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

Age Cymru Sir Gâr in Carmarthenshire have applied to the Tesco Bags of Help scheme and needs your support to help win up to £4,000 to help us support older people with new technology. Ann Dymock, chief officer of Age Cymru Sir Gâr, explained - "Tesco donates all the 5ps that they charge for carrier bags to a charitable cause. Age Cymru Sir Gâr are in the final 3 for July 2017 and details about the charity and the work it wants to achieve with funding help from Tesco will be displayed in its Carmarthenshire stores throughout July. "To help us win the £4,000 for the charity to help older people learn how to engage with new technology please vote for us. All you need to do is to make a purchase of any value from a Tesco store. You will receive one token per transaction (you may need to ask for the token) and it's not necessary to purchase a carrier bag in order to receive a token. At the front of the store there will be three bins where you can place your blue token. Ju...

Christmas gifts are coming in thick and fast for disadvantaged children across the county. Large containers and bags have been collected from Llanelli Town Hall and Carmarthen Journal offices this week for the council’s Toybox Appeal. The annual appeal provides presents for hundreds of children from families who can’t afford to buy them food, gifts or toys, as well as food hampers for those in need. The gifts need to be unwrapped and for children of all ages, from birth to teenagers with the last day of collection on Friday, December 9. There are a number of drop off points throughout Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Pam Palmer said: “We’re so grateful for all the presents we have received to date, so please keep them coming and help make a child’s Christmas.” You can drop your gifts off at one of the following collection points: Ammanford • Ammanford Town Hall, Customer Services Centre • Ammanford Guardian • Llandybie Memorial Hall • Nat West Bank • Te...

If you have room in your hearts to love and care a child, as well as a spare bedroom, then you could start a career as a foster carer. Fostering can keep you eternally young and be rewarding both emotionally and financially. Carmarthenshire County Council’s fostering service is holding an information evening on Wednesday, July 13, 6-9pm at Cross Hands Workingman’s Club to appeal to potential foster carers. Executive board member for children’s services Cllr Gareth Jones said the information evening was a wonderful opportunity for people to determine if fostering would suit their lifestyle. Experienced foster carers and members of the fostering service team will be on hand to talk to people interested in a fostering career offering a safe and stable home for some of the county’s most vulnerable children of all ages and teenagers. To help people find out whether fostering or adoption is right for you call 08000933699 to find out more. Link Carmarthenshire Fostering Service

RNIB Cymru (Royal National Institute of Blind People) is calling on people in Wales to give up a few hours of their time to help blind and partially sighted people get online. According to the findings of new research about volunteering by RNIB, 80 per cent of people who volunteer say it makes them feel happier. Another 47 per cent of respondents in the UK who do not volunteer said they want to in the future, with more than one in 10 people most keen to share their technology skills. The research was commissioned to mark the start of RNIB’s initiative to recruit more volunteers for its Online Today project to help 6000 people with sensory loss across Wales get online. Since its launch in 2015, Online Today events throughout Wales and the UK have helped thousands of people with sight and hearing loss get online. Now RNIB is appealing to local people to commit a few hours a month to visit blind and partially sighted people in their own homes and help them develop digital skills like bro...

To members of church congregations, other faith groups and community organisations in the Llanelli area. Dear Friends, re: Refugee crisis. Many of you, will, like me, have been shocked, long before the events of this last week, at the appalling tragedy of refugees dying on the shores of Europe and very disturbed at the negative attitude of some politicians and some sectors of the press. I know that many people like you in the UK would want to offer a welcome to refugees after the unimaginable hardship they have suffered, and will already have contributed through organisations like Christian Aid and Oxfam to the work that they are doing, both in the countries neighbouring the areas of conflict, and on the shores of Southern Europe. It was encouraging that the press on Friday printed Christian Aid’s call for the UK to take more refugees. I am writing to you to ask if you would be able to join in the UK-wide campaign for churches and local organisations to show their support thi...

