Tony Roberts.

Tony Roberts had a varied and interesting career before settling in Pembrokeshire in the 1960s. After the Second World War, when he served in the Navy, Tony worked for the UN as an English/French interpreter and spent time in New York in the late 1940s and in Indonesia as they went through the change from being a Dutch colony to independence under Sukarno. Tony had a successful career with Unilever during the 1950s but after marrying Liz and starting a family they moved to Pembrokeshire and lived and worked on a small-holding. Although Tony and Liz’s life-style was as self-sufficient as was practical there was a need for an income and Tony became Head Warden of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. This was during the time the Coast Path was being created. Having always had an interest in writing and with Liz’s encouragement, Tony wrote the Guide to the Pembrokeshire Coast Path combining his intimate knowledge of the area with his personal interest in history. So Pembrokeshire Handbooks (which became Abercastle Publications) was born. In the 1980s Tony finally (in his 60s) studied at University, an opportunity denied him as a youth and was able to use that study to guide tours of ancient sites in Europe. It was an interesting end to a varied career.

Elizabeth Roberts.

Elizabeth Roberts (nee Woodroffe) lived an unconventional life from the start. Her early education, between the age of 4 and 7, was at Summerhill, a ‘free’ school, where she smoked a clay pipe for a year (as an adult she was not keen on smoking!). She watched the blitz in London from a hospital bed before being evacuated to an aunt in Leicester. Somehow she ended up in the Art College at the age of 12 (when 14 was the normal age) so she had very little conventional schooling. An intelligent, creative and artistic person she did not really flout convention so much as always lived her own life. “There is no such word as can’t” she said and she expected this of both herself and the people around her. Liz became a dress designer but although she both making her own clothes and knitting wonderful things she didn’t want a career in it. Her artwork – line-drawing, pen and ink, watercolour all show great talent but her real love was rescuing derelict houses. As soon as most of the work was done she would fall in love with the next house and move on. Even in her eighties and having suffered severe strokes Liz still showed strength of character which inspired those around her.

Roni Roberts.

Liz said that she was proud of raising three independently minded children. Interesting people don’t always make the easiest parents but even if it were possible I wouldn’t swap them. Having done a variety of different jobs as a youngster, including setting up and running a wholefood shop in my early twenties, I settled into the ruined cottage in a beautiful overgrown garden and took over Abercastle publications when Tony retired. Having completed a course in Furniture design and making I wished to pursue furniture making. Wood-working is my passion but having discovered the lathe and wood-turning I haven’t looked back. Turning wood offers an ideal opportunity to show off the wood to its best advantage.

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