Straeon Siop Tremarchog | Stories from the St Nicholas Shop

Gan Dafydd Williams 

Yn ôl yr hanes siopa ydy un o brif ddiddordebau nifer fawr o bobl erbyn hyn. Nid o angenrhaid mewn siop ond ar y we hefyd.

I deulu ifanc a oedd yn byw yn weddol agos i ganol Lloegr nôl yn hanner cyntaf chwedegau’r ganrif ddiwethaf ‘roedd yn rhywbeth we rhaid ei wneud ar brydiau. We ni heb glywed am yr we a braidd wedi clywed sôn am gyfrifaduron. Ac yn sicr heb feddwl erioed am gadw siop er mwyn ennill bywoliaeth!  Ond, bu newid sydyn un penwythnos.

Ein cartref ar y pryd oedd llawr uchaf hen dŷ ffarm mewn pentref ar yr hen ffordd fawr rhwng Caerlŷr â Chaer y Dderwen, sef Derby. Roedd  traffordd newydd yr M1 yn cael ei chloddio trwy bridd a chraig goch cefn y pentref, pwerdŷ glô anferth yn cael ei adeiladu ochr draw’r afon a chyhoeddiad newydd bod yr hen awyrenfa ar ben y bryn ger y pentref yn mynd i fod yn safle arbennig am yr “East Midland’s Airport”. I deulu oedd â’i gwreiddiau yng nghefn gwlad Llanychaer a Thremarchog roedd yn amser dweud “mas o ma”!

Gan fy mod wedi cael cynnig swydd sefydlu a threfnu swyddfa i ffarmwr ger pont Keadby yng ngogledd swydd Lincoln roedd yn amser danfon neges i’r teuluoedd adre. Dyna pryd y cawsom glywed bod siop fach y pentre ar werth gyda chwech erw o dir yn Nhremarchog. O fewn dau ddiwrnod roeddem ni wedi cynnig amdano. Un o’r pethau da am fod yn ifanc yw nad ydych o anghenraid yn sylweddoli mor ddifrifol gall penderfyniad sydyn fod. A falle dyna sy’n dda obwyti’r peth.

Gan nad oedd unrhyw syniad gennym o sut i gadw siop, nac o feddwl ‘nol, sut i gynnal unrhyw fath o fusnes, a’i doeth oedd gadael swydd ddiogel a mynd? Ta beth, prynu hen ambiwlans a welais wrth ochr y ffordd yn Lincoln er mwyn cludo’n heiddo ac o fewn chwech wythnos dechrau ein bywyd newydd. Buom yn ffodus o gael llety am ddwy flynedd yn rhan o dŷ fy rhieni tra’n ail wampio tŷ’r siop. Yno [‘nhŷ’r siop] roedd un tap dŵr oer tu fewn y drws cefn, a thŷ bach mewn cwt yn yr ardd. Mewn adegau o wynt mawr roedd teiliau llawr yr ystafell fyw yn symud mewn cytgord â gwreiddiau’r fasarnen fawr tu fâs y ffenest a sawl bore roedd jac y dô wedi mentro lawr y simneuau i’r ystafelloedd am gysgod. Yn y siop, trwy ddrws bach isel ger y lle tân, roedd na lawr sment a silffoedd pren â phaent brown hen iawn. Y cyfan â llwch ffres bob dydd o’r pryfed trachwantus oedd yn ceisio difa’r cyfan. Yn y pen draw, o dan olau un bylb gwan, roedd cownter y swyddfa bost â’i sgrin weiar bras. Y tyllau’n ddigon llydan am lygod mawr. O dan hyn roedd silff ac arni ddom ffowls wedi hen, hen sychu’n graig. Nid hôl ffowls y cyn berchnogion ond ffowls o amser y siopwr oedd yna cyn 1936!  [Chwiliwch am beth o hanes y bonheddwr hwnnw a’i wraig yn “Sgwlin’s Log” gan J.Llewhelin Jones.]

