F.a.o. Margo Tester

[retrocop]

Sutton. Surrey.born Hampstead N.London.
My late father hailed from Caerau near Maesteg so I'm only half Welsh but I have still got a lot of relatives in the Swansea and Mumbles area.

[MargoTester]

Oh the lovely Mumbles! My mother was from Pontycwmmer so like you I am half Welsh. We used to spend some holidays down there when I was a kid. By then the family had moved to Bridgend and we used to go to Ogmore and Southerndown for the day. Her father was the leading tenor soloist in the Royal Welsh Male Voice choir, quite famous in his day. He used to bore us all senseless with talk of their trip to South Africa with the choir, but looking back it must have been quite amazing for them you don't realise when you are young. Not quite sure when it would have been but I guess around 1920's

[retrocop]

My father semi retired to Porthcawl and joined the Porthcawl male voice choir although he could'nt sing for tuppence.He worked at the Steel works at Margham. My mother,in her late 50's, decided to volunteer to be a Auxillary Nurse and went for an entrance exam at Bridgend General Hospital with a class of young teenage girls.She passed highest in the exam,and to her amazement,was invited to take on a full three year nurses training course to train as a SRN which she did. She always wanted to be a nurse as a little girl.
I spent loads of my holidays,as a boy, in the Gower,Barry, and Rockley Sands.Often visited Ogmore to visit the castle in those fantastic sand dunes and try to push,my fiancee then, off the stepping stones across the river.A visit to the Red castle was always a must when I took my wife, and later boys, to visit Grandma and Grandpa and then a swim on Golden sands.
I think Welsh faggots,peas and gravy is on the menu tonight after oiling up the bake stone for some Welsh cakes. Happy memories.

[dannyk13]

Iachi da to you two. Retro.does your avatar signify and relationship with 'the force' ?

[retrocop]

Yes danny and may the force be with you too although they have to call it a service now. Apparently"force"was judged to para military although looking at their attire today I think force was always the right description. Iechyd Da.

[MargoTester]

Happy memories indeed. I think that is why I used to enjoy Gavin and Stacey so much, some of the phrases and sayings took my right back to my childhood holidays down there. Some friends went down to the Gower coast recently and were looking for places to visit and from the back of my mind(you know what it is like) I dragged up the name of St Faggans Castle -they went and say they had a great day loads of things to see and apart from £3.50 for the car park, all free! Funnily enough my Mum trained as a nurse too but for some reason she ended up welding bombs at a local factory during the war and never went back to it. I often wish that I had paid more attention to what they talked about when I was a child and of course it is too late now.

[MargoTester]

Morning Danny - I wondered the same thing. Are you a wise owl or do you just sit in trees at night (h)owling?

[retrocop]

I feel like Ben Gunn on Treasure Island who would "anything for a bit of cheese". That translates as retrocop living in Surrey who would give anything for some laver bread cooked in bacon fat with bacon,eggs and fried bread. Can't buy laver in the smoke for love nor money but have to buy it in small tins from a Welsh supplier.Not the same as fresh though. My wife used to hate me cooking it because of the mess left in the frying pan although I did try to mop it up with real bread.

[dannyk13]

Retro.You are right about the deterioration of the police service. served in Bradford for 22 1/2 years and saw the start of the decline in 1974 when tthey decided to amalgamate the West Yorkshire forces.
Margo, I would like to think that I am a wise old owl but I think only the old bit applies.:-)

[MargoTester]

Well in my humble opinion you are both very wise. I guess 'old' bit applies to us all reading between the lines. Well all this talk of food has made me think it must be lunchtime. Wish my Mum was still around to bake some of her delicious Welsh cakes. Retro I never took to laver bread.

[retrocop]

My great grand father served in the Swansea Docks Police pre 1st World War. That police force was employed more as firemen than a police force as they were responsible for putting out coal fires that ignited in the ships bunkers that docked there.
My Da tried to join the, then, Swansea Borough Police Force in the 1930's but was rejected because he was a good footballer and NOT Rugby.No room in a Welsh force for a non rugby player. He joined the Met in 1938 and did 31yrs until 1969 when I jumped into his boots in the same and did 27 1/2yrs.

[boxtops]

My father was born in Sketty and spent all his childhood roaming the Gower - as did we, on our many family summer holidays to the family home (where my cousins still live). I still have many happy sandy memories (and one awful one when I was about four, where we all got lost in the Bishopstone Valley, and a half-hour walk took all afternoon!).

[retrocop]

I agree Laver bread is an acquired taste Margo. As my dad used to say to me, "This will stick to your ribs boy"
I have still got a recipe for Welsh Cakes and a Bake Stone.

[retrocop]

boxtops
My Dad often spoke of Sketty but I cannot recall in what context. I think there was a large precious metal smelting works there years ago where one or two of my distant relatives worked.

[dannyk13]

By the way did you spot the fluent use of welsh.lol

[retrocop]

Indeed to goodness danny. Welcome to the clan of Cambria.

[lady-janine]

I've still got a bakestone and welsh cakes are a must whenever the family visit. i'm in trouble else.

[retrocop]

lj
Do you get Laver bread down your way. I think you are in Cornwall but they used to sell it in Barnstable Market?

[MargoTester]

Retro -like a fool I threw my Mum's bake stone out when I cleared out her flat, mind I would probably never have used it. I went to Swansea market years ago, When we were staying on the Gower. They had huge slabs of butter on one of the stalls glistening with water because it was so salty, absolutely yummy. It was a great market everything was so fresh, straight of the farms and loads of laver bread. One last thing. You know how in Wales how everybody is referred to as 'Jones the shop' or Evans the milk' etc, the local undertaker in Pontycymmer was 'Dai coffin' ! When my great-grandma asked his son one day what business was like he said 'bad, shame really, the old boy makes coffins 'tis a pleasure to lie in'. How brilliant is that.

[boxtops]

My uncle used to sent shipments of Welsh salted butter to my dad from time to time, once Dad left Wales :-)

[retrocop]

Brilliant. It's not the cough that carries you off it is the coffin they carry you "offin"!! Cwmr am byth