Robert Lloyd


 

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Cor Meibion Llanell's big Christmas concert


By Robert Lloyd, 2012-12-10

Cr Meibion Llanelli (Llanelli Male Choir) are staging a Christmas concert with a difference this year.
The choir's annual festive concerts at Theatr Elli have been pulling in the crowds for years.
This year, Theatr Elli is unavailable as work is completed on the new Ffwrnes theatre complex in East Gate, Llanelli.
"It's a bit of a blow not to have Theatr Elli available," admitted Cr Meibion Llanelli musical director Eifion Thomas.
"But in order not to disappoint our many fans, we have a Christmas concert with a difference planned for Tabernacle Chapel, Llanelli, on Saturday, 7pm."
The concert is being billed as 'Sing Christmas!', with audience participation encouraged so that everyone gets into the Christmas spirit.
Mr Thomas added: "We are also very fortunate in that we have some very special guests with us for the Tabernacle concert - Cr Curiad, Cr Baroc and the Queen Elizabeth Brass Quintet.
"It promises to be a memorable evening highlighting the very best in Welsh choral traditions, with the spotlight on festive tunes guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit."
The accompanist will be Sarah Thomas. The organist will be Allan Fewster MBE.
Admission is 5 by programme. Programmes are available from choir members.

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Roger Hunt happy to wear many hats!


By Robert Lloyd, 2012-12-10

There isnt a hat stand in Roger Hunts office; but if there was, it would be full.

Businessman, entrepreneur, Christmas tree grower, sheep farmer, scrap metal dealer and football club supporter . . . the CV is getting longer every year.

Theres a joke doing the rounds that the only person busier than me at Christmas is Sion Corn, old Father Christmas himself, laughs Hunt.

Pay a visit to his Christmas tree plantation overlooking the Tywi Valley and just up the road from Y Polyn restaurant and youll appreciate it isnt so much a joke as a statement of fact.

The joke is told in an accent which reveals his London and East England roots.

The 60-year-old former chairman of Football League side Cambridge United has travelled a long way to put his new roots down near the National Botanic Gardens.

My football links can confuse many people, said Hunt, who spends much of his spare time helping on the executive committee of Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town.

I can go to football dinners and it confuses the older generation. Some will mistakenly think Im the same Roger Hunt who played in the England World Cup winning team of 1966. I wish!

Were obviously two very different people, but it does get a laugh on occasions when people get confused.

Born in Folkestone and raised in London, Hunt now considers himself an adopted son of Sir Gar, Carmarthenshire.

I love the place and the people and its a great part of the world to live and work in.

Home for Hunt nowadays is Llwyndu Farm near the Botanic, a property once owned by the very sporting Williams family, showjumper Alun and brother Wyn, father of Paralympic discus medallist Claire Williams.

Im in the process of renovating the farmhouse, who is another of my projects. Its a slow process as there arent enough hours in the day, but we are getting there.

A short drive away lies Hunts Christmas tree plantation at Oaklands, which operates under the name Cymru Christmas Trees.

The plantation has more than 10,000 Norway Spruce trees, all in different stages of development.

I specialise in Norway Spruce as it is a very popular variety, but I also supply other Welsh-grown potted varieties and Nordman trees.

Sustainability is key to the business and many of my customers, including some local councils and community organisations, return year after year. I reckon I plant at least a 1000 trees every year. The spotlight is very much on this being a sustainable crop.

If people want to return trees to me after Christmas, then they can do so for shredding. Over at Cwm Environmental in Nantycaws, they also provide a very good shredding service and throw in a free bag of compost if you recycle your tree with them.

Hunt is keen to preach the environmental message. Buying local is very important to Carmarthenshire and we should all do our bit to keep the carbon footprint down and run good sustainable businesses.

Environmental matters are also at the heart of Hunts other business, Robinson Recycling, a leading South Wales scrap metal merchant, with a depot in Margam near Port Talbot.

We are one of the leading buyers of aluminium cans in South West Wales and we deal in all grades of ferrous of non-ferrous scrap metal.

Hunt declared: I have always been focussed on recycling - even before it started to get the label a green issue. I think we should all be far more sustainable than we are. Recycling must be on the top of everyones agenda.

One of Hunts other hats is that of a sheep farmer. We keep some Herdwick (Cumbrian) sheep on the farm, but the main flock is made up of Shropshire sheep, he said.

