The five-metre Lord Rhys puppet walked across the Maes to The National Lottery stand for the last time, 850 years after he held the first Eisteddfod at his castle in Cardigan.

Lord Rhys Eisteddfod
(National Lottery)

Later the same morning, Heledd Fychan MS, Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport, presented a cheque for £99,990 from The National Lottery Community Fund to Small World Theatre, the Cardigan company that built the puppet. The presentation was a complete surprise to the company.

Heledd Fychan MS, Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport, surprised Small World Theatre when she presented a cheque for £99,990 from The National Lottery Community Fund to fund Amethyst, a two-year project supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people 11-18.
At this year’s Eisteddfod, Heledd Fychan MS, Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport, surprised Small World Theatre when she presented a cheque for £99,990 from The National Lottery Community Fund to fund Amethyst, a two-year project supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people 11-18. (National Lottery)

The funding is for Amethyst, a two-year project supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 11 to 18 through creative work, which now extends into Pembrokeshire.