Ben Evans Hyn o Fyd


Ben Evans

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-Subtitles

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-In 1989, a series of films

-were shown on S4C...

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-..portraying Wales

-through the eyes of five children.

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-We had so many opportunities

-as children.

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-We enjoyed socializing.

-I'm still the same!

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-The children

-have now flown the nest.

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-For the first time in many years,

-they get to watch their film again.

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-The village looks the same.

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-The old factories have gone,

-the people are different.

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-The houses and streets are still

-here. The atmosphere's the same.

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-Have the dreams faded

-now they're 40-year-old adults?

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-It hasn't turned out the way

-I thought. That's what life is like.

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-This is the story of the children

-of Fy Nghymru I. Where did they go?

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-The '80s. A decade of change

-in Wales and across the world.

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-But what was it like to be a child

-in the '80s?

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-My name's Ben Evans.

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-I'm 12 years old and I live

-in Pontygwaith in South Wales.

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-In 1989,

-one of the Fy Nghymru I films...

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-..came from the industrial community

-of the Rhondda.

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-While Welsh

-was the language spoken...

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-..in the homes of the other children

-in the series...

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-..this wasn't the case

-in Ben's house.

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-When I was 12,

-I wanted to be a doctor.

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-I'd grown out

-of wanting to be an astronaut.

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-I moved on

-to wanting to be a doctor.

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-But what happened to Ben, his little

-brother Chris and the family home?

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-Which member of the family...

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-..led the historic march

-during the miners' strike?

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-Pontygwaith

-is a small village in the Rhondda.

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-The Rhondda is a famous place.

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-There are two narrow valleys here -

-Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach.

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-I've lived in Pontygwaith

-since I was five.

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-I wasn't born here.

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-I was born in London.

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-My brother and I were born there

-while my parents worked there.

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-Both my parents were Welsh.

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-We moved back in 1980.

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-It has changed

-over the last 30 years.

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-On the surface, it's changed a lot.

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-The old factories have gone,

-the people are different.

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-But the village looks the same. The

-houses and streets are still here.

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-So much has changed

-yet so much has stayed the same.

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-When I first came to Pontygwaith, I

-was sent to the local Welsh school.

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-That was quite a shock for me.

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-You see, Mam and Dad

-can't speak Welsh.

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-It was important to Mam and Dad...

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-..that my brother and I

-were educated in Welsh...

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-..and to be bilingual.

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-Dad came from a Welsh-speaking area

-near Llanelli.

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-He could speak a little Welsh

-but Mam couldn't.

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-But they both strongly believed that

-we should be educated in Welsh...

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-..and that we use the language

-after that.

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-Today, Ben works

-for the Welsh Government.

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-He lives with his family

-on the outskirts of Cardiff.

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-Hello! OK?

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-Yeah? Have you had a good day?

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-Yeah? Have you had a good day?

-

-Yeah.

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-I think I have a greater desire

-to speak Welsh.

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-One major reason why is Bethan.

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-Bethan goes to a Welsh medium

-school. That's helped me too.

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-After leaving school,

-I went to university.

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-I didn't use much Welsh

-for many years...

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-..certainly not in

-my first few jobs after university.

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-It's only fairly recently I've

-started speaking Welsh regularly...

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-..especially in work.

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-Since I now work

-for the Welsh Government...

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-..I speak a lot more Welsh.

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-So it's gradually returned.

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-I think I'm more or less back to

-my level of fluency at school.

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-Hello!

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-Hello!

-

-Hi! How are you?

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-Good.

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-We're a bilingual family.

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-The language Bethan and I speak,

-when it's just us two, is Welsh.

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-Sarah doesn't speak Welsh

-but she does understand a bit.

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-So she understands what Bethan says

-when she comes back from school...

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-..and when Bethan and I

-are chatting.

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-Here you are. Cheese.

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-Here you are. Cheese.

-

-Thank you.

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-Who did you play with today?

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-Who did you play with today?

-

-Eloise, Melanie and Chloe.

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-We decided that

-however many children we'd have...

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-..we'd insist they'd speak Welsh.

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-I've benefited from being bilingual.

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-I've had many jobs where

-not only has Welsh been useful...

