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

Three popular Welsh comedians are planning to add extra mirth to the inaugural Merthyr Comedy Festival in April. The ‘Comedy and Cwtshes’ event at Dowlais Theatre will be held on Saturday, April 14. Tickets are on sale now via Redhouse – and are going fast. The evening will feature classic stand-up comedy, with Phil Evans – the man with more pop than a bottle of Corona – in the vanguard of a three-part attack on the funny bones. The evening will also feature BBC broadcaster Gary Slaymaker and another seasoned radio performer in Aled Richards. “I always have to watch my words when describing Gary Slaymaker, but it’s fair to say we are three ‘big’ comedy performers in every sense of the word,” said Phil. “The Apocalypse has its three horsemen, but Welsh comedy has its three joybringers, who promise to bring lorry loads of laughs to the first Merthyr Comedy Festival.” Spread over two days and around 10 different venues in the town, the festival will showcase a huge range of co...

You've probably heard about this by now. The guys at the Cadbury's advertising agency have managed to use shots of Llanelli branded as 'Merthyr Tydfil'. It's about 53 seconds in . . .

A Merthyr couple have marked their first wedding anniversary by taking on a trek in aid of Healing The Wounds. Denese and Gary Jones were joined by four friends for the 40-mile walk which took around 15 hours to complete. The pair, who married on May 18 last year, said they wanted to give something back to the community and helping Welsh Armed Forces charity Healing The Wounds was the ideal way to do it. “Everyone asked what we wanted to do for our anniversary and this was it,” said Denese. “We wanted to give back to the boys and girls who do so much for everybody else. “Six of us walked 40 miles and two of the team did 20 miles and had ankle problems so had to go back. The rest of us managed to finish. It took us 15 hours and our feet are painful but it’s well worth it to think we can do a small bit to help. “People think we are a bit mad, but we enjoyed every stage of doing the walk. And everybody has been brilliant with their sponsorship. We think Healing the Wounds is a fantastic o...

On Sunday, October 17, the people of Merthyr are being invited to share their memories of watching on television some of the historic events that took place between 1950 and 2000. These memories will provide the basis for ‘Media and Memory in Wales 1950 – 2000’, a major new study into the influence of television on family life in Wales during the second half of the 20th century, “the age of television”. Over the coming months Dr Iwan Morus and Dr Jamie Medhurst from Aberystwyth University will also be interviewing people in Wrexham, Caernarfon, and Carmarthen about their memories of watching these historic events and how they reflect their sense of belonging and identity. They will be in Merthyr as part of the BBC Cymru Wales Roadshow at the Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. on Sunday 17th October. The historical events covered by the study are: The Coronation of Elizabeth II (1953), the drowning of the Tryweryn valley (1950s), the Aberfan disaster (1966), the inv...