0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- 888 - - 888
0:00:05 > 0:00:07- 888
0:00:11 > 0:00:13- 888
0:00:16 > 0:00:20- Yes, it was an unforgettable - experience. Yes, it was me.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24- And no, I wasn't dreaming. Things - like this happened to other people.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30- But it was me on my feet - when the ceremonial horns sounded.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33- I'll remember the thrill forever.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35- All I did was follow my instinct.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41- I simply obeyed the urge - to create and communicate.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46- And I was in love with words, - as someone once said about me.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52- People who know me thought I'd - shed a few tears - of happiness.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57- Though I'm emotional at times, - tears didn't come, thank goodness...
0:00:58 > 0:01:01- ..or I'd have had panda-like eyes - through the ceremony!
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- I was too busy enjoying everything.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08- I'd done my crying three weeks - earlier, when told I'd won.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16- The name of the winning - Prose Writer is Sonia Edwards...
0:01:17 > 0:01:18- ..from Llangefni.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27- Even now, I doubt whether - I can really describe the thrill.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30- That's the biggest irony.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- I was acclaimed for my words...
0:01:34 > 0:01:38- ..but can't for the life of me - find them when I really need them.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45- A unique bonus was winning - on home ground in Anglesey.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51- Llanbedr-goch's Eisteddfod was only - 15 miles from Cemaes, the village...
0:01:52 > 0:01:56- ..where I grew up, at the most - northerly point of the island.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05- It's a strange experience, - returning after a long absence.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09- It's someone else's home now.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13- At times like this, one can - empathise with the alienation...
0:02:13 > 0:02:18- ..described by T H Parry-Williams - after being away from home a while.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23- The cool distance that came - between him and the mountains...
0:02:23 > 0:02:25- ..the rocks, and the cliffs.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29- Then the enchanting glory - of familiarity returned.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- That's what it is.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- Maybe it's easier, at times, - to appreciate things from afar.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- But I have returned often - in my thoughts.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- Or rather, I created characters - who were willing to go in my place.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55- I grew up within sight - and sound of the sea.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59- It's no surprise it features - prominently in my work.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02- I remember hours of amazement...
0:03:03 > 0:03:07- ..just looking at the ever-changing - drama of this expanse of water...
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- ..locked between two headlands. - For me, the sea is alive.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- It has its squalls, - and its cheerful moods.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- Just like a flaunting prima donna...
0:03:19 > 0:03:23- ..who knows she's more beautiful - and talented than any other.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27- That's where the enchantment - resides, surely.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- The other-worldliness. The romance.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42- From 'Darluniau' - GLAS YDI'R NEFOEDD
0:03:45 > 0:03:47- "There's no-one else on the beach...
0:03:48 > 0:03:51- "..apart from the young couple - in the distance.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53- "They laugh, and call to each other.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- "The wind steals their voices...
0:03:57 > 0:04:00- "..snatches words from their mouths, - leaving them mute.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07- "Looking at them is like - following characters in a mime.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12- "I see a strip of blue, stretching - untidily across the monotone sky.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17- "It's only a narrow rim, like - a piece of ribbon blown off a hat.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23- "It's an early spring day, - and the tide is out.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27- "I notice seaweed on rocks, - shining like wet dogs.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- "I'm so close, - I can taste the salt."
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- Writing in the first person - is the best way to reveal...
0:04:42 > 0:04:46- ..a character's most secret - thoughts and intentions.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- Small fragments of Cemaes appeared - in my first book...
0:04:49 > 0:04:55- ..almost unbeknown to me, in - rocklets, waves and seaweed fronds.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- The core of that book was included - in my Prose Medal winning volume...
0:05:01 > 0:05:05- ..at the Anglesey County - Eisteddfod, back in 1992.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10- I highly respect the adjudicator, - Eigra Lewis Roberts, as an author.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- It was an honour to hear the late - Elen Roger Jones reading one story.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19- From 'Luned' - GLOYNNOD
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- "School was a safe place, - cosy and familiar, like home.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31- "The smell of powder paint and - apples, and tiny, small chairs...
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- "..smaller than everyone's bottoms - apart from ours."
