2008 memories

Basil Gough relates:

It was with interest that I came across your site showing photographs of Old Pontnewydd; At the ripe old age of 77 I well those years immediately after the war. In fact I well remember the day my Grandmother told me that we were at war with Germany and I also remember the sorrow in her eyes. The photographs depicted in every detail as I remember my birth place.

Pontnewydd Station for example was a place where I would go with Tom Arundle to pick up the papers. I worked for Millie Edmonds later to become Mrs White, as a paper boy. Her husband held a commission in the army so during those war years we would scan the news where he was engaged.

I well remember the winters being very cold and the mornings were black no lighting. My greatest comfort was a balaclava given to me one morning as I made my `round`. I don't know if Tom is still alive, he joined the marines but was invalided out after a training accident.Of course the great tradegy was the loss of his brother Michael who drowned in the lock immediately behind Billy Charles workshop; he couldn't be more than 8 at the time. So Many memories.

Did so enjoy looking at the photographs.

Lets start with a question, how did you supplement your pocket money when you were a kid ?

When they were in season, I well remember the 'moon daisy field' which I suspect is now part of the New (but not very pretty) Town, the field ran alongside the railway track; my great mate, Brian (Spud) Waters now sadly deceased and I would collect those daisy's, bunch them and sell them at three pence (3d) a bunch to the kind folk of Grange Road, Thomas Street and Somerset Street for an additional Shilling (1s or 12d)) we have been known to take some over to the chapel at the top of Edlogan Way (I never could spell that word) to place them on various graves what the kind folk probably never realised was that the graveyard held several of my family, so we were being paid to put flowers on our graves as well, when I arrived home and told my old Grannie that I had put flowers on the family graves there was usually another donation coming my way.

When Blackberries were regarded as fruit and not mobile phones they would also be collected and whatever grannie did not want were sold on usually for the making of pies or tarts although I have to confess that Grannie claimed most of them.

Another good earner was taking pigeons (in a basket of course) from a Mr. Johns who lived on Grange Road up to lower Pontnewydd railway station for transportation to the race starting point for that we were paid One Shilling each.

Once a week my old Grandad, Richard (Dick) Griffith would give me another shilling to collect his cigarettes from Colly`s shop at the top of Grange road, I was most upset when he gave up smoking!! although he would find something else for me to do, also living in the same house was my Uncle Walter Ham who paid me to collect his A1 tobacco, again from Colly`s Shop.

As time moved on and I grew older and indeed lived at 144 Fields Road, I got a job as a paper boy for Edgar Knott where I worked with, the eventually to be Councillor, Brian Smith for the princely sum of seven shillings and sixpence per week (7/6), Duw we were `Friday night millionaires` when we got paid.

Eventually I left school and started earning money at Saunders Valves and later could be seen pedalling a big red bike around the district as a Telegram Boy based in Pontnewydd, the rest they say is history.

Lovely memories of a time when people found time for each other, had time for each other, and spent time with each other.

Graham (Ianto) Skuse

From the beautiful island of Guernsey

Deb Evans...Croesyceiliog

I though that this may stir some memories - I hope you like it.

For all those born before 1986, when things were cool, kids were kids and not thugs!
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bicycles, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops, or wooden `Scholls`, or black plimsolls and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the front passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark.

Mobile phones weren't invented. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have `Play stations` or` X-Boxes`, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played `Elastics` and `Rounders`, and sometimes that ball really hurt!We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no law-suits.
We had full on fist fights, but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played `Knock out Ginger` and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.
We walked to friends' homes.
We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.

We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood (ahhhh the memory!)
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of...They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
We had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.

For those of you who aren't old enough thought you might like to read about us.

This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face:

The majority of students in universities today were born in 1986........They are called youth.
They have never heard of `We are the World`, `We are the children`, and the `Uptown Girl` they know is by `Westlife` not `Billy Joel`. They have never heard of `Rick Astley`, `Bananarama`, `Nena Cherry` or `Belinda Carlisle`.
For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam.
AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
To them `John Travolta` has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this rotund guy could be a `god of dance`.
They believe that `Charlie's Angels` and `Mission Impossible` are films from last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the `A Team` , `Red Hand Gang` or the `Famous Five`.
They'll never have applied to be on `Jim'll Fix It` or `Why Don't You`.
They can't believe a black and white television ever existed; and they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.

