The Guinness Pro14 rugby fixtures were released at 14.00 hours today.

The Scarlets start with an away fixture at Ulster on September 1.

The Ospreys start at home against Edinburgh on August 31.

The full list of fixtures is on a spreadsheet here . . .

PRO14 Fixtures 2018-19_Master

After a hugely successful 12 months, a Llanelli running event is about to celebrate its first birthday.

Set up on August 5 last year, the Llanelli Coast Junior parkrun now caters for about 50 children a week, ranging from four-year-olds to teenagers.

Meeting at Pwll Pavilion every Sunday at 9am come rain or shine, the group is funded by RunWales through Sport Wales, with support from Carmarthenshire Council.

The weekly run is headed-up by event director Gill Handscomb and a team of volunteers.

Gill said: “The Llanelli Coast Junior parkrun has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months, so everyone involved deserves enormous praise as we head towards our first birthday.

“Groups of this nature and the volunteers who selflessly give their time are the lifeblood of our communities, with 376 different young people having taken part and an average of 15 volunteers have helped out each week since August last year.

“The Llanelli Coast Junior Park Run encourages children to take part in fun, weekly exercise in a scenic location, surrounded by welcoming people with the chance to socialise and make new friends.

“We hope to benefit hundreds more children in coming years, with other volunteers also very welcome to join us at our weekly event.”

Head to www.parkrun.org.uk for more information or to register your children.

Once you’ve registered, also be sure to print out the barcode available on the website to make sure your children are ready to run.

Hundreds of Carmarthenshire pupils will soon be learning about the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City Deal.

From September, the City Deal will feature as part of the enterprise and employability module of the Welsh Baccalaureate at schools across the county.

Following a trial in Carmarthenshire, the scheme could also be rolled out to schools in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire in future.

A qualification for 14 to 19-year-olds in Wales, the Welsh Baccalaureate aims to help students develop knowledge and skills that universities and employers want them to have when they leave school.

The Carmarthenshire trial is part of the Skills and Talent initiative that will underpin all City Deal projects, helping give people a pathway to access the thousands of well-paid jobs that will be created in sectors like life sciences, energy, smart manufacturing and the creative industries.

Cllr Emlyn Dole, Carmarthenshire Council Leader, said: “The Swansea Bay City Deal will create close to 10,000 new, high-quality jobs across the City Region, but it’s vitally important local people benefit from these job opportunities.

“That’s why a Skills and Talent initiative led by Carmarthenshire Council will support all City Deal projects, including the £200m Wellness and Life Science Village at Delta Lakes in Llanelli, and the ‘Yr Egin’ creative cluster at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s campus in Carmarthen.

“Subject to the approval of a business case by the UK and Welsh Governments, the Skills and Talent initiative will give children throughout the City Region a pathway to access the jobs being created by the City Deal by opening up suitable courses in schools, colleges and universities focussing on subjects aligned to the City Deal projects, including life sciences, digital technology, construction, and sustainable energy research and development.

“The trialling of the City Deal as part of the Welsh Baccalaureate in Carmarthenshire schools from September will raise awareness of the game-changing investment that’s about to unfold across South West Wales, helping inform students and teachers about the kind of innovative local projects, jobs and opportunities that are in the pipeline.”

Swansea Bay City Deal projects are being funded, subject to the approval of business cases, by the UK Government, the Welsh Government, the public sector and the private sector. Over the next 15 years, the City Deal will boost the regional economy by £1.8bn.

The Swansea Bay City Deal is being led by the four regional local authorities – Carmarthenshire Council, Swansea Council, Neath Port Talbot Council and Pembrokeshire Council – together with the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg and Hywel Dda University Health Boards, Swansea University, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and private sector partners.

Other City Deal projects include the Swansea City and Waterfront Digital District, which will feature a digital indoor arena, a digital village for tech businesses, and a ‘box village’ development for start-up companies at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s SA1 campus. A Homes as Power Stations project is also planned for the City Region as a whole, with all projects to be supported by world class digital infrastructure.

