大象传媒

I was born in the small mining village of Tumble, a little before the Second World War broke out. I have, however, some vivid memories of those years. My grandfather used to take me up a hill outside the village from which one could watch the German bombing Swansea. Occasionally a stray German bomber would fly over the village and attempt to deposit its bombs on the colliery. Luckily for us they never quite hit the target but for us children the air raid warnings and blackouts were a source of much excitement.
Our air raid shelters were the toilets at the top of the garden. We were long accustomed to running up the garden path whenever nature called, indeed, there was no alternative as there were no inside toilets. Therefore, when the colliery hooter sounded, which was the signal that German bombers were approaching, the whole family would be herded up to the rather primitive toilet. There were occasions when we had to wait a long time for the all clear. It was on such an occasion that one of the most hilarious incidents that I can remember occurred. A neighbour of ours, Dai Aberporth, (Aberporth as he had come to Tumble from the seaside village of Aberporth to work in the colliery), found sharing the small privy with his wife Let and three children rather claustrophobic. He, therefore, made periodic sorties to the house under the pretence that he was thirsty. When the all clear was given all the families returned to the warmth of the coal fires. Let, his wife became suspicious when she saw that the pantry door was slightly ajar (no fridges in those days). When she opened the door wide to her horror she discovered the Sunday joint which she had cooked for the family lunch on the following day, had been half eaten. Dai, had, obviously, found the temptation of the cooked joint of beef too difficult to resist. Thus the frequent visits to the house. It seems that he spent the night shivering in the toilet as Let was determined not to allow him in the house

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