Community

Park plans for starry, starry nights

Published

9 years ago

May 21, 2015

IN 2012 starysky /13, the Brecon Beacons achieved International Dark Sky Reserve status for the whole National Park. On a clear night in the Brecon Beacons, you can see the Milky Way, major constellations, bright nebulas and even meteor showers. It’s enough to make anyone starry eyed.

Now Pembrokeshire’s own National Park Authority has decided to try to create a number of Dark Sky Discovery Sites across the county.

The UK has some of the largest areas of dark sky in Europe. You can find dark skies near where you live, if you can get away from bright lights such as street lighting. That could be in your back garden, a local park, or getting out of town altogether. From a city centre location we might see about 100 stars with our naked eyes, and the further away from the streetlights you go, the better the view becomes. Under a really dark sky we can see over 1,000 stars. We can even see our own galaxy, The Milky Way, stretching across the sky.

Pembrokeshire Cost National Park does not particularly lend itself to being a Dark Sky Reserve or Dark Sky Park because it is relatively small, ribbon-like, and is affected by significant light sources on the Milford Haven. These factors would make Dark Sky Reserve and Dark Sky Park requirements very difficult to meet, and the associated improvement commitments onerous to maintain.

Instead, officers have sought to identify a series of potential Dark Sky Discovery Sites across the National Park. Dark Sky Discovery Sites are small, accessible observation sites with good night sky quality. Proposals for Dark Sky Discovery sites are submitted to and decided by the UK Dark Sky Discovery partnership, which is made up of national and local astronomy and environmental organisations.

There is currently only one Dark Sky Discovery site in the National Park: the National Trust’s car park at Broad Haven South. A spread of Dark Sky Discovery Sites across the National Park could help raise the profile of the Park, not only for stargazers and photographers but as part of more general “Park-at-night” type experiences (wildlife observation, John Muir/Duke of Edinburgh tasks, navigation, bushcraft and so on), potentially out of the main visit or season.

In order to qualify for Dark Sky Discovery (DSD) Site status, the proposed locations need to meet a number of criteria that make them safe and accessible as well as having suitably dark skies, in order to fully suppor t the above aims.

Dark Sky Discovery Sites are places that:

are away from the worst of any local light pollution

provide good sightlines of the sky

have good public access, including firm ground for wheelchairs.

The sites are generally freely accessible at all times The website sets out two clear categories of Dark Sky Discovery sites. The two darkness ratings are:

‘Orion’ sites. At these sites, the seven main stars in the winter constellation Orion are visible to the naked eye. Typically, this means away from, or shielded from, bright lights such as street lights, security lights or approaching car lights.

“Milky Way” sites. At these sites the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. They are much darker sites found only in more rural areas.

The ten selected sites are: Poppit Sands Beach; Bedd Morris National Park car park; Bwlch Gwynt; Garn Fawr National Trust car park; Rhosfach Common; Abereiddi Bay car park; Martin’s Haven National Trust car park; Kete National Trust car park; Stack Rocks National Park car park; and Skrinkle Haven National Park car park.

Community

Mark Benevolent Fund award Pembrokeshire charity almost £6,700

Published

10 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Harriet Davis Trust is a charity that provides affordable holidays for severely disabled and terminally ill children and their families at four specially adapted properties (three in Tenby, one in Narberth).

The charity was formed in 1992 and named after Harriet, a little girl with a rare degenerative disease who was unable to speak and had lost her motor abilities. Her parents had brought her to Tenby for seaside holidays but found them extremely challenging due to the lack of suitable accommodation. Harriet had loved these holidays but sadly passed away aged eleven years. Her parents Kit and John Davis formed the charity in honour of their brave little girl. Kit is still a Trustee of the charity.

The properties offer a high level of equipment including therapy pool, mobile hoists, lifts, profile beds, specialist kitchens and bathrooms. In some of the gardens there is a ‘memory meadow’ to remember children that have passed away.

Trust Administrator Susie Shales said “We often welcome families with children that are profoundly disabled or have life-limiting illnesses who have never had a holiday due to their restricted financial circumstances, and others who only have a few weeks or months left with their loved one and are desperate to make their final memories together”.

Like most charities, the Trust had a difficult time during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, and more recently have been faced with costly but essential structural repairs to two of the properties. As there was a desperate need to replace and improve some of their equipment, Susie wrote to Steve Thurgood, who is the Charity Steward for the Mark Masons of Dyfed, to ask if any financial assistance could be offered. The Dyfed Mark Masons belong to an order of Freemasonry and meet in lodges across West Wales.

Almost £6,700 was required to buy specialised profile mattresses for all of the properties to replace the current 10 years old stock, plus two Careflex chairs which allow disabled guests to be hoisted into the chair, giving welcome relief from being constantly in their wheelchair.

As the amount requested was substantial, Steve approached the Charity Manager of the Mark Benevolent Fund (M.B.F.) based in London which is the central UK charitable fund for the Mark Masons.

Steve was advised to instruct Susie to submit a detailed application to the M.B.F for their consideration, and much to the delight of Steve and the Harriet Davis Trust team, the application was approved within a week of submission!

It was duly arranged for two M.B.F. Trustees to travel to the Ivy Bush hotel in Carmarthen and join the Provincial Grand Master of the Mark Province of Dyfed, Gary Hicks and members of his team in presenting representatives of the Harriet Davis Trust with a ‘big cheque’.

