THE latest community news from Aberystwyth

Cambrian Floral Society

NOW that the summer is nearly over, they can now look forward to a new busy programme for the winter.

During the coming months the society will also be involved in several fundraising events for local charities.

In addition to organising these events, chairman John James re-ignited his interest in competitive work and successfully entered this year’s Shrewsbury Flower Show coming away with five placement cards - one for each class entered - quite an achievement having been dormant in the competition scene for several years due to the ties of running his florist shop, the Black Orchid.

The programme for this year consists of some afternoon meetings during the winter months that commence on Wednesday night, 6 September at 7pm in Bethel Baptist Chapel Vestry, Baker Street.

This will be an introductory meeting/demonstration by John, and social evening with refreshments.

All welcome - you don’t have to be a flower arranger to join.

Côr Meibion Aberystwyth

THE choir made their third Summer appearance on the Bandstand on Thursday, 24 August.

There was a good attendance of visitors and local residents with overspill attendees being accommodated outside.

The choir, under the direction of Alwyn Evans with Elenid Thomas the accompanist, gave a two-hour programme of a selection from the choir’s repertoire and there were solos from Alun John, Alwyn Evans and Howard Jones.

The choir were pleased to accept an invitation to perform at the wedding of Hannah and Abbi on Saturday, 26 August.

The wedding was held in the beautiful surroundings of the Glasfryn Hotel, Llanarth.

The choir sang as the guests arrived and then again after the ceremony.

Included in the programme were two special requests, Calon Lân and Myfanwy and Alun John bass-baritone contributed two solos.

Coffee morning

M&S Aberystwyth is inviting customers to join them for an extra special cup of coffee and slice of cake in September, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support’s annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

Since 2010, M&S customers and colleagues have already raised £10 million for the charity to help people living with cancer in their communities, and this year the Aberystwyth store will join forces with M&S Cafés nationwide to host a coffee morning on 29 September.

Chris Bentley, store manager at M&S Aberystwyth, said: “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is a fantastic opportunity to get together with friends, family or colleagues to enjoy coffee and cake – all whilst raising money for a fantastic cause. We’d love as many of our customers as possible to join us in the M&S Café on 29 September, for what is set to be a very special day. For those unable to make the event, our Macmillan goods provide the perfect package to host your own Coffee Morning, whether you’re baking it or faking it.”

Pink rally

ABERYSTWYTH and Porthmadog welcomed a special fundraising rally as a fleet of pink cars stopped off as part of a Wales-wide event.

The #South2NorthWales saw the owners of over 30 cars ‘in the pink’ as they travelled from Penarth in south Wales on Saturday, 26 August, before stopping off in Aberystwyth overnight and then heading up to Llandudno Junction travelling through Porthmadog on the way.

The rally raised money for the Little Princess Trust charity which provides ‘real hair’ wigs to children who lose their own hair, mostly because of cancer treatment.

Organiser Sali Gray, who started the first Pink Car Rally in 2007, initially for five years, said they had set a target of raising £3,500 which would fund 10 of the wigs, but the event was such a success that the overall total is close to £7,000.

The event travelled to Aberystwyth on the first day, going via Haverfordwest, before visiting Tesco in Aberystwyth where three of the participants had their long hair cut and donated it to the charity.

Sixty-eight of the rally participants then had a meal at Le Figaro in Aberystwyth where an after-dinner raffle raised almost £380.

The group then started the second day by leaving Aberystwyth at 11am before stopping at Tesco in Porthmadog where they were provided refreshments before heading on to Llandudno Junction.

It had been suggested that this year’s event could be the last of the rallies, but Sali said she was hoping to extend it further and have a special rally around the coast of Britain.

“I like ‘neat numbers’ so I would set a fundraising target of £20,000 to take the total amount raised for the Little Princess Trust to over £100,000 although if I could take the overall amount raised to £105,000 it means the Pink Car Rally initiative would have funded 300 childrens’ wigs,”said Sali.

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