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0:00:27 > 0:00:31- Pwllheli - the Heart of Lleyn
0:00:32 > 0:00:35- People reside - all along this little peninsula.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- But all the paths lead to or flow to - one place and to one town.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50- Pwllheli is the heart of Lleyn.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54- The main shopping town - is a magnet to all of us.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01- But does the heart - of Lleyn's capital...
0:01:02 > 0:01:06- ..beat as regularly - and as strongly as ever?
0:01:06 > 0:01:08- Today, like yesterday...
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- ..Wednesday is the best day - to visit Pwllheli.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14- Why are you here today?
0:01:14 > 0:01:16- Why are you here today?- - It's market day.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17- So it's still popular?
0:01:17 > 0:01:18- So it's still popular?- - Yes.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- What draws people here - on market day?
0:01:22 > 0:01:23- New potatoes.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- What have you come for?
0:01:27 > 0:01:29- What have you come for?- - I'm not sure!
0:01:29 > 0:01:30- I'm going!
0:01:31 > 0:01:32- Ta-ra.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40- Why come to Pwllheli on Wednesday?
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- There are good shops here.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48- Is it just shopping that - attracts Lleyn folk to Pwllheli?
0:01:49 > 0:01:51- I wouldn't like to live here.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55- It's a great holiday destination!
0:02:03 > 0:02:07- Those who lived in the countryside - were called 'Lleyn Calves'.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- But the townsfolk - were called 'Pwllheli People'.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18- Pwllheli is as busy as ever...
0:02:18 > 0:02:20- ..on market day.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25- A long time ago, you could get - many things here, even a girlfriend!
0:02:28 > 0:02:32- # I walked the narrow streets - of Pwllheli fair
0:02:32 > 0:02:34- # My heart brimmed with confidence
0:02:35 > 0:02:37- # I was smart in my Sunday best
0:02:38 > 0:02:43- # I'd eye the pretty girls, - and speak to one or two
0:02:44 > 0:02:49- # But none of the pretty - Lleyn girls were interested in me! #
0:02:51 > 0:02:57- Years ago, - people and goods were sold here.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58- You're still singing.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- You're still singing.- - Yes, now and again.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- Ballad singing is an old tradition.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05- Ballad singing is an old tradition.- - Yes, very old.
0:03:05 > 0:03:06- In the fairs, too?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08- In the fairs, too?- - Yes.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09- The ballads were then sold.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10- The ballads were then sold.- - Yes.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12- That was the point.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16- Yes, the best balladeers - sold the most ballads.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- What about the old employment fairs?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- There's talk of one in a ballad.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- "Old Cadwaladr came on his horse
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- "From Cricieth to Pwllheli - to hire four servants
0:03:34 > 0:03:38- "When he approached me, smiling
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- "I believed he'd be - the nicest master in the world."
0:03:43 > 0:03:44- But it wasn't the case.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46- But it wasn't the case.- - It wasn't to be.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48- I remember the ballad.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- The servants stood in a line - and waited to be picked.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- Farmers would pick and choose.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59- Yes.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05- You've served through the years. - What would a farmer look for?
0:04:07 > 0:04:12- He wouldn't choose anyone weak.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- Working on a farm - wasn't light work in those days!
0:04:17 > 0:04:19- You remember the old Pwllheli fairs.
0:04:20 > 0:04:20- Yes!
0:04:20 > 0:04:22- Yes!- - What do you remember?
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- It was a big event. - We'd go on the half past three bus.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- When we were older, - we could stay 'til ten o'clock.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33- That was a big thing.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- I wasn't used to it.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43- Plenty found love here.
0:04:43 > 0:04:44- Plenty found love here.- - Yes.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49- But you didn't?
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- But you didn't?- - No, not in the fair!
0:04:53 > 0:04:54- Did you find love closer to home?
0:04:54 > 0:04:55- Did you find love closer to home?- - Far closer!
0:05:01 > 0:05:05- Of all the romantic places - on Lleyn...
0:05:06 > 0:05:11- ..there was only one place to bring - a girlfriend on an evening date.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- The back row of the cinema - in the old town hall!
