Childhood Memories

A Memory of Abercwmboi.

By accident i have just come across this site- shame there are no memories already entered for abercwmboi- As a child I remember looking out of my Grandfathers front door or his bedroom window at the wonderful array of lights coming from the phurnacite plant opposite- also teh smells! In those days (50/60's ) no one realized how bad the place was for our health.
My Grandad lived 29 Maple Terrace, and every year we would travel by coach in the early days -then later by car down to Sth Wales for the annual family visit, my Dad having left the viilage after he came out of the airforce at the end of the war. and settled in the east midlands - It was so different to where i was born, and we did enjoy our trips, we did lots of walking up the "mountain" behind Maple terrace.. up to 2 farms - well ruins of - where my dad had collected milk as a youngster in the 20's.....over the cwm (?) where we would wade in the freezing cold waters... the waterfalls were glorious in those days .. there were grass snake chases in the street, and one of the biggest memories is of a shop in the front room of a house just down from my gramdads,it was run by 3 older ladies The Byron Sisters.. and that would be my first port of call each trip..When i walked in they would immediatley say-here's Jessie Prew's granddaughter....here for a holiday are you girl!!!
I remember going into the CoOp on the main street- and fetching welsh butter, and my goodness how salty that could be.... I remember going to see Elvis Presley at the cinema and being allowed to buy crisps... in my home town that was a definate no-no....I remember visiting my grandmothers grave down in the cemetry near Mountain Ash - The indoor market in Aberdare - In my teenage years, there was the weekly disco at the club house, and everyone said i was from near london... actually 200 + miles away!...but it didnt matter.
the outside toilet, the steep steps from the street up to the front dooor, the same up the garden.. waking up one morning and looking out of my aunt bedroom window which i suppose was on the leel of the garden and there were sheep grazing!!
Maybe the biggest memory was feeling part of a community....even for a short period of time.