Llyn a Chwedloniaeth Harri Parri


Llyn a Chwedloniaeth

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-LLEYN AND MYTHOLOGY

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-This land has an old, old history.

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-Legendary giants, ghosts...

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-..and spirits

-have walked these paths.

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-Lleyn has inherited more than

-its share of magic and fantasy...

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-..over the centuries.

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-Twenty thousand saints

-rest on Bardsey Island.

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-Nothing disturbs

-the peace of the grave on Bardsey.

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-I'm on a journey

-to find the stories...

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-..and myths of the peninsula.

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-I don't have to go back hundreds

-of years to find a mystery story.

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-There are more recent legends.

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-People came from

-the four corners of the earth....

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-..for Lleyn's magic lotion.

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-This was, and is,

-a very remote shop.

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-It's a house today.

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-People came from as far afield...

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-..as Australia, America and Canada.

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-A Russian countess

-once visited this isolated shop.

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-She was looking

-for one thing in particular.

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-She wanted a secret lotion

-that had healing properties.

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-It was only available

-in Lleyn for many years.

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-My uncle, Owen Griffith,

-was the last of the rural doctors...

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-..to treat people

-suffering from skin cancer.

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-It could be fatal if left untreated.

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-People in Botwnnog Surgery remember

-the myth of the miracle lotion...

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-..as well

-as the man and his medicine.

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-He had a surgery

-in Pwllheli every Wednesday.

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-People travelled miles to see him,

-some from abroad.

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-Owen Griffith

-got rid of a wart on Nain's lip.

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-The root was long.

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-He removed

-a wart from my father's face.

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-In Pencaerau?

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-In Pencaerau?

-

-Yes.

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-This might be a modern surgery.

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-But they remember the old remedies.

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-My father's dirty old sock

-was a cure for a sore throat.

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-The dirtier, the better?

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-The dirtier, the better?

-

-Yes.

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-Two drops

-of asafoetida in an eggcup.

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-A boiled potato in a sock.

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-Rhubarb tincture and Indian brandy.

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-Indian brandy too?!

-Did you drink the stuff?

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-Yes!

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-And you're still here.

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-I'm eighty.

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-It's the rhubarb tincture's fault!

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-Rhubarb tincture,

-dirty socks and goose fat.

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-There must be something in it.

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-Uncle Owen Griffith was the last of

-three generations of wart doctors.

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-The lotion's secret ingredients

-reached mythical proportions.

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-Perhaps someone in Lleyn

-can tell me the ingredients.

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-I might find them

-before the journey's end.

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-A good legend is

-a story that grabs the imagination.

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-Revenge, a curse and madness...

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-..are the hallmarks

-of a worthwhile legend.

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-I'm interested in witchcraft...

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-..because it's the source

-of so many good, colourful stories.

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-A good witch story

-sends shivers down my spine.

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-In the case

-of a certain Llannor vicar...

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-..the story goes beyond the grave...

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-..when the witch Dorti Ddu

-came to the parish.

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-John Owen was from Llanidloes.

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-At 25, he became the parish parson.

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-Some sort of disagreement

-happened between him and Dorti Ddu.

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-There's a reference

-to her swearing and cursing him.

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-She went on her knees, naked,

-and accused him of raping her.

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-Delwyn Williams

-was raised in the parish.

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-The local historian

-is familiar with Dorti Ddu's story.

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-It's a fact

-that she was excommunicated.

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-Robert Jones Rhoslan said

-he realized that wasn't enough.

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-She would wait outside the chapel

-swearing and cursing the parson.

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-They eventually tied her

-to the cemetery gates.

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-But it started all over again

-once she was released.

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-She did exist - she's mentioned

-in the Diocesan Courts' minutes.

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-She wasn't a figment

-of someone's imagination.

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-She was an angry girl

-whose real name was Dorothy Ellis.

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-According to Robert Jones Rhoslan...

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-..she tormented the parson

-to an early grave.

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-But death wasn't enough to protect

-the parson from Dorti Ddu's curse.

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-He was born in Llanidloes.

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-He didn't want to be buried here...

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-..to be trampled on

-by locals and Dorti Ddu.

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-They guarded his body in Llannor.

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-But according to history,

-Dorti somehow found her way in.

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-She grabbed his nose

-and shook him violently!

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-If that wasn't enough,

-she walked 80 miles...

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-..to desecrate his grave.

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-As Robert Jones Rhoslan

-bluntly put it...

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-"..she discharged her waste

-on his grave."

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-I can't explain Dorti's behaviour.

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-Her death is recorded in 1774,

-at 90 years of age.

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-She's buried somewhere in Llannor

-but no-one knows exactly where.

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-Was she a witch or a madwoman?

-Who knows.

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-I think it's time to leave.

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-Lleyn gave me my language.

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-As an author, I can look back...

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-..and realize it's here

-I came to appreciate a good story.

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-If there is humour in my writing...

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-..it came from my father's side.

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-The characters come

-from Porth yr Aur, or wherever...

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-..but the paint that paints them...

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-..is from my father's side,

-from their imagination.

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-LAUGHTER

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-"What's the meaning of 'Molwch ef'?"

