Pennod 1 Pobol y Rhondda

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-Shwmae!

-I'm Sion Tomos Owen, a Rhondda boy.

-I was born here,

-and I still live in Treorchy.

-Can I please have

-six thick cuts of bacon?

-Where are we on the map?

-Here!

-The Rhondda is about 14 miles long

-from Rhigos to Trehafod...

-..and three miles wide

-from Cwmclydach to Blaenllechau.

-At the moment,

-it's home to about 70,000 people.

-Everyone is familiar

-with the usual images.

-But there's a lot more

-to the Rhondda.

-LAUGHTER

-That's class. I'm bonkers

-about the place. Drinks on me!

-I love going round to sing, laugh...

-..and draw cartoons.

-Sion!

-Today, I meet the Fforch family.

-Shwmae But.

-Shwmae But.

-

-Shwmae But.

-Cennard Davies.

-It's only been Welsh here.

-And Dafydd Francis.

-Lex was a breath of fresh air.

-In the series, I want to put

-the Rhondda Valley on the map.

-No - I'm going to make a new map

-of the Rhondda and its people.

-This is the family home in Treorchy.

-Glyncoli was originally a farm.

-Yes, there are farms in the Rhondda.

-It's one of the oldest houses here.

-You finish. There's no room.

-CLATTER

-Oh!

-Welcome to the madhouse.

-Come to meet everyone.

-Go away!

-Jeni, Mam, comes from Dinorwig. She

-came to South Wales to be a teacher.

-Did you remember the bacon, boys?

-Did you remember the bacon, boys?

-

-No!

-Where's the number?

-Adrian, Dad, prefers to be

-on his bike than his feet.

-He was an Art teacher, and quite

-a good rugby player in his time.

-It's like a circus here!

-I'll do the eggs.

-And Dan, my big little brother,

-is a BBC sound technician.

-He needs plenty

-of room when he cooks.

-Out of the way, please.

-I'm starving.

-Dan, Dan, Dan!

-LAUGHTER

-So that's the family round the table

-in Glyncoli, our home for 30 years.

-When your father brought me

-up the fantastic road...

-..I didn't know

-there was a house here at all.

-The front door was half open.

-When we walked in, there were

-chickens in the front room.

-In the house?

-Yes.

-It had been empty for some time.

-There were metal windows, half

-the size they are now, and rusted.

-Dad asked, "What do you think?"

-I said, "Fantastic!"

-He thought I was being sarcastic.

-But I really did mean it.

-It was so similar to North Wales.

-Mountains all around!

-It sounds awful.

-Chickens indoors, no windows!

-IMITATES NORTH WALES ACCENT

-Oh, it's lovely! I like it.

-LAUGHTER

-You know that's not what I meant!

-LAUGHTER

-But they got rid

-of the chickens and we moved in.

-Not everyone was happy

-about the move.

-When you moved up, what did Mam-gu

-say? She didn't like Treorchy.

-She told me,

-"Why did they move up there? Snobs!"

-Yes, she thought Treorchy

-was more snobbish than Pentre...

-..because of Stuart Street,

-which is a posh street.

-Front gardens.

-Front gardens.

-

-Yes. She thought it was posher.

-She lived above the street in Pentre

-which is posher than below.

-Did she want you to stay in Pentre?

-She sent you to the English school

-so you wouldn't go far.

-Yes.

-No. She said she wanted

-him to speak Welsh.

-But she couldn't see herself

-putting a three-year-old child...

-..on a bus, to travel three miles.

-That was why.

-And I was next door to the school.

-You didn't have to walk far.

-I was like you, terrible as a kid.

-How do you mean?

-How do you mean?

-

-Naughty.

-Were you going to move anywhere,

-or wherever you had a job?

-I was going to go to France.

-I was going to go to France.

-

-To play rugby.

-She'd follow me anywhere!

-LAUGHTER

-We thought of living in North Wales.

-He wanted to stay in the south.

-Rhondda boys will never leave.

-I've tried for 40 years.

-It's time for a little geography.

-The Rhondda isn't

-one town or valley.

-There's Rhondda Fawr

-and Rhondda Fach.

-Between both valleys, there

-are over 30 towns and villages.

-Overlooking both valleys

-is the land of Fforch Farm.

-Yes, another farm.

-It's the home of Lynne

-and Lorna Jones and their family.

-Come on!

-WHISTLES

-We're on your land now.

-I thought I knew the Rhondda, but

-I've lost my bearings completely!

-I'm not sure where we are.

-Maerdy is over there, and the new

-factory, built a few years ago.

-The old colliery was here.

-The last one that was open?

-The last one that was open?

-

-Yes. It was down there.

-The reservoir is above it.

-We came up a road.

-Did you build it?

-Did you build it?

-

-Yes.

-The small one behind us?

-We did the steep part

-from the bottom all the way up...

-..about 30 years ago.

-How did you get around before that?

-How did you get around before that?

-

-On a pony, mainly.