0:05:39 > 0:05:43- That's what I remember about - my first day at primary school.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48- Small chairs, small toilets, - small basins to wash your hands.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51- Low pegs for coats.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- It was like stepping into a world - made for little people.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59- I was amazed. This is the school, - but these aren't the children.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- The noise on the yard is the same, - wherever you go.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- The sound of children at play - remains unchanged.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- A magical sound that sings - the same song to all of us.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- The same song, yes, but sadly, - not the same language.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21- There were special smells, - paint and glue and clay.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- The real smells of primary school.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28- I still remember it, especially - when I visit a sixth former...
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- ..on work experience - at a primary school.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36- The smell of apples always - brings memories flooding back.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40- For me, primary schools and apples - are closely associated.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45- On this yard, two older girls - told me some shocking facts.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50- Swallowing apple pips - was very dangerous.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- An apple tree would grow inside you. - It was an agreeable naivety.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- I was so fond of primary school that - I cried when it was time to go home.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10- Now, as a teacher, I can't claim I'm - that emotional when 3.30pm arrives.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16- But plenty of emotions returned - as I stood near my old home.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24- The experience of leaving Cemaes - for the big school was difficult.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27- I had to leave behind - my best friend.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- She was six months younger than me.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37- With whiter than white socks, and a - stiff new satchel, I felt awkward...
0:07:37 > 0:07:42- ..as I stood outside - the chip shop that first morning.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49- Good morning. How are you?
0:07:52 > 0:07:52- From 'Tonsuleitis' GLOYNNOD
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- From 'Tonsuleitis' GLOYNNOD - - "The face of the school bus - roars into view.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00- "Its round headlamps, - and old-fashioned metal grille...
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- "..resemble the eyes and nose - of some slow, kind monster.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15- "As it trundles smokily - to the pavement...
0:08:15 > 0:08:20- "..our feet rumble along - the concrete in a greedy shudder.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- "Move out of the way! Damn babies.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- "My knees are chunks of chubby - coldness above my socks.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- "Hurry up, Jan, I'm dying for a fag.
0:08:35 > 0:08:41- "The big girls, snapping, pushing - and smelling of cheap scent and gum.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- "Once we're aboard, - it's warm and cosy...
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- "..though we have to swallow the - smell of dust and sour tobacco...
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- "..as the engine shakes our guts."
0:09:01 > 0:09:05- On the whole, - secondary school was OK.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- Most of my memories - are pleasant enough.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14- But I can't think of them without - remembering the time my father died.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19- He died on an August day - in that hot summer of 1975.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23- I was in the fourth form, - beginning the O-level course.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27- That early, harrowing experience - of losing someone close...
0:09:27 > 0:09:31- ..is inextricably entwined - with a time of growing up.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35- The stormy teenage years, - when so much changes.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- Tecwyn. Tecs. - I never called him Dad.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- We were mates. He wasn't a strict - father, nor a disciplinarian.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- He didn't have to be.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- He never threatened, he never - gave me or my brother a smack.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- "I daren't," he said. - "I don't know my own strength."
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- That was certainly true, - as he used to be a boxer.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- His exploits in the boxing ring - took place long before my time.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14- But I loved hearing his stories, - and about the people he'd met.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- He said Doris Day gave him a kiss...
0:10:17 > 0:10:22- ..after he floored a black giant - twice his size...
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- ..in a bout in Australia.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- He started to box - after joining the airforce.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- Soon, he won the Inter Allied Welter - Weight Championship of Morocco.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39- Trained by Marcel Zidane, a former - middle weight world champion...
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- ..my father won more than 60 bouts, - and turned professional.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48- I treasure an old article from - 'Y Cymro', which begins by saying...
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- .."Tecwyn Parry is a quiet lad.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- "He's the 27-year-old son of Mr and - Mrs W J Parry, Morawel, Cemaes.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00- "But in boxing gloves, he becomes - a whirlwind, a thunderbolt.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04- "Every blow of his fists delivers - mayhem to its recipient."
0:11:08 > 0:11:12- My father's life - was full and colourful.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16- A Second World War Desert Rat, one - of the 8th Army lads, as he said.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21- Every night, he had to sleep - with a knife under his pillow.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23- He was also a police Superintendent.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- Not in Wales, but in Kenya - and north Africa...
