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News Newspaper columns

Latest On Song column – November 8

Posted By Robert Lloyd

IT’S time to get in the Christmas spirit as choirs and singers announce their festive concert dates.

The popular Lleisiau’r Cwm ladies choir will be centre stage on December 17 for a special evening in Garnant.

Bethel Chapel will be the venue. The concert starts at 6pm and tickets are £5, pay on entry.

The choir will be joined by the outstanding mezzo-soprano soloist Eirlys Myfanwy Davies.

Eirlys is from Trimsaran and has performed with the world famous Glyndebourne Opera.

A Samling Artist and London Welsh Young Singer of the Year winner, Eirlys is a Young Artist graduate from the National Opera Studio, after previously studying at the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The Royal Academy of Music, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff.

Operatic performances include the role of Madame de la Haltiere in Cendrillon, Mother in Madama Butterfly, Annina in La Traviata, all for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, and Portia in The Merchant of Venice for Welsh National Opera.

Also on stage in Garnant will be Ensemble Pres Gwaun Cae Gurwen, Cor Meibion Dyffryn Aman male voice choir and pupils of Ysgol y Bedol.

Further west, the team from Span Arts are organising an Advent Concert in Pisgah Chapel in Llandissilio on Sunday, November 26 (5pm).

This year’s event will feature the exceptional talents of Jessica Robinson, a soprano hailing from Pembrokeshire, and Whitland Male Voice Choir!

Jessica, a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with a distinction in MA Opera Performance, has received numerous awards and accolades during her career.

Her remarkable journey includes standout performances with prestigious institutions like the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and at iconic venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Wales Millennium Centre.

The renowned Whitland and District Male Voice Choir has a history dating back to 1895.

Drawing its members from various areas, including Whitland, Clunderwen, Llanboidy, Maenclochog, Tenby, Haverfordwest, and their surroundings, this choir has a storied tradition of participating in competitions and achieving success, notably at the National Eisteddfod.

Tickets are £12 and £8 for concessions.

In Carmarthen, there’s a chance for people to join the Tenovus Cancer Care Sing With Us choir.

The choir rehearses every Thursday evening at Carmarthen Library, between 6.30pm and 8pm.

Tenovus Sing with Us choirs are dotted around Wales.

The choirs are uplifting and fun and are for anyone who’s been affected by cancer in any way. You don’t need to read music, or even be a great singer. Just be willing to have a go and join in.

The choirs sing a range of contemporary songs from the last 50 years. You’ll often hear modern classics from the likes of Queen, Elvis, Rihanna, The Beach Boys, Take That and Adele.

Sing with Us choirs are free to join, but rely entirely on donations.

In other news, Llanelli Musical Theatre Group will be presenting Puss in Boots in Stiwdio Stepni at Ffwrnes Theatre between December 19 and 23.

Llanelli Musical Theatre Group will present a fresh take on the classic pantomime tale of ‘Puss In Boots’ in the intimate setting of Stiwdio Stepni.

There will be music, dancing and laughter throughout for the Purrr-fect traditional family pantomime for Christmas!

Tickets are £13 each, £45 for a family of four, or £10 each when booking 10 or more. Last year’s run sold-out very quickly, so you are advised to hurry and get your tickets.

There’s a treat in store for lovers of rock’n’roll as Showaddywaddy arrive at Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli as part of their 50th Anniversary concert tour.

The show is on November 18 and tickets are £27 & £26.

In Carmarthen, The Mersey Beatles will be performing at The Lyric Theatre on November 24.

The Mersey Beatles have been rocking sold-out shows around the globe since 1999 with their authentic and widely-acclaimed celebration of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Tickets are £25.

Finally, if you are a fan of ballet, Swan Lake will be coming to The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen on November 10.

The Crown Ballet will present Tchaikovsky’s great work.

Swan Lake is regarded as one of Tchaikovsky’s best works, featuring some of ballet’s most memorable music and breath-taking dance.

Swan Lake is a tale of two young women, Odette and Odilie, who resembles each other so strikingly one can easily be mistaken for the other.

It is the compelling legend of a tragic romance in which a princess, Odette, is turned into a swan by an evil curse. Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful young woman, he is instantly captivated – will his love prove strong enough to break the evil spell that she is under?

Swan Lake is full of mystery and romance and has captured the imagination of generations over the years and it continues to attract worldwide audiences, young and old.

