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

Staff at Jenkins Bakery shops in Llanelli and the rest of South West Wales have collected a magnificent £3,200 for Cancer Research UK. The money was raised during a special summer fundraising campaign when pink cup cakes were on sale at Jenkins Bakery shops. The company made a charity donation of 10p or every cake sold and customers added to the sum by making their own contributions. Jenkins Bakery staff also organised special fundraising events. “The Pink campaign in our shops was a huge success,” said Jenkins Bakery area manager Fiona Snook. "Members of staff dressed up in a pink theme and the shops were decorated to add to the party spirit. “Our loyal customers were, of course, fantastic and hugely supportive of the campaign, with generous donations to Cancer Research. "I must give special praise to our staff, who were fantastic, holding raffles, fancy dress events, bikeathons and a quiz night. "We are into our fifth year of doing this event and each year ...

Age Cymru Sir Gâr in Carmarthenshire have applied to the Tesco Bags of Help scheme and needs your support to help win up to £4,000 to help us support older people with new technology. Ann Dymock, chief officer of Age Cymru Sir Gâr, explained - "Tesco donates all the 5ps that they charge for carrier bags to a charitable cause. Age Cymru Sir Gâr are in the final 3 for July 2017 and details about the charity and the work it wants to achieve with funding help from Tesco will be displayed in its Carmarthenshire stores throughout July. "To help us win the £4,000 for the charity to help older people learn how to engage with new technology please vote for us. All you need to do is to make a purchase of any value from a Tesco store. You will receive one token per transaction (you may need to ask for the token) and it's not necessary to purchase a carrier bag in order to receive a token. At the front of the store there will be three bins where you can place your blue token. Ju...

Age Cymru Sir Gâr are celebrating reaching their 21st year operating as a charity for people aged 50-plus in Carmarthenshire. The charity has supported people to live longer, live independently, make informed choices and have control over their lives. The charity is extended a warm invitation to all members of the public to come and join in the celebrations on Thursday, March 30, at St Peter’s Civic Hall, Nott Square, Carmarthen, from 12-3.30pm. Like all good parties, there will be music, activities and refreshments throughout the afternoon. There will be taster sessions of all the activities the charity has helped to set up around the county as well as some new activities. You can have a go at Nordic walking, seated exercise or dancing, as well as the more traditional knitting, arts and crafts. The charity was set up in October 1995 with their first office in Cross Hands. The charity moved to Blue Street in Carmarthen and needed to move again in 2001 to more suitable, disabled-frie...

Plans are underway for the 32nd annual Walrus Dip at Pembrey Country Park. Hundreds of people are expected to take a dip in the sea on Boxing Day to raise money for good causes. Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised for charities through the years ranging from West Wales children’s cancer charity, LATCH to the British Heart Foundation. Leisure executive board member Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “The Walrus Dip is one of Carmarthenshire’s most traditional and most colourful events in the calendar. Now in its third decade, the event always brings a fantastic atmosphere and gives the opportunity for everyone to let their hair down and brave the Boxing Day waves while raising money for charity at the same time.” Participants are encouraged to dress in fancy dress. Panto season traditionally comes alive on the sands with Santas and sumo wrestlers, pantomime dames and superheroes making a dash for the freezing surf. The event, which was established in 1984, will be kicked off by ...

The team at the Breakthro Llanelli charity have a fab first prize lined up for their annual Christmas raffle. It is a rugby ball signed by the current Scarlets first team. Tickets are on sale in the St Elli shopping centre, by the market hall entrance, on Fridays November 25 and December 2. The draw takes place on Saturday December 10 at the Coleshill Centre, Llanelli. Meanwhile, there is a Curry night for Breakthro at the Masala restaurant in West End, Llanelli, on November 23, 6.30pm. Find out more about Breakthro on the website - http://www.breakthrollanelli.org.uk/

