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

A meeting to discuss setting up a new Carmarthen branch of the Royal British Legion is due to take place this week. The council’s armed forces champion, Cllr David Jenkins, will host Thursday’s meeting at County Hall, with representatives of Carmarthen Town Council, The Royal British Legion and Armed Forces communities in attendance. The meeting starts at 6.30pm and anyone interested in becoming a member is welcome to attend. Becoming a member can be extremely rewarding from forming a committee, receiving relevant training, to taking an active role in fundraising activities and Remembrance Cllr David Jenkins said: “The Royal British Legion are keen to re-establish here in Carmarthen and this meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss a way forward. As the council’s armed forces champion I’m keen to work with the Royal British Legion and will do all I can to help.” The legion has 175 branches and more than 10,000 members across Wales but there is currently no branch in Carmarthen....

Two sporting greats have been honoured in a special ceremony at County Hall. Late rugby legends Ray Gravell and Stuart Gallacher were formally inducted into the council’s Sporting Hall of Fame (SHF) earlier this month. Mari Gravell, Ray’s wife, and Stuart’s wife, Jan and his children, Jonathan and Debbie, represented the pair at the ceremony, along with councillors, officers and SHF members. The Sporting Hall of Fame recognises sportspeople from Carmarthenshire who have contributed to the legacy of sport and are an inspiration for the next generation of sporting champions. The council’s executive board member for leisure, Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “Both Ray and Stuart have dedicated a large part of their lives to sport in Carmarthenshire and Wales. They are both legends in the world of rugby and we are extremely proud to be honouring them in this way.” The Sporting Hall of Fame is part of the Carmarthenshire Sports Personality Awards and invitations for 2015 are now being taken. Twelv...

Young people across Carmarthenshire are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Youth Council later this month. The event will take place in the Council Chamber at County Hall, Carmarthen, on Wednesday, April 29, from 5.30pm. It will include a look back at the work of the Carmarthenshire Youth Council (CYC) over the past year, and their plans for the future. County Council officers will attend to give feedback from the authority’s budget consultation, which the CYC contributed to by giving their views. Youngsters aged between 11 and 25 are also encouraged to join the CYC, new members will be welcomed at a meeting at 7pm following the AGM. Brittany Alsop-Bingham, aged 17, of Garnant, said: “We want to promote the work we do, we feel it is important that people know about us and how we help the community. “At the meeting we will be saying goodbye to three committed members who are leaving for new experiences so we will be looking for new members, if anyone is interested or if you ...

The Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council has held a reception for the Llangyndeyrn Village Committee following the 50th anniversary of the saving of the village from drowning. Cllr Terry Davies invited the group to County Hall in Carmarthen to mark the occasion. There was a week of celebrations from October 20-27 last year to celebrate the saving of Llangyndeyrn and Cwm Gwendraeth Fach from drowning. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the then Swansea Corporation developed proposals for a dam and reservoir to be built in the Gwendraeth Fach valley to supply water to Swansea. The proposals involved the construction of a dam which would have resulted in the flooding of productive farmland, several farmhouses and a number of houses close to and within the village of Llangyndeyrn, and also upstream to the village of Porthyrhyd. The village of Llangyndeyrn itself would have been greatly affected with a large dam wall built on its eastern flank. Homes would have been lost, livelihoods d...

Strange days at County Hall in Carmarthen. They have taken to using the council website to lob hand grenades at all-comers. Here's the latest volley issued as a press release . . . make of it what you will. ----------------------------------- Many councillors and officials at Carmarthenshire County Council say they are bitterly disappointed and frustrated at misinformation being circulated around the recent public interest report issued by the Wales Audit Office. As such, they have today published correspondence between themselves and the Wales Audit Office in order for people to judge for themselves as to what has actually taken place, ahead of the extraordinary council meeting which has been called to debate the Public Interest Report later this month (February 27). Whilst the intention had been to present this information to councillors at the meeting, the scale and persistent nature of the misinformation in circulation has led the council to publish it earlier and s...

A host of energy efficient programmes have been rolled out in a bid to drive down energy costs at Carmarthen's County Hall. Windows have been draft proofed, pipework serving the building’s radiators insulated and heating controls added to help make the build more energy efficient. IT equipment has also been updated to time out and an energy efficient lighting system installed throughout the building. Insulation works have just been completed in the boiler room. Carmarthenshire County Council has already made its mark by being the leading authority in Wales for the greatest financial and carbon savings. According to funding company Salix, the council’s invested returns show an annual saving of over £217,000 and a lifetime saving of over £4million. The council’s executive board member for sustainability Cllr Jim Jones said: “We have a whole range of works underway at County Hall and our other buildings which already has seen benefits on our energy investments. “We are thrilled to ...

