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On Sunday, 29th May Lamphey Church Choir gave a concert in the church as part of BBC's "Music Live" week. This was the BBC's millennium celebration, their aim being to include as many people as possible in some sort of live performance.

Lamphey Church Choir, which was reformed two years ago, now has 22 members and was keen to be a part of this countrywide celebration of live music. The choir normally sings anthems for occasions such as Harvest Thanksgiving, Easter, Advent and learns several items to sing in the service of nine lessons and carols at Christmas.

The first section of the concert consisted of anthems which the choir had sung at services recently. For this occasion they decided to be more ambitious and tackled, for the second section of the concert, a newly-written cantata entitled "A Passion for the World" by Michael Forster and Kevin Mayhew. The composer describes this as "a musical devotion on the death and resurrection of Jesus, offered as an act of worship." Performance of this work takes approximately one hour, so this was quite an undertaking for a small parish choir. There were several solo performances in the cantata.

The main role of Jesus was sung by the Vicar, the Rev. Adrian Davies. Pontius Pilate was sung by Mr Ashley Davies and Mary by Annabel Morris. Eric Rawles took the part of Peter and sang other solo sections. Mike McGilloway was Caiaphas and Helen Hodges the narrator, with other choir members taking smaller singing and speaking parts. The performance was conducted and accompanied by Judy McGilloway.

The audience heard a variety of musical styles including a recurring chorus in Latin and a "country style" tune which moved the story along from section to section. Some parts were deeply moving and this was felt by the choir and the audience alike. The church took a long time to empty after the performance as the audience all expressed to the Vicar how much they had enjoyed the evening. One lady said that she hadn't wanted it to end! Lamphey Church Choir will be repeating the performance at St. Mary's Church Carew in the near future. If you would like details of this repeat performance please contact the vicarage.

The clock in Lamphey Church Tower has now been replaced and is fully functional. The most evident parts are the new fibreglass dials and hands to the South, East and West faces.

Behind each face is a new electrically driven clock movement type T200 manufactured by Smiths of Derby, makers of the original clock. These clocks are driven from the mains supply, but are controlled by a C120 Programmable Control System and an Auto Restart Unit, which will enable the clock to automatically reset itself after a power cut (it will restart at exactly 12 hours after the start of the power cut) and reset the time to allow for the change from GMT to British Summer Time in March and the reverse in October.

To enable the Clock to be replaced, at a cost of £9940.50 the following donations were received: Pembrokeshire County Council RDS scheme (£5000); SPARC at Narberth (£1000); Welsh Church Act Fund (£994) All Churches Trust Limited (£100); Lamphey Community Council (£1000); Individual Donations from the People of Lamphey (£506); Collection/Raffle at The Dial Inn (£150).

Lamphey Community Association, on behalf of the villagers of Lamphey wish to thank J.B. Joyce of Whitchurch, Shropshire for engineering, manufacturing and installing the clock and the following people for their help and co-operation at all times: Mr Kevin Wakefield, Mrs Helen Ross and Mrs Wendy Goldsworthy of Pembs County Council RDS; Mr Tony Marmarra and Ms Wendy Paine of SPARC at Narberth; Mr M.R Lewis (Director of Finance) of the Welsh Church Act. Fund; members of Lamphey Community Council; Miss Trenfield of the All Churches Trust Fund; Mrs Kathy Pugh, Business Manager Barclays Bank; Councillor Clive Collins for his influence in obtaining the large Grant from the County Council; Mr Keith Cotton of J.B.Joyce for his co-operation and assistance; Mr Bryan Parry and Mr Stuart Morrison of J.B.Joyce for their co-operation and diligence while installing the new clock system and finally to all members of the Clock Restoration Committee Mr Tom Maguire, Mr John R Lewis, Mr K Ashley Davies, Rev Adrian Davies, Mr Ian White, Mrs Margaret Morgans, Miss Joan Bird, Mrs Ann Evans.

In order to fund the clock restoration a short term loan was taken out and approximately £1200 needs to be repaid. If you would like to make a contribution to this repayment please contact Jim Jones

Jim Jones, LCA

The Annual General Meeting of Lamphey Community Association was held at Lamphey Church Room on Wednesday, 10th May 2000.

