Wednesday 21 December 2016

The Cambrian News 21.12.2016


We were so pleased that The Cambrian News photographer turned up and saved the day! Aislinn had volunteered to take photos, but usually chops heads and legs off etc. and her camera isn't very good! Thank you Simon at Cambrian News for publishing the following report in this week's paper 21.12.2016:
"Aberystwyth Friendship Group members enjoyed their Christmas lunch at Harry's Hotel today along with VIP guests Mark Williams MP and Councillor Catherine Hughes, Older People's Champion for Ceredigion. AFG’s Committee Suzanne Edwards, Aislinn Knight, Anne England and Sue Bennett worked together to organise the event, and each member of the group who attended donated a wrapped gift for the raffle. Aberystwyth Friendship Group is growing at an incredible rate, their popularity reflecting there is a real need for a local community group offering friendship and support to combat loneliness and isolation in Ceredigion. Since their launch at the end of April 2016 membership has grown to an impressive100 with new members applying on a regular basis. The group have enjoyed monthly meetings with interesting speakers, numerous outings and events with many more planned for the future. At their next meeting in Morlan Centre on 5th January 2017 Harry Durnall will be talking about his life and Louche Theatre - All welcome."

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Friday 16 December 2016

Christmas lunch at Harry's
16.12.2016


AFG members enjoyed their Christmas lunch at Harry's today with VIP guests Mark Williams MP and Councillor Catherine Hughes, Older People's Champion for Ceredigion. Special thanks to Suzanne Edwards, Sue Bennett and Anne England for organising the event, and thanks to AFG members who each donated a wrapped gift to the raffle. Also a big thank you to the staff at Harry's who work so hard and look after us really well when we get together for lunch, what a team! Look forward to seeing you all again soon, but for now hope you have a lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Aislinn xx

Thursday 8 December 2016

AFG members had a fabulous time today! Here they all just getting ready to leave for home after enjoying The Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of the The Nutcracker at The Hippodrome Theatre.  08.12.2016


Merry Christmas
&
A Happy New Year

Friday 2 December 2016

Not bad for a group that's only been going 6 months! 



Tuesday 29 November 2016

Members of AFG enjoyed a lovely evening at the School of Art.
 Private View A Quiet Sincerity: John Elwyn (1916–1997)

A packed gallery
Bob Meyrick talked about John Elwyn.


Friday 25 November 2016


Estynnir gwahoddiad cynnes i chi i Gynweliad o’r arddangosfa hon
You are warmly invited to the Private View of

A Quiet Sincerity: John Elwyn (1916–1997)

Arddangosfa Canmlwyddiant | Centenary Exhibition

5pm – 6.30pm
Dydd Mawrth 29 Tachwedd | Tuesday 29 November
Oriel yr Ysgol Gelf | School of Art Gallery

Open: 28 November–17 February, 10am–5pm, Monday–Friday
Ar agor: 28 Tachwedd–17 Chwefror, 10am–5pm, Dydd Llun–Dydd Gwener

Prifysgol Aberystywth Ysgol Gelf | Aberystwyth University School of Art
Buarth Mawr, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru/Wales SY23 1NG 

Thursday 24 November 2016


Happy to see we are in The Cambrian News this week!

Friday 18 November 2016

Lunch at Harry's Bar & Bistro 18.11.2016


 AFG members love getting together for lunch at Harry’s Bar & Bistro, not just for the good value “pub grub”, but to relax and enjoy meeting new friends and catching up with other members of the group.  As usual more members than expected turned up, we counted 42 today and the staff at Harry’s handled this really well with hardly any delay - what a team!  We actually don’t mind waiting for our food a little longer than expected as we are there to socialise as well as eat a hearty meal.  A big thank you to Harry's for coping with the numbers and making us feel so welcome!

Friday 11 November 2016


Just because... we can....and....we like getting together for lunch! Everyone welcome, and we hope you'll come along to our Christmas lunch too on 16th December! Bon appetit!


