Rocking Stone, Pontypridd

“Why be Happy When You Could be Normal?”
Jeanette Winterson
Lovely, rich autumn colours to start the day in Cardiff with a visit to C to start the day. The leaves carpet the grass and footpaths in yellow, gold and so many hues in between, like a treasure hoard spilled out along the riverbanks. Plenty to talk about over a coffee as always, before heading off for a catch-up over lunch out at Coryton with I. Haven’t seen him in person since before lockdowns so plenty to catch up on over a surprisingly enjoyable meal, much better than the boring pub grub we’d both dreaded…so good he insisted on paying. He had a business meeting arranged mid-afternoon otherwise we’d have nattered on (well I would) all day.
Rain had held off so far so good, so I decided on a quick visit up the A470 to say hi to the Rocking Stone at Pontypridd. I’d planned on a visit earlier in the year at the suggestion of someone in the Alister Hardy group but got side-tracked. The information board at the site gave plenty of information, which I’ve used to give some background. The stone itself, a remnant from glaciation, is surrounded by standing stones and has been the focus for gatherings of various sorts for at least two hundred years; a Gorsedd of local bards was held in 1814 to mark the end of the Napoleonic Wars with France, there was a peace demonstration during the Crimean War, miners’ union meetings and memorials to those killed in mining disasters. But one of my favourite connections with the site is that to Dr. William Price, the renowned Welsh activist, druid, radical and some say eccentric. Certainly controversial, he cremated his son at a time when burial was the norm, was arrested and put on trial by those who believed cremation to be illegal. Not surprisingly this paved the way for cremation, including his own which was attended by an audience of 20,000 on a hillside overlooking Llantrisant. Many of his ideas, considered deranged by Victorian standards, would barely raise an eyebrow today – he has been referred to as "a natural shaman", perhaps that’s what appeals. Must be something in the Price genes.