THE latest community news from Aberystwyth.

Horticultural Society

ON Thursday, 6 July, was a beautiful, hot summers day with virtually unbroken sunshine and 44 members of Cardiganshire Horticultural Society enjoyed it to the full, with a summer outing into rural Shropshire.

The first visit of the day was to Ruthall Manor, near Ditton Priors in the heart of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

On arrival, the group enjoyed coffee and scones before Linda Clarke gave an introduction to her delightful garden and it’s planting.

After a buffet lunch in the garden, the party travelled to Quott near Bridgnorth in the Severn Valley where they enjoyed a complete contrast, visiting the National Trust’s Dudmaston Hall with its enchanting woodlands, sweeping gardens and views into the AONB.

The next 2017 CHS Summer Outing, is on Wednesday, 26 July, and is the evening garden visit followed by supper.

This year Ross Laidlaw will be leading a visit to the Ty Glyn Walled Garden, near Aberaeron with which she has a long association; and the visit will be followed by supper at the adjacent Ty Glyn Hotel.

The final day trip of the season is to the gardens of Chester Zoo on Sunday, 3 September, when members will be given a conducted tour of the Zoo’s magnificent 125 acres of gardens and having a private visit to the National Plant Collections which are held there, and which are normally not open to the public.

Further information on these two outings, the Society’s programme of Tuesday evening lectures which start on Tuesday, 12 September, and the four-day trip to visit the new botanical garden being established on the Isle of Man at the end of September, is available from the secretary, David Hughes on 01970 623125

CANTM

A SUNNY afternoon and strawberry tea was enjoyed by attendees of The Ceredigion Association of National Trust Members at Gillian’s house on Saturday, 1 July.

A special outing to the Brecon Mountain Railway and Brecon Mountain Centre is planned for Thursday, 7 September, and it is hoped that this trip will be well attended by our membership.

The coach leaves Aberystwyth at 9am and returns at around 6.45pm.

Friends and family are welcome so please phone Gillian on: 01970 627943 if interested.

Rotary Club

ON 20 June, the 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.

The unstable ground and heavy rain gave rise to frequent landslides, to such an extent that work was abandoned in 1889.

De Lesseps and his main partner, Eiffel (of Tower fame), were accused of major fraud.

The scheme was revived 10 years later when the newly formed Republic of Panama agreed to lease ‘in perpetuity’ a 500 square mile strip of territory between the Pacific and the Atlantic to the USA for the construction of the canal.

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 $3.8 billion each year.

Fees for using the canal vary according to ship’s capacity and time of day.

A 2,000 passenger cruise ship was charged almost $500,000 for a daytime crossing this year.

Payment is due up front and significant numbers of ships are seen waiting in the open sea nearby awaiting cleared funds from their parent company before being allowed through.

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

Allotments Open Day

ON Sunday, 25 June, Aberystwyth and District Allotment Association opened up their two allotment sites at 5th Avenue with 30 plots and Caeffynnon with seven plots to the public for charity (pictured above).

Proceeds from the event went to National Garden Scheme which is celebrating 90 years during which time it has donated £50m to charities across the UK.

Visitors were able to sample a variety of cakes and fruit drinks made from allotment produce with recipes provided.

Flowers, vegetable plants and seeds were also available from the allotmenteers who were happy to show visitors around the plots sharing their gardening knowledge.

A refreshment stall run by Aberaeron School pupils as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award scheme proved very popular with the visitors.

The open day was a great success, with 61 adults plus several children passing through the gates resulting in £300 being raised for NGS and a further £100 made on the refreshment stall.”

Meibion Aberystwyth

THERE was a good audience for the choir’s second summer appearance on the Bandstand on Thursday, 13 July. Several popular favourites were included in the two-hour programme including Myfanwy, Llanfair and Gweddi Africca. The tongue-twisting Rhythm of Life from the musical Sweet Charity was also included. Choir members Glyn Jones and Howard Jones sang solos from O Gymru, Lily of the Valley and Bring Him Home. The accompanist was Elenid Thomas and the conductor was musical director Alwyn Evans who also contibuted several solos including two to Côr Meibion, Llwybr yr Wyddfa and a Handelian version of the children’s nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence. The compere for the evening was Hywel Wyn Jones. The choir has been invited to make three further appearances on the Bandstand: on Thursday, 24 August; Sunday, 27 August and Sunday, 3 September.

Ceredigion Museum

ON 21 July, at 6pm, there will be the opening of Ceredigion Museum’s new exhibition Telling Tales. Tumble through time to discover the myths and mysteries of Ceredigion’s extraordinary past, meet the exotic and enticing, the dark and dangerous, the curious and comical and those that became legends. The exhibition will be running until autumn and is part of the Wales year of Legends.

Probus Club

FOLLOWING their recent AGM, the members of the club were given an interesting talk on some recent developments in dementia research by Prof Bob Woods of Bangor University. Although Alzheimer’s is the most common condition leading to dementia, a whole range of conditions can lead to those changes in cognitive function that are referred to as dementias. Current treatments with drugs can make some difference to the lives of sufferers, but are not a cure.

Bob is the head of the Dementia Services Development Centre at Bangor, where their research focuses on finding non-pharmacological ways to improve the care and quality of life for people with dementia. They provide resources and training that don’t just raise awareness of dementias, but actually make a practical difference to the lives of people with dementia, and their families and other carers. For example, they have developed creative interventions with artists, musicians and poets, which can catch the patients’ imaginations and so improve their quality of life. Another important area of research has been on finding better ways for carers to communicate and form relationships with dementia sufferers.

After thanking Prof Woods for his talk the club president, Hywel Jones, was pleased to be able to present Bob with a cheque for £450, to help with future research (see picture, above).

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