'up The Baths'

A Memory of Brynmawr.

I remember being 'taught to swim' here, by the teachers at the board school. We were stood at the poolside, only up to the black line, then summarily being to "Jump!". If that failed, we were helped in by the boot of 'Danny' Davis or 'Joe' Robbins, then expected to 'swim' back to shallow water.
The lifeguard was called Gerald. My mother, Minnie Evans, was the cashier at the baths for two summers. It was a great time, she opened a shop and sold crisps and pop, I was sent down to Saxons on a regular basis for extra supplies. I had great times in those summers.