BRAG in 2023

Here is a summary of activities BRAG was involved in during 2023.

After the Christmas activities of 2022, there was still the putting away of decorations ready for 2023 starting with the taking down of the Christmas tree outside the community centre, packing away the lights and taking down the decorations inside the community centre. This took the BRAG volunteers most of the day.

Each spring we like to give the village a bit of a spring clean. During March and April, we organised several litter picks and working parties clearing paths, cutting back undergrowth, etc. This work is undertaken not just by BRAG members but also by volunteers who are most welcome.

One area of the village that was particularly bad was the bankside on the left of the road from the village to Port Talbot. A vanload of rubbish was collected from this area.

Rubbish had accumulated here over many years and included car parts, TVs and much more in addition to the normal fast food containers, tins and bottles.

Throughout 2023, BRAG members worked on environmental activities, along with the Afan Environment Volunteers to give nature a helping hand across the Bryn and Cwmafan ward.

One job shown in the photos below was the reinstating of the footpath that had been washed away by the river.

As the photos show, the missing bankside was replaced with tree trunks and large stones were placed in the void behind them. These were then filled in with smaller stones and covered over with soil.

Jobs like this are regularly performed by local volunteers to maintain the many footpaths in the area. Contact BRAG if you would like to take part in future work.

The Brag AGM (Annual General Meeting) took place in April 2023 where the BRAG accounts and annual report were presented to the village.

Further BRAG meetings, which are open to the entire village to get involved, took place in Jul, Aug, Sept and Nov. This is where the planning of activities to make Bryn a nice place are undertaken.

Three trustees meetings also took place in Mar, Sep and Nov. The management of BRAG affairs in line with the charity commission guidelines takes place in these meetings.

In the Nov. meeting, two new trustees came on board taking the total number of trustees from four to six. The BRAG entry on the Charity Commission website was updated to reflect the change.

One particular activity that has continued to grow throughout the year is the humanitarian support for refugees in Ukraine by the Bryn Ukraine Support Group. This activity is now in its second year and has been recognised in the national media. Every Friday, volunteers meet in Bryn Community Centre to receive and sort the very generous donations from Bryn and the surrounding area. These donations have then been loaded into vans for transportation to Ukraine. This photo shows some of these donations being processed. You can track the work on the Facebook page for the Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3397723743796322 BRAG supports the work of this group.

The group was also visited by David Rees MS and Jane Hutt from the Welsh assembly who came to see first-hand the work performed by the group’s volunteers.

Using proceeds from the 2022 Beast of Bryn race, investments were made in enhancing and maintaining the many facilities obtained and managed by BRAG. At the request of the BRAG youth representatives, two new Netball nets were purchased and placed in the tennis court area.

The Beast of Bryn had initially been planned to take place again at the end of May but with the death of Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles then being scheduled for the same weekend, the Beast was moved back to September. In preparation for the event, the village was once again given a spring clean, the Cricket club organised the repainting of the pavilion and the council helped with the grass cutting and general tidy-up.

As the race day approached, BRAG and other volunteers were very busy preparing the course and the facilities ready for the event. Where the course had become overgrown as shown in the photos below.

This was cut back to provide good access for the runners. Of course, the locals who use these paths for dog walking, etc. also benefit from these race preparations.

 As well as clearing the route, it had to be marked out for the runners to follow. The signs, donated by Skelton & Thomas, were renewed where required and large black-on-yellow pointers were strategically placed around the route. Just before the race, we did have strong winds that blew trees down across the route.

These had to be sewn up and moved to one side. This had to be quickly organised in time for the race.

Facilities such as toilets, registration facilities, generators, barriers etc also needed to be organised.

On the Sunday of the race, the weather was not the best but the transport used by the 500+ runners was marshalled into car parks, the runners picked up their race numbers and the race was under way.

Our smiling marshalls kept the runners on route and provided refreshments and encouragement where required to keep the runners smiling around the gruelling course.