Footpaths: Mr Chris Dale of the County Council has been to the village to discuss the footpaths within the village. Mr Dale produced maps of the present footpaths and requested that the persons involved walk the paths and report back to him so that he could instigate any action necessary.

The New Village Notice Board Sets of keys will be held at the Dial Inn and the Bakery, so that any member of the village who wishes to display any notices, can do so. These keys will also gain access to the notice boards by the Church and on the Lamphey Garage forecourt. A reserve set of keys is at present held by Mr Tom Maguire.

Officers of the Association: Mr Maguire has stood down as Chairman and Mr Ian White, the present Vice Chairman was elected in his place, Mr White's replacement being Mrs Anne Evans.

Village Projects: It is proposed that the Old Bakery site on the Pembroke Road be cleaned up and that some form of seating amenity be installed. The Prince of Wales Trust will carry out this work and Mr T. Marmara of SPARC is negotiating with the County Council for access and permission to clean the site of trees and dumped rubbish.

Millennium Time Capsule: The Millennium Time Capsule will be put in place in September and will be located in The Bishop's Garden. Mr Nick Butler will build a stone plinth to mark the location of the capsule and Mr Keith Edwards will manufacture a Brass sundial which will be mounted on the plinth.

The following matters were discussed at the April and May meeting of the Lamphey Community Council:

Litter bins: Pembrokeshire County Council have been asked to relocate the litter bin at the bus shelter to the Bishop's Garden.

Road Conditions: Concern was shown at the state of the road at Station Road. The "school" signs and lights are difficult to see because of vegetation and Pembrokeshire County Council are to be asked to carry out the necessary trimming.

Pembrokeshire County Council have been asked to replace the old sign near Portclew House, Freshwater East with a new version.

The question of safety on the road to Lamphey Palace was discussed and Pembrokeshire County Council are to be asked to install a "No pavement - beware of Pedestrians" sign

Dog (Fouling of Land Act 1996): It is likely that this order will commence on 1st June 2000 and the Community Council is keen to take action if the Act is contravened. The ban on dog fouling will cover the whole village within the area of roads with a speed restriction and include the Bishop's Garden and the Playing Fields.

Annual General Meeting: At the AGM the following officers were elected for the next 12 months; Mr T.H. Maguire (Chairman), Mr J.R. Lewis (Vice-Chairman), Mr K.A. Davies (Treasurer/Responsible Officer) and Mr J.R. Lewis (Auditor)

Lamphey Cricket Club have enjoyed much good cricket despite some changeable weather in May.

The 1st XI top Division 1 following the league game played on Spring Bank Holiday Monday (29th May) and the 2nd XI are in ninth place in Division 4 following promotion last summer from Division 5. In the first team, the Captain is David Lovell, an Australian who has settled in Haverfordwest. He has led Lamphey to success in only three seasons at the helm, winning the Harrison-Allen Bowl Competition, defeating Cresselly in a thrilling final to clinch the top position in the 1st Division in 1998. Dave has played cricket to a very high standard in Western Australia and has been on the playing staff of both Derbyshire and Warwickshire. He is primarily a free-scoring right-handed batsman who also bowls a canny left arm spin.

Lamphey's 'overseas' player is Geoff Callen who plays Grade Cricket in Western Australia and is doing his best to break in to the state side. Geoff is a dashing left-handed batsman with impeccable timing, bowls medium-paced swinging deliveries and is one of the best fielders anybody could wish to see in Pembrokeshire. He first played for the village in 1996.

The rest of the regulars in the 1st XI include Craig Nutty, a 17-year old opening batsman who made 81 against Hook in May; Peter Hall, a left-handed batsman who has played in a record number of Harrison-Allen Bowls finals; his son, Brian Hall, an aggressive right-handed batsman and accomplished fielder; Mark Yeo, wicket-keeper and dependable batsman; Ian Kerrison, opening bowler who likes to get amongst the wickets; Hywel Gibbs, powerful, middle-order batsman and pace-bowler; Haydn Cole, a versatile player who bowls and bats with aplomb; Andrew Skeels, Club Chairman and Groundsman, a solid late-order batsman who bowls his economical left-arm spinners when playing for the 2nd XI and John Green from Rudbaxton, Club Secretary, a solid right-handed bat who now specialises in fielding close to the wicket.

