Item 3 is the 90-second statements. Vikki Howells.

Diolch, Lywydd. My first 90-second statement just before Christmas focused on Guto Nyth Brân and the Nos Galan. With the sad death of Bernard Baldwin MBE just days after the 2016 Nos Galan, it is only fitting that I use a second statement to pay tribute to Bernard’s legacy as creator of Wales’s most famous racing event.

Born in Barry in 1925, Bernard trained as a teacher and took up a post in Mill Street school, Pontypridd. A keen athlete, Bernard was Welsh junior mile champion and spent nine years as secretary of the Welsh Amateur Athletics Association, representing them in the UK and around the world. He received an MBE in 1971 for services to athletics. Bernard also set up a range of athletic events. Most famous is the Nos Galan road race, with its commemoration of Guto Nyth Brân and crowd-pulling mystery runner. But Bernard also established the Taff Street dash, the Cardiff to Mountain Ash two-man relay and too many others to list, but all of which aimed to bring athletics to the people.

Bernard wrote prolifically on athletics and his adopted home of Mountain Ash, and was given the freedom of the borough by RCT in 2014. Crowds attended his funeral at St Margaret’s church last Wednesday to celebrate Bernard’s memory and pay tribute to a life well lived, full of passion and service to the community. Bernard’s ashes will be scattered on Guto’s grave at Llanwonno Church and through the Nos Galan, Bernard’s memory will live on.

Russell George.

I’m delighted to have this opportunity to pay tribute to David Pugh, a former mayor of Newtown and celebrated local historian, who sadly passed away last week. David Pugh was a leading local historian for many decades, instrumental in establishing the Newtown history group in 1995 and its journal ‘The Newtonian’, both of which continue to flourish today. Best known for being seen with his camera recording buildings for historic records, there is now a 64-volume quarterly journal called ‘The Newtonian’, which comprises a library of over 28,000 references and 26,000 photographs of the town and its people.

Thanks to David Pugh’s sustained commitment and determination, ‘The Newtonian’ has undoubtedly provided an authoritative record of the town’s history for future generations. David’s legacy is that the recorded history of Newtown will now be around for years and years to come. In establishing the Newtown history group, he received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2013, and he was also a prominent member of the Newtown and District Civic Society. David was a longstanding member of the Labour Party and his wife, Anna, told me this week that when David went to vote, he always wore red socks. His contribution to civic society in Newtown has been outstanding, and he will be missed by me and the Newtown community.