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Welsh Prime Minister’s favourite cakes revived

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Recipe restored: Rosalind Raymond of Jordanston Church with Mandy Stirling of Wolfscastle Country Hotel

Recipe restored: Rosalind
Raymond of Jordanston Church
with Mandy Stirling of Wolfscastle
Country Hotel

TO MARK the centenary of David Lloyd George becoming the only Welsh Prime Minister, a hotel has revived the original recipes for Welsh cakes he enjoyed and is using them to fund further restoration to his family church in Pembrokeshire.

Wolfscastle C ountry Hotel near Haverfordwest discovered the recipes for Welsh Cakes and Bara Brith which Lloyd George’s wife Dame Margaret, donated to a cookery book originally published in 1919 by the Criccieth Women’s Institute.

Subtitled ‘Recipes for the Favourite Dishes of The Prime Minister’ the book was reprinted in the early 1970s.

The hotel is working with nearby Jordanston Church in Pembrokeshire, which is to hold an exhibition (June 17-19) commemorating the centenary of David Lloyd George taking office as the only Welsh Prime Minister. The exhibition is open to the public at Jordanston Church and Hall between 10.30am-8pm each day.

Lloyd George’s father, grandfather, grandmother, and step grandfather are buried in the church and his family farmed the neighbouring farm of Trecoed.

As a curtain-raiser to the event Wolfscastle Hotel is hosting a fundraising afternoon tea featuring the Lloyd George cakes, on Sunday, June 12, commencing 4.30pm.

Andrew Stirling, proprietor of the four star Wolfscastle Hotel since 1976 said: “We were fascinated to learn about Lloyd George’s family connection with Pembrokeshire and wanted to help by supplementing the great fundraising work of the wardens of Jordanston Church in the best way we can, by baking cakes!

“We hope people will be equally fascinated to try out cakes made to the exact recipe which Lloyd George enjoyed over 100 years ago.”

Speaking on behalf of the Jordanston Church fundraising team, which has so far raised £100,000 to repair and restore the church including a £63,000 Heritage Lottery grant, Rosalind Raymond said: “We are thrilled that Andy and Mandy Stirling have offered to contribute to our exhibition in this way.

The whole purpose is to raise funds specifically to repair windows at this small and much loved church which has so many historic connections and is very much at the heart of our community.”

Of his roots in the county, Lloyd George once said: “I am a Pembrokeshire lad. I come from Pembrokeshire stock and am proud of it.” (David Lloyd George – Crymych, October 30, 1924).

The Welsh Cakes are referred to in the book as ‘Cachen Gri (Dame Margaret’s Way)’ and the ‘Bara Brith’ is also described as Currant Cake in the 1919 recipe.

Mandy Stirling of Wolfscastle Hotel said: “In trialling the recipes, we found the Welsh Cakes were less sweet than is the norm these days; they are almost savoury and you can imagine them being served spread with butter. These days we tend to add zest of fruit to give a little more flavour, mixed spices, again for more flavour.

The Bara Brith was even more of a marked difference than the style people expect these days. The 1919 recipe used lard, lots of eggs and milk, whilst we use warm black tea in the recipe, which is more common.

Whereas people today will be used to a Bara Brith that is moist and quite sticky, the Lloyd George recipe produced a crumbly, drier cake with just currants rather than the mixed fruit we have. But it is nonetheless delicious and we look forward to serving these lovely cakes to our guests.”

Tickets to the Lloyd George Exhibition Charity Afternoon Tea cost £12 per person, with £6.00 going to the Jordanston Church restoration fund.

Tickets are available from www. wolfscastle.com

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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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