On a scorching Sunday, staff, pupils, and parents from Ysgol Y Mynydd Du [ newly accredited as a School of Sanctuary] turned out in force to welcome people seeking sanctuary and to run a joyful school fête. Organisers Carol, Dee, from the school and Lawrence from HBTSR had met several times in advance to work out how the two events could run in harmony—and thanks to their planning, everything came together beautifully.

From just after 9:30 a.m., school staff[ All credit to the School for doing this alongside end of year preparations] , volunteers from the School Friends, Hay, Brecon & Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees (HBTSR), and the local Scout troupe began setting up. Many hands made light work as tables, chairs, gazebos, stalls, toiletries, clothing, a fire pit, archery, games, a wigwam, sports equipment, and plenty of food were all prepared and arranged.

The HBTSR welcome desk and raffle selling team had pride of place at the front of the school.

Gayan, Thanu, Neja, Ailsa, Lawrence and Belinda had worked together to prepare Dahl, Fried potatoes and onions, a spicy cashew nut treat for helpers and a courgette curry on the Saturday afternoon/evening. The heatwave really making this an act of devotion! The vegetables were provided by Cathy and Dennis at Abergavenny market,[ Potatoes, Onions, tomatoes and peppers] Ysgol Mynydd Du gardeners [Carrots, courgettes and beans] and Black Mountain college who donated a vast amount of chard, lettuce, cucumbers and courgettes and some beans and parsley. Many thanks to Bwyd Powys Food for making all of this possible with a generous grant so that we were able to buy what was needed as well as the generous donations. .

Cooking on Saturday

The coach journey from Swansea was not without drama, clashing with the Ironman 70.3 event and the extreme heat causing the vehicle to overheat and require stops along the way. Despite this, the coach arrived before noon, and guests were able to enjoy drinks, biscuits, and fruit before exploring the fête and grounds. Kumari and Kaiseree handled hot and cold drinks, and although the ice machine wasn’t working, hot drinks were still surprisingly in demand.

Meanwhile, Nigel and Karin from The Big Skill set up activities such as paper flower-making and cyanotypes (where the term “blueprints” comes from), while Claire offered face painting. All of these attractions drew a steady stream of visitors throughout the day.Visitors from Swansea received tickets to exchange for items at the stalls, allowing full participation without the need for cash. The tombola, “win a toy,” and bottle stall were popular—but nothing could quite compete with the marshmallow-roasting fire pit! Archery was also a major hit, with even local community police staff joining in the fun.

In the Library there were welcome messages in many languages and a harp was played by Caroline, this being described by one attendee as ‘heavenly.’ There were colouring activities and books to browse whilst listening. .

Over on the tarmac area, tennis and badminton were available, though the heat may have limited participation. On the large grass area, football attracted a large group of young men, accompanied by a running commentary from Stuart from Cardiff who attended with 5 asylum seeking teenagers.

In the kitchen, a dedicated team including Gayan, Thanu, Neja, Jethya, Sharon, Ailsa, Lynne, Claire, Jan, Carol, Belinda, Helen,Meriel and others worked tirelessly to prepare and serve a warm and cold meal. Food—including rice, pasta bakes, pizza, salads, and breads—was served from 1:30 p.m. and continued nearly until 3. Some guests even took a stroll around town with Gez and Sue before returning for a second helping—and cake! Cakes of many varieties were donated including over 100 Welsh cakes by David, and a Chocolate cake made by Margaret that was transported with ice packs to avoid the cake frosting from melting. The food was enjoyed by all and many take away containers available to allow people to have another good meal at home. Thanks to the Bwyd Powys grant for helping us to buy the food containers.

The whole day was a tremendous success, but the undoubted highlight for many was the ice cream, generously provided by the Talgarth Regeneration Group and Parry’s Ice Cream Parlour. Many children returned for seconds, thirds—and even fourths! Yet there was still enough left to provide a treat for the pupils on Monday. One little boy even handed over a partially eaten ice cream as he boarded the bus home, explaining he felt “very full and slightly nauseated.” We hope he avoided any lasting effects!

Final words should go to the Head Tara and Carol spoken whilst sweeping and washing the floor at around 6.30- ‘Well that was fun! Can we do this again next year? Maybe in May when it’s not so warm!’

Thanks to the following who made all of this possible

Tara, Dee and other staff from the school and pupils who made welcome hearts to give to all visitors as well as masterminding the event. Especial thanks to Carol ,Dee and Lawrence who coordinated the day.

• The big skill, Nigel and Karin
• Lynne’s daughter Claire for face painting
• Talgarth festival, especially Beth and Jim, for the lend of tables and gazebos
• Claire from Claire’s shop for fruit and cordial
• The Honey Cafe for delicious brownies
• The friends of the school
• the governors who came and helped, Vicky, Ben and Belinda
• Helen the first aider
• Jemma from Powys CC for the sports
• Jez for the walk
• Caroline for playing the harp
• Jan and William from the Talgarth & District Regen for ice cream
• Gayan, Ailsa and crew for cooking up a storm
• The Wildlife Trust for the lend of pond dipping equipment (activity didn’t happen unfortunately)
• The Black Mountains College who provided the vegetables that made the curries
• Pobl bakery for Bread.
• Bwyd Powys Food

Thanks From Swansea

Thank you for everything Every thing was good and it was a nice trip 😘😘😘I hope we will have another trip
Good day thank you
Thank you so much for everything it was amazing specially for my children they enjoyed thanks again.
Please if there is any other trips let me know.
Many thanks,

Hi thanks for everything it was really nice for my children enjoyed l hope we will have another trip xx

thank you so much for a wonderful day and great organisation!

Everything was well planned and the atmosphere was amazing.
Wishing you all the best in future events!
 

It was a really great day for us especially for the children.They enjoyed all the activities and food.They got lot of toys also.I don’t have any words to say about organisers.just awesome,you all doing yours jobs well and we got a wonderful day.Thank you.
Thank you very much, the trip was great, we thank you all, you were very kind.

Hi Thanu, thank you for a great opportunity for us to meet a new people and place.the food was delicious everything was amazing. Very much appreciated 🙏

It was a great day .thank you for the amazing opportunity .we enjoyed a lot the beatufil nature , the food and we had lovely time with the friendly and generous people

Very good thank you hopefully we go again
I loved the trip and how it was organized we enjoyed a good day and an excellent meal. Thank you for everything.

Thanks from Cardiff

Good Afternoon.
Many thanks for the terrific Welcome Day yesterday at sunny Talgarth. The 5 refugees who came with me had a great time & enjoyed the excellent activities , with the football , tennis & walk proving a big hit. Please pass our thanks on to everyone who worked so hard to provide a memorable day-out. Also a special mention for the Master Chefs , as the food was 5 star.
Diolch yn Fawr.

And Ysgol Y Mynydd Du is the newest School of Sanctuary in POwys. We look forward to being able to celebrate this at a future date.