0:05:24 > 0:05:28- But, as a youngster, the cinema - only held one attraction for me.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34- I loved cowboy films. - My great hero was Roy Rogers.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38- They called Roy Rogers - the king of the Wild West...
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- ..and his wife was the queen.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- He was the star of cowboy films.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- The room darkened, - and the film began.
0:05:47 > 0:05:54- The shooting, - romancing and camaraderie.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57- We'd relive the films back home.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- But the Lleyn countryside was - different to the town of Pwllheli.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- In a Saturday matinee...
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- ..the countryside and town - children met.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17- If the film broke, - everyone shouted and screamed...
0:06:18 > 0:06:20- ..before the film restarted.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- There were long queues - past the Penlan pub.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- Tom Nefyn - would be here on Saturday nights.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39- He was evangelist minister. - I once wrote about him.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- He was a one-off.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- He had a natural talent.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49- Women and men queued together...
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- ..and Tom Nefyn preached to them.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- The queue listened to him. - He'd be hit by a bottle today.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- They were attentive in those days.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- Tom Nefyn was as good - an actor as Roy Rogers...
0:07:05 > 0:07:07- ..but he had a different message.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- He was a skilled communicator.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15- He captivated his audience, - just as Roy Rogers captivated me.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- But when the old town hall - or Palladium doors opened...
0:07:20 > 0:07:25- ..he was wise enough to stop - and we would go inside.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- If we consider the influence - of violent films on youngsters...
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- ..these films were violent, too.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- People were shot and killed.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42- There was also grief.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46- But I was always aware - that it was a make-belief world.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- It was a romantic world. - They weren't really being shot.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57- I understood the importance of a - good story and colourful characters.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59- THE BAPTISMAL
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- "Yes, Mam, poor soul, - was baptized by immersion, too."
0:08:05 > 0:08:09- "Was this in the Baptist Chapel?" - "No, in the sea."
0:08:09 > 0:08:13- "No! Poor Mam - was baptized in her bloomers!"
0:08:14 > 0:08:19- "He put the upper part out of view - in the sea as soon as possible."
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- "I should hope so."
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- "When he brought them back up...
0:08:27 > 0:08:31- "..he made sure their backsides - pointed towards the beach...
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- "..and their front - towards Anglesey."
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- When I was a child, Pwllheli - opened a whole new world to me.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18- I had quite a sheltered upbringing - on a rural farm in a small village.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- Pwllheli was a different world.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- There were extremes in Pwllheli.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30- I experienced my first circus - and religious gathering in Pwllheli.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58- It's no accident that visitors have - flocked to Pwllheli over the years.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03- There was a concerted attempt - to develop part of the town.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08- Pwllheli's pioneering architecture - is down to one man.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- During the Victorian Age...
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- ..the English architect - Solomon Andrews came to Pwllheli.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22- He transformed the seaside town - into a holiday destination.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31- Architect Arfon Hughes - explained the background to me.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38- These are Solomon Andrews's houses - on Cardiff Road.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40- That's what they're called.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42- That's what they're called.- - Tell me about the architecture.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- It's Victorian, - seaside architecture.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- It isn't heavy, it's quite light.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- The yellow brick - brings it all together.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57- It reminds us - of sand and the seaside.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- Solomon Andrews - must have been quite a character.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07- I expect he was. - He was a genuine entrepreneur.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10- Didn't he come to Pwllheli - by accident?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- He was on holiday in Llandudno.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19- He saw an advert for - land for sale in Pwllheli.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23- I once saw the advertisement.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28- It boasted of - the tropical atmosphere.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34- Yes, Solomon brought - the West End to Pwllheli.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- He developed - the new Victorian ethos...
0:11:37 > 0:11:39- ..of leisure time enjoyment.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43- On a strip of sand by the sea...
0:11:43 > 0:11:47- ..he created a promenade - and built a hotel.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51- There was also a golf course, - ten tennis courts...
0:11:52 > 0:11:53- ..and a cycling track.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- Pwllheli became - an important sports venue.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01- Prominent players - came from Pwllheli.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- A pavilion was built for - Dorothy Round, whoever she was...
