THE latest community news from Aberystwyth

RAF Air Cadets Award

IN AN award ceremony held recently in Carmarthen, Flight Sergeant Carwyn Lloyd-Jones of 561 (Ardwyn, Aberystwyth & District) Squadron RAF Air Cadets, was chosen as one of five cadets from the county of Dyfed to be a Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet.

Carwyn, a pupil of Penglais Comprehensive school, was presented with his badge of office by the Lord Lieutenant for Dyfed, Sara Elinor Edwards. Carwyn will now assist the Lord Lieutenant in her duties for the next 12 months and will be attending events throughout Dyfed, including royal visits and civic ceremonies.

Squadron Commander Sgt Eifion Parry said: “Nominating Flight Sergeant Lloyd-Jones was a privilege and seeing him presented with his badge of office was an honour. He is such a hardworking, pleasant and polite member of the squadron and is liked by everyone. He works hard to help the younger cadets and share the knowledge he has gained over the 4 years he has been a cadet.

“Carwyn also works hard within the community, regularly helping at Hafan Yr Waun, by giving up his time to talk with the residents. Whenever the cadets are involved in collecting for the Royal British Legion Poppy appeal (or other collections) Carwyn always gives up a large amount of time to do so and is constantly near the top of the cadet collectors.

“During last year’s Remembrance Service, Carwyn stood in at the last minute to read the Role of Honour; he did this without any hesitation.

“On behalf of all the Staff, Committee, Cadets and friends of the Squadron, I would like to offer our Congratulations to Flight Sergeant Lloyd-Jones and wish him the best of luck in what will be a exciting year for him.”

Rotary Club

THIS week’s speaker was Rotarian Howard Jones, recently returned from a visit to a hospital in Vietnam whose creation he had been involved in from 1984 to 1986 as part of a major Swedish aid project.

At that time, Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in the world and was only slowly recovering from the US Vietnam War which itself was the culmination of conflict stretching back to 1945. The hospital was in Uong Bi, then a small town to the east of Hanoi, but remote from it because of a very poor transport infrastructure. The town has since grown into a major provincial city, with a population approaching 200,000. The hospital itself has become a regional health facility with over 1,100 beds serving some 11 million people.

Howard was struck by the major differences in Vietnam since the mid 1980s. The links between Sweden and Vietnam have remained strong over the past 30 years with continuing Swedish support for medical staff, many of whom take advantage of those links to study at Swedish universities.

The latest visit was part of those continuing links as Howard joined a Swedish team seeking to identify current hospital needs and providing on-site training and staff development in key areas. The team was very impressed by the dedication and skills of local medical staff who were nevertheless held back by a lack of access to up-to-date equipment. Howard himself was involved in offering courses on technical English to help staff keep updated on latest medical research, normally published in English.

Given the lapse of time, all the doctors Howard worked with on his first first visit have by now retired but he was still able to meet up with and enjoy the company of many old friends.

Cylch Cinio

CADEIRYDD newydd mudiad Urdd Gobaith Cymru, Dyfrig Davies oedd y gwr gwâdd yn y cyfarfod dros ginio yng ngwesty’r Llety Parc ar nos Wener, 9 Mawrth.

Mae Dyfrig yn ffigwr cyfarwydd iawn ym myd yr eisteddfodau ac yntau a’i briod Nia Clwyd yn gystadleuwyr, hyfforddwyr a beirniaid adnabyddus. Mae’r teulu wedi ymgartrefu ers blynyddoedd yn Llandeilo ac yn cyfrannu’n fawr at gynnal y diwylliant a’r bywyd Cymraeg yn ardal Dyffryn Tywi.

