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

Cor Meibion Llanelli Christmas Concert (due to be held tomorrow night at Theatr Elli) has been cancelled because of the weather.

A man has been fined £75 for failing to clean up after his dog at Ammanford Park. The fixed penalty notice was issued by the council’s environmental enforcement officers who were on patrol in the area. Failure to pay could lead to prosecution in the magistrates court and a maximum fine of £1,000. Carmarthenshire County Council is working hard to tackle the problem of dog fouling and enforcement officers regularly carry out patrols across the county. Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Dog mess left anywhere is a serious health risk. Ammanford Park is used by families with young children and this type of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. “The majority of residents take their responsibilities seriously but there is still a small minority who do not listen. Hopefully this will act as a warning that those caught flouting the law will be prosecuted.” The council is appealing to the public to help identify those responsible. Anyone with any i...

Enjoyable gig at Llanelli Probus Club at the Stradey Park Hotel yesterday. It was their Christmas Party and I gave the after-dinner speech on the theme 'Does Father Christmas exist?' The answer was, Yes.

A Llanelli woman has been fined by the courts after her rubbish was found fly-tipped. Samantha Jayne Smith, aged 36, of Heol Ffynnon, Penyfan, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement officers were called to a fly-tipping incident at Genwen Road, Penygraig. They found two black bags of rubbish with waste strewn across the road. Amongst it was documentation with names and addresses on it including that of Smith. The officers called at the address and spoke to Smith who confirmed she had paid someone £30 to remove some waste from her property. She said she believed her waste was being taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Trostre. She said she did not know if they had a Waste Carriers Licence and she did not receive a Waste Transfer Note. She was also unable to give the of...

A Llanelli shop owner has been fined for failing to remove building materials and overflowing bins that were causing an obstruction to a rear lane. Kuldip Singh, aged 31, who runs Lifestyle Express in Station Road, pleaded guilty to offences contrary to Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Section 137 Highways Act 1980 at Ammanford Magistrates Court. The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council. The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement officers were on patrol in the Station Road area when they saw building materials on the lane to the rear of Lifestyle Express which were causing an obstruction to traffic. The problem was further exacerbated by overflowing trade refuse bins. The officers visited the shop and were told by an employee that some scaffolding to the front of the shop had collapsed, causing a halt to building work on the property, and resulting in the building materials being left in the lane. The officers explained it w...

Splendid preview of Cor Meibion Llanelli's Christmas Concert (this Saturday at Theatr Elli, Llanelli) in the Llanelli Star today. 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC column in the Carmarthen Journal today. 12 tips for saving Christmas cash by Ann Thomas of Clay Shaw Butler - story in Carmarthen Journal today. Specsavers sponsor Carmarthen Town AFC shirt sleeves - story and pic in Carmarthen Journal today. Cor Meibion Llanelli Llangain concert review in the Carmarthen Journal today. St Catherine's Walk shopping centre named as top sponsor for 30th Carmarthen Mayor's fun run - story in Carmarthen Journal today.

Car manufacturers Suzuki and Cross Hands-based J and J Motors are helping to rev-up the fundraising campaign for the Healing The Wounds charity. The charity, now celebrating its first year of operation, is raising funds for a suitable facility within Wales for the treatment of Armed Forces Personnel, Veterans and their families, who are suffering from stress-related illnesses such as PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The charity also aims to provide a convalescent home to allow them to heal and recover from the traumas of conflict. The Healing The Wounds charity wishlist currently has the historic mansion at Golden Grove in the Tywi Valley earmarked as a potential base. “The charity’s work is moving on very quickly and we have already raised £120,000 towards out initial target of £200,000,” said Healing The Wounds Executive Director Kevin Richards. “Our fundraising efforts have expanded very quickly in the 12 months since we first set up the charity and we are gathering support fr...

The popular ‘Carols in the Garden’ event takes place on Thursday December 16 at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Llanarthne, near Carmarthen. Special guests for the evening are the Honorary President of the Garden, Gareth Edwards CBE, and Archdeacon Alun Evans, priest in charge of Llanarthne and Llanddarog. With the Crwbin Silver Band and Cor Meibion Dyffryn Tywi providing the musical accompaniment in the stunning surrounds of Lord Foster’s Great Glasshouse, it is sure to be a festive treat – whatever the weather! There will be mulled wine, mince pies and hot turkey and cranberry baguettes on sale from the Med Cafe. Doors open at 6pm, the singing starts at 7pm. £3 entry; under-16s, free. For more information call 01558 667149

Lovely dawn drive down to Pembrokeshire this morning. Some great winter views as the sun came out.

