Walking To West End School From Persondy

A Memory of Abercarn.

Walking along Sycamore Street, Persondy, even now in my mind, I passed, the Roberts' house next door, the Walkers, the Ryalls, can't remember the next house but she was German and very fiery, then the Williams, the Hughes'(Colin Hughes?) and then another Hughes family (Frances Hughes?), then the Hoare's, the Webbs, then it gets hazy - the Way's, etc. Down Chapel of Ease Hill, to Thomas's shop, a tiny place. Mrs Thomas would write down all the stuff bought on tick, with a stubby little pencil. Not sure if my parents ever used tick there, but I don't think so. You could go to Thomas' shop on a Sunday morning and pay sixpence to pick some fresh mint from their little garden for mint sauce. On down the hill and cross the main road very carefully - on over the iron canal bridge and down the slope past the open-air baths. Over a concrete walkway crossing the River Ebbw - 'Dont go playing by the river!', and up the track to West End. We all got told off by Mr Phillips one day, A load of us Persondy kids went home for lunch and dawdled a lot on the way back to school and got back late. Chatting very knowledgably about goings on during the War - how the Japanese would bury you with an enamelled bowl strapped to your chest, with a hungry rat inside it!

Sometimes in West End school we'd have PE in the yard, wearing daps (plimpsoles) that we had helped to disinfect!,


Added 30 June 2015

#338020

Comments & Feedback

The German lady that you cannot remember was Mrrs Taylor. Her husband was called Tom. He used to keep loads or chickens behind old Charlie Ridds house in Chaple of Ease. I used to help Tom by collecting the eggs and feeding an d cleaning the cots ouut during out of school hours.this was in the late 1950's
I think the German lady your talking about is my mother. We lived in persondy and my fathers name was Tom Tyler and yes she was very fiery.
I remember a Tyler [can't recall first name] who was at West End School when I was there in the arly 50's. Colin Hughes and Ray Webb were classmates of mine then. Ray had the top of a finger removed after it was caught in a door. Colin and I went to Gwyddon then ont o Pontllanfaith in 1957. Geoff Phillips
My sister Maria Tyler was the eldest, then there was Ray and Patricia ( Pat). That would be around the same age as Maria.

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