The 2nd XI are captained by John McPherson, a dependable opening bat. Regular players include Nick Shelmertine, an improving all-rounder; Tommy Roberts, a left-arm swing bowler and left-hand bat; Grant Cole, another local all-rounder who scored 49 against Dinas in our Spring Bank Holiday match; Martin and Alan Lewis, a son and father combination, the former bowls leg-breaks and is a consistent bat, the latter keeps wicket and is a solid batsman; Keith and William Silcox, another father/son combination, Keith bowls leg breaks and Will is a promising spinner who took 7 wickets for the seconds recently and Jonathan Mathias, a safe fielder and late-order batsman. A number of juniors make up the rest of the squad.

Jonathan Matthias

The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Romeo's last wish was to be laid by Juliet.

Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.

During the Renaissance America began. Christopher Columbus was a great navigator who discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic. His ships were called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Fe.

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Pat and Dave Baynham-Trowsdale came down from Whitby, North Yorkshire, an old fishing harbour famous, among other things, for its connection with Captain Cook, Dracula and the TV series Heartbeat, where they had a hotel, the 'Baynham' part of their name coming from the Forest of Dean area, and 'Trowsdale' from North Yorkshire.

Although they've both had relevant catering and hotel experience, they've also had other varied backgrounds; Pat as secretary to various large country estates and clerk to two parish councils, and Dave as an electronics engineer, photographer, physicist, teacher, book-binder and dealer, author, and in the army.

Although they are not yet too familiar with Pembrokeshire, Dave has ancestors from the area, including the bard John Williams (Ifor Emlyn) of Solva, who founded the Haverfordwest Guardian in about 1824, Henry Whiteside who built the first Smalls Lighthouse in about 1770, and the Trowsdales who owned the Cambrian Hotel in Solva (and the local shop) in the 1920's. (The latest Trowsdale in the area lived in Haverfordwest in the 1950's).

They intend to maintain the existing high standards of catering and service in the hotel, and gradually introduce further improvements where possible, and some new dishes both in the Bistro and Restaurant. As from Saturday 10th June, the Bistro and Bar will be open at Lunch-times (12-2), serving both hot and cold light lunches and drinks from a special new Bistro Lunch Menu, and as the weather improves, it's hoped to provide seating and tables on the lawns by the pond. Larger parties or groups can be catered for by arrangement, making it ideal for a lunch-time meeting place.

The traditional Sunday lunches will continue to be served in both the Bistro and Restaurant, with new dishes being introduced as soon as possible, but as this is so popular, it's advisable to book a table in advance. D. Baynham-Trowsdale ( Tel: 01646 672394, Fax: 01646 672369, E-mail: lamphey@globalnet.co.uk)

Lamphey and District Historical Society was formed in September 1996 following the SPARC village appraisal when like-minded people interested in the history of Lamphey and the surrounding area set up the local society.

We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month in the Church Hall. Since its inception we have enjoyed a wide range of interesting talks and visual displays from visiting speakers. These have ranged from buried treasure to Celtic saints of Pembrokeshire.

Mr. Mike Selley has kindly allowed us the use of the school minibus and we have made a number of visits to historic sites in the area. Despite the fact that these visits have always been made on the wettest of days, the visits have been of great interest. Our latest excursion in May was to a village exhibition at Llandysul followed by a visit to Carmarthen Museum.

In August 1997 we celebrated the centenary of the Church Hall by holding an exhibition. This was a great success, attracting visitors not only from the locality but many holiday makers and ex-Lamphey residents. This year we are aiming to repeat this success with a Millennium Exhibition. This exhibition will try and recreate life in the village a hundred years ago. We are even going to try and imagine what Lamphey was like a thousand years ago.

If anyone in the village has anything they feel may be of interest to the members of the society (postcards, old photographs or other artefacts) please contact the secretary.

We extend a warm welcome to all new members, our open meetings are advertised on all village notice boards and there is no membership fee. For further information please contact the Secretary Marilyn Lewis

What do you do when you go away dad? A simple question, asked of me many times by my children as they have grown older. Even my neighbours along the Ridgeway know me as ‘the lodger’. Let’s take a not-untypical day in June.

If it’s Friday it must be Campia Turzii, Transylvania. It’s past 7am and someone has died in the night. I know that because the church bells are ringing and they don’t ring before seven; as I peek through the shutters I can just glimpse the black flag being hoisted up the church tower.

