JUNE'S MEETING UPDATE

June's meeting was held on Tuesday 11th in Llanarth Village Hall. Our President Isabel introduced and welcomed Eleri Davies who gave the group a very interesting talk on old remedies, many of which go back to the 13th century and the works of the Myddygion Myddfai/Physicians of Myddfai. Most of the recipes for old remedies have disappeared as

they were handed down in an oral tradition from mothers to the youngest daughter and were kept secret - these wise women were often thought of as being witches.
There are different recipes for remedies in different areas. An old remedy for 'keeping fit' was:-

Get up early and do not stay up late. Wash in cold water and dry off with a coarse towel. Drink water and no alcohol. Eat early in the evening. Walk 10 miles a day. Eat plain food. One treat at a time i.e. bread and butter or bread and jam or bread and cheese but never put bread, butter and jam. Eat slowly. Stay in the open air. Go to work with a smile on your face.

One of the stories Eleri told us about was of a boy from this area that had bad psoriasis - the boy helped his father with a cow that was calving and while this was happening some of the placenta from the cow fell on his arm that had the psoriasis, which helped his condition get

better.


Some other old remedies were:-
Colds - soak feet in hot water with mustard.
Bad chest - goose fat and a red flannel.
Sore throat - take off your woollen sock, fill it with bacon fat and wrap it around the throat.
Hooping cough - drink more milk or go down a tunnel after a train (would no longer work now - very few steam trains these days!).
Worms - wear a necklace of garlic.
Arthritis - eat two sticks of celery every day.
Dust in the eyes -  lick the dust out with tongue.
Bleeding profusely from a wound - wrap cobwebs around the wound.

If you had a toothache and there was no local dentist, you would go and visit the local smithy and he would extract the tooth for you - ouch! 
A good tip for a cream for aftersun, cuts, dry skin and wounds - pick as many elderflower blossoms without the stalks as you can - in an old saucepan melt petroleum jelly but do not boil and add two big handfuls of the elderflowers to the melted petroleum jelly - leave to infuse for some time and then strain the mixture back into the jar. A similar cream for back or neck pain uses melted petroleum jelly with comfrey leaves.

We all found Eleri's talk most interesting and informative - Margaret V gave the vote of thanks. The competition for an old remedy for a cold was won by Denise and the raffle was won by Margaret V. Refreshments were provided by Isabel and Dianne.


 

JUNE'S MEETING

June's meeting will be held in Llanarth Village Hall on Tuesday 11th June at 7:30pm.

This months guest speaker will be ELERI DAVIES who will be giving a talk on OLD REMEDIES. Many of us no doubt have memories of remedies our parents and grandparents would give us when we were ill as children....who can forget the taste of Castor oil and malt.

 To continue the theme this months competition is OLD REMEDIES FOR A COLD - so bring along your remedies for a cold to the meeting to see if you can win.

If you'd like to know more about Llanarth WI or would like to join, please send us an email - email link can be found on the right hand side of this page. More contact details can be found on our posters in Llanarth Village notice board at the school or in the shop window of 'Awsome Pork' butchers.

MAY TRIP UPDATE

Delma giving advice on colours

A wide range of items to paint

Tuesday 28th May saw the group go on our Mystery Trip. We left Llanarth school car park at 5:45pm and headed south. Going through Synod Inn we carried on the road towards Cardigan. However when we came to Gwenlli, we took a right turn at the crossroads and headed towards Cwmtydu, going through the village of Caerwedros, finally stopping at the end of the village by the green tin shed that was formally know as Derw Stores and which is now

Denise working on her flowers

know as the "Pea Pod Junction".

Margaret W in deep concentration

The Pea Pod is a lovely vintage shop selling hand made soaps, brooches and quirky gifts. To the rear of the shop is a pottery studio where you can choose an item from a vast selection on display and paint it yourself - the possibilities are endless and there were plenty of ideas to inspire us in our painting. We all found it very relaxing and hugely satisfying. When our chosen pots, tiles or dishes had been painted they were left for glazing and firing. We were all given friendly help and advice from Delma their experienced potter.

The group at the Wellington Inn

Now that's what I call a Pavlova!!

