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ALAN LATHAM - PEOPLE & PLACES 04.09.05 Wonderful Copenhagen | 10.09.05 Alan Williams | 24.09.05 Ligia Warsaw | 15.10.05 Tiger Woods and my Autograph Book | 12.11.05 Peter Williams | 26.12.05 George Best | 07.01.06 Latham Park | 10.01.06 Ninian Park | 20.01.06 Terry Evans & Robert Jones - Llanelli AFC | The Jones Boys 04.09.05 WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN Travelling with the official Carmarthen Town party was indeed a pleasurable experience to a City which has an appealing and still largely a low-rise city skyline, punctuated by some considerable spires and steeples and startlingly text book castles and large areas of cobbled streets. There is also a long standing culture attached to this historical City but I must say that its literary legacy and its cultural heritage seem to be focused on Hans Christian Andersen who, of course, was famous for his enduring fairy tales. And even though he was born in Odense, some distance from Copenhagen, there is a lot of evidence of his presence in the Danish capital. Mind you, I don’t want to be too critical because I should think that as far as Wales’ literary icons are concerned; only Dylan Thomas’ name springs to mind to many. But there are others, of course, as we Welshmen only know too well, for example R S Thomas and the very early Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, Roahl Dahl and Emlyn Williams to name only a few. The city teems with art galleries and museums and on the Thursday afternoon preceding the game I was anxious for all of us in the party to spend a few hours visiting these establishments, in particular the Danish Resistance War Museum. But to no avail, for it was the local hostelries that prevailed for my friends and they couldn’t even be persuaded to visit the museum of Erotica in the city centre!! Still, there were extenuating circumstances for their choice with the Old Trafford Ashes Test being shown on satellite television in the bars around. Our hotel was situated in a sports complex some distance from Copenhagen and was indeed palatial with the windows of our rooms overlooking the interior of a magnificent 15,000 stadium where another Danish First Division team plays, obviously a dual purpose situation. The reception given by the home team was restricted to just four of our town’s people which the chairman and Vice-Chairman obviously attended, together with our Main Sponsor and the previous one and it appears that the Chairman once again gave one of his trade-mark speeches. On departure from the hotel for the airport, however, the Chairman, like us all, must have been caught up with the emotion of our visit to Denmark when he requested the driver of the coach to place the large bags containing the team kit at the back of the luggage compartment, due to the fact that we would be making four drop offs, and those concerned could pick up their luggage easily from the front. The bewildered Danish driver looked puzzlingly at our Chairman who suddenly realised of course that the drop-offs would be in Wales after the flight from Copenhagen to Heathrow. ANOTHER MEMORABLE VISIT on our European campaign, following Sweden and Ireland, and indeed that is what fairy tales are made of! 10.09.05 ALUN WILLIAMS - VICE CHAIRMAN Alun joined the Club some ten years ago and has slotted so well into our set-up that he is now part of the furniture. A man of many parts, he has been involved with all aspects of life, ranging from his interest in sport to his involvement in cultural and religious affairs. A keen cricket follower, he formerly played for Carmarthenshire Wanderers and the Petrines, and has supported the Glamorgan Cricket Club since he saw his first County Championship match at Stradey Park in Llanelli in 1953. On the football side, he has been a keen supporter of the Swans ever since he saw them play Luton Town - on Christmas Day 1950. Sometimes, however, his nerves get the better of him when the Swans and Carmarthen Town are involved and he can often be seen leaving the ground at half time when things are a little tight! His fine singing voice, both initially as a boy soprano and later as a tenor, have seen him perform in eisteddfodau throughout the country. With many highlights to relate, not least reaching the stage at the Urdd National Eisteddfod on four occasions, he also played a leading role in the Carmarthen Operatic Society’s productions in the 1960s and early 70s. An everlasting memory of mine whilst a schoolboy attending the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School’s Founders Day Service at St Peter’s Church in 1954 was listening to Alun render O For the Wings of a Dove much to the delight of all. Alun is a Deacon and Treasurer at Heol Awst Independent Chapel and is also the Financial Secretary of the Welsh Independents College in Aberystwyth. He married his wife Olga in 1977 at Blaenycoed Chapel, a very appropriate venue