your rhymney valley - Nov/ Dec 2011

www.yourrhymneyvalley.co.uk | To advertise please call: 01685 845 091

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local community & advertising magazine

Delivered FREE to 10,000 homes & businessesin the following areas: Rhymney | Abertysswg |

Pontlottyn | Fochriw | Tirphil | Brithdir |New Tredegar | Aberbargoed and Bargoed.

Also Covering Deri and Pentwyn

for local people, about local people,produced by local people

Nov / Dec 2011 - Issue No.5www.yourrhymneyvalley.co.uk

SANDWICH BARPontlottynMerchant Street

Call today:01685 84 33 33

Meal Deal Offer:

Opening TimesMon - Thurs 8:30am- 8pmFriday 8:30am - 5:30pm

Hot Dog & Can £2Burger & Can £1.90Cheese Burger & Can £2Bacon Roll & Can £2Meal Deal All Day

Sweets | Bread | Milk | CakesAlso available...

Buffets &Catering

Christmas Meal DealAny medium roll

Bottle of popBag of Crisps

£3.25Hot Turkey & Stuffing Rolls Available

FREEDeliveryorders over£105 days a week

Community: won -Covanta: 0

60 Years and still singing strong...Gwent Police - on your bike!Christmas Lights - how safe are yours ?

Read more inside...

FREE


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your rhymney valleyWelcome to your 5th issue of

“ your rhymney valley “.

We are very passionate aboutall things local, including thepeople, the businesses and thecommunity we live in.

We hope to bring youthe very best of what theRhymney valley and surroundingareas have to offer.

Throughout this magazine youwill find information from yourlocal painter to delicious recipes,also why not sit back andhave a go at one of ourcrossword / Sudoko puzzles.Have you ever found yourselfsearching for a certain number,well we have included usefulcontacts too, just for you.

The views expressed by anyadvertiser / author in this issueare not those of

“your rhymney valley”. If youwould like to get in touchplease contact us as below:

24 Edmund StreetPontlottynBargoedCF81 9RR

Tel: 01685 845 091

Email:[email protected]

Local Police get on their bikes!The

Bargoed andRhymney Neigh-bourhood Policing

Teams are nowusing four newbicycles on theirpatrols through-out their wardsto help cover

more ground,whilst still

remaining visible to the localCommunity.

Inspector Huw Jones, said: “The use ofbicycles have proven to be a success inother areas of Gwent, particularly in theCaerphilly area. The bikes have already

been a talking point for the locals, who arekeen to speak to the officers when they are

on their bikes.

“The four new bicycles will be a benefit tothe officers and compliment the current

patrols. By patrolling on two wheels it willenable officers to get to more hard-to-ac-

cess areas and to approach incidentsquietly.”

Superintendent Jon Burley, said: “We havefound the use of bicycles to be verysuccessful throughout the Caerphilly

Local Policing Unit. Officers are able tocover a large area when they are patrollingon the bikes, yet they are still visible andare able to interact with the community.“ “your rhymney valley” would

like to wish all our readers a

very Merry Christmas


3

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“numerous meal deals available”

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School times special e.g. Beef burger and selectedcan £2 - Bacon roll and a can

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and eat incomfort in

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order any meal atCentral Fish Bar...

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Factory buffets available -competitive prices

DailySpecials

Pontlottyn | Merchant Street01685 841 892 01685 841 237Square Cafe Central Fish Bar

Delivery &

phone orders

Available

“ Wishing all our valued customers a very Merry Christmas ”

