by Neil MacSorley
St. David's day at the Arms Park saw not only a great victory for Cardiff Blues over Munster but, also the opening of a new facility for disabled supporters the Barry Nelmes Suite. Volunteers from Call To Arms sacrificed their spare time to complete the suite to a high standard for their fellow supporters.
The Barry Nelmes Suite is named after the much loved, late Cardiff prop. Barry captained Cardiff for 2 seasons and played for England and the Barbarians adding steel to every pack he played with. Off the pitch he was a great host at his pub and always had time for a chat with everyone.
The suite was opened by one of Wales's top paraplegic athletes Nathan Stephens. Nathan is Junior World Champion in 3 disciplines - discus, javelin and shot put - events in which he is also the World Record Holder.
Mrs Pat Nelmes and family attended the opening and the pride in Barry was evident by the number of people who came and crowded in to the room to see Nathan officially open the suite and hear a great speech by Bob Norster about Barry's influence on him (Barry was Bob's first captain at Cardiff) and the club. Representatives from other local clubs came to add their good wishes and respect to Pat and her family.
Call To Arms would like to thank the board of Cardiff RFC Ltd. and all the staff at the ground for the help and support they gave to help achieve the completion of this project.
For reference:-
Profile of Barry Nelmes (797kb pdf)
Profile of Nathan Stephens (40kb pdf)