indeed, given the association of the great hymnologist Elfed who is from that area. Before his retirement, Alun was employed by Lloyd’s Bank during which he rose to the position of Manager which no doubt holds him in great stead in organising the Season Ticket and Vice President arrangements. As a frequent visitor to his home, I’m able to see the care and dedication that both Olga and Alun give to Olga’s ailing mother and I find it indeed a very moving and inspirational experience. AS A FINAL NOTE I would like to relate a little story which illustrates Alun’s considerable sense of humour. It was at a special service at his beloved Heol Awst that he was welcoming visitors to the chapel. With the auditorium now very full, none other than our Programme Editor, Alun Charles, rather belatedly turned up. A concerned Alun Williams, anxious to find him a seat, was fortunate enough to slot him into the front pew, and his words to Alun Charles were: ‘I’ve got you a seat in the directors’ box.’ And isn’t that a nice tone in which to end my article for today? 24.09.05 STADION LIGII W WARSZAWIE On this occasion, I was accompanied by my dear wife which gave me an opportunity to survey and visit the historical landmarks of this attractive Capital City with its numerous monuments and palaces. The most imposing landmark was the Palace of Culture and Science in the centre of the city with its colossal structure. It was given to the Polish people as a present by Stalin in the early 50s during the Soviet presence, a gesture which I do not think was fully appreciated by the Poles at the time when the necessities of life were in short supply. I must say it came as a bit of a surprise on the day before the match when my wife and I embarked on a coach for a tour of the city to hear a voice asking ‘Is this the bus for Carmarthen?’ I turned around and saw it was Robert Clement who was in Warsaw as a press reporter and will indeed be here for today’s match. In fact, the hotel where I was staying housed the Welsh and British press corps and media and it was a delight to talk to some of them as they were very friendly indeed. Of course, newspaper reporters can present themselves in all sorts of guises. Some write maliciously, some egotistically. On the other hand, some present accurate and well written reports BUT IN MY VIEW, the doyen of all reporters who come into this latter category was Frank Keating, the Guardian Sports Writer, who is now semi-retired. Keating on one occasion presented a good story to his paper when he referred to the time he travelled to Cefneithin for the funeral of the legendary Carwyn James, the former Welsh Rugby International and British Lions Coach. You can imagine the large crowd that had gathered at the chapel and when the Guardian reporter arrived he could not get in. He explained to the usher at the door who he was, and that he was covering Carwyn’s funeral for the Guardian. Clearly impressed, the usher took him to a packed front pew and said to the persons sitting there: ‘Move over boys, I’ve got a reporter here from the South Wales Guardian.’ I think that Carwyn would have smiled from above at that one! ONE OF MY GREAT JOYS as a young teenager was collecting autographs, and having secured a special signature as a small and impressionable boy, I remember the acute sense of delight it gave. Once on holiday in London waiting outside White Hart Lane, I approached the great Welsh International Ron Burgess and asked him if he would kindly sign his name in my valuable autograph book. He immediately took the book off me, retreated to the dressing room and obtained the autographs of all the Spurs team which included the great Alf Ramsey, Bill Nicholson, Ted Ditchburn and the late Arthur Willis, who actually moved down to Pembrokeshire after he retired and was a popular figure there. I can tell you that Ron Burgess’ gesture is permanently imprinted in my mind. It was with great sadness, therefore, that I read the other day that the great golfer Tiger Woods had refused to sign autographs for young admirers at the British Open. Allegedly, he had blanked a youngster who had been waiting patiently for the signature of his sporting hero. If that is true, it seems more than a little sad. It could have been that Wood’s reasoning might have several factors, such as security, or the problem of protecting image rights in view of the growth of the eBay auction website on the internet. Compare the golfer’s attitude, however, to that of Shane Warne who after returning to Australia from the Ashes Tour of England played for his club team, St Kilda, and must have signed 1,000 autographs before and during play. On a personal note, I remember Bob Willis, the former England cricketer, playing for Warwickshire at St Helens and spending all his tea interval on the playing field signing autographs for a queue of youngsters. But one of my best memories of collecting an autograph was in Princes Street, Edinburgh, on the