Ben Evans Hyn o Fyd

-Subtitles

-In 1989, a series of films

-were shown on S4C...

-..portraying Wales

-through the eyes of five children.

-We had so many opportunities

-as children.

-We enjoyed socializing.

-I'm still the same!

-The children

-have now flown the nest.

-For the first time in many years,

-they get to watch their film again.

-The village looks the same.

-The old factories have gone,

-the people are different.

-The houses and streets are still

-here. The atmosphere's the same.

-Have the dreams faded

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

-It hasn't turned out the way

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

-This is the story of the children

-of Fy Nghymru I. Where did they go?

-The '80s. A decade of change

-in Wales and across the world.

-But what was it like to be a child

-in the '80s?

-My name's Ben Evans.

-I'm 12 years old and I live

-in Pontygwaith in South Wales.

-In 1989,

-one of the Fy Nghymru I films...

-..came from the industrial community

-of the Rhondda.

-While Welsh

-was the language spoken...

-..in the homes of the other children

-in the series...

-..this wasn't the case

-in Ben's house.

-When I was 12,

-I wanted to be a doctor.

-I'd grown out

-of wanting to be an astronaut.

-I moved on

-to wanting to be a doctor.

-But what happened to Ben, his little

-brother Chris and the family home?

-Which member of the family...

-..led the historic march

-during the miners' strike?

-Pontygwaith

-is a small village in the Rhondda.

-The Rhondda is a famous place.

-There are two narrow valleys here -

-Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach.

-I've lived in Pontygwaith

-since I was five.

-I wasn't born here.

-I was born in London.

-My brother and I were born there

-while my parents worked there.

-Both my parents were Welsh.

-We moved back in 1980.

-It has changed

-over the last 30 years.

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

-The old factories have gone,

-the people are different.

-But the village looks the same. The

-houses and streets are still here.

-So much has changed

-yet so much has stayed the same.

-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.

-It was important to Mam and Dad...

-..that my brother and I

-were educated in Welsh...

-..and to be bilingual.

-Dad came from a Welsh-speaking area

-near Llanelli.

-He could speak a little Welsh

-but Mam couldn't.

-But they both strongly believed that

-we should be educated in Welsh...

-..and that we use the language

-after that.

-Today, Ben works

-for the Welsh Government.

-He lives with his family

-on the outskirts of Cardiff.

-Hello! OK?

-Yeah? Have you had a good day?

-Yeah? Have you had a good day?

-

-Yeah.

-I think I have a greater desire

-to speak Welsh.

-One major reason why is Bethan.

-Bethan goes to a Welsh medium

-school. That's helped me too.

-After leaving school,

-I went to university.

-I didn't use much Welsh

-for many years...

-..certainly not in

-my first few jobs after university.

-It's only fairly recently I've

-started speaking Welsh regularly...

-..especially in work.

-Since I now work

-for the Welsh Government...

-..I speak a lot more Welsh.

-So it's gradually returned.

-I think I'm more or less back to

-my level of fluency at school.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-

-Hi! How are you?

-Good.

-We're a bilingual family.

-The language Bethan and I speak,

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

-Sarah doesn't speak Welsh

-but she does understand a bit.

-So she understands what Bethan says

-when she comes back from school...

-..and when Bethan and I

-are chatting.

-Here you are. Cheese.

-Here you are. Cheese.

-

-Thank you.

-Who did you play with today?

-Who did you play with today?

-

-Eloise, Melanie and Chloe.

-We decided that

-however many children we'd have...

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

-I've benefited from being bilingual.

-I've had many jobs where

-not only has Welsh been useful...

-..it's been essential,

-including my current job.

-So, after discussing it for a while,

-we decided that our children...

-..would be taught

-through the medium of Welsh.

-My brother Chris

-is two years younger than me.

-He still goes to my old school.

-Today, Chris is a set designer

-for films and television series.

-He's lived in London for many years.

-I was encouraged by my parents

-to look beyond the Severn Bridge.

-"There's a big world out there,

-go and see it."

-So I never subscribed to keeping

-my interests politically...

-..or culturally within Wales.

-It's not something

-I think is completely healthy.

-I didn't necessarily agree

-with what was being encouraged...

-..in the way

-we were taught to think.

-As an 18-year-old,

-I couldn't wait to leave...

-..because I wanted to see

-a different way of life.

-I wanted to put myself in a position

-that wasn't in my comfort zone.

-It would be very easy to stay here.

-I had a very happy existence.

