To the appreciative eyes and ears
Of the world.
O is for . . . Oscar Nominations. Yes, there cannot be that many towns in the UK that can boast as many Oscar nominations for acting as Port Talbot, my home for the last 32 years. The great Richard Burton, born in the Port Talbot village of Pontrhydyfen, was nominated no fewer than 7 times, although he never actually won, which must be a source of shame to the Academy. Sir Anthony Hopkins, born about a mile away from where I’m typing this now, in Margam, has thus far been nominated 4 times, winning for his unforgettable performance as Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”. Now, okay, Michael Sheen, may not have been born in Port Talbot – he was born in Monmouth, South Wales, and he may not have been nominated for an Oscar – yet – but he’s a great actor who is proud to give his home town as Baglan, Port Talbot, where he grew up. If that’s not enough or you, then maybe I should mention Reginald Truscott Jones – not from Port Talbot itself, but just a few miles away in Neath, which is part of the same county borough of Neath and Port Talbot. Never heard of him? Well, maybe you know him better as Ray Milland, who won his Oscar for The Lost Weekend.
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