morning of a Welsh Rugby International in the early 70s, when Barry John was signing paper-back copies of his autobiography at a Menzies Bookshop. I had played with Barry for Porthyrhyd in the Carmarthenshire League whilst he was still a school boy and on the paper-back cover was a photograph of the Porthyrhyd team. As he sat in his seat in Menzies I calmly crept up behind him and, placing a finger on myself in the photo and asked him to sign his name across the face of the goalkeeper. He then looked up and realised who it was which must have been quite amusing for him. On another occasion I can recall queuing up at the W H Smith Newsagents in Carmarthen to obtain the signature of that the well-known War Correspondent and Welsh personality, Wynford Vaughan Thomas who was signing copies of his biography. Just a few weeks later I was at my work place in Penlan Road, which formerly housed a BBC Studio, and a person asked me where it was. It had, in fact, moved to Trinity College, and after explaining to the gentleman its new location, I asked what sort of broadcast was he making. ‘I’m reading an obituary,’ he said, And I politely asked him again who had died. ‘Oh, he’s not dead yet,’ came the reply, and indicated that he obviously could not give me his name but was prepared to say that he was from Fishguard. I immediately realised that he was the celebrity who had signed my book at W H Smith! YES, MY AUTOGRAPH BOOK is quite a treasure trove, with such illustrious names as Roy John, Ken Jones the Olympic sprinter, Stanley Matthews, Billy Wright and one of my great heroes, Alf Sherwood of Cardiff City and Wales. Yes, it’s all right for sporting celebrities to refuse to sign autographs but the day may come when they will no longer be asked and that is the day they should start worrying. 12.11.05 PETER WILLIAMS He then mentioned that one of the most skilful players, in his view, to ever adorn the Carmarthen Town shirt was Peter Williams and it was quite a coincidence that I had planned to write about him in this week’s programme - good timing indeed! Yes, Peter’s attributes were his innate ability to take on opponents and beat them with his sheer trickery. It is appropriate to write about Peter for during the latter part of the 1950s he was virtually the only local player to play for Carmarthen as the team was predominantly made up of semi-professional players from outside the area. There was very little opportunity for Junior players to play in organised football in the 50s but in 1956 a Carmarthen Town Junior team was formed and much to the youngsters’ delight played their home games at Richmond Park which had been established just three years previously, Our Vice-Chairman Alun Williams was also a member of that team and his very reliable and long memory recalls the team winning the Carmarthenshire Junior Cup in that year - so that was a good start for Peter. In 1959, at the age of 18, Peter got his call-up for the First Team who were playing in the Welsh League Division 2 West and in his very first game, it is worth recalling, he scored the only goal when Town won 1-0 against Lovells Athletic of Newport, which some of you may remember was the toffee factory in the area. The Manager was Len Emmanuel and one of his team mates, Idris Lewis still attends our matches regularly, usually in the company of another ex Carmarthen Town player, Tommy Davies who is also in hospital. Then came the big year, 1963-64, when under the managership of Gilbert Beech, Town gained promotion to Division 1. The late Harry Dell was the trainer of the team and other players included Jeff Watson and local boys, Peter Harding, Gerald South, Robert Simpson and Penri Rees. After seven years with Town Peter then moved to St Clears and finally retired in 1970. He then spent time in limbo, so to speak, watching the occasional rugby match or a Town game, as well as the Swans, but in 1995 regained his appetite for the game and is now a devoted follower of Town both home and away. No doubt, one of Peter’s career highlights was his trial with Coventry City in 1960 when he spent a week at Highfield Road, being watched closely by the then Sky Blues Manager Jimmy Hill, with Alan Dicks as his Assistant. Unfortunately, the professional game was not for Peter and he and team mate Jeff Comley, who had accompanied him to Highfield Road, returned to Richmond Park. Yes, Peter is indeed a devoted follower of the Town because for our last away match at Connah’s Quay the bus left dead on time and Peter, unfortunately, was left behind. He acquired a lift from a friend to try to catch the bus but gave up the chase at Cynghordy where considerable road works approaching the Sugar Loaf delayed his progress. You will note in this programme his brother Howard’s Town Dream Team. He has not included his brother, for fear of any suggestions of nepotism, I guess, but I think that deep down Howard would like to have included him in his side and who would argue