Brecon and Radnor Express and Powys County Times Let


FOLLOWING a recent meeting


Hospital League of Friends the mat ter of the bollards and parking spaces in the environs of the War Memor ial Hospital was discussed at great length. Aside


fact that they are so unsightly,


bumps have been in s t all e d


driveway - did anyone consu l t


ambulance those wit h o n


forecourt, which used to be a pleasant and spacious area has been ruined, there now appears to be fewer parking spaces for the general public and also for the doctors! Speed restr iction


and the effect it would have on their patients in


have sustained neck or


transit, especially patients who


service


th e t he


No room at the hospital, says Fiona Jones


red and the hospital constant ly


money for equipment from the


which we are happy to


spinal injuries? The Health Board is £3million in


request le ague,


the


like to know if money would be wasted on other such projects at


provide, but it is a bit galling when the board spends money on such items as bollards. The Friends would


PW9765-1


the hospital whilst the rest of


Health Service is in dire straits. Fiona Jones Secretary Brecon League of Friends


the National


f rom the the hospital


of Brecon Letters Co


Special ist Pract itioners distributed across the county ready not just to respond to emergencies but also to make decisions about aftercare. A first wave of over 20


service’s paramedics ranks of and Communiit


A GROUND-breaking scheme to put a new breed of paramedics on the roads of Powys is being pioneered by the Welsh Ambulance Service. It will see a network of highly- skilled, traine d


e qu ipp e d highly-


a wider range of medicines to manage particular conditions and will have extended skills to


entrants have been chosen from the


nurses and they will undergo special ised training to equip them with a level of care above and beyond the existing service. The Welsh Ambulance


the and


a new kind of paramedic out there, not just providing immediate emergency care but also making decisions about the sort of continuing care the patient needs. “They will be trained to use


and make informed clinical decisions.” In Powys the first to take


up the post is Brecon-based paramedic Nigel Rees. Nigel, 36, from Crynant,


Ser v i c e’s Consu l t a n t Paramedic Andrew Jenkins said: “We’re going to have


a paramedic since he was 21, has already been out on the road as a specialist practitioner, helping cover the thousand square miles from South Powys up to Llandrindod Wells. He said: “The new


provide consultations


integrate the role into the local health community, working closely with the GPs and the minor injuries units. “The


a greater understanding of how the human body works so as to treat the patient in the most appropriate way, at their home if possible. “The idea of the specialist is that you are


practitioner role does require key here


specialist role should bring some really good gains in


Thursday, August 5, 2010 ty News What a load of bollards! New paramedics to bring extra care


Powys because if we can manage a patient at home then we are saving a three- hour round trip to hospital. “The


is to


need to go to hospital but huge numbers don’t and you need the educational process to make you competent to do that and to attain a higher level of skills and clinical expertise and that’s what this is all about.” Mike Cassidy,


clinically more focused and able to do an assessment of the patient and then come to a conclusion about whether he or she needs to go to hospital and if


chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, added: “It’s about upskilling so we can get the right treatment to the right people at the right time and in the right place.”


treated at home then that’s better for everybody. “The specialist practitioner


It’s all a question of balance


IN a letter to The Brecon & Radnor Express on July 22 headlined ‘A silence is not so golden’, the author criticizes us for our stance on the UK Coal i t ion Gover nment ’s proposals on VAT and they deserve a proper response. On June 22, the coalition


seven teachers in our children’s schools. If


now international market confidence in the UK will evaporate, forcing us into even more drastic measures,


our country with a mountain of debt, despite the fact that for much of that period the UK enjoyed healthy economic growth and the Treasury’s tax revenues were very healthy. As a


taxpayers


the decisions taken were going to be difficult, but there are good reasons why the coalition had to make these difficult choices. After 13 years in government in Westminster


Labour


gove r nme nt i n Lond on delivered an emergency budget to bring order and stability back to the public finances. Everyone knew that some of


and grandchildren will pay the price for years to come. There is nothing fair, liberal


left


management of the deficit the UK will carry on amassing debt on an unprecedented scale,


for which our children


staggering £80,000 purely on the interest payments on that debt. This means that, by the time


you have finished reading this article, the money (your money) we have had to pay out servicing Labour’s debt could have paid for another


result, each minute currently spend a


be cleared


wants to increase VAT. But since the General Election in May it has become clear that that


economy expanding, was


is the deficit that cannot simply


full £12 billion worse than was previously admitted.


