Ambrose Williams

I first met Ambrose when I was 11 years old. It was the sprint final at the Area sports, held at Llanfair Caereinion High School. I was representing Castle Caereinion Primary and was assuming that I was going to win. After all, I'd never been beaten over the sprint by anyone in my age group. Our School was a small school and the races had been over about 50 yards. At the area sports, in the final, I was about 50 yards down the track, already savouring victory, when Ambrose cruised past. I remember being very upset about it. When I moved to the High School the next year, I learned that 50 yards was about my limit. My powerful short legs enabled me to hit top speed immediately, and it took a while for the genuine sprinters to catch up. My best distances turned out to be the 440 yards (about 58 secs) and the 880 yards (about 2 minutes).

Over recent years I've occasionally met Ambrose and we've discussed the day when he visited such destructive disappointment upon me, amongst other things. Well I met him again today, and he started the conversation - in Welsh. Never happened before. In school, he spoke Welsh as his first language, while I spoke none. Every time we've met, in school and since, he's always spoken to me in English. Over the last 7 years, I've worked hard to learn the Welsh Language. I suppose Ambrose has heard me speaking Welsh on Radio Cymru and S4/C. Today he opened up in Welsh, without thinking - and I don't think it crossed his mind to change. I was very pleased. After all these years, Ambrose repaid a little of the misery he caused me, all that time ago.