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

For more than 100 years one family has been selling cockles and laverbread to people in the Amman Valley. Liz Williams of Gower Coast Seafoods can be found at Ammanford Outdoor Market every Friday - as she has done for around 20 years and her husband's family before her. The business was started by Liz's mother-in-law Miriam Williams from Penclawdd who started selling cockles, with her mother, in Pantyffynnon, Ammanford, in 1912 when she was just eight-years-old. "She used to get there by train," said Liz. "Her uncles went to live in Pantyffynnon because they had work in the coal mines, and that is why she ended up going there to sell." As Miriam got older she sold further afield - to Brynamman, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and even as far as Trap - travelling by bus. "Miriam would get on the bus with her baskets of cockles and bags of shell cockles. She would ask the conductor to stop the bus at certain places and he would then place a basket of cockles and a ...

Ammanford’s Christmas Lights Switch-on will take place on Saturday November 17 in the town’s Quay Street. Not only is Father Christmas coming to town but Ammanford is hoping to gather the largest ever gathering of Santa’s Elves. The Switch-on event has been organised collaboratively by Carmarthenshire County Council, Ammanford Town Council and Gail Jones, liaison officer for Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd, the main contractor for the regeneration works on Quay Street. The event is based around the annual Christmas lights switch-on event, however, this year the event has been brought forward by three weeks and the day changed to a Saturday to encourage more participation by children. The decorative Christmas lights have been supplied and erected by Alun Griffiths as part of their commitment to the community. Carmarthenshire Radio advertising is currently on air. Radio Carmarthenshire will control the stage events and is providing some of the entertainment. Stage entertainment will be ...

Ammanford residents and traders have had the chance to see plans for revitalising the centre of the town. Quay Street will be the subject of a major revamp over the next six months which council chiefs believe will help to draw more shoppers into the town. The recent Ammanford on Track public exhibition in the Pensioners Hall in Quay Street, Ammanford, showcased the regeneration works proposed for Quay Street. The exhibition was well attended, with a wide range of people commenting on the scheme. The project - part of the local authority's ambitious Ammanford Regeneration programme - is designed to make the street feel more modern with paviours and street lighting being replaced, together with new seating and additional CCTV. Staff from Carmarthenshire County Council and Alun Griffiths Contractors were on hand to answer any questions. Traders who attended were shown how the scheme will be phased and were informed of the length of time their properties might be affected. John Winney...