We've had that happen many years ago. Surreal. Our surname is Bevan too.

Totally true, and totally common place in Wales: pubs, cafés, corner stores, etc.

A funny story about a friend of my mother. He is a rather large gentleman, and was on the tube in London one day when two Africans on the tube started making rude and offensive comments about his size and weight, .... in Swahili. The funny thing was that he had spent a couple of years in East Africa while doing field work for his botany PhD, and had learned to speak Swahili quite fluently.

He said nothing until he reached his stop to get off then rose from his seat, and thanked them in Swahili for the pleasure of their company on the journey! Apparently the look on their faces was a sight to behold!

I have a similar story. A friend of mine grew up in India, the child of Christian missionaries. She learned Urdu as she grew up. She started teacher training in Bradford and was shocked when the kids in the front of the class were discussing, in Urdu, if she had a boyfriend. One girl said, no, she's too fat. She managed to keep it together to give them a good talking to!

It's a lesson I never forgot. There's always someone, somewhere, who can understand what your saying. And don't ever forget it!

Someone somewhere, but an Indian in Bradford hardly a shock

Of course but the point is, the girls didn't expect a red haired woman from Belfast to speak Urdu.

Agreed. Must have been an eye opener for them then.

Wales was a fun childhood holiday destination. I do remember having great fun at Butlins Barry Island, but now as i have just found out it has gone

Butlitz and Pontitz have released most of their prisoners and closed their gaols....

We were holidaying at Butlitz Pwllelli! (My sister, who's 12 years younger than me, was a kid and it was a relatively cheap holiday for the four of us).

I think I still hold the record for being the only guest ever to be invited to a staff party - and we crammed 14 of us into an Austin Maxi down those country roads!!

We used to go every year when my sister and I were very small. Then my folks took to independent travel for a few years, and they decided when I was 16 to go back, because of alll the fun we'd had in the past. . In the car on the way home we all swore never to go back.....