 At the end of two enjoyable hours we were ready for our bar meal. It was just a short car ride down to New Quay and the Wellington Inn, where we had more than our fill of delicious food - a few of us even managed to have a desert!
 Melda won the competition of guessing the mileage to the first destination and a wonderful night was had by all.

Other photographs of the evening

 

MAY TRIP

On the 28th May we will be having a 'Mystery Trip' followed by a bar meal. It promises to be a fun evening out, so if you're interested in going on this mystery trip please join us in Llanarth school car park at 5:45pm. The competition is 'Guess the mileage to the first destination'.
 
If you'd like to know more about Llanarth WI or would like to join, please send us an email - email link can be found on the right hand side of this page. More contact details can be found on our posters in Llanarth Village notice board at the school or in the shop window of 'Awsome Pork' butchers.

NEW AGE KURLING WITH ABEREAERON WI

On Wednesday 15th May, two of our members, Margaret V and Dianne joined Aberaeron WI for an evening of 'New Age Kurling'. Neither had done it before and didn't know what to expect, but after a wonderful evening of fun and excitement, they both have said they'll be doing new age kurling again.

Everyone had training for an hour on how to move the 'Kurling Stones' either by hand or by stick and then a knockout tournament was played out and Dianne got through to the semi final. 
Tea, coffee and biscuits were provided and a great evening was had by all. Roll on for the next New Age Kurling event.

MAY'S MEETING UPDATE

Our meeting was held on the 14th May, with Isabel our President introducing and welcoming Delyth Morris Jones as guest speaker to the meeting.

Mourning hankies

Delyth gave us a background to her talk on how her mother became a district nurse in the Devil's Bridge area in the 1930s. At the age of 13, Delyth's mother went to work in a dairy in the East End of London and found the poverty in that area so hard to come to terms with that she would give a little extra milk and butter to the families that had nothing. She soon realised that this life was not for her - she wanted a better life and also wanted to help the poorer families and people. She thought about nursing and started her training at the Plaistow Hospital. There she trained as a midwife and found the poverty of the area distressing - babies would be wrapped in newspapers and on many an occasion she was asked not to deliver the baby properly, which she resolutely refused to do. However she did try to help these poorer families by making little blankets for the babies. 

Delyth showing her

             mother's gloves

The poverty got too much for her and she longed for the Welsh countryside and so she applied for a post as District Nurse in the Devil's Bridge area and successfully got the job. It was a large area and she had to cover it just using a bicycle and in all weathers. She had five schools to visit - which meant it was one school a day.

Hat brushes

Delyth showed us some of the objects her mother brought back from London, they included mourning hankies and scarves. These would be worn for one year after a close relative had passed away - after the year you would then wear the purple coloured scarves. She showed us belts, gloves, handbags, one of which contained a small purse with a train ticket from Talsarn to Aberaeron inside. Also a dancing handbag, which was worn on top of the arm, two hat brushes and various items her mother would wear on her uniform. 

She could not afford a watch, so she used a small egg timer. Her wage was £1 a month and she would have to purchase her own uniform and equipment - there was one occasion when she broke three thermometers, which had to be replaced and the chemist Taylor Lloyd in Aberystwyth let her pay for the replacements over time. She showed us 'Thermagen Medicated Wadding', which would have been placed over a chest covered in 'Vicks' before wearing a vest and Liberty bodice! She also had two packs of the old 'Player's' and 'Senior

Player's & Senior Service packets

Service' cigarettes, as well as surgical gloves that would be used for more than one patient!
In 1936 she decided to buy a car, an Austen 7 - brand new for £50 - it took her eight years to pay for it. She worked for twelve years but gave it up when she got married and became a farmers wife.
Melda thanked Delyth for her interesting talk. A beautiful spread of refreshments was given by Denise and Audrey. Betty won this month's competition which was 'Family Baby Photo', Isabel came second and Melda third. Audrey won the raffle prize. 

MAY'S MEETING

May's meeting will be held in Llanarth Village Hall on Tuesday 14th May at 7:30pm.

This months guest speaker will be DELYTH MORRIS JONES who will be giving a talk on Midwifery in the 1930s. Many no

doubt have watched the wonderful BBC series 'Call the Midwife' and it will be interesting to hear if Delyth thinks the series was true to life.

