From low cost Yugos to memorable Rovers and the famous DeLorean, six common car brands of yesteryear that are no longer seen on UK roads have been revealed by motoring experts from LeaseCar.uk.

Car experts from LeaseCar.uk have revealed exactly when and why some of Britain’s favourite motoring brands from years gone by closed down.

Triumph, Morris and Stanley all produced cars which graced Britain’s streets for many years, but their production lines have since come to a halt.

Some brands collapsed due to management issues, with others being swallowed up by bigger companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and consequently have never been seen since.

Tim Alcock from LeaseCar.uk said: “Cars often have a special place in our hearts but as one car manufacturer is created sadly, we often lose others.

“Creating this list sent us on a trip down memory lane and reminded our experts of many of the forgotten cars of yesteryear, when British car manufacturing was the best in the world.

“Some of the companies were around for many years producing some iconic cars, with others being one model wonders.”

Here is the LeaseCar.uk list of six extinct car brands:

1. Yugo

Seen as the low-cost alternative to models of cars which were becoming more and more expensive, Yugo made a large impact on our roads in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, it was the low-cost options which brought the company to its end, with a lack of quality control. The company had a brief period of stardom but closed in 1992.

2. DeLorean

Creating only one model – the DMC-12 – which was made famous in the Back to the Future films, there are still around 6,500 DeLoreans being driven. The company was only survived for seven years, with the remaining parts being bought by someone who set up the DeLorean Motor Company.

3. Triumph

The brand was acquired by Leyland Motors in 1960 and BMW took over the brand in 1994. The name ‘Triumph’ was retired in 1984. Triumph gave us many great models such as the 1946 1800 Roadster, 1973 Spitfire and 1983 Acclaim.

4. Rover

Based in Solihull and known for quality and performance Rover was sold to Leyland Motors in 1967. The company made an electric car in 1888 but it was never put into production. The name and marque of Rover was used up until 2005, but is now owned by Jaguar Land Rover, with no Rover Vehicles currently being in production.

5. Morris

Set up by William Morris in 1912 he started with bicycles and then diversified into cars. One of the most famous cars of the Morris production line was the Morris Minor. The company owned and produced many different engines and had agreed to manufacture Spitfires until the management failed.

6. Wolseley

Britain’s best-selling car brand in the 1920’s, the last ever Wolseley was created in 1975, the 18-22 Series. In 1927 William Morris bought the company and ran it separately alongside Morris Motors, until just before the Second World War when the two companies came together. Wolseley and Morris are now owned by the Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation.

Busy parents getting ready for the new term this week have been offered five back to school money saving hacks by shopping experts from NetVoucherCodes.co.uk, to help manage the purse strings while getting everything needed.

Deciding what is worth investing in and what can be bought in bulk can help reduce the amount of money being spent.

Being super savvy and eyeing up the best deals offered by supermarkets and stationery shops can mean there’s more money to put towards school lunches.

A spokesperson for NetVoucherCodes.co.uk said: “After an expensive summer spending time with the kids, preparing to send them back off to school can be financially difficult too.

“With new uniform, stationery and shoes all being needed the expense can soon rack up – even more so if you have more than one child.

“Being a bit more thoughtful about where you spend the money and being realistic about how long items are going to last can help money go a bit further.”

These are NetVoucherCodes.co.uk five handy back to school hacks:

1. Uniform

Supermarkets always have back to school offers on, so making sure you’re keeping an eye on these can help keep more money in your pocket. This year ASDA are offering school uniform from £2. To be super savvy you can also save some money on your weekly shop as you’re doing it!

If you have more than one child, buy one get one free offers can be great to get them all kitted out. Hand-me-downs are also brilliant, with children growing so quickly they can sometimes only be in clothes for a few weeks before they need the next size up.

2. Re-use

Going back through stationery and clothes from last year and see what the kids already have plenty of means you won’t end up buying more of the same thing. Children can be notorious for using only one page of a notebook and wanting a new one, or not.

3. Buy in bulk

Pens and pencils are always going to be needed and are items which will always run out. Buying in bulk at the beginning of the academic year will mean that there is no added costs throughout the terms when more pens are needed.

4. Wait

If you have a list and know exactly what you need to buy, waiting until a few days before schools start means you may be able to make the most of some great offers. Similarly, buying early before to back to school rush can help save you money too.

