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

Off to Aberglasney Gardens for tonight's concert featuring Bryn Terfel and Wynne Evans. Taking my wellies just in case!

Many thanks to all those kind shoppers in Carmarthen this morning who supported the programme sales for next week's fete and football festival.

Off to Carmarthen (St Catherine's Walk Centre) to sell programmes for next week's Carmarthen Town AFC Fete and Football Festival.

Rain stopped play, but it didn’t dampen the spirits for the official opening of the new Carmarthen Wanderers Cricket Clubhouse at Trinity Fields at Ystrad, Johnstown, Carmarthen. The opening was due to be carried out against the backdrop of a South Wales Junior Cricket Under-16 match between the Wanderers and Pontarddulais – but a classic summer deluge put paid to that part of the entertainment. VIP guests, including Glamorgan bowler Huw Waters and Carmarthen Town Deputy Mayor Phil Grice, were forced inside the new clubhouse, but at least it gave them chance to explore the new pavilion. More than £150,000 has been spent on dressing rooms and a lounge bar next to the nets at Trinity Fields. “The new clubhouse is a great example of partnerships at work,” said Carmarthen Wanderers chairman David Roberts. Mr Roberts said the key partners in the project were the University of Wales Trinity St David, the ECB English Cricket Board of England, Cricket Wales, Carmarthenshire County Council, Cwm

The prestigious Lamphey Court Hotel & Spa in Pembrokeshire has appointed a manager for its new £2 million state-of-the-art Spa. Kristal Wright, 26, arrives at the spa with an extensive CV which includes working at The Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, a Five Star Luxury hotel retreat based in Dogmersfield, Hampshire. “We are looking forward to welcoming Kristal to the hotel and spa next month,” said Phil Thomas, general manager at the Lamphey Court Hotel & Spa near Pembroke. “The Spa is taking shape in more ways than one. We can see the building developing and now we can see the staffing structure taking shape. “Kristal is qualified in a wide variety of spa and beauty treatments and therapies. She is highly-motivated and a good communicator and I’m sure she will prove to be an asset to the team here at the Lamphey Court Hotel & Spa.” The new spa is literally rising like the phoenix from the ashes. It was back in April, 2010, when the old spa at the hotel saw one of the most dra

Carmarthenshire's Executive Board is writing to Llandeilo Town Council asking for members to agree a preferred route for a proposed bypass which could help reduce air pollution in the area. The Local Authority is currently undertaking a detailed assessment of air quality in Llandeilo as well as a major public consultation with the aim of assessing and managing air quality in the area. Recent exercises have revealed increasing levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Llandeilo, to the extent where the Air Quality Objective set by the Westminster and European governments has been breached. As part of the assessment and consultation, the proposal for a bypass has been raised as a possible solution. Now, the county council has asked members of the town council to discuss their preferred location for a proposed bypass at their next meeting, which will allow them to lobby the Welsh Government on the matter. Leader, Cllr Meryl Gravell, said: “We have written to Llandeilo Town Cou

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 36,000 page views mark. That's 2,000 more views since June 8 - just over a fortnight ago! Keep the hits coming, folks! Much appreciated. Many thanks. See earlier post - http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/34000-visits-chalked-up.html Meanwhile, the blog has chalked up its first visitor from Jamaica. The full country by country list (figures from January 6, 2010) is as follows - United Kingdom (GB) 10,703; United States (US) 1,330; India (IN) 101; Canada (CA) 76; Germany (DE) 68; Australia (AU) 67; Ireland (IE) 54; Europe (EU) 53; France (FR) 49; Taiwan (TW) 45; Japan (JP) 41; Belgium (BE) 35; Netherlands (NL) 29; Italy (IT) 29; Qatar (QA) 29; Spain (ES) 25; New Zealand (NZ) 23; Philippines (PH) 21; Pakistan (PK) 21; United Arab Emirates (AE) 19; Malaysia (MY) 19; Russian Federation (RU) 17; Poland (PL) 14; Singapore (SG) 14; Sweden (SE) 13; Bra

