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Showing posts from May 15, 2011

Pictures from last night

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See this Picasa web album for pictures of last night's dinner with football legend Jan Molby. Carmarthen Town AFC Annual Celebrity Dinner

Good gig in Carmarthen last night!

Splendid evening last night as MC at Carmarthen Town AFC's celebrity dinner at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel, Carmarthen. Guest speaker Jan Molby and comedian Jed Stone were excellent.

Bridgend pub quiz events help Healing The Wounds

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Quiz teams at a Bridgend pub have figured out a way to raise funds for Healing The Wounds, the Welsh charity which helps sufferers of post traumatic stress disorder. The Hunters Lodge pub and restaurant in Brackla has collected more than £20,000 for good causes over the past 18 years by running a weekly quiz night that has become a hit with regulars. Customer Mike Marshall said the Hunters Lodge chose to support Healing The Wounds because the charity’s work touched the hearts of pub regulars. “Our latest objective is to raise £1000 for Healing The Wounds over the next 10 months or so,” he said. “We take part in a light-hearted, fun quiz that breaks up the week and all proceeds go direct to the good cause. The quiz is generously supported by the pub’s management who provide valuable prizes for the winners and free snacks for all who attend. “We’re proud to be able to support such a worthy cause as this with the aims and objectives of Healing The Wounds clearly touching the sentiments of

Healthy school meals - at their fingertips!

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Pupils at two Llanelli secondary schools have now got a range of healthy school meals at their fingertips. New cashless catering systems have been installed at Bryngwyn and Ysgol y Strade school dining halls meaning pupils no longer have to use cash to buy lunch and refreshments – instead they only have to place their index finger on a scanner at the till to have their pre-paid accounts debited. They are the first schools in Llanelli to use the system, installed by Carmarthenshire Catering Service – part of the county council - as part of an on-going commitment to improving the schools meals service. Both schools have jointly funded the system with the council. Key benefits of a cashless system include the removal of the ‘free school meal’ stigma, where pupils entitled to free meals have their accounts credited on a daily basis instead of receiving and using tokens or vouchers. In turn, the system helps remove the opportunity for bullying and improves pupils’ overall welfare. A cashles

Llanelli single mum lands dream job

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A single mother from Llanelli has landed a dream job, thanks to the help of a Carmarthenshire family support project. Mari Evans, a mum of two small children, is just weeks in to her new job as a Learning Support Assistant at Coedcae Comprehensive School. Having previously been unemployed for eight years with little confidence and a family to support on her own, for Mari, it has literally been a life-changing experience – and it is Genesis Sir Gar II that she wants to thank. Genesis, a European Social Funded project through the Welsh Assembly Government, aims to improve life for local families. Project staff first came in to contact with Mari when she was referred to them by her health visitor. Genesis staff provided Mari with advice and guidance to find a new direction in life, and suggested she attend a part-time course at Coleg Sir Gar with a view to qualifying as a learning support assistant. Genesis provided finance to assist with Mari’s childcare needs to enable her to attend the

Special holiday event for Ammanford

A special school holiday event is taking place in Ammanford during the Whitsun holiday. Stay Play and Plan your Way is an all day event being held at Ysgol Y Bedol, Garnant, on Tuesday, May 31, during the half-term holidays. Families are being invited along to enjoy free opportunities for play supported by the Carmarthenshire Children’s Partnership. Entertainment and refreshments funded by Genesis Sir Gar, a European Social Funded project through the Welsh Assembly Government, which aims to improve life for local families. Genesis co-ordinator Estelle Etheridge-Lawrence: “Children will be able to enjoy free face painting and glitter tattoos, try their hands at balloon modelling, wear themselves out on a bouncy castle and have fun and games with Theeko the Clown. “Meanwhile, parents and guardians will be able to get information and support on planning a brighter future with guidance on entering a supported career pathway of training, education, volunteering and employment.” The event fo

Carmarthenshire publishes its Welsh Scheme

Carmarthenshire County Council has published its fourth Welsh Language Scheme. The Scheme has been adopted by the full council and approved by the Welsh Language Board. The Scheme has been developed in line with the Welsh Language Act 1993 which requires public bodies in Wales to adopt and carry out Welsh Language Schemes. Cllr Clive Scourfield, executive board member with responsibility for the Welsh language, said: “The Scheme describes how the council will treat the Welsh and English languages equally in providing services and communicating with the public in Carmarthenshire. “This Scheme sets a new challenge for the authority in ensuring that it provides high standard services in Welsh.” An Action Plan has been drawn up to go with the Scheme which underlines what is planned to promote the Welsh language in the next three years. The Plan includes increasing the number of staff who work bilingually through various projects, establishing a network of language ambassadors and extending

