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

To mark National BBQ Week*, the Beer Academy has announced the best barbeque beer. Summer Ale narrowly piped India Pale Ale in poll of Beer Academy alumni to choose the perfect beer for barbeques. Beer lovers were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite barbeque beer in the poll that was conducted last month. The ranking was: Summer ale 37% India Pale Ale (IPA) 35% Lager 13% Extra Special Bitter (ESB) 13% Stout 6% Beer Academy Director, Simon Jackson said “Many respondents said that it was difficult to choose just one beer for a barbeque as the perfect match depends on the food on the grill. Summer ale won through narrowly as having a sufficiently robust flavour to cut through even the strongest marinade – whilst still delivering the refreshment that is essential for a hot summer evening." “But with all beer and food matching, whilst the food and the occasion all play their part, there are no absolute right and wrongs. The decisive factor is always individual pa...

The latest Iechyd Da beer column from the Carmarthen Journal by Llandeilo brewer Simon Buckley, chief executive of Evan-Evans Brewery -  Oh boy, what has happened to the seasons? It is only a few short weeks to the Summer Solstice? My brewing calendar tells me that we are now brewing summer beers . . . and the weather says ‘early spring’. But to hell with it, this month, dear reader, we are going to look at summer beers and the subtleties that make the really great summer beers. As the temperature rises and the summer weather moves the thermometer north of 15 degrees we start looking for the cooler, golden beers and the thirst-quenchers that give us ale drinkers the pleasant alternative to the fizzy, super-cold lagers. Therein lies part of the secret of brewing great summer ales, but more of that in a moment. In Wales, we have water that is perfect for brewing great summer ales. With a few tweaks for certain trace minerals, we can brew beers with subtle malt and hop flavours th...

Latest news from the Introbiz team - Networking events for May and June 2013 Thursday 30th May, The Chapel 1877, Cardiff, 4pm - 6pm This event is sponsored by Bryan Gunton Close Up Magician www.bryangunton.co.uk Come and network in this stunning new £2m restaurant food and drinks. Members £10 visitors £15 4pm - 6pm. If you haven t been, try it, it s a great place to be and you can also be entertained by our very talented magician Bryan Gunton in action, performing his magic. 50 booked on already. Thursday 6th June St David s Hotel and Spa, Cardiff Bay 4pm- 6pm Come and network in this stunning 5 star venue overlooking Cardiff Bay Build your new relationships in the network, food and drinks ONLY £10 to members, £15 to visitors Thursday 13th June, The Parkhouse, Cardiff 4pm - 6pm Come and network in this beautiful 5 star venue, known as the South Wales Echo 5 star restaurant of the year 2013 Build your new relationships in the network, food and drinks ONLY £10 to members, £15 ...

The latest 'On Song' column from the Llanelli Star -  Four Llanelli choirs will be in the TV spotlight next month when special editions of S4C’s Noson Lawen will be recorded at Y Ffwrnes theatre in the town. Côr Meibion Llanelli (pictured above), the Hywel Girls Choir and Hywel Boys Singers, Cantata and the Ysgol y Strade choir will be taking part in the recording sessions on four consecutive nights at the end of June. “It just shows what a rich place Llanelli is for great choral singing,” said Côr Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas. “To have four choirs from the town featured in the TV recordings is a great achievement.” Meanwhile, Côr Meibion Llanelli were featured on TV at the weekend with a repeat showing of the Welsh TV drama ‘Steddfod Steddfod’. “It was recorded many years ago,” said Mr Thomas, “but everyone enjoys watching it again as there are so many faces in the choir that you recognise from years gone by.” On Saturday, Côr Meibion Llanelli w...

The latest 'Shop Elli' column from the Llanelli Star - The team at the St Elli Shopping Centre is currently building a new website for the centre. The site is at http://www.stelli.co.uk/ “We’re keen to hear from people and their views on what they would like to see on the website,” said St Elli Shopping Centre manager Andrew Stephens. “Anyone who wants to make suggestions can email rlloydpr@btinternet.com “In addition, we have geared-up our social media presence. “You can find us on Facebook. Just look for – ‘St Elli Shopping Centre Llanelli’. “And you can find us on Twitter. Follow @StElliCentre ------------------------------------------- June events Saturday 1st, Llanelli Sea Cadets, Cone area Market Hall entrance. Tuesday 4th, Real Nappy Drop-In Surgeries, Cone area Market Hall entrance. Thursday 6th, Work Ways, advertising services to the unemployed more in line with the changes in government legislation, Cone area Market Hall entrance. Thu 6th Fri 7th Sat 8th, Gilded Lili ...

