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november 2012
GRAPEVINE digwyddiadau, newyddion a barn llambed bob mis / lampeter’s events, news and views monthly
AUDITIONING FOR THE X FACTOR IN THE 1860S on the beach at aberaeron, augustus welby cowell (right) and some superannuated old git from the dancehall circuit weigh up the contenders before eating them alive . thank goodness we’ve come a long way since then
EATING OUT also this month: arriva answers its critics / how sustainable is transition llambed? / more from the bottom / nine meals from anarchy?
GRAPEVINE no. 4, November 2012 c/o 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 email: transitionllambed@gmail.com Printed by TSD reprographics, Lampeter, on paper from sustainable resources editor: Andy Soutter distribution: Gro-Mette Gulbrandsen design & page makeup: Captain Cat To list your event, submit an article or ad, or make an enquiry, email lampetergrapevine@gmail.com, with the appropriate subject line (‘listings’, ‘article’, ‘ad’ or ‘enquiry’). 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 20 words £2; up to 40 words £4. copy date: December issue: 16 November. We prefer electronic files, and email for communications. circulation: 1,500 copies distributed free in the Lampeter area. book Victoria Hall: admin@vichall.org.uk phone/text 07891 632614. book a People’s Market stall: email rhydygwinfarm@talktalk.net or ring 01570 471432.
what’s going on these listings are free. send details of your event to lampetergrapevine@gmail.com
movies Woman in a Dressing Gown (12) Anthony Quinn. 9 November, Cellan Millennium Hall. Doors open 7.15, programme 7.45. Admission by donation, £2.00. Men in Black (PG) Will Smith. 30 November, Cellan Millennium Hall. Doors open 7.15, programme 7.45. Admission by donation, £2.00.
music Dominant Quartet, string quartet. Sunday 4 November, 7.30pm. Old Hall, University of Wales Trinity St David, Lampeter Campus. Tickets at door: £9, concessions £7.50, two children free, students free. Info Lampeter Music Club, 01570 422436; www.lampetermusic.co.uk Timothy Orpen & Alison Farr, clarinet & piano. Sunday 25 November, 2.30pm. Arts Hall, University of Wales Trinity St David, Lampeter Campus. Tickets at door: £9, concessions £7.50, two children free, students free. Info Lampeter Music Club, 01570 422436; www.lampetermusic.co.uk
move your body Folk dancing. Every Wednesday, 8–10pm Talsarn Village Hall. Everybody welcome (incl. musicians). No partner or experience needed. £1.50 incl. refreshments. 01974 272098. Flamenco Dance. Tuesday evenings 6–7.15 with Dixey Ruscelli. Men and women from 15 yrs welcome at Sally Saunders Dance Academy, Lampeter Industrial Estate, Tregaron Rd (next to Organic Fresh Food Store). Tel 01570 493138 or email dixeyart@gmail.com for information. Also at Aberystwyth Arts Centre with live flamenco guitarist. Beginners/intermediate men and women from 15 yrs. Wednesday evenings 6– 7.30. Tel. as above. Please bring strong/ chunky heeled shoes. Cerddwyr Ramblers. Lampeter group organises a variety of weekly walks throughout the year. Anyone interested in walking with the group is warmly welcomed to join. A walking programme is available from the Town Library or from James (01570 480743).
NEW CLASSES IN CRUGYBAR VILLAGE HALL Tuesday 7.30–8.30pm Belly Dance, £3.00. Thursday 7–8.30pm Beginner Yoga, £5.00. Call 01558 685 321 or email for more information: elenamgilliatt @hotmail.com
Belly dance & Belly fit. Shiloh Church Hall (next to the police station on the High Street). All fitness levels welcome. Mondays. Belly Dance 1.30–2.45 (all ages). Belly Fit 3.00– 4.00 (over 50s). Line Dancing Mondays 7–10pm, Cellan Millennium Hall. Info
www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk
storytelling Storytelling evening. Friendly, informal
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group meets every third Monday per calendar month in Cellan. Next meeting Monday 19 November, 7–9.30pm. Theme: ‘Stories From Around the World’. Croeso i bawb / All welcome. For details please contact rachauck@yahoo.co.uk
photography Lampeter Photography meets the first and third Friday of the month at 7.30pm in the Kings Head, Lampeter. Monthly competitions, exhibitions and workshops. All welcome. FREE. Details from: lampeterphotography@yahoo.co.uk, or call Stef Faloon on 07958772035.
complementary and alternative therapists Charlotte Allen, RSHom. Homeopath. Llanfair Clinic, Bridge Street, Lampeter. 01570493746. Joanne Camlin, BSc WSHom: Homoeopathy: a complete system of medicine that treats mental, emotional and physical illness, and can be used by everyone, including babies and children. Bridge St. Clinic, Lampeter. 01570421480, mornings. Cathy Crick Stanton, IYN, AIYP, CNHC,– Yoga teacher/therapist and Brennan Scientific Healer, fully qualified and insured to work within the energy field for healing and selffulfilment. Tel: 01570421144, mob. 07748031614, email: cathycrick@hotmail.co.uk Mindfulness-based approaches. Courses, workshops and one-to-one coaching Stress, anxiety management, promoting health and wellbeing. Please contact Dr Colette Power 07890 835 873. colette@mindfulnesscourse.co.uk www.mindfulnesscourse.co.uk
meditation Meditation in Ffarmers. Mondays, 7.30– 8.30pm. Neuadd Bro Fana / Ffarmers Village Hall, Ffarmers, Llanwrda, Carms, SA19 8JL. The extension at Neuadd Bro Fana is available for an hour’s silent meditation. The doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start. Hot drinks available. Bring whatever you need to sit comfortably. Further info from Andrew, andrew@roberts.net or 01558 650472. Myfyrdod yn Ffarmers. Nos Lun (yn cychwyn ar Fedi 17eg 2012) o 7.30 hyd 8.30. Neuadd Bro Fana, Ffarmers, SA19 8JL. Bydd ‘Yr Haulfan’ ar gael am awr o fyfyrdod tawel. Bydd y drysau yn agored am 7.00 ar gyfer cychwyn yn brydlon am 7.30. Bydd diod twym ar gael. Dewch a beth bynnag y mynnoch ar gyfer eistedd yn gyfforddus. Am ragor o wybodaeth, neu os oes gennych unrhyw gwestiynau, cysylltwch ag Andrew ar andrew@roberts.net neu 01558 650472.
