THE latest community news from Aberystwyth

Postcard club

AT the last meeting of the Aberystwyth Postcard Club before the summer recess, the chairperson, Sue Whitehouse of Tywyn, gave a fascinating illustrated talk on the history of the Photochrom postcard industry.

It began in the 19th century when the Swiss chemist Hans Jakob Schmid developed a process which introduced the world to the ground-breaking technique of colour reproduction based on an original black and white negative. The Photochrom postcard became a success by the 1890s.

The speaker described her visit to the Swiss Camera Museum in Vevey to coincide with a major exhibition of Photochrom images.

She described the high quality of the early creations on display, considering that they were from a period in excess of 120 years ago at the time when colour photography was in its infancy.

The autumn series of postcard meetings begins with a visit on Tuesday, 5 September, at 2pm to view the postcard collections at the offices of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments Wales in their new venue within the National Library of Wales.

New members are most welcome. Call the secretary for further details on 01970 828173.

Beekeepers association

ON the dry, warm afternoon of Sunday, 16 July, some 20 members of the Aberystwyth and District Beekeepers Association, along with their friends and families, met at Tre’r-ddôl to walk up the Cletwr Valley.

Richard Spencer led the way and pointed out plants of interest in the Wildlife Trust South and West Wales Nature Reserve on the way.

Richard, a keen beekeeper, has hives in a sheltered spot in the Cwm and while a number of the party inspected his hives, others carried on walking and exploring.

Later in the afternoon, the whole party met up at the community café in Tre’r-ddôl, for a chat, tea and cake to finish off a really enjoyable afternoon.

The association continues to thrive, and after a very successful programme of winter meetings, members have been enjoying a varied programme of summer meetings.

These started on Sunday, 21 May, when 26 members enjoyed a lovely Sunday afternoon of practical beekeeping in Ann Oven’s apiary at Tan y Cae, Talybont.

This was followed on Saturday, 3 June, by a well-attended and successful ‘drop-in’ workshop on bee diseases, led by the regional bee inspector Frank Gellatly.

Further information on the association and its activities is available from the secretary, Ann Ovens, on 01970 832359.

Plascrug Bridge Club

RESULTS from 25 July: 1, Alison Edwards and Peter Thomas; 2, John Holmes and Alan Stein; joint 3, Sue Sherman and Anne Edwards/Betty Brookes and Mike Jones.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 5 September.

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