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- ..during the famous - Mau Mau rebellion.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36- It's sad one can't turn back the - clock to ask more, and learn more.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- It's the stuff of blockbusters, - plots and sub-plots.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Excitement, conspiracy, - adventure, fighting, blood.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51- Not my usual subject matter, true, - but that's what makes a best-seller.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54- Wilbur Smith, eat your heart out.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03- I think of my father's life - as an unfinished novel.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08- He died of a heart attack - the night before a sponsored walk...
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- ..around Anglesey to raise money - for disabled children.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- He was just over 50 years old.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18- That's the reason behind - much of my outlook on life.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- How fragile, how short, - how precious life is.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26- Live life to the full, for - who knows what tomorrow may bring.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- If tomorrow comes at all.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- Pessimistic maybe, - but I don't think so.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- It's a good incentive - to accomplish all your aims.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38- To realise dreams. To go for it.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41- That can't be all bad, can it?
0:12:50 > 0:12:52-
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- My father's early life - was quite exotic.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06- I had an ordinary, Welsh upbringing, - in the Cemaes of the '60s and '70s.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- From 'Gloynnod' - GLOYNNOD
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- "Chapel seats, so very cold, - and slippery, like glass.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22- "The sun, like a yellow shadow - outside the long windows...
0:13:22 > 0:13:26- "..was pushed back - by clouds of patterned panes.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- "But no matter, chapels - are supposed to be cold places.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- "Cold, and quiet, - and respectable, and old."
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- There's a chapel - in most people's background...
0:13:42 > 0:13:44- ..be they religious or otherwise.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49- Sunday clothes, learning verses, - passing mint imperials down the row.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55- I used to come here regularly with - my aunt - a picture of obedience.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- He's sure to be looking, frowning - down from the firmament...
0:14:02 > 0:14:07- ..on hats and bald heads. - He knows I want a pee.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11- I keep the mint in one place in my - mouth, so it gets hotter and hotter.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18- It sticks tightly to my cheek. Can - God see through people's cheeks?'
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- Across the road from Bethel chapel, - there's a shop.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28- I don't use the past tense.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32- The shop and its wares - is still here, though shut now.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- I worked in Megan Owen's shop.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39- A downcast 14-year-old, with - pocket money in very short supply.
0:14:40 > 0:14:40- A quarter, wasn't it?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- A quarter, wasn't it? - - Yes, please. Quite thick slices.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- It says Pioneer Stores on the sign.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52- But it will always be Megan's shop, - to all the village.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55- I learnt how to slice boiled ham...
0:14:55 > 0:14:59- ..how to smile at the visitors - who swarmed here each summer...
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- ..and the importance of small shops - to the life of a community.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- A yard of counter is better - than an acre of land, they say.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16- Yes, it's a fine way to get to know - people, and how to deal with them.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- I worked here every Saturday and - summer holiday, until I left college
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- It wasn't just for the pocket money. - I had loads of fun here with Megan.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31- Although I gained my degree - from Bangor University...
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- ..I have a diploma in how to deal - with people from this shop.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39- From 'Enfys' - GLOYNNOD
0:15:43 > 0:15:45- "Maths and English," said Celia.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50- "You must have those - if you want to get on.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55- "She sells frocks, - in an expensive dress shop.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- "Apparently, that's 'getting on'.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- "The rainbow is fading, - melting like an ice lolly.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05- "I had good marks in Welsh.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08- "Welsh?" said Celia.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14- "Welsh," said my father. - "You're good at that, aren't you?
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- "What use is it, Gwyn bach? It's - useless once you cross Menai Bridge.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- "I look at him. He says nothing.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- "I wonder, how far is it - to Menai Bridge from here."
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- Yes, like Mari in the story 'Enfys', - I was good at Welsh in school.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44- I had a dear and marvellous teacher - in Geraint Percy Jones.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48- Without his encouragement, I'd not - have dreamt of leaving Anglesey...
0:16:48 > 0:16:50- ..to go to any university.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57- I went to Bangor, clutching - what little confidence I had.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- I'm glad to say - I haven't looked back.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03- I soon learnt some amazing things.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07- The price of a half of mild, - and what a 'blue moon' is.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15- No-one from our family had been to - college before. It was quite new.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18- My aunt thought I'd need an uniform!
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- I did get a scarf, - and a scruffy duffle coat.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27- That was all the uniform - I needed in a place like this.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- Everyone in JMJ hostel - had proper Welsh names.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38- Many an 'ap' this or that, and some - had even dropped their surnames.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- I was plain Sonia Parry, - a name from the back of beyond.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- Oh, for a name - like Elin or Gwenllian!