'Dragon's Den' competition for arts space

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Are you an individual looking for studio/workshop space to develop a new business or community enterprise idea, or are you an existing early stage creative business which has been trading for less than two years? Do you have an existing link to Aberystwyth University (as a student/member of staff/alumni) or does the business have the potential to develop links and be part of the growing creative community at Aberystwyth Arts Centre? Returning for the third year, there is an exciting competition which offers a year’s rent free studio space, from August 2011, in one of the award-winning Creative Units at Aberystwyth Arts Centre. "The Year in a Creative Unit competition is open to business or community enterprise ideas based on any of the Creative Industries including film, TV, new media, performing arts, visual arts, applied arts and literature,” explains Tony Orme, Enterprise Manager at Aberystwyth University. The winner will benefit from modern and flexible studio space in one of

Just a text message away from healing heroes!

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Healing the Wounds will be among the first charities in the country to use a personalised text code to raise funds using JustTextGiving by Vodafone. The Welsh Armed Forces charity, which has its headquarters in Bridgend, has been raising funds and awareness for Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families since 2009. It has already provided treatment for sufferers of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but more work needs to be done and the charity depends on donations. From today, supporters of Healing the Wounds can make donations of up to £10 by texting HEAL01 and either 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 to 70070 to make their donation. The text message is free and all of the donation will be passed to the charity. Gift Aid can also be added to donations. Kevin Richards, executive director of Healing the Wounds, said: “This is a wonderful way for us to raise money as it’s speedy, simple and spontaneous. “Most people have a mobile phone these days so we expect this to be very popular wit

Prize day for Warrior bitter

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The growing Evan-Evans brewery, which is based in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, has continued an illustrious few years with yet another award. Its Warrior beer won silver in the Best Premium Bitter category at the Society of Independent Brewers awards for the South West and Wales at Ludlow Castle, Shropshire. This comes after their Cwrw beer was voted third best bitter in the world at the brewing industry's Oscars — the International Awards 2011. Evan-Evans chief executive Simon Buckley, whose family have brewed beer for 250 years, said: “We have achieved this because we are professional brewers. "We have a dedicated team here and we focus on quality.” The company now hopes to launch what Mr Buckley said would be Wales's first lager in more than 100 years.

Comic Jed Stone performing in Carmarthen tonight

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Top comedian Jed Stone will be the 'turn' at the annual Carmarthen Town celebrity dinner at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel, Carmarthen, this evening. Here is his potted biography (even if it is a tad out of date!) - After 10 years fronting comedy band Scholar, Jed went solo as a comedian and has never looked back. He recently appeared on Sky TV’s The New Comedians on Granada Plus to great acclaim. He has also appeared on Central TV’s Joker In The Pack with Marti Caine, and Pot of Gold with Des O’Connor, as well as many credits on Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Lancashire. He is equally at home speaking at corporate dinners, sportsmen's dinners and golf days as he is on stage performing his hilarious cabaret show. Jed has worked with the best in entertainment Leo Sayer, Ken Dodd, The Drifters, Frank Carson, Stan Boardman, Alexander O’Neill, The Real Thing, Showaddywaddy, Hot Chocolate, The Supremes and many more. He is in huge demand on the after-dinner circuit. He works with the

Jan Molby at Carmarthen dinner this evening

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This evening I take on my 'compere' role once again to MC the annual Carmarthen Town AFC celebrity dinner at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel in Carmarthen. The chief guest speaker is Jan Molby. Here is his potted biography - Jan Molby was born on 4th July 1963 in Kolding, Denmark. Jan Molby was signed by Joe Fagan in 1984 for £200,000 from Ajax and had a great career at Anfield. Jan made the transition to Liverpool easily and worked on the accent, quickly becoming a fluent “scouser” which made him a favourite with the crowd. Jan struggled in the team to begin with and had a few critics but Kenny Dalglish gave him a new lease of life after he took over as manager. Big Jan had slimmed down and having adapted to the pace of the game became a midfield man of great vision and power. Jan was instrumental in the FA Cup success of 1986 over Everton which completed the double. In 1987, Jan suffered a broken foot and missed much of the season only to return in defence the next year. This stint

