Dai's walk around Wales blog

ANTHONY HOPKINS AND GOING HOME TO PORT TALBOT

https://youtu.be/95AIKmPgqw8?si=2A798PhUm_JbRds2

I came across a new YouTube channel purportedly driven by AI, the subject matter of which was the teachings of Port Talbot born Anthony Hopkins and narrated in an Anthony Hopkins style AI voice. The first and only video I watched was titled:

Why Old Relationships, Towns, and Jobs Are a Trap | Anthony Hopkins......

and after growing up in Port Talbot my curiosity was piqued and I listened after which I made the comment below on the video..............

At 3.25 the video says trap and later barrier, I would suggest that this analogy is potentially flawed if you are referring to growing up in PT. To me it was more like a cage and then a fence. You can see the world and its opportunities but you can't leave because no pathway is built to travel through the fence, there is no gate in your personal fence to a higher calling. For some, the higher calling of a personal evolution is possible because specific pathways exist which they can follow if they have the vision, the desire, the work ethic and the opportunity. But for the son of a steelworker living in a council estate amongst other hundreds and sons and daughters living on the same estate those pathways of opportunity are hidden and are guarded with determination by others. My pathway was to the giant furnaces, tended by my father. I refused to follow that path but still the pathways of fame and fortune were not built for the likes of me and I built my own pathway to support my evolution as a human being, to live a different life to that intended by my birth into my social status, that of the working class. For the majority of those in PT its a case of where the **** is the first step? Not, I'm going to take the first step? or How do I take the first step forward? For the children of the town the location of the step is still a mystery or an unknown concept.

I still live close to PT and I return every so often to the venue of those dark days. I do so because inside the cage and behind the fence the friendships forged in darkness and the occasional light that shone in my cage bring me back to the comfort and safety of relationships forged in adversity, we found fun and laughter where none existed previously. we challenged each other and grew through competition. I now visit the graves of friends with whom this laughter, stories and visions were shared, an attend the re-unions of school and club sitting around a table sharing stories.

When I return to PT I open the gate that I built into my fence and the memories of my cage and fence both dark and light flow in my veins remind me of who I am. I understand that you can take the man out of PT but you'll never take PT out of the man. PT flows through my arteries and veins, it is my part of me and I am part of it. I have no choice. Its the same for everyone, you are who you are, you are born and then you die but while you are alive, at any point in time you are an accumulation of the effects of your life and you should ask yourself, how many of those effects relate to PT?.

At around 13.20, the heroes journey is propelling us forward without the understanding that the further forward we go, the closer we get to the end of our life, death is waiting and we are unable to work at the same levels of intensity, quality and success. At this point where do we look for comfort, safety and satisfaction following our failure to continually evolve. When we accept our devolution. Where indeed?

If we "Never Go Back To Old Relationships Towns or Jobs" how do we know that our evolution is not within one of these places? How can the circle of life exist if it is not a circle?

At 14.10 the question is Can you feel the shift?

The answer is yes. I have an itch to walk the beach, to climb Mynydd Dinas and to sit in the bar and talk and relax amongst people I have known for 60+ years. The shift I feel is to re-open the gate and to close it behind me, but I'll leave it unlocked because my pathway exists should I desire to leave again.

The heroes journey begins at home and the gate of every person who has left PT still exists even though the path is unused and overgrown. The town needs those with influence to reopen those paths and to create new ones, to light up the town once more and to say Port Talbot is my home and have you ever heard of Richard Burton, of Michael Sheen and of Anthony Hopkins, Port Talbot boys they are see, its a lovely seaside town and the people are bonkers but lovely lovely lovely as well see.

JIMMY'S WAR 01 - BEGINNINGS

Boxing day morning 2024 - I woke up to the drive channel and thoughts that I should be researching energy channels and in particular those surrounding the spiritual energy channel. Almost every indigenous culture features three energy channels, body, mind and spirit so I've accepted this as a definition as three channels through which our energy flows. I've done extensive research and investigation into my body and mind over the last 8 years but for the last 6 months I've been thinking and wondering about my 'spirit', what is it, what does it consist of. I would like to define the processes through which my spiritual energy flows to have a greater understanding of myself.

This morning I've been thinking about Llantwit, Neath, a place I feel is my spiritual home, my parents and grandparents lived there, my great grandfather built the cemetery there and I lived and brought up my family there for a while. Then I considered some of the personalities who were born, lived or visited there, including Clive Norling, the rugby referee and Alfred Russell Wallace who co-designed the theory of evolution with Charles Darwin, Neath rugby club is there and WG Grace, the famous cricketer infamously bagged a pair (of ducks) in Llantwit, the list goes on..........

so I switched mindset and made a google search for "lay lines energy centres Neath" which led me to understand the correct spelling for LEY LINES - and eventually led me to the website.

http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/

and specifically to a Ley Lines page.

http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/leylines.htm

On that page I came across a geomancer, John Michell who according to the website

"single-handedly re-awaked the spirit of investigation [into ley lines] in the 1970's."

I read on and came across

"He claimed that the ancient Celtic 'perpetual choirs' at Llantwit manor (This location is not accurate)"

and took a double, triple and quadruple take on the words Llantwit manor and saw the location of which is not defined then read on and saw nothing whatsoever that related to Llantwit, Neath or even Wales. The location information in the paragraph is all about the south of England, Glastonbury and Stonehenge etc. Llantwit manor stands out on its own, unknown and unlinked. Now I think this suggests that this is more that a sign that this is a starting point, the beginning of a journey, because Llantwit Manor may potentially be the location of Llantwit Cottage in Llantwit, Neath which was the home of none other than Alfred Russell-Wallace. I mean come-on, that is sign, surely, a starting point and I'm off to the races..............

I'm going to postulate that the area of Llantwit in Neath is a centre of spiritual energy significance and that this has an affect on the people who live and visit the area.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS: The suggestion that Llantwit, Neath is a spiritual centre is a conjecture, a subjective opinion. My investigation will look to confirm or deny this but will be variable in its objective because the purpose of the journey is to learn about spiritual energy. In other words, if we need to change direction we will. I'm going to start with Baglan RFC legend Jimmy Owen born in Ivy Avenue, Llantwit, Jimmy who I would suggest was a spiritual mentor of mine during the period I played rugby at Baglan and I'm going to call the series Jimmy's War for reason that will become obvious as the series unfolds. Let's us begin................

definitions:

postulate = suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief.

conjecture = an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.