Trails, traditional crafts, creative workshops and special events are planned at the Dre-fach Felindre attraction throughout the school holidays

THE NATIONAL WOOL MUSEUM is celebrating its 50th birthday with a packed programme of family activities, creative workshops and special events this summer.

Located in the heart of the Teifi Valley at Dre-fach Felindre, near Newcastle Emlyn, the museum tells the story of Wales’ internationally renowned woollen industry through working machinery, traditional crafts and interactive displays.

Visitors will be able to take part in a range of free drop-in activities, including the new interactive Woolly Tale Family Trail, a Meadow Trail and seasonal crafts in the museum’s new Make and Create Space.

Craft activities will change throughout the summer and may include making lavender bags, summer flowers and colourful pom-poms.

Children can also enjoy hands-on activities from the museum’s Art Cart, while demonstrations of traditional crafts and historic textile machinery will take place during the week.

As demonstration times and activities may vary each day, families planning a visit for a particular attraction are advised to contact the museum in advance on 02920 573070.

A series of bookable workshops and events will also be held during the summer.

The CREU Young Makers Family Wet Felting workshops will take place on July 29 and August 11, 13 and 18, from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets cost £9 per child.

Using colourful wool and warm, soapy water, children will learn the traditional craft of wet felting and create their own keepsake to take home.

On July 30, visitors can join CREU Conversations: Meet the Gardener from 10.30am to 11.30am.

Susan Martin, gardener of the museum’s Natural Dye Garden, will explain how plants have been used for centuries to produce natural colours for dyeing yarn.

The session will explore the connections between plants, textiles and traditional skills, including the use of teasels in textile production and the growing of flax for spinning linen yarn.

Visitors will also be able to watch last year’s flax crop being processed to release its fibres and try using a traditional flax brake.

The event costs £10 per person and is open to those aged 18 and over.

A free day of storytelling and history, Johnny Lewis and Friends: Stories from Cambrian Mills, will be held on August 15 from 10.30am to 3pm.

Inspired by Johnny Lewis, the former owner of Cambrian Mills, the event will feature character-led tours in Welsh and English exploring life at the mill and the history of the local woollen industry.

Visitors will also be able to see a Triumph Mayflower, the type of car Johnny drove, and discover more about the people, places and traditions connected to the museum.

Another character appearing during the event will be Nansi, inspired by the families who lived and worked within the area’s woollen communities.

Places for the bookable activities can be reserved through the National Wool Museum’s website.

The museum’s summer programme forms part of its year-long 50th anniversary celebrations, marking five decades of preserving and sharing the story of Wales’ woollen heritage.

Deputy First Minister urges new UK Justice Secretary to reconsider funding for proposed women’s residential centre in Swansea

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT as renewed its call for justice and policing to be devolved to Wales, as ministers seek a new working relationship with the recently appointed UK Government.

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality, Sioned Williams, has written to the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Norris, asking him to make an early commitment to transferring responsibility for the justice system and policing to Wales.

She said such a commitment would demonstrate that the UK Government was serious about adopting a revised approach to devolution and working in partnership with ministers in Cardiff Bay.

Justice and policing remain controlled from Westminster, despite many of the public services which interact with the criminal justice system, including health, housing, education and social care, being devolved to Wales.

The Deputy First Minister also wrote separately to Ministry of Justice Minister Catherine McKinnell, raising concerns about the disproportionate effect of the justice system on women in Wales.

A central issue is the proposed Residential Women’s Centre in Swansea, which was intended to provide an alternative to custody and support women with complex needs closer to their families and communities.

However, the previous UK prisons minister informed the Welsh Government that funding for the project had not been secured.

Ms Williams has now urged the new ministerial team to work with the Treasury and reconsider the decision as soon as possible.

She said: “I am looking forward to working constructively with the UK Government on justice in Wales.

“We need to reduce the disproportionate impact on women of the ‘jagged edge’ between devolved and non-devolved responsibilities in the criminal justice system.

“This includes ensuring that fewer women sentenced in Wales are held in prisons in England, far from their families and support networks.”

Wales has no women’s prison, meaning women given custodial sentences are routinely sent to facilities across the border.

Ms Williams added: “Unfortunately, I was informed by the previous Minister for Prisons that it had not been possible to secure funding for the Residential Women’s Centre in Swansea.

“I have urged the new minister to work with Treasury colleagues to ensure that this decision is revisited as soon as possible.

“The importance of the centre has also been highlighted by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

“I am eager to continue to work with the UK Government on our shared ambition for women’s justice.”

The Welsh Government has repeatedly argued that devolving justice would allow services to be designed around the needs and circumstances of communities in Wales, while creating greater accountability for criminal justice policy.

Hywel Dda says a dedicated unit would improve patient safety and specialist support, but no final decision has been made

A SPECIALIST facility in Carmarthen has been identified as the preferred future location for adults detained by police while experiencing a mental health crisis in public.

Hywel Dda University Health Board will be asked on Thursday, July 30, to approve public and staff engagement on plans for a dedicated Section 136 Place of Safety unit at Cwm Seren, within the Hafan Derwen mental health site at St David’s Park.

The proposal could see adult provision concentrated at the Carmarthen facility rather than continuing across a number of existing sites within the health board area.

Section 136 of the Mental Health Act gives police officers the power to remove someone from a public place when they appear to be experiencing a serious mental health crisis and take them to a designated place of safety.

The person can then be assessed by mental health professionals and offered appropriate care and support. The health board has a legal responsibility to provide the service.

A review of the existing arrangements found concerns relating to the suitability of some environments and the ability to provide consistent staffing across several locations.

Five potential models were considered during a multi-agency appraisal involving Dyfed-Powys Police, local authorities, West Wales Action for Mental Health and the patient representative body Llais.

The preferred option is a purpose-built Section 136 suite at Cwm Seren.

According to the health board, the Carmarthen facility would provide the safest, most clinically effective and sustainable model of care.

It says the unit would offer immediate access to specialist mental health staff, improve the management of people considered to be at acute risk and provide better access to physical healthcare when required.

However, concentrating the service in Carmarthen could also raise questions about travelling distances for police, patients and families from Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and more distant parts of Carmarthenshire.

The health board says those potential effects, together with measures that could reduce them, would form part of the proposed engagement process.

Andrew Carruthers, Chief Operating Officer at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “People who are detained under Section 136 are often experiencing some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and it is essential that we provide a safe, supportive environment where they can receive timely assessment.

“The work undertaken with our partners has carefully considered a range of options for the future provision of this service.

“The preferred option at Hafan Derwen has been identified because it offers the strongest benefits in terms of patient safety, clinical support and sustainability.”

Mr Carruthers stressed that no final decision had been taken.

He added: “Subject to Board approval, we will want to hear from staff, people with lived experience, carers, partner organisations and members of the public before any final decision is considered.

“Their feedback will be an important part of the process.”

Should the proposal be approved by board members, an eight-week engagement exercise would run from September 2 until October 26, 2026.

Staff, service users, carers, partner organisations and local communities would be asked for their views on the preferred option, its possible effects and any safeguards or mitigation that should be introduced.

The health board will consider the proposal at its meeting on Thursday, July 30. The meeting will be streamed online from 9.30am.