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

The next public lecture for the Llanelli Workers' Education Association (WEA) promises to be a special event. The lecture is on Thursday 27 April at the Selwyn Samuel Centre in Llanelli and the guest speaker is Bohdana Bahlay. She will be giving a talk on "The Story of the Ukraine".  Bohdana is a specialist Cardiac Physiologist at Morriston Hospital, having held the post for more than 10 years. In her spare time, she is an active member of the organisation Voice of Ukraine Wales, which raises awareness of the history and culture of the Ukraine. She has helped stage several cultural events in Llanelli to promote her homeland. The lecture starts at 7.30pm. Admission free - non members welcome to attend.

One of the UK’s leading constitutional experts will use a public lecture at Aberystwyth University to critique the latest attempt at a Welsh devolution ‘settlement’. Professor Richard Rawlings will examine the implications of the Wales Act 2017, which marks the fourth main phase of Welsh devolution in just twenty years. His lecture Strange Days? Reworking the Welsh Devolution ‘Settlement’ will be held at 5pm on Wednesday 22 February 2017 in the Main Hall of the Department of International Politics. Speaking ahead of the event, Professor Rawlings who is Professor of Public Law at University College London and Honorary Distinguished Professor of Law at Cardiff University, said: “Partly framed by the work of the Silk Commission, and also influenced by Scottish constitutional developments in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum, the process of developing the legislation has been an elongated and commonly painful one. “It is a process which has stretched from incoherent party pol...

Dr Owen Bennett-Jones to deliver two talks at Aberystwyth University on 20 February Renowned print and broadcast journalist Dr Owen Bennett-Jones will reflect on his career as a BBC correspondent and journalist, and discuss the rivalry between Al-Qaeda and Islamic State in two public lectures at Aberystwyth University on Monday 20 February 2017. In ‘Nation shall speak unto Nation: Reporting in War and Peace from Beirut, Bucharest, Hanoi, Kabul and Islamabad, 1981-2017’, the veteran reporter and journalist of over thirty years’ standing will reflect on the evolution of the ‘foreign correspondent’ in a rapidly changing world. The lecture takes place at Lecture Theatre A12, in the Hugh Owen Building on Penglais Campus and starts at 3pm. The rivalry between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, often considered ideological bedfellows, will be the subject of his second lecture. In ‘Al-Qaeda and Islamic State: Brothers in Arms or Rivals?’ Dr Bennett-Jones will draw on his long and rich e...

Former Iraq Inquiry member and one of the world’s most renowned experts on war and strategic studies, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman will deliver the 2017 David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies (DDMI) Annual Lecture at Aberystwyth University. In his lecture ‘The Future of Discretionary Warfare: Criteria for the use of Force’, Professor Freedman will address the criteria likely to shape the future use of force in international politics. The lecture takes place at the Main Hall at the Department of International Politics at 6.30pm on Tuesday 7 February 2017. Professor Freedman is Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London. A member of the department since 1982, his research focuses on the history of strategy and contemporary defence and foreign policy issues. In 2009 he was appointed to the Iraq Inquiry (better known as the Chilcot Inquiry) which examined Britain’s role in the 2003 Iraq War. Professor Freedman has written extensively on nuclear st...

Attended by more than 120 people, Laugharne’s Heritage Day was deemed to be an outstanding success story by all who took part. The day, which had been organised by the Laugharne and District History Society, had the Great War (1914-18) and Laugharne’s connection with it as its main theme. The intention of the day was to highlight and record the strands linking Laugharne families and others in the area to World Ware One. Residents of Laugharne and their families were encouraged to talk about their family members who took part in the war and bring their family photographs to be scanned as a permanent record. These photographs and recorded memories will form the basis of a book focusing on Laugharne’s history at the turn of the last century. Alongside the displays of major national organisations such as the National Library of Wales and Historic Gardens Trust and county-wide groups such as the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, there was a live...

