A HUGELY popular Mid Wales motorcycle festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary this weekend, but it will be the first one without a pivotal figure at the helm.
The inaugural No Bull: Just Beer & Bikes festival was held in 2009 at Penmaenau Farm in Llanelwedd, on the outskirts of Builth Wells.
It filled the void left by a similar show which attracted thousands of people to the nearby Royal Welsh Showground for many years.
No Bull has grown so big that two festivals are now held per year, one on the last May bank holiday, the other in August.
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But a cloud will be hanging over this weekend's event following the death of Penmaenau figurehead Ann Morgan last year.
Ann, 55, died in September 2022 following a battle with cancer, and son Gwyn admits there will be a bittersweet tinge to this year's 15th anniversary.
"It's going to be a special one as it's the first year without mum, but it'll be tough without her and I'll have a lump in my throat for most of the weekend," said Gwyn.
"Nobody really knows it but mum wasn't part of it last year because she was so ill.
"She did a lot of the bookings for the May event but she never actually came to it because she was going through chemotherapy.
"With Covid and people mixing we did our best to keep her away.
"We had the attitude that 'OK, she'll miss May but be back for August', but none of us thought that a few weeks later she'd decide to stop chemo.
"She said it was only kicking the can down the road and said no more chemo.
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"She made the choice and we were all told to basically fall in line."
The family run Penmaenau Events and host and cater at many local events, from the No Bull series to providing camping and caravan pitches for July's Royal Welsh Show.
They offer mobile bars at weddings and other events and own popular Builth pub, the Fountain. But No Bull is their flagship event and one that is so synonymous with Ann.
"She built this from the ground up," added Gwyn, 41, a former mayor and deputy for the coming year.
"We've still got probably 80 per cent of the original staff. We've developed a lot but there are a lot of the same faces here."
Gwyn and brother Gareth are now fronting the family business with partners Lisa and Nicky, and Ann's husband Alun.
"I enjoy doing the work and keeping my head down and she was front of house," said Gwyn.
"It's a well-established event. It's one of the biggest two bike events in Wales. This weekend will bring it all back. I've spent six months putting it to back of my head and now it will be at forefront again, it won't be easy."
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Chris Pete organises the musical side of the event, and the biker community has offered huge support.
This weekend's event runs from Thursday, May 25, until Monday, May 29. There will be a special tribute to Ann on the first day of the festival, a blessing, though a light-hearted one, which will be held at her grave, which has been placed specially on land above the farmhouse at 7.30pm on Thursday.
"She planned her own funeral and a lot of bikers wanted to follow behind the hearse, but she didn't really want that so we thought we'd do our own thing at the festival," said Gwyn.
"It will give people the chance to bring flowers or keepsakes, but if people can't make it they can visit it over the weekend. It's just a two -minute walk up to the top of the bank above the house."
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