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

A week of celebrations will be held from October 20-27 to celebrate the saving of Llangyndeyrn and Cwm Gwendraeth Fach from drowning. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the then Swansea Corporation developed proposals for a dam and reservoir to be built in the Gwendraeth Fach valley to supply water to Swansea. The proposals involved the construction of a dam which would have resulted in the flooding of productive farmland, several farmhouses and a number of houses close to and within the village of Llangyndeyrn, and also upstream to the village of Porthyrhyd. The village of Llangyndeyrn itself would have been greatly affected with a large dam wall built on its eastern flank. Homes would have been lost, livelihoods destroyed and the community torn apart. The community established a defence committee to fight the Swansea Corporation’s plan. The Defence Committee for Llangyndeyrn organised itself and fought a long hard battle against the proposals which culminated in an intense strug...

A team of volunteers have helped to clean up Dafen Pond for the benefit of the community. Carmarthenshire County Council Leader Kevin Madge was one of many volunteers to get his hands dirty along with Deputy Leader and local member for Dafen Cllr Tegwen Devichand. More than a dozen bags of rubbish were removed along with two car wheels and several other large miscellaneous items that had been fly-tipped there. The clean-up was organised by Tidy Towns and Keep Wales Tidy with Cllr Devichand who brought along a number of volunteers to help out. The footpath leading to the disabled hard-standing by the pond has also been cleared and the Japanese Knotweed will be sprayed as soon as possible. A new litter bin has also been installed. Cllr Devichand said: “The pond was full of rubbish. Not only was it an eyesore but it was also very dangerous for the wildlife. Dafen Pond is a popular recreational area used by families and it is not fair that it is being spoilt in this way. Hopefully now that...

Delivery firm Celtic Couriers Ltd is supporting Burry Port Rugby Football Club. 'The Blacks' of Burry Port have just received a donation of 'sponsored shorts' for first team players. Senior coach Gareth Gravell said: "Running a rugby team can be an expensive business, so we are always very grateful to the support of local businesses such as Celtic Couriers." Celtic Couriers business development manager Clayton Moore was on hand to make the presentation of the kit to Burry Port RFC before the match against Pantyffynnon in the Welsh SWALEC Bowl cup competition. Mr Moore said: "We are always delighted to lend our support to a number of different local organisations. "We have an excellent relationship as sponsors to Burry Port RFC and when they mentioned they needed new kit we were glad to help out. "We hope the kit helps the club perform well on the field of play and we wish them all the very best for a successful season." Burry Por...

Carmarthenshire’s Executive Board has agreed new terms on its financial agreement with Scarlets Regional Ltd, resulting in increased income for the county council. Under the amended terms, the club will pay interest on the council’s £2.616million loan at 3.5 per cent above the bank’s base rate, a deal that the Executive Board considered a better return than any other commercial investment. It means that the council will now receive £8,000 more in interest from the club per year – a figure which amounts to some £104,000 annually. In addition, the income thresholds at which the club is required to pay rent on the Parc Y Scarlets stadium have been dropped from £2.2million to £1.5million, and £2.8million to £2million, bringing forward the potential for the council to generate rental income for the facility. Cllr Jeff Edmunds, Executive Board Member for Resources, said: “This is a sound commercial decision – an interest rate of 3.5 per cent above the base rate makes commercial sense in the ...

An exciting £1,000 musical bursary prize – thought to be the biggest of its kind in Wales – will be awarded to a Trimsaran teenager on Saturday night (October 19). Megan Thomas has been picked as the first winner of the Gethin Hughes Memorial Bursary Scholarship. The prize celebrates the life of Gethin Hughes MBE, who was known as Llanelli’s ‘Mr Music’. Megan joined other bursary prize hopefuls at competition auditions for the prize. “She is a very worthy winner,” said the chairman of the judging panel, Eifion Thomas. Mr Thomas, musical director of Côr Meibion Llanelli and Côr Baroc, said the judges were impressed by the quality of the young musicians and singers who applied for the bursary. He added: “The bursary is being supported by a £1000 cash contribution by the Llanelli-based Jenkins Bakery and we are grateful for their support in helping talented youngsters continue their musical education.” Megan, 19, has just taken her place at the Royal Welsh College of Music an...

Côr Meibion Llanelli were honoured with a visit by three rugby legends at their rehearsal session at Furnace Community Hall in Llanelli. Llanelli rugby heroes Derek Quinnell, Terry Davies and Doug Williams paid a visit as a tribute to the long-standing cooperation between the Scarlets and the choir. The three stalwarts of the Scarlets Former Players’ Association paid tribute to the years of support given by Côr Meibion Llanelli to rugby in Llanelli. “Most recently,” said Mr Quinnell, “the choir members turned out to support the opening of the Scarlets Rugby Heritage Trail and the unveiling of the rugby posts and Phil Bennett icon at Sandy Water Park.” Mr Quinnell presented Côr Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas with a special limited edition Scarlets souvenir plate. The former Llanelli, Wales and British Lions forward added: “It is a small token of our appreciation as former players for the sterling service and support you have given to the game of rugby in Llanelli down...

A total of 1105 bags of rubbish, 121 tyres and 180 miscellaneous items such as pushchairs, carpets and scooters that have been dumped across Carmarthenshire have been removed by Tidy Towns in the past six months. Since April, Tidy Towns project worker Brian Mogford has worked with 385 volunteers, 23 community groups, six schools, 15 disengaged groups and four businesses. He has travelled a total of 4,076 miles and helped to clean up 35 wards across the county. Activities carried out included river and beach clean-ups, habitat management, cycle track clean-ups, community skip days, litter-picks and overgrowth clearance projects. Brian has also targeted Japanese Knotweed hotspots across the Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford areas with a total area of 12,600m2 sprayed. Previous spraying has been very effective, with only a few pockets of new growth appearing in treated areas. Executive Board Member for Regeneration Councillor Meryl Gravell said: “It is important that people take pr...