What's On

Every care is taken in compiling this list of What's On and all details given below are believed to be correct, but dates, times, etc can change. Details can be checked by ringing the numbers given.

OCTOBER AT BETHLEHEM HALL

Following the very successful Curry and Quiz night on Friday, we have received a few more donations for Macmillan, so our total now stands at a fantastic £450. We will keep the account open for a little while longer so if anyone else would like to contribute then please get in touch. You can always leave a donation with Linda Court in Ty Ni, in the village. Wouldn't it be great to achieve a final total of £500!

We are now into October, with the so-called summer fading rapidly, but as far as Bethlehem is concerned, this is the time of year when things start getting a little busier, and we begin to look forward to welcoming people from far and wide into our community in the run-up to Christmas.

Before that however, we will have quite a few things happening at the hall during October. Sian's Saturday morning yoga sessions will run on the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of the month - more details from sianheard@hotmail.com

As always, the second Monday of the month, the 14th, sees the Starry Stitchers group of friends using the hall during the day, with our October Community Quiz taking place that evening at 7.30pm. Andy and Alan from last month's winning team will be asking the questions, so you can expect a great evening. Bar Bethlehem will be fully stocked again after being somewhat depleted last Friday night, so do come along to enjoy an entertaining couple of hours, with all proceeds going towards the upkeep of the hall.

The following Monday, the 21st, Dafydd Evans will deliver a talk on the fascinating subject of the human brain. Dafydd, a former medical student and Alzheimer's worker, has undertaken extensive research into the brain's strange abilities and quirks, for example, the condition where the brain causes one side of the body to struggle against the other, and the case of a person who might see that there is an elephant in the room but could not tell you where it was. Dafydd's presentation will seek to explain the brain conditions that lie behind these cases, and many others besides.. Admission to the talk will be free, but a collection box will be available for donations to the Alzheimer's Society. Doors open at 6.30pm, with the talk starting at 7pm. We do hope you'll come along to what promises to be a fascinating evening.

And finally, on Friday 25th, our monthly Community Supper season resumes for the autumn and winter. Given the less than summery weather since our last supper back in May, we could just as well have continued with them through June, July, August and September. Comforting casseroles would have been perfect on many a damp, chilly Friday night over the summer!

The menu will be available in a week or two, but we really hope you will once again support the suppers this winter as they are a vital part of our fundraising effort, in order to keep the little hall open for everyone in the community. They are also of course a lovely way to get together with friends and neighbours, as well as a chance to meet the newer residents in the area. Absolutely everyone is welcome - all ages, from all walks of life, residents of Bethlehem Dyffryn Ceidrych itself, as well as hall users and supporters from the wider area. Come along to sit at the long table, chat to the people around you, enjoy a hearty home-cooked supper and maybe a drink or two, and help preserve a much needed community facility.

It's still early days but the pre-Christmas events are now in the planning stage. We very much hope to build on the successes of 2023, and will therefore be looking for volunteers to help with some of the events in the pipeline for this year, including the amazing Donkey Walk. Watch this space!

Diolch yn fawr,
Nia

01550 777254
niaclement@aol.com

BETHLEHEM CURRY and QUIZ NIGHT 2024

FUNDRAISING FOR MACMILLAN

The Curry and Quiz night at the Old School in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support was a great success.

Thanks to the generosity and support of many of you, we raised a total of £430, which exceeds last year's sum of £412. For a small event in a tiny rural community, this is a brilliant achievement.

Thanks go firstly to Andy and Alan for a very entertaining quiz, they always do a great job but last night's really was a lot of fun, they also took charge of the raffle which helped enormously, diolch i chi'ch dau!

The raffle prize table was crammed with offerings, which drew a lot of attention, and Mel's Guess The Money In The Jar game proved very popular, so thanks to Mel and to everyone who donated a prize or three, every table went home with a bag of goodies,

Quite a few takeaways were collected on the evening, and donations dropped off, as well as bills being "rounded up" in order to donate the change, so thank you to everyone who bought meals and contributed in those ways.

And of course a big thank you to everyone who spent a few hours eating curry and participating in the quiz.  All of this made for a very impressive final total, which we will be passing on to Macmillan shortly.

Hazel was, as always, a huge help in the kitchen, and Rose pitched in to help serve and clear up afterwards. Barman Wyn kept the drinks flowing, and Andy sorted out all the tables and chairs - a team effort, diolch!

The result of the quiz is almost irrelevant, but the winning team was Too Hot To Trot (Julie, John, Mel and Wyn) so they divided the spoils of the hamper between them.

The success of the evening is even more impressive given that up until a week ago, we were within a fraction of cancelling the whole thing, as there seemed to be much less support for a Bethlehem Macmillan fundraiser this year. It's heartening therefore that it all came good in the end, and that our small community continues the tradition of raising money for such a good cause. And we are already planning next year's fundraiser!

Diolch o galon unwaith eto - A heartfelt thank you once again.

Nia.

Hiring Bethlehem Hall

If you want to book the hall for events, then get in touch with Nia who is managing the bookings.
You can contact her on niaclement0@gmail.com or by phone 01550 777254 or mobile 07747021462.