A Gladys Catch Up


It's Sunday morning and I am lying in bed fully clothed. I have not been able to shift this cold of mine and felt so full of snot yesterday that I had to forgo the invite to a wine tasting dinner party last night which was a real pisser.....I have not been out of the house to anything that required a proper wash for an absolute age!
Anyhow....I have been catching up with some of my blog comments today. Hello to Carol Ellis...who left a note saying that she lives in the next village to us....always nice to hear from locals......but I have to warn her.....with organising the open day this year and with the flower show looming, I do have an annoying tendency to conscript helpers and participants...so be warned

One of the other comments noted that Auntie Gladys had not had a mention in a while, and I must apologise for that, mainly because I have not seen her in a week or so, because of my cold.
Winter colds and old people are a bit like red mite in chicken coops.......left unchecked they can run riot and cause untold damage.....
Mind you the old gal looks sprightly enough......I saw her standing at the bus stop yesterday morning in her distinctive little red coat. She was chatting to Gay Gordon and was on her way to Rhyl, six miles away for a morning's shop.
I beeped the car horn, knowing full well that she wouldn't know on earth was making such a racket, but I noticed that she waved in my general direction like the Queen Mother after a pink gin.....

Below is a brief article I found from the Flintshire Chronicle printed a few years ago now....it was a story written about Gladys..... Thought you would find it interesting

Trelawnyd resident recalls decades of Flintshire village life
May 26 2011 by Francesca Elliott, Flintshire Chronicle

ONE of Trelawnyd’s most treasured residents has shared her memories of decades of village life.
Born in 1919 in Pantymwyn, Gladys Jones, now known to all as Auntie Gladys, went to school in Gwernaffield, leaving at the age of 14.
“When I was 16 I went to Gwrn Castle in Llanasa to be head housemaid,” she said.
“Major Bates lived there with his wife. They really looked after the village.

“They held parties for the poorer children and they were very good to us, we had the same food as they were eating in the dining room and when I married my husband at the Castle they gave us a present of £50, which was a huge amount in those days.”
Gladys added: “When the war started we had to leave. I went to work in the kitchens making the dinners for the girls in the Land Army.
“I worked in Rhydymwyn, St Asaph, Holywell and Mold. I loved it.
“There were 56 girls in the Land Army around here and when the war finished we walked into Chester for a night out to celebrate, then walked back at five in the morning. Everyone was a bit drunk – it was great!”
Once Gladys’s husband, Robert – known as Bob Railway – was demobbed from the Army the couple moved to Trelawnyd, where Gladys has been a stalwart of the community ever since.
By the late 1940s she was a leading member of the Trelawnyd Welfare Committee, which was set up after the war to support poor families and pensioners in the area.
The committee evolved into the Trelawnyd Flower Show committee in the 1970s, which still exists to raise money for local projects in the village and support the memorial hall.
Bob also worked at the Point of Ayr Colliery.
At the age of 92, Gladys is still an active and integral part of the fundraising team for the show, going from door to door around the village selling hundreds of raffle tickets.
Despite all of her happy memories of the village, Gladys has had her share of tragedy, losing her daughter Edwina in a traffic accident when she was just 16.
“When I lost my daughter I thought I would never get over it,” she said.
“I remember the day perfectly, it was March 19, frosty beyond words.
“I called into the shop on the way back from feeding our lambs and the milkman asked me how Edwina was. I thought it was a funny thing to say as he had never asked before. Then my brother-in-law and a policeman came to the house, both crying. I knew then that something had happened to her.”
Decades later Gladys is a grandmother to her other daughter Reenie’s two sons, and attributes her longevity to good food, early nights and keeping busy.
She is well-known for her cooking throughout the area and has often providing refreshments for the award-winning Trelawnyd Male Voice Choir.
A stickler for tradition, Gladys continues to do as little work as possible on a Sunday – even preparing her vegetables for her Sunday roast a day early.
“When I was young the children didn’t even kick a stone on the street on a Sunday, it was disrespectful,” she said.
“The village has changed quite a bit, there are a lot more houses now, but less people, and not as many people like to get involved with things.”
If you would like to meet Gladys and taste her famous scones, visit the Trelawnyd Flower Show at the village memorial hall from 2.30pm on Saturday, August 13.


37 comments:

  1. I love hearing about Gladys and I adore the genuine love you have for your community xxxx

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  2. Delightful read. What beautiful names she gave her daughters.
    When you mention Auntie Gladys I always smile & think of Ronnie Barker in " Open all hours " getting all hot & bothered about nurse Gladys !

    Recently in our village there was a tea party for a group of children & several guests of honour - seniour members of the community invited to tell their stories. It was lovely for all involved.

    Get well soon xx

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  3. bless her heart; there should be more people like gladys in this world.

    get well soon; I hear you about the lingering viruses, I know many people who have been ill for weeks/taken meds/nothing happened.

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  4. Ah, Aunty Gladys... Do send my best wishes, when next you spy her at the bus stop.

    Sorry to hear the cold continues.... always reckon on 2 weeks suffering!