The Shropshire sheep are a neat fit with the Christmas tree business as they are the only breed which can graze in and around Christmas trees. They are well fed and they also help to maintain the Christmas tree plantation.

The sheep can be a 24-hour job, especially during the lambing season between January and March. Sadly, that means I do miss out on one of the other passions of my life, football.

Hunt was running a scrap metal businesses in Cambridgeshire when he first joined Cambridge United in April, 1990.

Just six weeks later I was sat in the Royal Box at Wembley, watching Cambridge United bear Chesterfield 1-0 in the first ever play-off final at Wembley. Dion Dublin scored the winning goal. You cant get much better than that and you cant buy that sort of experience.

Hunt is philosophical about the rest of his Cambridge United experience. The club went into decline both on and off the field. Cambridge dropped out of the Football League and then went in administration.

He reflected: At about that time, my wife who was from Swansea, suggested moving to West Wales. It was a 500-mile commute to Cambridge to see football matches and attend board meetings, so not easy by any stretch of the imagination.

After Hunt finished his association with Cambridge, he was approached by Carmarthen Town President Jeff Thomas to help the Welsh Premier League side.

I have plenty of experience of the rough and tumble world of running a Football League club, so I try to bring some of that experience to bear in helping Carmarthen Town.

The club is well run by an enthusiastic team of people. Budgets are tight, but Carmarthen Town is a progressive club working very hard to nurture young talent in the community.

Football is one of my passions and I think its very important in life to care passionately about what you do. I try to carry that through in the different areas of my business life. Carmarthenshire is a great place and I am very fortunate to be running several businesses which bring me great delight.

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Cwmcerrig Farmshop is on the shortlist for two prestigious Taste of Wales awards.
The awards are regarded as the Oscars of the food and drink industry in Wales.
Cwmcerrig features in two categories the shop is in the local sourcing section and the firms sirloin steak is in the beef section.
The popular Farmshop and Grill in Gorslas, Carmarthenshire, has its own herd of Hereford beef, which are reared at Cwmcerrig to high standards of animal welfare
One of the partners in the Watkins family business, Roland Watkins, said: We are delighted to be nominated for the Taste of Wales awards.
We have built up a great reputation for our meat here at Cwmcerrig and we take pride in producing quality, value-for-money products which are appreciated by our customers.
We also take great pride in making sure that the accent in our farmshop is on sourcing products locally.
The news of the Taste of Wales awards follows hot on the heels of Cwmcerrig being nominated for two prestigious UK Farm Retail Awards run by the National Farmers Retail and Markets Association (FARMA).
The 11th annual True Taste Food and Drink awards will be held at The Food Hall, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, on October 25.
The annual Welsh Government awards, held in association with Tesco this year, are designed to celebrate and highlight excellence in the food, drink and hospitality sectors. The awards also recognise the quality and range of produce and services in Wales.
This year, there were 830 entries from 250 different companies.
The Welsh Governments Deputy Minister for Food, Alun Davies, said: "The quality of the food produced in Wales can rival the best in the world. This list of shortlisted finalists also demonstrates the tremendous variety of what Wales has to offer.
"Not only is Welsh food emblematic of our rich heritage and culture, it is also extremely important to our economy and the Welsh Government are committed to ensuring a sustainable, viable and prosperous food industry for the future."

Cwmcerrig Farmshop first opened in 2009 with the aim of securing a sustainable future for the family farm and providing quality, value-for-money produce to the local community. There are 21 members of the Watkins family involved in the project. The Watkins family (Roland, Reuben, Stuart, Tom and Davina) have been farming at Cwmcerrig since the 1950s.

Weblinks
http://www.cwmcerrigfarmshop.co.uk
http://www.walesthetruetaste.co.uk/newsindex/2012/shortlistedfinalistsannouncedintruetasteawards1;jsessionid=dt17QBgDkP0BhMNc2TS34nkJJ1xlQFxyG6vT7P0zvB7S8X3xRzPX!-560317021?lang=en
or
http://ning.it/PFKcjL
Facebook: Cwmcerrig Farmshop and Grill (business)
Twitter: @CwmcerrigFarm
Contacts details:
Tel: 01269 844405
E-mail: info@cwmcerrigfarmshop.co.uk
Address: Cwmcerrig Farm, Gorslas, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, SA14 7HU
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Saturday 27th October the Burry Port Town Band will host 'An Audience with the Band' at the St Mary's Church, Burry Port (7pm).