Carmarthen social centre marks anniversary

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A Carmarthen social centre for adults with learning and physical disabilities has marked a very special anniversary. Johnstown Centre has just celebrated its 30th birthday, and threw a party to mark the achievement. The centre, purpose built in 1981, provides a day venue for more than 20 adults. Supported by a team of dedicated staff, service users socialise, interact and learn using the centre’s craft, music, sensory and IT rooms – each of which house specialist equipment. Director of Social Care, Health and Housing, Bruce McLernon; Head of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, Gareth John; Executive Board Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr Pat Jones, and Deputy Council Leader Cllr Kevin Madge attended the bash – as did Scarlets players Stephen Jones and Ken Owens who made surprise guest appearances. Cllr Jones said: “We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, and were so pleased to see service users and staff enjoying the facilities and to see their sense of pride in what is su

Carmarthenshire puts focus on reducing sickness

Work is being carried out to further reduce sickness absence in Carmarthenshire County Council and potentially save up to half a million pounds a year. In recent years, rates have fallen from 12.6 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) days lost to 11.1. However, members of the Policy and Resources scrutiny committee set up a task and finish group to look at the issue, with the aim of reducing the sickness levels even further. This included evaluating the effectiveness of the current sickness absence policy; identifying the principal causes of sickness, gathering a range of data and identifying areas of best practice, internally and outside of the authority. Chair Cllr Mair Stephens said: “While the overall sickness absence rate for the authority has been reducing in recent years, the Committee has been concerned about the need to identify the true costs of sickness absence. “There is no doubt that sickness absence costs the authority money and that it has an impact on the delivery of its services

Llanelli school wins construction award

Carmarthenshire County Council has scooped a top award at the prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Wales awards. Property Services and Education staff picked up the award – seen as the Oscars of the construction industry – after impressing judges in the Community Benefit category with an entry for Llanelli’s Ysgol Maes Y Morfa. Also shortlisted for awards were Ysgol Y Dderwen in Carmarthen, which was shortlisted in the Sustainability and Community Benefit categories, and Carmarthen Indoor Market in the regeneration category. Both competed against other projects from across Wales, and although narrowly missing out, came in for praise from the judges. The entry submitted for Ysgol Maes Y Morfa took a unique angle – that ‘community benefit’ went far beyond the school walls. The school features an integrated family centre and community library as part of the school building, but Property Services staff highlighted that during its construction an entire community ‘workf

Art gallery plan for Llanelli town centre

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Shoppers in Llanelli town centre will soon be able to relax and be inspired by the work of local artists thanks to some divine intervention from a local church, in partnership with the county council. Rev Bill Chapman, his wife Ellen and the council Leader Cllr Meryl Gravell, have been the driving force behind a new coffee shop and art gallery which will open later this year in Vaughan Street. It will be housed at the former Victoria Wine shop – a building which has lain empty and in a state of disrepair for over a decade. Carmarthenshire County Council has leased the building to Elim Church and is supporting them to carry out a full refurbishment. Contractors are already on-site. When complete, local artists and students will be able to exhibit their work and offer them for sale. Rev Bill Chapman said: “It all started over two years ago. As a church offering a range of community services, we very much observe what’s going on locally and tailor our services to meet local needs. “We saw

'Topping out' ceremony for £2m spa at hotel

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Just like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a new £2 million state-of-the-art spa centre is taking shape at the prestigious Lamphey Court Hotel in Pembrokeshire. It was back in April, 2010, when the old spa at the hotel saw one of the most dramatic fires seen in Pembrokeshire for many years. Six fire engines and 45 firefighters from all over the county were called to tackle 15-metre-high flames bursting through the roof of the leisure facility. “It was a hugely dramatic fire which devastated the old spa centre,” said Phil Thomas, manager at the Lamphey Court Hotel near Pembroke. “At the time, it was only the hard work of the fire service that stopped the blaze spreading to the main building, which is, of course, one of the finest Georgian mansion houses in the county. Thankfully, no-one was injured in the blaze.” Mr Thomas said that since the blaze spa and leisure centre users had been accommodated in temporary facilities at the hotel. “We have, however, been working very hard to create