-But I wouldn't have been happy.

-I needed to put myself into an

-environment where I'm with people...

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

-weren't from the same country...

-..and didn't have the same

-cultural interests.

-One times seven.

-Seven.

-I do admire the fact that Ben's

-been able to maintain his fluency...

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

-in terms of how I can speak Welsh.

-It's important. He lives here.

-My niece, who's nine, speaks

-far better Welsh than I do now.

-While I can't converse on an equal

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

-..that another generation is going

-to be able to speak the language.

-The boys were raised

-in a home full of music.

-Their late parents,

-Jeff and Rosalie...

-..were professional musicians.

-They were musicians

-who moved to an industrial area.

-I think things were hard at times...

-..especially after leaving London

-where there was a lot of work.

-They both worked in schools.

-Dad taught brass instruments

-and Mam played at dance schools.

-That was the nature

-of the work available in London.

-Having said that, they both found

-something to do musically.

-It's almost two years

-since Ben lost his mother.

-He and his family are going to see

-the choir that was so dear to her.

-Rosalie

-accompanied Cor Meibion Morlais...

-..when the original programme

-was filmed.

-She was a member until she lost

-her battle against cancer in 2015.

-# 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 #

-Some of the original faces

-are still singing today.

-Some old friends

-have cherished memories of Rosalie.

-She was special.

-You don't realize how special

-she was until she wasn't with us.

-There was a terrible void.

-Terrible. But we're getting there.

-I'm sure her spirit lives on.

-I'm sure her spirit lives on.

-

-Yes.

-I'm sure it does. The choir

-was a huge part of Mum's life.

-# Hill of Calvary

-# Hill of Calvary

-# Hill of Calvary

-# It will never leave my mind

-# It will never leave my mind

-# It will never leave

-# My mind #

-Why did Ben's parents

-return to Pontygwaith...

-..and turn their back on being

-professional musicians in London?

-Who's reminiscing about a historic

-day during the miners' strike?

-And what is it like

-watching his childhood on film...

-..as Ben bids farewell

-to Pontygwaith for the last time?

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-Subtitles

-Subtitles

-

-Subtitles

-Ben Evans was 12 years old

-when he was portrayed on film.

-Thirty years later, he'll return

-to his family home in the Valleys...

-..to watch that film once more.

-When the original programme

-was filmed...

-..Valley communities had been

-shattered after the miners' strike.

-But the coal mines had had an effect

-on Ben and his family before then.

-Tad-cu 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.

-My grandfather fell ill some time

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

-Mam and Dad decided to move back

-to look after him.

-We moved back in 1980.

-We moved next door so Mam

-could be close to my grandparents...

-..so she could look after them.

-That was the main reason

-why we moved back.

-By 1985, Valley miners

-had lost their battle.

-The community

-had started to lose hope.

-Ben still remembers its effect

-today.

-The miners

-had been on strike for a year.

-As a result,

-communities like Pontygwaith...

-..started to feel

-that people had let them down.

-Communities all over the Valleys had

-suffered under the same policies.

-I still remember things like

-fundraising events.

-People collecting food for families

-who had a striking miner.

-The father or grandfather

-or another family member.

-At the time, Dad played in the

-Pendyrus and Maerdy brass band...

-..Tylorstown and Mardy Silver Band.

-An old bandmate of Ben's father

-is Ivor England.

-The band was financed by the

-local colliery - Maerdy Colliery.

-It was a happy band.

-It was a band of characters

-and Jeff and I gelled very well.

-That's how I met him.

-That was just 1982, maybe 1983.

-Jeff was a hell of a guy.

-I played trombone next to him.

-Sometimes he'd say something

-and it could be difficult for me...

-..to hold it together

-playing my part...

-..because that recurring humour

-was in him.

-He was a very proficient

-trombone player.

-Ivor remembers being with Jeff

-in the band...

-..on a historic morning

-during the miners' strike.

-The Miners' Union in Maerdy were

-doing this historic back to work...

-..because this was the end

-of coal mining in the Rhondda.

-The band turned up

-on the morning of that day.

-It was decided that the band

-would march from Maerdy Square...

-..up to Maerdy Colliery,

-which is a fair walk.

-Jeff, myself, the front rank,

-and the band got behind us...

-..and the church bells were ringing.

-Everybody got into the procession...

-..and we started marching up

-North Terrace.

-As we were going along, people

-were clapping and responding.

-There was media everywhere.

-There were photographers on the hill

-and history shows us...

