contact the grapevine: lampetergrapevine@gmail.com july/august 2012

G R A P E V I N E

digwyddiadau, newyddion a barn misol llambed /

the trouble with transport

listings, p. 2 • the transition position, p. 9 • serial, p. 7 • food festival, p. 12

lampeter’s events, news and views monthly

d i

F R E E d â l

2

G R A P E V I N E no. 1, July–August 2012

Victoria Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter,

Ceredigion, SA48 7EE

email: lampetergrapevine@gmail.com

Published by Transition Llambed

Development Trust, Victoria Hall,

Bryn Road, Lampeter, SA48 7EE

www.transitionllambed.co.uk

Printed by TSD reprographics,

Lampeter

listings: Annie May

advertising: Tricia O’Kane

coordinating editor: Andy Soutter

distribution: Gro-Mette Gulbrandsen

design & makeup: Captain Cat

listings are free. To list your event,

contact Annie May at

lampetergrapevine@gmail.com

advertising rates: 1/4 column £10; 1/2

col. or double 1/4 col. £20; 1/4 page

£25; 1/2 page £40; full page £70.

Personal ads: up to 3 lines £2; up to 6

lines £4.

copy date: September issue: 15 August

We prefer electronic files, and email

for communications.

what’s going on listings are free. send details of your event to lampetergrapevine@gmail.com

the food festival

is coming!

see back pages

movies

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (15),

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith. Friday 13

July, Cellan Millennium Hall. Doors

open 7.15, programme 7.45. Admission

by donation, £2.00. Big screen & digital

theatre sound.

The Muppets (2012) (U), Jason Segel.

Friday 3 Aug., Cellan Millennium Hall.

Doors open 7.15, programme 7.45. Ad-

mission by donation, £2.00. Big screen &

digital theatre sound.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (12), Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock. Friday

24 Aug., Cellan Millennium Hall. Doors

open 7.15, programme 7.45. Admission

by donation, £2.00. Big screen & digital

theatre sound.

music The Castanet Club presents Lynne

Denman and Friends with their tradi-

tional Welsh folk music, at Victoria Hall,

Bryn Road, Lampeter, on 28 July at

8.00pm. Doors open 7.00pm. Tickets

£12. Price includes sit down 3-course

feast and concert. Tickets available at the

Mulberry Bush, or they can be reserved

by e-mailing lynne@ffynnon.com

move your body Zumba keep fit session with Julie Lan-

caster. Tuesdays 7..30pm till 8.30pm,

Victoria Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter. Info 01570 470542

Zumba keep fit session with Louise Ev-

ans. Wednesdays 7pm till 8pm. Victoria

Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter. Info 07584

199372.

Lampeter Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with

Mike A. Banica. Thursdays 6pm till

8pm, and Sundays 7pm till 9pm. Victoria

Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter. Info 07783

582081.

Boxersize. Body conditioning and toning

keep fit session with Andy Jacques. Sat-

urdays 2pm till 4pm. Victoria Hall, Bryn

Road, Lampeter. Info 07703 722344.

Line Dancing Mondays 7–10pm, Cellan

Millennium Hall. Info

www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk

Healing Yoga, Tuesdays 10–11.30am,

Cellan Millennium Hall. Info

www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk

Tai Chi , Tuesdays 6–8pm, Cellan Mil-

lennium Hall. Info

www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk

Yoga, 10–11.30am Thursdays, Cellan

Millennium Hall. Info

www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk

Five Rhythms Dance, 1st Thursday of

Month 7pm, Cellan Millennium Hall.

Info www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk

shows Longwood Players present Shake-

speare’s ‘The Tempest’ at Longwood

Community Woodlands, Sunday 15 July

at 3pm. Tickets from Red Books, Bridge

St Lampeter or Siop Brefi. Tel. 01570

420957 to reserve tickets.

Lampeter Youth Theatre is touring its

new show ‘Alice’, based on Lewis Car-

roll’s two Alice books, around and about

the district – and largely in the open air –

this summer. See their ad in this issue or

telephone Annie May Spawnton on

01570 423077.

religious services and

groups

Seventh Day Adventists meet fortnight-

ly on Saturdays at Cellan Millennium

Hall, 10.15–3.15. More details:

www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk

Saint Peter’s Church, Lampeter Services every Sunday. 8am and

10.30am, Communion in English. 5pm,

Communion in Welsh. All welcome. Lampeter Evangelical Church

meets every Sunday at Victoria Hall,

10am–7pm. Contact Gareth Jones at The

Mustard Seed. Tel. 01570 423344

An introduction to Buddhism group

with Steph Jacques. 2nd Thursday of the

month, 7–9pm, Victoria Hall, Bryn

Road, Lampeter. Info 01570 422273.

TRANSITION LLAMBED’s BIG GATHERING

MEETS AT

VICTORIA HALL ON THE

THIRD THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH

ALL WELCOME COME ALONG AND MAKE

A DIFFERENCE

3

LONGWOOD PLAYERS

THE TEMPEST

Longwood Community Woodlands Sunday 15th July 3pm

Tickets £5 Adult £1 Child (under 16) available from

Red Books Bridge St Lampeter & Siop Brefi

Tel. 01570 420957 to reserve tickets www.LongwoodPlayers.co.uk

supported by the Welsh Government and Communities First

catch up with us on facebook

wilkommen, bienvenu, croeso SHWMAE, and welcome to the first issue of the Grapevine, your free local listings

paper that aims to be more than just a calendar of events in the Lampeter area. The

Grapevine would like to become a forum for all the issues affecting our community, in

areas such as transport, health, food, energy, business, agriculture, environment, edu-

cation, shopping, tourism, the internet, arts & entertainment... the lot.

