My Mother Was From Gilfach

A Memory of Gilfach Goch.

I was four years old when I moved to Gilfach Goch with my sister Pauline and my dad Samual James Carson and my mam Sybil (Mills), she was from Gilfach and so was most of her family. We lived with my Gransher, Mark James Mills, for a while, at Wyndam Street, Evans Town. My dad had a job on Rhondda Transport buses as a bus conductor. We moved from Wyndam Street to two Station Houses on the outskirts of Gilfach, they were near Garden Village but more in the countryside, which was spectacular. The two houses had no running water and no electricity. We had to pump the water from a pump down the path by the railway line and when this froze in the winter time, we had to get it from a pipe in a stream across the line, or walk down to the old line to another stream. Times were hard, especially for my mam who had two more daughters, Susan and Annette, by now. We were there for five years before we had electricity, before that we had to use oil lamps and candles. I remember the time we had it put in, and me and my sister were so excited, that meant we could have a television. We loved this and I remember programmes like 'Whiplash' and 'Champion the Wonder Horse'. In the summer we would play in the fields, pick bluebells and nuts, and even now the smell of bluebells takes me right back to those happy days. We would go up to Hendreforgan Crescent and every Bonfire Night we would have a bonfire in the middle of the green there. I rememer we used to collect ferns and wood and anythign we could, we would roast potatoes in the middle of it and all us kids would have one. My mam had friends who lived there and their kids would come down and play and go for walks with us, we would go miles down Glynogore and up the lane where we would end up on the Rhiw - that's still there. I can remember loads of adders (snakes) there, and we had to be very careful where we would step. Tiis would lead us to Evanstown where my Grandshir and my aunties lived. We loved going there and playing with my cousins, some of whom still live there today. They were happy, happy times. I also went to school in Evanstown, Aberderdin Secondary Modern, I can't say I liked school but that's where I met my best friend Eira Jones who still lives in Gilfach today. Times were hard for us all, especially Mam who had a toddler, my sister Sue and a baby, Annette, who was born in Station Houses, and when we heard we had a council house my mam and dad were very pleaed. Our council house was on a new housing site called Hendreforgan, they were brand new and had all the mod cons, taps, baths etc, that meant it was easy for Mam now with all us kids. I remember my favourite game on the site used to be chasiing and we would have games like Fox and Hounds and Rounders with all the kids in the street. I loved this, especially chasing, they could never catch me. I have many more happy memories of Gilfach, how we would pick nuts on the way down Ton Hill, in the fields, there are houses there now. If I ever won a lot of money I would definitely buy land and build my own house near where I lived as a girl. I have loads more memories byt I'm afraid I would run out of words so I will finish now, and say I love Gilfach Goch. Yes, there is only one way in and one way out, but all I can say is I love it the most because my mother was from there.
Thank you,
Joyce Williams, aged 61, the date today is 17th May 2010.

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