Clwb-y-Ddôl

At end of June, members of Clwb-y-Ddôl listened to a very interesting talk by Rhian Davies. Chairman Gaynor Breese welcomed members, secretary Frances Fenwick told members that the destination of their summer outing at the end of August needed to be decided so that arrangements could be made. Five places were suggested and members were asked to vote on them.Frances and Judy Allday, the treasurer and assistant secretary handed out and then collected voting papers. Rhian Davies was introduced by the afternoon’s Chairman Hywel Davies.Rhian grew up on a farm in Llanbrynmair and had wanted to be a veterinary surgeon from a very early age. After school in Llanbrynmair and Machynlleth she went to Liverpool University, graduated in 2006 and became a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. While still at school and during university, she had a lot of work experi-ence in England and Wales and had dealt with a wide range of animals.Some veterinary practices specialise in certain areas but she was fortunate when a vacancy came up at the Cemmaes Road practice, where she had previously had a lot of work experi-ence, and this is a mixed practice. Rhian emphasised that she is learning all the time and regularly goes on short courses to update her with the latest developments, although many of the basic treatments have been around for a long time. For example, honey has been recognised from early times to have important healing qualities. The animals treated at a particular practice depend to some extent on the geographical location – no shortage of sheep in Wales or of horses in the Newmarket area. Apart from wounded otters and pheasants which may arrive in a rural practice, there are the exotics such as pythons and turtles which may turn up. Hywel Davies, on behalf of all the members, thanked Rhian and invited her to join us for tea, which was served by Christine Harper, Jackie Evans, Jenny Hall and Lorraine Kitt. Frances announced that members were almost unanimous in their choice of a river cruise on the Severn around Shrewsbury for the summer outing and Val Potter won the raffle.