Clearly, all communities – and especially rural ones – are having to become more

resilient in order to deal with a raft of problems that the 21st century is presenting

them with: threats to local businesses from big supermarkets and online shopping; the

price of fuel oil; the consequences of climate change; the shrinking of public services

– these are just four that come to mind immediately. One way of finding ways to meet

these challenges is through discussion and debate. You may not even agree that all of

them are genuine problems – if so, tell us why not, because we want all views to be

heard. (Gary Thorogood eloquently outlines the ‘transition position’ on page 9.)

So we’d like to encourage everyone, young or old, of whatever affiliation or cultur-

al background, to contribute their news, views and ideas, on any subject of local and/or

wider interest. We welcome letters, articles, stories, verse, artwork – anything that’s fit

to print, as the saying goes. And of course, any event you want to publicise: listings

are free. And if you’d like to join our team of volunteers to lend or learn skills, you’d

be more than welcome. We would particularly encourage younger folks: you people

are the future. We also welcome considered reviews of events, of TV, theatre, books,

music, movies, the internet... the lot. Write in Welsh or English (or Romani, Esperan-

to, or Polish for that matter) – whatever language you feel is appropriate.

coasting along in neutral Few would deny that the issue of transport – the skyrocketing cost of private transport

and the shrinking availability of public transport – is one of the biggest problems fac-

ing us in West Wales. So what to do?

We are becoming rather good at adapting our buildings to meet the energy chal-

lenges of the 21st century, at making them more efficient and more cost effective; but

somehow, when it comes to moving between these buildings – which is what transpor-

tation boils down to – all this wonderful creativity and adaptability, all our capacity for

invention and enterprise – seems to come to a grinding halt. While our homes and

workplaces bear almost no resemblance to those of a half-century ago in terms of ener-

gy efficiency, and make the buildings of the 1960s look like crude hovels by compari-

son, as far as transport is concerned we are still behaving as we did fifty years ago. But

as we roll along on a wing and a prayer, there is perhaps a growing sense that this

prayer is not going to be answered: that the price of fuel oil is not going to magically

descend; and that coasting along in neutral – literally and figuratively – in machines

designed in and for the distant past won’t make a jot of difference in the long run, and

could have unpleasant consequences sooner rather than later.

That’s why in these pages you’ll find several views on our transport troubles. Phil-

ip Rhodes writes with suggestions for an interesting ride-sharing system he calls

‘switching’; another correspondent underlines the larger role that cycling could play;

and Alex Tanner has done a CSI on our bus services. Transition Llambed is also look-

ing at a number of schemes that we will be highlighting in future issues.

FROM THE EDITORS

friday movies

July 13 “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (15), Judi Dench, Maggie Smith

Aug. 3 “The Muppets(2012)” (U) Jason Segel

Aug. 24 “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” (12) Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock

Sept. 7 “Mirror, Mirror” (PG) Julia Roberts

Sept. 21“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” (12), Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas

Autumn blockbusters will include: “Men In Black 3” (PG) Will Smith; “Dark Shad-

ows” (12) Johnny Depp;“Moonrise Kingdom” (12) Bruce Willis

DOORS OPEN 7 .15 . PROGRAMME BEGINS 7 .45 . ADMISSION BY DONATION £2.00

BIG SCREEN & DIGITAL THEATRE SOUND

WWW.CELLANMILLENNIUMHALL.CO.UK

CELLAN MILLENNIUM HALL CLASSES AND GROUPS

Classes are subject to change: please see www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk for updates, contact details and the film page for up and coming movies

MONDAY Quilting 11am–4pm RAY Ceredigion Play Sessions 4–6pm Line Dancing 7–10pm

TUESDAY Healing Yoga 10–11.30am Lampeter Home Education Group 12–5pm Tai Chi 6–8pm Beekeepers 2nd Tuesday of month 8pm

WEDNESDAY Table Tennis 10am–1.30 Craft Makers Collective 1–3pm Yoga 5–7pm

THURSDAY Yoga 10–11.30am Five Rhythms Dance 1st Thursday of Month 7pm Village Improvement Society 1st Thursday of month 7pm WI 2nd Thursday of month 7pm

FRIDAY Art Group 10–12.00am Film Night fortnightly 7.15pm

SATURDAY Seventh Day Adventists fortnightly 10.15am–3.15

4

Once upon a time, people could get off or on the bus where they

wanted to between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen. Cribyn and

Pencarreg residents benefitted from an hourly service. This is not

ancient history; I am describing the X40 bus service, which was

brutally murdered by the Welsh Assembly government and Arri-

va on 26 February 2012. Privatisation was the weapon used. After the decision to privatise all services run by Arriva be-

tween Aberystwyth and Cardiff from February (with the full

backing of the WA government, despite a failure to warn passen-

gers in advance), there was trouble when Arriva:

made massive and unjustifiable fare increases (when public

transport fares in the UK were already more than twice the EU

average);

withdrew return tickets (meaning people now have to choose

between two single tickets or a £6.50 ‘day ticket’ for all return

journeys);

retimed routes that hadn’t changed in years to run earlier

(unfairly forcing connecting operator Richards Brothers to

change the times of its own services);

cut off Cribyn, Pencarreg and surrounding areas from the X40

route (denying these villages an hourly service and forcing

them to use the unreliable Bwcabus service);

cut off Swansea from the X40 route and now only serves

Swansea by bus on Fridays and Sundays when Swansea Uni-

versity is open;

renamed X40 to 40, after making the cuts described above. The

40 now terminates in Carmarthen. They introduced the 10 and

20 services, which follow the 40 route but terminate in Swansea

and Cardiff respectively (with the latter not serving Swansea).