religious services and groups Lampeter Parish St Peter’s Church, Lampeter. Main Sunday Service: 11.00am (bilingual). Other services: 8am Holy Communion (English). 9.30am Cymun Bendigaid (trydydd Sul yn y mis yn unig, Cymraeg). St Cybi’s Church, Llangybi. Main Sunday Service: 9.00am (bilingual). St Bledrws’ Church, Betws Bledrws. Main Sunday Service: 10.45am (English or bilingual). St Sulien’s Church, Silian. Main Sunday Service: 2.00pm (blingual or Cymraeg). St Mary’s Church, Maestir. Main Sunday Service: 2.30pm (second Sunday in the month only, English). Times apply to the first four Sundays in each month. For the few fifth Sundays there will be a single United Parish Service at 10am: the location will be published in the local newspapers. St Peter’s Church Hall in Lampeter is available for hire at £8.50 per hour. The hire charge includes use of the kitchen facilities. For enquiries or bookings contact Beryl on 01570 422 324. For more information visit: www.lampeterparish.org/ Monthly Hunger Lunch in support of Christian Aid Food Project, St Peter’s Church Hall, Lampeter, Friday 2 November, 12.00–1.30pm. Phone 01570 422 324 for further details. There is no fixed fee for this two course lunch but all donations received go to the Christian Aid Food Project. A warm welcome to all. Winter Fair, Saturday 17 November, St Peter’s Church, 10.00am–12.00. Entry by donation, complimentary drink and cake. Kids’ games & prizes, raffle, cakes & produce stall, lucky dip, bricabrac. A warm welcome to all. Raffle. St Peter’s Church will be selling raffle tickets around Lampeter during November as part of a fundraising effort for a new church sound system which will cost almost £5,000. Tickets will also be on sale at our Winter Fair (see above) and at our stall at the UWTSD Christmas Fair on Saturday 24 November, where the prizewinners will be drawn.
St James’ Hall, Cwmann, Lampeter 10.30am–3pm Wednesdays The hall has disabled access and toilet, and a free car park 11am Qi Gong-gentle exercise 12 noon lunch 1pm workshop Only £2.50 a session, pay on the day, no membership fee or advance fee to pay, drop in when you please. Come and see if you like our group. New members always welcome. £2.50 includes vegetarian lunch and all activities More details: 01570 423167 / 01545 590391
Hanes Llambed Meetings start at 7.30pm in the Old Hall of the University.
Tuesday 20 November Selwyn Walters: From Lampeter to Salonika: Nurse Ella Richards VAD (1887–1918)
Lampeter Farmers Market Market Street, Lampeter 9.00am – 2.00pm alternate Fridays next markets: 2nd & 16th November
Seventh Day Adventists meet fortnightly on Saturdays at Cellan Millennium Hall, 10.15– 3.15. More details: www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk Lampeter Evangelical Church meets every Sunday at Victoria Hall, 10am–7pm. Contact Gareth Jones at The Mustard Seed. Tel. 01570 423344 Lampeter Roman Catholic Church. Sunday mass is at 10am. An introduction to Buddhism group with Steph Jacques. 2nd Thursday of the month, 7 –9pm, Victoria Hall, Bryn Road, Lampeter. Info 01570 422273.
CELLAN MILLENNIUM HALL CLASSES AND GROUPS
Women’s Workshop
Classes subject to change: please see www.cellanmillenniumhall.co.uk for updates, contact details and the film page for up and coming movies MONDAY Quilting (NEW VENUE: info 01570422066) 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 Yoga 5.30–7pm 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 Portraiture in Oils 12-3pm twice monthly from 4 October to 31 January with Sarah Spencer. Details and dates School of Education and Lifelong Learning 01970 621580 FRIDAY Art Group 10–12.00am Film Night fortnightly 7.15pm SATURDAY Seventh Day Adventists fortnightly 10.15am–3.15 SUNDAY Zumba 5pm-6pm with Julie Lancaster details 01570 470542
friday movies Nov. 9 “Woman in a Dressing Gown” (12) Anthony Quinn Nov. 30 “Men In Black 3” (PG) Will Smith (We’ll be back in February 2013) DOORS OPEN 7.15. PROGRAMME BEGINS 7.45. ADMISSION BY DONATION £2.00
BIG SCREEN & DIGITAL THEATRE SOUND WWW.CELLANMILLENNIUMHALL.CO.UK
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ARRIVADERCI II on what’s left of the buses & what might be done about it
After disdaining to comment on our report on the company’s drastic (and consultation-free) reorganisation of their routes and timetables along with significant fare increases – in particular their action in cutting off Cribyn, Pencarreg and surrounding areas from the X40 route which has led to widespread local discontent – Arriva have finally seen fit to reply to Alex Tanner’s piece in the July/ August issue of the Grapevine, where we first raised this issue. Their initial refusal to comment was because, according to their spokesperson, it was an ‘opinion-based’ piece, which seems a rather mysterious attitude to take, especially as our reporter’s take on the situation was based on delineated facts. We print their reply as follows, and don’t hold your breath:
a rarely seen X40 pulls up to the joy of those who have waited several centuries for it . doubtless arriva will take this tiny handful of people as an example of falling passenger numbers
As you are no doubt aware, from Sunday 23rd September 2012, changes have be made to some services operating in Aberystwyth. There has been some timetable changes to service 50, with some early morning and evening journeys withdrawn. The Sunday service will also no longer operate. From 26th October the 23:20 Aberystwyth to New Quay journey will be withdrawn. These changes have been made as a result of falling passenger numbers and the current economic climate. Although changes to services in the area have been necessary due to rising costs and falling passenger numbers, Arriva Buses Wales is working hard to provide the best service possible in Aberystwyth area. As with all our services, we will continue to monitor and review on a regular basis.
months. In Llanybydder they no longer have a bus stop due to the re -routing of the Arriva service. On 2 March 2012 a heavily pregnant woman was taking a 3 year-old to school; she waited in Llanybydder for the 20 service due at 12.34. It arrived just after the 13.04 40 service. There have been occasions when a service has left early, perhaps due to a driver worried about not being able to stick to the schedule. On 20 March a young child was waiting with five others for the 17.12 Lampeter–Aberystwyth service; the bus left for Aberystwyth at 17.55, almost 45 minutes late. Arriva does not seem to understand the clear necessity for a well organised, fully functioning bus service. After their shocking decision to change the popular X40 service to three different routes which were service 10 which operates Aberystwyth to Carmarthen and Swansea, service 10 operates one journey on Friday and Sunday during term times only; service 20, which operates Aberystwyth to Carmarthen and Cardiff, makes two journeys Monday to Saturday and one journey on a Sunday. The 40 goes from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen every hour Monday to Saturday with an extra three journeys on a Sunday. The X41 was replaced by the 41 which operates from Llynyfran Surgery to Carmarthen with five journeys per day, Monday to Saturday and none on Sunday. The people that faced the dramatic loss of service or the depressing prospect of having their bus times changed now rely on the Bwcabus service. This requires people to book their bus journeys in advance. It has been widely criticised for being unreliable and a ‘waste of Government resources’. How can members of our local community be expected to book their journeys in advance should these become necessary at the last minute for an emergency trip to the doctor or to do a small trip into town for food? Many are unable to maintain parts of their lifestyle without this resource, but people rely on Bwcabus only because of the lack of regular bus services. Although it is more expensive than a regular bus, it is better than the alternative of hitch-hiking, car sharing or missing an important appointment. Travelling up to 4 miles via Bwcabus – from Llangybi to Lampeter for example – costs £1.85 for an adult single and £1.25 for a child, with returns costing £3.25 for adults and £2.10 for children. Travelling 8 miles with this service costs £2.35 for an adult single, £4.10 for a return, £1.55 for a child single and £2.70 for a return. (A small advantage of the Bwcabus is the twelve-journey ticket that they offer. This allows the ticket holder to make twelve journeys without having to buy a new ticket with each trip.) The decisions made by the goverment and the bus companies continue to degrade our local community. Our communities rely on car shares, dangerous hitch hiking or the far-from-ideal Bwcabus. This is a far cry from the popular services that Arriva used to provide.
