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G R A P E V I N E
contact us: [email protected] December 2012 / January 2013
digwyddiadau, newyddion a barn Llambed bob mis/ Lampeter’s events, news and views
listings: page 3, letters: page 7, also this month: discovering the beauty of birdsong, page 8
Musical Extravaganza
FREE AM DDIM
2
G R A P E V I N E no. 5, December ‘12 / January ‘13
Post: c/o Victoria Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter, Ceredigion SA48 7EE Email: [email protected]
Published by: Transition Llambed Development Trust, Victoria Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter, SA48 7EE
Printed by: TSD Reprographics, Lampeter, on paper from sustainable resources
To list your event, submit an article, ad or letter or to make an enquiry, email: [email protected] or post to address above
Please include the reason you are contacting us in the subject box of your email (Ad, Listing, Article, Letter, Enquiry)
Listings are free.
D i s p l a y a d v e r t i s i n g r a t e s : 1/4 column £10; 1/2 col. or double 1/4 col. £20; 1/4 page £25; 1/2 page £40; full page £70. Discount for ads for events held in Victoria Hall: £25 off ad Personal ads: up to 20 words £2; up to 40 words £4.
Copy date for issue no. 6, February
2013: Fri 11 January 2013
Circulation: 1,500 copies distributed free in the Lampeter area
Other contact details:
Transition Llambed: www.transitionllambed.co.uk email: [email protected]
Victoria Hall: www.vichall.org.uk To make bookings for Victoria Hall contact: [email protected] or phone/text 07891 632614
People's Market: To book a stall contact: [email protected]
We reserve the right to edit all contributions for reasons of space & clarity. The views expressed in letters and articles are not necessarily those of
Transition Llambed Development Trust or the newsletter group.
Copy date for
February 2013 issue
Fri 11 January
Welcome
to this musically themed bumper issue of the Grapevine ...
Having just taken on the role of editor, I have been
pleasantly surprised, although a little daunted, by the
amount of material available for inclusion. It has been a
very tough job to keep to a manageable 20 pages (plus a
double-sided poster flier). Please accept my apologies if
you have missed out this time. The newsletter group re-
ally do appreciate all your contributions. This is, after all,
your newsletter, so please carry on telling us about the
issues that matter to you.
This is a busy time of year for us all, so even more of a
reason to take some time out to relax & enjoy yourself. Is
there a better way than to do this locally?
We hope you might be tempted to sample some of the
many events & activities on offer over this festive season.
Why not try something new? There is so much going on
in the Lampeter area - yule be spoilt for choice!
Cyfarchion y Tymor, Seasons Greetings
Angie Martin
This issue has seen some changes to the editorial team.
Huge thanks go to Andy Soutter who recently stood down
as the editor. We would like to take this opportunity to
thank you, Andy for all your hard work and determination
in getting this newsletter off the ground. You’ve done a
great job!
The Grapevine wouldn’t have happened without you.
Thanks again from the Grapevine
3
what’s going on listings are free. send details of your event to [email protected]
music
Spanish Night. Saturday 1 Decem-ber 7.30pm. An evening of Flamenco music and dance, world music, and delicious food. Victoria Hall, Lam-peter. See poster page 8 Tickets (nearly sold out): Contact: Z e t a , 0 7 8 8 2 6 7 9 0 7 6 , [email protected]
Smudger and Jim, Saturday 8 De-cember, 7.30pm. 3-course Vegetari-an Christmas Feast, glass of mulled wine and plenty of Christmas fun for £18.50. at mulberry bush café
Georgia Owen, local singer/songwriter and inspirational guitar player. Saturday 12 January, 7.30pm. Indian vegetarian 3-course meal £15.95, entrance £2.50. Booking essential for both events: mulberry bush café 01570 423317
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Celebrate 22.12.2012 with Smudger and Friends at Victoria Hall, Lampeter. Mayan prophesies, winter solstice, Christmas and the return of light…so much to celebrate. Join together for some wonderful music, amazing light show, delicious food and great company. A Clwb Castanet Club/Transition Llambed Development Trust Event. £5 en-trance. Licensed bar, food available. More info: see poster flier or website: smudgerandfriends.wordpress.com
Lampeter Music Club Daniel Evans, piano. Tuesday 22 January, 7.30pm. Arts Hall, Universi-ty of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lam-peter campus. Tickets on the door: £9; concessions £7.50. Students, free with Union Card. 2 children ad-mitted free with a paying adult. Con-tact: David Cockburn, 01570 422436. Fabien Genthialon, cello. Tuesday 12 February, 7.30pm. Arts Hall, Trinity Saint David Inner City Brass, Brass Quintet. Sunday 10 March, 2.30pm. Arts Hall, Trinity Saint David
Lampeter World Sacred Music Festival, 22-24 March. Karl Jenkins conducts his peace requiem, The Armed Man. Contact: [email protected]
theatre Lampeter Youth Theatre and Stage School (LYTss) Every Friday, 4.30-6.30pm, Victoria Hall.
Thursday 13 & Friday 14 December, 7 pm: LYTss presents Charles Dick-ens' "A Christmas Carol" at Victoria Hall. Doors open 6.30pm. Tickets from Red Books shop: adults £3.00, children under 5 free.
Saturday 15 December, 2 pm: LYTss presents Charles Dickens' "A Christ-mas Carol", followed by a Christmas Tea with Santa and the Annual LYTss Awards, at Victoria Hall. Doors open 1.30pm. adults £5.00, children £2.00.
Friday 11 January, 4.30 - 5.30 pm, Victoria Hall: first day of term and registration day for LYTss. Come and register for a term of fun and learn lots of new skills! Contact: Annie May, 01570 423080, [email protected]
move your body
Belly dance & Belly fit classes. Belly Dance: Monday. 1.30 - 2.45 pm (all ages). Belly Fit: 3 – 4.00pm (over 50s). Shiloh Church Hall, Lampeter (next to the police station on the High Street). All fitness levels welcome. Contact: Rose Barter, 01239 851737
Belly Dance & Yoga classes. Belly Dance: Tuesday 7.30-8.30pm. £3.00. Beginner Yoga: Thursday 7.00-8.30pm, £5.00. Crugybar Vil-lage Hall. Contact: 01558 685321, [email protected]
Folk dancing. Every Wednesday, 8.00 - 10 pm. Talsarn Village Hall. Everybody welcome (including musi-cians). No partner or experience needed. £1.50 including refresh-ments. Contact: 01974 272098.
Cerddwyr Ramblers, Lampeter organise a variety of weekly walks throughout the year. Anyone interest-ed in walking with the group is warm-ly welcomed to join. A walking pro-gramme is available from the Town Library or James, 01570 480743.
Flamenco classes in Lampeter and Aberystwyth. Enter the intoxicating world of rhythm, movement, grace and fire that is Flamenco.
Tuesday 6.00 - 7.15 pm, Sally Saun-ders Dance Industrial Estate, Trega-ron Rd, Lampeter (next to Organic Fresh Foods).
Wednesday 6.00 - 7.30 pm, Aber-ystwyth Arts Centre, with live fla-menco guitarist.
