T H Parry Williams Cofio

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-# Remember

-# Remember #

-Today, we remember

-Sir TH Parry-Williams.

-This literary giant

-was born in Rhyd Ddu in 1887.

-He was a schoolmaster's son.

-He lived in many towns

-and travelled extensively.

-Yet, as we hear

-in this programme from 1966...

-..Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams

-remained a country boy.

-When I Was A Boy

-Even though I've lived

-in Aberystwyth and in other towns...

-..for most of my lifetime...

-..I remain nonetheless

-a little country boy.

-That's what I used to be

-and, most likely, always will be.

-The countryside in question

-is Caernarfonshire.

-Or the heart of the county,

-namely Snowdonia.

-Here, Snowdon reigns

-over the surrounding peaks.

-The hills may all appear

-to be desolate and bare...

-..although, by now,

-there is forestry development.

-It encroaches

-on this desolation and bareness.

-"Only a woodless world,

-sharp, unkind

-"Surrounded me at birth by Snowdon

-"As though giants had forever been

-"Smoothing the landscape all around

-"And so my rearing

-through the wondrous years

-"Of childhood in our home

-so near to the sky

-"Impressed on me

-the shapes of mountains old

-"Until their bareness

-became part of me

-"And if there ever will be

-part of me

-"I've left behind, not gone for good

-"That's found perchance

-by someone of like mind

-"On Snowdon as night's about to fall

-"There'll be no plan or picture

-to be seen

-"Only an outline

-of the sheer bareness of it all."

-The name of the village

-where I was born is Rhyd Ddu.

-As the name in Welsh suggests,

-the village stands on a river.

-Indeed, one part of the village

-is on one side of the river...

-..and the other part

-is on the other side of the river.

-The area is unique in one sense.

-It belongs to three parishes.

-We had no church or a cemetery

-or a mansion.

-Neither did we have

-a permanent policeman.

-But there was a pub,

-the Cwellyn Arms.

-This pub, which stands

-on the banks of the River Gwyrfai...

-..was the very depth of perdition

-to us when we were children.

-There was, and still is, a chapel.

-Indeed, there were once

-two chapels in the village.

-The older of the two

-was once visited by George Borrow.

-He eavesdropped by the door,

-listening to a preacher's sermon.

-He wrote somewhat disdainfully

-about that experience later.

-In the middle of the village,

-rather bizarrely, is a farmyard.

-As a result, we as children

-became familiar...

-..with many agricultural activities

-of that era.

-The village also had a school

-and a schoolhouse.

-I was born in the schoolhouse.

-I was one of six children.

-My father was the headmaster

-of the school at that time.

-That's where he stayed

-for many years, until he retired.

-We were quite a large family.

-For us, home was the focus

-of our social life.

-Home and chapel.

-I have great respect

-for this old schoolhouse...

-..and the school itself, of course.

-The surrounding area

-had many attractions...

-..especially for children.

-Away from the village, there were

-small trees down by the riverbank.

-They were hazel trees,

-not much to look at.

-But we could lose ourselves in them,

-as if we were in a large forest.

-Many years later, when I saw

-the great trees of California...

-..I saw these hazel trees vividly

-in my mind's eye.

-There were also

-two or three crags nearby.

-These were crags

-on which we could slide and skate.

-The marks of such skating

-could be seen from top to bottom.

-We'd sit on a slate

-or a piece of stone or wood...

-..and slide or skate from the top

-of the crag down to the bottom.

-There was also a bridge

-carrying the narrow gauge railway.

-It was a mile down the track,

-going over a ravine.

-The railway bridge

-was a big steel bridge.

-It was a very dangerous place.

-There was one big attraction for me.

-That was the lake,

-not far from the school.

-It was called Llyn y Gadair.

-It's a small lake,

-and quite unremarkable.

-But I was attracted to it greatly.

-"It's hardly noticed

-when the hiker stills

-"To overlook its shallows

-to the rolling land

-"There is more beauty

-in our mighty hills

-"Than in this drop of water

-"Where by hand an angler

-whips the surface with his rod

-"Or rows a yard or two,

-directionless

-"A soul who is forever lost, a clod

-"In nightmare's grasp

-with no way from his mess.

-"But there's a wizard

-with satanic charm

-"Makes for me

-this place a paradise

-"Although no glory shines

-to gild its form

-"No splendour for another's eyes

-"Only a peat bog

-and some tree stumps worn

-"Two outcrops and two quarries,

-shut, forlorn."

