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Ystrad Mynach ‘legend’ John Sidoli has spent the past nine months thrifting materials from the local Indian takeaway to create a six-foot-tall model of a Lancaster bomber.

Seventy-year-old John Sidoli, better known as ‘John Cafe’, ran John’s Cafe on Commercial Street, Ystrad Mynach, for 50 years alongside his late wife Meryl Sidoli.

Their cafe not only had a reputation for good food and company, but also the work the couple did for the Royal British Legion (RBL), who recognised their efforts in 2017 when John’s Cafe was awarded their ‘Certificate of Appreciation’.

John told Caerphilly Observer why completing the model aeroplane before Remembrance Day was so important to him: “Me and my wife supported the RBL for all the years we ran the cafe. We always liked to put up a display.”

After Meryl was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2017, the pair shut up shop so that they could spend their last year together.

John added: “I couldn’t bring myself to reopen the cafe as I couldn’t imagine doing it without her.

“The community were sad when I told them I was shutting down for good. I’m proud to say we were something of an institution in the area.”

He joked: “People still pass me on the street and call me a legend.”

John has remained busy over the past couple of years however. Teaching himself how to weld proved useful when he saw a photo of a model plane on social media and decided to give it a go.

“I started by getting some 20 litre tin cans from my local Indian”, John said. “I used the welding equipment that I bought a few years ago and made the main body of the plane in around two months.”

John continued: “The part that took the longest however was the poppy tree underneath the aircraft. I used burnt out candle holders from my local chapel which took six months as I had to wait for the candles to burn out first.

“I was panicking that I wasn’t going to get it ready in time. But the chapel managed to find me some spare candle holders a few weeks ago.”

The nine-month project cost John just £6 after he bought some camouflage paint for the finishing touches.

The impressive structure is currently on display in Sainsbury’s, Pontllanfraith. However John added that local chapels and churches have enquired about where the sculpture will end up next.

Asked how he plans on spending Remembrance Day, John said he intends on keeping his yearly tradition of photographing all of the cenotaphs in the area on his bike as a “keen cyclist”.