Hop-scotch, gambos and levitation

Loved John's comments on the Opies and kids' rhymes. I love all that stuff and have blogged about some I remember:
 omp-pomp-pee-and-lousianna

I went to junior school in Aberenfig, but when I went to Secondary school I was with children from Bridgend and Maesteg and realised they had different games, game words and rhymes despite being only two and eight miles away. When I went away to college in the big city - Cardiff(!) - a whole twenty miles away I found more differences. What I thought of as aeroplane hopscotch was simply hopscotch and the rhymes for playing two balls or skipping were endless. I particularly liked:
??????? had a fright
In the middle of the night
She saw a ghost eating toast 
halfway up a lampost

And there were those naughty rhymes where you nearly/sort of swore:
Lily was in the garden playing with the cat
Down came a bumble bee and stug her on her...
Twice she went to the doctor's...

While I find it hard to remember poetry or lyrics to songs I can recite the whole of the piece of filth above!

The word gambo has caused me great excitement - I should get out more! - it was what we called home made go-carts in Aberkenfig but were buggies or go-carts in Cardiff. The word actually came up on"call my Bluff" many moons ago.
 Wiki -Call My Bluff
The definition was a hay cart in the West Country.
Further excitement was caused when I saw the word on a cart wheel in the wonderful coracle museum in Cenarth in Cardigan:
 coracle museum.


 I wonder how many people attempted the levitation thing where you chanted to try and make a person weightless and the group attempt to pick the person up from a prone position supporting them with two fingers of each hand. There was a variation to make someone fall back as well where you pretended to make holes in their back and then thread and pull an imaginary string... Universal or just Aberenfig I wondered, but - as so often - the wonderful Wiki provided an answer:
wiki Light as a feather, stiff as a board

Family Stuff and History

I'm now in touch with my cousin on my father's side (Jeanette and her husbnd Ian) and discovered several errors in my Auntie Gladys's version of the Gunston history which I will correct.

One of my  Australian cousins, Jacqui (my mother's side) is visiting again in September so I hope to  confirm some stuff when I see her. On our Maltese side there is the scary Greek Great Grandmother -who I resemble! - My sister commented that we have no idea of her background. There must be a tale of how she - or her family - came to Malta from somewhere Greek....

Diasporas are fascinating. I only got as far as Cardiff (20 miles!) and then came back - for some people that is quite adventurous, but nothing compared with Malta to Egypt and then to Australia like my maternal Grandparents. When I was in Cardiff I used to joke that I'd travelled 20 miles and got culture shock - it was quite true though.

Just been googling...again!

Found this site which sells photos but has place for memories, which make interesting reading.
http://www.francisfrith.com/aberkenfig/
Astonishing to think that such a small village had a department store! I too remember the Co-operative store at the top of the village and Lewis's who delivered the milk.
When I got to Cardiff in the 70s I was amazed that  milk was bought in cartons from the corner shops - they did have milkmen as well, but didn't really fit in with student life!
In Aberkenfig we had milk delivered and if we ran out we'd walk to "The Dairy" - which was the Lewis's home opposite Pandy school. I remember you just knocked the door and Mrs Lewis would walk over to the yard and get a bottle of milk and sell it to you from there. 

Another year and post-redundancy...

Well! I am sat in a hotel in my home city googling myself once more and discovered I still have a blog, but also lots of links, thanks to my various websites.

I did get made redundant, but was fortunate enough to keep my wonderful work with Abergavenny and Caldicot People First. I really hate to sound sentimental, but I'd be lying if I denied the pure pleasure I get from this area of work as well as a salary that enables me to survive.

I love mediation and training and get a real buzz from a session that ends in satisfaction for parties or students, but it is also a bit scary, unlike work with my learning disability groups. I get anxious about transport (and how!), room bookings, mailshots and all sorts, but just love being with the members - How lucky is that?

Strange being a hotel guest in my own city, but here at a conference and cannot believe the nightlife in Cardiff throughout the week. I am obviously getting old as I'd like to provide some warm clothing for the skimpily dressed youngsters all over the city centre after dark.

So where am I a year and a half post-redundancy? Still mediating when I can and running my learning disabilities groups. I have a mediation course running at the new Cardiff and Vale College at the Barry site and reluctantly embraced Facebook, but not yet tweeting!

My People First groups decided they wanted websites so I put them together and a Facebook presence followed. My increased Facebook activity connected me to my Australian cousins and my one remaining aunt and uncle who have also taken to Facebook - so great to see family pics old and new and have a connection that is a little faster than the old blue airmail letters my Mum used to exchangewith her mother and siblings.

I am a part-time fosterer which also brings enormous pleasure, but not appropriate or professional to say more other than I am so pleased I took the plunge.

Busy at the moment with various strands of work - did I say I'm on three management committees as well? - and luckily enjoying my life. I am about to make another major life change and move back to my old family home. Sadly, my sisters and I lost Mum last year. A burst pipe led to horrendous flooding and meant that we have had over a year of challenging times with the house. It is now nearly fit for habitation and I've decided to take the plunge.

If you want to know more - just google me (other search engines are available...).