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DOLGELLEY.

,BARMOUTH.

MACHYNLLETH.

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DOLGELLEY CHALLENGE CUP.

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ABERGYNOLWYN.

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ABERGYNOLWYN. SCHOOL BOARD.-The monthly meeting of the Board was held at the school on Friday. Mr Griffiths was in the chair.—It was decided to make a further application for the additional grant of £ 21 due. Consideration of the county scheme for the education of pupil teachers was postponed to the next meeting. NEW YEAR'S EVE IN THE QUARRIES. Yes, it is New Year's Eve even on the mountains amidst their awful solitude, where the snow and mist fight for supremacy during six months of the year and a miserable evening it is from an atmospheric point of view. Darkness setting in very early and before six o'clock the presence of the mist has made it impenetrable. Yet there were indications early that it was an unusual even- ing and that the monotony of our existencee was going to be broken. If rumour lied, not a grand meeting was going to be held in No 2 Barracks, and rumour was right. A right royal and unique enter. tainment was to be given by as motley a crowd of artistes as ever appeared to perform. Peering into the spacious kitchen early in the evening we find the men all busy preparing an early supper. Robin is making porridge, Billy is cooking a rabbit, while Bob is hunting for a toasting-fork to make his red herring palatable, and uncle is waiting the kettle to boil to start on his tea and eggs. All gather round the fire, perfect unison shown, and everybody respecting the others' rights, with never a bother from year's end to year's end. They arriye with their well-filled wallets from their homes over the mountains, 8 and 10 miles off, in time to start work on Monday and live the re- mwuder of the week in the barracks, each one "i -,z; *?,iur"f-a iivfU°'WffcCC" band The absence of a drum is made up by the wooden partitions- Slate saws made up for the cymbals, while the little tambourine kindly 1 on the part of the mouth xiiaea any Slip organists. "Home, sweet home" is struck up by the tintinnabulation makers, and is immediately taken up by the crowd which by now has filled the room. A cornet solo ia played by a lanky member of the orchestra on the quarry Fire bugle in a manner that will be long remembered. Oh the bottled-up cat-like wailing, screeching, and cater wauling, it was immense. Wagner is not in it with this and the wooden partition drumming. Old Bob next hops up and in his inimitable style treats the company 'midst vocifuous applause to Pastai Llangollen." Just now the first discord is struck. Muffled expletives come bursting through the holes in the ceiling and the company are most uncourt- eously told to go and drown themselves or be attached to a Salvation Army. Investigation proves it to be Sam in bed, he is unpoetical enough to get tired on New Year's Eve. It is his own fault and the company don't care, but the next moment old Welsh airs are flying out of the throats of all and the tired one's reasoning and uncivil advice are drowned in the medley of sounds. The programme is kept up till close on the witching hour when a move is made for the great quarry bell to toll out the old and ring in the new. But a difficulty here arises for obvious reasons Lewto cannot take the wooden partition with him to beat time to the band. But with his usual ingenuity he finds and commandeers a bucket. Rees having howled two or three times on the bugle, a start is made for the bell through the pitch darkness. But, darkness or no darkness, the desire to be first to the Bell affects all, and in a shake the band is off. The crowd following carefully are alarmed to hear awful language being used, and fearing an accident has happened rush forward only to find that the bucket-whacker is in distress, having lost both shoes in his mad rush through the mud for the bell. Before he is appeased a blast on the bugle, followed by the uncanny sound of the lonely bell tolling off the old '01, reminds us of our objective. Here we find the crowd collected in the. shelter of the drum house. The old Welsh hymn Yn y dyfroedd mawr ar tonau is feelingly sung, then the bell stops only to peal forth the news the next minute that 1902 has arrived. The bugle sounds again and the march home is started, the band giving out never. to-be-forgotten music. Before dispersing a call must be made on Tommy, but Tommy does not like it and throws cold water on the whole affair, and the crowd. Each one then silently slips in, thankful for even a change like this in the monotony of our lives, amidst the cold and lonely surroundings.

ABERDOVEY