Cilgerran

Watch for changes, this site is under review and may appear radically different in the not too distant future.  Those who have been following progress may wish to make comments about changes they would like to see.

Download the Community Council Meeting Minutes for Monday the 16th February in Microsoft Word Format.

Any problems in viewing please contact us and we will be happy to help.

These photos were taken by Sandra Kozian, they are of Cilgerran and the surrounding area.

Click to enlarge image

Is there a future for this website , if so what are it’s objectives?.   The webmaster would be interested to hear from people who seek out, or stumble upon this website.   Grateful thanks to Millie Thomas ,who has asked in the forum, for some questions to be better defined in order that a response can be made to each point.  The following amendments will hopefully enable Millie, and others, to respond to numbered points 

1.  The original intention of this site was twofold.  It set out to provide a useful tool for local people and also to present Cilgerran to the world.  Should it be a localised facility enabling residents to have a say in community affairs, should it be a tool to encourage the world to take greater interest in the area, or should it combine these two reasons to exist.?. 

2.  Cilgerran people do not seem anxious to encourage development or changes within this community backwater.  Does the village seek growth, and encourage change with the possibility of enhanced prosperity as a result, or are residents content with the status quo?

3.  Local people seem not to want to use this site to their advantage.  Do people who live here want to publicise their activities and encourage others to take part? 

4.  Businesses in and around Cilgerran seem not to want to use this site for publicity purposes, perhaps they have sufficient trade not to need sites such as this.  Do local traders want to obtain more work resulting in greater sales and/or profit or are they content with the current level of business?

5.   Farmers often speak as if they are not content with the help and encouragement they receive and seem to have strong views about what happens on their land.   Land grants. sheep worrying, badger culling, TB in cattle,  rights for walkers to roam etc. are just a few of the issues which might give some concern.  Are farmers and landowners in the area fairly represented within Cilgerran and respected by others in the community?

6.  The local hunt has existed for three hundred years.  It continues to attract has a strong following , so why are hunt dates and reports not featured on this community website?.   

7.  Even though the public coracle centre exhibition has now been moved a few miles up river to Cenarth the annual international race day still takes place here.  Why are there no entries from coracle owners and enthusiasts?

8.  The annual festive week is very popular and yet, except for the programme of events, there are few mentions and very few pictures of it on this site, why is that?

9.  The river Teifi is world famous and anglers come here from all parts to catch the salmon and sewin (sea trout).  Local fishing clubs , and guides, are missing an  opportunity for publicity.  They never share their experiences of river or sea catches, sightings, events,  why is that?

10.   This site is not owned, but is sponsored by, the community council.  Are community councillors fully aware of the wishes, needs, aspirations etc. of the community they serve, if so why are  their entries limited to minutes of past meetings? 

11.  There is no evidence that councillors are looking at, or keen to support this site which they sponsor.  Do community councillors take  any notice of entries posted on this  website? 

12.  Maybe the problem is that broadband signal strength is poor because BT telephone equipment here cannot deliver more than 512Kbps.  Are those villagers who are connected to broadband content with their linespeed and able to access this site without difficulty?

 13.  Statistics show that this site is being visited by people from across the world and yet none of them are commenting.  What do people who see this website and have never been to Cilgerran make of what they have seen?

14.  Tourists are regularly seen, and known to enjoy hospitality, here in Cilgerran. What do those visitors think about what they found here and the way they were treated whilst visiting the village?.

15.  Does anyone expect this website to have a Welsh language content, and how important is it in a community such as this where Welsh is the first language for a significant percentage of the population?

16.  In an area where Welsh is the first language, yet the majority of residents do not speak it, is it appropriate for children to speak Welsh at school?  Do local children who attend Welsh schools actually use it outside of school for purposes other than conversing with elderly relatives?

17.  Recently there have been meetings designed to include teenagers, sometimes seen as a nuisance by local residents, in various activities of theor choosing.  What do teenagers who live in this village think about the way they are treated and are their views and aspirations being properly taken into account? 

18.  There seems no doubt that the majority of  local children and teenagers are competant computer users with personal opinions and yet none have expressed their views on the forum, why is that?

19.  An organisation called “Localeyes”  (see www.localeyes.org) seeks to collate and act upon community views and the need for local councils to be responsive to community needs.   They attract funding to achieve the desired aims, sometimes from the communities represented.   Should this village, through the community council, be signed up to such an organisation?

20.  If you think this website is a complete waste of time and space the webmaster would like to know how, and why, you reached that conclusion.

The above list contains 20 points for discussion (separated as requested by Millie) and this is by no means a definitive list.  Additional submissions are welcomed and responses encouraged, either through the forum, or by commenting directly in response to this item.   Each post on this site has a “comment” facility, why not click on “comment” below and make your views known , include the number of the point to which you are responding if it helps to clarify your comment.

I have added a calendar to the site, this can be found by clicking the ‘Events’ hyperlink at the top right hand side or in the sidebar on the right.

Also remember that we have an online forum where you can have your say and talk about your interests.  This is located in the right hand sidebar.  If you have any questions regarding the forum please click here

Download the Community Council Meeting Minutes for Monday the 12th January in Microsoft Word Format.

Any problems in viewing please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Recently researching in the local library I came across a reference to an antient(sic) Cilgerran dagger picture. I thought that the National Museum of Wales at Cardiff might have some information on where it was found-if it was- and where is it today. They had no knowledge of the dagger,I have checked the Cilgerran web site but again nothing! Does anyone know the story behind this intruiging find

(Click picture to enlarge)

click to read more »

Download the Community Council Meeting Minutes for Monday the 17th November in Microsoft Word Format

Any problems in viewing please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Did you know that photocard driving licences have an expiry date and need renewing

Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of photo card driving licences expire.

Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence.

They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed – even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70.

The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as the they start to expire.  Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said ‘most’ drivers believed their licences were for life.

A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photo cards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item ‘4b’

They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences – unlike the old paper ones – expire after a set period and have to be renewed. To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to  pay £17.50 to renew their card – a charge which critics have condemned as a ’stealth tax’ and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years.

Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding.

With another 300,000 photo card licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.

At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version. Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card licence is a series of dates and details – each one numbered. Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means.

The date’s significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that ‘4b’ means ‘licence valid to’.  Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence – that is until his or her 70th birthday.

A total of 25million new-style licences have been issued but – motoring experts say – drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years.  Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving. But the DVLA says they could be charged with ‘failing to surrender their licence’, an offence carrying a £1,000 fine.

AA president, Edmund King said: ‘It is not generally known that photo card licences expire: there appears to be a lack of information that people will have to renew these licences. ‘People think they have already paid them for once over and that is it. ‘It will come as a surprise to motorists and a shock that they have to pay an extra £17.50.’

The AA called on the Government to use the annual £450million from traffic enforcement fines to offset the renewal charge.

We have setup an on-line forum for the users of this site. This is an area where you can talk about what you want to happen to this site, as well as an area to talk about what is going on in the village and find out information.

You can access this from the “forum” hyperlink at the top right of the screen or this link here

Before you can start you will have to register an account, this will only take a minute or two, after that you can use all the features of the forum.  If you need any help contact us at info@cilgerran.info or use the FAQ

Thanks,
Pete