The railway is also accepting bookings, subject to volunteer staff availability, for its ‘Your Railway for the Day’ package. Groups of up to six people, or even individuals, can drive steam, diesel or battery electric locomotives, work with the guard and the signalman and enjoy exclusive use of the railway.

The Quilt Association’s annual summer exhibition in Llanidloes, showcases items from its collection of antique and vintage quilts that have been made using recycled fabrics.
 
From old clothes to flour sacks, drapers’ sample books to ‘cigarette silks’, they are all represented in Thrifty Quilters.  The exhibition will be open from 10.30am to 4.30pm, with free admission, at the Minerva Arts Centre in Llanidloes on Saturday, July 24 and thereafter every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, plus August Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday until August 30.
 
The making of a quilt was often something that grew out of the necessity to keep warm, and they were often worked on at the end of a long day, by candlelight, in a cold room. 
 
Those quilts were often made from all sorts of fabrics – offcuts, samples, recycled clothing.  In more recent times, thrifty sewers made quilts from cast-off clothing or odd bits of leftover fabric.
 
The quilts in the collection are mostly donated by families who can’t bear to throw them away because they are a precious link with late family members.  Many were made in Wales with connections to local families. 
 
There will also be an exhibition of work by Gwyneth Rose, a textile artist based in Rhayader, entitled Curious Creatures.  

The Great Horses for Health Relay arrives in Wales on Sunday as it aims to raise money for equine welfare and mental health charities and increase awareness of road safety for horse riders and other vulnerable road users.
 
The relay, which began in Yorkshire on May 2 and is due to end in South West England on October 2, has been organised  in celebration of horses and how they have helped many people throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Bringing the equine community together and enabling horse riders all over the UK to have fun, the relay comprises horse riders, horse-drawn carriage drivers, cyclists and walkers. People take part by registering with www.horses4health.co.uk .
 
The relay began life with an idea by Sophie Gifford over breakfast at the end of 2020 and has now blossomed into a nationwide event. She had equine welfare and rescue, mental health benefits through equines and vulnerable road safety and rural crime awareness when she founded the relay.

From July 11-24, the relay comes to Wales, starting with a handover to Helen Lacey from North Wales Horsewatch near Wrexham. It finishes with a handover from Wales regional co-ordinator Medina Brock to the West Midlands region on the Welsh border on July 24.
 
Medina, who runs Brandy House Farm at Felindre, near Knighton with her husband Richard, said a selection of amazing rides, some guided and others easily followed, had been set up across the beautiful Welsh countryside and coast.
 
She has had the gargantuan task of collating the rides that people have organised and passing them to the main H4H page for all registered riders to see and join if they wish. Book onto an accompanied ride by emailing info@horses4health.co.uk .

Charities benefitting from the relay are HorseWorld, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Hope Pastures, Horseback UK, RDA, Bransby and North Wales Horsewatch. To donate to the charities, visit www.horses4health.co.uk .

The Welsh rides include: Lleyn Peninsula 14 miles with Diane South for a maximum of four riders on July 11, Anglesey beach ride of 15-16 miles with Vicky Long for up to five riders on July 14 and Criccieth (LL52 0BT) 9-10 mile ride with Denise Meldrum for up to six riders on July 15 at 6.30pm.

Overnighters may book via info@horses4health.co.uk. In the Brecon Beacons, Hannah is offering camping and corral with an eight mile accompanied loop ride on July 24. Up to three vehicles are allowed and the lanes are unsuitable for lorries
 
Medina is offering an overnight stay in Mid Wales at Brandy House for up to six horses on July 23, with camping, DIY livery and access to full route portfolio on the day before the baton is handed on to the West Midlands. The camping and livery fee will be donated to H4H.
Motorists and the general public are urged to look out for riders wearing the Horses4Health high viz waistcoat.
 
The relay progress can be followed on social media at:
Facebook : www.facebook.com/greathorses4healthrelay;
Facebook group:  www.facebook.com/groups/1399636837047873 
Instagram:  www.instagram.com/greathorses4healthrelay
 
Picture caption:
 
Great Horses for Health Relay riders arrive in Wales this weekend

Corris Railway Society’s Model Railway Exhibition is scheduled to return to Machynlleth on August 28 and 29, the Bank Holiday weekend.
 
