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

Materials physicists at the Institute of Mathematics and Physics (IMAPS) at Aberystwyth University have discovered a new method for producing graphene, a material with amazing optical and electrical properties. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms bonded together in a similar way to graphite. However, it has very different and superior material properties. Experiments have shown that graphene is one of the strongest known materials and one of the best conductors of heat and electricity. It is also almost transparent to visible light. Professor Andrew Evans, Director of IMAPS, who headed up the research team said: “Graphene is many hundreds of times stronger than today’s construction materials and much faster and lighter than electronic materials such as silicon. It is a more sensitive gas detector than any currently available, being able to sense single molecules and it could replace conducting glass in displays and solar cells. “Graphene will be to the 21st century what plastic ...

Tomorrow, Friday 8 March, the Law Commission will hold a seminar at the Department of Law and Criminology at Aberystwyth University to discuss the creation of a Welsh Advisory Committee. The Chair, Lord Justice (Sir David) Lloyd Jones, has been a judge of the Court of Appeal since October 2012, is Chairman of the Law Commission and also an Aberystwyth University Fellow. A statutory independent body created by the Law Commissions Act 1965, the Law Commission of England and Wales aims to keep the law under review and to recommend reform where it is needed. The Advisory Committee’s mandate is likely to include advising on the selection of projects for the Commission’s 12th Programme of law reform. It is thought that the Committee would have a valuable role to play in relation to the consultation process and in the assessment of proposed projects which lie in policy areas wholly or partly devolved to the Welsh Assembly or Welsh Ministers or which impact significantly on devolved responsibi...

Award-winning South Wales business The Jenkins Bakery has released details of its Mother's Day range of products. "Everyone knows mums are special," said the Jenkins Bakery's operations director Russell Jenkins. "There's gifts galore out there for Mothering Sunday, but we have found our own very special way of saying 'I Love You' to mums. "Make your mam a cup of tea and give her one of our special Mother's Day cakes to sample - she'll love it." The Jenkins Bakery staff have produced three special products to mark the occasion - Mum Cup Cakes (90p), a moist cup cake topped with vanilla flavour filling cream and a hand decorated sugar paste disk. Mum Heart Sponge (£5.00), a luxury red velvet muffin sponge flooded with flavoured fudge icing, hand decorated and gift wrapped. Mum Biscuits (60p) make up the trio of delights. The Mother's Day specials will be available throughout the Jenkins Bakery shop network. Website -  http...

Fracking, underground coal gasification and coal bed methane could lead to ‘catastrophe’ for Wales and the planet, the National Assembly’s Sustainability Committee will hear tomorrow (Thursday 7 March). The Committee is examining unconventional gas as a result of an anti-fracking petition submitted by Friends of the Earth Cymru that attracted more than 1,000 signatures [1]. According to Friends of the Earth Cymru, introducing a moratorium on unconventional gas, and instead focusing on renewable energy, could be the beginning of a prosperous and sustainable future for Wales. Gareth Clubb, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, will tell the Assembly Committee: “The global authority on energy, The International Energy Agency, has described our continuing rush to exploit more and more new sources of fossil fuels as catastrophic for the planet [2]. "But renewable energy can offer a prosperous and sustainable future, powering Wales and providing jobs for hundreds of years to come. ...

Wildlife experts and volunteers at Aberystwyth University are calling on students, staff and member of the public to help to find and record as many different types of plants and animals as possible. The University is holding a Bioblitz on its Penglais campus on Saturday with the aim of breaking the record for the largest number of species found on a university campus in a single day. Aberystwyth University boasts one of the most picturesque settings of any university in the country, lying in the shadow of the Cambrian Mountains and on the shores of Cardigan Bay. It is also the only UK university campus located in a UNESCO designated biosphere reserve. Bioblitzes have been carried out in many places around the world and are an attempt to list all the species that live in a specific area. The Penglais campus Bioblitz is just that bit more ambitious as it wants to list all the species that live on the campus alongside the students and staff. Bioblitz organiser and Director of Teaching an...

The ladies from Dwsin (Dozen) Charity Group in Llanelli are pictured with Ahmed Ali of the Masala restaurant in West End, Llanelli, after their very successful charity curry night in aid of the Wallich Clifford charity which supports the homeless of Llanelli. The Dwsin Ladies, aided by Mr Ali and his staff, raised £500 for the cause. Last year, the Dwsin ladies raised more than £6,500 for the Air Ambulance by hosting an extremely well attended and successful black tie charity ball at the Stradey Park Hotel. The Dwsin group are especially grateful for the continuous and generous donations received from their loyal supporters.

The latest 'Healthy Wednesday' advice from the Hywel Dda Health Board - With another round of Six Nation matches this weekend this Healthy Wednesday we are urging you to think about what you drink. Thinking about what you drink doesn’t mean you have to stop altogether, all you really need to do, if you choose to drink, is to stick within the guidelines. Adding up what you normally drink can really help you decide if you need to cut back. The Change4Life drink checker not only tells you how many units you are drinking but also how many calories that equates too and how much money it costs! Rhys Sinnett, from Public Health Wales, said: “Having two alcohol free days a week is one of the best pieces of advice, just make sure you don’t increase the amount you drink on the other days to make up for it!!! “Women should not regularly drink more than 2 to 3 units of alcohol a day which is the equivalent to a standard 175ml glass of wine (ABV 13%) and men should not regularly drink more ...

