April 2016 - The Merthyr Tydfil Times

Transcription

April 2016 - The Merthyr Tydfil Times
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
APRIL EDITION
KERYS
WILLIAMS
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E
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We have an extensive range of
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come with new weights and chain
as standard starting from as little
as £1 per louvre (minimum
purchase apply)
We have a wide range of
wood and aluminium
venetians available in
gloss, matt and wood
grains available in 25,35
and 50mm slats with or
without tapes
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL
TIMES
APRIL2016 EDITION
LOCALNEWS,YOURNEWS
www.tmtt.wales
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Only 50% of candidates are making a real effort to connect with constituents..
The 3 biggest parties at the last AM election are ignoring local media sources..
yes
yes
Julie Colbran, Green Party
David Rowlands, UKIP
no
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Phone Today, We Call Today
Phone JOHN on 07581 315778
or the shop on 01685 350967
yes
Visit our shop in Pontmorlais
If we haven’t got it, you don’t need it.
Elizabeth Simon, Conservative
no
no
Food, Glorious Food: page 16
Name:
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Mount Everest
Dawn Bowden, Labour
We recently asked all the
candidates that are in the
running for the position of
Assembly Member for Merthyr & Rhymney to submit
a small article to introduce
Bob Griffin, Liberal Democrat
TMTT Reporter
themselves to our readers but
were shocked at the lack of a
response from the candidates
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Brian Thomas, Plaid Cymru
of the three biggest parties at
the last AM election.
It seems to us that the candidates are taking it for granted
that their "Loyal Supporters"
are going to stay loyal to them.
The articles from the candidates
that replied can be found inside.
Julie Colbran: Page 9.
David Rowlands: Page 12.
Elizabeth Simon: Page 3.
JACKY’S TAXIS
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School Contracts Etc.
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SUMMIT
TENZING
OXYGEN
SHERPAS
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HILLARY
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Contact me to arrange a free
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Page 2
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
The Merthyr Tydfil Times
Editor
Declan Sammon
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The Merthyr Tydfil Times is published by TMTT,
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We have NO political affiliation so you will see a variety
of views expressed in this newspaper. Freepress.
Household Stores & Park Tea Rooms
Anthony Cunningham Butchers in Dowlais
Mullins Stores on Penydarren
Andrew Cunningham Butchers Penydarren
Pentrebach Post Office
Peter Williams Butchers Troedyrhiw
Piece of Cake Cafe in Troedyrhiw
Well Pharmacy in Aberfan
Village Store in Aberfan
Trinity Childcare Aberfan
Merthyr Vale Stores
Bridge Stores. Quakers Yard
Fir Tree Centre in Quakers Yard
Treharris library
Treharris Post Office
Premier Stores in Treharris
Treharris Newsagents
West View Stores in Trelewis
Bedlinog Newsagents
Lifestyle Express in Bedlinog
Bedlinog Post Office
Premier Castle View Stores, Trefechan
Gellideg Post Office & Stores
Heolgerrig Post Office
Heolgerrig Stores
Keir Hardie Health Park
Georgetown Stores
Cae'r Wern Stores
Ash Vets
Civic Center
Merthyr Tydfil College
Merthyr Indoor Market with Lee Heggie
Manettes
Merthyr Tydfil Library
Rehouse
Bryn Stores
Owens Store Trefechan
Premier Bakery Cefn
Blue Lagoon Turkish Barbour, Cefn Coed
West End Bowls Club
Brecon Road spar
Popty Castle tea rooms
Cyfarthfa Museum
SIDS Nisa local- Brecon Road
Dowlais Library
Raj's shop on Dowlais high street
Pant Supermarket
Pant Post Office
Ryans News on Roberts Avenue
Prince Charles Hospital
Premier Stores Gurnos
3G's Gurnos
Rhymney Library
If we have forgotten to list your venue, let us know.
Celebrating Claire's birthday
Parking tickets outside Tabernacle Chapel
I am writing this as a
member of Tabernacle Baptist Church on
Brecon Road in response to your recent
comments on parking.
I am very sympathetic
to the concerns of the
residents regarding
their parking problems, which are not
confined to Park Ward
but are a county wide
problem.
However,
I do feel that targeting the members of
a chapel during their
hour long Sunday
service is inappropriate. We all know that
parking
congestion
is caused mainly by
Susan Jenkins
Local Resident
multi vehicle households including the
increasing number of
work vehicles parked
in residential areas.
Sadly there is no easy
answer to this problem, but picking on a
small chapel congregation is not a solution.
Also, I was disappointed to read Councillor Toomey's statement that our Pastor
had warned the congregation that the res-
idents were unhappy
about the parking. As
we have not had a
Pastor for the last four
and a half years I am
curious to know who
Councillor Toomey is
referring to.
Finally I would like to
extend a warm welcome to all the residents to come to one
of our services at
11o'clock on Sundays
to see how beautiful
and full of faith and
love our chapel is,
and how very important it is that it remain
open.
MORLAIS RESTAURANT
RE-OPENED UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH SERVED FROM 10am DAILY.
SUNDAY LUNCH FROM 12pm, EAT IN OR TAKEAWAY.
ALL FOOD IS HOME COOKED.
07949393775 FOR BOOKINGS
Breakthrough poetry set
Phil Howells
HAVE you been inspired by a favourite
poem or has a song
heard at a wedding,
funeral,
sporting
event or somewhere
else meant something
to you?
If so, you may want
to share it at Breakthrough, an evening
of poems and songs
inspired by the Christian faith to be held at
Carmel Baptist Chapel, Wyndham Street,
Troedyrhiw, on Thursday April 7 at 7.15pm.
The three poetry workshops, facilitated by
Isobel Jones, of Merthyr Tydfil, have now
been held followed by
rehearsals ready for
the event. A selection
of poems by people
from the borough has
been chosen to be
performed with original and classic read-
ings and some original songs but there
will also be an "Open
Mic" when others will
have a chance to take
part by reading their
own work or their favourite items.
Breakthrough will aid
Cancer Aid at Merthyr
Tydfil and Barnardo's
Cymru. Tickets are
now available at £2
(children
accompanied go free but tickets are needed). It
will also be possible
to pay on the night.
There will be free light
refreshments
afterwards.
Churches
throughout the borough have
been informed but the
evening is open to the
public in general.
For more detais or
tickets or to reserve
them or to get them
sent to you, contact
Carmel on their Facebook page. or email
carmeltroedyrhiw@
yahoo.co.uk
Thanks from Nosey
My thanks must go
to the 'Times' and the
Dowlais Ward Councillors in making a
start at cleaning up the
area of Blaen Dowlais
and the Gwernllwyn
road site of the old
Guest Keen works.
Still a long way to go
but its a good start.
Keep up the pressure
because the next rubbish pictures are in
the camera and ready
to be published in the
'Times' next month if
no further progress is
made.
WATCH OUT COS
NOSEY'S ABOUT
Troedyrhiw Tidy Up
Pauline Rees
A mini spring clean
took place on Saturday 19th March in
Troedyrhiw.
Under the guidance
of Jake Castle of
"Keep Wales Tidy"
several local community groups including
Friends of Saron, Carmel Crusaders, 6th
Merthyr Scouts, Willows Centre and Troedyrhiw NHW along
with our local councillors Brent and Gareth
all helped to give the
village a much need-
ed clean up.
More than 50 bags of
litter along with other
discarded items, such
as car tyres and toys
was collected from
various parts of the
village.
Hopefully this is just
the begining and
more litter picks will
take place shortly.
NHW would like to extend huge thanks to
all who took part on
the day, and hope that
many more residents
will come on board to
tackle various issues
concerning litter clean
ups.
Page 3
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Free Golf
Rebecca Meredith
Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust is pleased
to now be able to offer use of the tennis
courts and golf course
at Cyfarthfa Park for
free from April 1st,
2016.
The announcement
forms part of the
Trust’s strategy to
encourage
visitors
to take part in physical activity and use
the facilities available
within Cyfarthfa Park.
Their plans also support the Active Merthyr Initiative which is
run in conjunction with
Sport Wales.
Cyfarthfa boasts three
tennis courts and a
nine-hole short golf
course which is open
to the public from
Easter to September
every year. Golfing
equipment will still be
available to hire from
the Canolfan Cyfarthfa. A small deposit
will be required which
will be fully refunded
when equipment is returned.
Kevin O’Neill, Chairman of the Merthyr
Tydfil Leisure Trust
said: “We have some
great facilities within
Cyfarthfa Park and
our goal is to get more
people active and
using these facilities
with their families and
friends.
“We hope removing
the charges will make
it easier for people
to participate and we
look forward to a busy
summer of activity at
the Park.”
For further details
please contact Rebecca Meredith, Marketing Manager on
01685 727432.
Elizabeth Simon, Conservative candidate for the position of AM
I'm often asked why
I'm standing for AM
in Merthyr Tydfil &
Rhymney – I don't
have a chance, the
Labour candidate will
clearly win.
My answer's simple: Wales deserves
better. In 17 years of
Labour control, we've
seen the Welsh NHS
suffer from drastic
budget shortages and
hospital closures; 1
in 7 people on hospital waiting lists and
ambulance response
TMTT Reporter
times the worst ever.
whilst in education,
Labour's failures have
been so appalling
their Education min-
Welsh Labour ministers have refused
to create a Cancer
Treatment Fund like
in England, despite
receiving a petition of
100,000
signatures
calling for the fund.
Council tax has risen
year on year, despite
the UK Conservative
government freezing
it across England,
ister, AM Huw Lewis,
had to apologise to
the people of Wales.
I'm furious our country has been treated
this way, let down
time and again by a
Welsh Government
that doesn't believe
Wales can do better. I
won't stop fighting until the people of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
have the representative they deserve.
One who actually listens and cares about
their lives, who isn't
just trying to further
a career or line their
own pockets.
Wales deserves a
choice – put up with
and accept 17 years
of failures, or stand
up and say “enough is
enough”.
Editors note:
Elizabeth Simon is one
of three candidates for
the position of AM that
have replied to our invitation to speak directly
to the people of Merthyr
Tydfil. Elizabeth is also
a member of Merthyr
Council Truths so that
she can stay in touch
with local residents concerns.
Meet the candidates for the position of AM for Merthyr & Rhymney
‘Merthyr Tydfil Trades
Union Council are
pleased to announce
that they will be holding a Hustings in Canolfon Zoar on Monday
25 April for the candidates standing in
the Merthyr Tydfil and
Rhymney
Constituency Election for the
National Assembly for
Wales.
All eligible voters are
invited to attend and
submit questions on
the night for the candidates to answer.
Doors will open at
7.00pm for the public to collect a card to
submit their question
and the hustings will
start at 7.30pm.
Admission is free but
in order to try to cover
the cost of the venue
we ask that you make
a small donation of
whatever you can afford.
This is your opportunity to meet your
candidates, listen to
their candidate address and hopefully
have your question
answered so please
come along as, with
the election being
only ten days later,
you may find it useful in making up your
mind where to place
your cross on the ballot paper. ‘
Editors Note:
Let's hope that some
of the candidates
show more willingness to engage with
local people than they
have so far.
Page 4
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Phil Howells' Poetry Collection
A
CONTRIBUTOR
to the Merthyr Tydfil
Times has a collection of poetry just published.
ports to national daily
newspapers, etc.
Observer series, then
returning to the Merth-
Obscured By Clouds
is a paperback containing 40 poems with
some about Merthyr
Tydfil, including social issues, two about
Merthyr Town Football
Club (well publicised
in this newspaper), as
well as other verse.
There is humour,pathos and there are
moments of reflection.
Phil is a retired fulltime journalist, but is
still writing. From Troedyrhiw, and educated at the local primary school and then at
Quakers Yard Grammar School, he began his career at the
Merthyr Express as a
general news reporter, covering all manner of assignments.
He also reported on
Merthyr Football Club
for the Express and
for various Sunday
newspapers' Welsh
editions and regjonal
publications.He also
contributed news re-
Phil said:" My poems
are not the da da da
da da type, most of
them don't rhyme, but
are a mixture of comment and observation.
"I wrote some back in
the 1970s but started
again four years ago
while attending The
Open Mic nights at
The Imperial Hotel,
Merthyr Tydfil, under
local poet Mike Jenkins.
"The authors I enjoy
are Charles Dickens
and Iris Murdoch.
Words and music play
a big part in my life.
Bob Dylan,Jackson
Browne, Warren Zevon, Don McLean, Ron
Sexsmith and Harry
Chapin are some of
favourite singer-songwriters, and song lyrics are often seen as
poetry."
