Nercwys News June 2009 Issue 20 I don‟t watch much television but a few months ago, a programme about two of our great prime ministers, Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone was transmitted. It proved to be very interesting (doubly so because of our local connection with Mr. Gladstone at Hawarden). It is claimed that they loathed each other and they fought tooth and nail from 1852 when Disraeli was, for a short time, Chancellor of the Exchequer (and a bad one at that!) and Gladstone‟s speech in reply to Disraeli‟s budget, helped to bring Disraeli‟s party down. (Does this all sound familiar?) They became leaders of their respective parties and until 1880 they regularly alternated in power and both proved as successful when in opposition as when in power. I suspect that the country benefitted from their animosity because both were always having to be aware of what the other was doing and saying and complacency and greed never crept in. Some would argue that this era marked the high point of British politics and apart from the odd charismatic and effective leader since, there has been an inexorable decline in the quality, standards and morals of our elected politicians, both at local and at national level ever since. Why is this? Certainly the Victorian Age produced more than its fair share of gifted, loquacious, energetic and adventurous leaders, who weren‟t afraid to take risks and at the same time, probably owned up to their mistakes when found out by effective opposition parties and they didn‟t hide behind inane excuses. That average has now swung the other way and for some time, we have been „blessed‟ with some extremely mediocre as well as blatantly corrupt politicians who claim to represent the electorate. The quaint idea was that when someone entered office, whether at local or at national level, they did so because they felt that they had something to offer. Now, the perception is that many seem only to want to „milk‟ the system for what they can. Allowances, bonuses, perks, expenses, call them what you want, have always been abused if given half a chance and the current hiatus over parliamentary allowances has long been preceded by the question of local government expenses which has rumbled on for years without any effective resolution. I can remember the Chester Ratepayers Action Group being formed, probably in the late 70s, to campaign on this very issue. Perhaps we copy the attitudes of our elected representatives (or vice versa) as the Action Group never enjoyed much success. So do we deserve the politicians we have now? Well, yes (why would they be elected otherwise!), but what do you think? Some comments have been made about the inclusion of „News from Westminster‟ in the Nercwys News. Whatever your political views, everyone is affected by the laws, Acts and Directives emanating from Westminster and Brussels and there should be some interest in them. Yes, there is a fine dividing line between „Party politics‟ and factual reporting and some time is spent deciding if the articles are suitable, but I am sure that everyone will realise which is which and take what you want from the articles. Some of the articles request feedback - if you feel strongly about what has been written, then why not reply? Contact details are always provided. Peter Addiscott 2 VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS Bowling club - Ken Jones 01352 759 816 Craft Group - Elfrida Jones 01352 756 445 Friends of Nercwys School - Jo Capstick 01352 770 924 Griffith Roberts Charity - Mavis Bartlett 01352 810 416 Mother and Toddler - Jo Capstick 01352 770 924 Nercwys and District Rural Association - Malcolm Parry 01352 756 401 Nercwys Cricket Club / Pool Team - Mark Gracey 01352 752 333 Village Fete Committee - Mark Gracey 01352 752 333 Village Hall Committee - Liz Holland 01352 759 722 Women‟s Institute - Elsie Sheldon 01352 810 446 Youth Council - Bill Brereton 01352 758 723 Would you like your organisation details included in future issues? If so, please contact Peter Addiscott on 759986 or at Glasfryn, Ffordd Y Pentre. Village Website: www.nercwys.org.uk Community Council Website: www.Nercwys.net NADRA NEWS THE FUTURE It is said that the young look forward and the old reminisce. I can’t vouch for the former because it is too long ago to remember but I do indulge occasionally in the latter! We all appreciate what Ray Davies has done for Nercwys in the past with his large collections of photographs, stories, tales and memorabilia and it is noticeable how popular the albums are when they are put on display. After a discussion with Ray, at a recent