Blogs
Smashing story in the Llanelli Star today about Radio BGM, the hospital radio service at Prince Philip Hospital, Llaneli.
Quoted in the Carmarthen Journal today in the campaign to establish a 'Black Book' exhibition in Carmarthen, at St Peter's Church.
Splendid story about the first Carmarthen Bay Film Festival in the Llanelli Star today.
The latest 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC column is in the Carmarthen Journal today.
Smashing back page story in the Carmarthen Journal about the forthcoming Mond Cup football final being staged at Richmond Park, Carmarthen.
Splendid story in the Carmarthen Journal's business page about Llandeilo brewery Evan-Evans chalking up record sales.
The new weekly gardening column by Aberglasney head gardener Joseph Atkin is in the Carmarthen Journal today.
Smashing picture story in the Carmarthen Journal about Carmarthen Town AFC football club members and their marathon charity bike ride.
Nice story in the Carmarthen Journal about next month's South and West Wales Caravan and Motorhome Show at Carmarthen's Nantyci Showground.
Carmarthen Journal puts the spotlight on the countdown to the annual Carmarthen Mayor's Fun Run races (Monday, May 7). Online entries start.
Nice story in the Carmarthen Journal about up-and-coming model Grayce Davis, from Carmarthen's Stagecoach theatre arts school.
Smashing picture in Llanelli Star showing the ladies of Ashburnham Golf Club dressing up in golfing gear from 'yesteryear' for a tournament.
Llanelli Star's Going Out section has a nice story about Rhydian's concert with Cor Curiad and Cor Meibion Llanelli being a sell-out.
Nice story in the Llanelli Star sports pages about the Junior Open staged at The Ashburnham Golf Club in Pembrey.
.
Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog
Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church
For details of how to sponsor see this post
.
Not much to say today. I ran around the turnips for 15 minutes and my feet hurt. I will try to be a little more expansive tomorrow
Today has been my day off for the week and I've spent much of it reading. Many thanks to Peter Lewis for his review of 'The Coward's Tale'. I am reading it now and it is excellent. Hoping to have an interview with author Vanessa Gebbie on the site soon. Meanwhile here is a link to Part 2 of our interview with Bernard Knight:- http://www.storyforgestudios.com/americymru/directory/usersblogs22/98-interview-with-welsh-writer-bernard-knight-part-2
In this interview Bernard speaks about the Madoc legend , Jack the Ripper and his experiences with television forensic series. He also discusses plans for a forthcoming series of short stories or novellas centered around the adventures of a 1930's Cardiff based tramp steamer.
On a side note, if you live in the LA area please consider helping out with the fund raising drive for the St Davids Day event there next year. I've posted a link over in the right hand column---->
That's all for now....back to my book. More tomorrow
.
A Message From Fly Cardiff - Please Help Spread The Word - Sign The Petition!
By AmeriCymru, 2012-04-17
" A world class airport, for a world class city" is the message behind the social media campaign group FLY Cardiff's call.
The lack of flights from Cardiff Airport has received much press locally in the last few weeks and the campaign group continuesto receive support through its website, Facebook, Twitter & online petition - www.fly-cardiff.co.uk/join-in.php
Welsh passengers fully support this call with some remarkable comments on the petition site.
Thankfully politicians at the Welsh Government HQ in Cardiff Bay have become involved in the problems of Cardiff Airport withthe First Minister forming a task group to discuss the way forward.
One of the routes that many passengers would like to see returned to the departure boards at Cardiff Airport is a transatlantic servicewhich has been missing for a number of years, making it necessary for passengers to travel outside of Wales to access flights and like wise ex-patswanting to visit family have to return to Wales via England, bizarre in the extreme. We'd all love to see JFK on our arrivals & departure board.
Please can you spread the news of this campaign to as many people as possible and ask them to sign and comment on the above petition.If you have access to any airline executives, please also make them aware of the campaign.
Every little helps!
Diolch yn fawr iawn"
.
.
The re is still time to enter this years sixth international Welsh Poetry Competition and be in with a chance of bagging the 300 1 st Prize.
The aim of the competition is to encourage and reward the abundance of creative writing talent that we know exists out there but finds difficulty getting recognition.
Writer and competition organizer Dave Lewis said: Poets have just over a month left to send us their entries and be in with a chance of a cash prize and publication on our website.
We are 100% independent, we do not use filter judges, we do not get grants, bursaries or other public money from the Arts Council but are purely self-financing.
This year weve already had entries from France, India, USA , New Zealand and Cameroon to name just a few places. We are looking for new and innovative writers, so if you think youre the one why not send us your work!
Weve had f ive great years now which confirms the Welsh Poetry Competition as a truly international event firmly embedded in the literary calendar. As always many people enter because they know it is a unique opportunity and feel our competition is judged fairly.
