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

With Wales’ historic UEFA Euro 2016 Championship campaign in France growing ever nearer, S4C will embark on a tour across Wales to spread the Euros excitement among supporters. And the TV tour will take in Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town's HQ in Richmond Park, Carmarthen. S4C will be showing live coverage of each of Wales’ group stage matches in June, but before they make the journey across the Channel, the presentation team will be touring football clubs across Wales. And with some former Wales international players in the line-up, club members are in for some frank, interesting discussions. The five events will take place at MBi Llandudno, Bangor City, Bala Town, Penrhyncoch and Carmarthen Town football clubs, where the S4C team will be talking football and kicking a ball or two. Presenter Dylan Ebenezer or the commentator Nic Parry will host the evenings, and they will be joined by ex-Wales internationals, Malcolm Allen, Iwan Roberts and Owain Tudur Jones, and sup...

Do you have a keen interest in sport? Do you watch programmes such as Sgorio, Clwb Rygbi and Club on S4C? If so, S4C would like to hear your opinion. The channel is holding a special Sports Survey featuring a variety of questions on its most popular sports programmes. There are also questions on how you watch these programmes, for example, on the television, the web or your mobile device, as well as asking you about your favourite sports. The survey should take no more than a few minutes, and you can answer in Welsh or in English. Sue Butler, S4C Sports Content Commissioner, said, “Our sports programmes form an important part of S4C’s schedule. Hearing the opinions of our viewers will be very useful to us as we look to plan the future of our service.” To take part in the Survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/arolwgchwaraeon ------------------- Rhowch eich barn yn Arolwg Chwaraeon S4C A oes gennych ddiddordeb mawr mewn chwaraeon? A ydych chi’n gwylio rhaglenni fel Sgori...

The ‘Parti Llwchwr’ ladies choir from Loughor have expressed a very big 'diolch' thank-you to members of the public who supported their campaign in the prestigious televised Côr Cymru (Choir of Wales) competition. The grand final of the competition took place at Aberystwyth Arts Centre. It was screened live on S4C, the Welsh fourth channel, with a public vote for the best choir running side by side with a verdict from the competition judges. “It was a very exciting time for us and a very proud moment for all the choristers,” said choir member Mari Moscrop. “We are only a small choir, but we won our way through the final. "We didn't get the nod from the judges on the night, but we were delighted to be the 'People's Choice' and win the telephone vote on the night. "That success is down to the huge amount of support we had from West Wales and all over the rest of Wales." There was a further feather in the choir's cap as musical directo...

The ‘Parti Llwchwr’ ladies choir from Loughor will be flying the flag for West Wales in the prestigious televised Côr Cymru (Choir of Wales) competition. The grand final of the competition takes place at Aberystwyth Arts Centre next weekend, Sunday, April 19. It will be screened live on S4C, the Welsh fourth channel, with a public vote for the best choir running side by side with a verdict from the competition judges. “It’s a very exciting time for us,” said choir member Mari Moscrop. “We are only a small choir, but we have won our way through the final and we are very proud and delighted at our achievement so far. “It would be the icing on the cake to win the competition and we are hoping for a massive amount of local support in the public vote. “We hope everyone gets behind us as the local West Wales choir and casts their vote for us in the final. “The competition final is live on S4C, so ‘excited’ doesn’t really cover it as far as our feelings go for the competition. We’re very ne...

Carmarthenshire Council is looking for four families who are up for taking part in some fun and games at the National Eisteddfod 'Maes' on Tuesday, August 5. Council staff are being joined by S4C’s Stwnsh Sadwrn presenter Tudur Phillips to put on a fun-packed family game show on the council stage with plenty of fantastic prizes up for grabs. The search is on for four family teams to take part in Sialens Cynnal y Cartref (Home Maintenance Challenge) – a competition which will see families compete in a series of challenges designed to test their team work. It’ll involve blindfolds, mental challenges, and possibly a bit of water.... Tudur said: “This is going to be a right laugh – I can’t wait to meet the families who will be taking part. We’ll have loads of fun, and with plenty of fantastic prizes up for grabs there’s going to be some very happy faces at the end of it.” The game show will run twice during the Cartrefi a Cymynedau (Homes and Communities) themed day on Tu...

