70 Years On.

I like to think that this snapshot of  Trelawnyd winter circa 1940 was taken on Christmas Eve. It shows the village vicar with his daughter and one of his bullocks,braving the snow in the fields of the rectory.
The rectory fields, bullock and indeed the vicar are long since gone now.....only the daughter remains in the village to this day, living in a house a stone's throw from the church in which her father preached.
I rather like that continuity .....

A storm lashed Poultry village
I wonder who will look out over the site of the Ukrainian village after we are gone? Ultimately the graveyard will extend down into the field and the bones of chickens, pet dogs and old joan the cat  will mix in with the dead of Trelawnyd, Dyserth and beyond....
I am glad , when this happens, I , for one will be lying in the field, the field in which I have spent
So much time and energy.
The Ukrainian village is deserted this morning ,; another storm from west has sent the hens scurrying for cover amid the houses and forced the sheep to hide against the hawthorn hedges.
In 70 years time....perhaps when the new owner of Bwthyn -y-llan googles " the Church Glebe"
This odd little photo of an odd little village will pop up out of the internet mist.

46 comments:

  1. We are all part of the same patchwork of life... and our time must surely be the most documented. Have a wonderful Christmas.

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  2. I can say one thing - anyone looking at that quiet and unassuming poultry village would have no idea of the amount of time and energy you put into keeping all the residents happy and healthy!

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    1. A metaphors for all our lives me thinks

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  3. Dust to dust but the Internet in some advanced form will probably live on.

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  4. A lovely post John.

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  5. I love that first photo and the idea of your resting place being amongst the poultry ridden earth of the Ukrainian Village. Happy Christmas John. xx

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  6. I wonder if the old vicar had as much humour and joy in his life as you John? I wonder what tales he could tell! x

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    1. I think we all have a story in us Simone x

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  7. Anonymous12:13 pm

    You will be a legend in seventy years John with a whole internet site and a description on Wikipedia.

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    1. Yes, I think so too. I wish everyone had a 'John' in their lives - 'twould be so much funnier and more down to earth.
      I will make for Trelawnyd when the apocalypse comes lol.
      Happy Christmas to you and all your followers.
      Much love
      Susan x

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    2. But he's a legend in his own lunchtime already....

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Legend in my own lunchbox

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  8. i just hope no one ever tears down the ukrainian village and puts up condos! have a very merry christmas!

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    1. Over my dead body......oh it would be!

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  9. You will have a plaque....surely. Never to be forgotten!

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  10. With sadness, I believe few will give a thought to what happens to anything seventy years hence. Even in families, we will be forgotten, as the young of today have no interest in people or places before them. (Unless, of course, they or it were the cause of some bloody battle) Few leave a mark.

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    1. I'm not sure i believe this to be a truth....my children are very interested in their ancestry and knowledge of their "place". I think like times of old that has to be cultivated and that it is the adults who have lost interest in passing this on to children. Children are naturally self interested, but adults are supposed to move beyond this and I'm not sure that has happened for some of society!

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  11. John, sending you blessings for a good Christmas. Vx

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    1. Enjoy your of letters and roast potatoes x

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  12. Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸✰¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸✰¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸✰¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ☆☆☆And¸¸✰¸¸ a ¸¸✰¸¸Happy ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸✰¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪New¸¸✰¸¸ Year

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  13. quiet and lovely post today.
    Merry Christmas to you all.

    cheers, parsnip
    and The Square Dogs

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    1. I am feeling that way out today parsnip x

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  14. What a lovely post, John! It's so comforting to think of life's continuity in a special place and being part of that. We celebrated Thanksgiving in my childhood home that is now rented to the daughter of a dear friend of mine and we spent some time looking at pictures of the place in the 1940's, admiring the fruit trees and camelia bushes that were planted when I was a small child and are still thriving today. It was a very special celebration. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a New Year's full of wonderful surprises!

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    1. Kathy...there is something very comforting about ending up where you started x
      Merry christmas

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  15. I also wonder about things like that, although i suspect no one will remember me, per se. They might find my name in some old Planning Commission minutes from my last location if they're researching something, and from that same time perhaps a few letters to the editor of the local, weekly rag, but not much more.

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    1. Me too Megan.......a name on a headstone perhaps x

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  16. I've spent all day thinking of my home village in the west of England I haven't spent christmas there in 30 years.There are lots of people there who don't know me and others who have forgotton me.It's a humbling thought, we are all just passing through. Liz2b

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    1. Perhaps it's almost time for a visit

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  17. Thank you, John, for being such a good blogger and sharing such a diversity of ideas with us.
    Happy Christmas and New Year!
    plufrompdx

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  18. Truly beautiful - and I am a lover of of continuity myself. Happy Christmas to all in your village and menagerie.

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    1. What's goes around comes around eh?
      Xxx

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  19. Beautiful old photo and sweetly remembered. Nadolig Llawen, John, and thanks for introducing many of us to your exceptional life.

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    1. Have a peaceful Spanish holiday time
      Best wishes

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  20. A very lovely post John and the photo of the village is beautiful. What a view! Hopefully it will never be developed into a sea of condos. I think about the days when I was growing up a lot, especially after my Mother passed away last year. Years ago Christmas was a big gathering of family and friends and as the old timers died out and young ones moved away the gatherings were no more. I find myself becoming very sentimental as I get older. I am becoming more like my Grandma all the time. She would tear up at the drop of a pin over any old thing. I think I understand why now that I am getting older and a gathering of one. Wishing you and Chris and the Gang of creatures great and small a very Merry Christmas!

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  21. There's something beautiful and natural about becoming one with one's native soil when one shuffles off this mortal coil.

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  22. Merry Christmas from Canada. May you and the Ukrainian village and all your other animals have a great day tomorrow.

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    1. Thank you....merry Christmas to you too x

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  23. LOve that first pic! And I hope you won't be pushing up daisies in that field anytime soon!

    Happy Christmas.

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