Trelawnyd isn't " Walnut Grove" or " Walton's Mountain".....even though I often give the impression that it is. Historically it is a working class Welsh village that has it's spats and fall outs like any other community and it may come a surprise to a few when I say that there is at least one village character that I would find difficult to piss on if they were on fire.
Oh of course I WOULD piss on them....it's only a figure of speech, but I guess you get the gist of the matter.
Now we share a tight lipped " hello" on meeting, but I am still sure it was them that reported one of my village fete . " open allotment days " to the district council on " health and safety " reasons. This anonymous whistle blowing necessitated a red faced official visiting the field before the day to check if I had completed the relevant risk assessment paperwork.
" Someone doesn't like you" the council clerk said in way of explanation " we get a lot of these kind of petty reports "
The Red Faced Welsh farmer gave me some advice at that time....
" Get proof if you can....always get proof....... Failing that give ' em a hard smack On a dark night"
The RFWF centre at the Jubilee Carnival
When the Red Faced Welsh Farmer was alive, things in Trelawnyd were much more exciting. He would delight in stirring up the Community council meetings with robust tails of political and personal shenanigans whilst bellowing like Robert Newton in Treasure Island.
He made enemies as easily as he made friends, and the dry -as- a - nun's - chuff agendas were delightfully colourful when he was alive.
Cross the RFWF and you risked getting a punch in the face....but you always knew where you stood with him.......it was a testament to him that when he died, the large church as Bodelwyddan was over filled with hundreds of mourners.
There is still a group of characters in the village that would stand by your side in a fight. Wise, measured individuals who would and do " have a word in an ear" if the need arose. Luckily for me, I think, I stand in their corner
I was thinking about this when I was passing the untidy house with the black bin bagged windows in the centre of the village today. Two staffy crosses were loose in the garden and both were barking loudly behind fences that didn't look too safe and an unseen character was shouting at them to be quiet. I hope that the new family integrate themselves into the community .....for there has been friction before with inner city English families being " parachuted" into quiet areas of social housing here with interesting results......
Luckily " The word in your ear" approach seems to have worked wonders when antisocial behaviour reared it's ugly head.
See...its not all scones and bara brith!
