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

The School of Education and Lifelong Learning was crowned Department of the Year at this year’s Student-Led Teaching Awards at Aberystwyth University. The winners of 11 awards, as nominated by students, were announced during a glitzy ceremony held in Medrus. Lecturers, support staff and student representatives were all honoured with accolades at the annual awards ceremony hosted by the Students’ Union, with the support of the University. This year’s coveted Department of the Year award was presented to the School of Education and Lifelong Learning. Elizabeth Titley, a postgraduate student in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “The ethos of the entire department is to ensure that every student succeeds - not only academically, but personally. There is an extremely high standard of teaching within the department; outstanding personal tutors and lecturers who give useful and detailed feedback; a commitment to improving the employability skills of each and every student; ...

Researchers at Aberystwyth University are leading a major study into the threats to society and infrastructure posed by receding glaciers in Chile. Professor Neil Glasser from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University and colleagues at Exeter University and Chile have been awarded £370,000 to work on a research project that will investigate the causes and effects of these glacial hazards. The two year study is funded by NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) and the Chilean Government’s CONICYT (Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica). The dangers posed by flash floods from melting glaciers are well documented. In Peru alone, outburst floods from glacial sources caused an estimated 32,000 deaths in the 20th century, as well as destroying vital economic infrastructure, settlements and valuable arable land. In the Nepal Himalaya, it has been estimated that the costs associated with the destruction of a mature single hydropower in...

The latest Clay Shaw Butler Money Matters column from the Carmarthenshire Herald. By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants. Keeping up to speed with changes in employment taxes is crucial – both for employers and employees. Here are some of the latest changes in rules and regulations. Employer provided cars The scale of charges for working out the taxable benefit for an employee who has use of an employer provided car are now announced well in advance. Most cars are taxed by reference to bands of CO2 emissions. There is a 3% diesel supplement. The maximum charge is capped at 37% of the list price of the car. From 6 April 2016 there is a 2% increase in the percentage applied by each band with similar increases in 2017/18 and 2018/19. For 2019/20 the rate will increase by a further 3%. From 6 April 2017 the appropriate percentage for cars which have neither a CO2 emissions figure nor an engine cylinder capacity...

Welsh Assembly election results - just for the record. LLANELLI Lee Waters has been elected Assembly Member for the Llanelli constituency. Full results are as follows: BOWKER, Gemma-Jane – Welsh Liberal Democrats: 355 CAIACH, Sian Mair – People First - Putting Llanelli First: 1,113 JONES, Helen Mary – Plaid Cymru - Strong Voice for Llanelli: 9,885 REES, Kenneth Denver – UKIP Wales: 4,132 RYSZEWSKI, Stefan – Welsh Conservative Party: 1,937 SMITH, Guy Martin – Wales Green Party: 427 WATERS, Lee – Welsh Labour: 10,267 The count took place at the Selwyn Samuel Centre in Llanelli and the provisional turnout is 47%. CARMARTHEN EAST & DINEFWR Adam Price has been elected Assembly Member for the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency. Full results are as follows: AMSBURY, Freya Rachel – Wales Green Party: 797 HAMILTON, Mostyn Neil – UKIP Wales: 3,474 JEACOCK, Stephen – Welsh Labour: 5,727 PAUL, Matthew Graham – Welsh Conservative Party: 4,489 POWELL, William Denston – Welsh Liberal Demo...

Latest news from Aberglasney House and Gardens in the Tywi Valley -  Music in the Pool Garden Peter Karrie and Elin Wyn Murphy Friday 6 May ~ gates open at 6.30pm Tickets: £10 or £8 for Aberglasney Members, with tickets sold at the gate, on the night. Children aged up to 16 are free. Aberglasney’s ‘Music in the Pool Garden’ events have always been a big hit. Taking place on the first Friday of each month from May through until August they’re a great opportunity to enjoy the Gardens in the evening whilst listing to a range of live music. We’re particularly excited to be welcoming West End stars Peter Karrie and Elin Wyn Murphy to our first ’Music in the Pool Garden’ of 2016 on Friday May the 6th. Peter Karrie’s voice has been showcased in many of the greatest theatrical successes in contemporary musical theatre, the highlight of which must be his highly acclaimed portrayal of The Phantom in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record breaking musical The Phantom of the Opera. Peter f...