Organiser Bill Newton includes a number of exhibitors who were scheduled to attend in 2020 before the exhibition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
There will be a variety of layouts in different scales in the hall at Y Plas, Machynlleth. The largest will feature 16mm scale live steam locomotives derives its inspiration from the world famous Darjeeling – Himalaya Railway.
 
At the other end of the narrow gauge modelling scales, there will be two 009 layouts, one of which occupies a minimal space of four square feet. Another visitor is a GWR layout in the ever popular OO scale which is designed to fit onto a window sill.
 
Two other OO layouts, one steam era and one featuring diesel locos, are due to appear whilst O gauge will be present with a layout representing the former LNWR/LMS lines in North Wales. 
 
Another part of the North and Mid Wales railway scene will be represented by an N gauge layout including a slate mine, and a further N gauge visitor will depict the North German scene.
 
Visitors of an older vintage will have toy shop window memories stirred by a Triang TT  layout featuring the model range which was in the catalogues between 1957 and 1964.
 
There is a further TT layout due to appear which will also feature vintage equipment from the Margate factory. As another nod to nostalgia, there will be a static display of 50 model lawnmowers.
 
Trade stands will include a new one from Corris Railway Society which will sell a variety of second hand goods, some earmarked for specific projects in the revival of the oldest narrow gauge railway in Mid Wales.
 
Admission costs £4 for adults, £3.50 for seniors £2 for children and £10 for a family (two adults and two children). 

>> more about the Corris Railway

​Tickets for the exhibition, which runs from June 22 to September 25, are free but need to be booked in advance. To find out more, and to book tickets, visit https://kresenkernow.org/event/mes-an-kemmyn-out-of-the-ordinary/.
 
Written in Cornish to spread Christian teachings and stories, the manuscripts feature well-known Bible stories - including Noah’s flood and the Passion of Christ - as well as more obscure and forgotten tales, such as the life of St Meriadoc, Camborne’s patron saint.
 
The Cornish Ordinalia, which dates from the 1400s, contains possibly Britain’s earliest full play scripts, pre-dating Shakespeare by 200 years. It also contains what may be the world’s earliest stage diagrams and is the oldest complete text in the Cornish language.
 
The Bodleian manuscripts have been part of the University of Oxford Libraries’ collection for more than 400 years and this is the first time they have returned to Cornwall.
 
The Life of St Meriadoc is recorded in Wales in the 1650s as part of a Welsh library collection, while The Life of St Kea caused a stir when it was discovered only 20 years ago in the papers of a then-recently deceased academic.
 
Pedr ap Llwyd, the National Library of Wales’ chief executive and librarian, said
‘I’m delighted that the National Library of Wales is able to support this much anticipated and rare opportunity to see such important historic Cornish manuscripts brought together and celebrated for the first time under one roof.
 
“It is also fitting that this will be happening at the heart of Cornwall itself. The four manuscripts provide a rich corpus of Middle Cornish literature and will encourage a renewed awareness of the language itself and of the rich outdoor theatre tradition upheld across Cornwall many centuries ago.”
 
The exhibition is funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as part of the £11.7m grant which built Kresen Kernow, Cornwall’s state-of-the-art archive centre, which opened in 2019.
 
This summer’s celebrations include a wide range of events and activities, including a range of online talks, a symposium, school activities, creative workshops and summer holiday family learning.
 
Picture caption:
 
A stage diagram from The Life of St Meriadoc, courtesy of The National Library of
Wales, Aberystwyth.

One of the country’s leading apprenticeship providers is extending an open invitation to join in a virtual across Wales walk or run to raise money for Marie Curie.
 
Cambrian Training Company hopes individuals, families, businesses, organisations and sports clubs will join staff in covering the 291-mile distance of the Cambrian Way Path virtually in 60 days from August 1.
 
Everyone who registers to take on the fundraising challenge can do so alone or by splitting the distance as a team or with family and friends.
 
Cambrian Training Company’s initial idea of involving staff and the apprentices and business they work with across Wales has now grown to include anyone who would like to take part to boost their health and mental wellbeing, whilst supporting a much loved charity.
 
Children can also sign up and join in but must be accompanied by a participating adult.
 
