Beti George Siarad o Brofiad


Beti George

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-Here, on the outskirts of Cardiff...

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-..is the home of Beti George

-and partner, David Parry-Jones.

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-She is perhaps best known...

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-..for her popular

-radio programme, Beti A'i Phobol.

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-But she has also presented

-a plethora of music programmes.

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-Music of all genres

-is very close to her heart.

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-That's a special sound system,

-Gwion.

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-And a pretty special CD too.

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-Llyr Williams is my favourite.

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-His reputation precedes him.

-He's world famous by now.

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-On every wall

-are traces of her eclectic taste...

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-..and her fondness

-for the best in Welsh modern art.

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-It was a birthday present.

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-There was a knock at the door

-and it was Iwan Bala.

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-He said, "This is for you."

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-Of course, it was

-a present from David, not Iwan.

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-She recently received

-the sad news...

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-..that partner David

-is suffering from Alzheimer's.

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-Their circumstances have changed.

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-Beti speaks candidly

-about coping with the condition.

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-We're very fond of Greece.

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-Do you go there regularly?

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-We've been going to Samos

-every year for the past 30 years.

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-But not this year.

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-She doesn't hide

-her political tendencies either.

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-Here's my friend.

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-She serves an unexpected purpose.

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-As a nut cracker!

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-Great, isn't she?

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-Great, isn't she?

-

-That's clever.

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-We know you better as a broadcaster.

-We'll return to that later.

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-We also know about

-your passionate interest in music.

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-Were you interested in music

-as a child?

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-I had a musical upbringing.

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-My mother and father

-were very musical.

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-Music to us at the time

-meant singing hymns in chapel...

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-..and anthems.

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-Mam played the organ.

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-We had a small pedal organ at home.

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-My father sang in chapel.

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-I remember Mam telling me

-I used to sing myself to sleep.

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-It's hard to believe,

-but that's what she said.

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-As a baby?

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-As a baby?

-

-Yes, before I was a year old...

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-..according to her.

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-The hymn tune I'd sing

-was Ton-Y-Botel! (Tune In A Bottle)

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-It was very apt.

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-I was surrounded by music

-during my upbringing.

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-Where was your home?

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-Where was your home?

-

-A small village called Coedybryn.

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-It's become well known...

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-..since T Llew Jones was headmaster

-of Coedybryn primary school...

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-..for many years.

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-It's seven miles from Llangrannog...

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-..and from where

-my mother's family hails.

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-I spent a lot of time at Penmorfa,

-a village near Llangrannog.

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-Mam-gu was bedridden...

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-..for six years.

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-She'd broken her hip...

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-..and in those days...

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-..hip replacements

-weren't given to people in their...

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-She was 80 when she broke her hip.

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-She stayed in bed...

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-..for six years.

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-They talk today about

-the lack of care in hospitals...

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-..and the disregard

-shown by nurses...

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-..well, it was my aunt

-who looked after my grandmother.

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-The family was proud of the fact

-there were no bed sores in sight...

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-..in all the time she was bedridden.

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-Tad-cu had died before I was born,

-so I don't remember him.

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-He was a manual labourer

-and worked on the roads.

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-He loved his job, apparently.

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-Of course, people would pass

-and he'd have a chat with them all.

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-He was tremendous company,

-by all accounts.

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-He was great company to be around.

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-He loved talking to everybody.

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-Were you from a middle-class family

-or a working-class family?

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-I doubt Tad-cu,

-as a manual labourer...

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-..was middle class.

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-No, working class.

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-Lower working class, I'd say.

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-My father was a weaver.

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-He was an accomplished craftsman.

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-He frequently won awards...

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-..at the Royal Welsh Show.

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-For what?

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-Woven blankets and quilts.

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-He specialized in what

-we used to call honeycomb quilts...

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-..and tapestry quilts.

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-I still have many of them today.

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-He was a worker.

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-But before I came into the world...

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-..he worked at the coalmine.

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-He worked underground

-but only lasted six months.

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-He became

-a staunch socialist in that time.

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-My mother went away to work

-at 14 years of age.

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-She was a chambermaid, as

-they called them back then, I think.

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-Sounds like something

-from Downton Abbey!

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-And Upstairs Downstairs too.

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-She came to Cardiff

-at 14 years of age...

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-..to be a maid.

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-From rural Wales?

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-Yes. She was a maid to the family

-who owned The Western Mail.

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-The Webbers.

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-I remember

-the stories she used to tell.

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-She told me about her life.

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-She often told me

-if I didn't do my schoolwork...

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-..I'd end up like her.

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-That's when I'd hear these

-horrendous stories about her life...

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-..with the Webbers in Cardiff.

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-What sort of stories?

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-There were two daughters,

-apparently.

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-Every month

-when they had their period...

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-..the girls would just throw their

-sanitary towels on the floor...

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-..and tell her

-to pick them up and wash them.

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-She was only 14 years old.

-She was only a child herself.

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-They didn't care about her dignity?

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-They didn't care about her dignity?

-

-No.

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-Ironically, I met a descendent

-of the Webber family...

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-..many years later...

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-..when I was working in Cardiff.

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-I happened to be in a reception.

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-The descendent was there too.

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-I told him

-the story about my mother...

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-..having to wash

-the sanitary towels...

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-..of his great-great-grandmother...

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-..or however they were related.

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-Fair play to him...

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-..he acknowledged

-how hard her life must've been.

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-But that's how it was back then.

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-Was there any form of apology?

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-Yes. At least I felt there was

-because the world has changed.

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-When you look back at

-the turbulent times of 1960s...

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-..and the protests

-of The Welsh Language Society.

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-Was that part of your life?

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-Was that part of your life?

-

-No, not at all.

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-It happened after I'd left college.

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-But even if it had happened,

-and I had still been at college...

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-..I don't know if I'd been

-part of it, I have to admit...

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-..because of this ethos at home

-about lawbreaking...

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-..I doubt I could've gone home...

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-..and told them I'd broken the law.

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-It comes back

-to that working-class ethos again.

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-Lawbreaking was inherently wrong.

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-There was

-no moral justification for it?

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-None. None at all.

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-I remember Emyr Llewelyn,

-from the same village...

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-..and the action he took

-for the Welsh language.

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-But he wasn't respected...

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-..because he'd broken the law.

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-But thank goodness for people

-like Emyr and his counterparts...

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-..for breaking the law.

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-I doubt I would've been

-one of them, however.

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-Are you optimistic about

-the future of the Welsh language?

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-That's one of the questions I ask

-at the end of Beti A'i Phobol.

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-A century from now,

-how many people will speak Welsh?

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-Where will Wales be?

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-I ask that question...

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-..to help myself

-come to some decision.

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-At the moment...

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-..I've little hope.

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-I'm pessimistic

-about the future of the language.

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-I've seen it...

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-..gradually disappear

-from my home county of Ceredigion.

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-During

-the 75th anniversary celebration...

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-..of Coedybryn primary school...

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-..I arrived at the function room...

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-..of a pub in Newcastle Emlyn...

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-..and I was a little early.

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-I walked in and saw people

-putting up balloons and so on.

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-There was

-no word of Welsh in sight.

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-The celebration dinner began...

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-..and I was

-supposed to say a few words.

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-It was heartbreaking.

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-Coedybryn had always been

-a Welsh-speaking community.

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-But when I thought

-of T Llew Jones...

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-..who was headmaster

-of the school for so many years...

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-..I'm sure

-he was spinning in his grave.

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-.

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-Subtitles

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-Subtitles

-

-Subtitles

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-By the mid-1970s, Beti had left

-the world of education...

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-..and was beginning a career

-as a radio journalist on Bore Da.

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-It was an exciting time.

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-There were miners' strikes

-and steelworkers' strikes.

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-It was essential to be a member...

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-..of the NUJ,

-the National Union of Journalists...

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-..before you could

-go to workers' meetings.

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-So I had to...

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-I didn't want to join the union...

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-..until I'd completed

-my apprenticeship.

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-I spent three years training...

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-..and then

-I applied for membership of the NUJ.

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-But in those days...

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-..it was newspaper journalists...

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-..who ran the journalists' union

-in Swansea....

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-..and many other regions.

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-They were regarded

-as the bona fide journalists.

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-TV and radio journalists

-weren't proper journalists.

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-You were meant to train on paper...

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-..before you were considered

-a proper journalist.

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-There were two heads of

-the journalists' union in Swansea...

