What day to arrive in Aber! What a contrast to that rainy day some 50 years ago when some of first arrived in Aber.
Jenny and I had arrived on Thursday afternoon and had a lovely evening with Dennis, Babs and Richard which nearly stretched into Friday morning we were enjoying the chatter so much.That night we slept in the Midfield Caravan Park in Southgate and after leaving in the morning and doing a brief trip down to Cregiau Lodge where we first setup home, we drove into Aber and spent most of the rest of the day walking around the town. We walked down to the quay and I took a couple of shots of the river and harbour (above and below this post)
We had coffee in The Penguin, we walked into Old College, Jenny blagged her way into the lecture room that she sat had behind Prince Charles for a History lecture; we almost wept at the sight of a library empty of books, and heard that all the maps and map chests in Llandinam had also been removed.
[Even as a digital freak I find this hard to take.]
We met John & Midge and went out again to "kick the bar" and Jenny again blagged a way for us to go into Alex where Midge had lived for a while. What a change!
That evening we had our first get together with the group in the Glen Gower, most of whom had come down during the day. Al Clowes came in and asked where our camper van was [I'd told him we were leaving it in the Midfield site, where he was now camping]; then Tony Bovey and Liz Thomas came in; then Richard, Dennis and Babs and finally Andy and Dot, John and Liz arrived. Andy with his "cheshire cat" grin beaming from one side of his face to the other - a truly memorable moment, and just as I remembered him. Much hugging and some tears of joy I believe. Thanks Dennis for suggesting the venue. An excellent one with loads of room and food that was suitable for travellers who really wanted to talk!
Alan and John Whitelegg got into deep conversation (much as they had done in Eastgate and in the sorely lost Central Hotel where we used to retire to after working up the hill and where I and the others learnt just how much we liked Malt Whisky).
Richard, Dennis, Babs, John and Liz spent some time chatting as did Jenny and Midge with Babs and Dot. Tony and Liz slipped into the group as if they'd been around us forever, not a dearly loved friend that we'd lost touch with, with a partner who was a delight to meet for the first time. Thanks both.
Bedtime was welcome. We like Premier Inn beds. We had one of the best night's sleep we've had for a while ... and it wasn't just the alcohol doing the work!
Morning came and John and Midge were first up and received us all as we trolled into the restaurant. Plus the late arrivals from the night before Nick and Nicky, and Bernie and Eileen. What a noise we must have been making. There was a wedding party as well in the hotel with guests from the US. What they must have made of us ... who knows. we kept on getting in the other guest's way and blocking the way to the breakfast bar, but did we care ... not a bit.
Bernie and Eileen and Jenny and I went out for a walk and it was then that we discovered that Eileen had lived in Noddfa, Bath Street, the year after Big Jen and Little Jen had moved out. A photo opportunity called.
We returned to the hotel to quickly freshen-up before meeting everyone for lunch at the Richmond. The last of the group arrived - Jenny Jones (Big Jen) and Eryl Thomas, and Gareth and Cheryl Davies. Thanks so much for coming Jenny - a trip from NZ puts all our journeys into a different perspective.
We were also delighted to welcome Tony Moyes, Roy and Andrea Lewis, and John and Pat Aitchison to spend some time with us. It was lovely that they wanted to spend time with us and I know we all appreciated that - the swapping of stories and anecdotes, and also Richard's work in arranging their invites as well as the catering. I've got no idea what people were talking about. I was walking around with a couple of photos, also the iPad with the old photos on, and my UCW scarf, as well as my UW and UCW ties - what a hoarder!
The lunch broke up and people made their separate arrangements. John, Midge, Dennis, Richard and I played bowls. I feel I can now reveal the result of the match. After 7 ends the score was tied with John and I on 7 and Midge and Dennis/Richard on 7 also. The next end was to be the decider and guess who won? Yes ... the gentlemen beat the players, the amateurs beat the professionals, the away team won against the home team. John laid up a lovely bowl near to the jack which I knocked even closer and Richard couldn't do anything about it - perhaps he was being generous? I just think it was something to do with me giving John a good telling-off and stripping him of the role of skip. He just upped his game from that moment on. It was all good fun and a great way to spend the afternoon.
Evening at the Med Delight called. A lovely venue. Again thanks Richard for doing the ground work, suggesting it and organising it. I'm afraid the few diners who were left to grab tables after we commandeered the place can't have had a quiet, peaceful evening but when I announced at the end who and what we were I think even they appreciated that a group of friends like us were to be allowed to have our fun at least once every 50 years. Great meal, great company and we finished the evening off in Harry's Bar which was fortunately very quiet but would have been even quieter if Dot had been able to persuade the staff to turn down the music!
So the day was over. The forecast of rain for the morning meant that we went to bed not expecting really to get the walk round Pendinas, and that was indeed the case. We decided at breakfast the next morning to disperse, and that we did, but not before Tony left us with an unforgettable quote - at least it was unforgettable because Jenny wrote it down - and I quote ...
“I am amazed at how many of you are still together after all these years …. … you either love each other very much … … or … … you suffer from a savage lack of imagination.”
... to which the only response could be ... it can't be the latter, so it must be the former. Thanks Tony for setting the breakfast departure tone. One of joy and laughter, rather than any sorrow.
That's all from me. Thanks for coming. Thanks for helping me achieve one of my "bucket list" wishes. I'm up for a repeat in 3 years time. Keep in touch. Keep safe and well.
PS I've updated the Photo Album with shots taken over the weekend. If anyone wants to add their photos from the weekend, or ones from many years ago that would be great.
PPS If you want to share this blog, or the photos with anyone else, please remember we set this up as a private blog, and that the photos are only visible if you share the link with someone. Neither are visible from a Google search. Therefore could you just ask anyone you share the site or photos with, to respect that privacy and not to share them with anyone else without checking back with me. Thanks.