Latest news from the Oriel Myrddin Gallery in Carmarthen - Responses to the Nature Table A two day master class with Dail Behennah 11th and 12th June 2016 - 10.30-4pm Oriel Myrddin Gallery are delighted to be able to offer a very special two day workshop with internationally renowned artist and maker, Dail Behennah. Acclaimed originally as a basket maker, Dail Behennah’s exhibition Fieldwork at Oriel Myrddin Gallery (28 May – 30 July 2016) shows the work for which she is probably now best known – meticulously constructed sculptures of willow and natural objects. It also shows a new body of work, inspired by walks along the North Pembrokeshire coast; homage to the much-loved home to which she recently bid farewell. New work places and arranges beautifully crafted and constructed artefacts alongside found objects in an exploration of the subtle relationships and the poetic and emotional connections she invests in her work through meticulous observation and...

New walking and cycling schemes will be developed in Cwmamman and Whitland as part of the Safe Routes in Communities programme. The council has received funding from Welsh Government to carry out walking, cycling and road safety improvements in both towns. A grant of £180,000 was awarded for Cwmamman and £197,500 for Whitland. The scheme in Cwmamman includes a new footway along Folland Road; an off-road footpath for cyclists and pedestrians (Amman Valley Cycle Way/Riverside Walk); a zebra crossing, cycle logos and bollards; parent waiting shelters and cycle racks in the school; and footway improvements on Station Road, Tir Y Coed Road and the A474. In Whitland, the proposals are for driver feedback signs in West Street, Spring Gardens and the B4328 Tavernspite to Whitland Road; public right of way routes; raised plateaus with tactile crossing outside the primary school and on North Road; a proposed 20mph speed limit along Market Street near Whitland Primary School; and a kerbed pull ...

Work has started on a new vocational village being developed for secondary schoolchildren in the Llanelli area. The project involves offering new facilities in the area for pupils to learn vocational skills. It means that schoolchildren attending one school could go to another for classes on things like construction skills. Bryngwyn, Coedcae, Glan y Môr, St John Lloyd, Strade, Ysgol Heol Goffa and Coleg Sir Gâr are involved, along with other potential providers. The scheme involves building a new construction skills facility at Bryngwyn, which will be the hub of the village. Local contractors TRJ have started work on the £1.2million development which is expected to be completed by September 2016. There will be a phased move into the new facility following its completion. Other vocational learning facilities will be developed at the other schools through extending or refurbishing the current provision. The aim is to develop a vocational centre of excellence which will include the Cons...

Jamie Lee Smith with Kelvin Guy, chief executive of the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival. Film star Samira Mohamed Ali with Kelvin Guy, chief executive of the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival. The prestigious Carmarthen Bay Film Festival is being held in Llanelli next week. Now in its fifth year, the festival promises to be bigger and better than before. “We’re now firmly established on the international film festival calendar,” said festival chief executive Kelvin Guy. “Entry submissions increase dramatically every year and we get film-makers from every corner of the globe entering the event. “This year, we can promise more special premieres at what is a ground-breaking (free entry to the public) festival.” The festival runs from May 9 to 13 at the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli. On Monday, May 9, the premiere event will be the first screening of Shadow Of The Missing, a spooky story directed by USA film producer Jamie Lee Smith and set in and around Llanelli. Tuesday, May 10, w...

