Llyn a Thrafnidiaeth Harri Parri

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-At one time, the easiest way

-to reach and leave Lleyn was by sea.

-Now, a spider's web of lanes

-criss-cross the peninsula.

-Believe it or not, I used to travel

-around the area in a car like this.

-The story of transport on Lleyn

-is an absorbing one.

-Over the years, Lleyn's people

-have found ingenious ways...

-..to cross the peninsula,

-from stagecoach to carriers.

-I liked nothing better

-than whizzing around in an Austin 7.

-As transport developed on Lleyn...

-..it brought something in its wake.

-Visitors.

-In summer,

-tourists flock here like ants...

-..to Pwllheli,

-Aberdaron and Abersoch.

-They bring their cars now.

-Long ago, when cars were rarer...

-..there was a more leisurely

-mode of travel in Lleyn.

-Back in the 1950s, rural buses

-took us from place to place.

-Are people surprised

-when they see you in this bus?

-Yes. There are none around now,

-apart from this one.

-William Hughes of Llithfaen

-has devoted many hours...

-..trying to keep

-this old mode of transport going.

-Was it a lot of work

-to renovate this bus?

-I worked four hours some days,

-two hours on other days.

-It was a pleasure.

-People thought

-that it was a lot of trouble.

-But it was a real pleasure.

-Would I be right to say

-that it cost a lot?

-Well, it cost a bit.

-Only two people know how much.

-We'll leave it at that.

-William's bus is a descendant

-of the omnibus companies...

-..that came to Lleyn in 1912.

-It became easier

-to travel across the peninsula.

-If you wanted to travel...

-..you'd buy a ticket

-to go on my family's buses...

-..Bysus Cae Du, or Bysus Tocia..

-..or the buses of my friend

-Elfed Gruffydd's family...

-..the Tir Gwenith company.

-Elfed remembers the impression

-that the buses made.

-I've often tried to imagine

-what it was like...

-..seeing the bus, this monster,

-coming to Lleyn for the first time.

-It was brand new.

-It was brand new.

-

-Yes, absolutely.

-While Saron chapel in Rhoshirwaun

-was being built...

-..it's on record that one old lady

-called it the devil's machine!

-Did the buses

-carry more than people?

-All kinds of things,

-such as calves in sacks.

-The roof was often laden

-with goods too.

-How much difference did the buses

-make to Lleyn and to transport?

-A big difference.

-A century ago, there were only

-horses and carts or stagecoaches.

-There wasn't much travel

-between villages.

-Shops and banks opened in Pwllheli

-and the railway arrived.

-Naturally, buses took over

-and probably transformed life.

-William's bus

-is the last of the small buses.

-He takes people on trips,

-despite the difficulties.

-Driving this must be different

-to driving a modern bus.

-My goodness, yes.

-The main difference

-is power steering.

-Modern gearboxes are easier to use.

-And less noise?

-What?

-What?

-

-Less noise.

-Much less noise.

-As well as its bus drivers...

-..Lleyn has a wealth

-of colourful characters.

-Some of them probably influenced

-the Porth yr Aur stories.

-"Born on 10th February, 1841.

-"Reborn on 20th July, 1860.

-"My friends, the second time

-must have killed him."

-LAUGHTER

-When I was a child,

-everywhere in Lleyn was far away.

-For one thing,

-my legs were very short.

-The three-mile walk

-home from school was a long way.

-Bearing that in mind, it was handy

-to get a lift with the carriers.

-Carriers travelled back and forth.

-carrying goods to and from Pwllheli.

-After school on some afternoons...

-..an old carrier would give me

-a lift home in his lorry.

-He carried supplies

-for farms and smallholdings.

-I sat in the front like a lord

-and arrived home early!

-The best-known carrier in Lleyn...

-..was Dic Fantol, from Y Fantol,

-near Rhoshirwaun.

-Or was it his relationship

-with his wife that made him famous?

-Emlyn Richards knows the story

-and remembers Dic too.

-How are you?

-How are you?

-

-Fine.

-Well done.

-Have you been waiting a long time?

-Have you been waiting a long time?

-

-No.

-Just arrived?

-Just arrived?

-

-It's a fine day.

-We meet near Y Fantol.

-Near Y Fantol,

-of all the places in the world.

-Dic and Mary's home?

-Only one word can precede

-Y Fantol, and that's Dic.

-You remember him better than I do.

