60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

[Cleve van Leef]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

I was 6 years old and remember it well. I was wide-eyed as my mother couldn't open the back door of the house, so great was the weight of the accumulated snow. The front door opened, though, and I was out of there like a shot, hugely excited by the snow. I was wearing shorts, and mum yelled at me to get back in and get dressed properly.

Snowball fights, sleds, snowmen.

It was a rough time. People died. But for a kid, oh what a time.⛄️

Think you’re a bit late it was beginning of ‘63

[BLUETIT]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

This is him:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5916[/ATTACH]

I can remember Edgar, chinning Brother Adrian, something to do with his own brother Paddy.

This was at the new St Illtyds not the proper school in splott.

[William Treseder]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

https://youtu.be/5UXnulANF8g?si=m8kBiHAP25F2cUF_

[BLUETIT]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

I can remember Edgar, chinning Brother Adrian, something to do with his own brother Paddy.

This was at the new St Illtyds not the proper school in splott.

My bad, his brother was Pedro, Paddy was Paddy Power the sports teacher

[jimmyscoular]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

Think you’re a bit late it was beginning of ‘63

Yes. My innumeracy has already been pointed out

[jimmyscoular]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

I must admit it’s a long time ago and I can’t really remember what he looked like but him being a maths teacher rings a very faint bell

Unlikely to be two people by the name of Edgar Welch. He's probably your man.

[jimmyscoular]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

I was 8. lived in Garnlydan at the time - about as far up the Ebbw valley you could get.
Our house was end of terrace, there was a bit of side garden, then a high wall, the over the road was the school field.
The snow was whipped up in the gap between the garden wall and the side of the house, resulting in a drift that reached the roof!. When it froze, we dug a tunnel, big enough to walk thorough. The back gardens all had gates into a lane - we had to dig a trench inside the fence to stop the mountain ponies walking over looking for food.
The crazy thing was that the snow came down over Christmas/ New Year, lasted for ages, then when it finally melted away we got a second heavy fall!

Somehow, despite there being steep roads to get to the estate, the milk was always delivered(albeit frozen), and the shops always seemed to have food to buy, - and the school stayed open throughout! We were later given a a day off as reward, as one of only 3 schools in the county that did.

A few flakes these days and the whole country stops.

Good story and a nice memory.

Of course it only takes a few flakes, regardless of the weather, to bring any country to a screeching halt.

[Gofer Blue]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

The thing I most remember about that time was helping my Dad collect snow from the attic (yes, from inside the attic!) in buckets and passing them down through the trapdoor to my mother who emptied them out of the bedroom window! We lived in a typical Cynon valley terraced house on the side of the mountain and there was no felt under the slates, hence the wind had blown the snow into the attic. If we had left it, it would have thawed and brought the ceilings down - not ideal. The snow got mixed with the black dust that lined the attic floor (lathe and plaster ceilings of course) so not only was it very cold up there, it was a filthy job to boot!

[jimmyscoular]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

The thing I most remember about that time was helping my Dad collect snow from the attic (yes, from inside the attic!) in buckets and passing them down through the trapdoor to my mother who emptied them out of the bedroom window! We lived in a typical Cynon valley terraced house on the side of the mountain and there was no felt under the slates, hence the wind had blown the snow into the attic. If we had left it, it would have thawed and brought the ceilings down - not ideal. The snow got mixed with the black dust that lined the attic floor (lathe and plaster ceilings of course) so not only was it very cold up there, it was a filthy job to boot!

😮 Scariest memory yet. How well I remember those council house attics with their ceiling trapdoors. Kid me used to be so impressed the way my dad lifted himself through the trapdoor hole. Had to be careful up there, though. No flooring. One wrong step and through the ceiling you went.

[StraightOuttaCanton]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

My parents got married on Boxing Day 1962. The pictures are crazy

[dandywarhol]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

I was eight.We walked to school.Didn't lose a day.

[Moodybluebird]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

Thinking about it, the two largest snowfalls in my lifetime have both come with a 2 at the end of the year, 1962 and 1982 but unfortunately I didn't see a single flake last year.

I don't think the 1982 fall had the notoriety of the earlier one because it was not nationwide and didn't cause the chaos associated with that event. Still, over 40 hours of non-stop heavy snow was still amazing to see.

[bobh]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

Thinking about it, the two largest snowfalls in my lifetime have both come with a 2 at the end of the year, 1962 and 1982 but unfortunately I didn't see a single flake last year.

I don't think the 1982 fall had the notoriety of the earlier one because it was not nationwide and didn't cause the chaos associated with that event. Still, over 40 hours of non-stop heavy snow was still amazing to see.

I remember my mam telling me there were a couple of feet of snow in Ty Sign (estate on mountainside above Risca)
I lived in London at the time - we had about two inches - in drifts!

[Moodybluebird]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

I remember my mam telling me there were a couple of feet of snow in Ty Sign (estate on mountainside above Risca)
I lived in London at the time - we had about two inches - in drifts!

It hit the south west and Wales really badly. Like you, my mate was living in London at the time and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Another, who was courting a French girl at the time was in Paris watching TV with her parents and couldn't believe his eyes when Cardiff bus station was featured on their main news. I think it was because the French rugby team were due to play Wales in Cardiff.

[xsnaggle]

Re: 60th anniversary of The Big Freeze coming up

My bad, his brother was Pedro, Paddy was Paddy Power the sports teacher

Pedro was a Spanish Teacher so he was always referred to (not to his or Egar's faces) as Pedro Belsh Because there is no W in Spanish