A deep-rooted prejudice exists in respect of council house living. A few years ago some Cardiffians were visiting my trans-atlantic workplace. Where was I from they asked when they realized I was Welsh. "Cardiff" I said. Delighted, they asked : "From Where ?" . "Gabalfa" I answered, and for a moment they were taken aback, almost in disbelief, then embarressed for their own reaction. Which is so funny when you come to think of it. Gabalfa has been the birthplace of a successful real estate agent, a successful master-builder, an actress of fame, a singer-dancer whom I saw with great astonishment on the London stage in a performance of Aquarious. Jacquie....??..............and many others who may one day come out from their comfortable middle class shells to tell their stories without shame and with justifiable pride.
My sister and her husband are trying to sell their house right now. The house has a large front garden, and a large rear garden, a living room, a diningroom, a kitchen, bathrooms up and down and three bedrooms, and its location is excellent, except that it is where it is, in Gabalfa. Anywhere else and the house would fetch double its asking price. Sooner or later the prejudice will give way to practical necessity, as it did in London, when council flats became the rage for Porsche-driving "yuppies" as we called them then, to move in and buy !