Abermule, the Village c1965

Memories of Kerry

It always felt great to be in the town of Kerry. It was the halfway stop to our holiday in a Towyn caravan with no toilet. Dad always used to make a joke of visiting the Toilidoos. He could not pronounce the Welsh version. The old rattling Hillman Hunter estate always pulled up outside those famous bogs year in year out. My last chance to use an inside lavatory for fortnight ,whoopy do! Mother would have the back rammed full with stuff, and finding loo roll was torture. Why did we need it? After the loo stop, chippy here we come. Fish and chips for mother, dad had chicken and mushroom pie and chips, then ONE bag of chips between three kids. 7 wasn't old enough for anything else. No pop, pop is to wash her tablets down. Back to the toilidoos ,warm water from the tap. Dad always took his annual film of me waving by the Kerry sign ... Oh boy, oh boy. I'm proud to be a Kerry now, dad! I love you. Kerry

Glansevern Lodge

My gran, Mrs Evans, used to live at Glansevern Lodge, a loveley old sandstone building with trees all around it, and big rhododenderon bushes. It was a long wallk from the pump we used to get water from up to the house. We used to have an old outside toilet 20 yards from the house, which was very cold to get to in winter. At the rear was a smallholding and a sheep dip on the back lane past the river and on up to the hall.
At the front of the house we had lawns, and in the summer we had picnics. Passing motorist would often stop and ask if we did teas.
The front lane led up to Glansevern where I would play aroung the lake (the house is now open to the public).
I went shopping for my gran along the river lane under the Cuckoo Bridge  which holds the canal above past Berriew Football Club where I once saw Stanley Matthews play for Stoke v Berriew. The village was beautiful with the falls and the river, the beautiful black and white buildings and its village shops, Whittinghams, the butchers, and the 2 pubs.
My gran had to move from the lodge as it was knocked down to extend the road through the Revel. She moved to a place in the village then into Welshpool where she passed away. What a lovely area and I have very happy memories of growing up. My gran worked in Glansevern for many years and my grandad 'Ginger Bill ' drove the local buses for  many years. The cottages on the back lane were lived in by the Jones family and were called Pen-y-Gyland. Great times.
Rod Gough.

Days gone by

Attended Sunday school in the village school in the 1950s, and went to church sometimes, too. All a very long time ago of course, bearing in mind today is the 1st of January 2008. 2 sets of Grandparents, and at least 25 other relatives are resting in the churchyard, some quite close to the entrance.