Esgairgeiliog 1956 1961

A Memory of Esgairgeiliog.

I was eleven when we moved into the new council estate, Aelybryn, in Esgairgeiliog. My mother had been born in Esgairgeiliog, and her mother was the local, unofficial, midwife of the village at the beginning of the 20th century. As a child of twelve my mother had been a maid in Plas Rhiwgwreiddyn and I remember a story she told of being alone in the house, very late at night, waiting for her employers to return from London. My mother had a habit of keeping all the windows wide open, even in winter, a legacy of her time in a TB sanatorium. I don't remember being cold but that might have something to do with the fact that my father was a coalman. If we wanted to use the parlour, my mother carried half the fire from the living-room on a shovel through the passage (we didn't have a hall) into this room, a little frightening, even then. I remember good neighbours and happy times in Aelybryn. Enid, Len and their family lived next door and were part of our lives. On the other side, lived Mrs Lawrence, an unusual neighbour. Her house could be called a stately home, her walls were covered by large dark paintings, her furniture large and old. She had a glass cabinet filled with artefacts from China, where her father had been a missionary. Her sister, Rose, who turned up at regular intervals in a sports car (I'm reliably informed by my brother that it was an MG TF1500) still was a missionary at that time. Mrs Lawrence herself aquired a BSA Dandy in her later years and once told my brother "It only seems to have two speeds, 0 and 30" To watch the transition from 0-30 was interesting for all. I particularly remember her black cat, Raffi, and a pair of tiny Chinese shoes meant for bound feet. Mrs Lawrence held a bible-class in her home for the village children - not for me, religion for us was Pantperthog Methodist Chapel and even that didn't seep into our daily lives. Rosina was my friend and cousin, and her sister, Nora, ran the shop. I'd call there on my way to the school-bus and often my mother would ask me to fetch a grocery item, before the shop was officially open, and hand it over the fence at the bottom of our garden. This involved climbing a breeze-block wall and one morning I fell off it. Rosina took my school-bag to school without me that day. Sunday nights, Uncle Trefor, usually accompanied by Rosina and Clifford, visited, and we played draughts and other board games. There was a rock we used as a slide near 'Bont Ifans'. Smooth and very slippery from generations of children's backsides. I remember the dire warnings of ending up in the Dulas when I played on it. Colin was a good friend. I remember going on a school trip to Newtown to see 'The Barber of Seville' and getting off the bus at 'stesion fech' in a snow-storm, slipping and sliding down the steep hill and Colin mentioning that he didn't feel very well. I found out the following morning that he was in Aberystwyth hospital with appendicitis. They bred us tough in Esgairgeiliog! Another time I remember Colin having a go at water-divining outside 'Yr Efail' - and succeeding! On Thursdays, I got off the school-bus at Tanycoed with Olga and Diana, for my weekly piano lesson with their mother. After what must have been a trying hour for all three of them I would walk home to Esgairgeiliog, through the woods and along the main road. I still have family in Esgairgeiliog. My parents' great great grand child is being brought up speaking fluent Welsh in Aelybryn. There's no longer a village hall or shop in Esgairgeiliog but, I believe, there's still a strong feeling of community, and, I hope, the village children still enjoy some of the freedoms that we enjoyed in the past.

---

---