For more information please visit: www.crown-ballet.co.uk

Eirlys Myfanwy Davies

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Blog posts

Random blog – November 8

Posted By Robert Lloyd

Weather forecast for Llanelli-on-sea today is ’50/50 wet/dry’.


McMillan Morning Notes (early walk) –

Chimney pots and landmarks – we can spot what’s brewing!

What’s the fuss about 20mph? It’s 10 on the Carmarthenshire Tramway Railway path.

Green food bins lined up like sentries on Stradey Park Avenue.

Leafblower sweeper hard at work in the park, destroying the point of autumn.


Christmas drive-in cinema returns to Carmarthenshire and it’s bigger and better than last year –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/christmas-drive-cinema-returns-carmarthen-28064528


National Trust Cymru welcomes new tenants at Carmarthenshire coastal farm –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/national-trust-cymru-welcomes-new-tenants-at-carmarthenshire-coastal-farm-2/


Carmarthen veteran to join London Cenotaph march on Remembrance Sunday –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/carmarthen-veteran-to-join-cenotaph-march-past-in-charity-delegation/


Today’s random front page is the Stoke Sentinel. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #buyapaper

Today’s South Wales Echo front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s South Wales Evening Post front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s Western Mail front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #buyapaper

One for my pals in the north. Today’s Daily Post front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s Carmarthen Journal front page. @Carmjournal #SupportYourLocalPaper #buyapaper

Today’s Llanelli Star front page. @LlanelliStar #SupportYourLocalPaper #buyapaper


Today’s playlist is a random mix from Spotify. Includes Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Wishbone Ash.


Former WRU boss receives enormous pay-off after misogyny scandal as cost of sacking Pivac emerges –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/former-wru-boss-receives-enormous-28068644


Merthyr shop ordered to close after selling illegal vapes to children –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/merthyr-shop-ordered-close-after-28066569


 

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News Press releases

Kurdish borderland conflict research begins at Aberystwyth University

Posted By Robert Lloyd

The impact of the conflict in the Kurdish borderlands of Turkey will be the focus of new research at Aberystwyth University following the awarding of a prestigious fellowship.

Over the next two years, Dr Dilan Okcuoglu will study state-building and control in the war-torn region in the south-east of the Turkish state.

Hosted by the Department of International Politics in Aberystwyth, Dr Okcuoglu’s research is financed through the UK Guarantee funding for Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Speaking about her project, Dr Okcuoglu said:

“My research examines the everyday lived experiences of people in the remote and mountainous Kurdish borderlands of Turkey, where decades of conflict between the Turkish government and Kurdish insurgents have imbued everyday life with a constant sense of threat.

“By gathering and analysing narratives gained through qualitative interviews with villagers, internally displaced people, activists, lawyers, and state officials in Turkey’s Kurdish borderlands with Iraq, Iran, and Syria, I hope to deepen our understanding of the complex formal and informal mechanisms that the state uses to control people and territories in these contested regions.”

“My research will shed light on how the Turkish state’s authority and legitimacy in its borderlands is shaped by the complex relationships between territorial control measures, competing claims over authority by different groups, and people’s everyday experiences. I also intend to map the gendered dynamics of the relationship between the state, people, and land, filling an important gap in the existing literature.”

The outcome of Dr Okcuoglu’s research will be of interest to policymakers, scholars, and practitioners committed to peace and conflict studies.

During her two-year Fellowship, Dr Okcuoglu will work under the mentorship of Berit Bliesemann de Guevara, Professor of International Politics at Aberystwyth University.  Okcuoglu will also be seconded to the Global (In)Security Centre and the Centre for Advanced International Relations Theory at the University of Sussex.

Dr Dilan Okcuoglu

Dr Dilan Okcuoglu has an interdisciplinary background in politics, economics and philosophy.  She received her PhD and MA in political studies from Queen’s University in Canada. She also has another MA degree from Central European University, and an undergraduate degree in economics from Bogazici University.

She is currently a non-resident visiting fellow at the CUNY Middle East and Middle Eastern American Centre in New York. She is also a project-based consultant for the Council on Strategic Risks in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining Aberystwyth University as a postdoctoral fellow, she was a postdoctoral fellow in Global Kurdish Studies at the American University, School of International Service in Washington, DC (2019-22) and a visiting scholar at Cornell University, M. Einaudi Center for International Studies (2019). In the first half of 2023, she has also done project-based consultancy for the The Center for Climate and Security, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks on the issues of climate change, security and conflict in the Middle East (see: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5ee50271b81644419c7cd5902300ed8c)

She has also been affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Democracy and Diversity at the Université du Québec à Montréal since 2018.

