Art Exhibition

James Jenkins' artwork and Ericca Rochard's photographs have proved very popular 

(and thought provoking) at the Riverside  .

The exhibition runs until December 21st.

Don't miss it!

Pontardawe Then & Now

Pontardawe Then & Now

A fascinating talk and slide show by local historian Keri Thomas attracted nearly 20 people to Riverside. It was truly amazing to see how the town had changed over such a short time. It was also amazing how many of the local architectural structures of note were not recognized, often because they were above eye level.

We hope keri will give another of his shows in the new year.

NPT Award

Winners, again !

The Neath Port Talbot Environmental Forum held their annual awards ceremony last Friday. Riverside were again winners. 

This year Riverside won the Action for Wildlife category and the Trophy now sits proudly beside the Environmental Project of the Year Award won in 2011.

Riverside Star Party

Riverside's first star party was well attended and a great success.

Ian Glendenning gave a fascinating and well illustrated talk on the Solar System.

The weather wasn't particularly good but still allowed everybody ample opportunity to use the three astronomical telescopes to view the moon.

Our next Star Party will be on February 7th.

New from Riverside !

Starting next week

Every Monday

Coffee Morning

Start the week in style.

Drop into Riverside for a refreshing cup of tea or coffee.

Each week we aim to have a display or demonstration for your entertainment.

10 am – 12 noon, voluntary donation.

Every Wednesday

Ramble with Riverside

Wednesday walk with the Riverside Ramblers

A gentle, level circular walk from the Riverside. Children and dogs welcome. Normally between 1 and 2 hours duration. Free.

Meet at the Centre at 11 am.

Sunday stroll with the Riverside Ramblers

First Sunday in every month starting in December.

A (slightly) longer and more challenging circular walk starting from the Riverside at 9.30 am..

Details will be posted here the week before.

Children and dogs welcome. Free.

Halloween

Shrieks of laughter and screams of delight filled the air at the Riverside on our Halloween night. A ghostly walk in the dark was followed by various games and crafts.

Werewolves, witches, hobgoblins and other fearsome and frightening creatures invaded the Centre and demolished huge stocks of hot dogs and ghoulish snacks.

Great fun was had by all and the staff survived to organise another day.

Introduction to Hedge laying

Local craftsman Ceri Jenkins of JED Hedgelaying provided the tuition for the second set of people who wanted to learn the rudiments of the 5000 year old craft of hedgelaying.

Everybody learnt a great deal and Riverside hope to put on more courses in the future.

Pontardawe Historical Walk

Riverside's Lynne Lewis took a group on a historical walk from the Riverside Centre along the canal up to the remains of an original Swansea Valley canal barge, then down into the heart of Pontardawe.

How the area has been transformed from an agricultural area with water driven flour mills to a heavily industrialised area with chimneys dominating and polluting the landscape before changing  into its current post industrial village feel.

On our return we were treated to a display of original Ynysmeudwy pottery by local historian Keri Thomas. The quality, diversity and beauty of this work was quite staggering.

Art Exhibition

A new exhibition by Mair Eleri has opened at the Riverside and will be on display throughout October.

Don't  miss the chance of seeing Mair's work.

Riverside Dog Show

Great fun was had by all in spite of the weather.

Over 150 people and nearly 100 dogs attended the show''Go to our Facebook page to see more photos.

http://www.facebook.com/Riverside.Centre.Arena.Pontardawe

The Heart of the Valley Show

The Heart of the Valley Show was a fantastic success with at least 1500 people attending.

For a flavour of the show visit Riverside’s Facebook page where the Heart of the Valley Album will give an insight.

Follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/Riverside.Centre.Arena.Pontardawe

Riverside Green Fayre

Riverside's first Green Fayre was a great success.

Even the sun shone (such a rare event this summer) and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves with nearly twenty stalls, plenty of free activities and superb entertainment throughout the day.

Undoubtedly the star of the Fayre was the Sinclair C5 which motored (or rather was pedalled) up and down the drive almost non stop.

LYRICAL LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION

Sue Mann's Lyrical Landscape Exhibition is now on at the Riverside and proving incredibly popular.

It's on until the end of September so be sure to come and look.

In the meantime, get a flavour of Sue's work by visiting her website:

www.suemannpaintings.org

LYRICAL LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION

Paintings by Sue Mann

Sue will be exhibiting her paintings at The Riverside Centre from Saturday  until the end of September.

Wildlife Wednesday

Minibeast hunting, tree recognition, balsam bashing, woodland walking, leaf key creation - all elements of a very succesful Wildlife Wednesday.