Men and women welcome from 15 yrs old. Please bring strong/chunky-heeled shoes. Tutor: Dixey Ruscelli, 01570 493138, [email protected]
courses Denmark Farm Conservation Cen-tre, Betws Bledrws
Saturday 1 December, Natural Fes-tive Crafts (half or full day). Ages 7 and upwards Sun 2 December, Make Your Own Herbal Cosmetics. Ages 16 upwards Sat 15 December, FREE Coppicing Workshop with Bob Shaw. Ages 16 and upwards Limited places, various prices, please book in advance: 01570 493358, [email protected], www.denmarkfarm.org.uk
Lampeter and District Beekeep-ers’ Association
Beginners' Beekeeping lessons start in February, on Saturdays, 10am-12 noon in Cellan Millennium Hall. They will be held fortnightly where possi-ble, until May; there could be a long-er gap at Easter. From May to September, there will be practical lessons every Sunday, 2pm-4pm at the Association's Apiary in Abermeurig. You’re not expected to attend all sessions but it would benefit you if you attended at least the first four or five. All last year’s beginners bought hives and bees last summer and are now beekeepers. The cost is £75, which includes: * membership of Lampeter and Dis-trict Beekeepers' Association (£17) * membership of Welsh Beekeepers' Association, which has Public Liabil-ity insurance cover for all members, plus a quarterly magazine * Bee Diseases insurance for up to three hives A “Taster Day” for those who may be a little apprehensive of bees, will be held on Sat 6 April, 10.00am at Cel-lan Millennium Hall. (£15, inc. light refreshments), theory in the morning, lunch, & if weather is fine, practical session pm. We will have an exhibi-tion hive, so if it is wet you can see Bees and the Queen as they would be in the hive. Contact: Gordon Lumby, 01570
480571, [email protected]
4
health & well-being
courses & classes
Yoga Workshop. Sat 8 December 10.00am - 1pm Cellan Millennium Hall. A morning of yoga for all. Exploring the physical and non-physical body through stretch, relax and release, to help free the body's blocks and dis-ease. Iyengar trained teacher. Cost: £10 (concessions £6). Contact: Cathy, 01570 421144
The Mindfulness-based Stress Man-agement Course 2013. 4 Sunday ses-sions: February 10 & 24, March 10 10.00am - 2.00pm, March 24, 10.00 am - 4 pm. Early bird and student sav-ings. Contact: 07890 835873, [email protected]
Yoga Afternoon with Rajesh David and Marye Wyvill. Sun 9 December 2.00pm-5.00pm, Cellan Millennium Hall. Movement Bhajans Kirtan Relax-ation. £15 / £10 concessions. Con tac t : 01570 421027 , u r [email protected]
women’s workshop
Wednesdays 10.30am - 3.00pm, St James’ Hall, Cwmann. Every Wednesday: 11am Qi Gong, gentle exercise. 12 noon lunch. 1pm workshop. Workshop schedule: 05 December - Creative writing 12 December - Jewellery-making 19 December - Christmas party 09 January - Story Reading 16 January - Painting 23 January - Playing games 30 January - Poetry sharing
Wheelchair access to hall & toilet. Free car park. Only £2.50 a session (includes vegetarian lunch and all ac-tivities). Pay on the day, no member-ship fee or advance fee - drop in when you please. Come and see if you like our group. New members always wel-come. Contact: 01570 423167 / 01545 590391
markets
People’s Market (see ad on back page for more details) Victoria Hall, Lampeter, 10am - 1pm Sat 8 December & Sat 22 December; Sat 12 January & Sat 26 January.
Lampeter Farmers' Market
Market Street, Lampeter, 9.00am -
2.00pm alternate Fridays
Next markets: Friday 14 December & Thursday 20 December (so as not to clash with the Poultry Show Friday 21 December at Victoria Hall).
Ffarmers Market Neuadd Bro Fana/Village Hall, Ffarm-ers, 10.00am -12.30pm 1st Saturday in the month Next market: Saturday 1 December
Llansawel Market Llansawel Village Hall, 10.00am - 12.30 pm 3rd Saturday of the month Next market: 15th December
Stuff, stuff, stuff! Get rid of it at the People’s Market Post-Christmas Sale at Victoria Hall on Saturday 12 January, 10 am-1pm. Bring all your redundant clothes, household and oth-er items (not electric) to sell. Make a profit for yourself and give a donation to the Victoria Hall Development Fund. Contact: Ceredwin, to book a table 01570 421476.
Lunar Xmas Market. Saturday 1 De-cember, Llanfair Clydogau Village Hall, 10am-3pm. Local produce and crafts and refreshments. Father Christ-mas will be there 1-3pm so bring your little ones to see him. Contact: 07920 063773.
meetings
Coedwig Gymunedol/ Long Wood Community Woodland - AGM. Mon-day 3 December, 7.30pm. St Thomas’ Church, Lampeter. All are welcome. The AGM will be followed by our monthly meeting. Contact: Philip or Carolyn Swain, 01570 493284
Hanes Llambed / Lampeter History Society. Tuesday 15 January, 7.30pm. Old Hall, University of Wales Trinity St David. Speaker: Ieuan Rob-erts. Subject: Edward Llwyd FRS, bot-anist, geologist, philologist: his signifi-cance in the Lampeter area. (In Welsh, with simultaneous translation.) Con-tact: Penny David, 01570 422041
complementary and
alternative therapists
Joanne Camlin BSc WSHom. Ho-moeopathy: a complete system of medicine that treats mental, emotional and physical illness, and can be used by everyone, including babies and chil-dren. At Llanfair Clinic, 41 Bridge Street , Lampeter SA48 8EG (mornings), 01570 421480
The Light of Love powerful ten-minute (off the body) treatment har-nesses the power of the universal life force. It relaxes and improves your sense of well-being by touching into the healing energy of the heart. It is offered FREE by Ceredwin at the People’s Market (no need to book) and at other times by appointment.
Contact: 01570 421476
Bowen Technique, about an hour’s treatment, works by gently stimulating the body’s own sympathetic nervous system, allowing it to find balance and release from tension and pain. Contact: Ceredwin, 01570 421476
Cathy Crick Stanton. Yoga teacher/therapist (Iyengar trained) and Barba-ra Brennan Healer. For class details, or to book 1-2-1 yoga or therapy/healing sessions, Contact: 01570 4 2 1 1 4 4 / 0 7 7 4 8 0 3 1 6 1 4 , [email protected]
Alison Kaye MBAcC. Traditional Chi-nese Acupuncture. Llanfair Clinic, Bridge Street. Contact: 07779 256388
Louise Nadim BSc hons, Ph.D. Fully qualified and insured Brennan Healer. Working in the Human Energy Field - assessing, balancing and healing, to restore physical, emotional and spiritu-al health. Contact: 01570 421144 / 0 7 9 2 0 1 1 2 2 2 8 , [email protected]
Charlotte Allen RSHom. Homeopath. Llanfair Clinic, Bridge Street. Contact: 01570 493746
Mindfulness-based Approaches. Dr Colette Power. Courses, workshops and one-to-one coaching. Stress, anxi-ety management, promoting health and well-being. Contac t : 07890 835873, co-le t te@m indfu lnesscourse.co .uk www.mindfulnesscourse.co.uk
computers
Computer services and repairs in the Lampeter area: hardware up-grades, virus and spyware removal, health checks, backup advice. Fast, friendly service. Contact: Ben, 01570 493706, [email protected]
remember
Copy date
for
February issue
Friday 11
January 2013
5
storytelling
Storytelling evening . Friendly, informal group meets every third Monday per calendar month in Cellan. Next meeting Mon 17 December, 7.00pm–9.30 pm. Croeso i bawb / All w e l c o m e . C o n t a c t : [email protected]
writing
Teifi Writers. meet on 2nd Saturday of the month in Llandysul, and have workshops with professional writers. The tutor for December is Damian Walford Davies. January: Tiffany At-kinson. Contact: Kelly, 01267 235336.
photography
Lampeter Photography meet on 1st and 3rd Friday of every month, 7.30 pm at the Kings Head, Lampeter. Monthly competitions, exhibitions & workshops. All welcome. FREE. Con-tact: Stef, 07958 772035, [email protected] PLUS: Saturday 1 December, 8-hour photo challenge, 10am-6pm at the King's Head, Lampeter. We give you topics to photograph. You may create an im-age for one or all of the categories. By 6 pm all prints must be framed, titled and put up in the exhibition space.
religious services and
groups
Lampeter Parish
St Peter’s Church, Lampeter. Main Sunday Service: 11.00am (bilingual). Other services: 8.00am Holy Com-munion (English), 9.30am Cymun Ben-digaid (trydydd Sul yn y mis yn unig, Cymraeg).
St Peter’s Church Hall in Lampeter is available for hire at £8.50 per hour. Includes use of kitchen facilities. For enquiries or bookings contact: Beryl, 01570 422324. For more information visit: www.lampeterparish.org
St Cybi’s Church, Llangybi. Main Sunday Service: 9.00am (bilingual).
St Bledrws’ Church, Betws Bledrws. Main Sunday Service: 10.45 am (English or bilingual).
St Sulien’s Church, Silian. Main Sun-day Service: 2.00 pm (bilingual / Cym-raeg).
