Swimming

Summer time was the period in which we used to dam the brook to create a pond in which to swim. The location of the pond was about 500 yards above the river bridge, at the base of a coal tip which gave shelter from the wind.

The dam consisted of clods of earth, or clodges as we used to call them, which gave a pond depth of about four feet. Horseflies were always a problem since, if unnoticed, gave a nasty bit which would itch for about a week.

Miners’ Welfare Hall

A Miners' Welfare hall was built adjacent to the original village school, which was eventually converted into a Co-operative store and the old hall was demolished to make way for a new one, called the New Hall in the early 1950's. This comprised a large hall with a projection room with two movie projectors and a library.

Due to a full time cinema existing in Pontlottyn, films were only shown about once a week. However, my father was the projectionist and I used to have free entry to watch the film shows by either telling the man at the kiosk that I had cigarettes for my father, or via the projection room door at the rear of the building.

The projectors were electrically powered and light produced by means of the carbon arc principle, that being 2 carbon electrodes, the size of one’s index finger, placed a short distance from each other. An arc was drawn across the gap which gave an intense white light. The adjustment was manual in that one had to periodically close the ever increasing gap which was caused by erosion of the arc. However, on occasions, this was not attended to which generated a lot of foot thumping by the audience. As I grew older, on occasions, this task was left to me.

I was born, Ian Ballard Oliver, at Number 2 Moores Row, Fochriw in 1939; I am now known as Ian Ballard. My mother, Ceinwen Ballard, was one of seven sisters born to Thomas and Sarah Ballard. There were no boys, consequently the eldest son born to each of the daughters were given Ballard as a middle name. My father, William Oliver, worked as a porter-signalman at Cwmbargoed. My grandmother, Sarah, had died before my parents' marriage, but my Grandfather (my 'dcu), a retired collier, lived at number 1 Moores Row; my aunt Bess, who was a teacher, kept house for him.

Looking through your site, and reading the books by Peter Price, I note that the usage of the Old Language has fallen away; this was to be expected, especially with the sale of the dairy farm to allow expansion after the war. It is a shame, though. So to put you both right on one point (well, you are equally right and wrong at the same time, as it is not something any non-linguist would ever dream of!): Cae Glas - Means "greenfield" which is not the same as Green Field! In other words, when the adjective "glas" (blue) is applied to something which is obviously green (gwyrdd) it means that it is kept permanently so. In the case of a field it means that it is never ever ploughed, but left fallow! A similar construction occurs in the following example:

gwellt- grass......but glaswellt - lawn/greensward ... i.e. it's permanently green (we hope!)