The company, which has offices in Welshpool, Llanelli, Builth Wells, Holyhead and Colwyn Bay, has adopted Marie Curie as its 2021 charity.
 
Marie Curie, which has seen fundraising severely hit by the pandemic, provides frontline nursing and hospice care, a free support line and a wealth of information and support on all aspects of dying, death and bereavement.
 
Those taking part in the virtual walk or run can either secure sponsorship and record the miles they walk on a tracking sheet or donate to a fundraising page -  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cambriantraining .
 
Constructiv Clothing Ltd, a leading supplier of branded clothing and sportswear in Mid Wales and Shropshire, is supporting the challenge by sponsoring t-shirts which all participants will receive as part of their £15 registration fee.
 
Cambrian Training Company is asking all those who take part to share their photos by tagging @cambriantrainingcompany on Facebook, @cambriantraining on Instagram and @CTCwbl on Twitter.
 
The Cambrian Way Path stretches from Cardiff to Conwy, crossing the Cambrian Mountains, after which Cambrian Training is named.
 
“The virtual Cambrian Way Path walk or run is open to anyone who would like to take part to improve their fitness, health or mental wellbeing,” said Katy Godsell, Cambrian Training’s marketing manager.
 
“We would especially love the businesses and apprentices that we work with, together with family members and friends, to join us by committing to do a section of the path virtually.
 
“The more miles we walk or run, the more money we will raise for Marie Curie, which touches the lives of so many people in Wales and needs public support more than ever.”
 
Vaughan Harding, from Constructiv Clothing Ltd, said: “We are delighted to be working with Cambrian Training Company to support this virtual event because Marie Curie is a great charity very close to our hearts.
 
“After spending much of the past year in lockdown, most people are keen to get out and exercise and they can now convert the miles they walk or run into much needed cash for a charity that does so much good work in our communities.”
 
Marie Curie community fundraiser, Charli Thomas said: “Marie Curie Cymru is thrilled to be chosen as Cambrian Training’s charity of the year. This past 18 months has been incredibly difficult for charities and our Marie Curie nurses and information support line officers have continued to support people living with terminal illness throughout.
“We are so happy to have Cambrian Training’s support to help fund these vital frontline services in Wales. Good luck to everyone taking part in the virtual Cambrian Way Path walk.” 
 
Two years ago, Cambrian Training raised £2,290 for Cancer Research by running, walking and cycling 1,000 miles, visiting all 22 counties of Wales, during the year. A team of staff members also ran the Cardiff Half Marathon for the charity.
 
Cambrian Training specialises in the delivery of apprenticeships and employability opportunities across a range of industries pan-Wales.  The Apprenticeship Programme in Wales is funded by the Welsh Government with support from the European Social Fund.
 
Picture caption:
 
Katy Godsell (right) and Ceri Nicholls from Cambrian Training Company’s marketing team with Vaughan Harding of Constructiv Clothing Ltd and the T-shirt his company is sponsoring for the virtual Cambrian Way walk for Marie Curie.

Visitors will be welcomed with a free self-guided tour and invited to try three wines in the café for just £5 per person. Customers must be 18 or older to sample the wine. The event also provides an opportunity to meet the vineyard experts who will be on hand to take questions.
 
Once part of the ancient Roman site of Pentreheyling Fort, the vineyard has an interesting past which is revealed on information boards.
 
The vineyard makes a selection of white, rose and red still and sparkling wines, wich have won a host of national and international awards.
​
“Our meet the producer week aims to not only educate people about English wine, but also to encourage them to buy locally. This is a philosophy we promote in our vineyard café with our fresh homemade produce.”
 
Buying local is better for the planet and supports the local economy. As a extra bonus, Kerry Vale Vineyard is offering free delivery within a 10-mile radius with no minimum order during English Wine Week.
 
Kerry Vale Vineyard is a member of MWT Cymru, which represent more than 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and the Meirionnydd region of Gwynedd.
 
Picture caption:
 
Flying the flag at Kerry Vale Vineyard to promote English Wine Week are owner Janet Cooke and front of house assistant Laura Bell.

Focus Newtown Enterprise Hub is to host a second virtual conference on Thursday this week to provide support to industries impacted by COVID-19.
 
