Last February, Llawhaden Young Farmers Club successfully participated in the county federation's bi-annual drama festival and, after winning the challenge trophy, went on to compete at Wales level. Their choice of play, 'Tissue', written by Louise Paige and produced by Stephen James and Nan Llewellyn, told the story of a young woman afflicted with breast cancer. For many, this was a very emotive subject and caused quite a bit of controversy at the time, some suggesting that this was not the sort of play which they considered suitable for a young cast. However, the club members felt strongly that this was a cause which they should support and they went on to present the drama again, at Llawhaden Hall, to packed houses on two evenings to raise money for the unit at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest. Proceeds from cake stalls and raffle helped swell the fund and, through Mrs. Val Parrish, additional monies were forthcoming from Barclays Bank plc. Earlier this week, Mr. Bill Maxwell, consultant surgeon attended a meeting of the club when club chairman, Daniel James, presented him with a cheque of £1,750 towards the invaluable work of the breast clinic. In expressing his appreciation, Mr. Maxwell said he had seen the play being performed which he considered was a splendid all round effort, excellently produced and extremely commendable. He went on to explain that the breast clinic at Withybush Hospital was a pilot scheme started on a two-month trial almost 11 years ago, and was still going! In that time, the service had been refined and improved using the latest ultra-sound, biopsy and computing equipment to compliment the dedicated work of the radiology department and the touring breast scanning service. Such was it's obvious success that the unit was now accepting referrals from all over west Wales, as far as Lampeter and Carmarthen, and he was delighted to accept the very valuable donation from the YFC towards furthering the service provided. Some members of the cast are included in the photograph.
