Held in Hirwaun St Lleurwgs Church Hall every thursday 1.00pm.

The Community Food Co-operative Programme in Wales is encouraged and supported by the Rural Regeneration Unit and funded by the Welsh Assembly Government .

The programme enables people to access fresh fruit, vegetables and salad on weekly basis at wholesale prices.

The average £2.50 bag of vegetables, £2.50 bag of fruit and £2.50 bag ofsalad can help a family achieve the recommended ‘5 A DAY’.

The Cardiff Arms in Hirwaun will see legendary rock icon Kory Clarke perform on Sunday April 12th as part of his UK Tour.  Gig from 9pm.

WARRIOR SOUL front man Kory Clarke will be bringing his awesome solo show to Hirwaun. The reception from his last tour was awesome to say the least with all fans getting an insight to the often controversial multi platinum artist. Reviews compared his solo work with that of NINE INCH NAILS.

Over the past year many bands have graced the stage at the Cardiff Arms Hirwaun, including acts signed to Sony BMG, Van Morrisson’s ex backing band,bands from Merthyr, Aberdare and surrounding areas.

Also playing this Easter at Cardiff Arms Hirwaun

Friday 10th April – Wired Fish from 9pm

Monday 13th April – Warren & Co

Live Music every Friday evening from 9pm.

The Chippy is delighted to thank all the staff, and customers, especially those who took the time to nominate the shop, for their support in getting The Chippy into the Final of the Souh Wales Echo, Good Food Awards 2008. The result is scheduled for January 2009 when the South Wales Echo and Western Mail hold their Good Food Awards in Cardiff.

This is the second year The Chippy has been in the Final, not bad after just two years of trading, and of course will be defending the Title of Best Fish and Chip Shop of 2007 which they won last year.

All the staff are looking forward to the result this year but know they can’t go higher than they did last year.

The Chippy has a strong reputation for quality Fish and Chips throughout South Wales, in particular for their Gluten Free night, The first Wednesday of the month, with visitors coming from as far a field as Worcester for the treat. Regular customers are now enjoying even more home made foods since the new frying range was fitted.

Watch out in the New Year for some really good deals Please continue to support your award winning local Hirwaun chippy in the New Year, and here’s hoping there’ll be another trophy seen soon.

Lee & Emma are looking forward to greeting existing and new customers in the Cafe on Friday nights to enjoy a cooked supper without the hassle of the cooking and the cleaning up afterwards, Freshly cooked hot food from the newly fitted award winning fish & chip shop.

Come in and choose a tasty piece of battered fish and fresh chips, followed by a cake or simply a tea or coffee.

While your there, look out for future events especially in June when The Cafe and The Chippy will be celebrating the success in the 2007 Good Food Awards (run by the South Wales Echo) and a few anniversaries with special offers and events, including a birthday cake on the 2nd to celebrate two years of ownership, a Gluten Free anniversary party on Wednesday 4th celebrating the 1st anniversary of our special Gluten Free nights.

Hirwaun Cafe and Chippy will also be holding some special events through to the weekend with some attractive family deals including of course opening the cafe on the Friday evening.

Seasonal fruit, vegetables and/or salad bags are available at a cost of £1.50 for individual bags or £2.50 for family bags (healthy Start vouchers also accepted) from St Lleuwrg’s Church Hall, Hirwaun between 1pm and 3pm every Monday.

This volunteer-led project enables local residents to purchase fresh, good quality, seasonal fruit and vegetables at a reasonable cost.

It will be re-opening at 5pm on Wednesday the 5th March 2008.

Good luck to Hirwaun’s newest landlords Julian & Annie Barfield.

Lee Penaluna and Emma Jenkins were at the awards ceremony at the Marriot Hotel in Cardiff for the announcement that the Chippy was the outright winner of the 2007 Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition. Both were delighted to accept the award after competing for the very first time. The trophy is now proudly on display at the Chippy, High Street, Hirwaun.

This event is the latest that The Chippy has been involved in as it continues to bring more attention to Hirwaun, on top of it’s monthly Gluten Free night now attended by customers from Chepstow, inclusion in National Chip week and Seafood Week, the Chippy also appeared on TV before Christmas on BBC Wales Today with it’s Christmas special of battered Christmas pudding, if you missed it last year wait for Christmas to come again.

