Issue 19 May 2016

Many local families can trace their roots back several generations, and what fascinating lives they led!

Round The Horn Mary Jenkins and her brother Alun Thomas of Croesgoch, share the story of one of their seafaring great-grandfathers......

Captain Thomas and his crew aboard the Dryad c1890

The Adventurous Life of Trefin ‘Cape Horner’, Captain William Thomas Captain William Thomas was born in 1843 and brought up in Brynbank, Croesgoch, the son of Tom and Jane Thomas. He had one brother who became a horse trainer, and two sisters, both of whom became dressmakers / tailoresses. 1

William attended school at Felinwynt Farmhouse, Croesgoch, where he was taught the 3Rs by the Rev. John Clun, minister in charge of the Baptist Chapel, being taught to read mainly from the Bible. From a very early age his ambition was to go to sea and at the age of 14 he was taken to Milford Haven to meet a ship, the Isles of the South. He joined the crew as a cabin boy to the captain, whom we understand had a connection with his family. The captain was Welsh speaking, which was very fortunate, as William‟s knowledge of English was minimal - just enough to get by. There is still in existence an oil painting of the Isles of the South in full sail, which graces the wall of a local farmhouse. Young William‟s first voyage took him around Cape Horn and to South Georgia with supplies for the whaling ships, returning with a cargo of whale oil. He was away for two years, and had written to his parents to inform them of his return to Milford Haven, but only for a short stay. He walked to meet his father, who was travelling on horseback, to bring his wages home. William returned to the ship, and was away again for another two years without even seeing his mother! „Left a boy - returned a man!‟ Very little is known of his early voyages, but he returned home every two years or so. We believe that he stayed on the Isles of the South for a number of years. This ship was eventually sold and has been traced as having ended its days in Australia. William attended Nautical School / Marine College in Bristol for some time, obtaining his Mate‟s certificate in 1870 aged 26 years old and his Masters in 1874. Known as a „Cape Horner‟ as most of his voyages took him around the „Horn‟, trading to such places as Valparaiso, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Pisagua, Iquique, Port Stanley in the Falklands, South Georgia, Coquimbo, also to New York and to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Hamburg in Germany and across the Indian Ocean to Calcutta many times, he also sailed the China Seas. The loneliness he experienced on some of these long voyages is apparent in his surviving letters to his wife and daughter : it seems he read the whole Bible seven times during his life at sea. Details survive of the cargo transported to and from this country to various ports of the world and it is astonishing what we imported in those bygone days - not much has changed. William progressed to First Mate aboard a ship called Yosemite, a 768 ton vessel owned by the Liverpool company of J B Walmsley. He stayed with this company for the rest of his life, progressing to Captain aboard the Aconcagua (496 ton) in May 1884. He was to remain Master until taking over the captaincy of the Barque Dryad,

2 a 1035 ton vessel, on a voyage from Liverpool to Valparaiso in December 1886. This ship was the love of his life. William had married his long time sweetheart, Martha Lewis of Llannoy. They had one daughter, Margaret Jane, born at Llannoy in 1874 and died there at the age 89, having moved back to live there in 1919. In 1878, when Margaret was four years old, the family moved to live in the village of Trefin, the last house of a terrace at North End. She attended the village school, and later spent four years as a boarder in Hill House College, Haverfordwest, where she gained an Hons. Certificate of the College of Preceptors. Perhaps unusually for the time, William was determined that his daughter should receive the best education that he could give her. Martha and Margaret were very fortunate to be able to travel extensively to various parts of the country, mainly to Liverpool as it was the home port, but also to Newcastle, Edinburgh, London, Bristol and Cardiff. On two occasions they crossed the North Sea to Hamburg, and also travelled on board a steam ship to New York. Their travelling came to an abrupt end in tragic circumstances in 1891. William had remained Master of the Dryad until she was shipwrecked during a hurricane off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of all hands. Martha‟s brother, Captain William Lewis, travelled to Start Point to identify his brother-in-law‟s body, and also to be there for the inquest, etc. The body was not recovered, but a silk handkerchief with his initials on it, embroidered by Martha, was found and brought home to her - it is still in existence. William‟s Master‟s certificate was also picked up and has been traced on the internet by his great-great-grandson Ieuan. The information about Captain Thomas‟ life is anecdotal, as passed down by his daughter Margaret to her son and grandchildren. A book has been published about the Dryad, by the late Dr. Henry Alexander, who was diving off Start Point in Devon during the 1970‟s when he found the wreckage of the Dryad and was later able to purchase it. He retrieved dozens of items of memorabilia from the ship, which are in the safe keeping of Mrs Alexander, who continues to live near Start Point. His book, „The Life and Death of the Liverpool Barque Dryad‟ was a private publication. It is still available, and makes a fascinating read.

We hope that Mary and Alun will share more stories of other seafaring ancestors in a future issue.... 3

And now, another of Trefin’s sons, who also travelled to foreign parts before he returned home to create a successful business......

John Cotton - A Life Built in Trefin – his grand-daughter Laura describes a life of hard work and determination...... Trefin resident John Cotton died last October, a week before his 90th birthday. John was born in Trefin in 1925 and his life spanned a time of great social and technological change. He was the eldest of eight children born to Emlyn and May Cotton. Emlyn was a building labourer, though when he suffered periods of unemployment – as many did in the 1930s – he would collect the dole from Porthgain. May brought up the large family in a small cottage at Llanwg, Penlan. Living on a smallholding helped as they had a few animals, a winch for water and a vegetable garden, meaning they were largely self-sufficient for food. They also had a treasured radio, which May would hide under a blanket when the dole-assessor visited. John later lived with his grandparents John and Mary Thomas in Trefin and attended the village school, which at the time had fifty pupils. He left school at fourteen and worked as a labourer on local military installations, including St David‟s airfield. John joined the army when he was eighteen and served with the Royal Engineers in France, Belgium, India and Singapore. These years were some of the happiest in his life. After leaving the army, John worked as a bricklayer in Fishguard – cycling the nine miles there and back – and then with a contractor building the council houses in Penparc. He married Una in 1947 and their son Leonard was born shortly after. In addition to bricklaying, John took over a smallholding in Trefin. A modest upbringing and the austerity of the 1930s made a lasting impression and he would milk cows morning and night in the fear that being a self-employed builder would not be enough. This was typical of his generation and in the 1950s there were thirteen smallholdings in Trefin, producing milk with herds of around six cows. Virtually every house had a welcoming open door. Harvest time was characterised by everyone helping one another and there was strong competition for the best spread of food and home brew at the end of the day. The great storm of November 1954 presented an opportunity for abundant work repairing damage in the vicinity. John was joined in the building business by his brother George and friend Gordon Cawood. Gordon continued to work with John for 35 years and there was never a cross word between them. 4

During the 50s, 60s and 70s, John had opportunities to purchase land in Trefin on a field-by-field basis. By the mid 60s he‟d bought a field in Pwllan, erected a hayshed and obtained planning permission for a bungalow. This he built by acquiring materials as and when he had the money, and working in the evenings and weekends. John and Una moved in to the new bungalow in 1968 and remained there for the rest of their lives. In 1972, Leonard returned from working in London and joined the building business. In the first years of business, the office operated from one of John and Una‟s bedrooms. There was rapid expansion, which they fully supported. In its heyday, Cottons employed over sixty people and many young local boys were trained as apprentices under John‟s watchful eye. In his old age, John enjoyed living next door to the Cotton office and will be remembered for always being on hand with good humour and hospitality for anyone who visited.

And a little bit of Porthgain history At the end of the 1970‟s, the village of Porthgain came up for sale, causing much uncertainty and disquiet among the residents. To understand how this came about, and why the locals at the time were so fearful, we need to look back a bit further – 48 years earlier to 1931: The day started like any other for the people of Porthgain where the export trade in road-building materials seemed to be flourishing. The huge stone-crushing plant on the rocky headland started up, powdermen drilled holes in the quarry faces for their explosive charges, smoke poured from the brick factory and engine-room stacks, and wagons loaded with chippings and granite-dust trundled along the quayside in readiness for the small coasters which took Porthgain‟s products away by sea. But an hour or two later, an ominous silence fell over the village. Picks and shovels lay where the men had dropped them in shocked disbelief at the contents of the telegram in the manager‟s hand. The company had gone out of business and the village into limbo. “Everyone laid down their tools and walked off the premises. It ended just like that. We had nine years on the dole – there was no work locally, although some did go off to Milford on the trawlers. It was hopeless.” Five years later, Porthgain Village Industries sold on its interests to a Sheffield engineering firm, G.R. Stein. But although this company never re-opened the quarry, for four decades they continued to own large chunks of the village – this included the harbour, the crushing plant, the roofless brickworks (Ty Mawr), the car park, „The Street‟ and two semi-detached houses. The rents on the cottages were an unbelievable 10p and 25p a week. And as such, as time moved on, Porthgain was becoming a liability and the Sheffield firm decided to sell the village.

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The residents would have liked to have been given the chance to buy their homes for a fair price, and do them up themselves, but the company wanted to dispose of its holdings in one lot which left everyone desperately worried. They feared that if it were bought privately, Porthgain could be developed as a tourist centre. In 1973, it had narrowly escaped a housing development at its entrance when the land with views of the harbour was sold with planning permission for 14 houses. It was only when a building slump hit the area and the planning permission expired, that the former owner bought the land back and built a house for himself – now known as Ynys Faen. But in 1979, all that the company wanted was to get rid of the village - it didn‟t mind who to, so it seemed that the inevitable would happen and Porthgain Village would go to auction. With potential developers sniffing around, the best that people could hope for was that the National Park would buy the village. But it turned out Porthgain was not going to give in that easily, and had other ideas. In a TV programme made a few years later, Jack Davies described what happened: „First of all we had all the villagers together and we decided then on the ways and means of getting the money together to buy the village. Of course we knew a lot of people from outside who might contribute and perhaps some people from away. On a particular Sunday morning in the Sloop we collected nearly £1000, just in the pub on a Sunday morning. We managed to get, in the end, £55,000 odd. We had a little outside help – people outside who contributed a good figure of money.‟ And how do you set a price on a village? „Nobody could set a price, or value Porthgain, but the agents put it out on a tender basis. We sent in our tender.....and we had Porthgain. Now we are a mutually owned village!‟ (Jack Davies’ words are from the programme ‘HOMEBREW’ which you can see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pzD9G8E2CA&sns=em )

And so it came about that in 1981 the villagers and the community defied the odds and bought the village of Porthgain for themselves, ensuring that its future was in their hands and safe from developers. A party was called for..... and more than 200 people joined in the celebrations at the Sloop. Licensee at the time, Mrs Margaret Phillips, said „The place was absolutely bulging, and everyone, including visitors, all joined in. It was a fantastic night!‟

The National Park Authority went on to purchase the land around the harbour and the centre of the village, including Ty Mawr and the stone hoppers, which it has continued to protect and maintain, giving a lasting reminder of Porthgain‟s busy past. 6

That Porthgain remains as it is today, with its history and heritage intact, is down to the tenacity and determination of the community in 1981 - things could have turned out so very differently. (Extracts taken from Western Mail, 1979 and 1981)

Rosie the Great – more evidence of the great film studio that is Porthgain: If you were persuaded to seek out the 1980‟s TV programme „Homebrew‟ mentioned in the previous article, you might also be interested to see the short children‟s film „Rosie the Great’, shot in Porthgain in the 1980‟s: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j9qfv

And don‟t forget „Their Finest Hour and a Half’ which was partly filmed in Porthgain last September (see last issue of Llais Rhian) – due to be released some time in 2016......