0:12:07 > 0:12:08- ..in the Recreation Ground.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13- Dorothy Round reached - the Wimbledon final every year...
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- ..for a long time.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19- I'm not sure whether she had - links with Pwllheli, North Wales...
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- ..or Solomon himself!
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- But the building was built for her.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35- You had the honour - of designing the Leisure Centre.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- If an honour, - but it was one of my jobs.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- It's on the site of - the old Recreation Ground.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- I corresponded - with Solomon Andrews's family.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50- They were delighted that a similar, - but modern project...
0:12:50 > 0:12:52- ..was going to happen at Pwllheli.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- For better or for worse...
0:12:57 > 0:13:01- ..Solomon opened the door - to transform the town forever.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06- In Part Two, now that - the world comes to Pwllheli...
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- ..has this rocked the boat?
0:13:09 > 0:13:13- And the still waters - that comforted Lleyn's famous bard.
0:13:14 > 0:13:14- .
0:13:33 > 0:13:38- As I walk around Lleyn...
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- ..I notice and - appreciate anew its beauty.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46- I value the language and heritage - I received...
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- ..having been raised here.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- The boats came and went years ago.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01- They now anchor and stay - in the Marina.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23- Wherever you are in Lleyn, - you're never far from the sea.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- Like many places on the peninsula...
0:14:28 > 0:14:32- ..the people of Pwllheli look - towards the sea for sustenance.
0:14:34 > 0:14:40- The maritime academy, - a development worth 7 million...
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- ..will promote - nautical activities and skills.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52- There was a need to develop - what we have in Pwllheli.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- Anyone who understands sailing...
0:14:56 > 0:15:02- ..will acknowledge that Pwllheli is - one of the best places in Britain...
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- ..if not the world, - for sailing and competing.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10- The college will give youngsters - the necessary skills.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- Hopefully, - they'll find work locally.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- We don't want - young people to leave the area.
0:15:16 > 0:15:22- We'll provide the skills - to ensure they'll find work here.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- Eifion Owen - is the chairman of CHIPAC...
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- ..the Pwllheli and District - Youth Sailing Club.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37- Many of the young champions - already represent their country.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39- When did you join CHIPAC?
0:15:39 > 0:15:41- When did you join CHIPAC?- - Three years ago.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45- I used to sail in an Optimist.
0:15:46 > 0:15:47- But you enjoy sailing on this?
0:15:47 > 0:15:48- But you enjoy sailing on this?- - Yes.
0:15:49 > 0:15:50- What enjoyment do you get?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- What enjoyment do you get?- - I'm very competitive.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56- There are many competitions.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- I like to beat my friends!
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- When I was a lad...
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- ..the people who came to sail - in Lleyn spoke English.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- Which language is spoken here?
0:16:11 > 0:16:13- Which language is spoken here?- - Welsh.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- They're all local children - who speak Welsh.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20- Are you from Pwllheli?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25- I come from Yorkshire, - but we moved here.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27- So you moved here?
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- So you moved here?- - Yes.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30- And you learnt Welsh?
0:16:30 > 0:16:31- And you learnt Welsh?- - Yes.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- Will you win today?
0:16:33 > 0:16:34- Will you win today?- - Maybe!
0:16:34 > 0:16:36- You're not sure! You hope to win!
0:16:36 > 0:16:37- You're not sure! You hope to win!- - Yes.
0:16:37 > 0:16:38- Good luck.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- I spoke to an elderly man - from Pwllheli.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50- He said to me, - "The Marina isn't helping Pwllheli."
0:16:50 > 0:16:52- It isn't true, is it?
0:16:52 > 0:16:55- No, but sadly, - it's what people think.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- But those who know - what they're talking about...
0:16:59 > 0:17:04- ..realize the sailing club brings in - five million to the local economy.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08- If we took away the Marina...
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- ..Pwllheli would be far worse off.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- We're all afraid of change, - and everywhere changes...
0:17:23 > 0:17:27- ..but nowhere as much - as Pwllheli over the years.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34- The Lleyn capital, Pwllheli, has - always been a popular destination.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39- Many protested against - Butlins coming to Pwllheli...