Children at Bronglais Hospital now have a bright and colourful setting to be treated in thanks to Welsh TV channel S4C. S4C launched a national campaign to inject some of Cyw’s colourful world into children’s wards in hospitals across Wales. The scheme has already visited Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital and has now brightened up the children’s ward at Bronglais with pictures of Cyw and friends. Other wards in hospitals across Wales will be decorated in a similar way over the coming months. Director of Communications, Marketing and Partnerships at S4C, Garffild Lloyd Lewis hopes that the campaign will help lift children’s spirits when receiving treatment in Wales’s hospitals. “We hope that this new campaign will be a small contribution to the efforts made to ensure that time spent in hospitals isn’t too uncomfortable for children in Wales. We know that staff in wards across the country are working tirelessly to lift the children’s spirits everyday as they receive their treatme...

Carmarthen Bay Film Festival and S4C will host an event focusing on Welsh films as part of a celebration of the world of film in Wales and beyond. On Tuesday, 6 May a Welsh language day will be held at the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival – with a schedule packed with presentations, discussions and screenings of some of S4C's films and programmes. All of the day's events will take place in the Alexander Suite at the Stradey Park Hotel in the town of Llanelli. There will be a special screening of S4C's film, Y Syrcas, a unique film for all the family, set in 1848 telling the story of a young girl who is bewitched by the excitement of the travelling circus when it visits her small town in west Wales. There will be a chance to see more of the films nominated for the John Hefin Award, followed by a discussion session on commissioning and directing factual documentaries in the company of BAFTA Cymru award winning documentary film maker, Osian Williams. Next up is a screening of the ...

Potholes will take on a whole new dimension in Llanelli town centre next month. One measuring 20-feet by 10-feet will appear in Stepney Street. But council bosses have said there will be no need to panic – it’s an optical illusion. Armed with paint brushes 3D street artists will descend on Stepney Street creating the hole in the ground during the Spring Bank Holiday weekend on Saturday, May 24. Shoppers and visitors will be able to “look” into the hole with no danger of falling in. The optical illusion will be created by an S4C team promoting one of the new exciting programmes for children called Madron. Llanelli’s tourism and marketing manager Huw Parsons said: “It’s tremendous Llanelli’s ultra modern town centre is attracting this kind of attention. “Art of this nature commands a lot of attention and can cause quite a stir with even Jaws breaking out of the drainage system.” County executive board member for regeneration Cllr Meryl Gravell promised this was not another hole-digging...

S4C has launched a national campaign to inject some of Cyw’s colourful world into children’s wards in hospitals across Wales. Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital became the second hospital to have the Cyw treatment as Ward Cilgerran, the children’s ward, was decorated with pictures of Cyw and friends this week. The campaign started last December as pictures of characters from Cyw, S4C’s children’s service were put up on walls in Dewi Ward; the children’s ward at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor. Other wards in hospitals across Wales will be decorated in a similar way over the coming months. Director of Communications, Marketing and Partnerships at S4C, Garffild Lloyd Lewis hopes that the campaign will help lift children’s spirits when receiving treatment in Wales’s hospitals. “We hope that this new campaign will be a small contribution to the efforts made to ensure that time spent in hospitals isn’t too uncomfortable for children in Wales. We know that staff in wards across the country...

Carmarthenshire is celebrating the good news that the University of Wales Trinity Saint David has been successful in its bid to bring S4C to Carmarthen. County Council Leader Cllr Kevin Madge said it was great news for the town, and for the area as a whole. The bid, led by UWTSD, was for a purpose built complex opposite the campus in College Road in Carmarthen called Yr Egin , which is expected to be up and running by 2018. Cllr Madge said: “Trinity put forward a very strong case for S4C to make its new home in Carmarthen and we are delighted that they have been successful. “I would like to pay tribute to Dr Medwin Hughes who has done outstanding work on this, he deserves special praise for securing this investment.” “The move will mean the creation of around 150 jobs and is a real boost to the local economy. “It is also a major boost for the Welsh language , providing good quality job opportunities for Welsh speakers. “We are delighted with this outcome which will provide a cataly...

S4C and BBC Cymru Wales have welcomed the launch of a brand-new award for excellence in the production of Welsh language film.  The Carmarthen Bay Film Festival is to award the Gwobr John Hefin Award for the best Welsh language short film. It can either be a live action narrative fiction or a factual report on a chosen subject or idea. The film’s final running time must be more than two minutes and less than 45 minutes including credits, if any. The entry fee per submission is only £15. Entrants will need to submit their film to the festival, which is to be held in Llanelli in May 2014.  The festival website is at - http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/   The deadline is March 14. Festival founder and chief executive Kelvin Guy said: "The aim of this new award is to actively encourage the submission of Welsh language short films amongst up and coming filmmakers and to give them a platform to screen their work to a wider audience. "We’d also lik...

