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Recordiad sain / Audio recording: Matthew Solomons
Oral history recording with Matthew Solomons collected as part of The Hineni Project, an insight into the life and stories of a Jewish community in all its diversity. Hineni was a collaborative project between Cardiff Reform Synagogue and Butetown History & Arts Centre.
I grew up in Castleton, outside Cardiff. My father was a photographer and then a self-taught antique dealer. He was a true Cockney from the East End of London and came to Cardiff after his family was killed in a wartime bombing raid. He met my mum when she was performing in Cardiff’s New Theatre as a singer and dancer with a touring troupe called Harry Lester and his Hayseeds. Growing up in the countryside, I remember playing hide and seek, using the centre reservation of the A48 as my hiding place. I went to high school in Bassaleg, where I was the only Jewish person. It was very hard and I was bullied. My Jewish social life as a child revolved around a non-religious Jewish youth club in Cardiff called the Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade (JLGB), which was part of a national organisation and a bit like Scouts. It’s smaller now, but it was a great network. I met my future wife, Karen through the JLGB when she was in the Bugle Band Company in London. My son, Jack and daughter, Emma, go to the Cardiff company of the JLGB and they love it. I decided not go to university after I left school because, at the time, I didn’t think I was clever enough. My first job was at Marks and Spencer and then I had a number of jobs. I once worked for AB Electronics in Rogerstone and was an assistant manager for Victoria Wine in Cardiff. I now work with Canute Transport; they run Wilkinson’s distribution. I drove for them for four years and I now work within the distribution centre. My father was one of the founding members of Cardiff Reform Synagogue. Mum converted to Judaism and she embraced it. She used to take me to synagogue every Saturday, and both she and Dad were highly involved in the community. Dad was a synagogue warden for most of his life and often led services. Mum was on the Ladies Guild, which did a lot of charity work and raised money for the synagogue. She also used to lead services with songs because of her history of singing. She had a fantastic voice. Dad played guitar, and later in life both he and Mum used to play in the Jewish old-age home in Penylan. I do go to synagogue but I’m not really observantly Jewish. I feel Welsh because I was born in Wales and it’s my nationality but this doesn’t mean I don’t feel Jewish. I’m definitely a Jewish man – it’s my core. I’ve got a Jewish family and I do follow Jewish traditions. I’m more cultural; I love the social side of it. We’re a tight community; the sort of community that would do everything and anything for each other. I’d like us to get bigger. I’d like my children to settle here. I’d like lots of Jewish people to settle here – it’s a wonderful city. We’ve got everything in Cardiff you could want. But in all honesty, if my children want to be in a larger Jewish community then that’s where they’ve got to go. I do picture them ending up in London, if they meet the right person. If my children move away and the community dwindles even more where will I be? Only time will tell.