Ambitious plans to provide a cycle path between Carmarthen and Llandeilo have stepped up a gear thanks to a £581k grant. The council has received a Local Transport Fund grant of £581,600 from Welsh Government towards walking and cycling links in Carmarthenshire which includes the Towy Valley Cycleway project. The grant will go towards the early design stages of the scheme, which will help to make Carmarthenshire the cycling capital of Wales. The project – which will cost in the region of £5 to £7million - is predicted to generate between £860,000 and £2million in the local economy every year. It is also expected to create and support between 17 and 41 full-time jobs a year. The route will follow the old railway line where possible and will link in with major tourist attractions. It will also give people a sustainable and healthy travel option, linking with villages between the two main towns. Executive Board Member for Transport Cllr Hazel Evans said: "I am delighted that we hav...

Carmarthenshire County Council is one of only three Welsh local authorities to be named a finalist at The MJ Awards 2016 . The authority’s Trading Standards team is leading the charge for the MJ Achievement Awards across three separate categories, for its innovative work in protecting vulnerable people against scams and fraud, and educating the next generation about financial management. The team is up for awards in the Delivering Better Outcomes and Innovation in Partnership categories for its Financial Exploitation Safeguarding Scheme (FESS), a multi-agency scheme established by Carmarthenshire Trading Standards in 2014. The first of its kind in Wales, FESS works not only to prevent fraud and identify victims but also protects them from further exploitation by putting support in place from social care and housing teams. All Halifax and Barclays branches in the county are members of the scheme, as are every Citizens Advice Bureau in Carmarthenshire. Staff receive specialist tra...

Burry Port Community Primary School has won not just one, but three awards for its innovative, imaginative and eco-friendly design. The £3.8 million school, which opened in September last year, has been recognised in the prestigious RIBA Architecture Awards 2016. It won the RSAW Welsh Architecture Award, the RSAW Sustainability Award and Andrew Tidy, Projects Delivery Team Leader within Carmarthenshire Council’s Property Design section, won the RSAW Property Architect of the Year jointly with George Mikurcik of Architype Architects, who were involved with the project via the contractor. The school, delivered by WRW Ltd, was built as part of the council’s Modernising Education Programme, with part funding from the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools initiative. Utilising a modular timber frame construction of sustainable Welsh timber, it is officially the first educational building in Wales the country to pass the stringent Passivhaus standard owing to its super energy efficiency ...

The Jenkins Bakery is once again be supporting National Doughnut Week and The Children’s Trust Charity. For every doughnut sold, the firm will be donating 5p to the Children’s Trust Charity. Last year, the Jenkins Bakery shops throughout South Wales raised more than £500. The doughnut week runs from Saturday (May 7) until May 14. Jenkins Bakery operations director Russell Jenkins said that Doughnut Week was a great opportunity to celebrate the doughnut and raise money for a very worthwhile charity. He added: "Our staff enjoy getting into the spirit of doughnut week and we are always grateful for the support of our customers, who enter into the spirit of the event and help the Children's Trust Charity." Websites - http://www.nationaldoughnutweek.org/ http://jenkinsbakery.co.uk/ The Jenkins Bakery doughnut range -  Caramel Doughnut £1.00 Our top quality doughnut coated with caramel crembel with crème patisserie filling. Chocolate Ring Doughnut 72p Our t...

Carmarthen Town Football Club is very proud to announce the appointment of Peter Price as the new Club Secretary. He will take on his new role at the end of the current season. Current secretary Gareth Jones will continue to oversee some club administrative matters, including UEFA and domestic ground licences for Richmond Park. Peter said: "I am a passionate supporter of Carmarthen Town. I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a player. The time is now right for me to give something back to the club and take on many of the responsibilities previously handled by Gareth Jones. "Gareth will continue to be a valuable mentor for my work with Carmarthen Town and I look forward to working with him - and other club officials - to make Carmarthen Town AFC an even bigger success story." Peter is well known as a former player and club captain and highly respected within footballing circles. His main role within the club for the following season will be: 1. Liaise with The Football...

