Ponthir

Slap bang in the middle of Caerleon and Llanfrechfa, Ponthir sits quite still and quite pretty. Though not the most exhilarating of locations, its perfectly picturesque qualities steal the show so its inhabitants can get on with their knitting in peace. Amongst the younger residents, Ponthir is commonly referred to as ‘God’s Waiting Room’ as elderly men and women come from far and wide to waste away in the village’s tranquillity.

My first visit to Ponthir (a whole five years ago) featured my first ever meeting with the local celebrity...John the shop keeper. A friendly gentleman, John sparked a huge grin in my direction upon my entrance into his livelihood, his everything, his heart and soul...Ponthir Stores. Although I have to admit that I am building John and his shop up slightly, I feel that he embodies the very nature of Ponthir – he’s dull and disinteresting with a hint of mental illness, yet still has an air of kindness and enthusiasm about him, all of which capture the locals perfectly.

‘Fifty and forty is ninety, plus ten is one pound’, he says as he hands me my change from a fiver with, what can only be described as, a menacing look in his eyes. I scamper out of the shop laden with milk, chocolate and eggs and set my sight upon two gossiping dog walkers. A funny thing that strikes me about this village is that everybody knows everything about everyone’s business. For example, the gossipers in question, I hear as I am eavesdropping, are discussing Boozy Val (the local alcoholic)’s most recent embarrassing occurrence where she drunkenly tried in on with Mike the landlord at the Star Inn’s Sunday evening pub quiz. Apparently, he had to ‘beat her off with a shitty stick’. Needless to say, she was embarrassed, Mike was embarrassed, we were all embarrassed.

As I pass the dog walkers, I stroll past Ponthir Primary School (which I can proudly say has the best SAT results in Torfaen) and head home. On the way, I really think about how I should take pride in my village – after all, we do have a Welsh Water sewage and water treatment plant.