W e aim to discover previously unpublished voices and are less concerned with an academic approach to poetry but would rather see pure raw passion burst onto the creative writing scene in Wales.
The prize money for 201 2 is as follows. Prizes are: 1st Prize - 300, 2nd Prize - 150 and 3rd Prize - 75 plus 17 runners-up being published on our website .
We are absolutely delighted that John Evans , has agreed to judge this years competition. He has become an internationally respected figure both for his writing and his work campaigning to conserve our wildlife and environment.
To enter you just need to compose a poem, in English, of less than 50 lines and send to the competition organizers. Entry forms are available by post, can be downloaded from the web site or picked up from all of Wales libraries. It is only 4 to enter and the closing date is Sunday 2 7 th May 201 2 .
Competition Website - www.welshpoetry.co.uk
Competition Judge www.johnevans.org.uk
.
Cor Meibion Llanelli have accepted an invitation to sing at the Wales v Barbarians rugby match at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday, June 2.
The choir has also accepted an invitation to sing on the steps of The Senedd building in Cardiff Bay as part of a demonstration against health cuts in Llanelli organised by SOSSPAN, the Save Our Services Action Network for Prince Philip Hospital. The demonstration will take place on Wednesday, May 23.
Happy birthday to chorister Peter Griffiths.
Also, best wishes for a speedy recovery to retired chorister former Welsh rugby international Ray Williams.
Just 24 days to the start of the South & West Wales Caravan & Motorhome Show (May 11-13). Check out the website - http://daffodilevents.co.uk/caravan-motorhome-show/
Very enjoyable 'coffee break' with the team at the Ty Golau (Lighthouse) project, which is a health and well-being project for the elderly.
Online entry has now opened for the 2012 Carmarthen Mayor's Fun Run and junior races (May 7) - http://www.rasusymaer.org.uk
Meet the team behind the new Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (starts in three weeks) - http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/about.php
Kick-off time changed. Port Talbot Town v Carmarthen Town (Welsh Premier League) Saturday April 21 now 3:30pm - http://www.carmarthentownafc.com/
Good start to day - have found suitable victim (sorry willing volunteer!) for next interview for Llanelli Talking Newspaper for the Blind.
Burry Port tailored sheet metal solutions firm Amcanu on the ThisIsSouthWales website - http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Company-benefit-cash/story-15838082-detail/story.html
Best of luck to Mrs Lloyd today, who starts a new job with @melinconsult Melin Consultants in Llanelli.
Nice story about Burry Port firm Amcanu and their 200,000 contract with Tata Steel in the South Wales Evening Post today.
Owain Davies, of Burry Port firm Amcanu, featured on BBC's Newyddion Welsh language TV news on S4C last night. Talking about Tata boost.
Cor Meibion Llanelli choristers on song in rehearsal last night. Sounding good for gig with Cor Curiad and Rhydian Roberts on Saturday.
Mond Cup football final page has been added to the Carmarthen Town AFC website - http://www.carmarthentownafc.com/mondcupfinal.html
Owain Davies, of Burry Port firm Amcanu, was on 'Post Prynhawn' on Radio Cymru yesterday evening. Catch it again on the BBC's iPlayer (45 mins in).
The Stagecoach Carmarthen theatre arts school website has been updated with the latest news - http://ning.it/HZMe4e
The Healing The Wounds website (Welsh PTSD charity) has been updated with the latest fund-raising news - http://healingthewounds.co.uk/index.php/charity-news/fundraisingnews
Just 21 days to the start of the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival. Check out the website - http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/index.php
The new rebranded QualitySolicitors Redkite website is up and running - http://www.qualitysolicitors.com/redkite
Check out the Real Ale Club on the Evan-Evans Brewery website - http://www.evanevansbrewery.com/our-ales/real-ale-club/
The website for Cor Meibion Llanelli has just been updated with latest news - http://llanellimalechoir.co.uk/Latestnews.html
.
Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog
Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church
For details of how to sponsor see this post
.
I was browsing through the half marathon section on Google news today and a number of items caught my eye. It occurred to me that the place and time of my ordeal were expertly chosen. I will be avoiding two of the most taxing trials for long distance runners:-
1. Elevation
I happened across this item about the 2012 Bald Peak Half Marathon . Apparently:-
There will be 800 feet of elevation gain in the first two miles, followed by 10 or so more miles of rolling hillsand many smaller (yet still challenging)climbs. The sweeping views of the Willamette Valley are sure to be pleasing, but runners better not get too comfortable as a 300 foot gain over the last half mile may leave some of us crawling over the finish line.
Thankfully the course I will be running on is flat....totally flat all the way.
2. Adverse Weather Conditions
4,000 runners turned out in the rain despite threatened severe weather conditions in Dallas Texas yesterday for the "Big D Texas Marathon":- Runners Brave The Storm for Marathon
.