A few photos taken from a drone show the runner’s progress around the course.

Smiling all the way.

They eventually cross the finish line and collect their well-deserved medal.

After the event, when the cars have taken the participants home, the facilities have been dismantled, and all traces of the day removed, there was still much to do like cleaning and drying the gazebos used, recovering items from around the course and much more.

The next big event was the children’s Halloween Party. Stephen Hughes and Morgan Thomas did their normal superb job of decorating the Bryn Rugby Club with the many Halloween decorations. BRAG members and other volunteers were there to greet the guests, prepare and serve food and refreshments and organise music and entertainment.

Once underway, both children and parents can be seen getting into the spirit of the event and enjoying the evening. Four prizes were awarded for the best Halloween lanterns and costumes.

The Bryn Nature Reserve is recognised as very significant within Wales for the biodiversity that exists there.  Regular surveys take place to monitor this and in November, a Bryn Tip Nature Walk was organised as detailed in the poster below. Those attending were told about the nature and heritage of the site and helped take soil samples for analysis.

On Sunday 5th of November, BRAG members helped deliver another very successful Richard Burton 10k race day, which saw a record number of runners taking part. This was well supported by residents from the area both taking part and encouraging others who were taking part.

The race saw many runners setting new personal best times and celebrations continued into the night both in the marquee and the rugby club.

The next morning, after the marquee was removed, a big clean-up job was revealed. The BRAG and Cwmafan volunteers quickly got to work and by midday, the village was looking pristine once more.

The next activities were all about Christmas. The first task was to obtain, erect and decorate a Christmas tree. Local farmer Rob Thomas has said we could use a tree from his land. Darrell Thomas and some of his friends scouted the land for a suitable tree and with help from JSD Timber Supplies, felled the tree and transported it to Bryn Community Centre. Here the tree was trimmed to fit the hole and with the aid of voluntary muscle power and a tractor, the tree was erected into position.

Once in the hole, wedges were made and hammered into position to hold the tree in a vertical position.

It was then ready to decorate but with the constant rain, this did not get completed until early December.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped obtain and erect this tree for the residents of Bryn. A special thank you to Rob Thomas for providing the tree and JSD Timber Supplies who provided the equipment required to make the task possible.

It should also be noted that the teenagers of the Bryn Youth Club had also decorated a tree inside the community Centre, which was appreciated by all those attending the centre over the Christmas period.

Despite the wind and rain, the lights were finally placed on the tree on 2nd December and switched on.

I had mentioned November and December had been a very wet months. The photo below shows just how wet.

Thankfully, our Councillor Charlotte Galsworthy was able to get the council to reinstate some drains on this ground so, hopefully, we should not see this level of flooding in the future.

On the evening of Sunday 10th December, we had the official switching on of the Christmas tree and Carols around the tree. The evening started with the children decorating biscuits and creating models using balloons. The children judged to have performed best at this had the honour of throwing the switch for the official lighting up of the tree. Anthony Bwye, from the Maesteg Gleemen MVC then led the singing of Carols around the tree.

On Sunday 17th December, BRAG, in conjunction with Bryn Rugby Club, laid on a Christmas Party for the children of the village.

Boxing Day saw the last joint walk between BRAG and CwmWalking take place. A short 3-hour walk around the hills above Rhyslyn car park.

The Ukraine aid group also received a photo from one of the Ukraine orphanages showing the children gratefully receiving the Christmas presents that the group had sent to them.

That sums up just a few of the many activities undertaken by BRAG through the course of 2023. There are many other activities such as the ongoing maintenance of the rights of way, picnic areas, play facilities, flower boxes and much more. Dafydd Bowen deserves a special mention regarding the flower boxes as he has not only maintained the boxes but also donated the plants used in the boxes.

Although the Council still own the Bryn Community Centre, BRAG manages the centre on their behalf under a licence agreement with the council.

Below is a before and after of the Grofton public right of way which is cleared about four times a year by BRAG along with many other walks around Bryn.