-..many photographs were taken.

-This is the photograph

-of the men going back to Maerdy.

-Of the procession.

-There's Jeff in the middle,

-and this is me.

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

-to put my trombone away shortly...

-..when we get to the pit, because

-I'm going to the pit to work.

-The picture not only made the news

-in this country...

-..but it appeared in the Washington

-Post and the New York Times.

-It became a famous picture

-in our house.

-Any time there was a programme...

-..about the strike

-or coal mining in the Valleys...

-..the same picture came up.

-On the whole, I think Dad

-was proud of being a part of it.

-Eventually, we went up to the pit

-and that was a very sad occasion...

-..because that was the last time

-that any demonstration...

-..was going to be held

-through Maerdy Road to the colliery.

-But it wasn't the last time

-that Ivor and Jeff worked together.

-Ironically,

-the act of closing the coal mines...

-..gave both of them new jobs.

-They decided something

-should be kept to tell the story.

-There was a government scheme.

-Jeff and I worked down there.

-We had documents researching

-coal mining in the Rhondda.

-Dad was out of work when

-the original programme was filmed.

-He worked as a historian in

-what is now Rhondda Heritage Park.

-He interviewed people...

-..who had experience

-of the coal industry...

-..ex-miners, their wives,

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

-..to try to sum up that period

-to create some sort of museum...

-..which is now located in Trehafod.

-Dad and a couple of his colleagues

-were there...

-..not only interviewing people

-and collecting memories...

-..but also gathering memorabilia

-they'd collected from the mines.

-Back in Pontygwaith,

-Ben is clearing his parents' home...

-..ready to put the house

-on the market.

-Before they bid farewell to

-the family home for the last time...

-..he and his brother have returned

-there to watch the film once more.

-Shwmae? I'm here for the matinee!

-You alright?

-You alright?

-

-Yes, thank you.

-God, I remember that music.

-Rest Assured, that's gone.

-The rubber factory, that's gone.

-The train line, that's gone.

-All change.

-Gee!

-Good, good!

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

-Primary school.

-You had lots of hand movement,

-can you try it again?

-Are you ready to go?

-Are you ready to go?

-

-I'm coming.

-Great.

-Oh, the Allegro!

-Gran, hiya.

-Seeing my grandparents

-on the programme was very strange.

-It was strange to see the condition

-my grandfather was in too.

-I didn't appreciate his condition

-at the time.

-Looking back, it was very emotional.

-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.

-It's been strange

-watching the film after so long...

-..and in the house too, especially

-because both of us watched it.

-It's been a very therapeutic

-process, for me personally...

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

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

-..but also because so much time has

-passed since we last saw the film.

-I think my top lip is the same.

-Yeah - Bethan's got your top lip.

-Wow.

-Gee.

-Not everyone has the opportunity

-to do something like this.

-There's a permanent record now, even

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

-..of our life at that time.

-It's fascinating seeing that,

-having lived away.

-I've lived in quite a few places.

-I still come back here.

-Obviously for us, personally...

-..circumstances change and we go off

-in our various directions.

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

-but there's always something...

-..that draws me back.

-Yeah?

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

-I can't see myself moving back here

-to live, if I'm honest.

-Living in the Valleys,

-the atmosphere is very special.

-We've been fortunate.

-We've been in a TV programme.

-We gave a snapshot

-of what it was like...

-..growing up in the area

-after all the mines were shut...

-..and what life was like

-in the Valleys at that time.

-This period has been quite difficult

-for us as a family.

-We lost Mam 18 months ago...

-..so Chris and I are in the process

-of clearing the house.

-Though we have

-so many memories here...

-..both of us

-have no desire to come back.

-So we're not looking forward

-necessarily...

-..but we're looking towards the end

-of this chapter in Pontygwaith.

-So, it is strange...

-..because we have

-so many incredible memories here.

-Mam and Dad have both passed away.

-So, the house is only a building.

-It's time for us

-to step away from the house.

-It's hard in some ways, but

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

-What would Mam and Dad say now?

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

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

-Go and enjoy the next chapter."

-That was their attitude

-when they were here.

-Make your own mistakes...

-..and make the most

-of every opportunity.

-That's what I think

-Chris and I have done.

-I think I'm very fortunate...

-..to live in a friendly place

-like Pontygwaith.

-I'm glad Mam and Dad

-decided to come back here to live.

-I wouldn't want to live

-anywhere else.

-S4C Subtitles by Testun Cyf.

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