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0:00:44 > 0:00:46- I'm a man of the soil, really.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52- My family has wandered - all over this land.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55- I don't know - for what we were searching.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58- I hope to carry on searching, - never finding it.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02- But I always end up coming back - and going for a wander.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07- I had to leave Merthyr Tydfil - before I could appreciate it.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32- This is where I was born.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34- Whitebeam Close.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38- In 1975...
0:01:38 > 0:01:43- ..Mam and Dad both worked as nurses - in St Tydfil's Hospital in the town.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47- A new hospital was being built - here on the Gurnos.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51- It's a remarkable place.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55- Although I have no memories - of this place...
0:01:55 > 0:01:57- ..I feel that I belong here.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06- They speak about it with fondness.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11- Gurnos is fantastic.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16- The people of Merthyr Tydfil - know the meaning of austerity.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- There's not much here but there's - a spirit and I can feel it.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- As I said, I feel I belong here, - in a sense.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27- And here's where it all began.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- It's quite emotional, really.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58- EERIE LAUGH
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- So why are you in Merthyr, butty?
0:03:09 > 0:03:13- In 1977, we moved from the Gurnos - to this spot in Dowlais.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- It's located halfway - between Dowlais and Pant.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24- The street is called Pant Road - and I lived at number 7.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- The other street is called - Cross Ivor Terrace.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33- This is where I played - and where all my friends lived.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- I remember there being - a real sense of community.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- Everyone knew - everyone else's business.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- It was great. It was so vibrant.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49- I can remember the neighbours - being real characters and very kind.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02- I have really happy memories - of being here.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04- Mam and Dad were really happy.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08- At the time, it was just me, - Mam, Dad and my sister, Lynwen.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- She's three years younger than me.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14- A lot of people would visit.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18- This gate was in constant use - during the day.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- Mam and Dad were nurses, so all - the hypochondriacs would call.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25- I remember one story - about my father.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30- He liked to sunbathe and there used - to be a coal shed over there.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- He'd sunbathe on top of the roof.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- I remember playing football here - one day.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- People were passing by and saying, - "Alright, Paul?"
0:04:42 > 0:04:46- And Dad, in his Speedos, - would say "alright" back.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- But I remember hearing - this awful noise.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51- It was Dad - falling through the roof.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- He's never sunbathed since!
0:05:12 > 0:05:14- I remember the Miners' Strike.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- I remember men crying - on the street...
0:05:19 > 0:05:21- ..in 1984...
0:05:21 > 0:05:26- ..when the Guest Keen, the last - of the ironworks, closed down.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- It was right there, - so it was very dusty.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- Then one day, the dust stopped.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- I remember - Johnny Owen's funeral too.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- The procession came past the house - in 1980.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- I remember men crying - and Dad was crying too.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- The place is steeped in history - and people have gone through hell.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- But there's no room for misery - in Merthyr.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- You've got to get on with it.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12- As the years went by...
0:06:12 > 0:06:14- ..there came a time...
0:06:15 > 0:06:19- ..when Rich felt very frustrated - that he came from a place like this.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Rich has come full circle.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- At one time...
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- ..it was as if he wished - he wasn't from Merthyr Tydfil.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35- But now he's come to accept that - it's been a huge part of his life.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- He appreciates - the people around him.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46- He's an incredibly loyal person.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48- He's loyal to his friends.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52- And he thinks a lot of the people - in his life.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- Everyone who comes into his life...
0:06:55 > 0:07:00- ..is a new audience for him - to entertain and amuse.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02- That's the kind of person he is.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- When I think about this place...
0:07:15 > 0:07:18- ..I think - of how my life might have been.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- I don't know - where I would have ended up...
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- ..or what I would have been doing...
0:07:25 > 0:07:29- ..if Mam and Dad hadn't sent me - to a Welsh-medium school.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34- Maybe they regarded Welsh education - as a way out of this valley.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- In the end, - they might have been right.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42- Rhydfelen had a fantastic - Drama department.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- It was Drama that came to my rescue.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- My mother's father, my grandfather, - Jack Jones...
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- ..who they used to call - John the Cottage...
0:07:54 > 0:07:58- ..came from Aberdare - and his first language was Welsh.
0:07:58 > 0:08:04- When I came into the world, - he spoke very little Welsh to me.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08- If he wanted to tell me something - in secret...
0:08:09 > 0:08:10- ..he'd say it in Welsh.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- He used to say, - "Go and buy me some cigarettes."
0:08:19 > 0:08:21- Isn't that strange?
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- As a child, - I went to a Welsh-medium school...
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- ..but I'd come home - and speak English...
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- ..though my grandfather lived - with us and spoke Welsh.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- He'd speak Welsh to his friends - but not to us.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- I'd often get stones thrown at me.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- Boys would call me Welsh cake - for going to a Welsh-medium school.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- The irony of it all - is that they were the same boys...
