Artist Meinir Mathias’ striking reimagined images of the Rebecca rioters and other characters from Welsh history and legend are instantly recognisable. We were therefore delighted that she was able to come and talk to us about her artwork, the techniques she uses, and what inspires her at our November meeting. Taken from Meinir’s website: Through layered narratives and symbolic figuration, Welsh artist Meinir Mathias explores the intersection of place, identity, and collective memory. Her paintings inhabit a poetic space between the personal and the mythic, where the past continually resurfaces in the present. Working primarily in oil and intaglio printmaking, her practice merges history and imagination to reflect on belonging, resilience, and the human condition. Her characters, drawn from memory, folklore, and lived experience, inhabit both real and dreamlike spaces, reinterpreting the feminine and the heroic within contemporary contexts. Rooted in the land and language of Wales, her work resonates universally through its exploration of transformation, inheritance, and emotional truth. A graduate of BA and MA Fine Art and a former lecturer at Carmarthen School of Art, Meinir now works full-time from her studio in Ceredigion, West Wales. Since her acclaimed debut solo exhibition Rebel in 2020, her work has been shown widely across Wales and internationally , including Wales Contemporary at the Waterfront Gallery, Oriel Myrddin, Ffin y Parc Gallery, RCA Conwy, Oriel Mimosa, Galeri Canfas, and Oriel Plas Glyn y Weddw. In 2024 she held a major solo exhibition at the Palais des Congrès in Lorient, France, during the Festival Interceltique, and most recently presented a collection of female portraits at the Senedd , National Assembly of Wales, Cardiff. Her paintings are represented in the National Collection at the National Library of Wales, and she received the People’s Choice Award at the Royal Cambrian Academy of Fine Arts. Her work has also been featured on S4C’s Cymry ar Gynfas / Wales on Canvas, where she was commissioned to paint naturalist and broadcaster Iolo Williams, and she has collaborated with award-winning poet Menna Elfyn to re-interpret a collection of her poems through visual art. Described by The Western Mail as “multi-layered imagery drawing from the heart of Wales’s land and history,” Meinir’s work continues to evolve, reimagining the traces of myth, memory, and the human story for a contemporary world.

Aberaeron’s annual book festival is taking place next weekend. The diverse programme includes a feast for lovers of history and historical fiction by the following authors: Alis Hawkins was brought up on a dairy farm near Newcastle Emlyn. She has two Victorian crime fiction series with a strong local interest. The Teifi Valley Coroner series featuring the investigations of blind coroner Harry Probert-Lloyd will be known to many members. The more recent Oxford Mysteries, set at the beginning of the womens’ college movement, feature feisty Llangrannog girl Rhiannon Vaughan whose mentor is none other than Cranogwen. Susan Stokes-Chapman is a graduate of Aberystwyth University. She writes historical fiction set in the Georgian era. The Shadow Key, a gothic tale of myth and medicine is set in a fictional mining village in rural Meirionydd. Yours truly and co-author, historical fiction writer SE Morgan will also be doing a session on our book. The House that Bensha Built is all about the residents of Aberaeron’s Portland House and we will be focussing on Ann Howell, a lady with a secret in her past. The full programme and details of all speakers can be found on Gwisgo Bookworm’s website: https://www.gwisgobookworm.co.uk/

Our Winter series opened with the final talk in ‘The Remarkable Residents of Portland House’ series - focussing on Phyllis Sewell. It also acted as the launch of the accompanying book, ‘The House that Bensha built.’ Portland House moved out of the hands of the family who had built it for the first time in the 1950s. The new owner, Phyllis Sewell (or Warden Brown), was a remarkable woman indeed and well ahead of her times. Born in Hull in 1895, her university studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War 1. During that time, she worked on the front as a VAD, (a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment), and then became an administrator for Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps. She was awarded an MBE in 1919 for her services in France. She had dealt with soldiers with horrendous injuries in incredibly difficult circumstances. Phyllis ( photograph kindly shared by her great grandson Mathew) After that she had a prestigious career in Hong Kong as a teacher and later an administrator in Canada, before coming to Aberaeron where she bought up property for rent. Phyllis put Portland House into multiple occupancy, living in one floor herself. Eccentric in her older age perhaps, she was known for walking about town in a fur coat over her nightie, with sandals on her feet stuffed with bloodied tissue between her toes. There are many tales about her time here in Aberaeron where she is remembered equally with fear and trepidation. You can read more about her, the mysteries in her life, and the other residents of Portland House in ‘The House that Bensha built’ available locally in Gwisgo Bookworm or via Amazon. All profits from the book sales will go to Cymdeithas. https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-that-Bensha-Built-Remarkable/dp/B0H9Z249TS

Articles Open Bronfa family: Dr. Dennis David Rees Open Bronfa Family: Capt. & Mrs Jones' Children Open Bronfa Family: Capt. David Jacob Jones Open Bronfa Family: Margaret Jane Jones 1885 Open Bronfa Family: Thomas Jones Open Soldier: Thomas Talvan Davies (1894-1957) Open J Haydn Davies' Fiddle: Eirwen Ebenezer Open The Loss of the Friedeburg - Huw Alban Davies Open Victory in Japan – Aberaeron Celebrations Open Memorial Hall Roll of Honour - World Wars I & II Open General Practice Before N.H.S.: Dr Hugh Herbert Open My Memories of Aberaeron Hospital Open Evan Jones, Coedmore: Merchant Navy Chief Steward (1861-1937) Open Evan Jones' Descendants: Allen Stanford Jones (1918-1941) Open Evan Jones' Descendants: Timothy Jones (1894-1943) Open Evan Jones' Descendants: David Owen Jones (1896-1967) Open Evan Jones' Descendants: Gwilym Ieuan Morgan (1914-2005) Open Ron Davies: Photographer (1921 – 2013) Open Dr Hugh Herbert: Student, Serviceman, Physician Open The Herbert Family of Llangeitho Open The Aberaeron Post Office Scandal 1874 Open Tanyfron Villa 1870-1955 Open Mariners at Rest Open J.R Evans, Anchor House Open Aberaeron Shops: Booksellers Open Mariners: Military Sons, Capt John Evans, Milford House Open Mariners: Capt Evan Daniel Jones Open Mariners: Capt William Williams Open The Barque Glenara Open Mariners: Capt Thomas Thomas Open Mariners: Capt John Evans, Milford House Open Mariners: Capt David Jones, Pantteg Open Mariners: Capt David Jones & Wife Mary, Pentwr Open Portland House Captains Open Portland People

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Cymdeithas Aberaeron Society Celebrating, interpreting and presenting the maritime & architectural heritage and social history of Aberaeron and the surrounding district. New Website launched 20th Dec'23 Click here for Home Page