St Mary’s Church, Maestir. Main Sunday Service: 2.30 pm (second Sunday in the month only, English).
Times apply to the first four Sundays in each month. For the few fifth Sun-
days there will be a single United Par-ish Service at 10 am: location will be published in the local newspapers.
Seventh Day Adventists meet fort-nightly on Saturdays at Cellan Millen-nium Hall, 10.15 am–3.15 pm. For More details: www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk
Lampeter Evangelical Church meets every Sunday at Victoria Hall, 10 am – 7 pm. Contact: Gareth Jones at The Mustard Seed café, 01570 423344
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Lampeter Sunday Mass is 10 am. For other ser-vices see church notice board.
Lampeter Quakers. Every Sunday at Canolfan Steffan, Peterwell Terrace at 10.45 am. All welcome. / Crynwyr Llambed. Cwrdd bob ddydd Sul, Can-olfan Steffan, Rhodfa Peterwell, 10.45 yb. Croeso i bawb. Contact/Cysylltwch: Deborah Rowlands, 01570 4 8 0 0 8 3 , d e b o r a h j r o w [email protected]
St Thomas' Methodist Church Sunday service 10.30 am with creche and youth activity. Tuesday coffee morning 9.30-12 with Beacon of Hope drop-in. All welcome. Tues 25 December 10 am: Christmas Morning Service. Details on chapel notice board. Every-one welcome.
Interested in Buddhism? A Study Group for Women. Exploring the underlying principle of Buddhist Practice and how we can apply this in our daily lives. Meets one day a month near Aberystwyth. Meditation, shared lunch. Contact: Lesley 01970 617129 or Noel 07988 745364
CELLAN MILLENNIUM HALL CLASSES AND GROUPS
Classes subject to change: please see
www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk for updates & contact details
See our website, film posters for movies & What’s On page for one-
off events.
MONDAY RAY Ceredigion Play Sessions: 4– 6pm Line Dancing: 7–10pm
TUESDAY Healing Yoga: 10–11.30am Lampeter Home Education Group: 12–5pm Qi Gong: 6–7pm Tai Chi: 7–8pm Beekeepers: 2nd Tuesday of month, 8pm
WEDNESDAY Table Tennis: 10am–11.30 Quilting Club: 12 noon-4pm Yoga: 5.30–7pm
THURSDAY Five Rhythms Dance: 1st Thursday of Month 7pm Village Improvement Society Com-mittee: 1st Thursday of month 7pm WI: 2nd Thursday of month 7.30pm
FRIDAY Art Group: 10am–1pm Film Night: fortnightly 7.15pm (see ad in this edition)
SATURDAY Seventh Day Adventists: fortnight-ly 10.15am–3.15pm
Copy
date for
February
2013 issue
Fri 11
January
6
Victoria Hall: regular activities and classes Bryn Road, Lampeter SA48 7EE
Monday: 7pm - 9pm Wing Chun Kung fu with Flo Hunt, 07796 796259
Tuesday: 7.30pm - 8.30pm Zumba keep fit session with Julie Lancaster, 01570 470542
Wednesday: 11am -1pm WEA: Introduction to sewing machines, and 1pm - 3pm, Restyle your clothes,
both with Hannah Cutler, 07773 500328 (Last Dec class: 19 Dec, re-starting 9 Jan, though check
with Hannah.)
Wednesday (fortnightly): 1.30pm - 4.30pm, Young at Heart: Tea, sandwiches & social for the wiser folk of
Lampeter. 5 Dec only, then a break until 9 January.
Wednesday: 7pm - 8pm. Zumba keep fit session with Louise Evans, 07584 199372
Thursday: 10pm - 3pm Welsh classes with Meryl Evans, 01545 572715
Thursday: 6pm - 8pm Brazilian Jujitsu with Mike A. Banica, 07783 582081
Thursday: Third Thurs each month 7pm - 9pm Transition Llambed ‘Big Gathering’. A chance for all those
interested in/involved with Transition Llambed to plan and coordinate activities. Everyone welcome!
Friday: 4.30pm - 6.30pm LYTss: Lampeter Youth Theatre and Stage School with Annie May, 01570
423080
Friday: 7pm - 9pm Five Rhythms Dancing with Irene Sullivan, 07737 739998
Saturday: 2nd and 4th Sat each month, 10am - 1pm People’s Market. Local food, produce and crafts. Plus
café, live music and other attractions.
Sunday: Lampeter Evangelical Church 10am - 7pm. Info: Gareth Jones at the Mustard Seed, 01570
423344
Sunday: 7pm - 9pm Brazilian Jujitsu with Mike A. Banica, 07783 582081
Please ring contact numbers to check closure dates for the holiday period
www.vichall.org.uk - To book the hall contact: [email protected], 07891 632614
message from the Transition Llambed admin team
We really need some help!
There are two wonderful women who do nearly ALL the administration work for Transition Llambed
AND Victoria Hall AND Castanet Club AND Grapevine Newsletter AND Cellan Millennium Hall. Be-
tween them they send out emails, reply to emails, update the databases, maintain the websites, get
posters printed …and the list goes on. This isn’t sustainable and I am sure it often feels like hard
work for them both.
We need MANY HANDS to make it LIGHT WORK.
So, if you:
have access to a computer and have time to check/send emails regularly and/or
would be happy to learn how to use GroupSpace software and/or
already feel happy filling in Excel spreadsheets, producing invoices and chasing them
can spare at least an hour a week
are reliable, flexible, easy to get on with, calm and relaxed ….and this list goes on too
PLEASE GET IN TOUCH
Contact me on [email protected]
It would only take an hour or so to go through what’s needed, and you could then say what you are
happy to take on, or decide that it’s not for you.
THANK YOU!
Linda Winn
for the Transition Llambed admin team
7
LETTERS
letters, grapevine, victoria hall, bryn
road, lampeter SA48 7EE
email: [email protected]
Dear Editor,
As the news reaches us that Andy
Soutter has stood down as editor
of the Grapevine after 4 editions
we should reflect on his contribu-
tion.
Andy has, along with a small team,
led the successful creation of a
newsletter for Lampeter that ap-
pears to be well read, enjoyed by
many, a great advert for how much
is happening in the area and has
been the impetus for others to
sharpen their critical pencils. For
me, ‘that ticks all the boxes’ for a
local newsletter - informative, en-
joyable and a little challenging.
Andy, thanks for what you have
started, I hope you are proud of the
achievement and long may the
Grapevine continue.
Tim Martin.
Hi.
I read the letter [in September's
edition] regarding choirs to join in
Lampeter with interest as I have
been looking for a choir to join for a
number of years. I was quite excit-
ed when I read Dylan Lewis's letter
in the October magazine, especial-
ly as it was written in English. What
a disappointment to go to the web-
site for Corisma to find it's written
in Welsh so I assume it is a Welsh
choir!
Regards, Susan
We note that the contacts page
(cysylltu) at www.corisma.btck.com
does accept enquiries in English
Dear Grapevine,
In response to Gro-Mette's letter
and later Dylan Lewis' letter, I'd like
to add that I too was at the Bury
street choir festival. I had a brilliant
experience singing with a group of
like-minded individuals about is-
sues that I feel very strongly about,
such as government policies, the
environment, human rights and
peace. Personally when I sing I
enjoy it, but when I sing about mat-
ters that I feel strongly about, with
others, I find it's massively uplifting
and powerful.
In day-to-day life it's often difficult
to speak out about the things that
matter to us most. Issues such as
racial discrimination or the massive
gaps between rich and poor don't
tend to be lunchtime chat. But
combine them with a harmonious
tune along with lots of voices and
you are a part of something truly
special. Those listening often feel it
too.
I'm sure that Côr Meibion and Co-
risma are great choirs, but, as I
mentioned earlier, I prefer to sing
about issues that I feel are im-
portant, and I'm not sure that there
are many choirs that offer that. I
hope that Côr Meibion and Coris-
ma go from strength to strength,
but personally I think there is room
for another choir.
I will gladly join a street choir with
you, Gro-Mette! In fact I have some
songs all ready to go.