Carmarthenshire County Council will invest £2million to deliver a new purpose-built base for the Carmarthenshire Archive Service. The council’s Executive Board today agreed to finance a new building at a preferred location, as an extension to the rear of Carmarthen Library. Executive Board members heard how bringing the archive service into the town centre would bring additional footfall to the King Street area of town, whilst adding to its ‘cultural quarter’ ethos. Several other sites had been considered, including Abergwili Museum and the Guildhall in Carmarthen, and Parc Howard in Llanelli. It is seen as a positive step forward for the archive service, which has been affected by an outbreak of mould at its present base in Parc Myrddin. The Collection is currently undergoing cleaning and is being returned to temporary storage at Glamorgan Archive and The Richard Burton Archive, Swansea. Providing a new purpose-built repository in Carmarthen will allow the return of the archives, an...

Patients living in north Ceredigion will soon be able to take part in a community-based teledermatology pilot which will allow them to be treated by consultants based over 100 miles away in Cardiff. The Mid Wales Healthcare Collaborative and Hywel Dda University Health Board are pleased to announce the launch of a six-month dermatology pilot, which will allow patients to be seen by consultants without having to travel outside their community. Instead, patients will be seen at one of seven GP practices involved in the pilot, which make up the north Ceredigion cluster. All have been issued with cameras to develop telehealth services across Mid Wales. The images will then be sent on to Cardiff for consultant dermatologists to advise GPs as to how to treat skin conditions. If successful, the scheme – which is currently used in Cardiff and Birmingham – will be further extended across mid Wales and the Hywel Dda University Health Board area. The service potentially allows specialists to com...

With Wales’ historic UEFA Euro 2016 Championship campaign in France growing ever nearer, S4C will embark on a tour across Wales to spread the Euros excitement among supporters. And the TV tour will take in Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town's HQ in Richmond Park, Carmarthen. S4C will be showing live coverage of each of Wales’ group stage matches in June, but before they make the journey across the Channel, the presentation team will be touring football clubs across Wales. And with some former Wales international players in the line-up, club members are in for some frank, interesting discussions. The five events will take place at MBi Llandudno, Bangor City, Bala Town, Penrhyncoch and Carmarthen Town football clubs, where the S4C team will be talking football and kicking a ball or two. Presenter Dylan Ebenezer or the commentator Nic Parry will host the evenings, and they will be joined by ex-Wales internationals, Malcolm Allen, Iwan Roberts and Owain Tudur Jones, and sup...

Sarah Wydall from the Department of Law and Criminology at Aberystwyth University is one of three female scholars to receive one of the first Audrey Jones Memorial Awards for Feminist Scholarship. The new annual research awards are presented in memory of a Welsh woman who campaigned for women’s rights across the world. Sarah Wydall, who works at the University’s Centre for the Study of Ageing, Abuse and Neglect, was presented with the award for her work on ‘Choice’, a Big Lottery project focusing on justice and elder abuse. The three and a half-year long project which runs until 2018 is working in partnership with national charities such as Age Cymru, Hafan Cymru and Welsh Women’s Aid. The Audrey Jones Memorial Awards for Feminist Scholarship were presented by Welsh Government Finance Minister Jane Hutt at the annual Wales Assembly of Women conference held at Cardiff University. On being presented with the award Sarah said: “I am delighted to have been awarded this Memorial Prize. ...

The latest 'On Song' column (about the choral scene in and around Llanelli) from the Llanelli Star - Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir members are looking forward to a trip to Ireland at the end of the month. The choristers are planning a short tour to Mayo and Galway in Ireland. “One of the joys of being a member of Côr Meibion Llanelli is getting the chance to tour abroad,” said choir secretary Fred Elias. “Down the years, we’ve covered the globe. We’ve been to Australia and New Zealand, the United States of America, Canada, and a whole host of countries in Europe. “Côr Meibion Llanelli members are highly regarded as being ‘ambassadors of song’. “Our former president, D H Davies, always used to say that if countries sent out choirs rather than armies, then there would be more peace in the world.” Mr Elias added: “In recent years, we have been to Austria and The Netherlands. The boys do like the odd half pint of Guinness so it seemed appropriate to go on a mission to Irela...

