The Llandeilo Festival of the Senses attracted record crowds over the weekend.

Christoph Fisher, of the organising committee, has issued the following thank-you letter –

The festival would like to thank everyone who attended our festival this weekend.

The glorious sunshine drew in record figures. Judging by the Park and Ride attendance it was the biggest yet.

The festival doubled the bus capacity, had to open another Park and Ride location and then upgraded the buses during the day on Saturday to two 70 seaters and it was still running on full capacity at busy times.

Friday town got busy as children watched Santa (Sion Corn) being brought through town on his sleigh by the Round Table of Llandeilo.

The Town Band of Llandeilo then led children from the Llandeilo primary schools carrying lantern through town until they met Santa again on King Street where snow machines added to the magical atmosphere.

Ffion Haf enchanted the crowd with hymns in Welsh and English, until the Mayor Edward Thomas switched on the Christmas Lights.

Local singer / songwriter Harry Luke delighted the crowd with his tunes and also presented his new single “Summer Eighteen” on stage until the Fireworks went off.

Lots of local singers populated the stage on King Street over the weekend, performing both in Welsh and English.

We would like to thank Menter Bro Dinefwr for their support for the Welsh language entertainment.

Local businesses pulled out all the stops with inviting discounts and special offers and called it the best Saturday they have had.

Edward Friend from Carreg Law transformed his office into a Grotto for Santa, who is temporarily homeless while the Shire Hall is being converted into a Heritage Centre.

There are so many individuals and businesses to thank for their contributions to the festival:

The Llandeilo Town Band, the school children, choirs and artists who performed on stage, the Round Table Llandeilo, the Girl Guides, St John’s Ambulance, and LAS Waste for their free or drastically discounted services, the Cawdor Hotel, the Civic Hall and the Ebenezer Chapel for providing such great locations and Carmarthenshire County Council for arranging free parking during the festival and for their advice and support.

Llandeilo Town Council for the financial and other support. The Carmarthenshire Tourism Association for their help with publicity and also for the sound advice they gave us. Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, The Hangout and Tregib Sports Facilities for allowing us to use their car parks for Park and Ride as well as Coracle Coaches who responded so quickly to the increased demand by offering us larger buses within less than half an hour.

The businesses who pledged and / or provided moral support for the festival and showed great community spirit and last but not least the hard working volunteers and the committee members who all worked tirelessly nonstop for free to make the event happen and make it a success.

And a success is was judging by the positive feedback on the social media pages. 

The deadline is approaching for nominations for the popular Carmarthen Town Sports Awards for 2018.

The awards are organised annually by Carmarthen Town Council, with a special presentation evening taking place at the Carmarthen Quins Rugby Club.

The search is on for nominations for the 2018 awards. Monday, November 26, is the closing date for nominations.

If anyone would like a nomination form (individuals can nominate not just via a club), then please e-mail Eleri James at Carmarthen Town Council’s offices at St Peter’s Civic Hall in Carmarthen – eleri@carmarthentowncouncil.gov.uk

Evan Davies (Ifan JCB) and Malcom Morse of J H Morse and Sons Ltd have agreed to sponsor again this year. 

The guest speakers at the 2017 awards were British Lions, Wales and Scarlets hooker Ken Owens and Wales and Scarlets flanker James Davies. The awards were presented by the then Carmarthen Town Mayor, Coun Alun Lenny, and members of the Mayoral party.

The main 11 award categories for 2018 are:

Senior Male

Senior Female

U13s Junior Male

U13s Junior Female

U16s Intermediate Male

U16s Intermediate Female

U19s Youth Male

U19s Youth Female

Junior Team

Senior Team

Coach/Organiser/Volunteer

2017 Carmarthen Town Sports Awards winner of the Special Award was Dr Peter Herbert

Carmarthenshire County Council has actioned contingency plans to continue the care and employment of those affected by Friday’s announcement from Allied Healthcare to transfer its contracts.

