Join us for the final part of our Review of the Year for 2021. In part four we’ll be looking at news in Brecon and Radnorshire, as well as some nationally, for months October to December.

October

In October, the B&R reported on a story of how a Brecon diplomat cradled a tiny baby in his arms as he helped its mother flee Afghanistan.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office desk officer Rhys Annett was part of the UK’s Rapid Deployment Team deployed to Kabul to help over 15,000 Brits and Afghans escape.

Rhys spent a week in Kabul helping to get people out – and missed the explosion that killed 170 people by just two hours.

The 29-year-old has given a glimpse into what life was like being at the heart of the emergency operation.

He said: “It was a harrowing experience because you were dealing face-to-face with families in the most desperate situation.

“Probably the most vivid memory I have is a woman who had baby twins, aged about seven or eight months old. Their dad had been killed by the Taliban.

“She could not carry the twins by herself so was basically passing one of them along the very long queue and it eventually came to me. I held the baby while I was trying to process her departure.”

A Powys preserves business celebrated national success this month, after one of their products achieved top marks at a coveted food and drink awards.

Ty’r Gobaith’s Pantry, based in Llangattock, was announced as one of the stars of 2021 by Great Taste - all thanks to a particular pickled product.

Their very own ‘Pickled Cucumber’ was awarded the highest accreditation from the foodies at Great Taste - one of just 11 top marks awarded across the whole of Wales.

Also in October, Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees held a rally to oppose the Nationality and Borders Bill going through parliament at the time.

Despite the miserable weather, over 70 people showed up at St Mary’s Church in Brecon, to show their support for refugees and asylum seekers.

Supporters wore orange clothes and held orange hearts and banners to symbolise lifejackets. The group joined to create a ‘Circle of Love’ around the church, while passing vehicles sounded their horns to express their support.

The group feared that the Nationality and Borders Bull, which has been dubbed ‘The Anti-Refugees Bill’, could deny people who are fleeing from danger the chance to apply for sanctuary in the UK.

Families from a Breconshire village celebrated this month after successfully appealing for their children to be granted school bus passes.

Frustrated parents from Bwlch and neighbouring hamlet Cathedine had rallied together over concerns about the allocation of the passes, which are granted by the transport unit of Powys County Council.

After being told in the summer that some of their children had not qualified for a pass, which entitles them to transport, around 20 families in the community formed an action group to focus their efforts.

The action group released a statement, condemning the council’s approach to the situation, adding that they would fight for what is ‘right and fair’ for their children.

The two nearest primary-age schools to Bwlch/Cathedine are Llangorse Church in Wales School to the north and Llangynidr County Primary School to the south. The action group claimed that Powys County Council was trying to stop the village’s transport to Llangorse School.

The group had also accused the authority of ‘inconsistencies’ in its approach, while citing one family in the village with two children enrolled at Llangorse School. The family’s 7-year-old was initially granted a bus pass but their 4-year-old had not.

Following the appeal, both siblings were granted bus passes via confirmation email, with other families in the village also successfully appealing their case.

In October, politicians across the UK spoke out after the Southend West MP Sir David Amess was killed at a constituency survey at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-On-Sea on October 15. As the nights started to grow darker, we saw the contactless payment limit increase from £45 to £100 on October 15, and on Halloween we saw the two-week United Nationals Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow which was postponed from 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic.

November

One of the larger stories reported in the B&R in November was a 54-hour cave rescue mission which ended in success.

George Linnane, who is 38-year-old fell ‘a considerable distance’ from a ledge and became trapped in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system, near Penwyllt.

Over 300 volunteers from 10 rescue teams from around the UK were involved in the rescue, which ended after he was brought to the surface.

The rescue mission was co-orindated by South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team, with the help from at least nine other rescue teams from across the UK.

Mr Linnane was believed to have suffered back, leg and facial injuries, but was expected to make a good recovery.

Good news for Hay-on-Wye Public Library was also released this month, as is was announced that its future is secured for at least the next five years.

After years of being threatened with closure due to council budget cuts, the positive announcement came in November following extensive notions between Powys County Council and HayPublicLibrary.org - the Community Interest Company set up by library supporters in 2019.

People from across Powys gathered in November to remember those who have fought and fallen in battle.

Despite cold weather, Remembrance Sunday saw small military parades and services throughout Brecon and Radnorshire.

In Brecon, crowds gathered in the town centre at the cenotaph outside St Mary’s Church to see wreaths being laid.

A Brecon cyclist thanked four Powys County Council employees this month, after their swift actins saved his life following a roadside heart attack.

Paul Keddle was cycling from Brecon to Defynnog on November 17 when he suffered what he was later told was a heart attack with a fully blocked artery.