with that?! 26.12.06 GEORGE BEST What impressed me immensely from what I regularly saw on television in the 60s and 70s and of recent footage of Best was his superb attitude on the field of play. Often a victim of some heavy attention from such renowned individuals as Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, Norman Hunter, Frank McLintock and such like, George never feigned injury, never reacted whilst lying injured nor took a dive at the first opponent’s touch to try to cheat the referee, which was admirable and much to his credit, especially as he had become such a role model for youngsters. His individual ball skills were unquestionable, of course, but there was a slight criticism that with partners such as goal scorers Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law in the Manchester United line up, his individualistic approach was sometimes questioned in so far as that his illustrious team mates did not always receive the ball when in a better position to score. But still in his teens, on one occasion, in a game against West Brom at Old Trafford, he upstaged the iconic Charlton and Law when moving away from goal in the penalty area, he spun in an instant and fired a shot without pre-meditation into the roof of the net from 20 yards. ‘What time was that?’’ a prosaic journalist enquired. ‘Never mind the time just make a note of the date,’ a colleague replied. As I mentioned earlier, I saw the great man on just two occasions - both at the Vetch Field in Wales v Northern Ireland British Championship matches. The first in April 1964, when George, virtually unknown, made his debut for his country. We lost 3-2 and incidentally, the Welsh scorers were Brian Godfrey who played for Preston North End and Aston Villa, and Ron Davies, the Southampton striker. The attendance was on the 10,000 mark which was the norm for Wales v Northern Ireland in those days. The second occasion, however, was a different kettle of fish. Quite simply, by then, George was considered by many to be the most talented player in the world and 30,000 people crammed into the Vetch Field in April 1970. What struck me on that occasion were the girls who had turned up in their thousands to see this most eligible bachelor. Although I was not aware of it at the time, Best had to be smuggled in and out of the Vetch Field or risk serious bodily harm from the female fans. On that occasion it was a great day for Wales as they beat the Irish 1-0, with Ronnie Rees of Coventry scoring the only goal and George being well shackled for much of the game by a tight Welsh defence who marked him very closely indeed. That year in fact Wales shared the Championship having drawn with both England and Scotland in the previous two games of that tournament. In George Best’s poignant last interview this year he claimed that he would like to be remembered as the greatest footballer of all time and when that day comes they won’t be talking about the booze and fast cars, etc., but about the football. Well, a tribute like a state funeral in Belfast was ample proof that his wish had been granted. I will end by referring to what I think is this very articulated individual’s funniest proclamation.. ‘In 1969, I gave up women, alcohol and fast cars. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.’ And on that note I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. 07.01.06 LATHAM PARK There is one ground, however, where the name has remained unchanged and it was inevitable that I would have to refer to it. It is in fact the ground of our visitors today - Latham Park. After its construction in the late 1940s, the Officers and General Committee of the Club decided to name the ground after the legendary figure, George Latham who was born in Newtown in 1881 and died there in 1939. And it gives me an opportunity to relate a few observations on one of the great characters of Welsh Football. He first signed for Liverpool in 1902 and in his six seasons at Anfield, whilst never being a regular first teamer, played for Wales on eight occasions. After moving to Southport. where he gained a further cap, he finally ended up in Cardiff City as the club’s trainer, and gained another unexpected International cap against Ireland in 1913. Wales had been a man short and the quote at the time was: ‘Poor old George played the full 90 minutes and must have lost pounds in weight.’ Strangely, George found himself in similar circumstances some nine years later when he had to turn out for City in a First Division match at Blackburn when they had also been one short. A popular individual, George acted as trainer for the Welsh team for many years and had such rare skill in this capacity that he became Manager of the Great Britain Olympic Team in 1924 and played a key part in Cardiff City’s preparation for the 1927 FA Cup Final. Quite a character indeed! To the credit of the Newtown Club much excellent work has been put in to the development of the ground which is now one of the best in the League. We, of course, have pleasant memories of Latham Park, having won a Welsh Cup Semi-Final match in 1999 beating Conwy United to reach the Final, and last season the League Cup Final against Rhyl. To cap it all, Newtown were again our hosts in one of the greatest moments in our history when we beat Republic of Ireland Cup Winners Longford Town to proceed into the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Cup. IN MY FOOTBALLLING TRAVELS, I have visited many eminent grounds in the UK and Europe, mainly following Wales, but there is one ground that i still have an ambition to visit. It is the home of some of the greatest supporters in the land. I am, of course, talking about St James’ Park, Newcastle, which houses 52,000 at practically every home Premiership match but has no silverware of note to show since the great days of ‘wor’ Jackie Milburn. And I like the story of when Graeme Souness, the present manager, received a phone call from the Fire Brigade informing him that the stadium was on fire. Came Graeme’s retort: ’The Cups... For goodness sake, save the Cups.’ ‘It’s all right, Graeme’, came the reply, ‘The fire won’t reach the canteen.’ The day that the Magpies will once again triumph is surely not very far away! 10.01.06 NINIAN PARK And there were moments during that period which have become engraved in my memory. If I can take you back to the year 1953 when the mighty Arsenal visited Ninian Park for a League match on two occasions, one in April and one in September. I was in attendance at both matches. The first game had ended in a 0-0 draw whilst Arsenal won the second 3-0. The first encounter actually drew a record League attendance of nearly 58,000 which still remains intact. But of great interest to me in both games was the City goalkeeper, Ron Howells, a native of Pont-henri in the Gwendraeth Valley, just nine miles from this town, of course. Ron had initially signed for Swansea City but after a few first team games had been released and joined Barry Town in the Welsh League. He was, however, too good a goalkeeper to remain outside the Football League for long and was snapped up by Cardiff City and made 172 first team appearances for the club in the First Division (now the Premiership, of course). Ron gained two International caps against England and Scotland in 1954. Ron set up his own business as a painter and decorator in the Gwendraeth Valley after finishing his football career and still lives in the village of his birth but as a shy and unassuming person, he indeed keeps a low profile. It is interesting to note that just a stone’s throw from Pont-henri in the Village of Pontyates another footballer made good with City, namely Trevor Peck, distinguishable by his shock of blond hair, and some of you older supporters may recall the days when he played for Meinciau in the Carmarthenshire League. Referring to record attendances, there were two other occasions when I attended Ninian Park and record crowds were posted. The first was the Welsh Cup Final played in April 1956 when City played the Swans before a crowd of 37,500 which is still a Welsh Cup record, and the captains on the day were two of the greatest legends of Welsh Football, Trevor Ford for City and Ivor Allchurch for the Swans. The second occasion was a Wales v England International in October 1961 when nearly 62,000 were in attendance in a 1-1 draw. MEMORIES OF MY VISITS to Ninian abound. Coming to mind is City’s epic match against Real Madrid in the Quarter Finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1970-71 season when a Brian Clarke goal gave City a 1-0 lead for the return leg at the Bernabeu Stadium. But one match which I would rather forget occurred on Boxing Day in 1967 when the talented striker Bobby Brown injured a knee in a match against Aston Villa and was never to play in the Football League again. Incidentally, Bobby is now mine host at the Rising Sun at Haverfordwest. Great memories indeed, and what was it that Sam said about a football club being a national statement?! Latham THE VISIT OF LLANELLI to our ground today prompts me to cast my mind to those who have played their football both with Carmarthen Town and the Reds. A number of players come to mind, especially those who have turned out for both teams in recent years. Gary Lloyd is still with us whilst other names include Phil Davidson, Steve (Ginge) Evans, Richard Thomas, Mark Dickeson, Lee Jones, Phil Williams and Neil O’Brien. But I would like to refer you to the year 1954, when we were admitted to the Welsh League. Len Emmanuel, who had been on Llanelli’s books, was appointed manager. He brought with him from Stebonheath no less than five players, Len Comley, Billy Morris, the Jackson brothers - Arthur and Alf, and Idris Lewis. Idris, in fact, is still a keen supporter with us. Indeed, there must have been some money in Richmond Park in those days! There are others, of course, such as Tommy