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00.16 The dances were held in Neath by the Berni family who owned a dance hall. Rino met Cynthia, his wife there, who is Welsh. Italian and Welsh people went to the dances which he goes on to describe in detail. Rino remembers that the Italians were more stylish. They would meet at the Cucci Cafe or the Express cafe. The cafe owners employed people from Emilia Romagna; where most cafe owners came from. There are still a lot of Italians in Swansea and they still meet up every month to try to organise activities to keep the heritage alive. Food is a big part of the culture he says ‘Wine is the weakness of many Italians’ and many make their own wine with imported grapes.

16.40 Rino considers the Italian family unity in Italy as a good aspect of the culture. All of his children have been to Italy, and he and his wife go back very often to visit family. His Italian family have also been to Wales. Rino enjoys going back, but doesn’t consider it his home. He used to his children to Italian classes, when sport is on the television; they support Italy very strongly and are very proud of their Italian heritage. However, Rino never spoke Italian to them when they were growing up as his priority was to learn English. The family then started a grocery store business of their own and he had to learn a lot himself, he had always wanted to work independently. He likes the Welsh community but he never saw the necessity to change his nationality. Now he is retired and enjoying the fruits of their labour.

30.30 Rino’s wife was ambitious to learn the language to feel more connected to the culture when visiting. Rino has always worked with the Italian community association which he considers very important. A lot of the people he worked with went back to Italy; they planned to move over to make money and then go back. He talks about his hobbies; he does a lot of fishing which took him travelling around many countries. He is National President of the European Federation for Angling, and treasurer for the Italian association.