Elizabeth Martin

A Memory of Conwy.

My maternal grandparents ran Hooson's Cafe on Bangor Road, Conwy, very close to the city walls. My brother and I were put in boarding school near them - at Llandudno and Penmaenmawr - whilst our parents were overseas, so we could be near them for school holidays. Because they were busy through the day with the cafe (and grandpa used to run a fish and chip take-away booth down a passage adjoining the cafe at lunchtimes), my brother and I, had to spend most of the day out. We were aged between six and ten (from about 1957- about 1960). Most of the time was spent on the quayside watching the fishing boats, and during the summer, a retired ex-headmistress of Gloddaeth Hall School for Girls would serve ice creams from a small cart near the Smallest House.
In spite of being so young, we felt free to roam wherever the spirit of our play took us, but most of the time it was by the estuary.