Bee Friendly Tenby: To gain bee friendly status, Tenby needs to change the way the grass in the parks is looked after.

Rather than mowing quite frequently and leaving the grass where it falls, a special mower will enable the county council to pick up the cuttings and pile them in a corner or under the hedge. They will also be mowing less often. This has two benefits – the grass will not be quite so fertile and will enable wildflowers to grow that are at the moment outcompeted by the grass, and the piles of cuttings also provide homes for pollinators and other insects. So, if you see a change, it is for all our benefit, as if we don’t have pollinators, it is very hard to grow food. Volunteers are needed to do regular counts of the insects in a small patch of ground in each of the parks around Tenby, so get in touch on [email protected] if you are interested.

Tenby Arts Club returns

Today, Friday, January 13, Tenby Arts Club is back in St Johns Church Hall on Warren Street at the new time of 7pm. The season starts with a performance by Fishguard Folk and promises to be excellent. Everyone is welcome, the very reasonable entrance includes tea, coffee and biscuits after the performance.

Next Friday, January 20, Michelle Fecci-Evans will speak about her time at the Great British Bake-Off and may even manage a demonstration of her skills. All are welcome, the details are the same as above.

Tabletop Sale and Swap

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 14, there is a tabletop sale from 2pm to 4pm in Augustus Place Community Hall. You can book a table for £5 for whatever you would like (07811 359 686 or [email protected] ) , or you can donate things to the central tables, which will be available for £1 a carrier bag. Please come along and help to recycle and reuse as much as possible. Refreshments will be available.

Poetry in the Park

This is on Sunday, January 15 at 3pm and is actually in the Old Chapel on Lower Frog St while the weather is inclement… but everyone is still welcome to come along and share some poetry or just enjoy what other people share – it can be your own or other people’s poetry.

Tenby Food Hub

If you or anyone you know would like a selection of fresh vegetables, fruit or salad, head to the Old Chapel on Lower Frog Street from Tuesday, January 17 and put your order in by Thursday 19th. Each selection costs £5 and will be delivered to the Old Chapel on Thursday 26th ready for you to collect after 1pm. They are supplied by Fresh and Fruity of Milford, who grow some of the produce themselves. Put your order in the box at the back of the café using the form and envelopes provided and put your cash payment in the envelope too – this goes straight to Fresh and Fruity when they deliver.

The January Challenge

A group call 64 Million Artists organises a daily art-based challenge for every day of January each year, as this month is often a bit grey, and they think that everyone should enjoy being creative, whether they think they are ‘good’ at art or not. You can find the challenges on 64millionartists.com

Today’s challenge is to ‘colour in your singing’. What colours do you associate with different sounds, notes, feelings and emotions? Sing, hum or listen to a tune and colour in as you go.

Tenby Warm Spaces

These are all waiting to welcome you for a hot drink, a chat, maybe a game of something, and on a Tuesday in the Salvation Army or a Wednesday in Church House, soup and a roll. Augustus Place Hall is open on Monday mornings and Fridays, St Johns is open on Wednesday mornings, and Deer Park Church Hall is open on Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings. The Old Chapel will be reopening on Tuesday, January 17 and will then be open Tuesday to Saturday 11 to 4pm.

The Great Winter Get Together

This is run by the Jo Cox Foundation in memory of the MP. Jo Cox said: “I will not live in a country where thousands of people are living lonely lives, forgotten by the rest of us.” While in Parliament, one of Jo Cox’s key goals was to turbo-charge the response to the loneliness crisis. She was touched by hearing of people’s isolation when doorknocking in her constituency and had her own experience of loneliness during her time at university. That’s what the Great Winter Get Together is all about. Kicking off on ‘Blue Monday’, from 16-29 January 2023 around the country, lots of events are being run to help people meet. Here in Tenby, we are lucky that there are lots of Warm Spaces running each week to go to and connect with people. Please go to one, chat to someone and give someone the opportunity to chat to you!

Dog Poo

Finding this on the pavement is always distressing, and to encourage people to bag and take away their dog’s poo, it would be great to have a few signs at critical points around the town. Entries are called for a poster that could be used as a sign to remind people to clean up after their pets. Send entries in to [email protected] or drop them in to Tenby Town Council office in the De Valence Pavilion on Upper Frog Street.