Carmarthen Town raffle winners

The Carmarthen Town AFC Grand Raffle has been drawn. Many thanks to all the individuals, clubs and organisations who supported the raffle. Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to all the club's raffle prize sponsors. £500, donated by EMC Services, winner, Ticket No: 3432, Ysgol Bro Myrddin. Weekend Break at Cliff Hotel, Cardigan, donated by Cliff Hotel, Ticket No: 10086, Joseph Davies (5th Carmarthen Scouts Group). £100, donated by Robert Davies, Ticket No: 1645, Meinir Williams. £20, winner, Ticket No: 11543, Nia Young (Friends Carmarthenshire County Museum). Bottle of Champagne, Ticket No: 979, Wil Gough. £20, Ticket No: 14107, Elaine Howells. Bottle of Champagne, Ticket No: 13896, Elvet (Llanstephan FC). £20, Ticket No: 721, Dai Lewis. Bottle of Wine, Ticket No: 12748, Sioned Jones(Ceredigion YFC). £20, Ticket No: 9807, Carmarthen Lions Club. Bottle of Wine, Ticket No: 4088, Ysgol Bro Myrddin. £20, Ticket No:5693, Carmarthen Town AFC. Bottle of Wine, Ticket No: 10814,

Gwent trio walk Hadrian's Wall for charity

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Three friends from Caldicot in Gwent have completed the marathon 84-mile Hadrian’s Wall walk in aid of the Healing The Wounds charity. Paul Noble, Kevin Barwick and Andrew Haines completed the famous walk along the England-Scotland border in four days. They raised a total of £1423.80 for Healing The Wounds, the Welsh charity which helps treat sufferers of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The cash raised was a mixture of sponsorship and funds collected by the sale of Healing The Wounds wristbands. Another friend of the trio Doug ‘Duggie’ Lewis worked extremely hard to sell the charity’s wristbands before, during and after the walk. “Duggie was brilliant, helping to boost the funds for the charity,” said Paul Noble, a manager for G4S. Mr Noble added: “G4S were kind enough to match-fund my own sponsored funds with £358.80, which will be added to the total amount.” The Hadrian’s Wall walk normally takes between three to nine days to complete and the energetic trio completed their tas

Latest 'View from Richmond Park' column . . .

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The latest 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC column from the Carmarthen Journal newspaper - At the annual Carmarthen Town AFC presentation evening held in the Clubhouse and Community Centre at Richmond Park, the spotlight fell on members of the Youth Under-19s team. Youth manager Peter Fearn outlined the side’s achievements and said he was very proud of the boys. Player of the year was Oli Ardelino. Players’ player of the year was Gavin Rees. Most Improved Player was Llion Jones. Most influential player was Owen James. ------------------------------------- Carmarthen Town stalwart Vince James is stepping down from his role as club media officer. “Vince has been a tremendous asset and loyal servant to Carmarthen Town and will be sorely missed,” said club vice-chairman Robert Lloyd. The club is now recruiting a new media officer. “The position could be filled by a job-share between a number of interested Carmarthen Town supporters. Anyone who is interested or who nee

In the news today . . .

In the news today . . . Splendid picture in the Carmarthen Journal today of the Carmarthen Town AFC Under-19s team at the club's annual presentation evening. 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC column in the sports pages of the Carmarthen Journal today. Nice feature in the Carmarthen Journal today on the charity Healing The Wounds and the opening of its new office. Tipped my breakfast cereal again - full page ads on back page and page 3 of the Carmarthen Journal. Private James Frazer moment approaching! Smashing piece in the Llanelli Star about Cor Meibion Llanelli's Friday concert at St Illtyd's Church in Pembrey. Splendid picture and story about Llanelli Rotary Club's newest member in the Llanelli Star today.

New chairman for Carmarthenshire Council

The new chair of Carmarthenshire County Council is looking forward to representing the county for the next year. Cllr Ivor Jackson was born and bred in Llandovery and has lived in the town all his life. Before retiring he worked for the Forestry Commission for 45 years. His wife Mary, who is Chair’s Consort, worked as a nurse for 40 years. They have a daughter Angela who is a nursing manager in Cwmbran. He was elected to Carmarthenshire County Council in 2004 and is also a member of Llandovery Town Council where he was Mayor for three years. Cllr Jackson has been a member of Llandovery RFC for many years and is Vicar’s Warden at Llandingat Church. Mrs Jackson is chair of the Friendship Club in Llandovery and runs the Luncheon Club at Dolau Bran twice a week. Cllr Jackson said: “We try to support most things that go on in Llandovery and we are very involved in the local community.” The chair’s charities for this year are Macmillan Nurses, the Alzheimer’s Society and Plant Dewi.

