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

Residents got rid of more than three tonnes of rubbish in an amnesty held in Ferryside. The council’s waste and recycling section organised the event to reduce fly-tipping and encourage people to recycle. Approximately 200 tyres were taken along as well as various electrical appliances, unwanted furniture and other general waste. Of all the waste collected, 60 per cent was able to be recycled. Executive Board Member for Street Scene Cllr Colin Evans said: “Hopefully the amnesty will have encouraged people to do the right thing and dispose of their rubbish in a responsible manner. “It is also important we recycle as much as we possible as we can no longer keep on sending waste to landfill.” For further information visit  www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/recycling

The new Day Surgery Unit at Bronglais Hospital is set to open on Tuesday 9 April 2013. The new unit is part of the £38million front of house development at the hospital which is the largest capital investment in Hywel Dda Health Board. It is situated on the first floor of the new extension and the two level car park has a link bridge from the top level to the DSU floor. Out of hours the main entrance (DSU level) will be locked so patients coming to A&E should park on the ground level with the A&E walking entrance opposite the exit of the car park. People are reminded that access to A&E for both blue light ambulances and patients is now off Penglais Road, not Caradog Road. Jeremy Brown, County Director, said: “The new facilities being provided as part of the front of house scheme will not only meet the need of today’s community but caters for the needs of the community in 20 years time.” The build was funded by the Welsh Government and secures the future of Bronglais as a Di...

Three Celtic Couriers staff members are celebrating their achievements in raising charity cash by running the Llanelli Half Marathon. The 'team' was made up of general manager Gareth Jenkins, admin worker Sally Milligan and driver Jason Price. The three are pictured above with their medals from the half marathon. Gareth ran for the Shining Stars charity, 'Giving children with disabilities and their families a chance' Sally and Jason ran for the 'Eva Rose My Dream To Walk' fund -  http://lgn1346772916.site-fusion.co.uk/  Sally came in a very creditable 1658th in 3h 13m. She raised more than £180. Gareth Jenkins came in 309th in 1h 38m. He raised more than £390. Jason came 31st in an amazing 1h 21m. He raised more than £170. Celtic Couriers managing director Gail Skinner said: "Congratulations go to all three. It was a magnificent effort and we are all very proud of them here at Celtic Couriers HQ in Burry Port." Weblinks - http://www.humanb...

Hywel Dda Health Board’s cardiac rehabilitation team are organising three health fairs where people can find out about keeping themselves healthy. The events will include free heart screening for people between the ages of 16-40, blood pressure testing, cholesterol testing, blood sugar tests, free exercise taster sessions, body composition analysis and fitness testing. Experts including the National Exercise Referral Team, a cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialist, a stroke prevention nurse specialist and a stop smoking advisor will also be on hand to offer advice. All the events taking place are from 9am-4pm: 20 April, Aberystwyth Leisure centre 25 May Lampeter Leisure Centre 22 June Cardigan Leisure Centre Heart tests need to be booked by contacting Zoe Williams on 01970 635915 or via zoe.williams@wales.nhs.uk for all other activities please just come along. For top tips on staying healthy go to the online resource centre at www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk/healthy-wednesday

Armed Forces personnel and veterans can enjoy discounted use of leisure centres and swimming pools in Carmarthenshire. Activities include use of the fitness studios, swimming pools, classes and racquet sports. The move has been introduced by the county council as part of its commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant. The Covenant, launched in January, aims to encourage support for the Armed Forces community working and living in Carmarthenshire, and to recognise and remember the sacrifices they have made. The council, along with 27 partners across the public, private and third sector, signed up to the Covenant. The leisure discount scheme is one of the ways the authority is supporting members of the Armed Forces, whether serving or veterans, who live or work in Carmarthenshire. The offer includes a free leisure saver card, up to 40 per cent discount on all activities during the day and weekends, and 10 per cent in the evenings. There is free swimming at all public times in the ...