-Really?

-When I first came here.

-Or on foot.

-What drew you here?

-I was looking

-for a bigger farm, in one place.

-We had several small places.

-When we came here,

-I liked the mountain.

-I've always preferred being

-on the mountain than in a vale.

-But there are no hay meadows.

-You have to buy food

-or send sheep off in winter.

-Is it difficult?

-Is it difficult?

-

-It's been very hard work for me.

-But wind turbines have recently

-been installed to help the farm

-It's an extra income, so his son,

-Arwel, can stay home to work.

-But the wind turbines

-are controversial.

-Not everyone likes them.

-I don't have a problem with them.

-I know they help us financially.

-They don't look bad.

-I don't think so, anyway.

-People's opinions vary.

-How long are they up for?

-How long are they up for?

-

-Twenty-five years.

-Then they come down.

-I think they're pulled down,

-then rebuilt...

-..or maybe replaced.

-If they're pulled down,

-only the concrete base is left.

-You won't see any sign of them.

-It's like the tip in Maerdy.

-There was quite a lot of protest.

-People didn't want them to be built.

-Did anyone have a go at you?

-No.

-We didn't see anything

-like that, really.

-As well as wind turbines...

-..the family have started

-another business recently.

-They've begun brewing beer.

-Dad came home from the pub one day.

-He said, "I want

-to start a brewery."

-I thought, "Go on!

-We've drunk enough of it."

-Did it spark off just like that?

-"I like this, I want to make some!"

-Farming is a dead loss now.

-We have to change.

-There's more future in drinking!

-Yes.

-Yes, Fforch Farm is the home

-of Cwm Rhondda Ales.

-The company was founded

-a year and a half ago.

-Caryl, Grug and Arwel run

-the business and brew the beer...

-..the most important job!

-How many different beers

-do you have?

-We have four types now.

-Do you test them yourselves

-before making them?

-Or do you have everyone here

-for a party to test a new beer?!

-There are plenty of brothers

-and sisters, well, brother!

-We have plenty

-of sisters and in-laws too.

-Even those who don't like it think,

-"It's free, I'll have some of that!"

-All their beers have a local name.

-Today, they've got

-an expert in to taste them.

-Shwmae But.

-Shwmae But.

-

-Shwmae But.

-Alright?

-Alright!

-That's Boyo.

-Oh!

-What is the last one?

-What is the last one?

-

-Tommy Box.

-What is Tommy Box?

-What is Tommy Box?

-

-It's the old colliers' lunchbox.

-A lunchtime beer.

-Yes.

-That could be a selling point!

-Really good.

-It's time to take out

-my sketchbook...

-..and learn more about the family.

-How many children do you have?

-How many children do you have?

-

-Seven.

-We had four daughters

-when we came here.

-We had three more children

-after coming to the Rhondda.

-It's odd how the three youngest

-have been drawn back here.

-They were born here.

-Their roots are in the Rhondda.

-The oldest ones went back,

-the other side of the mountain.

-It's odd.

-Oh, my gosh!

-What do you say?

-Scott Quinnell!

-Scott Quinnell!

-

-Thanks!

-Scott Quinnell!

-So the Fforch family are

-the first characters in the book...

-..and on the map.

-In 1891...

-..the percentage of Welsh speakers

-was as high as Caernarfonshire.

-Treorchy High Street, of course.

-Treorchy High Street, of course.

-

-Ynysangharad?

-Where is Ynysangharad?

-I'm doing a video, wise up!

-LAUGHTER

-I'm sorry!

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-LAUGHTER

-We're back round the table,

-where we put the world to rights...

-..and laugh a lot.

-I'm sorry!

-Mam and Dad met in Barry College.

-Mam remembers the first time

-she came to the Rhondda.

-I met Dad in my second year.

-He wanted a lift home at Christmas.

-"I'll take you the scenic route,"

-he said.

-We came through Porth...

-The first time you came to Rhondda?

-..over Penrhys...

-..so I could see the Rhondda vista.

-I was from Dinorwig.

-You can't get any higher!

-I wanted to show you

-the isolation hospital.

-"What do you think

-about the Rhondda?" he said.

-Make her feel more at home!

-All I could see were houses,

-everywhere.

-Rows and rows of houses.

-When we arrived, he said...

-.."Mam, I've had a lift

-from some girls in college."

-"Come in," she said.

-When we left, she said, "Would you

-like to take some baps with you?"

-"Lovely," I said. There was

-a doorstop slice of ham in them.

-We called Mam-gu 'Betty force-feed'.

-She fed everyone

-who came to the house.

-Dad was the same.

-You know Peter Williams,

-from Pentre?

-He stayed in the house once.

-Mam fed him so much,

-he was sick when he left.

-Why didn't he say no?!

-That's why she was called

-force-feed.

-Mam-gu was so welcoming.

-That's the type of person she was.

-Rhondda folk are like that.

-The Rhondda

-has a population of 60,000.

