Here is part two of our look back over the highs and lows of 2021, specifically taking a peak into some of the top stories from April to June.

April

In April, a campaign was started to turn street lights back on in darkened areas of Powys.

The decision to switch off some street lights in the county was taken by councillors over a decade ago as part of cost cutting exercises.

Recent events, highlighted by the murder of Sarah Everard on March 4 this year, convinced county councillors Joy Jones and Les Skilton to start a campaign.

Also in April, a Powys vets was deemed to be the best practice in Wales.

Hay Veterinary Group was crown Best and Wales and Best in Powys, in the Best UK Vet 2021 Awards, after achieving the most top-rated Clint reviews over the previous 12 months.

Partner Hannah Sampson said: “Our team have been brilliant over the pandemic. They are adaptable, kind and skilful. We are lucky to have them!”

In the middle of the month, a paraglider was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after a crash in the Hundred House area.

Mountain rescue teams were called in to help the man, who was treated at the scene by Wales Air Ambulance Charity and Welsh Ambulance Service workers, before being evacuated to hospital for further treatment.

Firefighters spent more than three hours tackling a blaze at a hotel in Llandrindod Wells in April.

Crews from Builth Wells, Rhayader, Llanwrtyd Wells, Talgarth, Knighton and Llandrindod Wells responded to the 999 call.

The fire at The Metropole was contained to a laundry room in the basment, but the smoke spread to all rear rooms of the six-floor hotel.

Fire chiefs deemed the fire as accidental after carrying out an investigation into the blaze.

Also in April, the B&R reported on a story about businesses in Hay-on-Wye that demanded an urgent rethink to pedestrianisation plans.

Some 38 businesses fired off a letter to Hay Town Council and local councillors, speaking out against the controversial plans to pedestrianise large parts of the town centre.

The businesses feared that the closures would cause ‘irreversible damage’ and would cause many locals to start shopping elsewhere.

After 18 years, Val Morgans stepped down from her volunteer role as the leader of the South Powys Branch of Parkinson’s UK.

Val’s enthusiasm and commitment over nearly two decades of service undoubtedly benefitted thousands of people living with Parkinson’s and their families.

Also in the news in the UK in April - the Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth, died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on April 9. Later that month, on April 18, 12 football clubs agreed to join a new breakaway European Super League leading to widespread condemnation.

May

Tributes were paid to Welsh tourist ambassador Pam Powell MBE of Rhayader, who died at the age of 96.

In her long career Mrs Powell promoted Wales all over the world - and was known to travel to events across Europe, accompanied by her team of ‘Welsh farmhouse ladies’ and towing a specially adapted Ivor Williams trailer packed with Welsh tea, scones, Welsh cakes and bara brith.

When asked about custom duties, her typical reply was, “Who’s going to stop a little old lady with white hair?”.

Mrs Powell was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Welsh Tourist Board and British Tourist Authority in 2019.

Conservative candidate James Evans claimed the keenly contested Brecon and Radnorshire seat in the Senedd with 39 per cent of the vote. The seat had been held by Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams since 1999.

Mr Evans said that his main priority after taking his seat would be to work for the agricultural and the tourist industries in his constituency.

On the regional list, former Brecon and Radnorshire MP Jane Dodds was elected as MS for Mid and West Wales.

The elections also saw Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn re-elected for a second term.

It was announced that Brecon’s Theatr Brycheiniog was to lead the way in the re-opening of the arts sector by hosting a pilot test event. The events were being planned by the Welsh Government with the aim of developing processes which would eventually see audiences returning to Welsh theatres.

Later in May it was revealed that the theatre was to get a major facelift after receiving a £250,000 cash injection from the European Regional Development Fund and the Arts Council of Wales.

Theatre director David Wilson also revealed that artist Harry Pizzey had been commissioned to curate a ’cultural cafe’ space celebrating the community groups which made their home at the theatre

There was excitement at Sennybridge County Primary School as pupils launched their very own radio station. To mark the occasion pupils arrived at school dressed as their favourite radio stars, while headteacher Ashley Bennett chatted to Wynne Evans on his BBC Radio Wales show.

Campaigners in Crickhowell vowed to carry on fighting after planners at Brecon Beacons National Park approved a change of use application to convert the town’s former Conservative Club into a Co-op supermarket.

The owner of Dan Yr Ogof showcaves spoke of the emotional moment he switched the lights back on at the caves after over a year in the dark, saying the caves had to attract large numbers of visitors during the summer in order to stand a fighting chance of survival.

Ashford Price, also shared the good news that a year in the dark had allowed the cave amazing formational to recover and that they caves now looked as spectacular as when his ancestors first discovered them in 1912

Award winning fundraiser Des Lally of Brecon, set off on his latest challenge - to climb five mountains, in five countries in three days. His plan was to climb the highest peaks in Wales, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Ireland in just 72 hours.

The 45 year-old gained acclaim when he climbed Pen-y-Fan 365 times in a year.

The decision to delay a report into the London murder of a private investigator from Hay-on-Wye was described as a ‘kick in the teeth’ by his family. Daniel Morgan was found in he car park of a south London pub in March 1987 and despite numerous police inquiries nobody was ever charged with his killing - which many believed came as a result of his investigations into police corruption.