Popular Wales and Scarlets back-row forward Dafydd Jones will be the guest of honour at a special Testimonial Dinner being staged at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, July 9. More than 300 are expected to attend the event at The Quinnell lounge. “It promises to be one of the ‘must attend’ events of the year for sports fans,” said one of the organisers, Albert Francis. “Dafydd Jones has been a tremendous servant to Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets rugby region. He’s a popular guy with the fans and this testimonial year tribute is well deserved as he has had to retire from rugby because of injury. “There’ll be plenty of stars in the audience, including Scarlets rugby heroes from today and from yesteryear.” The MC for the evening will be Scarlets legend Rupert Moon and the entertainment will be provided by comedian Harry Scott. Dafydd Jones played 201 games for Llanelli and the Scarlets, scoring 24 tries, and earned his first Wales cap against Fiji on 9 November 2002, going on to represent his co

Menter Cwm Gwendraeth has organised an open day at the Gwendraeth Resource Centre in Pontyberem next month. The event at the centre in Coalbrook Road on Tuesday July 26 from 10am-6pm is to let people know about the courses available in 2011-2012. The Resource Centre has a range of IT courses - keyboard skills, IT for beginners, Word and file management and E-mail and Internet; Multi Media courses – digital camera, digital imaging, Photoshop 1 and 2, Foundation in Multi Media and Level 1 in Further Technology; Welsh, and Spanish. The courses range from four to 30 weeks in length with a mix of daytime and evening courses. For more information and to register contact Julie Nicholas on 01269 871600.

Llwynhendy Environmental Group is celebrating after receiving almost £70,000 to turn a redundant piece of ground, well known for fly tipping, into a vibrant community growing site. The group has used the funds for a community growing space project which will see fruit and vegetables being grown and residents being given training to learn new skills. Richard Davie, chair of the group said: “This is an exciting project for the Communities First Llwynhendy ward. It will not only provide residents with plots to produce fresh food and to take part in healthy recreational exercise, but will also help to integrate the community as growing spaces are excellent for getting to know new people.” Work began in March, and the project has seen the area transform from a site of overgrown vegetation and rubbish, into 16 growing plots, with the addition of raised beds for gardeners of all ages. Lindy Butler, Communities First Co-ordinator, said: “This project was one of the first ideas that Communities

Paintings, ceramics and textiles inspired by the seine fishermen of Ferryside will go on show at Carmarthenshire County Museum. The exhibition by artist Dorothy Morris will open on July 2. She lives in Ferryside and her husband is one of the few remaining licensed seine fishermen now operating on the Tywi estuary. Her richly coloured paintings record this ancient method of fishing and her textiles and ceramics have been inspired by life on the estuary. Dorothy Morris said: “This exhibition was inspired by the realisation that there are now only three licensed seine net fishing boats left on the estuary. My husband has been one of the crew for over 30 years and sometimes we have been treated to a family supper of fresh sewin caught here on the Tywi. “As this activity has played such a huge role in my life, I believe it was important for me to record this old traditional technique, especially since it is now in danger of dying out.” She said that as a part-time art teacher and community

Residents have welcomed new pilot initiatives to increase recycling in Carmarthenshire. Free semi-clear bags will be available for non-recyclable waste, and starch liners for food waste bins in four trial areas. The council has been inundated with calls since the decision was announced by the council’s Executive Board on Monday. The semi-clear bags have been ordered, but will take three or four weeks for delivery. Residents will be informed of when they will be available for collection at Customer Service Centres via the council’s website and through the local press. They will be available free of charge to all Carmarthenshire residents for collection only. People can continue to use black bags and /or a mixture of both black and semi-clear bags for non-recyclable waste if they wish. The starch liners will be provided to 8,000 households to discover whether it would increase the amount of food being collected. Four areas will be chosen as part of a six-month trial. These areas have not

Members of the new Day Club in Llandeilo have given it a thumbs up. The club is run by the WRVS in Maes Elfryn. Picture: Mary and Gordon Kendrick, members of the day club, with Kellie Cridland and Amanda Cooke, WRVS staff. Pic: Jeff Connell

Off to Bridgend for a meeting with Healing The Wounds, the Welsh charity which treats PTSD sufferers.

