News

Fires, feasts and folk music

Published

10 years ago

August 19, 2016

ON FRIDAY, September 2, between 6pm and 11pm, a feast of fires will take place at Cuffern Manor, near Roch, Havefordwest.

Food and fine folk music will be filling the walled gardens at Cuffern Manor.

Topping the bill are US duo Dana and Susan Robinson, kicking off their 2016 UK tour.

Their music is underpinned by their trademark guitar/banjo sound, with some fiddle and mandolin along the way.

Regular visitors to Britain and Pembrokeshire, the pair will take the audience on a journey through new songs of rural America and old time mountain music.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Dana relocated to New England, where he discovered a thriving songwriters scene and the deep well of traditional mountain music.

In the early 1980s, he settled in northern Vermont and built a house ‘off the grid’ (no electricity and phone) near the Canadian border and founded a popular bakery, cafe and folk music venue. He launched into full-time touring after the release of his 1994 debut CD, ‘Elemental Lullabye’.

Sue grew up in a musical family in New England, studying piano, oboe, and Scottish fiddle before meeting Dana in 2002 at a house concert.

Upon moving to North Carolina a short time after, Sue launched into studying with many of the great old time musicians in the Asheville area.

They regularly perform both as a duo, and Dana solo, both at home and abroad.

The pair bought a historic schoolhouse in Vermont in 2015 and are opening its doors for house concerts, events and jam sessions.

The great line-up continues with Pembrokeshire four-piece Quarto, West Wales duo Fiddlebox, and Scottish/ Pembrokeshire folk singer Chloe Matharu.

Pembrokeshire band Quarto are known for their contemporary and traditional songs and tunes.

The line-up features husband and wife duo, Peter and Chris Kay, plus Paul Sharp and fiddle player, Holly Robinson.

As well as fiddles, the band’s sound includes guitars, melodeon (diatonic button accordion), mandolins and whistles.

Their repertoire includes everything from old favourites to their own material and from rousing singalongs to delicate ballads and airs.

The band launched their first album, ‘Lovers, Soldiers and the Tramp’, in May.

West Wales duo Fiddlebox are George Whitfield on accordion and vocals and Helen Adam on violin and vocals.

Formed in 2002, their unique sound blends their varying influences and styles from Klezmer, rock, classical, Celtic folk, Welsh dance music and song, to blues, and bluegrass.

The duo’s 2015 album ‘Eastern Honeymoon’ merges Welsh dance tunes with Klezmer, the traditional music of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe.

Chloe Matharu is a folk singer from Edinburgh with cultural roots in Scotland, Wales and India. She grew up surrounded by the wealth of traditional music in her home country as well as her mother’s county of Pembrokeshire. She began performing traditional music by singing unaccompanied folk ballads, hooked by the combination of story and music.

From a young age Chloe has found pleasure in singing: performing in choirs, playing in bands during the Edinburgh Fringe, and while at school won a place to perform at the Radio 2 Cambridge Folk Festival with its Youth Band.

Fine food and drink from local suppliers will be available at the festival, with delights coming from Welsh Cider Producer of the Year 2016, Gethin’s Pembrokeshire Cyder. Also in attendance will be Pembrokeshire Craft Brewery, Caffle, Tenby Brewing Company, The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company, Cafe Tuk Tuk and Welsh Feasts.

Entertainment

Free screening to focus on climate and nature crisis

Published

2 minutes ago

May 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair

PUBLIC INVITED TO LETTERSTON EVENT HOSTED BY TRANSITION BRO GWAUN

A FREE public screening of The People’s Emergency Briefing is to be held at Letterston Memorial Hall on Friday, May 29.

The event, hosted by Transition Bro Gwaun, starts at 7:00pm, with doors opening at 6:30pm.

The screening will be introduced by Dr Sarah Beynon, of The Bug Farm, St Davids, and will be followed by a structured discussion on climate and nature risks and what they may mean for local communities.

The 50-minute film has been adapted from the National Emergency Briefing, held at Westminster Central Hall in November 2025, where more than 1,200 MPs, peers, business leaders, cultural figures, faith representatives, sports figures and media leaders gathered to hear from experts on climate and nature risks.

The briefing, introduced by Chris Packham CBE, examines the potential impact of climate and nature breakdown on food security, public health, infrastructure, the economy and national security.

Dr Beynon said: “We are in a biodiversity and climate emergency. We have destroyed over half of our wildlife. In my late father’s lifetime, we have destroyed 97% of our wildflower meadows.

“Over 80% of our habitats are in poor condition. Over 60% of our rivers are not in good health and one in five species is at risk of extinction.

“How do we want to leave this planet for future generations? Then ask yourself if you are prepared to act. If you are, the first step is to understand the issues facing us, and this film is a vital part of understanding the situation we are in so we can all step up and do something together.”

The People’s Emergency Briefing was launched nationwide in April and is now being screened in communities across the UK. Organisers say more than 300 showings have already taken place, with around 1,000 scheduled over the summer.

Further local screenings are also planned for Solva and Cardigan in June.

Transition Bro Gwaun said the Letterston event comes at a time when communities in Pembrokeshire are facing increasing pressure from severe weather, flooding, dry spells and wildfire risks.

November and December 2025 saw flooding affect many areas, with the Met Office confirming rainfall was more than 50% above average during that period.

The group said the event was not intended to be “doom and gloom”, but would also focus on practical and hopeful responses.

Henry Tufnell MP, Pembrokeshire county councillors and town and community councillors have been invited to attend.

Tom Latter, trustee at Transition Bro Gwaun, said: “TBG welcomes the opportunity to host one of many Emergency Briefing events around the UK, addressing the climate and nature crisis.

“Co-ordinated restorative action is urgently needed, and understanding of the urgency for honest commitment to resilience planning from all branches of society.”

Free tickets are available through Transition Bro Gwaun, and refreshments will be provided.

Climate

Free screening to focus on climate and nature crisis

Published

5 minutes ago

May 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair