My Merthyr

Two days ago I listened to the Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones on line, opening an exhibition organized by the National Library of Wales, he mentioned George Borrow's journey around the Country in 1854, written down in his book 'Wild Wales', and a particular visit to 'Y Gwter or Gutter Fawr', nowadays Brynaman,  Carwyn's family abode. The mention of George Borrow stirred me, as I happen to have two editions of this book that I'm ashamed to say that although I bought one of them when I was about thirteen years old I've never fully read it, only that part that dealt with Merthyr, I am glad to say that I'm now making up for lost time and am with him and his wife & stepdaughter in Llangollen. I purchased it at the new W.H. Smith's on the High St. which was my paradise, I'd stand there for hours looking at the books & magazines, they sent me into another world, I loved books, except the school text books, but that's another story; I'd go through the history & geography books, atlases and encyclopaedias searching for anything about my town of Tydfil the Martyr, I'd buy anything that mentioned Merthyr, or if I couldn't afford it I'd read so much at a time, I'd also spend days in the municipal library where one of my favourite books was the out of print ' Story of Merthyr' a huge volume written by the teachers of the town, which was not for the general public but had to be asked for specifically and read in the upstairs reading room. Very proud I was, and still am, of my town, we were told that the Queen's doctor came from there, that the consituency elected Keir Hardie as its MP, although he never topped the poll, he was the first to represent the Labour movement, (but it was ILP and not the Labour Party, they used to stand against each other); Henry Richard MP, the Apostle of the Peace; Sir Samuel Griffith, twice Premier of Queensland, first Chief Justice of the Australian High Court, and author of the Federal Constitution was born in the same street as my father, Glebeland St. home of 'Y Tyst' newspaper ('Merthyr Law' is a thriving attorneys' office in Brisbane today): The Berry brothers, Viscounts Kemsley & Camrose, virtually owned Fleet Street between them; Lady Charlotte Guest learned Welsh, and with help translated the Red Book & The White Book which today we call the Mabinogion; John Hughes the Dowlais engineer invited by the Tsar of Russia to build a steelworks and founded the city of Donetsk in the Ukraine, where the original part has been re-baptized Yuzovka, or Hughestown in his honour; the Mormons went with Dan Jones to Utah and now their descendants make up the majority of the world famous Tabernacle Choir; We had the best non-league soccer side in England & Wales, rugby hadn't got out of the grammar schools so wasn't a popular sport, the main sport of all the valleys was boxing, where, it is said, you could whistle down the mine at the end of the shift and up would come a world champion; who knows that Merthyr rugby league club, founded in 1907 defeated the touring Australian National side in 1908? the first red flag in the world to signify workers' solidarity was flown here in1831. The Vale of Neath railway station was built by I.K. Brunel; the first steam locomotive to run on rails in the world in 1804, Stevenson's 'Rocket' was the first statutory passenger carrying engine; the rails manufactured here crossed the world and the cannons made at Cyfarthfa brought victory to the Victory, so to speak, and Nelson's navy. The Crawshays had a castle built that I could see from my house on the Gellideg Estate, to where later, I dreamt of going to school, and  did. What an adventure playground as well, there was the Aberdare tunnel, where we'd walk the one and a half miles through the mountain to Aberaman, or we'd go over the top, which I did with my cousin Denise, a girl called Barbara from Twyn and Mary Thomas, sister & daughter of Welsh millionaires; we'd climb the cliffs of the Morlais Castle limestone quarry, overlooking the deep gorge of the Tâf Fechan as it separated Breconshire from Glamorgan; go swimming in the same river; we'd slide down the waste tips on sheets of cardboard, wildly swing over streams on ropes hanging from tree branches. When in Cardiff, on seeing our own double-decker bus going past I'd feel a sense of pride and wave at it. and when on an evening journey back from Porthcawl, Neath or Swansea, following in the steps of George Borrow, coming past Llwydcoed, Aberdare on to the crest of the hill and looking over the whole of Merthyr, " I now perceived a valley below me full of lights", what he saw were enormous furnaces, mountains of burning dross and the palace of Satan, but what I saw was an electric radiance brightening heart and home. Love my Merthyr; to paraphrase "The best Merthyr man is one away from home", or back to the staple "Little boy from Merthyr for ever and ever".

'Cymro gorau, Cymro oddigartre': 'Bachgen bach o Ferthyr eriô'd, eriô'd'