PORTHCAWL

(WI) was formed in 1915 to encourage women to become more involved with both urban and rural communities.

Penyfai Guide Group Guiding: Open to girls under the auspices of the Guide movement, meetings are held in the Scout and Guide Hall Court Colman Road Penyfai (except summer school holidays) as follows:

Rainbows (age 5 – 7) meet Wednesday from 5.30pm-6.45pm.

Brownies (age 7 – 10) meet on Mondays from 5.30pm-7pm.

For more information please contact Pippa O’Neill on 074808 255 321.

1st Penyfai Scout Group: Scout and Guide Hall, Court Coleman Road, Penyfai (except summer):

Beavers (ages 6 to 8), meet Thursdays from 5pm-6.15pm.

Cubs (ages 8 to 10) meet Thursdays from 6.30pm-8pm.

Scouts (ages 10 to

14) meet Thursdays, 6.30pm-8pm.

Call Christine Jordan on 01656 860 831.

Play and Community Playgroup: For families of newcomers to the village of Penyfai with children from two years to four years looking to join a play group, there is the play and community play group held in the Scout hall on Court Coleman Road, Penyfai.

It is open 9.15am-3pm Monday to Friday during term time.

Call 07813 392 464 for more details.

Send Your News To: 42 Suffolk Place, Porthcawl, CF36 3EB. 01656 451844 davidn-w@homecall.co.uk

National Coastwatch Institution - Porthcawl:

In 2019 the Porthcawl Branch of the NCI handled a total of 85 logged incidents, an increase of 39% on the previous year. They recorded 169 monitored incidents for 2019, again up by 28% on the previous year and logged a total of 9772 vessel movements, which was a 24% increase on the previous year. These statistics made them the busiest NCI station in the UK for the number of incidents handled - quite an achievement for a small station such as ours, but testament to the vigilance of their dedicated crew!

There was some excellent news to end the year and I am sure that we would all wish to congratulate Ian Cole, one of the watchkeepers, who was awarded an

OBE in the New Year`s Honours list, for services to Defence and the local community, reflecting his MOD service, as well as many years as Station Officer with Porthcawl Coastguard and more recently with Porthcawl NCI.

In May 2020, the Branch will be hosting a fund-raising choral event at Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion featuring Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir and the Parc and Dare brass band.

Note that they are seeking sponsorship to cover outlay for this major event and any potential sponsors are encouraged to contact Ni Weedon, their Media Officer at the Old Lookout tower down by the RNLI.

Litchard Pilates Group: I know that it is a bit out of our parish, but for those interested in taking up Pilates why not go along and join the Litchard Pilates Group who meet for Pilates tomorrow evening (and every Thursday) at 6pm at Litchard Mission Church, Litchard, Bridgend.

The Class is open to men and women. For further information call Ruth on 07786627335 or just turn up.

Web site www. c2cfitness.co.uk.

1st Porthcawl Cub And Beaver Scout Group: Early in 2019, the Scout Hall in Woodland Avenue had to close due to proposed redevelopment plans.

Luckily by the middle of the year they managed to find new premises in the Mission Hall in Woodland Avenue which is only yards away from their original home.

They opened the doors to the community and received a good response only to find that numbers dropped off after the move for no apparent reason and the 1 st Porthcawl Cub and Beaver Scout Group are now trying to rebuild these numbers.

The group is starting back this year on Monday, January 13 at the Church Hall in Woodland Avenue Porthcawl.

The session starts at 5pm prompt and finishes at 6.30pm.

For more information contact Kath Rees Beaver leader on 0754645958 or on e-mail kdrees@ btinternet.com.

Celebrate Burns Night In Porthcawl: On January 24 - The Porthcawl Lions are organising Burns’ Night celebrations on Friday,

January 26 at the Hi Tide Inn in Mackworth Road when all proceeds of the raffle will go to the Porthcawl Museum.

