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BODORGAN COMMUNITY CENTRE NEWSLETTER – January 2022. Happy New Year to all residents! The days are getting longer, and the weather (so far) has been relatively benign. 2022 is likely to be a momentous year for the Community – on January 14th the Directors of Malltraeth Ymlaen, after months of detailed work, submitted a Business Plan to Anglesey Council for the acquisition of the Community Centre. The Plan will go to an approval meeting on January 28th, so fingers crossed everybody. This is the opportunity we’ve all been waiting for!
YMCC UPDATE from CLLR. BRYAN OWEN Covid is still causing huge problems for us on the island, however the numbers were slightly down last week, so let's all hope that this downward trend continues. The ruling group are going out to consultation on the budget for 2022/23. They are proposing a 2% increase to the council tax, first time in 5 years that it is below the rate of inflation. Does that have anything to do with the forthcoming local elections in May ??? The accident on the bridge last week was very sad when the son of a former council leader was fatally injured. Peter and myself have been once more trying to get the Council to improve and sort out a footpath from Maes Glas Bethel to the village.
St DAVID’S DAY AFTERNOON TEA We’re organising a St. David's Day tea on Tuesday, March 1st. We still have no access to the community centre, so we’ll be utilising the Pritchard Jones Institute in Newborough, as we did at Christmas time. It will be great to have another Community get-together, but this time it’s open to everybody, not just pensioners. The cost will be £3 per ticket. Note - If YMCC give us access to the school in time, we’ll switch the event to the Community Centre. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?? If you'd like to join us, please let us know as soon as possible, at the latest by February 15th. You can buy a ticket via Facebook, or by contacting someone on one of the numbers below: Jude Williams 07576 473646 Barbara Jones 01407 840259 Pat Dobbie 079040223384 Any surplus funds generated by the event will go towards this year's Pensioners' Christmas Lunch. DATE: 1-3-2022 TIME: 2.30 VENUE: PJI, Newborough (probably) COST: £3 per head We may be able to coordinate transport if needed. Hope to see you there (wearing a daffodil of course ! )
PARISH UPDATE from REV. ELIZABETH ROBERTS We still maintain social distancing in our churches, and mask wearing remains compulsory. The service pattern continues as before:-. Holy Communion on the second and fourth Sunday of each month at 11.15am. Aberffraw church has a Morning Prayer at 10.00 a.m. on the first Sunday of the month and Holy Communion on the 3rd Sunday, also at 10.00am Trefdraeth church is yet to open, having been closed for Sunday services since 2020, except for weddings, funerals and baptisms. People may be interested in knowing that we also have a Holy Communion service in Gaerwen church every Wednesday morning at 10.30 a.m. Something to think about at the beginning of a New Year: I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown". And he replied: "Step out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way". This was written by Minnie Louise Haskins, and was famously broadcast by King George VI as part of his 1939 Christmas message.
WI NEWS from MONICA MORRIS After this long wait to begin our meetings again, we had our programme planned for 2022 only to have to cancel the January meeting, which was very disappointing. However, in the hope that Covid restrictions will be eased, we have organised some interesting events for this year’s meetings:- We shall be meeting in Crist-y-Brenin chapel in Malltraeth at 7pm on the first Tuesday in each month. Do feel free to join us – you will be made very welcome – come as a guest and see if you like us! February – Craft – upcyling March – St. David’s Day celebration. April – Blood Bikes Wales May – A visit to Bodorgan Estate Gardens June – Wild Flower Meadow visit July – Strawberry tea September – Fostering memories October – Marquis of Anglesey Column November – AGM and quiz December – A Swedish Christmas at Home Monica Morris – President –
OVER 50s Club from Roz Smith We now have 24 Club members, and after 8 years as Chair / Treasurer I’m hoping to be able to hand over to somebody who is a bit more mobile than I am. Val Wilson is also looking to take a step back from her 8 year term as Secretary. Now that Covid restrictions are easing, would both like to discuss our situations with the rest of the Club members as soon as a meeting can be arranged.
ANGLESEY’S HIDDEN HERO OF THE MONTH AWARD – to JUDE WILLIAMS This award is the brainchild of Virginia Crosbie MP, and recognises the achievements of people who give up their time and energy for the good of the Community. January’s hero is Jude Williams, and deservedly so. After twisting her arm a fair bit, Jude has been persuaded to tell her story. When I received the phone call to say that I had been awarded Virginia Crosbie’s Anglesey's hidden Hero of the month, I was shocked and surprised that someone had nominated me for this award . I never expected to be nominated for anything like this. What I do in the community I do from my heart. I'm a people's person and if I can be of help to someone I will. I think it comes from my nurse’s background. I care for my community and I think it's so important to try and keep our small communities going. During the years, alongside my late partner Alwyn, I have been involved in many local groups supporting different events and charities including:
Sadly on Christmas Day in 2018 Alwyn had a brain haemorrhage and passed away in February 2019. While Alwyn was a patient on ITU I promised him that we would organise an event to raise money for the ward. In September 2019 ‘Alfest’ was held in his memory. This was supposed to be an annual event to raise funds for the ITU but unfortunately due to covid 19, I have been unable to hold this event again. Therefore, I decided I had to do something else to raise funds. In 2020 I organised the ‘Alfest Snowdon challenge’ in which I walked up Snowdon with family and friends to raise funds . In 2021 I walked the coastal path of Anglesey again for ‘Alfest’ /ITU. Hopefully, things will be better this year and ‘Alfest’ can go ahead on September 24th. During the lockdown period I became a local volunteer to help people who were shielding or isolating due to Covid. I arranged to do their shopping, picked up medical prescriptions, arranged pet care for those who had to go into hospital, arranged transport for those who had no transport for appointments and mostly I was just at the end of the phone for a chat. During this time, I was also picking up and delivering weekly scrubs, masks and laundry bags, which the local WI and local ladies had been busy making for the NHS staff, care homes, hospices etc. I am very grateful to them all for their hard work. Along with these items I was delivering boxes and boxes of cakes which Barbara Owen of Cegin Nain donated each week. I arranged to have a drop off point at my home for people to leave toiletries and essentials for the patients in hospital and care homes as they were unable to get visitors to take them in. I was given donations by local people to support the NHS which I used to buy masks, gloves and visors while there was a shortage of them in the hospitals. During this time, I realised how many vulnerable people live in our community who need this help not just during a pandemic but every day. |
