Youth


I am looking after a neighbour's house at the moment while he is in hospital. I will also keep an eye on him when he returns home tomorrow, it's a rum deal to have a knee replacement in your mid eighties.
I am sure my neighbour won't mind me photographing a trophy which sits in his hallway, pride of place on the telephone table. This is the "Hogarth Cup" originally dated 1925' and was presented annually to the best Billiard player of The Newmarket Young Men's Club.
( for those that don't know Trelawnyd was formally known as Newmarket)
Back then the village was busy, self sufficient and " younger" than it is today. There was a youth club, girls' friendly society, young wives group, Village  Welfare Committee and drama group. There were three village stores, a sweet shop and even a fish and chip shop with tables and chairs! Two pubs, a football club and league . There was a WI, the choir of course and the chapels and church, but the Flower Show , which I am such a part of, did not start until the early 1970s, a later addition to village tradition.
As Auntie Glad recently said " The village had less houses , but more people back then"

And so like most rural communities of today, Trelawnyd is now a place with an older population, sure we still have the committees, the choir, the friendship group, the flower show, but apart from a sporadic youth club, the village does not really have much to offer the teenage population .....but I guess that was always the way of the world....
Now I am banging on about all this by way of a big up. last week my allotment supervisor, village elder and all around " organiser" Islwyn turned up on the field unannounced with two of the village teens in tow.
I don't know just how he did it, but in he space of two hours the lads had shifted a huge amount of dirt from one side of bosoms to the other, actively preparing the beds for planting, and saving me a huge amount of work and effort....
The lads were polite, and hardworking and I was totally shocked by what they achieved in just part of an afternoon.... Islwyn mentioned at he would like to mentor one of the lads, to teach him some skills such as dry stone walling and this little gesture on his behalf , seems to have been taken up by the lad,
It is a laudable project me thinks.
I gave each lad some eggs for their moms and will bung each a tenner when I next see them.....their help couldn't have come a better time.... for my sciatica seems to be getting worse

Hey ho....
Below is a newspaper clipping of the "young wives club"from a few years ago....( love the poncho by the way) several ladies from the front row still live in the village today!

46 comments:

  1. by george, I LOVE all the interesting phrases in this post!

    the same is true over here - in some towns, the population is full of seniors and there is nothing for the young people to do and no jobs. so they get into crime, drugs, pregnancy, etc. this happened to my spouse's 25 y.o. niece. they seem to have no purpose/goals in life.

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  2. That'a a very heart-warming post.

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  3. I do get so frustrated with some aspects of British youth culture so it's good to hear of the other side. I know there is a good side out there - I've seen it myself but too often it's the dark side we're exposed to.

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    1. From what I read in Indian newspapers and the internet, it looks like British kids are mostly drug addicts, sex offenders and hooligans. Never been outside India, this post changed my perception.

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    2. Guess we have our fair share of baduns KK....
      WHATEVER THE Reason.... Mentoring is important with boys..... It s a job that dads used to have

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  4. I think it might be the same the world over. My mum went to 'Young Wives' when I was a kid and there was a CWI (Country Women's Institute) in the rural farming area where I lived for 13 years... but I am sorry to hear your back is not better. When I used to get it, I took a couple of panadol 4 hourly and did my McKenzie exercises hourly... That seemed to do the trick within a couple of days.
    Here's a link to 'Treat Your Own Back' by Robin McKenzie: http://www.bookdepository.com/Treat-Your-Own-Back-Robin-McKenzie/9780958269285

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    1. Thanks for thAt Katherine ....I have never had sciatica before...it's a bastard

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    2. I also recommend Robin McKenzie's book, John - it helped me a lot.

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  5. loved this. it is so interesting.

    the news only reports the bad kids. There are many that are good, and now are desperate to find work. I really like the idea of mentoring. maybe there should be a huge push for apprenticeships and parents to get right behind them.

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    1. That is true, world over. I really appreciate your thoughts on mentoring.

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  6. There is nothing more 'heart-warming' than praise and thanks. Maybe kids who turn bad never got to experience either. Kind words go a long way (and a tenner helps too).

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  7. mOms? mOms?.....'ark at you!

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    1. I' ve come over all American!

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    2. The yanks have corrupted John? What's next? Y'all?

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    3. Well hush my mouth honeychild

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    4. nope, this yank has not had the chance to corrupt him yet! there is hope! :)

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  8. Anonymous11:22 am

    Newmarket. I just knew it was English. I am not involved in tram and train museums but I have knowledge of them. They are struggling to get younger people involved and maybe in a decade or so, there will be no one who has any knowledge, so it is great that you have some younguns getting involved, and don't let grumpy old men put them off.

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    1. At the turn of the century welsh could not be spoken by the children at school.....strange for. Welsh village eh?

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  9. Bung them £9 when you next see them. It might just stop them from getting their next £10 bag...

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  10. Did the elder have the lads over as a disciplinary or learning event?

    Dry stone walling. Are they going to take on the task of repairing the Church wall? Whilst you sit back on your duff eating Scotch eggs and fondling geese?

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    1. Anonymous3:03 pm

      I was wondering too, if they could be involved in fixing that church wall?

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  11. Anonymous11:33 am

    Impressive that the young fellow (in this age of electronic games) would be interested in learning a craft. Good on him and good on your friend to reach out and offer to share his knowledge.

