THE latest community news from Llanilar.

FUGS

FUGS (Falcon United Golfing Society) members and friends were privileged to present a £1,000 cheque to the Pili Pala special needs unit at Llwyn yr Eos primary school in Penparcau.

FUGS chairman John Murphy said the donation was made from the proceeds of the FUGS Christ-mas Santa carol singing parade around Llanilar and other fund-raising events.

“Once again, we owe a big thank you to the residents of Llanilar for their continued generosity and long may we be able continue with our support,” he said.

“On arrival at the Pili Pala classroom we were greeted by the ever-present smiling staff and excited ‘high-five’ hand-slapping children and two songs by the children, rehearsed just for us, were followed by coffee, cake, biscuits and general chit-chat.

“It was obvious that the un-sung heroes in all of this are the dedicated staff. The money that we donated will be used to finance the children’s summer outing and to improve the unit’s outside play area.”

Receiving the cheque from Mr Murphy, Pili Pala teacher Laura Mayos said: “Again thank you so much for your very generous donation. Our decking area has now been measured up ready to get going in the summer term.”

The next FUGS fundraising event – the annual golf tournament – will take place at Aberystwyth Golf Club on Saturday, 15 May.

WI

WHAT more pleasant way to spend a stormy evening than to share with friends a warming meal of cawl with bread and cheese, followed by Welsh cakes and bara brith, as did the members of Llanilar WI on St David’s Day. Their non-Welsh speakers were encouraged to learn a few Welsh words, before various members entertained the group.

Next came a visit to Morrisons, where Anna and her colleagues made members feel very welcome and gave them an insight into what it’s like to work there. Chris, originally a baker, traced the history of Morrisons from its beginnings in 1899, and invited members to sample some of Morrisons’ produce.

The also heard from personnel manager Claire, who looks after staff and customers.

Heather and Chris, volunteer workers in Aber Food Surplus, explained how they collect unsold produce, sort it into manageable amounts and either distribute it to various charities in Aberystwyth, or use it to provide community meals cooked by volunteers at certain venues, where the recipients pay as they feel able, thus reducing food waste in the area.

On 22 March, they welcomed Liz Tipping, who is in the process of training as a WI advisor. The speaker was Helen Palmer, Ceredigion archivist, who gave an update on the Cynefin Project. She was thanked by Hazel Rimmer.

At the last March meeting, Judy Lile congratulated the team from Llanilar WI who participated in the recent county book quiz on coming second in the English book section. She then welcomed the speaker for the evening, Michael Freeman, former curator of Ceredigion Museum, whose topic was Coastal Roads of Ceredigion. He was thanked by Carol Evans.

The competition for a souvenir from Ceredigion was won by Margaret Rees, with Judy Lile and Hazel Rimmer second and third.