News

Cadog Film Club
Following the postponement and rescheduling of the two film shows during the "big freeze" in January we have no fewer than four films coming up over the next month.

On Saturday 20th February we are showing "Dean Spanley", a delightful comedy starring Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill and Peter O'Toole, described by one review as an "offbeat, whimsical, period-set shaggy dog story". Another added "do check this one out. Funny, warm and sensitive, its got gem written all over it."

Two weeks later, on Saturday 6th March, we're showing "Is Anybody There?". This is a bitter-sweet comedy starring Michael Caine and Bill Milner (plus many other well-known faces). 14 year old Edward lives in the retirement home where his parents work, and his interests have unsurprisingly moved toward death, ghosts, and the afterlife. He can’t stand living there, but his mood changes when Clarence (Michael Caine) appears. Clarence spent his life performing magic and causing trouble, and he may just be the friend that Edward has been waiting for.
We also have two Buffs night films coming up. On Tuesday, 9th March there's "Fish Tank", directed by Andrea Arnold. Having been expelled from school, Mia spends her time hanging out in a derelict flat near to her family’s council estate home and drinking whatever alcohol she can lay her hands on. Her young life, already spiralling out of control, is complicated further when her mother Joanne brings home her new boyfriend Connor.

The second Buffs night film of the month is "State of Play" on Tuesday, 23rd March, with a cast that includes Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren. This is a thriller that feels all too real at times. A team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman’s mistress.

As always admission to our film shows is open to members and guests. Members pay £5 and guests £6. Saturday evening shows are in the Llangadog Community Centre and start at 7.30pm with a buffet*, bar and raffle. Buffs night are in the YMCA on Tuesdays and begin at 7pm. We do not offer a bar or buffet on Buffs nights, but some members opt to gather afterwards at a local hostelry for suitable refreshment!

* We are currently having "BAD" nights at our Saturday shows - this means we ask everyone to Bring A Dish of food to share at the buffet. Don't worry if you can't or don't want to cook, you can always bring something you have bought (eg pate, cheese, pies, flans, cakes etc).

For further suggestions, information, and to book your tickets in advance, please ring Irene Hayes on 01550-777657 or email cadogfilmclub@aol.com

An Introduction to Permaculture
Llangadog Gardening Club are organising 'An Introduction to Permaculture' (an ecologically sound way of living in co-operation with Nature) by way of DVD, questions and answers at their monthly meeting in the YMCA Hall, Llangadog at 7.30pm. Everybody welcome/croeso i bawb. For further details contact Gwen Evans on 01550-777813.

Rug making Workshop with Recycled Fabrics with Annie Allen
This has been organised by Transition Town Llandeilo for Saturday 20th February, 1.30 to 4.30 pm, at Sue’s barn : Llwynbwch, Llansadwrn SA19 8LP (call Sue for directions - 01550-777402)
Annie says: "The workshop will cover 2 ways to make rugs with strips of material sewn together - either with large crochet hooks or pegloom weaving. I will show you basic techniques, crochet stitches if you don’t know how to crochet & how to get started on a pegloom. If you have materials you wish to use, bring them along (it will save a lot of time if you have already torn them into narrow strips - about 3/4 inch wide - and sewn them together to make your balls of fabric to work with.) I will also provide some fabrics, extra large crochet hooks and a few peglooms - and hooks & looms will be available for sale."
Cost: £10. For further information call Annie on 01269-853902

Llandovery: Footsteps Through Time

A chance to explore local heritage and contribute your own stories and knowledge

On Saturday February 27th there will be an exciting opportunity to explore the history and heritage of the landscape around Llandovery, all in the comfort of the Castle Hotel, Llandovery. The Fforest Fawr Geopark is hosting the community day, at which local people are invited to enjoy a heritage exhibition and discuss their own stories and memories, which help to trace the threads of history.

Llandovery is a meeting point for ancient routes that mark out themes in its history. From Iron Age people, to Roman invaders and medieval Lords and Princes, right up to the history of farming, droving and markets, and the Heart of Wales railway.

The event is part of a plan to celebrate the history of communities around Llandovery. The project aims to increase the value of heritage for local communities and the tourism sector. Creu-ad Heritage Interpretation and Trysor are arranging the day on behalf of Fforest Fawr Geopark. Before the event, they will be contacting local individuals and groups to get them involved.

People will be encouraged to talk about their stories linked to the landscape and to swap reminiscences. There will be a lively atmosphere as storyteller, Esyllt Harker will help to bring these stories to life and artist Lynne Denman, will be working with local people to create a map made from words, images and photographs. Alongside the chance to put your favourite places on the map, there will also be experts on hand; historic and digital maps of the Llandovery district and archaeological records of the area for you to consult.

