Jack Mariti

Local hero Jack Mariti

Visitors to Burry Port won't know the face behind the name Jack Mariti on the plaque dedicated to him near Burry Port's lifeboat station but perchance they stumble onto this site (having found it while looking for info on the town before a visit perhaps) I will share with you a photograph of the man here (courtesy of the Memories of Burry Port Facebook page.)
Jack Mariti was a lifeguard around Burry Port harbour who also taught local youngsters how to swim and his tribute 'down the harbour' is well deserved. Well I remember my grandmother telling stories of Jack, how he came to the aid of many in distress and saved many from a watery doom. A gentle giant, a real character (and legend) of the town.

Carmarthen Sights

All pics by me.


Old People Infirmary/Priory Street hospital



Carmarthen Market 2007

Classic Harbour View

The harbour has changed a lot these last few years with the arrival of the Millenium Coastal Park but here are a few snaps of how it looked when swimming was allowed (as well as crane jumping). You can see the Carmarthe Bay Powers Station in the photo below. In fact not far from where that was taken was another hang out spot, used to love popping a few cold ones down here in the summer. (Mind you it didn't need to be summer). The water is always in now because of the new locks but before those arrived, the harbour stank of mud, stale fish and seaweed when the tide was out. Not necessarily a bad smell, just very different compared to when it was in.

Elikington Road 1905

Life in 1905

My family moved to a house on Elkington road in Burry Port way back in 1980. (My father still lives there). This road almost goes straight through the middle of the town and stretches from the top half (Achddu) to the bottom onto Station road. And thanks to this fact, it was a great road for skateboards and bikes.
No skateboards in this 1905 photograph of course. And that is most definately not Pembrey like it suggests.

The Garages

These garages were another favourite hang out in Burry Port. Just behind you can see the back of the Memorial Hall. These face other garages just out of shot and I have actually fallen through the roof of those because at the time (1980s) they had asbestos roofing as opposed to the concrete type you can see in this picture. Used to skateboard on here too, and occasionaly thought about making a skate jump from them.

'Co~op' Wall

Anothe old drinking spot

This charming little view is looking from the Coop bridge down towards the harbour. The train you see was a coal train that used to take coal up to Carway, and the small, red brick wall was another favourite hang out/drinking spot of my friends and I in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Used to be a handy toilet across the road too.
Of course the years have drastically changed all this and these days where that wall is in the photo, there is now a busy roundabout and the coal trains have long since departed to a lost station somewhere in time.

Siop Alwyn

Croeso I Siop Alwyn

Siop Alwyn (Siop is Welsh for shop) was a barbers situated on top of Elkington road, near Achddu. I personally don't remember much about it because it was on its way to closing while I was barely in school but it was certainly very popular before then. The only thing I do remember is if any schoolboy had a basin/bowl style haircut, then others would say that he'd had a 'siop Alwyns'.
You could also buy sweets and soda drinks in Alwyns and probably cigarettes too. I wish little places like these were still opening instead of closing because you get the personal touch and gossip that supermarkets just cannot offer. There is so much character to them and this was definately true of Siop Alwyn's.