January

AN icy start to the year saw a familiar warning issued to walkers climbing the Brecon Beacons but one woman was pictured setting off for a walk up Pen y Fan in the most unusual choice of footwear.

The unidentified woman was pictured heading up the snow-covered mountain path in heeled boots.

Walker Robert Bryan took the photo, as he was descending Pen y Fan and was astonished to see a woman heading up the mountain in boots more suited for the catwalk.

After Robert shared his photo on the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team’s page many others also said they’d seen people, including families with children, climbing the mountain in trainers, shorts and thin clothing. Some called for better information so inexperienced walkers can prepare properly.

Snowfall in January also saw police warn they would patrol the Storey Arms area of the A470 to prevent poor parking on the roadside causing congestion.

THE former Rector of Glan Ithon in Llandrindod Wells Joanna Pemberthy become the first female bishop in Wales.

The 56-year-old was officially consecrated as the 129th Bishop of St Davids in Pembrokeshire by then Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, in his last public duty before his retirement

Bishop Joanna said: “I didn’t think at the beginning of my ministry that I would ever see women in the episcopate but you had to keep believing.”

HAPPY couple Pryce James Lewis and Arvona of Bronllys celebrated an amazing 75 years of marriage.

They married during the dark days of World War II when rationing meant Pryce’s mother couldn’t travel from the family’s home in Radnorshire to her son’s wedding in Cefn Fforest, near Blackwood, in South Wales.

“There was only a few of us there,” said 96-year-old Pryce recalling the big day on January 6, 1942.

“Only my father, brother and my uncle could come. It was during the war and we could only have the one car as we couldn’t get the petrol. My mother had to stay at home. We had to make the best of everything in those days.”

In 1965 the couple became landlord and landlady of the Erwood Inn. They ran the pub until 1996.

February

BUSINESS leaders in Hay-on-Wye sent letters to more than 180 heads of state – including US president Donald Trump – inviting them to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Hay’s independence.

MPs had debated whether the leader of the free world should be granted a state visit to the UK the independent kingdom was making contingency plans if the billionaire president showed up.

Andrew Williams, of the Hay Chamber of Commerce which organised the independence celebrations that went ahead in April without the often criticised president, said: “Of course Mr Trump divides opinion. We have put local Hay greengrocers on alert to begin stockpiling vegetables for towns-folk to welcome him if he does attend.”

THE famous JD Wetherspoon pub chain unveiled the name of its first pub in Brecon ahead of its opening.

The pub chain revealed its Brecon pub and four room-hotel would retain the name The George Hotel.

The company spent almost £2.2 million developing the outlet, on the site of the former George Hotel, in George Street, promising 56 new jobs.

It acquired the building in early 2016 after the previous owners suddenly stopped trading shortly before Christmas 2015.

CRICKHOWELL cricket ace Mark Wallace declared time on his 18-year career in county cricket.

The wicketkeeper, who made his debut for Glamorgan as a 17-year-old in 1999, announced his retirement last week having scored more than 11,000 first class runs.

The former Crickhowell High School student, who grew up in the town where his parents Ryland - who has played over 60s cricket for England - and mum Alvine still live, said: “”I’ve had lots of good memories. I captained Glamorgan in a Lord’s final in 2013, that was probably right up there although we lost.”

Mark credited former Powys council sports development officer Gareth Oldham and his PE teacher Alan Dawkins for setting him, and others from the area, on the road to a career as a professional cricketer.

THE closure of both Llandrindod and Builth Wells high schools was confirmed. They will be replaced from September 2018 with one new school – but it will operate on the two existing sites.

March

A HAY-ON-WYE bookshop hit the headlines after a letter from famed children’s author Enid Blyton was found in a book it sold for just £1.

The letter was found tucked inside a copy of Silas Marner by George Eliot which Jacqueline Ralph bought from the Hay Cinema Bookshop.

Greg Coombes, of the Castle Street shop, admitted the letter had been overlooked by staff.