Latest 'Healthy Wednesday' advice from the Hywel Dda Health Board - Think about volunteering this Healthy Wednesday. With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer but this Healthy Wednesday why not think about what you can do to help yourself and others. Volunteering provides many benefits to both mental and physical health, it can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. It also keeps you in regular contact with others and helps you develop a solid support system, which in turn protects you against stress and depression when you’re going through challenging times. Studies have also found that those who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not. David Fretwell, Head of Volunteering Services at Hywel Dda Health Board, said: “A lot of our volunteers tell us giving something back has helped improved their confidence and makes them feel good about themselves. “Even just giving a few hours a week can make a di...

The Clyne Energy Ltd team were delighted with the success of the launch of the LoCooker at Parc y Scarlets rugby stadium. There is a picture slideshow of the event below. Here are some Q&As - Q1: What is the LoCooker? The LoCooker is a new concept in cooking with water. It represents a new and distinct approach to cooking. The LoCooker has been developed to be energy and water efficient from the start. It uses a fraction of the water of other cooking methods and is very energy efficient. It operates by a unique combination of water spray, water vapour and convection, delivering heat energy into food in a highly efficient way. It uses only 1.5 litres of water to cook up to 8 kg of food. The company behind the LoCooker, Clyne Energy Ltd, is one of a number of cutting-edge British firms to pick up an award in a new national competition launched by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in a bid to accelerate the UK’s green agenda The ‘Greenius’ (Green Genius) awards relate specifica...

Press release from Hywel Dda Health Board: Hywel Dda Health Board is encouraging staff, patients and the general public to continue to talk about dementia beyond Dementia Awareness Week (19-26 May). The theme of this year’s campaign, organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, was talking – ‘worrying changes nothing, talking changes everything’. Various events took place as part of the awareness drive including information events held in Carmarthenshire last week and promotion through social media using the hashtag #talkdementia. The Health Board is also picking up the conversation with staff across all disciplines with conferences being put on June 18th at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, and September 24th at the Halfway House, Nantgaredig, Carmarthen. The events will cover issues such as the signs and symptoms in dementia, nutrition and managing pain. Dementia co-ordinator for Pembrokeshire Tom Alexander explained: “We are hoping staff from both the community and hospital setting wi...

The flags are ready to wave! The streamers ready to throw! The grand orchestra ready to excite and the massed 225 voice choirs ready to raise the roof! A week Saturday (8 June) will see Llanelli's Y Ffwrnes theatre stage its biggest cast yet when the Last Night of the Proms comes to town. Acclaimed guest conductor John Hywel Williams will lead the famous 50-strong British Sinfonietta Orchestra and the 225 massed voices of the Hywel Girls' Choir & Hywel Boy Singers, Llanelli Choral Society, Dunvant Male Choir and 2013 Cardiff Singer of the World Finalist Gary Griffiths, organist Huw Tregelles Williams, pianist Jean Hywel for the flag-waving musical extravaganza. Orchestral and choral highlights under the baton of John Hywel Williams will include the mighty 1812 Overture, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dambusters, William Tell Overture, Les Miserables, Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, O Fortuna, Hallelujah Chorus, Radetsky March, Pie Jesu, Elgar's traditional Pomp ...

News from the Oriel Myrddin Gallery in Carmarthen. Forthcoming exhibitions - Karla Black and Karin Ruggaber 25 May – 13 July 2013 Karla Black enjoys an international reputation having both represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale as well as being nominated for the Turner Prize in 2011. Using materials from the domestic (often female) sphere, including sugar paper and eye-shadow, Black's work challenges notions of sculpture as monumental, with its fragile impermanence. Karin Ruggaber uses the everyday and urban architectural landscape to great formal effect, creating wall and floor based structures and patterns that embrace the materially poetic and subtle. On loan from the Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London Special events: Saturday 22 June Carmarthen Old Town Festival At Oriel Myrddin Gallery: 12 – 4pm: Glitter Tattoos with Make-up artist Emily Malcolm Free – all welcome 3pm: Gallery Talk Memory, Manipulation & Space by Denise Kwan Lecturer in Contextua...

Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi's annual concert will be held on Saturday June 8 at 7 pm in the Princess Gwenllian Centre Kidwelly. Guest artists are Hogia'r Wyddfa (above), who this year are celebrating 50 years of singing together, mezzo soprano Eirlys Myfanwy Davies (top), Ifan and Tomos Gwynedd (clarinet). Hogia’r Wyddfa is a five piece band which has been at the forefront of Welsh language entertainment for more than 40 years. After many EP recordings for DRYW, they recorded their first album with SAIN in 1974. They were among the first SAIN artists to receive a Gold Disc for record sales and their CDs are still very much in demand. The close-harmony singing group from Llanberis, the village at the foot of Snowdon, is the most successful ever in the history of Welsh popular music. Eirlys Myfanwy Davies is a 24-year-old mezzo-soprano from Llanelli. Eirlys is currently at The Royal Academy of Music in London, having previously studied at The Royal Welsh College of Music a...

Press release from Hywel Dda Health Board: Hywel Dda Health Board are celebrating their hundreds of fantastic volunteers who give up their free time to help patients and staff. As part of National Volunteer Week people are being asked to use social media to tell the Health Board if you have had contact with a volunteer – they are easy to spot they wear distinctive yellow t-shirts or tabards! If you see any of our volunteers tell us where at www.facebook.com/hywelddahealthboard or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hywelddahb and please go up and say thank you to them. David Fretwell, Head of Volunteering Services, said: “We are lucky to have some fantastic volunteers working across the Health Board and we hope people take this opportunity to say thank you and publicly raise the profile of their hard work.” There are more than 200 volunteers throughout the health board undertaking more than 70 different roles. Below is just a snap shot of some of them:  Ann volunteers in the Acc...

Mrs Carol Lloyd's version of the @simonwright1 @WrightsFood focaccia bread recipe from last week's edition of the Llanelli Star. And very nice it was, too!

The winner of the Llanelli heat of Masterchef (held at 3am on Monday morning!) was darling daughter Kathryn with her trademark pizza! As one wag on the Twitter-sphere put it - 'How to burn 800 calories in 30 minutes!' I am happy to report no-one was seriously injured in this incident. But it has reminded one and all about the need to replace the battery in the smoke alarm!

The guest speaker at the weekly meeting of Llanelli Rotary Club held at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli, was Malcolm Shead from the Shelterbox Response Team. Mr Shead is from Llandeilo and recently visited Burma to help some of the 70,000 people believed to have been displaced by civil unrest. Mr Shead, who works from his home in Bridge Street, Llandeilo, has been working with the ShelterBox project for more than four years. ShelterBox is supported by Rotary clubs worldwide. The UK charity ships out boxes with essential survival kit to countries hit by natural disasters and war. Mr Shead said he was proud to be involved with ShelterBox. "The first time I went away it was the earthquake in Chile," he said. "Two years ago I went to some bad flooding in Colombia, and last year I was in the Peruvian Amazon, which experienced the worst flooding in the Amazon basin for 40 years." ShelterBox cater their aid boxes to the needs of the people on the ground and ...

Latest jobs news from Clay Shaw Butler, chartered accountants and business consultants, of Carmarthen -  We have a vacancy for an accountant We are seeking an experienced or qualified accountant to join our dynamic team. The candidate should have audit experience and suitable experience in preparing company accounts to review stage, together with management accounts for all clients and the ability to deal directly with clients. Must be conversant with computerised accounts in particular Sage, Iris and QuickBooks and have a full general practice background. Excellent remuneration package to include good salary and pension based on experienced and good working conditions. Please forward your C.V. to Ann Thomas, Lead Consultant, by e-mail at:- annthomas@clayshawbutler.com Meanwhile, Clay Shaw Butler are always looking for talented new people to join our team. If you are interested, then submit your up-to-date CV to us regardless of whether we are advertising vacancies or not! We d...

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