-Almost 9,000 speak Welsh.

-Cennard Davies's family has

-lived in Treorchy for 150 years...

-..in the same house,

-believe it or not.

-The house was built in 1871.

-My great-grandfather built it.

-He came from Carmarthenshire.

-His wife was from the same area.

-They married and settled

-in Aberdare...

-..before moving to Rhondda Fach...

-..then over the mountain to Rhondda

-Fawr when coal was discovered.

-It was like the Klondike.

-People flocked here.

-There was more money to be made.

-Wages were 25% higher...

-..than other industrial areas.

-Cennard's great-grandfather

-was a builder.

-He worked on dozens of projects

-in the Treorchy area...

-..including the family home.

-When my great-grandfather

-arrived in 1871...

-..only 16,000 people

-lived in the valley.

-By the time my grandfather...

-..was in his thirties...

-..at the turn of the century...

-..in the 1901 Census...

-..103,000 people lived here.

-It rose from 16,000 to 103,000.

-By the time my father...

-..was in his twenties...

-..in 1928, it was 168,000.

-It's amazing.

-It's amazing.

-

-Yes.

-That's more than double

-today's population.

-Most of Treorchy's population

-came from the West.

-A high percentage spoke Welsh.

-The late historian John Davies...

-..was brought up in Dumfries Street.

-It's the longest street in Treorchy.

-John Davies noted that in 1891...

-..the percentage of Welsh speakers

-in that huge street...

-..was as high as Caernarfonshire.

-Good grief.

-More than ninety percent

-of the people...

-..spoke Welsh.

-What are your feelings

-about the Rhondda today?

-It's a lovely, interesting place.

-There's a sense of community.

-People know each other.

-I wouldn't live anywhere else.

-I might be a little parochial!

-But only our family

-has lived in this house...

-..and only Welsh spoken here.

-Only the Davieses of Treorchy

-have lived here.

-Yes.

-I'm in for a shock now.

-Mary. Where are you?

-In the kitchen.

-You have more hair there!

-Llwyncelyn is in the lower part

-of the valley.

-It's not where you'd expect

-to meet a YouTube sensation.

-It's where Dafydd Francis, and

-his alter-ego, Lex Gabore, live.

-Oh!

-He's a star.

-Since 2011, almost half a million

-people have viewed his Lex videos.

-Oh! I don't like 'em.

-I started in school.

-You were my teacher.

-I put silly videos on Facebook.

-White eyeliner,

-white eyeliner, white eyeliner.

-I'm a Valleys boy.

-I love the Valleys humour.

-That's where I get inspiration

-for my videos...

-..the Valleys humour...

-..how jolly and fabulous we are.

-Do other people appear

-in the videos?

-I did a video recently with Mam.

-This is my mother.

-I dolled her up

-for a Valentine date.

-She's quite young...ish.

-LAUGHTER

-In true Lex Gabore style,

-I just took the mick.

-I put ridiculous make-up on her.

-Julie Gabore.

-Mammy Gabore.

-Mammy Gabore.

-

-I love it.

-How many people watch it?

-It's about 90,000 now.

-I'm not bragging...

-..but that's impressive.

-..but that's impressive.

-

-More than the Rhondda's population.

-Really?

-When I go to London or Cardiff,

-I can't wait to come back home.

-I feel comfortable here.

-It's an odd thing to say.

-When I'm here,

-I can't wait to get away...

-..to be a superstar in LA!

-It's my comfort zone.

-It's almost like a shawl

-for Dafydd and Lex.

-What is the reaction...

-..of people in the Rhondda to Lex?

-The Rhondda isn't conservative,

-but really old fashioned.

-It's a mining community.

-They think men should be men,

-and be builders, or whatever.

-Lex is a breath of fresh air.

-All you need

-is a camera in your bedroom.

-You're a star.

-I hope my videos...

-..inspire others.

-There are young people who struggle,

-not only with their sexuality...

-..but with their identity.

-Tell me more about Dafydd.

-Who is Dafydd?

-Dafydd is mad and bonkers, like Lex.

-I'm more reserved... not reserved...

-..but I'm quite modest.

-I'm shy when I meet new people.

-I had trouble in school,

-with people calling me gay.

-They didn't understand me.

-I was crazy. I was six foot,

-fat and had curly hair.

-A bully's dream.

-It was a defence mechanism.

-If they call me gay, I'll act gay.

-I owned it.

-Are your family supportive?

-Do they like the videos?

-Do they like the videos?

-

-Mam is really supportive.

-All through my life, she's said,

-"Be yourself."

-As a child, I played with Barbies.

-She never said no.

-She made me what I am.

-Ready?

-Ready?

-

-Ready.

-What the hell?! Sion!

-Oh, my god! I like it, actually.

-I look so gay.

-Elizabeth Taylor.

-Elizabeth Taylor.

-

-I wish.

-That's why I love the Rhondda...

-..because of the characters

-and tidy people.

-I look forward to meeting more

-the next time.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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