Do you remember Rhiwbina Cabin?

The cabin on Pantbach Road was a delightful little place if you were a child or a smoker – rows of jars filled with sweets and more sweets!

‘2oz of this and 2oz of that’ – I can still hear those sweets rattling into the weighing scale dish and then – whoosh! Straight into the paper bag. It was heaven!

‘How about 10 Woodbines, yellow and gold packet? Or 20 Players, Capstan and a packet of rolling tobacco and some papers? Naughty but nice.’

Dear old Les Coles. He was always cheerful, chatty and polite. That guy could do mental arithmetic and come up with 2/6d quicker than lightning. And what about those paper boys? They always left their bikes right in front of the shop so that getting in and out was impossible.

Every night, Les would ask them to move their bikes and every night, they were back again.

Of course, the highlight of the week was 6-6.30pm on a Saturday night when the pink Football Echo arrived. It was always late and I mean ALWAYS!

Of course, you could also buy stationery and birthday cards in the Cabin but there wasn’t a quick turnover for that kind of stuff. The envelopes ended up being not sticky and dust had to be blown off the cards before they could be used. There were no problems in the Cabin with Health and Safety.

Les Coles and his wife Connie, both of whom were residents of the Garden Village, lived in Lon Isa for many years before later moving to Heol Wen. Their daughter Elaine has made a generous donation to the Rhiwbina Garden Village Residents Association in memory of her parents, for which we are most grateful.

Our Wendy House in Lon Fach needs £1,000+ to keep it open and pay our commitments. It is available for hire for small groups and birthday parties. To enquire or book, ring Mary Clarke on 02920 611234.

Lots of happy memories. Share yours with us.

Mary Clarke
Rhiwbina