I’d like to spend my last hours with a dolphin, says Rhodri

Feb 29 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

AFTER years at the top of Welsh Labour politics he has seen off a few sharks, but First Minister Rhodri Morgan says he would prefer to spend his last 24 hours on earth with a different marine companion – a dolphin.

Mr Morgan, a guest on the BBC Radio Wales show The Final Curtain tomorrow, says “it would be a wonderful thing to do”.

Guests on the show can chose a companion for their fictional last day on the planet. They are not allowed to select family members but can pick historical figures.

Presenter Max Boyce said he was surprised by Mr Morgan’s choice. He said, “I was expecting Nye Bevan and we got Flipper instead.”

The First Minister, who has radically changed his diet after a heart scare last year, said he had much in common with the friendly mammal.

“Dolphins have incredibly healthy diets. Their interest is mackerel and my interest is mackerel now,” says Mr Morgan. “And I want to able to communicate with the dolphin to say well I’ve changed my diet to something much more like yours now.”

Mr Morgan regularly holidays in Mwnt, on the West Wales coast near Cardigan, where dolphins are a relatively common sight. He says, “I’ve been going to Mwnt for about 40 years and around every 10 years you can be lucky enough to swim with a wild dolphin.

“When my son was 10 we were out on the headland on the Mwnt and a dolphin came past us. It was only about 10 feet away. It flicked the mackerel out with its tail eight feet in the air, head over heels, and caught it in its mouth as though it was showing off in front of us.

“I just want to be able to communicate with dolphins and swim with them. It would be a wonderful thing to do.”

The Final Curtain is broadcast on BBC Radio Wales tomorrow at 1.30pm