The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

[ Man Narrating ] For some odd reason,

lost in the mists of time,

there`s an extraordinary

shortage of last names in Wales.

Almost everyone seems to be

a Williams, a Jones or an Evans.

To avoid widespread confusion,

Welsh people often add

an occupation to a name.

For example, there was

Williams the Petroleum...

- and Williams the Death.

- [ Barking ]

There was Jones the Bottle

and Jones the Prize Cabbage,

which described his hobby

and his personality.

Evans the Bacon...

and Evans the End of the World.

The Lord God tells us.

lt`s all in His book.

But one man`s name

was a puzzle.

And it wasn`t until l was ten years old

that l asked my grandfather...

about the man with the longest

and most enigmatic name of all.

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill

But Came Down A Mountain ?

Now there`s a long name for you,

and a long story.

You are not going

to fidget, are you ?

For this is a story--

an epic story.

Yes, epic.

[ Horn Honking ]

[ Grandfather ] lt must have

been 1917, on a Sunday,

when two retired army officers

arrived in Ffynnon Garw.

The younger man, Anson,

was just startin` to enjoy life,

having recently left hospital

after service in France.

However, his superior,

George Garrad,

had been retired

to the Ordnance Survey...

in the hope that this would help

the morale of his troops,

who`d been driven to drink

by his irksome personality.

Many men had gone

to the Great War,

and the rest of the village

was in chapel.

All except Morgan the Goat,

of course.

[ Speaking Welsh ]

Oh, uh, excuse me.

Well, does anyone here speak English ?

[ Mutters ln Welsh ]

Oh, English, are you ?

Huh ? Huh. That would

explain everything.

- Well, it`s Sunday.

They`re all in chapel.

- We`re just wondering if, um--

Charming.

We`ll press on, l think.

- [ Anson Groans ]

- Well, do you want

to come in or don`t you ?

[ Grandfather ] As l said, the rest

of the village was in chapel,

includin` mothers

with babies.

Since the young men went to war,

there seemed to be a lot

of ginger-haired babies.

But in those hard times,

no one seemed to mind...

except Reverend Jones,

of course.

Are all of the wicked men

just in Germany ?

Wouldn`t that be nice

if all the wicked men...

were on the battlefields

of France ?

[ Grandfather ] Oh, Reverend Jones

was in fine form that day.

Nearly every Sunday

he preached against the war...

and Morgan the Goat,

in that order,

though he never mentioned

Morgan the Goat by name, of course.

They are also among us here...

in this very village.

What`s yours ?

Well, um,

that`s very kind.

l`ll, uh, have

a pint of bitter, thank you.

[ Cock Crowing ]

[ Woman ] Morgan ?

Well, pleasant enough

sort of place, isn`t it ?

l suppose so,

considering it`s Wales.

A valued guest.

A regular.

Very particular.

Refined even.

[ Vehicle Approaching ]

- This is turning out to be

quite a busy spot.

- [ Horn Honking ]

[ Footfalls On The Stairs ]

[ Panting ]

Now then. Oh.

Oh, l hate the summer.

[ Morgan ] Ah, morning, Sergeant.

Morning.

My name is Garrad. George Garrad.

Uh, we`re staying here

at the inn.

l guessed that from your luggage.

English, are you ?

Looking for more coal,

l suppose.

No.

Cartographer, actually.

Yes, sort of surveyors,

if you like.

We make maps. We`re here

to measure the mountains.

Very useful, l`m sure.

l`ll have you know it`s

an important part of the war effort.

One must know

one`s terrain.

[ Morgan ] You`ve come to the right

place with your measurings.

There`s some terrain. That`s

a mountain. First mountain in Wales.

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