The Square (Sgwar)

A Memory of Glanaman.

My brother and I were born in 1931, the only twins in the village at that time (Elwyn and Eifion Goss). Bryn Seion was always in our sight whenever we went to the shops on the square. The first stop was to the Co-op which was situated obout 50 yards to the right of the chapel. In between the chapel and the Co-op was the bank which was housed in the front room of Rock House where the Jones family lived. In the house lived my very best friend Tegwyn Jones. I spent countless happy days at Rock House playing with Tegwyn. Against warnings not to, we played in the bank and often set off the alarms which were activated by push buttons under the counter. We often went to the bakery, to the left of the chapel, where we bought a baker's dozen cakes. As a reward I was given the extra cake.
Sunday was the time after Sunday School when we all met in Carpninis for coffee and ice cream made on the premises by Joe and his father, a wonderful old gentleman. Next door to the cafe was the newspaper shop where I bought the first ever biro, a truly amazing invention at the time.
Glanaman was truly an ugly wonderful place, as Dylan Thomas said of Swansea.