Shopping how it used to be - Our retail lives are full of conveniences with one-stop shopping in big supermarkets and online shopping bringing Tesco deliveries to your door – but is it really quicker and easier? Carolyn Charles, of Caerhafod, ponders the shopping methods of yesteryear:

As a child living in Henllys during the 1960‟s, I can recall nearly all of our food being delivered to the doorstep by local shopkeepers. One week, always on a Thursday, „Trevor the shop Llanrhian‟ delivered in his green Commer van and the following week, „Will the shop Croesgoch‟ delivered in his blue Commer van. I remember this very well as I‟d hang around waiting for the Rolos my mother usually bought for me on these occasions. On Thursday mornings the shopkeeper of the week came to the kitchen window, and my mother handed him a basket containing her list, whereupon the shopkeeper returned to his van. He sat on a stool surrounded by wooden shelves full of groceries and proceeded to fill the basket, ticking off the list, until everything had been ticked off. Occasionally, like Tesco, he would substitute an item that wasn‟t available with another similar item. He then took the basket to the window and presented my mother with a beautifully handwritten bill. The process was repeated with my grandmother next door, presenting me with an opportunity to get some more sweets! On another day, Dylwyn Thomas the butcher from Swn-y-Don delivered the meat, and the Wonderloaf van called with bread. Milk was delivered daily, in a jug, from the cowshed by my father. The local shops provided for all our needs and we only visited Haverfordwest or Fishguard on business, or to buy clothes or shoes. Shopping today seems to be reverting to the old ways in some respects, with convenience stores popping up in many places and home deliveries offered by the large supermarkets. Pity we can‟t get the old shopkeepers back as well!

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Newyddion Ysgol Croesgoch School Croesgoch School is 50 years old this year. The children have been looking back and forward.....

Pupils from the top class of Ysgol Croesgoch hard at work in their brand new classroom in the summer of 1966. Do you recognise any of them? The editors would be pleased to receive any information from Llais Rhian readers.

But now, with their vision of school in 2066, today‟s children take you on a tour of Ysgol Croesgoch 50 years on (or perhaps it is how they wish it was now). It all sounds too good to be true! No spellings to learn because the computer does it for you, robots instead of teachers, no homework, a relaxation room, virtual outdoor play and an abundant choice of food and drink on tap...... Diligent, deskbound, pencil wielding children will obviously be a thing of the past. Perhaps tomorrow‟s pupils will look back in horror when they see how hard life was for their grandparents at Croesgoch School in 2016! 2066 First we hear from Evan Salmon: Hello my name is Evan Salmon and I will be taking you on a tour of Ysgol Croesgoch in the year 2066. As you can see the children each have their own desk to work on with a built in iPad air with 2 essential apps. First of all we have an electronic pencil. What you do is you activate the microphone and say what you want written and it will appear on the computer; you also have a spelling app and it does what it says on the tin. It spells words for you and provides alternative words for the word on the paper. 8

Another change is that we don‟t have human teachers, we have robotic teachers. They have a temper level too! For years 1 and 2 it is pleasant, years 3 and 4 is mild and for years 5 and 6 it is livid! Children have files on their desk s too, but not plastic. They are holographic ones - you type in the subject you want and the folder of that subject comes up. Instead of playing outside you get to choose from going into a virtual world where you can do anything you want, or staying inside and relaxing. In 2066 you will not have any homework - you will do all of your work in school. In the dinner hall you will not sit at a table any more, you will have your own personal dome where you can listen to music or watch television. At the end of the week you get 30 minutes of hoverboard practice. The robotic teacher sets up a course of jumps, turns and obstacles, which you need to complete in order for you to get your coat and bag and go home. Who knows what the future will hold...... ?

And now Amber Eyles:

Hello there, welcome to future Ysgol Croesgoch, it is now 2066. The teachers are robots and the school pet is the ROBO DOG VII – it‟s the latest model. I am your tour guide, Amber, for today. I hope you enjoy roaming through the corridors and classrooms of the new, rebuilt, 2066 Ysgol Croesgoch! If you‟re wondering how the children get to school, let me tell you. Well, the Scientific Society has now managed to make all vehicles hover, so there are now hover cars, hover buses, hover bikes and hover boards - so that‟s how children travel to school each day. Now, where shall we start? Oh yes I know, follow me to the relaxation room – it‟s for children only, no teachers/adults allowed… this room includes a spa, games room, vending machine, pool table, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and a jukebox! All of this is free of charge, and when I say free of charge I mean all of it! This room is for children who get stressed out in class and are sent to calm down… anyway enough of this room, we have a whole school to get through. Please follow me to the canteen. Children are supposed to have filling meals so we provide the children with a tasty lunchtime meal and for only 20p, they get a variety of choices. As they walk into the hall, there is a big touch screen menu and as you can see, there is almost every meal you can think of - Chicken Tikka Masala, Spaghetti Bolognese and a Cheese Burger as their main meal and for pudding they can order ice-cream of whatever flavour they want (our robot dinner ladies can make anything you want - we have the most recent ROBO LADY, the mark VIII), Waffles and Whipped Cream and Pancakes with golden syrup, oh yes and of course any choice of fruit mixed with chocolate! The floor is glass and underneath there are many species of tropical fish, the chairs are glass, the walls are glass, the tables are glass, the trays are glass. Every piece of furniture in here is glass! As you step out of the hall you enter the corridor – there are many corridors, and as you can see its all white, the floor, walls and ceiling. (The school likes to keep the corridors and classrooms neat and tidy)

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Now ladies and gentlemen, let me draw your attention to the nursery - the school takes in children from age 1. The „ROBO TEACH LADIES mark 1‟ are put in charge of this part of the school. There isn‟t much to say really it‟s just a robotic version of a nursery. Now let me tell you a little bit about each class. There are drink dispensers on each desk, which are attached the underneath the table, and there are many choices of drinks such as, coffee, hot chocolate, coke, tea and water. There is also another drink machine in the class – it‟s on the wall and you need to enter your date of birth and then put your thumb on the thumb recognition machine, (it‟s also a touch screen). Now let me take you to one of the classrooms, years 5 and 6. When you walk to the door there is a face recognition machine, this is the register. As you walk into the class you instantly see individual, thick, transparent glass desks which have built-in iPad and Apple Mac laptops - there is no paper AT ALL in the classrooms. There is a hologram whiteboard that can travel anywhere with you. You can fold it, carry it in a bag with you and then take it into the hall. I‟m sorry to say that this is the end of the tour; I hope you have enjoyed travelling to the future with Ysgol Croesgoch.

And back to today......

2016 marks 100 years since Roald Dahl‟s birth in 1916 and pupils from Years 3 and 4 were delighted to be part of the celebrations. The children are pictured dressed as characters from his much loved books.

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Grŵp Treftadaeth Croesgoch Heritage Group The Grŵp Treftadaeth Croesgoch Heritage Group held a highly successful two day exhibition at Ysgol Croesgoch on 9th and 10th April, celebrating three important local anniversaries. 10 years of the Heritage Group, 50 years since the opening of the school on its current site and 200 years of Croesgoch Baptist Chapel. During the weekend, over 400 people attended the event – many former pupils visited the school for the first time since attending as pupils in the old vestry and enjoyed reminiscing whilst meeting old friends. Pupils of Ysgol Croesgoch prepared a „Walk through Time‟ display charting important events during the last 50 years, through photographs and a wonderful display of artefacts. Year 6 (past and present) Local History projects were also on view, together with interviews and pupils‟ vision of what the school of 2066 will be like. The Heritage Group meet monthly at Ysgol Croesgoch and welcome new members. Next meeting is on Tuesday 24th May at 7 p.m. Local historical photographs are also posted regularly on the group‟s facebook page.

Knapp-Fisher family Exhibition An exciting exhibition of work by the Knapp-Fisher family opened at the Tenby Museum and Art Gallery on 18th March 2016. Running for five weeks, the show was opened by BBC Wales‟ Jamie Owen. It was a tribute to Croesgoch‟s John Knapp-Fisher who died a year ago. The exhibition also included some drawings by Arthur Knapp-Fisher, John‟s father, who was an artist and architect to the King and Royal Household in the mid 1900‟s. There were many original JKF works on display, as well as work by John‟s son, Buzz, who trained at St Martin‟s School of Art in London, and by Sheila Knapp-Fisher, a widely collected Pembrokeshire artist by Buzz Knapp-Fisher in her own right.

John‟s grand-daughter, Alice Parkes, a recently graduated and award winning animation artist, was also represented, with a screening of her short film, „Evanescent‟.

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The opening night of the Tenby exhibition was buzzing with excitement and interest. A number of works were sold – much needed income to help keep one of Pembrokeshire‟s most important galleries and museums open.

