DYFED-POWYS POLICE cyclists will ride 75 hilly miles across Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire next week in a first-of-its-kind charity event for the force.

Around 35 riders will take part in The Chief’s Tour on Wednesday (May 6), raising money for Care of Police Survivors (COPS), a charity which supports the families of police officers and police staff who have died on duty.

The route will begin at St Mary’s Church in Fishguard at around 8:00am, before heading south through Pembrokeshire to Tenby and finishing at police headquarters in Carmarthen. The ride is expected to take between eight and 11 hours.

The event will also commemorate officers and staff who died while serving with Dyfed-Powys Police.

Chief Constable Ifan Charles said: “This event is a moment for communities, Dyfed-Powys Police, and families to come together to remember officers and staff whose lives were sadly cut short – and ensure their memory lives on.

“It would be fantastic to see people showing their support along the route, and we welcome cyclists to join us along the way.”

Scheduled stops will include St Mary’s Church, Fishguard, at around 8:00am, Newgale beach at 9:40am, Narberth Road layby in Tenby at 1:45pm, and Cana Cemetery, Banc-y-felin, Carmarthenshire, at 4:05pm.

Mr Charles added: “It was important to me to build moments of reflection into the route to make sure we remember the Dyfed-Powys Police officers who never made it home.

“Each name we reflect upon represents dedication, courage, and the highest standard of service to the public. They remind us of what it means to put the safety of others before our own, and of the risks inherent in the oath police officers take.”

The tour is aiming to raise £1,000 for COPS. More than £600 has already been donated.

Anyone wishing to support the team can donate through the JustGiving page for Dyfed Powys Police Cyclists.

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVES have set out plans to raise standards in education, warning that too many children are being let down by underperformance, poor discipline and funding pressures.

The party says Wales continues to lag behind other parts of the UK in international education rankings, despite the Welsh Government receiving higher levels of funding per head than England.

Leader Darren Millar said a Welsh Conservative Government would increase funding for schools, restore discipline in classrooms and place a renewed focus on academic and vocational achievement.

He said: “After 27 years of Labour, propped up by Plaid Cymru, our education system is failing too many young people.

“Standards have slipped, discipline has broken down and outcomes are simply not good enough.

“The Welsh Conservatives have a clear plan to turn this around. We will restore discipline in our classrooms, back our teachers and bring back academic rigour.

“We will ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.”

The party says its education plan would also strengthen routes into further and higher education, with a focus on helping young people build their futures in Wales.

Welsh Conservative education spokesperson Natasha Asghar said: “Every child in Wales deserves a world-class education, but after 27 years of Labour, propped up by Plaid Cymru, too many are being let down by a system that is underperforming and undervalued.

“We will raise standards, support our teachers and ensure schools are properly resourced, while strengthening opportunities in further and higher education so young people can thrive and build their futures here in Wales.”

A NEW solo exhibition at the Torch Theatre will showcase the work of Pembrokeshire wood carver Anthony Griffiths.

Through a Kaleidoscope opens at the Joanna Field Gallery on Wednesday, May 6, and features a series of circular relief carvings in oak, alongside the drawings that helped shape them.

Anthony, who lives in Stackpole, has taught wood carving for more than twenty years, originally in Somerset, and now from his home workshop in south Pembrokeshire, known as The Carving Room.

The exhibition brings together work influenced by the eroded sedimentary rocks at low tide on Broadhaven South, the carved mouldings of the Norman arches at St Davids Cathedral, and the interlocking patterns found in cathedral rose windows.

Other influences include vaulted cathedral ceilings, the intricate stucco domes of the Alhambra Palace, and the geometric decoration found in Islamic architecture.

Anthony said: “These carvings are not about resemblance to, or imitation of, any specific thing. Someone suggested they have a resemblance to the knotted patterns of crocheted doilies, or even biscuits.

“They may also be analogous with the interior forms of flowers, but none of this is intentional.”

He said the carvings are intended to capture an experience rather than copy a subject.

Anthony added: “They refer to dynamic energy and equilibrium; something we experience viscerally, as a play of energy, as much through our bodies as through our eyes.”

The individual forms, he explained, are designed to create movement, rhythm and motion.

He said: “The intention is to generate speed and motion by their differing alignments. It is not about where they are going, it is that they are going, that they are in constant flux.”

Unlike many relief carvings, Anthony said the finished works do not closely resemble the original drawings, even though the same elements are transferred directly onto the timber.

He added that the final appearance can only emerge through the slow process of carving, as light, shadow and movement develop within the wood itself.

Through a Kaleidoscope can be seen at the Joanna Field Gallery, Torch Theatre, from Wednesday, May 6, to Saturday, May 30.

For more information, visit www.thecarvingroom.com or torchtheatre.co.uk, or contact the Box Office on 01646 695267.