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- ..who'd be knocking on my door - half an hour later...
0:08:53 > 0:08:56- ..inviting me to play football - with them.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- It's a lesson to us all, really.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07- They didn't feel that - the Welsh language was inclusive.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- That's the mentality of this place.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15- But nowadays, the Welsh language - is no longer considered exclusive.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- It's for everyone. - It's a language, after all.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33- I was the type of person - who always went wandering off.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39- I wanted to know what was beyond the - mountain or at the end of the lane.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42- I often wonder why we need - to feel that we belong...
0:09:43 > 0:09:45- ..to somewhere or something.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- I feel at home here in - Merthyr Tydfil. It's quite strange.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- It takes courage to live in Merthyr.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56- But it takes more courage to leave.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- I left...
0:09:58 > 0:10:02- ..but my heart will always live here - in Merthyr Tydfil.
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0:10:09 > 0:10:09- 888
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- 888- - 888
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- I first heard of the island - of La Gomera...
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- ..as a young boy...
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- ..reading about - Christopher Columbus.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- He came here to prove - to the flat-earthers...
0:10:55 > 0:10:57- ..that the world was actually round.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- He set sail on his maiden voyage - from La Gomera.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- I was impressed by that - as a small child.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07- That's why I wanted to come here.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- I didn't realize - it was one of the Canary Islands.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- I thought it was near Timbuktu - or somewhere like that.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21- It excited me.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23- Maybe coming here...
0:11:23 > 0:11:28- ..makes me feel like Columbus - on a voyage of self-discovery.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33- He set off and came back - in the opposite direction...
0:11:33 > 0:11:36- ..to show that the world was round.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40- Christopher Columbus - was a brilliant man.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42- Thank goodness for him.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- It only takes four hours to get here - from London or Cardiff.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- Fly to Tenerife, - then take a small ferry...
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- ..from Los Cristianos - to San Sebastian.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- Spain is synonymous with my family.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06- My grandfather left his family - in the dead of night...
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- ..to go off and fight Franco - and his fascist regime.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15- It was a courageous and fantastic - undertaking in the 1930s...
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- ..particularly - for someone from Merthyr.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- What did Franco's regime mean - to people living in Merthyr?
0:12:27 > 0:12:31- When he returned - after spending 18 months there...
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- ..not only had he lost his naivety, - he had also lost his faith.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- He never talked about God...
0:12:40 > 0:12:44- ..the Catholic faith nor Franco - after coming back.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- I always wanted to come here...
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- ..for my grandfather - and for Columbus.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- It's ideal for wandering around.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- It's a paradise, really.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- The first time I arrived here, - it was dark.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13- I was lost.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17- Geographically, I had no idea - where I was on the island.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- I came across this village and found - someone who had a house.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23- I went to bed.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- When I opened the doors - in the morning...
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- ..I saw the mountains - and thought, "Wow!"
0:13:30 > 0:13:34- It's strange how the place - feels so much like home to me.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37- I've been coming here for ten years.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- As you can see, it's a paradise.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47- People here have a special way - of communicating.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- They whistle.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- I don't know why they do it - but they do it.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- Ramon, who lives down there, - does it.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- He doesn't have a tongue...
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- ..so he doesn't have much choice - because he can't speak anyway!
0:14:04 > 0:14:06- But it adds to the feel - of the place.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- It gives it colour.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- The fact that people whistle - makes it extraordinary.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- They tried to stop it - during Franco's regime...
0:14:16 > 0:14:20- ..because they thought republicans - were whistling coded messages.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23- But they stayed put.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- They actually teach whistling - in school.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- When I arrived here - for the first time...
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- ..I didn't know what to expect.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41- There was a lot going on in my life - at that time.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43- I was trying to escape.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48- I was a jobbing actor - so I couldn't go far.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- I like the altitude.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53- I like the terrain.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55- I like the light.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00- At four o'clock in the afternoon - when the light is oblique...
0:15:00 > 0:15:02- ..it feels as if I'm in a dream.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07- It's my inspiration, as if I'm - energized by a new Duracell battery.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09- I feel I can be myself and I relax.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- I enjoy climbing.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16- This is a great place - to go walking in flip-flops!
0:15:21 > 0:15:24- I've had fantastic experiences here.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28- I may be a tourist, - like all the others...
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- ..but in my head, I pretend - I'm a native, that I'm from here.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- I feel as if I belong here.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- It's as though I get a big cwtch - from this place.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20- I was very lucky because - my father's brother, Illtyd...
0:16:21 > 0:16:23- ..moved to London - when he was a young man.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29- So I would go with my father - and family to London as a boy.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33- I knew there was a big wide world - out there...
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- ..an interesting world - I wanted to discover for myself.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44- But it was sheer coincidence - that I ended up living here.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- I was living in south London anyway.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- I was renting a place - in Forest Hill.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- I was getting a lot more work - here...
