Welsh Journals

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that more is sought from the data than they will bear, particularly the disaggregation by settle- ment, though the nature of the settlement and the proportion and concentration of second homes are clearly important factors. It would be interesting, too, to know if attitudes towards second homes were any different where such homes were formerly derelict dwellings. The author recognises the reconnaissance nature of what he presents, particularly the fact that it has not been possible to undertake in- depth studies of the individual communities. The text is generally readable (in so far as any text describing tables can be), though it comes to an abrupt end at the bottom of page 110. In all, this is a use- ful addition to the literature on second homes in Wales. J.T.Coppock. After the Mines: Changing employment opportunities in a South Wales valley, Stephen W.Town. University of Wales, Board of Celtic Studies, Social Science Monograph No. 4, 1978. £ 2.50. This study dates from the early 1970s and was financed by the Home Office under the Community Development Project schemes of this period. A conscious decision was made to focus the study upon adult males in the manual labour market and to the extent that declining employment opportunities underpin the general problem of areas of this kind, the selectivity can be justified. The study area is small, with a 1971 population of less than 30,000, and in many ways is not rep- resentative of Industrial South Wales. It was a late developer, had a specialised type of mining, has remained Welsh-speaking, and has a rural dimension to its character resulting from its geographical peri- pherality all features which tend to distinguish it within the wider region. In the past few decades which are the concern of this study, however, the Ammanford area has shared common problems and throes of change with the rest of the coalfield and it is this typicality which is the most relevant. A brief introduction provides some background to the study area, its form of settlement evolution and economic change; subsequently the commentary revolves around the results of a questionnaire survey of some 198 respondents mainly in the areas of Cwmamman and Ammanford. A chapter on Community Structure provides a some- what skeletal treatment, but thereafter chapters on the mining industry, manufacturing industry and the response of the local labour force to changing employment opportunities make interesting read- ing. The monograph is at its best in describing the patterns of econo- mic change which have occurred within the area and in reflecting the ways in which the 'ordinary people' interviewed perceived and experienced these changes. It is less successful in providing a more balanced, understanding of the fluctuations of employment fortune.