Soar Centre was the centre of spooky Halloween fun this October half-term. Many children and parents enjoyed a variety of activities including creating scary scarecrows, bat mobiles and masks and, of course, bobbing for apples!

The grand finale for the 3-day long playscheme was a spooky show put on by some of the club members, dancing to the famous Thriller by Michael Jackson.

An event for the over 50’s was held at the Soar Centre, Penygraig in October with around 40 community members benefiting from the information, advice and free products provided by a variety of agencies and organisations.

Those that attended were able to get their benefits checked, find out more about what Age Concern can offer, get safety information and advice from the Police, Fire Service and Cynon Valley Crime Prevention. And much more.

Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch, tea and coffee followed by a fruit salad for dessert. A worthwhile and enjoyable event all round!

With plenty of exercise classes and groups on offer at the Soar Centre Penygraig, there is a lot you can get involved in to help get you more active and sociable.

Learn a few Salsa moves while dancing to get get fit and healthy, it is for all levels of fitness.

A gentle but highly effective exercise improving posture and flexibility. Slow measured movements create strong, lean muscles.

With gentle exercise and dance routines, increase your flexibility and have fun doing it!

Walk, stay fit, socialise and visit areas of the valleys you may not have seen before.<

This class will help you to relax, reduce stress, increase mental clarity and improve physical health

Tammy or Matthew on 01443 420870

Penygraig Community Project (Bike Club) ran a 4-week playscheme with a whopping 117 children attending on average each day, plus around 40 adults, making it a great community event.

Children enjoyed a variety of activities from free play to painting, from water slides to dance, all ending with a Party BBQ with Chinese Lanterns.

Many people also enjoyed the day trips to Porthcawl, Margam Park and the National Play Day in Pontypridd Park.

In the last week of Playscheme, 8 children benefited from an overnight stay at Little Bryn Gwyn on the Gower.

A big thank you to everyone who gave up their time to volunteer, as a Playscheme of this size is only made possible with your help.

The traditional Penygraig Park Fun Day was held on Saturday, 15th August and unfortunately weather prevailed and it rained, rained, rained! Despite the weather around 40 people still attended and had fun on the Playbus, with the Birds of Prey and had a go at the learning some circus skills. Here’s hoping for better weather next year!

The Vicarage Road Fun Day on the 5th September went ahead as planned with a family show, the Valleys Kids Playbus and circus skills. The local Food Co-op launch also took place that day and the event was enjoyed by all the local community members.

This year, thanks to funding from RCT Homes and Young Wales, 8 of our young people participated in Action Camp.

Camping for 2 nights in Kiln Park, Tenby, the young people were challenged to work as a team, mix with people from other areas in the Rhondda, learn some cooking skills, taste new foods and participate in outdoor activities. The whole experience was finished with a day at Oakwood.

After raising around £90 sponsorship money each to fund the ride taking them from Trefin to Llanelli doing a total of 90 miles over 3 days.

The sun shone down on the first day, resulting in picturesque countryside, encounters with wildlife and celeb spotting in St David’s. Tired legs were soothed with a dip in the ocean. The Girls especially took advantage of being by the sea, swimming in the freezing cold water every chance they got!

A soggy start to day two, setting off from Broad Haven, finishing in St Florence. The wet and windy weather only motivated the young riders to complete the 26 miles in 4 hours – a record speed!

The young people were not short of things to do in the evenings - taking walks on the beach, exploring caves, chatting and playing games. The boys even learned a little about the Welsh culture when they took a walk to Little Haven, where they enjoyed a demonstration on the use of an ancient mode of transport and fishing boat called the Coracle.

Day 3 started with sore bums and aching legs and while the riders were happy it was the last ride so they could rest, they were disappointed the adventure was fast coming to an end. With spirits high, the long uphill climb at the start was easily conquered and riders were left to enjoy the beautiful millennium coastline, coming to an end in Llanelli.

Some thoughts from our riders:

Chloe said “it weren’t too easy, but weren’t too hard – it was nice”.

Jerone said “I really enjoyed it and liked riding the bikes everywhere”.