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

  SOME of you may suspect this already . . . but today will confirm it as fact. This column is going to the dogs. Take a deep breath there. Trust me, it’s not a case of a lack of quality. It’s just that the spotlight is falling on this week’s announcement in The Senedd (Welsh Parliament) that Wales will soon become the first nation in the UK to ban greyhound racing. At the risk of offending some dear readers, I will try and give my verdict on the ban in what can be described as ‘short form’ and ‘long form’. Short form first – It’s bonkers. Long form next – It’s bat-poo bonkers . . . and I’ll explain why. Call me old-fashioned, but many (probably misguided) folk in Wales have been living under the assumption that the 60 members we elected to The Senedd would concentrate on the important things in Welsh life. You know the sort of thing . . . fixing the Welsh NHS and (er) giving us an education service which is the envy of the world, to name just two issues which are important to the ...

 WORLD exclusive coming up. Just remember you read it here first! Yes, it’s a ‘No’ from me. After lengthy deliberation (Mrs L timed it at just under 30 seconds), I will not be applying for the position of head coach with the Wales rugby team. True, I may not be qualified for the role. The sum total of my rugby experience (as a player, not a spectator) can be traced on the back of a beermat – sponge bag holder for Llanelli Wanderers Under-11s (unpaid) and record-breaking winger for Nantgaredig RFC in the old Llanelli and District League (the record being Least Number Of Tries Scored By A Winger In A Season – ie one!). Having said that, the lack of a lengthy rugby career should not be a bar to achievement in the Welsh Rugby Union. Just being a fan should be enough, as WRU chief executive Abi Tierney continues to prove. And (as Mrs L pointed out before I came to my decision) the money is good. Departing Welsh coach Warren Gatland was reportedly on more than £600,000 a year. Not bad wh...

 GO on, I dare you! Ask me how I write this weekly column. To begin, I usually invert the Thomas Edison quotation – “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” Not being in the genius category, my usual tactic is to rely on 99 percent inspiration and one percent perspiration – economy of effort being a highly-valued ability at my senior age. The neatest trick for that Thursday morning moment when I come to sit down before that blank page of digital ‘paper’ is to get others to write the column for me. Some folk (no names mentioned!) have ventured down the road of getting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scribble their words, but I have a more trusted and valued resource to draw on – reader feedback. Yes, the one thing guaranteed to cheer me up on a Friday morning is getting messages, emails, phone calls and stop-in-the-street chats about the latest weekly column. For one thing, it provides welcome reassurance that loyal members of ‘Club Evening Post’ still read w...

  THEY might be checking the roof of Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli before Carmarthenshire’s premier St David’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 1. More than 100 voices will take to the stage to conjure up a powerhouse sound which will celebrate the patron saint’s day in style. Two award-winning choirs, Dunvant Male Choir and Morriston RFC Male Choir, will join forces for what promises to be a memorable evening. They will be joined by two guest soloists - soprano Lauren Elizabeth Williams and tenor James Oakley. The evening will also feature the talented youngsters from Ysgol Gymraeg Ffwrnes school choir. The evening will be hosted bilingually by award-winning BBC Wales journalist and presenter Garry Owen. Tickets are £18 and £16, with the show starting at 7pm. The Dunvant choir will be under the baton of musical director Jonathan Rogers. After attaining a BA (Hons) in Music and PGCE from Bristol University, Jonathan returned to south Wales to begin his teaching career and within th...

  LLANELLI Rotary Club members are embarking on their annual search for candidates for the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA). The Llanelli club has a long history of selecting candidates for the residential leadership course, usually selecting one student, sometimes two, to take a place on what is regarded as a prestigious programme. Candidates should be aged 16 or 17 at the time of the course in July. Youngsters can register their interest by emailing Llanelli Rotary’s RYLA coordinator, Dr Kevin Jones, on  k305jones@gmail.com Dr Jones said: “RYLA is a residential leadership course designed to meet the needs of 16 and17-year-olds. “The course is basically an outdoor pursuit course which incorporates team building and problem-solving exercises. Our nearest RYLA centre is at Storey Arms in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. “The course begins on Sunday afternoon and finishes after lunch on the following Friday. The course is run by Cardiff City Council emp...

THE countdown is on in Carmarthen to enter that world of pure imagination! Carmarthen and District Youth Opera members are busy preparing to stage Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The musical will be staged at The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen from February 26 to March 1 (7.30pm), with matinee shows at 2.30pm on Thursday, February 27, and Saturday, March 1. Tickets, price £20 (concessions £15), are now on sale and available online via https://www.theatrausirgar.co.uk, at The Lyric Box office, or by ringing 0345 2263510.  The pure imagination theme is part of the DNA for Carmarthen and District Youth Opera, so you can expect the spectacular from the cast and production crew. A spokesman for the Youth Opera said: “This year will be a first for us to be using a full-scale digital screen as part of the scenery on stage. “We are confident that everyone will enjoy our performances and interpretation while also appreciating the huge input by our young cast and our small army of adult volu...