The Hywel Girls’ Choir & Hywel Boy Singers will be kicking off an exciting year of song with an appearance on S4C’s Noson Lawen on Saturday 25 January before performing with singing sensation Blake at Y Ffwrnes on February 1. The choir has also launched its 2014 Performance Singing Scholarships for children aged 8-14 years old. Other performances for the Hywel Choir include performing at the H G Wells Centre in Surrey, the ever popular Last Night of the Proms with the British Sinfonietta Orchestra at Y Ffwrnes, performances with the Pontarddulais Male Choir, a summer recording with SAIN, singing at Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall, the Wales Festival of Remembrance at St David’s Hall Cardiff and Swansea’s Grand Theatre with Only Boys Aloud amongst others. The Hywel Choir’s Amadeus Academy will participate in the Llanelli Choral Society’s performance of Saint Nicholas. The choir is also welcoming new choristers to attend rehearsals in preparation for its exciting concert season. A warm...

Ammanford's Alexandra Roach and Swansea’s Cerys Matthews (educated in Llanelli) and will be among the stars taking part in S4C's New Year's Eve show. Matthew Rhys and Bryn Terfel will also feature in the show which looks back at 2013. The Heno and Prynhawn Da presentation team, led by Angharad Mair, will look back at the major events of the year, chronicling both the successes and heartbreaks of a memorable year. See link for Carmarthen Journal story.

 Heard the one about the Welsh comedians who were let loose in the Eisteddfod Pavilion? Well, you’re about to hear it again as the Welsh fourth channel S4C broadcasts a special comedy gala night staged at the 2012 Vale of Glamorgan National Eisteddfod. The gala night was billed at the time as ‘the biggest night in Welsh language comedy history’. Now, ‘Gala Comedi’ is being show on TV for the first time (9pm Saturday, July 6) as the highlight of S4C's Comedy Week. The comedy night represented a major breakthrough for the comedians taking part and a bold move by National Eisteddfod organisers. Daniel Glyn (pictured top) was one of the organisers and performers at the gala. He said, “It used to be said that the National Eisteddfod was not the place for stand-up comedy - it didn't appeal to the traditional audience. But, we always doubted whether that was true.” The theory was put to the test by comedians Tudur Owen, Ifan Tregaron, Gary Slaymaker, Dewi Pws Morris, Phil ...

Cor Meibion Llanelli were at the Ffwrnes theatre in Llanelli last night, recording the Noson Lawen programme for the Welsh Channel 4, S4C. The programme will be broadcast later in the year. Photo slideshow below -

The recent launch of the LoCooker at Parc y Scarlets, as featured on the S4C Heno magazine show -

Burry Port multi-millionaire Kevin Green will be on Welsh language TV again this evening. The S4C (Welsh Channel 4) magazine show Heno (Tonight) will be screening a feature on the centenary of Aston Martin cars. Kevin said: "Those who know me, will appreciate that owning an Aston Martin was one of my life ambitions. "I am fortunate to be the proud owner of an Aston. Reporter Patricia Lloyd-Evans came along to interview me and she was delighted to get a 'spin' in the car. "Those of you without access to S4C, can see the item on the Clic website (after broadcast) - http://www.s4c.co.uk/clic/e_index.shtml "It goes out at 7pm tonight."

South Wales entrepreneur and millionaire Kevin Green is scheduled to appear live on the 'Heno' Welsh language TV magazine show on S4C (the Welsh fourth channel) tonight. He will be talking about his new wealth app for mobile phones and about building wealth. The show goes on air from the Tinopolis Studios in Llanelli town centre. The show does carry sub-titles for those who don't speak Welsh. Weblink - http://www.heno.tv/en.aspx

Watched 'Burton: Y Gyfrinach'  last night. So slow that I thought it was going backwards at one stage - http://ning.it/wKDBd3

30 jobs to go at Tinopolis in Llanelli | This is South Wales Llanelli TV production company Tinopolis has been hit with more than 30 redundancies. The company has announced it is to shut its studio in Caernarfon, North Wales, and is also being forced to make staff redundant at its Llanelli headquarters following an S4C programme budget cut.