5. Invest

Some items are worth spending a bit more money on. A good backpack will be able to be used for many years, so can be seen as a long-term investment. A more expensive pair of shoes will also last the year, or until their feet grow out of them! Deciding what’s worth the money and what isn’t can help you save in the long run.

There’s a new male choir in town in Llanelli.

It has been set up by former Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir musical director D Eifion Thomas.

And the choir’s accompanist is former Côr Meibion Llanelli pianist Aled Maddock.

The choir is called Meibion Elli – The Sons of Elli.

The autumn series of rehearsals for the choir start on Thursday, September 5 at 7pm at Llanelli Library’s
Athenaeum Hall.

Musical director Mr Thomas said: “Meibion Elli aims to perpetuate, develop and extend that male choral excellence for which Llanelli enjoys a worldwide reputation.

“If you feel that you could contribute to this goal, then please visit us when we meet at the Llanelli Library on September 5.

“You will not have a formal audition, other than a brief informal chat to find your vocal range.

“You do not have to possess a ‘great voice’. We can help you become a valued chorister.

“Call in to see and hear us at Llanelli Library. You’ll have a warm welcome – Fe gewch groeso cynnes!”

Mr Thomas has achieved most things in Welsh choral singing.

Under Mr Thomas, Côr Meibion Llanelli were successful at all the major Welsh choral competitions.

The honours list included five National Eisteddfod first prizes – at Lampeter in 1984, Fishguard in 1986, Llandeilo in 1996, Bridgend in 1998 and Llanelli in 2000.

Mr Thomas initially served as accompanist to the choir from 1965 until 1974, under the direction of founder-conductor Denver Phillips.

Mr Thomas helped spread the name of Llanelli across the world, with successful tours and visits to Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland, and England.

He had the honour of conducting the North American Welsh Societies National Gymanfa Ganu on four occasions – Vancouver (1980), Victoria, Canada (1990), Seattle (1994), and San Jose (2001).

As a result of his work in the sphere of music in the community, Mr Thomas was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International and was inducted into the highest level of Wales’s Bardic Circle in 2007.

In 2000, he was the conductor of the National Eisteddfod Choir when the Festival was held in Llanelli. The Eisteddfod Choir’s singing, under his direction at the Gymanfa Ganu, of the anthem Dyn A Aned O Wraig still remains as one of the most memorable occasions in the Eisteddfod’s history.

Mr Thomas is also a fine tenor soloist and has appeared as soloist in performances of Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, and Mass in Time of War, Stainer’s Crucifiction, Maunder’s Olivet to Calvary, Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Lobegesang.

Perhaps one of the most memorable choral experiences was the choir’s appearance at The Brit Awards in 1993 – sharing the stage with such musical giants as Take That, Elton John, Meatloaf and The Pet Shop Boys.

Mr Thomas is an honorary member of Cor Meibion Llanelli’s twin choir in Germany, the 1870 Singverein of Laudenbach.

The summer concert season at St Peter’s Church in Carmarthen will finish today at 1pm, with the organist Meirion Wynn Jones.

A native of Rhewl, Llangollen, Meirion was educated at Wells Cathedral School, before winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied piano with Alexander Kelly, organ with Nicholas Danby, organ improvisation with Naji Hakim, and choral direction with Patrick Russill.

As a student, he held organ scholarships at Winchester Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, working with David Hill and Martin Neary, respectively.

Having held organist posts at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, the Birmingham Oratory and Brecon Cathedral, Meirion now pursues a freelance career as a composer, accompanist and teacher.

He was for many years a staff accompanist at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen and at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

His choral and vocal works have been recorded and broadcast on BBC radio and S4C.

In 2011 he was awarded the Musician’s Medal (Tlws y Cerddor) for composition at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

Recently commissioned works include Ffrindiau Bach a Mawr for Côr Heol y March, and the anthem Beloved, Let Us Love for the John S. Davies Singers, marking the 40th anniversary of their founding.

The members of the Hospital Notes Choir, based in Llanelli, are getting ready for a big concert next week.

Hospital Notes will be joined by Côr Meibion Llanelli for ‘The Greatest Show’ on Friday, September 6 (7.30pm) at The Diplomat Hotel,
Llanelli.

The Hospital Notes Choir was founded to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service.

Choir member Linda Williams explained it has been an eventful and exciting time for the choristers.

She said: “The choir was founded to bring together colleagues from the hospital and community sectors, past and present, to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the NHS.

