Choir members receive gold, silver and bronze medals after completing Royal School of Church Music programme

YOUNG singers from the choir at St Davids Cathedral have been recognised for their musical progress after receiving Voice for Life awards from the Royal School of Church Music.

The medals were presented during a ceremony at the cathedral, where choristers were praised for their dedication to developing their vocal skills and musical understanding.

The Voice for Life scheme is a national programme run by the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), designed to help young choristers develop their singing ability, music theory knowledge and commitment to church music.

A total of ten choristers received awards during the presentation.

Harriet received the Gold Award, while Isabelle, Esther, Phoebe and Cora were presented with Silver Awards.

Bronze Awards were awarded to Avalon, Imogen, Megan, Abigael and Grace.

Two additional choristers were unable to attend the ceremony due to illness, but the cathedral said their awards will be presented at a later date.

The cathedral choir also thanked Laurence John for preparing the young singers so thoroughly for their examinations.

St Davids Cathedral Choir said it was delighted to see such a strong group of choristers successfully complete the programme and congratulated all those who received awards.

A CARMARTHENSHIRE woman has celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family and friends at a special gathering in Carmarthen.

Margaret Olwyn Lewis marked the milestone last weekend at the communal rooms of Hafan Towy in North Parade, where she has lived for more than twenty years.

The celebration brought together her son David Lewis and daughters Susan Harte and Sharon Lewis, along with their partners Christopher Harte and Jane Collins. Also attending were grandchildren Jessica, Lizzie, Edward and Amy, together with seven great-grandchildren.

Margaret was born in Porth Cottage Hospital and spent her early childhood in Pontygwaith in the Rhondda Valley. After the death of her parents when she was young, her elder brother Idris became her guardian.

When Idris was called up for National Service, Margaret took over running his hairdressing business — a role she continued until she married Elfed Lewis and moved to Swansea.

The couple had first met in the mid-1930s while attending Tylorstown Primary School. Their friendship developed into a lasting romance that continued throughout the Second World War and after Elfed returned from an Army posting in Egypt.

Margaret recalled memories from those wartime years.

“During the war we used to walk up the hill towards Maerdy Mountain and after a bombing raid we could stand and watch the flames,” she said.

“The usual targets were the docks at Swansea and the oil refineries in Llandarcy. Later we would catch a tram down the valley to see the destruction that had been caused.”

After the war, Margaret and Elfed lived for some time in Fforest-fach before moving to a home on Forestry Commission land at Llanllawddog. The move came shortly before Elfed took early retirement from his role as Chief Engineer at Western Power.

Both became deeply involved in local heritage. Elfed, together with two friends, helped found the Carmarthenshire Family History Society, which today has a worldwide membership of around 8,000 people.

Margaret also developed a strong interest in art and became involved with the Carmarthen Sketch Club. She won awards for her paintings and many of her works have been exhibited over the years.

Although family members now live across Britain, many travelled to Carmarthen to celebrate her 100th birthday together.

Margaret has always said she is proud that her children and grandchildren pursued higher education, with all going on to attend university and build successful careers.

The family gathering was a chance for four generations to come together and mark a remarkable century of life.

Cover pic: Century celebration: Margaret Lewis cuts her 100th birthday cake surrounded by family (Pic: Chris Harte)

Seaside town plagued by signal congestion again absent from latest government-backed coverage improvements

A NEW milestone in the UK Government’s programme to improve mobile coverage across rural Wales has once again highlighted the continuing connectivity problems facing Tenby.

Officials confirmed this week that fifty government-funded mobile mast upgrades are now live in Wales as part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN), a joint initiative between government and mobile operators aimed at expanding 4G coverage in rural communities.

Across the UK, 119 upgraded masts are now operational, providing reliable 4G access from all four major operators – EE, Vodafone, Three and Virgin Media O2 – in previously underserved areas.

However, as with earlier announcements linked to the programme, no locations in Pembrokeshire were listed among the latest upgrades, leaving ongoing questions about when improvements will reach one of Wales’s busiest tourist destinations.

Longstanding problems

The absence of any Pembrokeshire sites in the latest round is likely to fuel frustration in Tenby, where residents and traders have repeatedly complained about unreliable mobile coverage.

Last year, The Herald reported growing anger among locals who described the town’s mobile signal as “worse than the 1990s.” Residents said dropped calls, slow data and intermittent service were affecting everyday life and business operations.

One disabled resident said he had missed hospital calls because his phone repeatedly lost signal, while traders said customers were sometimes unable to make card payments due to network outages during busy periods.

The issue tends to intensify during the summer tourist season, when visitor numbers place additional strain on existing infrastructure.

Capacity rather than coverage

Unlike many communities targeted by the Shared Rural Network, Tenby is not classified as a complete mobile “not-spot”.

Instead, the town suffers from capacity issues, where networks become overwhelmed by the sheer number of users during peak periods.

This distinction means Tenby has often fallen outside the main focus of national programmes designed primarily to address areas with little or no coverage at all.

Earlier announcements under the SRN scheme also failed to include any sites in Pembrokeshire, despite dozens of upgrades elsewhere in Wales.

Political pressure

Concerns about the issue have even reached Parliament.

Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell recently asked ministers what action is being taken to improve connectivity in the county, naming Tenby specifically after it was omitted from previous upgrade announcements.

Independent data has suggested Wales continues to lag behind the rest of the UK in mobile performance, with some areas of Pembrokeshire recording relatively slow download speeds compared with national averages.

Attempts to improve infrastructure

There have been some attempts to strengthen mobile infrastructure around Tenby.

Plans were previously submitted to replace an existing telecommunications mast near Penally with a twenty-metre structure designed to support improved 4G capacity for multiple operators.

Developers argued the upgrade was necessary to improve digital connectivity for residents, businesses and visitors across the wider Tenby area.

However, progress on mobile infrastructure in the area has sometimes faced challenges, including planning concerns linked to the town’s location within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Rural upgrades continue

Despite the continuing issues in coastal towns like Tenby, the Shared Rural Network programme is continuing to expand across Wales.

Government figures say the scheme has already delivered 4G coverage from all four operators across an additional 34,000 square kilometres of the UK, while improving connectivity for 280,000 premises and more than 16,000 kilometres of roads.

Ministers say the programme will continue until at least 2027, with further upgrades planned.

For Tenby residents and businesses, however, the key question remains unchanged: when – or if – the town’s well-documented mobile congestion problems will finally be addressed.

With another busy tourist season approaching, local traders say reliable connectivity is no longer a luxury but an essential part of running a modern seaside economy.