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

A host of activities are planned at Carmarthenshire markets to celebrate Welsh Week. To mark the event, which starts on Saturday, February 25, the markets will be decked out in Welsh flags. There will be free local produce tasting, arts and crafts making for children and Welsh music playing to entertain the crowds. On St David’s Day, Wednesday, March 1, shoppers will be treated to free Cawl tasting during the morning in Carmarthen and Llanelli. Scarlets players will also make appearances in Llanelli and visitors will be entertained by Cor Curiad singing outside The Teapot Café. Various activities are taking place across Carmarthen town with the annual Gwyl Dewi Parade starting from Carmarthen Park at 10am on Saturday. The indoor market has everything you need to celebrate St David’s Day – from traditional Welsh outfits for school children to other Welsh-themed accessories. And by supporting your local traders you can also pick up good quality, local ingredients at affordable price...

Come and celebrate St David’s Day in Ammanford. A wealth of activities have been organised on the day by Menter Bro Dinefwr in conjunction with Carmarthenshire County Council’s economic development division and Communities First, as well as a window display competition which will be judged beforehand. Menter Bro Dinefwr has arranged for local schools will be performing on a stage in Quay Street throughout the day from 10am to 2pm. There will be a surprise event as well as a Twmpath on the street. Other events include a Peppa Pig theme session at Ismooth Café and reading activities in the Library. Communities First has organised a marquee with various exhibitions. Businesses have been given the opportunity of putting on a special offer for the day. A window display competition will be judged by Huw Rees (or Huw Fash as everyone knows him) on Tuesday February 28. There will be a trophy for the best window display. Carmarthenshire County Council executive board member for regeneration a...

Latest news from Swansea Bay Business Club - St David's Day Lunch with Scott Quinnell, Former Welsh International Rugby League and Rugby Union Player Our St David’s Day lunch this year will be at Parc y Scarlets where we will be joined by our guest speaker, Welsh rugby legend, Scott Quinnell. The lunch will be a chance for us to celebrate our patron saint and will also provide a fantastic networking opportunity for prominent members of the region’s business community. The event will take place at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli on the 1st March 2017 at 12:15pm for a 1pm lunch. Bookings can be made for full tables or individual seats for networking purposes. Tickets cost £40 for a member and £45.50 for non-members. This includes a three-course lunch. To book your place please click here . Please be aware that bookings for this event will close at midnight on Wednesday 22 February or as and when the remaining 30 spaces sell out. If you have any further questions please e-mail even...

There's a special group ticket offer for the St David's Day concert with Aled Jones on Tuesday 1st March, 7:30pm, The Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot. Aled Jones has been a household name since the 1980s and will forever be remembered as one of the world's most successful boy sopranos. Aled continues to combine a successful broadcasting, acting and singing career. He has taken part in sell-out shows, written three books and continues to combine a successful broadcasting, acting and singing career. The theatre has a special group ticket offer. For every 10 tickets bought, you get the 11th ticket free on all group sales. Tickets: £26.88 For further information or to book your tickets contact our Box Office on 01639 763214

Harpist Claire Jones returns to her West Wales roots to help launch a new album celebrating her recovery from ME. ‘Journey: Harp To Soothe The Soul’ SIGNING AT TESCO, SWANSEA 12pm SUNDAY 1st MARCH Album release date - St. David’s Day – March 1st 2015 Claire Jones will be returning to her West Wales roots to launch a very personal new album ‘Journey’ on St David’s Day, with a special signing and in store performance of some of the tracks from the album at Tesco in Swansea at 12pm. Shoppers at the store can relax and take off the pressure of the weekly grocery shop by listening in and enjoying to this music to soothe the soul. Since taking up the role of HRH the Prince of Wales’ official harpist in 2007, Claire Jones’ feet have hardly touched the ground. She’s performed regularly at royal and state functions, at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in April 2011 and became a household name through the international media frenzy surrounding it. In September 2012, Clair...

School children across Carmarthenshire will be celebrating St David’s Day by tucking in to a traditional Welsh meal. To commemorate the Patron Saint of Wales, the county’s catering department are preparing to dish up for over 19,000 bowls of homemade cawl with bread roll and cheese on Tuesday (March 2). Healthy eating mascot Dylan the Dragon will be making a special visit to one school to tell children about the importance of healthy eating and as a treat the youngsters will be given a traditional Welshcake, Teisen Lap and custard. Catering Services Manager Sandra Weigel said: “It is important that we help celebrate this great occasion with a traditional menu. “There’s nothing better than a healthy bowl of warm cawl to help get you in the spirit of St David’s Day, and we know that it always goes down a treat with the children.” School meals cost £2.20 a day, and pupils can enjoy a main meal and pudding which has been carefully measured to ensure nutritional content. Each school meal ...