He was later a
sub-editor,
Production Editor at the then
Celtic Press weekly
newspaper base at
Dowlais, News Editor
of The Merthyr Express, Assistant Editor of The Pontyprid
yr Express as Editor.
After leaving full-time
journalism, he worked
at the Department of
Work and Pensions in
Merthyr Tydfil for five
years before finally
retiring.
The book sells at £5,
and anyone interested in obtaining a copy
,may contact the writer at philatmount@
yahoo.com,or personally at Merthyr football
matches and wherever he may be seen.
2016 RBS Six Nations competition
In a competition run
by the Rotary Club of
Merthyr Tydfil for raising funds for various
charities participants
needed to predict
the outcome of each
game. One point for
each correct prediction and three points if
they predicted a draw.
The tie breaker was to
Colin Parker
predict the total number of Tries scored in
the competition. The
maximum number of
points was 17 and the
total number of tries
scored was 70.
The winner of the
£100 prize is Geraint
Jones who is from
Ystrad Mynach with a
score of 13 and predicted tries 71.
Our congratulation to
him. Watch out for our
Euro 2016 competition coming soon.
The next fund raising
event by the Rotary
Club will be in ASDA
Superstore on the
29th and 30th April
2016. We do hope
you will be generous
in your support.
Anyone interested in
joining Rotary International can enquire by
going onto the Rotary
website or telephone
01685 385563.
Troedyrhiw meeting
Phil Howells
FRIENDS of Saron
will hold their annual general meeting
at The Willows Centre, Troedyrhiw, on
Thursday April 21 at
6.30pm.
All are welcome to attend to hear about the
latest plans for the old
graveyard. If anyone
has mobility problems, they can reach
the upstairs cafe,
where the meeting
will be held, via the
ground-floor lift.
Light
refreshments
will be avalable, free
of charge.
The gent in pink will be missed, he is leaving
to start a new life in the air with Easyjet.
He loves everyone and everyone loves him
Cefn community centre fights back
With the local authority withdrawing 40%
of its funding amounting to £22k pa.things
have been financially
tough over the last 3
years.
The centre has over
500 people of all
ages using the facilities which is open 60
hours a week Monday to Friday.It opens
weekends on request
for special occations.
The centre has wonderful facilities with
disabled access to all
areas.
Activities such as
nursery, craft, gardening, flower arranging,
Welsh, art, photography and the more
physical activities of
kick boxing, boccia,
dancing, dog training,
zumba, kettle bells
and many others.
The centre , which
has been established
for over 40 years, is
open to anyone or any
group
wishing to use the
The centre employs 1
full time manager with
2 part time assistants.
It is a registered charity and run on a not for
profit basis.
facilities. Why not
contact the manager
Lisa Lewis on 01685
389717 to view the
excellent
facilities
available.
Colin Parker
Commercial Units To Let
In Merthyr Tydfil
Unit 1 To Let
Comprising of 3 Office’s,
1 x Indoor Storage area
1 x Outdoor Storage Area
Kitchen & Toilet
Total Area 780 Sq Feet
Exempt from Council Rates
Unit 2 To Let
COMPRISING OF LARGE WORKING AREA,
2 OFFICES PLUS SMALL STORAGE AREA
Electric Shutter
Alarm System
2 x Staff toilet’s and Wash-hand basins
Phone lines
ZERO VAT
Total Area 3000 Sq Feet
Very Low Council Rates
For Further Details Telephone
Telephone 07855 802518
Page 5
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Spring is in the air... but not everything is rosy in the garden
SADLY THIS SPRING
SEES THE SOWING
OF SEEDS OF DISTRUST.
Our thoughts must
go to those people
of Belgium. For them
spring will be forever more tinged with
a deep sadness. The
latest terrorist attacks
have robbed them
of their loved ones,
but also that of trust.
Family
members,
neighbours, work colleagues, or tourists
are under a cloud of
suspicion, they are
rightly afraid terrorists
are walking among
them.
SPRING
WATCH
AND CLOCKS
Everyone has been
trying to work out if
the clocks go forwards
or back. Should seedlings stay safe and
warm in their packets?
Do we scatter them in
Town Crier
our flowerbeds, hoping the frost doesn’t
get them or that chilly
northerly wind blows
them away? However,
as we think of longer
day light hours and
warmer times there
are two events, which
could change our little
patch of the planet,
Merthyr Tydfil.
MUCK SPREADING
TIME
Not farmers, but politicians. As a child, each
Autumn , I had my
annual bout of tonsillitis. I would spend up
to two weeks downstairs, on the little faux
brown leather settee
(only the posh had
sofas) cwtched up under the welsh blanket,
and by a real, roaring, coal fire. In front
of me, the television
set, and if I remember right only one
channel. Out of sheer
boredom, I watched
men standing behind
lecterns, their fists
punching the air in
the fervent belief their
ideals were the right
ones, in other words,
the political party
conferences. It was
from here the seeds
of my political awareness grew. I was in
awe when these men
raised great cheers
from their audience.
I watched mystified
as to why one man
holding a card was
speaking for thousands. I would store
up my questions until,
my political mentor;
my father came home
from the colliery. He
told me the party leaders were preaching to
their own kind so they
would cheer and the
unions had great power with the block vote.
I wish he was here
now but I doubt if
even he could lead
me through the spiralling webs of spin-doctors and the media
with their endless editing which can twist
the truth. Soon we will
have to decide who is
to represent us in the
National Assembly of
Wales. Many years
ago, Merthyr people
would joke saying if
the labour candidate
was a donkey he
would ‘get in’. This
could be true of the
older generation as
they remember very
well how the Labour
Party gave the working class a voice. Due
to distrust, my political fascination wilted
a long time ago and
nettles of contempt for
politicians have grown
in its place, and that
makes me sad.
EARLY SUMMER.
June, and THAT referendum, to stay in
the European Union
or not? The media is
full of politicians, experts, journalists, and
political commentators who understand
better than I do the
pros and cons of such
an important decision.
However, when they
cannot agree how do
I decide? Nevertheless, vote I must or
my father will never
forgive me and lightening will come down
from the skies. So
when my hand quivers over those voting slips I really do
hope my crosses go
into the right boxes.
Somehow, I think I
have more chance of
putting my seedling
out at the right time
than picking the right
person to represent
me.
WE REAP WHAT WE
SOW.
Not everything we
plant grows to full fruition. One of the seeds
I had recently sown
did not fall on fertile ground but sadly
could not be cultivated to grow and blossom.
You may know about
Rose Mary Crawshay
who founded a yearly literary prize. The
British Academy, who
is now in charge, still
keeps the name The
Rose Mary Crawshay Prize. I posted
my seed of an idea
to those concerned.
Bad news they have
looked at their budget
and do not have the
money to hold an
event in our town in
her honour. However,
there is some good
news in their rejection,
they did actually consider it. The person
I spoke to was very
apologetic that they
could not fund such a
good idea. At least this
little seed of an idea
has gown roots, albeit it tenuous, in their
events department.
I hope that one day,
someone will nurture
it and perhaps it will
bloom so future Merthyr Tydfil generations
can benefit from it.
Just imagine a world
famous writer walking
up the red-carpeted
steps into Cyfartha
Castle to receive The
Rose Mary Crawshay
Prize in what was
once her home.
WEEDS
This little weed is beginning to wilt, so bye
for now.
g
n
i
r
p
S
h
s
e
r
F
Fashionable clothes....
....Sensible prices..
Casual
Cruising
Holidays
Weddings
We've got it all covered!
Where else?
Less
expensive than
Marks and
Spencer
Manettes
95/96 High Street, Merthyr Tyd�il
Tel: 01685 722733
We are near the Old Town Hall
ask anyone in Merthyr
We look forward to seeing you!!!
More
individual
than
Bonmarche
Page 6
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
A sign of things to come? Merthyr Council Truths
The Labour candidate was asked to give us an article of around 100
words for this newspaper.. what we got was a press release from
a member of her staff......Is this lack of interest in local events and
people to be expected in the future if she is elected...Time will tell.....
Merthyr
Tydfil
&
Rhymney’s
new
Welsh Labour candidate for the Assembly election, Dawn
Bowden,
launched
her campaign on Saturday, 19 March at
the high street, Merthyr Tydfil surrounded by supporters and
well-wishers.
Ms. Bowden currently works for the trade
union Unison supporting NHS employees
across Wales.
Speaking
at
the
launch of her campaign, Ms. Bowden
said:
“The
election
on
Thursday, 5 May is
about a vision for the
type of country and
community we want
to live in.
“As savage cuts continue to be imposed
by the Tory UK gov-
Press Release
sent by
Chris Binding
ernment, Welsh Labour is the only party
who are putting working people first.
“I’ve spent many
years
representing
working people as a
trade union officer and
I am eager to put my
skills to use on behalf
of people here in Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney.
“My
campaign
is
about making Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney
an even better place
to live, work and visit. It’s about supporting working parents,
providing training to
young people, helping
small businesses, improving school standards and protecting
our beloved NHS.”
Addressing the gathered crowd of supporters, Ms. Bowden
added:
“We know that local
communities
have
taken a knock from
successive Conservative
governments.
But I’ve seen community groups who are
resilient, passionate
and determined to do
right for their communities.
“I am on their side
and if I’m elected on
Thursday, 5 May I will
work tirelessly to be
their champion in the
National Assembly.”
Speaking after the
launch, Welsh Labour’s Deputy Health
Minister,
Vaughan
Gething AM, added:
“Dawn has a long history of representing
working people and
of standing up for our
NHS. This election
will decide the future
of the NHS in Wales:
cuts and privatisation
under the Conservatives or an NHS free
at the point of use with
Welsh Labour.
“I know that Dawn will
make an excellent Assembly Member and
will be a passionate
and hardworking AM
for everyone here
in Merthyr Tydfil &
Rhymney.
With
a
current
membership of 9510,
the Facebook page
called Merthyr Council
Truths is growing daily
and has seen three
of the six candidates
for the position of
Assembly Member for
Merthyr & Rhymney
recently join it's ranks.
The candidates that
have joined are also
TMTT Reporter
the ones that have
been
in
contact
with this newspaper
showing that they are
serious about local
issues.
Other
members
facebook
notable
of
the
page
include
Vaynor
Councillor Lisa Mytton
who must be said is
very in tune with her
local
constituents
concerns.
There are those that
are flippant of the site
but with nearly 10,000
members, it
could
just be the place to
help swing the vote in
favour of candidates.
Tackling Litter in Cefn Coed
After
living
near
London
for
most
of our working life,
my husband and I
decided to up sticks
and retire to Merthyr
Tydfil. Best thing we
ever did!
Lynn Ashraf
at moaning and it’s
always ‘the council’s
fault!’
And the moan of
the
moment
is
LEARN TO PLAY
THE DRUMS !!!
rubbish to the dump.
Dumping and littering
is a UK wide problem,
but
rather
than
blaming the council
for not clearing it up,
shouldn’t we be more
concerned with those
who litter in the first
place?
A group of about
10 residents in Cefn
decided that the best
thing to do is clear it up
ourselves, so, we got
together,
borrowed
some litter pickers
from Keep Wales Tidy
and cleared up the
Taff Trail ourselvesand it looks great.
It’s an occasional
hour’s exercise, a
good laugh and gives
us a nice warm glow
when we’ve finished.
Then, we just drop an
email to the council
and they pick up the
bags. What could be
easier?
PHONE GREG ON
07868 129984
BA (Hons), d1prsl
CONGRATULATIONS
I love the people here,
your quirky sense of
humour, those funny
words you use and
your friendliness- you
actually chat with
complete
strangers
on the bus! But, on the
negative side, some
of you are very good
rubbish- “it’s the new
recycling
scheme”
is the favourite. In
fact it’s a minority
of
irresponsible
residents who just
can’t be bothered
to take their litter
home or their excess
So, if your area’s
awash with litter, my
advice to you is- don’t
just moan, get off
your backside and do
something about it.
Keep Wales Tidy is a
good place to start.
get.rid.of.litter@gmail.
com
April ad_final.pdf
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
1
31/03/2016
09:03
Page 8
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Friends of Saron Fight On 1931 Angling Association Cup
DESPITE two major
blows, The Friends
of Saron are determinedly
pressing
ahead in their bid to
restore the old graveyard.
They were disappointed to hear that
the leaseholders of
the site, The Union
of Welsh Independents, would not support their application
for funding - to repair
boundary walls- from
The Heritage Lottery
Fund because of their
stance on gambling.