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Staff at Jenkins Bakery shops in Llanelli and the rest of South West Wales are dressing up and having fun to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Last year, the bakery staff helped raise a magnificent £3,200 for the charity.

This is the sixth year for the bakery to embark on the fundraising fortnight for Cancer Research UK (Photo above is of the Eastgate coffee shop in Llanelli).

All 30 Jenkins Bakery shops are decorated with a pink theme to promote Cancer Research UK.

The bakery is selling pink cupcakes and donating 10p for every cake sold.

Each shop is doing a different event or dressing up in fancy dress to promote the fortnight.

All shops have collection boxes to receive donations.

“The Pink campaign in our shops is always a huge success,” said Jenkins Bakery area manager Fiona Snook.

“Members of staff dress up in a pink theme and the shops are decorated to add to the party spirit.

“Our loyal customers are, of course, fantastic and hugely supportive of the campaign, with generous donations going to Cancer Research UK.

“A word of special praise goes to our staff, who are fantastic, holding raffles, fancy dress events and other fundraising projects to raise extra cash for the charity.”

“We are into our sixth year of doing this event and each year the fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK goes from strength to strength. A big thank you goes to all our staff and all our customers for supporting this worthy charity.”

Last year, the bakery staff enlisted the help of actor, broadcaster and ‘local hero’ Kev Johns MBE (see photo above) to hand over the cheque to Cancer Research UK at a special event at the Jenkins Bakery shop in Gowerton.

Kev Johns said: “I’m a lover of all things Jenkins, especially chocolate chip pancakes!
“I was delighted to be able to help out and accept the £3200 cheque from Jenkins on behalf of Cancer Research UK.

“All of the staff at Jenkins have done a marvellous thing for Cancer Research UK, so it’s a very big ‘Da iawn’ and well done from me for all their hard work for the charity.”

Every household in Carmarthenshire will soon be receiving a Household Enquiry Form to check who should be registered to vote.

Carmarthenshire County Council writes to all properties every year to update the Register of Electors.

It is important to provide the information requested because under Government rules you could be fined £1,000 for failing to do so.

The form holds information on those who are already registered in the household, but the householder is required to respond to the form, even if there are no changes.

Responding is quick and simple – you can either fill in the form and return using the freepost envelope or complete the form online by visiting www.hef-response.co.uk and using the 10 digit security code which will be on your form.

A project which aims to strengthen the heritage sector in Wales will be launched at the Royal Welsh Show on Tuesday, July 24.

Heritage Construction in Wales, supported by Carmarthenshire County Council, will be delivering a series of training, education and networking activities.

The pan–Wales project is funded by CITB and Cadw and is supported by a partnership of five organisations with a strong interest in supporting the development of the Welsh Heritage Construction Industry in Wales.

These are three construction companies: Andrew Scott Ltd; Tree and Sons Ltd and Just Lime Ltd; the Welsh Traditional Buildings Forum and Carmarthenshire County Council.

The project will run over four years and will meet some of the core objectives in the Strategic Partnership Skills Partnership Agreement between Cadw, CITB, Historic Environment Scotland and Historic England.

The scheme will support heritage contractors to qualify their workforce through the Onsite Assessment and Training route.  Experienced craftsmen and women will be assessed for their NVQ Level 3 in Heritage Stonemasonry, Plastering and Wood Occupations whilst they are working on site.

It is planned that on-line learning resources relating to theoretical heritage construction knowledge will be developed as well as a series of short accredited courses in Repair and Maintenance and Energy Efficiency in traditional buildings.

Employers will also be encouraged through the scheme to attract new staff by setting out entry routes within the heritage construction sector.

Cllr Mair Stephens, executive board member responsible for training, said: “This is an innovative project which we are delighted to support. This is an excellent opportunity for craftsmen and women in the county and for employers to up-skill their workforce.”

For more information about the project please contact Ruth Rees Project Officer on 01558 824271 or via e-mail on wtbfmail@gmail.com

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