Richard Harrington ‹ Cyfres 2

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

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