School Councils visit county chairman

Three School Councils visited last year’s chair of Carmarthenshire County Council towards the end of her term in office. Cllr Tegwen Devichand welcomed members of the School Councils of St Mary’s, Halfway and Dafen Schools to Llanelli Town Hall.

Carmarthenshire chair raises £12,500 for charities

Last year’s chair of Carmarthenshire County Council has raised more than £12,500 for her chosen charities. Cllr Tegwen Devichand had picked Ty Bryngwyn Hospice Trust Fundraising Committee, the Carmarthenshire Special Olympics Team, and the Help for Heroes/Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal as the Chair’s Charities for her year in office. She presented cheques to representatives of the good causes at a ceremony in the Chairman’s Room at Llanelli Town Hall. Cllr Devichand held a range of fundraising events over the year including a Chairman's Charity Evening and Raffle at Calsonic Kansei Club, Felinfoel; Chairman's Charity Curry Evening, at the Verandah, Llanelli; and an Easter Raffle. The highlight was the Chairman's Charity Ball in March which was attended by Councillor Peter Roberts and Mrs Helen Roberts from Wootton Bassett. This was an opportunity to thank the town of Wootton Bassett for all they do when soldiers are repatriated, as Help for Heroes is one of the Chairman

Reminder on Carmarthenshire blue bin bags

Carmarthenshire residents are being reminded that they can order blue bags for recycling online or by phone. The county council offers several ways for residents to obtain further supplies of the bags. Blue bags are available on request online or by calling Carmarthenshire Direct on 01267 234567 where delivery will be arranged. Householders can also pick up more blue bags from the following outlets: the council’s customer service centres at Llanelli, Ammanford and Carmarthen; Llandeilo council offices; Trimsaran Leisure Centre; Kidwelly Town Council; Pembrey and Burry Port Town Council; Communities First Llwynhendy; Llandovery Post Office; Pontyberem Hall; Felinfoel Community Centre; Peiriannau Gardd Dyffryn Teifi, Felindre, Llandysul.

Digital day treat at Pantyffynnon

In celebration of Adult Learners Week, Communities First Pantyffynnon will be hosting a digital inclusion day in the ICT centre near Parc Amanwy this Friday (May 20). The event, which starts at 1pm, will be aimed at silver surfers and those who would like help with online job searching. If you would like to get to grips with what’s new, then book your place with Communities First on 01269 596821.

Summer reminder of 'Handy' scheme

With summer on its way, Carmarthenshire Trading Standards Service is reminding householders of its scheme to help them find reliable handypersons and gardeners. The Handyperson and Gardener scheme is supported by the Community Safety Partnership, which is made up of representatives from the county council, police, fire service and other agencies. It is part of an initiative aimed at cracking down on rogue traders and cold callers and was prompted by a series of incidents in the Llanelli area where itinerant traders were targeting elderly and vulnerable people. The scheme allows householders to look at an approved list of handypersons and gardeners who charge a fair price for the job. Trading Standards Officer Vivienne Jones said: “The scheme offers something for people who want a small job done. Reliability is the key.” Executive board member for public protection Cllr Pam Palmer said: “This excellent scheme is a way of finding of finding a reliable handyperson or gardener when you hav

Michael Sheen stars for PTSD charity

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Acclaimed Hollywood star Michael Sheen has carried out his first ‘official duty’ as a patron of the Healing The Wounds charity which helps treat sufferers of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Michael wowed members of the ladies coffee morning section of the Naval Club at Sandfields, Port Talbot, as he helped present a cheque to Healing The Wounds Charity. The £1,500 cheque was presented to Kevin Richards, founder and Executive Director of the charity. Mr Richards said: “We were delighted when Michael Sheen agreed to become a patron of the charity. “Michael is very interested in the work of the charity and we are sure that he will help us put the charity firmly on the map in Wales.” Sheen recently completed an epic open-air production of The Passion in his hometown of Port Talbot. He is famous the world over for his film roles, which include playing Tony Blair, David Frost and Brian Clough. Mr Richards added: “Michael Sheen is a big box office star and a person who obviously cares