News from the National Park – Ranger Ian Meopham reports: Firstly, a big thank you to Manor Farm, Llanrhian, for retrieving from Porthgain harbour the oak benches that were flooded off the harbour side during the March equinox spring tides. A desperate knock on the farm door resulted in the appearance of a Manitou, without which I suspect the benches would now be a shipping hazard out in the Irish Sea. The usual coast path maintenance and safety work has been completed for another year and now the cutting begins. Will, our Coast Path Warden, will cut most sections at least twice, some three times. This will keep him busy until the growth finally slows in October. We always welcome reports on the condition of the path and particularly any landslips or cliff falls, and this year we have survey boxes at Abereiddy and Garn Fawr, so you can provide feedback into the way in which we manage and promote the footpath network. My ongoing battle against Himalayan Balsam resumes this year with heavy reliance on local parties of volunteers in June, July and August, cutting and pulling this aggressive non-native plant. (If you think you can help please get in touch.) I still don‟t really know if this is a war that we can win but I think it‟s worth a try. Finally, a new project this year is encouraging visitors and locals to photograph our ever changing coastline using mobile phones at fixed points at Abereiddy and Abermawr. The photos can be sent to the National Park via email following instructions on the posts, and will be used to highlight how stunning our coastline is and how it is evolving with the impact of climate change and natural processes. I hope you have a chance to enjoy some long lazy summer days. Ian Meopham Tel /Ffon: 07977 531868 Email/Ebost: [email protected] www.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk

Gastronomic treasure amongst the debris of the winter storms As we know all too well, our beaches were once again relentlessly battered by continuous storms last winter, and many people came across these unusual crustaceans washed up amongst the debris – they could be seen from Abereiddi and Traethllyfn round to Whitesands, Pencarnan and Newgale.

Goose Barnacles (sometimes known as Goose-neck Barnacles) are filter feeders that live attached to hard surfaces of rocks or, quite frequently, just flotsam in the ocean. Apparently they are one of the few things 12 to benefit from rubbish as a habitat. Plastic bottles, glass or polystyrene - they will settle on anything that floats. But the barnacles themselves are anything but rubbish. They have been described as: „One of the most beautiful foods on the planet. The bright enamelled head with its ruby lips sits atop a snakeskin sleeve which pulls away to reveal a glossy, lucent finger of flesh, marbled and grey at the neck, bright orange at the tip. They're the punks of the crustacean family. They thrive in violent waters, in their leathery jackets and studded collars, their heads a shock of colour.‟ They are a widely consumed and expensive delicacy in Spain and Portugal. On Northern Spain‟s „Coast of Death‟ local men will risk their lives searching for them on the jagged cliffs. Gourmets pay a high price for the rare crustaceans, and in a restaurant a plateful can cost €100.

Mmm, food for thought – perhaps we‟ll now be seeing „Goose Barnacles‟ on some of our local menus...... ??

News from the National Trust - Spring 2016 It was a long, gloomy, miserable winter. Plenty of wind and rain, but thankfully Spring appears to be here, and there‟s been some good work done.

Coastal adaptation at Abereiddi: It‟s been fascinating to watch the sea at work at Abereiddi, as time and tide, wind and waves, craft a new beach profile, and a new more natural vista emerges. As the beach retreats landward, the sea will start to encroach upon the row of old workers‟ cottages adjacent to the car park. We decided it would be a good plan to carefully un-build the cottage closest to the sea, and store the dressed stone before it is lost to the sea. The stone may well come in useful for repairs to the other cottages in time. With help from a dedicated hard working team of young volunteers from the Princes Trust, the stone is now securely stored up the slope in the old manager‟s cottage, away from Neptune‟s watery grasp. Everyone has the opportunity to get involved in recording what happens at Abereiddi, through the National Park‟s “Changing Coasts” project. A small green sign now marks a specific location on the Blue Lagoon path above the beach, where amateur photographers are invited to capture change in images taken at different times of the day, and through the seasons. Photos can then be forwarded to the National Park by email at [email protected] . Images will eventually be organised into a time lapse film, which will run from 2012, when the sea wall was removed, and we started photographic recording at the site. Staying with Abereiddi, the process of replacing the bridge to the Blue Lagoon continues. We‟ve now agreed design details with a consultant engineer for a pedestrian access bridge (this will include pushchairs and wheelchairs of course). Once costs are in, a contractor will be appointed, and an installation date agreed.

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Of course we‟ll let the community know more as soon as we do.

Other recent access work, by both us and the National Park, has included installing new signs showing visitors the way to the easy access path to the Lagoon. I do hope this will reduce the number of people using the slippery and very unsightly muddy route straight up the bank behind the cottages.

Winter in the woodland at Abermawr: By far the highlight of my winter (even including Xmas lunch) has been working in the woods at Abermawr. During January and February we felled an area of larch right by the entrance at Felin Dwrach. By doing so, we started a slow natural process, which in time will lead to the restoration of an area of ancient broadleaf woodland. We hope we have also reduced the risk of a damaging fungal pathogen, phytophthora ramorum, currently prevalent in many larch woodlands across Wales, affecting this area of woodland. In March the felled area was replanted with broadleaf saplings; a mix of oak, birch, hazel, hawthorn, rowan and blackthorn. These were kindly donated by the Woodland Trust. This reliable source ensures that the saplings should be disease free. The planting will increase both age and genetic diversity among the broadleaf trees at Abermawr. The winter weather put terrible strain on the paths at Abermawr. Much of the network was so overwhelmed with mud and water so as to be almost impassable, even with wellies. I shall be looking at affordable ways in which we could improve the paths without damaging the spirit of this unspoilt woodland. [email protected] Tel: 01348 837860 or 07785 576737

St Patrick’s Chapel Archaeological Excavation at Whitesands 9th to 27th May 2016 Dyfed Archaeological Trust will be excavating at St Patrick‟s Chapel, Whitesands Bay this May. This is the third year of our excavation on the chapel, which by tradition is the place where St Patrick set sail to Ireland in the 5th century AD. The chapel was a ruin over 400 years ago, but its location has never been forgotten and graves with human bones have been regularly exposed by storms. Over twelve years ago, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority placed boulders against the site of the chapel in an attempt to halt erosion. This was successful until the big storms of January 2014 when the boulders were washed away exposing more 14 burials. We then decided that excavating the part of the site most vulnerable to erosion was the only way forward. We excavated for two weeks in 2014 and for three weeks in 2015. This will be the third and final year of our excavation. We have found almost 50 skeletons dating to the 7th to the 11th centuries. Many were placed in graves lined with stone slabs, known as long cist graves. A stone cross stood at the end of one of graves, the first time in Britain that an upright stone cross has been found in association with a long cist grave. Great care had been taken in the construction of some of the many child graves found, with layers of quartz pebbles or limpet shells carefully placed on the graves. Bone preservation was very good, and analysis by the University of Sheffield will provide information on the diet of the people who are buried at St Patrick‟s Chapel, and even on where they were born. There is no doubt the results of the excavation will greatly advance our knowledge of the lives and the beliefs of the people who lived in Wales over 1000 years ago. The excavations are funded by Cadw (Welsh Government), the Nineveh Charitable Trust and the University of Sheffield, and supported by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. We will be conducting free tours of the 2016 excavations all day, every day, from the 9th May to the 27th May. Just turn up, no booking necessary! The Chapel lies just 50m from the car park at Whitesands Bay. During the weekends of the excavation (14th-15th and 21-22nd May) we will be conducting longer guided tours, visiting the archaeological remains on St Davids Head. If you would like to join one of these tours then contact Sarah Rees – [email protected] 01558 825999

Keeping on the Straight and Narrow – Llanon’s Barbara Price gives us her impressions of a local ploughing match..... Being an artist and also a farmer‟s wife, I get taken to some agricultural events now and again, and a regular favourite every year is the St Davids and District Annual Ploughing Match. At first, I knew nothing about ploughing and just went along to enjoy the scenery and take photographs and watch. I now realise there is so much more to it... not that I understand anything about the mechanics or techniques, but I can now see the difference between good ploughing and not so good. I really enjoy watching the spectacle of men measuring and taking so much time over a straight line, and adjusting all the bits and pieces of their machinery...... the sounds and smells of turned soil and smoking old engines is quite intoxicating and the whole experience is in fact very relaxing and therapeutic. The scenery on some of the farms is outstanding and so I spend most of my time looking through my camera lens. However there is a very competitive side to the matches going on and there are lots 15 of different classes of ploughing, with wonderful names like „high cut‟, „semi digger‟ and „reversible plough with butts‟! Then there are the beautiful horses..... On a beautiful sunny Sunday back in February, we went off to Llanunwas Farm, Solva for the annual Ploughing Match. It‟s worth going just to see the scenery which was breathtaking, and this particular farm was practically on the coastal path. Not many people might be interested in a ploughing match unless they were involved really, but as an observer with no knowledge I look forward to a day with a picnic and farmer friends and generally enjoying watching the basic process for preparing soil for the next crop. I‟m sorry that I have no idea who won but I‟m sure you could find out if you rang the secretary of the ploughing match society. So, if you see a sign for a ploughing match, do go and explore - you might find yourself really enjoying it! My apologies to any ‘ploughers’ who might read this!

Croesgoch Tractor Run The tractor run this year is in aid of Prostate Cancer and will be on Saturday 11th June, leaving Tresewig at 10.30am. Lunch break will be at Hayscastle Cross, and the tractors will end up in Porthgain later on during the afternoon. For more information, phone 01348 831700 or 01348 831291.

Porthgain beats the January gloom....! 14th January 2016 January.....post-Christmas blues, rain, more rain, dark evenings, even darker mornings and to compound it, everywhere in this part of Pembrokeshire seems to be closed or if you do find somewhere that‟s open, you‟re often about the only person there! But not this year in Porthgain – the Sloop was buzzing with social activity, happy voices and smiley faces, day after day, night after night. It was wonderful. And what had caused this transformation? The very generous gesture from Matt Blakiston et al at the Sloop to make it „Half- price January‟ - food and drink, for the whole month! And that was all it took to bring local people out and to raise spirits in what can be a dark and gloomy time of year. As I sit here writing this, only two weeks into the month, I almost feel driven to spread the word of how such a simple move has really made a difference. But maybe no, best to keep it for the locals.

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But fast forward to the end of the month ....29th January 2016 Oh dear - what has happened to Porthgain?? The word has got out! They are coming in from far and wide, sometimes by the bus load. The car park is full, day and evening, and there‟s no shortage of trade for the local taxis. It is frequently „standing room only‟ inside the Sloop! Harassed bar staff are wondering what has hit them, and the regulars are beginning to yearn for February and a quiet pint.

1st February 2016 Phew...... an almost empty car park, plenty of room around the fire, no queuing and the bar staff have time to talk - winter normality resumed at the Sloop!

Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture At Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture (COCA) we have hit the ground running this Spring! Caz and his team have been working flat out planting in the field and polytunnels, and with the arrival of our two new full time volunteers Agnes and Hugo, who arrived in the first week of February, we are in fact ahead of schedule for the time of year. This will put us in good shape for bumper crops this year - subject to weather of course! We have continued our monthly photo competition (see photo below of Gerald and the pigs out in the growing field) and anyone who would like to take part can find details on our website (www.coca-csa.org). We will be producing a calendar at the end of the year with all the winning photos.

We had a promotional event in the Ffwrn in Fishguard towards the end of March which helped raise the profile of COCA in the area. Other recent events were our AGM in the Royal George in Solva and our inaugural Annual Onion Day at Caerhys. Both events were a lot of fun and a good way for people to find out more about COCA. If you are interested in joining, email [email protected]

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Torth y Tir Torth y Tir means „Loaf of the Land‟. We are a community-supported peasant bakery growing heritage grains, making organic, sourdough bread and pizzas and teaching people about the „field to loaf‟ process. The word peasant is taken from the French model of „Boulanger Paysanne‟ which is someone who grows all their own wheat and then mills and bakes entirely hand- made, wood-fired sourdough bread in a wood-fired oven. Our long-term aim is to emulate the „Boulanger Paysanne‟ mode - to grow and mill all of our heritage wheat here on the Peninsula, which we will then use in the bakery. It‟s been both a rewarding and challenging first year for us. This time last year we built a semi-commercial wood-fired bread oven, big enough for 35 loaves, but unfortunately the agreement to use the space fell through and we were back to the drawing board.

Sowing the Wheat As a group we have persevered and we have just sown an acre of heritage wheat at Caerhys farm, thanks to the generosity of Gerald Miles, who has allowed us to use some land. Seventeen volunteers joined us; it was a memorable experience coming together on the land to work in ways our forefathers have done for generations. We sowed nine different varieties, the oldest being Khorassan, which comes from the Fertile Crescent and has been cultivated for eight to ten thousand years. These old varieties offer versatility, distinctive flavours, and better nutrition, and adapt to the local conditions better than modern varieties do. They need much less input, and although they produce less grain, we get much more straw which we can restore to the land to build soil structure and retain soil carbon in the land.

All ages sowing wheat (there is a baby hidden in there too!) Bread making workshop But why take this approach to grow by hand? If we were to grow the scale we need for our flour, 20 acres of wheat would be required and this would be a tall order to do by hand at present. To grow one acre is important for us as we urgently need to find ways to produce our food in a low-carbon way.

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Using oil to do this is ultimately unsustainable. Bringing people back to the land is not only a low-carbon way to produce our food, but a joyful one steeped in our cultural heritage. It allows us to connect with what we are doing and to really appreciate the skill, effort and commitment it takes to grow our food. When I look at our fields I think „where are the people‟? By working in numbers, food production does not need to be drudgery. It is up to us to reclaim our relationship with our land and our food and ensure it is something we engage in with feeling and not just treat it as a means to our nutrition at the cheapest price.

Educational Workshops We have also been busy working with children. We have run two workshops for the Pembrokeshire „Sustainable Schools Network‟ - one for teachers and one for parents and we have also run a series of four workshops at Treginnis Farm for City Children. At Treginnis we have a group of 10 year old kids and they each make a loaf of sourdough bread by hand in our wood-fired trailer oven. Additional time is spent in a game using our „impact cards‟ to explore the environmental and health impacts of how we produce our bread and learning more about the whole „field to loaf‟ journey. We have all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the process! So far this year we have worked with 180 children and we are open to opportunities to work with other groups too.

What’s coming up for Torth y Tir? We are actively looking into the possibility of creating a wood-fired bakery in the local area. We are open to hear from anyone who would like to talk to us in this regard. We will be running more educational workshops and providing our sourdough pizzas at local festivals such as „Unearthed in a Field‟ and „The Really Wild Food Festival‟. We will be coming together again in August/September to harvest our wheat with a scythe, and then a bit later to thresh and winnow our grain. We will also be including traditional straw ornament making, sharing food and celebrating the harvest. We will soon be officially incorporating as a multi-stakeholder cooperative and will be launching our membership package this year. I would like to offer thanks to our directors, Kate Fox, Gerald Miles, Indre Vrubliauskaite, Clive Willis and Julia Horten-Powdrill. Can you help us? Tel 07955 387614

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Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival at Celtic Camping 28th-29th May The Really Wild Festival is held at Celtic Camping at Pwll Caerog, Berea. This is the only British food festival to focus on wild food and crafts. The friendliest, wildest, whackiest, festival you could hope for! Join us on our National Trust farm overlooking the glorious sea. Discover how to make the most of the coutryside....Eat it, cook it, learn about it and even play with it! There‟s also the famous „Mud Run‟ on Sunday – if you fancy the challenge of 4.6 miles of mud, nettles and other obstacles! There will be plenty of live music, scores of exhibitors, a bus service and free parking. The Really Wild team were delighted to win the Countryside Alliance award ' Rural Oscars‟ for Tourism Enterprise in February 2016, beating off stiff competition from over 1000 entries – congratulations to all! and news of another local festival for your diary...... Unearthed in a Field A new local festival, now in its third year, aiming to "Celebrate the Expansion of Consciousness from the Material to the Ethereal". Live music, talks, entertainments, workshops and good homemade, organic food and drink. 17-19 June 2016 at Cerbid farm, near St Davids, SA62 6YE [Southeast of Croesgoch and northwest of Solva] See www.unearthedinafield.co.uk for all the details and tickets.

Red Bull Cliff Diving returns to Abereiddi – they’re back! Extreme athletes from across the globe will once again take the plunge at Abereiddi this September as the National Trust welcomes the return of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. The dramatic Blue Lagoon, which most of us will remember as being the first British site to host the series in 2012 and again in 2013, will stage one of the nine legs of the world‟s biggest cliff diving competition on September 10th and 11th. As well as the 14 strong men‟s team, there will also be 8 female divers competing this year. We shall all soon be as familiar with the names of Rachelle Simpson, Ginger Huber, Lysanne Richard, Anna Bader, Cesilie Carlton and Helena Mertens, as we were with Gary Hunt, Orlando Duque and Steven LoBue et al two years ago!

Taking off from a height of 27m above the water, the athletes take risks every time they dive. Red Bull explain:

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The highest risk of injury occurs during the landing phase, when parts of the body are exposed to absolute deceleration and others, above the surface, are still at full speed. At this point, maximum physical tension is absolutely crucial. Immediately after hitting the water, the athlete has to actively dive away to avoid compression or contortion of parts of the body due to the hardness of the water. A ‘pancake’ landing from such heights can be compared to a hard landing on concrete from about 13m. Not for the faint hearted!

Tickets for the event will go on sale on Wednesday July 13th, both on www.redbullcliffdiving.com and in the National Trust Shop in St David's.

Llanrhian Cricket Club 2016 – a pre-season spring appraisal: Llanrhian‟s approach to the new season is rather like a nervous little animal coming out of hibernation – peering tentatively from behind sodden leaves at the cold spring day. However, there is movement afoot. Rob Rees has bullied the „FERGIE‟ into action, James Morris has sharpened the cutters, Islwyn has been painting the pavilion (second best painter in the club) and Morgan, Ush and Holness have, Rawhide style, been rollin‟, rollin‟, rollin‟...... An excellently attended meeting was held at the Sloop on April 11th – masterfully handled by Dai Halse. A sad farewell to Ted and Jane after long and faithful service, but good to see youngsters Fraser Watson and Richard Reed taking their places on the committee. The team news is generally good with a couple of new signings including Sam Kruz of Fishguard and Crymych, and local brewer,Tom Dunn. However every silver lining has a cloud and the club is disappointed to hear of the departure of „Cadfael‟ to Haverfordwest. He has consistently been the club‟s outstanding player for the last decade and will be sorely missed. Haverfordwest seem to be mopping up most of the talent of N. Pembs – Goliath wins more often than not!! The season started early this year with Llanrhian 1st XI home to Narberth on Sunday 24th April and the 2nd XI away to the same club – and a brilliant win on their return to Divison 4. Good luck lads with the rest of the season, play with enthusiasm and enjoy! Alun Davies

Brawdy Hayscastle Young Farmers It has been a busy year so far for BrawdyHayscastle YFC with a full programme of competitions and activities. Club nights have included bowling, a talk from the local Community Policing Team, the annual Christmas Bake-Off night, a pottery evening with Angela Brown, welsh-cake making and a trip to Mayfield golf driving range. We have competed in many competitions with some notable successes. We reached the semi-finals of the Knockout Quiz, took part in the Winter Fair with Ellen Raymond going onto represent Pembrokeshire YFC at the Royal Welsh Showground. In public speaking, Mary Raymond, Ellen Raymond and Mali Thomas were placed first in the Junior section and Rhys Jones was best chairman in the 21

Intermediate Brainstrust competition, going on to represent Pembrokeshire in the Wales competition where he finished second. We have also reached the semi-final in the Indoor Sports competitions and in April will have many members competing in the Field Day with competitions ranging from tractor handling and stock-judging to fence erecting and a radio show!! In January and February many members were involved in the Drama competition – Nerys Roberts produced Gosforth‟s Fete with an extremely young cast and we were delighted to receive recognition for our young members with Mary Raymond winning the trophy for Most Promising Performance and Euwyn Draper also receiving a mention. In the Time to Shine competition our girls sang beautifully and were thrilled with a second place finish and are now planning their medley for the singing competition in the Rally. We are extremely proud of Nerys Roberts who has recently been named Pembrokeshire YFC Senior Member of the Year, a very deserved award for the contribution she has made to YFC at both club and county level. Once again we undertook the catering at the St Davids & District Ploughing Match and have held successful bingo nights for Christmas and Easter and a carol service. We participated in several community events including a St Davids Evening, clearing the Woodland Garden and helping with the redecoration of Hayscastle Community Centre. Once the Field Day competitions are over, we will be concentrating on preparations for the Pembrokeshire YFC Rally which is being held on 28 May at Haverfordwest Showground. YFC is an organisation for young people aged from 10 – 26 and offers a varied programme of activities and competitions; there really is something to suit everyone. We meet on a Tuesday evening in Hayscastle Community Centre at 7.30pm and cover a wide area including St Davids, Croesgoch, Mathry and Hayscastle. YFC isn‟t just an organisation for farmers and if you would like some more information please contact Nerys Roberts on 07581 213623 or look for Brawdy Hayscastle YFC on Facebook.