Readers may notice the words ‘monitor’ and ‘review’, but will not find the word ‘consult’. The word ’insult’ may start to form in their mind, however, and they might be forgiven for concluding that this statement is utterly vacuous apart from announcing further cuts to services, and does nothing to address the issues and concerns that have been raised. Readers might feel that there’s a significant lack of respect operating here rather than a realistic bus service. Grapevine also understands that earlier this year a petition was raised to the Welsh Government (see their website) calling for the restoration of the discontinued services, but that this only garnered a small handful of signatures and has now been closed. It would seem that the petition was not sufficiently publicised, and that a better organised one might raise hundreds of signatures instead of less than fifty. Anyone up for it? And perhaps there are other ways forward worth exploring. Let us know. Meanwhile, Natalie Dearden-Cooke reports below on the current state of affairs. Sorry, Arriva, but she too has an opinion: Recent months have seen a dramatic decrease in the buses provided for rural areas in our community. It seems to many people living in rural areas that those government members who make these decisions regarding our buses do not think about the negative impact that their choices are having on local people. Passengers are being made late for work by the ever diminishing bus services, missing important appointments and other basic day to day activities. If they’re lucky, they might have a shelter during the harsh winter
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LETTERS letters, grapevine, victoria hall, bryn road, lampeter SA48 7EE email: lampetergrapevine@gmail.com be sure to hide the roaches ... Sir, I expect I’m not the only one who’s been looking at the Transition Network online. And I like what it had to say, particularly with regard to communication. http:// www.transitionnetwork.org/ingredients/ deepening/how-we-communicate For those without the internet It says: ‘For many, green campaigners can appear fanatical, naive, uninformed, smug, judgemental, patronising or offensive. So what is the most skilful way to get the message across? ... Work actively to avoid perceptions of being ‘hippy’ or excessively rooted in alternative culture; rather, ensure that the project remains as accessible to as wide a range of people as possible.’ I am anxious that we are in danger of disagreeing amongst ourselves as to our approach rather than understanding the people we are trying to reach. My world and work is farming and has been for nearly 40 years and Geoff and I have known Lampeter and its villages for over 50 years. We are organic farmers and alternative by inclination. For 25 years my paid employment was teaching at Lampeter University and my interests are literary and artistic. I know every aspect of Lampeter and love every bit of it and the people in it. It’s diverse, rich and entertaining in its wild originality. We’re lucky to live here. But to engage with each and every section of our community we are going to have to tone the Transition message down. It’s irritating to be preached to all the time, even I find it uncomfortable and I’ve been closely involved since the beginning. It wasn’t that
long ago that Lampeter was selling its local produce, using its local services and engaging in regular community activities that were both entertaining and functional. The town and its environs have had interlocking communities for 800 years. Aren’t we being just a little arrogant to dictate terms and think that we can teach the people of Lampeter anything new about sustainability or community? Except the threat of peak oil! This takes nothing away from all the people who have worked so hard to make the Victoria Hall and Transition succeed. I don’t think many people realise what very hard work it was to get the lease of the Hall in the first place and to keep the faith in the second place. There were four gruelling years of waiting, cajoling, fund raising, working and many a sleepless night for our benefit. My admiration knows no bounds for the Directors, Trustees and the many volunteers who have put their heart and soul into keeping the flame going and giving us such a fantastic resource. This may sound unfair since the whole thrust of Transition is of inclusiveness but it’s not such an easy thing to carry out. It’s not easy understanding other ways of thinking, other ways of being. We will have to tread sensitively and carefully. The Grapevine is a source of interest, entertainment and information and talks to all kinds and conditions. It keeps our eye on the ball. That is, when it’s not preaching! I would welcome comments on this letter. In the interests of group solidarity and mutual approval it’s time we aired our differences and celebrated the fact that we don’t all think or behave alike. Annie May Llanfair
there’s an editor’s sermon on this subject on page 6.
sing out! Annwyl Olygydd / Dear Editor Diolch i Dylan Lewis. Thanks for your response to my letter in the Grapevine. We need information and we need to communicate, which is why Transition Llambed decided to create a free newsletter for our area a channel where people could do just that. I suppose I knew about the Cwmann Male Voice Choir and should have mentioned that, but being female that is not an option for me and all the other females who would like to sing. I did not know about Corisma and am grateful for this information. Both choirs could be an inspiration and an attraction for some, and I hope we will be able to listen to them both in the not too distant future when we put on a Noson Lawen in Neuadd Fictoria, as we are planning to do. We are looking for talent, energy and enthusiasm for such an event, and badly need contacts among the local Welsh-speaking community. The Events Group at Transition Llambed has a dream of re-launching Victoria Hall with a Noson Lawen when it is refurbished. We would also love to see the hall being used for Eisteddfod Llambed, which is what it was built for more than a hundred years ago. Back to the singing idea. Both established choirs sound fantastic, but I assume you need a really good voice and some musical knowledge in order to be accepted as members. What I was thinking about when I wrote my letter was a mixed community choir, where enthusiasm and willingness would be more of an asset than a pure voice. I don’t feel that one should exclude the other, and do hope that we could all work together and create something that we can all be proud of. Thanks again, Gro-Mette Gulbrandsen Cellan
victoria hall: activities and classes bryn road, lampeter
Monday: 2pm till 3pm Herbalife weight watching session with Hazel Pugh. Tel: 07854 743291. 7pm till 9pm Wing Chun Kungfu. with Flo Hunt Tel: 07796 796259. Tuesday: till 8.30pm Zumba keep fit session with Julie Lancaster. Tel: 01570 470542. Wednesday: 11am till 1pm WEA Introduction to sewing machines, and 1pm till 3pm, Restyle your clothes with Hannah Cutler. Tel: 07773 500328. 1.30pm till 4.30pm, 14 and 28 November: Young at Heart. Tea and sandwiches for the wiser folk of Lampeter. Wednesday: 7pm till 8pm. Zumba keep fit session with Louise Evans. Tel: 07584 199372. Thursday: 10pm till 3pm Welsh classes with Meryl EvansTel: 01545 572715. 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 coordinate activities. Everyone welcome! Friday: 4.30pm till 6.30pm LYTss: Lampeter Youth Theatre and Stage School with Annie May. Tel: 01570 423077. 7pm till 9pm Five Rhythms Dancing with Irene Sullivan. Tel: 07737 739998. Saturday: 2pm till 4pm Boxersize. Body conditioning and toning 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. Plus cafe and other various attractions. Sunday: Lampeter Evangelical Church 10am till 7pm. Info: Gareth Jones at the Mustard Seed. Tel: 01570 423344. Sunday: 7pm till 9pm Lampeter Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Mike A. Banica. Tel: 07783 582081.
