Map: Rhondda Townships
Foreword (by Sophie Evans)
Preface: A Peculiar Sort of Hiraeth
1 Up the Mountain
A hill-walk to a magical spot that connects the
Valleys to the world
2 Rhondda Place Names
All those llans, blaens, tres and ynyses explained
3 Ice Creams and Frothy Coffees
La dolce vita – Rhondda-style
4 The Price of Coal
Two stories from our house that throw light on a
changing world
5 Will You Come to the Pictures with Me?
A tale of two cinemas
6 Welsh
A language that feels – once again – as though it
belongs to us all
7 Cambrian
The coming of spring, and a cold, cold anniversary
8 Rhondda Camaraderie
The ties that bind us – to each other and to where
we come from
9 Corona!
Pop goes the Rhondda!
10 Tom Jones in Nantgwyn Street
Guess what I saw on my way back to school!
11 Porth County
The agonies and ecstasies of the 'happiest days of
our lives'
12 Central Hall, Tonypandy
A remarkable social gospel in times of need
13 Phoning Home
The remembrance of rings past
14 On a Rhondda Bus
And an awfully funny way to Cardiff
15 Dai Chips: A Rhondda Time Lord
History's most eccentric history teacher
16 Treorchy's Rugby Dream
An unbelievable true-life sporting vision
17 Why It's THE Rhondda
An article that's definite about the definite article
18 Libraries Gave Us Power
Rhondda's respect for literature
19 The Promised Land
A yearning for what's yet to come
20 Gateway to the Stars
The Rhondda town that's on another planet
21 The Choir
It's not always sweet harmony in the land of song
22 Llyn Fawr
A breathtaking underwater discovery
23 Streets Ahead
A walk back in time
24 Uncle Len: The Rhondda Working Man
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes
25 Druids Close to Home
The Stones at Treorchy
26 In the Magpie's Nest
The birth of a birthplace
27 Railway Lines
Connections I miss
28 Rhondda Billionaires
The real wealth creators of this world
29 Shopping at the Kwop
Personal service, public profits
30 Ponty
The old hometown, its bridges, rocks, chains
and tunes
31 Welsh Hills
Why we ache for a level playing field
32 Rhondda Fach
An expedition into alien territory
33 Treorchy: Higher and Higher
A town that's always had class – and is now in a
class of its own
34 Fair Play
Inspiring a new generation of sporting talent
35 Black Tips and Pyramids
High places, high risks
36 Our Field of Dreams
A state-of-the-art sports stadium – and a victorious community campaign
37 The Record Shop
An education in popular music
38 We Beat the All Blacks!
Rhondda rugby stars who really did
39 Tonypandy Riots!
The Cambrian Combine Dispute of 1910
40 Penrhys
Now a hilltop estate – once a flashpoint during
Henry VIII's break with Rome
41 The Man Who Made Tommy Farr
The mentor who guided a Welsh icon to within
a punch of the World Championship
42 Sunday School
Lessons for life
43 Trimming the Coalface for Christmas
An illuminating seasonal tale from deep
underground
Postscript: Legacy, Heritage and History
Acknowledgements
