0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- 888- - 888
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- 888
0:00:14 > 0:00:16- 888
0:00:36 > 0:00:39- They say that culture is like wine.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45- Wine is wine everywhere.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50- But the taste of the wine - depends on where its roots are.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57- My roots grew here - on the Lleyn Peninsula.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07- Travelling around, I can see - that things have changed a lot.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- There is an alien culture here now.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17- Today, I've noticed, - more than ever...
0:01:17 > 0:01:19- ..the number of English people here.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25- The houses are empty - more than nine months of the year.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- They only come - for the occasional weekend.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31- Thank you.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35- It's good to find a Welsh speaker!
0:01:35 > 0:01:39- My home village, Llangian, - is full of visitors these days...
0:01:39 > 0:01:43- ..including these colourful ones - from Anglesey.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44- How are you?
0:01:44 > 0:01:46- How are you?- - Fine, how are you?
0:01:46 > 0:01:47- I'm fine.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49- I'm fine.- - It's appropriate clothing.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06- Lleyn gave me my language, - not a college.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12- But now, they learn these things - at school, not at home.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17- I want to see what influences - Lleyn's culture today.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21- Where better to start - than at my old school?
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- I'm going to give you homework.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26- Here it is.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30- I want you to write a dialogue.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34- It must include - at least six idioms from Lleyn.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37- BELL
0:02:43 > 0:02:46- It's time for me - to do my homework...
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- ..and discover the state - of our culture now.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16- Tess Urbanska's family - comes from Poland...
0:03:16 > 0:03:19- ..and have put down roots in Lleyn.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- The land has influenced her greatly.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- What inspires you?
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- A lot harks back - to childhood memories...
0:03:29 > 0:03:31- ..and where I live.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36- Lleyn, the places - where I played as a child.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37- Where is this, Tess?
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- Where is this, Tess?- - This is Porth Dinllaen.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- I know the place very well.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47- When I was a child, - I spent a lot of time on the beach.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- This is made from many pieces - stuck together.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- Tell me how it works.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00- I have a lot of pictures - that I made in college.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05- They're lying around - and I do nothing with them.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- I like ripping them up - and sticking them on the canvas.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11- Really?
0:04:11 > 0:04:16- Yes. For me, it adds history - to the picture.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17- It adds depth to the picture.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19- It adds depth to the picture.- - Yes.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21- What about the colours?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23- Yes.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- I use this turquoise colour.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32- It's in every picture - that I create at the moment.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35- It works with many other colours.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- It's the colour - of the sea and the sky.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- They're important to me.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- How do you work?
0:04:48 > 0:04:49- How do you work?- - Good question.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54- Do you find starting - something difficult, Harri?
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- Yes, starting to write is difficult.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01- I start by creating texture - before beginning the picture.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06- I just take PVA glue, - put a lot of glue on the base...
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- ..and stick pieces all over it.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11- It breaks up the surface.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14- Then I don't feel so worried.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16- It's similar with writing.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- An author puts sentences - onto a screen...
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- ..then moves them or alters them, - so there is a similarity.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28- You mentioned that you get ideas - when you're out driving.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34- I'm exactly the same, - especially on my way to work.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- One of the best places is the bath.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38- Really?
0:05:38 > 0:05:39- Really?- - Yes!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- LAUGHTER
0:05:44 > 0:05:46- LAUGHTER
0:05:47 > 0:05:51- "Howarth's wife - has slipped in the Suzuki!"
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- "Do you mean the jacuzzi?"
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- "She's gone arse over tit, anyway."
0:05:58 > 0:06:00- "She's lying there flat out...
0:06:01 > 0:06:03- "..her legs up in the air...
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- "..looking like a naked turkey, - ready for the oven."
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- If I have any skill with words...
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- ..it's because I listened - to people talk and discuss things.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- I learnt about words - at the local events...
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- ..that flourished on the peninsula.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55- People met to discuss literature, - to write poetry...
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- ..to enjoy language and culture.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03- They weren't college-educated, - but they revelled in wordplay.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- They wrote simple poems.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09- Because of this enthusiasm...
0:07:09 > 0:07:14- ..halls were built - to hold meetings and classes.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- Rhoshirwaun Hall is one of them.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21- It's the home - of a few eisteddfod chairs.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- Are some of the chairs here?
0:07:23 > 0:07:24- Yes.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30- They were donated to the hall - by the people who won them.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- The stage is this way.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33- The stage.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39- Catherine Mary Roberts has written - a book about Rhoshirwaun's poets.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42- More chairs.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- More chairs.- - You've been here to preach.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49- Yes, a preaching festival - is held in the hall.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51- Yes.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- The names of some famous - local figures and poets...