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-"What's the meaning of 'Molwch ef'?"

-

-Miss Pringle and the Potato

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-"What about 'Praise him'?"

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-"Why not 'Praise be'?

-It sounds more majestic.

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-"Thank you very much."

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-"Accidentally, or on purpose...

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-"..Cecil Scissors carved

-'Braise me' on Jac Black's chest."

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-This is Penrhyn Mawr.

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-I was raised here

-for three or four years.

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-I don't remember much about it.

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-The line between the imagination

-and memories can become blurred.

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-I'm surrounded by stories.

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-My mother's family

-were serious folk and country poets.

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-My father's family

-were storytellers.

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-They had vivid imaginations,

-and the gift of storytelling.

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-One story has sprung to mind.

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-My great-great-grandfather

-was Big William Griffith.

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-I didn't inherit his genes.

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-My mother said when I was born

-I could fit into a quart jug!

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-William Griffith

-was a legendary, large man.

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-His legend lives on.

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-He was so big...

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-..the sleeve of his waistcoat

-would fit a normal man's waist!

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-He was so big and strong,

-he could swim a mile out to sea...

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-..carrying a man on his shoulders.

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-When he wanted

-to turn over in bed at night...

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-..he got out of bed

-and turned around on the landing!

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-These colourful legends

-on my father's side live on.

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-After the break...

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-..we might discover the ingredients

-of the magical wart lotion.

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-And over in Mynytho...

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-..is the ghost still on the prowl?

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-.

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-888

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-There have always

-been ghosts in Lleyn...

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-..in Gelliwig and Bodnitho

-to name but a few.

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-But the Pant Y Wennol ghost

-lived in my parish.

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-This is where I played.

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-Mynytho School is on my right.

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-Look how far I had to walk...

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-..from the white building

-to Mynytho School on the hill...

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-..and back at night.

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-Mynytho School

-was three miles from home.

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-It was an ideal opportunity

-to ignite my imagination.

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-I don't know whether

-Mynytho is still haunted...

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-..but there's plenty of fun here.

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-Can I come in?

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-Are you having a tea party?

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-Are you having a tea party?

-

-This lady is eighty!

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-Today? Happy Birthday.

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-Thank you.

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-Are you OK? Can I have a kiss?

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-It's the first kiss

-I've snatched from her!

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-Can you remember

-ghosts or monsters in Mynytho...

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-..when you were children?

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-I always ran past Bryn

-because I was afraid of the ghost.

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-Do you remember the Bryn ghost?

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-Did you see him?

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-Did you see him?

-

-No!

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-There was a haunted tree.

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-Why?

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-I don't know. It's a pretty tree,

-and it's still there.

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-Were there other ghosts, apart from

-those haunting Bryn and Lon Las?

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-The quarry ghost wore a white cloak

-and dragged chains.

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-He was terrifying.

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-What were you told as children

-about the Pant Y Wennol ghost?

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-Dishes would smash.

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-She lived next to Tan Y Fron.

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-There were incidents at night

-while the family slept.

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-Objects had moved by the morning.

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-I never walked down the lane to

-Pant Y Wennol as a child at night.

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-I believed... still believe,

-maybe... that a ghost lived there.

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-Terrifying, unexplained

-incidents happened here...

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-..strange noises at night,

-dishes smashing...

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-..doors opening and closing...

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-..clothes were ripped...

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-..and finally the big family Bible

-was torn to shreds.

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-It terrified everyone...

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-..the family and their neighbours.

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-We avoided Pant Y Wennol

-because of the ghost.

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-In 1885, a mother and her two

-daughters lived at Pant Y Wennol.

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-Catrin, the eldest,

-was due to marry Huw the Cobbler.

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-Elin, the youngest,

-was 14 years old.

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-It is said the house was possessed

-by a poltergeist who moved things...

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-..and wreaked havoc everywhere.

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-The story spread through the area.

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-Four ministers eventually came here.

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-One came from London to exorcise

-the ghost from their midst.

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-But there was no improvement.

-They finally called the police.

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-Elin, the youngest,

-was blamed for the trouble.

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-But some think it had more

-to do with Catrin's love affair...

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-..with Huw the Cobbler.

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-Frightened locals

-had all sorts of theories.

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-They thought

-Huw and Catrin were responsible.

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-They were engaged

-and married soon after.

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-They wanted to terrify

-the old lady into leaving.

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-The other theory was that Huw

-and Elin were co-conspirators...

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-..that Huw had books on the occult

-and that they had played the tricks.

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-But who knows? Take your pick.

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-At least there isn't

-a ghost in Pant Y Wennol today.

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-Elin was blamed.

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-Do you know how the story ended?

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-What happened in the end?

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-What happened in the end?

-

-She went to prison.

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-She went to prison.

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-Your grandparents remembered her

-going in an open car to Pwllheli.

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-She was kept overnight

-and then released.

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-The strange events stopped

-once she returned home.

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-This suggests

-she was the cause of it.

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-She was being mischievous.

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-She was a trouble-maker.

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-She died an old lady in Mynytho

-towards the end of WW1.