Sunday 6 November 2016

"Sit to Fit" 04.11.2016
Janet Lougee  talked about Rudolph Laban's work in movement
 and demonstrated a few gentle, sitting, core muscle exercises.

A very young Janet in her tutu
Rudolf Laban "Icosahedron"


Saturday 29 October 2016

AFG members enjoyed the Friday Evening Lecture "Miner Artists" 
by Prof. John Harvey at The School of Art. 
More information here: http://johnharvey.org.uk/index.php/miner-artists/



Wednesday 26 October 2016

Friday Evening Lecture
School of Art, Buarth Mawr, Aberystwyth
By 
John Harvey Professor of Art 
BA (CNAA) MA (Wales) PhD (Wales) FRSA
Starts 7.30 pm Friday 28th October


Thursday 20 October 2016

Strata Florida, Y Talbot & Welsh Quilt Centre outing 20.10.2016


AFG members enjoyed another great day out. First port of call the ruins of Strata Florida, then went on to enjoy a hearty lunch at Y Talbot in Tregaron finishing with a visit to Welsh Quilt Centre in Lampeter. Everyone had a lovely time and yet again the weather was fine and sunny

Friday 14 October 2016


Our first art class today in Morlan, everyone enthusiastic so it was a very productive session.  Five more to go before Christmas.  We decided on a name too "AFG Art Society" ...and we will be working together towards a group exhibition in May 2017 and 2018 to coincide with Gwanwyn Festival of arts and creativity for older people.

Saturday 8 October 2016

Jude Riley Art of Marbling Talk 07 10 2016

Big thank you to Jude Riley for talk about The Art of Marbling.


Apologies for the poor quality of recording - we are working on it!

Jude Riley The Art of Marbling Demo 07 10 2016

Big thank you to Jude Riley for demo showing The Art of Marbling.




Apologies for the poor quality of recording - we are working on it!

Friday 7 October 2016


  

Everyone found today's talk fascinating and thoroughly enjoyed seeing
Jude Riley perform magic with "The Art of Marbling"  
     




Friday 30 September 2016


We had a lovely time today landscape drawing and painting at Bwlch Nant yr Arian. The weather turned out to be sunnier than expected but a heavy shower in the afternoon sent us scurrying into the cafe for lunch. We were soon out and about again walking, enjoying the fresh air and good company while taking photographs, sketching and painting. Now all looking forward to our first art class in Morlan on 14th October.

Thursday 15 September 2016

AFG outing to Powis Castle 15th September
Posing for our group selfie to thank Big Lottery Wales on AFG Twitter Account 


Friday 2 September 2016

Aberystwyth Friendship Group Art for beginners Aislinn Knight talk and...

We thought it would be a good idea from now on to video all our talks, demonstrations and workshops and upload to our Youtube channel for the benefit of our members who cannot get to Morlan Centre on the day for whatever reason. This is the first, sorry about the quality, we hope to improve as we go on. Big thanks to Aislinn for being our guinea pig and holding her nerve for the first video session. We are planning to stream live on Youtube so even our members in the remote parts of Ceredigion can join in with tea, coffee biscuits time in the cafe where there is internet reception.

Meeting at Morlan

AFG meeting today 
A talk and demonstration "Art for Beginners" by Aislinn Knight


    

More photographs in Photo Album


Tuesday 30 August 2016

Maes Gogerddan Visit

Yvonne Mann, warden at Maes Gogerddan sheltered scheme, invited Suzanne and Aislinn for afternoon tea on the 25th August to chat to the residents about Aberystwyth Friendship Group.  Happy to oblige, with the extra bonus of biscuits with their tea, Suzanne and Aislinn chatted about how AFG works, meetings, outings and events.  It soon became apparent that several of the residents were keen to join AFG and were particularly interested in the art group and visiting Nantyrarian.  AFG, of course, welcome any new members to the group, but meanwhile, Aislinn has agreed to visit again when they hold their next arts and craft afternoon to see if she can help out.  






