LLYNFI VALLEY

Send Your News To:

01656 810084 llyngazmvr@hotmail.co.uk

Aberkenfig Radio Club: The club has relocated to Talbot Community Centre, 9 Prince Road, Kenfig Hill, CF33 6ED.

Maesteg Town Hall: Do you have any stories, pictures, history, old programmes/tickets/posters or fond memories of Maesteg Town Hall?

We’re compiling as many stories and as much information from the past that we can, in order to preserve our history and better shape our future!

Please send anything you have to memories@maestegtownhall.com

Events Diary: This is for organisations of the valley, asking them to check at the council office’s diary before arranging an event, so that you won’t clash with anyone else.

Clwb Maesteg: Mae rhagor o fanylion ar gael gan Lloyd Evans 07856 553 777 e-bost: Psycho1283@ hotmail.com.

Further details are available from Lloyd Evans on 07856 553 777; or email: psycho1283@hotmail.com.

All Saints Church, Penyfai:

Information is changing for services due to the very serious nature of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Parochial Church Council of All Saints Church Penyfai (“the PCC”) has taken the decision to reopen All Saints Church, Penyfai, for collective worship.

A similar decision has been taken by their counterparts in Laleston and Merthyr Mawr to reopen St David’s Church and St Teilo’s Church.

Sunday Services will therefore resume in all three Churches in the Benefice in June, albeit on the basis that only one church will be open (on a rota basis) each Sunday.

In addition there will continue to be services and acts of worship online.

These plans are subject to change should there be changes in the regulations and guidance regarding Covid -19, but the longer intention, if it goes well, is to have collective worship in two churches each week starting in August, and to have three churches open each Sunday from September.

Rota schedule for Sunday Services:

Sunday 20th June: 10am and 11am – Communion at All Saints Church, Penyfai.

Sunday 11th July: 10am and 11am – Communion at All Saints Church.

In Addition, there will continue to be Online Worship at 6.30 pm on Sundays.

For more information about

All Saints Church, please contact the Reverend Anthony Beer, The Vicarage, Rogers Lane, Laleston. Contact number 01656 859 487. Smyrna Chapel, Penyfai: The Deacons at Smyrna have advised that the Chapel will be opening for collective worship soon.

In the first instance, due to safety measures put in place, there will be a limit on the numbers of worshippers for each service.

Therefore, initially, attendance at each service will be by invitation, and the Deacons will be contacting members of Smyrna’s congregation in turn to make bookings for specific services.

The Deacons would like to thank the members of Smyrna’s congregation in advance for their patience and understanding in this matter.

For more information about Smyrna Chapel Penyfai please contact Mr Peter David on 01656 659 856.

Community Council News: The next Ordinary General meeting of Newcastle Higher Community Council will be held on Tuesday, June 8, at 7pm online.

Congratulations have been received by Cllr Meryl Wilkins as elected chair and Cllr Heidi Bennet being elected deputy chair of the Newcastle Higher Community Council.

Life has changed for everyone over the last year and certainly for the Newcastle Higher Community Council who used to hold their monthly meetings in the communities of Penyfai, Aberkenfig and Tondu.

With the lockdown precautions that are in place the monthly meetings are still being held online.

■ Coronavirus: We are all hoping that we are coming out of this awful pandemic, but when you see on the television other countries suffering at the moment, it shows how much we value our National Health Service and a Big Thank You goes to the key workers, nurses and doctors.

Please if you are invited to receive the vaccination please turn up this could help save your life and your family members.

We are all in this together and we are slowly coming out of lockdown, but we must all be vigilant and keep wearing our protective masks and keeping to the social distancing rules.

Our public health has continued to remain positive with more lockdown restrictions being lifted this will bring back some normality to family life in our communities.

Information in the media can change very quickly as we know. Please keep watching the media for further updates and reviews.

Our thoughts are with families who have all lost loved ones from the Covid-19 and with the National Health Service nurses and doctors who are working hard to save lives.

The message from the

Newcastle Higher Community Council is we must take the information and the rules from the Welsh Government very seriously – please Stay Safe.

● Welsh Blood Service: With new lockdown restrictions in place,

Cllr Altaf Husain has reported to the community councillors that the Welsh Blood Services need your help even more.

Please phone the Welsh Blood Service donor engagement coordinator Paul Chiplin on 07795 831 889 or email: paul.chiplin@ Wales.nhs.uk.

Your help is much appreciated and can save lives.

● Street Ambassadors: Over many months the Street Ambassadors and our Penyfai friendly local shop the Selection Box in

Treharne Drive, Penyfai have been working together.