St David’s Day concert, Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli: Treorchy Male Choir, Côr Lleisiau’r Cwm, Samuel Morris and compere Garry Owen. Loud Applause Productions in association with Theatrau Sir Gar. Compere Garry Owen had it right: We’re ahead of the game in Llanelli. Ymlaen (Forward) Llanelli and all that . . . It takes a certain amount of swagger and style to stage a St David’s Day concert well ahead of the actual event. But, Llanelli is a place brimful with ‘hwyl’ and making this concert work was never going to be a problem. It flowed like a river in full flood. Dramatic, inspiring and surprising. It was something of a surprise to learn that this was only the second appearance in Llanelli by the famous Treorchy Male Voice. A surprise also to see ‘debut day’ conductor Ryan Wood guiding the 50-plus choristers through a challenging programme which set a high performance benchmark for the evening. There were old favourites such as Calon Lan, Ar Lan y Mor and Myfanwy. But there were also pl...

Come and celebrate St David’s Day at Carmarthenshire’s markets. From cawl tasters to face painting, there’s lots going on in Llanelli and Carmarthen indoor markets to celebrate the weekend long. On Friday, February 27 between 11am-1pm at Carmarthen Indoor Market there will be cawl tasters and recipe cards detailing where you can purchase the ingredients directly from the market; free facepainting and traditional music. On Saturday, February 28 at Llanelli Indoor Market you can find free facepainting between 11am-1pm as well as a free St David’s Day picture at our green screen area in front of the Teapot cafe all day. Celebrations continue in Llanelli Indoor Market on Monday, March 2 with cawl tasters, recipe cards and traditional music. Radio Carmarthenshire will be broadcasting from Carmarthen and Llanelli markets on the Friday and Monday between 11am-1pm. We will also be announcing the winner of our ‘create a radio advert’ competition for primary schools. Ysgol Dewi Sant, Ysgol Lla...

St David’s Day celebrations at Red Kite Law’s offices helped raise more than £300 for the Marie Curie cancer charity. Staff at the legal firm marked the occasion by wearing either yellow or red to work. They decked the reception areas out with daffodils and Welsh flags and laid on Welsh Cakes for customers. “It was a splendid effort by all concerned,” said Red Kite Law partner David Sangster. “The staff really got into the spirit of St David’s Day and in doing so raised a very commendable sum for the Marie Curie cancer charity. “We topped up the contributions from staff with a donation from the Red Kite Law charity committee, raising a grand total of £318.68. Obviously, there is a very big ‘diolch yn fawr’ to staff for their efforts.” Photo: Staff at Red Kite Law raising money for the Marie Curie cancer charity on St David’s Day. Red Kite Law has 13 partners and a total headcount of 81, with seven offices spread across Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The senior management team con...

St David’s Day Concert at Ffwrnes. A Loud Applause production featuring The Three Welsh Tenors, the combined Côr Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Choir) and Bridgend Male Choir, Parti Llwchwr, compere Garry Owen. It may be that the TV company next door to Llanelli’s swish new Ffwrnes Theatre missed a trick by not televising this St David’s Day concert. Tickets were like hot cakes and those lucky enough to get a seat were rewarded with a dazzling evening full of Welsh passion and hwyl. This was an evening worthy of recording for posterity and a great showcase for Wales as the land of song. The Three Welsh Tenors - Aled Hall, Alun Rhys-Jenkins and Rhys Meirion – never disappoint, but they were never going to be able to steal the show in the face of stiff competition from the combined choirs of Côr Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Choir) and Bridgend Male Choir. They teamed up with the choirs for the finale of Tydi a Roddaist – ‘Amens’ which provided a spine-tingling climax to a great eve...

The Jenkins Bakery has released details of its St David’s Day range of products. "There's something for everyone to enjoy at on St David’s Day, March 1," said the Jenkins Bakery's operations director Russell Jenkins. "Our staff always enjoy producing new ideas for our patron saint’s day and I'm sure our customers will enjoy sampling the products we have on offer." The range of products includes - BARA BRITH £2.95 Bara Brith is a traditional fruit loaf made with our own rich dough containing top quality sultanas and currants with mixed peel and mixed spices. This will be packed with a decorated bow. TEISEN LAP £3.00 Our traditional Welsh farmhouse cake which contains honey, brown sugar, mixed spices, currants and sultanas which is topped with streusel topping. WELSH CUPCAKE £0.85 Our top quality sponge, individually decorated with fondant icing and daffodil. TEISEN LAP MINI LOAF CAKE £1.25 Made with our Teisen lap cake mix and new for 2013 WELSH PAS...