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HOW SUSTAINABLE IS TRANSITION LLAMBED? andy soutter gets preachy on the politics of inclusion It all seems so easy. You pick up the Transition Handbook written by our Glorious Leader and read page after page of glowing descriptions of how Britain’s first self-appointed ‘Transition Town’ has been such a success in so short a time, and it all seems so simple and straightforward. Yes, we’ll have a few packed meetings and it’ll only be a matter of time before the entire community is on board and exciting things are happening all over the place: solar panels on every roof in town, a local currency, vehicles running on recycled cooking oil, permaculture enterprises everywhere you look, and regular packed public meetings and film shows discussing the latest wizard schemes while volunteers fall over themselves to join this or that action group. Unfortunately, as people have been discovering in the course
Now, ‘Transition’ is basically just another green party dealing with a list of the usual suspects from pollution to climate change to fossil fuel issues and so on. And it has its particular take on the environment, one it has named ‘peak oil’. But what marks it out, beyond the fact that it’s a political party with no official leader, no offical membership, no subscription system and doesn’t put forward electoral candidates (and has some cute little logos), is that it seems to practise a politics of inclusion and diplomacy, and not the usual politics of confrontation between different interest groups. In true third-way, ‘big-tent’, allstakeholders-together style it seeks to get all sections of the community on board to support its vision and its projects. Perhaps this can succeed without too much sweat in a town like Lewes or Norwich, where you have a pretty homogeneous population to get to pull together; or an inner city domain like Brixton where you have a pretty cosmopolitan bunch of inhabitants open to new ideas. But not here, Jack. Here in Lampeter, although, like Totnes, it’s a British market town with a higher education establishment attached and has prevailing southwesterly winds and plenty of sheep and cattle, the resemblance ends there and the situation couldn’t be more different. The population is smaller, not as wealthy, has no long tradition of radical approaches to environment and community, and certainly has no useful billionaires about to sink their wealth into such causes. This population, as well as being generally conservative in outlook, is also divided along lines of nationality, and the only radical movement to have had any recent success in these parts has been Welsh nationalism. As those who have been working for Transition Llambed from the off some five years ago will tell you, it’s been hard graft, and TL hasn’t made nearly as much progress as it might have wished for. Put simply: unlike other ‘transition towns’, Lampeter doesn’t have the kind of support it would like from the locals, be they English or Welsh, but particularly not from the latter – i.e. the majority. That, I’m told, is currently TL’s biggest headache. Things are indeed happening, but not enough things and not sufficiently quickly. Many still have a great deal of distrust for what is perceived as a club for middle-class English hippies with socialist leanings, and this presents more than a minor stumbling block. Why has it been so hard for TL to get locals onside? One view, expressed elsewhere in this issue (see Letters, p. 5), is that TL tends to preach, and that these sermons are also pretty gloomy ones. And maybe there’s another factor of equal if not greater significance: that TL is simply not practising the politics of inclusion with sufficient commitment. For example: when we sometimes greet newcomers to the monthly meeting by inviting them into a circle to hold hands
not lampeter of Transition Llambed’s 5 years as a ‘Transition Town’, it’s not that simple. Totnes, the Devon town in question in the above paragraph, was a transition town long, long before the phrase was even invented, and first set off down that road way back in the 1920s. When Mr Hopkins eventually showed up down there he found that he was preaching to the converted. The story of how a couple of visionary millionaires revived a moribund rural community is a long and interesting one for which there’s no space in this little piece, but suffice to say that because of Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst’s efforts in the Dartington/Totnes area, that part of the planet has been cooking up recipes for radical and sustainable life-ways for the best part of a century now. You might call it the home of British environmentalism. Which is why the transition thing seems to have taken off so effortlessly there. In Totnes it was simply a matter of branding what already existed: give it a logo, give it a flag that people can salute, and Rob’s your uncle.
not dartington hall 6
while everybody introduces themselves in turn, this is emphatically not inclusive behaviour. On the contrary, it is exclusive behaviour, a practice belonging to one segment of the wider community, being foisted on the rest. And to many people it’s just – there’s no polite way to say this – touchy-feely new age hippy nonsense. It’s a sure way of turning people right off as soon as they arrive and before they’ve had the chance to even sit down. This is something that at least seems to have been recognised by the transition network at large (again, see Letters to the ed.). I appreciate that what I’m referring to has been a spontaneous act of good faith, and I applaud it for this. But it appears to point to the fact that at TL’s monthly meetings there has been, at least in this writer’s limited experience of them, a lack of any thought out and agreed protocol for making interested newcomers feel welcome and comfortable. At the moment such people find themselves in a badly lit hall, possibly unsure of who to approach, and obliged to wander around and peer through the
gloom to discover who is doing what at which table. And the refreshments situation is inconsistent: will there be tea, milk, snacks? Possibly. Will they be clearly offered to people? Maybe. Has anyone taken responsibility for ensuring that nibbles and bevvies are available and of good quality? I suspect not. It’s all a bit half-hearted. It may be time to instigate some kind of regular procedure for kicking off the monthly meeting and making sure folks feel as comfortable as possible, with procedures that absolutely everyone feels at home with. We might take a leaf out of the Chamber of Trade’s book on this one: a comfortable and well-lit environment, newcomers/visitors introduced in a universally recognised and unintimidating manner, and yes, lots of tasty sandwiches. Perhaps it’s time for a Big Think about this and other areas where we may be unwittingly turning off the wider community (how we choose to name certain TL projects, for example), otherwise TL risks becoming unsustainable. Here endeth the lesson.
FUNGUS FORAY COEDWIG GYMUNEDOL LONGWOOD COMMUNITY WOODLAND
will be holding a Fungus Foray on Sunday 4th November. This will be led by Penny David starting at 11.00am from the woodland car park off the Llanfair Clydogau–Lampeter road. All are welcome. Free of charge .Warm clothing and suitable footwear advisable.
On 24 November, Lampeter’s late night shopping evening, Clwb Castanet Club jointly with the Kings Head pub invites you to an open mike with local performers and a bar. It will be a benefit for Ty Hafan and we appeal to local performers to contact the Grapevine if they are interested in performing or assisting. It would be nice to have a lantern procession from High Street to Victoria Hall where the event will take place. Help us make it happen! 7
eating out in lampeter griselde griedigaats reports on a new gourmet experience that may well put lamps on the foody map
The Rambling Pea has taken root for two days a week in the Town Hall Café to the delight of the diners at the inaugural evening on Saturday October 13. We have a truly home grown eating treat here. Local boy Tom Holden is now the resident chef at the Town Hall Café. Tom is very good indeed at what he can create from sourcing local produce: Gower mussels, Bryn Derw chicken, local sewin, Pembrokeshire potatoes, a selection of artisan Welsh cheeses and plenty of local fruit and vegetables, all superbly cooked and presented. The Rambling Pea, described as ‘Guerrilla Dining’, has been successfully operating for over a year now, giving us outstanding food in all kinds of venues and conditions from pig roasts to full scale wedding catering. Last night it was our turn to enjoy Tom’s creative skills. When I walked into the Town Hall cafe with my two bottles (it was our anniversary treat so we had a bottle of champers and a half bottle of Montbazillac to go with the pud) a wonderful atmosphere met me at the door. The tables sparkled with white napery, glass and silver, a there was loud happy buzz
of conversation and lovely cheery greetings from friends. This, I thought, is going to be just great. And it was. The food was unfussy but wonderfully cooked. I rather wish Geoff and I hadn’t been such inept food reporters; we chose the same starter. But neither of us was willing to give up the steamed Gower mussels. And what mussels they were! More than half the skill in serving up moules is the choosing of the shellfish and Tom is a master at this. I’ve never eaten such fat, succulent mussels cooked the classic way in garlic, white wine and parsley. My main course of simply prepared fillets of sewin, bream and sole with parsley and lemon and Pembrokeshire potatoes was enough to keep any ravenous farmer happy, but delicate enough with its fronds of crunchy, salty samphire to please a foody fusspot. Geoff had the venison Wellington, which I was a bit anxious about. Venison is not the easiest meat to work with, especially in pastry. But the neat, crisp parcel cut like butter and Geoff reported that the venison with its blackberry/spiced port juice and celeriac mash was a fabulous combination.
