Gilfach

A Memory of Gilfach Goch.

Hello, I have just been reading people's memories of Gilfach Goch and I must say it brought tears to my eyes. I have now moved to County Durham and love it here. I've moved from one mining village to another. Wherever I go I will never forget living in Gilfach as a child in Blandy Terrace, my grandparents Betty and Mansel Pope lived in 12 Blandy Terrace and myself and my mam and dad Ron and Linda lived in no 2. I have great memories of the street, the Glens especially, I grew up with Annette, Sian, Rayanedd and Alan, they were the only ones in the street with a proper bath and we all used to go in it, it was great fun, Mavis couldn't get us out. I loved Mavis, she was the toffee queen, she made great toffee. One day we found a stray lamb and washed it in the bath and we were really upset when we learned we couldn't keep it and had to take it back to the farmer. All the toilets were across the street and up concrete steps, they had a piece of wood with a hole in and when my mam and dad moved into no 2 in 61 my grancha put a real flush in, that was a luxury in those days. I used to do shopping for the old people in the street, Mrs Samuel, Aunty Ivy and Polly, and my dad used to send me down to Ma Griffiths for ten cigs, you can't get away with that these days. All us kids, the Glens, the Stantons, the Lllewellyns, used to play down the old disused pits which was treacherous but that didn't stop us, it was an adventure playground to us and the old house on Rose Hill was our den, there were no floors left and my dad used to give me a right telling off for going in there but I always went back with my buddie Delwyn. I can remember the baker man coming to the door every day and the rag and bone man and even the siony onion man. Richie Stanton used to pile in all the kids from the street and take us down to Barry Island for the day. We always broke down in his van but we didn't care, it was always part of the fun. I learned to ride a bike in Blandy Terrace and was always riding into the bins, to the annoyance of everybody, but was forgiven by all my aunties and everybody was my aunty, that's the way it was then. In 1970 we moved to Hendreforgan estate where for the first time we had a real bathroom with a toilet and hot water, we thought it was paradise. I was back in Wales last week for a visit with my friend Paula and found myself wandering round Blandy Terrace and High Sstreet just had to go and see it all, but I was shocked at High Streett not changing at all since the 1960s. The old toilets up in the wall are still there and left in ruins, it broke my heart to see the mess left there but it was nice to go back all the same. I would love to hear from some old friends from up the top, as we called it, it would be nice to catch up.
Love Connie x