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

Iechyd Da beer column, written for the Carmarthen Journal by Simon Buckley, chief executive of the Llandeilo-based Evan-Evans brewery - As part of this year’s St David’s Day celebrations, I was very proud to host a dinner party at Parliament in Westminster, London. With the support of Roger Williams, Lib Dem MP for Brecon and Radnor, I was able to arrange a cross-party event to celebrate our patron saint and the Welsh brewing industry. With MPs from all parties present, the evening was a great opportunity to share with our political lords and masters what we are doing in the Welsh brewing industry. A surprise visitor was Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who could not be influenced to take a drink and then spill the beans on the spring Budget! Naturally, when I was asked to share my ‘wish list’ for what I wanted from the Budget, I wasn’t backwards in coming forwards with ideas! As an award-winning brewer with a wonderful family history in the brewing business, it is m...

The latest 'On Song' column about the choral scene in and around Llanelli from the Llanelli Star -  Llanelli-based concert promoter Cerith Owens is teaming up with Llanelli Rotary Club to organise a First World War Centenary Concert in September. The concert will be held on Saturday, September 6 at Greenfield Baptist Chapel and will be held in conjunction with the Royal British Legion. Mr Owens, who runs Loud Applause Productions, said the concert would be a charity event in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. He added: “The poppy appeal is always a cause dear to everyone’s hearts and I felt it appropriate that something special needed to be done in Llanelli to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.” The concert will feature Côr Meibion Llanelli, the 215 City of Swansea Squadron Royal Air Force Cadets Corps of Drums and rising singing star Samuel Morris. The evening will include readings by Monro Walters and Robert Lloyd. The concert will close with a ‘Trib...

Photos from Carmarthen Round Table presentation dinner held at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel, Carmarthen.

Community recycling advisors are hitting the streets of Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford to help residents recycle even more. The advisors will be knocking on doors to advise householders on the council’s recycling scheme and hopefully increase the county’s recycling rate. They will be visiting homes in the Brewery Road, Russell Terrace, Lime Grove, Picton Terrace and College Road area of Carmarthen. They will also be in the Tyisha, Swiss Valley and Bryn area of Llanelli; the Bonllwyn and Tirydail areas of Ammanford as well as Garnant and Glanamman. Monitoring work is already underway in these areas to find out how many people are putting out their blue bags and green food bins. It is then followed by the door-knocking exercise to find out if there is a reason why some householders may not be recycling and to encourage them to take part. Executive Board Member for Street Scene Cllr Colin Evans said: “The recycling advisors are doing a great job by getting out into the community and...

Over the last few years, West Wales has been battered by extreme weather. Are these one-off events, or the start of something new? Forecast is a performance commissioned by local social enterprise Ymlaen Ceredigion in partnership with Ceredigion County Council and Aberystwyth University. It has been created by BBC playwright Sarah Woods*, and aims to initiate a conversation on extreme weather and climate change, our experiences and our response. It includes interviews from local people including Mick Fothergill from Talybont: “We thought we knew all the moods of the river we'd seen it in all sorts of different states but… there was a complete different face to the river that we saw on that night…” Also from river and climate expert Professor Mark Macklin from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences: “I've got thirty years of my lifetime to watch this unfold. Sea level will continue to rise, the amount is up for debate but it might be tens of centimetres……. it's not s...

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Katie Bullock of Llandovery has set up her own business as an Artist/Illustrator following assistance from RDP Sir Gâr’s Mentro project that guides young entrepreneurs. Mainly working from commissions, painting various subjects, from loved pets to family homes, Katie has started original paintings, prints and cards through local shops, such as The Myddfai Gift Shop, Lorwyn Gifts and The Red Giraffe. Mentro hosted an 'Evening with Business Stars' at Dinefwr Park with speakers including The Apprentice’s Alex Mills that inspired Katie to follow her business dream. She said: "I found that the event really honed in on the idea of making a business out of something you love. You have to be passionate and enthusiastic about your business for it to succeed." Menter Bro Dinefwr Chief Executive Owain Gruffydd is delighted with Katie’s venture: “We are very pleased that Katie has been inspired to start her own business following support by Mentro. We hope that more young peop...

Carmarthenshire Trading Standards Service officers are developing a web-based resource to encourage youngsters to learn online how to handle money wisely. The department has a financial literacy programme called Synnwyr Arian – Money Sense, which it delivers in either English or Welsh to year six classes in county primary schools using specifically designed work books. Trading Standards Officer Heidi Neil said: “We are currently developing a web-based resource to accompany or replace the work books. Pupils will be able to access it on laptops, iPads or Tablets for lessons. It will be more interactive for them. “The web-resource will cover the same themes as the work book - employment, tax, budgeting, credit and consumer rights - but will allow us to cover these matters in greater depth in the allotted time.” Synnwyr Arian, Money Sense consists of a series of five one-hour lessons where pupils are sequentially taken through the ‘concept of money’. Pupils are initially taught about the...

Carmarthenshire Heritage Regeneration Trust has received funding to undertake a feasibility study for options on the sustainable use of the Penlan Workhouse Gatehouse in Carmarthen. The Gatehouse has architectural significance as a grade II* listed building and the oldest surviving building on the site. It also has considerable historic association with the Rebecca rioters who stormed the workhouse in 1843. The rioters were cut down by dragoons – reportedly the last cavalry charge on British soil. The Carmarthenshire Heritage Regeneration Trust, a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, has as one of its key objectives the purchasing, restoration and finding of new uses for redundant historic buildings. The organisation recently successfully restored and opened to the public Llanelly House a grade I listed building in the heart of Llanelli. This application is seen as the first step in the process for the CHRT to purchase and regenerate the property for a wider...

Another two people have been fined by the council for smoking-related litter offences. A woman was issued with a fixed penalty notice for dropping a cigarette end along the Riverside Walk in Ammanford. Environmental enforcement officers also fined a man for a similar offence at Pensarn, Carmarthen. Research by Keep Wales Tidy shows that 83 per cent of litter found on the county’s streets smoking-related – and more and more people are getting fined for it. Failure to pay the fixed penalty notices could result in prosecution in the magistrates court where the maximum fine is £2,500. The council has an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the problem of smoking-related litter and encourage people to put their cigarette butts in the bin. Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Cigarette ends are not only unsightly but they get trapped in cracks in the pavement which means they are difficult to clean up and costly too. “Many people do not thi...