Following help from the four council workers, Paul Havard, Jason Williams, Richard Jones, and Laurie Clewitt, Paul was transported to Brecon hospital where he was blue-lighted to Cardiff.

Paul had two stents fitted and is making his recovery, and says he is indebted to the four men who helped him at the roadside.

Also in November, a Brecon pensioner raised nearly £800 for a locally-based dementia charity by talking 50 miles over 50 days.

Gaynor Perkins, walked the equivalent of Brecon to Llandrindod Wells and back over the 50-day period in aid of Dementia Matters in Powys (DMiP).

DMiP chief officer Deborah Gerrard, said they were ‘incredibly grateful’ that Gaynor chose to walk and support the charity.

The strength and perseverance of a community was on full show this month as a brand new village store was opened after more than three years of hard work.

Llangors residents Ryley Reed and Doreen Tranter opened the doors of the new village shop.

The store is a community endeavour and will provide a valuable service to the people of Llangors.

In November, football hero Marc Rashford once again made the news as he had been awarded an MBE on November 9 for his incredible campaign to help vulnerable children. On November 14, the UK was shaken as three men were arrested under the Terrorism Act after a car exploded outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital leaving the taxi driver in hospital. November. It was a big month for animal rights activists as both Natural Resources Wales and The National Trust banned trail hunting around November 25 on its land following concerns that it was being used as a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting.

December

In the first issue of the B&R this December, it was announced that plans to close the barracks in Brecon in 2027 had been scrapped.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the House of Commons that “after careful consideration” the Ministry of Defence planned to retain the site in the garrison town.

Brecon and Radnorshire MP Fay Jones celebrated the news, as she has led the campaign to keep the barracks, based on the Watton, open since her election in 2019.

Speaking after the announcement, Ms Jones said: “This is fantastic news. I am absolutely delighted that the Barracks have been saved.”

Also this month, Llandrindod Wells was named the happiest place to live in Wales for the third year running.

The town came out on top of the Welsh list, and even managed an impressive fifth place on the UK-wide rankings. The rankings come from an index compiled by property and real estate portal Rightmove.

The B&R also reported the story of a charity auction, which raised an incredible £20,000 for a closure-threatened primary school.

The event, which was held on Friday, November 26, was in aid of Llanfihangel Rhydithon Community Primary School, better known as Dolau school.

The auction was organised by ‘Friends of Dolau School’ and ‘Dolau school action group’, and was well attended by Dolau residents, friends, family as well as supporters who visited from far and wide.

There were over 150 lots in the auction, which had been kindly donated by businesses from the local area, Powys and beyond, all keen to do their bit to support the school and secure its future.

A loyal pooch was celebrated in the B&R this month, when she stayed with her missing owner for hours while he lay in the mud, until he was found by a search helicopter.

Molly stayed with her owner after he slipped and was unable to get up while taking the dog for her afternoon walk in Brecon at around 1.30pm on Saturday, December 4.

Dyfed-Powys Police and Brecon Mountain Rescue Team were both involved in the search for the man, who was found near Cradoc Golf Club more than five hours later.

December also marked a royal visit to Mid Wales, when Prince Charles dropped in to Rhayader and Llandrindod Wells.

In Llandrindod Wells, The Prince of Wales has received a National Mentoring Award on behalf of PRIME Cymru, the charity he founded 20 years ago.

The charity was honoured for its hugely successful mentoring programme, which has contributed to helping more than 15,000 over 50s into employment, self-employment, volunteering and training.

In Rhayader, The Prince of Wales met the four-year-old star of a viral Christmas advert when he visited family-run Hafod Hardware.

Prince Charles was met by the Lord-Lieutenant of Powys Tia Jones on Friday, December 10 and introduced to store manager, Tom Jones.

After looking around the store, Prince Charles met staff of the independent business, including Tom’s grandparents Alan and Pauline Lewis, Tom’s wife, Laura Jones and his four-year-old son, Arthur Jones - star of the shop’s viral advert.

Arthur’s performance for the hardware store’s homemade Christmas commercial in December 2019 captured the hearts of viewers, in a video which has since racked up over 2.7m views on YouTube.

In December there was more unwelcome pandemic news in the UK as lateral flow test shortages were reported with messaging saying that the kits were unavailable appearing on the government website while Omicron cases started to spread. Meanwhile on December 22 and again on December 30 First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the latest new regulations and restrictions for Welsh residents, including key isolation rule changes on New Year’s Eve and the country reverting to Level 2 on Boxing Day.

Thank you for joining us for our Review of the Year 2021 - join us again over the next three days for our sports review. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2022!