committee meeting it was agreed that NADRA would try to carry on Ray’s good work. Ray says that he stopped in about 1990, but of course we do have a history of the village up to the year 2000 through the excellent Millennium book. Although the Nercwys News does give quite a lot of information about what is going on, there is so much that cannot be included, is not submitted or is not pertinent and it would be a shame if this information is lost for future generations. Initially we thought that we would concentrate on events that have taken place since 2000, so if you think that you might have something that you consider would be of interest for our ‘archives’, please let us know. Addresses are on the back cover and my telephone number is under ‘Village Organisations’. One plea, though. If submitting copies of photos of people or of scenes that are about to change, please remember to provide full captions, as one hundred years hence, there won’t be many of us around to provide the names! As this is new for us, although obviously following on from Ray’s idea, we are still thinking about the future format of these ‘archives’. There will be the normal photograph albums and document folders, as they would always be popular at meetings and ‘get-togethers’ and we are considering putting some of the items on the internet, probably on our village website. However, let’s see how much material is provided, first. Following on from this, a suggestion has been made that people coming to our AGM might like to bring something, a photo or a document of 3 whatever age, pertinent to Nercwys, so that it can go on display during the evening. That might give us some idea of what might be available. AGM Our AGM will be held in the Soar Chapel School Room on Thursday, 11th of June, starting at 7.30pm. After refreshments and a raffle, Chris Bradshaw will give a talk on his time at Rolls Royce, which should prove to be extremely interesting. BUS SERVICES Many of you will have received the NADRA flyer referring to the proposed cuts in our bus service. We hope that as many as possible have written to the County Council with their comments, but we do not know if and when the decision will be made. MEMBERSHIP Membership subscriptions for NADRA is now due and a membership form is included within this issue. We have kept the subscriptions at our 1981 level for another year, £1 each or 50p for a Senior Citizen. Your help keeps the Nercwys News going, as well as enabling us to try to respond to any problems that occasionally affect us. I should point out, so as to resolve any confusion, we are entirely separate from the Nercwys Community Council (NCC). The NCC is our statutory local government body and consists of elected Council- lors, whereas NADRA is a non-profit making independent organisation, with a constitution based on the Charity Commission model and has a committee elected at each AGM. As stated before, we welcome everyone at our AGM and talk and hope that you will consider joining us on the committee. Will we see you there? TRADE DIRECTORY The inclusion of the Trade Directory in the last issue did generate some extra business for at least one of the enterprises mentioned, so I am pleased that this has been beneficial. Since the list was compiled, another new service has been started and this is now included as a flier. Depending on feedback and interest, there may be another opportunity to provide a Directory next year. WALK Finally, an evening walk in Coed Nercwys / Nercwys Forest will take place on Wednesday, 3rd of June, meeting at the north car park (by Woodlands Cottage) at 9pm. The aim is to see and hear the Nightjars and any other wildlife that might like to show off. Peter Addiscott LIMERICK There are not many budding poets in Nercwys so I am very grateful that Mrs. Mabel Rogers supplied us with one. Here is her entry: There was a young man from Nercwys, He thought he lived in a circus, Went down to the White on a Saturday night, My gosh he could drink, but thought it was milk! And sadly he’s now out of focus. 4 Y CAPEL Trist yw cyhoeddi marwolaeth Elisabeth ar ol brywdro‟n ddewr drwy ei salwch. Roedd Elisabeth yn un oedd pawb yn troi ati i‟ch cynghori ar y iaith Gymraeg neu unrhwy beth i wneud gyda‟r teulu. Ysgrifennodd dau lyfr oedd i wneud a Chapel Nercwys sef Hyd Yma ac atodiad i‟r llyfr – Yma o Hyd ac a gyhoeddwyd yn 2003. Yn wreiddiol merch o Llŷn oedd Elisabeth ac fe ddaeth a chymraeg Llŷn gyda hi. Mae‟r tair ferch yn siarad yr iaith yn glaer iawn, un o‟r merched wedi dysgu Groeg i‟w phant! Diolch amdanni ac fe fydd colled fawr am Elisabeth yn ein gwasanaethau.