0:17:40 > 0:17:42- ..in the fifties.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47- People said it would - kill Lleyn and Pwllheli.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- It didn't kill Pwllheli or Lleyn.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57- The culture and language - of Lleyn are very tough.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00- They'll keep up - with the developments.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06- I left Lleyn to go to college.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10- I never came back to live here, - except through memories.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16- The memories of this peninsula - have sustained many, not just me...
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- ..through hard times.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35- To the poet Cynan...
0:18:35 > 0:18:39- ..Penlon Llyn, - a mile outside Pwllheli...
0:18:40 > 0:18:42- ..represented home.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- It's been immortalized in a poem.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50- Professor Gerwyn Williams is writing - a book about the Chief Bard.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- This is the Felin Bach well.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56- This is the Felin Bach well.- - Yes.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- The water is still flowing.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05- Yes, it reopened in 1968.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09- Cynan was invited to officially - reopen it.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14- He drank from the well - during the ceremony.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- I don't know if I'd venture today!
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- I'm not sure whether - it's fit to drink!
0:19:21 > 0:19:26- He refers to Ffynnon Felin Bach - in his long poem Mab Y Bwthyn.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27- Yes.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32- The poem Mab Y Bwthyn - put Cynan on the map.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- It certainly immortalized him.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40- It was the crown-winning poem in the - 1921 National Eisteddfod Caernarfon.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- There are two parts to the poem.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47- The first part dwells on - his childhood in the Pwllheli area.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52- He describes coming - to the well as a lad.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- He had childhood memories - of the place.
0:19:56 > 0:20:02- It symbolizes the purity, - goodness and simplicity of youth.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- He describes filling - a jug for his Nain.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- Nain lived here in Penlon Llyn.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14- She'd ask him to fetch water - from the Felin Bach well...
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- ..so they could have - a proper cup of tea.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21- She preferred it to tap water.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- But the second part - of Mab Y Bwthyn poem...
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- ..depicts a young Lleyn man - during WWI.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- He describes the horrors of war...
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- ..alongside childhood memories.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44- The ideal of purity and innocence...
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- ..is symbolized - by Ffynnon Bach in the poem.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- "Nothing can lift my tired soul
0:20:56 > 0:20:58- "Except water - from Ffynnon Bach well."
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- It vividly conveys - the experience of war...
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- ..to the readers at home - who had no concept of WWI.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23- It also summarizes war to those - who witnessed it first hand.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- Ifan Gruffydd, - a soldier from Anglesey...
0:21:26 > 0:21:31- ..said that Cynan's poem - captured their experience.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- It's a compliment to him in - the sense that he wasn't a soldier.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- He was a stretcher-bearer - and later a chaplain.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44- But a former soldier - said he captured his experience.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56- Lleyn folk still flock - to Pwllheli on market day.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- The buying and selling goes on...
0:22:00 > 0:22:02- ..whatever the weather.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04- Why have you come today?
0:22:04 > 0:22:08- Why have you come today?- - To scrape a living by selling eggs.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- I come every Wednesday - all year round.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17- I was the only one here - one Wednesday in January.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20- It had been snowing.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21- Did you sell anything?
0:22:21 > 0:22:23- Did you sell anything?- - Yes!
0:22:23 > 0:22:24- Are they good eggs?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26- Are they good eggs?- - They're the best...
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- ..because I'm the producer!
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- Everything and everywhere changes.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- But as I wandered around - Pwllheli and the peninsula...
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- ..visitors or not...
0:22:49 > 0:22:53- ..I realize life's treasures - are still here in Lleyn.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54- Cheers.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- I've seen the beauty once again.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02- It's reaffirmed - my appreciation of its people.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12- This is where - I was given my language.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- It's the language of Lleyn - that I speak.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20- My parents and this community - gave me my values.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23- I think about Lleyn when I write.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26- I use Lleyn idioms.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29- They're still with me.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34- I return to Lleyn with gratitude...
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- ..for what I was given.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01- S4C Subtitles by GWEAD
0:24:01 > 0:24:01- .