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"
