We conclude our look back at the top stories in Ceredigion and Montgomeryshire with the second half of the year.

You can catch up on the first part of our year in review here.July• Staff at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth celebrated the 70th anniversary of the NHS. • A devastating fire destroyed T? Belgrave hotel on Aberystwyth seafront in July.Damion Harris, 30, was charged with murder following the death of hotel guest Juozas Tunaitis.• Machynlleth army cadet, Holly Vincentelli, 15, was praised for springing into action to provide first aid assistance to people involved in serious car crash.Holly was travelling home from Oswestry when she saw the crash, which involved three cars. She assessed casualties, including one person who was suffering from shock.• Tregaron beat six other sites in Ceredigion in the race to host the 2020 National Eisteddfod. • The Feathers Royal Hotel in Aberaeron closed its doors after two centuries of trading.August• Royal British Legion members from Machynlleth joined thousands of Armed Forces veterans and supporters from across the UK and worldwide in a pilgrimage of remembrance to some of the First World War’s most poignant sites. More than 2,200 standard bearers and wreath layers paid tribute to the fallen on a spectacular two-mile march through Ypres to the Commonwealth War Grave Commission’s Menin Gate Memorial. • Fly-tippers blighting Cross Inn by dumping items near recycling bins in a layby, led to calls for CCTV to be installed at the site near Llanon to catch the culprits.• Pupils all over the county celebrated excellent A-level and GCSE results in August.• Ceredigion County Council was reported to the Information Commissioner after over 50 confidential reports – including ones about major south Ceredigion schemes – were made public on the authority’s website by mistake.September• A lucky puppy was rescued by a team of firefighters after falling down a mine shaft.Nine-month-old Ruby the Springador fell 35 metres down a mine shaft in the hills between Penrhyncoch and Bontgoch, sparking a mass rescue by a team of 20 specialists.Recalling the moment they were reunited, owner Dylan James said: “When that little dog came up in the rescue bag there were lots of tears.”• Machynlleth welcomed its “largest ever” sixth form as pupils returned to school in September. Leaders at Ysgol Bro Hyddgen revealed that the sixth form had grown to a total of 85 students, including 42 students joining Year 12.• You could have knocked Cardigan pugilist Ben Rees-Davies down with a feather when he bumped into British boxing legend Frank Bruno former World Boxing Council heavyweight champ in an aisle at Cardigan Tesco.• Aldi announced plans to open a new store in Aberystwyth which could bring 40 new jobs to the town.October• Storm Callum caused chaos across and tragically took the life of a man from Newcastle Emlyn.Corey Thomas Sharpling, 21, was killed by a landslip on the way to work.Boats were destroyed in Aberaeron Harbour, the Riverside Café in Newcastle Emlyn suffered major flood damage, Llechryd Bridge was completely submerged by floodwater and Teifi Valley Canoe Club was also hit hard by the floods.• Multi-million-pound plans to protect Aberystwyth seafront from devastating storms were unveiled.The £11m scheme, which has gone out for public consultation, will see sea walls strengthened, flood defence walls heightened and new preventative walls built on the promenade.• Disgraced Plaid Cymru AM Simon Thomas was ordered to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, including 150 of the worst category of images. November• A Lampeter couple who have helped raise over £1m for BBC’s Children in Need campaign over 35 years decided to call it a day.Since 1983, Beti and Goronwy Evans have facilitated the collection £1,100,000 from Ceredigion and parts of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.From next year a new system for collecting money will be adopted by Children in Need organisers.• The Cambrian News marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with a special supplement.It recalled remarkable stories of bravery in the area during the war years, as well as featuring events taking place to celebrate the centenary.• HRH The Countess of Wessex dropped in to an Aberystwyth primary school in her role as royal patron of the NSPCC to hear how the charity is helping to keep hundreds of children safe across west Wales. The Countess, who is the NSPCC’s royal patron, spent Thursday, 8 November, in Ceredigion attending a conference ‘Keeping children safe in West Wales’ at Aberystwyth University. • Filming for the third series of The Crown took over Aberystwyth in November.December• Ambitious new £26m plans which involve creating a 33-room hotel and a striking six-storey, glass-fronted atrium with a rooftop function room for the Old College on Aberystwyth seafront were unveiled.The plans which, also involve the creation of a museum, spaces for art and exhibitions, business units, a science and discovery centre and a wedding venue pushed the cost of the project up by over £6m more than originally proposed.• The Cambrian News announced run-down buildings on the “eyesore” former Travis Perkins site in Machynlleth were set to be demolished to make way for 20 homes and flats, and local town councillors welcomed the proposal.• Staff and pupils at Llanidloes High School were “absolutely delighted” after being ranked in the top 10 state schools in Wales for a second successive year. Llanidloes High School was ranked 10th in the top performing schools in Wales list, revealed in Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2019.• Ceredigion’s winning candidate for the Welsh Youth Parliament was announced as Llandysul student Caleb Rees.