Lost Communities Film Show Success

The film show that Lost Communities held on Saturday at Morfa Social Club was a huge success - over 100 people attended.

The group showed their DVD, called Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys ~ Memories of Lost Communities, made by them with support from Carmarthenshire Connect.

Lost Communities group members hold the DVD, with Glanymor & Tyisha Communities First Development Officer Faye Davies (front right) and Carmarthenshire Connect Field Officer Ran Foster-Mason (front left)

All the members of the group contributed food for a buffet for all to enjoy. There was also a raffle - the main prize was the complete ingredients for a Sunday lunch!

Serving the buffet

The drinks team

Lost Communities have been selling copies of their DVD. Profits from the sales will be used to purchase a commemorative bench to be sited along the Millennium Coastal path, near to where the communities of Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys once stood.

Llanelli Community Heritage was at the event with a display about a new interpretative panel that has recently been installed along the Millennium Coastal path. The panel features interesting information and photographs about the villages.

Some of the event attendees

The next project that Lost Communities is embarking on is their new book. The group want to collect as many stories and articles as possible from former residents and people with memories of Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys. Many stories were handed in on the day and there were pens and notepads for people to write their articles there and then.

The event was supported by Glanymor & Tyisha Communities First. Carmarthenshire Connect assisted by providing CAVS' projector and PA system to play back the DVD. Both Communities First and Carmarthenshire Connect have been helping the group to duplicate the DVDs, ready for sale.

Memories of Lost Communities DVD

The Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys Lost Communities group will be holding an event on Saturday where they will be showing their DVD that was made with support from Carmarthenshire Connect and Glanymor & Tyisha Communities First.

This is the group's news release:
Bwlchygwynt and Machynys Lost Communities Group have been working hard over the last year making history by putting together their own DVD – Memories of Lost Communities – a collection of stories from former residents of Bwlchygwynt and Machynys. The DVD commemorates the people who lived in these villages that once existed around the area where the current Machynys Golf course and new developments exist today.

With the help of Carmarthenshire Connect and Communities First Glanymor & Tyisha, the DVD is now complete and for sale at £5 per copy. The first 50 copies sold within a week! All monies raised from the sale of the DVD’s will go towards a commemorative bench to be placed in the Millennium Coastal Path close to where the villages existed.

The group are holding a special film showing of the DVD at Morfa Social Club on Sat 7th March, 2.00 – 5.00pm. Everyone is welcome, free entry and free buffet, and the group is eager to attract ex-residents of Bwlchygwynt & Machynys who were re-housed all over Llanelli to watch this special film, and help with the groups next exciting venture - producing a book of Bwlchygwynt and Machynys memories. For more information, please contact Sandra Jenkins (nee Harries) on 01554 751855 or Faye at Communities First Glanymor & Tyisha on 777850.

The cover of Memories of Lost Communities

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 9 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed.

This is the last video in the 'I Remember When...' series and it is a poignant one for members of Lost Communities who grew up in the now-demolished villages of Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys that once stood where the current

I remember when Pentre Nicklaus was the villages of Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys

by Mavis Smith and Sandra Jenkins

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 8 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when Delta Lakes was

‘The Channel’ and

R T Mills (a steel works)

by Mavis Smith

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 7 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when ‘The Bury Box’

(a cardboard box factory) was on

Bury Road
by Sandra Jenkins

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 6 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when the Llanelli Sea Cadets base was The Dock Hotel
by Sandra Jenkins

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 5 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when Morfa Gospel Hall was on Ropewalk Road
by Sandra Jenkins

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 4 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when the land near Embankment Road was a scrap yard
by Sandra Jenkins

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 3 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when there was a river running alongside a row of houses in Dafen Row

by Mavis Smith

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Video Number 2 in the series where members of Lost Communities share their memories of how the Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys areas of Llanelli have changed

I remember when New Street had a railway bridge, 'Joe Cwtch' and 'Ted The Cobblers'

by Mavis Smith

Lost Communities - I Remember When...

Sandra Jenkins and Mavis Smith of the Lost Communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys group have happy memories of growing up in their home communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys and the surrounding areas of Morfa and Bwlch, in Llanelli.

The villages of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys were demolished in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The new Pentre Nicklaus Village and Machynys golf course now sit on the land where they were. Some 30 years on, former residents still remember the extraordinary community spirit that existed in these villages. This sense of unity lives on today in the form of the Lost Communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys community group.

Today, we have the first in a series of videos that Sandra and Mavis recorded of each other sharing their memories of growing up in the areas that are known today as Morfa, Bwlch and Machynys. The videos are recorded at sites where Sandra and Mavis have particular memories.

Mavis records Sandra sharing her memories using a Busbi digital camcorder

All the videos were recorded using one of Carmarthenshire Connect's small point and shoot 'Busbi' digital camcorders. They run on 2 AA batteries and will record up to 60 minutes of video. With no settings to adjust and just a stop/start button, a Busbi is great for recording videos quickly and easily. These camcorders record in a quality setting that renders small file sizes, which makes them good for uploading to the web.

We start this series with video number 1...

I remember when Morfa Social Club was the ‘Tin Hut’

by Sandra Jenkins

We'll be posting further Lost Communities - I remember when... videos on Mondays

Lost Communities DVD Public Screening

The Lost Communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys group will be screening their new DVD on Monday 16 June. The screening will be held at Morfa Social Club, Llanelli at 7pm.

Lost Communities group members Sandra Jenkins and Mavis Smith have been working hard on this new DVD over the last couple of months. Carmarthenshire Connect has been helping them to capture and edit footage for their DVD. Glanymor & Tyisha Communities First have been helping to organise and book venues.

The DVD features interviews with people who lived in Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys and photos of people and the area before it was demolished in the early 70s.

The evening will be a good chance to catch up with friends and enjoy the special memories people have of this part of Llanelli. All are welcome.

Lost Communities DVD Progress

The Memories of Lost Communities DVD that Sandra and Mavis from the Lost Communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys group are making is progressing well. The DVD, which Carmarthenshire Connect is helping the group create, will feature memories of people who lived in Bwlch-y-Gwynt and Machynys before the communities were demolished about 30 years ago.

Yesterday, we filmed some introduction shots at the site where the communities used to be. The villages were in the area of Llanelli where Machynys Peninsular Golf & Country Club and the new Pentre Nicklaus Village development are now sited. Filming was made a little difficult be the amount of wind. Bwlch-y-gwynt, which roughly translates into English as 'windy gap', was named so for a good reason!

Sandra and Mavis film on the road that once led to the communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys

Lost Communities Reunion

The Lost Communities of Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys group are holding a reunion on Monday 18 Febraury at the Bwlch Youth and Community Centre in Morfa, Llanelli. The reunion is a chance for those who lived in Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys to share their memories of what life was like in the communities over a cup of coffee.

Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys were areas of Llanelli demolished in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There are many people with fond memories of the areas. The Lost Communities group was formed to keep the history of the Bwlch-y-gwynt and Machynys alive by, amongst other things, setting up plaques that are part of new developments.

Lost Communities are also making a DVD all about the special memories people have. Sandra and Mavis are leading on this project, with help from Carmarthenshire Connect. A video camera will be set-up on Monday, ready to get people's memories on tape, so it's a great chance to be a part of the DVD. Do bring along any photos that you have of the area, they too can be on the DVD.

Mavis and Sandra explain the reunion.