LALESTON & BROADLANDS

Send Your News To: Carol Thomas

carbrya1@gmail.com

01656 657846

Special Birthday: Many happy returns and best wishes from all the family and many friends of Pamela Kenwoo, who has suffered ill health for some time, for her birthday on February 16. Get well soon!

Tree of Light/Bridgend Lions: A big thank you is sent to everyone who sponsored a light on the Tree Of Light At Christmas outside St Mary’s Catholic Church, Bridgend – see this week’s photo opposite.

A grand total of £1,000 was raised and Bridgend Lions president Tony Rees recently presented a cheque in the sum of £500 to Father Tim Mcgrath which will be donated to St Mary’s School Welfare Fund.

The remaining £500 will be donated to local good causes by Bridgend Lions Club. £500 was recently donated to the MS. Society which were gratefully received.

After School activities: At the Rhiw Arcade in Bridgend as follows:

Tuesdays, from 4pm-5pm: Colouring Club for ages four and up

Fridays, from 4pm-6pm: Art

Club for ages six to 14. Book via megartclub@gmail.com

Saturdays, from 9.30am-10.30am: Colouring Club for ages four and over

Also, all youngsters are invited to enter our poster competition. Group 1 ages four to 10 and Group 2 ages 11 to 18.

It needs to be a colourful, Welshthemed poster to be submitted to the Craft Cwtch Artisan Shop and Studios, by Thursday, February 29.

The posters will be judged by the Mayoress of Bridgend and the winners will receive premium brush/ fine liner colouring pens. The size of the poster should be A4 and the lucky winners will be presented with their prize on March 2 at 10am in the shop.

Name and age and child and parent/carer contact details must be written on the back of the poster when submitted.

Laleston Gardening Club: Members of Laleston Gardening Club will be pleased to learn that the project to replace all the sash windows at Cliff Cottage has now been completed. It has been a time consuming effort, but the result is there for all to see.

For a number of years club members had been fighting a losing battle to keep the original soft wood windows in good repair by painting and patching. These original which were mock sash windows could not be opened with the result there was no ventilation in the main hall.

The Club itself provided funding for the first three windows in the main hall to allow the main hall to be ventilated following the pandemic. The windows are manufactured in hard wood with double glazed units and due to our Grade II listing needed to be bespoke and an exact match for what they replaced.

Each window was of slightly different dimensions leading to increased cost. Fortunately a local joinery firm undertook to manufacture them for us. In April 2022 chairman Sue submitted an application to the National Lottery Community Fund and in May of that year the committee were thrilled to learn we had been awarded £10,000.

We were amazed at the speed of the award and it this enabled us to order and have fitted another six windows in March 2023. In early

2023 we learned through BAVO that further grants were being made available by the Suncredit Solar Farm organisation.

Sue took the initiative and put together an application for £3,000 which would part finance the four remaining windows. The grant application was successful and we were able to order the four remaining windows.

There has been quite a delay due to recruitment problems at the joinery company, but we are pleased that now in January 2024 the last four have been fitted. It only remains for Sue to submit a completion report and advise the Conservation Officer at BCBC, the conclusion of a job well done.

The Committee meeting on

January 11 reflected on the festivities leading up to Christmas and then concentrated on what lies ahead in 2024. The first lecture took place on January 8 and the first Ladies Section meeting on the following evening which was well attended.

The Chinese New Year celebration meal due to take place on February 10 is fully booked and there will be a St David’s day supper on Friday March 1 – bookings for that will be taken shortly.

Margaret continues to take deposits and money for the Tatton Park trip in July – there are a few places still available if anyone would like to take advantage of them. The trip involves travel up on Thursday July 18, a stay of one night in a hotel, then the show and return travel on Friday.

The Club shop has now reopened. Gerwyn and his team (Ron, Malcolm and Rob), have plans for further improvements to Cliff Cottage, details will have to wait until another day.