Carmarthenshire County Council social workers joined volunteers from Ty Golau on their fourth annual fundraising walk at Llanelli's Millennium Coastal Park. Ty Golau founder Janet Lewis praised all those who took part for helping to raise much needed support. Ty Golau runs weekly health and wellbeing sessions for people aged 50+ in homes across Llanelli, Pembrey, Burry Port and Kidwelly. The weekly programme includes memory jogging quizzes and music, resulting in many service users singing for the first time in years. Mrs Lewis said: “We aim, in the not too distant future, to set up another workshop in Llanelli as demand is steadily growing. The service is becoming more recognised and talked about.” The council's executive board member for social care and health, Cllr Jane Tremlett, said: “Janet and her team perform sterling work in Llanelli. It would be wonderful to see them expand their service further across the county.”

Bus trip to the Wonderwool Festival – 23 April 2016: Age Cymru Sir Gâr are running a trip to the Wonderwool festival in Builth Wells on Saturday 23 April 2016. Ticket (which includes entry & transport) is £20. Pick up spots are St. Clears, Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford. Contact Lisa on 01554 784080 for more information. The bus is available to all ages. This is a great family day out, too. Children can learn new crafts and adults can have a go to. This is not just about knitting, but they have hundreds of exhibitors that all use wool in some way in their crafts or products. Help Age Cymru Sir Gar support the charity's social groups for older persons and join us on this trip. For more information on the festival see link: http://www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk/home.html Age Cymru Sir Gar are running this trip in partnership with the Knit and Natter group that meets in its offices in Trostre, Llanelli, every Tuesday afternoon. If you enjoy knitting and other wool ba...

HRH The Princess Royal was presented with a cheque for £50,000 for Carers Trust at a private dinner hosted by South Wales millionaire businessman Kevin Green. The money raised will help the charity, for which The Princess Royal is president, to support unpaid carers across the UK. Gail Scott-Spicer, CEO of Carers Trust, said: “We had a great evening talking about carers, the support they need and how the money raised will support many unpaid carers who are caring tirelessly around the clock. “Carers Trust would like to say a huge thank you to Her Royal Highness, Kevin Green and everyone involved, for their kind generosity.” Mr Green, 52, hosted the VIP dinner at a private suite in Claridge’s Hotel, London. He said: “I love networking and helping others. “The opportunity of combining both interests by organising a private dinner to raise funds for the Carers Trust, such a deserving charity, had massive personal appeal. “The support of Carers Trust President, HRH The Princess Royal g...

Carmarthenshire's Leader has shown his support for the Syrian refugees crisis. Cllr Emlyn Dole is taking part in the #withSyria national campaign being led by Oxfam. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict which has seen four million people flee Syria, and another 6.8million currently displaced within the country. Carmarthenshire is preparing to welcome a small number of families that have sought refuge from Syria. A multi-agency partnership has been formed locally to ensure a full range of support is in place to help families coming to the county as part of the Home Office’s Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) Scheme. Cllr Dole said: “As a council, we have already publicly pledged our support for Syrian refugees. “This is a huge humanitarian crisis, there is a human and moral requirement upon us to support in a welcoming and positive way this crisis and these refugees. “We voted as one to play our part and offer a home and security to people who ha...

Greenspace Gallery is supporting Age Cymru Sir Gâr this March. The Carmarthen gallery is hosting an exhibition until March 26, called “Painting our Mother”. It is all about recognising our relationships with our mothers. Local professional artists and students of art have all submitted paintings/artworks of their mothers in a variety of mediums. Exhibitors have paid a free to have their artwork displayed and Dorothy Morris, owner of the gallery is donating the fee to Age Cymru Sir Gâr for the charity to continue to support older people throughout Carmarthenshire. The Greenspace gallery is situated at 30 King Street, Carmarthen. Ann Dymock, chief officer of Age Cymru Sir Gâr, who attended the gallery to accept the donation said, “It's wonderful that creative local businesses such as the Greenspace Gallery support local charities such as ours. Relationships with the commercial sector can be so beneficial to the people we support and rewarding for the company involved...

