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In an event held at the Carmarthen Town Football Club Community Centre in Richmond Park, the club launched its charity events for the 2011/12 season.
In an evening superbly arranged by hard-working Club President Jeff Thomas, the audience was entertained by harpist Elan Ward from Ysgol Bro Myrddin, while the Rev Towyn Jones told some extraordianry tales.
The evening was compered by Peter Hughes Griffiths.
This seasons charity is Ty Cymorth, the local hospice.
Supporters of this charity were present at the evening and were impressed with the facilities and welcome at the Community Centre.
This was the first in a series of events the club intends to hold during the coming months to raise funds for the hospice.
Club president Mr Thomas said: "I believe we have a role within the community not only as a football club. It is our duty to support charities within the Carmarthen area and I will lead this campaign for the coming season."
The town of Llanelli, led by town and county civic dignitaries, will join the Hywel Girls' Choir and Hywel Boy Singers' in their traditional 'The Magic of Christmas' performance.
In the beautiful surroundings of Greenfield Baptist Chapel, Llanelli, Director John Hywel Williams will lead the massed voices of the Hywel Girls' Choir and Hywel Boy Singers, the Llanelli Choral Society, soprano Rhiannon Herridge, pianist Jean Hywel and organist Huw Tregelles Williams in an evening of Christmas song, music and word.
The performance, a tradition in the calendar of the town with popular Christmas music and carols blended with hearty congregational massed singing, promises to greet the Christmas season with a resounding welcome.
Programme highlights will include Once in Royal Davids City, O Holy Night, Ding Dong Merrily on High, Adestes Fideles, great highlights from exciting choruses from world oratorios such as Handel's Messiah ...to name but a few.
The evening will also feature a selection of Christmas readings by Jeremy Hywel Wlliams and organ classics by Huw Tregelles Williams.
"There is no other way to get into the Christmas spirit than with the wonderful sound of childrens voices, hearty roof-raising singing and of course a magical selection of Christmas music", explains John Hywel Williams who will direct the performance.
The Magic of Christmas performance will take place at 7.30pm Saturday 10th December at Greenfield Baptist Chapel, Llanelli.
Tickets 5 and available from The Ticket Office 01269 841658 and from Bizy Fingers, The Market Precinct, Llanelli. Further information on www.HywelChoir.com.
Anthony was President of the club for more than 16 years and could be seen carrying out all kinds of duties for the club.
He could be seen manning the turnstile and selling raffles as well as representing the club at official functions.
Peter Hughes Griffiths, the compere for the evening, paid tribute not only to Anthonys contribution to the football club but also to the community of Carmarthen Town.
Anthony emphasised how far the club had developed during his time as President, noting the visit to Seven Sisters at the start of his period in office and visiting the Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm for Carmarthen Towns first ever away fixture in Europe.
Anthony was presented with a small token of the clubs gratitude for his work by Executive Chairman Gareth Jones.
It is the intention of the current President of Carmarthen Town Football Club, Mr. Jeff Thomas, to make similar awards in the near future to people who have given their services freely to the club.
The Kidwelly-based construction firm Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd has helped plant the seeds for an innovative project which will help children at two West Wales schools.
The project has helped build vegetable plots at Carway Primary School in the Gwendraeth Valley and Swiss Valley Primary School in Llanelli.
And it has also been designed to give important health and safety messages to the schoolchildren.
Weve managed to come up with some very practical ideas which will help the childrens education, said Dyfrig Dalziel, Managing Director of Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd.
There are several strands to the project, which means that we can help promote healthy eating, messages about the environment and recycling and information about health and safety and the need to be aware of potential dangers on construction sites.
On the health and safety side, we are able to engage with the children through Ivor Goodsite, a character from Considerate Constructor, the body which promotes jobs in the construction industry and construction site safety. Ivor helps the children through interactive games and other competitions.
The aim is for the children to have fun, but in enjoying themselves they are also picking up key messages which are part of the school curriculum.
At Carway School, Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd has been working in partnership with building supplies firm Travis Perkins and Carmarthen Garden Centre.
They all teamed-up after the Carway pupils sent letters to local businesses asking for donations to enable them to plan and build vegetable plots within their school grounds.
Workers from Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd constructed three raised vegetable plots after Travis Perkins donated the soil and Carmarthen Garden Centre donated seeds.