-# Remember #

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-# Remember #

-When TH Parry-Williams

-was eleven years old...

-..his life changed overnight

-when he had to leave his home.

-He spent six years

-at school in Porthmadog...

-..longing for his family

-and birthplace.

-My whole life centred on my home

-high up in Rhyd Ddu.

-That was my story until I reached

-my eleventh birthday.

-At that point,

-the big break-up occurred.

-From then onwards, I would

-no longer be staying at home...

-..but would instead

-be returning home each holiday.

-That's how it always was after that.

-The reason was

-that I had won a scholarship...

-..to Porthmadog Intermediate School.

-This is how it was recorded

-in my father's school log book.

-It's written down in his own hand.

-The name

-of Tom Herbert Parry-Williams...

-..is removed from registers today...

-..having won the county scholarship,

-first on the list...

-..for Portmadoc Intermediate School.

-In this way, therefore,

-I embarked upon a new career.

-I left the uplands behind

-to go to school in Porthmadog.

-It was by the sea, and I left

-the warmth of my mountain home...

-..to the solitude and silence

-of a lodging house...

-..down in Porthmadog, on the coast.

-The journey from the mountainous

-village of Rhyd Ddu...

-..was very tiresome in those days.

-The Caernarfon train

-went no further than Rhyd Ddu.

-The only option was to walk.

-The landmarks

-along the way are still with me.

-This rocky crag

-stands near the roadside.

-Someone at some point declared...

-..that it bore a resemblance

-to the head of Pitt.

-About a mile away,

-the road turns sharply to the left.

-This place was Llam Trwsgl.

-There was a large rock there.

-It was nicknamed Llam Trwsgl -

-leap of the clumsy.

-Legend had it that a giant

-had leapt from one side...

-..over the river

-to a rock on the other side.

-His footprint was still there.

-I'm not sure whether anyone

-has written the name down...

-..and whether it's still

-Llam Trwsgl.

-Onward I'd go towards a cowshed

-on the left side of the road.

-This was Beudy'r Wernas,

-a cowshed which I feared passing.

-It was said

-that a ghost lived in the cowshed.

-The ghost of Beudy'r Wernas.

-Down from there to Beddgelert.

-It was a four-mile walk.

-I'd then catch a brake, Humphrey

-Jones's brake, in Beddgelert.

-I'd ride in this brake

-to Porthmadog.

-We'd start

-through Aberglaslyn Pass.

-We called it Y Gymwynas

-- The Favour.

-What an excellent name

-for this old pass!

-There's a bridge

-at the lower end of the pass.

-Many visitors

-have come here over the years...

-..to view the glorious scenery

-in the area of Aberglaslyn Pass.

-The road went on

-to the edges of Traeth Mawr.

-It ran through

-the village of Prenteg...

-..and on to Porthmadog.

-You'd reach Tremadog first.

-In Tremadog, in those days,

-if I remember correctly...

-..there was a chemist shop

-on the corner.

-It was kept by the poet,

-Alltud Eifion.

-There was also a pub close by.

-The driver,

-in the normal course of events...

-..used to call into this pub,

-and into another pub en route.

-That then was Tremadog.

-It's a well-known place.

-The people of Port called it

-Y Dre - the Town...

-..as though it were

-a much bigger place than Porthmadog.

-Onward then

-past the corner of Ynys Galch...

-..to the railway station

-at Porthmadog.

-I'd alight from the brake there.

-I'd walk to the lodging house,

-wherever that might be.

-Even though I yearned for Rhyd Ddu

-when I was in Port...

-..as we used to call the place...

-..everybody was very kind

-to the newly-arrived country boy.

-I made many friends.

-Certain people in particular,

-especially at the lodging house...

-..were extremely kind to me.

-Apart from school, there was

-another main congregating point.

-This was around the chapel,

-Tabernacle chapel.

-Iolo Caernarfon was the minister.

-It was a big chapel, compared

-to our small chapel at home.

-It had a gallery, for one thing.

-There was also a large vestry

-beside the chapel.

-Many meetings

-were held in the vestry.

-I went to each and every one

-of them, I believe.

-I recall going there once

-with a group of boys.

-We left the vestry one evening,

-through the chapel yard.

-They dared me

-to strike some other boy.