Yn yr wythnosau cynnar ail stocio oedd y prif waith. Gwerth y stoc gwreiddiol, yn 1964, oedd £157, a hynny’n cynnwys y dafol, y petrol a’r paraffin! Bu ein cwsmeriaid o gymorth mawr wrth ddewis beth oedd eu heisiau. I ddechrau roedd y busnesau Talu a Chludo heb dreiddio i’r gorllewin. Felly roedd pob cyflenwr a’i drafaelwr a bron bob un yn Gymro Cymraeg. Pobl ddiwylliedig â ddiddordebau eang oedd, os dim, yn fwy pwysig na’u gwaith. Davis, “ Mab Jacob”, yn gwerthu bisgedi,er engraifft, yn dod i fewn yn canu emyn neu ddarn o opera bob tro cyn agor ei lyfr bisgedi.  Bu “Mab Jacob” yn gymorth rhyfeddol wrth geisio dysgu mi sut i farchnata trwy anog mi i wrando yn ofalus ar ein cwsmeriaid. Fel rheol roedd hyn yn gyngor da ond ambell waith yn gamgymeriad. Roedd grym hysbysebu ar y teledu yn dechrau dylanwadu ar geisiadau rhai pobl. Cofiaf gais am rhyw bwdin newydd mewn pecyn. Cael cyflenwad yn syth ond neb yn ei brynu eilwaith. Dim bau arnynt, roedd yn ffiaidd!

Daeth dylanwad hollol wahanol gan ŵr oedd yn un o gymuned o ganolbarth Cymru a ddaeth i bigo tatws cynnar ar fferm gyfagos.  Roedd bwyd da syml, llawn maeth, yn bwysig iawn iddo. O ganlyniad roedd wedi cael yr enw “Van” [Value added nutrition]. Cael fy nghyflwyno ganddo i ffyrdd o gael cyflenwadau o ffrwythau tin heb siwgr, jam â chanran uchelach nag arferol o ffrwythau a sudd ffrwythau mewn bocs “tetrapac”. Hyn flynyddoedd cyn i bethau tebyg ddod yn amlwg mewn archfarchnadoedd. Aeth Van ymlaen o bigo tatws i sefydlu siop fwyd lwyddianus yn Llandrindod a ddatblygodd yn gwmni cyfanwerthu cydweithredol “Suma”. Erbyn hyn mae na siopau bwyd cyflawn llwyddiannus dros Gymru gyfan yn manteisio ar y galw am fwyd o safon uchel. Hyfryd gweld sut mae bwydydd arbennig gan gynhyrchwyr Cymreig ar gael ym mhobman erbyn hyn. Heblaw am lysiau o’r ardd, mêl ein hunain a chig oen o’n ffarm yr unig bwyd leol arall oedd ar gael oedd Caws Caerffili Llangloffan. Erbyn  hyn medrwch fyw’n llwyr ar fwyd rhagorol o Gymru.

Wedi dwy flynedd roedd digon wedi’i wneud i’r tŷ i ni fedru byw ynddo er bu peth gwaith ailwampio’n cadw fynd am o leiaf bymtheng mlynedd arall. Ar yr un pryd roedd gwella’r siop yn digwydd pan fyddai digon o geiniogau sbar. Gosodwyd tanciau petrol newydd a phympiau trydan. Hen bwmp llaw Gilbarco oedd yno yn wreiddiol. Medraf eich sicrhau bod llwytho ugain galwyn bob ochr i gar Aston Martin yr aelod seneddol lleol bob penwythnos yn waith caled. Dros amser cafwyd rhewgelloedd ac oergelloedd ac yna oergell fawr cadw gig, yn enwedig ein ŵyn ni ac ambell hanner eidion. Defnydd arall annisgwyl iddo oedd i gadw blodfresych. Am nifer o flynyddoedd roedd gennym chwe erw o flodfresych i’w tori yn ystod mis Ionawr a Chwefror. Roedden nhw yn cadw’n ffres yn yr oergell am agos i dri mis ychwanegol.

Yn ystod yr adegau o ail adeiladu doedd dim dal beth fydde’n dod i’r golwg. Roedd waliau’r siop yn hen iawn a llawer o’r mortar calch wedi troi’n bridd meddal. Wrth agor un twll yn y wal dalcen, oedd tua tair troedfedd o drwch, deuthum ar draws llyffant dafadennog enfawr du bitsh ei liw. Er ei fod heb weld golau dydd ers blynyddoedd  roedd yn amlwg wedi pesgi ar rywbeth. Yn uchel mewn wal arall wrth lydaenu mynediad i estyniad newydd  dyna lle’r oedd llygoden ffrengig anferth … farw. Yn felyn sych ac ŵy cyfan yn ei cheg. Mae’n bosib iawn mai ŵy wedi’i wenwyno â “strycnin” ydoedd felly rhaid oedd ei thrafod a’i gwaredu’n ofalus iawn. Yn anffodus dyna’r unig drysor a ddarganfuwyd. Wrth feddwl ‘nol rhaid bod ein cwsmeriaid yn bobl rhyfeddol o garedig. Er fod y gwaith a oedd yn achosi fwyaf o lanast yn digwydd ar benwythnos neu dros nos roedd hi’n anodd sicrhau nad oedd llwch ym mhobman. Bu sawl diwrnod, wrth i’r llawr gael teiliau newydd, o gerdded ar blanciau coed, roedd silffoedd a nwyddau yn newid lle dros nos, a nwyddau’n aml dal yn eu bocsys ar ganol llawr.

