Hi, this is the first of what I hope will be a regular monthly blog. It is intended that other committee members will also take a turn at this, but there again you may be lumbered with me. The idea behind this being, to keep you all up to date on what is going on in your village hall, from entertainment, regular activity, and ongoing work. The aim is also to raise awareness of the importance of village halls throughout rural communities, at the heart of Wales_.

This week we have taken a breather from our refurbishment at the hall to prepare for the two performances of Pontypridd Theatre Company’s ‘Westenders’, a review of all things musical. (Thursday 11^th and Friday 12^th April) With tables set out in cabaret style, both nights were sold out. This local company have been with us since the flood caused by Storm Dennis and regular hall users will be aware of the high standard of their performances.

There was no other way to describe it, both performances were absolutely brilliant, there was a mixture of solo, duets and group performances, and some of the harmonies were top notch. The first set finished with Bui Doi from Miss Saigon and James Randell was excellent as the lead. It was also great to the return of Ieuan Mathews, who always excels. My personal favourite was Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, again sang by James Rendell. To be honest this small theatre group always punch above their weight, and it was another strong performance from this dedicated local group. The whole cast sang the final song of Fame, and the audience gave it a standing ovation. Leonita Walters can be very proud of this excellent show. Keep an eye out for their next performance.

Following on from this, on Sunday we hosted South Wales Ferret Club for their Spring show. These are not your run of the mill smelly rabbiting ferrets; on the contrary these are the pampered pets of the catwalk. What is more surprising is that the club seems to be run by 90% women, as always there was a great turnout.

Hopefully the weather will improve so we can continue with our gardening work. Our intention this year is to encourage people to adopt one of our flower planters at the front of the building and create a bit of, light-hearted, competition within the community. If you are interested just pop in to see me, I am at the hall most days from 8.00 am.

Best Wishes

Mike Phillips (Chair)

 

Just to clarify a few points regarding the poor road conditions on Cardiff Rd at the junction to the village hall. I zez3 Bonetto on Monday 12th June  2023 stating I had witnessed several accidents by cyclists at this spot. To be fair Jill replied to my txt on Tuesday 13th saying that she had asked for a highway inspector to visit the site. This was the same day as Mark Crawley put his experience ot on social media.

On Wednesdy 14th June  2023 I contacted Dwr Cymru as I knew they were going to dig up this section of road in around 10 days time to do a check on low water pressure. Thankfully, they confirmed that they would bring this date forward to Sunday 18th June. I immediately relayed this to Jill Bonetto.

Mike Phillips