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. www.philevans.co.uk ................................. Intolerance:  Anti-Semitism in Britain has come to the foreground in recent days and I’m sure we all agree it has no place in today’s society. But, here in Wales, I’ve noticed another kind of intolerance, bordering on pure hate. I recently read a letter in a Welsh newspaper – not this one, I hasten to add – written by a buffoon suffering from raging indignation of the pen. The target of his bilious outpourings? The English! He blamed the problems we face in Wales, such as the economy, overcrowded schools and doctors’ waiting rooms - possibly even the appalling Spring weather - not just on the English Parliament, but the English who move here to work, conveniently forgetting that they pay taxes and help the economy by shopping and eating-out locally. And that ‘migration...

Latest news from the team at the Introbiz business network in East Wales -  May has arrived which means a new month filled with exciting events. This month, we have a power group events, a ladies power lunch event as well as a very exclusive complimentary breakfast event at Hensol Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan on Friday, 20th of May from 7:30am. This event is very different as we welcome guest speaker Hugh Morris. He played three cricket Tests for England and is the CEO of Glamorgan cricket club. You can find out more below. News This month's ladies power lunch will be held at Le Monde, Cardiff on Friday, May 13th from 1-3pm. This is a great opportunity to connect with businesswomen from a range of industries and sectors. There's a delicious menu on our website where you can choose what you'd like. Find out more. Our very own Tracey Smolinski will be hosting a webinar on Monday, 9th of May from 8pm GMT. The webinar will focus on how to grow your busin...

A top doctor at Glangwili General Hospital has been honoured by the Wales Deanery at an event hosted by the British Medical Association (BMA) in Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Dr Madhuri Kodliwadmath, Associate Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, was rewarded for her excellence in clinical service. All Welsh doctors and dentists in training were asked to nominate a consultant, GP, dentist or staff and associate specialty grade doctor, who they believed performed outstandingly. The awards are part of the ‘Supervising the Route to Excellence’ programme which aims to ensure excellence in medical training through the development and support of high quality educational, clinical supervisors and trainers throughout Wales. Dr Kodliwadmath said: “I am proud to be part of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology team in Glangwili hospital with the support of the clinical lead consultant, Dr Nicola Piskorowskyj, for the last 10 years, and I would like to thank the department and...

Do you have a keen interest in sport? Do you watch programmes such as Sgorio, Clwb Rygbi and Club on S4C? If so, S4C would like to hear your opinion. The channel is holding a special Sports Survey featuring a variety of questions on its most popular sports programmes. There are also questions on how you watch these programmes, for example, on the television, the web or your mobile device, as well as asking you about your favourite sports. The survey should take no more than a few minutes, and you can answer in Welsh or in English. Sue Butler, S4C Sports Content Commissioner, said, “Our sports programmes form an important part of S4C’s schedule. Hearing the opinions of our viewers will be very useful to us as we look to plan the future of our service.” To take part in the Survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/arolwgchwaraeon ------------------- Rhowch eich barn yn Arolwg Chwaraeon S4C A oes gennych ddiddordeb mawr mewn chwaraeon? A ydych chi’n gwylio rhaglenni fel Sgori...

Football commentator and pundit Ian Snodin, best known for being a dynamic Everton midfielder, will be the guest speaker at the Carmarthen Town AFC annual celebrity dinner at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel, Carmarthen, on Friday, May 20. Snodin was a regular analyst on Sky Sports' coverage of the Football Conference, before taking on a similar role at Setanta Sports following a change in the broadcasting rights. He co-hosts Terrace Talk, a football magazine show, with Liverpool legend Ian St. John every Saturday at midday on Liverpool music station Radio City 96.7 and City Talk 105.9 and occasionally commentates on Everton for the same radio network. He writes a weekly column for the Liverpool Echo. Snodin is almost unique in modern football insomuch as he declined an invitation (which few receive and virtually no one declines) when he turned down the chance to join Liverpool in January 1987. Having esta...