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Calling all members of the Old Maridunians Association, the organisation for old boys of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School for Boys in Carmarthen!
It has been decided this year to move the annual dinner from a Friday evening to a late Saturday afternoon and also to use a different venue.
This will hopefully "freshen" things up while also making it easier for Old Boys living away to be able to attend. It will allow more time to socialise and reminisce with old friends.
This years annual dinner is to be held at the lvy Bush Hotel, Carmarthen on Saturday 13 October 2012, 4.00pm for 5.00pm; dress: lounge suit or blazer.
The dinner is open to all former pupils and staff.
lf you know of anyone who has not had an invitation, please pass on this news.
This years guest speaker will be Andy Edwards, who attended the "Gram" from 1972 to 1978 (when the school ceased to be).
Andy trained and qualified as a teacher and started his career in London in the 1980s where, incidentally, he turned out for London Welsh.
Andy is now a director of Morfa Bay Adventure Activity Centre in Pendine and is a keen cyclist, often cycling for charity.
The reunions continue to be well supported and the association officers hope you will be able to attend what is always a convivial atmosphere to meet up with school contemporaries.
Please reply by completing the attached slip and forwarding with your cheque for 18.50 (payable to OMA) by Friday 22 September.
Alternatively, BACS payments can be made to sort code 40-16-23, account number 10686522, with confirmation by email to James Ward at: ward_james@sky.com.
Useful numbers:
Tel: 07967 047993 (Ian Stone); 07792 489477 (James Ward)

Llanelli Rotary Club installed their new president at their annual handover dinner held at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli.
Alan Owen, centre, took over the chair from Graham Williams, second from left.
The new junior vice-president is Hywel Bassett. The senior vice-president is Ken Abban, who was unable to attend the handover evening.
Pictured to the right of Mr Owen are club secretary Anthony Jones and club treasurer Carl Lucas.
Mr Owen has been a Rotarian for 10 years.
Born in Burry Port, he was educated at Llanelli Grammar School and Staffordshire University.
He worked at the Calsonic factory in Llanelli for a number of years as a computer manager.
He later ran a computer consultancy.
Today, Mr Owen is the postmaster at the Llanelli Docks Post Office in New Dock Road.
A Welsh speaker, he is a member of the Cor Baroc choir in Llanelli and a passionate Llanelli Scarlets rugby supporter.
Married to Mary, the couple have two children.
Rotary website -
www.llanellirotary.com

The Iechyd Da beer column from the Carmarthen Journal by Simon Buckley, chief executive of the Evan-Evans Brewery in Llandeilo.

It was General MacArthur who said, Beware, retreat often ends in defeat!
Well, I am not a general facing a massive retreat and the consequences of that.
But I am a brewer facing the impact of a long wet summer.
This is the time of year that pubs make money to see them through the winter and the weather is killing off the summer day-time trade
The Royal Welsh and the National Eisteddfod normally mark the beginning of the final run out of summer and the run into autumn.
We hope that these landmark events are going to herald the onset of summer and a few weeks of dry and sunny weather. The positive impact that this will have on both morale and takings will be tangible.
Ever the optimist, heres hoping!
I am not taking the bet and am off to France for a battery charge.
Much is talked about the new concepts of brewing and the marriage of beer to food, and creating new flavours for new food matches.
Anyone would think that this is something new, but beer has always been the drink of the nation, with cider coming a close second.
Our new bottling plant will be up and running by the end of September and we are then going to launch a series of new bottled beers that will provide a whole new range of flavours to match even the most demanding beer drinkers and flavour aficionados.
For all those CAMRA members, there will be a new range of specialist bottled-conditioned beers.
We will be the only brewer bottler in Wales that can produce bottle-conditioned beers professionally.
So what are bottled-conditioned beers?
My dear mother always used to drink bottle Guinness back in the 60s and in the bottom of that bottle would be a sediment.
The sediments were for the most part natural yeast, which worked its wonders in the bottle, fermenting the sugar in the beer. It was that sediment that gave the beer its natural carbonation.
Many people try to produce great bottle-conditioned beers, but the simple fact is that its not an easy process.
The process involves removing yeast from the beer by cold filtration and then dosing the clear beer with a set amount of clean yeast.
Too much and the beer explodes, too little and the beer is flat.
Get it right, and you will get a beer that is fresh and will deliver a wonderful range of flavours.
Most of the bottle-conditioned beers in Wales are simply bottle-conditioned because the brewer fills them straight from the fermenting vessel. That is not the way to do it!
So, you can expect, new organic ales, bottle-conditioned dark beers and a flavour to match a host of new recipes being devised for the Autumn and Christmas by our team of Evan-Evan chefs.
Also, look out for a new desert beer, to match the nutty dessert wines, softer carbonation and intense flavours from the malts.
So, if summer does not happen, we will have something to look forward to in the autumn.
But as I finish this article, the sun is beaming into my office in the brewery, and perhaps, we may just be seeing the start of our long awaited summer?