The pupils will benefit from the vegetable plots by learning about healthy eating as part of their curriculum. They will be donating their vegetables to the school canteen for school dinners. The pupils will also recycle left-over fruit from the school fruit shop into a compost bin.
At Swiss Valley, Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd, teamed-up with Swiss Valley Garden Centre to plan and build three raised vegetable plots in the school grounds.
The Swiss Valley project also involves an innovative Knowledge Bank with pupils agreeing to teach IT computer skills to their parents and grandparents in exchange for their gardening knowledge.
Mr Dalziel added: I am extremely happy to be able to offer the companys assistance to Carway and Swiss Valley schools.
At both schools, the pupils have worked extremely hard to achieve their objectives.
It was our great pleasure to work with children from our community and to be able to pass on our knowledge and experience of the environment and health and safety issues. We are looking forward to working with more schools from our community next year.
A poster competition at Carway School was won by Saffi Elder and Harley Rooke.
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Dyfrig Dalziel Ltd is a family run construction and maintenance company which was first established in 1981 and became a limited company in 1999. Over the past 20 years the companys commitment to providing a high quality and professional service has allowed to company to develop into a successful business which now has a workforce of more than 30 employees. Quality of work, strong work ethics and excellent customer care, along with a good reputation for meeting deadlines have allowed the company to build strong and successful partnerships with its clients.
Cr Meibion Llanelli will be travelling to The Netherlands next week to take part in special Liberation Day and Veterans Day services to mark a key World War Two battle.
The choristers will be travelling to the city of sHertogenbosch (known in the Netherlands as Den Bosch The Wood), about 50 miles south of Amsterdam.
The invitation links in with special services and tributes to mark key events from World War Two, said choir secretary Fred Elias.
We are very honoured to receive the invitation to attend the events and looking forward to being proud representatives of Wales in Den Bosch.
Civic officials from Den Bosch attended one of Cr Meibion Llanellis rehearsals at Furnace Community Hall earlier this year.
They were given a taster of what they can expect to hear at our performances in Den Bosch next week, said Mr Elias.
Jan de Wit, chief executive of sHertogenbosch City Council, said: We were greatly impressed by what we heard at their rehearsals and are looking forward immensely to the choir joining us in Den Bosch.
Lieutenant Colonel David Mathias, of Llanelli, has been playing a key role in organising the trip.
He explained: There is a very big Welsh connection with Den Bosch. The city was liberated by the 53rd Welsh Division after a five-day battle on October 27, 1944. The 53rd Welsh lost 146 soldiers killed in action.
A year after the liberation, the Divisional Commander, Major General Ross, returned to the city and presented it with a commemorative shield made of oak salvaged from a bombed Cardiff church. The shield now takes pride of place in the Welsh Room in the citys medieval Town Hall.
The first of a series of Den Bosch Liberation Commemorations took place in 1984. The commemorations today involve Welsh civic representatives and Welsh music, strengthening the links between Den Bosch and the 53rd Welsh Division and between the people of Den Bosch and Wales.
Cr Meibion Llanelli members will take part in wreath-laying ceremonies, special civic events and two concerts.
They will also visit the nearby Uden War Cemetery, the Vught Concentration Camp and join a Battlefield tour.
Choir chairman Mel Harries said the choristers had been moved by the story of the liberation of Den Bosch and were keen to pay their memorial tribute in song.
The choir will be joined by soloist Llio Evans for their concert engagements.
Hang about. It isnt a full moon now. Its broad daylight!
You might think she's an ordinary girl leading an uneventful life but when her wacky Aunty Gwen is mugged and taken to hospital, Nia uncovers a startling secret in her aunts cellar
Jenny Sullivans latest novel, Full Moon , published by Pont Books , combines the life of the average teenager with a good dose of the supernatural. Nia loves her family but wishes that they could be a bit more normal. Theres Mam whos desperate to be a TV star but cant act for toffee while big sister, Ceri, is offered a part in a new TV series but is worried about her mothers jealous reaction. Last but by no means least, is little brother, Steffan, who thinks hes a superhero!