Footsteps Through Time invites you to bring along something that reminds you of the local landscape and its past or present. It might be a piece of stone that gets attention from the geologists present or a photograph of a favourite local landscape that might suggest a story to the expert archaeologists. Experts will be on hand to discuss all sorts of objects and chat about their history. You just don’t know what will turn up.

The day starts at 10 am with coffee and a chance to hear more about the project. In the afternoon there will be short talks, including an opportunity to hear from Alan Bowring, Fforest Fawr Geopark Officer. Alan says, “ Geology has affected almost every aspect of our history and we can be proud that this area has been given special recognition as a European and Global Geopark. But, a Geopark is about more than rocks; it’s about the people who have lived and worked in the landscape over thousands of years. Their story is important to us too”.

Don’t miss out; come along even if you can only get the flavour of the day by having a quick look around the displays put on by local groups. Look out for posters and fliers that will give you details of the day.

For more information about ‘Llandovery: Footsteps Through Time’ contact Alan Bowring, Fforest Fawr Geopark Development Officer on 01874-620415

Snow Scenes
Did you take any pictures of of our village or the surrounding area during the recent big freeze? If so, and you'd like to share them, please send us copies, and we'd be very happy to consider including them on our web site.

Photos can either be emailed at any time as attachments to message@llangadog.com (preferably as .jpeg files) or dropped into Llangadog Post Office, if possible, on Tuesday mornings (either as .jpeg files on a disc or a memory stick, or as a printout). Any discs, memory sticks or printouts can be collected from me the following week. The pictures below were taken by June Stait.
Peter Berry

Llangadog Angling
The Club's Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 29th January 2010 at 7.00pm in the Community Centre. This will be followed by a buffet and prize giving at the Goose and Cuckoo. If you wish to attend please phone the Secretary on 01550-777296 by Friday 24th January.

Llangadog Calendar 2010

This delightful calendar, entitle "Images of Llangadog" is available from Llangadog Post Office (tel. 01550-777697), price £7. All the photographs were taken locally by participants in the KITE photography courses.
KITE (Kadog IT Enterprise) was formed in 2006, and is a group of local people whose main objective is to encourage the use of computers in the community by offering one-to-one basic computer and digital photography lessons in the local post office using the internet cafe equipment provided by Richard and Win Morgan. KITE has also been instrumental in setting up and running this website, which receives around 3000 visits each month with some 6000 pages being viewed each month.
Proceeds from the sale of the Llangadog Calendar 2010 will go towards meeting the costs of these valuable local facilities.

Llangadog Gardening Club
Llangadog Gardening Club 's Annual General Meeting and Social Evening will be held in the YMCA Hall at Llangadog Community Centre on Wednesday 27th January, followed by buffet and quiz. Please note early start at 7pm.

Transition Town Llandeilo AGM
About 45 people gathered at The Angel on November 30th for our AGM. It was good to see old friends and several new faces. In a group exercise we discussed the kinds of projects we could be involved in in the fields of Energy, Transport, and Food and Farming, and this discussion gave rise to the nucleus of new or reborn groups around these critical themes. Early in the New Year the groups will be having their first meetings. Meanwhile, for more information please contact the convenors of the groups:
Energy: Tim Pullen, email timr.pullen@btinternet.com
Transport: John Cox, email john.cox3@virgin.net or tel. 01558 -822938
Food and Farming: Ellie Birchell Hughes, tel.01558-824781

Willow weaving workshops in Llansawel and Bethlehem
Peggy, who was demonstrating her basket-weaving skills at the Transition Town Llandeilo's skills-sharing afternoon in November, will be running half-day workshops in Llansawel Community Hall on 30th January and 11th February, a full-day workshop in Bethlehem Community Hall on 27th February and a half-day workshop again in Bethlehem on 3rd March. The cost includes materials and refreshments, and is £15 for the Llansawel workshops, £35 for the full day and £20 for the half day in Bethlehem.
Contact Peggy, by email on peggyclaudia@yahoo.com for more details.

Cadog Film Club Programme
Forthcoming films planned for the New Year are :
9th January 2010 : Dean Spanley (2008 - Cert U - 100 min). Director Toa Fraser. Cast incl. Jeremy Northam, Sam Neil, Bryan Brown, Peter O'Toole. A film to warm even the coldest of hearts.
12th January 2010 (Buffs Night*) - State of Play (2009 - Cert 12A - 127 mins). Director Kevin Macdonald. Cast incl. Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams. Find the trusth - a team of investigative reporters work alongside detectives to try to solve the murder of a congressman's mistress.