Linda added: “We secured the talented leadership and direction of our musical directors Andrew Harries and Stacey Harris. We rehearsed weekly at Prince Philip Hospital.

“Our first concert performance was at Dafen Church at the Remembrance Service. We also sang at ‘Their Light Still Shines’ service at the National Botanic Gardens in
Llanarthne.

“We sang at the Prince Philip Hospital Carol Service and performed Christmas Carols around the wards at both Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, and Prince Philip Hospital. We continue to go from strength to strength, with a busy and diverse performance schedule for 2019. We are excited and proud to have become the only integrated health, care and emergency services choir in the UK.

“We believe that the choir is a way of creating a wonderful community, getting to know people that you may never have come in to contact with and forging new friendships. Being able to sing is not as important as wanting to have fun and be part of the choir.

“The rehearsals and performances and the fundraising activities of the choir all support our well-being and provides us with the opportunity of giving back to our community.”

There’s a big night coming up in Burry Port next month when Côr Meibion Porth Tywyn (Burry Port Male Choir) hold their 56th annual concert. It is taking place at 7pm on Saturday, September 21, at St Mary’s Church in Burry Port.

The guests include bass baritone Anthony Stuart Lloyd, soprano Keely Morgan, harpist Rhian Griffiths and accompanist Caradog Williams, the compere will be Iwan Jenkins. The musical director will be Ryan Lee and the choir’s accompanist will be John Evans. Tickets are available at £10.

There’s a chance to see and hear the Three Welsh Tenors coming up in Llanelli next month when Y Tri Tenor perform at a charity fundraising concert at the Stradey Park Hotel,
Llanelli.

The event, on Friday, September 27 at 7pm, is part of Lleisiau Llan choir’s year-long fundraising for the Uganda Dr Vaughan Fund.

The host for the evening will be Carmarthenshire councillor and former TV presenter Glynog Davies.

* If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com

Any opportunity to see and listen to the Welsh Three Tenors (Y Tri Tenor) is not to be missed.

There’s one coming up in Llanelli next month when Y Tri Tenor perform at a charity fundraising concert at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli.

The event, on Friday, September 27, 7pm, is part of Lleisiau Llan choir’s year-long fundraising for the Uganda Dr Vaughan Fund.

The host for the evening will be Carmarthenshire councillor and former TV presenter Glynog Davies. Llanelli, Wales and British Lions rugby hero Phil Bennett will be the guest speaker.

Lleisiau’r Llan is a ladies choir from Llanelli formed in 1995 in response to a request by a group of friends who wanted to sing and socialise.

The socialising element remains very important to the girls, but the choir also raises money for local charities.

The choir’s conductor is Jill Evans and they have two talented accompanists, R Allan Fewster MBE and Julie Humphreys. Glynog Davies and BBC newsreader Huw Edwards are the choir’s honorary presidents.

The choir has raised more than £250,000 for the Breastcare Unit, Ty Bryngwyn Hospice in Llanelli, Dementia and Kidney Research.

Y Tri Tenor are, of course, Rhys Meirion, Aled Hall and Aled Wyn Davies.

They are all famous tenors in their own right, enjoying successful solo careers.

But when they come together under the banner of Y Tri Tenor you are promised something extra special.

Rhys Meirion has enjoyed international success in opera and recording and national success in broadcasting.

After two years on the Opera Course at The Guild Hall of Music and Drama in London, he joined the English National Opera Jerwood Young Singers Programme and was subsequently a Company Principal before becoming a freelance performer.

His roles include Rodolfo in La Boheme, Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly, Alfredo in La Traviata, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, Nadir in The Pearl Fishers, Marcello in Leoncavallo’s La Boheme, Duke in Rigoletto, Tebaldo in Capuletti e Montecchi, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Ernani, Sailor in Tristan und Isolde, Faust, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Froh in Das Rheingold, Zinovy in Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk and more.

Concert highlights include The Karl Jenkins 70th Birthday Celebrations Concert at The Carnegie Hall New York, a gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall with Bryn Terfel, his BBC Prom debut at the opening night of the BBC Proms (televised on BBC 2), Desert Island Discs Anniversary Concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, a live BBC recording of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Richard Hickox, and Verdi’s Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall .

Rhys has an extensive catalogue of recording work, including a duet album with Bryn Terfel (‘Benedictus on the SAIN label’) which was nominated for a Classical Brit Award.