One moonlit night, Nias life is changed forever following an encounter with a pair of muggers. Unable to confide in anyone, the girls got a lot on her plate - finding the attackers, keeping up with her schoolwork and dodging the Kid Cops, solving Ceris dilemma, looking after Steffan and, of course, getting ready for her first date with Ryan OBrien! Will she manage to juggle everything and unravel the mystery of the fierce creature at Aunty Gwens which only makes an appearance when the moon is full . . . ?
Jenny Sullivans fast-paced, witty style of writing is sure to captivate the reader and ignite the imagination of anyone over ten with a taste for the supernatural.
Award-winning author Jenny Sullivan is both popular and prolific. She now lives in Brittany, but returns often to Wales, visiting schools and libraries across the country to conduct writing workshops. In 2006, she won the Welsh Books Councils highest accolade for childrens literature; the Tir Na n-Og Award with her historical novel Tirion's Secret Journal .
Full Moon is available to buy from all good bookshops and online retailers.
For more information please visit www.pontbooks.co.uk
Thank you for allowing me to be part of Americymru web site,it sad to see Wales lose out on the rugby but we will never lose our nationality our pride in our history,our history is our future.At the moment Im looking at the trees in the garden their leave are falling so Winter is on the way and its time to put the heating on if I can afford it,it sad that some people will not be able to put it on as they can't afford it something is wrong some where when people can't get warmth because of greed of these big companies well I better get off my soapbox once again thank you for your welcome
Launched 5 th November 2011 (Kindle edition available January 2012)
Kings Hart Books
http://www.kingshartbooks.co.uk/index.html
The final instalment of Ambrose Conways Reso trilogy is set for publication in the beginning of November.
The first book, set in the sixties, The Reso was published in May 2007 and charted the adventures of David as he negotiated the conflicting worlds of the notorious Reso estate in Rhyl, North Wales and the insistent voice inside his head, which sounded eerily like his mothers, trying to steer him clear of trouble. Beyond the Reso , published in 2009 documented Davids teenage years in Rhyl and the traumas and triumphs of adolescence. Resolution moves the action into the eighties, the leaving of Rhyl, life at university and finding a first job as a teacher.
The Reso and Beyond the Reso have formed part of a major regeneration project in Rhyl and Denbighshire focussing on raising achievement and employability among those not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs). The author has worked with BAFTA award winning filmmakers Huw and Lal Davies to develop a community film about growing up in Rhyl. The Reso is now being developed as a text for a multinational learning project linking Kenya, the USA, Greece, Sweden and Argentina.
Resolution follows the hero to University in York and a very different world from the Reso.
Past, present and future blur as some of his most treasured beliefs are subjected to broader scrutiny.
David weathers the first few weeks at university, facing the interminable conversations about A level grades in the Fresher ice-breaking social gathering. He endures the scribbled notes attached to yoghurt pots of communal kitchen living. He develops a singularly unsuccessful signature dish to woo desirable female students, only to find his first date is a vegetarian, and he intends to serve Gammon and Pineapple. The ensuring argument as to whether his quick-witted replacement dish, Pineapple Totale , consisting of pineapple in a jus of pineapple, constitutes a first course or a sweet casts a cloud over the first date.
In the spirit of solidarity David takes part belatedly in the occupation of the university administration building, although he cannot remember the outrageous demands of the administration! which prompted it.
Amongst the class labelled the Slugs , David finds an entrepreneurial business plan as eloquently developed as anything Lord Sugar is capable of producing. All his students require to pull it off is a deceased elephant, a strong constitution and an industrial sized fridge.
Resolution continues the quest for fine detail, beautifully recounted, established in the earlier books and it serves as a portrait of life in the late seventies and early eighties.
Ambrose Conway was born and grew up in Rhyl and has lent heavily on his teaching career from rural Cambridgeshire, suburban Cheshire and inner city Nottingham to develop and test the ideas behind the books on a live and demanding audience. In Resolution, the students have formed the inspiration for the tales of teaching as the lowly life form known as the student teacher, and the painful metamorphosis, through the educational absinthe of its day, Banda machine fluid, to the fully-fledged teacher.
As well as his schools audience, Ambrose has a growing Welsh and international following, his books selling particularly well in Canada, Australia and the USA, thanks in some part to his involvement with Americymru, the Welsh cultural organisation in North America.
Sorry, I've got a one-track mind. Once I start seeing things, they pop up everywhere- ( 'there are no coincidences' - I'm very fond ofFreud).
