Normau newidiol

Normau newidiol ~ Changing norms


“When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”
― R. Buckminster Fuller

————— ————— ————— ————— ————— ————— —————

Cerddais i i'r deintydd heddiw. Pan roeddwn i'n ifanc iawn roedd taith hawdd (gyda mam neu dad) dros y rheilffordd ac ar un lefel. Nawr roedd rhaid i mi groesi uwchben yr A48 o dan yr A470 a thrwy'r tanlwybrau i gerddwyr â graffiti.

Cafodd y gyffordd ei hadeiladi yn y chwedegau hwyr ac rydw i jyst digon hen i gofio annelwig beth oedd yno cyn y ffyrdd. Roedd ardal gymunedol gyda llyfrgell, neuadd ddawns, bar coffi.

Rydw i'n gallu cofio yn arbennig y llyfrgell gyda nenfydau uchel, drysau pren trawiadol, ystafell darllen ac ati. Ar y pryd roedd Gabalfa yn teimlo'n cysylltu i'r Eglwys Newydd. Roedden ni arfer mynd i'r llyfrgell gyda fy nghad i ddewis llyfrau i fenthig. Ar ôl ei dinistrio, cafodd y llyfrgell ei disodli hanner-galon gyda chaban symudol i lawr y ffordd. Dyw'r caban symudol ddim yna bellach.

Bod yn onest, i fi fel plentyn, sut cyffrous oedd gweld adeiladu'r ffyrdd (a'r dinistrio'r llyfrgell). Roeddwn i'n ddiddorol iawn gyda'r proses. Cafodd y hen reilffordd ei llenwi â thunelli o ludw, sy'n nawr o dan y parc. Mae'r parc o dan y drosffordd gyda'i thraffig taranllyd.

Gwnaeth y ffyrdd wedi cerfio llwybr trwy'r gymuned a dydy Gabalfa ddim yn teimlo cysylltu â'r Eglwys Newydd bellach.

Mae'n ddiddorol i feddwl beth sy'n 'normal'. I bobol ifanc nawr mae'r ffyrdd a thraffig yn 'normal'. I fi nawr maen nhw'n ymosod ar synhwyrau a sarhad hanes yr hyn aeth o'r blaen.

Wrth gwrs mae'r un peth gyda lle rydw i'n byw nawr. Ar y pryd cefais i fy ngeni roedd dim ond caeau, nawr mae deunaw o dai yma. I fi mae'r tai yn normal ond i'r bobol ar y pryd efallai roed y caeau'n well.

"Dydych chi ddim yn gwybod beth sydd gyda chi nes ei fod wedi mynd"

————— ————— ————— ————— ————— ————— ————

I walked to the dentist today. When I was very young there was an easy journey (with mum or dad) over the railway and on one level. Now I had to cross over the A48 under the A470 and through the graffitied pedestrian underpasses. 

The junction was built in the late sixties and I'm just old enough to vaguely remember what was there before the roads. There was a community area with a library, dance hall, coffee bar.

I can particularly remember the library with high ceilings, impressive wooden doors, reading room etc. At the time Gabalfa felt connected to Whitchurch. We used to go to the library with my dad to choose books to borrow. After its destruction, the library was half-heartedly replaced with a portacabin down the road. The portacabin is no longer there.

To be honest, for me as a child, how exciting it was to see the construction of the roads (and the destruction of the library). I was very interested in the process. The old railway was filled with tons of ash, which is now under the park. The park is under the flyover with its thundering traffic.

The roads have carved a path through the community and Gabalfa no longer feels connected to the Whitchurch.

It is interesting to think about what is 'normal'. For young people now the roads and traffic are 'normal'. For me now they attack the senses and insult the history of what went before.

Of course it's the same with where I live now. At the time I was born there were only fields, now there are eighteen houses here. For me the houses are normal but for the people at the time maybe the fields were better.

"You don't know what you have until it's gone"

————— ————— ————— ————— ————— ————— —————

Disgrifiad (Cymraeg): A48 a choeden, amlygiad dwbl
Description (English): A48 and tree, double exposure

————— ————— ————— ————— ————— ————— —————