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-..and they didn't want me to join.

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-They said, "Oh, no, she's teaching.

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-"She's got a full-time job.

-She's teaching."

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-A year later, fair play

-to one of the photographers...

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-..of a Neath newspaper.

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-He would see me

-coming to these meetings...

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-..but not gaining entry.

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-He said, "I'll get you in."

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-I was eventually let in.

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-I was allowed to attend the meetings

-after that and quiz the unionists.

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-Not so much the owners...

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-..but the union side of things.

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-I was interested in getting

-the families' perspective.

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-The suffering

-the families had to endure.

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-The fact that we spoke Welsh

-in those circles was a help too.

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-It helped you find a story?

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-It helped you find a story?

-

-Yes, and they had faith in me.

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-If you spoke Welsh,

-union members empathized...

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-..with someone who spoke Welsh.

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-Dodgy things

-were happening on both sides.

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-There's no doubt about that.

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-But somehow or other...

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-..they had faith in me...

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-..not to misinterpret

-what they were fighting for.

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-I had every sympathy for them...

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-..although

-I had to remain impartial.

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-Which, in turn, gave you the

-advantage over other journalists.

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-And the fact I was a woman too.

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-The wives of the miners

-played a central role.

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-They had influence at the time.

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-They were forming alliances...

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-..and were

-actively fundraising and so on.

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-I was quite popular with them.

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-If there was a story, they'd phone

-me to tell me what was happening.

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-I remember one time...

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-..there was

-an explosion at Cwm Gwili coalmine.

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-Two men had been killed.

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-It was the first time

-I'd dealt with such a tragic story.

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-I went there in person.

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-I don't think I was expected...

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-..to talk to the families

-who had lost their husbands...

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-..but one man had survived, although

-he had been seriously injured...

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-..and they wanted me

-to get the story...

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-..from his wife.

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-So I found out where she lived...

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-..and there were dozens

-of journalists already there.

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-She opened the door...

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-..and it was obvious she didn't

-feel comfortable talking about it.

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-She didn't want to,

-but she saw me...

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-..and she recognized me.

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-She said, "Beti, I'll talk to you."

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-She picked you out?

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-Yes, and I got to talk to her.

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-She described hearing

-the ambulance at two in the morning.

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-She said it happened regularly...

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-..but this particular morning...

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-..she sensed that something

-out of the ordinary had happened.

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-I put myself in her shoes...

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-..and considered the hardships

-miners had to endure.

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-How on earth can anyone...

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-..criticize the miners

-for fighting for their rights?

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-I can't understand it.

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-You've had to face

-another challenge recently, Beti.

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-Your partner, David,

-the well-known sports broadcaster...

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-..is suffering from Alzheimer's.

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-When did you realize

-there was a problem?

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-It goes back to...

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-Well, I'd say

-it goes back about six years...

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-..although he wasn't diagnosed

-until four years ago.

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-I noticed some things.

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-If I wrote anything in English...

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-..a script or anything...

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-..I'd always pass it to him

-to look over...

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-..in case I'd made

-any terrible grammatical errors.

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-It'd come back

-covered in corrections.

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-He'd also make suggestions.

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-Gradually,

-it didn't happen any more.

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-It made me think.

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-One came back one day...

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-..and there were no corrections

-in this English script I'd written.

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-I said, "There must be, come on."

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-And he said, "No, your English

-has dramatically improved."

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-That's when I realized...

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-..things weren't right.

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-He's not poorly,

-I just have to be patient.

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-He has difficulty with his vest.

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-I can't understand it.

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-He has difficulty and he asks me

-every time to help him.

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-There are three holes...

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-..and he's not sure which hole

-his head should go through.

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-It's interesting...

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-..how the brain stops functioning.

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-In terms of how it's affected him...

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-..it affects every individual

-suffering from Alzheimer's...

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-..in a different way.

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-How do you make dementia...

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-..as high profile a disease

-as breast cancer?

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-That's the point.

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-People think of it...

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-..as an old person's disease.

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-Less than a quarter of the money

-that goes towards cancer research...

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-..is spent on dementia research.

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-In 20 years' time...

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-..they'll be inundated

-unless they find a solution.

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-I'm not suggesting spending less

-on cancer - not at all.

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-But cancer research has proved...

