Islwyn ( pronouncing Trelawnyd) for a previous post
There was a small line of cars filling the lane as the Ikea lorry unloaded my kitchen.
I popped from one to another apologising for the wait, and everyone was good natured as they generally are on a weekend.
One chap who lives directly across the valley whistled through his teeth
"Dew......that was a big fire you had the other night" he said" I thought the entire village was alight!"
I replied that I hadn't had a bonfire and enquired what night he had seen the blaze.
" bonfire night" the chap explained
One of the nights we were in New York.
I walked on the field to investigate and surprise surprise my bonfire that I had been building for a year now had vanished. The old sofa, four old hen houses, trees, garden waste and an arm chair had disappeared Only a big black ring in the ground remained.
Village Elder Islwyn had been at work
Now every village needs an Islwyn.
He is someone that sees a job that needs doing and who does it, bugger red tape or procrastination.
After the recent storms, many of the churchyard trees were damaged or were felled and although the responsibility for the upkeep of the plot is the job of the community council, Islwyn and his brother cleared the trees themselves, sawed them into manageable chunks and added them to my bonfire before incinerating them on November the fifth!
Job done.
I saw Islwyn's brother tidying up the new graveyard last night. It was almost dark and I joked with him just how impressive the bonfire was to the residents across the valley who thought Trelawnyd was burning .
I also noted how neat the graveyard looked even in the murk of dusk.
" we wanted it tidy" he explained " we bury our mother next week"
Aren't there any recycling initiatives down your way? Hole in the ozone layer?What hole?
ReplyDeletePeople like Islwyn and his brother are rare.
ReplyDeleteIn my city, things like garden waste, old furniture, fallen trees etc.. are completely taken care of by the municipality.
It is the garbage disposal and city cleanup that decides the re-election of a mayor.
Islwyn single handedly re designed the new graveyard
DeleteHe obviously has the same motto as us, 'If you want something done - do it yourself'
ReplyDeleteAnd so health and safety
DeleteHelpful villagers like that can sometimes get a bit out of hand, in my experience.
ReplyDeleteI've just watched that clip. All these years I have been pronouncing it (in my head) as though it contained a neat lawn in Surrey. Now I know.
DeleteYes......reins sometimes have to be held
DeleteGood they only burned what was supposed to burn. Trill-ow-NIDD
ReplyDeleteI am sure the hedgehogs all got away
DeleteI was pronouncing it Tree-lawn-ed I was way off how about this one, in Arizona an area known as Mogollon Rim, is pronounced "Muggy-on" weird eh?
ReplyDeleteA good story with a bit of a bittersweet heartwrench at the end there.
ReplyDeleteYes she was in her nineties and a village lady all of her life
DeleteGod bless you the mother of Islwyn and his brother. Sounds like you raised two good sons who see that something needs doing, so they do it. They want you to rest in peace and so you shall.
DeleteI like the attitude of if it needs doing, do it. No such thing as not my job.
ReplyDeleteWe call that a burn pile, here. "Put it in the burn pile." I like the idea of keeping a cemetery tidy. It was my granddaughter's job a couple of summers ago.
ReplyDeleteThat's life in the country. I note someone commented that they are rare. Not so here, country people get on with it and get their hands dirty and do it themselves.
ReplyDeleteThat last bit hit me in the heart. So matter of fact but coming from love.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I've just watched all of your videos that play after the posted one. What a great peaceful bunch of them!
DeleteYes it was a collection of villagers that all pronounced the village name for my non Welsh readers x
DeleteLove the Welsh names, the fact that Village Elders are burning things on your property on certain nights of the year when you're not home, love the fact that people don't mind that they're stuck in the street...
ReplyDeleteYou live in a very different world than me, and getting these glimpses into it are fascinating.
It's surly a strange place her Harry !
DeleteI'd like to live in a strange place such as yours. We have a small cabin in a small village in the mountains of upstate New York that we escape to several times a year, but it's not the same as living there. I love village life. You're blessed.
DeleteWe have burn piles here in Lloyd for downed branches and whatever else needs burning. My husband loves the chore of lighting it all afire.
ReplyDeleteWe've never burned a sofa but have burned a desk and a bookshelf that were infested with wood borers.
Got it! Now how do you pronounce Islwyn?
ReplyDeleteIs.....loo........in
DeleteWith a bit of extra phlegm thrown in for good luck.
DeleteNOTHING like a good bonfire.
ReplyDeleteWe have a bonfire pile that builds up until it's worth lighting.
ReplyDeleteWe missed bonfire night this year it wasn't big enough ... but we had to cremate two hens this week so we made sure it was ... it's good to have a good tidy up.
Nice to have the leftovers burned and the church trees tidied up
ReplyDeletebefore the heavy rains and snow comes.
Makes a nice view from your windows.
cheers, parsnip
They work very hard they do
Deletejust like Milngavie in Glasgow is pronounced Mul-ga-ee ....
ReplyDeleteAnd just as hard!
DeleteI'm glad I don't have to (try to) speak Welsh. That IS what it is, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI would like to live in Wales.
ReplyDeleteAuntie Gladys house is still up for sale
DeleteAnother slice of life, well told, John. Had you known their mother had died? And I, too, hope the hedgehogs got away!
ReplyDeleteNo, although I knew she was dying
DeleteOf course they wanted the graveyard tidy. And of course nothing was going to stop them.
ReplyDeleteVery nice that it all got done without bothering you. Impressive!
ReplyDeleteCould he pop over here? I have a carpet and a pile of brick rubble in my back garden awaiting collection at the moment.
ReplyDeleteSomeone who just does what needs doing and ignores the red tape is a great asset.
ReplyDeleteNow you should consider changing the name of your corner property to Flatpack Cottage.
ReplyDeleteThat was the quickest video ever. How about printing it our phonetically for Southern California hicks like me.
ReplyDeleteHe says Tre-low-lid, and I say Tre-law-nid; let's call the whole thing off!
ReplyDeleteBless the 2 brothers.I Think they both deserve a big kiss from winnie.
ReplyDeletehusband torched our burn pile yesterday. neighbor came down to see who was burning down the neighborhood.
ReplyDeletearticle love in it
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