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- ..and I wanted to buy somewhere - before the boom.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- I couldn't find anywhere - in Forest Hill...
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- ..so the agent suggested - Crystal Palace.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- So I thought, "Yeah, OK." - It's only a mile away.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09- So we came here.
0:17:09 > 0:17:15- The first flat I viewed was next - to this park and the train station.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19- The infrastructure here - is brilliant if you have children.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24- You need to be - near shops and a park.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29- So I bought the flat right away - and we moved in.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- Ned came along in the meantime.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34- So the park...
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- ..is central to my life...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- ..because it's where - the children were raised.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45- It's where they first learned - to walk, and fall!
0:18:00 > 0:18:04- All the Crystal Palace relics - are in this park too.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07- All the foundations - still stand here...
0:18:07 > 0:18:11- ..though the palace itself - burned down in 1936.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17- Crystal Palace was originally - erected in Hyde Park...
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- ..to house the Great Exhibition.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- But it was reconstructed here - in Upper Norwood...
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- ..hence the Crystal Palace.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- The place was named after it.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- It was an enormous glasshouse...
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- ..that housed - all the world's great artefacts.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- I've been coming to London - ever since I was a boy.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- My father's brother, - Illtyd Harrington, lives here.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- He was the leader of the GLC.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01- Illtyd led a very colourful life - and he was a generous man.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06- So I'd come and meet people - like Stevie Wonder and Elton John.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10- I'd get to sit in the royal box at - Wembley Stadium to watch Liverpool.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- I'd dine out at The Ivy.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- Then I'd go home to Merthyr Tydfil.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18- He came from a family...
0:19:19 > 0:19:23- ..a Southwalian family - which doesn't encourage ambition.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- Southwalians have no belief - in themselves at all.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29- And he had to gain that confidence.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- And he's gained it enormously.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37- And I think that when he's got - his eyes on the job, that's it.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- He then concentrates on that...
0:19:39 > 0:19:45- ..whereas as a boy, I think - he thought he was James Dean.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47- Wreck a car a day, you know.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52- At times I think his father - would've liked to kill him.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55- I would've killed him - if I'd been in Wales.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- Academically, I had the ability...
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- ..I was just never interested - in school.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- I was one of the jokers - who always played around.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12- I was expelled from Rhydfelen - in the end for not doing any work.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- And I got a job - the day I was kicked out.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17- The BBC remembered me...
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- ..and were looking for an actor...
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- ..to be in Ceri Sherlock's drama, - Dafydd...
0:20:24 > 0:20:27- ..which was being filmed - in Amsterdam.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- So off I went to Amsterdam - for five weeks...
0:20:31 > 0:20:36- ..came back, and lo and behold, - I became an actor.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- I'm not a great technical actor...
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- ..but I have the ability - to search inside myself...
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- ..and bring emotions to the surface.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- Acting is all about - finding the truth inside.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04- You can try your best...
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- ..but all the concrete - in the world...
0:21:08 > 0:21:10- ..won't hide the truth from God.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- If you really believe in God...
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- ..face the truth.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- I've been fortunate enough - to do a lot of modern stuff.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25- Casting directors like putting me - in classical roles too...
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- ..such as Lark Rise To Candleford.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- Or "Clark's Pies In Ammanford", - as my friends like to call it!
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- I really enjoyed that role.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38- I joined the cast - in the fourth series...
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- ..so I was a bit nervous going - into such an established drama...
0:21:43 > 0:21:45- ..watched by eight million viewers.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- It was in this park...
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- ..while I was considering - where to go and what to do...
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- ..that I heard Ralff and Ned - talking to one another.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- I wanted to bring them up - speaking Welsh...
0:21:59 > 0:22:04- ..because Nerys is from Carmarthen - and Welsh is her first language.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09- I heard them having an argument - in the park about something.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- They were speaking perfect Welsh - and I thought, "What am I doing?
0:22:14 > 0:22:18- "We should be back in Wales and they - should be in a Welsh-medium school."
0:22:19 > 0:22:20- So I brought it up...
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- ..and within minutes - Nerys was making phone calls.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- I think Nerys had been waiting - to go back...
0:22:27 > 0:22:29- ..ever since the children were born.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32- It's emotional being back here.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36- I've never felt at home in Cardiff, - to be honest.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40- I do in Merthyr Tydfil, - though I'll never live there again.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44- I've lived in Cardiff and I didn't - really want to go back there.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- London feels like home.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- Home is where the heart is...
0:22:50 > 0:22:54- ..and I think my heart - is still here in Crystal Palace.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58- I made the sacrifice - to move back to Cardiff...
0:22:58 > 0:23:00- ..because of the Welsh language.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06- It's strange because I had to leave - Wales to appreciate the language.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45- .