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

Christmas in Llanelli will be kicked off with a weekend packed full of family entertainment. The fun starts on Friday, November 20, when the annual Christmas Carnival rolls in to town with a night of entertainment sure to get everyone in the mood for the festive season. As well as the parade and switch on of the Christmas lights, there will be an impressive firework display, live music, a fun fair and side stalls, all set to ensure an evening of entertainment for all ages. Carmarthenshire County Council has once again linked up with Llanelli Round Table, Llanelli Town Council, Llanelli Rural Council and Llanelli Chamber of Trade to produce the event, supported by Scarlet FM and sponsored by TAD Builders, of Llanelli. The carnival will be followed on Saturday with a Family Fun Day. This new event for 2009 will take place at Llanelli’s Spring Gardens, extending in to the town centre to compliment local retailers and Christmas markets. With Christmas street entertainers and live performan...

The cultures of the world will descend on Llanelli to take part in a Multicultural Mela. The event is due to take place on Saturday, November 14, at the Antioch Centre, Llanelli, from 11am to 2pm. Activities will include Sari tying workshops, Samosa making demonstrations, Nepalese dance performances and African drumming workshops. And there will also be a Welsh feel to the event with Welsh Cake and Cawl making along with a Welsh harp performance. It is being organised by the New Dock Residents Association, and supported by Glanymor and Tyisha Communities First, a Welsh Assembly initiative run locally by Carmarthenshire County Council. Farah Aziz, Communities First development officer, said: “It will be a fun, informal day with entertainment from different cultures from across the world. “It will give people an insight in to different traditions, and will help create a better sense of understanding in the community.” For further information about the event, contact Teresa Armstrong on 0...

Residents of Glanymor and Tyisha will be able to learn of ways to make their homes warmer, more comfortable and less expensive to heat. They are being invited to a Warm Homes event, being hosted by the local Communities First team, at Morfa Social Club, from 10am-3pm, on Friday, November 20. The aim of the event is to raise awareness about fuel poverty and energy efficiency issues and to make people aware of the role that energy efficiency can play in making homes warmer and more efficient. Amongst the activities and information on the day will be a model house, constructed by local school children, which will demonstrate fuel efficiency measures. There will also be advisers from various service providers, along with information about available services and grants. Winter warm packs and energy efficient bulbs will be distributed at the event, and local school children will be picking up prizes for making informative posters on energy conservation. Farah Aziz, Communities First developm...

"Trust my wife's bullock to take me out. I'll be giving bullocks a wide berth in future" - Question Time presenter David Dimbleby, who is to miss the show for the first time in 15 years after being hit by a bullock.

A painter and decorator described his shock at finding the severed head of an alligator while he was out walking his dogs. Peter Lumb, 59, of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, found the skull and a section of the reptile's jaw while he was walking his two border collies on a hillside in the Crosland Moor area. The bones were checked out by experts at Manchester Museum, where his daughter Catherine works, and found to be that of an American alligator, officially an alligator mississippiensis, which is usually found in the south-eastern United States.

"I never thought that I would be on TV begging people to believe I'm a transvestite. I am a card-carrying transvestite. Always have been, always will be" - Comedian Eddie Izzard, who says he has been in "boy mode" rather than "girl mode" for the past few years.

Champion eater Joey Chestnut set a new world record to win the first meatball-eating competition in Las Vegas. He got through 50 in 10 minutes, weighing 6.25lbs. Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti finished in second place, just one meatball behind.