Best, Janet Payne
Llansawel
Dear Editor
How good it was to see the flowers
blooming throughout Lampeter this
year! The hanging baskets and
planters were really quite dramatic
and still looked good well into Oc-
tober. A big thank you to Roberts
Garden Centre, the Chamber of
Trade, the Town Council, busi-
nesses that contributed and any-
one else who helped make it even
more of a pleasure to visit Lam-
peter. I do hope it can be continued
next year.
Lynn Thorogood
Dear Editor,
Public Toilets and graffiti seem to
go together, but on this occasion I
write regarding what I am sure is a
well intentioned member of the
Lampeter community who decided
to use graffiti to express their con-
cern over the loss of the Public Toi-
lets that were formally attached to
Victoria Hall. Whilst I am not con-
vinced that writing in biro on the
People's Market advertising boards
that appear in the town on the 2nd
and 4th Saturdays of the month
(shameless plug) is the most appro-
priate and responsible method of
communication, I will gloss over
that. I have no doubt the issue is
an important one, indeed, a couple
of years ago my 4 year old was
very grateful they were open re-
gardless of their dreadful condition.
I know that the subject of the toi-
lets, especially their proximity to
the park, has been discussed at
Victoria Hall meetings. It is an in-
tention of the Directors that alt-
hough we will not be reinstating the
'public' nature of the toilets, as the
opening hours of the Hall increase,
the toilets will be available for all,
not just those who happen to be
using the premises.
When the Development Trust took
over the Hall, it was made clear to
us by the council, and written in the
lease, that the former public toilets
would be public no more; they
would have closed regardless of
the Hall passing to the Trust. It is
also worth noting that the toilets
are top of our refurbishment list
and when we are successful in a
grant application (we have several
in the pipeline) we intend to spend
over £25,000 refurbishing them.
I think the town is well served with
2 modern and well maintained sets
of toilets (behind the police station
and attached to the library) and the
slightly older ones next to Roberts
& Sons. You try finding a public loo
in a big city!
So, to whomever left the message,
please be assured we are trying to
improve the toilets, make them
more accessible and more availa-
ble and we take your concern seri-
ously. Please stop writing on the
boards (a volunteer spent many
hours painting those). We aren't
that scary, come and talk to us!
Tim Martin, Director, Transition
Llambed Development Trust
8
Music to my ears Discovering the beauty of birdsong
On Sunday 4 November, five intrepid ornithologists,
led by Ian Morris from Denmark Farm Conservation
Centre, braved the elements to walk around the
Cellan lanes to observe autumn bird activity in the
fields and hedgerows. The route took us from the
Millennium Hall via the War Memorial to the hamlet
of Pentrefelin. There we crossed the stream,
walked uphill and turned left along the lane to the
old Cellan School (now Y Dyfodol Day Nursery),
then down towards the B4343 and back to the Hall.
One of the pleasures of birdwatching with Ian is that
he is able to identify birds by their sounds, and we
were soon learning to distingush between the voices
of robin, chaffinch and blackbird.
Along the route we saw various corvids (rook, jack-
daw and carrion crow) and tits (great tit, blue tit and
coal tit), along with typical hedgerow and garden
birds such as house sparrow, dunnock and wren.
Two red kites were circling above the hills to the east
A sharp-eyed member of the party pointed out a
great spotted woodpecker silhouetted against the
sky in the upper branches of a tall oak tree across
the fields to our right. The characteristic swooping
flight of the woodpecker confirmed its identification
as it flew off.
The highlight of the walk was probably the sighting of
two of our winter visitors from Scandinavia and
northern Europe. Flocks of starlings were active in
the fields on either side of the lane, while in the field
near the War Memorial we saw groups of redwing.
This small member of the thrush family, distin-
guished by its whitish eye stripes, rusty red flanks
and underwing, is a native of the Baltic region, but
can be seen in fields, on woodland edges and even
in gardens in West Wales at this time of year. Here,
they appeared to be feeding on late-autumn berries
on bushes along the hedgeline, in the company of
tits, sparrows and a pair of bullfinch.
Although the walk ended in the rain, it was a most
enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning and in a
couple of hours we counted twenty different bird spe-
cies. Our thanks to Ian for leading the walk and for
showing once again that birdwatching is not just a
matter of using your eyes, but also your ears!
Mike Walker
Ian Morris helping to identify local birds in Cellan
Next month’s theme:
keeping warm & spring
cleaning
please send us your tips and
remedies to beat the winter blues
9
from the bottom continuing annie may’s engaging chronicles of coming to farm in west wales
PART 5 STARTING AGAIN
I think that geography and history has a lot to do with
the indigenous politics and culture of a place.
Greece, Italy, Scotland and Wales have mountainous
terrains and that means that at one time the people
who lived in one valley had a common language,
common ancestors and common gods, but in their
isolation they thought their gods and ancestors were
uniquely theirs and not at all those of the next valley.
Language, too, can become a vexed issue. One
wonderful old lady from LLangybi who was very
learned, both a doctor and a dentist, could only
speak to an equally learned acquaintance of hers in
Ruthin in Latin.
My very first memory of Wales was the Fishers Arms
in Cellan. I was a teenager and had come down to
Wales crammed with a lot of other teenagers in a
friend’s mother’s Austin Metropolitan with the top
down. We were on our way to stay with the brother of
one of us who farmed Castell Howell. We all felt very
daring being out on our own in an open topped car.
Actually we were daring because some of us were
sitting on the back of the car, not in it. We were with-
out seat belts because they hadn’t been invented
yet. No-one fell out of the car, no-one stopped us
and it took us seven hours with the wind in our hair to
get to Pontsian. The next day we visited a friend in
Cellan and went to the pub before lunch.
The Fishers epitomised what is truly Welsh. There
was a tiny, dark bar with one window, a tongue and
groove panelling painted pale institutional green with
a kind of bench along the wall for perching the bum
on. We went in and apart from a couple of farmers,
the bar was deserted and there was no-one behind
the bar. Or so we thought. Then after giving us a
good looking over, one of the men craned over the
bar and said something and up popped the tiniest
and oldest little pub owner imaginable. This was
Auntie Annie. We ordered drinks and while we drank,
gradually had our life histories extracted from us with
efficient ruthlessness. It was obvious that one old
man could not speak English and he was included
with Welsh asides and gales of laughter on all sides.
These included us, even though we didn’t quite know
what was being said. A few hours later, full of bonho-
mie, we left, saluting the bar, Auntie Annie and the
rest of the drinkers who solemnly saluted us back by
raising a finger to the forehead.
More than anywhere I’ve ever lived, and I seem to
have lived in lots of places, the place by the Teifi and
the Afon Dulas was tolerant and well mannered.
That polite raised finger is respectful and the look
may be penetrating but it’s not unfriendly. I love the
dignity of that raised finger, although it doesn’t hap-
pen half so often these days. I loved the fact that
wherever you went you were saluted solemnly by
pedestrians and drivers alike. That they felt obliged
to speak to you in English in order to include you.
Today there are many more cars on the roads, many
of them very smart but in the hills we still stop in the
road to exchange news more often these days in
what passes for Welsh with us, to the wrath of those
who haven’t caught on yet.
When I first came to live in Lampeter farmers drove
rusty old post office vans, often with the floor miss-
ing. When Jack Pant y Gwyn came to advise Geoff
on some contracting work, you had to sit in his pas-
senger seat with your feet on the dashboard if you
didn’t want to find them running to keep up with the
car.
Some years later when the Fishers was under new
management I heard that Auntie Annie had died, but
her legend lived on. She can’t have been more than
four foot six and no spring chicken, but she was ca-
pable of banging the heads together of two hulking
young chaps who were squaring up for a fight and
sending them home in disgrace.
This was the Wales that took my fancy and, with a
dreadful lack of originality, this is where I came to live
the Good Life. Not that successfully as it turned out.
The track to Panteg plunged down into the valley be-
tween sitka spruce that towered over the lane on the
left. On the right were the steep heather-covered
slopes of Banc Anton. In summer, the track was lined
by a dense, bright green growth of whin and graceful
rowan. Occasionally a young oak emerged from the
undergrowth, slim and ragged. As we descended into
the valley a magnificent avenue of beeches provided
a cool green tunnel. Later on I discovered that violets
grew at their feet and in autumn there were russula
and chanterelle in abundance among the moss and
tree roots. At the end of the tunnel the track opened
out into a farmyard with an old stone cow shed on
the right below a traditionally grey-rendered, ugly
farm house. (continued over)
10
Continued from previous page
Beyond it a track. The farm house foundations were
cut into the mountain so that it rested on its own
sheltered platform. The valley was entrancing. Every
time you came down the track there was the feeling
of a secret, green, protected place hidden in the hills.