St Davids and District Pony Club 2015 was another busy year in the life of St Davids Pony Club with members representing the club at Area competitions as follows: Dressage Mini Team - achieving 3rd place consisting of Fern Evans-Harries, Erin Turfery, Megan and Molly James. Junior Team achieving 1st place consisting of Molly Walsh (1st), Abi Voyce (2nd) and Billie Voyce (3rd). Novice Team achieving 4th place consisting of Bethan Pryke, Jess Turfery and Thea Llewellin Intermediate Team achieving 2nd place consisting of Ella Sutton, Hannah Scott and Sarah Lacey. Show Jumping Juniors represented by Rosie Rees and Bethan Pryke. Novice Team achieved 3rd place consisting of Thea Llewellin, Mali Thomas, Carian Williams and Millie Syrett. 22

Kayleigh Salmon also competed as an individual in the Intermediate section. The show jumpers were trained and supported by Hannah Scott, one of our senior members. Eventing Teams were made up as follows: Novice - Thea Llewellin, Mali Thomas, Carian Williams and Aled Harper. Intermediate team - Hannah Scott, Kayleigh Salmon and Ella Sutton. We‟re very proud to say that Ella Sutton represented the club at Area level at Tetrathlon and then proceeding to represent the area at the Regional and National championships. For most members the highlight of the year is attending camp and this year we were fortunate to be able to hold camp at Abernant, Croesgoch due to the generosity of Mr and Mrs Mefin Thomas and family. Tivyside Pony Club held a Team Showjumping event in December with a Christmas theme, and we were able to support them by entering two teams, one of which came third out of about forty teams. A Cross Country Open Day and later on a Hunter Trial were held at Trecoed, Letterston courtesy of Mr & Mrs William Miles, these two events being our club fundraisers for the year. At our recent AGM awards were made to members as follows : Senior Cup - Ella Sutton Junior Cup - Jess Turfery Mini Cup - Fern Evans- Harries Best Turned Out awards Senior - Hannah Scott Junior - Mali Thomas Mini - Erin Turfery

We are a small friendly club that welcomes new members. Please give Robert Harper (District Commissioner) a call on 01437 741216 or speak to any of the committee members you may know - Kath Sutton, Sarah Thomas, Jill Turfery, Alison Harries, Cathy Stewart Deane, Katy Richards and Andrea Neumann.

Porthgain Rowing Club – the only gig rowing club in Wales. Club night is Mondays, mid-May onwards. All welcome to come and give rowing a try, whether to take it up and train two or three times a week, or just join in for fun on a casual basis! Come down to the slipway in Porthgain on a Monday evening around 6pm onwards – weather depending…. To find out about more, visit the Porthgain Rowing Club Facebook page, email: [email protected] or phone Tom Sutton on 01437 720026

Abercastle Boat Owners Whilst winter is a time when not much happens outdoors on the boating scene, indoors we had a very enjoyable Winter Quiz at the Square and Compass Inn, and presented prizes at our March AGM for the best catch of 2015. The sun is out now 23 and the harbour is slowly coming back to life. A few boats are back on their moorings, and the JCB has resurfaced the car park and cleaned the approach road. New signs will be installed, and there are plans to re-organise the area at the top of the slipway. 2016 promises to be the busiest season yet, with new boats on moorings and new members joining us. New moorings will be laid, but we are rapidly filling up the available space, so if you are interested in joining the club, either as a mooring holder or as a launching member, please get in touch. We have an active social scene, with fishing competitions, BBQs, quiz nights, and events like the important and successful beach clean. If you would like to join, or need more information, please contact Secretary Martyn Hood on 01348 837476 or Harbourmaster Nev George on 07970 552908.

Abercastle – first signs of summer There are many things that signal the start of summer – lengthening days, the first swallow, bluebells, a first toe in the water...... but for anyone who keeps a boat down in Abercastle, it is perhaps when the JCB arrives to check the moorings and make repairs to the beach after winter has taken its toll. This year it was Saturday April 9th – a sunny day and one of the lowest tides of the year - and the beach was full of activity.

Not long before boats will begin to appear back on their moorings and fishing can begin again.....

Gwelliant Trefin Improvement Over the winter months, the GTI has been busy organising community events in Trefin. As the weather was very windy and wet, our Christmas carol singalong took place in the Ship Inn. „Puffin Brass‟ accompanied the singing, and gave a small concert afterwards to wind up the evening - a really good time was had by all. This was followed by a Chocolate Bingo for Easter, where the prizes were Easter eggs, and we enjoyed music from Brian Mirza, accompanied by his daughter Cathy. Again a good time was had by all. Looking forward, the Annual Duck Race will be held on Monday 30th May, 3pm at Aberfelin. If anybody is interested in having an allotment locally, please get in touch with the GTI email: [email protected] or phone Anthony 01348 837385 During the month of May, the short mat bowls will be up and running, together with the tennis. Please check Gwelliant Trefin Improvement on Facebook for updates of events. Have a good Summer! 24

Llanrhian Community Council Of interest recently has been some training on a new „Code of Conduct‟ that is coming into force later this year. Councillors will need to take care to declare any relevant interests they have in any council business, with planning being an especially sensitive area. The new code is being developed for Wales by WAG. We were pleased to be able to be working with Gwelliant Trefin in acquiring a defibrillator for Trefin to be situated outside The Ship. This will bring the number of defibrillators in our area to five. (for details see p 42) We are hoping to be having training for the people in our area and Mathry soon. If interested please get in touch. We have a Facebook page where we post items of interest to our community. Follow us at facebook.com/lcc.co.uk/ Council meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month, except for August, in Trefin Village Hall at 7.30pm. Members of the public are very welcome to attend. Contact details, agenda and minutes are available online from pembstcc.co.uk/llanrhian-community-council

Our councillors are: Vanessa Tyrwhitt Walker (Clerk) - 01348 837411 David Rees (Chair) - 01348 831293 Sue Whitmore (Vice Chair) - 01348 831800 Paul Brown (Councillor) - 01348 831507 Toby Hale (Councillor) - 013458 831180 Len Cotton (Councillor) - 01348 831405 Paul Raymond (Councillor) - 01348 831801 Chris Prior (Councillor) - 01348 837701 Brigit Thurstan (Councillor) - 01348 837102 Amy Morgan (Councillor) - 01348 831608

One issue on the Community Council agenda has been a planning application for housing at Croesgoch. A group of Llanrhian Community Councillors held a site meeting with Stephen Benger (PCC) on 24 February 2016 to discuss concerns over the siting of the proposed entrance opposite the school access points. The councillors made it clear that they are not against the proposal in principle, especially as it may potentially help with school numbers. LCC‟s main concern is the adverse effect on the traffic and parking problems at the school entrance and the dangers that could ensue. Stephen Benger accepted that PCC‟s Supplementary Guide, Planning Obligations (Section106 Agreements) states, “where a planning consent would exacerbate existing problems, contributions may be justified to remedy the situation” Steve Benger does not think that the new site entrance will make the existing situation worse and therefore will not recommend a planning obligation. Concerns may be addressed to Ceri Jones, the case officer at PCC planning. [email protected]

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Superfast Broadband arrives in Croesgoch. You will have seen the vans. You will have seen the new cabinets. Our exchange has been enabled and all the advantages of a fast and reliable broadband speed are available to most of us. Since its inception in 2013, the Superfast Cymru project has set about transforming the broadband landscape in Wales, assisting in economic growth and sustainable jobs across the country. The project continues to bring superfast broadband connectivity (30Mbps and above) to areas which would not otherwise have received it, including many covering our rural communities. Wales now sees the highest availability of access to superfast broadband speeds amongst the devolved nations. Superfast Broadband is not just about a faster internet experience or about doing one thing quicker. It‟s about everyone in the house being able to do their own thing online, all at the same time. It's easy to keep in touch with friends and family. Skype or FaceTime calls over superfast broadband, are almost as good as seeing that person face-to-face! It‟s brilliant for business! Welsh Government and BT's investment in super-fast broadband in Wales is expected to give the local economy a massive boost. Experts predict the high-speed technology is capable of contributing hundreds of millions pounds to the local economy. It will allow existing firms to operate more efficiently and to develop new products and services and also make it easier for new businesses to get started through increasing use of innovations, such as cloud computing.

Local Authority Superfast Cymru Percentage of Superfast Eligible Premises Cymru Eligible Premises Complete Complete Carmarthenshire 40,257 60.35% Ceredigion 18,941 53.87% Pembrokeshire 43,639 71.38%

To see if you can get Superfast Broadband check: http://www.superfast-cymru.com/where-and-when

Pembrokeshire Citizens Advice Bureau and the Pension Wise Service Approaching retirement and not sure what to do? Since 6 April 2015, pensions have changed, giving you more freedom to decide what to do with your pension pot. Pension Wise is a new government service that will help you go through your options so you can make informed and confident decisions that are best for you and your family.

For more information visit www.pensionwise.org.uk or contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau who are conducting face-to-face interviews. 01646 621884

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WiRE Pembrokeshire – a networking group for Pembrokeshire women in rural enterprise

Meetings are on the 11th of every month alternating between „open‟ to „members only‟. If you would like to try WiRE out, you can attend two Open Meetings. „Networking‟ is the theme for 2016. We have had a speed networking at Allt yr Afon and a Swap evening at The Technium, Pembroke Dock. June and September we will be out and about visiting businesses in the north and south of the county. July will be a beach clean at Nolton with a barbecue. In the autumn we will be carrying on our networking theme with another speed networking event and also meeting up with WiRE Carmarthenshire, further strengthening the links between the two groups. Email [email protected], look for us on facebook or visit the main WiRE website at www.wireuk.org

Our Locals

Artramont Arms, Croesgoch Good Real Ale and Real Good Food. Artramont Chip Shop 5 - 8.45pm Wednesday to Saturday. House-battered top quality fish and home-made curries. Eat in or take away. Post Office in the Artramont Tuesdays 2-4pm, Fridays 12.30-2.30pm Phone for more details 01348 831309

Farmers Arms, Mathry Serving Good Food 7 Days a Week. Sunday Lunch 12-3pm booking essential. New menu with daily specials. Regular live music. Sky Sports. Tel 01348 831284 email [email protected] or facebook Farmers Arms Mathry.