But, in any case, The
HLF informed The
Friends that
they
could not proceed
with their bid as it
didn't meet their criteria.
David Collier, chair,
said:"We always knew
that the hard work that
our volunteers have
Phil Howells
been carrying out to
improve the interior of
the graveyard would
not be the oly challenge that the project
would face and we
weren't wrong."
Repairs to the collapsed retaining wall
are estimated to cost
£40,000.
But The HLF wrote:"From your project
enquiry form, I can
see that this essential
structural work is part
of a wider project but
as you would only be
asking HLF for funding for the structural
work, I’m afraid the
project presented to
us"would not achieve
all the outcomes required to be successful.
If you wanted to devel-
op a wider project with
opportunities to help
people learn about
the heritage you are
exploring, please do
get back in touch to
discuss."
The Friends are pursuing, on advice,
possible funding from
another source, following discussion at
their latest meeting
held at The Angel Inn.
Repairs to the wall
are needed so FoS
can proceed with their
other plans to improve
the site and hopefully
eventually set up a
wildlife memorial garden there.
**Two days after the
meeting, The Friends
held their Volunteer
Day at the graveyard
as well as joining with
other village groups in
a Litter Picking bid to
tidy up the village.
Marie Curie daffodil collection
Colin Parker
The collection which
took place during
February and March
throughout the Borough and in many locations .
.
So many groups , organisations , churches were involved in
collecting it is encouraging to see our
community working
together for such a
good cause, raised a
total of £2677
The Rotary Club who
collected on a Saturday in the Retail Parc
collected £774.04p.
They were suprised
how many people
from outside our area
had travelled to shop
there. Places like
Neath, Hay on Wye,
Caerphilly, Radyr, Aberdare, Glyn Neath,
Ebbw Vale and Abergavenny. Its a pity
we can't get them into
the town afterwards !
! ANY IDEAS ? Contact the Times.
Cancer Aid in bloom at last
The gardens surrounding Cancer Aid
Merthyr Tydfil are now
in spring bloom.
Clients arriving at the
centre have great
" First Impressions
" of the centre and
the wonderful work
that it does. The garden which has been
knocked into shape
over the past year
by the Rotary Club
of Merthyr Tydfil and
they now fully maintain it. Tracey Burke
the centre manager said " The beauty
of the garden gives
everyone a lift. Staff
,Clients, Carer, and
Colin Parker
Volunteers alike ".
David Robbins ,the
President of the Rotary Club said " one who
plants a garden plants
happiness"
Dear Sir
As the enclosed letter indicates it was
around June 2005
when the following
sequence of events
occurred.
Anthony Rees
home and kept it safe.
er bag I found it contained a Cup last presented or at least last
engraved in 1931 and
it had been presented
to the Merthyr Borough Angling Association. The only association I can remember
was the Merthyr and
District who amalgamated with St Tydfil
Angling association
to form the present
Merthyr Tydfil Angling
Association. I took it
In about two to three
weeks of the cup being left with myself a
received a letter attached from a Victor
Parker of Bournemouth who had called
me regarding two
photographs he had
of a fishing competition held at Pontsarn .
He indicated that Bob
Parker was the third
from the right with the
stick. Due to his son
not willing to part with
the photographs, I do
not blame him he sent
me copies and they
scanned in well
The Pictures were
taken outside what
was the Pontsarn
Hotel that was at the
time together with the
Church Tavern a regular watering hole so
I am told for Anglers.
I still cannot get over
the coincidence of the
two things coming together after all those
years in such a short
time.
I used to be partner in the business
Millwards
Butchers
opened in 1840 when
Merthyr was a booming town with the iron
works in full swing the
shop is still there selling meat. I have also
been Treasurer of
Merthyr Anglers since
1970 and still am.
I had retired and as
my nephew was running the business I
kept in touch helping
out. Returning to the
shop one day during
that July I was informed that a person
whose name I did not
recognised had left a
fishing Trophy for myself as it belonged to
the Association and
he had come back
from Australia To this
day I cannot place
who that person could
have been.
On opening the carri-
outside what was the Pontsarn Hotel, Bob Parker with stick on the right.
Circa 1920, Bob Parker third from the right.
CONGRATULATIONS
Page 9
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Heritage Lottery Fund’s £1.2m support to continue Merthyr Tydfil’s renaissance
The
transformation
of Merthyr Tydfil town
centre is set to continue with a £1.2m award
from the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF)
to help preserve its
unique character.
Merthyr Tydfil County
Borough Council has
received initial support¹ for its HLF Townscape Heritage (TH)²
bid for the Pontmorlais Townscape Heritage Quarter, Continuing the Renaissance
project.
The £1.9m initiative
joint-funded by HLF,
the local authority
and Cadw, will see
the ongoing refurbishment of a number of
Jackie Huybs
historically important
buildings - providing
new jobs and training
opportunities - as part
of a vision to create
a Heritage Quarter
combining arts and
culture facilities with
niche retailers.
Development funding
of £33,300 has also
been awarded to help
the County Borough
Council progress their
plans to apply for a full
grant at a later date.
“This investment will
preserve the unique
industrial landscape
character of the most
significant
Welsh
town of the Industrial Revolution,” said
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Leader Cllr Brendan
Toomey. “Our aim is
to preserve the historic buildings in the
area and preserve or
re-introduce the features that make each
building special.”
In 2011, a TH award
of £1.58m was given towards the first
phase of the project,
which saw the restoration of 10 buildings
including the Grade II
listed St David’s Hall.
This area was prioritised as it contains a
number of significant
Meet the Green Party candidate
Dear residents of Merthyr and Rhymney, I
would like to introduce
myself, My name is
Julie Colbran and I
am the Green Party
candidate for Merthyr
Tydfil and Rhymney.
I am just an ordinary
person,who grew up
in a working class industrial valley, my father was a miner and
I know all about the
issues that concern
local people.
I was a lifelong Labour supporter, until
New Labour started
drifting away from me,
I felt that it no longer
spoke for me. Feeling
frustrated and disillusioned by politics
in general, I became
drawn to the Green
Party, the only party
that spoke for ordinary
people. I care deeply about local issues
concerning local peo-
ple, I would love the
opportunity to work
for you and give you
a voice in the Senedd.
The Green Party
are not a one policy party, we have a
comprehensive manifesto that includes:
Housing, education,
diverse the representatives in the Senedd,
the more democracy
is possible. A Green
voice in the Welsh
Government
can
make a huge difference, and a real challenge to the closed,
business as usual
world of politics that
we have at the moment.
Thank you for taking
the time to read this,
and consider voting
Green on the 5th of
May 2016.
Editors note:
health, energy, transport, jobs and climate
change. We would
like to protect and
develop the communities of Wales, and
encourage the Welsh
language and culture.
The more open and
Julie Colbran is one of
three candidates for the
position of AM that have
replied to our invitation
to speak directly to the
people of Merthyr Tydfil. Julie is also a member of Merthyr Council
Truths so that she can
stay in touch with local
residents concerns.
CONGRATULATIONS
listed buildings with
a high architectural
value, some of which
have already benefited from inward investment
including
the Old Town Hall
(Redhouse), Canolfan
Soar and the former
YMCA.
Cllr Toomey said the
Pontmorlais
area
lacked the economic
vitality of the nearby
High Street, and small
businesses were under severe pressure
– compounded by out
of town retail parks
- which had led to a
lack of maintenance
and deterioration of
the heritage buildings.
“As a result, Pontmorlais should develop a
niche function in order
to rebuild its vitality,”
he added. “The vision
is to create a Heritage
Quarter where arts,
culture, and media
will flourish alongside
niche retailers that will
attract a wide range
of visitors from across
the region.”
ifications and work
placements on heritage schemes across
the region.
The County Borough
Council is developing a partnership with
Merthyr College, Tydfil Training and local
contractors to provide
training in traditional
building skills, resulting in students gaining more formal qual-
Richard
Bellamy,
Head of HLF Wales,
said: “Historic town
centres are the beating heart of communities, so where they
fall into disrepair,
the community pays
a heavy price. Research shows that
“This has proved successful, as evidenced
by the progress of our
current scheme - and
is something that we
intend to develop and
further
implement,”
said Cllr Toomey.
this can be changed
and that even small
changes - improving
shop fronts or restoring architectural features - can make a
real difference.
“Bringing further Pontmorlais buildings back
into use will attract
new enterprises to
the area and assist
existing businesses
by increasing footfall
and job opportunities,
which has started
to develop following
phase one. HLF is
pleased to support
this worthwhile project.”
Page 10
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Toilet Twinning Update The Funeral of John Reddy
The Parish of Merthyr
Tydfil closed their
Toilet Twinning Charity Appeal with an
amazing £1735.00p.
This cheque was presented to the charity
at a special service
on Sunday 13th
March to mark the
end of our Mission
Week, at Abercanaid
Community School.
The Archbishop of
Llandaff presided at
the service and as
a thank you he was
presented with a toilet
plaque, for his own
personal toilet! He
was delighted, it was
something he had
always wanted!
So much money
has been raised that
every church in the
Parish will be able
to display at least
one plaque in each
of their toilets, and
one has been given
to Cyfarthfa Primary
School for their kind
donation. We were
able to put school
toilet blocks in Chad,
Susan Morris
Kenya, India and Pakistan, and individual
toilets in Afghanistan,
Burundi, Cambodia,
Ethiopia, Democratic
Republic of Congo,
Bangladesh, Uganda,
Sierra Leone, Ivory
Coast, Guatemala,
Pakistan, India, Phillipines and Liberia.
We have covered the
world with toilets!
Once again our
thanks to everyone
who helped with this
project, Brenda and
Roger for inspiring
the Sunday School
children at St Tydfil's
Well Church, Quar to
undertake the challenge, 2nd Merthyr
Scouts, Cubs and
Beavers for their help
and participation in
the sponsored walk
and to the members
of our churches, St
David's, Ss Peter and
Paul and St Tydfil's
Well for digging deep
and giving so gen-
erously to this vital
Charity - TOILET
TWINNING!!
took place on March 14th...
HOW John Reddy,
whose funeral was
held on March 14,
helped his grandson
Luke go off on a European fooball jaunt wih
mixed feellings, has
been told.
Former councillor and
Mayor, ex-chairman
of the then Merthyr
Tydfil Football Club,
businesman
and
church worker. JR,
as he was known to
many had his requiem mass at St Mary's
Roman
Catholic
Church, Merthyr Tydfil, and before a large
attendance, Luke, in
an emotional eulogy,
paid tribute.
The year was 2005
and the club he followed, Liverpool, were
to meet Mlan in The
Champions League
Final at Istanbul, Turkey.He was withour
tickets. But John Reddy timely told him he
OMG!....A devilishly dark play about sex,
betrayal and the beginning of time.........
The Writers and Director of the hilarious
play The Wizard of
Gurnwah, which debuted at last year’s
Merthyr Rising Festival, proudly return this
year with a brand new
and original comedy
OMG!
Written by Anthony
Bunko & Paul O’Sullivan and directed by
Neil Maidman, OMG!
features cast members from The Wizard
of Gurnwah as well
as some new faces,
ready to take you on
a journey through
this devilishly dark
comedy about sex,
betrayal and the beginning of time. But
be warned, this play
contains strong language, scenes of a
sexual nature… and
large bananas!
TMTT Reporter
Anthony Bunko told
us that they were
amazed by the success of last year’s
show the Wizard of
Gurnwah, which is actually performing for
two nights at Aberdare Coliseum in sept
2016.
have never been to
the theatre before to
come and see it and
enjoy the entire experience. It is a play for
the masses, not for
the upper classes ha
ha.’
‘This comedy is all
about the beginning
of time and a feud between God and Lucifer. It includes Adam
Team Gurnwah
‘It is great to see how
much talent there is in
this town and our aim
is to get people who
and Eve, the Garden
of Eden and a host of
weird and wonderful
characters and animals including Liam
Gallagher and a vampire nun.’
Premiering exclusively at this year’s Merthyr Rising Festival on
Thurs 2nd June and
Friday 3rd June 2016
at 8pm, you’d be mad
to miss it and even
madder if you don’t!
Find us on www.facebook.com/gurnwah
for all the latest updates!
Tickets available exclusively from Theatre Soar Box Office
Tel: 01685 722176
or https://uk.patronbase.com/_Soar/
Productions/F5/
Performances
Tickets £9 + £1 booking fee, 16yrs+ Bar
open from 7pm Approx. running time
2hrs + interval
Phil Howells
had been given ttickets for the big game.
Luke had hopes of
taking a mate and
enjoying experience,
with a few drinks. But
grandad John said he
would go with him.