Global computer giant Fujitsu - one of the partners in the prestigious HPC Wales supercomputer project - has scooped a major world award. The “K computer” developed by Riken and Fujitsu has taken first place in the latest world rankings. Riken and Fujitsu have taken first place on the 37th TOP500 list announced today at the 26th International Supercomputing Conference (ISC’11) held in Hamburg, Germany. This ranking is based on a performance measurement of the “K computer” currently under their joint development. The TOP500-ranked K computer system, currently in the configuration stage, has 672 computer racks equipped with a current total of 68,544 CPUs. This half-build system achieved the world’s best LINPACK benchmark performance of 8.162 petaflops (quadrillion floating-point operations per second), to place it at the head of the TOP500 list. In addition, the system has recorded high standards with a computing efficiency ratio of 93.0%. This is the first time since June 2004 that the

The latest 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC from the Carmarthen Journal - The Annual General Meeting of Carmarthen Town AFC will be held on Thursday, June 23, 7pm start. The new Welsh Premier League season starts on the weekend of August 12. ------------------------------------- Dates for your diary: Town’s first friendly of the season will be against one of manager Tomi Morgan’s old clubs, Tregaron Turfs on July 16. Carmarthen Town will then play Caersws away on July 30. The Old Gold will play Welsh League Champions Bryntirion Athletic on August 6 at Richmond Park. Pre –season training will begin on Tuesday, June 28. Time and venue to be confirmed. ------------------------------------- Town are also hoping to launch their new website in the near future. Vince James, who was in charge of Y Dre ar Y We’, has decided to scale down his commitments and therefore a new website is under construction. ------------------------------------- Carmarthen Town AFC will be holdi

Magnificent turnout at Llanelli Crematorium today for the funeral of Hugh Roberts, programme editor and media officer for the Llanelli Reds. RIP Hugh. A great guy, sadly missed.

New initiatives are being piloted in Carmarthenshire to help residents recycle more. They include free semi-clear bags for non-recyclable waste, and starch liners for food waste bins in four trial areas. The schemes are being introduced at the request of the Executive Board to make it as easy as possible for householders to recycle, and help Carmarthenshire achieve its target of a 52 per cent recycling/composting rate by 2012/13. The starch liners will be provided to 8,000 households as a trial to discover whether it would increase the amount of food being collected. Council leader Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “We have listened to residents and are introducing these pilot schemes to make it easier for people to recycle. We will also be carrying out an extensive consultation regarding recycling and how it could be improved.” The survey will be carried out in the autumn via Carmarthenshire News, the council website, the local media, the Citizens Panel and 50+ Forum. Recycling officers will a

Welsh Icons website puts the spotlight on the Dafydd Jones testimonial golf day at The Ashburnham Golf Club - http://www.welshicons.org.uk/news/sport/testimonial-event-for-dafydd-jones/ Carmarthen Journal back page puts the spotlight on Welsh Premier League Carmarthen Town AFC's signing of new striker Jack Christopher. 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen AFC football club column is in the Carmarthen Journal sports section today. Carmarthen Journal business page lead story is the move by electrical contractors EMC Services to take up a contract in Sierra Leone. Nice picture story in Out and About pages of the Carmarthen Journal putting spotlight on Stagecoach Carmarthen pupil's new music video role. Splendid feature on the Dafydd Jones Golf Day at The Ashburnham in the sports pages of the Llanelli Star today. It's a testimonial event.

The countdown is on to the annual Dunvant RFC Carnival, which takes place at the rugby club on Saturday, July 2. One of the highlights of the day will be a ‘Dunvant’s Got Talent’ competition. And the organisers have put down a challenge to pubs, clubs and teams to take part in the Tug of War competition. “We really have something for everyone at the carnival,” said one of the organisers, Martin Newbury. “It’s a real community day and we are looking forward to seeing everyone taking part and enjoying the day.” The first auditions for ‘Dunvant’s Got Talent’ have already taken place and the grand final will take place on carnival day. This year, there has also been competition for schoolchildren to design the carnival programme. Two pupils from Cila primary school received vouchers for the carnival totalling £20 each. All entries will be displayed in the clubhouse on the day of the carnival. More than 2000 programmes have been printed. The Carnival has been organised by supporters of the