Outline plans for a 289-house development in the Ammanford area have been approved by Carmarthenshire planners. A meeting of the county council planning committee discussed the application to develop land at Tirychen Farm, Dyffryn Road, Ammanford. This application was considered by the planning committee at its meeting last December when members resolved to refuse the application. Head of planning Eifion Bowen told the committee that an amended plan had now been submitted that sought to address the concerns expressed by members at December’s meeting. He said that the number of homes in the plan had been reduced by 47 from 336 and the area of land that extends beyond the confines of the sites’ existing allocation in the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) has now been omitted from the proposed development. He said: “With regard to the impact upon the Welsh Language, the site is allocated within the UDP as a housing site. As part of the UDP deliberations, approved by a Planning Inspector, the...

The Cardigan Stakeholder Board meeting (for the Cardigan integrated care project) was well attended once again. Jeremy Brown, Ceredigion County Director and also Project Director, welcomed new members of the Board, including representatives of the Aberteifi 50+ Forum and Cyngor Tref Aberteifi. Dee Colam, Interim Service Development Manager with Ceredigion Social Services Department gave a presentation on proposals for transforming older people’s services in Ceredigion. She said reasons for changing the way in which services are delivered are that current ways of working are outdated; there’s a need to provide better services at lower cost and to develop closer working relationships between health and social care; the older population is increasing, with people living longer and more people want to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. The aims of this project, which is now about to enter the implementation phase, are to develop the following across Ceredigio...

Pool hot-shot Colin Foreman is one of the smartest guys around the table thanks to his bosses at Celtic Couriers. Colin, traffic supervisor with Celtic Couriers in Burry Port, plays pool at county standard. He's now been sponsored with a new pool shirt from the courier and delivery firm. The smart red top has a black 8-ball on the back. Colin said: "I've been playing pool for a number of years and I really enjoy the sport. I'm proud to be part of the Celtic Couriers team and it's nice to be wearing a shirt carrying the firm's name when I take part in competitions." Celtic Couriers general manager Gareth Jenkins said: "All the members of the Celtic Couriers team are very proud of Colin's pool achievements and we are all backing him to go on and achieve great success in the sport."

A special Gala Concert is being staged at St Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan in aid of Rotary's international ShelterBox project. The concert is billed as 'An evening with Francesco Attesti, the internationally acclaimed Italian pianist'. It is being held on Saturday 27th April, 2013 at 7.30pm in Bradenstoke Hall, St Donat's Castle. The concert will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Brahms and Gershwin. Tickets at £15 may be purchased from the St Donat's Arts Centre. The Box Office is open 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday. You can book tickets online at www.stdonats.com or at the Box Office by phone 01446 799100 or in person. Seats are limited. Complimentary drinks will be served in the interval and patrons will have the opportunity to view a fully assembled ShelterBox. Dress code for the evening is smart casual or evening dress if preferred. The concert is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Llantwit Major and UWC Atlantic College for...

Carmarthen man Kenneth polishes off 2lb Man vs Food-style burger | This is South Wales Kenneth Crowley, of Water Street, ate the giant burger — eight quarter-pounders — at Carmarthen Market butcher Alun ap Fychan, which sells Almighty Welsh Burgers. Bit gross in my book and doubt that it does you much good to eat in such quantities.

Aberystwyth University, Hywel Dda Health Board and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David are proud to announce the appointment of Mr Manoj Kulshrestha as Wales’ first Reader in Rural Health and Community Wellbeing. The position recognises the unique opportunity available to the NHS and local universities in West Wales to work strategically in partnership and redefine how policies and services can improve the health and wellbeing of those living in rural communities. Mr Kulshrestha, a prominent Consultant Ophthalmologist based at Bronglais Hospital and North Road Surgery in Aberystwyth, will take up the role on 1 May 2013 for an initial 12 month period. Appointed jointly by Aberystwyth University and University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Mr Kulshrestha will also work in close partnership with the Health Board to provide policy and service advice and through securing research grants and funding, to create a self-sustaining, supporting research infrastructure for the post. Mr K...

