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

The Evan-Evans Group is moving into the London cask ale market with the launch today of the Porter Street Brewing Company. Porter Street brewery will be a London-based group company, specialising in brewing high quality craft beers for the specialist London market. The London cask ale markets is still growing, and is an ideal market for an experienced brewer like Evan-Evans to take its market share. Evan-Evans Group Chief Executive Simon Buckley said: "We have been planning the launch of a new London brewery for the last six months and today we launch this unique brewing company, with the very first tastings of these new beers. "Porter Street Brewery beers will, ultimately, be brewed in Essex, at a new brewing site and will brew three core brands and a group of unique seasonal beers designed exclusively for the London market. "I have worked with my brewing team and our technical advisors to create beers that echo the famous past of London brewing. We are ...

The 2014 winners of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) Beer Academy Beer Sommelier of the Year awards were announced at the BII’s prestigious Annual Lunch held at the Grosvenor House Park Lane. The winning sommelier for the UK is Jane Peyton, who is a beer writer and drinks event organiser. Jane will be invited to present the beers at the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group’s Annual Dinner held in Westminster on July 9. The judges also awarded a second prize for the first time this year for International BII Beer Academy Beer Sommelier of the Year to Hans Tryggvason. Hans, an Icelander, works in the gastropub, Håndverkerstuene, in Oslo. Applicants were whittled down to a shortlist of eight, from which four contenders were selected for a rigorous interview with the judging panel. They were asked to suggest beer matches for the three course BII Annual Lunch menu, conduct a tutored tasting of a bottled craft beer and demonstrate how to present a beer in perfect condition in...

Further technical problems have been encountered at Llanelli Leisure Centre leading to longer delays in reopening the pool. It had been hoped that the pool, which has been closed since major damage occurred during the storms earlier this year, would be reopened before the end of the summer holidays. However, significant changes are now having to be made to the planned works after a higher level of asbestos was found to that originally expected. Although asbestos in older buildings is perfectly normal and left undisturbed pose no problems, the way it has to be dealt with within a construction environment is different to the usual method of work. Therefore, the planned timetable and method of working has had to be altered to accommodate the changes. This has resulted in the contractor having to design additional structural scaffolding and to submit a revised construction phase plan. The work was originally estimated to cost around £300,000, however it is now expected to be higher, but...

This week, beer lovers from around the UK will be spoilt for choice at the 'W-Ales Beer Festival' being held at the Millennium Stadium Cardiff from Thursday to Saturday, June 5-7 . International award-winning brewer Evan-Evans is to launch five new beers at the festival and will be unveiling a new beer brand called Porter Street London Brewery. Evan-Evans is now one of the UK’s leading specialist brewers, brewing a range of cask-conditioned ales that are widely recognised throughout the UK. The company enjoys UK-wide distribution through companies such as Carlsberg, JD Weatherspoon’s, and Mitchells and Butlers. Evan-Evans Group Chief Executive Simon Buckley said: "We will be launching five new beers from our extensive brand portfolio at the festival, including two from our new London Brewery which launches in June. "Beer lovers will be able to enjoy for the first time, Archers Summer Solstice, Artisan Craft Beers, Amarillo and Tank 3, as well as the new Porter S...

The latest 'On Song' column (about the choral scene in and around Llanelli) from the Llanelli Star - Award-winning choristers from Germany are eagerly looking forward to their debut performance at Ffwrnes theatre in Llanelli on Saturday night (June 7). The German choir Singverein 1870 Laudenbach will be joining Côr Meibion Llanelli for a special joint concert. Choir spokesman Gerhard Marsching said the German choristers were looking forward to their trip to Llanelli, with the singers combining the concert trip with a tour of Wales and Cornwall. He added: “The two choirs are old friends and we are looking forward to renewing old friendships and making new friends with concertgoers who will be hearing us for the first time.” Three sections of the Laudenbach choir will be featured in the concert – male, female and junior choirs. The choir will be under the baton of Otto Lamade. The choir's repertoire consists largely of German songs, drawn from classical choral pieces,...

The latest Phil Evans column from the South Wales Evening Post -  Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy. Cyber-bullies, playground bullies, workplace bullies, gay-bashing bullies, celebrity bullies . . . It appears there’s more ‘bullish’ behaviour in society today than in many pedigree herds of cattle. During our lifetimes, we’ll inevitably encounter physical or psychological bullying. Bosses bully staff. Big fellahs bully small fellahs. Ambitious workmates (male and female) bully people they see as rivals for promotion. Politicians and other people in high office bully us through baffling legislation, laws, rules and punitive taxes. So what can we do about it? Well, most people do nothing - for one simple reason; the fear of reprisals. Those reprisals can take many forms - whether it’s from the swaggering, fat-bellied, loudmouthed individual in a vest who shows off his tattoos or from a large organisation that tries to...

