SKITTLERS ON PINS: The April meeting of Ponthir WI was held in the village hall, Ponthir, when the members were welcomed by their president, Mrs Jean Wiltshire.

Mrs Agnes Heath, secretary, dealt with the necessary business, reading the minutes and county letter.

Members taking part in the skittles evening at Usk were praised by their president, and Mrs Helena Thomas reported on the quiz evening. Although Ponthir were not winners, they did extremely well, and all enjoyed a wonderful evening with a buffet supper.

Tickets were given out for the AC Meeting at the County Hall, on April 24, Mrs Margaret Jones will act as our delegate.

The co-operative competition was coming on nicely and will be judged at the meeting.

Mrs Jan Howells of the RSPB, and working at Newport Wetlands, came along and gave us a most interesting talk, with slides on the work carried out in the area.

She told us that Newport Wetlands lies on the eastern edge of Newport, only a short distance from the city centre. along the northern shore of the Severn Estuary.

The site was chosen for development as compensation measures for the loss of Cardiff Bay mudflats.

Previously, the site consisted of fuel ash from the Uskmouth Power Station and poorly maintained land. It has now been transformed into a wetland area, a haven for wildlife, and by the end of this year a new education centre with lookouts and a cafe will be completed.

CCW Newport City, the RSPB and Assembly funding all worked together to make this vision a reality.

Jan was thanked for her most inter-esting talk by Mrs Irene Lau, who had already visited the area and said how fortunate we are to have it so near. Mrs Jan Howells kindly awarded Mrs Virginia Dalgleish with first place for her wildlife photograph.

The raffle was won by Mrs Audrey Lindvall and tea was served by Mrs Helena Thomas and Mrs Marjorie Woolven. Next meeting will be on Monday, May 7, at 7.15pm, at the Ponthir Village Hall.

by Nancy Davies