 To continue the theme this months competition is FAMILY BABY PHOTO - so bring along your cute baby photos to the meeting to see if you can win.

If you'd like to know more about Llanarth WI or would like to join, please send us an email - email link can be found on the right hand side of this page. More contact details can be found on our posters in Llanarth Village notice board at the school or in the shop window of 'Awsome Pork' butchers.

APRIL MEETING UPDATE

April's meeting was held on the 9th April and out guest speaker was Mr Lyndon Lloyd who

gave us a very interesting talk about Age Cymru and how the seeds were sown by D O Evans, a Liberal MP from Llanbarth Farm, Penbryn Beach. He was a colleague of David Lloyd George and it was D O Evans who drew up plans for the Pension scheme.
The 'Old Peoples Welfare Committee for Wales' was set up in 1947 as part of the National Council of Social Services, with the aim of supporting older people in Wales. This organisation was later to become Age Concern Cymru.
The Old Peoples Welfare Committee provided grants to help the aged and changed its name to 'Care for the Elderly in Wales' in

1962. In 1969 it changed its name again to the 'National Council for the Care of the Elderly in Wales' and in 1973 'Help the Aged' became an independent charity.
 During the 1970s they developed a range of pioneering projects including 'good neighbour' schemes. Due to increasing loneliness and isolation of the elderly, Day Centres were established and lunch clubs were set up. There is also a cleaning service available, as keeping the house clean makes a happier elderly person. There is also a service called 'Dial a Ride' for transportation help and also a Trade Persons register. They also help with form filling and checking benefit eligibility. Also a new scheme is on the way to help those with dementia - offering respite to those who care for people with dementia. Age Cymru will also look into claims of elderly abuse and one of their prime goals is PAL - Prolong Active Life.

Refreshments were provided by Melda and Margaret V.

Mr Lloyd won the raffle prize and Audrey won the competition for 'Most interesting walking stick'.

APRIL'S MEETING

April's meeting will be held in Llanarth Village Hall on Tuesday 9th April at 7:30pm.

This months guest speaker will be LYNDON LLOYD from Age Cymru, the largest charity working for older people in

Wales. It's also the Welsh division of Age UK, which formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. We look forward to finding out more about their vital work and support they offer.

 The competition this month will be the most interesting/unusual walking stick - bring a walking stick along to the meeting to see if you can win.

If you'd like to know more about Llanarth WI or would like to join, please send us an email - email link can be found on the right hand side of this page. More contact details can be found on our posters in Llanarth Village notice board at the school or in the shop window of 'Awsome Pork' butchers.

HELYG GROUP MEETING

Tuesday 19th March saw Llanarth WI host the Helyg Group Meeting in Llanarth Village Hall. Our President Isabel Jones opened proceedings by welcoming the other WIs in the group. Apologies for Penrhiwllan and Cwmcoi WIs were given by Dorothy Cox, Group Convenor. Congratulations to Ann Jones County Chair now to be Chair of the Federation

for Wales was given by Kathy Woods, Vice County Chair. Brenda Wright, County Treasurer stressed to the meeting the need to recruit new members. As Helyg group is a small group, letters have been sent to other larger groups to see if they wish to merge with Helyg Group.

Event organisers from each of the WIs within Helyg Group gave an account of their most interesting and entertaining evenings. There were some very interesting speakers mentioned. A list will be compiled and sent out to each WI within Helyg Group.

Isabel Jones introduced Denise Lavis, the evenings guest speaker, who is a member and Secretary of Llanarth WI. Her subject was 'Wales around the World'. She showed us the influence Wales has had around the world by picking three regions – America, Australia and Patagonia (Argentina). It was good to hear that America might have been named after the Welshman Richard Amerike (or Ameryk). We also learnt the 16 signatures of the Declaration of Independence were of Welsh descent. Wales has had a very high influence on the growth of America. There is a Welsh inscription on imported Welsh stone attached to the Washington Memorial - 'Fy iaith, Fy ngwlad, Fy nghenedl – Cymru am byth' donated by Welsh citizens of New York.

