Childhood Memories...

 

We lived at Pleasant View, Tir-phil, New Tredegar where we all spent many cherished hours together.  Growing up in the 50's/60's we did not have the riches of today's life but we were blessed by a richly loved family with mam and dad teaching us family values which run through all our children and grandchildren today.

 

Myself, Brian and Gwyn spent our childhoods at Pleasant View and enjoyed many years of mischief and laughter together.

 

One of my favourite activities as a child was running and I would run barefoot, this took me onto winning the 100metres in Bargoed Park for School Sports day. 

 

I attended Tir-phil primary school between 1960 and 1966, then continued my education in Bargoed North Boys School followed by Ystrad College studing carpentery and obtaining an aprenticeship with Caerphilly County Council.  I stayed with these and learned my trade throughout my working career.

 

Memories from John's Brothers

 

John followed his father and was ever the resourceful.  We remember one particularly bad winter when we were all living in Pleasant View, the snow was deep and the roads were blocked.  So dad came up with the idea that the three sons would go to the farm at the top of the mountain and buy some veg.  Well for once John listened (he must have been either hungry or at the early stages of cabin fever, who knows)  We started the 4-5 mile walk through deep snow, reached the farm, passed the barking dogs and successfully purchased a big sack of potatoes.  The three of us thought missions accomplished, however we hadn't thought about how heavy that sack of potatoes would be especially when walking through deep snow and already tired from the journey to the farm.  So in the steps of Mr Resourceful, John who had a bright idea instead of walking back the way we came we would take a short cut down the mountain, what could possibly go wrong we'd have a flat road to walk on the bottom, so following in the steps of all those westerns he loved, John went ahead of us while we carried the potatoes, 'this way' he shouted and we followed, now it may have been the fact we were about to go downhill or John may have thought we looked tired but he decided to take over carrying.  Now somewhere the fact that the mountain was almost vertical, had trees and rocks sticking out here there and everywhere seemed to be forgotten and don't foget the snow which had just started to fall once again.  So we began to decend the mountain, John carrying the potatoes with Brian and I following.  The next thing we remember is three brothers and a sack of potatoes rolling head over heals down the steep incline, we finally stopped, looked at each other, all ok, then paniked wondering what had happened to the potatoes.  We then sat in the snow and laughed and laughed.  One thing you can say for John is there was never a dull moment.

 

 

 

I then went on to find my biggest achievement in this life...My Family.