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-..it's been essential,

-including my current job.

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-So, after discussing it for a while,

-we decided that our children...

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-..would be taught

-through the medium of Welsh.

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-My brother Chris

-is two years younger than me.

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-He still goes to my old school.

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-Today, Chris is a set designer

-for films and television series.

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-He's lived in London for many years.

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-I was encouraged by my parents

-to look beyond the Severn Bridge.

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-"There's a big world out there,

-go and see it."

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-So I never subscribed to keeping

-my interests politically...

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-..or culturally within Wales.

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-It's not something

-I think is completely healthy.

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-I didn't necessarily agree

-with what was being encouraged...

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-..in the way

-we were taught to think.

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-As an 18-year-old,

-I couldn't wait to leave...

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-..because I wanted to see

-a different way of life.

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-I wanted to put myself in a position

-that wasn't in my comfort zone.

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-It would be very easy to stay here.

-I had a very happy existence.

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-But I wouldn't have been happy.

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-I needed to put myself into an

-environment where I'm with people...

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-..who didn't speak the same way,

-weren't from the same country...

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-..and didn't have the same

-cultural interests.

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-One times seven.

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-Seven.

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-I do admire the fact that Ben's

-been able to maintain his fluency...

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-..whereas I'm below a Welsh learner,

-in terms of how I can speak Welsh.

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-It's important. He lives here.

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-My niece, who's nine, speaks

-far better Welsh than I do now.

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-While I can't converse on an equal

-level, it's reassuring to know...

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-..that another generation is going

-to be able to speak the language.

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-The boys were raised

-in a home full of music.

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-Their late parents,

-Jeff and Rosalie...

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-..were professional musicians.

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-They were musicians

-who moved to an industrial area.

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-I think things were hard at times...

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-..especially after leaving London

-where there was a lot of work.

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-They both worked in schools.

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-Dad taught brass instruments

-and Mam played at dance schools.

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-That was the nature

-of the work available in London.

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-Having said that, they both found

-something to do musically.

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-It's almost two years

-since Ben lost his mother.

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-He and his family are going to see

-the choir that was so dear to her.

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-Rosalie

-accompanied Cor Meibion Morlais...

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-..when the original programme

-was filmed.

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-She was a member until she lost

-her battle against cancer in 2015.

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-# It is the blood of thy cross

-which lifts me up

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-# The feeble into a great conqueror

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-# The blood of thy cross does subdue

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-# A myriad strong giants down

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-# Let me feel

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-# Let me feel

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-# Let me feel

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-# The breeze

-from the hill of Calvary

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-# The breeze

-from the hill of Calvary #

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-Some of the original faces

-are still singing today.

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-Some old friends

-have cherished memories of Rosalie.

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-She was special.

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-You don't realize how special

-she was until she wasn't with us.

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-There was a terrible void.

-Terrible. But we're getting there.

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-I'm sure her spirit lives on.

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-I'm sure her spirit lives on.

-

-Yes.

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-I'm sure it does. The choir

-was a huge part of Mum's life.

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-# Hill of Calvary

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-# Hill of Calvary

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-# Hill of Calvary

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-# It will never leave my mind

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-# It will never leave my mind

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-# It will never leave

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-# My mind #

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-Why did Ben's parents

-return to Pontygwaith...

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-..and turn their back on being

-professional musicians in London?

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-Who's reminiscing about a historic

-day during the miners' strike?

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-And what is it like

-watching his childhood on film...

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-..as Ben bids farewell

-to Pontygwaith for the last time?

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-.

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-Subtitles

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-Subtitles

-

-Subtitles

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-Ben Evans was 12 years old

-when he was portrayed on film.

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-Thirty years later, he'll return

-to his family home in the Valleys...

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-..to watch that film once more.

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-When the original programme

-was filmed...

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-..Valley communities had been

-shattered after the miners' strike.

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-But the coal mines had had an effect

-on Ben and his family before then.

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-Tad-cu was a miner all his life.

-He went down the pit when he was 16.

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-Now, like many ex-miners

-in the Rhondda...

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-..he suffers from pneumoconiosis.

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-You get it

-from inhaling coal dust.

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-It leaves you crippled.

