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

Babs, the racing car famous for breaking the land speed record at Pendine in April 1926, will return to the sands tomorrow (Thursday, April 28) to mark her 90th anniversary. Driven by John Parry-Thomas, Babs reached a speed of 170.624 mph - smashing the records set by Malcolm Campbell at Pendine in 1925 and Henry Segrave at Southport in March 1926. Tragically Parry-Thomas was killed the following year attempting to win back the title, taken again by Malcolm Campbell in his Blue Bird Sunbeam in February 1927, and Babs was buried in the dunes. In 1969, the car was exhumed and brought back to life by automobile restorer Owen Wyn Owen, and to the delight of many is displayed each summer at Carmarthenshire County Council’s Museum of Speed at Pendine. Now, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Parry-Thomas’s successful land speed record run of April 1926, Babs’s wheels will take to the sands once again. Spectators can watch her run on the beach at 2.30pm on Thursday before she goes on publi...

Residents have helped to clean up Pendine beach after the recent storms. Around 30 local people, including adults and children, gave up Saturday morning to clean up the debris washed up by the recent stormy weather. The volunteers filled around 30 bags and three wheelie bins in just a couple of hours. The clean up was organised by Morfa Bay Adventure, which is based in the village, with the council’s Street Scene section providing litter-pickers, bags and gloves. Gethin Jones from Morfa Bay Adventure said: “We carry out a lot of activities on the beach so it made sense that we co-ordinated it, but it was arranged at very short notice and a lot of people didn’t even know about it and more would have come along to help if they had known. “But it was great to see the community come together, Pendine was hit pretty badly. The storm washed up a lot of stuff, we had lots of fishing net stuck to railings, lots of containers and plastic, mainly bulky stuff so we couldn’t bag it all and had to ...

A man has been fined £75 for failing to clean up after his dog on Pendine beach. Council environmental enforcement officers were on patrol in the area following complaints of dog fouling from the community council. A man was seen not cleaning up his dog’s mess and was issued with a fixed penalty notice as a result. Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court and a fine of up to £1,000. Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones hopes the fine will help to get the message across that anyone caught not picking up after their pets will be fined. He said: “Pendine beach is popular with families and children and dog mess left anywhere is a serious health risk. “Most dog owners are responsible and pick up after their pets; however, there is a small minority who do not and we will not hesitate to fine them.” A major campaign is underway to clean up Carmarthenshire and residents are being urged to play their part and help the council c...

Love this video of animation shoot at Pendine sands - http://vimeo.com/27019750

Works totalling £150,000 have been carried out to strengthen the Carmarthenshire coastline from Loughor to Pendine. Members of the council’s Environment Scrutiny Committee have visited key sites along the coast to view the various schemes which have been carried out over the last year. It is part of the committee’s ongoing monitoring of the threat posed by coastal erosion. First stop was Loughor where an £80,000 scheme has been completed to strengthen existing defences including toe armour. Next the members were taken to Machynys where £10,000 has been spent on the maintenance and management of existing defences. Works of £30,000 have been carried out at Llanelli beach which includes the management and maintenance of defended coastline including dune management. The committee’s final stop was at Pendine where a £30,000 scheme has been undertaken including the installation of transitional works into eroding dune to prevent erosion to the promenade and Museum of Speed. Chairman of the En...

Pendine Sands, the home of World land speed records, is to feature in the promotion of the Vauxhall Insignia VXR in September. They say in the 1920’s the VXR would have been heralded the fastest car in the world. That was when on the fine miles-long Pendine Sands Malcolm Campbell and JG Parry-Thomas heroically shifted the World Land Speed Record from 146.1mph to 174.22mph. More than 80 years Vauxhall return to Pendine Sands – now a Carmarthenshire County Council managed beach and part Ministry of Defence firing rangein what they describe as an eclectic mix – with a car that would have taken the record from Malcolm Campbell in 1924. Vauxhall drive the VXR along the very stretch where the records were set (with all necessary permissions and clearances), albeit a little more slowly, and reflect on the superhuman efforts that saw Campbell and Bluebird into the record books but Parry-Thomas to an untimely end. The Vauxhall film crew visited the Pendine Museum of Speed and see Parry-Thomas...