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-..that if the money's there...

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-..new treatments will be discovered.

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-Nowadays, people with cancer

-talk and discuss their condition.

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-If they did the same

-with dementia...

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-..in the long run, they'll

-save money - it's as simple as that.

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-We must talk about Beti A'i Phobol.

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-You're renowned for that programme.

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-It's been running

-for 30 years, I believe.

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-Yes, it has.

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-Many people have said...

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-..that the secret

-of the programme's success...

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-..is down to a rare combination.

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-Your journalistic curiosity...

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-..coupled with your warmth.

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-You make people feel comfortable.

-It's a rare combination.

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-If I'm interviewing someone...

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-..I want to get

-the best out of that person.

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-It works both ways.

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-I like people,

-there's no doubt about that.

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-I chat to them...

0:19:530:19:55

-..sometimes hours at a time,

-before I record the programme.

0:19:560:20:00

-So when they actually

-come to do the programme...

0:20:010:20:05

-..they know which way

-the conversation will go.

0:20:060:20:09

-I can't think of anyone who's said,

-"No, I don't want to discuss that."

0:20:090:20:14

-"Don't ask me about that."

0:20:140:20:17

-Maybe one or two people

-have said after the recording...

0:20:180:20:23

-.."I want that taken out."

0:20:230:20:26

-I give them the freedom...

0:20:270:20:29

-..to talk about a subject

-of their choice.

0:20:300:20:33

-I always say to them, "Think about

-the people who are listening.

0:20:340:20:38

-"They might be at home

-by themselves...

0:20:380:20:41

-"..with the same sort of problems...

0:20:410:20:44

-"..you're going

-to be talking about."

0:20:440:20:47

-It means

-you're sharing your experiences.

0:20:470:20:52

-The listener at home alone...

0:20:520:20:56

-..has the same problems...

0:20:560:20:58

-..and realizes someone else

-is going through the same thing.

0:20:580:21:02

-It's important.

0:21:020:21:05

-Can you think of one programme

-you're particularly proud of?

0:21:050:21:10

-I usually say RS Thomas...

0:21:110:21:13

-..when someone

-asks me that question.

0:21:130:21:17

-I always mention RS...

0:21:170:21:20

-..because he gave me such a shock.

0:21:200:21:23

-The man was very different...

0:21:230:21:25

-..from the image I had of him

-as this surly character.

0:21:260:21:31

-He wasn't like that at all.

0:21:310:21:33

-I wasn't

-going to ask him about his poetry.

0:21:340:21:38

-I wanted to interview the man.

0:21:380:21:41

-I was worried he might think

-my questions were silly...

0:21:420:21:45

-..but he didn't.

0:21:460:21:47

-He loved it

-and played the game, as they say.

0:21:480:21:50

-On the other hand...

0:21:510:21:52

-..there are those

-who talk about their experiences...

0:21:530:21:57

-..for the first time.

0:21:570:21:59

-I remember Delme Thomas,

-for example.

0:21:590:22:02

-The beloved rugby playing giant.

0:22:020:22:05

-He'd never discussed

-his experiences of depression.

0:22:060:22:11

-He's suffered seriously

-with depression.

0:22:120:22:15

-He spoke about it

-for the first time.

0:22:170:22:20

-What he said was so memorable.

0:22:220:22:26

-They're too numerous to mention.

0:22:280:22:31

-I like the ones

-who are labelled "heavy".

0:22:310:22:36

-I've always

-been interested in politics.

0:22:380:22:41

-I wouldn't call myself

-a political expert...

0:22:420:22:45

-..but interviewing politicians

-in-depth...

0:22:450:22:49

-..and the way they respond...

0:22:490:22:51

-..gives me immense satisfaction.

0:22:520:22:58

-I could go on and on.

0:22:580:23:00

-I can count on one hand...

0:23:020:23:04

-..the ones I think, 'Oh, forget it!'

0:23:040:23:08

-It's inevitable.

0:23:090:23:10

-It's inevitable.

-

-There are only a handful of those.

0:23:100:23:14

-I know

-you hate talking about yourself...

0:23:140:23:17

-..so I'm

-very, very grateful to you...

0:23:170:23:20

-..for being so candid

-and so willing to talk.

0:23:200:23:23

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0:23:400:23:42

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