On to the third volume of songs resulting from Darren Hayman’s Thankful Villages project. The ninth village in this volume is Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, Cardiganshire.

Whilst staying in Herbrandston for Christmas me and John drive north to Llanfihangel. We drive through a village called Bethlehem.

This third volume of Thankful Villages has theme of schools and their closures but Llanfihangel is the rarest of villages; it has a working school over 175 years old. 

The village is proud of its school, they have a book detailing its history and the school playground is brightly coloured with a mural painted by the children.

A tiny stream separates the school from the graveyard. The weather is fearsome and blows right through us. The Y Ffarmers pub feeds us by an open fire. 

As is often the case, an elder gentleman stops and asks us what we are doing.  ‘Have you seen some changes?’ asks John.

‘Everything changes,’ he replies, not in resignation but in quiet acceptance.

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Thankful Villages Vols. 1 & 2 are out now on Rivertones. You can buy physical copies here, or listen on Spotify. Thankful Villages Volume 3 is also now available here.