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

Roger Hunt of Cymru Christmas Trees was interviewed by Swansea Bay TV about the Welsh Christmas Tree Cooperative.

It was a case of kind-hearted contractor Phil Rees to the rescue when the team putting up Kidwelly's Christmas Tree hit a snag. The placing of Kidwelly's main Christmas Tree near St Mary's Church was delayed last week due to the high winds. And when the winds died down, Cymru Christmas Trees owner Roger Hunt discovered another hiccup to his tree installation plans. "It's no-one's fault, but when we arrived on site we found a skip blocking access to the tree site. "Workmen have been busy working on premises nearby and, to be fair to them, they weren't to know we needed access to the site. "In the meantime, the town council had put up the festive lights, so we had to put our thinking caps on to find a way of easing the Christmas Tree into place without snagging on the lights. "I went on social media and appealed for anyone with a spare teleloader, a mechanical lifting device. "To our delight Phil Rees, of M4 Trailers in Cross ...

A Carmarthenshire businessman has stepped it to save a popular festive contest for schools with the donation of a 20 Christmas trees. The popular Christmas Tree Decorating Competition, held annually at the National Botanic Garden and featuring hundreds of local schoolchildren, was thrown into doubt when the Garden’s supply of trees disappeared. But Roger Hunt, who owns and runs the company Cymru Christmas Trees and a massive plantation of 10,000 trees near to the Garden, has made a very special Christmas gift of 12 six-foot trees to ensure the competition goes ahead as planned – on Thursday December 4. Education development officer at the Garden, Nancy Hardy said: “We are very grateful to Roger. It is a fabulous gesture and came just in the nick of time to save this special day in which hundreds of local schoolchildren take part.” Mr Hunt said: “As a major supplier of Christmas trees, I am delighted to be able to help the National Botanic Garden with this competition. “We are part o...

There isn’t a hat stand in Roger Hunt’s office; but if there was, it would be full. Businessman, entrepreneur, Christmas tree grower, sheep farmer, scrap metal dealer and football club supporter . . . the CV is getting longer every year. “There’s a joke doing the rounds that the only person busier than me at Christmas is ‘Sion Corn’, old Father Christmas himself,” laughs Hunt. Pay a visit to his Christmas tree plantation overlooking the Tywi Valley and just up the road from Y Polyn restaurant and you’ll appreciate it isn’t so much a joke as a statement of fact. The joke is told in an accent which reveals his London and East England roots. The 60-year-old former chairman of Football League side Cambridge United has travelled a long way to put his new roots down near the National Botanic Gardens. “My football links can confuse many people,” said Hunt, who spends much of his spare time helping on the executive committee of Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town. “I can go to footb...

The Cymru Christmas Trees website is now up and running - http://www.cymru-christmas-trees.co.uk/

Two businessmen who have the ‘Santa’ spirit have come to the rescue of a long-running festive children's competition at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. The Carmarthen Journal reported last week that the cry ‘timber’ had been heard over a competition which challenges primary schools to decorate a Christmas tree. The Forestry Commission was unable to provide any Christmas trees and Garden spokesman David Hardy last week issued a public appeal for trees. His call was swiftly answered by members of the new Welsh Cooperative of Christmas Tree Growers. “We couldn’t stand by and leave the axe hanging over a competition which is greatly valued by the schoolchildren who take part,” said cooperative spokesman Roger Hunt, who lives within tree-felling distance of the Garden. Mr Hunt added: “Two of the partners in the cooperative have come to the rescue – Cymru Christmas Trees and Gower Fresh Christmas Trees. “Cymru Christmas Trees is my business and Gower Fresh Christmas Trees is owned ...