Bro Llanfair Caereinion
Pigion Bro
- Pigion Bro
This week's Bro takes Shan and Iolo to mid Wales to a town perhaps most famous for being the terminus of the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway.
Built upon the site of an old Roman fort, Llanfair Caereinion is one of the smallest towns in Powys. Nestled within the Banwy Valley, some 10 kilometers West of Welshpool, the ancient market town has held on fast to its identity and traditions.
Its vibrant community continues to practice the arts of plygain singing and country dancing that have been such a prominent feature in the history of Montgomeryshire.
Aled Evans - Dyffryn Banw Dancers
Born and bred in the valley, Aled lives at the same farm, Y Foel, where he was born and which he now runs with some help from his son. Aled has been dancing for twenty years and is one of ten or so local people who get together to dance in pairs and twmpaths as part of Dyffryn Banw Dancers. In 2003 they proved their skill to the nation when they won the National Eisteddfod. Since then the group have decided to give competitions a rest and concentrate on enjoying themselves. Country dancing is an important part of the history of the area, and every year the Dyffryn Banw Dacers perform outside the Cann Office Hotel in Llangadfan to commemorate William Jones, a self-taught local farmer of the eighteenth century who became a renowned poet and man of letters. Importantly for the Dyffryn Banw Dancers, he collected matins songs and country dances and it is largely because of his work that so many of the dances native to Montgomeryshire are preserved to this day.
Alwyn Hughes - Collector of local artefacts
Alwyn spends his spare time investigating local history and collecting field names. But it's not only information that he collects; he has a vast array of artefacts relating to the local area and its history. Among them; a butter churn, butchers tools, items from the slaughterhouse and a range of artefacts by the local family - J Huw - famous in the area for producing agricultural tools.
As well as his collection of agricultural artefacts, Alwyn has spent the last five years collecting post cards. He now has some 600 from the 'golden era' of post cards between 1900 - 1920. In 1920 the stamps went up in price from half a pence to a penny and people's interest in postcards decreased dramatically. Alwyn has lots of post cards of Llanfair Caereinion including a picture of the war memorial in the centre of town during the celebrations at the end of the first world war.
Christine Mills - Conceptual Artist
Christine is one in a long line of the Mills family that have been born and bred in Llanerfyl. A close family with strong roots in the community, her cousin Eleri is also a fellow local artist and her brother, Richard is a member of Parti Cut Lloi. Apart from a brief spell studying at Goldsmiths University in London, she has never moved away and even married a local boy she went to school with. She does however travel far and wide with her work and has been to South America, China, and most recently to New York to take part in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Her ideas inform the mediums she uses rather than the other way around and so she works in various media from recycled materials to wool from her family farm. She has recently started a piece recording Welshpool market using film. The Welsh landscape, language, culture, and people all provide her with inspiration.
David Oliver - Historian
David Oliver went to Llanfair Caereinion primary and secondary schools and has been a member of the local Young Farmers Club for the past 15 years. He has been chair three times and although he is still a member of the club, he has stepped down to give other members a chance. David works for Menter Iaith in Newtown and also on his father's farm where he helps care for their Welsh Cobs. David will take Iolo on a tour of some of the town's most interesting landmarks, starting at The Institute.
Gill Evans - Sound Healer
Six years ago, Gill visited a reiki healer who predicted that Gill too would become a healer. The episode was a real turning point in her life and after mastering the art of reiki, she moved on to working with sound. She now practices sound healing professionally and teaches trainee healers. Gill works with her own voice and with a variety of animal-skin drums and metal bowls which produce different vibrations and sounds. Her pride and joy is a drum which she made herself out of elk hide. Her farmer-husband is a convert after she managed to rescue one of his lambs that had been born with sway back and was unable to walk. Over the course of a week, Gill spent half an hour a day, 'sounding' with the lamb and its mother. At the end of the week the lamb could stand on its feet and before long it was walking.
Linda Griffiths - Singer
A graduate of Llanfair Caereinion High School, Linda Griffiths was brought up on a local farm between Meifod and Pont Robert. It was this rural upbringing that has inspired much of her music. An important member of Wales' folk scene for more than thirty years, she has released a dozen albums of traditional and contemporary folk music and has performed both as a member of the folk group Plethyn and as a solo artist. Like Eleri Mills, she also received an invitation to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in New York and on this occasion she was accompanied by her eldest daughter, Lisa.
Linda takes Shân on a trip down memory lane through the fields she used to walk across as a child and from which she took inspiration for the song, 'Ôl ei Droed', written as a tribute to her late father.
Siân James and Parti Cut Lloi
Born and bred in the area, Siân James is best known for making her own music. However, for the last six years she has also been at work transforming a group of local men - mostly farmers - into a singing sensation. Parti Cut Lloi are a group of 20 men from the Banw Valley who formed originally to compete in the Meifod National Eisteddfod in 2003. They achieved exceptional success in the festival when they won the first prize in the Folk Party competition. Following this came many requests to hold concerts all over Wales. The tradition of 'Carol Plygain' is an important part of the history and culture of this area of Montgomeryshire and plygain carols were traditionally sung by local men early on Christmas morning.
Steffan Harri - Goalkeeper and singer
Head boy of Ysgol Uwchradd Caereinion, Steffan is a keen sportsman. From a young age he has played all kinds of sports but his passion drew him to football and he started out playing for a local team in Llanfair Caereinion as goal-keeper. An Everton scout spotted his talent and took him onto the under 18 team but after a spell, Steffan had to give up due to health problems. He recovered and now plays for mid-Wales under 18's. He is also a member of the school team which beat all the other schools in Wales to the Championship Cup. But Steffan's talents do not end on the football pitch. He was also a star performer at the Urdd last year and won the Solo from a Musical Under 19 competition. Since winning the Sioe Gerdd in the Urdd last year he has received an invitation to perform at Disney Land Paris in 2010.
Vivian Jones - Hair dresser
Viv is not only born and bred in Llanfair Caereinion but in the very building where she still lives and works. The quirky little building is set back from the rest of the shops in the street and was built in 1797 by a navy officer who used wood taken as scrap from ships. The establishment used to be a cobblers until Viv's parents bought it and turned it into a bakery and shop. After her parents retired, Viv moved back in and opened her own hair salon. The tiny town boasts three hairdressers but Viv is never short of customers. She knows everyone and they all know her. Her regulars describe her salon as the local drop in centre where they can get advice and gossip as well as a lovely new hair-do!