The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (3 page)

Th
ere
is no l
arger sc
ale map of Wales in the atlas
, so
to compens
ate
for thi
s
h
e c
ontinues to
increase the
s
cale f
or
himself, in hi
s
h
ead
.
H
e
m
oves
hi
s
head slowl
y
toward
s
th
e
pa
ge
closing up lik
e a
cam
era, a
nd then h
e
continu
es
th
e
journe
y
in his h
ead,
fl
ying o
n and down
.
And as he m
agnifies
th
e s
cale th
e
di
stance
b
etween
himself and hi
s
m
other
incr
eases.

CHAPTER TWO

THR
OUG
H THE still-growin
g
eyes o
f T
aliesin
J
ones,
th
e
m
orning
vill
age
looks
as if it
w
ill n
ever
wa
ke fr
om a
p
articu
l
arly
l
ong
summer.
This
y
ear
s
ummer
is
ove
rsleeping int
o
a
utllll1n
a
nd
T
he Man On Th
e
T
elly ta
lks
a
bout
Indian Summ
er.
T
aliesin
pictures W
elsh
Summ
er v
isiting Indi
a o
n
a
met
eorological
e
xchange
and I
ndians wa
lking a
round
B
ombay say
ing,
'
Ah,
lo
ok,
it i
s a
W
elsh
Summ
er-w
hat
b
ad
lu
ck.'

Th
ere
i
s a
sil
ver
glint on the r
oad. Cw
mglum's u
gly
h
ouses
blink
a
t th
e
low-
angled
sun
w
hich r
efracts
th
rough
milk b
ottles o
nto m
ats. S
ome people h
ave
p
oked
n
otes i
nto th
e
b
ottles
t
o s
pecify the number
o
f pint
s
th
ey
w
ant, co
nfident th
at
th
ere wo
n't b
e
rain to
w
ash aw
ay
th
eir
r
equests.
A
ca
t rub
s aga
inst the empties, time on it
s
paw
s
.

Ta
liesin kn
ows
th
at
th
e
hou
ses a
re u
gly
b
ecause
h
e
h
as see
n
V
illages of
Br
itain
-
a
book in his f
ather 's
b
edroom.
In th
at
b
ook
th
e s
un i
s
alwa
ys s
hining and the
s
ky i
s a
po
st card
blu
e.
Th
e
h
ouses a
re a
too-good-to-b
e-true
prett
y,
l
ike
h
ouses
th
at
H
ansel a
nd Gretal might hav
e
liv
ed
in
;
bla
ck a
nd whit
e co
ttages th
at
bend under the w
eight
o
f oldn
ess.

Cwmglum's
houses are not that old and they do not feature in
Villag
e
s of Britain.
To those who live here the
village is neither beautiful nor ugly; exciting nor boring.
H
ow c
ould th
ey
know wh
en
m
ost
of th
em
h
ave
ne
ver
re
ad
V
illages of Brita
in
Ignoran
ce
h
as
m
ade
th
e
h
eart g
row indiff
e
r
ent. E
ven Tali
esin
(who isn
't
ignorant b
ecause
h
e's see
n th
e
b
ook)
thinks th
e
village doesn't look
too b
ad
wh
en
th
e s
un
is
out lik
e i
t i
s to
day. It
s
untimel
y
ra
ys
forgi
ve
th
e
u
gliness, s
often th
e co
lours
a
nd
g
ive
e
verything
a
potenti
al.

T
his mornin
g
T
aliesin
f
eels
thi
s
p
otential
l
ike
a bubbl
e a
t th
e
b
ack of
h
is
h
ead,
l
ifting
h
im
up
, w
illing him t
o see
m
ore
of
w
hat
is aro
und him. Thi
s
f
eeling
i
s c
ommissioning h
im
to b
e a
b
ard a
nd t
o e
ulogise th
is v
illage
o
f his wh
ich
h
as a
n
ame
th
at so
unds lik
e
th
e
n
oise
w
ater
m
akes i
n boot
s;
its
s
late-roof h
ouses,
it
s
pub, it
s
d
ouble-Welsh
bu
s
timet
able,
it
s
opulent gr
eengrocer an
d it
s c
hapel,
s
tubborn
as
a goat
o
n th
e
hill. It alm
ost
d
oesn't
m
atter
th
at
hi
s v
illage i
sn't
m
arked
in h
is a
tlas, or th
at
it d
oesn't fea
ture in
V
illages of Britain.
Thi
s is
h
is
w
orld.
Th
is
i
s w
here h
e was
put. H
e
isn
't a g
oatherd in Af
ghanistan
o
r
a
b
anana se
parator in Br
azil.
H
e is
h
im
h
ere
,
not th
em
th
ere, a
nd
i
t f
eels
pl
anned
th
at
wa
y.

R
ight
n
ow
h
e
f
eels
h
is
o
wn s
ignificance m
ore ac
utely th
an
ev
er
b
efore
.
Alm
ost as if t
he w
orld
ha
s a
ll be
en c
reated f
or
hi
s
b
enefit a
nd th
at
h
e
i
s
th
e o
nly
o
ne who i
s
awar
e-o
f it
s ex
istence. E
veryone e
lse is h
ere
for d
ecoration.
Thi
s
m
oment
now
,
th
e
sun
,
th
e v
illage, th
e way
th
e
sun falls
o
n th
e v
illage, th
e
l
ateness
o
f s
ummer, th
e s
oft
ca
lm of th
e
d
ay
-th
ey a
re
a
ll f
or
h
im
.
H
e co
uld b
e
th
e
o
nly
p
erson
trul
y
aliv
e
in th
e wo
rld.

T
aliesin wa
lks p
ast t
he bu
s s
top and
s
wings
a 36
0
^O
on it. Th
e
bu
s s
top i
s
a post
w
ith
a
n indistingui
shable a
nd unf
athomable
b
oth-ways
tim
etable
in En
glish a
nd Wel
sh.
Wh
atever
th
e t
imetable m
ay say
ther
e
is always tim
e
befor
e
the bu
s c
omes. And thi
s
i
s
hi
s
f
avourite
time
.