0:17:50 > 0:17:54- Apparently, I was named - after the daughter...
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- ..of a family who fled - persecution in Poland.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- They reached Cemaes as refugees - from the Second World War.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- A romantic story. I've learnt - to live with my unusual name now.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16- Only one cloud blotted the sky - during the Bangor years.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20- Losing my father was linked - to my early teens.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- In the middle of my degree course, - I lost a very special aunt.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- I was very close to Mair, - my father's sister.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- She was a cultured woman.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35- She, more than anyone, - kindled similar interests in me.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- From 'Chwaer fy Nhad' - Y LLAIS YN Y LLUN
0:18:40 > 0:18:42- "She owns the stilled words.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46- "Sea-smooth pebbles, - shimmering like eyes...
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- "Overflowing with yesterdays.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- "She is the voice in the picture."
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- Mair didn't live to see me publish.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- But dedicating the medal-winning - novel to her memory...
0:19:03 > 0:19:07- ..was one way of acknowledging - her guiding role in my life.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15- If my interest in literature - is inherited...
0:19:16 > 0:19:20- ..I probably received it from my - grandmother - Dad and Mair's mother.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25- Nain was perceptive and literate, an - Eisteddfod reciter and adjudicator.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30- Were she still alive, a series like - Talwrn y Beirdd would appeal to her.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33- She would certainly be - one of the chairman's fans!
0:19:35 > 0:19:38- The mother of a young soldier - sent to the Gulf.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44- "There is a chill in the stars - tonight, in the bustle of battle.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47- "Every mother's boy in battlegear.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- "Where is the hero, - when dawn breaks?"
0:19:58 > 0:20:00- I always knew I'd write.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04- But for me, it was a matter - of living first, then writing.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09- I was over thirty when I first - published. That was right for me.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15- I didn't want to look back, - and feel ashamed of my early work.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- I'm sure I did the right thing.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- Over thirty was the right age - for me to begin.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27- With my first publication - came confidence.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- It seemed to snowball.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35- The more I produced, - the more I wanted to produce.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37- The creative urge was strong in me.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- I had been productive on the quiet. - I'd hidden work in drawers.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- When I felt confident enough to show - the work to everyone, it was OK.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54- I have published quite a lot - in a short period of time.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- It hasn't seemed laborious. - A labour of love, perhaps.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04- But, as Kate Roberts said, - one has to write, or suffocate.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- It is true, when one has something - one wants to convey.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10- You have to write.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- After writing six books in seven - years, I'm often asked...
0:21:19 > 0:21:23- .."where do you find the time, - as a full-time working mother?
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- Being a mother - is an experience I'd never forgo.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33- Rhys is the light of my life.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46- I married into a family that had - pony breeding in their blood.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- I wasn't used to animals as a child, - apart from a tabby cat and sheepdog.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54- I learnt a lot.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58- There is a rich vocabulary which - is disappearing all too rapidly.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- The words almost possess - the taste of Anglesey's earth.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06- "Ffyla", "doli", - "minsiar", "bacsia".
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- Is this a good poem - to describe November the 5th?
0:22:14 > 0:22:18- I'm a Welsh teacher - at Llangefni Comprehensive School.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Teaching pays the bills. - It's either work, or starve.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28- That's quite an incentive. - But it's more than that.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- It's a privilege to share - my love of words with my pupils.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41- When I need to escape, I go - jogging. Everyone needs space.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46- It's a good way - to keep healthy and fit, I hope.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- That's not the only benefit - I get from wearing my trainers.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00- To write is a chronicle. Sitting - at a desk or word processor.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05- When I walk, or run, - in the fresh air...
0:23:06 > 0:23:08- ..that's when many ideas come to me.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- I was brought up in the shadow - of the Wylfa nuclear power station.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20- Some might expect me to write - about the future of the planet...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- ..the environment, or green issues.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28- But there are no politics, feminism - or any other '-ism' in my work.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32- The role of a writer or poet - isn't to preach - not in my opinion.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- It's conveying things - as I see them, as I feel them.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41- For me, writing is a way - of defying oblivion.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25- S4C Subtitles by:- GWEAD