They also renamed the 550 service to 50 (which causes confu-

sion as it covers part of the 550 route served by their rival,

Richards Brothers). All this renumbering has made it sound like

Arriva is providing more services, but this is not the case as

many existing routes have been cut;

brought in old buses from North Wales and repainted them with

a ‘Cymru Express’ logo to make them look like new vehicles;

made some parts of their timetables impossible; in particular,

they say it takes only 7 minutes from Llanybydder to Lampeter when it takes at least 12 minutes in real life. Hence, they always

fail to connect with the Richards Brothers X50 at Aberaeron,

despite Arriva’s timetable claiming to arrive 3 minutes before.

Several ‘consultations’ and ‘bus user surgeries’ have been

organised by the WA, Bus Users UK and other organisations, but

these are sham events. The ‘consultations’ are used to advertise

services like Bwcabus, which is used to spread privatisation over

Wales with the pretence of serving rurally isolated passengers.

The ‘bus user surgeries’ are just talking shops where any poten-

tial passengers who attend get to hear from representatives of

privatised bus companies how they run their services for com-mercial gain.

Unfortunately, there is not much we can do to get a more pas-

senger-focused bus service once again in the Lampeter area. With

transport now devolved from Westminster, the WAG is responsi-

ble for sorting out the situation and re-nationalising services. All

we can do is identify sympathetic AMs and lobby them. The

Welsh government has used excuses like ‘insufficient funds’ or

‘it’s not a priority’ to avoid the nationalisation issue. I have noth-

ing against the private sector providing subsidies or sponsorship

when required. I just don’t think that it can be trusted in the driv-

ing seat of our transport services.

alex tanner

arrivaderci, buses

dear

lunatics, lovers and poets...

...writers, artists, designers,

journalists, photographers,

advertisers...

...budding or experienced...

we need your stuff to make

this rag work

we’re not hard to find

yours, the grapevine

Victoria Hall bryn road, lampeter

activities and classes Monday: 2pm till 3pm Herbalife weight watching session with

Hazel Pugh Tel: 07854 743291 Tuesday: 730pm till 830pm Zumba keep fit session with Julie

Lancaster Tel: 01570 470542 Wednesday: Fortnightly. Young at Heart. Tea and sandwiches

for the wiser folk of Lampeter. 130pm till 430pm Wednesday: 7pm till 8pm. Zumba keep fit session with Louise

Evans. Tel: 07584 199372. Thursday: 6pm till 8pm Lampeter Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Mike

A. Banica Tel: 07783 582081 Thursday: Second of the month 7pm till 9pm An introduction to

Buddhism Group with Steph Jacques. Tel: 01570 422273

Thursday: Third of the month 7pm till 9pm Transition Llambed ‘ Big Gathering’ . A chance for all those interested and involved with Transition Llambed to plan and coor-dinate activities. Everyone welcome!

Friday: 430pm till 630pm LYTSS: Lampeter Youth Theatre and Stage School with Annie May Spawnton Tel: 01570 423077

Saturday: 2pm till 4pm Boxersize. Body conditioning and ton-ing keep fit session with Andy Jacques Tel: 07703 722344

Saturday: 2nd and 4th of the month. 10am till 1pm. Lampeter People’ s Market. Local food, produce and crafts. + cafe and other various attractions.

Sunday: Lampeter Evangelical Church 10am till 7pm Gareth Jones at the Mustard Seed Tel: 01570 423344

Sunday: 7pm till 9pm Lampeter Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Mike A. Banica Tel: 07783 582081

5

BROCK SHOCK

WE WERE INTENDING to highlight

the contentious business of the proposed

badger cull in West Wales in this issue,

but fortunately for the furry creatures,

and unfortunately for our sensation-

seeking sensibilities, events have over-

taken us.

In Wales at least, the cull is off. In its

place, the Welsh Assembly Government

has decided to institute a programme of

vaccination.

Concerned parties may remain con-

cerned, however, because the same situ-

ation does not hold for other parts of the

United Kingdom. One useful source of

information on this, as well as DEFRA,

is badger watch uk, which can be found

at www.badgers.org.uk.

LETTERS

letters, grapevine, victoria hall, bryn

road, lampeter SA48 7EE

email: lampetergrapevine@gmail.com

switching to hitching

Dear Editors,

I write reflecting on hitching, with an

idea for new potential. Maybe hitching is

not seen so much these days because of

personal fear and uncertainty; perhaps if

there was a ‘safety check’ and register

for both drivers and hitchers that people

would use and respect this could change.

Locally we have a network of roads with

people making lots of journeys, often

with space in their cars – ideal for jour-

ney sharing. With the high price of fuel,

contributions could be made by those

accepting lifts – I coined the phrase

‘switching’ for this idea. I have tried this

myself and it certainly intrigued the driv-

ers who took me. I realise that there may

be a big implication here legally and

with insurance, but the idea has such

huge potential – to the extent that in thi-

sarea with little public transport some

people could even give up their own

cars. Maybe charitable donations to some

widely accepted altruistic cause could

get round this? I invite and welcome

thoughts and suggestions.