the


structural deficit, by


the a


VAT rise, Labour MPs were so indignant and upset about it that they abstained when the matter went to a vote! No politician of any colour


or progressive about spending more money on interest payments on the UK’s credit card than on educating our children, the legacy left to us by Labour in Westminster. On the specific issue of the


as we have seen in Spain and Greece. Without swift and decisive


such a c tion i sn’ t ta ken


rise and protect those on lower incomes, such as a rise in the income tax threshold of £1,000, which will take nearly 900,000 people in the UK out of paying tax altogether, with plans to increase the threshold further so that no-one pays tax on the first £10,000 they earn. And the state pension will


Election. There can be no doubt that


sorting out Labour’s mess will be difficult, but it is something that


Unfortunately a rise in VAT has to be part of that process. Kirsty Williams AM/Roger Williams MP Brecon & Radnorshire


A fool and his money are soon parted


THE Roman goddess ‘Julia Moneta’ was creat e d to


the


- a system that existed previously throughout the millenia. It disposed of the cutting


neccessity of


d i sp en se ba r ter


i n system


o rder wit h


use today. Printing more


off a pig’s leg and exchanging it for a sheep’s leg and so on! True money is gold


and silver which held in reserve supports the value of the printed pap er money we


are wiped out paper money be comes valueless as we have seen in the past in Russia and Germany after World War I. Millions of


and marks would barely buy a loaf of bread. If


productive employment and


goods worldwide then we become wealthy.


a nation has full expor t s


those roubles


devaluation. When those reserves


increases its If millions


working and living off government ‘hand- outs’ we soon ‘go down the tube.’ This tragically is what has happened over the past two decades. The big question is:


debt? Does it go to the International Money Fund of where? Back two centuries


“Where do we owe all


these billions of are not


owed this country. Should we not do the


standard - that’s what it’s all about,


ago the United States ‘wrote off’ the billions of pounds of debt it


ads tell you that. John A Ottewell Adelaide Gardens Brecon


Living with ME


(B&R, July 8 edition), I would like to thank Ms Spittal of Sennybridge for highlighting the fact that ME is a debilitating illness and should not be seen as a temporary illness which is overcome with


recuperation. By many, it is still regarded


as a ‘minor’ illness only used by the lazy as an excuse not to work or do anything. I have been a sufferer for


eight years and it has ruined my life. Being a workaholic and contracting this illness


a serious bout of E-Coli, ME changed my life drastically. I lost my job , my


independence, my dignity. The benefits system was a


Benef it the gover nment Incapacity


nightmare to comprehend as neither myself or any of my family had ever had to rely on it. The amount of


after rest and


ALTHOUGH I admire Kate Evans for doing what she did as


a previous ME sufferer


expects you to live on is a joke. Especially when I am expected to still pay my rent and council tax out of it. The medical profession still do not want to know about this illness, in my experience. I was diagnosed in 2002 and more or less told to get on with it. For a while I was wheelchair


of bed is a major effort. I forget my medication but only realize when I have pills left over after the month. I forget to eat, I have falls, I


a ‘waster’ etc., I try to get on with my life as well as I can. But some days, just to get out


ever got was from a herbalist, whom, incidentally, diagnosed the illness long before my GP. There is no follow on treatment, no care, nothing. Unless one badgers the GP week in week out, and if you have ME you don’t want to or don’t have the energy to do this. Due to people thinking I am


bound when outside my home, but my pride forced me to overcome this. I walk with a stick now which is just as undignified in my eyes. The only ‘compassion’ I


your energy, it affects your brain too. It is, I have been told, only a few chromosomes away from being MS. The symptoms are very, very


again for bringing this dreadful illness to light. Maybe people will see us d1fferently. Mrs C Price Llanfaes Brecon


Security of supply


BEACAUSE the power generated from wind farms is so unpredictable, they will never give us security of supply. Also, the claim by the developers of wind generators for saving on CO2 emissions has an aura of


about it and should be taken as such! To be sure, if the UK should suddenly from the face of


disappear


would hardly be any significant reduction in global CO2 emissions simply because our contribution is less then two per cent, so who is kidding who here? Additionally, because fossil


the Earth, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ there


senseless plans to build even more wind farms, and all this at the consumers’ expense. Indeed, our so-called representatives are like Lemmings rushing toward the cliff edge. Dave Haskell Newchapel Road Boncath Pembs


stations have to serve as back-up when the wind is not blowing at the right speed, and when such back-up plant is run below peakload, this can be very uneconomical and can actually result in more CO2 emissions. France and Sweden, with intelligent foresight,


fuelled power A note to contributors


gradually diminishing because of age coupled with the lack of planning and funding, wind power will never fill this great gap, never in a million years - as a result the reality of brownouts and indeed blackouts steadily approaches like a


have placed security of supply at the heart of their energy policy, and this is what our so- called representatives should have ensured. With our coal and nuclear power plants


