Bro Caerffili
Pigion Bro
- Pigion Bro
This week's Bro takes Shân Cothi and Iolo Williams to meet the locals in Machynlleth. Believed by many to be the ancient capital of Wales, Machynlleth was the site of Owain Glyndwr's 1404 parliament and his parliament building still stands proudly on Machynlleth's Maengwyn Street.
Famous for its distinctive clock tower, Machynlleth is an old market town that was given permission by Edward I to hold a market at Machynlleth every Wednesday for ever - a tradition which continues to this day.
Arwel Price
A Technology teacher by day, Arwel Price is training to be an iron-man in his spare time. The 51-year-old has taken part in several endurance-based competitions over the past twelve years and completed the Bala middle distance triathlon in five and a half hours.
Having succeeded at this level, he is now pushing himself to go the full iron man distance for the UK Iron Man Contest in Bolton, Lancashire on August 2nd. He will have to swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles and run a marathon - 26.2 miles! He trains 6 days a week and keeps to a strict diet. A member of Machynlleth's Cerist Triathlon Club, he helps to organise local triathlons and sporting events in the area including an Aquathon series.
Gwen Lloyd
Gwen is an unlikely Reiki master, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation. She lives on a 300-acre Farm called Glan Dulas Fawr, in Pantperthog. Her rugby-playing husband and sons have all benefited from her talents as have the Bernese mountain dogs which she breeds. One of her dogs, Zoe, won best in class at Crufts in 2008.
Gwen has recently taken up Hopi ear candling - an ancient Native American therapy which involves a specially designed hollow candle being inserted just inside the ear canal. The candle is then lit and the suction that is formed draws impurities from within the ear. This process is known as the chimney effect.
Shân goes for a walk with Gwen and the dogs before returning to her home to experience this special kind of therapy.
Kelvin Jenkins
Kelvin Jenkins became a jeweller over 30 years ago when he began studying at the Camden Institute in London in 1968. Before that he had been an archaeologist, working on sites all over the world. He and his wife Judy decided to move business and family to Kelvin's home town of Machynlleth in 1984.
Since then, Kelvin's jewellery has been sent all over the world and his claim to fame is making Sian Lloyd's engagement ring to Lembit Öpik. Kelvin mostly works with Welsh Gold and is also equipped with a gemmology workshop for identifying and examining stones. An active member of the community, Kelvin is also Chairman of the Chamber of Trade and goes tap dancing in spare time.
Geraint ap Iorwerth
Born in Machynlleth town, Parch Geraint ap Iorwerth has since moved to the neighbouring village of Pennal where he is Minister of the St. Peter Ad Vincula Church.
Aside from his day job, Geraint is very knowledgeable about the history of Machynlleth and has a particular interest in the story of Lleucu Llwyd. More than just a poetic character, Lleucu lived on Dolgelynen Farm in Machynlleth around the mid fourteenth century, and it is in Geraint's church that Lleucu was buried in 1390. Iolo jouins Geraint on a historical tour of the town.
Tony Corden
Tony Corden hails from Cornwall originally but has lived in Machynlleth for ten years. His passion is Latin American music and the politics of the Chilean freedom-fighter Victor Jara.
For the last three years he has been organising El Sueno Existe, a three-day Latin-American-Welsh festival in Machynlleth with music, debate and seminars on human rights.
Tony is also in a band called Cloud Cuckoo. Their latest album is called Chile Con Cymru. Having learned Welsh and Spanish, Tony sings in both languages and plays the guitar, the Mandolin, South-American whistles and a Turango made from the shell of an armadillo.
Alwyn Evans
Born and bred in Machynlleth, 27-year-old Alwyn studied music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. He's a classically trained singer, a tenor with Dyfi Male Voice Choir and hopes to become a music teacher.
In the meantime he has been saving his pennies by working at Y Gegin Fach making cakes and serving behind the counter. He picked up his passion for baking from his grandmother who would look after him every Saturday and teach him how to make cakes. His favourite recipe is a fruitcake and it was with this that he came second in the 2007 Radio Cymru Christmas cake competition.
However, it is his carrot cake that flies off the shelf at Y Gegin Fach and it this that Shân will be helping him to make.
Dylan Jones
21-year-old Dylan is a full-time carpenter and builder by trade but his passion is for cross country mountain biking. He competes in various races and has won two bronzes and a silver medal in the Welsh Cross Country Series.
The Cli-Machx trail in Machynlleth is renowned for being an extreme challenge and people have been sick after cycling it. Super-fit Dylan however can cycle the full course in 45 minutes and he and his friends often do several trails in a day.
Jane Lloyd Francis
Jane grew up on a farm in Machynlleth and has ridden for most of her life. She and her partner, Georges Dewez, established Carreg Dressage fifteen years ago and specialise in dressage for Spanish and Portuguese horses.
As well as her stud farm and horse training centre, Jane also runs Equilibre Horse Theatre. Her highly trained horses perform with dancers and music in a dramatic display of control and agility. Shân joins in the rehearsals and sees her first tap-dancing horse.
Meri Wells
Artist Meri Wells works out of a large barn in her garden where she has her own wood-burning kiln. She specialises in ceramic figures and describes them as creatures coming out of the hedge she can see from her window. Meri is an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics and teaches evening classes at Corris.
Sioned ac Alan Pugh
Tŷ Mawr farm has been in Alan's family for three generations and he is already preparing his nineteen-year-old son to be the fourth generation. The need to diversify inspired the Pughs to add a recreational element to the farm and now they offer quad bike adventure rides and laser clay pigeon shooting. Iolo tries his hand at both.