This is spooky.
I just saw the photo of A Fish Called Rhondda.
It seemed strangely familiar to me, so I went on google maps, street view for a better decko.
That shop is right next door to the greengrocers shop that I used to own in Ton Pentre.
On Maps it shows an Indian Curry shop the other side of the greengrocers. That used to be a cafe, pretty much the same sort of set up as Fecci's etc but owned and run by a Welsh born couple. HIs name was Mansell - although that is irrelevant, it was nice that I could remember.
At that time - in the early 70's when I had my shop, my brother Topher had his shop in Ferndale - which was previously Bryn Nash's and John had his shop in Maerdy. We used to be able to get a better deal at the markets a 4.30 in the morning whenever we were able to put together an order to spread between the three shops. Anyway, that is also bye the bye.
Roger, before I had my car - a Morris Minor 1000 rego number VNY 416, that I used to ferry Gil, Elaine and Brian back and forth to Llanishen, we we victims of the Beeching era.
Must have been about 1962, when the Beeching axe fell and stopped all passenger train services to the Rhondda Fach. When this happened we had to catch the Cardiff bus down to Ponty and then get the private bus to Llanishen. On the way home we often stayed on the train as far as Porth and then got the local bus home. Cannot remember the number of times I called into Bacchetta's on the way to the bus stop in those days.
Remember that they had the 2 shops - the one by the station and the other by the bus depot roundabout.
Also at the bus depot, on the opposite corner, was Gambarinis cafe/restaurant.
I spent a lot of time in Bacchetta's in the late 50's into the 60's when I was going to Porth County. Remember Normans Stores had that wonderful shop with all of the latest pushbikes was just down the road by the bridge. They had a petrol pump oustside and used to serve petrol across the pavement into cars stopped on the road.
Enough nostalgia for now, have to do some real work.
G'day from down under
Gary