Carmarthen Town AFC are appealing to all football fans and the community in the town to rally to the aid of the club in an exciting period in the team's history. The club has ambitious plans to install an all-weather 3G pitch which will be of benefit to the whole community. The plans are taking shape, but first the club plans . . .  Supporters and Community Meeting Richmond Park on MONDAY 11th May at 7pm The club continues to operate at pace with a number of ongoing initiatives gaining momentum. The principal objective is to secure a state of the art artificial pitch known as 3G for the community of Carmarthen. Some 75% of the expenditure has already been obtained leaving a shortfall of approx £120,000 and in addition to securing the additional funds work is ongoing to plan for its future use. This facility will considerably raise the profile of the whole town within West Wales. Running parallel to this is the preparation of a development plan with the concerte...

The Gwendraeth Valley Raiders Rugby League side is appealing for sponsors. They are the first semi-professional rugby league side in West Wales. The team started up last year as Gwendraeth Valley Raiders. Spokesman Peter Tiffin said: "Our first year saw us play games in the Welsh Conference (South). "Our final stats were Played 10, Won 5 and Lost 5. "We also played our final game in the Cardiff Arms Park beating the Valley Cougars 50-32. "We finished third in the league and impressed most with how quick we took to Rugby League. "Over the past couple of months we have decided to move up a step and create a semi-professional side to take part in the National Conference League South. This will see us play against sides like - Bristol Sonics, Coventry Bears, Gloucestershire Warriors, Leicester Storm, Nottingham Outlaws, Oxford Cavaliers, Sheffield Hallam Eagles, Torfaen Tigers and Valley Cougars. "We have made sure that we are keeping everyone loca...

An appeal has gone out for old photos and memorabilia of Côr Meibion Llanelli. The choir celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and old photos and historical items such as old concert programmes are being collected for a special publication. Choir press officer Robert Lloyd said: "We are looking for as many old photos and old items of memorabilia as we can find. "The choir has a special anniversary dinner at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli, this October and it would be nice to include as many items as possible in a display. "An example of the sort of thing we are looking for can be seen above in the photo of the choir committee from 1989. "Anyone who has any old photos and memorabilia can contact me on 07777 683637 or email rlloydpr@btinternet.com "All photos, programmes and other items will be returned after scanning." Côr Meibion Llanelli It would take a fairly hefty book to summarise the achievements of the choir over a history span...

Withybush Hospital in Pembrokeshire is asking anyone who has been issued with crutches and no longer needs them to please return them. The hospital currently has a shortage of crutches and anyone who has been issued them by the hospital can return them to the Accident and Emergency Department.

Llanelli Rotary Club will be celebrating their 100th anniversary in the next few years. Work has started on a history of the club. I am now looking for old photos and memorabilia of the club. Here is a photo of the 1992-93 year of the club, above the most recent photo of club members. Send any photos and memorabilia to me at rlloydpr@btinternet.com or ring me on 07777 683637. All material will be returned after scanning.

                                                                                                              Donations of football boots and shirts are being called for to help Gambia's youngsters realise their sporting dreams. Burry Port couple Isabel and Craig Goodman are urging people to donate replica football shirts and old boots to help a football academy in the African nation. It comes after the couple returned from the Gambia, where they gave players from the Afia Banjul Football Academy Foundation a big surprise. Isabel, who works for the Llanelli Star and South Wales Evening Post, said: "We took bibs and T-shirts out for them...

The Welsh Blood Service is making an urgent appeal for blood donors particularly with type O & A negative blood to come forward and make a lifesaving donation. The recent hot weather has affected the number of donors coming forward, seriously reducing blood stocks. Giving blood is vital to ensure that patients undergoing surgery and receiving treatment for cancer and blood diseases, such as leukaemia, continue to receive the transfusions they need. The Welsh Blood Service cannot meet the needs of hospitals without the support of the people in Wales. At this difficult time, they need support more than ever. Dr Geoff Poole at the Welsh Blood Service added “Our blood stocks are at a seriously low level and we are making an urgent appeal for fit and healthy donors and those donors who have not donated for a while to come forward and help, particularly those with O & A negative blood groups. "O negative blood is vital in an emergency situation when there may not be time for ...