Friday 19 August 2016

St David's Cathedral outing 18th August 2016

AFG had a lovely day out at St David's Cathedral
More photographs to be seen - click on 'Photo Album' tab



Friday 12 August 2016

Important News

Due to the unexpected news that Lewis Coaches have now gone into liquidation AFG have today secured a new deal with Mid Wales Travel for the remaining five outings of the six funded by the Big Lottery Awards for Wales project “Cultural Journeys into History”. The outing to St David’s Cathedral next Thursday 18th August will go ahead as planned. At such short notice Mid Wales only had a 29 seat coach available so there are 10 extra seats to fill! If you would like to go, bearing in mind this is a free travel pass only – entrance fees and lunch will be the responsibility of each member on the day – contact Aislinn who will add your name to the list. Please see September Newsletter for more details.

Wednesday 10 August 2016

Cambrian News 10.08.2016

Thanks for photo Suzanne minus the breakfast coffee and toast x
Cambrian News today 10.08.2016 on page 47 Up Your Street :-) 

Thursday 21 July 2016

Portmeirion Outing 21st July 2016

AFG's first outing to Portmeirion
Click on "Photo Album" tab for more photos
Bryan, Barbara, Lynn and Sue
Having a last cuppa before leaving

Thursday 14 July 2016

Peter Stevenson will be running a series of free storytelling events as part of Aberystwyth Music Fest at the end of July.  Click on "Links" tab for details.
Elsa Davies, Ceri Owen-Jones, Peter Stevenson

Wednesday 13 July 2016

The Cambrian News 13.07.2016

Newspaper clipping from page 39 in The Cambrian News today 13.07.2016


Friday 8 July 2016

Meeting 8th July

Excellent talk about Mindfulness by Rachel Lilley today. Thank you Rachel, all positive feedback. This was our third meeting and again a good attendance: 42 members. Our next meeting is on Friday 5th August, 11.00 am at Morlan - please come along....all welcome!
Rachel Lilley talking to the group about Mindfulness

Saturday 2 July 2016

Rachel Lilley will talk about Mindfulness at our next meeting.
Friday 8th July, starts at 11.00 am - All welcome
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24th June 2016
A big thank you to our speaker today
Colin Smallman 
Occupational Therapist Therapydd Galwedigaethol
Targeted Intervention Service – North Ceredigion
Gwasanaeth Ymyriadau Wedi’u Targedu Gogledd Ceredigion 
please phone   01970 633310  or follow the link below:
http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/utilities/action/act_download.cfm?mediaid=13939

Monday 13 June 2016

On 8th July, same day as our meeting Ruth Packham will have a 'meet the maker' session in Morlan 11am - 4pm - so members of the group can chat to her after the talk with Rachel Lilley on Mindfullness.


Wednesday 1 June 2016

ATC Funding

Thank you Aberystwyth Town Council for our funding cheque!


Tuesday 31 May 2016

Hafod Walk

Walk around Hafod Wednesday 15th June



Thank you to Alison Lochhead our Artistic Support for forwarding details of this wonderful walk for AFG members to enjoy.  The day will consist of a leisurely walk of about four miles in total, with frequent stops for talks and performances. Many (though not all) of these will happen during the first part of the day, so participants could leave earlier if desired. We will aim to have a late...ish lunch (bring a picnic) about 1.15. We will be following marked paths, but please be aware that some of these are steep and slippery – more so in the afternoon when we head up to the Cascade. There is no charge for the day, but contributions towards Eglwys Newydd and Hafod Trust would be welcome. There is NO mobile phone coverage: nearest landline is Hafod Estate Offices. Bring anoraks, sun-cream and midge-spray!  Besides the scheduled talks there will be more impromptu readings / songs as we walk. Any further queries please contact mary-ann.constantine@cymru.ac.uk.

