Whenever an organisation has to book a speaker a whole year in advance there are bound to be moments of trepidation about how successful the evening will pan out (writes M.S.).

When Penally History Group, with only nine members, asked Dr. Toby Driver, of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments Wales, to give a talk in the village hall last Thursday, they hoped for a reasonable turnout, but they never anticipated that the response would be as overwhelming as it was. They would like to thank the 140 people who ignored a cold, wet November evening to attend.

Dr. Driver is the aerial investigator for the Commission and regularly flies over Pembrokeshire filming the territory. His photographs record the way in which building development, weather erosion and agriculture sometimes destroy and sometimes reveal the county's ancient past.

A farmer viewing his land from ground level may never know that a mound in his field is actually an ancient hill fort and he will continue to plough it until it has disappeared even from the air. Then, in a period of unusually hot weather, the grass will dry and change colour and indicate hidden structures which Toby and his team record for later exploration by archaeologists.

The problem with Wales is that there is barely a square mile which does not show something of interest.

Dr. Driver's films showed us the Pembrokeshire we may think we know well, as an ever changing and mysterious landscape which man continues to try to tame and mould; details such as ancient underwater fish traps, hidden rock formations around the Smalls rocks, long forgotten strip field cultivation on Skomer and more recent military developments which can be seen only when the sun's rays are at the right angle on a sunny day.

As recently as October 26 Toby flew over Penally and on Thursday was able to show a previously unrecorded site above the village which the History Group hopes to examine as part of its programme for next year.

Anyone who might be interested in joining the group should ring David Glennerster on 849041.