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-Legend has it that

-she never looked into anyone's eyes.

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-Perhaps the ghost was the figment

-of Elin's mischievous imagination.

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-The present owner might know.

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-Hello. I've come to ask a question.

-Does the ghost still live here?

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-My 12-year-old daughter...

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-..woke up in the night and was sure

-she saw somebody sitting on her bed.

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-And then a friend of ours...

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-..took a picture

-of the house when it was empty.

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-In that window, when

-he had the photograph developed...

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-..there was a face at the window,

-like a vision.

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-There was nobody in the house.

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-There was nobody in the house.

-

-So that was the ghost?

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-Perhaps that was the ghost

-looking out at us.

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-The Pant Y Wennol ghost story

-clearly lives on!

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-These characters still

-grip the imagination.

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-But a good story

-doesn't have to be terrifying.

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-"I'm putting

-a leprechaun on her backside.

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-"I'm putting

-a leprechaun on her backside.

-

-'For the sake of Ballybunion babies'

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-PEALS OF LAUGHTER

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-"But her backside is so big,

-I've run out of green ink."

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-They say laughter

-is the best medicine.

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-But Llyr Hughes from Nefyn pharmacy

-hasn't bottled it yet.

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-Like the old legends...

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-..the tradition of concocting

-potions still exist.

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-Llyr keeps his black potion

-under the counter.

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-This is the dispensary.

-Here's a bottle of black medicine.

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-But first, smell the asafoetida.

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-This is the black medicine.

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-This is the black medicine.

-

-No. It's asafoetida.

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-I remember the smell.

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-It's foul,

-but you say it's good for us.

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-When I was an apprentice in Pwllheli

-it came in big, glass flagons.

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-As an apprentice,

-I'd go out to the back to pour it.

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-We daren't drop it on the floor

-or it would stink all day.

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-It's disgusting.

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-What about the black medicine?

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-What about the black medicine?

-

-It definitely works.

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-Perhaps it'll sort out my throat.

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-Shall I get a spoon?

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-Shall I get a spoon?

-

-I'll drink it from the bottle.

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-Of course.

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-Will I be sober?

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-Will I be sober?

-

-Yes!

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-Soberly ill, maybe.

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-Very nice. Yes, indeed.

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-Better than asafoetida?

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-Better than asafoetida?

-

-It's not in the same league!

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-It's not in the same league!

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-Will I still

-be walking by the afternoon?!

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-Can Llyr the pharmacist

-answer the big question?

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-What were

-the ingredients of the wart lotion?

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-I think

-I'll keep the mystique going.

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-No-one should know

-what the magic ingredient is.

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-You want to keep the legend alive.

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-You want to keep the legend alive.

-

-Yes!

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-You want to keep the legend alive.

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-According to a family story...

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-According to a family story...

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-..the wart lotion recipe was bought

-from a gypsy for a shilling...

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-..many years ago.

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-I know one man

-who will surely know the secret.

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-Take the stalk.

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-It's under the pennywort.

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-Glyn Roberts, or the Leaf Man,

-lives in Rhydyclafdy.

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-The pennywort lotion is one

-of the many medicines he prepares.

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-Perhaps he has

-another secret to share.

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-You're interested

-in the wart lotion.

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-We've done

-some research in the area.

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-What's in the wart lotion?

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-What's in the wart lotion?

-

-They say it came from the gypsies.

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-The travelling Romanies...

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-..used worms...

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-..and put them in a tin...

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-..and left them

-in a dung heap for a year.

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-They left it there.

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-Aside from the worm,

-there was another ingredient.

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-The poison they used was...

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-..strychnine.

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-It was very dangerous. We used it.

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-But things evolved...

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-..and they wanted to add arsenic.

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-That's how arsenic was introduced.

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-It only took spot of it

-on a match...

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-..to kill the warts.

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-A spot on a match was enough.

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-I might be

-a step closer to the answer.

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-Glyn certainly knows his leaves.

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-Glyn certainly knows his leaves.

-

-Eat it.

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-Eat them all, if you want.

-Don't eat every single one!

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-I've taken worse!

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-If you pick them

-from the roadside...

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-..remember to pick them high enough.

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-Dogs could have splashed

-them lower down!

0:22:240:22:28

-So this one's safe?!

0:22:280:22:29

-So this one's safe?!

-

-I'll eat it.

0:22:290:22:31

-I'll eat it.

0:22:310:22:32

-It's not very nice, though.

0:22:340:22:36

-You'll have forgotten in a week.

0:22:370:22:42

-The old traditions live on...

0:22:500:22:52

-..like Glyn,

-making his own medicine.

0:22:520:22:55

-Perhaps Glyn, or the Leaf Man, will

-be the subject of the next legend.

0:22:560:23:01

-The old traditions live on in Lleyn.

0:23:050:23:08

-More legends

-will come to keep them alive.

0:23:080:23:11

-In time, today's history

-will be tomorrow's legends.

0:23:110:23:15

-Time creates miracles, doesn't it?

0:23:160:23:18

-S4C Subtitles by GWEAD

0:23:400:23:42

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0:23:430:23:44

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