Nursery favourite Elmer the colourful patchwork Elephant is 25 years old, and to celebrate, Llanelli Library asked everyone to come and take part in a story session and parade. People were invited to wear their brightest Elmer the Elephant colours, and bring their own elephant toys. Other activities included creating a giant Elmer the Elephant and mask-making. Children's and Young People's Librarian, Lesley Cresswell, said:"These events are really popular with the children. “They show that libraries are not only about books, but are also fun places to visit, and hopefully our young visitors will be encouraged to visit more often and to read more.” Carmarthenshire’s libraries are already successfully involved with local communities offering more than just books, including homework clubs, free internet access and iPad training. The latest addition to their online resources are the first theory test pro and GoCitizen.co.uk. Carmarthenshire’s Executive Board Member for lib...

Hundreds of retail businesses across Carmarthenshire could qualify for up to £1,000 off their rates. A Welsh Government scheme aims to provide targeted assistance to those in the retail sector who qualify for the help. The scheme has been offered to councils to distribute if they choose to do so, Carmarthenshire’s Executive Board will take the decision at their next meeting on Monday, June 2. To qualify for the reduction in business rates, the rateable value of the property cannot be over £50,000, and it has to be used wholly or mainly for retail. Under the scheme, retail is described as the sale of goods, food, drink or certain other services such as hairdressers, travel agents and estate agents offered to the public. Ratepayers with more than one qualifying property will be subject to State Aid limits and will need to include State Aid declarations with their applications. If Carmarthenshire decides to adopt and administer the scheme, it will be fully funded by the Welsh Gov...

It could be a beach, a hill top, a castle or rocky shore. Or maybe a park bench, a café or the local school. People in Carmarthenshire are being asked what their special places are for a National Trust competition. The contest, being run on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/NTWales/app_235533479970037 gives people the chance to put their special place on the map. They need to visit the National Trust Facebook page, give the chosen location and say why it is special to them; photographs can also be added. All entries will be considered by the National Trust and those shortlisted will be contacted later this year. Carmarthenshire’s executive board member for tourism Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “We would encourage as many people as possible to enter this national competition to make sure that our corner of the world is fully represented. “Carmarthenshire is a beautiful county and many, many locations would be fitting winners. “However, the theme is ‘special places’ so it doesn’t h...

An additional dedicated ambulance is being commissioned by the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust (WAST) and Hywel Dda University Health Board to support changes to services at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest. The additional ambulance will be staffed by fully trained paramedics, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be based at Withybush Hospital by August, creating 12 new jobs in Pembrokeshire. Paul Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer at the University Health Board and Chair of the Programme Board tasked with implementing the new way of delivering maternity, neonatal, paediatrics and gynaecology across Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire said: “Robust transport has always been a key element of the new services and a key component of the safety net function. “We are aware of recent reports stating that patients will queue for this one and only ambulance. This is pure scaremongering and only serves to further worry an already concerned community. We are being very clear this is not th...

Ceredigion’s Older Adult Team is seeking the views of those who have had contact with either its Older Adult Mental Health services or the Memory Clinic (memory assessment service) in Ceredigion. The invitation is extended to service users, past or present, and to their families or carers, to join others who have experience of the service to provide a service user/carer perspective on various aspects of mental health services in Ceredigion. Beca Stilwell, Clinical Psychologist at Hywel Dda University Health Board, hopes feedback will help the team to plan and design future services for the county: “This is an opportunity for people to share their experience and opinions with us and hearing directly from those who have used our services is very important. Anyone who participates will only be asked to share what they feel comfortable in sharing and all details will be kept confidential.” The first meeting will be held on Friday 20 June at 10:30am in The Old Library, Postgraduate Centre ...

A team comprising of three Aberystwyth University undergraduate students from the Department of Computer Science will be competing later this week (Saturday 7 June 2014) in Sailbot2014, an annual robotic sailing competition which is being held this year in San Francisco. Since 2012, the Aber Sailbot team has been creating and competing in autonomous robotic sailing competitions which saw them clinch third place in Sailbot2013 and win the award for the Best Open Source Architecture at the World Robotic Sailing Championships in France last year. The boats themselves are robots and are controlled by inbuilt state-of-the-art GPS system which allows them to navigate themselves around any course, similarly to a Sat-Nav system. Each team must build and program an autonomous sailing boat to compete in a range of events against other teams with no human interaction to control the boat. Daniel Clark, a second year Computer Science student and an Aber Sailbot team member, explains; “We wanted t...

