Wales: That handsome Jenkins boy.

Pontrhydyfen was the stop today, and all you Hollywood fans should be giggling yourself into a puddle as this was the birthplace of one Richard Jenkins, aka Richard Burton. Did you know he was #12 of 13 kids? He must have shot out like a bullet.

Burton, who was proudly Welsh and could even speak it, was taken in as a legal ward by his teacher, Philip Burton, and it was from him that the actor took his stage name. And it seems that Burton is the latest in a long line of mortals to enter into the Welsh pantheon of heros. Darkly passionate, and widely known in his home territory to be more sexually fluid than Hollywood or Liz Taylor would have us believe, Burton, who died at 58 back in 1984, now has a whole trail dedicated to him, and the house and town where he grew up have shrines dedicated to his memory. 

Unlike Dylan Thomas, the ascendant just before Burton, the actor seems to be almost universally liked in Wales. Certainly he never forgot where he came from, and he bought his parents and all 12 siblings houses. Originally living in the valley of the Afan River, Burton elevated his stock--literally--to the hills above the river. It's where the posh-posse lived. A niece, Sian, still lives there, in fact, and is an actress herself. 

And the family plot remains as well, although Richard rests elsewhere. Across the Afan Valley--and it is a narrow one--is Jerusalem Church. Now in a pitiful state of disrepair, the church stands empty, and the graveyard is practically overgrown. The local challenge is to find the original Jenkins graves, but the site is so wild, and so packed with tombs, moving around is a challenge. I didn't want to step on anybody. Seemed rude.

Nearby is a pub called the Colliers, and not only is the food good, the chef IS AWESOME. Check this dude out:

Best. Beard. Ever. 

I'm outclassed. I admit it!