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| Grey and Cold....Trelawnyd Hibernates |
Before Christmas I bumped into old Islwyn Thomas who told me that Gay Gordon had been taken poorly right in the middle of a " Turkey and tinsel " weekend up in a Morecambe sea front guest house. I wanted to see how he was doing so I went to see Gay Gordon's lady friend , Mary to catch up with any news.
Now Mary is a cheerful old soul who looks like a massive scatter cushion with a quarter of the stuffing removed and the last time I visited her bungalow, the dogs and I got stranded in her exterior garden elevator for a very stressful twenty minutes ( I won't go into details here) so carefully I side stepped the elevator and knocked on her door.
There was no answer so I trolled the street to see if I could glimpse a flick of net curtains anywhere.
There wasn't any sign of life until I got to Llys Mostyn where the man who lived in the corner house was venturing out with his miserable little Shih Tzu.
He told me that Gay Gordon was still in hospital but was improving which was good news.
Auntie Glad suddenly appeared on High Street when we turned the corner and she told me that she had been visiting an elderly neighbour ( who interestingly was 20 years younger than she) then asked me all about my trip to Kent on Boxing Day
She wanted to know every detail......... everything we did.... and I had to smile as
She listened to everything I said with sparkling eyes
Gladys has the knack of taking pleasure out of every bit of news....a fact most of us overlook as the
boring shit of life .......Taking pleasure out of a a five minute conversation is a wonderfully altruistic skill
I am off to London tomorrow for the day, so I then went round to ask if John F would lock up the geese for me in return for half a dozen eggs , he agreed cheerfully as did animal helper Pat , who agreed a barter swap of 6 eggs for some baking margarine when I popped in on the way home
This afternoon I will be making a chicken a mushroom pie for Chris' tea tomorrow and I couldn't be bothered braving the miserable weather to walk up to the garage shop......
Hey ho...it's all go
What on earth is a garden elevator? I imagine Mary on a department store type moving staircase, with trug and trowel in hand, riding to the top of her sloping garden. Seems bloody lazy to me.
ReplyDeleteMary's bungalow is lower than the pavement, so the council installed an elevator she she can get out of her house
Delete( she can't negiotiate steps!)
I am trying to imagine what a "Turkey and Tinsel" weekend would be like John? At least you would able to get a pint of Thwaites bitter in Morecambe. I am also puzzled about the garden elevator. Pray tell us more?
ReplyDeleteTurkey and tinsel weekends are common in old fashioned seaside towns
DeleteThey usually start in October and basically are christmas in a package for older guests
As for the garden elevator...see my reply to YP above
It's a glass box elevator that allows a wheelchair to access the road which lies above the bungalow
If you and Chris ever need a house sitter to take care of things for a month or so, keep us in mind.... How wonderful it would be to live in your village and meet these folks personally (although your descriptions make me feel like I know them already).
ReplyDeleteLol............what are you doing in June?
DeleteFor a cold we day it sounds like you found conversation anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm pushy
DeleteA very entertaining "dull wet day" all the news that is he news in a magical village!
ReplyDeleteIt's been 50 years since I knew anyone called "Glad" and even then, it was an old-fashioned name from the older generation. So nice to see a photo of Auntie Glad on your sidebar.
ReplyDeleteHi, my Nan on my Mum's side was Gladys so I have a fond place for the name - although not enough to call my daughter it I'm afraid...
DeleteMy mum's name was Gladys - and most people called her 'Glad'. But then, confirming what Debra, above, says, if she was still alive this year would have marked her 99th birthday.
DeleteHimself's boss is married to a Gladys, referred to in our house as Gladarse. It's awful at these work do's, she must think I have a speech impediment 'Hello Glad... ys'
DeleteKitKatCot, I had to laugh. We had a Great Aunt Glad, known as Gladarse, many many years ago. In fact some of the cheekier young'uns used to call her HappyBottom. All of which she took with great good humour.
DeleteYou really should write a book, this post is like Laurie Lee but much funnier. My hubbys' Nana used to give lunches for 'the old people' always made us laugh as she was in her early 80s at the time, they were considerably younger.
ReplyDeleteTwiggy x
Thank you twiggy....
