Coming Event     

Sunday December 4th 2.30pm

                   Michael Lunts               

presents, for the first time at Fort Belan:

“Tickling The Ivories”

A musical romp through a hundred years of the comedy song from Gilbert and Sullivan to Monty Python.

                             Tickets £15.00                     

Mulled wine and festive nibblesare included in the

ticket price 

Contact Jean.  soniblundell2@gmail.com.

01477 549 022/07790504495

While offering a fascinating overview of the comedy song, in all its variety, “Tickling the Ivories” is, as its name suggests, first and foremost, a musical entertainment,  a smile- inducing, laughter-engendering journey through ten decades of musical wit.  Alongside songs by Noel Coward, Flanders and Swann, Cole Porter and the Gershwins, Michael offers up some less familiar gems from the genre.  One man, a white jacket, 88 piano keys and a treasure trove of musical mirth, this is a show that is guaranteed to tickle anyone’s sense of humour and to get your Christmas season off to a flying start.  As well as being a welcome return of the ever-popular Christmas entertainments at Fort Belan, this afternoon’s event marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Blundell family’s association with the Fort which happens to coincide with Jean Blundell’s ninetieth birthday.  So three reasons to celebrate!                         

Recent Events

The AAA visits the Fort for TTT!

On Septemeber 10th, led by Frances Lynch Llewellyn, MBE,  the well known archeologist, a group of 24 members of the Anglesey Antiquarian Society visted  the Fort.  We re-visited a pre-covid style of invitation by welcoming this group for a tour, and tea and biscuits followed by a talk.

We were blessed with perfect weather and the group of 24 obviously enjoyed Ifor's tour which included well researched information about the Fort's history. 

Frances spoke in the Music Room and told us about of the recently acquired knowledge of the history of the coastal Fort at Dinas Dinlle which is about 3 miles South of Belan.

Recent excavations by archaeologists from the Gwynedd Archeological trust revealed that it was one of the largest prehistoric coastal forts in Gwynedd dating from the Celtic Iron Age (700BC - 70AD).  This hugely defended prehistoric village was once a busy coastal trading settlement with round houses, gardens and streets where people lived and worked.  The remains were buried under thick deposits of sand, but the foundations of two round houses were excavated and one, which is unusually large, has been left exposed for visitors to see.   Sadly, about a third of the site has been lost by the continueing erosian of the coastal cliffs.

Past Events

Rowing Event

Sunday August 21st 2022

Open garden day

 The year of the orchid!  2022

 On Saturday July 2nd, friends and their families took up the invitation to explore the Fort grounds and garden and if they wished, bring a picnic. The weather was perfect and we would have liked more people to come.  A large group picnicked in the courtyard and for many of the group it was their first visit to Belan and the buildings and their history proved irresistible and of the most interest.  They were given a tour of the Fort and Dock by committee member Ifor Dylan Williams.

Others were content to look at the borders in the courtyard and climb the steps to see, (and smell!), the two lavender beds on the gun terrace. They wondered round to the rarely seen back garden where the borders were almost hidden by long grass. Narrow pathways had been mown to save trampling the orchids which were almost hidden by the sward.  This year there were a surprising number of orchids to be found in different parts of the Fort and Dock, some even in the paths, but they were mainly in the back garden.  It was fortuitous that they were at their best on the day when the garden was open!

Back in 2014 we had been surprised to find a few pyramidal orchids flowering in the grass and the following report appeared in the FOBA Newsletter at the time:

Anacamptis pyramdalis This highly distinctive wildflower, in common with many orchids, requires a specific fungus to be present in the soil in order to bloom.  Stands of these orchids are not uncommon and some were recorded in 2014 at Belan by the County recorder for Caernarfon. We have taken advice from the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) as to the management of the site.

Julie Rose, a keen and knowledgeable botanist who is a BSBI member, (The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland), was amongst the visitors, and she kindly shared her knowledge with us.

Julie returned a few days later to do a survey of the wildflowers in the Fort grounds and has promised, that when her list is complete, she will share it with us.

Garden pictures.

For futher pictures of the gardens and borders, please see the  page garden album where several new pictures have been added.

The 'Angels' choir.  April 2022

In April a women’s choir, ‘The Angels’, stayed at the Fort for a few days to rehearse under their director Fiona Clucas.  On this occasion they called themselves the ‘Anglesey Angels’.  They come together from different parts of the country to rehearse and perform a variety of music: folk, choral, jazz and gospel.

This was their third visit to the Fort and they said, “The wonderful surroundings provide us with enormous inspiration for our singing”.

FOBA members were invited to 'provide an audience' and come to listen to their end of course concert, which proved an enjoyable occasion for about 15 members.  We liked the way that each piece was introduced by a member of the choir and realized that they must have worked very hard indeed to have learned to sing so many peices,  so well and in parts.

The Fort welcomes all music making and choirs are no exception!  Over the years choral courses have been run at the Fort and choirs have been to perform and give concerts.

FOBA EVENT2021

 FOBA's first event since lockdown and first ever rowing event at the Fort!

Rowing event

This was the first event arranged by FOBA since the start of the pandemic.  As Belan is almost surrounded by water it is rather strange that of the many events which have been held by FOBA, none has previously involved waterborne activities.

On October 17th this was remedied when two Celtic rowing boats were rowed over to the Fort by members of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club, Caernarfon.  Despite rather disappointing weather it proved to be an enjoyable event. The intrepid rowers were greeted on arrival with hot soup and sandwiches and when suitably sustained they were given a tour of the Fort and Dock.

This was something of a trial run as we are hoping it may become an annual event and the possibility of  holding a similar event, or possibly a race on a day in April 2022 has already been mentioned.  There are other Celtic Rowing clubs in the area who may be invited to join in. 

Events

Unfortunately, as we all know, events were not part of life during lockdowns.  Sadly we had to cancel the bienniel and much anticipated Christmas show, (December 2020), with which Michael had once again kindly offered to entertain us.  We hope to re-establish this bienniell event in 2022.

Over the years Michael has given many shows at the Fort in support of FOBA and in the process has become very popular with FOBA members and their friends! 

Past Events

The Photograph Album

To find the album, hover over 'FOBA News/Events'. There are pictures of some of the many and varied happenings which have been held by the Friends over the years.  Many of these were in aid of the Restoration Fund and  we are very grateful to the participants who so kindly gave their time and shared their expertise. 

The last event, held before the pandemic, was the Open Day on September 29th 2019.  Below you can see and hear Mark Jordan who, on that occasion, played his Northumbrian pipes.