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-My grandfather fell ill some time

-in the '70s, when I was a young boy.

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-Mam and Dad decided to move back

-to look after him.

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-We moved back in 1980.

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-We moved next door so Mam

-could be close to my grandparents...

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-..so she could look after them.

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-That was the main reason

-why we moved back.

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-By 1985, Valley miners

-had lost their battle.

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-The community

-had started to lose hope.

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-Ben still remembers its effect

-today.

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-The miners

-had been on strike for a year.

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-As a result,

-communities like Pontygwaith...

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-..started to feel

-that people had let them down.

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-Communities all over the Valleys had

-suffered under the same policies.

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-I still remember things like

-fundraising events.

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-People collecting food for families

-who had a striking miner.

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-The father or grandfather

-or another family member.

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-At the time, Dad played in the

-Pendyrus and Maerdy brass band...

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-..Tylorstown and Mardy Silver Band.

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-An old bandmate of Ben's father

-is Ivor England.

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-The band was financed by the

-local colliery - Maerdy Colliery.

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-It was a happy band.

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-It was a band of characters

-and Jeff and I gelled very well.

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-That's how I met him.

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-That was just 1982, maybe 1983.

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-Jeff was a hell of a guy.

-I played trombone next to him.

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-Sometimes he'd say something

-and it could be difficult for me...

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-..to hold it together

-playing my part...

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-..because that recurring humour

-was in him.

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-He was a very proficient

-trombone player.

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-Ivor remembers being with Jeff

-in the band...

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-..on a historic morning

-during the miners' strike.

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-The Miners' Union in Maerdy were

-doing this historic back to work...

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-..because this was the end

-of coal mining in the Rhondda.

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-The band turned up

-on the morning of that day.

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-It was decided that the band

-would march from Maerdy Square...

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-..up to Maerdy Colliery,

-which is a fair walk.

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-Jeff, myself, the front rank,

-and the band got behind us...

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-..and the church bells were ringing.

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-Everybody got into the procession...

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-..and we started marching up

-North Terrace.

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-As we were going along, people

-were clapping and responding.

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-There was media everywhere.

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-There were photographers on the hill

-and history shows us...

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-..many photographs were taken.

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-This is the photograph

-of the men going back to Maerdy.

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-Of the procession.

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-There's Jeff in the middle,

-and this is me.

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-I've got a Dai cap on, and I'm going

-to put my trombone away shortly...

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-..when we get to the pit, because

-I'm going to the pit to work.

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-The picture not only made the news

-in this country...

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-..but it appeared in the Washington

-Post and the New York Times.

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-It became a famous picture

-in our house.

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-Any time there was a programme...

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-..about the strike

-or coal mining in the Valleys...

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-..the same picture came up.

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-On the whole, I think Dad

-was proud of being a part of it.

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-Eventually, we went up to the pit

-and that was a very sad occasion...

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-..because that was the last time

-that any demonstration...

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-..was going to be held

-through Maerdy Road to the colliery.

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-But it wasn't the last time

-that Ivor and Jeff worked together.

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-Ironically,

-the act of closing the coal mines...

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-..gave both of them new jobs.

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-They decided something

-should be kept to tell the story.

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-There was a government scheme.

-Jeff and I worked down there.

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-We had documents researching

-coal mining in the Rhondda.

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-Dad was out of work when

-the original programme was filmed.

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-He worked as a historian in

-what is now Rhondda Heritage Park.

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-He interviewed people...

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-..who had experience

-of the coal industry...

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-..ex-miners, their wives,

-people who'd worked in the mines...

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-..to try to sum up that period

-to create some sort of museum...

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-..which is now located in Trehafod.

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-Dad and a couple of his colleagues

-were there...

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-..not only interviewing people

-and collecting memories...

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-..but also gathering memorabilia

-they'd collected from the mines.

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-Back in Pontygwaith,

-Ben is clearing his parents' home...

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-..ready to put the house

-on the market.

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-Before they bid farewell to

-the family home for the last time...

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-..he and his brother have returned

-there to watch the film once more.

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-Shwmae? I'm here for the matinee!

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-You alright?

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-You alright?

-

-Yes, thank you.

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-God, I remember that music.