Join us next Wednesday for another exciting and informative fun morning.

Cracking Crafty Thursday!

Our first Crafty Thursday was very popular indeed.
Don't miss our second on Thursday August 9th.

Wildlife Wednesdays starting tomorrow!

Every Wednesday in August,

10am - 1pm . 

Free

Riverside’s summer wildlife activities for accompanied children will run on August 1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd & 29^th.

Butterfly Survey

The sun shone for our Butterfly Survey on Saturday 21st July and this may well have encouraged the butterflies to make an appearance.


The site was divided into six transects and in total the sightings were:
Ringlet 87, Small Skipper 44, Meadow Brown  3, Large Skipper  2, Green Veined White  2 and
Large White  1.


Thanks to all those who helped. Pictured below is a Ringlet.

Riverside's Faerie Ball

With the Bear Band playing, a magnificent marquee and superb sound and lighting system, and two HUGE fairies the Faerie Ball couldn't help but be a huge success. 

And a huge success it undoubtedly was .

Truly a night everyone will remember for a very long time.

Riverside's Fairy Festival

Well it rained and it poured but it didn't dampen our spirits and everyone said the Realm of the Fae was a great success. With everyone entering into the spirit of the Festival and some magnificent costumes there were broad grins all round.

So much to see, so much to do. If you missed it, what a pity. Will the Festival be held next  year? Watch this space.

Rare butterfly seen at Riverside

The Dingy Skipper butterfly was seen around the Centre on June 6th. It is found in Britain and Ireland but is becoming increasingly rare. Grey-brown wings with mottled brown markings and two rows of small white spots. A small butterfly with low, darting flight. It is a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and high on the Butterfly Conservation list.

ANOTHER WONDERFUL DAY !

FOOD FEST 2012

Last year 500 people attended the 2011  FoodFest. On a glorious May Saturday many more  came to our 2012 True Taste of Wales event.

With over 25 different stalls supplying a large variety of local produce there was plenty for everyone to see and buy. And with Steve Bartram of the Butchers Arms and Khaled Miah of Rice 'n' Spice demonstrating various dishes there was plenty for everyone to sample too.

With stalls inside and out, and live bands and performers using the stage, all in all everyone had a really good time .

Riverside is proving to be a very popular venue for the larger open air events such as this. Don't miss the Green Fayre on September 1st, the Heart of the Valley on September 8th and the Dog Show on September 30th.

What Bird was that?

On a lovely spring morning a group of intrepid wildlife enthusiasts set off around Glantawe Riverside Park and the Swansea Canal to experience the symphony of springtime bird song. Bird expert Bob Tallack, from Gower Ornithological Trust was on hand to share his expertise, which included mimicking a nuthatch to get a response!

Amongst the performers in the ornithological orchestra were the cheerful nuthatches, the warbling black caps, chiff chaffs doing what they do best ie "chiff - chaff - chiff - chaff" The robin added melencholy tones while the song thrush belted out it's solo performance. The gold finches added their metallic sound while the tiny goldcrest made a high frequency appearance along the canal. On the river the bobbing underwater fishing bird - the dipper gave it's loud zit zit sound before going for its dip. The wood pigeons were a coo and overall over 20 different species of birds were heard if not seen.

New comedians are a big success!

A packed house at the Ystradgynlais Welfare Hall laughed their socks off on May 16th. Compered by local professional superstar Noel James, "A Night of New Comedians" starred a number of comedy students who have been participating in comedy workshops at the Riverside Centre with Noel James as tutor. Some had never performed in front of an audience, while others trying out new material. Guest star Seymour Black added some spice to the night with his unique style of humour which scared off the front row!
The atmosphere was fantastic and the evening enjoyed by everyone.

A big thanks goes to all those performing including; Chris Dean, Johnny Enigma, Robert Jones, Anthonina Mendola, Richard Bowen and Seymour Black. Also Noel James should be thanked for all his hard work in the workshops and compering.

They all did brilliantly and hopefully we will see them performing again in the future. If anyone else fancies a go at learning to be a stand up comedian, get in contact with Roger at Riverside. Maybe we can have some more workshops in the future?

STAND UP COMEDY?

YOU'LL FALL DOWN LAUGHING !!

An evening of new comedy talent, all local and fresh from their comedy workshops at the Riverside Centre.

Don' t miss this totally unique evening and at only £3 a ticket outstanding value.

You may even witness the very first public performance of the next Conolly, McIntyre or Gilbert!

The Welfare, Wednesday May 16th, 8pm.