News
St Davids: Funds raised for Memory Cafe
ON SATURDAY (Oct 22) in blazing autumn sunshine at Oriel y Parc, St Davids, ten brave men from Fishguard and St Davids bared their legs and had them waxed in aid of St Davids Memory Cafe.
The Memory Cafe is an activity for persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and their carers and which takes place on the first Wednesday of each month at Oriel y Parc. Here sufferers can enjoy activities such as singing, painting, jigsaws and simply socialising. Although most of the habitués come from North Pembrokeshire, the facility is open to people with dementia from all over the county.
The aim was to raise money through sponsorship and donations in order to buy more musical instruments and other equipment and to offset any other costs incurred by the cafe so that the good work can be continued and extended.
Danni O’Connor from Goodwick brought her equipment and gave freely of her time and expertise. The volunteers came from all walks of life and all stepped up to the mark for what is a very good cause.
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First to brave the wax was Alan from Fishguard, closely followed by Paddy, George and Mike, also from Fishguard. Then the St Davids men followed, Dafydd, Padraig, Ben, Huw, Geraint and Norman. Dave was unable to come along but he sent his sponsorship money to swell the coffers. There were a few yelps and quite a few winces as legs and backs were exposed without their customary covering of fur. Locals and tourists dropped by to watch the event and many contributed to the funds.
The organisers of the event said: “We are very very grateful to Maria Davies for her initial idea and her tireless encouragement. Thanks to Danni, to the workers from the Memory Cafe, to our ten brave heroes and lastly to all the members of the public who sponsored the victims, donated on line or simply popped money into the collecting tins around the place in Fishguard and St Davids.”
If you would like to make a contribution, donations will be accepted on-line for the next 2 weeks at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Memory-cafe
Business
Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services
PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.
In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.
The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.
Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.
Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.
Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”
“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”
“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”
“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”
Business
Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end
TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.
The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.
Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.
Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.
“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”
Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.
“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”
News
Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’
NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.
The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.
Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.
The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.
“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.
“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”
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