Inner Wheel

THE Inner Wheel Club of Tywyn met at Aberdovey Golf Club on Thursday, 12 July.

President Chris Lewis welcomed members Liz Cheese and Sheila Lowe. Chris reported on the cake event and the donation given to RNLI. Some of the other charities given donations during her year as president have been Tywyn Freewheelers, Parkinson’s UK, Literacy in a Box, Mary’s Meals, Hope House, Syrian Aid, Action on Hearing, Water Aid, Aberdyfi Mountain Rescue and Cumbria Flood Appeal.Following a delicious meal our speaker was district chairman Kay Kellaway who had travelled to the farthest away club in her district this evening. Kay spoke about her family, career in teaching and joining the Inner Wheel. Her particular interests had been knitting and yarns, inspired by Patricia Roberts who was the first British designer to elevate hand knitting to the realms of high fashion. We were shown beautiful examples of Kays work.

North West Cancer Research

TYWYN and District Committee of North West Cancer Research held its AGM on 30 April. The committee re-elected the following officials, chairman, Cllr Eileen Ellis; secretary, Catherine John; and treasurer, Roy Jones. 2015-16 was our most successful year for fund-raising so far with nearly £4,000 collected. Our thanks go to locals who support us year in year out as well as visitors to this area.Our fashion show during September 2015 was particularly enjoyable and we have decided to hold two coffee mornings and a social evening to raise much needed funds for this charity.The first coffee morning will take place on Saturday, 28 May at our usual venue New Bethel Chapel (opposite the library). Come and join us for coffee and biscuits and various stalls selling home-made cakes, plants etc.Our second coffee morning will take place on Saturday, 27 August, at the same venue at 10am and we hope to hold a social evening at the Woodlands, Bryncrug towards mid September, so keep your eyes peeled for posters advertising the event.

South Meirionnydd Older People’s Forum

THE forum has selected a new set of officers, with George Buckley being named the new secretary, Arthur Caley and Ivor Moody as chair and vice chair.George Buckley said: “I feel it will be a hard act to follow, as Gwen and Gerald have done some sterling work over the last few years with much achieved on behalf of the elderly in the area.“It is the intention of the new team to carry on with the good work to the best of our ability and if we achieve half as much we will be happy.”The group’s next meeting will be held at 2.30pm on Wednesday, 25 May. NepalA FUND-RAISER for victims of the Nepalese earthquake last year is taking place in Tywyn this weekend.At 4pm on Sunday, 22 May, Margaret Smith is holding a presentation about the state of the Asian country after it was rocked by massive earthquakes last year which killed thousands and displaced nearly half a million people.The presentation will display the situation people face in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and the valleys surrounding it.Margaret will also include images from the nearby communities of Pokhara and Chitwan.The display will take place in the Magic Lantern Cinema and there will be no entrance fee.All money collected will go to the Exodus Nepal Relief Fund.

Rotary Club

THE winners of the annual Tywyn Rotary Club Young Musicians of the Year awards have been announced (see picture).On 10 May, there was an evening of entertainment which showcased the array of skill and natural talent amongst the young people of Ysgol Uwchradd Tywyn and the catchment area primary schools.The headteacher, Helen Lewis, welcomed everyone to the competition and thanked the Rotary Club of Tywyn for its continued sponsorship of this annual competition. She also welcomed back to the school, for one night only, former music teacher, Melanie Cooper, the adjudicator for the evening. Miss Cooper is now head of music at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, Penygroes.Miss Cooper was delighted to see how much progress the pupils have made over the past year and complimented them on their composure and thorough preparation for the evening.In total, 14 pupils took part in the competition, two young pupils from the local primary schools and 12 secondary school pupils, with a variety of instruments in each class at novice, foundation and higher levels: piano, voice, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, guitar and flugel-horn.President of Tywyn Rotary Club, Stephanie Purcell, said she was “very impressed” with the level of talent from the young people and congratulated them all on their courage and talent on the night.She also thanked the adjudicator, Melanie Cooper, and Ysgol Uwchradd Tywyn’s music teacher, Dominic Gilbert on “a wonderful job” and added that the Rotary Club was proud to sponsor this event and to support the young people.Melanie Cooper was grateful for being invited back to attend and judge the competition and was happy to be amongst the pupils of the school once again, and to witness their progress.She praised the standard and skill of all the young musicians and admitted that she found it difficult to award winners in each of the categories.The former teacher provided the audience and competitors with very detailed analysis of the performances and constructive feedback for future use, as well as enormous praise and encouragement to continue with their music.During the intermission, the audience was treated to a show-stopping performance on the piano by Madeleine Parry, last year’s overall winner in the higher category, whilst only in year eight.This was followed by a lively ensemble rendition from year 10 pupils performing in their own Take Five style.Helen Lewis thanked Miss Cooper for her detailed and thorough feedback to the young people, which was “simultaneously uplifting and constructive”.She congratulated the primary school competitors in particular on their performances and Dominic Gilbert on his hard work in preparing and supporting all the competitors for the evening.Mrs Lewis also thanked Helen Schofield for collaborating with Mr Gilbert to ensure that the event had been advertised, and for the collation and production of the programme for the evening.The headteacher summed up the evening by saying how proud she is of all of the young people, not only of their talent, but also of their attitude and the way in which they conducted themselves throughout the evening.

“They have all put in the time to prepare thoroughly and to be the best that they can be, and have all overcome challenges in order to reach this level of performance,” she said.

“They were all amazing!”