It was nice to chat to Alison Morrill, founder of the mykids2yourkids.co.uk website at last week's Bridgend Business Forum. Here are some words from Alison about how the website works -  As a Cardiff based mum of four young kiddies, I could see the need to have one kids-related site for all parents and carers to buy and sell all the stuff kids grow out of, from school uniforms, brownies/cubs uniforms to judo outfits, clarinets and much much more! Knowing first-hand how expensive it is to fund your kids every whim, I knew just how much other parents would benefit from using such a site and not only saving money but using it to ‘pass their kid’s stuff on’ and make money back. One big part of my plan is to contact national kids related charities to see if I can form a charity ‘partnership’ so that kids related charities can use the site as a fundraising opportunity. We have had a fantastic response from Mencap Cymru (Jo Popham), Tenovus Wales, Children 1st (Scotland) and have...

Latest news from the Introbiz business networking team -  Do you want to join a different business network? Why not take a look at Introbiz? We had three events last week and more than 300 companies attended our events. Wow what a week for business networking! We are proud to say we have 32 fabulous 4 and 5 star venues to choose from. Email info@introbiz.co.uk what dates you would like to book and attend asap! Check your diaries, plan ahead and be organised for 2013! Thursday 7th March St David s Hotel and Spa, Cardiff Bay Network in one of South Wales top 5 star hotel overlooking Cardiff Bay. Food and drinks Members £10 visitors £15 4pm - 6pm Thursday 14th March Parkhouse, Park Place, Cardiff. They recently won South Wales Echo Restaurant of the Year 2013, networking food and drinks Members £10 visitors £15 4pm - 6pm Thursday 21st March Capital FM Radio Station, Cardiff Bay. Food and drink Members £10 visitors £15 Charity fundraiser for Mencap. Battle 2 Brieve...

Parc y Scarlets rugby stadium in Llanelli has seen the world premiere of a new battle hymn for the British and Irish Lions. The hope is the that the track will be a core feature of the forthcoming Lions tour to Australia. Profits from downloads of the track are going to various charities. The song Lions To A Man, to the tune of Men of Harlech, has been written by former soldier Ollie Ward, of Swansea, and has been described as a stirring rendition of one of Wales’ iconic songs. The song, sung by Cor Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Choir), was officially launched at Parc y Scarlets during the Scarlets versus Edinburgh match on St David’s Day. Pictured above are Peter Williams, of Swansea Metropolitan University (who helped produce the track), rugby legend Phil Bennett, Cor Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas and poet and writer Ollie Ward. Lions To A Man will be available on YouTube on the internet and for downloads on the iTunes and Android platforms on compute...

Members of Llanelli Rotary Club enjoyed a civic reception with the chairman of Llanelli Rural Council Councillor Tegwen Devichand at the authority's offices in Vauxhall, Llanelli. Rotary Club president Alan Owen was presented with a plate to commemorate the Llanelli Eisteddfod of 2000. Councillor Devichand praised the Rotary members for their charitable and voluntary work. Mr Owen thanked Councillor Devichand for the rural authority's support for many Rotary causes. Weblinks - http://www.llanelli-rural.gov.uk/ http://llanellirotary.com/

Olympic weightlifter Natasha Perdue will be one of the speakers at Aberystwyth University on Friday 8th of March to mark International Women’s Day. Swansea born Natasha represented Wales at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games and was a member of the British weightlifting team at London 2012. She will join local sports women to talk about their experiences, sporting lifestyles and inspiration at a Women Talk Sports event in the University’s Sport Centre at 6.30pm. The event forms part of a four day programme which runs from 6th to the 9th of March and has been co-ordinated by the University’s Psychology Department. Starting with a discussion about women in politics at the Department of International Politics on Wednesday 6th March, the programme features a celebration of Aberystwyth University Women at the Hugh Owen Library and a timeline trail around the Penglais campus, highlighting key moments for women in science. The programme closes with a science quiz (open to men and women) and...

Cor Meibion Llanelli have recruited a new accompanist. Rhiannon Williams-Hale replaces Sarah Thomas, who has left to concentrate on her teaching duties in Carmarthen. Rhiannon Williams-Hale FLCM LLCM ALCM LRSM LTCL ATCL LGSMD was born in Cardiff in 1976. Rhiannon was educated at the Bishop of Llandaff High School, received piano tuition at the Royal Academy of Music, London (following two ABRSM scholarship prizes), and read Music at Cardiff University having been awarded the 'David Lloyd Vocal scholarship' on entrance. Brought up in Barry, Rhiannon’s career began as a Singer and in 1989 she achieved the prestigious titles of 'Welsh and National BET Choirgirl of the Year' - the final of which was held in London. A part time vocal scholar at the RWCMD, she became a member of the National Youth Choirs of Wales, Great Britain and the RSCM Cathedral Singers, also achieving her 'St Cecilia Senior award' and LTCL in Voice. Rhiannon is a ‘Fellow’ of the London Colle...