Soniodd am ei fagwraeth yn ardal Capel Iwan, Castell Newydd Emlyn ac am gyfraniand arbennig yr Urdd a mudiad y Ffermwyr Ifanc ar ei ddatblygiad fel person ifanc ac yn arbennig am ddylanwad pobl fel Ainsleigh Davies yn Ysgol Ramadeg Llandysul ac yn ddiweddarach Alun Jones, un o sylfaenwyr y Cylch Cinio. Gwnaeth bwynt dilys iawn wrth gydnabod bod cyfraniad gwirfoddolwyr o fewn y mudiadau ieuenctid hyn yn arbed miloedd lawer iawn o bunnoedd i’r Llywodraeth drwy gynnig gweithgareddau ac heb eu cyfraniad fydde na ddim byd i bobl ifanc yng nghefngwlad.

Pan yn fyfyrwiwr yng Ngholeg Prifysgol Aberystwyth cafodd ei lysenwi Dyfrig Death a hynny am fod ei deulu yn Ymgymerwyr Angladdau ac fel rwyn deall mae yntau hefyd yn ymgymgymerwr cofrestredig. Beth bynnag am hynny, fe wnaeth Dyfrig yn amlwg iawn ei fod yn fwrlwm o fywyd a gweledigaeth a’i fod yn llawn haeddu eistedd ym mhrif gadair yr Urdd.

Soniodd am ddylanwad John Davies, Bwlchllan a’r Athro Geraint Jenkins arno yn ystod ei gyfnod hwyliog yn Aber.

Erbyn hyn mae ganddo brofiad helaeth ym myd darlledu ac mae’n gyfarwyddwr gweithredol ar gwmni cynhyrchu Telesgop yn Abertawe. Yn sgil ei gysylltiad â’r cwmni mae wedi chwarae rhan allweddol yn natblygiad y rhaglen wythnosol Ffermio ar S4C ac mae’n brif gynhyrchydd y rhaglen. Mae ganddo brofiad helaeth iawn o ddarlledu i’r gynulleifa amaethyddol dros nifer o flynyddoedd o’r Sioe Fawr ac fe gydweithiodd â Sulwyn Thomas ar gyfres o raglenni yn olrhain hanes a datblygiad y Sioe Amaethyddol Fawr.

Fe ddechreuodd ei yrfa ym myd y teledu fel ymchwilydd ar y rhaglen gylchgrawn Hel Straeon gyda Wil Aaron ac roedd ganddo nifer o straeon difyr iawn am y cyfnod hwnnw yn twrio am straeon gwahanol yng ngwmni Lyn Ebenezer.

Diolchwyd iddo gan Vaughan Griffiths, Bow Street ac enillydd y raffl oedd Roy James, Llanilar.

Diolchodd Dr Richard Edwards i aelodau’r Cylch Cinio am eu cymorth allweddol unwaith eto yn stiwardio yn y Parêd Gwyl Ddewi ar 3 Mawrth, achlysur a fu’n llwyddiannus iawn er gwaetha gerwinder y tywydd eleni.

Cyfeiriodd y cadeirydd John Davies at ymddangosiadau graenus Shirley a Dai Harries ar y rhaglen Arwerthwyr ar S4C gydag Iestyn Leyshon a dymunwyd yn dda iddynt gyda’i prosiect uchelgeisiol ar lan harbwr Aberystwyth.

Jeremy Turner, pennaeth cwmni Arad Goch yw’r gwr gwâdd yn y cyfarfod yn Mis Ebrill ac mae croeso bob amser i aelodau newydd.

Fun evening

LOCAL groups Aberaid and Mid Wales Refugee Action have come together to organise Mid Wales Meets the Middle East - a fun evening of song, dance, workshops and food. The evening will include a twmpath with tea and fruit cake, a set from Quercus Burlesque, traditional Arabic singing and songs from Emily Williams of Ember. Workshops will include gentle yoga, potion-making, kids’ dance, kids’ storytelling and theatre. There will also be a range of therapies, face-painting and henna tattoos available, delicious food and a bar - not forgetting the chance to win some great prizes in the raffle! The event will be from 6pm-11pm in the Morlan on Saturday, 24 March.Money raised is going to support people seeking sanctuary from war and persecution.