The keynote feature of this event will be a discussion and performance of Tom Davoren's recently commissioned First Section National Finals music, Vivat!
Tom, a rising star of the brass band world, although still in his twenties, was commissioned to write this by the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain and also has his own strong links with Burry Port Town Band, as when he was growing up on the Gower Peninsular he joined the Burry Port Youth Band before progressing to the Senior Band on Tuba.
Now studying for his PhD at Bristol University under Professor John Pickard, Tom is delighted he can spend some time with the band and take part in this exciting new format to present the true reflection of what a modern brass band can be.
Graham Howe, the Band's Chairman added "that we're excited by this new format event, we hope it will be really fulfilling for the audience, who will have the opportunity to ask questions about the band, it's instruments, the music and its format and its great opportunity to showcase all of the instruments with some great music,. To be able to bring Tom's new work, Vivat! to our audience in Burry Port after a thrilling performance of it at the National Finals is something we're very keen to do. Tom is a fantastic musician, and really engages with the audience through his music."
Tickets are available from Burry Port Premier Stores, Elgan Jones Butchers, Edmond John on 01554 833749 or online fromtickets@burryporttownband.co.ukand are priced at 5.00 'Early Bird' prior to the concert or 7.50 on the door, with children welcome free of charge.
Gareth John the Band's Spokesman commented that "It's a fantastic opportunity for our supporters to hear some great music, especially the new work of Tom's, who is a great friend of the band, and it's fantastic to see him doing so well in his career having grown up through the ranks at Burry Port."
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Tickets are going fast for a special concert to give a boost to the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal in South West Wales.
The Royal British Legion Charity Gala Concert will be staged at The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen on Saturday, October 27.
It will feature Cr Godrer Aran (above), the celebrated male voice choir from North Wales, and the renowned Richard Williams Singers from Tonyrefail.
The driving force behind the concert is Cerith Owens, the director of Loud Applause Productions, a firm which devotes a lot of energy to charitable causes.
This has been a summer of notable events and great celebrations, with everything from the Queens Jubilee to the Olympics.
But October is the time when our thoughts turn towards Remembrance Day and this concert will be a moving and stirring tribute to the fallen, said Mr Owens.
The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal is a cause very dear to all our hearts and I hope the people of Carmarthenshire lend their support to such a worthy charity.
Hopefully, the concert will also attract visitors from outside Carmarthenshire as we have a very attractive concert programme.
The venue is very central in Carmarthen and I am sure the people of Llanelli will appreciate a stirring concert during an unusual lull while the town is without a major theatre until the new Ffwrnes takes over from the old Theatr Elli.
The guest soloist for the evening will be soprano Adele ONeill.
The evening will also feature the 215 City of Swansea Squadron Corps of Drums.
The MC for the evening will be Monro Walters, known to many as the stadium announcer at Parc y Scarlets, home of the Scarlets rugby region, and Stebonheath Park, home of the Llanelli Reds football team.
The evening will close with A tribute to the fallen.
Tickets are available from the Lyric box office on 0845 2263510. Prices are 11, 13 and 15, with a 2 child reduction.
  • Meanwhile, the Carmarthen branch of the British Legion is appealing for volunteers to help distribute collection boxes and man stalls in the run-up to Remembrance Day events. To help, call Elis Thomas on 07866921011.
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Lowri Davies, a legal assistant at the Cleddau Bridge offices of QualitySolicitors Redkite, has successfully completed her Level 6 CILEx Certificate in the Practice of Employment Law.
QS Redkite Managing Partner Luke Smith congratulated Lowri on her achievement and added: We work very hard here to make sure all our staff are given every chance to fulfil their potential.
Qualification successes such as Lowris show that we are constantly working to improve the quality of service we are able to offer our customers.
Lowri is a legal assistant supporting the employment and HR department at QualitySolicitors Redkite.
She assists in preparing contracts, handbooks and compromise agreements.
She graduated with an honours degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol and has also achieved her ILEX Level 3 Certificate in Employment Law and Practice.
CILEx is the professional association for Chartered Legal Executive lawyers and other members of CILEx.
It regulates its members in the public interest. CILEx provides education, training and the development of skills for its members, and those who wish to become more proficient and knowledgeable in the law.
Lowri Davies contact details
Tel:01646 689 326
email: lowri.davies@qs-redkite.com

