Ben Evans Hyn o Fyd

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-Subtitles

-My name's Ben Evans.

-I'm 12 years old and I live

-in Pontygwaith in South Wales.

-Pontygwaith is a small village

-in the Rhondda.

-The Rhondda is a famous place.

-There are two narrow valleys here.

-The Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach.

-100 years ago, it was the most

-famous place in the world for coal.

-The villages in the Rhondda

-were all built for people...

-..who worked in the coal mines.

-I've lived in Pontygwaith

-since I was five.

-I wasn't born here because

-Mam and Dad moved away...

-..from the Valleys

-for a few years.

-Mam was born in Pontygwaith and she

-always said she'd come back here.

-Come here.

-Forwards, behind the line.

-Behind this one.

-My school isn't in Pontygwaith.

-I go to Ysgol Rhydfelen...

-..a few miles down the valley.

-A few of us travel from the village

-on the bus...

-..but most of the children

-from Pontygwaith...

-..go to the English-medium school.

-When I first came to Pontygwaith, I

-was sent to the local Welsh school.

-That was quite a shock for me.

-You see, Mam and Dad

-can't speak Welsh...

-..and I couldn't either

-until I went to the Welsh school.

-But Mam's grandmother

-and Dad's parents spoke Welsh...

-..and Mam and Dad would like to

-be able to speak the language.

-They feel like they're missing out

-on something.

-A lot of other people

-in the Valleys feel the same.

-There are over a thousand children

-in our school...

-..and almost all of them come from

-non-Welsh-speaking families.

-Hardly anyone has

-Welsh-speaking parents.

-They learned Welsh at

-primary school, like I did.

-Back we go.

-My brother Chris is two years

-younger than me.

-He still goes to my old school.

-It's quite a small school.

-Are you going to do the writing

-at the bottom a different colour?

-That's red.

-Do a different colour at

-the bottom. Black maybe?

-I enjoy being in high school.

-I like going from one class

-to another...

-..and having lessons like French

-and rugby.

-But sometimes I miss

-my old school...

-..and I feel jealous of Chris.

-The bathroom, maybe?

-Up again.

-He'll have a shock when he goes

-to high school next year.

-Down. Under the stick here.

-I usually stay after school to go

-to the drama or sports practice...

-..but today is Wednesday

-so I'm going home early.

-Today is my favourite day

-because I go to the Aikido class.

-PIANO SCALES

-Good girl. We had lots of hand

-movement. Can we try it again?

-Hi, Mam. Is my tea ready?

-Hi, love. Tea's on the table.

-Hi, love. Tea's on the table.

-

-OK. Ta.

-OK, now we'll do your C major

-contrary motion.

-One thing there's a lot of

-in our house is music.

-The Valleys are a musical place...

-..and that's certainly true

-of our house.

-Mam's always playing the piano and

-teaches children in the evenings.

-It's very important. We want our

-fingers to work and not our hands.

-Hi, Ben. Are you ready to go?

-Hi, Ben. Are you ready to go?

-

-Yeah. I'm coming.

-Dad takes me to the Aikido class

-after coming home from work.

-He was unemployed for a long time

-when we first came to Pontygwaith.

-Now he has a job and that's great.

-Aikido is my favourite hobby.

-I've been going to the class

-for three years now...

-..and I have an orange belt.

-I'm hoping to get the next one -

-the green one.

-There isn't much for children

-in Pontygwaith.

-You have to go to other parts

-of the Rhondda.

-You can't hold too tightly

-or you won't be able to throw.

-Give a good, strong hold

-and drive in.

-You try now, Ben.

-This is a very good club.

-Mind you, Aikido's very tough

-and I go home covered in bruises.

-The club is held in an old chapel

-which closed.

-There are many of these

-in the Rhondda.

-# It is the blood of Thy cross

-which lifts me up

-# The feeble into a great conqueror

-# The blood of Thy cross

-does subdue

-# A myriad strong giants down

-# Let me feel

-# Let me feel

-# Let me feel

-# The breeze from the hill

-of Calvary

-# The breeze from the hill

-of Calvary... #

-Mam is the accompanist

-for Cor Meibion Morlais.

-There's a long tradition of male

-voice choirs in the Rhondda...

-..and their sound is very special.

-# Never can I be better

-# It is Thou who... #

-It's a prettier Rhondda.

-Obviously, the tips were,

-sort of, dirty places...

-..although I didn't look at them

-as being dirty as a youngster.

-But after having been away

-to a place like Harrow...

-..which was very clean,

-very flat...

-..on coming back for visits

-one could see...

-..a little bit of grime on

-the hills because of the tips.

-But now they're greened over...

-..and it does look a prettier,

-fresher place.

-Jeff and I,

-not being fluent in Welsh...

-..has a terrific amount

-of drawbacks...

-..living in Wales

-and living in the Rhondda.

-And we felt that we wanted both our

-children to have the advantage...

-..of being bilingual and learning

-about their Welsh heritage.

-And, as I say, we both feel

-this is very, very important.

-I would like to see both Ben

-and Chris hopefully go on...

-..and continue higher education

-at university.

-I hope that they'll be

-a little bit broader than I was.

-I think they will be because

-already we've tried to ensure...

