Wales’s oldest landlady is back -- just don’t order prosecco
THERE’S a reason the Dyffryn Arms, tucked away in the Gwaun valley, Pembrokeshire, is known as ‘Bessie’s’. The Grade II-listed pub’s landlady is Bessie Davies, who turned 90 last year.
‘It can’t be one o’clock,’ I hear her shout to Nerys, her granddaughter who helps run the pub. I’ve been brave enough to ring the bell, which sits on the serving hatch for service.
Bessie’s right. It isn’t one o’clock. It is quarter to two. Forty-five minutes past opening time. To say Bessie’s opening hours are casual would be an understatement.
From behind the hatch, I hear her muttering in Welsh. When Bessie appears, in her apron and slippers, I offer her a ‘Bore da’ (meaning good day, pronounced boh-ray dah) and order half a Bass beer (the only beer she will entertain).
Bessie’s is the heartbeat of the village of Pontfaen, bordered by woodland and a silver stream.
The wood-panelled ‘snug’, with its open fire and quarry-tiled floor, has room for only a dozen customers.
You’ll find hand-carved Welsh furniture, heirlooms from the Davies family, who have lived here since 1840, and portraits of a young Queen Elizabeth and of Prince Edward in 1910. They are there to dispel any myth that the English are not welcome.
After a fire in 2019 the walls were painted yellow, Bessie’s favourite. Beyond that, time has stood still. ‘Do you do any food?’ I asked. ‘Pickled eggs or peanuts?’ Bessie replied.
Think twice about ordering a prosecco, the most exotic drink is a Gwynt y Ddraig scrumpy.
As for speaking Welsh, if you learn one phrase, make it ‘Iechyd da! (Cheers!).’ Pronounce it correctly, as in ‘yaki da’, and you may receive a nod of approval from Bessie.