Presenters
Nia Roberts
What does the term ‘culture’ mean to you? I think, if you have culture, then that is what gives colour to your life, what enriches your life.
I couldn’t live without music and cerdd dant[singing poetry] is something I enjoy very much because it combines music with my love of words. It’s a way of communicating poetry, giving a poem another dimension so that someone can hear and feel something different when he or she hears the poem being sung.
I love words, I love the richness of the Welsh language. I did Latin at school and French and Italian. I took Italian during my first year at university. One thing I regret is that I didn’t continue to do Italian as a part of my degree. I went for the safe option – Welsh and Drama – because the other options meant going to Italy for awhile. I didn’t know many people who travelled, it wasn’t part of my experience, it was too foreign, so I’m sure I was afraid.
I readto escape. I forget everything about myself and suddenly I’m living someone else’s life…I’m able to hear, see and feel what they hear, see and feel.
I’m happiest when my feet are in the sand. I couldn’t live very far from the sea. I was raised at the seaside, my earliest memories are of being on the beach – I don’t know if there’s a Welsh term for ‘beach bum’ – but that’s when I’m happiest. On the beach, with my family having a picnic!
One thing I try to remember is not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the moment. I remember the advice my father gave me when I was going to lead my first National Eisteddfod in 1999. All he said was, ‘Do it with a smile’. I think that should to be borne in mind whatever one does in life.
Rhun ap Iorwerth
What does the term ‘culture’ mean to you?
It’s a question we’ve asked a lot whilst preparing for this programme. It means so many different things, there is culture with a capital ‘c’, the eisteddfod, art, literature and poetry but it also means so much more than that. I’d count sport, especially rugby, as part of our culture.
I’ve always sung since I was a small boy and I competed in eisteddfodau. I try to introduce my children to as much music as possible; they play the piano and sing. I play the guitar and the piano and do some composing at home. Music is very important to me.
I do a lot of physical things, I kayak around Anglesey a lot during summer, I cycle a lot in summer as well. I try to do one long trip on the bike every year. The latest for me to do was from Anglesey to Cardiff.
It is the alarm clock which gets me out of bed in the morning! I get up at four o’clock every morning to present a radio show. It’s almost easier to get up at four because when the alarm goes I have to get out of bed immediately otherwise I will go back to sleep! I wasn’t a good one for waking in the morning when I was growing up but by now I like squeezing as much as I can out of 24 hours.
I’m happiest when I’m pottering at home with the family. With my guitar in hand I’m very happy, when I’m on the slopes of the Alps skiing, I’m very happy. Many things put a large smile on my face.
My parents made a big impression on me. I’m very close to them. It’s nice living back close to my parents after years away – this was one of the main reasons for moving back to Anglesey. They’re good people, they have a lot of time for others and that is a lesson we can all learn.
If I had my time back and wasn’t allowed to do the same thing, and if I had the talent, I would be a musician. Throughout my youth I was going to be a vet and maybe I would have enjoyed that as well. But on the whole I’m happy enough as I am!