The annual Rotary District 1150 (South Wales) bowls tournament will take place in Llandrindod Wells next month. Details are as follows - DISTRICT 1150 91st ANNUAL BOWLS TRIPLES COMPETITION LLANDRINDOD WELLS Date: Tuesday 8th July 2014 Lunch: Metropole Hotel at 12.30 p.m. Bowls Competition: Llandrindod Wells Bowling Club, Rock Park 2.30 p.m. Teams of three players each playing three woods. To win prizes, all three must be current members of the representative club. To enter, contact: Noel Tippett, Rotary Club of Pontllanfraith Tel: 01495 228280 Email: tippett115@btinternet.com

Smokers in Carmarthenshire are being urged to stub-out cigarette related litter in a new campaign. Council officers are working with pub landlords and restaurants across the county to encourage people to bin their butts. During the launch of the campaign, held at the The Stag in Five Roads, Llanelli, a sample of pocket ashtrays were given to the landlord and landlady in a bid to help reduce cigarette related litter at the premises. Enforcement officers will be visiting other hotspot areas across the county and handing out posters to premises which have problems with cigarette littering to remind smokers that if they’re caught littering they could get fined £75 or a maximum of £2,500 if prosecuted through the magistrates court. Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection, Cllr Jim Jones, said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but it is. Dropping a cigarette end is no different from throwing away any other sort of litter. It makes the area look ...

New standards have been introduced for tattooists in Carmarthenshire to improve hygiene and prevent the spread of infections. Carmarthenshire County Council’s Environmental Health Department has introduced model byelaw standards to regulate tattooing, cosmetic piercing (body and ear piercing), semi permanent tattooing (or micro-pigmentation), electrolysis and acupuncture. The council has developed a registration scheme for registering both the premises where the treatments are undertaken and the persons undertaking the procedure, who are provided with a photo ID card. The aim of the byelaws and registration scheme is to ensure that strict hygiene standards and good practice are met and to prevent the spread of blood borne infections such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. The registration for any of the listed treatments is a legal requirement in accordance with the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. Public Health Services Manager Sue Watts said: “The advic...

Llanelli's North Dock has been closed to swimmers because of blue green algae detected in the water. Carmarthenshire County Council’s public protection department has been informed of the presence of the algae by National Resources Wales. Executive board member for environment and public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Visitors, and people that normally use the area for recreation, are asked to look out for the warning signs and not to come into contact with water where the algae might be present. “It is important to note that people and animals can become ill after coming into contact with the algae.” Natural Resources Wales said they would continue to monitor conditions at the dock closely and will be taking regular samples to test for levels of the algae in the water.” Tests are taken on a weekly basis. There must be seven clear days of testing until the dock can be reopened for swimming. Blue Algae is a natural process occurring on retained water sources caused by excessive...

Llanelli Rotary Club welcomed a new member at the weekly meeting held at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli. Elfryn Davies, of Five Roads, was officially inducted by Llanelli Rotary President Ken Abban. Mr Davies, who runs The Stag pub in Five Roads, was proposed into membership by Rotarian Mark Evans. Mr Davies said in his acceptance speech that it was an honour and a privilege to be invited into membership of the Rotary movement. He added that he would do his best to follow the Rotary motto of 'service above self'. Photo: Elfryn Davies is welcomed into Rotary by Llanelli club president Ken Abban, flanked by, left, senior vice president Hywel Bassett, and, right, junior vice president Sue Roberts.

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Do you live in one of the three streets shortlisted to be crowned the ‘Cleanest Street’ in Llanelli? Clos Bryn Isaf, Spowart Avenue and Sandy Water Park are finalists in the Llanelli Star awards on Friday (June 6) A competition is now being held to offer two residents from each street the chance to attend the glittering awards evening in the Stradey Park Hotel. If you are a resident from one of the streets shortlisted and would like to win a pair of tickets please email pressoffice@carmarthenshire.gov.uk to be in with a chance. Entries must be made by 12 noon on Monday, June 2. The ‘Cleanest Street’ award has been supported by Carmarthenshire County Council’s Street Scene department to encourage more people to take pride in their community. Executive board member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “We are proud to sponsor this award. The three streets that have been selected stood out amongst the others nominated. I hope this will now encourage more ...