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Health projects support from National Lottery

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fundPEOPLE across Wales with disability and health-related difficulties will be benefitting from the latest funding announced by the Big Lottery Fund.

As part of the latest announcements from the Awards for All small grants programme, a total of £284,694 will be shared across 70 projects in Wales.

Hands Up for Downs, based in Swansea will receive £5,000 to provide speech and language courses to children under 5 years old with Down’s syndrome as well as for their parents and carers.

Secretary for the Hands Up For Downs project, Laura Stewart, said in receipt of the grant: “This grant will be used to fund Speech & Language Therapy for children who have Down’s syndrome in the Swansea area. It will also help pay for members of Hands Up For Downs to attend a Makaton Sign Language Course. People with Down’s syndrome often struggle with speech so early intervention is vital for developing their communication skills. It will further their ability to interact with the people in their lives so that they can express their needs, gain confidence and independence, develop other skills and become fully participating, valued members of society.”

Narcolepsy UK based in Ceredigion will benefit from £4,962 to improve their services by recruiting a new sessional worker to deliver networking events in five new locations across Wales for people with narcolepsy and their family and carers. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder which affects the brains’ ability to regulate the normal sleep-wake cycle leading to symptoms such as disturbed night-time sleep and excessive sleepiness throughout the day, and affects approximately 31,000 people in the UK.

In the Vale of Glamorgan, Marie Cure Cancer Care will be able to improve the services offered to their patients and carers by using £4,482 to provide additional training for staff and volunteers in complimentary therapy.

Carolyn Turner, Interim Day Therapy Unit Manager at Marie Curie’s Cardiff and Vale Hospice said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this money from the Awards for All Wales funding programme and welcome the benefits it will bring for our service users. The funds will enable us to train volunteers and staff in the hospice’s day therapy unit, helping them to deliver a wide range of therapies, services and support to those people living with a terminal illness.”

Merthyr People First will receive £4,340 to run a weekly cookery class and tutorial sessions in jewellery-making for members with learning disabilities with the aim of increasing skills and knowledge and improving diets and lifestyles. Furthermore Rhyl’s Raptors Wheelchair Basketball Club will use £4,500 to fund new equipment, refreshments and venue hire towards additional activities to the main club that will increase participation numbers in the group.

Other projects being funded include Ysgol Penllwyn After-School Club in Aberystwyth will use £1,850 to teach children how to stay safe when using the internet, learn about social media platforms and etiquette, and to enhance their IT skills.

Catheryn Sharon Morgan, After- School Club Coordinator said: “With this grant we can broaden the activities that we can offer, and it also ties in with work on educating children and helping to protect them online and on the internet.”

Elsewhere, Project Seagrass, based in Swansea will receive £4,900 to pilot a marine biodiversity education scheme for 60 children. The programme will raise awareness and allow young people to learn from marine biology experts on conserving these environments.

Gareth Williams, Awards for All Programme Manager for the Big Lottery Fund in Wales, said: “Awards for All is having a positive impact throughout Wales. Money is helping to establish groups, societies and clubs, promoting learning, increasing volunteering opportunities and helping to build stronger communities.”

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Community

Mayor of Bergen visits Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre

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IT was a Mayoral gathering when the Burgermeisterin of Bergen, in Germany, paid a visit to Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre in the company of Councillor Aden Brinn, the Mayor of Bergen’s twin town, Pembroke.

There to meet Burgermeisterin Claudia Dettmar-Muller and her colleague Silvia Bothe were two former Mayors of Pembroke Dock, Councillors Pam George and Maureen Colgan, and trustees and volunteers who run the Centre. Joining them was Pembroke’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ann Mortenson.

Trustee Peter Mitchell and colleagues gave a guided town of the Centre which has extensive displays on Pembroke Dock’s rich maritime and military history spanning just over two centuries, and its connections with RAF flying boats.

Pic By Martin Cavaney.

