Narberth Ladies Probus group

Members of the Narberth Ladies Probus group enjoyed an excellent Christmas dinner in December at the Plas Hyfryd Country Hotel and enjoyed the festive occasion. The recent annual general meeting wound up an interesting year of varying activities, including trips to the National Trust property, Llanerchaeron Estate, Aberaeron and Cardiff Bay, with tours of the Millennium Centre and the Legislative Assembly Building. In addition, speakers are invited to the monthly lunch meetings. Existing members come from a wide area of West Wales, including Ammanford, Haverfordwest and Carmarthen, as well as the more local areas, such as Narberth, Whitland and St Clears. They would also like to see more members from South Pembrokeshire at their meetings. Plans are being made for another active year and they would welcome more new members. They meet at Plas Hyfryd Country Hotel, Narberth, at 12 noon, on the first Friday of each month. Ladies who are interested in obtaining further information about meetings, talks, social outings and membership can telephone Mrs. Helene Davies (01834) 861052 or Mrs Margot Parker (01834) 89147.

Narberth, Templeton and Reynalton United Reformed Churches

The holy communion service at Reynalton URC on Sunday at 9.30 am will be led by Rev. Nanette Lewis Head, of Tenby. A warm welcome to all. Croeso cynnes i bawb.

General Knowledge Fun Quiz Evening

The Narberth RNLI Branch will hold a general knowledge Fun Quiz at Narberth Rugby Club on Friday, January 25, at 7 for 7.30 pm. Well-known Pembrokeshire sports personality and former teacher Bill Carne will act as quiz master for the evening, with the emphasis on enjoyment. Teams of two or more may enter and tickets priced £7 each, to include a buffet, are available from committee members. Private tables will be available for anyone who would like to make up a group to attend the quiz. Tickets and further information can be obtained from branch secretary Barbara Wilson on (01834) 860880, treasurer John Davies on (01834) 861115, vice-chairman Graham Searle on (01437) 541284, chairman David Gibbs on (01834) 860535 or other committee members.

Meat Draw

Winners of the Narberth RFC Supporters' Club meat draw this week are as follows: beef - John Owen; lamb - Peter Spacey; pork - John Davies. The Supporters' Club raises money each week on behalf of the Rugby Club through the meat draw. Supporters interested in having a ticket at £1 per ticket with three chances to win a joint of meat for the weekend, should contact Shelley Morris on (01834) 861897 or any member of the supporters' committee. The draw takes place every Friday evening.

Rugby Fixtures

Tomorrow (Saturday), Narberth are away to Corus in Division One West of the ASDA Welsh National League. The supporters' bus will leave the clubhouse at 12.45 pm. Bus tickets priced £6 can be obtained from the club steward, Anne Lonsdale, by telephoning (01834) 860462, or from Geoff Morgan on (01834) 860742. Narberth Athletic are away to Waunarlwydd in the Polypipe Civils Championship West Wales Premier League and Narberth Youth are home to Milford Haven. Kick-off for all matches is at 2.30 pm.

NARBERTH AFC

Narberth AFC will be holding a bingo night, with cash prizes, by kind permission of the rugby club at its clubhouse on Monday night. Eyes down at 8 pm. Narberth Reserves beat Kilgetty Reserves 3-2 in the Reserve Cup at Narberth last Saturday. The ball was sponsored by Williams Vision. Bonus ball lottery winners were Abby and Alex and Colin Hallwood with number 43.

CHURCH SERVICES

St. Andrew's, Narberth: Sunday, 10 am Sung Eucharist; Wednesday, 10 am Holy Eucharist, 4.15 pm Club X. Holy Cross, Robeston Wathen: Sunday, 11.30 am Holy Eucharist.

Grace Church

Most people are busy, the issue is what are you busy about? Life can be hectic, similar to the man at the circus spinning plates on poles and trying to keep them from falling to the ground. We all need to be able to balance the demands of life. We need to maintain our Spiritual balance. Where we grow in grace and in knowledge of Jesus Christ. Growth in understanding, but also in character. We need to maintain our physical balance, where we glorify God in our body. Imagine a game of cricket where the fielder is shouting 'I've got it, I've got it' and the ball flies past to the boundary. The fielder then says to the bowler 'Sorry about that, my body does not want to do what the brain tells it to'. To which the bowler replies 'I can understand that, my body and brain have not spoken in years'. We need to maintain our emotional balance. 'The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self- control'. We need to maintain our relational balance. Finally, we need to maintain a mental balance. As a man thinks, so he is. We need to filter our thoughts. So draw a diagram of your life, and simply ask it some questions concerning where you need to regain and maintain your balance. Also, a heart felt determination to make the rest of your life count. Grace Church have their offices at the Court House, Market Square, Narberth. From today (Friday) to Sunday, they are away together for a church weekend near Cardiff.