If you have opinions to share why not e-mail us a letter to theeditor@brecon-radnor.co.uk or post it to The Editor, The Brecon and Radnor Express, 11 The Bulwark, Brecon LD3 7AE. If you are writing about a letter or story previously printed please state the date of the paper that contained the item. Please try to keep your letters to a maximum of 500 words in length. All letters MUST include, a daytime telephone number and FULL NAME AND ADDRESS for the writer, although we will withhold those details if you ask us. The editor’s decision on whether to publish letters is final and letters may be edited for legal or grammatical reasons and length.


thief in the night. And yet we are seeing more and more


for other people’s lives and now I can’t run my own. Thank you, Ms Spittal, once


as well as run a home. I was in an important


job,


have mini blackouts and forget where I am or why I am there, the list is endless. Not only does ME affect


similar in the onset. When one has MS, one gets taken care of well. With ME......not so. I worked 50-70 hours a week


responsible Summer concert a success


PARENTS, staff and friends of Crickhowell High School were treated to a summer concert just recently with students from the High School performing a range of musical items which covered the


Mozart and Haydn through to Snow Patrol and Led Zeppelin. The first half of the concert


full spectrum from


featured members of the school orchestra (pictured above with Vicky Walker) as well as a number of solo performances from Peter Letson, Sophie Davies, Maya Fryer and Ben Evans. After the interval, when refreshments were available to buy to support St Peter’s School in Namwendwa, Uganda,


second half gave way to a number of songs from various


the


guitar and vocal combinations. Honey McKenna and Rachel


numbers. The evening reached a fitting finale with the jazz band, led by Henry Galletta and Jessica Harrison, performing ‘Take Five’, Summer Time’ and a rousing version of Road Jack’.


‘Hit Welcome back Glenys!


THE July meeting of Abercraf WI began with the singing of Jerusalem in Welsh and the President’s welcome to members, especially to Glenys Evans after her recent illness. Speaker for the evening was Peter Rees-Jones the secretary of


South Wales Orchid Society. He has been a great admirer of orchids for many years and this was obvious in the way he spoke about them. Whe n Mr s


telephone she mentioned that she had just thrown her ‘very sick’ orchid in the bin! Mr Rees-Jones asked her to it


retrieve


meeting so that he could ‘diagnose’ the problem. After following his instructions


improving and has sprouted a new leaf! Meanwhile,


the orchid is and bring it to the indeed


previously arranged mystery trip saw members arrive in Aberystwyth


the WI’s arrangements with him over


Ty l e r ma d e the


the


for lunch followed by a ride on one of the Great Little Trains of Wales through the Rheidol Valley to Devil’s Bridge, a journey of about 11 miles through some incredibly beautiful scenery. Members also enjoyed a walk


around at Devil’s Bridge before returning to the coach and being driven towards Carmarthen and to a pub in Banc-y-Felin where an evening meal was much enjoyed before the final journey home. The President thanked Mrs Tyler


Abercraf WI, please telephone Jane Pugh, on 01639-843991 or Iris Lewis on 01639 730364. The


Lesser Hall, Abercrave Welfare Hall on the first Friday of the month at 7pm, meetings recommencing in September.


Breakfast meeting


BRECON Chamber of Trade’s nex t me et i n g


breakfast meeting on Thursday, August 12 at The George, Brecon. Starting at 8am and


ending at 9am just in time


to get to work, it will include breakfast


for businesses for


i s a


all provided by the hotel. Chamber of Trade


Fo r m o r e o n memb er sh ip


se cre t a r y Davi d Brockwell says: “The meeting is open to those on the Chamber email list who are paid-up members of Brecon Chamber of Trade or those wishing to join on the day.


for the remainder of 2010 or for those needing to renew their memberships please email treasurer, Zoe Hood at zhood@leed sbuildingsociety.co.uk or call president Ian De n t


610710. o n 0 1 8 7 4 fe es group congregate in the joining the classic Snow Patrol


Neill sang beautifully and Joe Conlan led his band through two


producing and unable to pay for imports with high unemployment, we are in one hell of a mess, ie the working class population of Great Britain. Back to the gold


the TV


same? If we


a r e n o t just has to be done.