“We do go through every book we buy individually but there are an awful lot, probably a quarter of a million in stock, and 5,000 to 10,000 come in every week,” said Greg.

“In this case we’ve probably been guilty of judging a book by its cover. We spotted a cheap reprint of a classic, worth no more than a pound and it was put out the front of the building.”

13-YEAR-OLD angler Thomas Macdonald-Ames caught a pike almost as big as he is on the River Wye.

The Gwernyfed High school pupil wrestled with the predatory fish for more than 25 minutes, being pulled from once side to the other in his dad’s boat as he struggled to land his catch.

But within minutes of hooking the catch of his life, the teenager released the pike back into the wild, believing the fish to be pregnant.

“It was bigger than any fish my dad has caught,” said Thomas from Brecon who caught the fish two days before his 13th birthday. “I caught it using a spinner. After a while my arms were starting to hurt so I was glad when we got the fish to the bank. It’s the biggest fish I have ever caught.”

Dad Louis said: “Thomas caught a monster of a fish. It had teeth like a crocodile. I am sure that it would have easily rivalled the record holder. If I had fully realised that Thomas could have broken a record I would have gone back to shore to get my scales to weigh it.”

BRITAIN’S then defence secretary joined soldiers in the Brecon Beacons during a live firing training exercise but the only bombshell was George Osborne’s new job.

Conservative MP Michael Fallon had been at a Royal Marine base in Chivenor on the north Devon coast, before flying to Brecon, when it was announced the man who had been David Cameron’s chancellor has been appointed the editor of London daily paper The Evening Standard.

It was left to Brecon and Radnorshire’s Tory MP Chris Davies to break the surprise news to Mr Fallon about his former cabinet colleague’s shock new job appointment, as he was enjoying a cup of tea and a cake in the troop shelter at the live firing range at the Epynt military training area.

During the visit Mr Davies had pressed on Mr Fallon the importance of the barracks in Brecon which are due to close in 2017. Mr Fallon resigned from the cabinet later in the year.

April

A REDUCTION in the number of days recycling centres opened across Powys caused anger and confusion.

From the begininng of the month the county’s five recycling centres were closed for up to four days a week and the council also changed the rules on what vehicles could deposit waste at the centres.

The council eventually bended to public pressure and reversed the decision on the reduced opening hours.

SIX Syrian families who’d fled the civil war in their homeland held a public event to celebrate starting new lives in Ystradgynlais.

The town had been chosen to house the families when Powys council agreed to take part in a relocation scheme for Syrians who had been living in refugee camps in the Middle East.

The families staged the event, which included Syrian music, food and culture, as a thank you for the warm welcome they’d received in the Upper Swansea Valley town.

A further six Syrian families are due to move to Llandrindod Wells in 2018.

BRECON town centre came to a standstill to pay tribute to an Army training unit that has been based at the Dering Lines camp for 25 years.

The Small Arms School of Corps was presented with the freedom of Brecon by the town council in a ceremony in the Bulwark.

NO-ONE came forward to stand for election in a council ward in Powys - leaving its 1,000 residents without a voice in County Hall.

Councillor Gill Thomas announced she would stand down at May’s elections after 27 years representing the rural ward of Yscir, on the outskirts of Brecon, on Powys County Council.

But when nominations closed no-one had put their name forward as a candidate to represent the area. The seat was eventually filled in June when Conservative candidate Iain McIntosh won a by-election that attracted six candidates.

May

INDEPENDENTS remained the largest block of councillors on Powys County Council – but didn’t win enough seats to claim an outright majority.

An increased number of candidates from political parties – and a strong showing by the Conservatives – saw a change in the council’s political makeup.

For the first time the council’s various independent factions came together and united as one group under leader Rosemarie Harris who was able to strike a coalition agreement with the Conservatives, which brought them into power at County Hall, and made the Llangynidr councillor Powys council’s first female leader.

The elections were also a watershed with many longstanding councillors retiring including previous outgoing leader Barry Thomas.