Rhys was a regular presenter on the television programme Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol for S4C and had his own radio show on Sunday mornings on BBC Radio Cymru.

His charity work has included three 200 mile walks to support the Wales Air Ambulance, for whom he is an Ambassador.

His autobiography for Welsh publishers Y Lolfa became the No 1 Best selling book in Wales.

Pencader-based Aled Hall has natural stage presence and unrivalled comic timing.

Recently, he has excelled in the character tenor repertoire with many leading companies internationally.

Highlights, both in the UK and abroad, have included Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier (Royal Swedish Opera); Pang Turandot, Spoletta Tosca, the Dancing Master Manon Lescaut (Royal Opera House); Don Curzio Le nozze di Figaro (Aix-en-Provence, Tokyo, Baden Baden); Mr Upfold Albert Herring (Salzburger Landestheater); Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier and Maintop Billy Budd (Opera North); Don Basilio/Don Curzio, Beadle Bamford, Monostatos, Scaramuccio, and Remendado (Welsh National Opera); Don Basilio, Bardolpho and Frisellino Le Pescatrici (Garsington Opera); Tinca and Gherardo Il Trittico, Flaminio L’amore dei tre Re, Chekalinsky The Queen of Spades, Isèpo La Gioconda, Almeric Iolanta, Lord Cecil Roberto Devereux, Trabuco La Forza del destino, Ser Toldo Berardengo Francesca da Rimini, Arturo Lucia di Lammermoor, Borsa, and Don Basilio/Don Curzio (Opera Holland Park).

Concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall conducted by Sir David Willcocks; a British Tour of Messiah by Candlelight for Raymond Gubbay; Carmina Burana with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall; Mozart Requiem with the London Mozart Players at the Fishguard International Festival; tenor soloist in the first London performance of Daniel Jones’ oratorio St Peter; Facio in Offenbach’s Fantasio with the OAE, Ebbone in Mercadante’s I Normanni a Parigi with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Osburgo in Bellini’s La Straniera with London Philharmonic Orchestra all for Opera Rara at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Aled Wyn Davies is often better known as ‘Aled Pentremawr’. He started his career as a folk-singer, but after winning all the important prizes in folk-singing at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 1999 and the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2001, he started to broaden his horizons as a tenor soloist. Now he has become a familiar voice and face on TV, radio and concert venues all over the world.

One of Aled’s greatest achievements so far is the fact that he has won the national tenor solo competition three times in succession in 2004, 2005 and 2006, then he won the ultimate accolade at the Swansea National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2006 – the famous Blue Riband vocal prize (Y Rhuban Glas), and who could forget the memorable applause he received for his special rendition of the famous aria “Che Gelida Manina” from the opera La Boheme.

There’s a big night coming up in Burry Port next month when Côr Meibion Porth Tywyn (Burry Port Male Choir) hold their 56th annual concert.

It is taking place at 7pm on Saturday, September 21, at St Mary’s Church in Burry Port.

The guests include bass baritone Anthony Stuart Lloyd, soprano Keely Morgan, harpist Rhian Griffiths and accompanist Caradog Williams, The compere will be Iwan Jenkins. The musical director will be Ryan Lee and the choir’s accompanist will be John Evans. Tickets are available at £10.

It’s a busy August at St Peter’s Church in Carmarthen. Today, (1pm) sees classical guitarist Duncan Leigh perform at St Peter’s. Duncan is a classical guitarist, composer and teacher based in Swansea.

He performs the Renaissance and Baroque era music of Scarlatti and Handel, the Classical and Romantic compositions of Sor and Giuliani, traditional Spanish and Latin American guitar music (e.g. Tarrega and Villa-Lobos), up to modern day pop tune arrangements and his own original compositions.

The summer concert season at St Peter’s will finish on Wednesday, August 28 (1pm), with the organist Meirion Wynn Jones.

The members of the Hospital Notes Choir, based in Llanelli, are getting ready for a big concert in September. Hospital Notes will be joined by Cor Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir for ‘The Greatest Show’ on Friday, September 6 (7.30pm) at The Diplomat Hotel, Llanelli.

* If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com

There’s a big night coming up in Burry Port next month when Côr Meibion Porth Tywyn (Burry Port Male Choir) hold their 56th annual concert.

It is taking place at 7pm on Saturday, September 21, at St Mary’s Church in Burry Port.