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  12. Obviously Auntie is one of those who attended Young Wives Club way back then, John. Good to hear about helpful youths today. We're still blessed here in rural Africa, youths are helpful and polite. Not sure what they're like in the cities like Dar es Salaam and Mwanza. Great post. Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Jo

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  13. Nice of you to be there with your neighbour; my friend had both knees replaced 2 years ago at the same time, wherein I went to stay with him for a week to tend to him. Nice you got yourself some youthful help, John, with the way you are feeling at the moment. Also nice to know someone is being a mentor to some of the Youth, more people need to pay attention to our youth of today. xx

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  14. A very shapely cup! I think Cro hit it on the head....kindness begets kindness. There are many children on this planet who are treated like dirt by their parents and others ....they need better examples.

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  15. You are in the middle of a perfect dreamland...beautiful countryside, helpful neighbors, polite teens and people who care about one another. Wish this condition would spread world wide.

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    1. I just don't report the shitier people

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    2. Oh, now and again you do. There is a reason, after all, that I associate weoponized bags of dog poo with your blog stories!

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  16. Neighbours' kids here will help out willingly....but all I see in the newspapers about youngsters involves drugs and teenage pregnancy - not a reflection of life in this neck of the woods.

    My mother had a hip replacement at 95 and a knee replacement at 96...she's mobile and independent so there's a good future awaiting your elderly neighbour.

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  17. Anonymous2:59 pm

    so happy the teens were able to help you out...and that you didn't have to aggravate your sciatica further...the heart went out of the little village where I grew up, when the school was closed down and the students sent into the town school, 12 miles away...no more socials, plays, seasonal celebrations...sad isn't it...all these things brought the community together and held it together...now-a-days there's only one country store and the little house where people go to vote.

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    1. Anonymous3:07 pm

      hope your neighbor's knee replacement goes well...and of course you're helping him out...because that's who you are John...sorry my "yellow lily" popping up all over the place :D

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  18. When I read the description of Trelawnyd/Newmarket I saw it instantly before my Inner Eye: that is Wales/Great Britain as we loved to see it, e.g. in 'Miss Marple' or "A Provincial Lady" - so sad that much of it is lost.
    But you see that there is hope if one knows how to address young people. Even without sciatica help is welcome. I hope your back/leg is better soon (as a former gardener I can feel with you oh so well)!

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    1. Birgitta, I only report the rose tinted views that I choose to see.....

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  19. I took my granddaughter to help in a soup kitchen yesterday. The average age of the workers was sixty or more; I decided it was time to lower that.

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  20. We must remember that only the bad get the press, and that the majority of people, young and old, will usually be there to lend you a hand. I was reminded of this during last week that when the bomb exploded in Boston, so many ran into the smoke to aid others.

    If your back is getting worse, get to a doctor soon, John.

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  21. Are you watching The Village on TV...it's a great programme

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  22. Lovely to read there are still polite and hard-working youth out there, and yes, I agree, it most often is a reflection of their parental mentoring. Good on 'em.
    Rest seems to help my sciatica, not sure how you would do that, with all you have on your plate !
    I've been through lower back surgery, I know all about rest.
    ~Jo

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  23. Doing so well and then you say "will bung each a tenner" Is that a good thing or a bad thing John?

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  24. We used to have Brownies, Scouts, Boys Brigade and church clubs around this way but now, nothing.
    Not all of the youth of today are lazy, in fact I think most of them just want something useful to do and to feel wanted.
    Laying flat on the floor was the only way Tom could get any relief but I'm having a little giggle here picturing you on the floor covered in dogs. sorry...
    Briony
    xx

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  25. John, I'm sorry you're still a pain in the ass - oops, I mean I'm sorry you still have a pain in the ass. I'm truly sorry to hear it's worse, not better. And yet you still help your neighbor. You truly are a kind man, even though you pretend to be a gruff middle-aged whatever! I was delighted to read about the boys who worked on bosoms. When I was a teen, decades ago, I hated the fact that most of the news articles were about delinquents. At least my small town paper printed stories about Scouts, school events, and happier things. There's a young man here in my apt. complex who has come to my "rescue" twice now, offering to help with getting my trash to the dumpster. I use a rolling walker for mobility, so it isn't easy to do the things I used to do. BTW, what is a WI?

    Nancy in Iowa

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  26. How lovely that you are able to help your neighbor. I know what you mean about being over 50 but in your mind young. I still think I can do as much as I could in my twenties but now I get aches and pains and fall asleep on the sofa. I lead such a busy life as we have lots of animals but we love them all and they keep us going. I will always be young at heart and refuse to grow old.......
    Rosezeeta.

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  27. Oh what fun! Im so glad you can capture the history there - it needs to be written down!

    And are you sure its sciatica and not a spine or kidney issue? AND DID YOU MAKE AN APPT TO GO SEE THE DOCTOR?????

    there, im done with my momspeak...

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  28. How magical that you got help when you needed it. A classic illustration of what goes around comes around. You are such a supportive person, to so many.

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  29. There is a nice symmetry to your post ... you helping out your elderly neighbour, and in your turn being helped out by two youngsters and their mentor ... that's how it should be, eh? There are lots of good young people in the world but the news usually reports only the bad ones.

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  30. Sorry to hear your pain is getting worse, John. I heartily agree that it was a great thing they did for you.
    And more young people should be urged to learn 'hands on' jobs.
    Not just gardening or stone walling, but everything to with husbandry as well.
    All jobs that will hold them in good stead.
    Do hope you start feeling better soon, John. *hugs* ♥

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