your comments
David Tuck, formerly Pontlottyn, now Vancouver, Ca
I remember Petula Clark very well and remember her singing in Nazareth Chapel in Pontlottyn. Many years ago I had the pleasure to meet Petula again when she appeared in a concert in Vancouver. I had a chat with her and she asked me if Mr Evans the chemist was still alive and also told me she used to play down the wreck. Good memories.
leo p. udtohan
Petula Clark, she doesn't need an introduction. She's a very great artist!
Kerry Morris from Ebbw Vale
A family member recently traced some of our family tree and found that my mother's Great Great Grandfather is the same Great Great Grandfather of Petula Clark. We are descendents of the Phillips family dating back to the industrial revolution of the mid 1800s.
Eileen Jones nee O'Shea. Ceredigion
When Petula Clarke came to the school in Pontlottyn her sister Barbara who was called Bunny was put to sit next to me. I remember Pet singing 'Mighty like a Rose' in School concerts
Alwyn Day, Coventry
I can remember my mum Millie and her sister Joan saying many times that they went to school with Petula Clark in Pontlottyn. My aunt used to say that she was actually in her class and Petula was very 'posh'. Sadly both are now no longer alive so I cannot question them further about their memories.
Lindsey Caddick, kent
I discovered today that my late grandmother Doreen Caddick nee Coleman was friends with Petula before she was famous. The story I have been told is that Petula used to entertain the queue at the fish and chip shop in Epsom by singing.
Sharon Ullah from Middlesbrough Cleveland
My mother who is seventy in February 2008 was also one of the barnado children who sang with Petula on "where did my snowman go". Do you have any idea's where I could buy the record or cd as I would loved to hear it knowing my mother was one of the children on it, I would also like to surprise her. I would be very grateful if you could help.
Ross Kempster, Niagara Falls, Canada
I love everything about Pet. I had the chance to meet her at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto prior to an evening performance at the then O'Keefe Centre of the Arts. Memorable. She was charming. Keep up the good work Pet!!
Lucy from Merthyr
I had great pleasure in singing on stage with Petula Clark. We sang Downtown together - she was really lovely to me and we had a long chat afterwards. Hope to see her again one day.
Nia from Merthyr
I sang with Petula Clark when she visited our school last year. It was great fun and Petula was lovely.lets hope she vists again soon x x
Gillian Walker, Sarn Meillteyrn
I, too, am an old (yes, old) Petula fan. It was fanastic to learn of her Welsh connections and she never lets a chance slip by when interviewed anywhere to mention this. What a change that someone is actually so proud of her Welsh connections. This raises our profile the world over. Thank you/diolch yn fawr iawn, Pet.
Alan John Dearman from Nottingham
I have the pleasure of being one of the Barnardo Children who sang with Petula on 'Where Did My Snowman Go?' I also remember doing a Childrens 'Sing a long' programme, which I think was for Radio Luxembourg in 1953. I have also had the pleasure of meeting her a couple of times. The last time I think was in 1979 when I spent an hour with her in her dressing room at Nottingham's Theatre royal along with Alastair McDougal from BBC Radio Nottingham.
David Moncur, Dundee, Scotland
I have heard so much about this fantastic programme, but, as I live in Scotland I can't see it. Petula Clark the person, rather than Petula Clark the international star. Fantastic. Is there any chance of the BBC making it more widely available?
Lisa-Marie Russell from Troedyrhiw
Petula Clark belonges to my family - I think she is my nan's 2nd cousin. She has said many times what a wounderful singer Petula is. It would be nice for the family to meet after so many years.
Tim Hutton and Steven Warner
The BBC Wales documentary by producer/director Karen
Whiteside, was an emotional rollercoaster journey for Petula. For the first time, a documentary captured Petula as a person and not as the 'star'. This programme contained exactly the right balance of reminiscent nostalgia and self-discovery. A brilliant and eye opening
documentary that deserves a far greater viewing audience.
Edwina Burge (nee Jones), Monmouth
Seeing the program brought back particular memories. I had been told that Petula Clark had sang in Pontlottyn but I was so moved when she actually entered the shop that used to belong to my father who ran it as a grocers. It was a very happy moment when I saw Shirley Rose, whom I haven't seen for 60 years, as I had played with her as a child.
Don Dawson, Toronto, Canada
I've no personal connection to Wales, other than wonderful memories of vacations there. However, I have Petula Clark and HER Welsh connections to thank for a career promotion. It was while being interviewed for a new job, that the subject of Petula was broached. I was asked about my knowledge of the Internet in general and I responded that I didn't use it much (then, anyway) other than to follow the career of a British singer who'd been very popular here in Canada back in the '60's. When my future boss found out it was Petula Clark that I was a big fan of, she then became quite animated, telling me that her late father had often walked with Petula to the village school at Abercanaid, as he had also been evacuated to the home of area relatives during the blitz. The interview had been going well enough up until then, but after speaking of Petula and Wales I KNEW I had the job. Thanks Pet...and the wonderful people of Wales!
Petula Adele Matthews
I was named after Petula, and have the letter she wrote to my father in 1949 and the photo she signed and sent at that time. I have been in contact with Petula over the years and she has phoned me at home. When she was the special guest to end the Urdd Eisteddfod in Merthyr Tydfil in 1986 I made a point of buying tickets for the concert, and I was interviewed by Emyr Wyn from the Eisteddfod field on the Saturday afternoon. I was allowed to go to the dressing room to meet Petula before she went on stage and we chatted for about 25 minutes. She is such a warm, genuine person, and I was so surprised to see how petite she is in real life. Her music has always featured in my life, and always will.
Rachael Minahan
I was one of the singers who performed with Petula at the Abercanaid school reunion. We were all nervous and we were practicing our songs at breaktimes with our music teacher Mrs Richards - we practised for a week. I
thought Petula was a very good singer and I hope she comes again.
Gareth Parry from Coleraine, Northern Ireland
My next door neighbours in Merthyr Tydfil had connections with Abercanaid. Mrs Eirwen Griffiths came from Nightingale Street, and her eldest daughter Marilyn knew Petula during her stay in the village. I remember Mrs Griffiths speaking of Petula Clark during the 1950s.
My grandfather Ted Parry was a close friend of Petula Clark's grandfather, whose surname was Rees. They worked together as young men either in the pits or steel works.
My father met Petula Clark at Hoovers Factory in Pentrebach when she presented him with an prize in the factory's suggestion scheme. Date? I guess the 1950s.
Tina Rantanen, Cardiff
Petula Clark once sang while my sister played the piano in our former home in Pontlottyn! She was the niece of our local nurse/midwife ('Nurse Rose') and my sister Pauline was a friend of her cousin, Shirley Rose. My family, the Minolis, once had a cafe on the Square in Pontlottyn.
Gary Bunn, Tampa, Florida, USA
A really nice exchange with Petula about her Welsh "homecoming". Mr Noble did a fine job of making both guest and listener feel comfortable. I only wish it was a bit longer. But Pet is on the top of my all time list! Very best and thanks.