Cor Meibion Llanelli did a 'mini tour of West Wales' over the St David's Day weekend. They visited Coleg Sir Gar's Graig campus and the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Llanarthne. Pictures on this slideshow -

  The Jenkins Bakery has released details of its St David’s Day range of products. "There's something for everyone to enjoy at on St David’s Day, March 1" said the Jenkins Bakery's operations director Russell Jenkins. "Our staff always enjoy producing new ideas for our patron saint’s day and I'm sure our customers will enjoy sampling the products we have on offer." The range of products includes - BARA BRITH £2.95 Bara Brith is a traditional fruit loaf made with our own rich dough containing top quality sultanas and currants with mixed peel and mixed spices. This will be packed with a decorated bow. TEISEN LAP £3.00 Our traditional Welsh farmhouse cake which contains honey, brown sugar, mixed spices, currants and sultanas which is topped with streusel topping. WELSH CUPCAKE £0.85 Our top quality sponge, individually decorated with fondant icing and daffodil TEISEN LAP MINI LOAF CAKE £1.25 Made with our Teisen lap cake mix and new for 2...

The guest speaker at Llanelli Rotary Club's 'St David's Day' dinner at the Stradey Park Hotel on Wednesday night will be Simon Easterby, Scarlets coach and former Scarlets, Ireland & British Lions player. More than 30 visiting Rotarians from Morriston Rotary will also be attending.

Hywel Dda Health Board is hosting a series of events in the run up to St David’s Day to celebrate the use of Welsh language. The Health Board actively promotes the use of the Welsh language by staff, patients and visitors and wherever it is practically possible endeavours to provide a bilingual service. To help with this a new e-learning package has been developed for staff – the package has been created in two sections – the first on Welsh Language Awareness and the second part is the Language Lab to help staff learn Welsh. As part of the event they will be also promoting the bi-lingual skills strategy. The aim of the skills strategy is to work towards ensuring that the Health Board will have sufficient number of staff with the appropriate language skills to conduct a healthcare service to the public bilingually. During the road shows, staff will also be given the opportunity to find our about the Welsh Government Strategic Framework More than just words which Health Boards are expect...

Children in schools across Carmarthenshire have enjoyed a traditional Welsh lunch in celebration of St David’s Day. Carmarthenshire’s Catering Service served 19,000 bowls of hearty Welsh Cawl, a traditional broth, packed full of vitamin-rich vegetables. The meal was followed by Teisen Lap – a moist shallow cake laden with sultanas - and fruit juice. Catering Service manager, Sandra Weigel, said: “It is always a pleasure to see the children enjoying a traditional Welsh dish as part of their St David’s Day celebrations. “Cawl is always a favourite, and scores high on our nutritional scoring system, which ensures every meal served throughout the year is healthy and well-balanced.” Carmarthenshire’s Catering Service, part of Carmarthenshire County Council, ensures that children have access to nutritionally-balanced meals, with food that is sustainably sourced.

Tenants at council-run Sheltered Housing Schemes across Carmarthenshire have enjoyed a bowl of Cawl and a catch-up as part of the St David’s Day celebrations. Hundreds of tenants joined in the fun on March 1 – many of them as part of luncheon clubs that operate out of some schemes. Carmarthenshire County Council operates several Sheltered Schemes across the county, providing a mixture of self-contained bungalows and flats for tenants aged over 60. Each scheme benefits from a communal area where tenants can enjoy shared meals and entertainment should they choose. Every scheme is also staffed by a Sheltered Scheme Officer who provides support for tenants and organises entertainment and group activities.

Off to London with Cor Meibion Llanelli for their St David's Day concert in Richmond.

Off to the St David's Day Dinner for Llanelli Rotary Club at the Stradey. Lord Leslie Griffiths (Rev Dr) of Burry Port is the guest speaker.

Evan-Evans – St David’s Ale (4.3% ABV) | Evan Evans Brewery : Check this out: the Evan-Evans brewery's St David's Ale. A full bodied Spring beer with light spiced Aroma and clean fruity Palate. An Ale to celebrate the patron saint of Wales.