An independent panel was set up by former Prime Minister Theresa May during her time as Homer Secretary, with its findings due to be published in late May - a move that was further delayed by the Home Office, which announced that it wanted to review the report ahead of its findings being made public.

The national headlines from May saw Mark Selby defeated by Shaun Murphy 18-16 to win his fourth snooker world title on May 3, meanwhile the 2021 Welsh Parliament election took place which saw Welsh Labour keep hold of the Senedd.

Leicester City made the headlines on May 15 as it won the FA Cup for the first time, defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the final at Wembley in front of 21,000 spectators.

Getting into gear on May 27 was a self-driving bus which began its first trials in Cambridge - it was the first service of its kind, running autonomously for 24 hours a day.

June

Some 500 people gathered at Crystal Palace’s ground in June, as two film and TC crews went head-to-head in a football match in memory of a Powys cameraman.

The crew of Indiana Jons and Essex, the working title for a TV series, battled it out on the pitch at Selhurst Park in the Mark Milsome Memorial Cup.

Mark, from Builth Wells, was killed while shooting a car stunt on the set of TV show Black Earth Rising in Africa in 2017.

Longtime colleague and friend of Mark, Harry Bowers, said: “Sunshine and the easing of lockdown kept the crowd in the fanzone for many hours after the match, and true to Mark’s nature, colleagues from across the industry came together for good times.

“This was the real success of the day, and we could not have hoped for more.”

Around £9,000 was raised for the Mark Milsome Foundation, to help it promote good health and safety standards and support for young people entering the industry.

Aberhonddu and District Male Voice Choir went global this month, when they took part in a virtual concert that connected choir across either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Brecon choir participated in the ‘Harmony Across The Globe’ virtual concert, which was hosted by the Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus.

June also saw the reopening of a major road in Powys, following a 15-month closure.

The A479 Lower Genffordd Bends near Talgarth closed in February 2020 after sustaining damage following a landslide caused by Storm Dennis.

The reopening of the road was to the relief of residents and commuters, who waited almost 16 months for the work to be completed. Concerns were also raised about the impact that the A479 closure had on adjacent routes, which saw substantial increases in traffic during the closure period.

Also in June, Brecon Town Council announced the winners of it’s first Best of Brecon Awards.

The awards, organised in partnership with the B&R and Brecon Volunteer Bureau, celebrated the work of volunteers and and community groups in the town.

Winners included youngster Pippa Hairs, who raised over £900 for St David’s Hospice by running 100km, and Sian Drinan, who recorded herself reading poetry every day to keep spirits up during lockdown. Volunteer of the Year was won by Davids and Clare Whittle and Voluntary Group of the Year was won by Brecon Foodbank.

June was a good month for the arts, with the conclusion of the highly successful Hay Festival 2021, and also the return of live events to Theatre Brycheiniog.

Hay Festival was a mixture of live and online events held over a fortnight, with events streamed by festival goers in over 130 countries. Theatre Brycheiniog held a test event during June half term called We Need Bees. The all singing and dancing show, in partnership with Theatr na nÓg, was held on the King George V playing field next to the theatre.

June also marked the month that Crickhowell running club chair Julie Cashell ran the width of Wales for charity. Julie completed the 50-mile journey in aid of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales and Latch, the Welsh children’s cancer charity.

At the end of the month, Brecon Rotary Club announced its new president for the year.

Roger Reese was formally handed the presidency by Anne Ingham on June 28.

June came to a close with one of the most wide-reaching stories the B&R has ever published.

A dog owner took his pet on one final trip up a mountain before he died, with the help of a wheelbarrow. Carlos Fresco’s labradoodle Monty had leukaemia for 18 months.

After his health started to decline for the last time, Mr Fresco made sure they had one last journey together up Pen Y Fan.

Carlos said: “He loved hill walks and we improvised and took him on trips around your wonderful beacons. Although he was weak he enjoyed all the fuss and attention received by so many well wishers. People on the hills were so kind and equally so sad at his deteriorating condition. In fact total strangers asked if they could share in pushing Monty on his last journey - many total strangers shed a tear as we all love dearly our little four-legged friends.

“I would like very much to thank them all for their support, encouragement and genuine concern over Monty,”

The story, which was first reported in the B&R, was picked up by hundreds of news outlets from across the world. The story was published by the BBC, The Independent, The Times and The Daily Mail just to name a few outlets in the UK. It was also reported on as far away as the US and Canada.

The national news in June started well as zero daily deaths from Coronavrius were reported on June 1 in the UK for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

On June 6 the famous cooling towers at Rugeley B power station were demolished and on June 13 new TV channel GB news was launched - Andrew Neil was the face of the channel in the run-up to its launch.

A new polymer £50 banknote entered circulation on June 23 featuring the famous WWII codebreaker Alan Turing.

For Part 3 of our 2021 Review of the Year looking at July to September, visit our website again tomorrow at 5pm. Visit our Facebook Page or Instagram to see more photos.