Llanelli Rotary Club has donated £4200 to the Marie Curie Cancer charity. The cash was raised through the annual Llanelli Rotary Ball. The event, held at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli, featured famous Phantom of the Opera singer Peter Karrie. Llanelli Rotary President Susan Roberts said: "The Peter Karrie evening and ball was a great night and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. "We had a fund-raising auction and raffle and donations from Rotarians and guests helped us to reach a magnificent total of more than £4000. "We were delighted to invite representatives of the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity to our most recent meeting to hand over the money." Photo: left to right, Mark Evans, vice president Llanelli Rotary Club, Alison Harding, Clinical Nurse Specialist, John Prosser, Chair of the Llanelli Fundraising Group for Marie Curie, Sara Bass, Fundraising Chair for Marie Curie, Llanelli Rotary President Susan Roberts and Rotary junior vice president John...

Red Kite Law chief executive Andrew Manning is planning a marathon charity mission to mark his 50th birthday. Mr Manning will be getting on his bike for a number of charities during the course of his birthday year, with the aim of raising £50 for every one of his birthday years. One of the charities to benefit will be the Enfys Foundation, the charitable wing of Red Kite Law. Mr Manning explained -  "I have a big birthday coming up at the end of this year- and, yes, I know I look younger/older than that (take your pick!). "I have been asked how I am going to celebrate this milestone, and want I want for it. "Well, I am going to celebrate it by trying to ride my bike further and faster than I have done before. "I am seeking to do this by riding my bike across the width of England ("coast to coast" ), in April (135 miles in 2.5 days) , the length of the UK (Lands End to John O Groats) in May/June (950 miles in 10 days) ,and London to Paris in ea...

'May the force be with you' on May the Fourth! Fun runners taking part in the annual Carmarthen Town Mayor's Fun Run races are being encouraged to wear fancy dress. And the date of the race makes it extra special for fans of one of the great movie franchises - Star Wars. The race is on May the Fourth - the day popularly branded 'May the Force' Day by fans of the science fiction movies. "It's a great opportunity to mark the occasion is style and for fun runners to dress up in Star Wars themed fancy dress to 'feel the force'," said fun run spokesman Robert Lloyd. "We always get fancy dress runners on the day. Batman was a big hit last year and we've also had the '118' guys. But this year, there's the chance to go for a big theme because the race is on May 4. "We'll be looking for Han Solo and Luke Skywalker on the day - and I am sure the Star Wars fans will have plenty of ideas for other characters...

Staff from HSBC’s South West Wales premier banking team have raised a fantastic £2500 for Cilgerran Ward at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen. Members of staff cycled from Carmarthen to Swansea and others walked from Llanelli to Swansea on the same day. With the money raised by the team generously match-funded by HSBC’s Pound for Pound scheme their donation is set to go even further. In recent years the group have raised funds for a variety of national charities but this year decided that they wanted to support something a little closer to home. Simon Dyer, Area Premier Manager, said: “We are pleased to be supporting such a worthy cause for local children and young people and hope that the donation makes a difference to the services provided by the team at Cilgerran Ward. It was a pleasure meeting members of the team and hearing first hand about the fantastic work that they do.” Cilgerran Ward at Glangwili Hospital provides inpatient children’s service for scheduled and unscheduled care...

Hip swivellers in Llanelli went pink for charity and raised over £145. Around 20 women attended the lunch time Zumbathon to raise money for breast cancer at Llanelli Leisure Centre. The one hour event was organised by the council’s Actif fitness instructors and coincided with breast cancer awareness month and marked national Wear it Pink day. The council’s activity coordinator Mari Jones said: “It went extremely well and was a very energetic hour. There were lots of laughs and fun, and more importantly we raised money for Breast Cancer Campaign . We are hoping to organise another one during the evening or on a weekend.”