Juniors and adults enjoyed the fun of a 9 Hole Texas Scramble during Captain’s Week at The Ashburnham Golf Club in Pembrey. Club captain Tony Washer hosted the event, donated the prizes, provided the food and laid on the evening entertainment. Results Friday 17th June: 9 Hole Junior/Adult Texas Scramble 1st (20.3) Mike Jones, George Bundock, James Forey, Josh Howells; 2nd (21.3) Gary Williams, Richard Green, Owain Williams, Kayne Protheroe; 3rd (24) Huw Dixon, Ian Thomas, Keenon Jones, Jordan Davies. Saturday 18th June Captain's Junior Stableford Competition 1st Daniel Brice 40pts; 2nd Tomos Davies 34 pts (Back 9); 3rd Aled Greville 34pts. Past Captain’s Gold Medal Saturday, 18th June. Competition Scratch Score =72 (36pts)(Men) 1 Huw Dixon, 40 pts (04); 2 Philip Watts 39 pts (10); 3 Keith Charles 39 pts (16). Junior Stableford Boys Saturday, 11 June Competition Scratch Score = 71 (37pts)(Men) 1 Scott Johnston, 42 pts (10); 2 Jordan William Davies 40 pts (17); 3 Joshua Morris 40 pts

Carmarthen Town AFC have completed their first new signing of the season. Despite strong competition from several other clubs, Jack Christopher made the decision to join the Old Gold. A proven goal scorer in the Welsh Premier League with Haverfordwest County, he will bring added potency to the Town forward line. Christopher scored 71 goals for Haverfordwest in 114 (+29 subs) appearances. Manager Tomi Morgan was delighted with his new signing. “Jack has proved himself at this level and will bring something extra into the squad. Despite some very good offers from other clubs we managed to sell Carmarthen Town to him and I was extremely pleased when he put pen to paper.” Town also completed another signing over the weekend when defender Kyle Graves committed himself to the Old Gold. Graves, a former Swansea City professional, has made 97 appearances in the Welsh Premier League while playing for Neath and Haverfordwest County. Morgan stated: “I have always been impressed with Kyle when he

Why did Wales vote Yes so clearly in the referendum in March? This question will be answered in two Breakfast Seminars held this week - in Cardiff on Wednesday morning 22nd June, and in Aberystwyth on Friday morning 24th June. In these seminars, Professor Roger Scully from Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Welsh Politics (IWP) and Professor Richard Wyn Jones of Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre (WGC) will give the first public presentations of data collected by the 2011 Welsh Referendum Study (WRS). The seminars will be held in Cardiff at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay, and in Aberystwyth at the Welsh Assembly Buildings, Rhodfa Padarn, and are organised by the IWP and the WGC. The 2011 Welsh Referendum Study was conducted by the IWP and WGC in collaboration with the leading polling company YouGov, and with financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council of the United Kingdom. A representative sample of the Welsh electorate, comprising over 3000 respo

Thousand words written, assorted phone calls fielded and just done a radio interview with Tommo of Radio Carmarthenshire/Scarlet FM.

Carmarthenshire County Council has congratulated a Whitland-based medical device manufacturer on receiving a Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The Magstim Company Limited was presented with the Queen’s Award for International Trade by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Dyfed Sara Edwards on Friday. The company designs, develops and markets medical devices used in neuroscience research labs and the operating theatre. It started trading in 1990 and is winning the Queen’s Award for increasing its overseas earnings by 66 per cent to over £7 million per annum and selling 84 per cent of its production overseas. Cllr Sue Allen, who represents Whitland on Carmarthenshire County Council, said: “I am very proud of Magstim and the fact that it is based in Whitland. The company is an outstanding success.” Executive board member for regeneration and leisure Cllr Clive Scourfield said: “Magstim is a fantastic company to have in Whitland. It has a family ethos and I think that has helped with the company’s suc