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Ship Inn, Trefin A warm welcome awaits you at the Ship Inn, Trefin, open 12 till 12 every day. We do very good food every lunchtime 12 till 3pm and every evening 6 till 9pm. During peak season we will cook all day. We have lots of good real ales, we are supporting a lot of local micro breweries and always have a great local ale on. We welcome a new member to our cooking team - Jay Evans is joining Linda Agniss and Jamie Murphy. Look out for some new exciting dishes and takeaways too! Trefin Fried Chicken (TFC) is proving to be a big hit.

We really enjoyed hosting two weddings last year and many birthday parties. Please keep us in mind for any special occasions that you may have coming up - we welcome birthday parties, christenings and weddings and we do not charge for the hire of the function room. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and our notice boards for all events happening throughout the summer - we are doing up the garden and patio, so there is a barbecue on the cards, date to be decided. Bank Holiday weekend live music Fri and Sat night. For enquiries or bookings please call 01348 831445 or message us at [email protected]

Sloop Inn, Porthgain Opening times - 9.30am to 11pm daily (Saturdays open till midnight) Breakfast : 9.30 am - 11.30 am Lunch : 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm Dinner: 6 pm - 9.30 pm Afternoon bar menu: 2.30 pm - 6 pm daily Cake & Coffee all day Quiz last Thursday of the month (except July and August)

Check out the Sloop Inn facebook page for our latest news! Tel: 01348 831449 Email: [email protected] or www.sloop.co.uk

Square and Compass Friday Steak Night £30.00 for two, plus a bottle of wine. Sunday Carvery from 12.00 - please reserve a table. Choice of 3 meats, including vegetarian and vegan option. 1 course carvery £7.95 and inc. dessert £11.95

11,18, 25th June - Wales live from New Zealand all 8.35am kick off. For all enquiries tel: 01348 831420

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The Mill Cafe, Trefin Open for breakfasts, teas, coffees, cakes and lunches. Summer opening hours: 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday. 9am to 4pm Sunday The following artists will be exhibiting at the Mill over the summer:

May ...... Maddie Janes & Penny Dafforn (Mosaics) June ...... Martin Williams & Ellie Morgan ( Fine Art & Pottery) July ...... Andrew Warren (Photography) August ...... Elspeth Cotton ( Water Colours) September....Anna Rowlands (Fine Art) Tel: 01348 831650

The Shed, Porthgain – a quayside bistro with views over the fishing harbour . All of our dishes are made in-house, with two menus running alongside each other - fish and chip and à la carte. Summer opening times : From May onwards, open lunch and evening every day, for bistro dining and take- aways. Always best to book….. www.theshedporthgain.co.uk Tel: 01348 831518 or email: [email protected]

Siop Fach, Mathry Open 7 days a week from 30th May. Opening hours 9.30am - 5.00pm Serving Breakfasts 9.30am - 12.00pm, Lunches and main meals throughout the day. Afternoon teas from 2.30pm, booking advisable. We offer a wide variety of sandwiches, baguettes, baps, paninis, puddings, cakes and ice creams, including gluten free options. Teas, coffees, milk shakes, soft drinks, bottled beers, ciders and wines available. Afterwards, enjoy browsing in our interesting antiques and collectables shop. For bookings, please phone Stephanie or Richard on 01348 831104

Square and Compass Filling Station and SPAR Convenience Store Along with our sister store at Letterston, we are committed to matching Tesco and Morrisons petrol and diesel prices, making both our garages very competitively priced. We‟ve even been mentioned in the national press as being the cheapest in the UK! Here at the Square we stock lots of local produce such as jams and chutneys, pure Welsh honey from Clunderwen, beers from the Mantle Brewery of Cardigan, Briscwm free range eggs and Daioni organic milk, cream and yoghurt. You‟ll also find cheese from Caws Cenarth and the Snowdonia cheese company, along with Joe‟s of Swansea ice cream. We‟re pleased that our hot-plate is proving a success with pasties, sausage rolls etc, and also our in-store microwave which can be found beside the coffee-to-go machine. 29

We also have a range of fresh meat and sausages delivered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Preseli Bluestone Butchers of Carmarthen; please do let us know if you‟d like something special and we‟ll arrange that for you. Just ask Jonathan Lloyd! Apart from the fresh bread and croissants we bake in store, JK Lewis of Crymych deliver a range of bread, cakes and pies daily. Again, please let us know if there‟s something special you‟d like, for example an iced and decorated birthday cake. Also in store you‟ll find the National Lottery, Health Lottery, Paypoint, free-to-use cash machine, newspapers and magazines, a wide range of wines and beers, an extensive range of greeting cards alongside our usual supermarket fare and regular competitive promotions. And with summer (hopefully!) just around the corner, sunscreens, sunglasses, surf boards, buckets and spades, wind breakers and all you need for the BBQ. The Community Defibrillator is in its green box by the front door and we are pleased to continue supporting the Wales Air Ambulance as our chosen charity. Open daily from 6am to 9pm. Tel: 01348 837766

Churches and Chapels

Croesgoch, Berea a Rehoboth. Ym mis Mai eleni, bydd Capel Croesgoch yn dathlu dau gant o flynyddoedd ers sefydlu'r achos. Bydd oedfa arbennig y dathlu ar y Sulgwyn, sef Mai 15fed am 10:30am. Mae llyfryn wedi cael ei baratoi ar gyfer y dathlu yn amlinellu hanes y Capel. Bydd hwn yn cael ei lansio yn ystod yr oedfa. Bydd seremoni arbennig wrth agor drws y capel, a mentro'n ffyddiog i'r ganrif nesa'. Yn yr hwyr cynhelir Cymanfa Ganu am 7:00pm, gyda Mrs Amanda Lawrence yn arwain. Gwahoddir chi'n gynnes iawn i ymuno gyda ni yn y dathlu. Ym mis Mehefin, bydd Cymanfa Bedyddwyr Sir Benfro, yr Adran Gymraeg, yn cyfarfod yng Nghapel Croesgoch, pan fydd y gweinidog, y Parch Geraint Morse yn estyn i gadair y Gymanfa am y flwyddyn nesa'. Gwahoddir chi'n gynnes iawn i holl oedfaon y Gymanfa. Dydd Gwener Mehefin 10fed 1:30 Oedfa Bregeth – Parch Euros Jones Evans, Cwmllynfell (un â'i wreiddiau yn yr ardal). Cynhadledd yn dilyn 4:30 Te Crug Las 6:30 Oedfa'r Llywydd. Dydd Sadwrn Mehefin 11eg 2:00 Cyfarfod Cenhadol 3:30 Hanes yr Achos 4:30 Te Crug Las Dydd Sul, Mehefin 12fed 10:30 Oedfa Gymun Undebol Pregethir gan Y Parch, Rosier Morgan. Cynhelir Clwb Haf Clwb Rhwyd y Brenin yn Ysgol Gymunedol Croesgoch Gorffennaf 21 – 24. Gellir cael manylion pellach gan y Gweinidog (01348 840976). 30

Boed bendith Duw Hollalloug ar y dystiolaeth Gristnogol yn yr eglwysi a'r capeli yng ngogledd Sir Benfro.

Croesgoch Chapel will be celebrating its Bicentenary on Whitsun, May 15th, with a service at the Chapel at 10:30am. A short history of the Chapel has been prepared and will be launched in the service. A Singing Festival will be held at the Chapel at 7:00pm on the same day. Both services will be in Welsh. The annual meetings of the Pembrokeshire Baptist Association, Welsh wing, will be held in Croesgoch Chapel, June 10 – 12th, when Rev Geraint Morse will become President of the Association. All are invited to the services, which will be held in Welsh. The Rhwyd y Brenin Summer Club wil be held from July 21-24. Please contact the minister for more information – 01348 840976.

Rhwyd y Brenin young people and parents had a great time enjoying a Murder Mystery Meal.

Llanrhian 1950’s Vintage Festival with Flowers 28th- 30th May 11am-4pm Llanrhian Church is taking a step backwards, into the 1950‟s to be exact. Yes, we are creating a reconstruction of 1950‟s life. The church will become a place of nostalgia and fun, with wonderful memorabilia and beautiful flowers. We hope that you will all come along and share your memories, enjoying a time gone by as you recall the good and bad things of the 1950‟s. Our „Vintage Tearoom‟ will be open for you to enjoy tea and homemade cakes – in the best china, of course! After six months of planning, researching and collecting, we are finally ready. This will be an amazing occasion, so please make sure you mark the dates in your diary. You won‟t want to miss it - and best of all...... entry is free! The festival and tearoom will be open Saturday, Sunday and Monday 11am - 4pm each day.

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Our Sunday morning service will be held at 10am, everyone is welcome to join in, and the festival will be open afterwards until 4pm. Donations to Diabetes UK, to our local foodbank PATCH, and to Llanrhian Church. For more information, please phone Rose Tilley on 01348 837649

Why not join us for a fun and friendly Craft Day at Llanrhian Hall, on Wednesday 25th May 11-3pm, making simple decorations for the festival? All very welcome to come and help. Bring and share lunch.

Llanrhian Summer Fete A great afternoon awaits you at Llanrhian Church Summer Fete on Wednesday 10th August, 2-5pm. There is entertainment for everyone, young and old and in-between. For sale are cakes, plants, books, bric-a-brac, gifts, ice cream, hotdogs and strawberry scones and other refreshments. Listen to Goodwick Brass Band, or have a go at various games and the raffle. An afternoon not to be missed!

Llanrhian Community Lunches These popular lunches continue to be held at Llanrhian Church Hall and all ages are very welcome. A freshly-cooked two-course lunch with tea or coffee is great value at just £4 and includes good company and chat, a raffle - and there‟s a game of bingo if you want to stay. Lunches are served on the 3rd Wednesday of each month (not July or August) so for this summer the dates are May 18th, June 15th and then starting again on September 21st. We would love to see you there! Any queries, please ring Sally on 01348 831454

PATCH Food Bank Llanrhian Church continues to support PATCH (Pembrokeshire Action to Combat Hardship) and now, through Shelter Cymru Rural Issues, we are able to refer people to PATCH. We also hold some emergency food parcels for people in this area who are in desperate need – and they are being used! Donations of tinned and packet food are always welcome. Household items such as saucepans and other kitchen utensils are always needed. Carrier bags - those gold dust items - are also required for PATCH and for Transition Café in Fishguard, so if you have a few spare, please leave them in the church porch and we will forward them on..

