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

Staff from Hywel Dda Health Board were recently awarded certificates of commendation by Health Board Chairman Chris Martin. The group, who are involved in work around chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) patient and family centred care, received their awards in a short presentation at Withybush Hospital. The Chairman’s Certificate of Commendation recognises staff who work above and beyond their call of duty to help to improve healthcare services. Chris Martin said: “I am delighted to be able to recognise the hard work and dedication of our staff in this way. “This work will help to build a strong foundation for the provision of care that is truly patient and family centred.” Patient Experience Manager, Anna Tee said “It makes all the difference to everyone involved to be recognised for their efforts, especially staff at the front line. Being part of the King’s Fund Patient and Family Centred Care Programme has helped us all to think differently about what we do by looking at

People in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire who may have been cared for by an exemplary nurse are being encouraged by Hywel Dda Health Board to make a nomination in the 2013 Nurse of the Year Award. Now in its second year, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Wales Annual Nurse of the Year Awards will be held in the City Hall Cardiff on Wednesday, 27 November 2013. These awards demonstrate the value of the nursing family and honour best practice within the community. They were created to highlight nursing’s best and brightest lights. Nurses can be nominated by peers, teams, managers, patients and the general public. All qualified nurses and midwives registered to practice in Wales, pre-registration nursing students and healthcare support workers are eligible to enter the Awards. Hywel Dda Health Board’s Director of Nursing & Midwifery Caroline Oakley said “Many people have their lives touched by our nurses and I would encourage them to nominate members of our nursing

Organisations that provide health and social care services in Hywel Dda Health Board area are using an innovative e-learning course to ensure the workforce is skilled in recognising and supporting carers. The Carer Award Training is an award winning e-learning course aimed at raising awareness of the requirements of the Carers Strategies (Wales) Measure. And the most senior of staff are setting the example to others by completing the training package. The Executive Directors of Hywel Dda Health Board were the most recent to be presented with their certificates during national Carers Week. Hywel Dda Health Board Assistant Director of Strategic partnerships, and officer lead for unpaid carers across the Hywel Dda region, Peter Llewellyn said: “It is great that senior staff are setting an example and taking carers issues so seriously. The e-learning course is open to all those working in public or voluntary sector health and social care organisations with Mid and W

Latest 'On Song' column from the Llanelli Star -  Four Llanelli choirs have been performing under the glare of the TV lights at Y Ffwrnes theatre in Llanelli this week. The special occasion has seen four editions of S4C’s Noson Lawen Welsh language variety programme recorded at Y Ffwrnes. Côr Meibion Llanelli, the Hywel Girls Choir and Hywel Boys Singers, Cantata and the Ysgol y Strade choir have been taking part in the recording sessions on four consecutive nights. The final recording session takes place tonight (Wednesday) and sees international rugby referee Nigel Owens acting as compere for the evening, with a bill which includes Ysgol y Strade choir, celebrated Welsh band Jac y Do and soprano soloist Gwawr Edwards. “It just shows what a rich place Llanelli is for great choral singing,” said Côr Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas. “To have four choirs from the town featured in the TV recordings is a great achievement.” There was a special concert at Five

The latest 'Shop Elli' column from the Llanelli Star -  The team at the St Elli Shopping Centre is branching out into the world of social media. St Elli Shopping Centre manager Andrew Stephens said: “You can now find us on Facebook. Just look for – ‘St Elli Shopping Centre Llanelli’. And you can find us on Twitter. Follow @StElliCentre” “It’s a quick way of keeping in touch with what’s happening at the centre. And the social media streams will be carrying news of special offers on a regular basis.” ------------------------------------------- June/July events Wed 26th – Sat 29th, Ross Aldridge Solicitors, Cone area Wilkinson pillar Thursday 27th, The Sustainable Living Roadshow. Carmarthenshire Council, Pyramid area Thu 27th Fri 28th Sat 29th, Leukaemia, Cone area Market Hall entrance JULY Mon 1st – Sat 6th, Eon, ASDA Entrance Tuesday 2nd, Real Nappy Drop-In Surgeries, Cone area Market Hall entrance Thu 4th Fri 5th Sat 6th, Gilded Lili Craft Fair, Pyramid area Thu

Cor Meibion Llanelli were at the Ffwrnes theatre in Llanelli last night, recording the Noson Lawen programme for the Welsh Channel 4, S4C. The programme will be broadcast later in the year. Photo slideshow below -