Trust manager Carol Lincoln and Administrator Susie Shales attended, and Carol gave a slideshow presentation on the work of the Trust and spoke passionately about the difficulties facing parents of disabled and sick children, and the relief and enjoyment the seaside holidays provide. She expressed her deep gratitude to the M.B.F. for their compassion and for the speed of their generous assistance.

Correspondingly, the M.B.F. Trustees Derek Thomas and David Powell eloquently explained the purpose of the M.B.F, the wide range of charities they support, and the criteria for a successful application. Gary Hicks expressed his thanks to Derek and David for making the long drive to Carmarthen, and for adding so much to the presentation. He also thanked the many Dyfed Mark members who had come from various parts of West Wales to support him on this special and rare occasion. Coffee and a light lunch was provided for all and a very pleasant afternoon it was!.

Pictured above : L to R: M.B.F. Trustee Derek Thomas, Trust Manager Carol Lincoln, Dyfed Provincial Grand Charity Steward Steve Thurgood, Dyfed Provincial Grand Master Gary Hicks, Trust Administrator Susie Shales and M.B.F. Trustee David Powell

Community

Pembroke and District Male Voice Choir welcomes new vicar to Monkton

Published

11 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Tom Sinclair

WELSH voices welcomed the newly installed Vicar of Monkton, the Rev Heidi de Gruchy, in her first week in her new church.

Rev Heidi in turn welcomed Pembroke and District Male Voice choristers to Monkton Priory last month which, with its superb acoustics, is a favourite venue for the choir.

Also Vicar of Pembroke and Lamphey, Rev Heidi was joined by her husband, the Rev William Lambert, and a large congregation who showed warm appreciation for the programme choices of Musical Director Juliet Rossiter, which included the stirring Morte Christe and
Gwadhoddiad.

Soloist was first tenor Peter Halifax, accompanying himself on guitar. He sang four pieces including, for the first time, ‘Working Man’.

MC Matthew John always promotes the choir and his invitation to male members of the congregation to join in the finale fell on receptive ears.

Four joined in for ‘American Trilogy’, including Rev William and Matthew’s father, Steve John.

There were special thanks for guest accompanist Peter Griffiths who has helped out at several concerts and practices while the choir seeks a permanent replacement. Peter is the accompanist for Haverfordwest Male Voice.

At the start of the evening Ed Morris, of the first bass section, presented a cheque to choir chairman Huw Morgan from the Pembroke Farmers’

Club, following on the choir’s recent very successful concert at Lamphey.

Earlier in the month the choir returned to St John’s Church, Tenby – one of two visits made there every year.

The choir’s next concert is for Remembrance, on Friday November 1 st at Pembroke Town Hall. In the interim it is hoped that a new accompanist will be appointed.

Community

Excitement for Narberth as new Library opens at former Old School

Published

12 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE 0latest chapter in Narberth Library’s story has started with a soft opening at its new purpose built premises.

The informal opening at the recently redeveloped Old School site happened on Thursday, 26^th September, with a formal opening to come later in the year.

The library was previously housed in a former Wesleyan Church on St James Street and now enjoys a much better position, with ample parking available at the adjacent Town Moor car park.

Building the library to a basic shell and core standard was incorporated into the construction works for the whole Old School site, led by two of the school’s former pupils.

A grant of almost £150,000 from the Welsh Government, together with match funding from Pembrokeshire County Council then enabled the library to be completed and fitted out to a high standard, including new state-of-the-art technology, which will significantly extend opening times.

***Cllrs Tierney, Sinnett and Walters check out the new library***

The long-standing partnership between Narberth Town Council, the Friends of Narberth Library and Pembrokeshire County Council, continues at the new library.

Councillor Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “It’s fantastic to see the new library opening its doors to serve local people again.

“While it’s taken a little longer than we might have hoped, it’s been a complex project with several organisations working in partnership to ensure that we have a sustainable and successful library for the people of Narberth.

“As they say, good things are worth waiting for.”

Narberth Town Council’s Mayor, Councillor Chris Walters said: On behalf of Narberth Town Council we are finally excited to say we have crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s and I would like to thank all members of the public for their patience whilst we have been going through this extensive legal process. I would like to thank the cooperation of PCC’s solicitors and our Solicitor at Hains and Lewis.

“This is such a fantastic opportunity for the Town and it is great to see a new community facility being opened with the help of PCC and Welsh Government. I would also like to thank the developers for donating this building to the Town.

“I know that the late Cllr Sue Rees would have loved to have seen this in person so I dedicate the opening day to her when we finally cut the ribbon and welcome in old and I hope new members to Narberth Library.

“With the friends of Narberth Library running the library, I know members of the public are in good hands and I again congratulate all members for finally getting this project completed.”

The Chair of The Friends of Narberth Library, and County Councillor for Narberth Urban, Marc Tierney said: “Since 2016, FoNL has supported our towns much loved library service. Now, after years of planning with our partners and with Welsh Government funding, we are pleased that local library users will benefit from this major investment in our town.

“Narberth has a library we can all be proud of. The Friends of Narberth Library volunteers look forward to welcoming familiar faces and new to our brand new home on the Town Moor.”

Cover image: Cllr Marc Tierney, Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cllr Chris Walters and Catherine Rawlings, Vice Chair of the Friends of Narberth Library, outside the new library.