-Are you suggesting

-I'm a little older?

-That may be true!

-I remember Dic very well.

-Who could forget him, really?

-He was a carrier,

-like many others on Lleyn.

-Did he carry goods on a lorry?

-Initially,

-he had a float and a horse.

-He carried goods from farms

-and smallholdings to Pwllheli.

-He returned with shopping for them.

-Dic was very fond of a drop.

-More than a drop, to be frank.

-Yes, to be frank.

-He used to travel slowly

-between Pwllheli and Aberdaron.

-He was among the first

-to get a lorry.

-That's one of the seven wonders

-of Lleyn.

-Another wonder was Dic's relationship

-with his wife...

-..when things got heated

-at Y Fantol.

-Mary was Irish, wasn't she?

-Yes.

-But she didn't know

-a word of Dic's language.

-Dic didn't know

-a word of her language either.

-I find that amazing.

-You say it's amazing

-that they lived together.

-But remember, it was hardly a life.

-All they did was bicker and argue.

-When it was stormy at Y Fantol

-between Dic and Mary...

-..and when the few words

-that Dic knew were exhausted...

-..he would get up and say

-"Ireland, Mary!"

-And he pointed

-in the direction of Ireland.

-I heard an addendum to that story

-from someone in Lleyn.

-When it was very stormy

-at Y Fantol...

-..Dic would get up,

-look towards the sea and say...

-"..Ireland, Mary!"

-He'd add, "Swim."

-Excellent!

-I remember my father, long ago...

-..talking about couples

-who argued a lot.

-He'd say, "It's Ireland, Mary

-in such-and-such a place."

-It became an idiom on Lleyn.

-Parking may be a problem now,

-but in days gone by...

-..I used to whizz round Lleyn

-in my Austin 7, Austin Chummy.

-I always had a good relationship

-with the little Austin.

-I soon found someone

-to sit next to me...

-..a new sweetheart called Nan.

-I remember taking Nan home

-in the Chummy for the first time.

-When we arrived at her home,

-the car began to overheat.

-I opened the bonnet

-then opened the tank.

-Soon, a long procession approached,

-like the Gorsedd at the Eisteddfod.

-Nan's father came first,

-then Nan's mother.

-I think she carried the bucket.

-Nan's brother, Nan and the dog.

-Covered in soot and oil,

-it wasn't easy to shake hands.

-I think Nan's mother said,

-under her breath...

-"..Where on earth did she find him?"

-But we did get married eventually.

-In the second part,

-how we sent visitors astray.

-And the people who take you

-from door to door today.

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-The sea and Lleyn's beauty

-draws people here.

-People have flocked here

-since Victorian times.

-But transport has changed on Lleyn.

-Visitors' cars probably

-make the biggest difference.

-Hundreds of visitors

-still flock here.

-In Abersoch's car park,

-Robert Pierce, or Bobs...

-..waits for them

-very patiently every summer.

-Is it quiet here today?

-No.

-They all came first thing.

-It's like musical chairs now.

-One comes out and half a dozen

-wait to come in.

-Tourists are like lambs.

-If it's fine,

-they want to be close to water.

-When it isn't fine...

-They see bad weather coming.

-They see bad weather coming.

-

-They don't know what to do.

-They're like headless chickens.

-They go round and round, in and out.

-How long have you worked here?

-Twenty-eight years.

-That long?

-That long?

-

-Yes.

-It was a job for a year

-until a proper job came up.

-But as it's worked out,

-it pays me all year.

-So it has been a proper job?

-So it has been a proper job?

-

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Can I pay for a couple of hours?

-Can I pay for a couple of hours?

-

-Yes. Two?

-Yes, please.

-Have you seen many changes

-over the years?

-Abersoch itself hasn't changed.

-The main thing is car size.

-At first, they were all small cars

-such as this one.

-Now, they're all huge.

-I sometimes see young people

-driving 20,000 cars.

-I think, where have I gone wrong,

-struggling here?

-There's no use losing your temper.

-You can't do anything about it.

-My relationship with Abersoch

-is almost a love-hate one.

-I'm very fond of the place

-and area.

-All my family on my mother's side

-come from the village.

-When she was young,

-Mam kept visitors.

-Abersoch would struggle

-without visitors.

-It's a cosmopolitan village.

-It's interesting,

-colourful and different.

-I wasn't a cosmopolitan boy,

-not by a long chalk.