"And he kept an eye
on me all the time,"
Luke told the mourners, regaling them
with John's bartering over the price of
goods in a bazaar. But
it was a good trip with
Liverpool winning on
penalties after being
3-0 down.
Luke said that many
people would have
crossed paths in their
lives with John Reddy
through his various
commitments during
his active life.
His Grace Archbishop George Stack and
Canon Barry English
officiated at the ser-
vice and at the interment at Cefn Coed
Cemetery.
The
Archbishop
spoke of Mr Reddy's
work and love for the
church, and it was
fitting that pupils of
Bishop Hedley High
School were present
to read some of the
lessons.
Former Aston Villa,
Birmingham and Wrexham
midfielder,
Merthyr-born
Kevin
Rogers, who was a
member of the successful Merthyr Tydfil
team when they beat
Atalanta in the first leg
of The European Cup
Winners Cup in 1987,
under manager Lyn
Jones, was one of the
bearers, who also included Wayne Hodgkins, a club director at
the time.
Rogers said, before
the hearse left for
Cefn
Coed:"They
were great years, including all those long
bus trips across the
country. You couldn't
make up such a great
story."
John Strand, board
secretary of the present Merthyr Town
FC, who paid tribute
to Mr Reddy in a recent match-day programme, took part in
the bidding prayers at
the church.
Also
among
the
mourners
at
the
church was former
MP for Merthyr Tydfil,
Ted Rowlands, who
was often seen, with
his family, at Merthyr
matches.
JR leaves wife Dot,
son Anthony and
grandson Luke. Donations in his memory
were to St Mary's RC
Church Restoration
Fund.
Page 12
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Gerald Jones MP backs ‘Keep Sunday Special’
Last week Gerald
Jones MP attended
a lobby of Parliament
organised by the
Keep Sunday Special
coalition to oppose
the
Government’s
proposal to devolve
Sunday trading regulations.
Members of shopworkers union Usdaw
and
convenience
store owners met with
MPs to explain how
extended opening in
large stores will reduce trade for small
stores and lead to
even more retail staff
in large stores being
pressured to work
longer hours on Sundays.
The Labour MP for
Merthyr Tydfil and
Rhymney said: “The
Sunday Trading Act
is a great British compromise, which gives
everyone a little bit of
what they want. Retailers can trade, customers can shop, staff
can work; whilst Sun-
TMTT Reporter
day remains a special
day, different to other
days, and shopworkers can spend some
time with their family.
“I am convinced that
shops are currently open long enough
for people to do their
shopping and that
Sunday should remain a special day,
different to any other.
I oppose devolving
Sunday trading because it will lead to
longer opening hours.
“Extending
Sunday
trading
does
not
mean
customers
have more money to
spend, it would not
create jobs and could
lead to the closure of
smaller stores. So this
is not a way to boost
the local economy or
help town centres. It
would be detrimental
to shopworkers and
their families, as well
as wider society, so
I am pleased to be
supporting the Keep
Sunday Special campaign.”
John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Usdaw
and our members are
delighted to have the
support of Gerald and
many others who value the special nature
of Sunday and want
to protect it. There is
no great desire from
shopworkers,
customers or retailers for
these changes and
many oppose them.
“The
Government
are pushing through
these changes in the
final stages of a Bill
which will be voted on
next week, but without
having published any
up to date economic
evidence to support
their case, any impact
assessment or a family test to weigh up the
effect on the families
of shopworkers, who
already work long
hours at weekends.
“We are therefore
calling on all MPs
to oppose this illthought-out measure
and for the Government to concentrate
on supporting retail
businesses and their
staff.”
David Rowlands, UKIP candidate for AM
Last year I had the
privilege of standing
as the UKIP candidate in the Merthyr
and Rhymney constituency coming second
to Labour. During my
campaign I was struck
by the resilience and
aspirations
of
all
those I met, but was
disappointed to see
the neglect of Merthyr
and the surrounding
valleys by the Assembly Government.
The people of Merthyr
and Rhymney have
been overwhelmingly loyal to Labour for
over 100 years. They
deserve better. UKIP
is the only party to
stand up exclusively for the BRITISH
working classes. As
an Assembly member I promise to make
Merthyr a town to be
proud of once more.
Troedyrhiw News Round-up
THE ladies' hairdressers Style And Smile
closed in
Bridge
Street, Troedyrhiw after just a few months.
It was always going
to be difficult as there
were already four other such businesses in
the village.
A barber's
shop
opened a few years
ago but that also
didn't last long. Opening a business in a village is not easy these
days but the time was
when
Troedyrhiw
folk did most of their
weekly shopping in
the village, and went
to Merthyr Tydfil only
on special occasions.
Hard
to
imagine
the large number of
shops there were in
Troedyrhiw in
the
1960s and earlier.
***
Carmel Baptist Chapel had a busy month
leading up to Easter.
There was a suitable
theme to the morning
services officiated by
David Chilcott, Geraint James and Rob
Devereux.
On :Palm Sunday
Pastor Chilcott spoke
about the King who
rode into Jerusalem
on a humble donkey.
Meditation was observed during an
event at Carmel on
Maundy Thursday.
The Good Friday
morning service allowed
the congregation to meditate on
TMTT Reporter
Jesus' sacrifice on
the Cross. Open communion followed.
In the afternoon there
was a Famly Event
with Easter-themed
activities and games,
with prizes, for children, followed by refreshments.
In the evening the feature film The Gospel
of John was shown.
The services culminated in morning and
evening services held
on Easter Sunday.
Refreshments were
also served.
Carmel were thanked
for their work and donations for the Merthyr Cyon Foodbank.
Especially
needed
recently were jars of
cooking sauce, tins of
carrots and small tins
of sweetcorn.
Carmel were saddened by the death of
Bryn Satch at the age
of 82. He had been
unwell for a while.
Sympathy was extended to daughters
Louise, Sandra and
Jane and to the other familty members.
Bryn was a stalwart
at Carmel and wellknown in the village.
Youngsters from The
Crusaders at Carmel
and others helped
take part in the Spring
Clean-up held in Tro-
edyrhiw on March 19
involving local organisations and the ward
councillors.
A very special day
was held on March 18
in Carmel. All the children from Troedyrhiw
Community Primary
School
were welcomed for an Easter
service. With loads
of action songs and
a film they seemed to
love it. David Chilcott
and Liz Jamed did a
great job telling them
the Easter story and
about Palm Sunday,
reported Youth Leader Matthew Kendrick
who also took part
and made the preparations. The children
really enjoyed all the
action songs and
gave it plenty of effort.
"It was such a pleasure to have them with
us again," said Matthew.
The school thanked
Carmel for making
links with them.
Phil Howells read
three poems at the
March Open Mic
Night at The Imperial
Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil,
on March 17 when
Bargoed poet Julie
Pritchard
launched
her latest collection,
The Healing Garden.
A PACT meeting will
be held at The Willows Centre on Thursday April 7 at 6pm.
WHATS NEW
BEGINNERS CHILDRENS FREESTYLE DANCE CLASS
MONDAYS 5.00 - 6.00 WITH SCOTT
AT THE CATHOLIC HALL, DOWLAIS.
FOR DETAILS WWW.DANCEWITHSIMON.COM
Tel. 01443 690647 mobile 07904389019.
Page 13
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
ONE MORE LOCAL “MARKET”
So far these pages
of the Merthyr Times
have contained several markets, their
location and rich histories. One type of
“mart” or “market” remains, a throwback to
the semi-rural, pagan
customs,
practices
and rituals of Merthyr
Tydfil life at the beginning of the 19th century. Judging by references contained in
local newspapers this
particular practice borrowed from the countryside was dying out
by the second quarter
of the 19th century, by
the 1840s: that of the
sale of a wife! Given
the predicament of
woman hood then,
that she was merely a
chattel or item of ownership possessing no
inherent rights under
the law, it was custom and practice in
extreme cases for the
husband – for whatever reason or reasons
– to “sell” his wife for
cash or for repayment
of a favour. Readers
might
remember
reference to such
in one of Thomas
Hardy’s novels; but
which one? Write in
with your answer.
The Sale of a Wife
Thus in December
1832 Anne Vaughan
of Dowlais was committed at the local assizes for “marrying”
Thomas Wickley, her
husband being John
Vaughan and being
still alive. Notice that
she is the accused
and as the local
newspaper
(Cardiff
and Merthyr Guardian December 21
1832) headline read,
accused of “Polygamy”, she having more
than one partner. The
paper
immediately
speculated, however, that the sale of a
wife had taken place
and whether it was
a public transaction
and therefore against
the law. The following
week’s account (December 28) reported
Huw Williams
Local Historian
that John Vaughan,
an engine tender of
Dowlais (that would
be hardly a railway
locomotive driver but
rather a stationary
maintenance
task),
was to be charged
with publicly selling his
wife Anne Vaughan
to Wickley. The sale
had been effected,
the report stated, in
the latter’s house but
behind closed doors.
The sum paid for the
transaction was 15
shillings and one penny (76 pence). Since
it was not a public
“sale” no sentence of
the usual six months
imprisonment could
be levied but severe
reprimands were issued to all parties.
The men, it would,
seem got off lightly;
the woman probably
remained tainted forever.
More commonplace
a practice, reported
the previous month
(Cardiff and Merthyr
Guardian November
24 1832), was that
of John Evans, a collier at the Plymouth
Works of ironmasters
the Hills at Pentrebach south of Merthyr Tydfil town centre,
who had absconded,
leaving his wife and
children “chargeable
to the parish of Merthyr Tydfil”. That is, they
were a cost on the
parish’s poor rate, relieved with payment in
kind such as food and
fuel especially during
the winter months.
He was away some
six years working under another name,
co-habiting with another women. He was
apprehended a few
miles from town at
another colliery where
he was earning 15
shillings (75 pence) a
week. Cases of abandonment of wife and
children by the head
of household, again
for whatever reasons,
were fairly commonplace, especially in
the straitened times of
slack work, low wages or some personal
or local crisis. Richard
Jones at the beginning
of 1833 was charged
upon the oath of
Abraham Jones with
running away and
leaving his wife and
children chargeable
to the parish and was
given three months
hard labour. Similarly in March of that
year William Watkins
formerly of the Dowlais Iron Works was
committed to three
months hard labour
for non-maintenance
of his bastard child;
David Thomas, also
absent from his workplace, was given one
month hard labour
for desertion from
his wife and child,
getting drunk and
neglecting his work
at Penydarren. Life
for women and children in Merthyr Tydfil
then was precarious,
dangerous and often
short. Enoch Davies,
aged twelve, was
killed at work at one
of the Dowlais Iron
Company’s nine pits
when a large mass of
stone fell on his head
(Cardiff and Merthyr
Guardian March 16
1833).
Y Ceffyl Pren: the
Wooden Horse
In spring 1834 another rural, quasi-pagan
custom and ritual
gained local publicity
in the newspaper columns when several
men and women were
fined 40 shillings (£2)
and 20 shillings (£1)
respectively “for an
outrageous assault on
Anne Harman”(Cardiff
and Merthyr Guardian
March 1 1834). She
had been summoned
from her workplace,
forced upon a ladder
and carried in a violent and tumultuous
manner to “Pwllyweiad” (Duck’s Pool) and
from where she was
pelted with stones
and mud as far as her
mother’s house. The
paper solemnly stated
that the “justification
was that she was an
adulteress, and that
such was their custom
on such occasions.”
The woman was four
days in a succession
of fits and so injured
that she could not turn
in her bed. Magistrates in passing sentence referred those
arbitrary judges to the
Scriptures, citing St.
John, chapter 8, verse
7: that he who is without sin, let him throw
the first stone! No
more is heard of the
case from that local
source. Here was the
time-honoured practice and ritual of “y
ceffyl pren” the wooden horse, borrowed
from the Welsh countryside and imported
into industrial, urban
Merthyr Tydfil as a
means of dispensing
local justice to those
who had broken the
commonly held moral
code of practice in a
given local community.
Hiring
fairs
were
common as part of a
market place activity
throughout the ages.
The Waun Fair above
Dowlais met up to four
times a year and was
for the trading of farm
servants to work the
seasons on up-country farmsteads as well
as a mart for the exchange of animals,
notably mountain ponies. These labourers
were given board and
lodge but a pittance
of pay. Average wages of a Welsh farm
labourer at mid 19th
century was about £8
– that is, £8 a year!!
Editors note:
Have you got any history articles of Merthyr
Tydfil you would like
to share with readers.