The guests include bass baritone Anthony Stuart Lloyd, soprano Keely Morgan, harpist Rhian Griffiths and accompanist Caradog Williams,

The compere will be Iwan Jenkins. The musical director will be Ryan Lee and the choir’s accompanist will be John Evans.

Tickets are available at £10.

Anthony Stuart Lloyd’s rich Welsh bass-baritone has been described as ‘a voice of Rolls Royce sumptuousness’.

Award-winning international vocalist Anthony is one of Wales’ most acclaimed, versatile and engaging performers.

Handsome, charming and standing an imposing 6ft7in, he instantly captivates his audiences with his personality and his lyrical, luscious, velvety voice.

He is a regular performer in theatres, concert halls and cabaret stages throughout the UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Far East and Australasia.

Anthony studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and won the Royal National Eisteddfod ‘Blue Riband’; the Sir Geraint Evans Memorial Prize and the Welsh Arts Council Young Welsh singer prize.

He has sung with the Welsh National Opera, Freiburg Opera, Toulouse Capitole Opera, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

London West End credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Scrooge.

He was invited to perform for the Sultan of Oman and he regularly appears at prestigious events for the Welsh Assembly and the Wales Tourist Board.

Television appearances overseas include America’s NBC Today Show and TVNZ’s Good Morning and his voice features in the animated film of Rigoletto.

Anthony has headlined on luxury cruise lines including Cunard, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and the Fred Olsen line.

In cabaret, he has performed at prestige venues including New York’s Waldorf Astoria and The Rockerfeller Centre and The Carlton Club in London.

Keely Morgan is a soprano, from Mumbles.

She is a former student of Gower College and now studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) on the Vocal and Opera Studies BMus Hons, under the tutelage of Kate Woolveridge and Suzanne Murphy.

Keely has completed her vocal diploma, Trinity College London Vocal Diploma (ATCL). She has also achieved Grade 8 Distinctions in ABRSM, Trinity College and London College of Music in classical singing, acting and musical theatre.

Keely was the 2017 recipient of the Llanelli Grammar School Old Boys and Graig Former Pupils Association Music Bursary and also of the Loud Applause Rising Stars bursary.

Keely has performed as a guest artist with a number of leading male voice choirs, including Morriston RFC, Morriston Orpheus, The Gwalia Singers and Swansea Male Voice Choir.

She has performed in St David’s Hall for the Welsh Festival of Remembrance, Wales Millennium Centre, Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin and Sint Janskerk – Maastricht.

Keely’s choir experience includes BBC National Chorus of Wales, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama College Chorus and The Ariosa Singers.

Keely has appeared in three West End UK musical theatre tours, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Doctor Doolittle, Joseph and His Technicolor Dream Coat, singing alongside Aled Jones and Tommy Steel.

Her acting roles have included Doctor Who, Loose Women, Newsround, Stella, and Upstairs Downstairs.

She has appeared in an S4C documentary about the life of opera star Adelina Patti, playing the young opera star.

Keely is a former member of the Youth Musical Theatre UK and was honoured to take part in the performance of The Dark Tower, staged in Hammersmith London.

As a member of Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS), Keely has performed as a guest soloist at The Brangwyn Hall for the Festival of Remembrance 2016 and 2017, soirees at Stradey Castle and Llanelly House, in the Kidwelly Festival Choir Annual Concert alongside tenor Trebor Edwards, and Margam Orangery for the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan’s Charity Concert.

Keely sang at the City and County of Swansea’s Armed Forces Day and Silence in the Square events in Castle Square and performances for Llanelli Rotary Club at their World War One Centenary Concert and at their Annual Ball in Stradey Park Hotel, alongside Peter Karrie. Keely has also performed with Phantom of the Opera Star Peter Karrie in several of his “Small Halls Tours” concerts.

She is currently studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (2016 – 2020) on the BMus Honours Vocal and Opera Studies course under the tutelage of distinguished soprano Suzanne Murphy.

Previous singing tutors include the late Geoffrey Squires and Penny Ryan.

Rhian Griffiths is a harpist from Swansea. Having started learning the harp at the age of eight, she quickly grew to love the instrument and never looked back.

She played at her first wedding when she was just 14, and since then she has played at a variety of functions and events.

Highlights of her concert diary include playing in An Evening with Kevin Johns at Swansea Grand Theatre, and playing at a private function with guests including Fergus Walsh (BBC Medical Correspondent) and Toni Mascolo (Toni and Guy).