Davies who passed away recently, goalkeepers Howard Toft and the late Beynon Jones, not forgetting our very own Alvaro Velasco. But there are two players I would like to highlight in particular. Firstly, Terry Evans, a Priory Street boy - a street which has produced some star performers such as cricketer W E (Willie) Jones and Alcwyn Evans, the first Carmarthen man ever to play in the Football League - who had his first taste of football with the Carmarthen YMCA. This youth side was run by Ron Evans who later became a high profile administrator with Welsh athletics. Whilst with the YMCA Terry was capped for Wales Youth against England at Home Park, Plymouth in 1952. All the England, and most of the Welsh team, were full-time professional players and so it was quite an achievement for Terry to be capped. Amongst Terry’s clubs, in addition to Carmarthen and Llanelli, were Aberystwyth and Milford United but he also spent some time at West Bromwich Albion and 18 months at Chelsea. The second player that I am highlighting is the current Llanelli Chairman, Robert Jones, a prominent businessman nowadays, who played for Town for two seasons in the mid 60s, the first of which gained Town promotion in the Welsh League. Robert, as a centre forward, scored prolifically in that year. He does not remember himself the number of goals he scored but after some research I have ascertained that he did in fact score 33 goals. Gilbert Beech was the manager during his spell with us and other team mates included Peter Williams, who is one of our very loyal supporters, local boy Gerald South, Jeff Watson and Jeff Comley, son of Len to whom I referred above. Robert joined the Swansea City Board of Directors in 1975 and in 1984 was one of the ‘Famous Five’ who kept Swansea afloat after the High Court had wound up the club for financial reasons. He resigned from the Board in 1986 but was back in football ten years later when he joined the Llanelli Board and his vast experience and business acumen have undoubtedly moved the club forward significantly. No doubt, I may have overlooked one or two players associated with both clubs whose names spring to your lips. Names on a post card, please! AND JUST A FINAL THOUGHT, what price a 33 goal-a-season striker today? 18.11.06 KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES It is interesting to note that the International Rugby Team has boasted 60 Welsh ‘Jones’ caps, followed by inevitably Davies, Williams and Evans - in no particular order, whilst the Welsh Football Team can boast a total of 54 followed again by the Davieses, Williamses and Evanses. The latest capped Jones was goalkeeper Paul in the Slovakian match at the Millennium Stadium whilst four players of stature with this surname have graced the Welsh jersey - Cliff Jones, Swansea City and Tottenham and Fulham fame, Tommy G Jones of Wrexham and Everton, Joey Jones of Wrexham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Huddersfield and Bryn Jones of Wolves, Arsenal and Norwich City. Great players indeed, who brought distinction to themselves and their country wherever they played. And what about the Joneses of Carmarthen Town? Since our admission to the Welsh League in 1953, if my memory serves me right (and it is usually pretty good!), we have had 19 Joneses. The first Jones, it appears, was Beynon who played in goal in the 1950s and more recent were Wayne, who much to my regret now plays for another club, and Rhodri whose career was unfortunately cut short just recently. In between, there is an interesting mix and I wonder if you remember some of them - two Pauls: one from Carmarthen and the other from Hakin, Kevin and Dai, both recipients of the Player of the Year awards and Simon who once scored a hat-trick for us against Barry Town with nearly 1,000 spectators at Richmond Park, and Gethin Jones from Llanybydder who found pastures new with Cardiff City. Yes, 19 graced the Black and Gold jersey and I’m wondering whether you can name them all (answers on a postcard, please). BUT THE JONES STORY that takes the biscuit occurred when I was in Moscow for the Russia v Wales European Championship Play-Off match. The majority of the very large gathering of Welsh supporters, numbering about 1,500, were ensconced in a 3,000 bedroom hotel just off Red Square. But on our arrival, passports had to be handed in for inspection and collected some three or four hours later. Now it was illegal for any visitor or tourist to wander the Russian capital without their passport, and we were therefore confined to the hotel until our passports were in our possession. At the stated time, 1,500 Welshmen converged enthusiastically into a large hall to collect their passports. A young Russian receptionist with a large boxful of passports picked out the first one and said in excellent English; ‘Will Mr Jones please come and collect his passport ?’’ O dear! You can imagine the stampede, and the bemused receptionist was overwhelmed! |