Looking after business, the business page column from the Carmarthen Journal
By Ann Thomas, senior consultant with Clay Shaw Butler, chartered accountants and business consultants of Carmarthen
They say that charity begins at home and Ive got the aches and pains to prove it!
Currently, I am in training for a marathon Paris to Swansea bike ride to raise cash for the Maggies cancer centre in Swansea.
Getting ready for a 400-mile marathon means you have to spend hours in the saddle getting fit.
Take the aches and pains out of the equation and you can actually get some thinking done on those practice rides. For example, I was thinking about how to make tax-effective gifts.
You can get tax relief on gifts to UK charities if you give:

• under Gift Aid
• through a Payroll Giving scheme, run by your employer, or
• by making a gift of certain shares or land.

In subsequent columns, Ill look at other issues, but, for now, lets concentrate on Gift Aid.
If you pay tax, Gift Aid is a scheme by which you can give a sum of money to charity and the charity can normally reclaim basic rate tax on your gift from the taxman, HMRC.
That increases the value of the gift you make to the charity. So for example, if you gave 10 using Gift Aid in 2011/12 that gift was worth 12.50 to the charity.
You can give any amount, large or small, regular or one-off.
If you do not pay tax, you should not use Gift Aid.
How does a gift qualify for Gift Aid? There are three main conditions. You must:

• make a declaration to the charity that you want your gift to be treated as a Gift Aid donation
• pay at least as much tax as the charities will reclaim on your gifts in the tax year in which you make them (tax credits on dividend income will count towards the tax paid)
• not receive excessive benefits in return for your gift.

You should keep a record of payments made under Gift Aid for each tax year. The time limit for claiming tax relief on Gift Aid donations is four years. This time limit applies to the charity and the individual making the gift.
If you would like to help a charity financially, it makes sense to do this in a tax efficient way. We can provide assistance in determining this for you. Please contact us for more detailed advice.
The team at Clay Shaw Butler can be contacted on 01267 228500 or through the website at www.clayshawbutler.com
If you want to sponsor Ann on her bike ride, see the JustGiving website http://www.justgiving.com/Ann-Thomas27
Or if you want to sponsor Ann directly, call her at Clay Shaw Butler on 01267 228 500 Email - AnnThomas@clayshawbutler.com

Take a look at this a new home the Lewis Partnership architects have just completed inFronwen, Graig, Burry Port.
As a leading firm of architects, they pay as much attention to smaller projects as they do to large school and university builds.
They undertake a wide range of extensions and alterations to houses and bungalows, no matter how big or small, including sun lounge extensions, family rooms, garage conversions to habitable rooms and many more.
For example, heres a list of some of their recent projects -
Pencoed Road, Burry Port Sun Lounge extension to existing dwelling house and detached detached sauna.
19 Gwelfor, Penygraig, Llanelli New bedroom, bathroom and conservatory
Oak Tree Lodge, Saundersfoot Sun Lounge extension and double garage.
30 Glynhir Road, Llandybie Two storey extension to dwelling house.
19 Lon Brydwen, Gorseinon Detached Sun-Room extension to dwelling.
Garreg Lwyd Alterations and extension to dwelling.
Rhodfar Capel Conversion of garage to habitable room.
Plas Kenrhos, Burry Port Extension and alterations to Grade II listed house.
Chapel House, Bishopston Extension and alterations to dwelling house.
Sandpiper Road Conversion of garage to habitable room.
Clos Yr Hesg, Swansea Vale Sun Room / Family Room extension to dwelling house.
See the small works page on their website -
http://www.lewispartnership.co.uk/small-works/

Burry Port Town Band has an exciting opportunity to display the collection of prize winning silverware at the Saith Gallery, Burry Port from Friday 27th July.
The collection stems from their recent successes in West Wales, South East Wales, Welsh Regional and British Open competitions and includes many of the individual performance awards the band's soloists have also won in those competitions.
Roz Moreton the owner of the gallery believes that it is important to support the band any way it can.

St Michaels private and independent school is expanding to build a new boarding house wing.
And the architect in charge of the project is former pupil Philip Lewis, managing director of the Lewis Partnership Ltd, of Llanelli.
The first stage of the plan is for a 40-bed boarding house and new kitchen and dining facilities for the school.
Mr Lewis said: I have fond memories of being a pupil at St Mikes, so being able to play a significant role in its future development is a very proud moment for me.
The team here at the Lewis Partnership has been working very closely with St Michaels to produce a design which passes that test with the leadership team at the school.
It is great to see the builders moving in on site and work progressing at some speed.


Weblink -
http://www.stmikes.co.uk/
http://www.lewispartnership.co.uk/st-michaels-school-llanelli-new-boarding-house/

The spotlight featured all the latest news about the company.
Here is a copy of the page -