Allied Healthcare provides a range of care services to people in need, and is commissioned by the local authority to deliver domiciliary care services to 120 clients in Carmarthenshire.

The company announced earlier this year that it was in financial difficulties and sought a company voluntary arrangement with its creditors.

Carmarthenshire County Council had put early contingency plans in place, which has allowed immediate action to be taken following the company’s most recent announcement.

The council is meeting with the company today (November 19, 2018) and will write letters to the staff and service users affected.

Cllr Jane Tremlett, Executive Board Member for Health and Social Care, said: “Most importantly we want to reassure those people receiving a service, and their families, who are affected by Allied’s announcement that their care will continue.

“We are meeting with the company today with a view to identifying around 80 members of staff who are providing domiciliary care on behalf of Allied to people in Carmarthenshire, and transferring them into the employment of Carmarthenshire County Council.

“We will be writing to staff and service users today to provide the necessary reassurance.”

Jake Morgan, Director for Communities, added: “We have robust contingency plans in place which means we are in an immediate position to offer transfer of employment to our existing in-house provision for any Carmarthenshire staff affected. These are highly valued and experienced members of staff who deliver important services to vulnerable people in our communities and I’d like to offer reassurance that their employment is safe.

“We are also working closely with colleagues in Pembrokeshire to ensure continuity of services across the county border.”

Letters are likely to be issued later today, and a series of information drop-in sessions are also being arranged.

Further communication will be made over the coming days to all those affected.

Staff from Jenkins Bakery shops throughout the area have been doing their bit to support the BBC’s Children In Need appeal.

The staff members dressed up in fancy dress on Friday night and rattled their collection tins for the popular charity television appeal.

Jenkins Bakery operations director Russell Jenkins said: “Our staff really joined in the Pudsey Bear spirit and enjoyed dressing up to raise funds for a great charity appeal. A big thank-you goes to our customers for their support.”

Ice temperatures inside the world’s highest glacier on the slopes of Mount Everest are warmer than expected, according to new research by glaciologists from Aberystwyth, Kathmandu, Leeds and Sheffield universities.

The findings are revealed in a paper published in Nature’s respected open-access journal, Scientific Reports.

Lead author Katie Miles and Professor Bryn Hubbard  from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, travelled to Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, in 2017 and 2018 as part of the EverDrill research project.

Working at heights of up to 5,000 m, PhD student Katie Miles and Professor Hubbard used a specially adapted car wash unit to drill deep into the glacial ice.

In May 2017, the team became the first to successfully drill to the base of Khumbu Glacier. They were also the first to record temperatures below the seasonally affected surface layer of the glacier.

Strings of temperature sensors, constructed with the help of Dr Samuel Doyle at Aberystwyth University, were installed into boreholes in the lower-elevation ablation area of the glacier and left to collect data for several months.

The resulting temperature measurements showed a minimum ice temperature of only −3.3 °C, with even the coldest ice being a full 2 °C warmer than the mean annual air temperature.

Katie Miles said: “Our results indicate that high-elevation Himalayan glaciers are vulnerable to even minor atmospheric warming, and there are important implications here for humans as well as the planet. Millions of people in the foothills of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region depend on glacier melt as part of their water resources. Rising surface temperatures could lead to a decrease over the next 30 years in the volume of water melting on the glaciers and contributing to downstream water resources.” 

Professor Bryn Hubbard, Director of the Centre for Glaciology at Aberystwyth University and a holder of the Queen’s Polar Medal, said: “Our work in the Himalaya builds on wider research by the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth where we have been measuring and modelling how glacial ice flows for several decades – in the Arctic and Antarctica as well as the Alps and more recently, Nepal. Understanding what actually happens inside these glaciers is critical to developing computer models to help predict their response to anticipated climate change. 

“A key property of the ‘warm’ ice we have measured within Khumbu Glacier is that any additional energy input, such as from the Sun’s rays and warm air, melts that ice, producing water, which means the glacier will be especially sensitive to future climatic warming. In contrast, further energy input into ‘cold’ ice (which is at any temperature below its melting point) simply heats that ice further towards zero, producing no meltwater.” 