Philip Rhodes, Ffaldybrenin

on yer bike

Dear Grapevine,

Cycling has to play a big part in the fu-

ture of personal transport. The Dutch

have been showing us the way for years,

and finally the Brits are starting to wake

up to this – look at what’s happening in

London, for example. One way forward

would be to exploit more all the disused

railway lines in Ceredigion. They could

be more than just leisure routes like the

one through the Cors Caron – imagine a

continuous route connecting Lampeter

to Aberaeron along the old line. Of

course there are hurdles to overcome, to

do with land ownership, etc., but if we

can bring our canals back to life we can

do the same with our old railway lines.

T.G. Evans, Llanddewi Brefi

a load of bollards

recent goings-on in the co-op’s car

park have stirred up something of a

hornet’s nest. here is a selection of

some of the comments we have re-

ceived:

Dear Eds,

What’s going on at Lampeter Co-Op?

Until recently it was a great community

resource allowing people all the time

needed to shop there and leave their car

while doing other business in the town.

But the new parking restrictions have

suddenly ended this. It makes no sense to

me. I can’t recall the car park ever being

too overcrowded.

... I have supported the Co-op through

thick and thin for more than 50 years, but

now feel rather insulted. Co-op custom-

ers are supposed to be stakeholders: were

they ever consulted about the move to

limit the parking time?

... we used to be able to park there and

have all the time we needed to take the

bus to Carmarthen and back. Now, for no

good reason, we can’t. Whose idea was

it? It’s crazy.

... they’ve wasted lots of money on ugly

signs, a pair of bollards that have already

been crushed, and hundreds of leaflets

that nobody wants to read.

... we don’t need offensive signs and

cameras. It makes you feel like a crimi-

nal.

... if the Co-0p is trying to lose business

they are going the right way about it.

... so where is the breast screening truck

going to park now?

... we should all boycott the Co-Op until

they see sense and remove the cameras.

THE XMAS FACTOR

SUMMER IS HERE (‘Bah! – Humbug!’

I hear you cry) but the Yuletide season

will be upon us before you can say last-

minute gift. So in the spirit of timely

preparation, Lampeter Youth Theatre is

holding its first round of auditions for

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at Victoria

Hall on 3 August from 2.30 to 5.30. Can-

didates are requested to perform a short

speech (2–3 minutes maximum) from a

chosen character.

For more information call LYT on

01570 423 080 or email the director,

annie@themay.co.uk.

6

THE WANT ADS PLACE YOUR PERSONAL AD HERE

Up to 3 lines £2. Up to 6 lines £4.

lampetergrapevine@gmail.com

WANTED. Sheep and goat separator.

Call 01974 999 998.

FOR SALE. Fire extinguisher. Never

used. Also, antique tree/wood distin-

guisher, always needs attention. 444

5555.

SWAP Wet weekend in Wales for sunny

Greek island with beautiful beaches. 433

9999.

WANTED. Moment’s peace. Will give

anything. 01971 650592.

SWAP Lorry back for stuff that’s fallen

off one. Call 01974 999 999.

FOR SALE: Irritating, embarrassing but

valuable unwanted gift. Mint condition.

£10. Don’t tell anyone. 566322.

FOR SALE. Spear. Mint condition.

Shakes well. Call 1564–1616.

I’LL TELL YOUR FORTUNE. You

will give me yours. Charlie Tan, 422 00.

FOR SALE Cat and pigeon separator.

Works perfectly and leaves no mess.

01971 650592.

FOR SALE. Time machine. Call last

week. 01974 999 999.

SWAP My talent for your success. 444

3333.

FOR SALE: Powdered water. Concen-

trated. Light. Ideal for travellers – Just

add water. 566 322.

FOR SALE: Attractive postcode. Sur-

roundings need some attention. 566 322.

SWAP My grass for your side of the

hill. 433 9999. No cliches, please.

SWAP Englishman, Welshman and

Scotsman on an aeroplane for Man

walks into a pub and several What’s the

difference betweens. 666 999.

LIVE FISH for sale. Call 12345.

DISH seeks spoon, preferably silver, for

long journey. Call 54321.

CAT seeks fiddle. Answers in strict con-

fidence. Tel. 696969.

FOR SALE. Riding hood. Red. Never

used. etc etc.

WANTED. Sheep and goat separator.

Call 01974 999 998.

FOR SALE. Fire extinguisher. Never

used. Also, antique tree/wood distin-

guisher, always needs attention. 444

5555.

SWAP Wet weekend in Wales for sunny

Greek island with beautiful beaches. 433

9999.

WANTED. Moment’s peace. Will give

anything. 01971 650592.

SWAP Lorry back for stuff that’s fallen

off one. Call 01974 999 999.

FOR SALE: Irritating, embarrassing but

valuable unwanted gift. Mint condition.

£10. Don’t tell anyone. 566322.

having a dump

has the time come for a proper

salvage centre in our area?

‘something for nothing is everybody’s plan’

– bob dylan

MY FAVOURITE DUMP is on the is-

land of Muck. It’s a small island of the

inner Hebrides. Muck doen’t mean

muck, unfortunately. It’s just a name for

a mucky creature. You may spot the

Welsh word for a pig lurking in there,

but there’s one more step: it’s a sea pig,

according to my informant on Muck,

which translates to porpoise.

Katie Morag fans would recognize

the island immediately. Except that

Muck is even smaller. It’s just a farm

with a sprinkling of thirty or so tin

roofed cottages clustered around the

harbour, a spread of grassy pasture, and

even a few trees. It’s a funky little place,

and Muck has the funkiest of dumps,

situated in a dreamy spot on its north

coast where low cliff and sea have com-

bined to construct a scape of tiny fjords,

narrow rocky inlets smelling of kelp,

foam and seabirds below, and beyond on

the horizon the low outlines of Canna

and Rhum.

