THE latest community news from Blaenau Ffestiniog

Services

Holy Cross – Mass at 6pm on Saturday and 11am on Sunday with Fr Shaji Punnati;

Manod Orthodox – Third and Sixth Canonical Hours at 10am followed by Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom;

St Michael’s – Morning service at 9.30am;

St David’s – Morning service at 11am;

Carmel – Eifion Jones;

Bowydd – Rev Anita Ephraim;

Bethesda – Thanksgiving service with Geraint and Nerys Roberts at 10am;

Bethel, Ffestiniog – Iwan Morgan;

Library

The last event available free at the library before the end of the month will be board games and jigsaws between 3.30pm and 4.30pm on Friday, 28 September.

Bowls

Stephen Jones as the bowling club’s top averages winner qualified for the North Wales Bowling League Club’s President competition and made it into the final played at Benllech on Saturday but was beaten.

Both he and Mike Burgoyne were beaten finalists in a doubles competition played under the floodlights at Abergele on Saturday evening.

Donation

Following their £1,000 donation to the Welsh Folk Music Festival which will be held at Ysgol y Moelwyn on 11 November, the Moelwyn Male Choir has been informed that the money will pay for the prizes for the first three choirs in the festival’s open folk singing choirs competition.

The organisers have also confirmed that thanks to other kind donations the festival prizes are all now covered.

Camera

Multi-award-winning photographer Des Clinton from the Drogheda Camera Club in the Republic of Ireland was the guest speaker at the camera club meeting last week.

His favourite theme is environmental photography and the high-quality prints and projected images he showed to the club documented everyday life in rural Ireland and eastern Europe.

Photographers from the Caernarfon, Dwyfor and Deudraeth clubs joined the Blaenau members to experience an enjoyable and interesting talk and Ian O’Neill gave Des a vote of thanks for his presentation.

Weather

It was the weather that made the news during last week with gale force winds and heavy rain lashing the country.

Luckily there was no flooding damage reported, but low grounds had several inches of rain on their surfaces. The gales caused some disruption to motorists leaving this area as there were trees blown down near the Maentwrog Power Station and on the A470 at Pont y Pant which meant some delays.

Despite the gale winds, the area’s power supply remained intact apart for a very short spell in some parts of the town.

Darts

On Sunday evening at the RWF Club the local men’s darts team had a fine 5-3 win over a Bangor side in the Gwynedd Super League match.

Y Gymdeithas Hanes

Yng nghyfarfod cyntaf y Gymdeithas Hanes ar ôl yr haf diolchodd Peter V Jones, y llywydd, i’r gwirfoddolwyr a fu’n brysur yn cynorthwyo gyda’r arddangosfa a gynhaliwyd dros yr haf.

Unwaith eto, profodd yr arddangosfa yn boblogaidd iawn, gydag ymwelwyr o bob rhan o’r byd yn galw heibio i ddysgu am hanes y dref, yn ogystal â llawer iawn o fobol Stiniog wrth gwrs.

Gwesteion y noson oedd dau o selogion y Gymdeithas sef Dafydd Jones (yr Hen Bost) a Bruce Griffiths, a’u testun oedd ‘Llyfrau Stiniog’.

Siaradodd Dafydd am lyfrau a gyhoeddwyd yn y Blaenau gan gychwyn gyda Diffygion y Cymeriad Cymreig gan D R Jones a gyhoeddwyd yn 1902. Ysgrifennwyd hwn yn sgîl Brad y Llyfrau Gleision a chafwyd darlun diddorol ynddo o’r gymdeithas ar y pryd a chefndir yr arolwg a wnaed o safonau addysg yng Nghymru.

Aeth ymlaen i bori drwy gofnodion eglwys y Tabernacl tua troad y ganrif – ble’r oedd hyd at 500 yn mynychu’r ysgol Sul.

Llyfryn hynod ddiddorol oedd y Traethiadur Gwyddorawl – gwerslyfr gwyddonol blaengar a gyhoeddwyd tua 1860.

Gorffennodd drwy adrodd am gyfraniad y Llyfrgell Gyhoeddus i fywyd yn y Blaenau dros y blynyddoedd a dylanwad y Llyfrgellydd cyntaf – Huw Lloyd.

Aeth Bruce yntau ymhell iawn i’r gorffennol wrth sôn am ei lyfr cyntaf – Dwywaith O Gwmpas y Byd gan W O Thomas.

Cafwyd hanes bywyd a champau y dyn ifanc hwn a fagwyd yn Stiniog ond a deithiodd ymhell iawn.

Trodd yr hanes yn dipyn mwy gwaedlyd wedyn wrth iddo sôn am Mwrdwr ar y Manod a hanes Mary Bruton druan.

Gadawodd Bruce y llyfrau wedyn ac mynd ati i ddangos llawer iawn o gyhoeddiadau eraill a gasglodd dros y blynyddoedd gyda straeon ynddynt am y Blaenau – gan symud o Flodau’r Grug (cylchgrawn yr Ysgol Sir), drwy adroddiadau capeli, i erthyglau o’r Picture Post, Illustrated a’r Daily Mail. Gorffennodd drwy gyfeirio at y gerdd radio a gyhoeddwyd gan Raymond Garlick yn darlunio Blaenau yn y 1950au.

Mwynhaodd bawb y noson a diolchwyd gan Rhian William.

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