Children from Pembrokeshire are helping to raise awareness of diabetes by designing posters. A competition was run for youngsters to design posters which help raise awareness of diabetes. The posters will be displayed at the Pembrokeshire County Show where the diabetes team from Withybush Hospital will have a stand following a generous donation from patient Keith Davies. Keith collected the money from local businesses and donated it to help raise awareness of the condition and helped judged the winners of the competition. He said: “It’s great to get the young people involved, when I was at school we were not told at all about diabetes.” The diabetes team at Withybush Hospital said: “We are very grateful for Mr Davies kind donation. Many people are not aware that there are steps they can take to prevent or delay themselves getting type 2 diabetes. “These include maintaining a healthy weight, improving dietary intake, being physically active, not smoking and drinking alcohol within the

Carmarthen gearing up for Uefa tournament | This is South Wales Carmarthen Town are gearing up to stage two games in the Women's Under-19 European Championships this summer. Wales hosts the competition that will pit the continent's top eight teams at that level against each other. Along with Wales, Denmark, England, France Sweden, Finland, Germany and Norway take part in the tournament which runs from August 19 to 31. Richmond Park will be the venue for Wales's game against England on August 22 (2pm) and Finland's clash with Norway (7pm).

Press release from Hywel Dda Health Board: This Healthy Wednesday we are encouraging mums to benefit themselves and their babies by breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed your baby. Breastfed babies have: less chance of diarrhoea and vomiting and having to go to hospital as a result  fewer chest and ear infections and having to go to hospital as a result  less chance of being constipated  less likelihood of becoming obese and therefore developing type 2 diabetes and other illnesses later in life  less chance of developing eczema  Hywel Dda Health Board has pledged to double the numbers of mothers’ breastfeeding their babies from birth up to the age of six months over the next five years. Rhian Walters, Infant Feeding Co-ordinator for Hywel Dda Health Board, said: “Any amount of breastfeeding has a positive effect. The longer you breastfeed, the longer the protection lasts and the greater the benefits. Breastfeeding doesn’t only benefit your baby. It bene

Young people from the Gypsy Traveller Community have hand carved an eye-catching bench for patients and visitors at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. The young people from Bush School, Pembroke designed and carved the bench which was funded by the health board’s Support for Life and the Priory Project. Equality and Diversity Officer Jane Whalley said; “Research shows that Gypsies and Travellers suffer from a range of preventable health problems but are often put off from seeking help because of past negative experiences or fear of discrimination. “A project like this helps to build trust and encourages the community to get involved with the health board in decisions on design and delivery of services that are more accessible for their communities. “By creating more accessible services and improving the patient experience for Gypsy Travellers, the health board will support them to live healthy lives across all age groups. “This project has helped bring the two

Hywel Dda Health Board has introducing a text messaging reminder service to help tackle the problem of people not attending outpatient appointments. The new mobile phone service is live now and will be available for outpatient appointments across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. Patients will be asked whether they wish to have the reminder when they book their next outpatient appointments. If they agree, two text message reminders will be sent to the patient’s mobile number before their appointment. Patients will be given the opportunity to request their reminder messages in either Welsh or English. The detail within the message will include the time, date and venue of the appointment, and no sensitive information. The text message will also provide a contact number for the patient to cancel the appointment should they so wish. If the appointment is cancelled, the appointment slot will not be lost as it will be offered to another patient. The aim is to encourage pa

A new position has become available at the award-winning Celtic Couriers in Burry Port. The firm is looking for a Class 1 HGV night trunk driver. The delivery run starts at 1920hrs and runs from Burry Port to the Midlands, Monday-Friday night with the firm's parcel freight. The position is salaried, which will be discussed at interview stage. Experience not essential, but a class 1 HGV licence is mandatory. Please contact the office for an application form. Ring: 01554 835490 Celtic Couriers is a growing company always happy to hear from individuals with appropriate skills, experience and enthusiasm who believe they have something to offer the business. If this sounds like you, please email your CV with a short covering letter of introduction to: info@celticcouriers.co.uk Application form on this link - https://docs.google.com/file/d/0By4KNIaYveDfdTJTbVVjaGpGVUE/edit About Celtic Couriers: We've built our reputation through providing innovation and believe in having close c

An award-winning author will be returning to Llanelli next week (Friday, July 5) to share his enthusiasm for Carmarthenshire history and culture in a bilingual evening to raise money for next year's National Eisteddfod in the town. Jon Gower, who was brought up in Pwll and educated at Llanelli Boys' Grammar School, is the author of 17 books, including the novel, Y Storiwr which won last year's Wales Book of the Year Award, and the coastal journey 'Wales: At Water's Edge' which has been shortlisted for this year's prize. Jon also wrote 'The Story of Wales,' the best selling history which accompanies the landmark BBC series, presented by fellow Llanelli man Huw Edwards. Jon Gower says he's delighted to be be coming back to the town to give an illustrated talk at the town's library: "I've written two history books about Llanelli, one about Pwll and 'Real Llanelli' so I'm aware of the great wealth of material you can draw