Spotlight on Welsh Christmas Tree grower Robert Morgan - http://ning.it/fny2Wn Reindeer calves arrive in time on Welsh Christmas Tree growers farm - http://ning.it/e8iquD

Festive revellers in Carmarthenshire are being urged to ‘Think Safe, Drink Safe’ this Christmas. The Community Safety Partnership wants to ensure residents enjoy a safe and trouble-free bash. Officers are urging people to drink sensibly this party season - not only to avoid a hangover on Christmas Day – but to make sure a night out doesn’t end with a trip to A&E or a night in the cells! Police will be stepping up patrols over the Christmas period and visiting licensed premises with council licensing officers in a bid to clamp down on underage drinking and reduce anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related crime. Community safety and neighbourhood policing officers will also be handing out free bottles of water in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford on Friday, December 17 and Saturday, December 18 to help keep people hydrated and combat the effects of alcohol. Taxi marshals will again be based at Island Place in Llanelli and Blue Street in Carmarthen on key nights during the festive pe...

Horses are running wild over 14 miles of Llanelli coastline from Bynea to Kidwelly. Irresponsible horse owners are risking huge claims for damages or causing accidents with the horses running over parks, gardens and roads and putting lives at risk. Carmarthenshire County Council is photographing the horses to match up identities with known owners. Thirteen horses were counted at Penclacwydd marshes where one was found dying of hypothermia last week, eight at Pwll Park and another was found roaming on the old Khymer Canal off Kidwelly Quay. Carmarthenshire council has been fielding scores of complaints but the horses are a moving group and rarely stay in the same place long enough to be caught. Millennium Coastal Park rangers rounded up eight horses in Pwll Park after complaints from the public (on Thurday) who called the police who in term contacted the council. The horses in the meantime escaped down to Burry Port on the old haul road. Ownership of the horses has to be established bef...

Llangadog Post Office is being given a facelift thanks to a grant from the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013. The post office and newsagents in Church Street, Llangadog, has been given a Village Improvement Grant (VIG) of £8,538 towards the estimated £17,471 cost of the project to refurbish the shopfront in a traditional style. The work will include replacing the aluminium windows and door with hardwood and re-rendering the property. This grant has been made under the Village Enhancement Project, which has received funding of £940,049 through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural fund for Rural Development. The project aims to enhance the appearance of rural towns and villages and stimulate economic growth. The VIG itself is aimed to enhance the branding of commercial properties in rural areas. Project Development Officer Michael Morgan said: “Morgan’s Newsagent and Post Office is in a p...

The Carmarthen Town v Llanelli youth match scheduled for Richmond Park this evening (see post earlier today) has been postponed. Details of new date to follow later.

12 days to Christmas! It says so on the Welsh Christmas Trees Cooperative website - http://welshchristmastrees.co.uk/

Carmarthen Town's Youth Cup match v Llanelli (due to be held Sunday) has been rearranged for Monday evening 13 December, KO 7:30pm at Richmond Park.

Nice story about Carmarthen tenor Wynne Evans and his six-album Warner deal in South Wales Evening Post today. Splendid preview of Cor Meibion Llanelli Christmas Concert in the Western Mail newspaper today. Rush out and buy a copy now! Double-page spread on Cor Meibion Llanelli's Christmas concert in the latest issue of Carmarthenshire Life magazine. Nice letter about the Healing the Wounds charity in the Ammanford-based South Wales Guardian this week (Dec 8 issue).

Many thanks, folks. Thanks to you, dear readers and visitors, this blog is continuing to pick up more hits. It's now hit the 19,000 page views mark. That's a 1,000 views since November 26. Keep the hits coming, folks! Much appreciated. Many thanks. See earlier blog - http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/18000-visits-chalked-up.html Meanwhile, the blog has chalked up its first visitor from Azerbaijan. The full country by country list (figures from January 6, 2010) is as follows - United Kingdom (GB) 5,030; United States (US) 548; India (IN) 50; Australia (AU) 40; Germany (DE) 39; Canada (CA) 36; Europe (EU) 34; Qatar (QA) 29; Ireland (IE) 27; Japan (JP) 27; France (FR) 23; Belgium (BE) 21; Italy (IT) 19; Malaysia (MY) 15; Netherlands (NL) 15; New Zealand (NZ) 13; United Arab Emirates (AE) 11; Russian Federation (RU) 11; Spain (ES) 11; Philippines (PH) 9; Singapore (SG) 9; Sweden (SE) 8; Pakistan (PK) 7; Denmark (DK) 7; South Africa (ZA) 6; Austria (AT) 6; Norway (NO) 5; Bahrai...