Burry Port-based courier and delivery firm Celtic Couriers is doing its bit to support junior golfers at The Ashburnham Championship links golf course in Pembrey. The delivery business has sponsored golf balls for the juniors for this season. Pictured above: Gareth Jenkins, right, hands over some of the balls to Martin Stimson, the Golf Professional at 'the Ash'. Mr Stimson said: "We are very grateful to Celtic Couriers for their support. We pride ourselves on helping give our junior golfers the very best support at the Ashburnham." Mr Jenkins said: "Celtic Couriers has a long association with the Ashburnham and we are delighted to be able to play our part in supporting junior golfers."

Bilingual family packs have been developed at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen in order to help promote health, language and play for unwell children and provide support to their families. Sister Janet Milward from Cilgerran ward and various staff were invited to attend training in language and play to encourage experimenting with a variety of different resources on the ward. Healthcare support workers, volunteers for health and the hospital play specialist all took part and as a result, money donated by Family Programmes went into buying resources for 100 family packs, each containing a children’s book. The packs have been divided into four age groups; 0-4 years, 4-7 years, 7-10 years and 10+ years. Sister Janet commented: “We are delighted that this training is not only being put into practice on a ward level but that we have been able to produce a pack for families to use. We hope the packs will help support the families of unwell children as well as the children themselves.” M...

Hywel Dda Health Board has announced it has offered a post to a Locum Consultant Surgeon with an interest in colorectal surgery at Bronglais General Hospital, Aberystwyth. This means that the vast majority of healthcare for colorectal patients will continue to be provided to the local population from the Aberystwyth hospital. The consultant is due to start with the Health Board in June 2013, subject to contracts being agreed. Medical Director Dr Sue Fish said: “We are delighted to have made this important appointment, which will help us in developing a Hywel Dda Specialist Colorectal Cancer Team. This team will support the investigation, surgery and follow up care to all colorectal cancer patients who access their health care from Hywel Dda Health Board.” For a short interim period, until the consultant can start in post, colorectal cancer surgery will be provided to Hywel Dda Health Board patients from Glangwili and Withybush Hospitals, as Bronglais Hospital will not have a fully accr...

Good news from Burry Port delivery and courier service Celtic Couriers today. Here's their press release -  Today, Wednesday, April 3, is our busiest day in 2013 and the fourth busiest in our history. An amazing total of 2082 parcels are being delivered and collected. The busier days in the 'record-breaking' list were all in the run-up to Christmas, 2012. "This is great news for us and it is great that we are keeping up the momentum," said Celtic Couriers general manager Gareth Jenkins. "We would like to thank all our customers for helping us on our busiest day of the year so far in 2013. “We’re consistently busy and always keen to make sure we deliver for our customers. “We like to think that we live up to our motto of being frequent, fast, efficient and flexible, providing an award-winning ‘handled with care’ delivery service. “The fact that we get a lot of repeat business is testament to our determination to keep customers happy and, literally, keep o...

Un Sir Gar has already helped a number of people get back into work or training since being launched last year. Since the service started, more than 9,000 people have visited the website and almost 500 have called. Many customers are now in employment, training, volunteering or have been signposted to other projects. Of all clients, 97 per cent said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service received, and the same number said they would use Un Sir Gar again. Analysis shows that 40 per cent of the clients who contacted Un Sir Gar were aged between 16 and 25, of these 54 per cent were female and 46 per cent male. Follow up calls are made to clients and out of 80 made, 54 per cent had been successful, they ranged between gaining jobs, commencing training or education, or signposting to other employment services such as Workways, to providing support for businesses and community engagement. Un Sir Gar (One Carmarthenshire) brings together all advice, information, educati...