0:08:04 > 0:08:06- ..are displayed on the walls.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- The only opportunity - for local poets...
0:08:15 > 0:08:18- ..to use and develop - their creative skills...
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- ..was in events - such as Eisteddfod Hyd y Gannwyll.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- It was a unique eisteddfod.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- It was held by candlelight.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- Lighting the candle - marked the start of the eisteddfod.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33- Yes.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38- If it was windy - and a draught affected the flame...
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- ..it was a very short eisteddfod...
0:08:41 > 0:08:46- ..compared to a calm night, - when the candle burnt slowly.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- In that case, the eisteddfod - lasted much longer.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- When the candle finished, - so did the eisteddfod?
0:08:53 > 0:08:57- Yes. It was called - the candle-length eisteddfod.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07- This cultural enthusiasm - filled the peninsula's halls.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- Even R Williams Parry - participated in some of the events.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- Am I right in thinking - that the culture has ebbed...
0:09:21 > 0:09:23- ..and isn't as lively as it was?
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- It isn't as lively, but it's here.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30- The Tir Mawr team takes part - in the Talwrn poetry competition.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- Writing poems in cynghanedd - is still popular...
0:09:34 > 0:09:39- ..but not to the same extent - as in the Rhoshirwaun poets' day.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49- We were all the product - of these communities' culture.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56- It was the only cultural expression - that we had.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- Yes, there was a school eisteddfod - and we were educated at school.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- But we picked up local culture - in local activities.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- It was something we picked up, - as we would catch a cold.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- You picked it up, - rather than learning it.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17- R Williams Parry immortalized - Mynytho Hall in his englyn.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- "Built by poverty
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- "Love, not stones, form its walls
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- "Its joists a joint endeavour
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- "A common aspiration built it"
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- Who could describe it - better than that?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38- CHILDREN SING
0:10:39 > 0:10:45- In the second part, I search - for culture that belongs to the soil.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50- And are Lleyn's unique idioms - still alive and kicking today?
0:10:50 > 0:10:50- .
0:10:56 > 0:10:56- 888
0:10:56 > 0:10:58- 888- - 888
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- What is culture?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- Roots, probably.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- They come with one's upbringing.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17- Not to mention values.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- Those grow from the land.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35- Felin Uchaf cultural centre - in Rhoshirwaun...
0:11:35 > 0:11:40- ..was established six years ago - by Dafydd Davies-Hughes.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Ancient traditions are revived here.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51- Dafydd is a talented storyteller.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53- He uses the language of the soil...
0:11:53 > 0:11:56- ..and the natural resources - around him.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57- Harri, come in out of the rain.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- Harri, come in out of the rain.- - Dafydd, how are you?
0:11:59 > 0:12:03- Welcome to Felin Uchaf. - I'm fine, thank you, come in.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- This is our biggest roundhouse.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08- How many are there altogether?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10- How many are there altogether?- - Three, so far.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12- In two years, there will be five.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- It's almost a small village.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19- This is the hub of the village, - the meeting place.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25- We use this space - to share local music.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30- Festivals are held here - and storytelling in the evenings.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34- Languages from all over the world - are heard here.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- There was a group from Korea - here recently.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- They helped to build - an outside toilet, as it happens.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47- I've visited South Korea. - My son lived there for a while.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52- It's very far. It's amazing - that South Koreans come here.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54- Lleyn attracts people.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- It's still a place of pilgrimage...
0:12:57 > 0:13:01- ..although they don't go - as far as Bardsey now.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05- People are drawn to the west - and they sense its magic.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- Are these mud walls?
0:13:08 > 0:13:13- Yes. Oak pillars within them - hold up the roof.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19- They're covered in mud, - straw and gravel from the river...
0:13:19 > 0:13:24- ..just like the houses - built here over the centuries.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27- Is the roof made of sedge?
0:13:27 > 0:13:32- Yes. It's harvested annually - at a nature reserve in Pwllheli.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34- For more than 15 years...
0:13:34 > 0:13:39- ..we've been going there - to cut it with a scythe or sickle.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- People experience - living off the land here.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55- Seeds are planted organically, - according to the planets' positions.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02- The buildings and garden - are really an excuse...
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- ..to get people working - with their hands on the land.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08- What is the value of that?
0:14:08 > 0:14:13- In a world where everything - is so cerebral...
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- ..it's important - to have roots in the soil.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- It isn't unfamiliar - to the people of Lleyn.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- For people who come here, - many of them young...
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- ..having roots in the soil - is very important.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37- Agriculture is Lleyn's language.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- Here, culture is in the soil.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- I left Lleyn when I was young.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18- But I hope the language rhythms - that I learnt have never left me.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- One gets that from one's upbringing.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- My Aunt Mary lived here.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- She was a rural poet.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- She had a daughter, - my cousin Ann Jane.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44- She was 20-25 years older than me.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- This is the parlour - where she worked.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51- I haven't been there since 1947.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- I'd really like to see inside.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- I don't think - I'd have written anything...
