Buses

A Memory of Llysfaen.

At the age of fourteen I moved from Rhuthin to live with my gran, Ketura Roberts, who lived in one of the houses opposite the Castle Pub. The bus route was up Llysfaen Hill and past the Semaphore pub, this at the time had a butchers shop integrated with the pub, and was also the first pub in the area to serve Wrexham lager. On one of the visits to get meat for gran, that may I add was very occasional,  I was invited being the only person in the pub to taste this new lager and me at the age of fourteen being a connoisseur of such intoxicating liquers, did not like it and never touched the stuff again. Before this, as with the Castle pub, beer was in barrels behind the bar and served from a tap on the wooden barrel known as a hogshead, and only mild and bitter was served, the ladies' drink at the time was Babycham. Gran loved her Babycham on Saturday nights, but at the age of fourteen I was not allowed in public houses (I know there is a contradiction there but the Semaphore was also a butchers so I was allowed in) so I would have to go to the back door of the Castle to get the sale.
The bus always stopped for 15 minutes at the terminus, this I could see from my bedroom window and allowed me enough time to get ready before it passed our house, then I worked for the large fruit and veg company in Rhos on Sea called Garstang, first loading the small lorries for deliveries, then later on the deliveries. We used to go as far as Blaenau Ffestiniog with deliveries,
coming home as the bus had to go around the hill called the Marion, past the Semaphore to the terminus then wait 15 mins, I would get off half way up Llysfaen Hill and walk the one mile home.
All of my uncles and aunts where born in Rose Cottage to the lane below gran's house, 9 uncles and 2 aunts, my mother Rose also died in childbirth in Rose Cottage when I was one.
The last time I saw Rose Cottage it was just a few stones in the field. If anyone knows if was rebuilt please please let me know. I now live in Egypt due to arthritic problems with the weather in the UK. Lovely memories,  we were married in 63,  gran made our wedding reception in Llysfaen and we spent our first days together with her until we got our first flat in Erskine Rd, Colwyn Bay.

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