Latest 'Healthy Wednesday' advice from the Hywel Dda Health Board - This Healthy Wednesday we’re supporting Bowel Screening Wales’ message – ‘don’t die of embarrassment’ – to mark the start of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer and around 1,000 people die from it each year in Wales. However, if detected early, it is also one of the most treatable but latest figures show that uptake rates in Hywel Dda for bowel cancer screening is only 54.7%. This means nearly half of all adults aged between 60 and 74 in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire do not use the potentially life saving testing kit that can be done in the privacy of your own home. Dr Ian Rees, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Prince Philip Hospital, said: “Early detection of bowel cancer is very important and more people need to use the home kit when they receive it. A home screening kit will be sent to you in the post when you are in the right age range, between 6...

Dyfed-Powys Police Force has issued the following press release to remind homeowners in Llanelli to protect their garden sheds and outbuildings -  As the weather gets warmer and people start to work in their garden sheds, we usually see an increase in the number of reported thefts from gardens and sheds across the force. Officers are now asking residents across Llanelli to help us prevent that by following some simple steps to become more property security conscious. “Garden sheds are too often easy targets for criminals,” said Detective Sergeant Anthony Panter. “This is a great concern to the police because it is clear that shed thefts can be prevented if a reasonable level of security was put in place. We are encouraging people to install good quality locks to all garden sheds and also to property mark their equipment using UV marker pens, paint or engraving. “I’d also urge residents to photograph any expensive garden items they may have and make a note of any serial numb...

Members of the Danybanc and Llundain Fach Playgroup, based in Felinfoel, Llanelli, have had an eggs-cellent Easter thanks to supermarket giants Asda. The superstore donated a haul of Easter Eggs to the group in recognition of the voluntary work they do in their communities. Tenants Hannah Oliver and Emma Davies are pictured with children, and Simon Evans of Llanelli’s ASDA store, local members Cllr Hugh Richards and Cllr John Evans, PCSO Tony Jones, and Carmarthenshire County Council Community Engagement Officer Pat Evans.

An Armed Forces Steering Group has been set up in Carmarthenshire to act upon the aims of the Community Covenant. The Covenant, which was launched in January, aims to encourage support for the Armed Forces community working and living in Carmarthenshire, and to recognise and remember the sacrifices they have made. The steering group, made up of representatives from major organisations in the county, will meet quarterly. Its aims are to improve the sharing and recording of information; provide direction and approval for community grant bids; communicate the work of the covenant and provide information on how to access support. Three sub groups have also been set up, they are: • Education, employment and offending • Health, well being and leisure • Housing and community Actions to date include the development of the www.armedforcescarmarthenshire.org.uk website, the use of Carmarthenshire County Council’s contact centre to provide a single point of access to signpost advice and informat...

Plans by the Choose Life charity to build a new facility in Llanelli’s Copperworks Road have been adjourned so that Carmarthenshire councillors can visit the site. Choose Life has submitted a full planning application to demolish the former factory building at Bannerbrook Auto Cable Products and put up a new purpose-built community facility to provide enhanced facilities for individuals and their families affected by substance misuse. The accommodation provided would include a reception/lobby, offices, large community area, diversionary activity rooms of varying sizes, assessment rooms, a kitchen, and toilet and store room facilities. Members of the planning committee voted to adjourn the application in order to go on a site visit.

It was a case of young and old celebrating at the Centenary Concert staged by Halfway Primary School. The stars of the show were the young singers from Halfway. But they received a helping hand from the older generation, in the shape of Cor Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Voice Choir). The concert marked a special occasion for Cor Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas. He was headmaster of Halfway School until his retirement eight years ago after completing more than 20 years teaching at the school. "It was a great treat and an honour for me to be taking the stage with Cor Meibion Llanelli as I have such very fond memories of my time at Halfway School," said Mr Thomas. The stage was also shared by former Halfway pupil Laura Morris, a soprano who currently works as a music teacher at Penyrheol School, Gorseinon. "It was wonderful to hear Laura singing. She was excellent and her singing was greatly appreciated by the audience at the main hall of Half...

