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

The Hywel Girls’ Choir & Hywel Boy Singers will be kicking off an exciting year of song with an appearance on S4C’s Noson Lawen on Saturday 25 January before performing with singing sensation Blake at Y Ffwrnes on February 1. The choir has also launched its 2014 Performance Singing Scholarships for children aged 8-14 years old. Other performances for the Hywel Choir include performing at the H G Wells Centre in Surrey, the ever popular Last Night of the Proms with the British Sinfonietta Orchestra at Y Ffwrnes, performances with the Pontarddulais Male Choir, a summer recording with SAIN, singing at Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall, the Wales Festival of Remembrance at St David’s Hall Cardiff and Swansea’s Grand Theatre with Only Boys Aloud amongst others. The Hywel Choir’s Amadeus Academy will participate in the Llanelli Choral Society’s performance of Saint Nicholas. The choir is also welcoming new choristers to attend rehearsals in preparation for its exciting concert season. A warm...

Love is in the air for some of the best comedians in Wales as they prepare to celebrate the Welsh patron saint of lovers, St Dwynwen. Prepare yourself for passion and punchlines at the Pontardawe Arts Centre, 7.30pm on Saturday, January 25. The evening is billed as Love and Laughs, a comedy extravaganza orchestrated by Phil Evans, the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into Welsh comedy. “It’s an evening when you’ll feel the love in the air,” promises Phil, the Ammanford-based Hug-meister who is a firm advocate of ‘five a day’ – cwtshes, that is! “We’ve pulled together some of the best stand-up talent in Wales for a very special evening to celebrate the Welsh St Valentine’s Night. “Loved-up couples who plan to propose marriage, singles looking for love . . . all are welcome for a special evening which will see Pontardawe feel the power of Love and Laughs.” The evening features Phil Evans (Gala Gomedi, S4C) alongside Daniel Glyn (Gwerthu Allan, S4C), Ignacio Lopez (Show Me The Funny, ITV), Ed H...

Carmarthen’s Model primary school has reopened today (Wednesday) following repairs to its storm-damaged roof. Children returned to their classrooms one day later than planned to allow the safe repair of the roof, which suffered damage due to the gale force winds over the weekend. Several slates had been blown off the dormer roof of the Ucheldir block, and part of the lead stripped away. Carmarthenshire County Council building inspectors attended the school on Monday, but because of continuing high winds, it was deemed too risky to erect scaffolding at the site. A break in the weather yesterday meant that the Property Services team could carry out the remedial work, and school has been able to open as usual today. Minor decorating repairs will now be carried out to patch up areas that were affected by water ingress. Cllr Colin Evans, Executive Board Member for Technical Services, said: “We’re pleased that our operational teams have been able to carry out a swift repair so that the schoo...

The First Minister, Carwyn Jones, will today see how a partnership between Carmarthenshire Construction Training Association Ltd (CCTAL) and a group of widows in Kachumbala, Uganda, is having a transformative effect on people’s lives both in Wales and in Uganda. As part of his visit to Uganda this week, the First Minister will lay the foundation stone at a new grinding mill and storage unit in Kachumbala which has been made possible thanks to CCTAL and its partners, Coleg Sir Gar, CITB and Carmarthenshire County Council, and Engineers for Overseas Development (EFOD) Carmarthenshire. The mill and storage unit is run by Kachumbala Farmer’s Charity Group (KFCG), a cooperative of 30 widows which formed in 2011. The mill and storage unit will enable the group to process and sell the crops they grow on a commercial basis, allowing them to make a sustainable livelihood. CCTAL held a fundraising dinner last year which raised £30,000 to fund the building of the mill and food storage facility. ...

Welsh law firm Red Kite Law has once again won the Law Society’s prestigious management ‘quality mark’. The Lexcel quality mark is a cherished benchmark only achieved by some 10 per cent of law firms. “To achieve the standard you have to go through a rigorous accreditation process,” said Red Kite Law partner David Sangster. “Having done the initial accreditation, firms have to reapply for the quality mark every year, undergoing further assessments of law management. “The further assessment includes background checks and an on-site ‘Ofsted-style’ visit from an assessor. We have just completed our reassessment and passed with a clean bill of health. “This is a wonderful pat on the back for the hard-working team at Red Kite Law. We have a large team of legal experts spread throughout seven offices in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. “Delivering quality, value-for-money services to the local community matters a great deal to us.” Mr Sangster added: “The Lexcel quality mark is n...

The latest 'On Song' column from the Llanelli Star . . .  Côr Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Voice Choir) will be marking their 50th anniversary in 2014. Choir chairman Mel Harries said: “This promises to be a very special year in the history of Côr Meibion Llanelli. “We are planning plenty of special events – and some surprise trips abroad. “We are always on the search for new members. Anyone who thinks they would enjoy the camaraderie of being part of one of the finest male voice choirs in Wales should come along to one of our practice sessions. “We hold rehearsals at 7pm on Mondays and Thursdays at Furnace Community Hall.” Scheduled events for Côr Meibion Llanelli for 2014 so far include – Saturday, March 15, concert with Bristol Male Choir in Bristol. Saturday, June 7, Annual Concert at Ffwrnes Theatre with ‘Singverein 1870’, the choir’s ‘twin’ from Laudenbach in Germany. Saturday, October 18, anniversary dinner with special guests at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llan...

Teams of volunteers and council rangers have started a massive coastal clean up operation following the storms. The work could take several months, and there is a warning that more coastal batterings could be endured at the beginning of February and March bringing more misery. Last weekend bridges were torn up at one end of the Millennium Coastal Park at Bynea and hundreds of tonnes of sand shorn off dunes - leaving 25ft high sheer cliffs of sand - at Cefn Sidan, Pembrey. Sea defences of £2million installed in recent years along the Bynea to Burry Port stretch have done a magnificent job to prevent any major intrusion of the sea. The only weakness was found at Burry Port woodlands where the wind drove the high tides of last weekend in behind the walls of rock armour exposing the former Carmarthen Bay Power Station duff beds. A large section was eroded by the sea turning it black, but this is of no concern because the material is inert. Footpaths immediately behind this area are so...