It has been a busy month for groups in and around the area; from Remembrance Day and shop displays to Swimathons and Christmas Fayres. Here is a round up of some events held by local community groups in November, 2023.

Gilwern WI

The ladies of the Gilwern WI are planning on hosting a Christmas Fayre on Saturday, December 9 from 1-5pm in Gilwern Village Hall, writes Sally Scott. 

We are hoping to showcase and sell some of the lovely homemade items which have been made by the Craft and “ Knit & Natter “ groups who meet every week in the village as well as there being other stalls that will be selling a variety of items including home made cakes, jams & preserves, cards and plants as well as having “Gilwern Root”s providing a selection of different refreshments and cakes for visitors to the Fayre to sample. 

Our local Flower Farm ” Bramble & Bombus” will also have a stall there and no doubt will have some amazing floral Christmas displays and decorations to help us get our homes into the Festive Spirit and don’t forget to try your luck on our Tombola stall with prizes for both adults and children ( Prize guaranteed for every child who has a go ).

You will be guaranteed a warm welcome and so please come along and help us as we celebrate our talented community and at the same time support local causes including Abergavenny Food Bank and SANDS with donations and food items from some of the money we hope to raise.

Abergavenny Rotary Club Ten teams took part in this year’s Swimathon, on Sunday, November 19 whereby Abergavenny Rotary Club finance the hire of the local swimming pool. This allows local schools and clubs to raise money by being sponsored to swim as many lengths as possible within a one hour slot. Abergavenny Triathlon started off swimming for 2 hours, as part of their training and unsurprisingly all 4 teams swam over 300 lengths within the time.

Abergavenny Junior Netball Club then occupied 2 lanes and swam 112 and 139 lengths, this always proves a good fund raiser for this club which has over 70 young members. King Henry VIII School then swam in 3 lanes with the teams swimming between 126 and 161 lengths, encouraged and supported by the PE Dept. and Deputy Head Teacher Mr Mark Stockham.

Abergavenny Swimming Club, a very successful local club, followed in 8 lanes and as expected swam between 130 lengths and 175 lengths. This year Gilwern Scouts participated for the first time and with the help of a Torfaen Swimming Club members swam an incredible 176 lengths with only 2 participants!

The highlight of the event is the participation of the local Junior Schools of Ysgol Cymraeg, Our Lady St. Michaels, Cantref, Llanfihangel Crucorney and Llanfoit, wiht the latter winning yet again by swimming 119 lengths within the hour.Many thanks to the local Rotarians for keeping the score, the Leisure Centre for their support and most of all the teachers and organisers of the participating schools and clubs, who without their support these children would not be able to take part in their clubs.

And thank you to all the sponsors!

Pictured are teams from the Abergavenny Swimming Club being given their starting orders by Abergavenny Rotary Club Supremo - Trevor Morgan (PHF).  

Following the event, Rotary Club President Mr Dean Christy said: “the Rotary Club is delighted at the response from local Schools and Sports Clubs for participating in the annual Swimathon event. Well done and thank you to Rotarian Trevor Morgan for organising another very successful event this year and thanks to all those Rotarians who helped with the scoring on the day. We estimate that the local Schools and Clubs have raised several thousands of pounds for their organisations through this event”.

Abergavenny/ Y Fenni WI

Our WI is situated in the lovely Country Market Town of Abergavenny/ Y Fenni, which is surrounded by an area of outstanding natural beauty, writes Co- President Judy Hamm. 

We hold the afternoon meetings 2pm-4pm on the first Tuesday of the month. They are held in the Methodist Church Hall Castle Street. 

Our next monthly meeting will be on Tuesday, December 5 featuring member Daphne Baber who will organise her skills and talents to create original floral exhibits. She also served us well by laying a Remembrance Sunday wreath on the town’s War Memorial (pictured below). 

The first meeting in 2024 will be on Tuesday, February 6. We have a calendar of interesting speakers planned throughout the year. 

On Wednesday, December 29 an afternoon tea, again in the Methodist Church Hall 2pm-4pm, will include a performance by St Cadoc’s Millenium Chimes, a group of handbell ringers who have made a previous successful visit. As Abergavenny/ Y Fenni is high on the global list of food recognition, our refreshments provided by O’Connell’s Bakery in Frogmore Steet are always yummy scrumptious! Everyone is welcome.

I would like to thank the present members for their continuing invaluable support and look forward to welcoming new members in the future. Merry Christmas!

Please also take a look in the display window in the High Street, this week. where Abergavenny/ Y Fenni WI has visually incorporated some fun ideas for you to enjoy. At our meetings the WI laugh and learn, forge new friendships, have thought-provoking discussions with excellent refreshments. 

For further information telephone: 07855113585.

If you are interested in sharing your community news, contact [email protected]; video and photographs are also welcomed!