As the flooding experienced across South Wales starts to move off the headlines, the clear-up continues for the businesses and homes affected and here at Bedwas RFC it has been no different – another day of hard graft.

The good news is that much of the clearing and disposal has now taken place. Our skip is full to bursting but will be collected tomorrow, bins have been emptied, scrap metal has been removed and the fridges/freezers have been sorted. On the whole, the club is clean but the dank smell has started to set in which we’re working hard to remedy with de-odourising aerosols. The Youth lads have continued to do a good job, laying a new gravel path around the club exterior and clearing the drains of some horrible stuff! Peter’s Pies came down today with some lunch for the workers today so thanks to them.

A big negative for us today was learning the state of our generator. Upon inspection, it has been found to be full of water and muck. Our resident experts have been draining it but it remains to be seen whether it’ll be operational again to run our pitch lights. We’re also seeing lots of our shelving and storage behind the bar and cellar starting to degrade so that will probably have to go as well!

Still, we are very excited for Saturday’s game up at Ystrad Mynach CSE where we will play Neath on the artificial surface at 1pm. This means it’s definitely game on and we’re doing a £5 general admission with free entry for our volunteers and Under 18s. GDS Services will be kindly proving us with some drinks so we’re running a promotion where those buying a ticket for the match can come back to the club to watch Wales v France and enjoy a free bottle of beer or soft drink on the day. We hope this will be a good chance for us to all come together after a crazy week. We will hopefully be running a limited bar service, food and a raffle and it would be great to see the community out on Saturday.

We’re so grateful for the donations we’re continuing to receive which will help us get the place right again. With no payout from the insurer every penny will be vital for Bedwas RFC to get back on its feet. Remember, any questions about our fundraiser and you can get in touch with us using the message function on GoFundMe!