Newcastle Emlyn and Adpar / Castell Newydd Emlyn ac Adpar

A personal view from “Miserable Old Git”

On a fine summer’s day the castle grounds in Newcastle Emlyn are stunningly beautiful, with the sound of water rushing over the weir, the magnificent old trees, the wildlife on the river and the views out across the water meadows. True enough, the ruins of the castle are not much to write home about, but the magic of the place lies in its setting and in its wildlife.

During the last year a number of projects intended presumably to beautify the place have received very substantial grants from various public bodies. These include the new gates, the dragon’s egg sculpture, a mosaic, and now a series of “information” boards dotted around the castle grounds.
Others have commented on the huge sculpture which is meant to represent a dragon hatching from an egg. Quite a few people think it looks like a giant willy. It dominates the open space behind the castle ruins and can be seen from various vantage points below. Whether you like it or not is a question of personal taste, and the same applies to the gates and now the “information boards”.

The theme linking all of these installations is dragons.

Now, there is a genuinely old legend about a monstrous reptile which terrorised the area. In Welsh it is known as a gwiber, a word which normally means a viper or adder, but which as a mythical beast is usually translated as a wyvern. The monster was eventually slain, and its venom was said to have made the Teifi run black. The townspeople were heartily glad to see the back of it.

Whether there is any real historical event behind this legend, nobody knows. Perhaps there was once something or someone exceptionally dangerous which terrorised the town. A band of robbers, a disease, a plague of adders, perhaps.

Sadly, the information boards don’t tell us anything about this genuine local legend, but deal instead with a modern New Age tale with pseudo-religious overtones. Something to do with an egg, a coracle, wars, invasions, slaughter, townspeople weeping over the death of their beloved dragon and some mumbo jumbo about “Merlin’s prophecy”. This version bears almost no resemblance to the original, and is more than a little reminiscent of one of those 1970s concept albums dreamt up over whacky baccy on the top of Glastonbury Tor.

Like everything else, it’s a question of taste. Some people like Dan Brown; others prefer Tolstoy. But the difference here is that this private vision is being imposed on the town with publicly funded grants and no consultation with local people. And the fake legend of the Golden Dragon is displacing a genuine local tradition.

One of the new information boards was written by a local historian, and explains some of the history of the site, including the old mill leat. That at least is factual and real, and it is a pity that the rest of the boards are devoted to the mumbo jumbo of the fake legend.

There is so much to see along the river banks, and the boards could have told visitors and local people alike about what they are looking at. About the otters, the lampreys, the sewin, eels and other life in the river. They could have told us about the plants and trees and helped children and adults identify some of them. They could have told us about the river’s status as a SSSI and European Special Area of Conservation, because this is a very special place. They could have told us more about local history and how the landscape has changed. They could even have told us about the legend of the Gwiber.

As sent to Newcastle Emlyn Town Council. August 2011

As councillors will no doubt be aware, the County Council is proposing to transfer its public toilets across the county to community councils with an offer of a £1,000 improvement grant and a commitment to pay business rates on the buildings on a permanent basis.

In view of the importance of tourism to Newcastle Emlyn and for the sake of local people, it is to be hoped that the Town Council will take up this offer and ensure that the toilets remain open. I also hope that the Council will resist any temptation to start charging the public for the use of the facilities, as that would no doubt only encourage thieves and vandals.

I am sure that the Council will wish to consider the county’s proposals carefully, as this will be a major additional commitment for the Town Council. To that end, I would like to suggest that the Council approaches Dai Lewis with a proposal that the livestock mart make a significant contribution to the continued running of the facilities.

As the son of a farmer who has attended many livestock markets and agricultural shows, I can vouch that the farming community does not always have a very good aim when using facilities of this kind, and I understand that the cleaner has a much tougher job on days after a Dai Lewis mart.

In view of the loss a couple of years back of parts of the public car park to the mart and the very restricted access the public has on mart days from the car park to the town, it is to be hoped that Dai Lewis will recognise that a generous gesture will help to show that the mart is prepared to give as well as take.