We know the coronavirus has not gone away and their combined help is much appreciated by the residents of Penyfai.

Please phone Sian Lewis on 075444 888 210.

● Penyfai Guides and Scout Group: If parents need further information, call the number provided by Pippa O’Neill on 07480 825 532 or email Zoe Plumley at zoeplumley@ outlook.com.

● Penyfai Remembered: Reading Mr David Southwood’s report in the friends of All Saints Church brought back memories of the Penyfai School summer holidays.

There were farm fields where the Prothero Avenue houses are now, I and my friends used to play cricket and rounders.

I remember Tony and David Summerfield – they lived in Hill Crest Penyfai before moving away – and William Raymond of Ton Gwyn Farm, who sat by me in Penyfai School.

There were not as many children living in Penyfai then as there are today.

The teams were made up of boys and girls. The boys were not pleased when the girls bowled the boys out.

The boys always made excuses to stay batting. Those days remembered were great fun.

Porthcawl Mayor Making:

●

Porthcawl Mayor, councillor Tracy Hill and Deputy Mayor Mark Chegwin were officially appointed to their official positions last Thursday on ‘Zoom’.

It went very well but it lost something in the execution – there was no exchanging of chains which is always the part that you remember most.

Brian Jones, the immediate past Mayor took his chain off, and then the chain went out of sight.

At that point I had visions of some one dashing over to Tracy’s house and suddenly the mayoral chaim appearing on Tracy’s neck – but no such luck.

● National Memorial to Those Who Died in Pandemic: I notice that one national newspaper has put its full weight behind the building of such a memorial in St Paul’s in London.

The design is impressive and if anyone out there wants to donate towards the cost, then they do so by contacting crowdfunder.co.uk/ rememberme

I do sometimes wonder whether we should have a

Welsh equivelant.Perhaps in Llandaf, St David’s or even in the Welsh National Gardens in Carmarthenshire.

● Nottage Village: I wrote last week about John Blundell and what a character he was.

This week I drove through Nottage on the way to the Kenfig Nature Reserve and was made aware of efforts to introduce a one way system with cars entering the village by the normal way and then exiting the village via Heol y Capel and past the Rose and Crown.

This made me think back to a meeting with John Blundell and my late father-in-law, Chief Superintendant Ken Bowen, his deputy Inspector Geoff Robinson and John Blundell, to discusss making Nottage a one way system.

After they had spent some time explaining the proposed road system to the local squire he told them that while he “had no objections to the one way circuit in the village they should not expect him to come out of his stable and only turn left!”

That was in the early 70s, some 50 years later that there seems to be movement.

I knowthat the event happened because at that time I lived in

West Road and one morning I was driving past Graham Orphan’s shop as it was then and saw the three of them standing on the corner.

Later that dayI asked Bampa Ken what he and Geoff were doing there and he told me just that.

● Computers For Schools: Steve

Flett and some of his colleagues in the computer repair business have got together and repaired and reprogrammed some 60 odd tablets,laptops etc and passed them on to local schools. Good thinking Steve.

So if any of you out there have a tablet or a laptop you don’t need let me know and I will pass them on to Steve for you.

● Porthcawl And Kenfig Hill RAFA Branch: Paul Gates, chairman of the Porthcawl and Kenfig Hill RAFA Branch, has been in touch to say that the Branch are trying to programme their AGM.

Whether this will be an actual AGM or a virtual reality AGM will depend on the Welsh Government.

The RAFA Club will be sending out emails for the end of March and as well as sending out emails to members (given that the RAFA Club is currently closed), they are looking at other methods of letting people know.

I will obviously keep you informed.

If any member has any queries then please contact chairman

Paul on 07834 189 256.

● Porthcawl Covid-19 Strategy

Group: From what I now hear, the coronavirus is still alive and kicking in Porthcawl so we should all still be exceptionally careful – wash our hands to the words of Happy Birthday; wear a mask and keep away from people – it’s sensible advice after all.

I also understand that the Porthcawl Strategy Group is still here and active.

Volunteers are still here helping the main stores prepare home deliveries; chemist shops have taken over the delivery of prescriptions, but there could still well be vulnerable people out there.

I can’t stress strongly enough, that if you know anybody who needs any of the services that the group offers, then don’t forget to go onto the Covid-19 website or contact your local chemist to get a contact number relative to your ward.

I am also aware that the Talk to a Buddy scheme is still working well and hopefully will continue long after the pandemic has gone away.

● Gifts To Charity: May I remind you that all the charitable organisations in the town, and indeed in the country are suffering from the lockdown.

There are no meetings, table top sales or flag days: so if you can find it in you to make a donation to the charity of your choice then do so please they need it.