Chronicles of a Vicarage Childhood

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. Eluned Rees recalls the delights of the Light Programme, and other entertainments.

I would sit on my mother’s lap listening to Listen with Mother on the radio, sorry , wireless. Listening to the news was important, and the weather forecast even more so. We had to be very quiet for that. Who remembers Uncle Mac on Saturday mornings? I had a song played for my birthday once, either The Laughing Policeman or How much is that Doggy in the Window? Cannot remember which but they were my favourites.

My father enjoyed listening to Teulu’r Mans , on Sunday evenings and an occasional serialisation of his beloved Dickens books, such as Dombey and Son. I can almost smell the damp ironing in the kitchen as we arrived home to the sound of Mrs. Dale’s Diary.

Television arrived next door, in Glannant, before it came to us. We were sent to bed once because we went in to see Popeye, with a bowl of Auntie Millie’s rice pudding, after being told not to. However, soon afterwards, the television set came to sit in the corner, and now we could enjoy Watch with Mother every afternoon. Picture Book on Monday, then memorable innocent little stories about a wooden family, a garden with men living in flowerpots and funny animals. We were easily pleased!

There was very little Welsh on television, until Telewele, a news programme, and of course only two channels for years. Although there were programmes on Sunday afternoons, we were only to watch a film once, namely Mary Queen of Scots, and I remember sobbing at the end. Light entertainment was also quite innocent with much of it from America, such as Mister Ed and I Love Lucy.

But to crown the viewing there were excellent drama series. We would rush home from Evensong to watch The Forsyte Saga, Saul of Tarsus and Dickens tales. Saturday night was light entertainment, The Billy Cotton Show, and Black and White Minstrels, now very much frowned upon. The first time I saw Top of the Pops was in parishioners’ house, with Ron and Randal Isaac, and so began my interest in pop music.

By my teens, there were many more Welsh language programmes (before S4C) and I began to compete in children’s quizzes, and won Dringo’r Ysgol, and Tri Chynnig. Why didn’t I become a television star I wonder?!