formed part of the Lib Dem manifesto


in future be re-linked to the rise in wages, not inflation, so gone are the days of insulting increases of 75p that we saw under Labour. These two key pol icies


at the General


to nearly the total annual budget of the National Assembly for Wales; and we now know from Lord Mandelson’s memoirs that Labour’s Chancellor Alistair Darling planned to raise VAT anyway! Liberal Democrats to offset


measures the VAT That extra debt is equivalent secured


Learning about the dangers of fire


Y GORLAN, the after school club at Ysgol y Bannau held a holiday club during the last week of July. Throughout the week they participated in a lot of activities which included a visit from Brecon Fire Service officers. During the visit


learned about fire safety within the home. Anwen Peters, chairperson of


teach our children all aspects of safety. We were very pleased that the Fire Service visited us and showed the children the dangers of playing with fire. They were also shown how important it is to


the club told The Brecon & Radnor Express: “It


is very important to the children


assess the fire risks within people’s homes and ensure that adequate smoke alarms are fitted. “If anyone would like a visit


added: “It is good to teach children about the dangers from fire but we also need to inform adults of these dangers and what to do in the event of a fire. “We are able to arrange visits to


have smoke alarms fitted and other dangers around the home.” Station manager, Neil Evans


please contact us on 0800 1691234 and we will be able to arrange a convenient time for a visit.”


Brecon Fire Service officers with children from Y Gorlan


Triumph for father and son


LAST Sunday saw the annual Brecon RFC Petanque Open Doubles and with the weather on the player’s


teams entered, the scene was set for a superb day of boules. The morning session was split


competition was played at a very high standard, and eventually it was the father and son pairing from Brecon RFC Petanque Paul and Tom Jones who came through to win the overall Brecon doubles


aft e r n oo n ’ s c u p side and 16


into two leagues with the top eight teams going into the main cup competition and the bottom eight going into the plate. Th e


event with the other Brecon RFC Petanque pairing of John Lloyd and Rob Thomas winning the Plate competition. The whole day was a huge


now for over 25 years and if anyone is interested in having a game of boules please visit the clubs website at www.breconrfc petanqueclub.weebly.com or call Jim on (01874) 611258.


success and was superbly organised by Jim Page, and with more teams and more players playing the game of petanque the future looks bright for Brecon RFC Petanque Club. Brecon RFC has been going


Members of Honddu Dippers by the riverside picking up litter diving for debris


wearing waders and digging below water level to extract some of the trolleys and after all the dry weather and low river level the perverse weather bucketed down just days before the event,” she told The Brecon & Radnor Express. “Articles like shopping trolleys


by Morrisons Supermarkets who promote the Action Earth Day on a nationwide basis and who sponser the


environmental projects. “Litter picking is the normal


grants that help kick-start


pets and wildlife. “The event


fishermen,


care group, have been dipping, dabbling and diving in the River Usk - “this time endeavouring to dig out a number of deeply embedded shopping trolleys,” said group member Barbara Jackson “This year’s


event involved


ONCE again Brecon’s Honddu Dippers,


the voluntary river activity of but invariably our haul


all manner of articles including road signs,


in Brecon do care about the effect litter has on our environment. “Many individuals collect litter


even car enginees,” she added. “We know that a lot of people


every day, but if they would like to be part of a group then we’d be delighted if some new volunteers would like to join us – young or old - as all fitness levels (or not) are accommodated.” Meanwhi le, general store


are extremely dangerous when in the river - they corrode and break up very slowly, leaving sharp spikes which injure children,


itself was supported sofas, bicycles and


the Honddu Dippers includes


Dippers have done a great job.” For more on Honddu Dippers,


contact Barbara 01874 623464/ Mick Hobday on 01874 665487/ Keith Wilbud on 01874 625410 or Brecon Volunteer Bureau on 01874 625393.


manager of Brecon Morrisons, Tyrone Hibbert, said: “Morrisons has helped fund hundreds of Action Earth projects across the UK but I am especially pleased that our support has helped kick starts projects


in Brecon. The Honddu Ducking and they can be paramedic Nigel Rees Brecon based deputy


resources and at the same time takes healthcare to the patient rather than bringing the patient to the healthcare. “Clearly some people do


role comes because


it releases into


its own those


on behalf of all those on the trip for her hard work in making the day so enjoyable. For those interested in


Pictured are those taking part in the Race for Life Springing into life for race


ON Sunday, July 18, 2010, several members of staff from Brecon High School travelled to Cardiff to take part in the mile kilometre Race for Life. In particular, the staff competed for their


colleague Mandy Lyons who was recently diagnosed with bowel cancer and currently undergoing treatment, as well as for those loved


ones that have been lost to some form of cancer and for those who have been recently diagnosed. Congratulations go out to Mandy who took


part and completed the five kilometre Race for Life and to Usk House who supplied the high school staff with a mini bus to take part in this important event. In excess of £1,000 fhas now been raised as a result of the charity run.


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