Ambell waith roedd trefn y gwaith yn gorfod newid yn sydyn. Swn cracian gwydr un ffenest yn tynnu sylw i’r ffaith bod yr hen lantern bren oedd yn dal y wal uwchben y ffenestr wedi pydru drwyddo ac wedi torri. Diwrnod o chwys tra’n ceisio adeiladu bwa heb i’r cerrig hanner rhydd uwchben ddechrau rhedeg. Rai blynyddoedd ynghynt bu swn cracian o’r un ffenest am dau o’r gloch y bore. Lladron yn ceisio torri’r gwydr yn dawel, heb lwyddiant. Sgrech wrtho’i ac i ffwrdd â nhw am adre – Portsmouth .

Yn ogystal â’n cwsmeriaid arbennig lleol roedd ymwelwyr o bob lliw a llun yn dod yn ystod y gwyliau. Nifer ohonynt yn danfon archeb ymlaen llaw a’r uchelgais i ni oedd ceisio mynd i’r bwthyn cywir a didoli’r nwyddau i gyd cyn i’r ymwelwyr gyrraedd. Pob bwthyn â’i allwedd wedi’i “chuddio” mewn lle penodol. Rhai teuluoedd yn dod am nifer o flynyddoedd ac yn dal yn ffrindiau. Un teulu o gyrion Llundain a oedd yn ffoadurion o drais yn Uganda yn archebu pwysau aruthrol o gig oen da wedi’i dorri’n fân ac yna yn ei goginio mewn ffordd draddodiadol allan ar ochr bryn Garnllys. Sŵn hyfryd cerddoriaeth a chanu o India ac  Uganda ar awel y nos yn werth  eu glywed.

Ar adeg codi tatws cynnar yn y chwedegau a’r saithdegau roedd teuluoedd o sipsiwn  yn symud i weithio ar rai o’r ffermydd lleol. Ambell un ohonynt wedi’i eni mewn fardo wrth ochr ffordd leol deugain mlynedd ynghynt. Iddynt nhw roedd Pencaer yn “adre”. Erbyn y chwedegau carafannau newydd sgleiniog oedd eu cartrefu symudol. Y funud ar ôl cyrraedd y ffarm a dewis safle, allan a dŵr a sebon er mwyn golchi’r garafan yn drwyadl a’i pholisio gan gynnwys odditani! Pobl ddifyr llawn straeon ac yn barod iawn eu cyngor ar feddyginiaethau traddodiadol am sawl anhwylder. Cefais syndod un tro pan ofynnwyd i mi a oedd hi’n bosib cael perfedd glân ac ysgyfaint lloi neu moch o’r lladd dŷ. Lladd dŷ Hwlffordd yn ddigon parod i wneud ac felly roedd defnydd ychwanegol i’n hoergell mawr er fod ambell gwsmer trefol yn edrych yn syn wrth i ni drosglwyddo cwdau mawr o rywbeth a edrychau fel llysnafedd.

Bu’r ugain mlynedd o gadw siop yn gyfnod sydd ag atgofion o brofiad hwylus, hapus, cymdeithasol. Oedd, roedd yn waith caled a’r oriau’n hir, ac mewn cymhariaeth â chyflogau rhai o’m cyfoedion   a aeth am swyddi bras, roedd yr incwm yn llai, ond yn sicr y gwaddol yn fwy gwerthfawr. Felly pam gadael? Nid oherwydd cystadleuaeth yr archfarchnadoedd. Mae’n haws i fusnes bach fod yn ddigon hyblyg i oroesi na chwmnioedd enfawr. Ond trwy’r cyfnod roedd yr ysfa i ffarmio wedi aros. Aeth y chwe erw wreiddiol yn ddeuddeg ar hugain ac yna, yng nghanol y saithdegau, yn gant. Yn anffodus roedd yr ychwanegiad ddiwethaf yn adeiladau a thir â hôl blynyddoedd o ddiffyg gofal.

Daeth yn amlwg yn gyflym iawn bod deng mlynedd o leiaf o waith o’m blaen cyn cael trefn rhesymol ar y lle ac yn ychwanegol i hyn roedd y tŷ ffarm wedi’i werthu. Felly rhaid oedd gwerthu’r siop, adeiladu tŷ ffarm newydd a cheisio rhoi ail fywyd i’r ffarm.

Newid byd unwaith eto.

By Dafydd Williams 

It appears that one of the main interests of many people has always been shopping. Not necessarily in a shop nowadays.