Mon - Fri:7:30am - 2:30pm

Sat: 7:30am -12pm

Mon-Thurs: 11:30am-2pm - 5pm-10pm Fri & Sat: 11:30am - 9pm Sun: 6-9pm

Ham, Egg, Chips,Bread & ButterTea or Coffee£3.99

Fresh Cod, Chips & PeasBread & ButterTea or Coffee

£4.75

Italian StyleCoffeeOurSpeciality


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In the year 1951 it was decided thatRhymney should mark the occasion ofthe Festival of Britain by holding aneisteddfod on Saturday November 3rd.During the September of that yearregret was expressed in certainquarters that the town, which had longbeen proud of it’s tradition in choralsinging, was not to be represented inthe male voice choir section of theeisteddfod, so a party of some 30voices was formed to compete, underthe conductorship of Tom Emlyn Owen,in that one event.On competition day the conductor, withGwilym Morris as accompanist, tookhis party to the stage and thesubsequent performance was goodenough to gain the second prize. As aresult of this success and notuninfluenced by the enjoyment eachsinger had experienced thus far, ameeting was called for the followingWednesday – the sole item on theagenda being a discussion on thepossibility of the organisation becomingpermanent. The meeting voted infavour and the first official practice was held on November 15th 1951 in thevestry of Ebenezer Chapel, Twyn Carno, Rhymney.The choir’s first engagement, inFebruary 1952 was a concert inLeamington Spa under the auspices ofthe Welsh Society of that town, but onthat occasion the choir was namelessas no one had thought of giving theparty a title. However, following aconversation between Alcwyn Savageand Gwyn Jones in a car parked at the bottom of Harcourt Place, Rhymney,it was suggested that the choir benamed in memory of the Silures – those

Happy 60th Birthday Rhymney SilurianMale Choir

Continued later on...

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Fit in theChristmas

words...

ChristmasWord Fit


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Merry Christmas

G ThomasHome & GardenImprovements & Maintenance

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Light up your life this

Christmas and nothing else

Follow these basic rules toavoid accidents with lights

Always check Christmaslights for frayed wires,broken sockets or looseconnections

Turn all lights off when you go tobed or go out, as theycould cause a fire


8

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those wild and woolly people who once lived in this area and proved more than amatch for the Romans – and so the “Silurian Singers” were born.The past sixty years has seen the Silurians win the National Eisteddfod of Walesfive times (three of which were consecutively), The Cheltenham Gold Cup, TheCornish Open Championship, the Bath Choral Championship, the RhymneyValley Eisteddfod twice, the Cwmbran Eisteddfod, the Cardigan Eisteddfod andthe Porthcawl Miners Eisteddfod to name but a few. They have regularly featuredon television and radio and were requested to sing before the President of theRepublic of Germany on his State Visit to Wales. A Royal Gala performances,hosted by Sir Terry Wogan, followed with the choir commissioning works by thelate William Mathias and Mervyn Burtch to add to their acclaimed repertoire.The Silurians have travelled extensively throughout Great Britain and Europeraising many tens of thousands of pounds for charities in the process. Their motto

“If we can help we will” serves them well today as it has always been.The Silurian Choir has only ever had four conductors during this period. TomEmlyn Owen, the founder, followed by Glynne Jones and Paul Bailey and, in 1969,Ralph Williams rose from its ranks to take over the baton which he has held forforty-two years – a record in itself! It was under Ralph’s stewardship that the choirwas awarded the W. S. Gwynn Williams award for its achievements andcontribution to Welsh Culture – the first male choir to be so honoured.

Check out the What’s On guide for more details...

Happy 60th Birthday Rhymney SilurianMale Choir - continued...


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The Lord NelsonDelicious Home Cooked Meals For all the family

• Watch LIVE FootballMatches here

Buffets AvailableKids - £2.00 p.p

Finger Buffet - £3 .00p.pKnife ‘n Fork Buffet - £4.00 p.p

Add HomemadeCakes for£1.00 p.p

Buffet Delivery Availablefrom £3.50

Lunchtime

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Mon - Fri 12 - 2:30pmCorn Beef Pie

Chilli Con CarneSpaghetti Bolognaise

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Add a Dessert for a £1.00!

Available throughout Nov & Dec

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Book today: 01685 841 228

Christmas PartyBook your

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Daytime 3 Course Meal£12.95

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Christmas DayLunch

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Sunday LunchChoice of meat,4 vegetables &delicioushomemade gravy

*Booking Advisable* *Take Away Available *

LiveMusicEvery

Saturday


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All In House

Books7 x £100 house and

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Bingo bundle every

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Aaran Carpet Centre

01443 820 282 | 01495 223 588

12 Hanbury Road | Bargoed Town CentreFitted carpet specialists

www.aarancarpets.co.uk

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To mark the 60 years of choral singing , “The Silurian Lounge” in the FarmersArms, Rhymney will be officially opened and within its walls will be displayed thememorabilia collected over these successful years.As well as making itself available for concerts, the Silurian Choir has a veryImportant role within the community, providing a worthwhile hobby as well ascontinuing the male voice tradition. New blood would be more than welcome andthe choir is actively seeking to recruit new members. To this end they have a

“sit in and sing” policy whereby perspective choristers can test the water so tospeak before giving their commitment. Practices are held twice weekly onTuesday and Friday, 7.30pm to 9.00pm in Rhymney Comprehensive SchoolCome along and help the Rhymney Silurians progress into their next sixty years.

