Trefin Hostel
The Youth Hostel Association closed about 40 hostels in 2006. One of them is at Trefin, north of St David’s, Pembrokeshire. Here the building was the former village school, but owned by the Presbyterian Church of Wales, with part of the building being the village hall. With half of the houses in Trefin now holiday property, this community struggles to stay alive. It has lost its shop and also the chapel, built in 1786, which sits next to the hostel and still contains its gallery and all its splendid furniture.
A chance discovery of the youth hostel’s closure by Chris and Sue gave them the chance to seek a tenancy for the hostel and they now have a lease until 2017. They have a vision of providing sustainable, affordable holidays for all. They are linked into the Independent Hostel Guide, which also maintains the ethos of simple basic accommodation at low cost, to which all are welcome. See:
www.independenthostelguide.co.uk
Visitors write glowingly of the hospitality and quality of The Old School Hostel and of how Chris and Sue share their concern for the environment.
www.theoldschoolhostel.co.uk
Jeremy Martineau
Delivering drugs
Dulverton Medical Practice covers a very large part of Exmoor. The surgery saw the need for a prescription delivery service, especially for the remoter areas so this volunteer service was set up in June 2006. Three years later we have a very successful service with an amazing group of volunteer drivers. The surgery provides the car, a Subaru Justy, which it insures and maintains. The volunteers give of their time, which is invaluable.
There was a lot of trial and error initially to work out the best way to divide the routes up to make it as logical as possible. It is a huge area and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in particular, there are large distances to travel between the drops. The drivers have found, over time, it is easier to stick to one day and learn that route which therefore reduces the time they are out delivering. We deliver Tuesday to Friday and go out in twos for
company and safety. We deliver to 460 individual properties and to three of the village shops.
We do not carry controlled drugs because of the complications and the need for a detailed paper trail. A database has been created, which we carry with us, for each property, with a map, directions and details of where to leave the prescription. Prescriptions are checked by the volunteers before leaving the surgery.
The service is a lifeline to the elderly and infirm but in this rural area it has been invaluable also for those that work. Anyone on the surgery books can have home delivery if they wish and for those working out of the area it has meant they haven’t had to take any time off work to pick up a prescription.
Vicky Belam, Exebridge, Somerset
22
www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk
rural
communities
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32