Dyfed-Powys Police Force has issued the following press release to remind homeowners in Llanelli to protect their garden sheds and outbuildings -  As the weather gets warmer and people start to work in their garden sheds, we usually see an increase in the number of reported thefts from gardens and sheds across the force. Officers are now asking residents across Llanelli to help us prevent that by following some simple steps to become more property security conscious. “Garden sheds are too often easy targets for criminals,” said Detective Sergeant Anthony Panter. “This is a great concern to the police because it is clear that shed thefts can be prevented if a reasonable level of security was put in place. We are encouraging people to install good quality locks to all garden sheds and also to property mark their equipment using UV marker pens, paint or engraving. “I’d also urge residents to photograph any expensive garden items they may have and make a note of any serial numb...

An appeal is being made for photographs that show the bandstand at Llanelli’s Parc Howard in all its former glory. The bandstand is being restored as part of the park’s centenary celebrations, but help is needed to ascertain the original design of the railings so that work can be carried out sympathetically. Kidwelly-based building firm Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd, working on behalf of Carmarthenshire County Council, is appealing for people to come forward if they have photographs which clearly show the design of the balustrades, steps and gate. Mathew Dalziel said: “We are delighted to be carrying out this work as we understand the great importance it holds within the history of this wonderful park. “It is especially pleasing that we are carrying out this work in the park’s centenary year when people will be celebrating 100 years since the mansion house and gardens were gifted to the people of Llanelli. “Of course, we want to make sure that we carry out a careful and sympathetic restoration of...

Distressing of wild birds | Dyfed Powys Police | Heddlu Dyfed Powys At this time of year wild birds are busy building their nests and some are even already sitting on clutches of eggs. With such an early start to the breeding season this year due to a spell of good weather the breeding season is going to be a long and hopefully fruitful one for our wild bird population. With access to the countryside and local parks and lakes being used more for day trips by holidaymakers and recreational use by local people it is not a surprise that the police are receiving calls from members of the public reporting incidents involving wild birds.

Missing man: Simon Andrew Jones | Dyfed Powys Police | Heddlu Dyfed Powys Dyfed-Powys Police is concerned for the welfare of a 24-year-old male who has been missing since Monday 9 April 2012. Simon Andrew Jones, who is from Llandysul area, was last seen in the early hours of Monday morning (01:10hrs) in Lip Licking chicken takeaway on Pier street Aberystwyth.

Appeal for information following serious injury RTC | Dyfed Powys Police | Heddlu Dyfed Powys Police in Llanelli are appealing for information following a road traffic collision which left three people with serious injuries. The collision, which involved a blue Renault Twingo and blue and white skip lorry, happened at 12:38pm on Monday 6th February on a narrow unclassified road that runs between Pinged and Mynydd Penbre.

Police appeal for information following serious assault | Dyfed Powys Police | Heddlu Dyfed Powys Dyfed Powys Police are appealing for information from the public following a serious assault where the victim was severely beaten and thrown onto to a railway line in Pembrokeshire.

Photos and eye witnesses sought following air accident in Welshpool | Dyfed Powys Police | Heddlu Dyfed Powys Investigators looking into the cause of the air accident near Leighton in Welshpool are appealing for anyone who was out taking photos in the area at the time to get in touch. Two people died in the air accident which happened before midday on Wednesday 18th January. The plane involved was a Piper PA31-325 Navajo model, which is a twin engined fixed wing aircraft.

Healing The Wounds - the Welsh charity which helps victims of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) - has received a boost from Nation Radio this week. It has been chosen as the nominated charity for a high-powered campaign on the popular South Wales radio station. “It’s all geared towards a special ‘Donation Day’ on Nation Radio,” said Healing The Wounds events organiser Amie Phillips. “The idea is to encourage businesses and local firms to get their staff to make a small contribution to the charity. All we are asking for is that people bring £1 to work. “It’s a small donation. But, if the Nation Radio appeal gets plenty of support, then it will go a long way towards helping the valuable work we do as a charity. “Our long-term aim is to establish a residential centre for treating victims of PTSD in Wales. “But, in the meantime, we are busy treating people who have PTSD. We have built up a team of treatment practitioners and regularly hold treatment courses. “But there is a great need ...