Contact us at:
tmtt@journalist.com
Roman update
As most of you know,
I’ve kept going on and
on about the Roman
location for months. I
suppose a lot of you
will know by now that
the location is Cyfarthfa Park. The Geo
Survey didn't come
up as good as we
thought it would but it
hasn't been written off
by the Arceologist's
at GGAT just yet. I’m
still confident we have
something here although I was hugely
disappointed with the
Geo Results.
Anthony Thomas
Local Historian
Crawshay built his
castle and his family
lived here.
when Roman pottery
and other artefacts
started appearing. He
must have been sick
to death of me going
on about the Roman's
for the past 2 years’.
Also a mention to Stuart Sutton who found
a Roman coin in one
of the field's over 15
years ago which kept
me metaldetecting in
all weathers, although
I still haven’t found
I predict that within
2 years’ people will
come from worldwide
to visit Merthyr and it’s
Cyfarthfa Park.
One person I need to
thank, who I haven’t
yet, as it would have
given the location
away is Park Ranger Ian Everett-Woolston who I’ve been
in contact with since
the start of all this.
What started out with
me doing some metal detecting in certain
areas for him and it
then just snowballed
one yet. I’m still out
every weekend with
Steve Davies rain or
shine exploring every
bit of the park and
have come across a
possible Lime Work’s,
possible Medieval settlement, a well, a kiln,
an old bridge crossing
and possible medieval building remains’.
The whole park has
so much history other than when William
GGAT Statement:
Thank you to all our
wonderful
volunteers
who participated in the
Geophysical Survey at
Cyfarthfa Park. We carried out the Geophysical Survey across fields
adjacent to the potential
Roman Road after a
local resident Anthony
Thomas came across a
number of metal objects,
Roman in date, whilst
metal detecting. Along
with Anthony, GGAT
and Dr Tim Young of
Geoarch, we conducted
a five-day survey with
local residents of Merthyr Tydfil and Cyfarthfa
Primary School. We
discovered a Post-medieval farm house and a
number of features associated with the original
landscaping conducted
by William Crawshay
of Cyfarthfa Ironworks.
The speculative Roman
structures proved difficult to identify, however we hope to do some
further
investigations,
including trenching and
excavations, in the summer with the community. Keep checking our
posts for updates on the
potential upcoming projects!
Volunteers needed
We are looking for
volunteers to come
and help us unearth
a possible Medieval
building and road that
Anthony Thomas
Local Historian
are buried under a
couple of feet of earth.
If you are interested,
please contact me by
email me at lennybook@Hotmail.co.uk
All the latest Merthyr Tydfil Crime figures
Crime figures for
each of the Electoral Wards in Merthyr
Tydfil for January
2016.
Bedlinog:
24 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 6, Criminal
Damage & Arson 6,
Public Order 1, Vehicle Crime 2, Violence
& Sexual Offences 9.
Cyfarthfa:
72 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 17, Burglary 4, Criminal Damage & Arson 9, Drugs
12, Other Crime 4,
Other Theft 5, Public
Order 5, Robbery 1,
Shoplifting 1, Vehicle
Crime 2, Violence &
Sexual Offences 12.
Merthyr Vale:
30 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 2, Burglary
3, Criminal Damage &
Arson 7, Possession
of weapons 1, Drugs
3, Other crime 1, Other Theft 1, Public order 3, Vehicle Crime
1, Violence & Sexual
Offences 8.
TMTT Reporter
Dowlais:
71 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 14, Burglary 5, Criminal Damage & Arson 9, Other
crime 3, Other Theft
12, Public Order 3,
Shoplifting 4, Vehicle
Crime 7, Violence &
Sexual Offences 14.
Park:
53 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 12, Burglary 3, Criminal Damage & Arson 7, Other
Theft 15, Public Order
3, Shoplifting 7, Vehicle Crime 1, Violence
& Sexual Offences 5.
Gurnos:
46 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 14, Burglary 1, Criminal Damage & Arson 4, Other
Theft 3, Public Order
2, Shoplifting 2, Vehicle Crime 3, Violence
& Sexual Offences 17.
Penydarren:
24 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 6, Burglary
2, Drugs 1, Criminal
Damage & Arson 5,
Other theft 2, Shoplifting 1, Vehicle Crime
6, Violence & Sexual
Offences 1.
ALARM SYSTEMS, CCTV & SECURITY LIGHTING
Plymouth:
35 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 13, Burglary 4, Criminal Damage & Arson 4, Possession of weapons 1,
Public order 1, Vehicle Crime 4, Violence
& Sexual Offences 8.
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Telephone: 01685 388366
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Town:
99 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 31, Burglary 7, Criminal Damage
& Arson 8, Drugs 1,
Other crime 2, Other
Theft 5, Public Order
4, Robbery 2, Shoplifting 13, Theft from
the person 2, Vehicle
Crime 3, Violence &
Sexual Offences 21.
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 6, Burglary
4, Other Crime 1, Other theft 3, Public Order 2, Vehicle Crime
2, Violence & Sexual
Offences 4.
Treharris:
22 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
Vaynor:
25 crimes reported.
The crimes reported
are broken down as
follows: Anti Social
Behaviour 4, Burglary 2, Criminal Damage & Arson 4, Other
Theft 1, Public order
3, Vehicle Crime 1,
Violence & Sexual Offences 10.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open
Government Licence v2.0
Our wordsearch
this month has Everest as it's theme
Mount Everest
Name:
Created with TheTeachersCorner.net Word Search Maker
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NEPAL
WORDSEARCH
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Page 15
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
“Once Upon a Time in Wales”
and “This Time In Wales”.......
Celebrated Merthyr
photographer Robert
Haines brings a brand
new series of images
to Redhouse, alongside an older series
from the early 1970s.
The older series of
photographs is titled
“Once Upon a Time in
Wales” and captures
some of the characters that help tell the
story of 1970s Merthyr. In 2008 Haines’s
publisher Dewi Lewis said of this work
“for 35 years this
extraordinary collection of photographs
remained
hidden
from the world. Taken
around 1971/1972, by
19 year old photographer Robert Haines,
they record life in the
Welsh valleys, in the
village of Heolgerrig
and nearby Merthyr
Tydfil. Heolgerrig a
very close-knit community with Welsh
TMTT Reporter
the first language. It
was a mining community where most
of the men worked
underground and life
seemed to revolve
around the pub and
the chapel. Merthyr
Tydfil, once the ‘Iron
Capital’ of the world,
had a justifiable reputation as ‘tough’
with characters such
as hard man, Melvin
Webber, who died after being blasted by
a shotgun, and ‘Mad’
Malcolm for whom no
chemical substance
was too strong”.
Haines has returned
to this work, compiling
a brand new series to
be shown alongside
capturing some of the
characters who continue the story of Merthyr Tydfil today, in
a new series of work
Merthyr helps the World
entitled “This Time in
Wales”. Haines explains “I am revisiting
Merthyr Tydfil and the
village of Heolgerrig
to photograph its people. It will be a modern day update to my
project Once Upon a
Time in Wales. The
project is supported
by Arts Council Wales
and the REDHOUSE
Gallery in Merthyr
Tydfil where the work
will be exhibited from
April to June 2016.
“The incredible characters in my hometown Merthyr Tydfil
and my home village
of Heolgerrig.
A unique place of ordinary yet extraordinary
people."
“Once Upon a Time in
Wales” and “This Time
In Wales” is showing
at REDHOUSE from
2nd April until 28th
June 2016.
TMTT Reporter
Colin Parker
box will be on display
at the Vaynor Show in
August.
Dr.
Ganish
seen
here presenting the
cheque to Shelter Box
at its Great Britain &
Island conference this
weekend in April.
Rotarian Dr. Ganesh
presents a cheque for
£100 to Shelter box
,who provide life supporting equipment, to
areas of world disasters to help survival in
tragic times.
Hopefully a shelter
Dowlais Male Choir announce competition date
In 1978 Côr Meibion Dowlais decided
to honour its founder
Musical Director Mr.
D.T.Davies - a musician highly respected throughout South
Wales as a conductor,
accompanist and an
adjudicator - by instigating a Bursary in his
memory.
The aim of the D.T.
Davies Young Musician Bursary Award
is as an incentive to
encourage promising
young classical musicians to continue on
their musical journey
and achieve their am-
TMTT Reporter
bitions.
Previous winners include Jeffrey Lloyd
Roberts now singing with Opera North
and due to appear in
New York, and Susan Thomas, principal
flautist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Others have
gone on to teach or
just continued to enjoy making their own
music. Whatever they
have chosen to do,
the award showcases
the young talent we
have in the town.
The 2015 winner was
harpist Eve Price
(photo
attached),
who at the age of
15 is already tasting
success in her chosen career. A year 10
pupil at Ysgol Gyfun
Rhydywaun and living in Aberfan, Eve
performed in Dowlais
Male Choir's 50th Anniversary Gala Performance alongside Jason Howard, and has
more recently won
a Young Musician's
competition with the
Rotary Club across
Rhondda, Aberdare
and Llantrisant, competing against opposition several years her
senior.
tition will be held at
The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day
Saints in Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday 13th
CONGRATULATIONS
however there will be
a collection for the
Mayors Appeal 2016
- Cancer Aid Merthyr
and Welsh Air Ambulance.
For the very first year
we have added 'soloist' to the entry criteria and hope to hear
some budding classical singers take to the
stage.
This year’s compe-
April at 7pm. There
are no tickets required
The recipient of the
bursary will receive a
cheque, an engraved
glass trophy and a
chance to perform in
one of the choir's concerts.
Tony and Bette Wade
50th celebrated their
wedding anniversary
on March the 5th .
Congratulations Alison, Elwyn and family.
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD......
by Gaynor Jones of TasteBuddiesWales
Cooking with children
Cooking is great fun
and with the Easter
holiday falling early
this year it means
two weeks with the
children off school
and the possibility
of weather that may
keep them indoors
(probably more
rain!). So what can
you do to keep them
amused? Cook of
course.
As a Home Economics teacher with
over 25yrs in the
classroom and now
running Tastebuddies
I teach children from
18 months upwards
“hands on” cookery
and I still love it. I
have a passion for
what I do and still get
a thrill when I teach
children new skills,
see their excitement
and enthusiasm for
cooking even the
most simple dishes.
We all have FUN and
that’s how learning
should be for children. Cooking is
not only about the
cooking and eating
(though these are
important) but also
about teaching the
children a whole raft
of other skills.
Young children
develop fine motor
skills, great for hand
eye coordination and
following instructions.
Listening and following written recipes
will extend their
language skills and
it is so important to
sit with the children,
preferably at a table,
at mealtimes to talk
GLAMORGAN
SAUSAGES (age
5-7)
These are vegetarian cheese
sausages lovely as
snacks or served
with baked beans
or salad
children and plan
dishes within their
attention span.
Don’t be annoyed
if they want to
leave half way
through. They
may need a short
break and then
return to carry on.
Having said that,
I have found that
Gaynor Jones
TasteBuddies
to them about the day
and encourage good
eating patterns.
Cooking is full of opportunities to develop numeracy skills,
counting, weighting,
measuring are all part
and parcel of each
recipe. With the very
little ones start to
count out spoonfuls
or portions of ingredients and with the
older children get the
weighing scale out.
When children cook
with you at home try
to bear in mind some
simple things
• Don’t worry too
much about the
mess and get
them involved in
clearing up – it’s
just as important
as the cooking
(this will certainly
pay back when
they are older
and clear up after
themselves!!)
• Be patient,
especially with
the very little
INGREDIENTS
½ leek or 2 spring
onions chopped
1 teaspoon sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
1 large jacket
potato cooked and
cooled – easy in
the microwave
•
•
cooking is a task
that can improve
concentration for
children as they
are quite focused
on the recipe.
Don’t worry if
things don’t quite
turn out like the
picture in the
book – usually
food is edible and
the children will
enjoy it!!
Let the children
do as much as
they can themselves and don’t
interfere too
much – it is so
easy to take over
and not let them
get involved
All children like to
make cakes and it is
easy to just spend
time with children
75g Caerphilly or
cheddar cheese
grated
½ teaspoon mixed
dried herbs
½ teaspoon
wholegrain mustard – optional
100g wholemeal
breadcrumbs
doing these but make
an effort to cook savoury foods, we have
too much sugar in
our diet and sugar is
a learnt and developed taste, use fruit
to sweeten foods and
limit the sugar they
eat. Sugar is responsible for tooth decay
and can contribute
toward obesity. At
Easter if they have
had chocolate eggs
then this is a good
time to redress the
balance a little and
cook low sugar and
non sweet items with
them. Children need
to learn basic cooking
skills to improve their
eating patterns later
on in life and they
are never too young
to start. Cooking is a
good way to introduce new foods and
they may try foods
they don’t normally
like if they have been
involved in making
the dish.
