Net-Cymru: Eddy Hunt

I was born and grew up in Canada, although I now have a British passport.

My first experience of Wales was a brief one. I arrived in Swansea docks on a cargo boat in 1967. I was travelling with a mate from school. We both had ideas of travelling around the world at that time.

Most of the rest of my life was spent in England, mainly in London and Birmingham. My attachment to Wales became much stronger when I met and later married a lady from the Rhondda Valley.

After taking early retirement from Further Education I moved in 1998 to join my wife in Tonypandy, where she had moved about six months earlier.

Moving to Wales has been a bit of a culture shock for me. The contrast to London could hardly be greater. People are far more settled in Wales with families often living very near each other, whereas in London the population was continually shifting.

I have left London with many positive experiences. I have made friends with people from many parts of the world. I have also experienced a warmth of hospitality from local East End people which is very similar to that I have received from the people in the valleys.

One of the things I was involved with in London was a scheme called LETS, which stands for "Local Exchange Trading Scheme". It enables people to trade in goods and services in a local currency, hence enabling people who have been marginalised by unemployment and other factors to engage postively with their local community and to derive benefit.

One of the things that most impressed me coming to Wales was the strong commitment to personal service shown by local businesses. Unfortunately life is tough for small businesses in South Wales and sadly the sight of boarded-up shops is not a rarity in the valleys.

I believe that local people should strive to maintain control over their own lives. This is more and more difficult at a time when large scale organisations are using efficiencies of scale to get their prices below those of local shopkeepers and in some cases driving them out of business. Increasingly our lives are becoming dominated by decisions made by those who have no personal commitment to Wales.

Since arriving in the Rhondda Valley I have seen much that is postive in the area. Musical and other interest groups, voluntary groups and local clubs and societies make it relatively easy for someone to become an active member of the local community.

The existence of such activities is an important factor in the quality of life in any area. I hope that in some small way the information on this site will make it easier for anyone who wished to engage positively in the community to do so.

I believe strongly that a pride in one's own community should be matched with an interest and respect for other people's communities. In both London and Wales I have been active in organisations engaged in twinning with towns elsewhere in Europe.

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In September 1999 I received a call inviting me to write an article about myself for the Welsh language national newspaper Y Cymro - where else but Wales would this sort of thing happen? The Rhondda CYD had been approached for an article about a Welsh learner - and my name came to mind.

After some correction by friends in the CYD, here is the result..

O Ganada i'r Rhondda

This page was last updated on 6 November 1999 |||||||||||||||||||||||||| Back to:Net-Cymru Home Page