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

Lucy Morris (Partner and Head of the Commercial and Agricultural Property Team) and Paul James (Partner and Head of the Company and Commercial Team) of Redkite Law solicitors, have each made the final list of the top 35 business women and men under 35 in Wales. “We are both absolutely delighted to have been selected for the 35 under 35 list” said Lucy. “The fact that two of us have made the list is a real credit to both Redkite Solicitors and also our clients. "We pride ourselves on being experts in our field and being on the list is a real boost.” Each year, the Western Mail regional newspaper and the Wales Online website draw up a prestigious list of 35 of the highest-flying business and professional men and women in Wales under the age of 35 who have impressed with their achievement and the contribution to Wales' economy and public life. “We love the work we do and enjoy helping our commercial clients develop and grow their businesses, so to be recognised for this i...

Details of the Institute of Welsh Affairs Western Mail Business Awards 2012 have been released. Emma Brennan, events manager at the IWA, said: "We must celebrate those Welsh achievements in order to highlight further opportunity and point the way to a brighter future. "With this in mind the Institute of Welsh Affairs and Western Mail have joined forces again this year to promote the primary national business awards scheme for Wales - the Welsh National Business Awards. "These awards will recognise and honour the breadth of business achievement in Wales, in all its variety, with nine special categories. "The following categories close on the 21st September 2012 - Company of the Year <£10m – sponsored by ACCA Cymru Wales New Startup Company of the Year – sponsored by Gocompare.com Go Green Environmental Awards – sponsored by The Waterloo Foundation Creative Marketing Award – sponsored by Orchard Media & Events Group Best use of foreign languages in Busines...

The search is on for supporters and sponsors of the IWA / Western Mail Business Awards 2012. The awards are being held in association with PwC. In 2011 Institute of Welsh Affairs and Western Mail joined forces to launch a new national awards scheme - Business Awards for Wales. The awards scheme is designed to recognise and honour the achievements of Welsh businesses in all their variety. Categories cover all aspects of business activity and entries are sought from all business sectors right across Wales. The award scheme will launch in May and the awards ceremony will be in November 2012. The cut off date for sponsorship is Monday 30th April 2012. Sponsorship opportunities start at £1,000 + VAT. For information and details, contact - Emma Brennan, Events Manager, Institute of Welsh Affairs, 4 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9LJ T: 029 2066 0822 | F: 029 2023 3741 | E: emmabrennan@iwa.org.uk | www.iwa.org.uk

Llanelli's Eifion Thomas was featured in the Western Mail's My Cultural Weekend column yesterday. Here is what he had to say . . .  As any musical director knows, there is a balance between what you would like to happen and what actually happens. So it is with a cultural weekend . . . One Saturday morning you are busy putting together Handel’s Messiah with three choirs - Côr Baroc Llanelli, Llandudno’s Côr Cymysg Dyffryn Conwy and Côr Glandulais from Pontarddulais. The next Saturday, you find you have a free weekend and you wonder what to do with it . . . Weekends are rarely ‘free’. In fact, last night (Friday) I was busy immersing myself in our rich Welsh musical heritage by performing at a Gymanfa Ganu at Grove Place Chapel in Port Talbot. Rest and relaxation on Saturday starts with a stroll around Parc Howard in Llanelli, a short walk from my front door. The historic park mansion house contains a museum which may be Llanelli’s best-kept secret. Check out the harmonium wi...

Smashing picture story about comic Phil Evans and his upcoming Pontardawe gig in the Western Mail arts section today. For details about the gig, see - http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/comedy-and-cwtshes-in-pontardawe.html

Nice piece about the Evan Evans brewery in the Western Mail newspaper today.

BBC News - Journalists' union warns Western Mail 'could go weekly' A journalists' union has claimed the Western Mail could become a weekly newspaper. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) speculated that Wales' national paper could cease daily publication "in a relatively short space of time". The paper's publisher Trinity Mirror said it had "absolutely no plans" to take the paper weekly.

Western Mail article featuring Simon Buckley and the Evan-Evans brewery - http://ning.it/rdFXZU

Llandeilo brewer Simon Buckley featured in an excellent article on the rise in the fortunes of real ale in the Western Mail today.

Catching up on work - story and pic, Nigel Roberts joins Clay Shaw Butler team in the Western Mail on Wednesday.

Splendid feature (and picture) on the new Harry Buckley ale in the Western Mail today. The ale is being produced by the Evan-Evans brewery in Llandeilo. See previous post - http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-beer-celebrates-eight-generations.html See Western Mail/Media Wales story - http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news//2010/11/15/harry-gets-his-own-beer-at-the-age-of-just-four-months-91466-27657987/?campaign=Wales_email_newsam:20101115

There was a nice review of Warrior (the popular bottled ale from the Evan-Evans brewery in Llandeilo) featured in the Western Mail weekend magazine yesterday.

WalesOnline - News - Columnists - Special? Different? Unique? Why on Earth would a town want to be like that? The Western Mail columnist hits the target again.

Just sent this off - As if the result wasn't bad enough, why do we have to put up with Eddie Butler as the commentator on BBC Wales? 'What the Butler saw' isn't quite what the spectator sees. He gets names wrong and makes ham-fisted attempts to wax lyrical. Is it any wonder that many of us are now opting for the TV mute button and tuning in to the Gareth Charles commentary on Radio Wales instead?