These recipes have
suggested ages as a
guideline but try them
with all ages – Have
fun !!!
– approx 3 slices
bread you can
break them up with
your fingers into
small pieces or use
a blender
1 egg
METHOD
Cook the leeks in
HOT CROSS
BUNS
(age 7plus)
Makes 4 small
buns
with water
plus
Golden syrup or
honey for sticky
glaze after cooking
4 tablespoons
strong white or
wholemeal bread
flour
1 teaspoons mixed
spice or cinnamon
1 teaspoon caster
sugar
25g /1 dessertspoon margarine
Handful mixed
dried fruit or one
grated apple (leave
the skin on)
1 teaspoon easy
add dried yeast
Milk to mix
1 egg
Plus Golden syrup
or honey for sticky
glaze after cooking
– optional
INGREDIENTS
Crosses – make
up this paste
or just cut the
crosses into the
top of each bun
3 tablespoons flour
mixed to a paste
LEEK AND
MUSHROOM
CROUSTADES
(age 3-5yrs)
1 teaspoon sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
1 leek cleaned and
sliced – you can
replace these with
spring onions
100g mushrooms
wiped clean and
chopped
6 slices medium
wholemeal bread
100g cheddar
cheese
25 g butter or margarine
METHOD
Rub in the margarine
to the flour with your
fingers or use a knife
to do this.
Add the spice, sugar,
dried fruit, yeast, and
mix
Add the egg and milk
to make dough that
you can handle. Turn
1 teaspoon sun-
Fry the leeks and
mushrooms until
soft or put into a
bowl and microwave for 3 mins
until soft.
Butter the slices
of bread and cut
out 2 circles with
cutters from each
slice of bread
(keep the left over
bread and freeze
then use to make
the next recipe
Glamorgan sausages)
Press the bread
circles into the bun
tins butter side
down
Fill with the leeks
and mushrooms
Sprinkle with the
cheese and bake
10-15 mins until
brown gas 6 /200C
electric
the oil until soft
Scoop out the
flesh of the potato
into a mixing bowl
and mash with a
fork –(tip - keep
the skins sprinkle
with cheese and
cook in to oven for
crispy potato skins)
Add the cheese,
cooked leeks,
mustard, herbs
and half the breadcrumbs to the
mash – mix well
Shape into 6
sausage shapes or
small rounds
Beat the egg in a
bowl
Dip the sausages
into the egg then
into the remaining
breadcrumbs to
coat each one
Bake on a baking
tray 200C/gas 6
for 15 minutes until
brown
Individual savoury
tarts made healthier by using wholemeal bread instead
of pastry for the
cases. Makes 12
small tarts using
small bun tins –
traditional fairy
cake size not deep
muffin trays and
use any variation
of fillings
INGREDIENTS
flower oil or rapeseed oil
1 leek cleaned and
sliced – you can
replace these with
spring onions
100g mushrooms
wiped clean and
chopped
6 slices medium
wholemeal bread
100g cheddar
cheese
25 g butter or margarine
onto a floured table
and knead well for
at least 10 minutes
– don’t use too much
flour on your table
just lightly flour the
table and your hands
as the dough becomes more elastic it
is easy to work with.
Cut and shape into 4
rolls –put on a baking
tray and cover with a
cloth or cling film to
rise for up to an hour
to prove.
Make up the flour
paste put into a small
plastic sandwich bag
and cut off the corner
to make a piping bag
(or use a readymade
bag if you have one)
pipe the crosses on
each bun
Put into the oven
gas 7 /220C for 1015mins until golden
brown then brush
over golden syrup or
honey to make the
sticky glaze – do this
while the buns are
still hot
These are best eaten
within a day but are
great toasted.
METHOD
Page 17
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
A walk down memory lane Campaign to End Pre-Pay Rip Off
I seemed to spend
entire summer holidays in the wishywashy Merthyr sunshine with my sister
and our friends in the
mis-shapen piano key
allotments that ran the
length of our terrace.
This particular Narnia
belonged to us alone.
When we reached the
crab-apple trees at
the back of our family's allotment, tiny
apple droplets littered
the ground and made
dull splashes into the
rusty bath that sat
squalid beneath the
largest of the trees.
The clack sludge of
germ broth winked
with every apple plop.
The rusty corrugated
sheets of metal that
lay about made wonderful dinner tables,
cave walls, stages
and weapons.
Earthy warm dampness, sweet mulched
apples and wood lice
surrounded us, and
our fancies germinated a horde of memories.
The back perimeter
fence of the allotments was shared
Bethan Coombs
A readers memory
with a derelict Victorian Hospital; most
recently used as a
nursing home for the
elderly. Through a
hole in the fence we
often used the hospital as a shortcut to the
nearest playground.
Huge Fir and Oak
trees lined the perimeter, providing useful
cover for our forays
onto the security patrolled private property. In it's stately
grounds, Maerdy Hospital was a redbrick
monster whose white
timmed black eyes
stared defiantly at us
as we crept past. I
was terrified to look at
the windows as I was
sure that previously I
had seen a withered
face look back at me.
There was a strange
building, it's doors
hanging limply at their
hinges and now holding only empty lager
cans, used syringes
and (more sinister)
soiled baby nappies.
Presiding over this
stately abandonment
was the "trucker man",
the security guard
and general caretaker of the building who
drove a small truck,
protecting
Merthyr
Council's investment
until the time came
when it would finally
decide to demolish
the old pile of misery.
The truck was a cross
between a motorised
road sweeper and a
large lawnmower, and
gave off a distinctive
mechanical whining:
this always gave us a
head start.
The hospital would
conceal us as we
played hide and seek
with the "trucker and
we could seemingly evaporate into the
labyrinthe
consortium of outbuildings
and alleyways before
making a final dash
through the hole in the
fence that led to the
playground, breathless more with fright
tan with running - until, that is, the fateful
day.
Have you got any
memories you would
like to share with
readers? email us at
tmtt@journalist.com
MP’s met to call on
the government and
energy companies to
clamp down on the
cost of prepayment
meters.
The Competition and
Markets
Authority
(CMA) have recommended a tariff cap,
which is a partial win,
however more needs
to be done to ensure
that the most vulnerable consumers in our
communities are protected.
The latest research
by the Citizens Advice
Bureau has revealed
that
pre-payment
meter customers on
average pay £226
a year extra for the
cost of their energy compared to the
cheapest direct debit
tariff. With 1 in 5 prepayment meter users
already in fuel poverty this amounts to an
extra £2.3million a
year being taken out
of the pockets of the
10,347 Merthyr Tydfil
& Rhymney households who can least
afford it.
Gerald Jones MP
joined Dawn Butler
MP and Nia Griffith
MP and other MP’s
from across Wales to
launch the campaign
calling to take action
on the Big 6 energy
companies.
Gerald Jones MP
said: “It is unacceptable that the poorest households in
our communities are
forced to pay the most
for their energy bills
when the cost of energy is falling but bills
continue to rise. I will
continue to call for
real action in the en-
ergy market to pass
on the savings which
thousands of families
in my constituency
deserve. This Pre-
pay Rip Off must end
now.”
Dawn Butler MP said:
“These meters are
costing Welsh consumers and the local economies of our
communities £62 million. It is about time
someone stood up
to the Big 6 energy
companies on behalf
of the most vulnerable energy consumers who have been
left out of pocket. The
cost of energy is at an
all-time low yet prices
keep going up. The
Government need to
take action to force
energy companies to
pass on these savings
to consumers. If you
support my campaign
add your voice by
signing the petition!”
Nia Griffith MP, leading the Welsh PrePay Rip Off campaign
said:
“Nearly
300,000
Welsh homes have
no choice but to use
prepayment meters to
pay their energy bills.
This is money taken
out of the pockets of
those who can least
afford it, and money
that would otherwise
be spent in the local
economy on goods
and services. I am
calling on the energy companies to automatically give all
Welsh consumers the
best possible deal on
their energy tariffs.”
You can sign the
petition online by
going to http://chn.
ge/1P83QSC
‘Singer / Songwriter Darren Promises to Soar’
Darren Parry, the
Merthyr Tydfil based
singer/songwriter is
currently busy with
not one, but two different songs of his
that are currently
on release. Darren
wrote “Promises” for
the talented teen Nina
Jones and “Soar” for
the gifted vocalist,
Lee Gilbert. Darren
is a multi-award winning singer/songwriter
having won the 2004
‘UK Songwriting Contest’ (for song “Reality”), been the 2014
USA ‘Song Of The
Year’ awards runner
up (“So Into You”)
and has numerous
other awards from
‘Billboard’, ‘Unisong’,
and many others.
He’s toured the world
singing, shared the
stage with household
names and has appeared on many high
profile BBC and ITV
TV shows.
“Promises” by Newport’s Nina Jones is
her fourth single release. It is an infectious, contemporary
Pop/R&B/Ballad song
written and produced
by Darren. Darren has
been involved with
two other songs for 18
yr. old Nina, including
co-writing her debut
single “Never Let You
Go” that achieved
much airplay across
the UK (including BBC
Radio Wales) and
TV appearances and
“Never Let You Go”
(Adventurer Remix)
a Dance/Club remix.
“Promises” is a song
about not trusting
someone anymore,
being tired of their
lies, promises and deceit. It’s about being
strong and moving on
to better things. Many
listeners will relate to
this song as it embraces emotions that
lots of us have encountered throughout
our lifetime and will
surely cement Nina's
reputation as a rising
star of the UK music
scene. The music video for “Promises” is
out now on Youtube to
view!
WATCH
HERE:
https://youtu.be/
gZEmgHkVzpk
Darren also penned
“Soar” for Rhondda’s
talented vocalist Lee
Gilbert. Darren wrote
the song especially
for Lee (and his powerful voice) after Lee
approached Darren to
write about his recent
life
circumstances.
The song is a memorable, uplifting, Pop
track that would not
be out of place in today’s Top 40 Chart.
It has overtones of
R&B/Gospel/Soul
also that really set it
apart from your ‘typical’ modern Pop song.
It is a song about bettering oneself, about
rising from adversity,
that has a message
and a meaning for us
all; never give up and
follow your dreams!
The song already has
Welsh fans and the
thumbs up from the
likes of Lucie Jones
(X Factor, Les Mis,
Ghost The Musical)
and fashion designer
David Emanuel! Look
out for the music video soon.
LISTEN
HERE:
https://soundcloud.
com/darrenparry/leegilbert-soar-1
getting over difficulties
and soaring above
negativity. It’s a song
More info: www.darrenparry.com
Page 18
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
What's happening All the latest news from Aberfan Football Club
Social Foot- to Sporting Marvels
in Treharris in the the Merthyr Vale Ward.. Aberfan
ball Club fixtures for FC. Please note there
the month of April are mid week games
are as follows; Sat- and these are Tuesmonth of April...... City Deal - The sign- days.
for April - On Satur- urday 2nd Aberfan day 12th away to AFC
Treharris Festival hold
a fund raising social
evening with a quiz
and free buffet at the
Navigation hotel on
Wednesday 13 April
and Wednesday 27
April. All procedes will
go to the Childrens
Christmas festivities
The family of Julie Yoxall would like
to thank family and
friends for helping to
raise over £1000 for
macmillan nurses in
memory of Julie
treharris and Bedlinog
branch labour party
meet on Thursday 7
April at 7pm at the
Dan y Graig Labour
club. The Hydro Electric scheme on the
millennium park is
nearing completion.
The turbine will shortly be installed and
electricity should be
produced and sold to
the national grid by
the end of april
The Little bird holistic
therapy is available at
Treharris primary care
centre where aroma-
therapy and reflexology is available
The unionist club in
John Street hold a
childrens disco at 6pm
on Thursday nightThe
people together club
meet on Wednesday
afternoon at 2pm at
Treharris community
centre
if you require meals
on wheels delivered
in your area please
contact 07743348456
The weekly knitting
and crochet club meet
at cilhaul community hut on Tuesday
evening at 7pm
Hafal carers transport service is a free
transport service provided for carers of individuals with a mental illness who are in
patients at the Royal
Glamorgan
hospital or Ysbyty George
Thomas
Treorchy.
For more information
please contact Brian
Robinson on 01685
373322
ing of the City Deal in
Cardiff a few weeks
ago is good news for
Merthyr Tydfil as this
will mean the proposed Metro Transport System will be
bringing easier travel to everyone living
within the borough.