Collaboration is a key theme for this event, as the hub team chats to businesspeople who have adapted, overcome and utilised their ecosystems to build capacity and resilience.
 
The ‘Building your Business’ conference, which will run on Thursday, May 13 from 12 noon to 4.30pm, will feature award-winning speakers including Scott Davies, managing director of Hilltop Honey, Kelly Davies, co-founder of The Goodwash Company and Claire Copeman, co-founder of Adventure Tours UK.
 
Lucie Andrews, enterprise hub engagement co-ordinator, said: “As the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter and we enter the summer months, it’s the perfect time to bring together inspirational entrepreneurs from the tourism, food and retail sectors.
 
“We’ve invited three business owners from across Wales, and some of the hardest hit sectors, to share their experiences and journeys with attendees, from starting a business with next to nothing, to overcoming one of their most challenging years to date.
 
“We really want people to come along, be part of the discussion, feel inspired and learn from their experiences.”
 
The aim of the conference is to support those in the tourism, food, retail and supply industries, although everyone is welcome as the topics will be applicable to a variety of businesses.
 
It’s ideal for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in Mid Wales and beyond who are looking to build connections and get inspired.
​
Register for the conference by searching ‘Focus Newtown Enterprise Hub’ on Eventbrite. 
 
Funded by the Welsh Government, Focus Newtown Enterprise Hub is an innovative space to incubate and accelerate new and growing businesses based at Royal Welsh Warehouse, Newtown.

Steam trains are set to return to the Banwy Valley from May 1, as the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway runs its first public services of 2021.
 
The reopening of the Mid Wales tourist attraction, which remains subject to the continuing easing of Covid restrictions by the Welsh Government, follows five months of closure, during which the Llanfair line’s popular Christmas Santa Specials and February half-term services all fell victim to the lockdown.
 
The line’s early-season timetable features a variety of one and two-hour return journeys, with new-for-2021 innovations including travelling first class, alongside returning favourites from previous seasons, such as the popular fish-and-chip specials.
 
Return trips from Llanfair Caereinion to the intermediate station of Castle Caereinion will start from May 1, operating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus every day during the spring half-term holiday between May 31 and June 6.
 
These one-hour long round trips proved particularly popular with families when the railway ran them last season.
 
Trains over the full eight-mile line to Welshpool will start running from May 4, the two-hour return trips operating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Due to current Covid restrictions, all journeys will continue to start from Llanfair Caereinion and visitors will not be able to join the train at Welshpool.
 
Among several innovations launching this year, every travelling child aged three or over will receive a Discovery book full of interesting facts and activities with their ticket.
 
Visitors will also now be able to travel in enhanced luxury – the Llanfair line’s former Sierra Leone Railway first-class carriage, with its white leather armchairs, will be rostered on every passenger service.
 
Tickets for this carriage, which are subject to a supplement, include a free copy of the W&LLR’s newly-released Traveller’s Guide, a glass-bottle soft drink and snacks.
 
Trains from May 4 will also feature a new breakfast service, departing from Llanfair at 10am or 10.30am, with the ticket price including a breakfast roll and hot drink. Tickets for this service will be limited and must be pre-booked.                                                                      
           
Safety of both the railway’s visitors and its volunteer staff remains paramount and the Covid prevention measures that proved so successful in 2020 will continue to be applied.
 
Intending visitors are being asked to pre-book their tickets through the W&LLR’s new online booking service, https://wllr.digitickets.co.uk, while measures including the wearing of face coverings and social distancing will remain in place.
 
Over the enforced extended winter break, the railway’s almost entirely volunteer staff have been carrying out essential maintenance, working in small Covid-compliant teams. They are now looking forward to getting back to what they enjoy the most, running trains for their visitors.
 
“After a difficult 12 months for the railway, we are delighted to welcome visitors back to enjoy our beautiful line from May 1,” said W&LLR general manager James Brett. “Our team are working hard behind the scenes to get everything ready for a Covid-secure operation and we already have much to look forward to in 2021.
 
“Alongside our core service of steam-hauled heritage trains, we plan to offer a range of new experiences for travellers, combined with the return of two of our historic locomotives from major overhauls.”
 
Over the coming weeks, the W&LLR will be making further announcements regarding train services later in the season and plans for special events. Latest news will also be found on the newly updated website at www.wllr.org.uk and on the line’s social media feeds.
 