-I did it, and a fight ensued.

-After that episode, some boys

-in the road used to threaten me.

-Nothing came of it, mind you.

-I was frightened all the same...

-..because I was

-a lonely and introspective boy.

-Oddly, I remembered the boy's name.

-Many, many years later...

-..in fact,

-until about two years ago...

-..I hadn't seen this man at all.

-He didn't come

-to the county school.

-There he was sitting

-on a bench in Aberystwyth.

-A Porthmadog man pointed him out,

-and I remembered the boy I'd hit.

-He was a mild-mannered,

-quiet and sincere boy.

-We became great friends,

-although decades had passed.

-I recall writing an article

-about this episode.

-It was entitled

-"Reflecting on Fear".

-I used that excellent phrase

-from the scriptures as its title.

-I felt very odd indeed...

-..and I'm being honest with you,

-when I saw this man.

-He'd aged by now,

-and we'd met again...

-..here in Aberystwyth,

-after so many years.

-Another great attraction

-for the boys...

-..especially country boys,

-was the harbour in Porthmadog.

-What a glorious place,

-much better than Caernarfon quay.

-It was considerably smaller,

-but was a very busy place.

-They built ships there.

-It was a big day for the children,

-the boys at least...

-..when a ship was launched.

-We had a day off school.

-I don't know if it was official.

-Be that as it may,

-we were sure to be there...

-..whenever a ship

-was being launched in the harbour.

-It was a very busy place

-in those days.

-I believe that in recent times...

-..the busy times are back

-in the harbour...

-..especially at the quay

-where we had such fun long ago.

-During the six years

-I spent at school in Porthmadog...

-..six years of great longing...

-..I would very often

-take a walk all by myself...

-..along Traeth Mawr.

-I'd walk in the direction

-of Aberglaslyn Pass.

-Towards the village

-where I was born.

-I was attracted towards it.

-I would often go for a walk

-on Traeth Mawr.

-My old friend Mr John O John

-says that he remembers me...

-..walking,

-in a hermit-like fashion...

-..on Traeth Mawr,

-towards Aberglaslyn Pass.

-As I said, we called it Y Gymwynas

-- The Favour.

-It was a very big favour for me

-at that time, as you can imagine.

-I was only allowed

-to go home once each term...

-..from Porthmadog to Rhyd Ddu.

-That was usually at the end

-of each term, of course.

-I remember that time very well.

-I would have been

-counting the weeks, one by one.

-Then the big day arrived,

-for me to return home...

-..from Port to Rhyd Ddu.

-After reaching Beddgelert...

-..and setting out

-on my walk to Rhyd Ddu...

-..I would note the landmarks

-that I mentioned earlier.

-Llam Trwsgl,

-Pont Cae'r Gors and so on.

-There were two other

-special landmarks, or places.

-I would notice these,

-in particular, when returning home.

-One of these was less than a mile

-from Beddgelert, on the way up.

-It was a large, square white stone

-in the wall on the right-hand side.

-I would also notice it,

-even in the darkness of night...

-..on my way home.

-This old white stone

-held a strange fascination for me.

-I would stand in front of it

-and hold a conversation with it.

-I did that many times

-afterwards too.

-It brought back memories

-of those happy journeys...

-..from Beddgelert to Rhyd Ddu.

-There was one other landmark,

-a mile from the village.

-On the flat near Cerrig Cyllau,

-there was a milestone.

-This was also

-on the right hand side of the road.

-It bore that wonderful message,

-Rhyd Ddu 1 mile.

-I was almost there.

-I was approaching

-the old village, and my home.

-That was always

-the big attraction for me...

-..throughout the term,

-and throughout the years.

-This was during my six years

-spent at school in Porthmadog.

-"If I have shared

-the Gwyrfai's inky flow

-"Its waters coursing

-through my veins so free

-"And if a destiny I scarcely know

-"Has given

-its unknown voice as well to me

-"And if the hills of Arfon

-always are

-"On watch, so jealous,

-of its wandering way

-"They also guard my progress

-from afar

-"Each livelong day,

-at work, at rest, at play

-"It is no wonder,

-for the place that brought

-"To each of us his life

-remains entwined

-"In all our wanderings,

-and there is nought

-"That can, not ever, part us,

-heart or mind

-"Until we two,

-though separate, co-travellers

-"Are going, and have gone

-"Yet still are there."

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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