THE latest community news from Aberystwyth

Stroke Club

FOR the club’s monthly lunch outing on 22 August, 41 members travelled by coach to Llwyngwair Manor, near Newport, Pembrokeshire.

An enjoyable journey with the country side looking green after the rains of late.

After finding their seats in the newly-refurbished function room, Jean, aided by Alma, did the round with the raffle tickets.

Lunch was then served, such a splendid meal and with very helpful staff.

The raffle table was covered with lots of amazing prizes, including some home grown produce which was eagerly snapped up!

The 750 club numbers took place whilst tea and coffee were being served.

Then it was time to board the coach for a journey back to Aberystwyth after a good day out.

Fishing competition

A YOUNG angler from Aberystwyth has scooped the top prize at an annual fishing competition which took place at Dinas Reservoir on Thursday 5 July.

Richy Ricketts a pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig, impressed judges with his catch of the day.

The annual inter-schools fishing competition, now in it’s fourth year and sponsored by SP Energy Networks, was set up by Llanilar Angling Association to keep the spirit of fishing alive and encourage the next generation to take up fishing as a hobby.

Forty five secondary school pupils from Ysgol Penweddig and Ysgol Tregaron came together on the day to compete for the title of best catch.

Richy Ricketts from Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig, who is also the Welsh Youth Fly Fishing Captain, scooped the top prize with his four Rainbow Trout that weighed 5 pounds and 4 ounces.

The trophy for the heaviest fish was presented to Rhodri Jones also from Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig who’s fish weighed in at 1 pound 14 ounces.

SP Energy Networks attended the event to raise awareness of power safety around fishing, especially when fishing close to overhead power lines, offering top tips to ensure power safety is front of mind when fishing.

Stephen Stewart, director at SP Energy Networks, said: “The competition was a wonderful opportunity for young anglers in the Aberystwyth area to come together and demonstrate their fantastic fishing skills.

“However, our attendance also carried a serious message. Power safety is something that can often be overlooked when fishing, but it is vital in avoiding injury from any overhead lines.”

Lions Club

ABERYSTWYTH Lions Club has raised £3,000 for local charities.

The club held a picnic in the park at Waunfawr Community Hall and presented a cheque for £1,500 to the Aberystwyth Blood Bike Group, £1,000 to Aberystwyth Tenovus Choir and £500 to Aberystwyth Silver Band.

The money was raised through ticket sales for a concert, which took place in June and starred the singer Shân Cothi.

Gareth Hughes, of the Lions, said of the concert: “It had to be rearranged from 1 March due to the ‘Beast from the East’.

“It took place on 8 June and was a terrific success, and will hopefully carry on next year and for years to come.”

“Aberystwyth Lions Club has been in existence since 1975 and has continually raised money for local charities and funded disasters which have occurred both in this country and abroad.

“We would also like to thank members of the public who attended our charity concert for helping us to raise so much money for so worthy causes.”

Mathew Leeman from the Aberystwyth branch of Blood Bikes Wales thanked the Lions for their donation.

He said: “This very generous donation has allowed us to upgrade one of our two motorcycles, which is rather ironic really, as it was the Lions who funded the purchase of our very first bike, back in 2015.

Rotary Club

ON Tuesday, 21 August, the club was delighted to welcome Annie Lewis as guest speaker.

Annie, from Capel Bangor, has just graduated with a degree in physiotherapy from Cardiff University. As part of her training she had spent several weeks in June working in hospitals in Tanzania in east Africa, supported by the Rotary Club’s Lionel White Scholarship.

This is a fund which provides financial assistance to young people from the Aberystwyth area to travel abroad for humanitarian purposes.

Annie gave an absorbing account of her experiences.

Tanzania is a poor country with a population of some 55 million, many existing on less than £1 a day. Life expectancy is 62 years and the realities of day to day healthcare are in stark contrast to the UK’s well-developed NHS.

Annie’s first placement was in the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute in Dar es Salaam where she saw patients with injuries following road traffic accidents and from work in the construction and logging industries.

Given that Swahili was the principal local language with very little English spoken, Annie had to use a phone app for translation purposes.

On her second placement she spent a week in a remote village called Kidodi, an eight-hour bus journey south-west of Dar es Salaam. It provided a fascinating insight to rural African life.

Annie stayed with a family, both the parents were nurses and unusually for the area, their house had secure walls. The diet was predominantly starch based and consisted of grains and potatoes.

Noting the disparity between Tanzanian and UK healthcare, Annie described how patients would, for example, be left outside accident and emergency wards until they had paid up front. Only the well-educated and wealthy would be treated promptly.

For childbirth, services were quite under developed. Women could not afford pain relief and were left very much to their own devices during labour.

In hospital, informed consent for treatment, so well established in the UK, was not practiced. Patients often go first to local healers in their community.

Lack of resources in the hospitals meant that infection control was haphazard.

Annie’s abiding memories were of a beautiful country with wonderful people, many of whom had heard of Wales’ Gareth Bale! The healthcare system, however, was at least 40 years behind that of the UK.

Annie thanked the club for the scholarship which had enabled her to undertake her placements in Tanzania.

President Michael Deaville gave a vote of thanks, noting Annie’s excellent presentation and expressed the club’s pleasure at having supported such a worthwhile travel experience.

Cambrian Floral Society

ON a warm sunny Sunday on 5 August, the society held an afternoon tea and entertainment on the new bandstand.

The teas, which included homemade scones, Welsh cakes and Bara Brith, were served between 1pm and 5pm.

The entertainment was provided by local harpist Eleri Turner who attracted and delighted an appreciative audience, and the society’s chairman, John James, who gave two short flower-arranging demonstrations during the afternoon.

His magnificent arrangements were auctioned at the end of the event.

The new programme for 2018/19 commences on Wednesday, 6 September, at Bethel Chapel Vestry, Baker Street, at 7pm.

This will be an introductory social evening which will introduce you to flower-arranging as well as to each other.

Whether you are new to flower-arranging or want to take up a new hobby, this is a good time for new members to join. All are welcome.

Bridge club

ROGER Boyle and Jeff Thomas were the decisive winners on 17 August.

Martin Page and Magda Corser were second and Andrew Loat and Elenid Thomas third.

This was the last round of the Club Championship, but the evening’s results did not affect the outcome of the championship, with Dai Hayes and John Valentine the winners, Margaret James and Pat Roe the runners-up and Mike Jones and Keith Bellamy third.

The winners on 19 August were Mair Jenkins and Margaret Roberts, with Joyce Blair and Jacqui Roberts second and Margaret Ellis and Jean Harrison third.

On Board 8, Mair and Margaret (East/ West) with 30 honour points between them, made 4 Spades with two overtricks.

The next time that the board was played, Joyce and Jacqui (North/South) with a seven-card heart suit bid and made 3 Hearts Doubled, a very worthwhile sacrifice.

Earlier in the day, 11 players from the club played in the Mid Wales Individual, with Mike Tedd winning the J V Davies Trophy, John Gould (joining the club and area while on holiday) second and Mike Jones joint third.

Aberystwyth Bridge Club normally plays twice a week in Waunfawr Community Hall, starting at 6.45pm, with Friday being the main evening.

For further information, ring the club secretary on 01970 639229.

If you’re a member of a club, society or group, send your news to [email protected]