Nearby there’s a very small neolith-

ic stone circle. The outline of the tops of

the standing stones appears to have been

fashioned to mimic the shapes of those

two distant islands. And with a nice

touch of resourcefulness, some of the

stones have been inscribed and double

up as tombstones for the more recently

departed of this island.

You couldn’t watch the porpoises at

play from a better spot. And close by,

one of the little fjords has been stuffed

chock-a-bloc with chuckaways all the

way up to the top. Old farm equipment,

clapped out microwaves, bits of ancient

bicycles, rusty bow saws, bottles, bricks,

bric-a-brac, furniture, timber, all the

usual suspects and more, some recently

departed, some positively neolithic - the

full treasure trove.The people bringeth

the stuff and the people taketh it away.

And the dump blends in nicely with the

landscape: the top of the tip is at ground

level thus it’s hard to spot from a dis-

tance, and no fences surround it, no big

track leads to it.

All our dumps should be pleasant

enough to picnic at, even if they can’t be

set in surroundings as picturesque as my

favourite one, and people should go

away feeling better for the experience,

instead of groaning to themselves about

the attitude of the management or the

possiblity of yet another puncture from

taking one’s vehicle into a yard strewn

with nails and broken glass. And alt-

hough all dumps can’t be on a pretty

stretch of seashore, as users we seek the

kind of hunter-gatherer satisfaction that

comes with beachcombing.

No such benign atmosphere current-

ly surrounds Lampeter’s town dump, in

fact all I hear is discontent and com-

plaint. Things haven’t been the same

since the chill wind of neoliberalism

blew through its stockpiles of once-

gratis delights. I hear questions like:

Why can we no longer take away

what we please from it? Why are we

now asked to pay for that old shovel /

baby buggy / toolbox / whatever? May-

be we need a different kind of dump?

Maybe we need more, smaller, village-

sized dumps? What would a community-

run dump look like? And so forth.

Now, ‘dump’ being a catch-all term,

we should draw a distinction in terms of

the materials any one dump deals with:

in this case, between material headed for

recycling, and material headed for re-

use. LAS in Lampeter is clearly geared

toward recycling and landfill, and ap-

pears to have scant interest in re-use.

This is fine: recycling is, for the mo-

ment, necessary, so fair play and good

luck to them. A non-profit salvage cen-

tre, on the other hand, would deal only

with reusables and repairables; and thus

one would deliver one’s stuff either to

the former or the latter. The questions pile up like discards

on a dump: Would such a salvage dump

have an online noticeboard? Would it

have a cafe? Waged personnel and/or

volunteers? Would it have a repair shop?

Fabrication shop? Sculpture studio?

Would it be open all hours? Whose leg

do you have to hump to get planning

permission, etc. etc. around here? Do we

need to re-educate ourselves regarding

what is and isn’t reusable? And so

forth... Any answers?

andy soutter

rubble like this littering our countryside could be reused as building material — and once was

7

The valley is lush with beech oak, ash,

birch and hazel. It’s not really a valley,

it’s a big basin with three little farms

snuggled into steep slopes to the north

and east. To the south there’s a gap that

leads down to Lampeter. Beyond that

you can see the lines of hills in shades of

mauve, slate and lavender folding upon

fold to the sea at Aberaeron.

16,000 years ago the valley was a

lake. The glacier that formed it had

scoured the land of any vegetation and

had dumped great twenty-ton blue

stones from North Wales onto the clay

of the lake bottom. There’s one by the

big pond at Gilfachwen. The hills were

scrubbed down to naked rock by the

ever moving ice. The waters of the Ice-

age lake must have covered the places

where the three little farms now stand

and it had an outflow at the southern

edge where the water gradually drained

away into what is now the Teifi.

It’s a harsh place even now and the

hills are pretty bare. That’s because the

sheep from Esgair Corn graze them and

because at that height trees grow slowly.

There’s a line of indigenous beech,

gnarled and twisted, that borders what

was once a stone-walled field. These

days the hill is open grazing. A road

runs over the top past the great stone of

Careg y Bwchi and on down to Llanfair

Clydogau.

At the bottom of the hill there’s

Llanfair Clydoau church on one side of

the road and Llanfair Fawr on the other.

Behind Llanfair Fawr are the silver

mines, now defunct but still with Office

Fawr and the cottages of the workers.

Samuel Lewis wrote in 1883 in his Top-

ological Dictionary of Wales that there

was

‘A valuable mine of lead-ore, con-

taining a considerable proportion of

silver, and in which also are found

quartz, spar, and a small quantity of

copper-ore, has been worked for the last

twenty years with considerable success,

though in dry seasons during that period

the works have been frequently suspend-

ed from want of water sufficient to give

motion to the machinery employed.’

They got an average of 75–80 oz. of

pure silver a year from the mine in those

days but you shouldn’t grow and eat

vegetables in the gardens of the office

and cottages; the soil has a high lead

content and you’ll end up twp. In spite

of the shortage of water power, the Cly-

wedog rushes by the mine like the sa-

cred river Alph through ‘caverns meas-

ureless to man’, as Samuel Taylor Cole-

ridge wrote in Kublai Khan. Well, not

quite, but certainly under the caverns

made by overhanging trees.