Radio campaign boosts Healing The Wounds

Healing The Wounds, the Welsh charity which helps treat sufferers of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), has started raising its profile with a national radio campaign. The campaign features Paul Thomas, an army veteran who has benefited from the treatment course organised by Healing The Wounds. “We are delighted that the people who have come through our first treatment courses are feeling the benefit of the help we are able to give them,” said charity founder and Executive Director Kevin Richards. “We are working hard to raise our profile to make sure that people the length and breadth of Wales know who we are, what we are about and how we can help people who suffer from PTSD. “Paul’s testimonial is the best possible advertisement for Healing The Wounds – a veteran who has been able to turn his life around following treatment for PTSD.” The radio campaign is currently running on Real Radio, Nation Radio, Bridge FM and Radio Carmarthenshire. You can listen to it on the website - htt

Computer scientist in the limelight at Cardiff event

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A leading Welsh computer scientist will be in the limelight next week, helping to brief Welsh Government members, advisers and policymakers. Dr Tom Crick, a lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), has been invited to speak at Science and the Assembly 2011 on Tuesday 24th May at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay. The timing of the event could not be better for computer science in Wales, as work gets underway on the HPC Wales high performance computing project. The £40 million project -- which will provide a world-class super-computing network, a research and innovation institute and a skills academy -- has been in the news lately for its new links with Fujitsu, Microsoft and Intel. Science and the Assembly is an annual event organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, designed to develop closer links between the scientific community in Wales and the Welsh Government. Dr Crick said: “I will be discussing the importance of Computing in Wales, h

Just three places left for Molby dinner

There have been a few late withdrawals for the Jan Molby dinner (see details below). As I write, there are three places left! Carmarthen Town AFC will hold their annual celebrity dinner on Friday, May 20, at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel Carmarthen. This year's principal guest speaker will be Jan Molby, a superb football pundit and after-dinner speaker. Molby became manager of Swansea City in February 1996, but was sacked in October 1997, along with his assistant, Billy Ayre. He had taken Swansea to the Division Three play-off final five months earlier, but they lost to a last-minute goal by Northampton's John Frain. Molby was a Danish international and played in the Mexico World Cup. He signed for Liverpool from Ajax in 1984, becoming popular on and off the field, quickly becoming a fluent “scouser”. He played 292 games for Liverpool, scoring 61 goals and winning two League Championships and two FA Cups. The celebrity dinner has become a firm favourite on the sporting calendar and

31,000 visits chalked up!

Thank you very much, folks. Thanks to you, dear readers and visitors, this blog is continuing to pick up more hits. It's now hit the 31,000 page views mark. That's 1,000 more views since May 7. Keep the hits coming, folks! Much appreciated. Many thanks. See earlier post - http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/30000-visits-chalked-up.html Meanwhile, the blog has chalked up its first visitor from the Syrian Arab Republic. The full country by country list (figures from January 6, 2010) is as follows - United Kingdom (GB) 8,860; United States (US) 1,124; India (IN) 82; Canada (CA) 66; Germany (DE) 54; Australia (AU) 53; Europe (EU) 50; Ireland (IE) 46; France (FR) 39; Japan (JP) 38; Taiwan (TW) 36; Belgium (BE) 32; Qatar (QA) 29; Netherlands (NL) 27; Italy (IT) 26; Spain (ES) 20; Philippines (PH) 20; New Zealand (NZ) 18; Malaysia (MY) 18; Pakistan (PK) 17; Russian Federation (RU) 16; United Arab Emirates (AE) 14; Sweden (SE) 12; Greece (GR) 10; Austria (AT) 10; Denmark (DK) 10; Si

Friday date for Cor Meibion Llanelli

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Cor Meibion Llanelli will be singing their hearts out on Friday to help the campaign to restore Pembrey's historic Court Farm. The Friends of Court Farm are hosting the fundraising concert at St Illtyd’s Church on Friday, May 20, at 7pm. “We are always glad to help local causes,” said Cor Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas. “We have close links with Pembrey and many of our members are supportive of the bid to save one of Carmarthenshire's few remaining ancient manor houses.” A bid is now being put together to seek cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the salvation of Court Farm. The present mansion dates back to the mid-16th century, early in the reign of Elizabeth 1. Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments body, has already declared the building to be of “outstanding importance” and has offered a £40,000 grant towards initial repair works. Mr Thomas added: “We know there are great efforts being made to save Court Farm for future generations, so a concert like Fr