Prince makes a return visit to the Engine House in Merthyr
IT WAS a case of meeting old friends when the Prince of Wales visited the Engine House in Merthyr as part of his busy day of royal visits.
The Prince last visited the Engine House in 2006 and he was able to see at first hand the changes at the successful community project.
The Prince’s day in Wales on Friday saw visits to a ground-breaking business in Cardiff and two community projects in Merthyr Tydfil.
The visits were his first official engagements in Wales since the death of his father, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince Charles had spent some time at his Welsh home in Myddfai, Llandovery, immediately after Prince Philip’s funeral, but these visits marked his return to official royal duties in the Principality.
The Engine House in Merthyr operates a food bank for the local community and the Prince met volunteers and staff. The centre was also one of the first mass testing centres in the country. The Prince talked to military and public sector staff involved in the testing. The centre is also used by numerous community groups – many of which carried on in some form during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Prince met volunteers in the donation room where all food donations are received and packed.
Charles saw a presentation by a dance group who use the centre on a weekly basis, which has helped support the young people with their well-being throughout the pandemic.
He also watched a karate lesson before being shown historic images of the Engine House, including photographs from past royal engagements.
The Prince met children from Abercanaid School, who take part in “plogging” which is jogging and litter picking at the same time.
The Prince also met other volunteers of the food bank, trustees of the Engine House and members of the voluntary sector before being introduced to the planning and operational Team of the mass testing facility with a brief demonstration on how the testing was delivered at the Engine House.
Prince Charles unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit.
He last visited the Engine House in 2006 – when it was saved from demolition and turned into a community facility. It has recently undergone further refurbishment.
The local council and volunteers have collected and delivered 10 tons of food throughout the county borough during the Covid crisis.
The Prince started his day in Cardiff, with a visit to BCB International on Lamby Industrial Park, Cardiff.
BCB International Cardiff are suppliers of protective, medical and defence equipment. He thanked staff for their incredible work during the Covid-19 crisis and officially opened the new headquarters.
BCB International first got into the survival business by making cough syrup 166 years ago. Last year they converted their production lines into producing an anti-viral 80% proof hand sanitiser and wide range of PPE items to the essential workers on the front line, Protecting the Protectors.
The Prince watched a demonstration of FireDragon fuel – an allweather, eco-friendly and toxin-free fuel currently being used by the Minstry of Defence.
The Prince of Wales joined BCB’s managing director, Andrew Howell, to unveil a plaque to officially open BCB’s new headquarters at Howell House and to receive survival kits the BCB team specifically made to suit the Royal Family’s interests.
Before leaving, he visited the Bee C Bee’s Wellbeing Garden, which was created as part of a Mental Health Awareness week initiative to provide access to nature for all staff.
The Prince told staff: “I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to be with you today and I can’t tell you how much I admire all the remarkable work you do here.
“It’s been fascinating to hear about the whole range of products you produce which are clearly so sought after all around the word because of their very high quality and ingenuity.
“I shall now be able to go away and set fire to my FireDragon. Having served in the Royal Navy all those years ago, nearly 50 years ago, I had to go on exercise with the old kit, this is remarkable. It is a great tribute to your efforts. I know how hard you worked throughout this pandemic. I do congratulate you and am full of gratitude, for what its worth, for what you’ve been able to do, for all of us, really, during these difficult times.
“I hope you go from strength to strength, and I shall look forward to seeing what other wonderful ideas you come up with over the next few years.”
Mr Howell said: “For the last five years we have been producing a solid fuel tablet made from bio-ethanol used by British troops to warm their rations and heat their drinks. The fuel has anti-bacterial properties, so we decided to develop a hand sanitiser gel variant.
“Last year, our terrific team here at BCB, both at our Llanelli and Cardiff sites, worked 24/7 producing hand sanitisers and other important PPE and so it is a tremendous privilege to welcome His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales here today to BCB.
“As His Royal Highness has said for over four decades, climate change and the erosion of biodiversity are the two greatest threats to humanity and our planet. As we have with FireDragon and some of our other life saving innovations, we are ready, willing and able to take a risk and to make a change to try to help counter these threats. On behalf of the whole great BCB team we will continue to invent, engineer and produce whatever we can, to help tackle this global emergency of climate change and the erosion of biodiversity. Our new factory here in Cardiff will help to ensure that sustainability continues to be at the heart of our DNA.”