Garej Jo / Mercury Garage - Dinas

We Jo Stevens a’i whâr yn byw yn Rose Cottage, Dinas, y bwthyn agosaf at barc chwarae y plant yng nghanol y pentre.

We gan Jo sawl bys yn y cawl, fel we’n gyffredin yn yr adeg hynny – 1930-50. Wedd e a’i whâr yn cadw tafarn bach yn Rose Cottage, ar agor i bawb we’n sychedig. We Jo hefyd yn cadw garej ar ben arall y teras. (Garej Jo bryd hynny, ond Mercury Garage yn ddiweddarach….. gwasgwch yma am fwy o wybodaeth)

Bydde fe yn gwerthu petrol o’r garej. Wedd e’n gymwynasgar iawn wrth bobol yr ardal. Yn y 1940au/50au, doedd gan bobol ddim digon o arian i ‘lanw’r tanc’ yn aml, ac we rhedeg mas o betrol yn beth digon cyffredin. Os bydde hynny’n digwydd yn hwyr erbyn nos, a’r garej ar gau, bydde’n rhaid mynd i Rose Cottage at Jo am help. Os fydde’r dafarn ar gau hefyd, bydde’n rhaid whilio rownd cewn y tŷ yn y tywyllwch gan fod dwy neu dair o fyllt a chloion ar bob drws ganddo yn y ffrynt.

“Helo, helo, Jo?”

“Pwy sy’ ‘na?” ddoi’r ateb.

“Fi!”

“O ti! Dwi’n nabod dy laish di nawr. Be ti am?”

“Dwi mas o betrol, Jo”

“O! Weita funud, byddai ‘da ti nawr”

Bydde Jo yn dwad i’r golwg gyda’r ast wrth ei ymyl a ‘flashlamp’ yn ei law. Bydde’r lamp yn bwysig gan bo’r pentre yn ddu fel bola buwch erbyn nos. Wrth gerdded hyn y teras draw am y garej, bydde Jo yn swingo’r lamp fel bydde’r goleuau yn Ffair Abergweun. Jôc fach gan Jo fydde gweud ‘Any prize from the top shelf!’, fel y bydde bois y ffair yn gweud ar y pryd.

Yn y garej, bydde’n rhaid i Jo driwco’r olwynion ar yr offer petrol, gan droi un ffordd, ac wedyn y ffordd arall er mwyn llanw’r can. Falle mai “Four bob” fydde’r gost, a bydde’n rhaid cofio mynd nôl â’r can at Jo y tro nesa y byddech chi’n pasio.

We’r dafarn ar agor chwech nosweth yr wthnos, ac we un cwsmer yn cerdded yr holl ffordd o Gapel Newi, pob nos ond am nos Sul, am beint gyda Jo.

We Ffair Abergweun ar Hydref yr 8fed yn beth mowr ar y pryd. Un blwyddyn, gwnaeth Jo drefniant i ddal y bws o’r Dinas i gwrdd â ffrind ar Sgwâr Abergweun am naw o’r gloch. We nosweth o sbort yn y ffair mewn golwg gyda’r ddou. Oswi Jones, Capel Newi we’r ffrind. Yn anffodus, am bod y dafarn yn fishi, fe gollodd Jo y bws a gadael Oswi yn crafu ei ben ar Sgwâr Abergweun. O’r dwarnod hwnnw mlân, nath Oswi byth yfed eto yn y Rose Cottage.

Fel pob tŷ yn y pentre ar y pryd, tân glo fydde’n twmo y cartre. Bydde’n rhaid cael llwyth o lo ar lori, a’r gyrrwr yn codi cretsh y lori, a’r llwyth yn arllwys mas i’r llawr yn barod i’w rhofio i’r cwtsh glo. Petai Jo wedi cael llwyth o lo i gewn y tŷ, a chithe ishe mynd i gnoco’r drws erbyn nos, bydde ffeindio’ch ffordd yn benbleth yn y tywyllwch! Ma trio cerdded dros mynydd o lo rhydd mewn tywyllwch yn ddigon o farn!

Gyferbyn â’r garej, mae tŷ Glanhelyg a adeiladwyd yn 1883 (mae’r dyddiad i weld yng ngwaith cerrig y wal ffrynt, ar y llawr cyntaf) Yng Nglanhelyg roedd Mrs Dolly George yn byw ar un adeg. Wedd hi yn rhedeg gwasanaeth tacsi ac yn gyrru ar gyfer angladdau weithiau.

Jo Stevens and his sister lived at Rose Cottage, Dinas, the nearest cottage to the children’s playing field in the center of the village.

Jo had several strings to his bow, as was common at that time – 1930-50. He and his sister kept a small pub in Rose Cottage, open to everyone who was thirsty. Jo also kept a garage at the other end of the terrace. (Jo’s Garage then, but later Mercury Garage….. press here for more information)

He would sell petrol from the garage. He was very helpful to the people of the area. In the 1940s/50s, people often didn’t have enough money to ‘fill the tank’, and running out of petrol was quite common. If that happened late at night, and the garage was closed, you would have to go to Rose Cottage to Jo for help. If the pub was also closed, you would have to ‘go round the back’, in the dark, as Jo always had two or three bolts and locks on each door at the front.

“Hello, hello, Jo?”

“Who’s that?” would come the answer.

“Me!”

“Oh you! I know your voice now. What do you want?”

“I’m out of petrol, Jo”

“Oh! Wait a minute, I’ll be there now”

Jo would appear with his dog next to him and a ‘flashlamp’ in his hand. The lamp was needed as the village was in complete darkness at night. Walking up the terrace over to the garage, Jo would swing the lamp vigourously, like the lights at Fishguard Fair.  Jo enjoyed a joke, and would say ‘Any prize from the top shelf!’, just like the boys at the fair would say at the time.

In the garage, Jo would have to turn the handle on the petrol pump, turning one way, and then the other way in order to fill the can. Perhaps the cost would be “Four bob”, and you would have to remember to take the can back to Jo the next time you passed.

The pub was open six nights a week, and one customer would walk all the way from Capel Newydd, every night except Sunday night, for a pint with Jo.

Fishguard Fair, on October 8th was a big event at the time. One year, Jo arranged to catch the bus from Dinas to meet his friend at Fishguard Square at nine o’clock. An evening of entertainment lay ahead of the two. Oswi Jones, Capel Newydd was the friend. Unfortunately, because the pub was busy, Jo missed the bus and left Oswi scratching his head on Fishguard Square. From that time on, Oswi never drank again at the Rose Cottage.

All houses at the time, had coal fires to provide heating. Each family would arrange for a delivery – a load of coal on a lorry, and the driver would lift the bed of the lorry, and the load would pour off onto the ground ready to be shovelled into the coalhouse. Were you unfortunate enough to need petrol from Jo on the night after his coal delivery, you were risking your life. To find the back door of Rose Cottage at night, was challenge enough. Trying to navigate a mountain of loose coal as well was lethal!

Opposite the garage, there is a house called Glanhelyg, built in 1883 (the date can be seen in the stonework of the front wall, on the first floor) From Glanhelyg in more recent times, Mrs Dolly George ran a taxi service and sometimes drove for funerals.