THE latest community news from Llanbadarn Fawr

St Padarn’s Bell Ringers

THE St Padarn’s Bell Ringers recently held their Annual General Meeting at which ringers looked back at a very successful year with a number of new ringers having mastered the art and now playing their part in regular Sunday Service Ringing.

The meeting saw Bob McIntyre continuing as tower captain with Vic Evans as secretary and Julie Gilbey as treasurer.

Joe and Caroline Hotchkiss, two new ringers from Llanbadarn, have joined the committee and become joint steeple keepers with Nick Taylor.

Starting on Wednesday, 2 May, practice nights will change from Thursdays to Wednesdays 7.30pm to 9pm.

This coming Saturday, 14 April, the St David’s Diocesan Guild of Change Bell Ringers will be holding its Monthly Practice in St Padarn’s from 2pm to 4.30pm.

A warm welcome is extended to all ringers and those learning to ring.

A variety of methods will be rung including Grandsire Caters, and Vincular Surprise Royal.

There will be plenty of rounds and call changes along with other methods, for learners to practice.

Visitors are very welcome to come up into the tower on practice nights and in the near future, training of more beginners will get under way.

Changing Attitudes

THE Bishop of St Davids, the Rt Rev’d Joanna Penberthy, will be preaching and presiding at a special service of Holy Communion in the parish church on Monday, 16 April.

The service will begin at 7.15pm.

All the baptised are invited to this service which is being held under the auspices of Changing Attitude - Trawsnewid Agwedd Cymru [CATAC], a group of clergy and lay people in each Diocese who want to see the Church in Wales welcoming and affirming LGBTQ+ people on the same footing as other people.

Together we share in God’s image and likeness.

Following the service there will be light refreshments and a chance to enjoy extended fellowship.

It is hoped to attract people both from the LGBTQ+ community but also those who share CATAC’s concerns to see the Church offering a genuinely inclusive welcome to all.

Coffee morning

THE recent coffee morning in the Church Hall raised over £300 for HAVAV - Hospice at Home in Aberystwyth and District.

NHS Retirement Fellowship

BETTY Wyn Davies gave the group an illustrated talk about a holiday in Costa Rica at the meeting on Monday, 12 March, at Waunfawr Community Hall.

The speaker’s interest in flowers has developed in the last few years with the Flower Society which meets in Llanfarian.

She is also an enthusiastic photographer and enjoys holidays.

A special visit by her escorted group was to the opera house, rather like the Albert Hall, where their guide was pleased to point out that they had a visitor from Wales, a world-¬renowned opera singer, Adelaina Patti from Craig y Nos, just 25 miles from Swansea.

Betty’s group visited the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve which is well known for its ancient plants and ferns where humming birds are in their thousands.

The group headed north to Nicaragua to Chest Lake where 14 volcanoes, seven of which are active, are a great attraction, she told members.

They visited lagoons where there were birds, monkeys, orchids, parrot plants and insectivorous plants.

Many dozens of flower orchids were photographed in their own habitat by Betty, which she screened for those gathered for the talk.

The vote of thanks was given by Gillian Edwards.

The fellowship will meet on Monday, 16 April, for the AGM at Waunfawr Community Hall at 2pm.

U3A

ON 15 March, an enjoyable AGM returned a fresh committee.

The group’s meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month from 2.30pm to 4pm at the Morlan, Queen’s Road.

Anyone interested in joining them are very welcome to go along to one of the monthly meetings as a visitor (for up to two visits, at £2 per visit.)

More details are available on the U3A webpage which includes dates for your diary.

The next meeting will be on Thursday, 19 April, when a talk will be given by Philip Henry Jones on the subject of Dunton’s 50- guinea inspiration, which is about the earliest, question and answer periodical.

RWFCA

IN the unavoidable absence of the branch chairman, the branch president, Mike Binks, took the chair at the latest meeting.

A minute’s silence was observed at the start of the meeting to remember Bill Owen and Margaret Evans.

The secretary, Paul Hinge, read the minutes of the previous meeting. Apart from normal agenda items there were no matters arising.

The secretary reported that he would pick up the Regimental Journal at the National Secretary’s meeting in May.

A copy of the regimental spring update had arrived, however, as it contained everything that the branch’s chief guest had said at the St David’s Day dinner in March and to save paper as it’s quite a bulky memo, copies can be obtained from the secretary on request.

Mention was given regarding Armed Forces Day with the UK National Event this year due to be held in Llandudno.

The secretary stated he had not yet received notice of the Welsh Centenary WWI Commemorative Service to be held later this year.

Due notice was given of the Royal Welsh Reunion to be held in Brecon at the end of July and the RWFCA reunion in Wrexham on the first weekend of September.

A discussion took place regarding this year’s St David’s Day Dinner, which it was felt had been an outstanding success.

The Regimental Adjutant Captain, Paul Rumming, really enjoyed the proceedings and everyone felt that it was a very enjoyable occasion, including the ‘leek eaters’ who really threw themselves into the ceremony with gusto. Indeed, the Aberystwyth mayor, Cllr Steve Davies, ate two leeks.

As the branch has now moved on to bi-monthly¬ meetings, the next meeting will take place in the RNA Club on Wednesday, 23 May, at 8pm.

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