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Executive Board has agreed to grant a 21-year lease of part of Burry Port Memorial Park to the Burry Port Park Appeal at a peppercorn rent. The move will allow the Appeal to secure external funding for new equipment and investment. The group wants to include a multi-use games area and two tennis courts, including equipment suitable for use by people with disabilities, and has applied for around £200,000 of funding. But in order to benefit, the group requires formal confirmation that the council is willing to grant a lease of part of the land. Local Member Cllr Pat Jones said: “The granting of this lease will allow the Burry Port Park Appeal to access external funding. I’m delighted that they can now move forward quickly with their exciting plans to develop the park. “The volunteers have worked tirelessly to identify the needs of the local community, and we will all look forward to seeing their plans come to fruition. “They are to be thanked and congratu

Popular Wales and Scarlets back-row forward Dafydd Jones will have a birthday treat at The Ashburnham Golf Club in Pembrey on Friday afternoon (June 24). A celebrity golf tournament is being staged at the club as part of his testimonial year. Jones is 32 on Friday and recently announced his retirement as a player after a series of injury blows. The day is being sponsored by Mark Burch, of the Haverfordwest-based Burch Wealth Management firm, and has been organised by Ashburnham stalwart Albert Francis, who recently received the MBE from The Queen for his charity work. Mr Francis said: “It will be a shotgun start at 1pm at ‘The Ash’. The competition is for teams of four and there will be two celebrities per team. It’s a great chance for autograph hunters or for someone who wants to help caddy for the day!” Mr Francis added: “I am very grateful to everyone who has supported the day as Dafydd has been a great servant for the Scarlets and for Wales. He played 201 games for Llanelli and the

The latest 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC column from the Carmarthen Journal - Carmarthen Town AFC have announced their season ticket prices for the next Welsh Premier League campaign. Season tickets cover admission to all home Welsh Premier League matches. Adult £80 (£70 if received prior to 31/07/11). Senior Citizen/Student £60 (£50 if received prior to 31/07/11). Age 12 – 17 £40 (£35 if received prior to 31/07/11). Age 11 and under £20 (£15 if received prior to 31/07/11). Family Tickets available. Contact: Clive Thomas 01267 232665. ------------------------------------- The Annual General Meeting of Carmarthen Town AFC will be held on Thursday, June 23, 7pm start. The new Welsh Premier League season starts on the weekend of August 12. ------------------------------------- Dates for your diary: Town’s first friendly of the season will be against one of manager Tomi Morgan’s old clubs, Tregaron Turfs on July 18. Carmarthen Town will then play Caersws away on Jul

Reycle Week is taking place from June 20–26 and this year’s theme is ‘Food for Thought’. The aim is to show how separate food waste collections can help people reduce the amount of food they throw away – not only is it better for the environment but it can save you money too. Around 75,000 households across Carmarthenshire now benefit from separate food waste collections. The council’s executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Many of us don’t realise just how much food – and money – we waste, but now that most homes in Wales have a separate food waste collection there’s no reason for throwing any food waste away. “Using your green bin prevents this food waste going to landfill, where it would decompose to produce greenhouse gases. Instead it is taken to a central processing plant to be turned into compost and then sold back to householders to use in their own gardens.” Merlin’s Magic Compost is available from CWM Environmental and can be purchased at T

This year’s Recycle Week runs from June 20–26 and residents in Carmarthenshire are being reminded how easy it is to recycle more. Approximately 94% of people in Wales think recycling is important. Yet while more than half of us (56 per cent) say we recycle everything which can be recycled, more than one in three of us (36 per cent) say we recycle a lot but not everything we could recycle.* That’s why Carmarthenshire County Council is working with Waste Awareness Wales to encourage people to recycle more, and telling them what they can and cannot recycle in the area. Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Almost everyone agrees that recycling is important, but few of us realise how easy it is to recycle more. This week is about sharing information about what we can recycle in Carmarthenshire, telling people where to go for information, and giving them tips to help them recycle more. “Here’s an example: most of us recycle the waste we produce in the ki

Son James has returned from Breach Break Live - in Tiger jump suit and straw hat! The Lloyd family is now complete once again!