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I'd
never given much thought really to Welsh people living abroad.
You see The furthest I'd ever been on holiday was to Rhigos
on a bank holiday Monday!. To go to Australia then; flying
with a one way ticket down to the underside of the planet
via a stop over in Porthcawl
for chips; it never really crossed my mind that there would
be that many Welsh people there. Well not all in one place
at the same time. It wasnt even world cup year; neither
was it miners fortnight in Trecco Bay. No,
when I got there, I hadn't visualised meeting many Welsh
people, I'd pictured meeting Alf Stewart for sure in his
chequered shirt sleeves rolled up driving round town in
his Ute. A summer bay type place, sun shining with an Opera
house, a funny looking red rock in the middle, and a couple
of tie me kangaroo down skips! Stereotypes.
On
leaving Wales we were skint, we'd swopped around our two
thousand hard earned coins from one bank account to another
in order to get both our working visas. And now it was time
to do the working. We didn't have the luxury of being able
to travel to Thailand on the way or lay in the Sydney sun
once we got there. It was a case of get a job, get a good
job quick, This worried me. Sure we'd read the book, done
some planning but in the main, we did it off the cuff, a
sort of...."I know, lets go to Mumbles for the day
and get an ice cream" type of cuff. little
did I know that the world wide taffia would be there to
welcome me with a cold beer and open arms once we got there!
I'd
made contact with one or two Welsh people down under you
see before I left, via an email address I'd found on the
www.gwladrugby.com
website. Now of course you have this site. www.bethnesaf.com
run by the Welsh society of Sydney but when I went four
years ago, the Welsh social gatherings in Sydney were just
forming. Well forming on the internet at least. Its always
been there the Sydney Welsh connection, but now its become
a lot easier to find. After a few initial emails back and
forth, I realised there were more fellow countrymen in Australia
than there were seagulls in Llandudno.
Since
I'd arrived in early February, I didn't have to wait long
for St David's day, which it seems if you're an expat or
backpacker in Sydney, is celebrated like St Patrick's day
is world over. The first St David's day of our new millennium
was a night I'll never forget. It
was a surreal feeling walking towards the pub, that night
of March 1st for the welsh get together ,sunburned and wearing
shorts and flip-flops blending into that Australian stereotype
I walked ever closer, but hearing a rousing calon lan drowning
out the hustle and bustle of the Sydney night and welcoming
me with open arms to the Sydney Gwlad St David's day party!
How
strange to be the other side of the world and meet around
30 Welsh people. Red with Welshness right through the pub,
I was immediately given that massive Sydney Welsh welcome;
a pint a hug and a hymn sheet! and ordered to stand on the
table and lead off bread of heaven to the local Welsh masses,
I insisted first on four more pints sharpish and by the
time I got on that table It felt like I was in fact home.Before
too long they had me reciting the ballad of Morgan the Moon
too. Hiraeth! The night was young, we drank and sang welsh
folk songs until the early hours including a tear rendering
Myfanwy and planned out drunkenly a cunning victory against
England in the forthcoming six nations, and did all things
that welsh people do when they are together outside of Wales.
I
awoke the following morning massively hungover to the burning
Bondi sunshine, head thumping and looking like Ray Gravelle
with no teeth. Still wearing my newly bought Gwlad (Australian
branch) welsh beer stained rugby jersey, but with four job
offers, one interview lined up , a whole new bunch of butties,
but a wry smile in the knowledge that Australian foxtel
tv for Welsh sport coverage was in fact hopeless. I'd been
offered all sorts of work by my new welsh friends the taffia,
but it was Dai Winks of Swansea that pointed me in the right
direction to my first contract. I worked in IT you see back
home , he worked as an IT recruitment officer. Brilliant;
a job!. Just what I needed.
It soon dawned on me that these group of Welsh people I'd
met were not just there to drink and sing with, but could
provide a helping hand getting on my feet and point me in
the right direction and assist in that helpful friendly
way that comes as second nature to us Welsh.Need
a room in a shared house? The gogg over there needs a lodger!.
Want work as a bricklayer ? Ask the lads from Bala and Dynbych!
Want to play regular five aside football? Put your name
down here. and so on and so forth. Contacts, friends and
fellow country men.The
Irish do it ever so well, and so why not us Welsh?.
By
the time the England game came around later that month,
there must of been twenty of us downstairs in Cheers bar
in Sydney city centre at 3am drinking together along with
another few hundred Welsh people who had gathered from here
and
there to witness live an optimistic feast of international
running rugby. That special Welsh event Wales v England.
However after 20 mins and 20 points shipped; that now familiar
Saxon chariot noise drove a few of us to seek comfort in
a whisky and Wales on Sunday that was found lying around
on the pool table that someone's mam had air mailed over
without fail every Monday morning.
From
then on in it was all plain sailing, travelling to the otherside
of the world, looking for work and a roof over you head
with little cash can sound daunting.
Fortunately if you want to and you make the effort when
you get there, you can meet some great Welsh people, who
can make things a little easier along the way and make you
feel at home. New
South Wales? it really was for me.
With
thanks to Bryan, Gareth and Nicola, Dai and Mike Winks,
James, Tony, Alex, Kimberly, Len Davies, The Bala Lads,
Llanelli Mark, John Alwyn and others who made the year in
Sydney superb.
Written
by
Morgan the Moon.
Upon
returning to Wales Karl Baker aka Morgan the Moon renewed
his lifelong hobby of painting landscapes. The results are
fantastic. The response overwhelming. So much so that painting
is becoming a career option for Karl.Take a visit to www.karlbaker.com
and view some of the excellent pictures on display.
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