Caradog Williams is a freelance pianist based in Cardiff.

While a pupil at Ysgol Gyfun y Strade, Llanelli, he studied piano with D Hugh Jones FRCO, and following a degree in Music at Oxford University, studied Piano Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music under Roger Vignoles and John Blakely, where he was an Associated Board Scholar.

Caradog’s work in Cardiff has included being a repetiteur for Welsh National Opera, the Wales International Academy of Voice and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he has worked with leading singing teachers and conductors in the field of opera, including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Richard Bonynge, Dennis O’Neill and Carlo Rizzi.

On the concert platform, Caradog has partnered Sir Bryn Terfel, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Rebecca Evans, Elin Manahan Thomas and Sir Willard White, and regularly appears alongside John Owen Jones, Only Men Aloud and the Three Welsh Tenors, with whom he has toured three times to North America and on whose two albums Caradog features as composer and arranger.

Caradog was the official accompanist for the last four massed choral festivals of the Welsh Association of Male Voice Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall, and has toured with the Association to Russia and Eastern Europe.

Today (Wednesday, August 14), sees the Wales Clarsach (Harp) Society performing at Carmarthen’s St Peter’s Church (1pm).

Finally, a diary date for next month – Lleisiau Llan Choir’s year-long fundraising for the Uganda Dr Vaughan Fund will culminate in their annual concert at the Stradey Park Hotel on Friday, September 27, at 7pm. The guests will be Y Tri Tenor (Rhys Meirion, Aled Hall, Aled Wyn Davies).

If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com

By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants. The Money Matters column appears in the Pembrokeshire Herald, the Carmarthenshire Herald and the Llanelli Herald newspapers.

The government is reminding working parents that they could ease this summer’s childcare costs by using Tax-Free Childcare (TFC).

The scheme is worth up to £2,000 a year for each child and allows parents to save regularly for childcare costs.

For each £8 saved, the government will make a top-up payment of £2.

The money saved can be put towards a range of registered childcare options from more than 68,000 childcare providers.

These include summer camps across the UK, as well as before and after school care during term time, nurseries and childminders.

The scheme is open to working parents, including the self-employed, who earn between the 16 hours a week at the minimum wage and £100,000 per year and have children under the age of 12 (or under 17 for children with disabilities).

The government will top-up up to £500 per quarter for each child, or £1,000 if the child is disabled.

Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “We understand making arrangements for summer childcare at this time of year is important and can be a stressful time for parents.

“Tax-Free Childcare makes things easier, putting more money in the pockets of parents and supporting as many families as possible to secure high-quality, affordable childcare.

“Parents should visit the Childcare Choices website and take advantage of the range of offers to help balance their work and family lives while saving money.”

You can find out more and apply through the Childcare Choices website, www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

It includes a Childcare Calculator that compares all the government’s childcare offers to check what works best for individual families.

How Tax-Free Childcare works:

Working parents can apply, through the childcare service, to open an online childcare account.

The scheme is available for children under the age of 12, or under the age of 17 for children with disabilities.

If you or your partner have an ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000 in the current tax year, you will not be eligible.

This includes any bonuses you expect to get.

For every £8 that families pay in, the government will make a top-up payment of an additional £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children).

This top-up is added instantly and parents can then send payments directly to their childcare providers.

The maximum government top-up is £500 per quarter for each child, or £1,000 if the child is disabled.

All registered childcare providers – whether nannies, nurseries, childminders or after-school clubs – can sign up online now to receive parents’ payments through Tax-Free Childcare.

Parents need to sign back in every three months and confirm their details are up-to-date, to keep getting government top-ups.

Tax calendar date for your diary –

August 2019

Monday 19 – PAYE, Student loan and CIS deductions are due for the month to 5th August 2019.

You can find out more about money matters on the Clay Shaw Butler website (under our news for business section) – http://www.clayshawbutler.com/news/latest-news-for-business

We have a strong and experienced team with great local knowledge all geared-up to helping you get the very best from your finances – whether that is as an individual or as a business.

We stay ahead of the game by putting great store by continual professional development for our staff.

With Investors In People status at Clay Shaw Butler, we care passionately about making sure our staff have all the tools they need to serve you, our customers.

Weblink – http://www.clayshawbutler.com

The team at Clay Shaw Butler can be contacted on 01267 228500.

The team at Clay Shaw Butler are on Twitter. Look for @clayshawbutler.