Royal British Legion

THE JANUARY meeting was held on Thursday, 21 January, in the Railway Club and was well attended. Members received a review of the very successful evening spent on the range with 3rd Battalion RWF in December. It appears that the lady members of the branch showed the men how it should be done! The group has had an invitation for a rematch later in the year. The Iori Lewis Memorial Christmas Lunch was a success and the group wished to thank all who helped organise the event. Particular thanks went to the Salvation Army for the use of their hall.The chairman gave a preview of the year ahead with branch meetings being held in the Railway Club on alternate months and social events on the other months. The first of these is a trip to the RWF museum in Brecon leaving the bus station at 9am on Saturday, 20 February, at a cost of £20 per person.There will be a guided tour of the museum with a chance to explore Brecon afterwards. The group will return to Aberystwyth by 6pm. A full list of future activities has been sent to or been handed to all members. There are two corrections to the events sheet: the July meeting is on Thursday, 21 July, not 28 July; and Remembrance Sunday is on 13 November not 6 November. The RWF Comrades Association is holding its annual St David’s Day Dinner on Saturday, 27 February, at 7pm for 7.30pm in the Marine Hotel. All are invited to attend.Contact chairman, Sean Langton, on 07974 914691 by 15 February if tyou wish to attend. Similarly, contact Sean to book a place on the February trip to Brecon.Also, the Welsh Heart Foundation lunch, to which the branch is invited, will be at Llety Parc on Sunday, 21 February. Once again, contact Sean. This is a very worthwhile organisation to support and the Legion always receive a very warm wel-come indeed.A general knowledge quiz followed and it was quite a stunner. Without any cheating, the winners were Olwen, Sam and John. The next branch meeting on Thursday, 17 March, at 8pm in the Railway Club will be followed by a games night.

Bibliographical group

AN AUDIENCE of over 40 people gathered in the Drwm at the National Library for the meeting on Tuesday, 19 January. The speaker was Dr Brian Davies, retired senior lecturer in biochemistry at Aberystwyth University. Dr Davies had spoken to the group several times before about various aspects of the use of colour in the production of manuscripts and books, and on this occasion the title of his lecture was colouring maps.The lecture investigated the use of colour in mapmaking, from the early manuscript maps and through those printed from woodcuts or copper engravings into the golden age of mapmaking. Was the colour merely decorative or did it have a specific function? Was the colouring done by professionals or was it a pastime and useful accomplishment? What colours were used and how were they applied? Until the advent of colour printing in the 19th century, all map colouring was done by hand. Colour woodblock printing was soon overtaken by lithography in colour, and developments in print-ing technology and the availability of new colours led to entirely new approaches to the colouring of maps. The lecture was accompanied by an excellent PowerPoint presentation.The next meeting will be held at 11am on Saturday, 20 February, at St Paul’s Methodist Centre, when Dr Hannah Thomas will speak on ‘The Society of Jesus in Wales, c. 1600–1679: Rediscovering the Cwm Jesuit Library at Hereford Cathedral’.

Cambrian Floral Society

ON WEDNESDAY evening, 6 January, the society commenced the new year with a members’ evening, which is always a popular event. Before the chairman introduced the members willing to demonstrate their skills, he warmly welcomed the new members who had joined that evening. The first arrangement was by Pat who chose a square-lidded basket as her container, which was soon full of pink roses and gerberas placed to make the most of the basket. She was followed by Malvina and Norma who chose to demonstrate an attractive arrangement suitable for a hall or dining table using pink roses and white chrysanthemums. Refreshments were than served after which the chairman, John James, gave a summary of the events arranged for the coming months. He ended the evening by demonstrating a new design in an unusual large bottle which was also illuminated – a colourful and exciting finale.Next month Marian will hold a workshop at Bethel Chapel Vestry, Baker Street, on Wednesday, 3 February, at 7pm. A worksheet is available by phoning 07580 776302.

Merched y Wawr

BETH yw’r enw lle cysylltiedig a hyn? Eitha mawr. Yr ateb? Plwmp.A beth yw Sain diwedd y sigaret? Ie, Sain Ffagan.Dyna chi syniad o’r cwestiynau ac o’r hwyl a gawsom yn ein cyfarfod mis Ionawr yn y cwis a gyflwyn-wyd ar fyr rybudd gan ein llywydd Dulcie James.Roedd y tîmau i gyd wrth eu boddau a mwynhawyd paned wedyn wedi ei pharatoi gan Mary Olwen a’i thîm.

Museum

CEREDIGION Museum is wasting no time in cracking on with their plans for a new shop, tourist information centre and café. Carrie Canham, curator, said: “Now we have nearly all the money in place we’re keen to get started. “It’s crucial to us that the new facilities meet the needs of our visitors, so we are having a coffee afternoon on Saturday, 30 January, from 2pm to 4pm, where anyone can drop in and chat to us and the architect about the plans. “Last year, 40 people attended our planning open day to feed in to the proposals, we hope many of them will come back and help us put the detail into those initial designs to create an exciting new space, but one which is practical for everyone’s needs too.”Ceredigion Museum, with the help of the Friends of Ceredigion Museum, has raised over £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and trusts and foundations for the New Approaches redevelopment project, which will help safeguard its future by increasing visitor numbers and generating income through the shop, café and performances in the Coliseum theatre. In addition, there will be lots of exc iting ways in which people can get involved with the museum, from volunteering to participating in creative workshops.The coffee afternoon will run from 2pm to 4pm at Ceredigion Museum in Terrace Road. To find out more about the project, contact [email protected] or pop in for a chat.

University lecture

THE ANNUAL lecture of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies (DDMI) will be given by Baron Wallace of Saltaire. He will be speaking about the UK and the EU – an always controversial topic, but of particular and historic significance with the impending in/out referendum.In 2001, Baron Wallace became the Liberal Democrats’ main frontbench spokesperson on foreign affairs in the Lords, and during the coalition of 2010-15 was a Government Whip in the Lords on foreign affairs and education. Before that, William Wallace had enjoyed a distinguished career as an academic specialising in European affairs. His positions included director of studies at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Af-fairs) and professor of international relations at LSE. In 1995 he was created a life peer.Prof Ken Booth, president of the DDMI, said that we are fortunate to have the opportunity to hear Wil-liam Wallace at this critical moment in the UK’s international affairs.He said: “William Wallace has been one of the foremost academic thinkers on politics in Europe for the past 40 years, and he brings to his analysis experience from working at the heart of government.”The lecture will take place in the Main Hall, Department of International Politics, Penglais Campus, at 6pm on Thursday, 4 February.Members of the general public, faculty and students of Aberyst-wyth University are warmly invited to attend. Refreshments will be provided from 5.30pm. Please arrive early to ensure a seat.