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

The Welsh Assembly Minister for Rural Affairs, Elin Jones AM, will today officially launch the Improved Food Safety research project which is set to play a significant role in ensuring the safety of meat. The launch, held at the IBERS Aberystwyth University Pavilion in Countryside Care at the Royal Welsh Show, brings together representatives from industry, academia and agriculture to mark the start of a project which aims to drastically reduce incidences of meat contamination in abattoirs. The £460,000 research project undertaken by scientists at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is jointly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and industrial partners. The project has gained support from partners across the agri-food industry including British Chlorophyll Co Ltd; Castell Howell Foods Ltd; Randall Parker Foods Ltd, Waitrose Ltd and Wynnstay Group PLC. The principal aim of the research is to investigate ways of identifying conta...

Beach Break Live has been hailed as a resounding success by Carmarthenshire county councillors. The festival for 13,000 students held at Pembrey Country Park in mid June has been praised as well run and a boost for the local economy. Executive board member for regeneration and leisure Cllr Clive Scourfield told this week’s meeting of the full council: “It was an outstanding success. The local economy has certainly benefited from it. “I saw local company Castell Howell on site - they were the sole suppliers of food. Consider the local coach companies that carried people to the site, and the marquee company. ”The compliments I have read with regard to the behaviour of the students in the locality were a credit to us.” He said that Pembrey Country Park was the right place to hold Beach Break Live and that the facilities such as the dry ski slope, horse riding and cafes had benefited. “My people have commented that they never knew that this gem of the South Wales coastline existed,” he add...

A range of free activities area available to young people in the Llanelli area during the summer holidays. The Llanelli Youth Team, based at Bwlch Rangers, has put on a programme of activities for young people to get involved in from July 22 – August 24. Activities will include motorbiking, coasteering, mountain biking, kayaking and various sports activities. Huw Thomas, Senior Youth Worker for the Llanelli Area said: “As a result of the activities we put on during the holidays, many young people have joined our youth clubs, have made new friends and have achieved various qualifications. “Our projects and activities aim to bring out the best in young people and help develop essential skills.” For a full programme of events, please contact Huw Thomas at Bwlch Rangers Youth Centre on: 01554 749782

Parks in the Amman and Gwendraeth areas are the places to go for young people during the summer holidays. B in the Park is a fun-packed annual event hosted by Carmarthenshire Youth Service. The events are free and are open to all young people. Activities include a climbing wall, fun inflatables, assault courses, paintballing and much more. Rhys Jones, Senior Youth Worker for the Amman and Gwendraeth areas said: “The event is very popular with young people and each year we see an increase in attendees. “There is plenty to do and we aim to put on activities to suite everyone. “This is a great opportunity to meet new people and learn what other projects the Youth Service offers. “We look forward to seeing new faces and having fun with young people from the valleys.” For further information and full programme details, please contact Rhys Jones, Senior Youth Worker on: 07880504130

They are full of red hot ideas at the University of Glamorgan in Pontypridd – and the launch of the HPC Wales super computer project will enable them to fire up even more innovations. Steven Wilcox, the university’s Professor of Intelligent Systems Engineering, is thrilled at the benefits HPC will bring. “Quite simply, work which could take us up to a week currently could be done in less than an hour,” he said. “The difference in computer power is that dramatic and it will open up a whole host of new horizons for us.” The Department of Engineering ( www.engineering.research.glam.ac.uk ) at the Treforest Campus is currently studying industrial furnaces in collaboration with EU industrial partners such as Corus. Professor Wilcox explained: “We produce computer models to replicate the behaviour of glass furnaces which produce molten bottle glass. We can use the models to study the placing of auxiliary burners, how to use fuel more efficiently and how to reduce emissions. “Computational fl...

The 'View from Richmond Park' column from this week's edition of the Carmarthen Journal . . . Saturday (July 10) saw the annual fete and primary school football tournament held at Richmond Park, Carmarthen. It provided further evidence of the commitment to developing youth talent at Carmarthen Town AFC. Last season saw further milestones reached in the development of the youth structure within Carmarthen Town AFC. A development centre for primary school children feeding into our academy structure has been established. With teams at U12, LJ14, U15, U16 and U19 Youth levels, all the teams play in an organised Academy League. Emlyn Schiavone, chairman of Town’s Academy Forum, explained: “When it was formed it was hoped that the youth of our locality would be encouraged to take advantage of the club's coaching facilities and develop the next generation of players to represent Carmarthen Town. “As well as youngsters from Carmarthen, players from as far afield as Newcastle Em...

Professor Noel Lloyd CBE, Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University, has announced his intention to retire when his term of office comes to an end at the close of the 2010/11 academic year. Professor Lloyd, who has held the post since September 2004, made the announcement at a meeting of the University’s Council. Sir Emyr Jones Parry, President of Aberystwyth University, said: “Noel has given long and distinguished service to Aberystwyth University. The Council has paid tribute to his service, first as Registrar and Secretary, and then Vice-Chancellor. “His long planned retirement will leave Aberystwyth University well placed to face future challenges. Under his stewardship the University achieved its autonomous status and has developed substantially. I have much enjoyed working with Noel, and look forward to continuing to do so for the academic year ahead, at the end of which I shall wish him a happy retirement, as no doubt, he will return to his love, mathematics.” Following the anno...