FORTHCOMING EVENTS

All members are cordially invited to all the following events, and friends, relatives, neighbours, and drinking partners are also very welcome (though on the rare occasions when we need to take a formal vote, the franchise will be restricted to Camra members).

There’ll be another quiz night on Thursday 12th November at the Ship and Castle, High Street, Aberystwyth, starting at 7.30pm for 8. Entry will be £1 per person for teams of up to 4 people, which can be formed on the night if desired. Prizes, both for the quiz and the raffle, will largely be of a drinkable nature.

Two days later we’ll be running a coach trip to the Llanwrtyd Wells Beer Festival, on Saturday November 14th. This event pioneered the concept of a beer festival run jointly by all the pubs in a particular town or village putting on an extended range of beers. Centre stage at Llanwrtyd is taken by the Neuadd Arms, with a large range of beer – including its own brews – plus cider and perry. The town’s other pubs – the Stonecroft and the Belle Vue – can be expected to play a useful supporting role and should certainly not be neglected. And since this is the first weekend of the festival, a wide range of beers is sure to be available. Our trip will leave Aberystwyth bus station at 10.30 am to arrive in Llanwrtyd Wells for lunchtime. Leaving late afternoon, there’s likely to be a pub stop on the way back (probably in Rhayader) before arriving back in Aberystwyth mid-evening. Seats cost a maximum of £20 for Camra non-members, with a 10% members’ discount bringing this down to a maximum £18 for members – and if we can get the bus good and full, we’ll be able to charge less than these maximum prices (a good incentive to invite along those friends and neighbours). Please book with Rhys on 01974-241255 – we collect a £10 deposit in advance. During the afternoon we will have a brief and fairly informal branch meeting somewhere in Llanwrtyd – probably the lounge of the Neuadd.

BEER FESTIVALS

This autumn’s festival at the Ship and Castle in Aberystwyth runs from Wednesday 28th to Friday 30th October, open from 2pm to midnight each day. There’s always an excellent range of beer at the festivals here, so at least one visit is strongly recommended, not least as this is the first festival here since the pub’s refurbishment (an excellent job of work in my view).

See the previous item for details of our trip to the Llanwrtyd Wells Beer Festival – in total the festival runs from Friday November 13th to Sunday 22nd.

Later in November the Dudley Winter Ales Fair at Dudley Concert Hall (the old Dudley Town Hall) in the West Midlands is always an enjoyable affair, with the stronger winter ales and cider balanced by a good proportion of more quaffable stuff. It’s easily accessible from the Aberystwyth area by train to Wolverhampton and then bus – and if you buy a one-day travel ticket you can make it a very rewarding day out by visiting some of the area’s quite magnificent pubs including brewpubs the Old Swan (Ma Pardoe’s) at Netherton and the Beacon Hotel at Sedgley (home of Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild). There’s an evening session on Thursday 26th November followed by all day opening (noon till 11pm) on Friday and Saturday 27th & 28th. Beers do start to run out on the Saturday, but the wealth of great pubs in the area means a Saturday visit can still offer a great day out.

Iechyd da!

Rhys Jones, Chair, Ceredigion Branch.