Lee and Emma were over the moon with the award and commented that it was a reflection on the commitment and quality that they strive to maintain and enhance at the Cafe and the Chippy. They offered a special thank you to the customers who nominated the shop, and who continue to support the Cafe and Chippy and of course to the staff.

The Chippy is delighted and pleased to be able to announce winning this award and hope for more in the future.

They can truly advertise from now “AWARD WINNING FISH AND CHIPS”

The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival will be featuring real ales, both bottled and on draught from across Wales and the rest of the UK, as well as ciders and perries, many from Welsh producers as well as a range of German beers, both on draught and bottled.

One of the highlights of the Festival will be the Champion Beer of Wales competition, announced on the Friday afternoon. Judged by CAMRA members and brewing industry experts, many Welsh breweries regard this as the highpoint of their year. Competition is even more fierce this year with over 35 real ale breweries now brewing in Wales.

Festival Facts:

· Over 19, 000 pints of real ale, cider and perry will be sold at the festival.

· That’s over 10 tons of beer, cider and perry!

· Over 4000 customers will be attending the 3-day festival.

· 170 different real ales will be available at the Festival.

· An average of 9 pints every minute will be sold when the Festival is open.

· Around 50 ciders and perries (pear ciders), many from Welsh producers, will also be available to complement the real ales.

· Over 100 staff, all CAMRA volunteers, will be staffing the Festival.

· A range of beers from Germany will also be on sale at the upstairs bar.

· Pub games, stalls and food will be available at the Festival.

The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival

Cardiff City Hall, CF10 3ND

Open Thursday 22nd November 12-11,

Friday and Saturday 23rd-24th November 11-11

Admission £3 (£5 after 5pm Friday) includes souvenir glass and programme

The Cardiff Arms in Hirwaun High Street is set to re open soon after extensive refurbishment.

New owners Julian and Annie Barfield bought the closed down and neglected public house in August of this year aim to once again make the Cardiff Arms a social hub of the village.

‘Currently we are undergoing refurbishment of the building, stripping back layers of paint and grime to reveal the full potential of this once grand building’.

When the Cardiff Arms re-opens its doors to customers they will walk into a fresh and airy bar area that will not only be clean, warm and inviting but also one that will prove a perfect setting for socialising with family and friends, with natural wall colourings and lighting thus helping to create a light, bright and friendly atmosphere.

Julian’s family will also be joining them to live in Hirwaun, ‘it will be so nice for my parents as we originally come from the Llantrisant, Pontypridd area, with our family history steeped around the Freemen of Llantrisant (black army), my grandfather was the town plumber for Pontypridd as was my uncle until 25yrs ago when he retired.

Both Julian and Annie are look forward to getting to know the village and the community, saying ‘ we have been made to feel so welcome by the villagers that we have met so far. We look forward to meeting more of the Hirwaun community when we eventually re-open’.

Council staff and Cllr John David, Cabinet member for Older People, visited him on Friday to mark National Meals on Wheels Week.

As a resident in his sixties, Dave could be eligible to receive the delicious meals, prepared locally by cooks from fresh ingredients and delivered to thousands of residents, seven days a week.

To give him a sneak preview of the service he could be benefiting from, Cllr John David “served” Dave a delicious Friday special of fish, peas and potatoes with a trifle for dessert.

The visit was organised to demonstrate the quality of food available to Community Meals clients and to raise awareness of the service offered by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.

Community Meals staff Lisa Weaver and Anita Lewis delivered the meal to Dave’s Pontypridd office while on their daily route through the town.

Dave was one of 1,500 people who received a meal on Friday.

Cllr David said: “In other parts of the country, residents are calling for the return of their Meals on Wheels as the service has been cut back.

“We are delighted it is going from strength to strength and one of our proudest moments was being able to provide this affordable, high quality service seven days a week.

“Meals on wheels is a crucial element of helping people to remain living independently in their own homes for longer.

“A large majority of clients are older people but we also have younger residents with health issues who also benefit from the delivery of the meals.”

Community Meals now has an exciting autumn menu, which includes tender lamb steaks, hot pots and a weekly cook’s choice including dishes such as curry. There is a choice of two meals a day and potential customers who call before 10.00am and meet the criteria for a meal can have one delivered the same day.

Meals on Wheels are delivered every day of the week and cost £2 a meal.

For more information, contact Community Meals on 01443 735437.