Redkite team was this year delighted to be chosen as the only law firm in Camarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to join QualitySolicitors. Redkite was established in 2011 through the merger of two long-established law firms in South West Wales Lowless & Lowless and Morris Roberts.
The team at QualitySolicitors Redkite can be contacted on 01267 239000 and 01437 763332 or through the website at www.qualitysolicitors.com/redkite
The firm has 15 partners and a total headcount of 120, with seven offices spread across Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.
Weblink-
http://www.cilex.org.uk/
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Welsh comics heading for Norway


By Robert Lloyd, 2012-10-21




Heard the one about the two Welsh comedians trying to get an export licence to Norway?
Well, Norway is about to get the joke as two of our finest comedians get ready to perform at the Oslo Comedy Club next week.
Phil Evans andIgnacio Lopez have been invited to perform in Oslo after receiving an invitation from friends in Norway. They will be on stage at the Oslo Comedy Club on October 26 and 27.
"It's something of a step into the unknown, but we are looking forward to it," saidEvans.
"I've performed internationally before, but never in Norway, so it will be interesting to see how we are received and how much the Norwegians appreciate our sense of humour."
Evans is the 'Hugmeister of Wales' and the man who has put the 'Cwtsh' back into comedy.
He isa favourite warm-up comedian for TV shows on BBC, S4C and ITV. He has just finished a very successful variety show tour of South Wales with the singer Paul Child.
Squeeze him for information on his favourite topic the Welsh cwtsh (hug) and he will explain why a cwtsh should always be spelt as cwtsh and not cwtch.
Press him for further information about how his comedy career started and he will tell you how he left school with 10 GCSEs . . . before the headmaster told him to put them back!
Cheeky, but never crude or offensive, Evans produces a very Welsh brand of humour.
http://www.philevans.co.uk
Twitter @philevanswales
Ignacio Lopezis billed as 'Half Spanish, Half Welsh, All Funny.'
The 25-year-old lives in Swansea and was one of the contenders on the ITV show Show Me The Funny.
Website http://www.ignaciolopez.co.uk
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Cwmcerrig Farmshop is in the running for two UK awards.
The popular Farmshop and Grill in Gorslas, Carmarthenshire, is on the shortlist for the prestigious UK Farm Retail Awards run by the National Farmers Retail and Markets Association (FARMA).
The business is in two finals Farm Retailer of the Year and Best on-farm Butchery.

One of the partners in the Watkins family business, Roland Watkins (pictured above), said: We are delighted to be nominated for these two awards.
We won the Best Newcomer title last year, putting Carmarthenshire firmly on the UK food map.
Reaching the finals this year proves both to our customers and to the industry that we are not resting on our laurels.
We are working very hard to make Cwmcerrig the very best farmshop we can.
Being shortlisted for these UK-wide awards is a great honour and a reflection of the hard work everyone puts into the business here at Cwmcerrig.
Our selection in the highest award category for Farm Retailer of the Year puts us right up there among the very best farmshops in the UK.
Butchery is central to the business at Cwmcerrig and the shop has a 10-metre-long counter which features the farms beef, lamb and free range poultry.
Texel lamb and Hereford beef are reared at Cwmcerrig to high standards of animal welfare.
Meat from the farm features extensively in the cafs famous carvery grill.
The philosophy at Cwmcerrig is to keep everything local. What the farm cannot produce comes from other local and Welsh producers.

Cwmcerrig Farmshop first opened in 2009 with the aim of securing a sustainable future for the family farm and providing quality, value-for-money produce to the local community. There are 21 members of the Watkins family involved in the project. The Watkins family (Roland, Reuben, Stuart, Tom and Davina) have been farming at Cwmcerrig since the 1950s.

Weblinks
http://www.cwmcerrigfarmshop.co.uk
http://www.farma.org.uk/
Facebook: Cwmcerrig Farmshop and Grill (business)
Twitter: @CwmcerrigFarm
Contacts details:
Tel: 01269 844405
E-mail: info@cwmcerrigfarmshop.co.uk
Address: Cwmcerrig Farm, Gorslas, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, SA14 7HU
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