The book I'm thinking of again, is: 'How Does She Do It?'
Well, it was all over Saturday's 'Daily Telegraph'. The front page revealed that the woman onwhom it was basedspent most of her waking hours asa global fund manager. Tied up as she was in her job, this did not prevent her fromgiving birth, in fairly quick succession, tofour children. (High powered women like you to know they do everything pronto).
The childrenrarely saw their mother (we're beinghonest, now), just the twenty four hours a day nannies. Even Saturday morning wasMummy's 'me' time'.
Laterthe childrenwere dispatchedto boarding school. The mother claimedher job was so important to her well-being she simply couldn't give it up. What I'd like to know is, who forced her to have children, when she madeno time in her life for them? This familycertainly did not need the money, as her husband's job enabled them to live comfortably.
TheTwin Towers tragedy was the wake-up call, whenthe motherwas in New York and one of her daughters becameupset. So, having missed the babyhood and early yearsof the elder three, the mother then retired form her important job.
Now, there aren't many jobs like that in Haverfordwest. Quite a few nurses, teachers, bank workers, part-time shop assistants, farmers' wives, bed and breakfast proprietors, but nothing vaguely 'superwoman' andperhapswe should be thankful.
I do know a few families where, because the husbands werein the forces serving abroad, or in the higher echelons of the civil service, the children were entitledto go to boarding school for free.
Although somedid not like boarding school, most of themachieved good results and went toOxford and Cambridge.
Where are they now?Rarely seen by their parents, they work overseas or in London.Visits home are rare ashens' teeth.
When one friend asked me why her children did not bother with her, I could hardly say they had not forgiven herabout boarding school.(I know this because they told me).
I feel no sympathy for these 'Superwomen', who live the life they've chosen. I can't help feeling for the children, though.
Llanelli Rotary Club members have made a significant contribution to the town's Food Bank.
And last week they received first-hand news about how the Food Bank is distributing food to the needy in Llanelli.
The Rotary club's guest speaker at their weekly meeting at the Stradey Park Hotel was Food Bank co-ordinator Claire Childs, who explained how the food is distributed from Myrtle House in Llanelli.
The Rotary club members, and staff at Llanelli Rural Council, collected more than 65kg of food for the Myrtle House Food Bank.
Club president Graham Williams said members had been shocked to discover the level of need in Llanelli.
Mr Williams added: "Rotary Club members have been impressed with the way the Myrtle House operation is organised. There are safeguards in place to make sure the food goes to those truly in need and everything works very efficiently.
"I know that members of the Rotary Club were shocked to discover the level of need in Llanelli for the Food Bank service. With the recession biting again, it is more than likely that this level of need will accelerate.
"Fortunately, Llanelli is known for being a 'giving and caring community' and I am sure the people of the town will rally around the Food Bank cause and support it in any way it can, be it through donations of food or people giving their time to help as volunteers."
Last month the Food Bank, which is based in Myrtle Terrace, gave food aid to 163 people.
Now it is appealing for urgent help from the public to meet the need.
Co-ordinator Claire Childs told Rotarians: "The problem is massive. We are hearing from more agencies and more people are becoming involved. But we are running out of food quite quickly. We are really struggling at the moment because the demand has got so big so quickly."
Back in May this year the number of needy people seeking essential food aid had doubled to almost 100 people.
Many had literally nothing in the house at all, said Claire.
She said: "We really need food at the moment. If anybody wants to come and donate food or bring it to the food bank, we are open five days a week, from 10am to 1pm.
"We don't buy food, we rely on food donated by local people. It is a case of the community helping itself."
She said there were many reasons for the crises affecting so many people in Llanelli.
"I think there's a general tightening of belts all round. Everyone, whether or not they are vulnerable in society and even people who are moderately affluent are having to tighten their belts.
"It's just difficult for everyone. A lot of people are having benefit delays because of the financial climate we have."
The service started up in March and is helped by the Elim Church.
Donations of tinned and non-perishable food are being sought.
Claire added: "A lot of the people who come to us for help are very vulnerable. We gave out nearly a tonne of food last month. It's a lot of food. A lot of people who would have gone hungry are being helped."
All food aid donations are gratefully received contact Myrtle House on 01554 756051 or visit http://myrtlehouse.org.uk