It took twenty four hours travelling from Lamphey to this small steel town, population twenty five thousand, on the eastern edge of Europe. In those twenty four hours I travelled a little over one thousand miles and back over thirty years or more.

The bells have stopped now and the normal early morning sounds resume, dogs bark, cocks crow, collared doves in profusion repeat and repeat their inane calls while horses hooves strike against tarmac and cobbles. Against this background of sound, occasionally, just occasionally, you hear a car or a truck.

Most Campia workers are in work by seven o’clock. Best not to be on the pavements going in the wrong direction before then or you will get swept along in a tide of people. Leg power is the norm here, where petrol is bought in old coke bottles a litre at a time and car ownership, usually a Dachia (based on the Renault Twelve of the 1960s) is beyond the means of most.

I have the concession of starting at eight, but no one works before then because the first thing to do when arriving at work is to have breakfast. I breakfast in my flat on toast, tea and an egg. It’s not much but lunch is at ten!

Work Romanian style is frustrating. There are lots of environmental problems to get to grips with, the waste mountain, iron and oil discharges into the river, profligate use of electricity, gas, steam and compressed air, emissions of acid fumes and ground contamination. Solving many of them will save considerable sums of money for little cost, making the business more viable and protecting jobs.

But first we have to talk and talk and talk; lots of collective discussion but no collective responsibility. It takes a long time to achieve anything in Romania. By three o’clock it is time to knock off! I can use the free time to wander the town and its margins observing the local lifestyle.

Every house sits on a plot that is a mini farm. Hens, ducks, rabbits and pigs with a byre for a cow or two. Every inch of available space is cultivated. If the managers and technicians I have worked with during the day are not working their home patch they are out on the plain that surrounds the town tending little areas of maize or cabbage or mixed vegetables, lost in a sea of similar sized plots.

Since the collective farms of the communists were broken up the size of the average ‘farm’ holding has fallen to 1.8 hectares, but that might be broken up into twenty parcels of land spread over a considerable distance. After three is when the real work of the day is done. It’s all about survival. Wages are less than four dollars a day. A bottle of water costs a dollar. Not that money can buy you much if you have it, something I find out when I go to buy food.

With everybody growing food there is not much of a local market. I buy some bananas. They have probably ‘fallen off’ a lorry travelling through the town from Turkey to Hungary. Perhaps tomorrow they will have tomatoes. There is usually something different every day but not all together. At least bread is plentiful.

It is only nine in the evening but outside not a sound, save for the odd dog barking. Campians go to bed early. I do the same, reading my book by a flickering low wattage light bulb, swatting mosquitoes and sipping an excellent red wine made by the works chemist. Sleep comes easily, once I am satisfied my room is mosquito free. There is always tomorrow to get to grips with those environmental problems. I am beginning to think like a Romanian.

What do I do when I go away? Perhaps daughter, you had better look at my web site www.c4rem.com , I’ve got to go and pack.

Clive Morgan, Ty Gwaun.

As you will no doubt be aware, the Medieval Fayre will soon be upon us.

On Wednesday, 9th August it will start at 12 noon in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace. All our plans are well in hand and this year there will be live music to enhance the occasion.All we have to do now is hope that the weather is kind to us for the third year running.

If anybody would like to help in any way whatsoever, I am sure that we can find a suitable task for you on the day. It really is a worthwhile cause with all proceeds going to the fund for the new Village Hall.

As part of the Village Millennium Celebrations, Lamphey Community Association is organising, on Wednesday, 26th July 2000, a Sports Day for the children, which will also include a “Field Party”.

The Committee would appreciate help from the people of Lamphey with contributions towards the party.

Mrs Fran Butler will be visiting all homes over the next few weeks with a list of suggestions for food required to suit children aged from 5 to 14 years. Your help and support will be gratefully appreciated.

The children's Millennium Sports Day will be held on the playing field on Wednesday, 26th July starting at 2.00 p.m.

The sports will be open to all children in Lamphey School and those up to the age of 15 who live in the parishes of Lamphey and Hodgeston. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be presented to the winners, second and third of each event and all children taking part will receive a Millennium Certificate whether they win or not.