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  5. God bless you Aunty Glad xx

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  6. Love these old village characters John. When i moved to this village twenty years ago there were quite a few. Now they have all died and the village is full of incomers - only about ten locals left and they are all the farmer's age (70) and somehow the incomers have completely changed the character of the village, so that no old customs etc. have survived. Plenty of whisky and lemon for that cold - and plenty of sunshine. x

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  7. I love hearing Land Army tales John. It's fantastic that you blog about such wonderful characters like Auntie Gladys.

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  8. Wonderful lady!

    Get well soon, John.

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  9. thanks for sharing that lovely article,

    Gill in Canada

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  10. Lovely article! Beep a "Hello" for me too! Hope you feel better soon, John

    What do they say? "You may think it's funny but it's snot." @;)

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  11. I remember being miffed on Sundays as my parents would not let me go out in the street to play.
    Actually, Sundays were nice days, quiet with no shops open, really peaceful.
    Briony
    x

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  12. Hot whiskey with honey will break that cold....A lovely story about a lovely woman.

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  13. I'm with Linda! Squeeze a little lemon in there too. Give a hug to Auntie Glad when you see her next from this "Yooper".

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  14. I love these stories. I wish young kids could hear 'old folk' stories...they may garner some respect.
    Jane x

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  15. PHEW! At first I didn't know where this post was heading!
    Nothing is worse than a head cold John that refuses to leave! I know you will get plenty of helpful hints, so here is another one: a Neti Pot...to rinse out the sinus'...it works! Look it up.

    Auntie Gladys, what a full life she is living. May it continue for many more years.
    All the best from your 'culture vulture'.

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  16. How lovely, this is the first time I have read about Glady's (having only just found you), she sounds a wonderful character.

    Continue to stay away from her if you can while you are habouring so many germs and snot, inside tucked up warm in your house is the best place to be with maybe a few furtive doggie walks for fresh air, far from the germ free crowd (hard to do at this time of year when it would seem everyone has one bug or another).

    I hope you're soon feeling better.

    Sue xx

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  17. Home spun cold remedy - cry. Get the saddest movies, saddest books, etc, really clears those sinuses out. Sorry for it lingering.

    I love hearing about Auntie Glad, she has lived an interesting life!

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  18. Auntie Gladys is a true treasure, do they even make them like her any more, I think not....
    It doesn't seem so long ago other than church, and eating Sunday dinner, we didn't do anything on Sundays. No shopping, no cleaning, especially no laundry. Nowadays it seems to be just another rat-race day.
    Hope you get over your nasty cold John, and looking forward to the upcoming flower show.
    ~Jo

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  19. She is my inspiration - love her! What day will your open day be? xxx

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  20. I love Auntie Gladys! I'll have to tell her that we live in Gyrn Castle... well, the gatehouse! I didn't know that she used to work there :)

    Hannah

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  21. Aunt Gladys's story is such history! I saw a movie once about the Land Army girls and the work they did during the war. It's so nice to learn more about her.

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  22. Delightful post, thank you.

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  23. Oh John, I have a cold too; its from all those filthy bathrooms on the interstate on the way back from wisconsin - I knew I should have used my gloves when touching those public doorknobs... A good walk in the cold though yesterday did clear my sinuses for a while...

    I want to be a Aunt Gladys when i grow up - she is compassionate and tough and fun and a pistol all rolled into one - what a woman!

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  24. So glad to hear that Trelawnyd's Treasure is still sprightly for all her 92 years. From what you've written, John, she is such a lovely lady and I loved reading her life story. Hope your lurgie is better soon.

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  25. Auntie Glad is a national treasure! And she is always so beautifully turned out, perfectly colour co-ordinated and with dangly earrings, even to go shopping. She puts some of the youngsters waiting at the bus stop with her to shame. Although she does wave like the Queen Mother after a pink gin, she wouldn't accept the invitation to play the part of the carnival queen at the Trelawnyd Carnival, saying she didn't feel she was grand enough. "Mind you", she said quietly, "I know someone in the village who does think she's grand enough ...." Hope you soon feel better, John - at least the weather's improved.

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  26. She sounds like a fine example for all of us in life.

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  27. What a lovely post about a super lady. Note to self: Go to bed earlier.

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  28. What a lovely lady she is. She reminds me of my nan who didn't sit down til the day she died. I can still hear her welsh voice too.

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  29. Thanks for sharing this post with us, John. :o)

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  30. Fascinating - thank you John

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  31. Three cheers for Aunt Glad! Have you managed to find out her secret for making wonderful scones?

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  32. An amazing woman. :)

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  33. That cold of yours is dragging on a bit isn't it ? perhaps a trip to the docs for a little help ?

    take care of yourself ............

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  34. I'm surprised you didn't join the men's chorus so you could have more of Auntie Glad's scones! And, good on you for staying away from others as much as you can whilst sick. Hope you can recover soon!

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  35. What a lovely post. If I end up half as respected/ loved as Aunty Gladys I'll consider I'll have had a successful life. Good luck with your cold - have you tried some Olbas Oil?

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