Young carers across Pembrokeshire have created a new website and charter to help others in their position. The Charter of Rights has been developed by over 30 young carers in Pembrokeshire and includes the right to be happy, the right to have respect and honesty from adults, and the right to play and have fun. It will also ensure all young carers receive an acceptable level of support and engagement from professionals, services and organisations in the county. The charter forms part of the Pembrokeshire Young Carers’ new website www.pembsyc.org.uk Both were created by members of Pembrokeshire Young Carers, which is run by Action for Children -Gweithredu dros Blant. Ben is 14 and cares for his parents, who have both been very ill. He said: “I hope that the charter helps other children and adults understand about the needs of young carers. I loved helping to make it and can’t believe how cool the charter looks now it’s finished!” Action for Children-Gweithredu dros Blant’s Director of Ch

More than 400 visitors attended Aberystwyth University’s first community open day, Access All Areas. A wide variety of activities, exhibitions and demonstrations were on show during the day, which highlighted the exciting work taking place at the University, and the individuals involved. The BeachLab event at the Bandstand also proved to be a real success drawing families and individuals fascinated by the Computer Science Department’s robots and the robotic orchestra, made of discarded instruments and controlled by two tiny Raspberry Pi computers. Many also took advantage of the guided tour of the new National Plant Phenomics Centre, housed at the University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) in Gogerddan. Other activities included live music performances, micro-classes, tours, experiments, sports taster sessions, culinary demonstrations, face painting and web games. Aberystwyth University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor April McMahon, explains: “We are

There's a free concert coming up at Y Ffwrnes theatre in Llanelli. 'Super Sing' is being organised by Llanelli Choral Society in aid of the BBC Children in Need appeal. The event will be a fun community sing-a-long and workshop featuring magical moments from musicals, heart-rousing hymns and great classical choruses. There will be expert music leadership from John Hywel Williams MBE and Huw Tregelles Williams OBE. There will be spotlight performances from Llanelli Choral Society, the Hywel Girls’ Choir and Hywel Boy Singers. Singing highlights will include - Les Miserables - Singing in the Rain - You’ll Never Walk Alone - Hallelujah Chorus - Zadok The Priest Aida’s Grand March - O Fortuna - Tydi a Rhoddaist - Climb Ev’ry Mountain- Guide Me Now O Great Jehovah - Jerusalem - Edelweiss . . . and many more. Free admission tickets available from 01554 774822 / 01554 774437 or info@LlanelliChoralSociety.com The event is being supported by Cefn Sidan Rotary Club. The club is al

Hywel Dda Health Board and Prince’s Trust Cymru’s Get into Health programme has won in the Corporate Social Responsibility category at the prestigious Inspire Wales Awards. The ceremony, held in Cardiff, recognised unsung heroes and sources of inspiration across Wales. The Prince’s Trust Cymru Get into Health programme gives unemployed young people the skills, confidence and work experience they need to find a job in the NHS. Hywel Dda Health Board’s Chief Executive Trevor Purt said: “I am so proud of the scheme and the young people and staff that have got involved and demonstrates such commitment. “To date, more than 100 young people from across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have taken part and received an insight into employment and career opportunities available in the NHS. We hope that this recognition inspires even more young people to do the same.” Ian Thomas at The Prince’s Trust Cymru said: “Hywel Dda has shown great belief in our young people, a belief that ma

The organisers of the Llandeilo Jazz Festival have confirmed the headline acts for this year's event. The festival is being backed by the Llandeilo-based Evan-Evans brewery. The headline acts include - Willie Garnett, veteran tenor Saxophonist and Big Band Leader, will play the festival on Sunday July 7th at The Cawdor Hotel accompanied by The John Gibbon Trio. A leading player and expert on all things Saxophone, Willie is best known as a band leader and has worked with many notables from the Rock world such as The Rolling Stones to Jazz greats such as Sony Stitt. Inspired to take up the sax after seeing Michael Brecker play at the age of 11, Llandeilo born Oliver Nezhati is a rising star on The London Jazz scene. We are delighted to welcome Oli back to his home town where he will be accompanied by The Dave Cottle Trio. Swansea Jazzland’s House band has accompanied most of the UK’s leading performers and many international jazz artists over the past 15 years or so. Li H