Narberth film society

The first of the new year's films faced stiff competition, not only from severe weather conditions, but also from the BBC's latest costume drama. We're used to the former in January, but well done everybody who braved the weather and forsook the second episode of 'Sense and Sensibility' to watch 'Amazing Grace'. In compensation, all who attended the 'amazing' film got equivalent amounts of handsome leading lords and ladies (there was even a teeny-tiny bit of romance) and costume, but for drama, Jane Austen's romantic fantasy was a poor match for the real life events leading up to the abolition of slavery which took place in William Pitt's government at the close of the 18th century. Ioan Gruffudd won over all the ladies in the audience (and presumably most of the men), with his sensitive portrayal of William Wilberforce setting out as an earnest, religious and very young MP to persuade a reluctant parliament to outlaw what he saw as a totally inhumane and hideous practice. It was to be a long drawn out process taking 20 years of his life and health, and for which he is commemorated in Westminister Abbey where he lies beside his lifelong friend, William Pitt the Younger. You would be mistaken if you thought this film would be spent looking at harrowing scenes of human degradation, abuse and sadism. Director Michael Apted opted for a much more subtle approach. No need for common place gratuitious violence here. He relied entirely on reportage - as Wilberforce before him did to win over the government, one after another of verifiable, gruesome first hand reports of horrific conditions aboard ships and unimaginable cruelty on the plantations. It was hearing these authentic letters which made the nerves jangle and the hair stand on end, and made every individual's imagination work overtime in vivid technicolour. Even so, it took 20 years to persuade parliament to vote for humanity over avarice, and that wasn't without a bit of creative accounting and backroom politics, but I won't give the plot away. A final mention for two much-loved actors who put in memorable performances. Michael Gambon, who played Opposition Leader Charles Fox, and Albert Finney as John Newton, a reformed ex-slave ship captain troubled by his conscience, who just happened to write the famous hymn in the title. So now you know - 'Amazing.' This Sunday's film (January 20) is 'The History Boys' (15 cert) with Tenby's local boy, Clive Merrison, and Frances De La Tour (of 'Rising Damp'). Originally written for the stage by Alan Bennett, it follows an unruly class of bright history students as they get up to well... what ever students get up to at Oxbridge, in that strange journey called Education. Doors open at 7 pm for coffee and famous film society cakes, show starts at 7.30 pm. All welcome - further enquiries ring 861047.

Christian Community Church

This Sunday's service will be in Bloomfield House Seminar Room at 10 am. The speakers will be John and Eryl Cooke from the Living Way Peniel Church in Tonypandy. A warm welcome to all.

Cricket Club

Winners of the National Lottery bonus ball draw organised by the ladies committee of Narberth Cricket Club this week were: Group A - Arwyn Bowen; Group B - no winner.

Narberth RFC 100 Plus Club

Winners of the December draw were: £30 - David 'Six' Davies, of Carmarthen (number 18); £20 - David Thomas, of Ludchurch (number 39) and £10 - Brian Toms, of Narberth (number 112). Anyone wishing to be a member can still join. Annual membership is £10, which is for the 2007/ 08 season. Enquiries should be addressed to Peter Spacey (01834) 861875 or Anne Lonsdale (01834)

GLANRHYD BAPTIST CHURCH

This Sunday, the service at 2 pm will be conducted by Rev. Hywel Brown, Molleston.

TEMPLETON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION  

Templeton Community Association held their January meeting last week. The committee had received many congratulations for a very successful Christmas Supper which had been enjoyed by many. It was noted that some of the companies that had donated towards the supper were not mentioned last month. Many apologies for this. They were The Boars Head, Templeton; Andrew Rees Butchers, Wisebuys and Jack Williams, all from Narberth; Summerhill Farm Shop and Elizabeth Vaughan. Fliers have gone out to the village about the meeting being held on the January 29, at 6.30 pm, to discuss the continuity of projects mentioned in the 2005 Action Plan to improve community life. Members look forward to meeting as many as possible and to a full Church Hall Although a lot of work had gone into the erection of the Christmas lights, the committee were very disappointed. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they were unable to replace broken lights and update the power supplies this year. Arrangements have already been made to purchase and erect better lighting for next year.  The Heritage Group will be holding a concert at the Church Hall on the April 16. For any enquiries concerning the concert and any items for inclusion in the March newsletter, please contact Sue Lloyd on 01834 861165.

Watch Heineken Cup matches live at Narberth RFC

With the possibility of some rugby and football matches being postponed this weekend due to weather conditions, rugby fans will have a chance to watch some competitive action live at Narberth Rugby Club on Sunday. Both the Ospreys and the Blues have big games in the Heineken Cup, as the Ospreys are away to Bourgoin at 1 pm and the Blues travel across the Severn Bridge to play Bristol at the Memorial Ground at 3 pm. The Narberth clubhouse will remain open throughout the afternoon so the rugby supporters can watch both season-defining matches.