WI

JOAN Yates wished everyone a happy new year as she welcomed us to the first meeting of 2016.Pam Tanton read the minutes of the December meeting and various dates were brought to attention. When WI business was concluded, Sue Keys, the invited guest speaker was introduced. Sue works for the Air Ambulance Service. She told the group that one of the three Welsh helicopters is based in Caernarfon.The helicopter is very expensive to run and relies on public subscription. The helicopter is manned by the pilot, two paramedics and a doctor. The air ambulance has a speedy response time and can reach Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor in nine minutes from Llan Ffestiniog.To help raise funds the service has 17 charity shops. The shop in Tywyn was the first one in north Wales and succeeded in raising £500,000 in 10 years.Doreen New thanked Sue for her informative talk, saying how lucky Llan Ffestiniog is to have such a wonderful service on the doorstep. She also thanked Ada Elliot for providing the refreshments.Pat Carter won the competition.

The next meeting is on Tuesday, 9 February, when the group will have a talk on goat’s cheese.