Pembrokeshire’s bluestones and the link with Stonehenge will be the focus of a public lecture at Aberystwyth University on Tuesday 8 November. "Chips off the old block - sourcing the Stonehenge Bluestones" will be delivered by eminent geologist and Keeper of Natural Sciences at the National Museum of Wales Dr Richard Bevins. In 2015 Dr Bevins was a leading member of the team that identified the exact source of Stonehenge’s spotted dolerite “bluestones” as Carn Goedog in the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire. Three years earlier, in 2011, his team identified the source of another of Stonehenge’s “bluestones”, its rhyolites, as Craig Rhos-y-Felin, a site also in the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire just three kilometres away from Carn Goedog. A graduate of Aberystwyth University (Geology, 1974) and Keele where he completed his PhD, Dr Bevins’ research has focused on the Caledonian igneous volcanic rock of Wales. Between 1998 and 2006 he was Project Leader for the £33.5m project ...

The Friends of the Carmarthenshire County Museum have held a talk on the famous Bishop Laud, Bishop of St David’s from 1621-27. This month’s Gallery Talk was by Brenig Davies on Bishop Laud’s Chapel as part of a series of talks on the first Saturday of the month. The interesting facts revealed by Brenig Davies included that Bishop Laud only visited Abergwili, the home of the Bishop's Palace, on two occasions, too embroiled as he was in London with personal advancement as well as affairs of state. The museum in Abergwili was the Bishop's Palace for many years and as such had its own chapel which is named after Bishop Laud. Brenig Davies' talk was given in the chapel. He contended that, as the chapel was reconsecrated for Christian services in 2007, it was paving the way forward in church unity by welcoming people from all denominations in stark contrast to the divisive policies pursued by the authoritarian Bishop Laud. "With its oak carvings and peaceful atmosphere, ...

An acclaimed expert on the life of John Keats will deliver a public lecture in the Old College, Aberystwyth, tonight, Wednesday 19 October 2016. Professor Nicholas Roe from the University of St Andrews will give a talk on ‘John Keats’s Ghosts’. Professor Roe is the author of ‘John Keats: A New Life’ which was descibed in the Sunday Times as “a remarkable achievement, authoritative and imaginative to a degree that should make all future Keats biographers quail." All are welcome to attend this free event which is being organised by the Department of English and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, in association with the New Life for Old College project. Professor Richard Marggraf Turley, Professor of Engagement with the Public Imagination at Aberystwyth University, said: “One of the world’s most influential Keats scholars, Nicholas Roe invites us to look again, and differently, at this most apparently familiar of poets. “Whether revealing the deep involvement of John Keats...

The inaugural Memorial Lecture to honour the achievements of Professor David Trotter will be held by Aberystwyth University’s Department of Modern Languages on Friday 14 October 2016. The Department of Modern Languages has established the annual memorial lecture series to acknowledge not only Professor Trotter’s major contribution to the study of medieval French language and Anglo-Norman lexicography but also his role as a lecturer in French and Head of Department for over twenty years. David Trotter was a leading international authority on French language and lexicography and was the chief editor of the Anglo-Norman Dictionary that is based at Aberystwyth, receiving honours such as the Prix Honoré Chavée. As well as receiving many acclamations during his career, he was also an inspiring leader and a loyal colleague of Aberystwyth University. David Trotter enjoyed working collaboratively and had a wide international network of academic friendships. He will always be remembered by h...

Chris Cole, founder of Drone Wars UK ( www.dronewars.net ), will be discussing the use of armed drones at a lecture to the David Davies Memorial Institute at Aberystwyth University on Tuesday 15 March. His lecture, entitled 'Predator or Protector? Framing the debate on drones', takes place at the Main Hall of the Department of International Politics at 5pm and is open to all. The use of armed drones is rapidly becoming normalised as more and more countries join the drone users club. Yet remote, so-called ‘risk-free’ warfare raises serious legal and ethical concerns about the nature of modern warfare and indeed what we used to call ‘peace time’. In this presentation Chris Cole will look at the ethical and legal issues that surround the growing use of armed drones, recent developments, and the battle to frame the debate on drones. Drone Wars UK is a small British NGO to undertake research, education and campaigning on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and the wider issue...

