The bathroom window had ice inside. Not frosted, frozen. I could see my dragon breath as I stood holding my shrivelled billy. In Brynaman, boys had billies, girls had peggies. It was best to have a steaming pee now, as my billy would soon be buried under layers of clothing with little hope of rapid relief should the need arise.
The snow in drifts was higher than my four year old head and my mother swaddled me tight in all the wool in…