However back in the first half of the sixties of the last century, for a young family who lived fairly near to central England, it was just something that had to be done when needed.  We hadn’t heard about the web and very little about computers.  Indeed we had never thought about earning a living by keeping a shop.  But one weekend life changed!

Our home at the time was the upper floor of an old farmhouse in a village on the old main road between Leicester and Caer y Dderwen, now known as Derby.  The new M1 motorway was being excavated through the soil and red rock on the western side of the village, a huge coal fired power station was being built on the east side of the river and finally an announcement that the old airfield at the top of the hill near the village was going to be the site of the new ‘East Midland’s Airport.’  For a family whose roots were in the countryside of Llanychaer and Tremarchog/St. Nicholas, it was as we say,  ‘Mas o ma!’- ‘Out of here!’.

As I had already been offered a job setting up and organising an office for a farmer near Keadby Bridge in north Lincolnshire it was time to send a message of our intentions to our families back home.  It was only then that we heard that the small village shop in St. Nicholas, with six acres of land, was for sale. Within two days we had made an offer for it.  One of the good things about being young is that you don’t necessarily realize the implications of sudden decisions. We fortunately certainly did not, which I can recommend as a way of avoiding stress.

As we had no previous experience of running a shop, or of running any kind of business, you will probably ask was it a wise decision to leave a safe job and go? Well, I bought an old ambulance I saw by the side of the road in Lincoln to carry our belongings and within six weeks we had started our new way of life.  We were fortunate to have accommodation for two years in part of my parents’ house whilst renovating the house which adjoined the shop.  The shop house only had one cold water tap inside the back door and the usual toilet  in the garden.  During strong windy weather the floor tiles in the living room would move in harmony with the roots of the large sycamore tree outside the window and on many a morning a jackdaw would have ventured down the chimneys to find shelter. The sitting room floor was concrete. One of our older customers had been employed in the 1920’s to replace the wooden floor after a hole was burnt in the centre during a séance.

One entered  the shop through a small, low door near the fireplace. Here there was a cement floor with very old brown painted wooden shelves.  Every day there was fresh dust from the energetic woodworms who were intent on trying to destroy it all.  Fortunately the beams supporting the ceiling were of very hard yellow pitch pine with no trace of damage. Under one weak light bulb stood the post office counter with its coarse wire screen with holes large enough for rats to get through.  Underneath was a shelf covered in chicken droppings that had dried as hard as rock.  These were really ancient being the relics left by “Bilbow’s” chickens, so at least pre 1936 in origin! (Look for the story of that shopkeeper. his wife, and others in the community, in “Sgwlin’s Log” by J. Llewhelin Jones.) The store room floor was of very rough uneven concrete. When it was removed it was found to have been laid over a generous bedding of chicken and pig muck. The step ladder to the store loft above was extremely steep and several customers assured me that the only person able to carry a two and a quarter hundred wt. sack of wheat up them was “Bilbow’s” wife mentioned above.

Re-stocking was our main occupation in the first few weeks.  The original stock, in 1964, cost us £157, which included the weighing scales, the petrol and the paraffin! Our customers were a great help in deciding what we should stock. During the first few years there were no Cash and Carry businesses in west Wales so we were supplied directly by numerous companies. They all had their travelling salesmen who were almost all Welsh speakers.  They were cultured people with varied interests. For example Davis ‘Mab Jacob’ who obviously sold biscuits, would always enter the shop singing a hymn or a piece from an opera before opening his catalogue of biscuits. His other interests were organ playing and restoring old clocks. They were all a wonderful help in advising me on marketing by encouraging me to listen carefully to our customers.  Usually this was good advice but sometimes a mistake.  The power of televised adverts was beginning to affect the choice of some people.  I remember a request for a new puddings in packets.  I ordered an immediate supply, amongst them early versions of “Angel Delight & Dream Topping”. Nobody bought them a second time.  It wasn’t their fault, they were disgusting!

A completely different influence was that of one of a group from mid Wales who came to camp and pick potatoes on a nearby farm.  His aim in life was to persuade everybody of the importance of good, simple nutritious food. As a result he had acquired the name “Van” (Value added nutrition.) Through him I was introduced to sources of  supplies of sugar free tinned fruit, jam which contained a higher than usual percentage of fruit content and fruit juices in a tetra-pack type cartons. This happened years before similar products were available at supermarkets.  “Van” went on from picking potatoes to setting up a successful organic food shop in Llandrindod Wells which I believe developed into the ‘Suma’ wholesale co-operative.  They now supply many other shops in the area. Successful Whole Food Stores across Wales are  capitalizing on the demand for high quality delicious food.  We are now very fortunate in being able to enjoy a huge range of foods from Welsh producers everywhere.  At that time apart from our own garden vegetables, our own honey, and lamb from our farm, the only other local foods available were bread from local bakeries, milk from Llanwnda, early potatoes, Llangloffan Cheese, tomatoes from Langwm and local beef and pork from Haverfordwest abbatoir.. Nowadays you can live fully on an extensive range of excellent food from Wales.