10.30: Gather at Eglwys Newydd church: parking and toilet available. The Friends of Eglwys Newydd have organized a small exhibition and are kindly offering tea and coffee. The artist Sarah Byfield may be showing some of her maps.  
10.50: Jennie MacVe: welcome on behalf of the Hafod Trust 
11. 00: Martin Crampin: Stained glass at Eglwys Newydd
11.20:  Easy walk down (part of the Lady’s Walk) from church to Estates office (20-30 minutes)
11.50 – 12.30: Short talks by Peter Wakelin (the painter John Piper at Hafod) and Peter Stevenson (current film project on stories from the area).   
12.30 – 12.50: Outside the ruins of the house: landscape archaeologist Andy Peters on the Treescapes at Hafod. 
12.50 -1.10 Easy walk to Mrs Johnes’ Flower Garden. Picnic here if nice, and a chance to explore the work of artist Christine Watkins, who will be making a labyrinth on the grass.
Short talk by Michael Freeman on tourists to Wales.
2.15 pm: Walk (20-30 minutes) from garden, over bridge and loop right, cutting diagonally up to Gentleman’s Walk, and along to the wooded knoll by Pant Melyn. 
2.45: Short talk by Mary-Ann Constantine on Iolo Morganwg’s visit to Hafod in 1799.
3pm onwards. From here people can visit the Cavern Cascade (10 minutes’ walk) in small groups – note the path is steep and slippery.
3.30: Option to head directly or indirectly back to Church – the latter route will take in the Chain Bridge and the newly restored Gothic arch, and will probably add 20-30 minutes to the walk.
4-4.30 return to Eglwys Newydd and depart.

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Friday 27 May 2016

Lunch at Harry's Hotel

Another successful event! Sue and I counted 35 members today who attended AFG lunch at Harry's Hotel Bar & Bistro. We will be getting together again for lunch in November as we all had a lovely time chatting and catching up but most importantly.... the food was excellent!


Friday 13 May 2016

Our First Meeting

We had our first meeting today which was very well attended by 42 members. Thank you all for coming along and a special thank you to Jill Piercy who talked about HAUL, arts in health, the benefits of creative activities on health and wellbeing.
http://www.haul-artsinhealth.org.uk/#!about-us/cjg9


Tuesday 10 May 2016

Big Lottery Fund

Big Lottery Fund
Our Project 
Cultural Journeys into History

Our application for lottery funding for our project "Cultural Journeys into History" has been approved, granted and published on The Big Lottery website.
https://community.biglotteryfund.org.uk/all_p…/default.aspx…

Saturday 30 April 2016

AFG launch 29.04.2016

Aberystwyth Mayor Councillor Dr Endaf Edwards with Mark Williams MP

Happy to report that the launch went very well, The Town Council meeting room was packed and all feedback has been positive. Our membership list is growing quickly and there is a lot of interest smile emoticon Hope to see you at the next meeting which is at Morlan Centre, Friday 13th May, 11 o'clock. Jill Piercy will be talking about HAUL health and well being through the creative arts.


AFG Chair Suzanne Edwards 

Ceredigion County Council 50+ Strategy Coordinator Naomi McDonaugh 

AFG Chair Suzanne Edwards and Founder & Secretary Aislinn Knight




Wednesday 30 March 2016

AFG Launch on 29th April!

Date for your diary: 29th April, our official launch, hope you can come along even if only for 10 minutes! We look forward to seeing you between 12.00 - 14.30 :-)

Saturday 6 February 2016

AFG Forum Meeting

Feedback from Forum Meeting

Alison Lochhead and Peter Stevenson are planning a series of walks as previously proved very successful with Gas Gallery

We will be organising a minibus to Nantyrarian for a day of landscape drawing and painting, and if this is proves popular we will make it a regular event.  Aislinn Knight BA (hons) MA Fine Art, local artist is happy to accompany the group and offer her help and support. All welcome, we especially hope to encourage our members who are not very confident but "would like to give it a go".  

Please get in touch if you would like to get involved.