Nevertheless, it is said that Cole-

ridge’s fellow poet Shelley took his in-

spiration for Ozymandias from the Cly-

wedog at Llanfair. He had stayed, as had

Coleridge, at the Hafod mansion with

the Johnes Family in its heyday when

writers and artists flocked

to the West Welsh manor houses in their

lush settings. But I have it on good au-

thority – an ancient denizen, now dead,

of Llanfair – that the literary junketings

went on just behind the farm of Llanfair

Fawr. Whether near Pumpsaint or in

Llanfair I do wonder where the ‘sunless

sea’ is. The Teifi is very placid and sun-

ny just there and can hardly be called a

‘sea’ as it is only about a foot or two

deep.

But mining was an old game even

then because humans had already come

to Wales to mine for minerals by 10,000

BC. Whether they came to the Llanfair

area as early as that is difficult to say.

By Victorian times the water problem

had been solved by the building of Lyn

y Gwaith. In the summer we go up there

to swim in its cold brown waters. Years

ago my children used to camp, eat bis-

cuits and swim from the rocks, returning

bronzed and bitten and hungry the next

day. The dogs and I used to go up to lie

in the heather; I to read or write and

swim with the dogs on hot summer days.

These days we sit by our own teeming

pond and I flump bravely into the water

with Charlie or Pansy puffing beside me.

Geoff says he’ll build me a small land-

ing stage because the clay squeezes in a

ghastly way between your toes when

you get out. But I won’t hold my breath.

I like the tale that behind Llanfair

Fawr, was once the residence of the lord

-lieutenant of the county until his mar-

riage when he left the house and it fell

into ruin; but am inclined to believe

Elizabeth Inglis Jones (author of Pea-

cocks in Paradise) on the subject. What-

ever the truth is, it had been an ancient

building; some parts of it went back to

1080. Lewis records that in some places

the walls were five yards thick. He

quaintly observes with regard to Llanfair

Clydogau that ‘The average annual ex-

penditure for the maintenance of the

poor [in Llanfair village] is £99.2s.’ he

does not say for how long or for how

many. A week, a month, a year? For ten,

a hundred, one?

In earlier times Llanfair Clydogau

was called Llan-vair y Clywedogau. In

Wales there are proper descriptive

names for places. Welsh is phonetic and

once you know the rules easy to pro-

nounce. So Llanfair is pronounced

‘Llanvair’ and Ffarmers, the village be-

low us in the valley next door is pro-

nounced ‘Farmers’. The spelling of

Llanfair with a V in earlier times shows

how quickly and easily the rules of both

spelling and pronunciation can be

ditched in favour of others.

Those were the days when the

wealthy discovered West Wales and the

Aeron Valley. When ugly, artistic Nash,

fleeing after his divorce came to Car-

from the bottom our serialization of annie may’s vivid tale of coming to

farm in west wales begins this month

PART 1: THE VALLEY

old school agriculture in wales, circa 1960

8

-marthen and built the lovely town hall

and many other heavenly houses: Aber-

glasney and Llanerchaeron have both

been restored, but there are still many

others that have now fallen into decay

with no hope of resuscitation because of

cost, regulations or lethargy. The Teifi

valley is lined with the gorgeous man-

sions and the more sober but well ap-

pointed houses of the merchant classes.

Towns sprang up to prosper in the

new age of commercialism and travel.

Aberaeron still retains its sedate Georgian

aspect. At the beginning of the nineteenth

century Alban Jones Lewis Gwynn,

squire of Ty Glyn, had a dream of export-

ing the butter and cheeses of the lush

Aeron Valley and importing wine from

France, hams from Spain, timber from the

Baltic and household items form Bristol.

The roads were too rough and narrow to

allow for good trade and so Aberaeron

came into being. Those pretty pastel

houses are largely the creation of Alban

Jones Lewis Gwynne and it succeeded

wonderfully. It is, as he designed it, a

dignified little town on the coast. Part of

the success of the town is that Gwynne

paid good wages which attracted excel-

lent workers: shipwrights from Aberyst-

wyth and Aberarth, the blacksmith with

the wonderful name of Thomas ‘y go’,

who worked beside the river which was

eventually diverted to flow directly into

the sea. At its mouth the picturesque

quays built by the stone mason William

Green from Aberystwtyh soon took

shape. Today they are lined with rather

nice eating places.

Whatever has happened to Wales,

there are still parts that have retained their

agricultural history. But rural Wales is

not wealthy enough to have local muse-

ums everywhere, so what is left are stone

field boundaries and old lines of relation-

ship. That is to say people still know who

is related to whom, unto the tenth genera-

tion sometimes. Don’t bad mouth a

Welshman, you’ll be taking to his rela-

tive, sure as eggs! continues next month

MUSIC

are these the right chords for house of the

rising sun?

From Captain Beefheart's Ten Com-

mandments For Guitarists:

1. LISTEN TO THE BIRDS... That’s

where all the music comes from. Birds

know everything about how it should

sound and where that sound should

come from. And watch hummingbirds.

They fly really fast, but a lot of times

they aren’t going anywhere. 2. YOUR

GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUI-

TAR... Your guitar is a divining rod.

