

-# Come inside,

-step through the door

-# Here you'll find a haven

-# A shoulder you can lean on

-# Lay down your burden

-# Tomorrow is another day

-# For all who enter, let fear depart

-# Let faith replace the pain

-# Hope gladdens the heavy heart

-# Like sunshine after rain

-# Here you'll find a haven

-# A shoulder you can lean on

-# Lay down your burden

-# Tomorrow is another day

-# Here you'll find a haven

-# A shoulder you can lean on

-# Lay down your burden

-# Tomorrow is another day

-# Tomorrow is another day

-# Another day #

-Hafan Gobaith was the song there.

-You said you felt a shiver...

-..singing that song

-with the Pendyrus Male Voice Choir.

-It was such a huge climax.

-Glynne Jones had walked in...

-..into this studio as it happens.

-He was the conductor of the choir.

-He was the conductor of the choir.

-

-Yes, Glynne was quite a character.

-One of life's flamboyant characters.

-People either loved him or thought,

-"Oh, Glynne Jones, Pendyrus"!

-He would always wear a smart cloak.

-I'd go home and my mother would say,

-"Why does he wear that silly cloak?"

-I liked it,

-I thought it was lovely.

-He came in that day

-and the studio was packed.

-There were 80 in the choir and

-there were other choirs here too.

-There were dancers, an orchestra,

-soloists, lots of people.

-He had to share a room

-with the choir.

-When Glynne came in,

-he wasn't happy.

-However, we came in and had a chat.

-His mother was ill.

-He lived with his mother...

-..and he himself wasn't well either,

-but he was like a lamb.

-He brought the choir

-into the studio and conducted.

-Perhaps because of the song,

-or because I knew of the illness...

-..and the song - composed for Bryn

-Terfel in aid of Hope House...

-..where the words mean so much...

-..that final chorus

-sent a shiver down my spine.

-It was amazing.

-You enjoyed inviting

-male voice choirs onto your series.

-Usually, they'd be more used

-to singing hymns and so on.

-You liked to push them

-to sing popular light songs.

-In the 1970s,

-maybe people don't remember...

-..but male voice choirs

-had almost gone out of fashion.

-I remember...

-..in the first series

-produced in 1981 for the BBC...

-..when I wanted to feature

-a male voice choir, they refused.

-By 1982, maybe because the first

-series had gone down quite well...

-..we were allowed

-male voice choirs.

-That series - the first two

-programmes went out on the BBC...

-..but the third programme

-went out on S4C...

-..as the channel had been launched

-the Tuesday before.

-The programme ended

-with a great song, a sort of anthem.

-We'd sing a light song too...

-..a formula which worked well

-with male voice choirs.

-Variety - just like tonight.

-Thank you very much.

-From all of us here,

-until the next time, goodnight.

-# Remember

-# Remember #

-S4C Subtitles by Simian 04 Cyf.

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