Cor Meibion Llanelli members presented a cheque for £100 to the STEPs III (3) project in Llanelli. The cash was raised as part of the choir's annual Christmas card appeal. Choir chairman Mel Harries said: "The choristers like to support a local charity every year with their Christmas card appeal and we know of the work of the STEPs III project through one of our choristers. "They do very important work on the project and we were delighted to do our little bit to help." Representatives of STEPs III, Tina Chapman and Liane Jones, attended the choir's weekly rehearsal to receive the cheque. They are pictured with Cor Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas (left) and choir chairman Mr Harries. More about the STEPs III project -  The STEPs III Coleshill Project, Llanelli is the third STEPs Project by Carmarthenshire County Council. Employment and education allows people to develop new skills throughout their lives in appropriate work settings....

Climate Change and Human Rights, and Enterprise and Innovation Management are among a range of new postgraduate degrees being launched by Aberystwyth University’s Department of Law and Criminology and the School of Management Business for September 2013. The new taught masters programmes were launched at an open evening at the Law Conference Room, Hugh Owen Building on the Penglais Campus. From August 2013 Management and Business and Law and Criminology, along with the Department of Information Studies, will become part of an innovative new interdisciplinary Institute. This will allow closer working across departments, and involves plans for improved facilities for postgraduates, as part of a vibrant new professionally-based community. Professor Andy Henley, Director of the new Institute said: “The employability of our postgraduate students is paramount. The global economy makes this a challenging time and it is widely recognised that it is important for students to have the necessary...

The countdown is on to the Jazz@Llandeilo festival following the success of the first 'Llandeilo Jazz' event last year. The festival will be held over the weekend July 5, 6 and 7 and will be based on four separate venues in the town. The event will feature top acts from all over Wales and the UK. The event will be a 'free' music festival, with people being asked to register and to pay a registration fee of £3 for a weekend pass. On line applications will be restricted to two tickets per Pay Pal address. This year, £1 of the pass registration fee will go to the two Llandeilo primary schools, to buy musical instruments and to pay for out-of-hours musical tuition. Festival organiser Simon Buckley (pictured above), chief executive of the Llandeilo-based Evan-Evans brewery, said: "Last year was a huge success and we now want to build on that. "This year, we have been able to attract some famous bands to play, along with smaller new bands to suit the ve...

The next meeting of Llanelli Rotary Club is a 'business' meeting at 1pm on Friday, April 5, at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli. The meeting on Wednesday, April 10, will be held at the Stradey Park Hotel at 7.30pm and will be a 'committee structure' meeting. The annual Llanelli Rotary Club charity fund-raising Golf Day will be held at the Ashburnham Golf Club on Friday, July 19.

Aberystwyth University is offering individuals in the theatre industry the chance of gaining a free Higher Education qualification through the Work Based Learning Programme (WBL) funded by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government. The WBL Programme provides concise, bite sized University accredited courses that are designed to be completed while an employee or employer continues to work and will allow a person to gain a maximum of 60 University credits, the equivalent of a University diploma. Richard Cheshire, the WBL project leader at Aberystwyth University, explains: “We are offering two courses which aim to extend and improve their knowledge and understanding of theatre-making processes and practices. “People who apply may be eligible for full or part funding for the courses. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain a higher education qualification because the job market is getting more and more competitive and it will no doubt improve the skills and knowledge of the i...

The next fund-raising lunch for Sports Aid Cymru Wales in Carmarthen will be held on Friday, April 26. The guest speaker with be celebrated author and broadcaster Roy Noble MBE. The lunch, organised by the West Wales committee of Sports Aid Wales, starts at 1pm. Tickets are £25. There will be a raffle and auction and other sporting speakers. David Butler, president of the West Wales committee of Sports Aid Wales, said demand for tickets would be high. Tickets can be purchased from Richard Gealy, the secretary and vice-president of the West Wales committee of Sports Aid Wales, telephone 01267232305. Weblink - http://www.sportsaid.org.uk/

Hywel Dda Health Board has said thank you to its hundreds of volunteers and received national recognition for their work.  The Volunteering for Health project was set up in 2009 and since then more than 400 local people volunteer have their time, providing 29,933 patient contact hours which has benefited about 119,732 patients. A special event was recently held to say thank you to the people who had given their time to help staff and patients. Head of Volunteering services, David Fretwell, said: “Our volunteers day in day out give their time to improve patient’s experience of healthcare. “They are extremely dedicated and taking the time to say thank you is important, if you see one of our volunteers in their yellow t-shirts please speak to them and say thank you for their help." In a recent focus group staff fed back on the difference the volunteers were making: “Patients love having the volunteers to chat to and they enjoy having young people in the hospital.” “Absolutel...