As well as bringing new faces into the council, including Emily Durrant who became Powys’ first ever Green councillor when she won the Llangors ward, the election saw the return to the political scene of a familiar political figure.

Former MP Roger Williams won the Felin Fach seat two years after he was booted from office.

The Liberal Democrat had represented Brecon and Radnorshire in Parliament for 14 years before losing his seat at the 2015 general election to the Conservatives.

CANDIDATE Nigel Evans wrote and recorded his own music video to encourage people to vote.

The musician, who won a seat on Brecon Town Council, sang in the video “Whatever gets your goat, you’ve got to use your vote”.

THE 30th Hay Festival opened but the UK’s increased terror threat level following an attack in Manchester saw armed police on site.

Otherwise the festival attracted its usual mix of celebrities, celebrated authors and politicians. Among those attending this year were former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, just weeks before he’d lose his seat at the general election, former Arsenal and England footballer Tony Adams and Welsh actor Michael Sheen who interviewed the festival’s start guest US senator Bernie Sanders.

June

ALL the excitement of Britain’s snap general election at the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency count appeared to be elsewhere. PM Theresa May stunned the country after Parliament’s Easter break by calling a general election for June – three years before a vote was due.

But as party volunteers gathered at the Royal Welsh Showground for the counting process attention soon turned to following the national picture.

At 10pm the broadcasters’ exit poll was released that said Theresa May’s Conservatives were on course to lose their Parliamentary majority and finish the election with less seats than they won in 2015.

The poll showed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was likely to defy his critics to win additional seats. Early on there was speculation on whether he could form a government.

Privately a member of the Conservative team immediately pointed the blame for the failure to secure an increased majority at Theresa May’s social care policy – better know as the vote shedding ‘dementia tax’.

But as the counting continued it was apparent the Liberal Democrats wouldn’t be able to take the early chance they’d been given to regain the Brecon and Radnorshire seat they’d lost to the Conservatives two years earlier.

On that occasion, in the rather grander surrounds of the Victorian-era Pavilion in Llandrindod Wells, the Tories were buzzing with excitement as they sensed a gain.

But at the function room on the showground there was a quiet confidence from the Conservatives at retaining the seat as they kept a check that ballot papers were stacking up how they expected them to.

Shortly after 1am Conservative candidate Chris Davies had an earlier than expected phone call to tell him to arrive at the count with his party secure in the knowledge he’d held on to the seat and more than confident he’d done so with an increased majority.

But at this point there was no hiding that Mrs May had gambled and lost (her majority at least) on the snap election.

Shortly afterwards all the votes were counted and the candidates gathered on the small stage at 2.30am with Chris Davies confirmed as the Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire.

Labour’s Dan Lodge, a barrister by trade, used his speech to take a shot at Mrs May “whose decision to call an election has backfired in her robotic face.”

The Brecon and Radnorshire count did cause excitement on social media however. A small bat flew into the count centre and kept Twitter users entertained during the early stages of the results night.

A COUPLE celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary at Oaklands care home in Llangynidr – having recently been reunited after circumstances led to them spending time apart.

Ken and Margaret Harris married on June 6, 1937 and marked their anniversary with family and staff. The couple had been forced to live separately after Margaret was admitted to Oaklands for her care needs and Ken continued to live at home in south Wales.

It was only after Ken recently had a spell in hospital that the couple were brought back together when he too was admitted to the care home.

PENSIONERS in Ystradgynlais were leading a fight against increased charges for attending day centres by refusing to pay the additional fees.

Powys council had faced criticism for the way day centre attendance charges and meal charges had been introduced.

REAL life TV couple Prunella Scales and Timothy West cruised along the Monmouth and Brecon Canal to film for their Great Canal Journeys programme on Channel 4.

TV and film actor West even joined the Aberhonddu Male Voice Choir in a verse of Cwm Rhondda when the couple’s barge reached Brecon’s Canal Basin.

Read part two of Twm Owen’s review of the year

next week