Her teaching and research interests primarily lie in the politics of the Middle East and North African region, conflict and peace studies, qualitative research methods, comparative territorial and border politics, democratisation, global justice, ethnic politics, and nationalism, as well as state-minority relations in conflict zones.

Okcuoglu’s has published articles and book chapters in The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics, Democratic Representation in Plurinational States: The Kurds in Turkey (in part of the book series Comparative Territorial Politics); policy briefs on security and conflict in the Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, and Peace Insight; as well as op-eds in The Conversation, Jerusalem Post, Daily News, and National Post. She is currently working on article manuscripts and a book proposal on informal control, and delivering talks on her work.

(See also: www.dilanokcuoglu.net).

Photo:  Dr Dilan Okcuoglu

Links:

Department of International Politics – https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/interpol/

Aberystwyth University aber.ac.uk
Established in 1872, Aberystwyth University is a leading teaching and research institution. Named Welsh University of the Year for 2024 by The Times & The Sunday Times Good University Guide, it has been rated the top University in Wales for overall student satisfaction for the past eight years, based on the National Student Survey. 98% of the University’s research is of an international standard or higher with over 75% being ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. The University is a community of 8,000 students and 2,000 staff committed to delivering inspirational education and research in a supportive, creative and exceptional environment. Registered charity No 1145141.

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Blog posts

Random blog – November 7

Posted By Robert Lloyd

Weather forecast for Llanelli-on-sea today is ‘shades and walking boots, extra spring in step’.


McMillan Morning Notes (early walk) –

Temporary traffic lights make for a pedestrian traffic jam.

Rocket sticks on the pavement are the legacy of fireworks – money up in smoke!

The unknown soldier stages a postbox takeover.

There’s some shape shifting going on in the signposts.


Carmarthenshire teens to tackle environmental challenges –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/carmarthenshire-teens-to-tackle-environmental-challenges/


Road north of Carmarthen could be closed for up to 12 months after landslide –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/road-north-of-carmarthen-could-be-closed-for-up-to-12-months-after-landslide/


Llanelly House not reopening before next year due to ‘complex repairs’ after fire –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/llanelly-house-not-reopening-before-next-year-due-to-complex-repairs-after-fire/


Today’s random front page is the Western Daily Press. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #buyapaper

Today’s South Wales Echo front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s South Wales Evening Post front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s Western Mail front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #buyapaper

One for my pals in the north. Today’s Daily Post front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper


Today’s playlist is a random mix from Spotify. Includes Jim Croce, Elvis Presley The Zombies, Gary Wright and Status Quo.


Good effort from all concerned to fund this new all-weather pitch in Mumbles –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/mumbles-swansea-pitch-football-trundle-28025010


The Coal Authority aims to fix this collapsing road in Swansea for good –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/swansea-killay-coal-authority-road-28023025


 

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Blog posts

Random Blog – November 6

Posted By Robert Lloyd

Weather forecast for Llanelli-on-sea today is ‘very tidy, definitely walking boots’.


McMillan Morning Notes (early walk) –

Brave garden daisies put the spring in November.

Blue and red child’s scooter at the roadside – just missing a child owner.

Emerald green rugby pitch just missing a few Wanderers.

There’s a little river starting on the hill path down to Stradey – leaves heading for the water park.


The most expensive postcodes in Wales –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/welsh-homes/most-expensive-postcodes-wales-28049543


Quiz: 16 phrases you only hear in Wales –

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fun-stuff/16-phrases-you-only-hear-28032256


Heart of Wales line has new community rail development officer –

https://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/23897699.heart-wales-line-new-community-rail-development-officer/


Today’s random front page is the Stoke Evening Sentinel. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #buyapaper

Today’s South Wales Echo front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s South Wales Evening Post front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper

Today’s Western Mail front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #buyapaper

One for my pals in the north. Today’s Daily Post front page. #SupportYourLocalPaper #RegionalFronts #BuyAPaper


Today’s playlist is a random mix from Spotify. Includes Scott Walker, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, The Divine Comedy and Leonard Cohen.