Yours faithfully

Richard Vale

Sir,

Two very interesting news items were carried yesterday by Golwg, the Welsh language news service, reporting comments made by Alun Lenny, a councillor on Carmarthen Town Council. They deserve to be widely reported because they concern the future of our county and the “vision” which our county council has for us. The original articles can be found here on the Golwg website.

Last week, Carmarthenshire County Council published what it calls its “deposit Local Development Plan”, or LDP, which will replace the current Unitary Development Plan. The consultation period extends until 19 August. Responses will be evaluated by an “independent planning specialist”, and the plan will come into effect in 2013 and run until 2021.

The county council has decided that we will need 11,200 new homes by 2016 despite the fact that the population is not growing. It justifies this partly by pointing to an increase across the UK in the number of people living alone, but also predicts that the population of Carmarthenshire will grow by 11% over the next decade.There are, however, good reasons for believing that the vast new housing developments being proposed would instead attract a new influx of settlement from England.

Just to the west of Carmarthen, the council has earmarked 320 acres of farmland for a development of 1,200 houses, with the consultation period for this particular development due to end next week.

Llanelli, Cross Hands and Ammanford have also been allocated massive new housing developments, and even the smaller settlements across the county have swathes of land earmarked for housing. In Newcastle Emlyn (population roughly 900), a total of 89 new houses are planned, equivalent to a population increase of between 20% and 30%. It is the same story across the rest of the county.

Alun Lenny says that there are currently over 2,000 properties which have been empty for quite some time, and anyone who has travelled around the county will know that there are forests of For Sale and To Let signs wherever you go.

Cllr Lenny wonders whether our infrastructure (roads) and services (hospitals, social services and schools) are capable of handling such a large influx. In Carmarthen the Glangwili Hospital is already struggling to meet demand, and the plan does not tell us whether money will be forthcoming for massive expansion or a new hospital. With jobs like hens’ teeth, it is also pertinent to ask where all these additional people would work.

Carmarthenshire has the largest population of Welsh speakers in all Wales, and approximately half of the population speak Welsh. As Alun Lenny points out, a large influx of non-Welsh speakers will forever change the identity of our biggest towns and deal a shattering blow to the language.

But even if you don’t worry about the survival and well-being of the language, you should care about what the council has in store for us all. In the last few years it has wrecked the historic town centre of Carmarthen and succeeded in turning the oldest town in Wales into just another clone town. Now it wants to build huge, sprawling housing developments around all of the larger towns, dealing a huge blow to our quality of life and ruining swathes of countryside.

Cllr Lenny hits the nail on the head by asking whether the real reason for all this development in Carmarthen is to justify the St Catherine’s Walk shopping centre, one of the crown jewels of the county council under chief executive Mark James, who should list breeding white elephants as his hobby on Facebook.

Pointing out that the LDP consultation has been set to coincide with the summer holidays, Cllr Lenny says he believes the timing is a cynical and deliberate attempt by the county council to ensure that as few people as possible respond to the consultation.

He might have added that to make double sure, the LDP itself is buried deep on the council’s flaky website under tons and tons of documentation, with the feedback form designed to put off anyone but the most determined of objectors. There is also a fair chance that the “independent planning specialist” who will assess responses to the consultation will turn out to be Nathaniel Lichfield Partnership who have a close and long-standing relationship with the county council’s planners.

Carmarthenshire County Council does not have a good record on consultation. Actually, that is an understatement. The council has an appallingly bad record on consultation, as it regularly ignores any messages it does not like and ploughs ahead regardless. Only last week we saw the council approve plans to merge two secondary schools in Llandeilo and Llandovery despite 91% of respondents to the statutory consultation opposing the proposal.

Of course, if we don’t bother the LDP will be forced on us anyway, so let’s hope that as many people as possible go to the public meetings being organised around the county or take time to fill in the response form. I have no doubt that Cymdeithas yr Iaith will take up the challenge, but let’s hope also that public bodies such as the Countryside Council for Wales, the political parties, the Environment Agency, Bwrdd yr Iaith and others lead the way.