A bubbly waitress is staying silent in a bid to raise money for good causes. Amanda Jones who works at Cwtch Bach Cafe in Carmarthen Market will once again be taking part in a sponsored silence to raise money for Children in Need on Friday, November 14. Last year she raised almost £600 thanks to customer donations. The sponsored silence is one of a number of things staff at the cafe will be doing throughout the week in order to raise as much money as possible for Children in Need. Amanda, who has worked at the cafe for five years said: “It’s quite hard to serve and take people’s orders whilst staying silent but I wear a sign explaining what I’m doing and customers are great. We raised a fantastic amount last year and hopefully we can do the same this year.” Why not pop along and see what staff at Cwtch Bach Cafe are getting up to for Children in Need this year. Find out more about our county’s markets and upcoming events by visiting www.carmarthenshiremarkets.co.uk

Staff from Cilgerran Ward at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, have climbed Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, for a charity close to their hearts. Staff from the paediatric unit came up with the idea of the Snowdon Challenge to raise money for the ward through the University Health Board’s charity, Hywel Dda Health Charities. The team set themselves a target of £3,500 to help buy new parent beds for overnight stays at the hospital. They are well on their way to reach their target having already raised over £3,200. “Charitable donations help us to provide above and beyond what the NHS is able to offer,” said Senior Sister Janet Millward. “I am extremely proud of what the team has achieved and for their dedication to provide parents with more comfortable surroundings on the ward.” Staff Nurse Jayne Sherwin added “The team had a fantastic weekend in North Wales and thoroughly enjoyed the Snowdon climb. We are pleased to be able to give something back to the hospital and play a small...

Staff at Jenkins Bakery shops in Llanelli and the rest of South West Wales have collected a magnificent £3,100 for Cancer Research UK. The money was raised during a special fundraising fortnight when pink cup cakes were on sale at Jenkins Bakery shops. The company made a charity donation for every cake sold and customers added to the sum by making their own contributions. “The Pink campaign in our shops was a huge success,” said Jenkins Bakery area manager Fiona Snook. “Last year, more than £2500 was raised for the charity. "That was more than double what we raised the year before. "We are delighted that we have set a new record for fundraising for Cancer Research. "What's more, all the Jenkins staff had great fun doing it all. "Many members of staff dressed up in a pink theme and the shops were decorated to add to the party spirit. “Our loyal customers were, of course, fantastic and hugely supportive of the campaign with generous donations to Cancer Resear...

Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Learning Disabilities Service has benefited from the generosity of local charity The Megan and Trevor Griffiths Trust. Mr Gerald Cheetham, Honorary Treasurer and Mrs Paula Carpenter MBE, Trustee from the charity visited the team recently to present three iPads at a cost of £1790. Nigel Miller, Therapies Lead for the Learning Disabilities Service was on hand to accept the kind donation: “We are extremely thankful for the generous donation made by the Trust to support our services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. Communication is vital in maintaining an individual’s independence and these iPads will allow the service to assess people’s ability to use electronic communication equipment and help people to become independent more quickly.” The Megan and Trevor Griffiths Trust aims to help disabled people improve their quality of life and achieve greater independence. It was founded in 1990 by Trevor Griffiths to continue his late wi...

Cash boost for dementia club: St Clears’ Mayor Cllr Graham Edwards presents a cheque from the Town Council’s Community Chest to Reg Wyeth, chairman of the QT Club for people affected by dementia related conditions. Joining the mayor and Reg Wyeth are (l – r) Louise Miller, Jeanette Hooper, secretary Caroline Cookson, treasurer Mair Collinge and Jeff Gronow. The Taf Quality Time Club (the QT Club) provides a lively meeting point for families coping with dementia-related illnesses. The QT Club is a social club which provides entertainment and activities for those with dementia related illnesses and their carers. Membership is free and the atmosphere is very welcoming. The club meets on alternate Fridays at 2pm in the St Clears Boating Club.