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- ..if it wasn't for what I saw - and heard in that room.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16- The room has changed.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21- But I can easily refurnish it - in my mind.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24- The fireplace was here.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26- There was a table here...
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- ..where the poet - worked in the evenings.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35- My cousin and I - would sit by the fire...
0:16:35 > 0:16:38- ..and play cards or ludo.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42- The poet sat here - with a pencil and paper.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54- My aunt, Mary Griffith from - Tyddyn Talgoch, was a rural poet.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59- She wrote poems or elegies - to commemorate local people.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- They were published - and read by thousands of people.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- I saw how she worked.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13- Some words were changed, - others taken out or added.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- Rhymes didn't always come easily.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- She named people and places.
0:17:19 > 0:17:25- It isn't easy to find rhymes - for Trwyn yr Eryr or Bwlch Cottage.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- All that rhymes with cottage - is passage, cabbage or sausage.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35- I regarded the Welsh alphabet - as divine.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- One could create - or recreate things with it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42- It was always possible to improve.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54- The view is similar. - Some things haven't changed.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- This was a smallholding - with a few cows, hens and a pig.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- Now, there's a caravan site too.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03- There have been many changes.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- LAUGHTER
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- "But Cein, the parrot is ours now.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17- "It knows a lot of hymns, - apparently."
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- "So do I - more, possibly!"
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- Ceinwen threw the tablecloth - over the cage.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- "Lord, night is falling."
0:18:27 > 0:18:29- LAUGHTER
0:18:58 > 0:19:03- For me, a story begins with the seed - of an event or experience.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11- It's the same if the story - is serious or amusing.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18- People often think that writing - an amusing story is very easy...
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- ..because it's light-hearted.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- But I think the conditions - and requirements are the same.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30- I like fun.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35- I prefer a bellyful of laughter.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- Laughter is good for the soul.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- Margiad Roberts lives on Lleyn...
0:19:46 > 0:19:50- ..and writes - about what surrounds her.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- An agricultural vein - runs through her work.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00- The popularity of the Tecwyn - y Tractor books proves that.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02- I draw on my own experiences.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- I've spent most of my life - close to the land.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10- That's what I write about - and know best.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12- I prefer to write about that.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26- Does the quiet, agricultural Lleyn - still inspire her?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- You must have new experiences...
0:20:35 > 0:20:41- ..meet people and listen - carefully to dialogue.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46- What I like most - is to be in the company of people.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51- It does me good. - I prefer it to anything else.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- People say, get up - off your backside and do something.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- It's the opposite for me, - I have to sit to do something.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04- I hate sitting down. - I prefer to be outdoors.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- Back at Ysgol Botwnnog...
0:21:11 > 0:21:16- ..is the language I heard - as a child still heard today?
0:21:19 > 0:21:21- Do you use these idioms?
0:21:21 > 0:21:22- Yes.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25- I used seven of those.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- I can see one now.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32- Feet under the table - - that's a good one.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33- Do you enjoy learning idioms?
0:21:33 > 0:21:34- Do you enjoy learning idioms?- - Yes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39- If Mrs Maelor wasn't here, - would you still say that?
0:21:39 > 0:21:41- Yes!
0:21:41 > 0:21:45- Do you remember the last lesson?
0:21:45 > 0:21:50- I think that what is unique - about most of the pupils...
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- ..is the fact that they do a lot - as a community.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56- Their families live here.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- They've inherited the language - and they hear it.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02- Many children today...
0:22:03 > 0:22:07- ..tend to be very isolated - when they go home.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- They communicate - on the Internet, on Facebook.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- Look who's here! - Dai Jones, Llanilar!
0:22:16 > 0:22:21- But on Lleyn, they can go - to the local shop, hopefully...
0:22:21 > 0:22:25- ..to chat to people - who are part of their community.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27- They hear the language naturally.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29- Sion!
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- You're so greedy. - You're a real Hell's Mouth.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37- Not worth a sheep's fart.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- I thought - that it was unique to Pen Lleyn.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- A sheep's fart - isn't worth much, is it?
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- Will the culture survive?
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- I hope so. We have to be hopeful.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55- Don't we?
0:23:06 > 0:23:12- I came to see whether the culture - was alive and kicking, and it is.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18- Many of the youngsters might leave, - but they might return.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- Celebrating a unique way of life - is part of our culture.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- That way of life is still here...
0:23:26 > 0:23:28- ..for the moment, at least.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50- S4C Subtitles by Gwead
0:23:50 > 0:23:50- .