Welcome to Wales / Croeso y Gymru

Ive been trying all evening to think how to start this, but in the end it just has to be at the beginning.

Just a little over 32 years ago I had my first visit to Wales.  It was just meant to be me meeting my, soon to be, new family. 

My mum and step dad were to be married, back in Edinburgh, on Thursday 30th August 1979 so on the Friday before my mum's two friends drove me to Wales, to Briton Ferry, for me to be introduced to the Ward clan.  We arrived early evening and my first introduction was to 18 year old Philip, who was to become my step brother.  'Hi, im Phil, want to come to the rugby club?'  First of all I was a bit taken aback, in my innocence I didnt really know what to expect from a rugby club (didnt take long to change that though LOL), and since I was only 15, I didnt really think I was allowed !! I felt a bit awful saying no thank you, but at least I could say that I was really tired after the journey and anyway Morris (my soon to be step dad) said we were all going out the following  night - to the Con Club (another new intro to me - Id never heard of a con club, or a workies or Lib club at that point - that too changed).

So the following night we all went up the hill to the Briton Ferry Constitutional Club.  Saturday night was the night where there was music upstairs in the function room, and also where I was to be introduced to the voices of quite a few of the Ward clan, the singing voices I mean, and it was pretty damn incredible as well. Before we went out I realised that there was a programme on tv that I wanted to see, it was the last episode ever as well and I had said that I really wanted to go back to the house to see it later on.  I was persuaded by Phil not to go and to be honest it didnt take much as I was really enjoying the evening, enjoying meeting new people and was thoroughly wrapped up in the welcome that I was receiving into a family that knew hardly anything about me.


It could only have been about half an hour later when everything was gturned upside down.  Morris had the microphone and was singing away, his brother Hwyel suddenly appeared and ran across the dance floor, grabbed the mic from Morris's hand and frantically started telling him something. In the rush the mic was dropped onto the floor - my god that makes a terrible sound.  All of a sudden everyone was running, I was sitting in a corner of the room and was completely lost as to what was happening.  I picked up my coat, Phils jumper, my bag and I ran too.  I heard someone say 'fire' and my heart was in my mouth, 'My god' I thought 'My god the club is on fire'.  I ran down the stairs along with everyone else.  The club was emptying at such a speed.  I was looking frantically for my mum, for Phil, for anyone that I had been introduced to as family.  At the bottom of the stairs Phil suddenly appeared, looking as frantic as I felt.  I grabbed his arm and asked what was going on.  'My house is on fire! he said.  He was shaking and then he turned and ran too.  I felt someone grab my elbow, it was my mums friend.  'Come on, quick' she said, and we ran to the car.  I dont know why to this day that we took the car.  Maybe because we didnt know the area but it may have made more sense to run with everyone else but 2 minutes later we were standing outside the house, the fire brigade busy with hoses, foam everywhere. On the way down the hill we had passed people running, running on the road, disappearing down the lanes, short cutting to the house, to the place where everyone knew the Morris and Phil lived.  Now they were all in the street too and finally the fire was out. 


What happened next is really the reason for this long post.


The Brigade of course wouldnt allow us access to the house.  So now what did we do? Nowhere to stay, no clothes, nothing.  Suddenly all these voices started offering help. First was Morris's sister who lived in the same street, 'Come on, lets have a cuppa, sit down and make a plan' then people saying 'Morris, you and Cath stay with us' 'Phil, you and Fiona can stay in our house. Dont worry Fiona, we'll do introductions later' 'We'll be down tomorrow to start the clean up if we are allowed in' 'Morris, what about your suit for the wedding?  Cath what about your outfit?'  Offer after offer after offer of help, support and sympathy.




As we left one house to move to another house to stay I realised that my feet were soaking wet, that I was freezing cold, despite it being August, and I was shaking.  Then it hit me, if I had gone back to the house to watch that tv programme, I would have been in the house when the fire really took hold.  Now as Ive said before, I am the type of person who deals with things at the time and then, later, when everyone else is relaxed, fine and over it, thats when I go to jelly, to pieces and end up in a heap with people thinking ive lost the plot.  'Phil, I would have been in the house!' I struggled to get the words out but he nodded and said 'I know' I think that was the point when his friend could see how much I was shaking and lifted me up and carried me to where we were staying that night.


Jump forward this evening.  Peter and I went out to so some shopping, on the way back we went through Pontardawe and past the makeshft memorial to those poor guys lost in the mine last week.  I dont know why it took me till today to remember the events of 1979 but it just struck me that despite my first visit to Wales being a traumatic and dramatic event, it was also my first introduction to how community minded, how generous and how incredible the people here can be.  Jump back to last week, to that dreadful announcement of the mine collapsing and those four poor miners trapped, and as we now know, lost. How the whole world watched as the emergency services, mines rescue, divers, cavers etc etc fought to try to save those men, how local businesses, neighbours and friends and strangers, rallied to help, support and sympathise.  Sound familiar?  Okay so our fire actually does pale against this event, but what doesnt pale is the strength of character of the people of Wales, their ability to rally, link arms and show a united front the second its needed.

So we went and got a candle, and we took it back to that makeshift memorial and lit it.

I was told once that I would never be happy until I went back to Scotland! How very wrong that person was.  Im so glad that I moved here, not glad that there are families suffering loss just now, but very grateful to be living in a community, a country, that when faced with a crisis, large or small, stands up and makes what they do count.

Da iawn Cymru!

Memory Walk

As you can see there is a nice little addition to my page - its my sponsorship link for this Sundays Memory Walk - would love it if you would sponsor Pete and I to raise money for this brilliant charity.