Probus Club

THE advertised speaker at last month’s club meeting was unable to attend through illness - the club sends its best wishes to David Steeds and hopes to hear him speak at a future date.

Fortunately, the club has several new members with interesting backgrounds and one of these, geologist Dr Chris Fletcher, kindly stepped in to give a fascinating account of his explorations in Bolivia in the 1970s and 80s.

While Chris touched on various technical aspects of the geology of eastern Bolivia, he really caught the audience’s imagination with his pictures and descriptions of the challenges and hardships involved in working in such an inhospitable place.

The region was covered in thick, thorny jungle, which had to be cut through by hand, there was very little available water and the geologists had to employ local hunters to catch food for them.

Of course, in those days there was no GPS and while Chris had access to some of the first satellite pictures, the mapping of things on the ground relied on traditional methods of dead reckoning.

Together with the need to sleep in hammocks to avoid the spiders, snakes and ferocious ants that lived in the jungle, it was clear from Chris’ talk that he had a more adventurous working life than most of them!

The club’s next meeting will be at 11am on Wednesday, 28 March, in the Waunfawr Community Hall.

Jonathon Cox will talk about contemporary environmental issues.

All are welcome and further details can be obtained from the club secretary, John Andrews, on 01970 358095.

Plascrug Bridge Club

6 MARCH: Joint 1, Pamela Woodhouse and Jeff Thomas/Betty Brookes and Mike Jones; 3, Jacqui Roberts and Mair Jenkins.

13 March: 1, Margaret James and Pamela Woodhouse; 2, Mair Jenkins and Jacqui Roberts; 3, Betty Brookes and Mike Jones; 4, Ian Finlay and Mike Yeo.

Headway in Aberystwyth

HEADWAY Ceredigion met on 5 March (not 6th as previously stated).

Local Disability Rights advisors Rif and Ann Winfield talked about benefits issues.

Of note was the advice that people with severe mental impairment may be eligible for significant council tax reduction according to the Money Saving Expert.com.

Light refreshments as usual were supplied by Tesco.

The next meeting is Monday, 9 April, with MP Ben Lake.

Friendship Group

MEMBERS of Aberystwyth Friendship Group had a wonderful day out on Thursday, 15 March - and the sun was shining too!

It was the final trip of their project “Cultural Journeys Into Our Industrial Past” which was funded by Awards for All Big Lottery Wales.

The morning was spent exploring the Cwmystwyth Mine Ruins, followed by a hearty lunch in Y Hafod Hotel.

Through the afternoon local storyteller Peter Stevenson told fantastic and strange tales of Ceredigion accompanied by Ceri Owen Jones on harp and Elsa Davies on violin finishing with a most extraordinary, beautiful film about Hafod with film maker Jacob Whittaker.

A special thank you is due to the all the hardworking staff at Y Hafod Hotel, Devil’s Bridge, who kept the lunches coming at a pace, serving all 53 members with a smile!

Next AFG outing is to Nanteos Mansion for afternoon tea on Thursday, 17 May.

Choral Society

AT the Tuesday evening practices in the Old Hall, Old College, for the society’s forthcoming spring concert, choristers are now getting to grips with the second work to be sung, the Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music which is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful of all settings of Shakespearean texts.

This coupled with the main work, the very tuneful Dvorak Stabat Mater, will ensure a wonderful concert for music lovers in the Great Hall on Saturday, 28 April when choir, professional soloists, the Sinfonia Cambrensis Orchestra, all come under the baton of David Russell Hulme.

As concerts of this calibre are expensive to produce the choir has to undertake fundraising initiatives.

Last Saturday, a successful coffee morning with stalls in the Waunfawr Community Hall, organized by Gareth and Liz Kelly was well supported and a great success with just under £450 raised to help cover the costs.

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