15th November 2011

INDIAN TAKEAWAY

48 Commercial Street, Aberbargoed, CF81 9BW

Home DeliveryAvailable

01443 833 372 or 01443 875 111

Special OfferMon-Thurs Only

1 x Chicken Tikka Mosalah1 x Chicken Kurma

1 x Onion Bhajee2 x Pilau Rice1 x Nan Bread1 x Side Salad

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1 x Mint Sauce

Sun-Thurs - 5pm- 12amFri-Sat - 5pm12:30amOpen all Bank Holidays(Inc. Christmas Day & Boxing Day)

Opening times: Only£13.50

Caerphilly Medieval ChristmasMarket 2011

10/12/2011 to 11/12/2011Event Times*: 10:00 - 5:00

03 December 2011Time : 10:30 | Parc Cwm Darran

Thursday 8th toWednesday 28th DecemberPETER PAN CHRISTMAS PANTOBlackwood Miners Institute

01495 227206

Yule love making Yuletide logs!

Have a go at creating festive decorationsusing natural materials, trees and plants.Charge of £2 to make the a log. Booking

required for this event.For further details please telephoneParc Cwm Darran on 01443 875557

What’s On ?


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Little Star Mince Pies Fancy baking - what do you need ?1 x 500g pack frozen shortcrust

pastry, thawed200g (7oz) mincemeat

Caster sugar for sprinklingStar-shaped biscuit cutter

Now off to the shop and see you later On in the magazine

United Valleys Action Group (UVAG) members were shocked but delighted by the sudden news that Covanta has decided to withdraw their incinerator application.This is great news for the local communities and for Wales, and we welcome it asa victory for people power and common sense. UVAG were prepared for a longfight, and were just about to enter an intensive phase of the examinationprocedure with several oral hearings imminent. Now instead we are organisingcelebrations! This fight has brought local communities together in their oppositionto Covanta’s ludicrous proposal, and helped them to regain the fighting spirit thatthe Valleys are renowned for. UVAG would like to thank everyone who has takenpart in the campaign and supported us. We would like to extend special thanks to Friends of the Earth who have supported us tirelessly and unconditionally.Group members have worked incredibly hard over the past year and have puttheir lives on hold to concentrate on this fight. The level of support we have hadfrom local residents has been tremendous and we believe that this has made allthe difference. This solid support showed the strength of feeling that exists hereagainst this incinerator. Now the people of our Valleys communities can lookforward to a future without the threat of a huge polluting incinerator blighting theirlives.

Covanta fought the community and the community won!


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Mountain Ash Inn

3 CourseChristmas Lunch

Available3rd Dec - 23rd Dec

Only£10.99

£5 deposit

Bookings please:01495 724592 or 07773 487 044

Sunday Lunch3 Course Meal

AdultOnly £6.99

ChildOnly £3.49

2 Starters &2 Main Meals

only£10

Choice of meals include: Chicken,Lamb, Curry, Steak

Abertysswg Road | Tredegar | Gwent

Mon - Sat 7pm - 9pmSun - 12 - 3pm

Meal times

8oz Rump Steak £5.998oz Sirloin Steak £7.99

Mixed Grill £9.99T-Bone Steak £12.99

All served with chips,salad mushrooms& onion rings

A La Carte

Mid Week Special

TopQualityMeat

Santa in South WalesBy Debbie Carter

It's Christmas eve in South Wales ,and Santa's on his way.he's already been to Germany ,to Holland and Bombayall around the world it seems good children are asleep,

but sadly all the naughty ones stay awake to have a peep.

Santas' little helpers have been working very hard.and Santa has been reading every letter,every card.

The reindeer's are ready to pull old Santas sleigh ,and Rudolf with his big red nose will guide it on it's way.

And so it's Christmas morning,all the presents are piled high.the table's set. the turkeys cooked. and the family's dropped by.

but Santa's back in Iceland with his cookie and his beer,and soon he will be resting to be ready for next year


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Patels Store

KingsmillBread£1.10

CheapPet Food

Pontlottyn32 Merchant Street

OPENING HOURSMon - Sat 9AM - 9PMThursday 9AM - 2PM

Sunday - CLOSED

Brown Bread£1.25Winalot

1 for 69p or2 for £1.19

“as cheap as ”ASDACARLING 500ML CANS 4 FOR £3.99 8 FOR £6.99STELLA 500ML CANS 4 FOR £4.95 8 FOR £7.95

FOSTER 500ML CANS 4 FOR £4 8 FOR £7.50DEAL OF THE MONTH

IS CHERRY LAMBRINI BIG BOTTLE £4.39SMIRNOFF VODKA 70CL £11.99

1LT WHISKY £21WHISKY 70 CL £11.29

2LT FLAGON £2.69 OR 2 FOR £52LR STRONGBOW £3.69 OR 2 FOR

£6.50

4 pt of Milk£1.40 or 2 x 4 pts of Milk

£2

2 Pt£0.85

1 pt£0.55

Call 07401 190 409

Free Local DeliveryPromotions of the month!