Supporters of Llanelli Football Club urged to attend meeting aimed at saving it following High Court hearings | This is South Wales Troubled Llanelli Football Club have issued a call to arms to supporters to help save it. Officials are pinning their latest hopes on a meeting at their Stebonheath ground tonight, 7pm at Stebonheath. Full story on this link.

Dyfed-Powys police force chief inspector Mrs Angela Reed was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of Llanelli Rotary Club held at the Stradey Park Hotel. Chief Inspector Reed gave a very informative and entertaining talk on modern day policing. The vote of thanks was given by past president Richard Thomas. Chief Inspector Reed is pictured with Llanelli Rotary Club president Alan Owen (left) and senior vice-president Ken Abban.

Latest newspaper sales figures for Wales are as follows - (The figures are from ABC, the Audit Bureau of Circulation and are for the six-month period leading up to the end of 2012) Dailies - South Wales Echo 28,893 -6.8pc South Wales Argus 20,589 -7.7pc South Wales Evening Post 34,873 -9.1pc The Western Mail 23,035 -11.1pc Weeklies - Barry and District News 4,805 -8.1pc Caernarfon and  Denbigh Herald 9,926 -9.5pc Campaign Caerphilly, Ystrad Mynach and  Bargoed 28,301 -0.9pc Cardigan and Tivy-Side Advertiser 6,377 -5.1pc Carmarthen Journal 14,386 -12.3pc County Times and Express 14,396 -4.5pc Cynon Valley Leader 4,721 -14.8pc Denbighshire Free Press 6,333 -3.8pc The Flintshire Standard 19,963 -8.8pc Free Press – Monmouth 5,390 -11.9pc Glamorgan Gazette 12,140 -11.2pc Gwent Gazette 4,198 -21.9pc Holyhead and Bangor Mail 8,494 -12pc Llanelli Star 12,171 -6.3pc Merthyr Express 9,125 -14.9pc Milford and  West Wales...

Latest special offers from the Jenkins Bakery - WEEK COMMENCING 01/04/13 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 – WHITE BAPS - PACK OF 4 £1.00 LOAF OF THE WEEK – SMALL FARMHOUSE £1.05 http://jenkinsbakery.co.uk/

International award-winning brewer Evan-Evans is set to expand, with further development at the firm's Llandeilo brewery site. A planning application (first submitted more than a year ago) has been lodged with Carmarthenshire Council. The application is for two new buildings at Rhosmaen Street, Llandeilo - one to house a new down-stream process block and the other to take a new bottling hall. If the planning application is successful, six new jobs will be created. Simon Buckley, Chief Executive of the Evan-Evans brewery, said: "After almost a year of procrastination and wilful frustration by the planning department, it seems we are now somewhat closer to getting planning permission for these sheds. "A year ago, the council turned down the planning application on the grounds that the sheds had wrinkly tin roofs. Utter nonsense, particularly when the council's own school buildings have the same roof finish. "Once the sheds are built, we will create six new jobs...

The Carmarthenshire Junior Cup has been relaunched after an absence of five years and will be a triangular series of junior matches between Ashburnham, Glyn Abbey and Carmarthen golf clubs. The first match will take place on Friday, April 12, when Ashburnham host Glyn Abbey. Matches will consist of five pairs playing greensome foursome matchplay. Pictured (from left) are the three clubs' respective junior captains: Oliver Lewis (Glyn Abbey), Nia Greville (Ashburnham) and Ryan Skinner (Carmarthen). Photo by Graham Harries, GPhotography. http://www.gphotography.org.uk/