There were mining immigrants to Australia in the 1800's, with the prospect of hitting it rich in the gold mines being a big attraction. And we all remembered the 'Ten Pound Poms' – some of us had relatives that took up that scheme, set up to increase the population of Australia.

In the 19th century a colony was set up in Patagonia (Argentina) in order to keep alive the language and traditions of Wales. It was a hard struggle full of difficulties – very unlike the Promised Land the early settlers had been promised. But through the work of people like Rachel Jenkins, who used simple irrigation and water management systems, the colony was able to survive and flourish.

It was a very interesting talk and gave us all an insight on how Wales and her people have influenced the world – good on us!

A sumptuous spread was laid out of many varieties of sandwiches, sausage rolls, cheese/sausage/onions on sticks, pate and bread, sponges, cupcakes, bara brith, whiskey soaked tea cake, scones and a beautiful arrangement of fruit in a pineapple, all washed down with tea and coffee.

Thanks was given by Delyth Esau. A good night was had by all.

MARCH TRIP UPDATE

The 12th March was our group's first trip out of Llanarth and we had already arranged in January with the National Coracle Centre in Cenarth for an out of season guided tour of the centre and flour mill. Sadly our evening at the National Coracle Centre did not turn out as expected, as there was nobody there to greet us. There was a message on the Centre's door advising visitors to knock at the house, which we did, only to be told that there was nobody there to take us on the tour as Mr Fowler had gone away due to a family illness. Unfortunately Mr Fowler had not had the decency to telephone our events secretary, whose number he had, in order to cancel the visit. Also, as is customary, the events secretary had been attempting to contact the Centre to confirm the booking for a week, by telephone and by email - these contact details being from the Centre's website - the telephone was never answered and did not have an answering service and all emails were returned 'undelivered' for both email addresses.
Whilst we all feel very sorry about the family illness, we should have been contacted about the cancellation and feel that this is no way to conduct a business for what was once a popular attraction. We will be writing to the Centre to express our disappointment with the situation.
 
Thankfully after that disappointment, the second half of our trip was far more enjoyable as we had booked a 'Cawl' supper at the Ffrostrasol Arms. Before we had our meal we held our meeting and discussed various matters in a lively happy atmosphere. The Ffrostraol Arms did us proud with our supper - a big bowl of 'Cawl' with  crusty bread, butter and loads of cheese. We were then offered a choice of deserts with lashings of cream and the evening ended on a good note with tea and coffee.
 



What could have been a disastrous evening thankfully turned out to be a harmonious get together.
The raffle was won by Audrey - given by Linda. The competition, which was to make a sentence using the letters in the Welsh word CORACL, was won by Betty for a Welsh sentence and by Linda for an English sentence. 
 

WELSH TEA AT CROSS INN

Despite a very cold evening on March 11th, three members from Llanarth joined members from New Quay and Pontgarreg at the Cross Inn venue for their 'Welsh Tea' evening. A beautiful spread of a 'typical' Welsh tea awaited us - plenty of bread and butter, jam, cheese, Welsh cakes, scones, pikelets and bara brith, with lots of hot tea to wash it all down with.

After we had our fill, we all sang 'Jerusalem' and then the Cross Inn choir entertained us with songs both in Welsh and English to which we all joined in. They then enacted a sketch of the local character known as 'Shani bob man' which was hilarious. The evening ended with us all singing 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau'.

Many thanks to Cross Inn WI for a most enjoyable evening.

MARCH TRIP

March's trip will be on the 12th March, meeting at Llanarth school car park at 5:45pm. 

We will be visiting the NATIONAL CORACLE CENTRE in CENARTH. We will be having a guided tour which will show the history of the coracle and it's association to the river Teifi, the international collection of coracles, some from Vietnam and Tibet and also the coracle workshop. The tour will also include a visit to the 17th century flour mill, which is also part of the centre.

After the guided tour we will move onto the FFROSTRASOL ARMS to have a cawl supper. This month's competition is to make a sentence either in English or Welsh based on the Welsh word CORACL. 

A warm welcome is extented to all new members. If you'd like to learn more about Llanarth WI please send us an email using the link in the right hand panel.