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I am an active member of ‘Malltraeth Ymlaen’ which have organised many an event in our community during the years. Including concerts by local groups and bands, children’s discos, Santa’s grotto, a Santa sleigh to go round the villages , family fun days and most recently the pensioners Christmas afternoon tea. It was lovely to get people together again after so many months of not been able to meet. Everyone who attended had a good time and are looking forward to a St David's day afternoon tea which we are in process of organising and we hope to have a community centre to hold it in. A community centre is so important especially in small communities like ours. I feel strongly that we need a hub for people to be able to get out of the house and meet other people. I feel Bodorgan community centre is an asset to all generations. I look forward to organising many gatherings and events there soon. I still can't believe I’ve been nominated for this award, but I'm very grateful to Barbra Owen for nominating me, thank you. Diolch a llongyrfarchiadau, Jude! |
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PARC Y PLANT, NEWBOROUGH from Helen Jenner After almost four years of closure, the Newborough children’s play park will open its gates to the public on Saturday the 29th of January. It was closed on health and safety grounds in 2018 and over the last two years the new committee has been working tirelessly to raise the funds needed for renovation. The work has now been completed and we are delighted that the community of Newborough now has its park back!
150 CLUB The final draw for 2021 took place at the Pensioners’ Christmas gathering, which was funded by the 150 Club, which had raised £400 during the year. The 2022 list is now open, if you want to join, please complete the form on the Malltraeth.com website, or contact a member of the Support Group. – Barbara 01407 .840259, Alan 01407 840880, Pat 07904 223384 or Jude 07576 473646 |
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COMMUNITY CENTRE VISIT - January 14th. On Friday Jan 14th, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS visited the Community Centre, which we were able to open up for the afternoon. He had a good look around the building and the grounds, and listened to some of the many ideas that have been put forward for its use. Rhun was very impressed by the Centre and its potential as an asset for the Community |
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OUT & ABOUT MALLTRAETH AREA Jan/2022 www.snowartandbooks.co.uk |
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A new year but same weather & birds – and amazingly, not one but at least 3 Swallows are still with us – almost certainly a late family that never left, as with dozens of others in Britain. More commonly and normal are the thousands of Lapwing & Golden Plover visitors, although as usual with most of our wintering birds few breed here in North Wales. Shelducks, as well in their hundreds yet with a bare few families nesting locally as in the past, and that goes for Redshank, Curlew & Snipe, too. As with the 200 Skylarks seen near here recently, and certainly the up to 300,000 Starlings that have mesmerised us over RSPB Cors Ddyga in the last few months!
Arctic Whooper Swans are here in good numbers, too, with a few feeding with resident Mute Swans on the Cors, where Marsh Harriers are joined by Hen Harriers. Merlins & Short-eared Owls – and a record 300+ Black--tailed Godwits. Not too far away, 3 Glossy Ibis are once more visiting us & probably one of the next Mediterranean-type birds to nest in the UK. So, a lot of this is down to climate change but that’s nothing new, with far colder & warmer periods in recent millennia, and it is not just more southerly birds (& insects, plants & marine life etc) that are increasingly coming here.
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Anyway, mild weather is good news for lots of wildlife like locally active Barn Owls, or Kingfishers, Grey Herons, Otters & struggling Water Voles – although their problems are still largely from foolishly released American Mink. Shades of Grey Squirrels, still trying to get back over the Strait to destroy our Reds! The weather has also prompted our comparatively few local birds to start nest-building, like House Sparrow, Starling & Rook; or the usual first flowers like Butterbur, Snow-drop & Periwinkle to bloom, although I have yet to find any Common Frog spawn, often out by now, as elsewhere in UK. Another biggish issue here is still shooting, although far less than in Tunnicliffe’s day, but which still sees endangered birds like Woodcock, Pintail, Wigeon, Shelduck & even Golden Plover being shot around here – the latter barely hanging on as a breeding bird in Wales, despite our large wintering flocks from the cold North.... And with continued warnings about ‘Bird ‘Flu’ locally, too, how can NRW continue to license shooting here, anyway?! Let alone barbaric ‘Punt Gunning’. |
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AT LAST – A VILLAGE PUB. The Joiners Arms is scheduled to reopen!! The new landlord, Huw Owen and his wife Jade, who ran the Glan Neigr for 5 years, have now taken over the Joiners and are expecting to start pulling pints on March 23rd.This is really good news for the village, and the timing is perfect, just at the start of the tourist season. We wish them every success and look forward to meeting up with friends in a pub and not just online. More details in the February newsletter.
THE WAY WE WERE……. From Margaret Dalton |
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Our resident historian, Margaret Dalton unearthed this newspaper clipping, believed to be from the late 1980s, probably from the Holyhead & Anglesey Mail. Many familiar names were involved in the successful opening of the Community Centre all those years ago. Let’s hope that history is about to repeat itself in 2022. Thanks, Margaret !
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On behalf of the Bodorgan Community Support Group. BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA! / HAPPY NEW YEAR! **If you no longer wish to receive these newsletters, please email |