A breastfeeding champion and new mother, Sarah Jennings, is encouraging other mums to benefit from peer support at community breastfeeding groups. Sarah is mum to 11 week-old Seren and Director of Strategic Partnerships for Hywel Dda Health Board. She is the organisation’s latest ambassador for breastfeeding. “Breastfeeding has so many benefits,” said Sarah. “Not only is it good for Seren’s health, giving her the best start in life, but it has health benefits for me too. It is a wonderful way to bond together and after overcoming the initial hurdles, it is easier that bottle feeding as I don’t have to worry about carrying things around with me or sterilising.” June is national breastfeeding month, organised by the Association of Breastfeeding Mother’s, and the Health Board has pledged to double the number of mother’s breastfeeding their babies from birth up until 6 months of age. For Sarah, the greatest help has been assistance and support from other breastfeeding mums. “I was given

A special eco friendly roadshow kicks off in Llanelli on Thursday (June 27). Carmarthenshire County Council has teamed up with Europe Direct, based at the West Wales European Centre - to celebrate and raise awareness of the wide range of green initiatives in the county working to reduce our carbon footprint and encourage a more sustainable way of living. The Sustainable Living Roadshow is also an opportunity to spotlight key issues such as pollution, waste, endangered species, natural resources scarcity and climate change. The show will take place at St Elli Shopping Centre between 11am and 2pm on Thursday. As part of the event, council recycling officers will be giving advice and information on recycling as well as helping residents to reduce their waste, particularly food waste. There will be cooking demonstrations giving ideas on how to use left-overs to create delicious recipes and sharing tips on growing your own vegetables, upcycling demonstrations on creating new fashion item

With many thousands of appearances and 10 solo albums under his belt, The Sunday Times has described American Blues veteran Kent DuChaine as one of the five best concerts (of any genre). Kent lends an international flavour to Llandeilo Jazz with his concert at The Angel Hotel on Saturday July 6. It's all part of the Llandeilo Jazz Festival - July 5-7. Website - http://www.jazzatllandeilo.co.uk/

Youngsters from the crèche at Withybush Hospital did their best toddling to raise money for charity. The Barnardo’s Big Toddle is the UK’s biggest charity event for children aged 0 - 5. The youngsters from the creche took part in the short sponsored walk before having a tea party. The money is still be collected in for the final total. For more information on the creche please telephone 01437 773732.

The Department of Psychology at Aberystwyth University has been awarded national accreditation by the British Psychological Society, the internationally recognised UK learned society responsible for ensuring standards of quality within the subject. The announcement has been made following a successful accreditation visit on Wednesday 19 June by the British Psychological Society. Aberystwyth University has a long tradition of academic excellence and continually looks to improve their offer to students as shown by the introduction of, and investment in, the Psychology Department nearly five years ago. During the last few years the department has worked to successfully build its reputation for the quality of its degree and the care of its students, and has already achieved top place in the National Student Satisfaction Survey which records how happy students are in their chosen courses at universities around the UK. Professor Kate Bullen, Director of the Institute of Human Sciences, and

Hywel Dda Health Board is protecting staff and the public by having CCTV in all its hospitals. CCTV helps promoting a safe and secure environment acting as a deterrent as well a useful tool in prosecution. Brett Jenkins, Security Adviser for Hywel Dda Health Board said; “The protection of patients, staff and visitors is key, but CCTV also gives a clear message to criminals that our sites are covered, they do work and we will work with the police to take any matters forward.” In Hywel Dda Health Board over the last 12 months there have been 28 arrests have been made following incidents where health board staff have been harmed, threatened or been the victim of criminal activity. In October a patient was found guilty of common assault and received a two year conditional discharge as well as having to pay compensation to the member of staff. In May this year, CCTV was also used in order to identify and assist in the quick apprehension and investigation of a suspected thief at Prince Phili

Llanelli sculptor Adriano Candelori is staging a special exhibition of his work at Llanelli's Parc Howard Museum and Art Gallery this summer. Entitled 'Adriano Candelori, Sculptor, a retrospective', the show starts on Saturday, June 29 and runs until September 28. Adriano Candelori, originally from Terni, Umbria, in Italy, came to Wales after World War Two, during which, like many young men of his time, his education and career prospects had been interrupted by the German occupation of his town. While in Wales, visiting family in Llanelli, Adriano secured an employment contract with the Steel Company of Wales for which he initially worked as a 'Behinder' in the Old Castle Tinplate Works. After the term of his contract, he remained in the town, married a local girl and has lived and worked in Llanelli for more than 50 years, participating fully in the life of the community and working in education. His wife, Shirley Jenkins is the daughter of Hector and Nelli