Booze is now available!

OpenAll Day

Xmas Day&

Boxing Day


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Refurbished Vehicles.co.uk“If it’s got wheels, we’ll buy it”

07980 379 385 | 07807 346 418 | 07807 293 180

Where are we ?Unit 13 | Bowen Ind. Est |Aberbargoed | CF81 9EP

Car Sales Valeting Service

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• All types of vehicles & Caravans / Motorhomes

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Adult Education ClassesFREE Computer classes available

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Sports HallKitchen AreaCrochet Club

Art ClubOAP Bingo Club

Youth Club

Call us on 01443 822407 for full detailsThe Hangar Centre | Aberbargoed

HangarCentrethe

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Have ready a mini muffin tin (youmight need to use the tin more than once to make 16 pies).Roll out the pastryand cut out 16 x 7.5cm/3in discs. Use the trimmings to cut out 16 star shapes.Press the discs into the mini muffin tin, then add a teaspoon of mincemeat toeach one, and a star shape on top (moistened with a little water).Brush the star shapes with water and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar.Bake for 12-15 mins until the pastry is golden brown.

Are you ready to bake ?

Enjoy!

Nice to see you back... Little Star Mince Pies


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rhymney valleywith Lightening the BatKids MerryChristmas

Wayne’s Deco

Call today for afree estimate

07969 470 683Natalie’s

of Bargoed• Wedding• Bridesmaids• Prom Gowns• Cruise & fashion wear

All types of alterations /repairs undertaken

01443 822 044 (opposite Barclays Bankon the high street)

www.cakesbyrach.biz

Call today for a quote on Custom cakes,cupcakes, cake pops and Welsh cakes.Special Christmas cakes and Christmas

flavour cupcakes available to order NOW!

Custom cakesfor all

occasions!

Call 07733537318 or 01685840022email: [email protected]

Make a special treat for RudolphTreat Snack SackSometimes, serving your kids a healthy snack is all aboutthe packaging. Kids will love imagining that Santa feedsthese sacks of trail mix to Prancer, Dancer and the rest ofthe reindeer crew.Ingredients: Use any of your favourite trail mix ingredients suchas: Cashews, Walnuts, Peanuts, Almonds, Shelled sunflowerSeeds, Pumpkin seeds, Flax seeds, Pretzels, Raisins, Otherdried fruit, Chocolate chips, M&Ms, Yogurt-covered raisins.

Combine your choice of the above ingredients, using your desired quantities, in abowl and mix until evenly combined. Scoop about one cup of the trail mix intoIndividual sacks, such as cellophane bags, brown-paper pastry bags or simplesacks you've sewn, as pictured.Tie the bags shut with a red or greenribbon.

Add a tag to each bag that says"reindeer snacks," perhaps with each

child's name on it.


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RecyclingLTD

Re-Use - Reduce - Recycle

Approved authorised Treatment Facility AAIF

Commercial Refrigeration | Vending MachinesAutomatic Dispenser | Domestic Fridges &

Freezers | Small & Large Household AppliancesIT & Telecommunication Equipment | Electrical &

Electronic Tools | Leisure & Sports EquipmentMedical Devices | Mobile Phones | Surplus

Components | Fluorescent Tubes

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

www.carecycling.co.ukTel: 01685 844 089

Commercialclearances

undertakenalso...

Household Clearances What’s included ?

Helping Hands, UVAG, G. C Enterprise, On Your Bike, Homemakers community recycling and third world countries.

Recycling

LTD

WEEE Recycling

Items are boxed and separated for recycling or reuse i.e. clothing, bedding, bric or brac, books, bikes, furniture, DVD's, CD's, electronic games and phones, spectacles, etc... We help local charities and organizations:


2410 River Road | Pontlottyn | CF81 9PN | (By The Blast Furnace )

01685 844 955 | 07970 974 201

New Solid Oak Ranges Now Available...

Furniture Showroom

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your rhymney valley - Nov/ Dec 2011