Also through Shelter Cymru, Llanrhian Church has now joined a new scheme - TROF (Transition Redistribution Of Food). Based at the Transition Café in Fishguard, they receive unsold food from the supermarkets. Recently, because the supermarkets have been under pressure not to throw away food, TROF are 32 receiving more than they need and are looking for other local causes. We have paid a membership of £20 to join and this will help with fresh(ish) food for PATCH parcels. The best bit is that it will help provide for community lunches and anything else we may do in between!

Llanhywel Church Sunday service at 9.30am. Llanhywel Church is under the care of the clergy at St Davids Cathedral. For information about service times, contact the Deanery Office Tel:01437 720202

Jordanston Church From 17th to 20th June, we are holding an exhibition ‘Lloyd-George and Other Families’ as part of the celebration of 100 years since Lloyd-George was elected Prime Minister. It is linked to local family history, as his mother's grave is in the churchyard. There will be a fascinating historical display, flowers, children‟s activities, and teas available in Jordanston Hall next door.

Mathry Church Work has at long last started on Mathry Church to repair the ceiling and floor and re-open it. Once opened, it will house a historical and community exhibition of the locality, plus a film of the village and the renovation work, forming a tourist attraction for the area. Watch out for the opening ceremony, hopefully in October!

Mathry WI 1916 is the 99th year of the formation of Mathry WI, the very first branch in Pembrokeshire. Mathry is a very busy, sociable group. So far this year we have had evenings on dowsing, scams, scottish dancing (very active and enjoyable). We are looking forward to other interesting topics in the coming months, including a summer trip to the Welsh Folk Museum at St Fagans. We enter the Fishguard Show, perform on the stage at the Torch Theatre in „Anything Goes‟ (see photo above), and take part in kurling, quizzes and walks. Several members wanted to learn to crochet, so a group was started to teach them. This has expanded to include knitting and patchwork. WI members from Croesgoch, Puncheston and Little Newcastle also travel to Mathry twice a month to take part in

33 this popular morning. The group made eleven blankets for the Skomer Island volunteers‟ beds, and were invited over to the island to see how good they looked. Three of our members go to Holy Name School in Fishguard on Mondays to teach a group of boys and girls to knit. There are about fourteen in the group and a very enthusiastic and capable bunch they are. This year we are honoured by having one of our members as the Chairman of the Pembrokeshire Federation of WIs. She is kept very busy and we think she is doing a good job. We are already planning big celebrations for our 100th anniversary next year. We meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 7.30 in Mathry Hall with a speaker or demonstrator. Why not join us? – you will be very welcome. Linda Parker 01348 831046

Mathry Community Forum We would like to extend our gratitude to all those who donated, helped and attended the recent fund-raising Bingo evening. We raised over £400, which will go towards our latest project which is to create flower beds around the signage at the three entrances to Mathry Village. We are looking forward to creating beds that will enhance the village. We would also like to thank all those who took the time to assist with the Mathry „Spring Litter Pick‟ in March. Please do keep an eye out for other organised events which will be advertised with signage around the village and on notice boards. Members of the Forum have taken much time and care to compile two maps, one detailing all properties in the village and another which is more geared to visitors to the area, displaying holiday lets and locations of interest. We welcome any ideas and input you may have with regards to improving the upkeep of our village and development of community based projects. Barry Williams [email protected]

Mathry Youth Club The club remains „on hold‟ at present as we are still awaiting volunteers, specifically female, to help run the club on Wednesday nights 7- 9pm. Please email [email protected] if you are willing to offer some time to helping re-start this much loved club.

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Angharad’s Health and Beauty Salon After two years of renovation and preparation, Angharad’s Health & Beauty Salon opened its doors in December, right in the heart of Croesgoch. Following a successful opening day, the salon continues to get busier each month. Angharad offers a variety of health and beauty treatments including waxing, skin treatments, massage, manicures, pedicures and much more. You can follow the salon through Facebook to be kept up to date with any news or offers on treatments and products. Angharad‟s Health & Beauty is open Tuesday to Saturday, including some later openings Wednesday to Friday. Bookings can be made by calling the salon on 01348 837998.

Bethan James Jones - Aromatherapy and Reflexology Working from her home in Trefin, Bethan is a fully trained and qualified therapist with over 15 years practical experience. She is a member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT). Gift vouchers are available - a wonderful way to treat someone special. Please contact Bethan on 01348 831169 or 07811 499162. Maes y Graig, 18 Ffordd y Felin, Trefin, SA62 5AX

Yoga Classes at Awelfan, Square and Compass Mondays 6.15 pm -7.45 pm Wednesdays 10 am -11.30 am Thursdays 10.30 am - 12 pm Thursdays 7 pm - 8.30 pm Vini Yoga uses co-ordinated breath and movement in a focussed, meditative way. The many benefits include strength and flexibility in the body, breathing techniques to calm and quieten the mind as well as looking at the ancient teachings which help us understand ourselves and others. Yoga Therapy is ideal for those who may have specific needs, physically, mentally and emotionally, those who may want to deepen their practice or understanding, or for those who are unable to commit to a regular class. Reiki is deeply relaxing and healing. Contact Karen to book or for more information 07780 933634 www.aruna4u.co.uk BWY dip. Vini Yoga Practitioner, Usui Reiki Master, NLP dip.

It’s nice to be kneaded! Plenty of experienced masseurs were on hand at Crûg Glas to enable hundreds of competitors in April‟s popular Tour of Pembrokeshire to achieve their best. The Tour was launched a few years ago by a group of avid cyclists who felt that the beautiful county in which they lived deserved an event that would attract riders

35 from all over the country and beyond, to come and pit themselves against the challenging climbs and experience the raw beauty of the area. The event has grown year on year, and now over 1500 cyclists take part.

Aline Whitaker- Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Reiki Healing Llanrhian Cricket Club‟s Andrew Leese was recently spotted having his hands massaged by Aline, ready for all the catches coming his way this season with the 2nd XI ! Aline is an experienced and caring practitioner, offering Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Reiki Healing. Treatment plans are agreed according to clients‟ needs, availability and finances. Mobile visits by arrangement. Please contact Aline on 01348 831502 or text/call 07891 548526.

Celebrations at Cylch Meithrin Croesgoch

Cylch Meithrin Croesgoch have just received their recent Estyn inspection report and we are delighted with the “Good” outcome. Our inspector, Mr. Jones, said “All staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the foundation phase and have high expectations for every child‟s learning. They have effective provision, diligent staff, a supportive committee and purposeful leadership.” We have also just received our silver award for the „Design to Smile‟ tooth brushing programme, which Cylch children take part in every morning, and a 5 star rating award for our food hygiene inspection. This term we will be learning all about Mudiad Meithrin‟s mascots „Dewin‟ the wizard and his friend „Doti‟ the dog as they go on their adventures. Cylch Meithrin is open Tuesday to Friday 9am - 12 noon, term time only. For more information please contact Emma on 07551 832783. Cylch Ti a Fi is open Monday mornings 9 -11am. For more information please contact Sarah Phillips on 07772 304648

Re-choired Singing for all - men, women and children. Re-choired Community Choir meets Wednesday evenings for an hour or so, in St Davids Rugby Club at 6 o‟clock (term time only) Come along and join in! Email: [email protected]

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Shalom House Our new charity shop in Fishguard is an exciting venture for Shalom House and the support from local people has been very encouraging. The shop is well situated on West Street just opposite the Fishguard Post Office, and is open Monday, Thursday, Friday, 10-4pm and Saturday 10-1pm. The shop is staffed by friendly volunteers and we are always looking for more to join our team, so if this is of interest to you, please do not hesitate to contact organiser Fran Kurtz on 01437 721344. Donations are welcome too! We are looking for good quality items such as clothing, books, children‟s toys, pottery and crockery. All proceeds from the charity shop will go directly to Shalom House and into Palliative Care. We are incredibly proud of the success of the shop and would like to thank everyone for their support! To keep up to date with what's going on at Shalom House and in the shop, please follow us on Facebook.

A Memorable Time - Annie Halliwell, voluntary Co-ordinator of the Memory Café in St Davids, reflects on its first 8 months..... My first awareness of the idea of a Memory Café for St Davids was at a community fundraising event in St Davids Memorial Hall on a chilly February day just over a year ago. It sounded like a great idea to me, and fitted well into the St Davids Dementia Friendly City initiative that a number of people in and around the city had been working on. My father had dementia in older age, my mother had been his carer and I knew how isolating this could be. I turned up to a community meeting held by St Davids Community Forum to discuss it further and almost to my surprise found myself volunteering to co-ordinate it ! Then began a big journey to find a suitable place to hold the Café, secure funding and find all the people willing to give of their time to make it a success. What a journey it has been, but a worthwhile one, because by September the Café had its first session and everything needed was in place. We have a wonderful venue provided by Oriel y Parc, a team of local volunteers all inducted and insured by Volunteering Matters, our local volunteering support agency, fab cakes from the WI, and initial offers of grant funding and help from both national sources and local businesses, community groups, voluntary agencies, the local Council, Cathedral and individuals. The Café provides an interesting programme and comfortable meeting place for carers of people with dementia-related memory challenges and their loved ones. Some aspects of memory may have been lost, but nobody has mislaid their sense of fun! The Café is a private social club, providing a varied selection of entertainments and activities, information, links to other agencies and support if needed, and much more besides. Maxine Ford, a local dementia support worker, 37 attends every cafe. The main focus is on enjoying ourselves. We meet once a month which has given us a chance to get to know each other as a group. Some members have attended events held in Solva and other parts of the county, others are going out walking with the „Try Something New‟ group that sets off from Oriel y Parc, led by a National Park warden. A trial trip out together for a pub lunch, and funding for a Springtime reminiscence ceramics project - with a former artist in residence at Oriel y Parc - are in the offing in the next few months. Everything is optional and (apart from the pub lunch) there is no charge. Experience elsewhere suggested that we might expect 5 or so people at our first meeting and about 15 people after the first 18 months. But the turnout has been consistently high, numbering 18-20 from the outset, with about 28 signed into membership of the Café. The local need is high. The fundraising is always going to be a challenge, but with the help of our really dedicated local fundraising team and supporters we will keep going. We positively welcome new members to the Café, which meets on the afternoon of the first Wednesday of each month from 2- 4pm in the Discovery Room at Oriel y Parc, St Davids. Arrangements can be made for the Bws y Bobol to provide transport for those who do not have a car if living in the St Davids Peninsula/ Solva/Trefin/ Croesgoch catchment area covered by the bus. If you would like to come to the Café, or just find out more, ring Annie Halliwell, Co-ordinator on 01437 720713 or email [email protected].