Richard Vale

Dear Editor,

‘GOOD NEWS! – SAFETY AND BEAUTY AT THE SCULPTURE AT NEWCASTLE EMLYN. MOST PEOPLE REALLY ENJOY IT . . . GO HAVE YOUR PICNIC THERE WITH A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE RIVER’

What a different headline that would make to the one in last weeks paper which said ‘VANDALISM FEARS OVER SCULPTURE’! The article was reporting ONE person’s point of view (based upon no actual event) which was sent to the town council!

The new headline I have given here is indeed, an accurate picture, from my perspective, of the ‘Spirit of the Dragon’ sculpture which was installed in the castle in January. I visit the site at least four times a week, so I am probably as well informed as anyone to report a story.

I am very tired of ‘sensational/negative journalism which seems to want to stir up fears and dramas where non exist (all right, except from one person!) Is bad news and scarey stories what we, as readers really need? People have now stopped me in the street saying ‘ I am so sorry. . isn’t it terrible what is happening to the sculpture?’ They have read a couple of articles published in this and another local paper.

Well, this is what is happening. A mum and her family having a picnic, teenagers sitting there chatting, visitors taking photos, people walking their dogs, children patting and stroking the dragons tail, hearing your voice echo when sitting inside the oak, and recently, appreciation of the colours and story pictures within the newly installed Golden Dragon Mosaic,

Strangely, we do not have to wear ‘vandal proof’ vests nor carry arms to protect ourselves from raiding and destructive ‘vandals’ with their weapons of mass destruction!

It is true I collect a few bits of rubbish when I visit, just to keep it tidy up there (as there is no litter bin) and I invite others to do the same. It is true that two people have written a message in biro to each other inside the seat…which is already naturally fading. But REALLY does that constitute the word ‘Vandal’ being headlined?

I was misquoted in the article as saying ‘the installation has been made as ‘vandalproof as possible’ No, I never!! I had described the hard wearing materials that had been used in the careful making of the mosaic, as information for the town council re long term durability.

I do not use the word ‘vandal’ It comes from 455AD when Germanic invaders (from Vandal) raided Rome, who had themselves previously raided and destroyed and occupied other countries. It is the language of warfare, to demonise and make others ‘evil or bad’. It is currently used as a word for anything from bored teenagers, (by the way, OUR OWN teenagers, who currently have no youth club) who direct their energy into directions of mischief or destruction, or OUR adults who drink too much on a Friday or Saturday night at OUR pubs and cause damage. Also of others in OUR community who, for whatever reasons, damage other peoples property (which understandably causes us annoyance, despair and frustration in the financial cost and energy to replace and repair.)

We might even be interested in discussing a quote from Neitzsche that ‘I also know what it means to fight against culture’ or ‘the criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture’?

Let us be more precise and up-to date in our language and not be pulled into language of warfare and which provokes fear and hatred of others.

At the Heart of the Dragon Festival on July 2nd, the Dragon Sculpture and Mosaic are to be surrounded with hundreds of joyous and creative people who have made Golden Dragons. Merlins prophecy will be read, telling of healing and renewal..‘polluted rivers being cleared’ and a new prophecy towards peace making in our world.

Now THERE is positive action to transform destructive damage of our own environment.

May that clear away the concerns caused by one persons fears and newspaper articles.

Yours sincerely,

Pamela Gaunt

Artistic Director of Heart of the Dragon
Newcastle Emlyn

PS Re. that E Davies seeing the sculpture as a ‘huge phallus’ well…art is in the eye of the beholder…so, go look and see what YOU think! A Phallus or an Egg? or a Dance of Creativity between both??!!

Dear Sir,

Earlier this year several local insomniacs noticed a flurry of new documents being added to the section of the Carmarthenshire County Council website dealing with the controversial Cawdor supermarket planning application.