-There were many ways

-to have fun at visitors' expense.

-I'm not sure if I should tell

-this story, because I feel guilty.

-Let me try to tell you.

-Dic and I sat by that wall,

-sometimes another friend too.

-We just passed the time,

-doing nothing.

-Quite a few English visitors

-had discovered Abersoch and Lleyn.

-A car stopped, the window opened

-and they asked...

-"..Which is the way to Abersock?"

-Dic and I didn't speak much English,

-but we had learnt a few sentences.

-Dic or I said

-"This is the way to Abersock."

-Dic added, "Not a good road

-to begin with, but it gets better."

-The Englishman went back to his car

-and sped down the road.

-We climbed to hide in that tree,

-just as Zacchaeus did.

-The Englishman came back,

-jumped out of his car and said...

-"..Where are the b...?"

-We saw everything from the tree.

-He couldn't find us, so he went back

-to his car and off he'd go...

-..the wrong way, invariably.

-It was no help at all

-to tourism in Lleyn, I know.

-But we had a lot of fun.

-I always liked walking

-along these lanes.

-But as a lad,

-yearning for more freedom...

-..I dreamt of a car of my own.

-To get money to buy the Chummy

-when I was a student...

-..I had a holiday job

-as a conductor on Crosville buses.

-Good times.

-I learnt a lot on the buses -

-it was a good place to meet people...

-..and understand

-the rhythms of conversation.

-LAUGHTER

-"But was she a good worker?"

-"Oh, excellent, like all the family!

-"But they're like kangaroos,

-Mr Thomas.

-"One has just reached the pouch

-and the next one reads the map."

-LAUGHTER

-Far from Pwllheli, Abersoch

-and the other tourist centres...

-..Lleyn's criss-crossing lanes

-were, and still are, remote.

-Some still find travel difficult.

-Today on Lleyn,

-there's a special charity.

-It's a voluntary service

-that takes people from door to door.

-Good morning. How are you?

-Good morning. How are you?

-

-Fine, thank you. And you?

-I'm fine, thanks.

-I'm fine, thanks.

-

-Good.

-Have you been waiting a long time?

-Have you been waiting a long time?

-

-Yes.

-I've been waiting

-half an hour more than usual.

-That's my fault.

-It's good of you to take the blame.

-Have you always lived in Pistyll?

-No, I was born in Llithfaen...

-..a small village

-at the foot of Yr Eifl.

-Would you find it difficult

-without this service?

-Yes, by now.

-My sons and daughter-in-law

-are very kind, but they work.

-They're not free.

-No. This is very convenient.

-It might not be a Cadillac.

-But not everyone gets a chauffeur

-to fetch her pension, as Marian does.

-This door-to-door service...

-..is proof of the closeness

-that still exists in Lleyn.

-Have you had everything now?

-Have you had everything now?

-

-Yes, thank you.

-You don't want

-to go to another shop?

-Not today, as it happens.

-Is this a local service for Lleyn?

-Yes, just for Lleyn.

-The business began

-in a house in Nefyn.

-The office was a room in the house.

-Volunteers in cars

-took people around.

-It's said that people

-who live in remote places...

-..are closer than people

-who live in busy cities.

-People live close to each other

-in a city, but are distant.

-Close to me in the Chummy

-back then was Nan.

-It wasn't the warmest of cars,

-even with the hood up.

-It was also winter

-when I first went out with Harri.

-It was draughty - the wind

-came in through gaps in the windows.

-But it was alright!

-Nan joined me in the two-seater.

-We're still travelling together.

-I haven't published anything

-without Nan reading it first.

-She corrects it

-and praises it, or not!

-In the early years,

-before I learnt to use a computer...

-..Nan typed everything.

-I wrote with my left hand,

-and it was rather illegible.

-It was very hard to decipher.

-I often had to guess what it said.

-I write about a minister

-in my stories.

-I describe him as a naive bloke

-who always gets into a pickle.

-He often puts his foot in it.

-In the stories,

-his wife is more sensible.

-She calms the waters.

-Nan is quite similar.

-Nan is quite similar.

-

-Thank you.

-If you stood on the Maes

-in Pwllheli on market day...

-..or tried to drive slowly

-through Abersoch in the holidays...

-..or cross Aberdaron bridge

-in summer...

-..you might say that it's too easy

-to travel in Lleyn now.

-Thankfully, some places

-remain remote and inaccessible.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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