Professor Ruairí Ó hUiginn of Maynooth University will deliver the annual public lecture of the Institute of Literature, Languages and Creative Arts (ILLCA) at Aberystwyth University on Tuesday 15 March 2016 at 6pm. The lecture entitled, ‘Strange people, strange places: aspects of the supernatural in medieval Irish and Welsh tradition’ will draw on Professor Ó hUiginn’s extensive expertise in medieval Irish and Welsh literature. Professor Ó hUiginn is a graduate of University College Dublin where he studied Welsh alongside Modern and Medieval Irish, and Queens University Belfast where he obtained his doctorate. No stranger to Aberystwyth, Ó hUiginn previously served the university as external examiner in Welsh and Celtic Studies. He is the current Chair of Modern Irish at Maynooth University, where he is also Head of the School of Celtic Studies, and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He is Chair of the Royal Irish Academy’s Foclóir Stairiúil na Nua-Ghaeilge (Historical Dictionary o...

Artist and blogger Isobel Williams will present a richly illustrated public lecture in the Department of Law and Criminology at Aberystwyth University, on Wednesday 22nd April at 18.15, discussing her experiences of drawing from the public seats in the Supreme Court. Why does she do it, and how did she get there? Isobel’s copiously illustrated talk describes how sketching people under the A40 and at the Occupy protest camps led her to the highest court in the land. She will include her thoughts and pictures from Nicklinson, the 'right-to-die' case heard at the Supreme Court. The event will be held in room EM 1.21, Elystan Morgan Building , in Aberystwyth University’s Llanbadarn Centre. This event is open to all, with no pre-booking required. Further information about Isobel Williams can be found here; http://www.isobelwilliams.org.uk Aberystwyth University www.aber.ac.uk

Caroline Drummond, Chief Executive of Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) will present a public lecture at Aberystwyth University on Wednesday 25th February from 6.00pm. This inaugural event in the Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment (NRN-LCEE) public lecture series will be hosted by the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences (IBERS) on the University’s Penglais Campus. Through her presentation ‘Breaking Down the Barriers to Deliver Real Change to our Farming and Food Systems’, Caroline Drummond will explore the challenges faced by our planet, the scientific community and wider society that need to be addressed in order to bring long lasting and meaningful changes to the sustainability of farming systems, how our food is produced and what we eat. It will set out some of the areas where real change is starting to happen and highlight areas where new thinking is needed. Speaking in advance of the lecture, Professor David Thomas, N...

Raymond Geuss, Emeritus Professor in Philosophy at Cambridge University, will deliver the Annual E H Carr Memorial Lecture at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University on Thursday 30th October The lecture, which is open to the public, will take place in the Main Hall at the Department of International Politics and starts at 6.00pm. The title of Professor Geuss’ lecture is ‘Realism and the relativity of judgement’. Professor Geuss is a very distinguished scholar specialising in political philosophy, ethics and the history of Continental Philosophy. His publications include The Idea of a Critical Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1981) and Philosophy and Real Politics (Princeton University Press, 2008). This latter book examines the realist approach to political philosophy. Prior to moving to Cambridge in 1993, Professor Geuss taught at Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and had also held posts at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg. His ...

This evening, Thursday 1 May, Reverend John Gwilym Jones will deliver a lecture on ‘The Science of Religion and the Religion of Science’ at Aberystwyth University which he will explore the relationship and potential conflict between religion and science. The lecture will be held at 6pm of the Hugh Owen Building. There is a general perception that religion and science are in conflict. This lecture will attempt to explore the background to this view as held by both religious and scientific fundamentalists, and to explore possible inter-relations which could be mutually beneficial. John Gwilym Jones is one of three talented brothers who were brought up on a farm near Newcastle Emlyn in west Wales; all three are Master Poets, having been awarded the coveted accolades of being crowned or chaired at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The second of the three sons, John Gwilym was awarded a first class honours degree in Welsh from Aberystwyth. After a year lecturing in Middle Welsh at Dublin ...