Industrial Unett

The new documents were submitted by Owen Banks Planning and Development, agents for Mr Davies, and responded to various unfounded concerns expressed by a range of public bodies on matters including traffic and road safety, the load on the town’s creaking sewage system, wildlife and the impact of pile driving and other work needed to stabilise and shore up the site.

The good news is that none of this presents a problem, according to Owen Banks.

Jeremy Clarkson

Although the supermarket would, the developer claims, bring in many more people to shop in town, there will be practically no increase in road traffic.

Although hundreds more people will be using the site on a daily basis, the load on the town’s sewage system will be reduced.

Although the northern boundary along the river will need more than 70 piles driven to a depth of around 60 feet, in addition to the pile driving needed to underpin the actual supermarket building, local residents need not fear for their properties as there will be no vibration.

Otter terror

Unfortunately however, claims by the developer that heavy machinery could be brought in to the land between the site and the river Teifi itself without disturbing the wildlife or vegetation have been rejected by the council on the advice of the Countryside Council and others. All of which goes to show how our public bodies have caved in to the tree-hugger lobby, and now value the life of a few mangy otters over an exciting business opportunity.

Quite how this will be achieved is not spelled out in detail, but there is speculation that some very innovative and even revolutionary solutions will be brought to bear.

Berlin Air-lift

Given that customers and deliveries will not be allowed to use boat traffic on the Teifi because it might upset the otters, and given that there will be no significant increase in road traffic, the only way in will be by air. Deliveries and customers will depart from the airport in Haverfordwest on scheduled flights and will be dropped by parachute onto the site.

Badger Cull

The ridiculous red tape which is such a burden on business in this country insists that buildings of this kind must be equipped with lavatories, even for the disabled. Political correctness, yet again! Allowing all of these weak-bladdered OAPs to make free use of the toilets would risk an increase in the load on the sewage system and possibly a catastrophic backing up of waste leading to an explosion and the collapse of the entire site into the Teifi.

The resulting tidal wave, possibly up to 50 feet high, would send a wall of raw sewage, Vauxhall cars, asbestos and TB-ridden badgers sweeping down the Teifi Valley, with consequences too horrific to contemplate when it hits the bottleneck of Cenarth Falls.

How Green is My Vallley?

In order to combat this, and to demonstrate the green credentials of the business, anyone wishing to use the toilet facilities will have to make a voluntary contribution of £15.99 before being given a key.

Elf and Safety Gone Mad

It is rumoured that a small local company, Tylwyth Teg Ltd., has been asked to deploy its revolutionary new polycarbon epoxy-resin gossamer system to solve the problem of land slippage. A spokesman for the company, Gwyn ap Nudd, said that all the work could be carried out late at night, and that residents would be advised to stay indoors if they wanted to avoid capture. Nobody would notice a thing.

Let’s hope now that all these ridiculous fears have been fully addressed, the County Council will at give this exciting and truly innovative project the green light.

Doris Morris
(name and address supplied)

Dear Sir,

I’d like to correct a misunderstanding which has been expressed a couple of times lately. The Emlyn Hall, built by my grandfather Mr JR Parkington, was not “gifted” to the town. It was purchased on behalf of the town in 1960, by the then Hall Committee, from local public donations coupled with a grant from the Ministry of Education, and since then has belonged to the people of Newcastle-Emlyn.

I attach the program from the official opening of the hall in 1961. I am also including an article from the ‘Carmarthen Journal’ from 1992 about the reopening of the hall after its refit.

Incidentally, the ‘Carmarthen Journal’ article is wrong about the origin of the Attic Players. They started in the attic of the then Barclays Bank House, which was in the building on the right of the lane leading to Bethel chapel. The manager was Edwin Stanley James, who was a poet and very much into the arts. He and his wife got some enthusiasts together and rehearsed their plays in the attic. My mother, Beryl Ball, was a keen member for many years.

Clive Ball, Darlington, Western Australia.