Pembrokeshire Cystic Fibrosis Trust Following the success of last year‟s Snowdon climb which raised £2,000 sponsorship, led by livewire CF patient 23-year old Sophie Pierce, the Pembrokeshire branch is now setting its sights on the Three Peaks – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. Sophie, who is the youngest member of the branch, began her fund raising for the Trust three years ago when she climbed Kilimanjaro. She has drawn up a highly organised plan for the four day period June 2nd- 5th. Participants will be driven to Ben Nevis on Thursday June 2nd ready to climb the following morning. They will overnight at Scafell Pike, climb there on Saturday June 4th and overnight in Snowdon ready to climb on Sunday June 5th. A registration fee of £130 covers accommodation at Youth Hostels for three nights, mountain leader, transport, fundraising support and T shirts. The climbers are asked to aim for a minimum sponsorship of £250 per person. For those who would like to tackle Snowdon only, entry is £15 (which includes transport) and the requirement is for a minimum of £50 sponsorship. To register, contact Sophie at [email protected] or ring Sybil 01348 837147 38

Trefin Arts and Craft Society It‟s sometimes hard to believe that there is so much talent in the village and surrounding area. The society has been holding Craft Fairs in Trefin Village Hall for some years and they seem to be getting more popular all the time. Our twenty-five members produce many varied crafts including pottery, art, wood turning, cards, driftwood, jewellery and so much more. We hold four fairs per year, around the Easter, May and August bank holidays, and during October half term. You‟ll see the signs around the village and beyond. We are developing an active social side and invite visiting craft makers to demonstrate their techniques to our members. If you have a talent or craft related hobby that you would like to share and sell at our fairs, please get in touch. Secretary Rob Smith can be contacted on 01348 831497, or talk to any of the members at the fairs.

Spring Meadow Farm Many thanks to all our customers who bought pick-up boxes last Autumn and Winter. We will be sending out our Spring veg list as soon as the new season starts to yield our new potatoes, peas, beans, lettuce etc. sometime in June. If you would be interested in putting in an order and picking up a box, please contact Lynne or Tim on 01437 721800 or [email protected] Holiday makers are welcome to put in an order too. Both the farm shop and nursery will be closed this year but we will continue to sell our own veg and a full range of perennial plants on Fishguard Farmer‟s Market on Saturday mornings 9am -12noon throughout the year. Looking forward to seeing you there. Lynne and Tim

Fishguard Farmers Market Saturdays 9am until 1pm Venue : Fishguard Town Hall Eggs, bread, cheese, honey, butter, poultry, meat, trout, herbs, vegetables, plants, soft fruit, preserves, baked goods, cakes, chutneys, organic produce, herbal soaps and sheepskins Contact : Robert Vaughan Tel: 07773 789850 Email: [email protected]

Fishguard Weekly Market Town Hall Thursday 9am - 3pm Contact , PCC Markets Officer Tim Bullock Tel: 01437 775878. E-mail: [email protected]

St Davids Country Market „Home made for the freshest & best‟. 9am - 2pm Thursdays, Cross Square. Tel: 01437 890032 39

Farmers Food at Home Anne-Marie is continuing to develop her range of jams,chutneys and pickles for retailers,fairs, markets and catering packs. She now has outlets in most local towns and villages and uses local and home grown produce whenever possible. Her products vary from traditional strawberry jam to several different marmalades and from curds to runner bean chutney. Something to tempt all tastes! To contact her phone 07960 093716 or email [email protected]

Learn to play the piano with Sue Hood, Old Cartlett House, Trefin Sue is an enthusiastic and experienced piano teacher offering piano tuition for beginners and more experienced pupils of all ages. Lessons are tailored to your requirements – study for ABRSM exams or simply play for pleasure, both classical and modern music. Students learn to play on a beautiful baby grand piano. If you‟ve ever wanted to play, it‟s never too late to learn. Over the years,Sue‟s pupils have ranged in age from 6 to 84! For a trial lesson, phone Sue on 01348 837476 or email: [email protected]

Tabby Cat Odd Jobs Handyman, gardening, odd jobs, anything! Our aim is to provide a conscientious and affordable service adapted to fit your needs, be it repairs, tidying or just an extra pair of hands to get those chores done. If you would like to know more about what we do, give us a call: 01348 831804 send an email: [email protected] or check out our website: www.tabbycatoddjobs.com

Hope to hear from you soon! Jason & Hazel

Farming Community Network Help with business, farm, family or health issues FCN has strong links with the farming community and agriculture throughout England and Wales. Our volunteers are all farmers or are associated with farming and understand the problems facing agriculture today. Calls to our confidential helpline will be answered in person from 7am to 11pm every day of the year by a sympathetic person who understands farmers and rural life: Helpline number is 03000 111 999 40

Save your Stamps for Combat Stress Collect stamps from any mail you receive and leave them in the box at the back of Llanrhian Church . Please trim carefully so that no more than 1cm of envelope is left around each stamp. Funds will be raised for Combat Stress, the charity that specialises in military veterans‟ mental health. Stamps we can use: GB or foreign, used or mint, on or off paper Everyday 1st class and 2nd class are OK, although special issue commemoratives are best.

Post Office Services in Croesgoch and Trefin Full postal services available at the Artramont Arms Tuesdays 2 - 4 pm, and Fridays 12.30 - 2.30pm. Mill Café, Trefin, Tuesday 11am - 1pm.

Strumble Shuttle Summer coastal bus service 404 runs daily between Fishguard & St Davids. Llanrhian to St Davids 8.27 12.24 17.14 St Davids to Llanrhian 09.10 13.50 17.50 Llanrhian to Fishguard 09.42 14.22 18.22 Fishguard to Llanrhian 07.35 11.10 16.00 Operators: Richard Bros tel: 01239 613756

Morgan’s Taxis Local taxi service - 6 seater vehicle. Local journeys, airport runs, lifts to or from train or ferry, etc. Tel: 07788 292976

Recycling Recycle all your household plastics at St Davids Civic Amenity Site. Special bags are available to buy from Croesgoch Farm Stores - £6 for a roll of 10 big sacks. Please remember to wash all plastic food wrap items, and not to include any polystyrene. Otherwise, the whole bag has to go to landfill.

Summer opening times for our civic amenity centres: St Davids SA62 6BY Mon-Sun 10.15am - 4pm Manorowen SA65 9QE Mon-Sat 8.30am - 5.30pm Sun 10am - 4pm

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Defibrillators – please keep this information There are now four public access defibrillators in our area. Here’s where to find them:

Square and Compass Garage Porthgain –The Counting House, - in the porch. under the big gun!

Mathry – Phone box at Croesgoch – Baptist Chapel Vestry the Old Stores. - to the right of the main building.

If someone you are with is having chest pains, call 999 and fetch (or get someone else to fetch) a defibrillator. Pull open the protective box, the defibrillator is inside in a padded carry case. Once the defibrillator is switched on, its voice will tell you exactly what to do - just follow the recorded instructions. The defibrillator will decide if the person needs a shock or not, so it‟s not possible to hurt someone or do the wrong thing - and it really could save their life.

Ring Gerard Rothwell at Welsh Ambulance Service if you have any questions. office: 029 2093 2917 mob: 07734 716766 (If a defibrillator has been used, Gerard must be informed, so that the machine can be reset and new batteries installed.)

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led by paramedic Ifan Thomas

Tuesday 21st June 7pm

Gerard Rothwell of Welsh Ambulance Service

will also be there to answer your questions

PLEASE COME ALONG AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS

- IT IS IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE IS INFORMED

ALL WELCOME With thanks to Mrs.Jayne Evans and Croesgoch School for the use of the hall.

From the editors... Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this issue. We are particularly pleased to have a really good spread of interesting pieces from all over the area that we cover – Porthgain, Llanrhian, Croesgoch, Trefin, Abercastle, Mathry, Square and Compass and Abereiddi. Well done, you’ve all hit the headlines! As always, if you have something to say please get in touch – contact details on the back page.

Wrth y golygyddion... Diolch I bawb sydd wedi cyfrannu i'r erthygl hwn. Ma ni wedi cael darnau diddorol o ardaloedd - Porthgain, Llanrhian, Croesgoch, Trefin, Abercastell, Y Sgwar, Mathri ac Abereiddi ac yn falch iawn o hynny. Da iawn, dych chi wedi taro'r penwadau! Cofiwch gysylltu os wes rhywbeth gyda chi I ddweud, mae manylion ar y dudalen gefn.

-43- Regulars Abercastle Boatowners 23 Pony Club 22 Angharad‟s Health & Beauty 35 Porthgain Rowing Club 23 Aromatherapy/Reflexology 35 Post Office Services 41 Caerhys COCA 17 Pubs and Restaurants 27 Community Council 25 Recycling 41 Community Lunches 32 Shalom House 37 Churches and Chapels 30 Spring Meadow Farm 39 Croesgoch Heritage 11 Square and Compass Garage 29 Croesgoch School 8 Strumble Shuttle 41 Cylch Meithrin 36 Taxi 41 Gwelliant Trefin GTI 24 Tractor Run 16 Llanrhian Cricket Club 21 Trefin Arts and Crafts 39 Markets 39 WiRE 27 Mathry Community Forum 34 Women‟s Institute 33 National Park 12 Yoga 35 National Trust 13 Young Farmers 21

News and features Defibrillators 42 Porthgain History 5 Goose barnacles 12 Red Bull 20 Half- Price January 16 Rosie the Great 7 John Cotton 4 Round The Horn 1 Knapp-Fisher exhibition 11 Shopping - how it used to be 7 Llanrhian Vintage Festival 31 St Patricks Chapel dig 14 Memory Cafe 37 Torth Y Tir 18 Ploughing Match 15

We try to deliver Llais Rhian to as many households as possible, and it is also available from Square and Compass Garage, Croesgoch Farm Stores, Llanrhian Church and the Mill Cafe, Trefin.

Ryn ni'n ceisio dosbarthu Llais Rhian i gymaint o dai a phosib. Mae'r papur ar gael o Garej Sgwar, Stores Croesgoch, Eglwys Llanrhian a Caffi y Felin, Trefin.

Editors: David and Helen Aspden 01348 837070, Sheila Craft 01348 831220, Brigit Thurstan 01348 837102 or email us at: [email protected]

With our thanks to Caro Flynn for her sketches.

Printed by right price print of Goodwick.

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