Our landlord was Hammond Innes. His books were
bestsellers in the 50s, 60s and 70s; many of them
made into films. He came to look us over in the car-
avan on my birthday and we invited him to supper.
Supper was comfortingly Italian: thin parmesan toast
with a tapenade of olives, anchovies, hardboiled egg
yolks and olive oil with a salad of tiny cherry toma-
toes and barely cooked Brussels sprouts seethed in
basil oil followed by fresh spaghetti Napolitana; that
is to say simple spaghetti with tomatoes and onions.
We drank quite a lot and Hammond Innes was a
convivial guest.
We took over the farm in August. There was a little,
ugly concrete terrace at the front and on this we
would set out chairs, a small table, a bottle of elder-
berry wine and a big cold dish of sliced, cooked pota-
toes, parsley, garlic and onions from the garden
dressed in elderberry vinegar and olive oil accompa-
nied by some small fresh cheeses made from milk
from our house cow preserved in herbs and olive oil
(the cheeses were preserved, not the cow).
We were inordinately lucky. Our rent was low be-
cause the house was in a bad state of repair but we
didn’t care. We had been given a breathing space in
which to get ourselves up and running again. We
had four highland yearlings of indeterminate parent-
age bought with a bank loan of £400. In those days
our bank managers were known to us and ours
shook a finger at me and said “we don’t encourage
post-graduates to buy cattle”. I assured him that I
would make good use of the cattle. And I did.
We had more luck in the shape of William Jones of
Ruthin, our first brush with “the Gog” and a lovely
man. He bred excellent Welsh Mountain sheep.
The first 6 ewes from William Jones, our 4 highland-
ers and a Renault 4 with grass growing in the back
that doubled as a farm vehicle, constituted our mate-
rial wealth. We were now in a valley of our own with
our own culture and our own gods who judged us by
what we were, not by the glamour of our posses-
sions.
more from annie may next month
11
Missed this at the cinema?
Led Zeppelin’s
Celebration Day at
Cellan Millennium Hall Saturday 8
th December
with full concert sound
Doors open 7.30pm
Film starts 8.00pm
£2 on the door
Bring your own refreshment Come and relive your youth,
or have that first time experience
right here in Cellan!
In a cosy cottage in Cellan, one Monday night in
Autumn, nine bold storytellers met to tell our tales.
Intrepid travellers, wise old women, fierce beasts
and talking birds; makers and merchants, lovers and
dreamers, singers and sailors filled the flickering
firelit room. We told and told until we could tell no
more – not for want of tales but because time, she is
so fleeting. So with the passing of the moon, we
gathered there again. Many were struck down by a
fearsome plague but others took their place and
bravely battled on, through rivers of blood and
mountains of cake, towards our ultimate fate -
whatever that may be: servants being served;
naughty children learning lessons; exotic creatures
discovering their true nature.
Storytelling ranges from the everyday anecdote (a
funny thing happened to me on the way here)
through oral history (a curious thing once
happened to a friend of mine) and folklore (strange
things are said to take place in these parts) to
fairytale (long ago and far away, the weirdest things
went down), legend (in days of old when knights
were bold) and myth (in the beginning, before time
began). Although the emphasis is on oral narration,
we’re a relaxed and friendly lot whose main
objective is to have fun, share our creativity, inspire
and support one another through whatever
fragments we can gather – in riddles and rhymes,
jokes and songs, games and toys, poems and
stories, written or remembered, accompanied or
alone.
Perhaps this is a way to reclaim our cultural roots,
conserve our intangible heritage, practice ancient
arts and seek ways to evolve new cultural forms in
response to changing times? Perhaps it’s just a
pleasant alternative to sitting at home alone
watching the telly! It’s early days for this group and
there is plenty of scope for new members to join and
help shape our identity and direction. Some things
have already been decided:
* We meet regularly, 7-9.30pm every third Monday
per calendar month, with future meetings on: 17
December; 21 January 2013
* Meetings are held at the home of our host,
Ceredwin: Beech Cottage, Cellan. For directions,
contact: [email protected] or phone Rachel
on 01570 493222
* Mae croeso mawr i bawb – all are warmly
welcomed. Of those who have attended so far,
many are learning to speak Welsh and some are not
(yet). So although meetings are held in English, we
would be delighted to welcome speakers of other
languages and stories from different traditions.
* We aim to be an accessible group. If you have
specific access needs, please discuss these with us
and we will do what we can to accommodate
everyone.
* We lift-share, because fuel is expensive and parking
space limited, so please get in touch to find out who
is coming from your area.
* Because Beech Cottage is a strictly-shoes-off
venue, we may bring our own slippers, or there are
slippers available to share.
* This is a participatory group. The atmosphere is
relaxed and informal. Everyone is encouraged to join
in if they wish. We welcome everything from polished
performance to tentative notes and spontaneous
ideas. Audience members are always needed, so
don’t feel you have to bring something to share. If
you’d rather just come along and listen, that’s fine.
* Light refreshments are offered during the evening.
Contributions are welcome.
See listing page 5 for contact details
Talking birds: Storytelling Evenings in Cellan
12
Mae’r hydref eleni’n gweld dechrau prosiect BGLRCB
yn Canolfan Gwadraeth Fferm Denmark: gardd
gymunedol arddangos sy’n ystyriol o fywyd gwyllt. Mae
llawer o’n cymunedau BGLRCB wrthi’n plannu mewn
ffordd sy’n ystyriol o fywyd gwyllt fel rhan o’u cynlluniau
i wella’r amgylchedd. Byddwn yn darparu safle lle y gall
rhywun sy’n cynllunio ei ofod cymunedol ei hun ddod i
chwilio am syniadau, neu caiff ymwelwyr ddod i eistedd
yn dawel a mwynhau’r ardd a’i bywyd gwyllt.
Mae’r ardd fan hyn yn aros yn ddigyfnewid ers
blynyddoedd lawer, gydag amrywiaeth o lwyni ffrwythau
meddal sy’n heneiddio a pherlysiau. Dros y
blynyddoedd diwetha, rydym yn raddol wedi ychwane-
gu gardd goedwig a nodweddion sy’n ystyriol o fywyd
gwyllt megis blychau adar, pwll bychan a llwyni sydd â
ffrwythau a neithdar. Nod cynllun yr ardd newydd yw
adeiladu ar y nodweddion hynny. Bydd gwrych yn cael
ei blygu i adael mwy o olau i’r ardd; bydd pwll a gardd
gorsiog yn cael eu creu a bydd amrywiaeth o blanhigion
sy’n fwytadwy ac yn ystyriol o fywyd gwyllt yn cael eu
plannu. Mae i’r ardd ardal goetir fechan hefyd – bydd
hon yn cael ei chadw, ond yn cael ei datblygu’n ardal lle
y gall plant anturio a chwarae.
Rydym yn bwriadu cael ychydig o wirfoddolwyr i ymuno
â ni ar gyfer y fenter gyffrous hon, ac rydym hefyd yn
cadw llygad yn agored am wirfoddolwyr newydd yn ein
cymunedau BGLRCB. Hefyd, hoffen ni glywed gan un-
rhyw grwpiau a sefydliadau yng Ngheredigion a
ddymunai roi cynnig ar rywbeth gwahanol fel tîm.
Mae tasgau ar gyfer yr hydref eleni yn cynnwys plygu
gwrychoedd a phlannu bylbiau i’r gwanwyn. Gallwn gy-
funo plannu bylbiau â sgwrs i gyflwyno ‘garddio bywyd
gwyllt’, felly cysylltwch â ni os hoffech ddod â grŵp aton
ni. Byddwn yn darparu popeth sydd ei angen arnoch a
gobeithio yn rhoi tamaid o wybodaeth a pheth
ysbrydoliaeth i chi ar gyfer eich gofod cymunedol eich
hun.