Carmarthenshire Council cabinet member urges chancellor for more funding –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/carmarthenshire-council-cabinet-member-urges-chancellor-for-more-funding/


Capel Dewi launches touching Memory Tree to remember lost loved ones –

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/capel-dewi-launches-touching-memory-tree-to-remember-lost-loved-ones/


 

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News Newspaper columns

South Wales Evening Post column, November 03, 2023

Posted By Robert Lloyd

IT’S time for Remembrance – a time to reflect and to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.

Everyone has an individual focus for Remembrance. It could be a grandad who died in World War Two or a relative killed in conflict in Afghanistan.

For me, most reflections are on the Falklands War – partly because (as a young Evening Post hack) I interviewed many servicemen and women on their return home to south Wales after the conflict.

The Falklands also carves an emotional scar because I knew one of the victims of the Sir Galahad disaster.

A total of 48 members of the British Armed Forces were killed when the RFA Sir Galahad, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship, was attacked while unloading soldiers at Bluff Cove in the Falklands on June 8, 1982.

It was Britain’s most lethal day of combat since World War Two. The loss accounted for nearly a fifth of all British losses during the Falklands War

The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards lost 32 of their number, including Guardsman Eirwyn Phillips from Carmarthen.

Members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Army Catering Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, 36 Engineer Regiment and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers were also killed.

Hundreds of others were injured, including Simon Weston (CBE), who suffered 49 percent burns and went on to be a media spokesman for those who fought in the Falklands.

After the attack, the Sir Galahad was sunk and later made an official war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act.

The controversy over the Sir Galahad rumbles on today – a classic case of a ship being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The military maxim attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy, declares, ‘In war, truth is the first casualty’.

Finding the truth has been the task of many military historians down the years.

Yesterday, General Sir Michael Rose became the first senior commander of the Falklands War to state that there was a cover-up of the events leading up to the Sir Galahad tragedy.

General Sir Michael used a book review in Prospect magazine to target both barrels at military ineptitude.

The book in question is Crispin Black’s Too Thin For A Shroud, which draws on first-hand recollections from the Sir Galahad attack and a 1982 Royal Navy Inquiry, recently declassified and made accessible at Kew Archives.

General Sir Michael argues the Ministry of Defence still refuses to release other documents relating to the bombing of the Sir Galahad, something which, he says, reflects a tradition of cover-up in the Royal Navy.

In his book review, General Sir Michael writes, ‘Immediately after the disaster, the blame game started—with senior officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines openly seeking to blame the Welsh Guards and the Army for what (Crispin) Black calls a “cascade of crass blunders”, rather than admit their own responsibility.’

By all accounts, the official MoD Inquiry of that fateful day is the only Falklands file that has not been declassified: seven out of 12 key files remain secret. The MoD continues to stonewall requests to unseal all files, despite pressure from many Welsh MPs.

General Sir Michael repeats the words of one young Welsh Guardsman on board the Sir Galahad – “For 41 years (we) have felt nothing but blame and unworthiness for (our) role”.

The General concludes: “Surely it is time . . . for those who were actually responsible to finally be held to account.”

Too Thin For A Shroud is published by Gibson Square, price £20.


‘WHAT’S wrong with the younger generation today?’

That was the question rattling through my aged brain as I warmed myself by a roaring fire on Tuesday night.

It had become clear the youngsters on our street didn’t appreciate the hard effort (and cash) I’d put in stocking up on sweets and chocolates at Asda (other stores are available) in preparation for an expected queue of Trick or Treaters on Halloween.

Halloween came and went, with no knocks and rings on the doorbell.

The result is that we have been left with enough sweets and chocolates to slide an average-sized person into a diabetic coma.

Bang goes the autumn diet regime.

I registered my disappointment with my darling daughter, who knows a thing or two about the ‘youth’ etiquette and protocol about these matters.

“But, Dad,” she lectured (with eyes rolled skyward), “You didn’t play the game properly. You have to put some signals out on your front doorstep to encourage Trick or Treaters – a pumpkin, or something ghostly, for example.

“Children today are so well educated on these things that they don’t like to disturb the elderly and infirm on Halloween. The odd pumpkin or two is the signal they will get a friendly reception.”

Darling daughter is a teacher, so I will take the lesson in the (Halloween) spirit in which it was intended.

Next year, children of the street, I promise to do better. There will be pumpkins on the doorstep and freshly-purchased goodies for Trick or Treaters.

Twitter: @rlloydpr

Email: robertlloydpr@rlloydpr.co.uk

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