Picture caption:
 
Visiting Austrian steam locomotive, ‘Zillertal’, is set to be rostered on early-season passenger services at Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway.
Photo: John Travis/W&LLR

>> More information about Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway​ on Visit Mid Wales

A new, national touring exhibition, which shows how shared processes, skills and values associated with creative making contribute to thriving commons neighbourhoods, is set to be launched in Newtown when galleries are allowed to reopen.
 
“The commons means: Things we share, Places we share, Systems we share, Ideas we share and Culture we share,” said Peter Barnes, On the Commons co-founder.
 
This thought-provoking Craftspace exhibition will run at the Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown until June 26. In the meantime, plans are underway to provide a virtual tour of the exhibition via the Craftspace website www.craftspace.co.uk.
 
The exhibition highlights ‘acts of commoning’ which are shaping the way communities work together to share and steward commonly owned assets and resources.
 
Through 16 loans and new commissions, artists will bring attention to the issues, contribute their thought leadership and participate in a call to action. These artists provide a powerful commentary on what society stands to gain from acting to protect and reclaim our global commons.
 
Featuring both UK based and international artists, the exhibition reflects a commons-based shift in thinking from ‘you’re on your own’ to ‘we’re in this together.’ It will investigate how creativity, making and materials can highlight how acts of commoning are creating thriving communities.
 
“In a time of extreme disruption from COVID-19, this exhibition provides a mutual resource to find and process meaning out of trauma and loss, to aid recovery,” said Deirdre Figueiredo MBE, director of Craftspace.
 
“Lockdown has seen a surge in purchase of craft equipment and materials. People have turned to age-old craft skills and making to get by, boost their resilience and engage in acts of collective creativity.
 
“Increasing privatisation in cities has eroded the commons and local authorities are hard pressed to steward commonly owned spaces and assets. Now more than ever we need commons thinking to rebalance our ways of being, living, working and imagining a more collectively-made and owned future.”
 
Exhibition themes range from work influenced by historical land based commons, such as the Common Ground Peckham Rye Token project by Alice McLean and Justine Boussard and stained glass ‘Rewilding at the Clootie Tree’ by Pinkie Maclure to fashion commons where Amy Twigger Holroyd shares stitch hacking techniques in Re:Knit Revolution.
 
Collectively made textiles from the Embroidered Digital Commons, co-ordinated by Ele Carpenter, considers the internet as a shared resource, whilst Lise Bjørne Linnert and Gelawesh Waledkhani investigate ideas of mobile commons with undocumented migrants in Norway.
 
Sharing resources and ideas, including food production, are explored by Rachael Colley and Jacky Oliver. Linda Brothwell has created a new iteration of her project ‘Acts of Care: Bench Repair’ through repairing benches for public places with beautiful wooden inlays.
 
Deirdre Nelson maps local acts of commoning around the streets where she lives in Glasgow.
 
Shane Waltener is making scaffold structures from locally sourced willow, bramble and handmade nettle and flax twine. They are a physical and metaphorical means of thinking through shared resources, issues relating to enclosure and rights of access. He draws attention to craft skills and nature itself, as forms of commons.
 
“I am creating a performance installation as ‘a symbolic act of repair’, one that prompts us to rethink our connections between land and materials, making a connection between the urban and the rural, learning from nature and landscape and in doing so, rewrite narratives and imaginaries relating to all of the above,” said Shane.
 
Claudia Rodríguez and Ana Joaquina Ramírez collaborated, supported and supervised by Rosina Santana Castellón, to bring different communities together with a focus on the polluted Santiago river affecting cities and agriculture, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
 
The polluted water had caused cases of cancer in poor neighbourhoods next to it. This had caused division and suspicion in the community. Nets Project activated the whole community in protest and resulted in a monumental collective weave woven by urbanites and villagers.
 
The project empowered and engaged many and successfully built bridges among them to create awareness of their rights and a stronger resistance.
 
Also on show, three artists have worked in response to or co-created with communities in three UK place-based and socially engaged residencies in Birmingham, St Helens and Newtown.
 
‘We are Commoners’ will tour the UK until September next year. The exhibition will be free to visit. More details at commoners.craftspace.co.uk.