There are a few copies of the proposed
Metro System available from the Library
at Aberfan Community Centre which is
open on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fri-
Entertainment during
April at Aberfan Social Club is as follows
- Saturday 2nd - Nigel Dee;Sunday 3rd
- Terry J; Saturday 9th
- Musicola; Sunday
10th Sarah Lou; Saturday 16th - J Denion;
Sunday 17th - Rhod
Lewis; Saturday 23rd
- Richie Collins; Sunday 24th - Amelia
Rose; Saturday 30th
- Jeff Hooper.
Rugby Club Fixtures
day 2nd Ynysowen
"Sharks" are at home
to Cambrian Welfare
and the Youth team
are at home to Abercwmboi. On Saturday 9th the "Sharks"
are away to Fairwater and the "Dynamos" are at home to
Wattstown 2nds.On
Saturday 16th the
"Dynamos" are away
to Bedlinog 2nds and
the the Youth Team
are at home to Abercynon.
Social FC are home
to Canton Liberal FC,
On Saturday 9th they
are away to Ton/Gelli BC, On Saturday
16th they are home
Whitchuch, Wednesday 20th away to AFC
Bargoed,
Tuesday
26th home to Penrhiwceiber Cons.
CARAVAN FOR SALE
2 Berth - 2003 model - CR15 Reg
Large end washroom - Fully alarmed
Full cooker & fridge - Alloy wheels
Immaculate condition - Private sale
£3,995 ONO
Telephone:
07449 448349
07482 047135
The Sally Army is on the march with a busy schedule
The Salvation Army in
Merthyr Tydfil has a
busy weekly shedule
at the Corps:
Monday 12noon to
2.00pm Merthyr Cynon foodbank.
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Good Companions(
Fellowship group for
over 50's)
4.00pm to 5.30 pm
Safer Merthyr community choir.
Tuesday 9.30am to
11.30am Little Gems(
carer and toddler
group ) term time.
7.00pm to 8.00pm
Songsters choir practice
Merthyr Tydfil Public Libraries
BOOK GROUPS
Are you looking for a relaxed and friendly book group? Then the library book clubs could be
perfect for you. We meet monthly and new members are always welcome!
Aberfan Library: Monday 11 11.30am - 12.30pm
Dowlais Book Club: Tuesday 12 4.30pm - 5.30pm
Dowlais Loose Women: Monday 18 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Treharris Book Club: Wednesday 27 5.00pm - 6.00pm
Central New Chapters: Wednesday 13 2.00pm - 3.00pm
HOP-A-LONG TO YOUR LIBRARY!
Pop along to your library for Easter crafts, stories and fun!
Dowlais Library: Tuesday 5 2.30 - 3.30pm
Central Library: Wednesday 6 2.00pm - 3.30pm
Treharris Library: Wednesday 6 10.30am - 11.30am
Aberfan Library: Wednesday 6 10.00am - 11.00am
MARCH 14 - APRIL 8
Water Colour Exhibition
Come along to Dowlais Library to view local artist Ken Morgan’s
Water Colour views of Merthyr Tydfil.
ART GROUP
Dowlais Library: Every Tuesday 3.45pm - 5.45pm
For further information contact: 01685 725217
LEARN DIRECT COMPUTING COURSES
Dowlais Library: Every Monday 2.00pm - 4.00pm
For further information contact: 01685 725217
8.00pm to 9.30pm
Band practice.
Wednesday 9.30 to
11.00am Cafe Cwtch(
support group for families of children with
additional needs)
4.00pm to 5.30pm
JAM Club( Jesus and
Me midweek Sunday
school)term time.
7.00pm to
Adult Dro-in
9.00pm
Thursday 9.30am to
11.30am Little gems(
carer and toddler
group ) term time.
2.00pm to 3.00pm
Brass
instrument
leaners group
7.00pm to 9.00pm
Prayer Sanctuary
Friday 10.00am to
11.30am "Fired up "
Bible study.
5.45pm to 6.45pm Activ8( Youth club for 5
to 11year olds) term
time
Sunday
10.15am
Sunday Service
10.30am
Sunday
School.
6.00pm Evening Worship.
For further information contact officers
Nigel or Lynne Collins
on 01685 722232
Merthyr Tydfil Public Libraries
‘APPY HOUR
IT DROP-IN SESSIONS
DOWLAIS LIBRARY: MONDAY - FRIDAY 11.00AM - 12.00PM
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 01685 725217
BRINGING BOOKS TO LIFE
Every Monday 9.30am - 10.30am Toddlers
Every Wednesday 3.30pm - 4.30pm 5-6 year olds
A joint project between Merthyr Tydfil Public Libraries and Active Merthyr.
Stories, games and physical activities for children .
FREE sessions for 10 weeks!
Please contact Merthyr Libraries for further information.
01685 353480
TI A FI
Bi-lingual Story & Rhyme Sessions!
All Welcome
Dowlais Library: *Every Monday 10.00am - 11.00am
Central Library: *Every Tuesday 10.00am - 11.00am
For further information contact Vicky: 07483149550
*Term time only
CUPPA WITH A COPPER
If you have any concerns about the area where you are living or have any queries you would like
answered, please come along and meet your local PCSOs / Police.
Aberfan Library - Friday 11 1.00pm
Aberfan Library - Wednesday 16 3.00pm
Aberfan Library - Monday 21 1.00pm
Dowlais Library - Every Friday 4.00pm - 5.00pm
Page 19
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Puppies and Kittens
Puppy/Kitten article
I don't know whether
it's the time of year, or
coincidence, but lots
of my friends have
been getting new puppies and kittens in the
last few weeks. Since
I keep getting asked
for advice, I thought
it might be useful to
pass on this advice to
everyone.
Choosing what type
and breed of animal
to get before they
even arrive is very
important. Consider
the size and personality of the breed you
might like. Be realistic
about the amount of
exercise you can give
a dog each day. It's
not fair to buy a collie
that you like the look
of if you can't give
them the hours of exercise and entertainment that they need
each week. The same
is true of cats; some
breeds are far more
laid back than others,
while some like to pla
y and interact with
people and get lonely if they don't have
enough attention.
Always go and see
your puppy or kitten
at the breeders. However kind or friendly
they sound, don't let
the vendor bring the
puppy to you; this is
a trick frequently used
by puppy farmers to
prevent people seeing
the squalid conditions
in which the animals
are kept.
In order to make good
pets, puppies and kittens need to socialise with people. This
means lots of contact
when they're young this is best achieved
when animals are
raised in the house. A
lot of the animal's personality depends on
its parents, so make
sure to check that
Mum (and if possible
Dad) is a pleasant
friendly animal. If the
parent is at all aggres-
Rachel Thomas
Ash Vets
sive or very nervous,
avoid that puppy or
kitten. If you have a
choice, pick a friendly
puppy or kitten who
comes to see you.
Don't choose the most
boisterous one or the
timid one hiding at the
back.
Puppies and kittens
should have a veterinary examination
within a day or two of
collection to ensure
that they're fit and
healthy and so you
can pick up any problems early. Vaccinations can start from 6
weeks old for puppies
and 9 weeks old for
kittens, so you might
be able to combine
these with your first
visit. They'll need two
vaccinations before
they can go out, so
don't expect to take
your puppy for walks
straight away.
Puppies and kittens
should be wormed
every 2 weeks from
birth until 12 weeks
and then every month
until they're 6 months
old, as even the bestcared-for will have
some worms from
their mum in the
womb or in their milk.
They should be flea
treated each month.
Pet shop and supermarket wormers and
flea treatments aren't
as effective as pre-
scription ones from
your vet - there really is a difference. Ask
your breeder what
they were treated with
and when at the time
you collect them. It's
also worth checking
which food they've
been having and asking for some to take
home so you don't
suddenly change their
diet along with all the
other shocks of being
in a new house. Then
you can switch to your
preferred food gradually over a week or so.
They should be fed a
good quality complete
dry food. I recommend Hills, Royal Canin or Eukanuba.
Pets should be insured as soon as you
get them - in case of
accidents, illnesses
or emergencies - with
a lifetime cover policy. We give 4 we eks
free insurance with
their first vaccinations
to ensure they're covered. And make sure
you get them microchipped in case they
get lost - remember
that after 6th April this
year, all puppies must
be chipped by law before being sold. Spaying and castration
should be done between 4 and 5 months
old, so you've got
plenty of time to get
them settled before
the operation.
If you have questions
about your puppy or
kitten then please ask
your vet. It's a big responsibility looking after a pet, but also one
of the most rewarding
things you'll ever decide to do.
Is there something
you'd like to read
about? Email press@
ashvets.co.uk
with
your questions. We
check this every so
often, but not immediately, so please don't
send urgent medical
questions this way.
These Road Signs could be deadly
Sir, Could I bring to
your notice a new
sickness that could
easily lead to death.
It is the draping of
bridges and railings
with signs bearing
various congratulatory messages.
Mervyn Saunders
Their fixing is so flimsy that they eventually blow down into the
windscreens of oncoming traffic.
As a daily user of
the A470 and various roads around the
borough, I have witnessed some near
tragic incidents. I
enclose a cartoon
of a typical morning
scene.
Do you like singing?
Ynysowen
Male
Choir, Aberfan and
district are looking for
new members. In two
years time, the choir
will be celebrating
their 50th Anniversary
and are preparing for
a busy concert year.
You don't have to be
a Pavarotti as long as
Ray Jones P.R.O.
Ynysowen Male Choir
you like singing. You
will soon learn how to
sing in tune and our
Musical Director will
help you on your way.
The Choristors are a
friendly bunch of guys
and will give you a
warm welcome.
Choir practice nights
are on a Monday and
Wednesday evenings
between 7pm and
9pm at the Old Library, Bridge Street,
Aberfan.
We look forward to
seeing you.
FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our Loved Ones Never Forgotten
Memories
JOHN DRUCE
27.02.1943 - 26.12.2015
Memories
TREFOR GEORGE DAVIES
20/06/1943 - 12/02/2016
DANIELLE PUGH
12/2/82 - 12/4/15
For our beautiful Daughter
We wish that we could see you Danielle
For just a little while
We wish that we could hug you
and see your lovely smile
but wishing gets us nowhere
and longing is in vain
So we will hold you in our hearts
until we meet again
Love always Mam & Dad xxxx
Beloved husband of Maureen, loving father to daughters Cathryn &
Julie, Jenny and the late Damian Martin, and a true friend of Dylan his
chocolate brown labrador.
DANIELLE PUGH
A loving brother and dearest friend of Margaret, Derek, and Frankie.
A much loved uncle of Marcus, Rhian, Alex, John, Gayle and his great
nephews and nieces.
Passed away peacefully, December 26th 2015. Ysbyty Cwm Cynon.
12/2/82 - 12/4/15
Heartfelt thanks to the Catholic Church, Canon Barry English and Rev
Garth Tasker for their support and tender prayers for John and the
family and the services in the hospital, home and church. In addition,
the undertaker, Mr Robert Protheroe.
FOR OUR BEAUTIFUL MAM
If Roses grow in Heaven Lord
Then pick a bunch for us
and place them in Mammy's arms
and tell her they're from us
Mam, your photo stands in pride - place
A lovely smile lights up your face
You always seem to be so near
How we wish Mammy
you were still here with us
Lots of Love
Tia & Nia xxxx
Extended thanks to Prince Charles Hospital, A&E, Ward II and Ysbyty
Cwm Cynon wards for the excellent care delivered.
Maureen & Girls wish to thank the family, friends & neighbours for
their supportive care and transport links to the hospitals at a very
difficuly time. In addition their loving messages and support during this
bereavement.
DANIELLE PUGH
A total sum of £600 was gratefully collected from church donations for
nominated charities.
12/2/82 - 12/4/15
My Sister Danielle
No matter where I go
No matter what I do
I cherish the memories of yesterday
and the laughs I shared with you
Lots of Love Darren
who thought the world of you xxx
VANESSA PHILLIPS
PASSED AWAY ON TUESDAY 8TH MARCH 2016. AGED 52 YEARS.
Trefor passed away peacefully at home with his family at his side, after a long
and courageous battle against cancer. Trefor was a very brave and inspirational
man who fought cancer without complaining and amazed everyone he met with
his positive attitude to his battle with cancer.
Trefor will be missed by many in the village for his extensive knowledge and love
of music, especially rock n roll from the 50's and 60's which during those years
he was able to attend many concerts and meet many great artists such as Roy
Orbison, Jerry Lee, Lewis, John Lennon and Mick Jagger to name but a few.