They brought us the Montbazillac with the dessert menu and once again we demonstrated our total ineptness as food critics by choosing the same one! But you can’t blame us because it was chocolate tart with chocolate sorbet and chocolate sauce. The tart was made with white chocolate which normally I hate so I was a bit disappointed to see it. But with the subtle addition of vanilla Tom had transformed that icky, sticky sweet white chocolate into a dream tart filling. By now I was beginning to flag; this was a very generous meal indeed, but Geoff, a true Cardi Farmer, polished off the whole meal with gusto. We’ll be going again and taking friends next time. The Rambling Pea will be serving dinner every Friday and Saturday for £25.00 a head and bring your own wine if you want although there is a small but good wine list at the Town Hall deli. To book ring 01570 421120, mobile: 07783806375 or find The Rambling Pea on Facebook and join the group. Website: www. http://www.holdenscatering.com/
operatic mussels pictured by spot scott
Ffarmers Market 3 November 10–12.30 Neuadd Bro Fana/Village Hall, Ffarmers
Llansawel Market 18th November 10–12.30 Llansawel Village Hall PEOPLE’S MARKET VICTORIA HALL, LAMPETER 10 NOVEMBER and 24 NOVEMBER 8
is lampeter ‘nine meals from anarchy’ ?
Is this a problem? It’s certainly convenient to do a ‘one stop shop’ and they tell us its cheap, but I remember my surprise when a local farmer told me he had stopped supplying carrots to the Co-op because he was going to have to pay to transport everything to a central distribution warehouse in England for sorting and packing, ready to be transported back to Wales. How can that be cheaper? Does it make sense to be so reliant on supermarkets when you stop and think it through? Particularly in a time when: ‘growers and farmers placed weather – alongside disease – at the top of their operating risks…and nearly all businesses believe extreme weather to be more frequent than it has been historically ... The majority of all those who participated believed the food chain is at risk of extreme weather’. Report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published this year (Evans, K. (2012) ‘Adapting to Climate Change in the Food Industry’. Food security is not just pondering the wisdom of relying on supermarkets, it’s also asking questions about what’s filling supermarket shelves. The answers are similarly concerning to me ... did you know that the levels of home produced vegetables reduced by 23% while imports increased by 51% over the last 20 years? That we only produce 10% of the fruit we eat? That we are only about 50% self-sufficient in vegetable production? I am really not happy with the idea of ‘easily disrupted just-in-time supermarket food supply lines, and a risky assumption that anything we need can easily be bought on global market, when in response to global shortages, governments around the world understandably choose to meet their domestic needs first’. Andrew Simms again. For all the reasons I have suggested and many more that there’s no space to go into now, I do what I can to not be reliant on the supermarkets. I grow some fruit and a few vegetables, buy direct from a smallholder around the corner, support the Peoples Market and our local independents whenever I can, as well as buying some things from the supermarkets. My feeling is that this is cheaper, as well as better for the environment and offers me more food security. I am going to try to keep a record of what I buy, where I buy it and where it comes from over the next few weeks to gather some facts and figures to support my feeling. Would anyone else be happy to have a go at recording the same sort of thing? Contact me or come to a Big Gathering on the third Thursday of the month to talk it through. linda.winn@hotmail.co.uk 01570 471717. Transition Llambed is also thinking about a new project – the ‘50 from 50 Campaign’ – to encourage people to eat more locally produced food. It sets the target to buy 50% of your food from producers within 50 miles of where you live. Eating more locally produced food is beneficial as it: cuts down on ‘food miles’ and the emissions involved in transporting food great distances; keeps more money in the local economy; creates more local jobs in food producing businesses; builds local self-reliance; increases food security. There are many food producers all around us – but it can be a problem to find them! To help with this ‘50 from 50’ is starting a pilot project to produce a directory of local food producers in the Lampeter area. More details about the campaign will be on the website: www.50from50.co.uk If you would like to get involved with the project follow the links on the website or contact Chris on: info@50from50.co.uk
linda winn on supermarket brinkmanship and a new local scheme to encourage us to buy locally produced food The phrase ‘nine meals from anarchy’ was coined in 2000 during the fuel protests, when at one stage only 5% of normal fuel deliveries were being made because of protestors blockades at oil refineries. Supermarkets began rationing food due to difficulties in getting food deliveries through and there were reports of panic buying. ‘Supermarket bosses sat with ministers and civil servants in Whitehall warning that there were just three days of food left. We were, in effect, nine meals from anarchy.’ Andrew Simms Guardian January 2010 Supermarkets operate a ‘just-in-time’ stocking principle – it gives them flexibility and responsiveness to changing local conditions – and it works a treat until something gets in the way of distributing and delivering ‘just-in-time’. Things like a shortage of fuel or the weather... I remember the 2007 floods in Tewkesbury: ‘Fresh water tankers and bottled supplies are struggling to get through to all the flooded areas and supermarkets have had a rash of panic buying with police being called in to control desperate crowds.’ And of course the supermarkets have to have something in their central warehouses to distribute to us. Over the last couple of weeks the poor harvests worldwide have been making the headlines again ‘The extreme weather has taken its toll on the amount of food produced and the quality of food and grain.’
shop locally, folks Poor harvests and extreme weather have always made the news, but there is an underlying pattern to notice and I am pondering again all the questions about where our food comes from ... this is apparently called ‘Food Security’ and The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing ‘when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life’. National statistics show that at the moment, for the majority of us, our food security rests with the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets – Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, who hold 75% of the market share of food bought in the UK, followed by the Co-op, Waitrose and Aldi with another 15%.