Golf teams at The Ashburnham Championship Links Golf Club in Pembrey have received a boost from Kidwelly-based business Burns Pet Food. The pet nutrition business has sponsored kit for the Ashburnham's Dyfed League A and B teams. "We are very grateful for the continued support of Burns Pet Food," said Ashburnham Dyfed League A team captain Gareth Davies. Picture: Left to right, Gareth Davies, greens director and Dyfed League A team captain, David Tomey, Dyfed League B team captain, Martin Phillips, representative for Neil Smith of Burns Pet Food of Kidwelly, and Huw Dixon, golf director at The Ashburnham. Weblinks - http://www.ashburnhamgolfclub.co.uk http://burnspet.co.uk/

Alan Hewson, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre, has announced his retirement after 28 years of leading the centre. Mr Hewson said that he had enjoyed the many challenging and very rewarding years working with such a creative and committed team to place the Arts Centre at the heart of the community. Mr Hewson said he particularly wanted to thank the loyal and committed Arts Centre audiences; it has been his privilege to serve them. The University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aled Jones, stated that Mr Hewson had made a very significant contribution over many years to the development of the Arts Centre’s artistic programme, including one of the UK’s most comprehensive and ambitious community arts programmes, a leading centre for the contemporary visual arts in Wales, an innovative media programme and critically acclaimed summer musicals. This ‘National Flagship for the Arts’ has become one of the most highly regarded arts venues in Wales and the UK with more than 700,000 visit

From now on, supporters of the Mothers' Union in the St Davids Diocese area who regularly buy goods online can help Mothers' Union good causes. The organisation has signed up to ‘Givingabit’, a website which has an agreement with a large number of major retailers (e.g. Amazon, Boots, John Lewis, Premier Inns) to benefit charitable causes. Brenda Evans, President of the St Davids Diocese Mothers' Union, said “The process is very easy and can be done at no cost to members. I’m hoping that every one can get involved and help us to do more for families in real need.” On the Givingabit website, all one has to do is register and choose ‘Mothers' Union St David’s Diocese’ as one’s preferred charity. After that, supporters just access the Givingabit website to find their online store. By buying in this way, the Mothers' Union gets a percentage of the purchase price towards its important charitable projects. The current focus of the Mothers' Union action in th

Latest news from the 'Jazz in the Bar' team at Brecon - DIARY MARKER FOR JAZZ CLUB JULY 2013 Tuesday 16 July : Keith Little Quartet Well known and very popular team, led by Keith, playing Swing with a little Latin and Jump 'n' Jive, too. Main Swing sets are from the wonderful jazz era of the 30s and 40s. Featuring - Keith Little on Piano Martin Butterworth on clarinet/sax and vocals Bill Lyn on double bass Mike Pincombe on drums Theatr Bar : 8pm : £6 on the door Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon LD3 7EW Daytime Box office: 01874 611622 PS: DON'T FORGET TO BOOK YOUR JAZZ FESTIVAL 'GUILDHALL' GIG TICKETS SOON! ‘Balança’ Contemporary Bossa Nova / Brazilian Jazz Quintet led by Cathy Jones at 7.15pm  http://breconjazz.com/programme/2013/sunday/balanca-led-by-cathy-jones/ Arturo Serra Quartet Meets Celia Mur Latin-Hispanic vibes & vocals from Spain at 5pm http://breconjazz.com/programme/2013/sunday/arturo-serra-quartet-meets-celia-mur/ Davide Logiri Meets Torfaen Ja

Latest special offers from the Jenkins Bakery - WEEK COMMENCING 24/06/13 3 MEDIUM CORNED BEEF PASTIES £1.60 2 CHICKEN & MUSHROOM PASTIES £2.20 2 LARGE CORNED BEEF PASTIES £1.90 2 FRESH CREAM ECLAIRS £1.70 2 CUSTARD SLICES (85p each) £1.60 SANDWICH OF THE WEEK – CHICKEN TIKKA £2.20 BAGUETTE OF THE WEEK – HAM & CHEESE £2.25 ROLLS OF THE WEEK – 6 WHITE FINGERS £1.25 LOAF OF THE WEEK – SMALL FARMHOUSE £1.05 SPECIALITY LOAF *weekend only* – RUSTIC BROWN BREAD £1.15 Website - http://jenkinsbakery.co.uk/

Li Harding has rightly been described as the finest Jazz singer in the Principality – she makes her Llandeilo Jazz debut on Saturday July 6 at The White Horse. The occasion also marks the welcome return of Gary (Amigos) Phillips to the stage with his much admired trio. It's all part of the Llandeilo Jazz Festival - July 5-7. Website -  http://www.jazzatllandeilo.co.uk/