Trefor's wife Joan and family would like to thank family and friends for attending
the funeral and crematorium. Too many to mention. Also many thanks for the
sympathy cards, flowers and messages of condolences.
A big thank you to Pastor A Pitt for his uplifting and fitting eulogy.
Joan and family send their appreciation for the donations received in lieu of flowers which will be passed on for research into cancer.
John and family would like to send heartfelt thanks to Trefor's friends who visited
him regularly in his last few months, keeping him up to date with events happening in the village. Trefor looked forward to and enjoyed your visits.
Trefor has left a huge void in the lives of his wife joan, daughter Cheryl, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren who are devestated at his passing. He will be
missed every day and Joan and the families lives will never be the same.
You will never be forgotten.
Rest in Peace.
xxxx
DANIELLE PUGH
12/2/82 - 12/4/15
Danielle, although we're not together
We will never be apart
because you have that special place
Right here within my heart
Love always, Paul xxx
DANIELLE PUGH
12/2/82 - 12/4/15
Put your arms around her Lord
Kiss her smiling face
She was a special Grandaughter
who can never be replaced
Love and miss you
Nanny Myra - Nanny Pugh xxx
& Family
Sadly missed by her family and all those that met her.
You will never be forgotten.
Rest in Peace.
xxxx
Mobile: 07949306344 / 07949306777
Email: Info@cariadmemorials.co.uk
Website: www.cariadmemorials.co.uk
•
New Grave Tending Service
Showroom at Creative House, Rocky Road, Penydarren
01685 383051 07450 969325
DLWILLIAMSMM@hotmail.co.uk
Page 21
THE MERTHYR TYDFIL TIMES
Robert Parker says "Thank You"
Robert Parker would
like to say" thank you"
to all the owners of
Merthyr Town F.C.
who voted for him in
his successful bid to
join the board. He
promises to give an
open and transparent
commitment to the
club and its new fantastic facilities which
are now available for
everyone in our community." Use it or Lose
it "Up the Martyrs"
Merthyr indoor bowls
The final of the Citroen League, sponsored by Thomas &
Davies took place on
Friday, 18th March,
2016 at the Merthyr
Indoor Bowling Club.
It is a season long
league, culminating in
the top four playing a
knockout competition,
The eventual winners
were Mid Borough
who have tried for
numerous years and
finally winning this
competition for the
first time, the beaten
finalists were North
Borough.
Mid Boro' team
Mr. Peter Brill presenting the trophy to Wilf Thomas
team captain on behalf of Sharon and Danny Horrigan
,with Gary Nicholls, league co ordinator.
CONGRATULATIONS
Atalanta Memories Treharris bowls club recruiting
Phil Howells
Newly-appointed comunications
officer
Matthew Davies has
made a film highlighting Merthyr's European Cup Winners' Cup
games with Atalanta
in 1987. It will get its
first showing at the
new Romans function
room at the ground.
The Martyrs Of 87 will
be launched on April
22 at 8pm when it is
hoped that many of
the players from that
time will be present.
Admission will be £5
per ticket but owing to
the demand, there will
be further screenings.
Matthew, from Aberdare, but now living
in Cardiff, has spent
months interviewing
and filming players
and others from that
exciting and historic era to compile the
film which later will be
available on DVD.
On April 7 the club
hold their annual
meeting at The Romans Room at the
stadium at 7.30pm.
We are keen to recruit
new members of all
ages and all are welcome to attend our
A.G.M. on April 3rd at
the John Street Club
Treharris at 12.00
noon. Coaching and
equipment will be provided where needed
and no experience is
necessary.
Other contacts can be
made with:Colin Case 01443
410633, Malcolm
Bell 01443 412782,
Derek Naldrett 01443
453474 or Brent Lewis 01443 410814.
Pictures by Peter Harman of recent action at Merthyr Town Football Club.
Prize fighting in the Dowlais area
At Merthyr Police
Court, Saturday, before Justices Mr. Bishop and Dr. Probert,
were the following
men, John McGrath,
Michael Griffiths, John
Mansell and John O
Neill, who had been
summoned for causing a breach of the
piece on the previous
Sunday.
The first named defendant
only
answered, but Mansell
afterwards
made
his appearance in
court. In reference to
the charge against
McGrath,
Inspector
Rodman stated that
on the previous Sunday, there was great
excitement in Dow-
Peter Rogers
lais about a prize fight
that was about to take
place. On making inquiries, he heard that
John McGrath and
Griffiths had fought
seven rounds, and
they then gave up
in consequence of
a report that the police were coming. It
was rumoured another fight was about to
take place, and witness afterwards found
a crowd of 500 people
assembled on the old
tram road above Mr
Simons' house, between the old limekiln and the Goitre
pond. Witness and
the officers who were
with him were seen
approaching, and a
stampede took place.
In their anxiety to get
away, the people tumbled over each other.
Witness ran until he
was out of breadth,
but did not catch anybody.
Supt Thomas added
that the report was
that they were to fight
it over again last Sunday. When we got to
the spot, two other
men were stripped.
He heard it was a
prize fight and he had
reason to believe it
would be renewed unless a stop was put to
it.
McGrath said he was
not out in the field at
all but had no intention of renewing any
more fights. He promised the magistrates
this.
The Inspector said
that on Sunday morning last, in consequence of the excited
state of the neighbourhood, he went to the
spot near the Goitre.
"Mansell and another man were stripped
ready to fight". Someone
shouted
out
"Rodman is coming"
and the crown took to
their heels.
The Defendant: "I know
nothing about the fight"
The Magistrate called
attention to the fact that
the defendant still had
a black eye from some
cause.
The Defendant: nodded towards the Inspector and said "You gave
me that. You hit me by
Davies' the confectioners"
The Inspector denied
all knowledge of this.
The defendants were
bound over in the sum
of £10 each and told
to keep the peace for
12 months.
I am looking for any
information on any
of the above named
boxers. Please contact me at:
Peterrogers2008@hotmail.co.uk
Finalists of this Years Merthyr Tydfil Bowling Leagues,Knockout Cup
Winners Merthyr West End "A"
Narrowly beaten finalists Thomastown Bowling Club
MERTHYR TOWN FC
Another year, more silvervare for the cabinet?
MERTHYR
Town
have a firm grip on
a Cup they haven't
won since 1951. Only
a major shock on
Wednesday April 6 at
Cambridge City will
prevent The Martyrs
from lifting The Red
Insure Cup (League
Cup) after the second
leg of the Final.
They made a great
start with a 5-1 triumph
on March 22 at The
Miller Argent Community Stadium.Merthyr
also won the Cup in
1948.This season the
club didn't plan entering the competition
but missed the date
for withdrawal,. Interest in the Cup, which
offers £3,500 for the
victors,grew at Merthyr as they neared the
final when normally
such Cup games attract only small gates.
Merthyr boss Steve
Jenkins said that consolidatiion this sea-
Phil Howells
son in the Evo-Stik
~Southern
League
Premier Division, after
promotion last year,
and winnng some silverware would be a
good achievement.
The first encounter
with Cambridge saw
the visitors arrive late
after a blaze on The
Heads of The Valleys
Road, the kick-off being delayed for 19
minutes.
Merthyr started brightly but City defended
well, especially on
their left. Ryan Prosser broke the deadlock on 17 minutes
to give Merthyr the
lead. Strangely, Merthyr lost their zest at
the start of the second
half. However, they
couldn't do anything
about City's 46th minute equalliser as Buster Harradine lashed
an unstoppable shot
past goalkeeper Cameron Clarke, in for
cup-tied Glyn Garner.
Cambridge
exerted
some pressure but
Merthyr seized the
advantage again as
they ripped City apart.
It was 2-1 courtesy
from Prosser after 59
minutes.Chris Hugh,
on 71 minute as a
substitute, made it 3-1
after showing determination near goal.
Ian Traylor beat 'keeper Zac Barrett a minute later for the fourth
goal. Clarke made a
good save when a
City goal may have
given them hope but
these were definitely
dashed in stoppage
time when the bearded Prosser completed
his hat-trick.
Four days earlier City
were also at Merthyr- in the league- and
with both sides still
possibly in danger
of relegation, points
were important.
It was a 2-1 win for
The Martyrs. Keyon
Reffell, ex- Kidderminster, gave Merthyr the first goal on 37
minutes when the ball
came off him after a
defender tried to clear.
Ieuan Lewis levelled
in the 46th minute
with Kayne McLaggon
making it 2-1 to Town
in the 58th minute.
It might have been
a bigger win against
an injury-hit City side
who were able to field
a stronger line-up
for the Cup clash but
ironically played better football despite the
5-1 loss.
Before the league
match, Jenkins revealed that he had set
a points target for his
side this season. He
didn't state the figure
but said at the time
they were nowhere
near it.
Considering that the
re-formed club were
only six years old,
it had been a good
achievement by all at
the club - the players,
board, fans and those
working behind the
scenes.
"It's been an enjoyable season . We have
had difficult times in
certain phases . We
have put together
some good results
but there have been
some tough games
where we found things
difficult but in general I am quite pleased
with how things have
gone."
He added that after
promotion, they had
lost seven or eight
players so it was a
case of re-building the
side, as well as the
work going on at the
stadium.
Phil Howells
ning onto a free-kick.
Adam Davies, Ian
Traylor, Corey Jenkins and Ashley Evans combined for
substitute, defender
James Bloom to driive
into the corner of the
net near the end.
Merthyr began March
with a fine 2-1 home
win over, at the time,
title-chasing
Chippenham. Ian Traylor
made it 1-0 with Ryan
Prosser
ensuring
maximum points on
90 plus three minutes.
The next game was
tough as Merthyr
lost 2-0 at home to
on-form Leamington
but goals from Gethin Jones and Kayne
McLaggon gave Merthyr a 2-1 win at Bedworth after being a
goal down.
Aug 12 Frome Town a D 1-1
Aug 15 Kettering Town a L 3-2
Aug 18 Stratford Town h W 3-0
Aug 22 Poole Town a D 2-2
Aug 29 Hitchin h W 5-1
Aug 31 Cirencester a L 1-0
Sept 5 Chesham h L 1-2
Sept 19 Chippenham a L 1-0
Sept 22 Paulton h D 1-1
Sept 29 Dorchester a D 1-1
Oct 3 Biggleswade h L 0-1
Oct 10 Leamingrton a L 1-0
Oct 17 Dunstable h L 1-3
Oct 20 Paulton a W 1-2
Oct 24, St Neots a W 1-2
Oct 27 Hungerford h W 4-1
Nov 7 Weymouth h L 1-3
Nov 10 Yate Town a L 3-1
Nov 14 Hastings a A-A
Nov 17 Hastings a 1-2
Nov 21 Kettering h 1-1
Nov 28 East Thurrock a 1-1
Dec 8 Bedworth h D 2-2
Dec 12 Cambridge City a L 1-0
Dec 15 Slough Town a L 3-1
Dec 19 Hitchin Town a L 2-0
Dec 26 Cirencester Town h L 0-1
Jan 2 Redditch a L 3-1
Jan 5 King’s Lynn a W 2-3
Jan 9 Histon h W 3-0
Jan 23 Poole Town h D 1-1
Jan 30 Biggleswade a W 0-3
Feb 9 Frome h D 1-1
Feb 20 Dorchester h L 2-4
Feb 23 Stratford Town a W 0-3
Picture by Peter Harman.
Richards Garage
MOT TESTS & VEHICLE REPAIRS
Aug 8 King’s Lynn h W 2-0
Dec 1 East Thurrock a L 3-1
Histon 0 Merthyr Town 2
Histon
0 Merthyr
Town 2
Merthyr contributed
to relegation-threatened Histon's plight
on March 26 with a
win in difficult weather
conditions.The Cambridge-based
side
had plenty of the play
but with little to show
for it and rarely troubling Glyn Garner in
goals. Keyon Reffell
scored for Merfthyr on
72 minutes after run-
MERTHYR TOWN FC
YOUR CUT OUT & KEEP FIXTURE LIST
Bryniau Road, Pant
Merthyr Tydfil. CF48 2SR
Tel: 01685 267 450
Mobile: 07423 055 466
richard edwards mot
Feb 27 Dunstable a L 2-1
March 5 Leamington h L 0-2
Mar 12, Bedworth a W 1-2
Mar 19 Cambridge City h W 2-1
Mar 26 Histon a L 2-0
Mar 28 Reddiitch h W 2-1
April 2 Hungerford a L 1-0
Apr 9 St Neots h
Apr 16 Weymouth a