Rhondda Lives!
An engaging mix of archive 20th century film of the Rhondda Valley from as early as 1926 and the stories, memories and reminiscenses of people who live there.
Hiraeth
"³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖsickness is too weak; you feel hiraeth." Gillian Thomas went away to live and found that hiraeth drew her back to Treorchy.
Thank You Mr Gibbs
"To earn money to buy this toothpaste, I ran errands." Jean Pike of Ynyshir is glad she heeded some advice from a teacher.
Mam Collins
"Don't know if it was an old person thing but she always used to wear an apron." Nia takes us on a trip to her late grandmother's house.
About Rhondda Lives!
When people see places they recognise on a screen, memories flood back, and stories demand to be told. Valleys Kids wondered what would happen if those reactions could be captured and made into new, screenable material. In the vaults of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales and the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales lies footage from the last 80 years or so. A partnership was formed, Valleys Kids secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and researchers dug through the records to find material showing the Rhondda.
When some of the clips were screened at a public event in Penygraig, Rhondda. You could hear the "ooohs" and "aaahs" of delighted recognition as the clips rolled.
The Rhondda Lives! were made by people at a workshop at Valley Kids' Soar Centre in Penygraig in 2007 and 2008. A team from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Cymru Wales facilitated the digital story making with its many parts; storytelling, audio recording and assembling the visuals.
If you are interested in the project, please contact Katrina Kirkwood, the Community Media Co-ordinator at Valleys Kids, 1 Cross Street, Penygraig, CF40 1LD, or 01443 420870 or katrina@valleyskids.org
Rhondda Lives! is a Valleys Kids Project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales and the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales.
