... Part 14 ... Sleighbells Ring ... In the 1970’s and 80’s, Brynymor Road was a thriving community of small shops. Frances The Butchers, Perman’s Fruit and Vegetables, Nancy Morgan and Eynon’s Cakes and Bread, Beryl House Lingerie, Corgi Toys, John’s Carpets and Kitchens, Peter’s Wine Shop, Vanya Jesmond Upmarket Clothes, Dorothy’s Beauty Parlour, Charles Dilley Jewels, a gentleman’s outfitters, a barber shop, ladies hairdresser’s, two antique shops and a fish and chip shop! Every shop made a contribution of 50p per week, which was deposited in a fund to provide a display of Christmas lights for the road. The multi-coloured bulbs were strung along above the shop windows and small Christmas trees were fixed above each bay window. Crundles, as ‘new boys’ to the thriving community, thought that they would contribute something extra. After some discussion, accompanied as usual by a few glasses of wine, it was decided that Julie’s expertise in woodwork and her sister Valerie Ganz’s artistic talents should be combined to produce life-size cut out models of the Three Wise Men – Melchior, Balthazar and Casper. On completion and, after a great deal of effort, the Kings were finally hoisted into position above the shop window, a pair of spotlights completed the display and the end result was extremely exotic. The ‘Kings’ became an integral part of Christmas celebrations in the road and, as the festive season approached, customers would begin enquiring as to when they would be making an appearance. One Christmas, Anni and Julie were devastated to discover that ‘Caspar’ had gone missing! A group of students had decided to bring him along on their ‘pub-crawl’ and, with the help of some scaffolding on the building next door, had climbed up and separated Caspar from his colleagues. The Swansea Evening Post newspaper was contacted, and a small feature appeared in the next issue appealing for any information that might be useful to assist in the safe return of the ‘Kidnapped King’. He was eventually spotted, propped up on another piece of scaffolding, on a building in King Edward Road only about 400 yards from Crundles. Julie went to collect him fearing the worst but, luckily, he was none-the worse for wear for his night out, not even a hang over! He was duly reinstated above the shop and the ‘Kings’ continue to be a key feature in Brynymor Road at Christmas. However, sadly, the lights and Christmas trees above all the other shops are no more with only the tree holders remaining to serve as a reminder of the glories of ‘Christmases past’.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 09:14:30 +0000