Use it to find spirits in the other world

and bring them over. A guitar is also a

fishing rod. If you’re good, you'll land a

big one. 3. PRACTICE IN FRONT OF

A BUSH... Wait until the moon is out,

then go outside, eat a multi-grained

bread and play your guitar to a bush. If

the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece

of bread. 5. IF YOU'RE GUILTY OF

THINKING, YOU'RE OUT... If your

brain is part of the process, you’re miss-

ing it. You should play like a drowning

man, struggling to reach shore. If you

can trap that feeling, then you have

something that is fur bearing. 9. KEEP

YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK

PLACE...When you’re not playing your

guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark

place. If you don’t play your guitar for

more than a day, be sure to put a saucer

of water in with it. 10. YOU GOTTA

HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR EN-

GINE... Wear a hat when you play and

keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure

cooker. If you have a roof on your house

the hot air can’t escape ...

don van fleet

Mae’ r Clwb Castenet a reolir gan y gymuned, yn cynnal digwyddiadau misol yn Neuadd Fictoria, gydag amrywiaeth

eang o gerddoriaeth, gan gynnwys jazz, gwerin, y felan a cherddoriaeth fyd. Mae rhaglen y clwb yn cynnwys bandiau ac

unigolion lleol a chenedlaethol. Y dyddiad nesaf yw 28 Gorffennaf, rydym

yn croesawi LYNNE DENMAN A FFRINDIAU.

The community run Castanet Club holds monthly events at Victoria Hall, featuring music from many genres, including Jazz, Folk, World and Blues. The programme will feature both local and national acts,

the next date for your diary being 28 July when the guest performers will be LYNNE DENMAN AND FRIENDS with

their traditional Welsh folk music.

my observations of this culture reinforce my belief that people everywhere share certain basic characteristics in that they are base, vulgar, crude, stupid and

totally without redeeming merit...

9

John Elwyn paintings 1970–1995

ORIEL LLAREGYB GALLERY August 2–November 30 High St Llaregyb, Ceredigion

HEALTH NOTES AMAZING LYFE, a not-for-profit company operating in the Wirral and West Wales, specialis-

es in holistic tools for recovery and wellbeing, with particular interest in supporting people who

are in recovery from loss, trauma, abuse, neglect, addiction or mental health issues, or who may

be suffering from stress, anxiety or overwork.

They offer private sessions, workshops and day retreats, and also run weekend retreats on

their organic farm in Wales, providing ‘art and mindfulness-based’ therapeutic retreats with an

intensive three days of ‘sharing tools for health and well being’.

AL describes its mission as one of working therapeutically using psychological tools within

the context of nature, art and spirituality to bring about healing, growth and transformation. Its

‘Be the Change Day’ events happen in various venues in Wales and Cheshire, including Cellan’s

Millenium Hall. A support group is planned for Lampeter. Amazing Lyfe is also involved with

Transition Town Kirby. Learn more at www.amazinglyfe.com

hip o’crates

buy local !

assume the transition position

Transition Llambed has been around for more than 5 years now.

It has a database of 450 interested people from in and around the

town. It is part of a national and international network of Transi-

tion Towns (see www.transitionnetwork.org).

To some, Transition Llambed has become part of the fabric

of Lampeter. Others have come and gone for different reasons.

Some remain unsure and even sceptical of what it is all about.

In its simplest terms, Transition Llambed is about preparing

for a future that is uncertain. We cannot do much about the

changes taking place globally, but we can anticipate likely fu-

ture scenarios and work collectively to make the best of changes

linked to climate change (for example higher food prices) and

the increasing cost of fossil fuels as population increases create

increased demands for this limited resource. Some think this far-

fetched – but an increasing number recognise that the infor-

mation available all points towards uncertain times ahead. The

debate is only about when, not about if. Transition Llambed is a

positive response to dealing with these changes. Simply put, it is

about us relying on each other and our local assets – from food

production to supplying our energy needs locally; from re-

ducing, re-using and re-cycling to re-skilling. It is about helping

create a community that is resilient to the changes that are com-

ing – and having a good time in the process.

Lampeter is a market town. This is a great place to start

when we consider the future. A respected author and ethicist,

Anna Lappe, has said ‘Every time you spend money, you are

casting a vote for the type of world you want.’ Transition

Llambed says spend your money LOCALLY and support your

local businesses, because we want our part of the world to be a

vibrant, resilient community. Lampeter is not a rich area, so it is

even more important to keep the wealth that we have circulating

within our community. Where do you choose to buy your food?

Do you buy meat from Jones the Butcher, who displays the

names of the local farms from which his produce comes, or a

supermarket where the meat could come almost anywhere on the

planet via a warehouse in Yorkshire? Do you choose to spend

your money on produce that has come 10 miles or 10,000 miles?

Local markets supplying local food, or...? If we can start creat-

ing a demand for more local food we can create more jobs and

wealth in satisfying that demand. The decisions we make when

we consume are really important.

Transition Llambed meets on the third Thursday of every

month for a ‘Big Gathering’ in the Victoria Hall – the acquisi-

tion of which is a Transition Llambed project via its Develop-

ment Trust. Various groups have formed or are forming that

contribute to Lampeter becoming more self-reliant and self-

sustaining. Some groups have been formed – Health and Well-

being, Events, Newsletter (the Grapevine), Victoria Hall – and

welcome new members. The following are in the process of

forming and are key to us having an impact: Transport, Food,

Energy. There is room for more if you are inspired to start one.

A local ‘Energy Descent Plan’ has been produced with the

help of a Regional Development Plan grant, and is available free

to those interested.

Call 07891632614 or ontact transitionllambed@gmail.com

if you need more information or have any questions.

The next Big Gathering is on Thursday 19 July – see you

there. Come along and make a difference!

gary thorogood with thanks to linda winn

Young at

Heart

Tea, sandwiches and social for Lampeter’ s wiser folk

Victoria Hall ,Bryn Road

1.30pm till 4.30pm Wednesday 25 July

Sponsored by Teifi Terrace &

Kingsmead

10

OBTAINABLE SUSTAINABLES

wood pellet heating WOOD IS A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY because the carbon dioxide

emitted when the wood is burned has been taken out of the atmosphere by the growing

plant. Being a source of renewable energy, wood pellets are exempt from the Climate

Change Levy. Even allowing for emissions of fossil carbon dioxide in planting, har-

vesting, processing and transporting the fuel, replacing fossil fuel with wood fuel will

typically reduce net CO2 emissions by over 90%.

