As 2018 comes to a close, we reflect on the highs and lows of an eventful year in Ceredigion and Montgomeryshire.

One in which a devastating fire tore through an Aberystwyth hotel, leading to the death of a guest, and a couple called it a day after helping to raise more than £1m for Children in Need.January• Fire ripped through Y Ffarmers Arms pub in Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, tearing through the roof space of the two-storey building, leaving it “gutted”.Firefighters were called to the pub, which is featured in the Michelin Guide, Good Pub Guide and AA Restaurant and Pub Guide, at 7.26am on Saturday, 27 January.No-one was hurt in the fire.• Aberystwyth couple Phil and Ruth Thomas were left devastated when thieves smashed their way in to Aberystwyth Town Football club stealing “everything they could get their hands on” before making off with Mrs Thomas’ car.• People in Lampeter were “appalled” over plans to demolish the town’s former Ffynnonbedr Primary School in Bryn Road.Householders expressed concern at plans to replace the old schoolhouse with a two-storey block of 12 one-bedroom flats, describing the building as an important part of Lampeter’s heritage.• Aberystwyth’s only council-run care home closed after the last resident moved out of the home on Thursday, 11 January.• Natural Resources Wales suspended the permit of a landfill site near Llanidloes, due to the risk of pollution.Officers from NRW suspended the permit of the operators of Bryn Posteg landfill, near Llanidloes on Friday after evidence showed that the site held substantially more waste than legally allowed.February• A reward was offered in February to help police find the “mindless” vandals who sprayed graffiti on Aberystwyth’s war memorial.Members of the British Legion and local politicians were outraged when the word ‘Pigfart’ was sprayed on the memorial in the castle grounds.A reward of more than £600 was offered for information to help police find and convict the culprit.The graffiti, which was quickly removed by Ceredigion Council.• Machynlleth town councillors backed a bid to have the town designated as a Town of Sanctuary for refugees.• Lampeter test centre was named as one of the easiest places to pass your driving test in the country, according to the latest data.• An Early Day Motion opposing the RNLI’s decision to axe New Quay’s all-weather lifeboat was tabled by Ceredigion MP Ben Lake in the House of Commons to voiced the concerns of nearly 20,000 people who have signed the Ceredigion Lifeboat campaign’s petition opposing the RNLI’s plan to replace the Mersey-class all-weather lifeboat with a smaller At-lantic 85 in 2020.• An 80-year-old landlady pulled her last pint after 53 years at the helm of the Crown & Anchor in Llanidloes.Ruby Holmes has been living and working at the pub since 1965, but it was all change at the 16th century coaching house following her decision to retire.March• Snow go! Schools closed, trains were cancelled, roads shut and events were called off in March when Ceredigion was hit with several days of wintry weather. As temperatures reached as low as minus five degrees on the thermometer, all waste collections were suspended along with the closure of recycling centres in the county.Heavy snowfall in parts of the county, combined with icy conditions, forced the closure of a number of roads.• Staff at Machynlleth’s Ysgol Bro Hyddgen continued to strike after accusing Powys County Council of breaking promises on job security and school funding.• Ceredigion’s flagship 3-19 ‘super-school’ has been rapped after it emerged that the chair of governors stored “highly sensitive” personal data relating to a special needs pupil on her home computer and private Hotmail account.It is understood that the data contained information about the medical condition and learning difficulties of the youngster, at Ysgol Bro Pedr in Lampeter.April• A village hall committee was left “devastated” by a burglary, just days after launching a massive fundraising appeal to completely renovate the building.The volunteers were hoping to raise thousands of pounds to revamp Rhydypennau Hall in time for centenary celebrations in 2020, but were forced to spend cash on new locks after thieves made off with the contents of a petty cash tin and bunches of keys after breaking in on Saturday night.• Ninety-two-year-old Aberaeron war veteran Walter Keen was praised by the British Legion for his poppy-selling achievements. Walter, who was also honoured by France for his role in the Normandy Landings, raised more than £600 for the legion last year. As well as the Legion D’Honour by the French government, he also received the legion’s certificate of appreciation.May• A group of boys who turned up at an Ysgol Penweddig fancy dress event for GCSE leavers dressed as girls were put in detention for the rest of the day after a single teacher took offence, it was claimed in May.• A new dedicated palliative care facility was officially opened at Llanidloes Hospital after a major funding campaign.The Garden Rooms, which cost around £150,000, will help provide nursing care at the end of life and has two single en-suite rooms with TV facilities and a reclining bed-chair for relatives, as well as a separate relatives room offering family members a quiet space which includes TV, fridge, microwave and tea-making facilities. The new facility was provided thanks to funding of £75,000 provided by the League of Friends and a community fundraising appeal raising a further £75,000.• Plans to scrap the English stream for reception-age pupils at Ysgol Bro Hyddgen in Machynlleth came under fire from a former teacher.The school confirmed it was looking at closing the English stream in September.• Residents of a sheltered housing block in Aberaeron were running the gauntlet of aggressive seagulls on a daily basis, it was claimed in May. In scenes reminiscent of Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film classic The Birds, tenants said they were frequently dive-bombed by angry birds defending their young.June• A Cellan nursery school reopened in June, eight months after being devastated by fire.Staff at Meithrinfa y Dyfodol were able to welcome parents and children back onto their revamped premises after the privately-run facility was restored through insurance to the cost of £500,000.• A mum-of-two told how her family were intimidated by a drunken group of Bow Street men who stole an England flag flying outside their property.Teaching assistant Charleen Muggridge said she was forced to ring police because of the behaviour of a large group waiting for a bus outside her house in Queen’s Street, New Quay.• The Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust secured a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting new £1 million project at Cors Dyfi Reserve near Machynlleth. • An Aberaeron schoolboy turned up for lessons in a skirt in protest at having been sent home for wearing shorts the previous day. Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron pupil Louis Fice, 16, said he made his solitary demonstration in a fight for equal rights.• There was shock and sadness when an iconic beech tree at Machynlleth’s Plas was badly damaged by high winds.Our look back at 2018 continues with the second half of the year tomorrow