John Parry of Trelawnyd
This morning there was a call from the lane as I was right in the middle of tackling a regurgitated rodent which had been deposited on the living room floor.
It was " Trendy Carol " from the last house. We go to the same fat club.
She was collecting signatures in a large " Sorry to hear that you are leaving card", a card that was earmarked for an elderly couple who are due to leave the village after a lifetime in Trelawnyd .
The couple are now frail and at times in poor health, so they have reluctantly made the decision to sell up and move to an inner city house which is around the corner from their daughter.
When I was researching GOING GENTLY's sister blog " VOICES FROM THE PAST" (http://trelawnydhistory.blogspot.co.uk) - a personalised history blog of the Village Characters- I interviewed a couple of dozen residents that all had been born, and will probably die here in Trelawnyd and I thought then that the population was much more staid and immobile than it is now.
How wrong was I .
The pre national health and benefit time depression years of the early twentieth century saw villagers venturing far and wide from Wales in search of a better life. In the 19th Century the 100 strong Mormon community led by John Parry left Trelawnyd to form a new life in Salt Lake City. He turned out to be the first conductor of the city's famous Tabernacle Choir and more shockingly had four wives ( the dirty beast)
Anyhow I digress.
I have been thinking today about the leaving couple, Colin and Yola, as I look at the beautifully carved eagle that Colin gave me on the day of the Flower Show. and I suspect that the move will be ( and importantly feel ) more positive than expected, I hope it will.
When the Prof and I left my hometown of Sheffield , ten years ago, there was no " Terms of Endearment" moment when we pulled away from our house for the last time. ( do you remember the scene when Debra Ringer says " pull away slow" to her husband and he guns the car?)
Our life was IN the car.......a car crammed to the gunnels with dogs and cats and OUR loved life shit.
I hope that Colin and Yola share some of the excitement that we , that sexually exhausted John Parry, and countless others experienced when home had to be changed for something new......
I wish them well.
I hope that their new life away from Trelawnyd is a good one for them.
ReplyDeleteMy former husband's job as a petroleum engineer kept us on the move all over Texas in our adult years - my daughter attended three high schools in four years, and the longest I've lived in the same house since I left home for college at age 17 is 7 years - and that's in my current house in SC! And I guess it must be in my nature to move now, because right now I am itching to move on - to a new town, new house, new job, etc... I always look forward to moving - it's an adventure, and keeps me busy getting settled in for years! I plan to move closer to my daughter as soon as I feel like she is really settled somewhere for a while. Wishing the older couple the best, and I hope the move turns out to be a wonderful thing for them :)
ReplyDeleteI love your tender heart.
ReplyDeleteDuring the depression of the thirties my grandparents travelled from South Wales around England before finally settling in North Wales where they remained with their children who were born on the way. They brought with them the references required to live where they ended up & the tenancy agreements too, fascinating pieces of history which I now have. I hope both Colin & Yola will be happy when they move x
ReplyDeleteI've never liked that in-between time, when all your possessions are in some hired van being transported to a new home. The rest of the moving process I've always enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteIt is not easy to leave a lifetime behind but it is good that they have a daughter who will look over them. It is the circle of life.
ReplyDeleteThirteen years ago our pets had all died. We left our house and its garden, our nice neighbours, old stuff and living in an interesting area for a spotless highrise apartment bigger than our house. I love it and no regrets. We move on when we are ready.
ReplyDeleteSounds as though the village is giving them a good send off.
ReplyDeleteI hope they see it as an adventure and that it gives them a new zest for life. Change can be good, even if you are expecting the worst.
ReplyDeleteI hate change and moving house is a very big change. Let's hope being closer to their family makes it something to look forward to for them.
ReplyDeleteWe're moving on five weeks tomorrow! Eeek!
ReplyDeleteI would not like moving at this point in life (much less your neighbours' point in life) because to me it signifies the beginning of the long (or short?) downhill slide ...That's all I have ever seen - once you cannot look after your house, it's off to an apartment, and when you can't manage an apartment, it's off to assisted living, then full-on nursing home ... any wonder I am pessimistic about the whole process :)
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I hope your neighbours find things better than they hope, and I also want to say that the beautiful carved eagle is a tremendous gift and says something nice about how they view you.
It must be a big wrench, both physically and emotionally, so I hope all goes smoothly for them, and they are happy in their new home.
ReplyDeleteSorry to digress, but is that a butterfly bush behind the bird? I have one. Looks the same.
ReplyDeleteYes its cut buddliea from the garden
DeleteYes, change is not necessarily a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen ready to go, moving is easy - even if loaded to the gunnels...
ReplyDeleteChange is inevitable...and sad sometimes.
ReplyDeleteMoving on because one wants to has a different energy from moving on because one must. I do hope Colin and Yola settle in nicely in their new place and find being so close to their daughter delightful.
ReplyDelete