You don’t have to be Scottish to attend: it’s a fun event for all, with a meal of haggis and neeps piping hot and piped in by a Scottish piper and there will be entertainment.

The dress code is black tie or tartan. Tickets (£25 per person) are available from Lion members or Aileen on 01636 784489.

Porthcawl Weekly Table Top Sale: Griffin Park,

New Road, Porthcawl, CF36 5DF - This is a weekly event held every Friday at Griffin Park Hall in New Road with doors open between 8am and 12noon.

There are always stalls with Books, Games,

CDs, DVDs and much more. Re- freshments are available on the day and if you want a table to sell things yourself, then tables are available at £5 for the morning.

For further information or to book a table contact Jean on 07778 599 616.

Porthcawl Farmers Market: The next Farmers Market will be held in Griffin Park Hall New Road CF36 5DF on Saturday, January 25 between 9.30am and 12.30pm.

All the usual stalls will be there and refreshments will be available.

Go along and buy your local vegetables etc without the plastic wrapping and in so doing do your bit to help save the planet.

Porthcawl Veterans

Hub: The Veteran’s Hub offers a NAAFI Break on Saturday mornings at 11am to all exservicemen: It is held in the Porthcawl Wellbeing Centre adjacent to the tennis courts and bowling club at Griffin Park and is a place where veterans can meet with other veterans, raise their problems and get advice in a pleasant and convivial atmosphere. Service personel make a New Year’s resolution to call in and try it out!

Its Ok To Talk: Andy’s Man Club is a registered charity which provides a peer to peer support group for men with the aim of cutting the number of suicides of young men.

The group meets in Porthcawl RFC off South Road (CF36 3DA) every Monday evening (except bank holidays).

Or check out their website or talk to them on #itsoktotalk.

A Problem Shared:

Just contact the C.A.L.L Helpline and there will be someone to talk to 24/7.

Call 0800 132 737 or text HELP and your question to 81066.

Porthcawl Museum And Historical Society: The PM&HS will be starting their winter series of Lectures on Tuesday, January 21 with a lecture on The Albigensian Crusade given by Dr. Viv Thomas.

Following this, on Tuesday February 18 there will be a talk entitled Pharaoh’s Workmen by Prof Mahmoud Ezzamel, who was educated at Southampton and Alexandria and is a Professor at Cardiff Business College and a professorial fellow at Cardiff University.

On Tuesday, March 17 there will be a talk on Shipwrecks Off Our Coast given by Mr Ross Martin from Porthcawl RNLI.

Finally, on Tuesday, April 21 Mrs Ceri Joseph will be giving a talk on The Civil War in Wales.

Porthcawl Stroke Club: The Porthcawl Stroke Club meets every Wednesday afternoon between 2pm and 4pm Albert Edward Prince of Wales residential Home in Pen y Lan Avenue Porthcawl CF36 3LY and their mantra is `All Friends Together.’

Porthcawl Twelfth Night Celebrations: These were held last Saturday in The Hi-Tide in Mackworth Road when a goodly crowd of revelers gathered there for a meal and a good night of entertainment.

The proceeds are going to Sandville Self Help Centre who do such tremendous work in the South Wales Area.

As usual the costumes were of an exceptional standard and there were the usual aged Hippies and Flappers, but I have to mention Arthur Beale and his wife Margaret who have done so much for this function over the years.

Arthur turned up as a Spanish speaking matador with an accent that would have done Manuel from Fawlty Towers proud.

The entertainment was provided by David Jones and the staff from the Hi-Tide and every one of the winners returned their prize money to be given to Sandville. What a night!.

Porthcawl Townswomens Guild News: Since the last report the Guild have had two very good speakers.

At the December meeting John Sheen had the members aching with laughter at his version of the Twelve Days of Christmas! And then at their last meeting

Kate Lowery gave a most interesting talk on “Emmaus”.

Not just another charity shop but a concept providing homes for the homeless.

This actually started in France after World War II by a priest Abbé Pierre to help home displaced people from the war.

