Parkinsons UK

AT the monthly meeting of the Aberystwyth group, the chairman reported that the Wales Parkinson group had decided that it would not be sponsoring further exercise classes.

Names were taken for the Christmas dinner at Llanina Arms, Llanarth, the trip to Abbey Cwm Hir Christmas decorations and the Arts Centre pantomime in January.

The speaker for the day was Erwyd Howells, who has addressed the group on many occasions and was most welcome once again.

His first part was where he started off as a shepherd at Charles Evans, Glaspwll.

He worked at Lovesgrove for many years where in the summers he did Hafod and Hendre, going up the mountian as shepherd.

He is now a freeland shepherd and helps farmers when he wants.

He loves sheep, dog training and has seven generations of dogs.

Pat Davies thanked Erwyd once again for a very interesting and educational afternoon.

The speaker on 23 November is Iestyn Hughes, who will show films on places of interest in Ceredigion. The meeting closed with the usual tea and cakes.

Cymdeithas yr Aelwyd

Menna Evans oedd ein cadeirydd nos Wener, 6 Tachwedd, a chroesawodd Einion Gruffudd o’r Llyfrgell Genedlaethol.

Einion yw rheolwr prosiect Cynefin, sy’n adfer a digido tua 1,200 o fapiau degwm a thrawsgrifio dros 30,000 tudalen o restrau’r degwm.

Cynhyrchwyd y mapiau hyn rhwng 1838 a 1850 i sicrhau fod pawb yn gwneud taliad degwm ac erbyn hyn mae rhai ohonynt angen cael eu trwsio gan arbenigwyr cadwraeth y llyfrgell.

Dangosodd Einion enghreifftiau lleol o’r toreth o wybodaeth sydd ar gael, megis enwau perchnogion y tir a’r tirfeddianwyr, defnydd y tir ac enwau caeau.

Roedd plwyf Llanbadarn yn ymestyn bron at Llanidloes, tra roedd Penparcau’n fach iawn.

Yn gysylltiedig â’r prif brosiect mae nifer o brosiectau bach lleol ac yma yng Ngheredigion gwneir ymchwil i hanes tarfarndai’r sir.

Atgoffwn aelodau’r Aelwyd na fyddwn yn cyfarfod nos Wener, 27 Tachwedd.

Age Cymru

THIS year’s AGM will be held in Tregaron Mem­orial Hall at 2pm on Thursday, 19 November.

Gwenda Thomas AM will be the guest speaker and there will be free tea, coffee and cake for everyone.

The branch needs voluntary receptionists in its busy Aberystwyth office to deal with phone calls and help visitors to the office with basic information. Other volunteer roles are also available.

Contact Lynne on 01970 615151 for further details.

Rotary club

Christopher Salmon, the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner was the speaker at this week’s meeting. He was elected in November 2012 along with 40 others in England and Wales The role of the PCCs is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account as they are responsible for the totality of policing.

Mr Salmon’s area, Dyfed-Powys, is the largest in England and Wales - 4,000 square miles, predominantly rural.

Mr Salmon emphasised that the police force had no military structure; all 41 areas were independent with a local force knowing local needs with prevention at the heart of the matter.

The Chief Constable, he said, was accountable to the elected PCC, who was accountable to the public.

The lively question-and-answer session including cyber crime, the bobby on the beat, petty crime and use of modern technology brought the talk to a close, with past-president John Ockey giving the vote of thanks for a much appreciated presentation.

Probus club

The speaker at the Probus Club this month was Derrick Whiting, retired lawyer and lifelong enthusiast for all things equestrian.

Ever since his father, an officer in the Queen’s Royal Regiment, had shown the young Derrick how to sit correctly on a horse, the boy had been fascinated by them. As an adult, his passion has been coach and carriage driving, both competitively and non-competitively, and for over 40 years he was a steward at carriage driving trials throughout the country.

The main theme of his talk was the history of road coaches and coach driving, but this was interspersed with a great medley of anecdote and reminiscence - Derrick appears to have remembered the name of virtually every horse that he has come into contact with, during a long and busy life.

Derrick explained that the term ‘stagecoach’ came about because journeys were made in stages of ten or eleven miles, with the team of horses being changed after each stage. The golden era of the road coach was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the days when a speed of eleven miles per hour was regarded as an express service.

Members were then brought more up to date, to 1989, when Derrick was one of a group of enthusiasts who took a large road coach over the Simplon pass in the Alps.

Derrick’s animated demonstration of the style of coach driving introduced by Benno von Achenbach involved several props, including a traditional holly driving whip which, confusingly to some of us, isn’t used to whip the horses, but rather to touch the horse on its back and flanks to control its movements and responses to the reins.

Haydn Davies gave a vote of thanks for this talk.

The next meeting of Probus will be on 25 November and the speaker will be Keith Morris, the well-known Aberystwyth photographer.

Anyone interested in joining the club should contact the secretary, John Andrews (phone 01970 358095).