After two years we were able to move into our house although some refurbishment was not completed for at least another fifteen years.  At the same time improvements to the shop were made when funds allowed.  New petrol tanks were installed with electric pumps.  The original old hand pump had been installed  by Gilbarco, USA in 1938.  I can assure you that loading twenty gallons into both tanks of the local MP’s Aston Martin car every weekend was hard work.  Over time we acquired freezers and fridges and then a large cold store especially to keep our lambs and sides of beef.  Another unexpected use for it was to keep cauliflowers.  For many years we grew six acres of cauliflowers to cut during January and February. The majority were collected late at night once or twice a week for transport to Spalding. Towards the end of the cutting season a number of full crates would go into the cold store where they remained surprisingly fresh for an extra three months.

During the rebuilding periods there was no telling what would come to light.  The original shop walls were very old [it had been an 18 century cottage] and much of the lime mortar had turned into soft soil.  When I opened one hole in the gable wall, which was about three feet thick, I came across a huge black toad. Although he had not seen the light of day for years it was obvious he had fed well on something.  High up in another wall, whilst opening an entrance to a new extension we found a very large dead rat. Very dry and yellow it had to be handled and disposed of very carefully as it had a whole egg in its mouth which had probably been injected with strychnine poison.  Unfortunately those were the only treasures that were found.  Thinking back it is obvious that our customers were amazingly kind and tolerant people.  Although most of the messy work happened at weekends or overnight, it was difficult to make sure dust didn’t spread everywhere.  There were several days as new floor  tiles were laid, of walking on wooden planks. Shelves and goods changed places overnight and many supplies were often still in their boxes in the middle of the floor in the morning.

Sometimes the order of work had to change suddenly.  The sound of  glass cracking in one window drew attention to the old wooden lintel which held the wall above. It had rotted through and was giving way.  Ahead was a day of sweat whilst trying to build an arch without the loose stones above starting to run.  Some years before there was a cracking sound from the same window at two o’clock in the morning.  Thieves were trying to break the window quietly but without success.  A shout from myself and off they went towards home. They were apprehended in Portsmouth!

As well as our local customers, visitors from many areas in Britain and Europe would stay in various cottages and houses in the area. Many of them would pre-order beforehand and then our task was to try to deliver to the right cottage and sort out all the goods before the visitors arrived.  Each cottage had their keys “hidden” in a particular place. I wonder if the keys are still concealed in the same places?  Some families came for many years and are still friends.  One family who were refugees from Uganda came from the outskirts of London and ordered a tremendous weight of finely chopped good lamb and then cooked it in a traditional way out on Garnllys. I can still remember the sound of Indian and Ugandan music on the evening breeze.

In the sixties and seventies during the new potato picking season gipsy families would move into the area to work on some of the local farms. Some had been born in a vardo on a local roadside some forty years earlier.  To them Pencaer was “home.” By the sixties their mobile homes were new, shiny caravans.  As soon as they arrived at the farm and had chosen their site, they would use soap and water to wash and polish their caravans thoroughly including underneath. Always full of interesting stories and always ready with advice about traditional remedies for many illnesses.  I was slightly surprised one day to be asked by a lady if it was possible to obtain clean intestines and lungs of calves or pigs from the slaughter house. Haverfordwest slaughter house willingly obliged and so extra use was made of our cold store although some of our other customers looked quite askance as we handed over large bags of what looked very unappetising, and were paid!.

The twenty years of keeping a shop have given us many happy and enjoyable memories.  Yes, it was hard work and the hours were long. In comparison with the high wages of some of my peers our income was less, but job satisfaction certainly was far greater and more valuable. Therefore why leave?  Not because of the competition from the supermarkets.  It is easier for a small business to be flexible enough to survive than huge companies. But all the while the desire to farm full time remained. The original six acres grew to thirty two and then in the middle of the seventies to a hundred acres.  Unfortunately the last addition included derelict buildings and land which showed years of neglect.

It very quickly became obvious that at least ten years work was needed in order to get it reasonably organised [it took thirty, but that’s another story], and in addition to this the farmhouse had been sold. So we sold the shop, built a new farmhouse and started to give the farm a new lease of life.

Another change in our lives. Well why not?