Ariennir BGLRCB gan y Gronfa Loteri Fawr, Cyngor
Cefn Gwlad Cymru, Ymddiriedolaeth Esmée Fairbairn
ac Amgylchedd Cymru ac mae’n helpu pobl i adnabod
a rhoi ar waith welliannau amgylcheddol sy’n gwneud
gwir wahaniaeth i’w cymunedau.
WWYL is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Countryside
Council for Wales, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and
Environment Wales, and helps people to identify and
implement environmental improvements that make a
real difference to their community.
Come into the garden with Wildlife
Where You Live (WWYL)
This autumn sees the start of a new WWYL project at
Denmark Farm Conservation Centre: a demonstration
community wildlife-friendly garden. Many of our WWYL
communities are implementing wildlife-friendly plantings
as part of their environmental improvement plans. We
will provide a site where anyone planning their own
community space can come and seek ideas, or visitors
can simply sit and enjoy the garden and its wildlife.
The garden here has remained unchanged for many
years, with a variety of aging soft-fruit bushes and
herbs. Over recent years, we have gradually added a
forest garden, and wildlife-friendly features such as bird
boxes, a small pond, and fruit and nectar-bearing
shrubs. The design of the new garden aims to build on
those features. A hedge will be laid to allow more light
into the garden; a pond and bog garden will be created,
and a variety of edible, wildlife-friendly plants will be
planted. The garden also has a small woodland area –
this will be retained, but developed into an area where
children can explore and play.
We‘re aiming to enlist some volunteers for this exciting
venture, and are also on the lookout for new volunteers
in our WWYL communities. We’d also like to hear from
any groups and organisations within Ceredigion who
would like to try something different as a team.
Tasks for this autumn include coppicing and planting
spring bulbs. We can combine bulb-planting with an
introductory ‘wildlife gardening’ talk, so please contact
us if you’d like to bring a group along. We’ll provide
everything you need and, hopefully, give you a little bit
of knowledge and some inspiration for your own com-
munity space.
www.denmarkfarm.org.uk, [email protected], 01570 493358
Dewch i’r ardd gyda Bywyd Gwyllt
Lle Rydych Chi’n Byw
13
In the October edition of Grapevine, Jo Camlin wrote
about some of the disturbing realities of modern
medicine and healthcare. Those of us who met at the
Health and Wellbeing group at the last Big Gathering
decided we’d describe some other models of
healthcare.
Homeopathy is one of several complementary/
alternative types of medicine which is available local-
ly from several practitioners. What is it? And should
you consider seeing a homeopath?
I first used Homeopathy thirty years ago when I had
a fractious baby. I discovered that a small vial of tiny
white pillules called Chamomilla had the miraculous
effect of calming him and reducing the pain of
emerging teeth, so that the dribble and grizzling be-
came a thing of the past. Then I discovered Arnica
for trauma, bumps and bruises, and I was hooked!
I was treated by a Homeopath during my next preg-
nancy, had the easiest birth of all, and have used
Homeopathy as the primary form of healthcare for
myself and my family ever since. Seventeen years
ago I enrolled with the Welsh School of Homeopathy
and spent four fascinating and life-changing years
studying the philosophy of this special form of heal-
ing.
The basic principles have been applied in medicine
for thousands of years, and to some extent are used
in certain aspects of conventional medicine today;
but the founder of Homeopathy who brought these
principles together was Samuel Hahnemann (1755-
1843).
There are three core principles:
There is an implicit understanding that every living
being has an energetic field or ‘vital force’
The ‘law of similars’, or ‘like cures like’, where a
substance which causes certain effects or states
can cure those states/symptoms when given to
someone who is experiencing them
The minimum dose, whereby the selected sub-
stance or remedy, when diluted and potentised,
activates its own energetic field to match that of
the individual being treated, which brings us back
to the first point.
So as you see, Homeopathy has nothing to do with
biochemistry, but maybe quite a lot to do with quan-
tum physics.
Hahnemann began with a very limited range of rem-
edies, although thousands have been added, and we
are still using exactly the same remedies that he rec-
ommended and have never found the need in two
hundred years of clinical practice to withdraw a sin-
gle one from use. Homeopathy is very safe and
causes no side effects. If the wrong remedy is cho-
sen it doesn’t work, otherwise you should notice a
difference; sometimes this is a dramatic improve-
ment (as for my teething baby), sometimes it is slow
and subtle.
I am endlessly fascinated by the alchemy of taking a
natural substance, which may be a plant, a mineral,
a drop of milk, all sorts of different materials, and
transforming it into a force for energetic healing. This
is usually done in Homeopathy pharmacies, won-
drous centres of strictly scientific rigour and practice.
No remedies are ever tested on animals, although
they are used to treat both farm and domestic ani-
mals, to good effect.
If you visit a homeopath, you won’t be asked to un-
dress or lie down: the practitioner will ask you to ex-
plain what is troubling you and how you experience
it. This is important, because each remedy is chosen
specifically for the individual person and their symp-
toms, not just for a specific complaint. They may ask
you a lot of seemingly irrelevant questions for which
there are no right or wrong answers: this helps them
to confirm their remedy selection. In fact, Homeopa-
thy can be regarded as a ‘talk therapy’, but one
where the therapist is just as interested in your phys-
ical state as your emotional state.
Homeopathy has a very low impact on the environ-
ment and, compared to drug therapeutics, is very
inexpensive. It is one of few complementary thera-
pies to be available on the NHS, although this is of-
ten hard to access because there are few qualified
doctors who have done the extra training, and none
of the four hospitals which offer homeopathy are in
Wales. It is used widely throughout the world and
can truly be considered a medicine of transition.
Charlotte Allen RSHom
Homeopathy - health in harmony
remember
Copy date
for
February issue
Friday 11 January
14
Autumn 2012 was a very rich season for events in
Lampeter. We had the fantastic and heartwarming
Extravaganza at the Clwb Castanet Club, Victoria
Hall, in September, where over 200 people enjoyed
listening to our so-talented local musicians. Lynne
Denman’s rendition of ‘Woodstock’ held the entire
hall spellbound, while Maggie Nicols and Paul Uden
delighted us with their original jazz, Dixey and Snowy
transported us to sultry Andalucia with their flamenco
dance and music, Rajesh and Upasana uplifted us
with some beautiful music, Shirley’s music-hall enter-
tainer persona "Charlie Tanner" made us laugh, and
of course Jester Band’s extended line-up with
Smudger, Shelley, Pete Stacey and Jim Hackford
had everyone dancing and smiling.
Then Lampeter Music Club celebrated their thirtieth
anniversary in style with a concert at the Arts Hall,
TSD, with Catrin Finch, who gave a virtuoso perfor-
mance as always, celebrating the fact that it was the
Lampeter Music Club that inspired her to become a
harpist when she attended a Music Club concert by
the Spanish harpist Marisa Robles at the age of five.
I will never forget Catrin’s performance of the piece
written specially for her by her tutor at the Royal Col-
lege of Music, Paul Patterson’s Bugs! Mosquito Mas-
sacre. The combination of her facial expressions and
the musical interpretation of the incessant buzzing of
a bloodthirsty mosquito was brilliant. The Music
Club’s second concert of the season, with the Domi-
nant Quartet from Moscow, was also truly memora-
ble. Their rendition of Prokofiev’s String Quartet in F
was so skilful, sensitive and moving that the audi-
ence was entranced. These four ladies somehow
manage to combine sublime musicianship with a
seemingly effortless performance.
National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke, and Menna
Elfyn, Director of the Creative Writing masters pro-
gramme at TSD, also launched their new poetry
books, Ice and Murmur, in the Founder’s Library one
chilly Tuesday evening in October. Gillian transport-
ed us back to the frozen winter of 2011, when the
rivers froze and a lone male swan mourned his lost
mate. Menna moved me to tears with her group pf
poems about Catrin Glyndwr, who was incarcerated
in the Tower of London for many years with her chil-
dren, simply for being Owain Glyndwr’s daughter.
