Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

IT’S right up there as one of my favourite family outings - a wander around historic Kidwelly Castle. Sure, there’s a decent health warning about climbing the ramparts, stone walls and spiral staircases, but children (and adults) love exploring. Our family’s most recent visit was in March, 2025. Here’s a few photos - and some words to explain what the castle is all about. Kidwelly Castle is a formidable stronghold, proudly overlooking the River Gwendraeth in the historic ‘Black Cat’ town of Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire. Kidwelly Castle's story begins in the early 12th century, around 1106, when it was established by the Normans under Roger, Bishop of Salisbury. Its strategic location was crucial for controlling the surrounding territory and securing Norman influence in the region. The castle's initial form was a more basic earth and timber structure, a "ringwork." This early fortification laid the groundwork for the more substantial stone castle that would develop over...

THERE’s a special Spring Concert being planned for the end of the month in Llanelli. It will feature Cor Meibion Elli male voice choir and will be held on Saturday, March 29, at the town centre Parish Church of St Elli at 7pm. Meibion Elli will be under the baton of celebrated musical director Eifion Thomas, with accompaniment by Aled Maddock. The choir will be supported by some young up-and-coming artists, including Betsan Daniel, who is studying at Ysgol y Strade, Llanelli. Betsan is a new recruit to Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS), the Llanelli-based charity which works to mentor and develop young musical talent in south Wales. Other new recruits to LARS include Nia Card (Kenfig Hill), Hannah Edwards (Cardiff), Jasper Hollett (Gower), Scott Holmes (Port Talbot), Connor Horton (Carmarthen), Max Morris (Cilgerran)) and Ela Mai Williams (Penarth). Tickets for the Parish Church concert are £10 and are available from Llanelly House or from Hywel Houghton-Jones on 07826 930 396 or at th...

IF you’ve been sitting up and paying attention, then you’ll appreciate that it is the Richard Burton 100 - a celebration of the birth of the internationally-renowned actor and ‘the voice of Wales’. During the year, there are a whole series of events, with the action stepping up a gear next week with the release of the new film called Mr Burton. Fortunately, I have something of an inside track on information about the celebrations as one of my pals is Griff Harries, a chap with more strings to his bow than many Olympic archers. Griff is delivering a programme of Richard Burton Centenary Tours, which will be running until the end of the year. Griff’s CV runs from musician, performer, lecturer, broadcaster, educator and arts administrator, with the most recent string to his bow being as a Green Badge Wales Tourist Guide. Between stints on the SA Radio Live station, the former Swansea Sound broadcaster was able to explain more about Richard Burton 100 - “The film Mr Burton is about to be r...

LLANELLI’S parish church will host a performance of John Stainer’s oratorio The Crucifixion during Holy Week. Llanelli Chamber Choir, under the musical direction of Piet Zorn, will perform the oratorio at St Elli Church on Saturday, April 19 (7pm). The soloists will be tenor Tomos Owen Jones and baritone Liam J Edwards. The choir will be accompanied by a string ensemble: violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The musicians will be Mihai Stoican and Aden Yip (violin), Imogen Holborn (viola), James McBeth (cello) and Telmo Martins (double bass). Tickets are £12 and are available from 07535 166956, the email address  chamberchoirllanelli@gmail.com , or from any choir or St Elli parish church member. There’s a first class evening of musical entertainment planned for Pontyberem Memorial Hall, on Thursday, April 3 (7.30pm). Sinfonia Cymru are presenting the Golden Age of the Harp, featuring former Royal Harpist and Classic FM Rising Star Alis Huws. The evening is being billed as ‘a conce...

 HAVE a think: how many of your old classmates have ended up being featured on Desert Island Discs? And . . . if you could go back in time, would you have put money on them being featured on the classic Radio 4 show? OK, I guess if you went to the old Dynevor School in Swansea you might have had a decent punt on Rowan Williams fulfilling his destiny and being featured on the show as Archbishop of Canterbury. But most of us will have looked around and wondered where our fellow students would end up. It was something of a privilege (hard won through the old 11-plus exam, by the way) to attend the old Queen Elizabeth Grammar School for Boys in Carmarthen. The Queen Elizabeth, for those of you who don’t know the history, refers to Queen Elizabeth the First, rather than the Second. The clue is in the fact the school was founded in 1576. If you are a fan of Tom Brown’s Schooldays, you will get an idea of what sort of a school it was - as close as you can get to a ‘public school’ as it is...

STUDENTS of rock music will be familiar with Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s 1970s hit You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet. You can start humming the tune if you like; it may come to be the theme music to the changes afoot in the Welsh Senedd (Parliament). In the political world (where nothing is certain), one thing is certain - the Welsh Senedd of 2026 will be substantially different to what it is today. You’ll start to notice the changes next month, when work starts to kit out the Senedd chamber for an additional 36 new members. Did we ask for 96 Senedd members?  I can’t remember submitting a request. How much is it all going to cost? Er . . . we don’t really know. The last bit seems reasonably important as the most recent bits of mail dropping through the letterbox here at Lloyd HQ have been about coughing up more money. County council tax increases, water bills up by 20 per cent, energy bills still heading north . . . even our local community council decided on a 30 per cent increase in its ...