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

In Dublin for weekend. At Burlington Hotel. Sent from my HTC mobile phone.

West Wales brewer Evan-Evans has scooped a top prize at the International Brewing awards 2011. At the award ceremony in the Guildhall in the City of London, the Evan-Evans Cwrw brand was voted the Bronze Medal in Class 2 the Best Bitter category (cask ale 3.9-4.3 ABV). The competition attracts entrants from all over the world. Judging is carried out over two days, by 30 different Judges, all senior brewers in the industry. This year the head of judging was Bill Taylor, Chief Brewer of Lion Nathan, in Australia. Evan-Evans was one of only three prize winners from Wales out of 80 contestants from around the world. Simon Buckley, Evan-Evans Director, said: “This is a tremendous accolade to be voted a Bronze medal winner in this the world’s oldest brewing competition. Cwrw is now identified as being one of the world’s top Best Bitters, and is certainly the very best beer of its type in Wales. “To win a major prize on the international brewing stage gives us true recognition for the dedicat...

Llanelli’s famous Jenkins Bakery has plenty to celebrate for the forthcoming Royal Wedding. The bakery scooped two prizes at the national Bakers’ Fair at Newbury Racecourse – with one of the awards being claimed for the best celebration cake to mark the marriage of Kate Middleton to Prince William. “It’s a big achievement as this was a nationwide competition held by the National Association of Master Bakers,” said Jenkins Bakery director Russell Jenkins. “It’s also very significant as we plan to mark the Royal Wedding in some style. “We won the competition for the best single tier cake inspired by the Royal Wedding. The cake was created by Sarah Williams, our professional cake decorator. It is now on display at our Trostre HQ in Llanelli. “Meanwhile, we will be launching special mini wedding cakes to mark Prince William and Kate’s wedding. These feature the happy couple and are traditional wedding cakes designed to help everyone get into the wedding spirit. “They will be on sale in our...

Residents in Betws got rid of more than three tonnes of rubbish in a spring clean clear out. Householders in Parc Penrhiw took part in a waste amnesty organised by Tidy Towns in partnership with Gwalia. Residents were urged to take advantage of a one-off chance to dispose of any rubbish they had lying around at home. Two skips were provided by Tidy Towns which were filled with 2.86 tonnes of waste in just two hours and a further tonne of waste was collected in a caged vehicle by Gwalia. As much of the waste as possible was recycled. Tidy Towns project officer Simon Troake said: “The aim of the amnesty was to encourage residents to dispose of their waste responsibly and try to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up being fly-tipped as well as to remind householders to recycle as much of their waste as possible. “By working together, we can make a real difference to the area in which we live and improve the quality of our environment.” Tidy Towns is a Welsh Assembly Government-funded ...

Three women have each been fined £75 for dropping cigarette ends in Ammanford town centre. The council’s environmental enforcement officers issued the fixed penalty notices in Quay Street during a joint patrol with public protection officers. Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court where the maximum fine is £2,500. It coincides with a council campaign, supported by Tidy Towns, to raise awareness of smoking-related litter. On the same day council education and awareness officers were in Tesco in Ammanford handing out free pocket ashtrays. Discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with visible evidence of smoking-related litter found on 83 per cent of the streets inspected by Keep Wales Tidy. The council’s director of technical services Richard Workman said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are difficult and very expensive to clean up - the ...

Took the weekend off - splendid lunch with old pals. Today was a 'change of plan' day. Now in London before meeting tomorrow morning. Normal service resumed asap.