I really don think that, even in Oregon, we will experience adverse weather conditions on July 4th. Here is an average weather report for Portland from weatherspark.com:- Average Weather For Portland, Oregon, United States For July 4
By comparison with either of the above mentioned events I should have quite an easy time of it. All I have to do is to persuade my weary old bones to reach the end of a flat circuit in more or less ideal weather conditions. More on that yfory
.
The first keystone in that investment is the 185m to be spent on rebuilding the No 4 blast furnace at Tata Steels huge Port Talbot plant.
And the small specialist Amcanu firm in Burry Port will gain spin-off business from that development.
We are delighted to say we are already involved in the No4 blast furnace project, said Owain Davies, managing director at the specialist tailored sheet metal solutions firm.
We are quite a small fish in this particular pond, but it just goes to show that the ripples from massive investment projects like the one planned by Tata Steel can reach a long way.
As a South Wales business we are delighted to see Tata Steel making such a huge commitment to the future of their industry in Wales.
It can only be good news for other businesses as they feel the ripple effect of such welcome investment.
Mr Davies said the team at Amcanu were very excited to play their part in the rebuild of No4 blast furnace.
In total, we will be supplying 13 pumping units, worth an estimated 200,000 to us as a business.
Obviously, when you scale things down, the sums of money dont seem so massive when you reach firms of our scale and size.
But a project like this does represent great news for Amcanu, a firm which employs 26 people in Burry Port.
We have come a long way from our early history as a general engineering contractor.
The Amcanu business today is all about specialising in a particular niche in tailored sheet metal solutions.
Sound-insulation is the name of the game when it comes to providing pumping equipment and our specialist solutions are put to work in quarries, mines, sewerage works and, of course, steelworks.
Adaptability is the key to our business and we spend a lot of time on research and development. We are thinking about the solutions to problems even before we get firms coming to us with their queries. Its our in front of the market approach.
Having a speciality means that we have a great market opportunity here in Burry Port and we have geared up for that with investment in people and technology to make sure that we can deliver specialist sheet metal solutions as and when they are required.
The products for Port Talbot will be put to use as back-up pumps for the cooling system for the blast furnace. But we wont be resting on our laurels here at Amcanu as we will be busy thinking about news and innovative products and engineering solutions for our clients.
We relish a challenge and as a business with a great deal of heritage we care passionately about what we do, investing heavily in quality control, research and development.
Weblinks:
http://amcanu.co.uk/
About Amcanu . . .
Amcanu is a design and manufacturing business. We provide tailored sheet metal solutions, with the emphasis on quality, attention to detail and precision. Based in West Wales, we produce tailored sheet metal solutions which are used around the world.
Amcanu is the company name and it reflects our Welsh roots and our passion for our work. Amcanu is a Welsh word (you can pronounce it Ahm-KAHN-ee). The word means to design . . . to have a purpose. Amcanu reflects our Welsh identity and our manufacturing values.
We specialise in acoustic insulated enclosures for use in an industrial environment. For example, we can provide cases for water pumps or other types of noisy equipment.
Amcanus association with Burry Port goes back more than 30 years. The business became a part of the economic fabric of the community in 1975 when it started as Spencer Davies Engineering. Spencer Davies is group chairman of Amcanu and the father of Amcanu managing director Owain Davies. Over the years, the business has evolved to its current operation as Amcanu, a company engaged in clever and innovative engineering production.
The family work ethic still forms an important part of 40-year-old Owains stewardship of the company, with the business having many experienced long-term employees working alongside highly-skilled technology wizards who know how to get the best out of todays cutting edge computer equipment.
We hold Investors in people status. We also hold the ISO 9001 benchmark. We have received a Certificate of Merit from Sony.
Tailored sheet metal solutions are the name of the game here at Amcanu. Good tailors are always at a premium and we like to think of ourselves as the Savile Row of sheet metal solutions.
The Carmarthen Town AFC charity cyclists received a cash boost from Town's players on Saturday.
Phil Williams, Anthony Parnell, Paul Evans, Emlyn Schiavone, Ultann George, Ceri Rees and Paul James completed a marathon four-day cycle ride in aid of Ty Cymorth (the club's nominated charity for this year) and the Carmarthen Town AFC Community Programme.
It was a circular ride of 240 miles beginning and finishing at Carmarthen Town AFC, taking in visits to Aberystwyth Town AFC, Newtown AFC, Port Talbot AFC, Afan Lido AFC, Neath AFC and Llanelli AFC football grounds.
The Carmarthen Town AFC members were carrying on a tradition started by former treasurer Nigel Williams, who sadly passed away recently. Nigel was instrumental in organising charity cycle events during his long relationship with the club.
If you want to contribute to the fund-raising, then you can do so through the Carmarthen Town website - http://www.carmarthentownafc.com