Been to Carmarthen recently? I spent a few hours traipsing around the shops there last Friday doing a bit of Christmas shopping, and it was pretty depressing. Not long ago, King Street was a lively, interesting place full of small shops, but every time I go back there I notice that a few more have gone.

The Myrddin Bakery has closed, the old department store which until recently was selling bargain furniture is now just a black gaping hole. What was a nice shopping street is now becoming a rat-run that you just want to get through as quickly as possible.

There are a few nice little shops left, of course, but speak to the shopkeepers, and you will hear that their business is being dragged down by the air of decay which is taking over.

Carry on through Nott Square and head down the hill, and you will see that the store which took over from Woolies is having a closing down sale. Head towards Marks and Spencer’s, and you will see more and more mobile phone shops.

The centre of Carmarthen is shifting away from the old historic streets with their picturesque buildings and small, locally owned businesses towards a concrete, steel and glass jungle full of all the big name stores you will find in any other town in Britain, and of course they will soon be joined by Debenham’s.

Carmarthen was not blitzed by the Luftwaffe; it was destroyed by Carmarthenshire County Council instead, and it seems they will not rest until they have succeeded in turning Carmarthen into a carbon copy of Croydon or Luton.

If you read the Council’s report on the Cawdor supermarket application in Newcastle Emlyn, you will see that they bang on and on about something called the “sequential test”. This policy means that they are supposed to give preference to retail developments in historic town centres. If you took the Council at its word, you would think that this policy was holy writ, but when you think about any of the larger towns in Carmarthenshire, you are left wondering when the Council has ever applied it. Are Tescos, Morrisons or Aldi within walking distance of the town centre in Carmarthen? Has anyone ever managed to walk from the centre of town to Morrisons and lived to tell the tale? What about Llanelli?

If small, local businesses didn’t have enough to cope with, the Council is now launching a new attack on them with a fatwa against “unauthorised” A-boards. Shops which put out an A-board advertising their products will have their boards confiscated and be given a bill for the cost of removal.

Who is behind this? Step forward our very own Councillor Haydn Jones, Carmarthenshire’s equivalent of environment minister, siding again with the big guns against local businesses. His main concern, he says, is the safety of pedestrians. Presumably that was not one of his main considerations when he sat on the planning committee which gave Tescos the go-ahead to build its new superstore.

Richard Vale

We visited NCE recently and can’t wait to come back. A superstore would be a carbunkle in this beautiful, vibrant town. We live in Windsor and think that NCE is a far superior place to visit & shop!!

NCE councillors – please do not allow your jewel of a town to be ruined. We also visited Cardigan during our visit and the less said about that the better. Cardigan is a town made for Lidl and Aldi.

See you again soon NCE!!

Wayne Farnworth, Old Windsor, Berkshire

Dear Sir,

I hesitate to complain about the service given by a fellow trader in Newcastle Emlyn. We all, from time to time, make mistakes or errors of judgment but I hope that we traders in NCE try to minimise these errors in order to maintain our good reputation.

I was most disappointed with my daughter’s experience of the local hotel.

When she arrived late afternoon there was no hot water and no heating. My daughter was told that they were aware of the problem and that an engineer would have it fixed later that evening. This was in fact done. Portable means of heating were not available.

On peeling back her bed she was dismayed to find that the duvet cover was soiled. A young member of staff was sent to change the cover and did so but only with the help of my daughter. In addition, Victoria, who is a seasoned international traveller, found it exceedingly aggravating and unprofessional not to be able to make or receive telephone calls in her room.

Furthermore according to my daughter the building works which she was aware of, started much earlier in the morning than the management had led her to believe would be the case. My daughter had words with the owner manager and left it to Dad to go and settle the bill. To compensate for these ‘inconveniences’ the management offered a £10 reduction on a £100 account. I declined this inadequate gesture and I hope that my minor protest will spur the new owners into ensuring similar situations to do not occur for other visitors to the town.

I do hope that the current owners will take on board this criticism. Too many pies and not enough fingers leads to a lack of control and complacency is never good for any business.

John Latter
Newcastle Emlyn