Lunar Market Saturday 3 November at Llanfair Clydogau Village Hall 10am–3pm Local produce and crafts car-booters welcome refreshments Tel. 07920063773 9
LOCAL FOOD
local cheese I did a very cursory trawl of the internet and a couple of food directories. You’ll find that we’ve got plenty to feed us in Ceredigion. If you look in Local Food Producers in Ceredigion you won’t get much and even less if you look for producers near Lampeter. And yet, we have local vegetables, local meat, local bakers, egg producers, mushroom and fungi growers and vineyards. There is no need to go out of your county for your cheeses. If you google ‘cheese makers Ceredigion’ you get this map and these cheese makers. For a little county that’s a lot of cheese makers and that’s not all of them; there’s also Teifi Cheeses, Caws Cenarth cheeses and Gorwydd (of Llanddewi Brefi) to name just three more.
no-one sent us any cheese as requested last month, so we sent hedda tschedde in search of some the people’s market, victoria hall, bryn road, lampeter. fortnightly saturdays A visit to the quaintly named ‘People’s Market’ – and no it’s not a slave market or a den of socialists but a rather nice place to buy local produce, sit and have a coffee or a spot of lunch with chums. Ferm Rhy y Gwyn offers high quality fruit, vegetables, flowers, jams and honey. Gary’s shitake logs offer you the satisfaction of being able to grow your own mushrooms and they’re very versatile – ask him! I’m going to give them as Christmas presents this year. There are wonderful artisan breads from a local baker and fabulous cakes, pies, quiches, cup cakes, welsh cakes and many other delicious home made items from the Gegin Pant Gwyn. The Gegin will be catering for LYTss at their children’s Christmas party. the organic fresh food company, tregaron road, lampeter. 01570 423099 Considering that the shop is located in an industrial estate it has a very warm welcoming atmosphere. The vegetables are of an excellent quality, much of it local, none of it flown in, and are displayed so attractively I found myself buying far more than I had intended! But more than that you can get a huge range of food and non-foods such as household detergents, soaps, shampoos, towels, scourers and cleaning cloths. If you are in search of organic produce in Lampeter, look no further.
Canolfan Gadwraeth Fferm Denmark Denmark Farm Conservation Centre Courses Autumn 2012 Wild In The Woods (ages 6-12) Tues 30 Oct: Give your children the freedom to learn in our lovely woodland where they can enjoy learning practical skills, meet new friends and have fun. Patchwork Quilts – 3 part course Wed 31 Oct & 28 Nov 10am–2pm: A three part workshop covering all aspects of patchwork quilting and providing the support to complete a beautiful and unique quilt by the end of the course. 3 monthly 4 hours sessions allowing participants time to complete tasks in between sessions. Come along and make the ultimate personal Christmas present for someone who you care for. Introduction to Permaculture Sat 3-Mon 5 Nov: Would you like to learn how to live more sustainably? Then look
A Merlin Cheeses (www.merlincheeses.co.uk) B Saputo Cheese UK Ltd C Caws Celtica (www.cawsceltica-farmhousecheese.co.uk) D Caws E Hafod F Carmarthenshire Cheese
no further than permaculture design for how to create an ecologically sound way of living. By observing natural systems and adopting ecological principles you will be able to care for people as well as the earth. A visit to a local permaculture site to see sustainable practices in action is included in the course fee. Natural Festive Crafts Sat 1 Dec: An inspiring and practical day with talented community artist Pod Clare. Pod will demonstrate a range of simple and effective projects to decorate your home during the festive period. Projects include embossed Christmas tree decorations, bramble wreaths, candle holders, larch cone stars and mini wooden trees using found and recycled materials. You can choose which projects you’d like to work on and take home whatever you make plus bags of ideas to keep on making. Make Your Own Herbal Cosmetics Sun 2 Dec: Spend an informative and enjoyable day with Christine Stephenson, Medical Herbalist learning how to make herbal cosmetic items such as herbal creams and bath products from plants
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that are easy to grow in your own garden in time for Christmas – making ideal Christmas gifts. All ingredients and utensils will be provided. The ingredients used will be of high quality, using natural ingredients, free from harsh chemicals and detergents. You will be able to take away with you four completed products. There will be some additional ingredients for sale on the day to take away and use at home.
For the full list of conservation, natural crafts and sustainable living courses, see our website www.denmarkfarm.org.uk or phone 01570 493358 Betws Bledrws, Lampeter SA48 8PB Cysylltu pobl Cysylltu pobl â byd natur Connecting people with nature
from the bottom continuing annie may’s engaging chronicles of coming to farm in west wales PART 4 HAY AND PHILOSOPHY There is no doubt that in many cases your occupation defines you. New projects and new ventures were what defined Geoff. When he lost it all he felt that he was nothing and his self-respect took a nose dive. But as so often, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Things that threaten your survival teach you valuable lessons if you want to learn them. As for me, I was beginning a new life of academic exploration after the most constricting and boring work I had ever done in my life. And any way I have never quite ‘got’ the notion of money in the sense that the more you have the better. I am still learning the material wisdom side of things. For us, the thing to do was to build our lives on solid foundations of friendship and community; something which we had been in danger of forgetting in the town. We had forgotten that towns were not our natural habitat. We sometimes miss stepping out of our front door and strolling up Bathurst Street to the Grand Theatre Swansea to see the
brought baskets of sandwiches and flasks tea up to Cae Mawr to feed the haymakers. By the evening the fields were full of people lending a hand. One heavenly afternoon with the light bouncing off the golden stubble, Dot had just finished driving the big tractor; Geoff, Arwyn and I and several others had been swinging the bales on to the big flatbed trailer (they were still making small bales at Llanfair Fawr in 1990); Timothy and Jonathan and I were sitting eating ice cream perched on the little Fergie tractor and as the men came up Dot doled out more ice cream from her insulated box. As dusk fell we came back to the farmhouse, hungry once more. We laid out cold ham, bread and butter and salad. Arwyn and Geoff brought in cans of lager and through the open window of the kitchen you could hear the laughter and talk of the people sitting eating and drinking on the little terrace outside as dusk fell.Gwyn Evans, Arwyn, and Tim’s father used to tell me of haymaking when he was a young man and the weather was bad. They had hors-
she’s been sitting there all day trying to get that thing into gear wonderful Welsh National Opera performing. I certainly miss dressing up and going out to dine in the Mumbles. Occasionally we miss evenings barbecuing in the little courtyard of our house near the beach surrounded by geraniums and scented herbs. But the closed in feel was uncomfortable. The streets were crowded and horizons felt limited. This is odd because towns offer bigger economic horizons and Swansea has vitality and a real buzz to it. Haymaking was easy that first year at Llanfair Fawr. I have never known a kinder, more reliable summer. Each day was hot and dry and lasted for ever; there were no anxious eyes cast to the sky. Dot and I
es to pull the trailers in those days and some of the cutting was still done by hand. Getting the hay in has to go on until everything is in and stacked. Methods were much slower and he remembered that all the surrounding farms would get together to do the work, just as they did at shearing time, or it would never have got done. Sometimes they worked all night and into the next day. I can’t remember whether he told me how they managed to see where the bales to be collected were in the dark though.* These days Geoff can be stacking our big wrapped silage bales until after midnight, but he’s got a big old tractor that can carry three bales at a time and has powerful lights to guide him. (cont. over)