A public conference was held on the theme of Celtic
Myth and Landscape. This was hosted by the Ar-
chaeology and Anthropology departments of TSD
Lampeter Campus, with the intention of sharing
some of the work of these departments at Strata
Florida. Talks were given on such diverse subjects
as the Archaeology of Myth (James Bezant), Walking
with Dewi; A Medieval Journey across the Cambrian
Mountains (Heather James), The Sacred Feminine in
the Celtic Landscape (Mara Freeman) and other in-
spirational talks about Tolkien's Middle Earth and the
Mabinogion in Paganism. In the evening there was a
performance of Hunting the Giant’s Daughter by Mi-
chael Harvey, Lynne Denman and Stacey Blythe.
The combination of Michael’s dramatic storytelling,
atmospheric harp and accordion music from Stacey,
and Lynne’s voice and deep knowledge of traditional
song, created an atmosphere that was timeless and
magical, where we could have been sitting around a
fire centuries ago, listening to this tale of power. On
Sunday a coach trip was organised to take the con-
ference participants to Strata Florida Abbey. Host
Martin Locock guided us enthusiastically around the
site, sharing tales and poems about the life of the
monks, pilgrims and princes of medieval Wales, and
bringing the abbey to life in our imaginations.
The annual firework display organised by the Rotary
Club of Lampeter was, as always, fantastic. Each
year it gets better, and this year the display was so
colourful and well-choreographed that the crowd
were delighted. The weather was kind, and with a
clear and starry sky, a roaring bonfire and lots of
happy children, the evening was really fun.
This winter will also be full of a variety of inspiring
and entertaining events in Lampeter. I’d like to thank
everyone who gives their time and effort to bring
events like this to Lampeter, and to help make this
very special town the hub of cultural and community
events it is: the heroes who brave the elements to
put up Christmas lights and hanging baskets, the
Town Council, the Chamber of Trade, the Rotary
Club, the many volunteers sitting at phones and
computers creating events, posters and newsletters,
the Transition Llambed Development Trust - and all
who make the effort to attend the events and meet-
ings offered, and make them a success. Let’s move
into 2013 as a stronger, more cohesive community,
working together to improve the place we all live in
and love. Diolch yn fawr. Josie Smith
Lampeter’s musical scene & wider cultural life: Reviews and Reflections
15
The inaugural Lampeter World Sacred Music Festival
will take place from Friday 22 March to Sunday 24
March 2013. The Festival will open with a concert at
Victoria Hall on Friday 22 March. The concert, Con-
fluence, will feature music from Christian, Hindu and
Sufi traditions, performed by local musicians. There
will be a daily service at the University of Wales
TSD's chapel, including readings from Bishop Wil-
liam Morgan’s Welsh Bible.
The highlight of the Festival will be Karl Jenkins con-
ducting his Requiem for Peace, The Armed Man, at
the Arts Hall, University of Wales TSD campus, on
Saturday 23 March. Karl Jenkins is the world’s most
performed contemporary composer. The Armed Man
will be performed by four choirs and musicians from
the University of Wales. A competition is also being
held for pupils of the secondary schools of Ceredi-
gion to compose a piece of sacred music. The win-
ning composition will be performed at the concert on
23 March; the winner will also record their piece at
Hywel Wigley’s Studio Acapela in Cardiff. Judges
confirmed to date are Catrin Finch and Peter Stacey.
During Saturday there will be a seminar about Sa-
cred Music and spiritual experience. On Sunday 24
March there will be a sacred meal.
The programme is still being finalised.
For more information please go to the website:
http://worldsacredmusic.com.
If you would like to be involved in the festival, please
email [email protected], or write to Lam-
peter World Sacred Music Festival, c/o 2 Bridge
Street, Lampeter, SA48 7HG.
The Lampeter World Sacred Music Festival
16
The ‘Rooting for Change’ campaign recently held a
cake sale at the Lampeter campus Students’ Union,
raising an impressive sum of £243 for the rainforest
charity. The money raised will help expand a tree-
planting scheme in a deforested area of Kenya, part
of the charity’s aim to help protect an area of tropical
forest the size of Wales. The Lampeter-Bore Com-
munity Carbon Link project aims to connect the mid-
Wales community of Lampeter with the sub-Saharan
community of Bore in Kenya’s Coastal Province.
Lampeter’s linked project in Bore is close to the
equator and lies within the coastal forest that ex-
tends down the eastern seaboard of Africa. This for-
est and its absorbed carbon is under a lot of pres-
sure from a variety of sources, including charcoal
burning, mining and clearing for agriculture.
Abi Jenkins says: “The Rooting for Change cam-
paign is gaining momentum. On Friday 19th October
we dressed in green to raise awareness and raise
money. Over the next few months, we hope to hold a
sponsored walk and a live music evening to plant
more trees and to start supplying the Kenyan com-
munity with accessories such as donkeys, horses
and cockerels.
We are very pleased to have the continued support
of the University, Community Carbon link and the
Size of Wales. This set of partnerships is making an
enormous difference to the people in Bore as well as
educating people locally on the drastic effects of cli-
mate change.“
Mayor of Lampeter, Cllr. Kistiah Ramaya, said: "By
leading Lampeter in 'Going Green', University of
Wales Trinity Saint David is playing its part in pro-
tecting the rainforest. This is something we should all
be aware of, safeguarding the future for our children
and grandchildren. Lampeter Town Council is fully
supportive of this initiative and hopes the whole town
follows suit."
Elinor Howells, Uwch Swyddog Cysylltiadau
Cyhoeddus a Chyfathrebu / Senior PR and Commu-
nications Officer 01570 424859/07772 531165
T S D students with Assistant Dean, Dr Jeremy Smith, and Mayor of Lampeter, Cllr. Kistiah Ramaya
Lampeter is 'Rooting for Change'
Trivia Question:
Name the band of the first welsh-language
album to reach the UK Top 20 Answer on page 18
17
Workers’ Education Association arrives at Victoria Hall
Victoria Hall is now the HQ for the newly formed
Lampeter WEA Branch. The branch was formed at
the last Transition Llambed Big Gathering and we
hope to continue to meet at this regular event. The
aim of the branch is to reach out and discover the
educational needs of the local community and set
up a programme of courses. If you would like to get
involved with the branch, please contact lampeter-
We would like to run a taster day to whet your ap-
petite for what the WEA can offer! If you are a
teacher and would like to be involved with the tast-
er day please get in touch. If you would like to run
a course but do not have a teaching qualification,
then please get in touch with the branch at lam-
If there are enough people interested then we
could run Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong
Learning Sector, which is the minimum require-
ment for WEA tutors.
For more information on becoming a WEA tutor,
please contact the main office in Swansea on
01792 467791.
Courses currently running in Lampeter:
English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)
Old Building, Trinity Saint David
Monday 9.30am – 11.30am and
Tuesday 9.30am – 11.30am; 11.40am -1.40pm
Introduction to using a sewing machine
Victoria Hall
Wednesday 11.00am - 1.00pm - fully booked but
come along and sign up for the next course
Upcycle your clothes
Victoria Hall
Wednesday 1.00pm - 3.00pm
One of the highlights of the Lampeter calendar is the
Food Festival in July each year. Started back in 1997,
this event brings up to 6,000 people from far and wide
into the town. We know several people that plan their
visits to the area to see family around the Food Festi-
val: it is an opportunity for the whole of Lampeter to
showcase itself to visitors from across Wales and be-
yond.
This year, more than 80 stands featured the best pro-
duce and goods that the local area and Wales offer,
with products on sale including cheese, butter, baked
goods, wines, beers, ciders, chocolates, jams, chut-
neys, honey, ice cream and more. There were also
craft stands, mobile cafés offering delicious hot food to
sustain visitors through the day, live music from local
band The Hittites, and cookery demonstrations by lo-
cal and celebrity chefs.
TV chef Dudley Newbery filmed the event this year for
an episode of his series Dudley ar Daith which was
broadcast across Wales in August. How often is Lam-
peter featured on S4C for a full 30 minutes?
But more importantly, the shops in Lampeter have one
of their busiest days of the year, as visitors take a look
around and are tempted by the many delights and
goods that our local shops offer.