DeleteI think you should be afs shin model
What happened then?
DeleteIt should have read a FASHION MODEL
Auntie Glad is living in the moment and enjoying every second of it. She is a good role model to us all.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you have something great going here. But I suspect you know that! Have fun in London.
I will... I shall be meeting my best friend for a spot of theatre going... Will be back in the evening!
DeleteI just love your Auntie Glad. You are so lucky to have her.
ReplyDeleteHey John: Have a nice trip to London tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAnd Auntie G is such an inspiration!
You make the round trip to London sound like popping into town! Auntie Glad is a treasure...don't forget the scone video!!
ReplyDeleteI shall enjoy the change... I aim to read some david Sidaris on the way down
DeleteHe's great...hope he's back on Radio 4 soon
DeleteTo pop into a large, bustling city from a small quiet village, even for a day, can be quite the adrenaline rush.
ReplyDeletePost Christmas London, I hope you enjoy the last of the decorations, before Yuletide is over.
~Jo
It's always a treat isn't it
DeleteAunti Glad always brings a smile to my face. I should take a leaf out of her book and take more pleasure from the little things x
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year darling x
ReplyDeleteKeep on cooking!
DeleteMy husband, said the other day, how this "old man" was doing something... and how he was "pushing seventy" and he kept talking about how this "ancient fool" was doing it. I asked him if he realized how old I was... he back peddled as well as he could, not making it out of the hole he had dug himself into. "I don't think of YOU as old," he says. Hahaha. --- it's what you get when you marry a younger man, John, take heed!
ReplyDeleteI simply have to see that elevator, I cannot wrap my head around the concept. If it goes down, does it not occasionally fill w/water?
See this old post... No photo but it kind of explains it better
Deletehttp://disasterfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/trapped-in-elevator.html
I think I got it, John. Had a good laugh while I was at it too!
DeleteAwww auntie Glad reminds me of my dad who always helped out the 'old folk' who were at least a decade younger than him. Have a lovely trip to London x
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like you, John, and Auntie Glad are two of a kind, taking pleasure in the little things, and being a good example to others.
ReplyDeleteAnd it has been a lovely day here John - wall to wall sunshine once it decided to get going around eleven this morning. Egg-bartering sounds a useful idea around your neck of the woods. Have a good day - do you go by train and if so, where from?
ReplyDeleteThe 8 am train from Prestatyn
DeleteNuala will meet me around 10.40
That's a very fast rail trip from North Wales to London. The 0804 via Flint, Crewe and Milton Keynes. Love from a trainspotter. Have a good day. xxx
DeleteVery much indoors weather in these parts as well John. Auntie Glad is a little treasure and would brighten up anybody's winter's day
ReplyDeleteCold and snowing here. I don't know my neighbors, there is the crazy guy down the hall that all but faints if I say "hi!" and beyond that I would n't know them if I sat on them.
ReplyDelete"...Mary is a cheerful old soul who looks like a massive scatter cushion with a quarter of the stuffing removed." Just love the way you write!
ReplyDeleteLove the community you live in - and contribute to.
ReplyDeleteAuntie Glad is such an inspiration to young and old. The weather is miserable and she is out and about visiting a friend. Did she walk from her home to high street? You must get her secret for her good health. She is a very special lady.
ReplyDeleteChicken and mushroom pie sounds delicious! You are going to have to start posting some recipes!!
Your rambles around the village are always interesting, looking for your hens in the church yard, chatting with Glad, trading goose eggs for goose minding. You have a great book in you, begun in these blog posts. Being stuck in that elevator sounds nasty, and with the dogs too! I have been wondering, how do you pronounce Trelawnyd? As it looks? Tree lawnd?
ReplyDeletebless auntie glad!
ReplyDeleteit snowed here today, about 2 inches. and it's very cold. I wanna hibernate too, under a blanket fort.
Even tho you said no more rescues....there's a beautiful Shar Pei who was abandoned by the owner at a train station in Scotland who needs a forever home...maybe go home by way of Scotland???
ReplyDeleteooh a goose egg, that's take a lot of buttered soldiers!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love your writing: "Now Mary is a cheerful old soul who looks like a massive scatter cushion with a quarter of the stuffing removed..."
ReplyDelete