Now let's check if we're getting old...

1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You remember watching `Dirty Den` in `EastEnders `the first time around.
7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good Old days, repeating again all the funny things you have experienced together.
8. Having read this, you are thinking of forwarding it to some other friends because you think they will like it too... Yes, you're getting old - but what the hell -we've had fun!!

After reading my brother's tales of the "Eighties" I began reminiscing about my secret swimming holes. An aside first on the "Eighties" itself: (A watering hole I was too young to have indulged myself in) I was told by My mother the story of my Dad's sister, Mary, who was banned by her parents from visiting the "Eighties".

The boys from Griffithstown would walk through Grange Road on their way to the "Eighties" and stand outside Mary's house waving their swimming trunks and shout "Up and away the "Dolphin" (Aunty Mary had a reputation as a bit of a swimmer and was nicknamed the Dolphin) and Mary, despite her parents ban, would tie her costume around a towel, throw it down to the boys and jump out of her bedroom window and join them at the "Eighties". Now, it was also said that on a number of occasions her parents confiscated her costume. The Dolphin attended regardless!!!!! Such was the allure of cool water on a hot day!!!

Now let's fast forward to the 1960's:

The school holidays (or not), a long hot summer the and the Blaen Bran reservoirs.

There were originally two of them, the large lower and the triangular smaller upper basin.The lower was the better of the two due to the maintenance platform that extended some 50 foot out into the "Rez". You had to climb an entrance gate and negotiate the barbed wire gaurd that surrounded it before being able to reach the end of the platform/tower and then jump off.

Depending on various factors determining the depth of the Rez such as the time of year, the temperature, even the day of the week, the jump, or dive for the brave/foolhardy, from platform to water could be anything from a couple of feet to ten or 12. I honestly remember it being closer to twenty during one particularly hot summer! We never knew the actual depth of the Rez so I guess at the time it was a fairly foolhardy thing to do!!!

The higher of the two basins was mainly used when "Mwching" school as one had the the high ground (geographical not moral) and could spot either: The beat Bobby, Mr. Eacott, the truant officer (the mwching man) or any waterboard workers and you could then leg it quickly into the forest, past the Mountain Air Inn and over to the Lamb Inn where you were out of Mr. Eacott's area! Dry by the time you ran there and the oldest looking of the Mwchers would go in and get a couple of pints of cider!!! If I had been swimming "On a Mwch" then I would simply put my trunks and towel back into my school Duffell bag. If it was on a weekend I would let my parents think I had spent the day at either Griff baths or at Stow Hill in Newport.

We always thought it best to not let our parents know the truth of these things as my Mother had:

(A) A worrying story about a boy who drowned in the reservoir and (B) A right hand so fast that that you never saw it until it made contact with your left ear!!!

Happy days and happy memories of Richard Lawrence, Ray Jones, Barry Page and Howard Lloyd to name but a few.

I still visit the Blaen Bran woodlands for a walk with the family and or the dog.Since the Rez fell out of use many years ago you can often see almost to the bottom of the basin. I should think that the actual depth must be some thirty foot It is, however, a very sad sight at the moment due to the dumping of rubbish (yes, the ubiquitous Asda trolley is there!!!), lumps of tree trunk and dead sheep! There are even burnt out cars in the overflow gulleys!!!!!

I also recall a one off visit to the small Rez at Henllys but that is a dim memory as it was so much easier to walk up the road for a mile to the Blaen Bran pools. Also, the Llantarnam boys used the Henllys Rez so us Upper Cwmbran boys tended to shy away from that whole area! Discretion is the better part of valour!

The river Usk offered good swimming but that was even rarer than Henllys due to the distance involved.

Ah, another toe stubbing hour down memory lane.

We seem to have had quite a lot of tunnels and water stories of late so I will next try to put cyber pen to virtual and recall stories about young boys and the fascination of fire!!!!

It will, of course, mean trying to paper over the cracks that are youth in order to excuse some of the sillier antics!!!

.. For a more info on the Upper Cwmbran Reservoirs click here ..

.. Click here to continue a little further down Memory Lane ..