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cont. from previous page On the other hand he does it alone once Richard Eadon has cut, rowed up and baled and David Astington has come and wrapped the big round bales in black plastic. Yet another thing that has changed radically to thin out the community spirit. With regard to the black plastic wrapped bales, we talk glibly about peak oil as if it was easy to make sure that we didn’t use oil based products; but we manage to feed our animals with more certainty now that we can make and store bales of silage in the fields. Storing this kind of long fodder would be difficult, expensive and potentially polluting without plastic wrapping. There are more people in the country to feed and no-one wants to work on the land, the pay is too paltry. Arable farming relies on mechanisation to an even greater extent than livestock farming. I leave it to you work out the ramifications of the ethics of meat eating versus vegetarianism and subsequent social and economic difficulties of feeding a vast population without importing our important staples. I look forward to trenchant comments from readers of all persuasions! Once the haymaking was over there were evenings when Dot and Arwyn would bring their deck chairs onto the little garden that I was making around the caravan. We would sit and drink and chat as the sun set beyond the apple trees. Occasionally Arwyn would lurch to his feet, startling us all, and dash round to the little shearing supplies shop where a customer had arrived. We seldom heard the quiet crunch of tyres on gravel, but he always did. It was his job to do that. The shop was always open and the light from the open doorway and the gentle sound of farmer’s voices gossiping late into the night was infinitely soothing. If our lives felt restricted in town they expanded mysteriously back here in the Teifi Valley. Our own particular valley has its trees and hills that limit the horizon, but our world seems somehow so much bigger than the Swansea world. There is space and whatever the weather there is something beautiful to look at. Perhaps it’s because we’ve learnt a bit more about what survival is in here; where our shelter and or heating and our food come from. It puts things in perspective. When we came to Wales in the first place this was what we wanted to do, but in fact,
you can’t actually do it, not just like that. You have to learn about the people, the animals, the wildlife and the land first and even then there’s nearly always a compromise because it’s difficult to be pure. The plain that stretches West to the sea between the Aeron Valley and the Teifi is so beautiful that you can be there all year, year after year and never see the same view twice. As the days and seasons change, so do the trees and the winding river. Once you are there, right in the middle of it, you are overwhelmed by the green and silver of the hills, the river bank and the tranquillity. As you leave Lampeter going East you begin to climb up into the Cambrian hills. To walk up over the Sarn Helen is to walk history. It is part of the old Roman Road that leads to more civilised lands. You go up the steep road past Pentre Farm from Llanfair Clydogau and after a mile or two the trees run out. A mile further on and you are on the tops looking down at the two valleys: the steep one on your left and the gentle one on your right, and that’s the Panteg Valley. We were still making hay in small bales ourselves when we came to Panteg. John Esgair Corn, our neighbour, noticed that we had no equipment and offered to do our hay for us. He did that for two years until we were able to afford a little Fergie that trundled along the roads to the growing number of farms whose land we tacked. There’s always an abundance of help up here but don’t ask for money. You won’t get it; there never was much. I always intended to take a photograph of Geoff on his little tractor: the wheel arches came up so high that you could only just see his yellow checked hat above them as he passed by through the farmyard. When we began to make big-bale hay Geoff and his tractor became a menace on the roads. The arm of the tractor didn’t have a spike so he had to carry the bale on the front end loader and his field of vision along the road was completely obscured so that he had to stop and peer round the bale from time to time. One day he peered round and saw our neighbour frantically driving, uncomplaining and co-operative, backwards down the road in order to avoid him. *
I was talking to Arwyn and Gwynedd his sister recently but forgot to ask them about it.
next month: starting again
we asked don van fleet to write something about flamenco in light of a couple of new classes starting up in ceredigitland (see listings). he was on holiday recovering from a bout of pseudonym’s disease, but he managed to offer this comment: ‘it’s all about elbows, man. elbows and knees. so be careful.’
voluntary work / work experience wanted I am 17 years old. I attend Tregaron School and live in Llanwnnen. I have learning disabilities and am interested in gaining work experience in the local area. I have worked on a voluntary basis in a local cafe where I helped serve customers and helped out generally in the kitchen. I have also worked in a local garden centre and with support worked on a local farm. I am a punctual, committed, polite, caring and enthusiastic worker. I can provide references. If you are able or interested in offering me voluntary work or work experience, please ring 07875027914.
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l y t kids at work in the park. nepotism, schmepotism, this is just a great photograph. colour is cool – but tone mus’ rule. who took it, by the way?
LAMPETER MUSIC CLUB PROGRAMME 2012–13 University of Wales Trinity St David, Lampeter Campus DOMINANT QUARTET String Quartet Sunday November 4th – 7.30pm – Old Hall TIMOTHY ORPEN & ALISON FARR Clarinet & Piano Sunday November 25th – 2.30pm – Arts Hall DANIEL EVANS Piano Tuesday January 22nd – 7.30pm – Arts Hall FABIEN GENTHIALON Cello Tuesday February 12th – 7.30pm – Arts Hall INNER CITY BRASS Brass Quintet Sunday March 10th – 2.30pm 13
le p o e p t e k r a m people’s Dixey Brooks is an artist working in oils, acrylics, oil pastels and ceramics who moved to the Lampeter area just over two years ago. She was trained in the art of Maiolica ceramic technique in Monte Lupo, Florence. She sells her unique and vibrant Maiolica ceramic pieces at the People’s Market. There are many beautiful one-off pieces as well as sets of dishes on her stall. You may also commission personalized mugs, jugs and bowls, and christening/ wedding plates, to order, with names and dates on them , in any theme you fancy. There are also A3 prints of Dixey’s paintings available on her stall. www.dixeyart.co.uk http://www.facebook.com/DixeyArt As well as selling her ceramic art Dixey also offers her Organically Certified Marvellous Superfood at the People’s Market. Marvellous Superfood is a powerful food supplement in the form of a green powder . It is a harmonious blend of seven highly nutritious organic ingredients which is easily blended with juice to create an energy boosting drink, suitable for people of all ages. The benefits of this great food supplement are too many to list here. Marvellous Superfood is a young and thriving family business based in Llangybi, near Lampeter, where the ingredients are blended and packaged with care and devotion. www.marvelloussuperfood.co.uk info@marvelloussuperfood.co.uk
Phil and Michelle Drayton have farmed their land at Rhyd-y-Gwin, which is between Temple Bar and Ffynon Oer on the B4337, for the last six years. Their market garden is accredited by the Soil Association and is worked by a combination of permaculture and organic principles. Using both outside growing areas and their five polytunnels for protected cropping, they produce an extensive range of fresh organic seasonal vegetables, soft and top fruit, plants and cut flowers throughout the entire year, as well as free-range eggs, honey, jams and chutneys available from their farm gate or vegetable box scheme. They share their farm with rare breed Tamworth pigs that are used for ‘ploughing’ vegetable areas, Shetland sheep, Brecon Buff geese, the ‘slug patrol’ (Muscovy ducks) and ten hives of honey bees. So if you are passing on the B4337 just south of Temple Bar, please call into their farm gate stall, or visit them at the People’s Market, Victoria Hall on the second and fourth Saturday of the month, or telephone them on 01570471432 to find out which other local farmers markets they attend.
