THE latest community news from Aberystwyth

Lions Club

PRESIDENT Meirion Lewis handed over the presidency to Gareth Hughes at the recent dinner meeting of Aberystwyth Lions Club.

As president, Meirion has led the club with enthusiasm and humour that has meant a very successful year for the club.

Almost £7,000 has been raised to help those less fortunate than ourselves, and together with many social events for the members and families it has been good to know that in the 100th year of Lionism, Aberyswyth Lions have contributed well to the local community and the wider community.

A busy end to Meirion’s year included a visit to the Italian Prisoner of War Church at Henllan where the remarkable story of the church and its founders was told.

This visit ended with the Charter Dinner of the club, its birthday celebration, followed by a short service in memory of the visit to the Sacred Heart Church.

A recent concert in Llety Parc raised £900 and thanks are sent to all who participated and supported this event.

A highlight of Meirion’s year was the induction of two new Lions.

Husband and wife Jeff and Adele Wright were badged in a very unique way by the president; so unique that a new office of responsibility has been created, that of induction officer, with Meirion being the first Lion to be appointed.

He may hold this office for a considerable time!

Newly appointed president Gareth is looking forward to his year, and with the support of the members, he hopes to add to the local and internationally recognised reputation of the Aberystwyth Lions Club.

Rotary Club

THIS week’s speaker was past president Richard Morgan who gave a short presentation on one of the many highlights of his recent holiday, a trip through the Panama Canal.

He used as his title the canal’s motto: A Country Divided, The World United.

Work first began on the canal in 1881 under the engineer Ferdinand De Lesseps, who had completed the Suez Canal in 1869.

Environmental conditions were very different from those in Egypt, however, and some 20,000 workers died in the first five years of construction, mostly due to disease.

Work was eventually completed in 1912, with the three sets of locks between the two oceans opening to ships up to 110 feet wide that year.

Over time, tensions between the USA and Panama grew to such an extent that during Carter’s presidency (1977-81) the USA agreed to cede its sovereignty back to Panama in 1999.

Since then, a major source of Panama’s revenue is derived from the 13,000 ships that pass through the canal each year generating $3.8bn each year.

Wider locks were opened in 2016 to enable much larger container ships to pass through, increasing the usefulness of the canal to world trade.

Alternative routes between the two oceans avoiding the notorious Cape Horn are currently being explored. One depends upon climate change reducing Arctic ice cover and making the North West Passage open to world trade for the first time; a second is the feasibility of a direct competitor across Nicaragua involving that country and a Chinese consortium, conservatively estimated to cost $50bn.

The government of Panama does not believe either is a serious threat to its revenue stream at present.

Plascrug Bridge Club

RESULTS from 13 June: 1, Doreen Anthony and Dylan Raw-Rees; 2, Sue Sherman and Anne Edwards; 3, John Holmes and Alan Stein; 4, Mary Evans and Anne Burroughs.

20 June: 1, Joyce Blair and Jean Harrison; 2, Pamela Woodhouse and Margaret James; 3, Doreen Anthony and Dylan Raw-Rees; 4, Betty Brookes and Mike Jones.

27 June: 1, John Holmes and Alan Stein; 2, Alison Edwards and Peter Thomas; 3, Doreen Anthony and Dylan Raw-Rees; 4, Anne Edwards and Sue Sherman.

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