-..that they know that life

-goes on outside the Rhondda...

-..and there's a big world out there

-that I hope they'll discover.

-I'd like them to travel.

-I just hope they'll be

-very happy people.

-# Never leave

-# My memory. #

-Gran. Hiya.

-I've got your shopping.

-Thank you, love.

-Tomatoes as well?

-Tomatoes as well?

-

-Yes, here they are.

-Thank you.

-'Tadcu was a miner all his life.

-'He went down the pit

-when he was 16.

-'Now, like many ex-miners

-in the Rhondda...

-'..he suffers from pneumoconiosis.

-'You get it from inhaling

-coal dust.

-'It leaves you crippled.'

-I scored.

-I scored.

-

-That makes up for all the dirt.

-How is Bamps today, Gran?

-How is Bamps today, Gran?

-

-Not too bad.

-'He was very young when he first

-got sick and now he's very ill.

-'He has to stay in his bed and

-it's very difficult for Mamgu.'

-I just took Bamps in the wheelchair

-out up the church.

-Well, it's better than staying

-in the house.

-He could see the new carpet, then.

-It looks nice.

-'Tadcu worked at

-the Lewis Merthyr Colliery.

-'The mine has closed now, like all

-the other mines in the Rhondda.'

-In the past, life in the Rhondda

-revolved around coal.

-People across the world wanted

-Rhondda coal in their factories...

-..ships and trains.

-It was very good coal

-which burned quickly.

-Everything was fine

-until about 60 years ago.

-Then factories started to close

-and ships used oil instead of coal.

-There was too much coal

-and no-one wanted it.

-The mines started to close

-and one of them was Tadcu's.

-But Lewis Merthyr will be used

-for something else before long.

-It's being turned into a museum...

-..to tell the story of the Rhondda

-and its people...

-..and Dad is one of the people

-helping to set up the museum.

-When was this photo

-of Cory Band taken?

-The end of 1970.

-And these... The shield,

-is that the shield?

-Yeah.

-BBC Band of the Year.

-ITV Band of the Year.

-And I think the band holds

-almost the record...

-..for winning

-15 consecutive contests.

-And this is before you did the...

-before you won the British Open?

-That's right, yeah.

-We won the British Open in 1974 -

-September 1974 in the Albert Hall.

-Dad has an interest in music too.

-People in the Rhondda can play

-instruments as well as sing.

-There are many brass bands in the

-valley and Dad's a member of one.

-The trombone is his instrument.

-There are some old faces there,

-aren't there?

-One, two, three, four.

-I started playing the trombone

-when I was 12, in school.

-And when we moved down here

-it was a little outlet.

-There are quite a few bands in the

-Rhondda. There are at the moment...

-..four, five...

-..seven bands in the two valleys,

-which isn't bad.

-They've always been a part

-of the Rhondda...

-..even though the majority

-of them started...

-..as temperance bands, virtually.

-Something to keep the men occupied

-other than the demon drink.

-But they've always been

-supported by...

-..collieries, when there were

-collieries open in the Valleys.

-And they've become, I don't know,

-intertwined, I suppose...

-..with the history of coal.

-They're virtually synonimous.

-Park and Dare, Cory, et cetera.

-I mean, Tylerstown Band,

-the one I'm a member of...

-..is the only surviving

-colliery band...

-..being affiliated to

-Mardy Colliery...

-..which in itself is...

-..only half open now.

-They still go down in Mardy

-but no coal comes out.

-So it's the last surviving

-colliery band in the Rhondda.

-And for that they gained...

-..something of a reputation

-during the last strike.

-Being very supportive of the miners

-during the strike.

-Brass bands, again, are almost

-a community of their own.

-They're very set in their ways.

-There's a regular round

-of competitions.

-A rivalry between bands,

-but a friendly rivalry...

-..unless it comes to

-poaching players.

-But it's a very relaxed atmosphere.

-Completely different to what

-I was used to working in London...

-..when actually playing was a means

-to... Well, it was my living.

-We go to church every Sunday.

-Some people in Pontygwaith go

-to church, others to chapel.

-It depends on your family.

-Mam plays the organ every Sunday.

-Dad sometimes comes to church...

-..but he usually makes lunch.

-I help the vicar in church

-on the altar.

-I prepare the bread and wine

-for the communion.

-Good morning, vicar.

-Good morning, vicar.

-

-Good morning, vicar.

-Good morning.

-I think the church

-is very important.

-We see our neighbours there

-and keep in touch.

-It helps to give you an appetitie

-before lunch as well.

-'The home has always been

-very important to me.

-'We were a very, very close family.

-Still are.

-'I had a very, very happy

-childhood.

-'Everything we did,

-we did as a family.

-'But I think because of

-the close ties made then...

-'..this is why I've always felt

-the draw to come back.'

-I think I'm very fortunate to live

-in a friendly place...

-..like Pontygwaith.

-And I'm glad Mam and Dad

-decided to come back here to live.

-I wouldn't want to live

-anywhere else.

-# Bless my mother and father

-# Who look after me

-# Step by step

-# To forever keep me

-# Safe from harm

-# Oh, Jesus, protect them

-# Oh, Jesus, protect them #

-S4C subtitles by Ericsson

-.