Plaid Cymru issued the following press release on Friday -  Plaid Cymru politicians Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM and Jonathan Edwards MP have contacted the Wales Audit Office expressing their concern that Carmarthenshire County Council cannot properly account for how public money is spent. In their letter to the Auditor General for Wales, the Party of Wales duo point out conflicting information they have seen from the council as to how much the Chief Executive was paid for duties as the Returning Officer during last year’s local council elections. Less than a month ago Mr Thomas and Mr Edwards exposed that Carmarthenshire Council’s Chief Executive, Mark James received a £20,000 cash advance for election activities a minimum of five week before the election actually took place. Following this revelation, the Carmarthenshire politicians submitted Freedom of Information requests to all Welsh Councils to find out when council’s paid their Returning Officer. In response, not only did Carmar...

Scarlets coach Simon Easterby was the guest speaker at Llanelli Rotary Club's annual St David's Day dinner held at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli. Mr Easterby gave an excellent talk, recapping on his distinguished playing career with Llanelli RFC, the Scarlets, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. He also explained the latest innovations in rugby training techniques, with demonstrations of the computer analysis used by the Scarlets. Mr Easterby is pictured with Llanelli Rotary Club President Alan Owen. The vote of thanks to Mr Easterby was given by Past President Robert Lloyd.

Cor Meibion Llanelli did a 'mini tour of West Wales' over the St David's Day weekend. They visited Coleg Sir Gar's Graig campus and the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Llanarthne. Pictures on this slideshow -

The Jenkins Bakery is joining in the fun for Red Nose Day on Friday, March 15. "We always like to do our bit for charity," said the Jenkins Bakery operations director Russell Jenkins. "Our staff and customers always enjoy the activities around Red Nose Day and we will all be doing our level best to raise money for the  charity." Products now in our shops throughout South Wales include - RED NOSE CUP CAKES – 90p Our top quality sponge cupcake, topped with vanilla frosting and hand decorated. Finished off with glace cherry for the red nose. RED NOSE BISCUIT – 75p Top quality shortbread biscuit, hand decorated with red glace cherry to give that red nose. For every cupcake/biscuit sold, the bakery will donate 5p to Red Nose Day. Mr Jenkins added: "In 2011, we raised £800 - but we hope to beat that this year!" Websites - http://jenkinsbakery.co.uk/ http://www.rednoseday.com/

More than 75% of people in Wales are concerned about the impacts of climate change on Wales, on developing countries and on the natural environment. And 58% would vote for politicians committed to climate protection. This is the result of a new survey published today (March 4) by researchers from Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea universities (1). Gareth Clubb, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said at the Climate Change Consortium for Wales’ launch of the report: “Opinion polls consistently tell us that the public is right behind efforts to reduce climate-changing emissions. When you add into the picture the fact that being environmentally friendly is important for 87% of the Welsh population, this is a clear sign to our politicians that voters are demanding strong action on climate change. Haf Elgar, Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Cymru, said: “More than three quarters of people in Wales are concerned about the impacts of climate change on the natural environment and on de...

Latest news from the 'Jazz in the Bar' team at Brecon - An exciting line-up for the Brecon Jazz Festival 2013 has just been announced. We are delighted to be collaborating with Orchard again this year in contributing some programming to the festival, and have also initiated a new development, of bringing other jazz societies in Wales into this partnership. This is described in the 'Jazz Clubs' section in the Brecon Jazz press releases (see earlier post). For information, our group of 'Jazz Club' events at the fesival (Sunday 11 August from 12.30 in the Brecon Guildhall) are listed below. Some of the tickets are very limited and will sell out quickly. Oh, and next 'Jazz Club' is Tues 19 March! See you there for a catch -up. Extract from BJF Press Release Jazz Club  This is very much a first for Brecon, with Jazz societies and clubs from across Wales coming together to produce a high quality programme of music at the Guildhall throughout the Sunday...

The programme for the world famous Brecon Jazz festival 2013, August 9-11 ( www.breconjazz.com ) has been announced today, with a third more gigs than last year, a sprinkling of stellar names, leading lights of the jazz world, some legendary names not usually associated with this field of music, and a new collaboration with jazz clubs and societies from across Wales. Courtney Pine, Django Bates, Jools Holland, Zoe Rahman, Phronesis, Julian Siegel, Jason Rebello and Acker Bilk feature, along with Grammy Award winner Mavis Staples and, with 18 Grammy Awards between them, The Impossible Gentlemen - as the picturesque streets of Brecon come alive again this August. This is the second year for Wales-based festival operator Orchard following their successful start in 2012, and the experienced music promoter has increased the number of gigs this summer, and added another venue in the beautiful mid Wales town. They also repeat the partnership with Welsh artist-in-residence Huw Warren who is...

Latest special offers from the Jenkins Bakery - WEEK COMMENCING 04/03/13 Mothering Sunday 10th 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 – CRUSTY ROLLS -PACK OF 4 £1.20 LOAF OF THE WEEK – SMALL FARMHOUSE £1.05 Website -  http://jenkinsbakery.co.uk/