Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters
From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

A Bargoed boy has written a letter to express his thanks for the colourful displays of handmade flowers put up throughout the town.
Oliver Powell, five, has written an open letter delivered to Bargoed Town Council thanking people for creating knitted and crocheted floral displays.
In his letter, Oliver wrote: “To the people making the flowers, thank you for doing that. You are nice, I am very happy.
“To the people who put the flowers up, thank you for doing it. I am very happy.
“The flowers are great.”
Anne-Marie Spiller, 35, Oliver’s mother, told Caerphilly Observer more about Oliver’s motivations and said: “He saw them last year and loves them.
“He loves going on a hunt every day to see if there’s any more.”
Anne-Marie is a volunteer who has crocheted and sewed flowers herself and said Oliver is “very into nature” and tends to have a particular favourite.
She continued: “He especially loves one with bees on.”
The letter, written in Oliver’s own words, is now on the notice board in the town council building.
Speaking about the letter, Anne-Marie said: “There’s been a lot of feedback.
“Lots of people have been praising it.”
The handmade displays have been made by volunteers from organisations including Cartref Community Hall and can be seen in Bargoed and Aberbargoed.

This is part of greater efforts to make the area a place to visit, with the town being entered into Wales in Bloom alongside Bargoed in Bloom – a competition where businesses decorate their exteriors, run by Murray’s Bar and Grill.
Cllr Dawn Ingram-Jones, who represents Bargoed ward and is also a county councillor for Aberbargoed and Bargoed, said: ”We wanted to show the creative side of our residents.”
Cllr Ingram-Jones added that there are still more displays to go out and that the town has window displays as well as troughs, buckets and fountains of real flowers for people to see.
There’s a hope that Bargoed will of course win Wales in Bloom and that the efforts will bring people together.
“It’s a proper community engagement,” added Cllr Ingram-Jones.
The next step for Oliver is to design his own, according to Anne-Marie who said: “They just really put a smile on his face.”

This article previously stated that Cllr Ingram-Jones was a town councillor for Park.
Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters
From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts.
Become a member today