Lampeter Food Festival has grown and evolved over
the last 15 years. This year saw the introduction of an
additional venue at the Victoria Hall, hosting the Peo-
ple's Market, Craft Fair, and Beer Festival. In the
evening, the Castanet Club presented excellent live
music from Lynne Denman and Friends, and a Food
Feast. These events, designed to encourage people
into town, give a wider choice of ‘things going on’ and
extend visitors’ stay into the evening.
However, this year saw a reduction in the Welsh Gov-
ernment grant that supports the Food Festival. Most
food festivals across Wales saw a reduction in funding
and some were unfortunate enough to receive none at
all. Next year will probably see a further drop in money
available to make the event possible. In addition, a
very small team of dedicated volunteers are taking on
an ever-increasing workload; they need help, on the
day of the event and in the months leading up to the
next Food Festival on Saturday 27 July 2013.
Without volunteers, the Food Festival will simply not
happen. If you cherish and enjoy Lampeter Food Fes-
tival, maybe you could find some time to get involved.
Many hands make light work, as they say.
Lampeter Food Festival Needs You!
If you can offer support, contact Rebecca Jones,
01570 421301 or [email protected] or
Chris Thomas, 01570 423200 or 07967 857027.
Lampeter Food Festival Organisers
Food, Glorious Food: long live Lampeter food festival
New CD Newydd
Casgliad o ganeuon newydd a trad-
dodiadol, di-gyfeiliant
A collection of 14
unaccompanied,
new and traditional
songs
Ar werth yn y
'Mulberry Bush'
£10
18
The Drifter
The wind from the north is so cold and Icelandic,
The wind from the south is just warm and idyllic,
The wind from the east is piercing and freezing,
And the west wind fades at my bare feet
I lie on my back and watch how the leaves move,
The heads of the grasses they wander and wave too,
Pale flowers nod their petals and look to the sun’s
rays,
Yellow pollen just scatters about
I sit in the meadow dyed green with fertilizer,
View tractor and trailer, machines for the farmer,
The hedges are mown short with a seven foot long
blade,
Sharp cuttings left lying in the lane
I stand on the milk churn and look to the folly,
Spy ash tree, and rowan, and prickles of holly,
The ancient stone walls are still crumbling and
tumbling,
With no one to fix them right now
I climb up the hill top, and look down the valley,
See farmyards, outbuildings, and ragged slate quarry,
The town is surrounded, mist from the river,
And the sea is a saucer of grey
I search in the skies and see buzzards a-swirling,
Around in the thermals, reflecting and waiting,
The jet screams down the valley, sheep scatter wildly,
And I am brought out of my dream
The wind from the north is so cold and Icelandic,
The wind from the south is just warm and idyllic,
The wind from the east is piercing and freezing
And the west wind fades at my bare feet
Daisy Ching
February 2002
Ladies…
Give us your support!
Join our Charity BRA AMNESTY.
Give your old bras a new lease of life
and help raise money for our breast
cancer research.
Deposit your unwanted wearable bras in a BRA
BANK and they will be whisked away to Africa
where there is a short supply of affordable bras.
Against Breast Cancer will receive a donation
based on the weight of bras we collect – so eve-
ry bra counts!
It’s an uplifting way to support breast cancer re-
search.
Your nearest Bra Bank is: Victoria Hall, Bryn
Rd, Lampeter SA48 7EE
This exciting project keeps textiles out of landfill,
helps small businesses in Africa and raises
funds for our groundbreaking research. The do-
nation to our research work, by our recycling
partner, is based on the weight of the bra bank,
so more bras mean more funds. Every £1 you
raise is vital in enabling us continue our work to
find a vaccine against breast cancer and to look
at ways to increase the survival of women who
have the disease.
For more information visit
www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk
Against Breast Cancer,
Leathem House,
13 Napier Court,
Barton Lane,
Abingdon
Oxfordshire OX14 3YT
Tel: 01235 534211 Fax: 01235 535109
Poetry Corner
If you have a hidden talent then share your poetry with a larger audience - help us to make the
‘Poetry Corner’ a regular feature by sending your work to [email protected]
Thank you Daisy for suggesting this new section for the newsletter - let’s hope this is the first of many.
Trivia Answer:
Super Furry Animals
19
Review of Lynne Denman's concert
Mulberry Bush Café,
Sat 10 November
Where better than the Mulberry Bush for a night out -
with delicious food, amazing entertainment and a
friendly atmosphere where you will always bump into
some of your very best friends.
Saturday 10 November was no exception. On the
menu was Mediterranean food. If you are a carnivore
it might not be your choice, but I can assure you that
the food is delicious enough to satisfy all palates.
Personally I am not strictly anything, but I have al-
ways enjoyed my nights out at the Mulberry Bush
and this time I chose two vegan courses, simply be-
cause they looked tempting.
The starter was a platter with tasty, spiced butter
beans (warm) and aubergine (warm), accompanied
by olives and a fresh salad. The tastes blended
beautifully. I did try my husband's vegetarian bru-
schetta with local Perl Wen soft cheese - equally
tasty, but I really loved my choice.
For main course I chose pumpkin wedges with a
herb and nut crust, really innovative and tasty. It was
accompanied by mixed seasonal vegetables, roast
potatoes and a super tomato and basil sauce. Again I
had a taste of my husband's roast vegetable tart -
also absolutely yummy.
There was a choice of three desserts, but unfortu-
nately we were too full to sample them all and chose
one between us: white chocolate and pistachio
cheesecake. The pistachio base was gorgeous and
the white chocolate topping was one of the lightest I
have tasted. Heavenly!
Apart from my husband hinting that he could have
coped with a bit more garlic on his bruschetta
(maybe Stella was being discreetly kind to partners)
everyone at our table of six enjoyed their food.
But dining out at the Mulberry Bush is food for the
soul as well as the palate. Lynne Denman gave us
an evening of her favourite songs, which she per-
formed with her usual skill and grace. Her crystal-
clear, often haunting voice needed no accompani-
ment. A night to remember. Lynne was planning to
launch her CD on the evening, but surprise, surprise,
it hadn't arrived on time - not unusual in our part of
the world. But the CD will be for sale at the Mulberry
Bush soon, for those who missed the evening and
those who want to listen again and again.*
So the lovely food, prepared with care by Stella, is
only one reason why we all love to go to the Mulberry
Bush. It's a very special atmosphere at this family-
run business, which has been established in Lam-
peter for 40 years now. Congratulations!
Gro-Mette
* CD advert page 17
Gwel y Tir / A View of the Land
Sleeve notes for Lynne Denman’s new CD
This is a collection of new and traditional songs
which sets out to map a personal geography. There
are traditional songs from the north of England and
the Scottish border as well as Wales, and a scatter-
ing of new songs too. I chose locations around the
house, in the garden and nearby woodland to record
them.
The Bold Fisherman, a lovely English folk song, was
recorded in the garden on a spring morning, accom-
panied by some insistent birdsong.
Robin Huw Bowen gave me Gelynna (Gathering Hol-
ly): it was recorded in the woods at Coed Blaentren,
Llanybydder. The supernatural ballad Young Tam-
bling was recorded by the wood fire at Glantrenfawr,
and so was The Gay Goshawk, with the kettle sing-
ing on the kitchen hob. Cysga di and Llongau Caer-
narfon were sung in the the big old stone inglenook.
What memories of past songs and singers must
those old stones retain!
Four songs were recorded in the ancient little moun-
tain church of Llanfihangel Rhos-y-corn near Llidiad
Nennog, the Gates of Heaven. The naturalist and
pioneer wildlife sound recordist Ludwig Koch inspired
Y Morforwyn with his recording of seals singing in a
cave of Skomer island, Pembrokeshire. Lisa Lan and
She Moved through the Fair are two songs from op-
posite sides of the Celtic sea, but they share similar
sentiments and musical expression and, unlike the
dead lovers, they were destined to be together.
The new songs are responses to current events:
Small Victory was inspired by a newspaper article I
read one day about a soldier and his dog in Afghani-
stan. Such friendships have led to the creation of a
charity called Nowzad Dogs which aims to bring the
rescued dogs home with their comrades. Crazy and
expensive, but an utterly human response in a mad
world.
Diolch/Thanks to Hari, Rob and Dylan for the tech-
nical support, to Maria Hayes for her drawing and
David Lloyd for the cover photo.
Lynne Denman
20
