Kristoffer Hughes, Chief Druid of Anglesey, gave a Zoom talk about the history of Anglesey Druids. Ynys Môn’s association with the Druids and Druidism suggests a deeper magic to the island. Giraldus Cambrensis writing in 1188 recorded the phrase Môn mam Kembre, familiar today as Môn Mother of Wales, owing to the fertility of the island and her pseudonym as the bread basket of Wales. Later local lore developed the additional phrase “Grandmother of the world”; perhaps in relation to the vast influence of her Priests throughout the Neolithic and Iron Age periods. In Celtic society women and men would fight as equals, but it seems apparent that on Môn the women actively chose to be the first line of defence perhaps expressing Môn’s reputation as an island of the Goddess. Anglesey has one of the largest concentrations of ancient sacred sites per square mile

Eleri Ellis and Debra Jones, Complaints Advocates, North Wales Community Health Council were our guest speakers at our Zoom meeting on 2 March.  There are times we all need help to speak up about concerns/complaints if we – patients, carers, relatives – feel let down by our local health board or social care service. It can be difficult to know who or where to turn to or what to do. We may not always feel confident about getting in touch with the local health authority or hospital; or know who to contact; or the right questions to ask, or what exactly we want to say or how to say it. The Advocacy Service can help raise those concerns/complaints through its role in providing a free, independent, confidential, non-legal, client-led service. They are able to help patients or their representative in making a complaint under the

Catrin Jones Acting Chief Officer of Carer’s Outreach gave a talk about the valuable work they do.  It started here in 1991 to provide support for unpaid carers over 18 years of age covering Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy. Currently over 4,000 carers are supported. Informal carers can suffer from ill health, depression, social isolation, financial issues and tend to ignore their own well-being. Whilst carers can make contact witrh them via phone, email and social media, very many come via professional referral such as social services and GPs. Lockdown has affected many of their services but the parents and the mental health Zoom groups are very popular. Counselling, respite grants, emotional support, bereavement services,  housing and other benefits are just some of what they help with. It is funded mainly by the Health Board and the Local authorities. They have 20 volunteers at the moment

Kirsty Thomson, Head of fundraising at Awyr Las North Wales NHS Charity spoke about what is done with the money the charity receives. Kirsty was well qualified for her position having worked for a variety of local and national charities and is a trustee for ‘NHS Charities together’ the umbrella organisation that distributes money raised by Captain Tom and all the other fund raisers throughout the UK. Awyr Las covers around 444 different funds, 40% are for cancer related projects.  Individual project managers from those specific departments are responsible for the usage of this money.  It is very impressive to see how much the public contributes towards Awyr Las.  Legacies are also accepted. Kirsty acknowledged the support the club had provided to various Ysbyty Gwynedd funds over the years and the current Dementia services. She enthusiastically shared the activity that had been undertaken in response

              Miss Lucille M Hughes 30 September 1934  –  1 February 2021 It is with much sadness we say farewell to one of our Honorary Members, Lucille Hughes, who passed away on February 1st 2021. Lucille joined SI Bangor and District in 1971. She was Director of Social Services in Gwynedd for many years and used her very wide experience when contributing to club issues. She served as President of the club in  1975 / 1976 and then became Region President ( then Divisional Union ) 1979 / 1980  and followed that by becoming the DU Benevolent Fund representative from 1981 –  1986. Lucille was a very active member both at club and  region attending conferences and meetings regularly. She made very valuable contributions to the work of the club and was particularly interested in projects in relation to

The guest speaker of our first Zoom meeting in 2021 was Bethan Morris from TIDE (Together In Dementia Everyday). Bethan is the Carer Involvement Leader for Wales. Bethan previously worked for Carers Outreach Service in North Wales for over 10 years and has also been involved with the CFAS (Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies) research project led by the Dementia Services Development Centre at Bangor University. TIDE is a UK wide charity that aims to gives carers a voice by sharing their stories. Caring for someone with dementia can at times be challenging, isolating and exhausting. TIDE exists to empower carers by sharing their stories to create change. Bethan emphasised the organisation’s underpinning support for the “Carer’s Right To Be Heard” in their own language; also that everyone has their own individual life story and their experience is unique to them.  One of our club

A donation of £200 by Bangor Soroptimists has  added a light for Christmas on the Bangor Pier in support of Dementia Services at Ysbyty Bangor. Members donated money in lieu of Christmas cards. A light will shine on Bangor Pier for Bangor and District Soroptimists every evening from December 18th 2020 to January 4th 2021. The dedication will also appear on the Digital Light up Christmas Wall of Lights at www.awyrlas.org.uk/wall-of-lights. (on Page 6)

On 1st December Bethan Russell-Williams, Chief Officer, gave a talk about Mantell Gwynedd and their work to support voluntary and community groups, to encourage individuals to volunteer and to be a strong voice for the third sector in Gwynedd. We were blown away with their support and the dedication of the staff. Two examples:- Since 2015 at least one lorry-load of donations has left their office each month for refugees in Syria, Greece or Turkey.  GISDA have been given a grant for their LGBT youth club and young volunteers are supported. Bethan donated our £30 speaker fee to CEFN, the Gwynedd refugees support group. Look here for more examples https://mantellgwynedd.com/eng/examples-of-our-work.html find the annual reports at https://mantellgwynedd.com/eng/annual-reports.html and newsletters at https://mantellgwynedd.com/eng/newsletter.html

25 November is the International Day to End Violence against Women, kicking off 16 Days of Activism. Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women campaign is marking the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (25 November to 10 December 2020) under the global theme, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!“. UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign is amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls. The campaign is part of UN Women’s efforts for Beijing+25 and building up to launch bold new actions and commitments to end violence against women at the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico and France