• Play park plan

Plans are currently being developed by a group of local parents, as a volunteer Friends Group, and Montgomery Town Council, to deliver an exciting new play park for Montgomery at the recreation field by the car park.

The existing two playgrounds have been maintained but not fully updated for decades and, while nearby villages and towns have revamped theirs, Montgomery has been rather left behind. With an expanding family population in the area, alongside its growing tourism, it is time to change that and create something truly unique.

Parents Alex Boyd Jones and Katie Owen approached the council last year, since when they have been planning the way forward, in partnership with the council. The project is in its infancy, so there will be plenty of opportunity for people to put forward their thoughts, with the first surveys starting in the next month or so.

There is a lot of planning to do and significant funds to be raised through trusts, foundations, sponsorship and fundraising. The group hopes the money will be in place by May 2021 and work can begin soon after. Contact Jill Kibble jill.kibble@montgomery-wales.uk or Alex Boyd Jones alexeboyd@yahoo.co.uk

  • Dance skills

Dance exams take a lot of organising; exams are booked about 6 months in advance and students study between 1 and 2 years to take the exam with an ISTD external examiner. Students from the Sally Gartell Academy of dance were due to have their Modern and Tap exam session on Sunday, March 1 but, due to the flooding, the session had to be cancelled with just one day’s notice.

The exams were rescheduled for later in March then, shortly before the session, this new date was thrown into doubt by the coronavirus pandemic.

All the students had worked so hard and were ready and keen for their exams. The examiner was happy to attend, especially given that the students had already had one cancellation, and the exams took place just the day before all subsequent ISTD exams were cancelled.

The situation needed careful consideration as Sally explained: “We of course took extra precautions – I had help from parents cleaning and sanitizing everywhere at the Activity Centre thoroughly. We only had three students as a maximum in the large preparation area and parents were asked not to enter the building.”

After all this, Sally was particularly pleased to finally receive the students’ results. She said, “Through all the madness, my girls did their very best. The results were fantastic: Seven distinctions, 10 merits and one pass.”

Sally’s dance classes can’t go ahead at the moment. Sally has posted videos for her students on her website, some taken the week before the School had to close and some filmed at her home, and she continues to add videos and other activities for them.

Sally says, “I miss all my students and their families and hope they are all keeping well.” She is really looking forward to seeing everyone when the circumstances allow.

  • Passover Seder

A Montgomery family celebrated a Passover Sabbath with a difference as their traditional Seder took place online instead of around the table.

Passover is the eight-day Jewish festival that occurs around Easter and is celebrated to remember when God used Moses to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as told in the book of Exodus.

The Seder meal on the eve of Passover combines a family service around the table with songs, food and storytelling about the events leading up to the first Passover.

Sue Michaels explained, “It is an occasion for families and friends to be together sharing heritage, tradition, values and a good meal; aided by the traditional four cups of wine.”

Sue and husband Mark faced a challenge in working out how to keep these traditions during the current challenging circumstances: how to do all this with social distancing and isolation? Sue said: “Two weeks ago I hadn’t even heard of Zoom, although Mark had used video conferencing a couple of times for work. We would have to negotiate nine households, two time-zones, six children under three and get an 86-year-old mother onto Zoom. The expression ‘herding cats’ comes to mind but it worked and exceeded our every expectation.”

A traditional element of the occasion is the Seder Plate: a dish of different foods that help to tell the story, from parsley in saltwater to fresh horseradish; from a roasted egg to a lamb shank-bone.

Sue decided on her own take to amuse the children – a Seder Lego circular railway track with a station for each symbolic food. The children loved the choo-choo Seder - and the so-called adults even more so.

The evening also incorporated a quieter time for a memorial candle and reminiscence for an elderly cousin who had passed away with coronavirus in London earlier in the week. To the traditional four cups of wine, the family added a fifth and raised a glass to all those around the world who put themselves in danger to help others at this difficult time.

Sue remarked, “After a joyous and thoughtful day of Zoom Passover Seder, a particular part of the story struck a chord. We do not need to be observant or even Jewish to recognise the truths within our shared heritage stories. At the threat of the 10th plague, the death of the first-born, the ancient Hebrews were all told to stay indoors to avoid the ‘Angel of Death’. The whole Hebrew population was required to stay indoors to protect the vulnerable. A message for our time.”

  • Residents join sing

On Easter Monday, Sing for Wales, a BBC Cymru / Wales initiative, asked everyone in Wales to sing the Welsh national anthem together at 8pm, to show their support for all the emergency and other workers providing vital services during the pandemic. In Montgomery, voices were heard across town, and out into the countryside.

Residents in Mortimer Road were treated to a rousing rendition from town crier Sue Blower, from her own doorstep, who was joined from across the road by Ivor Whittingham in a tuneful duet. Many others joined in across the town, and comments on social media showed people had been accompanied, via radio, by the Morriston Orpheus Choir, and Wynne Evans. Twins Owen and James Weston held the words aloft and many people waved their Welsh flags.

  • Diary Dates

l Thursday, April 23 – Montgomery Market

l Thursday, April 23 – Montgomery Town Council meeting, online at 7.15 pm. To watch email townclerk@montgomery-wales.uk

l Friday, April 24 – Friday morning prayer online

l Sunday, April 26 – Church services online. For details contact Rev Alexis at smith.sparrowssong@gmail.com