News
HRH visits Gwent and Monmouthshire
23rd October 2008
The Prince of Wales today joined commuters on a train service established to help regenerate a community in Wales during a visit to Gwent and Monmouthshire.
The Prince caught the link between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff that was re-introduced following the closure of the town's steel works.
Until February, a passenger service had not run on the line since the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
Following a massive cash injection, the line was reopened to help the people of Blaenau Gwent and beyond find work.
During the short ride between Llanhilleth, where The Prince officially opened the village's renovated Miners' Institute, and Ebbw Vale, The Prince met a local woman who has benefited from the service.
Andrea Morris was returning from a successful job interview at a bakery on the outskirts of Newport when she spoke to The Prince.
"He asked me why I was using the train and I told him I had been to an interview in Rogerstone and that I had got the job," said the 34-year-old from Ebbw Vale.
"He said 'congratulations'. He was lovely. That was the second time I have met him. He came to Newbridge many years ago to open the Aiwa factory and I used to work there."
Before catching the train, The Prince unveiled The Prince's Trust Cymru's Business Programme which aims to help more than 400 businesses in Wales set up over the next three years.
It is estimated it could generate as much as £4million for the Welsh economy if the programme reaches its target.
The Prince was visiting the Llanhilleth Miners’ Institute which was opened in May 1906 as a response to the development of South Wales coalfield and to meet the demands of the mining population to have a meeting place for evening classes, self-education and community recreation.
In recent years the restoration of the building was driven by local people to once more provide an educational base and focal point for the community.
The institute now provides a new function hall, a community café, training rooms, IT facilities, an interactive library and a mobile crèche. The project is a major part of the Llanhilleth Area Regeneration Scheme.
Addressing a crowd at the institute, which included many of the young entrepreneurs The Prince’s Trust has helped over the years, The Prince said: "I'm absolutely thrilled that we have been able to bring this programme back to life.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that all young people should be given a chance to succeed in life whatever the obstacles they face.
"The business programme helps young people to start up in business through low interest loans and mentor support."
Among those present who have been helped by the Trust was Jemma Jonathan, from Porth, South Wales.
She was assisted in setting up a grave-tending business called Fallen Angels after an illness left her unable to carry on working in her old job.
Earlier during the visit, The Prince met many of the people who have been instrumental in bringing the 102-year-old Llanhilleth Miners' Institute back from the brink of demolition a few years ago to what it is now, the focal point of the community once again.
Lyn Maloney, Institute secretary, said: "We've waited so long for this and here we are.
"We've had well over £1.5 million spent on the building thanks to funding from Europe, the Welsh Assembly and Blaenau Gwent council.
"It has been three years in the making but it has been well worth it. Today is the icing on the cake."
He added: "The Prince asked how old the building was and asked what it was being used for.
"He must have done his homework because he asked about the old Territorial Army hall which has been knocked down for the car park at the back of the building."
The Prince was also treated to four songs by the pupils of St Illtyd's Primary school and Swffryd Primary school.
After their performance, The Prince was presented with two large birthday cards the children had made ahead of his 60th next month.
He told them: "I want to thank you more that I can possibly say for these wonderful birthday cards.
"I'm very worried about the fact that I will be so old next month; so old that the headteacher of Swffryd Primary school told me he remembered me coming to open a youth club when he was nine-years-old!"
The Prince was offered a chance to play the guitar of Cheryl Beer.
The singer-songwriter from Carmarthen was performing a song she wrote specially for his visit to Llanhilleth.
"He just laughed when I offered it to him and said 'no, I gave up the cello years ago'," she said.
"He was a lovely man and so down-to-earth."
The Prince was also presented with a ram's horn market stick made by local woodcarver George Woodland.
"He was very appreciative and said he would leave it at his home in Wales for whenever he visits," Mr Woodland said.
Afterward The Prince visited open a restored medieval tithe barn.
The 900-year-old barn, in Abergavenny, was bought by parishioners in 1999 and £1.6 million has been spent transforming it into a centre for exhibitions, education and hospitality.
The Prince met schoolchildren dressed in period costumes, who demonstrated how butter, wool and pomanders would have been made in medieval times.
And some of the 60 stitchers who created a 24ft wide tapestry to celebrate 1,000 years of Abergavenny history, which hangs in the barn, spoke to him about their project.
Sheila Bevan said: "He was delightful, it was a real thrill. I told him we got some money from The Prince's Trust and he was pleased about that.
"I pointed out things on the tapestry and what they mean. He was very interested and I think he would have liked to spend longer here."
The visit began with a service of thanksgiving at the adjacent St Mary's Priory Church.
The service gave thanks for the work of the St Mary's Priory Development Trust, of which The Prince is Patron, in restoring the barn.
The Prince was given a tour of the church, and saw a memorial to Margaret Plantagenet who died at the age of 14 when she suffered a fall chasing her pet squirrel around the ramparts of Abergavenny Castle in the 13th Century.
And he gained a number of young fans among members of the church choir who sang for him during the service.
Rhiannon Plessis, 12, said: "I almost fainted when he walked past.
"I've seen him on telly and wished I could meet him and it was amazing."
Alex Buhaenko, 11, said he had many sleepless nights leading up to the performance.
He said: "It's big, isn't it? It's not like a normal service."
Simon Pratt, 13, said: "He asked us how we were, when were we on half-term. He was very nice, very pleasant."
The Prince also visited the Priory Centre next door, at his own request, which he opened in 2000.
Inside, he met a number of local dignitaries and volunteers, and the centre's manager, Hazel Buchanan.
Mrs Buchanan said: "He asked how often it was used and I said we have 80 to 90 events a month.
"He asked if we had anything on this evening and I said yoga and invited him to come back for it. He said he might need to by the end of the day!"
The Prince also met 93-year-old Richard Yardley, who raised £17,000 in six weeks for trees at the centre.
The Prince stopped for a quick cup of tea at the Taste of Wales Food Hall cafe, on the ground floor of the barn, before unveiling a plaque to officially open the building.
The Rev Canon Jeremy Winston, vicar of St Mary's Priory Church, said the restoration of the tithe barn had been an inspiring challenge.
He said: "The building was brought back into church ownership through the generosity of members of the congregation at St Mary's at a time when it was thought the building was in danger of collapse.
"Addressing that challenge has taken a few years and has involved an innovative use of engineering skills in order to secure the building for the future.
"The internal transformation from what was once a carpet warehouse is simply staggering.
"I am delighted with the result and am confident the tithe barn will become a valuable resource for both the church and the wider community."