Abergele local news and history, incorporating Abergele in Shorts

British Red Cross Abergele-based digital storytelling project

Posted on by Gareth Morlais

Gofal is Welsh for care and it’s also the name of the initiative the British Red Cross gives to its digital storytelling and befriending project for older people in north Wales.

The British Red Cross says “volunteers visit vulnerable older people in their homes for up to 12 weeks, helping them to combat loneliness and isolation and encourage social interaction by linking them up with services and social groups in their local communities.”

The focus for the project is digital storytelling, where people tell a short personal story over their own images. Sue Whalley, Red Cross senior team leader, says that “the idea behind the digital storytelling was to get people out of the house, meeting other people, and doing something different and fulfilling. Many on the course came from not knowing anything about computers to producing a really professional DVD. The hope is they now feel more confident to use computers in the future.”

It’s great to see a project like this coming out of the British Red Cross Abergele offices on the industrial estate on the old Llanddulas road. More info on the British Red Cross site…

Britain from Above

Posted on by Gareth Morlais

There’s a new website that looks fascinating. It’s the digitised archive of aeriel photos of British towns by the Royal Commission. Here’s a gem from Britain from Above. Notice the allotments (!!) in Parc Gele at the bottom of the picture and the two tanks (grain, coal gas?) at the rear of Chapel Street. Add any other spots to the Comments below please.

Crown Copyright from Britain from Above
Abergele from above. Date not known. Crown Copyright from Britain from Above. Please click on image to see clearer version.

I first discovered the site via this tweet by the Royal Commission: “BRITAIN FROM ABOVE rare & fragile aerial photos from Aerofims Collection conserved, digitised and now available online http://ow.ly/bNtsl”

If you register on the site you can bookmark and comment on favourite images.

This site’s a keeper.

Compare this image with the one on http://abergelepost.com/from-on-high.html

I’ll end this post with a link to more pictures of Abergele from Britain from Above.

Old Drawing Postcard of Pensarn

Posted on by David_Hughes

I think this is a lovely drawing of Old Pensarn. Its interesting as it shows cattle grasing on fields to the seaward side of the railway line. No promonade when this was drawn. I remember an old guy, known as “Mustard”, working in the dairy at the bottom of Clwyd Avenue telling us, as children, that when he was a boy he used to cross the railway line and walk across the fields to the sea. We weren’t sure we should believe him but now I’ve come across this postcard…….