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

Côr Meibion Llanelli continued their 50th anniversary celebrations with a special concert at Parliament in Westminster, London. The choristers were invited to sing before a select VIP audience by Llanelli MP Nia Griffith. The MP treated the choristers to a tour of Parliament before their concert. The event saw 17-year-old Ysgol y Strade pupil Osian Bowen make his performance debut with the choir. “It was an exceptional evening and an experience worthy of the choir’s 50th anniversary celebrations,” said choir chairman Mel Harries. “The experience of visiting Westminster and being so welcomed by a distinguished audience of peers, MPs and distinguished guests from the London Welsh Society will live long in the memory for choristers.” The choir and their distinguished musical director Eifion Thomas were officially welcomed to Parliament by Nia Griffith and Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith MP. They were formally thanked for their concert by Baroness Jenny Randerson, junior ...

The Welsh Government has turned down the opportunity to protect communities from the threat of fracking, and will instead follow the pro-fracking lead from Westminster. The Minister for Planning Carl Sargeant could introduce stricter planning controls on drilling for shale gas, but in a letter to Friends of the Earth Cymru [1] has said he would only act to protect communities in Wales if legislation is changed to do so in England. Fracking can pollute groundwater, has already caused earthquakes in England, and can potentially have even higher climate emissions than coal. Gareth Clubb, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said: “Communities right across Wales are crying out for the Welsh Government to stand up and do something to protect them from fracking. Instead it’s decided to wait for changes to be made in England - if they happen at all. “This makes a mockery of devolution. Instead of considering the particular circumstances in Wales and protecting Welsh communities, our govern...

The All Party Parliamentary Beer Group presented its award for the "Beer Sommelier of the Year" to Sophie Atherton at the Annual Beer Awards dinner held in Westminster. Commenting on the Award, Andrew Griffiths MP, Chairman of the Group, said "The Beer Academy launched its Sommelier qualification less than two years ago and already forty aficionados have achieved this ultimate beer qualification. They are doing a great job bringing beer to life to people who may have forgotten just how diverse and versatile our national drink can be. "I am delighted that the Beer Group's Beer Sommelier of the Year award is awarded to Sophie Atherton, who has been tireless in her mission to bring the beer message to the widest possible audience; whether it be in her articles for the Guardian, via her beer blog a "FemAle View" or being interviewed for Radio 4. Sophie says that her ambition is to encourage others to love the best drink in the world as much as she does h...

Heading off to London. 'Posh-nosh' function in Westminster this evening.

HPC Wales – the £40million High Performance Computing project – will be taking centre stage at Westminster tonight (Wednesday, May 11). HPC Wales will have an audience of ‘movers and shakers’ for a presentation which will outline the bold ambitions for the project. The recently-appointed chief executive of HPC Wales, David Craddock, will be making the main presentation to an audience of MPs, Peers and Welsh University Vice-Chancellors. Mr Craddock said: “It is a great opportunity for HPC Wales to get its message across to some very important decision-makers. “I will be putting the spotlight on the collaborative nature of the project and the support we have had from the Welsh Assembly Government, BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales) and all the universities in Wales. “I will also be putting the focus on the economic driver for the project – how HPC Wales will speed up innovation and give Welsh businesses a cutting edge....