Emmaus UK was formed in 1997 with

Terry Waite as president.

It has a holistic approach and the people they rehome are called Companions.

They stay about nine months before they are able to move on and become independent.

With the increasing numbers of rough sleepers not only in our cities but in our towns too it is essential work.

The next meeting is on Wednesday, February 12 at 2pm at All Saints Church Hall when Gail Ivins will tell us about Sea Glass Trinkets and Treasures.

Intriguing title so why not go along and listen. All are welcome.

For more information contact Dorothy Thomas on 01656 772 157. join the facebook group breastfeeding support Maesteg and surrounding areas.

Presentation: The President of the Rotary club of Maesteg Gwynfor Phillips presented a cheque to Royston Thomas of the Llynfi Valley Volunteer aid association for the wonderful support they gave the club at their annual fireworks display.

Woodlands Surgery: Hosting a drop-in session by Bridgend Carers Centre on the last Thursday of every month 1-2.30pm for all patients who are Carers. No appointment necessary. Member of Bridgend Carers Centre staff available for confidential support and advice.

Join: This is a call out for new members particularly boys to join Curtain Up for our 20th anniversary year.

We are now working towards an anniversary concert in st Michael’s church on Saturday,

July 4.

We are hoping that we will be joined by past members and encourage anybody who has been in any of our past productions to get in touch via Facebook page.

We will also be performing with Noteworthy in an annual memorial concert for Cancer Research on Saturday, September 12.

Hello Henshed Supporters: We are in need straight after Christmas for our opening event on Wednesday, January 22.

May I ask any good cake bakers out there or cake shops please please would you donate cupcakes or a Victoria sponge to our opening event.

Also may I be cheeky and ask people not only to buy our raffle tickets but to donate a prize for the Grand Opening. Please can you get behind our local Henshed and help us out.

Please contact the Henshed if you need any more information maesteghenshed@ outlook.com or pop into the council offices any Wednesday morning between 9.30am12.30pm.

Thank you for your support.

Tir Iarll WI: The next meeting is on Tuesday, January 7 at Llangynwyd Primary School at 7pm where the speaker for the evening is Mike Richardson a trustee for the Foodbanks in the Bridgend area.

Garth WI: We return on the second Tuesday in January and everyone is welcome.

Côr Meibion Maesteg ar Cylch: (Maesteg Male Voice Choir) will be holding its 45th annual concert on Saturday, February 29.

Due to the closure of Maesteg Town Hall for the next two years for refurbishment this concert will be held at Maesteg Comprehensive School in their hall which will hold up to

450 chairs.

The guest artist will be the wonderful tenor Rhys Meirion who will be accompanied by the choir’s own Laura Deenik, and as is usual will commence at 7pm with doors opening at 6.30pm.

There is ample parking at the school.

Tickets are now available from any choir member and will cost £ 10.

WI Meeting: Maesteg WI have their first meeting of the year on Thursday, January 16 at 7pm at Maesteg Rugby Club.

To kick off the year, the meeting will be Laughing Yoga.

We are a welcoming, fun loving bunch of women of all ages.

If you’re thinking of trying something new this year, or are looking to make new friends, come along and see what you think.

No-one could accuse us of being a traditional WI – but we have interesting meetings each month, with plenty of opportunities to get to know new people and even some you haven’t seen for a long time!

Maesteg Ramblers:

The ramblers meet on Sunday, January 19 the walk will be a 3 valley walk, meeting at Maesteg car park 9am.

It will be a 10 mile walk if interested please contact Neil Perry on 07977 831317.

All are welcome to join and wear sensible clothing and walking boots/shoes are advised and bring a packed lunch and a drink.

Concert: Join Côr Meibion at Llan Village Hall for an evening of songs both traditional and contemporary on Friday, January 17 at 7pm, doors open at 6.30pm.

Tickets cost £5 available from the hall or on sale at the door.

The hall will have a small bar open and a buffet will be served afterwards.