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Community

Wonderful night at Haverfordwest Library for special Poet Laureate event

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HAVERFORDWEST Library was delighted to be part of the prestigious Poet Laureate Library Tour for 2024 with a special event on Friday, March 8.
Pembrokeshire County Council Chairman, Cllr Thomas Tudor extended a special welcome to the guests of honour: Poet Laureate Simon Armitage; his guests Owen Sheers and Bethany Handley; plus the winners of the recent library Poetry Competition.
The poetry began with writer, poet and disabled activist, Bethany Handley. Bethany campaigns for better access to nature for disabled people, and her work explores nature and disability, challenging the barriers that disabled people experience.
Bethany’s first poem was heartfelt and humorous about her experience of visiting a beach in her wheelchair. Her final poem also drew on her experiences, being a compilation poem of many well-intentioned, yet impractical or inappropriate, advice that she has received as a wheelchair user.
Owen Sheers is an award winning Welsh poet, author and playwright. He has twice won the Wales Book of the Year as well as the Hay Festival Poetry Medal.
His film-poem, the Green Hollow, about the Aberfan disaster, was BAFTA and Grierson nominated and won three BAFTA Cymru awards, including best writer.
Owen read an extract from the Green Hollow, bringing the horror of the disaster to life. He also read poems about parenthood and his experiences as a son and as a father.
The Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.
Simon launched into a poem about humanity, the universe and working as one. He then used his back catalogue of poems written for music. His poems covered some unusually random themes, particularly those he crafted during the Covid pandemic.
He said that he’d even written a poem inspired by a Velux window and read a beautiful poem about laying in a hammock watching a pair of newly-weds sail overhead in a hot air balloon.
His performances were engaging, humorous and moving and he brought the words to life.
Simon also spoke warmly about the importance of libraries as a child but also as an adult travelling about the country, with libraries always offering a warm welcome.
Ashok Ahir, President of the National Library of Wales thanked the three poets and introduced the new exhibition in the gallery, Dylan: The Lyrical Life of Dylan Thomas.
The exhibition is open to the public until 14th September 2024. Further information can be seen online.
The event drew to a close as Cllr Tudor issued the prizes to the winners of the recent poetry eisteddfod competition. The competition celebrated the language, culture, heritage and literature of Wales.
The theme was Dylan Thomas. Entries could draw inspiration from any of his works or seek inspiration from a specific quote: “from where you are, you can hear their dreams”.
Entries received were of a high standard and were judged by Wendy Morse (leader of the Haverfordwest Library Poetry Group, who would welcome new members, contact Haverfordwest Library for more information); representatives from the Library staff and the National Library of Wales staff. The poems will be on display at Haverfordwest Library until the end of the Easter Holidays.

Prizes have been awarded to:
• Sian Davies: Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, adult written poem category
• James Purchase: I Shall go Gentle into that Good Night, adult written poem category
• Philippa Davies: Dylan is in the Library, adult spoken word category
• Tony Potts: Windfall, adult illustrated poem category
• John Matthews: Dylan Cwmdonkin, adult Welsh language category
• Ellie McGrath: It was all a Dream, 11-14 age category
• Skye-Lea Jones: Are you Listening?,11-14 age category
Thanks to the judges of the poetry competition and to Faber & Faber, who donated the book prizes in support of the Poet Laureate’s Library Tour.
Cllr Thomas Tudor said: “The Riverside opened its doors in December 2018 and has enjoyed many fascinating exhibitions since thanks to the continued partnership with the National Library of Wales.
“The Riverside was one of just six libraries to host this Poet Laureate Library Tour for 2024.
“It is a fantastic achievement for Haverfordwest Library to be a part of these significant events, helping to raise the profile and regeneration of the County Town and I thank everyone who has worked hard to make the event a success.”
The event would not have been possible without the continued support from The National Library of Wales and Haverfordwest Town Council. The President of the National Library of Wales and the Mayor, Sheriff and Clerk of Haverfordwest Town Council were all present.

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Charity

Bags of Books returns to Milford Haven and surrounding areas this Easter

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THE INFAMOUS Bags of Books is set to return to Milford Haven and surrounding areas over the Easter holidays.

Milford Haven School who launched the project with Milford Youth Matters over 3 years ago are continuing in their bid to improve literacy skills and encourage a love of reading for pleasure by giving away over 700 books.

Thanks to funding from the South Hook LNG Community grant they have purchased books for young people of all ages and reading abilities and will be hanging them on the fences of the schools in their catchment area.

The community are invited to come and choose a book from the following locations over the Easter holidays:

  • Neyland Community Primary School – Monday 25th March
  • Johnston Community Primary School – Tuesday 26th March
  • Coastlands Primary School – Wednesday 27th March
  • Gelliswick Primary School – Tuesday 2nd April
  • Milford Haven Community Primary – Wednesday 3rd April
  • St Francis Community Primary – Wednesday 3rd April

Milford Haven Secondary School will also hang over 150 books on their fence after the Easter Holidays on Wednesday 10th April for those in our community who cannot attend the other locations.

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