This applies to all forms of wood fuel, including wood pellets, which are usually

made of highly compressed waste sawdust. The use of wood pellets for heating is well

established in countries such as North America, Sweden, Austria and Denmark. Work

on the development of a UK market started in 1999 with the assistance of an EU fund-

ed project ‘Introducing Wood Pellet Fuel to the UK’. The project helped to establish a

number of sources of UK manufactured wood pellets and saw the installation of the

first wood pellet-fired appliances.

There is now an emerging pellet industry in the UK with pockets of activity in a

number of regions. Pellets are now produced in the UK by Welsh Biofuels in South

Wales, Premier Waste in Durham and on a smaller scale, by Renewable Heat and

Power Ltd in Devon. A number of European and North American manufacturers are

also willing to export pellets in bulk to the UK.

Brands of Swedish, Danish and Austrian pellet fired boilers and several makes of

pellet stove from Europe and North America are now available in the UK. There are

currently two UK manufacturers of wood pellet boilers based in Suffolk and Stafford-

shire respectively.

the details Wood pellets can be used to produce heat in a spe-

cially designed stove or boiler. In addition, some

existing solid fuel and oil boilers can be converted to

make use of wood pellets.

Pellets are mostly manufactured from waste

products from sawmills and other wood processing

industries. The materials used, include ground

woodchips, sawdust and bark. No chemical additives

are needed, the natural lignin of the wood itself serv-

ing as a binder, although sometimes small quantities

of maize starch are added.

Premium grade wood pellets are UK manufactured pellets produced from pure

wood with no contaminants like plywood or chipboard glues. They are produced in the

UK under a voluntary code of practice. Other countries have their own standards for

the production of wood pellets, some of them compulsory. It is anticipated that there

will be a Europe-wide standard for the production of wood pellets by 2005.

Due to their low moisture content (about 6–10%) pellets have a high energy con-

tent, similar to high quality coal. Only minor energy losses are experienced due to the

need to burn off the moisture content.

Being manufactured to a consistent size (usually about 2cm long with a diameter

of 6–8mm for domestic heating), low moisture content and high density means that

wood pellets can be used in automatic clean-burn heating appliances. It also means

that the boiler response time is fast and the technology is controllable without increas-

ing the load on the environment. This and the fact that they are clean and easy to han-

dle make them particularly suitable for domestic use. Being compressed also means

that they take up less space than other forms of wood fuel.

Pellets have the following advantages over other types of wood fuel: less volume

to transport and store (due to higher energy density); fewer deliveries; consistent size

and moisture content; versatility–can be used in stoves and

boilers; less ash and emissions; they are dry and can be

stored without degrading; they flow like liquid and can be

used in automatic machinery; they are easier to handle and

easier to ignite.

Further info from: British BioGen Code of Good Prac-

tice for Biofuel Pellets and Pellet Burning Roomheaters

<15kW: www.britishbiogen.co.uk/bioenergy/pellets/

cogp.htm

Cornwell Heat

wood pellet stoves and boilers

Bells Lane, Hawstead, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5NW.

01284 386447

cornwellheatltd@btopenworld.com

wood pellet storage

silos

MAFA I ÄNGELHOLM AB

Fratidsgatan 3, S.262 73 ÄNGLEHOLM,

Sweden

Tel: 0046 431 881 40

e-mail: mafa@mafa.se

website: www.mafa.se a pellet boiler

Pellet

Stoves from wood energy ltd

they’re hot stuff

info@woodenergyltd.co.uk

11

Lampeter Farmers Market Market Street, Lampeter

9.00am – 2.00pm

Fridays

July 13th & 27

th

August 10th & 24

th

12

FOOD & DRINK

lampeter food festival

2012

Renowned TV chef Dudley Newbery will be

cooking at and participating in this year’s

Lampeter Food Festival (Saturday 28 July on

the Trinity St David’s campus) as part of the

S4C series Dudley ar Daith (‘Dudley on

Tour’) , meeting local producers, following

their preparations and highlighting their appe-

tising results.

‘We need to keep reminding people what

is available on their doorstep,’ says Dudley.

‘It’s not always the quickest and easiest op-

tion, but buying from local producers is some-

thing we all need to try and do, and something

I am very passionate about promoting,’ – as

are Transition Llambed, who are holding a

market and craft fair alongside the festival.

The number and variety of stalls at the

festival is truly mouthwatering. Ura’s street

food stall will be worth a visit for their kati

rolls and samosas. And on the drinks side,

more than one stall will have perry on offer –

a bevvy which is having a bit of a revival.

Beyond food and drink there are craft stalls,

kid’s activities, music from the Hittites, and

Lampeter Youth Theatre will be giving a per-

formance of their new adaptation of Lewis

Carroll’s ‘Alice’ stories: jam tarts, anyone?

Food festivals have come to the fore in

recent years, none more so than Lampeter’s

own, and the range and quality of local pro-

duce available promises to be better than ever,

so make a date for July twenty-eight. TV pres-

nter Sara Edwards opens proceeedings at 11

a.m. genuine dud – dudley newbury

visits this year’s food fest

serving...

playing...

mouthwatering...

cooking...