6th February 2010 : Appaloosa (2008 - Cat 15 - 115 min). Director: Ed Harris. Cast incl. Lance Henriksen, Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Renée Zellweger. A square-jawed, old-fashioned western.

9th Feruary 2010 (Buffs Night*) : Private Fears in Public Places (2007 - Cat 12A - 120 min). French film with sub-titles. Director: Alain Resnais. Based on the play by Alan Ayckbourn. Cast incl. Sabine Azema, Lambert Wilson, Andre Dussollier, Pierre Arditi, Laura Morante, Isabelle Carre, Claude Rich. An intelligent, adult look at loneliness in the twenty-first century.

6th March 2010 : Is Anybody There? (2008 - Cat 12A - 91 min). Director: John Crowley. Cast incl. Michael Caine, Sylvia Sims, David Morrissey, Leslie Phillips, Anne-Marie Duff, Bill Milner, Elizabeth Spriggs. Michael Caine pairs up with young British actor Bill Milner in this touching British drama.

9th March 2010 (Buffs Night*) : Fish Tank (2009 - Cat 15 - 119 min. Director: Andrea Arnold. Cast incl. Katie Jarvis, Rebecca Griffiths, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing, Sydney Mary Nash, Harry Treadaway. A compelling drama centring on a 15 year-old girl.

3rd April 2010 : Julia and Julie (2009 - Cat 12A - 123 min). Writer-Director: Nora Ephron . Cast incl. Stanley Tucci, Amy Adams, Linda Edmond, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina. Tells of two real-life people, newly wed and restless with ill-defined ambitions, and how they discover their true selves in gourmet cooking.

13th April 2010 (Buffs Night*) : Moon (2009 - Cat 15 - 93 min). Director: Duncan Jones. Cast incl. Matt Berry, Sam Rockwell, Malcolm Stewart, Dominique McElligott, Benedict Wong, Kaya Scodelario. A thought-provoking science fiction film.

1st May 2010 : AGM followed by Sleeping Furiously. (2007 - Cert U - 94 mins). Director: Gideon Koppel. A documentary love-letter to Trefeurig, the Welsh farming community in Ceredigion.

11th May 2010 (Buffs Night*) : An Education (2009 - Cat 12A - 96 min). Director: Lone Scherfig Cast incl. Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams, Sally Hawkins. A suburban London teen finds her traditional education replaced by something slightly more sinister.

Film nights are usually on the first Saturday of the month, starting at 7.30pm in the Llangadog Community Hall. Admission by Ticket only (please book in advance). Buffet and bar.

* Buffs film nights are on the second Tuesday of each month, starting at 7pm in the YMCA Hall, Llangadog. Admission by Ticket only.

For bookings and details ring Irene Hayes on 01550-777657 or email cadogfilmclub@aol.com

Free Rail Travel is Back!
Free travel on the Heart of Wales line between Swansea and Shrewsbury for local bus pass holder restarted on 4th October 2009 and will continue until 26th March 2010. For timetable information please contact National Rail Enquires on 08457-484950 (24 hours daily), or visit www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk

Yr Hen Ysgol Bethlehem
The Old School in Bethehem is now open again as a community hall and still has its Post Office. Regular activities planned are:

• Mondays (term times), 4.30pm to 5.30pm - Drama Club for 6-11 year olds
• Monday evenings - 1st of month, Board and Card Game Night
• 2nd of month, Gardening Club
• 3rd of month, Quiz Night
• 4th of month, Crafts Evening
• 5th of month, Talk
• Tuesdays, 2pm to 4pm - Village Market

The Post Office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2pm to 4pm, and will be open daily during December until Christmas (for "Bethlehem" postmarks). The hall, meeting room, kitchen and toilets are also available for hire.

For further information see www.ymmethlehem.org.uk or contact the Secretary, Pete Arnold, on 01558-823306 or email ysgrifennydd@ymmethlehem.org.uk

Llanwrda Web Site
Llanwrda now has its own web site on www.llanwrda.webeden.co.uk and can be contacted by email at llanwrda@hotmail.co.uk

Thought for Food
Many thanks to Paul and Luke and their staff at The Goose and Cuckoo for the excellent Suppers on the Square that they have provided each month for the last couple of years. Thanks too to Kevin and Cindy and their staff at The Red Lion for their more recently introduced OAP lunches. These meals and get-togethers have been very much appreciated by all those who have attended.
Further details of both these regular events are given elsewhere on the Supper on the Square News Page and in What's On.

Pensioners' Lunch
The Red Lion, Llangadog offers a £4 lunch to pensioners on the first Tuesday of each month. Please give names to Win Morgan at Llangadog PO (tel. 01550-777697) in advance.

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