News here which will be of interest to members of the 'Old Maridunians' Association, the old boys' club for former pupils of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School for Boys in Carmarthen. Professor Ceri Davies, Emeritus Professor of Classics at Swansea University, writes - 'As you will know, Carmarthenshire is hosting this year's National Eisteddfod, to be held in Llanelli. 'I am one of the officers of the Classical Section of the University of Wales Alumni Association, and we usually hold a lecture at the Eisteddfod. 'This year the lecture will be given, on Monday 4 August at 12.00 noon, by the Rt Hon Denzil Davies, former MP for Llanelli, a distinguished Old Maridunian. 'His subject will be 'a classical education in Carmarthenshire in the '50s': it will, I am sure, be of interest to many old boys of the 'Gram'. 'A warm welcome is extended to everyone. The event will be, of course, in Welsh.' Meanwhile, Old Maridunians,...

Desmond Bowen CB CMG, a member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, will be speaking at Aberystwyth University today. A former civil servant with a focus on defence and international security issues, Desmond Bowen will be discussing arms control and disarmament by evaluating its contribution to international peace and security and what motivates nations to enter into arms control agreements. The lecture “Arms Control and Disarmament: Pipedream or Panacea?” will be held in the Main Hall, International Politics Building on the Penglais Campus and will start at 6.30pm. This event is free and open to the public. Background Disarmament hit the headlines in 2013 when Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons and the OPCW won the Nobel peace prize. Most arms control is less spectacular. How should we evaluate its contribution to international peace and security, and do we understand what motivates nations to enter into arms control agreements? Are such ag...

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Assembly Member and former Chair of the National Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee, will be outlining the work of Committee at Aberystwyth University on 20 March 2014. The lecture “Democracy and Sustainability” is part of the Climate Change Consortium Wales (C3W) lecture series and will start at 6.30pm in the Biology Main lecture theatre, Edward Llwyd Building on Penglais Campus. This event is free and open to the public. The National Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee was established in 2011 with a remit to examine legislation and hold the Welsh Government to account by scrutinising expenditure, administration and policy matters encompassing the maintenance, development and planning of Wales’s natural environment and energy resources. Dafydd Elis-Thomas became the first Assembly Member to represent Dwyfor Meirionydd in May 2007 after representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy from 1999 to 2007. He was Member of Parliament for Meirio...

On Wednesday 14 March 2012 at 4pm at Aberystwyth University (Hugh Owen Building A14), William Dieneman will recall his life story in a talk entitled ‘From Berlin to Aberystwyth: the life history of a former Kindertransportee’. William was born in Cottbus in 1929 into a Jewish family and lived in Berlin as a boy where he experience the National Socialist take-over. Together with his sister Ursula he was sent to Britain in 1939 as a nine year old on a Kindertransport. Dr Andrea Hammel (European Languages, Aberystwyth University), an expert on the history and culture of German-speaking refugees who came to Britain in the 1930s and 40s, will introduce the talk and give a brief overview of the history of the Kindertransport. The term Kindertransport is usually used for the 10,000 unaccompanied German, Austrian and Czech minors, mainly from Jewish backgrounds, who found refuge in the UK between December 1938 and September 1939.  William Dieneman will talk about the challenges of ad...

Nia Griffith (Llanelli MP) - Lord Elwyn Jones Memorial Lecture for the WEA in Llanelli. This took place in Llanelli Town Hall. Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen, Noswaith dda Boneddigion.a Boneddigesau It is a great pleasure and honour to be here this evening, giving the Lord Elwyn Jones memorial lecture. Lord Elwyn Jones, a son of whom Llanelli can be rightly very proud served his fellow citizens as a Labour MP for 29 years, rising to become Attorney General and Later Lord Chancellor. I will return later in my lecture to say a few words about him. Well, if you are sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin. So Politicians, saints or sinners? Which do you want to hear about, the saints or the sinners? Saints you said – well, that’s obviously because you are hoping to go home early, because of course there’s not much to say about the saints. The sinners, they are far more interesting – that’s what sells papers, that’s what k...