At the tea following the sporting events Millennium Mugs will be presented to all children of Lamphey School and all other children of the parishes of Lamphey and Hodgeston who are not old enough to be on the Electoral Register. If you are unable to attend on the day, the mug can be collected from the Golden Crust Bakery in Lamphey after 26th July.

To celebrate the Millennium, a Village Party will be held immediately following the Medieval Fayre.

So, on 9th August starting at 7.00 p.m., it's Party Time at the Bishop's Palace. There will be no charge for admission and car parking arrangements will be as for the Fayre. All members of the parishes of Lamphey and Hodgeston, irrespective of age, are welcome so please come along and join in what we all hope will be a very enjoyable evening.

Since it will be impossible to cater for all exotic tastes and an indeterminate number of people party-goers should bring their own food and drink. The usual Fayre cooking facilities will be available for those who bring items for cooking and some salads and sauces will be provided. A disco will be provided and should the weather be inclement the party will move to the large Undervault at the Palace.

If anyone has any suggestions to help the party along then please pass them on to Keith Edwards and we will see if we can incorporate them. Lamphey Community Association will do all it can to make sure that the event is a success but, ultimately, the party and how you enjoy it will be up to you.

So, come along everyone and make it party to talk about until the next Millennium.

Lamphey Over-60s Committee was officially formed in November 1981.During the early part of 1981, fund raising events had been arranged in order that celebrations could be held in the village to mark the wedding of Charles and Diana. Following these events it was found that there was a surplus of £100 in the bank. and it was decided to hold a free Christmas Dinner for everyone 60 years of age and over in Lamphey, Hodgeston and Freshwater East.

The first such dinner was held on 16th December 1981 and, as they say, "the rest is history" as some nineteen years later the dinners are still being held every December.

At present we have a committee of eleven members with five of those being on the original committee formed in 1981, Mr Robert Phillips (Chairman), Mr Ken Morgan (Treasurer), Mrs Jean Skeels, Mrs Jean Nicholas and Mr Dennis Nicholas.

We usually hold two coffee mornings each year and with the proceeds from these and a donation from Lamphey Community Council we are able to continue running the Annual Christmas Dinner.

We held another successful Coffee Morning on 27th May, it was very well attended and raised some £200. We cater for approximately 100 people on average and, as you can imagine it is quite an expensive undertaking.

We are also grateful to the many people over the years who have given up their time to come along and provide the entertainment at the Dinner and to the local businesses who support us generously. The day of the Dinner is always very hectic with preparations beginning at about 2 p.m. and finally finishing around 11 p.m. We all find the day very tiring but also very rewarding. Everyone is so grateful and it really does make us feel as if all the effort and time we have put into it has been worthwhile.

For further information please contact Kathryn Young.

This is being written at the commencement of the second half of the Summer Term.

May has been wet and June has started in a less than promising fashion. This is the very busiest time in the school, with sports and reports and fetes and visit dates. We really need some excellent weather for a change!

The School Fete, as always, was on the 3rd Saturday in June. Everyone was welcome and it really was a happy occasion for both the school and the village. Token collection for books is still ongoing. Thanks to all of you who have donated them to us; it really is appreciated. I am pleased to be able to tell you that promotions really do work. We have collected so many Tesco vouchers this time that we are able to order a new computer; it will cost 11,990 vouchers so you can see how well everyone has done.

As I indicated when I last wrote, a visit to Pendine was the highlight of the term for Class 6. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves, partaking in various activities such as abseiling, climbing, archery, hiking and orienteering. Many new friends were made from Felinfoel and Llandeilo and the children returned home with far more pronounced Welsh accents!

As the school's contribution to the Welsh Assembly initiative launched by Rhodri Morgan, a Parents’ Evening was held in the school on 11th April. The purpose of the evening was to involve the mums and dads in the process of numeracy and to share maths with their children. The evening outlined how maths is taught in school and on view were a range of mathematics resources. Attending parents were given a pack filled with apparatus and useful ideas to assist their children. The evening was extremely well attended and very successful even though parents had to endure a mental maths test just like the children in Class 6!

The children have recently taken part in a "Hectorcise" session in aid of Help the Aged. The children and the school are proud of the school's record in helping charities and it is pleasing to tell you that the children raised nearly £600 for this very worthwhile organisation which does so much good work for the elderly.

M.J. Selley