The World Harmony Run has visited Carmarthenshire as part of its European leg. Runners carrying the Harmony Torch arrived at County Hall, Carmarthen, where they were welcomed by the chair of Carmarthenshire County Council Cllr Ivor Jackson. The aim of the World Harmony Run, set up by guru Sri Chimnoy, is to promote goodwill worldwide. The runners arrived from Cardiff before going on to Pembrokeshire as part of the eight-month run which started in Portugal in February and will end in Vienna in October. The runners come from all over Europe including Hungary, Portugal, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, and a representative of the Urdd. They brought messages from the Lord Mayor of Cardiff Cllr Delme Bowen and the Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil Cllr Paul Brown. The party presented Cllr Jackson with a copy of the plaque presented to then council chair Cllr Arthur Harries and Town mayor Cllr Mair Richards when Carmarthen was designated a peace town 15 years ago. World Harmony Run executi...

The Chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council has welcomed Llandovery Friendship Club to County Hall in Carmarthen. Chairman Cllr Ivor Jackson and Chairman’s Consort Mrs Mary Jackson are pictured with members of the Friendship Club in the Chairman’s Room before they went on a tour of County Hall.

Youngsters who have visited NASA were among pupils from Tregib Comprehensive, Llandeilo, to visit County Hall as guests of Carmarthenshire County Council Chairman Cllr Ivor Jackson. A party of pupils was entertained in the Chairman’s Room by Cllr Jackson and Chairman’s Consort Mrs Mary Jackson. The visit involved three groups of pupils, those who spent time at NASA and others who spent time in New York. The pupils who went to the United Space School Programme in Houston, Texas, were Christopher Grylls and Sam Adam-Day, both from Llandybie. Christopher was one of four pupils out of 37 on the NASA scheme to win an award for hard work and leadership and was presented with the American flag that flew from the Capitol Building on July 21, 2011, to mark the 42nd anniversary of the first man on the Moon and the flight of the USS Atlantis, the final launch of the US Shuttle Programme. Christopher said: “We stayed with host families while we were out there so we were thrown in at the deep end w...

Pupils from Ysgol Rhys Pritchard in Llandovery have visited County Hall as guests of the chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council. The children met the chairman Cllr Ivor Jackson in the Chairman’s Room. The children and teachers are pictured with Cllr Jackson and the Chairman’s Consort Mrs Mary Jackson.

There has been a double celebration at a unique catering training project in Carmarthen. SA31 @ Neuadd Y Sir, a café which provides supported training for participants of the COASTAL project, celebrated its first birthday on St David’s Day. All participants who have had work experience and training at the café, which is based at County Hall, were invited back for the celebrations. Carmarthenshire has secured £5.6m as part of the COASTAL Project to address economic inactivity. SA31 is one of the flagship projects created with the funding. COASTAL is a regional project – part-funded from European Social Fund (ESF) as part of the 2007-13 West Wales and the Valleys Convergence Programme. COASTAL’S aim is to support 1,000 adults aged 16-64 over the next three years who face employment barriers as a result of severe disabilities or chronic health conditions access lifelong learning, skills and employment opportunities. Each of the participants who train at SA31 learn valuable skills in fo...

Pupils from Abergwili School have visited County Hall as guests of the chair of Carmarthenshire County Council. The children are pictured in the Council Chamber with chair Cllr Tegwen Devichand and local member Cllr Pam Palmer. Pic Jeff Connell

Adults with learning disabilities have put on an art and craft exhibition at County Hall, Carmarthen. Members of the council’s STEPS day units displayed their wares at the November meeting of full council, which was held to raise awareness of their work and to celebrate their recent achievements. One of the art groups, from STEPs II Cam Cyntaf, based in Johnstown, was recognised on a national level at the National Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale in August. The competition was open to all adults with a learning disability living in Wales. Of the 30 pieces of artwork displayed at the exhibition, six were from Cam Cyntaf, and one of the paintings - ‘Waterfall’ by service user David Ashworth - took a bronze award. Gareth John, Head of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, said: “The art and photography group has been developed over a number of years and is an important factor in individuals’ development. Art is a learning process which takes in colour recognition, improves hand to eye co-ordina...