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-Rest Assured, that's gone.

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-The rubber factory, that's gone.

-The train line, that's gone.

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-All change.

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-Gee!

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-Good, good!

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-Oh, my God! Who ate all the pies?!

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-Primary school.

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-You had lots of hand movement,

-can you try it again?

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-Are you ready to go?

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-Are you ready to go?

-

-I'm coming.

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-Great.

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-Oh, the Allegro!

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-Gran, hiya.

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-Seeing my grandparents

-on the programme was very strange.

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-It was strange to see the condition

-my grandfather was in too.

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-I didn't appreciate his condition

-at the time.

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-Looking back, it was very emotional.

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-I would like to see both Ben

-and Chris hopefully go on...

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-..and continue higher education

-at university.

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-I hope that they'll be

-a little bit broader than I was.

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-I think they will be because

-already we've tried to ensure...

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-..that they know that life

-goes on outside the Rhondda...

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

-that I hope they'll discover.

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-I'd like them to travel.

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-I just hope

-they'll be very happy people.

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-It's been strange

-watching the film after so long...

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-..and in the house too, especially

-because both of us watched it.

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-It's been a very therapeutic

-process, for me personally...

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-..to see Mam and Dad on the screen.

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-Not only because we've lost them...

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-..but also because so much time has

-passed since we last saw the film.

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-I think my top lip is the same.

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-Yeah - Bethan's got your top lip.

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-Wow.

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-Gee.

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-Not everyone has the opportunity

-to do something like this.

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-There's a permanent record now, even

-though it's such a long time ago...

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-..of our life at that time.

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-It's fascinating seeing that,

-having lived away.

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-I've lived in quite a few places.

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-I still come back here.

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-Obviously for us, personally...

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-..circumstances change and we go off

-in our various directions.

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-For me, I don't know about you,

-but there's always something...

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-..that draws me back.

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-Yeah?

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-I don't know if it's sentimentality.

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-I can't see myself moving back here

-to live, if I'm honest.

0:20:590:21:04

-Living in the Valleys,

-the atmosphere is very special.

0:21:050:21:09

-We've been fortunate.

0:21:090:21:11

-We've been in a TV programme.

0:21:110:21:13

-We gave a snapshot

-of what it was like...

0:21:130:21:16

-..growing up in the area

-after all the mines were shut...

0:21:170:21:21

-..and what life was like

-in the Valleys at that time.

0:21:210:21:25

-This period has been quite difficult

-for us as a family.

0:21:460:21:50

-We lost Mam 18 months ago...

0:21:500:21:52

-..so Chris and I are in the process

-of clearing the house.

0:21:520:21:56

-Though we have

-so many memories here...

0:21:560:21:59

-..both of us

-have no desire to come back.

0:21:590:22:02

-So we're not looking forward

-necessarily...

0:22:020:22:06

-..but we're looking towards the end

-of this chapter in Pontygwaith.

0:22:060:22:11

-So, it is strange...

0:22:110:22:13

-..because we have

-so many incredible memories here.

0:22:130:22:17

-Mam and Dad have both passed away.

0:22:190:22:22

-So, the house is only a building.

0:22:230:22:27

-It's time for us

-to step away from the house.

0:22:280:22:31

-It's hard in some ways, but

-it's also a step we have to take.

0:22:310:22:37

-What would Mam and Dad say now?

0:22:400:22:42

-I'd like to think they'd say...

0:22:430:22:45

-.."It's the end of one chapter.

-Go and enjoy the next chapter."

0:22:450:22:50

-That was their attitude

-when they were here.

0:22:500:22:54

-Make your own mistakes...

0:22:540:22:56

-..and make the most

-of every opportunity.

0:22:580:23:02

-That's what I think

-Chris and I have done.

0:23:020:23:05

-I think I'm very fortunate...

0:23:060:23:08

-..to live in a friendly place

-like Pontygwaith.

0:23:080:23:12

-I'm glad Mam and Dad

-decided to come back here to live.

0:23:120:23:16

-I wouldn't want to live

-anywhere else.

0:23:160:23:19

-S4C Subtitles by Testun Cyf.

0:23:560:23:58

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0:23:580:23:58

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