I was living in Port Colborne, Ontario and within days of my 14th birthday. My father was Welsh, but from North Wales, at a time when there was even more North/South divide than today.

But within minutes of the news hitting the Canadian media, people were phoning our house. They knew Dad was Welsh and there seemed to be a desparate need for people to make personal contact with Wales. And to offer help.

Fortunately, we were fairly active in the Welsh United Church in Toronto and we directed people to it. I think the church co-ordinated a lot of the offers of help - financial for the most part.

I know that when I was working in Penrhyndeudraeth in summer 1991 a number of people referred me to a house in Porth Madog called "Toronto". The people who lived there had been aid co-ordinators after Aberfan and were so overwhelmed by the support from Toronto, they named their home in rememberance.

Personally, thinking about the positives, I think that the experience also made my Dad think about his 'relationship' with the South and he was less them-and-us thereafter.

A small 'positive' but ...

sian