Harold

A Memory of Abergele.

I grew up in Abergele and I remember a man called Harold. He was a sort of 'tramp' I use this word rather in caution because he lived in a small shack by Slaters on what is now the Tesco car park. He helped out at the cattle market which was again sighted where Tesco's is now. As a boy I was a little afraid of him because he tended to be a little erratic which was not surpising considering the boys used to hound him. He cut a rather sad figure and I reckon he must have been around my age now (50 ish). I left Abergele in the 80's and I wonder what became of him. One epsode I remember was that once he stopped a man and asked him "have you got a match?" The man gave him a match and he then said "And a smoke to go with it" Another time he was walking through town and he was complaining about a pram in his way. The mother of the child in the pram said "O get on your way Harold" and Harold apologised and helped push the pram. I think to me he was an enigmatic person. Am I getting lost in nostalgia or were those days a little more innocent?

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