Potted histories

The Big C sits in his conservatory, surrounded by potted begonias and photos of celebrities. He’s wearing his standard rugby shirt under a brown cardigan, with elbow patches, and his broad features support a smile, as big as a tea plate. The smell of baking sponge cake wafts in from the kitchen, and we can hear Brends cooking up a storm. I say ‘we’ cause Big Wendy from Bargoed has given me a lift, and Cyril insisted she come in for a piece of his fudge.

‘What happened to the sherbet Lemons Cyr? You gone off’em like?’

he looks appalled, grabbing the side of his chair to steady himself.

‘Its like this, you see……