News
Haverfordwest Museum under threat as Town Council pull plug
HAVERFORDWEST MUSEUM faces an uncertain future, The Herald can reveal.
At a meeting of Haverfordwest Town Council at which funding for the Museum was discussed, town councillors were told that they were not able to offer funding to it because of the provisions of The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 and were told legal advice had been received to that effect.
Despite celebrating its 900th anniversary only a few years ago, Haverfordwest has very little in the way of heritage attractions.
The decision reached by the Town Council puts the only public-facing heritage attraction in the Town under threat.
The Herald has asked the Town Clerk, Juliet Raymond, why legal advice was sought and who tendered it.
At the time of writing we have not yet had a response.
The Herald understands that four current town councillors are trustees of the museum, including Mayor Alan Buckfield.
The news that payments to the Museum are claimed to be unlawful under the Act governing its funding has come as a shock to the volunteers who run it.
The Museum launches a major Great War exhibition on Monday (March 26), when it is due to open for the season.
The Herald contacted the Museums Association, the professional membership organisation for museum, gallery, and heritage professions.
Policy Officer Alistair Brown expressed his astonishment at the Town Council’s decision: “I am perplexed. Museums are funded by Town Councils and all levels of local government. The decision made could have far-reaching implications for the funding of local museums by local authorities.
“I am not a lawyer, but I have looked at the Act referred to by the Town Council and can see nothing in that which would prevent funding being provided.”
The funding decision is doubly peculiar as the Town Council has a forty year lease from the County Council on Castle House, which houses the Museum. The Museum itself is a charitable foundation set up by a Trust Deed in 1998. It occupies Castle House on a licence granted to it by the Town Council. It was the Town Council which acquired the lease to house the Town Museum and also decided to set up its governance via a Trust Deed.
If the payments made under the 1964 Act are either ultra vires or unlawful – that is, they are payments the Town Council is unable to make by law – the question arises as to the liability of those trustees who are or were town councillors when they were made.
A County Council representative attended Wednesday’s meeting and advised town councillors the interpretation of the law upon which they were relying was wrong.
The Herald asked for a comment from the County Council.
A spokesperson told us: ‘We have offered our legal opinion to the Town Council on whether they have the legal powers to fund the museum. However, it’s up to the Town Council to decide upon the matter’.
Crime
Police arrest suspects following vehicle interferences in Haverfordwest
HAVERFORDWEST police responded swiftly after reports of multiple vehicle interferences in the Tasker Way area on Sunday night/early Monday morning (Nov 4).
Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPPT) conducted extensive house-to-house enquiries, gathering evidence and reassuring the community. These efforts led to the identification of two suspects.
Both NPPT and Response teams acted promptly, locating and arresting the suspects, who are now in police custody.
News
Ancient Welsh hymns brought into 21st century with unique collaboration between Lleuwen Steffan and National Eisteddfod
Some of Wales’ long-forgotten hymn tunes are being brought vividly back to life this month, thanks to award-winning singer, songwriter and composer Lleuwen Steffan and her unique collaboration with the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
Performing as ‘Tafod Arian’ (Silver Tongue), the collaboration pays homage to the lost voices of the past, and infuses these timeless melodies with some highly contemporary electronic arrangements.
The project originated in 2012 when Lleuwen was working on a music project at St Fagan’s National History Museum where she came across some long-forgotten recordings of hymns which had been left in the sound archives. None of these hymns could be found in the official hymn books nor the older hymnal editions, possibly as the result of their informal, conversational lyrics, or because they often delved into the world of addiction, mental illness and the darker side of the psyche.
But now these unpublished and unknown hymns will be heard for the first time in over a hundred years when Tabernacl Chapel, Maenclochog, will be one of 50 Welsh chapels to be visited by Tafod Arian.
With translations and insights, the tour breathes new life into archive recordings, ensuring these cherished sacred songs rightfully claim their place in today’s spotlight. Lleuwen masterfully combines electronic and acoustic instrumentation, seamlessly blending the past with the present, and takes the stage alongside a dynamic quintet of international musicians including Sioned Webb and Gethin Elis from Wales, and Nolwenn Korbell and Brieg Guerveno from Brittany.
Despite the hymns’ long-distant past, the music is firmly in the present as Lleuwen uses various instruments to provide angular electronic accompaniment as well as her soulful vocals and guitar. She provides translations and explanations as she proudly puts the archive recordings of the lost |Welsh hymns on centre stage. As a result, these sacred songs are being passed on orally rather than via the hymn book which is precisely how Welsh folk music was conveyed.
The long-forgotten hymns will be heard once again in all their glory at Tabernacle Chapel, Maenclochog on Sunday, November 17 at 6.30pm.
Crime
Suspended sentence for Goodwick man who sent sexual messages to young girl
THE FATHER of a young girl sent sexual messages to an individual he believed to be a 12-year-old girl online, Swansea Crown Court heard this week.
An undercover police officer posed as a 12-year-old girl on the website RandoChat, with the decoy’s profile stating they were 18.
James Roberts messaged the decoy on 9 August, stating he was “looking for a naughty girl”.
The decoy promptly informed him that she was 12 years old; however, the defendant continued to send messages referencing sexual acts and self-gratification.
Roberts added the decoy on Snapchat, claiming to be 19 and living in England.
He again sent sexualised messages and, referring to the decoy’s age, said they were “never too young to start sending pictures”.
The defendant also told the decoy that he was having similar sexual conversations with a 14-year-old, Mr Dickens said.
Police attended Roberts’ home in Goodwick on 17 August, and he was arrested. He denied having a mobile phone, claiming he “had sent it off to Samsung to be fixed” but was “extremely vague” when asked for further details. Mr Dickens said no phone was ever recovered by police.
The 28-year-old Roberts pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child. The court heard that he had no previous convictions.
Hannah George, in mitigation, said the defendant showed “some degree of remorse” and that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
“In the 13 months since he was interviewed there have been no further offences,” she said.
Ms George said Roberts had suffered “significant” shame and embarrassment as a result of the offences, and it had led to him losing his job.
He had previously been diagnosed with PTSD and suffered “deep periods of depression”, Ms George said.
She added that his contact with his young daughter “has been diminished” following these offences.
“You were in contact online with who you firmly believed to be a 12-year-old girl,” said Judge Paul Thomas KC, addressing Roberts.
“You have a two-year-old daughter. Just think how you would feel if a man in his thirties tried to have that sort of conversation with her in 10 years’ time.”
Roberts was sentenced to 30 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He must complete 35 days of an accredited programme and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement programme days.
He must also register as a sex offender for 10 years and was made the subject of a three-year sexual harm prevention order.
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