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does WWOOFing make me your dog?
ready, so I was grateful for the company as we prepared the veg together. The rain showed no sign of stopping after lunch so I suggested a trip to the sawmill for offcuts. We both mucked into chucking it all into the back of my car and that afternoon she got to building. The music of sawing and hammering inspired me to cook my very best stew. As I cooked I reflected on the beauty of people helping each other; all was well in my tiny space in the universe. I opened a bottle of shop-bought wine and went to call my wwoofer in for her dinner and to see my new shed. I could tell by her face that she didn’t like it. She stood for a long time twisting a tea towel into a tight screw, her face a rolling storm cloud. I don’t know what possessed me as I asked hopefully ‘What do you think?’ I thought it was rude of her really, to turn tail like that and slam the door in my face when I asked for my dinner. Couldn’t see what her problem was: it was unorthodox, but serviceable as a tool store. At least it would keep her precious stuff dry, the amount of bitumen I painted on it. I put her a bowl of cereal on a tray outside my back door, with a note telling her that I simply can’t bring myself to drive her to the bus. I know I’m being a coward, but… that look she gave me when I couldn’t bring myself to admire her ‘handiwork’! I hide behind the curtains as I hear her shutting the caravan door and saying goodbye to the dog. When I think of that monstrosity and how much I will have to pay someone to tear it all down, I feel like crying with the waste. It all seemed such a good idea – people travelling about the country, learning from established gardeners how to take care of the land. Was I too ambitious, wanting a little shed to store my tools? Should I have drawn up a little contract about hours of work expected and stipulating how many loaves of bread should be eaten at each meal? Capitalism and the exploitation of the poor by the rich isn’t fair or effective, but how do I make sure I’m neither the wolf or the gobbled-up little grandma? If it’s the end of things being how they were, what kind of relationships are we going to have in the future?
by maj ikle So it all starts off nice as cherry pies: you have a caravan in a location I want to visit, and you also want a little work done on your organic garden. We, like ‘fixed-up friends,’ arrange dates. When I arrive at your home ready to labour and learn, both of us are holding on to our hopes as well as fears. Is that why we are each perhaps a little too ‘highly-pitched grateful’ to discover that the other does not have two heads or vote Tory? That night we stay up with your home-made wine, getting to know each other. Reassured that we share sufficient politics and permaculture, we go to bed happy. The next morning, bright and early, you are knocking on the caravan door with a cup of tea and a promise of cooked breakfast. Sheepish about my hangover, I get up and shower in your gorgeous bathroom, asking myself why I don’t have a sumptuous home. I've had this ‘always the bridesmaid and never the bride' feeling for a long time now, so as I climb into my overalls I give myself a good talking-to and pull it together. You meanwhile have waited with cooling eggs and hardening toast, watching rainclouds gather outside in the wet Welsh sky. As I sit down I get the feeling that you have been let down before and are swallowing down something not quite nutritious. ‘I would like a shed built up on that windy ridge,’ you say, pointing, with your eyes full of expectation. Unwilling to speak with my mouth full, I nod, cautious of your enthusiasm. Usually I’m planting onions and weeding beds, so the challenge of it intrigues me. I swallow and say ‘Sounds interesting.’ You pour me more strong coffee. ‘Can I start and see how I go?’ I worry that I’m not capable, but ‘willing’ is part of my definition, so I want to give it a go. When she arrived I thought: ‘We are going to get on like a house on fire, she’s the grandaughter I never had. How capable she looks, so fit and able - oh, what I wouldn’t give to be in my late twenties and free to travel the world.’ Then, when she ate the best part of a whole loaf at breakfast, I thought ‘All that energy needs feeding!’ and I was excited about getting my longlonged-for shed, so I finished the dishes and went shopping. I bought all the branded organic goods I could, even though I was into my overdraft - but how do I explain that I’m not as well-off as I look? All the money’s in the house, not in my pockets. When I got back, she was in the caravan keeping out of the rain, so I put my waterproofs on and barrowed a few loads of soil away myself. I’m not sure she really noticed until she came out wondering what time lunch would be. ‘Bloody cheek’, I thought but didn’t say. Food and drink don’t get themselves
WWOOF UK holds a list of organic farms, gardens and smallholdings, all offering food and accommodation in exchange for practical help on their land. WWOOF is an exchange – you volunteer your help in exchange for food, accommodation and an opportunity to learn about organic agriculture. As a WWOOFer, you can expect to work about 5–6 hours per day 5 days a week, or a combination of hours/days to suit your host and yourself not totalling more than 30 hours per week. See www.wwoof.org.uk or write to WWOOF UK, PO Box 2154, Winslow, Buckingham MK18 3WS.
student volunteering programme makes good progress at tsd
coming together and taking part in meaningful volunteering activities, that sense of community is fostered and our students gain valu able experience, whilst in return offering themselves as an enthusiastic workforce. Doing voluntary work for its own sake is important whilst studying, and this time at university probably represents the most freedom we students will ever see – we want to provide the opportunities for all our students to do something socially positive with this freedom! We’re always looking to make links with local organisations and widen the kinds of activities available to us. If you or your organisation are interested in getting involved please contact Jo Fisher, CSA Co-ordinator, at UWTSD Students Union, on j.fisher@tsd.ac.uk
Thanks to the initiatives started by our ‘Love Your University’ Facebook campaign, volunteering has achieved a new level of prevalence and recognition here on the Lampeter campus of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. In the coming academic year, and with the support of our Students Union, we are planning to increase the scale of our volunteering activities – getting more students than ever before involved in positive action both on and off campus. Lampeter is a fantastic community; we want to show our students and the townspeople that we have something special here. By
colin thurston
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HOUSING SUPPORT trouble with accomodation? a new nonprofit outfit based in llanybydder aims to be of assistance iss’s chris standen writes: Please let me introduce our organisation. Independent Support Services is a newly formed not for profit company operating in Ceredigion Our aim is to provide well grounded, practical, confidential housing related support to anyone who considers themselves disadvantaged, by disability, low income or lack confidence to tackle social issues. We recognise that our clients are often unable or reluctant due to feelings of stigma to attend appointments at formal offices, so all our work is community-based in the client’s home or a venue of their choice where they are comfortable; it is also strictly confidential. We offer assistance to our clients by addressing housing issues, accessing sustainable accommodation, managing budgets, dealing with benefit claims, including representation at DWP medical assessments and appeals if appropriate, completion of all forms, and dealing with official correspondence. We also assist clients with resettlement following homelessness, or relocation, including dealing with utilities care providers, and acquiring suitable furniture and household items and the grants to facilitate this. We help with making and keeping essential appointments, providing transport and accompanying clients where necessary until they are confident to do so themselves. We also recognise and advocate the need for independence and where appropriate help find pathways to reemployment or volunteering opportunities. We assist clients to develop life skills, support networks and social activities that can sustain them when our support has ended. As a provider of support (not care) we are organised and governed by experienced professional carers and support workers (the minimum qualification on our board and at senior management is NVQ3 in social care, and there is over 40 years of combined experience at this level. We make a charge for our services to cover expenses, and referrals are accepted direct from clients or professional bodies using the details below. Tel: 07792919496. email: info@independent-support-services-uk.co.uk Independent Support Services (UK) Ltd is a registered company Registered in the United Kingdom. Registration 08183214. Registered address: Glandwr, Drefach, Llanybydder, Ceredigion, SA40 9YB. www.independent-support-services-uk.co.uk
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