Professor Bryn Hubbard and Miss Katie Miles are collaborating on the EverDrill project with Dr Duncan Quincey (project leader) and Dr Evan Miles from the University of Leeds, and Dr Ann Rowan from the University of Sheffield. Both Dr Quincey and Dr Rowan are alumni of Aberystwyth University’s Department of Geography and Earth Sciences.  

The work is funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, NERC.

Photos: 

Katie Miles and Professor Bryn Hubbard, picture on the Khumbu glacier in 2017.

Links:

Centre for Glaciology, Aberystwyth University
https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/dges/research-groups/centre-glaciology/

Katie Miles – https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/dges/staff-profiles/listing/profile/kam64/

Professor Bryn Hubbard
https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/dges/staff-profiles/listing/profile/byh

Scientific Reports – https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-34327-5

EverDrill Project

GB Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) will formally announce former Wales international rugby player Rupert Moon as an ambassador for GBWR at Llandarcy Academy of Sport on Sunday 18 November.

Rupert who played rugby for Welsh clubs Abertillery, Neath and most memorably Llanelli, won 24 caps for Wales at scrum half and over the last six years has been supporting the growth of wheelchair rugby in Wales.

He will join around 40 junior wheelchair rugby players at Llandarcy for the Lord’s Taverners Junior Wheelchair Rugby Welsh Festival.

The junior festival is an opportunity for junior players to take part in skills based activities and to compete against those with similar impairments.

There will be teams from Ospreys, Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Exeter, Gloucester and Solent Sharks.

The festival is also a great opportunity to showcase junior wheelchair rugby in Wales and the thriving partnership between the Lord’s Taverners, GBWR and local partnerships with Ospreys Scarlets, Active Gwent, Dragons the WRU, Disability Sport Wales and the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust .

Also attending the festival will be current GB athlete Jim Roberts. Jim was a successful Welsh cross country runner when he caught bacterial meningitis whilst an under graduate at Coventry University. This resulted in a prolonged stay in hospital, and the amputation of both his legs.

A nurse who supported his rehab, introduced him to the sport of Wheelchair Rugby and Jim quickly became an influential force in the game.

He has been a regular in the GB team since 2013 and at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Sydney is year was voted as the best world player in his class.

The festival will start at 11am and spectators are welcome.

Rupert Moon will formally be announced as GBWR’s ambassador in Wales at 1pm.

The festival is due to end at 3pm when Rupert will present the trophy to the winning team.

David Pond, CEO of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, said: “We are delighted to be at Llandarcy for this fantastic tournament and to see how wheelchair rugby is growing in Wales. It’s also really exciting that Rupert has accepted our invitation to become an ambassador. He has already done a great deal to raise the profile of the sport in Wales and his infectious enthusiasm and genuine willingness to support those who play will make a huge difference to the game in Wales.

“I would also like to thank all partners in Wales especially the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust whose support has been critical in enabling us to grow junior and adult wheelchair rugby in Wales.”

Rupert Moon said: “I’m honoured to accept the role as an ambassador and look forward to continuing to work with GBWR to help more disabled people experience the joy of the game. If you have yet to see it then get along to Llandarcy and watch the juniors play or get yourself to Leicester for the Quad Nations in March when GB take on the best in the world.”

About Wheelchair Rugby:

Wheelchair rugby was first recognised as a full medal sport at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. It has since featured at the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Originating in Canada in the 1970s, wheelchair rugby developed from the ‘murderball’ game – created by a group of disabled sportsmen. The GB national team came 4th in the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Sydney in August this year. They will play the top eight teams in the world at the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge in October 2019 which sits alongside the Rugby World Cup.

For more details about the sport www.gbwr.org.uk

Lord’s Taverners:

The Lord’s Taverners is the UKs leading youth cricket and disability sports charity dedicated to giving disadvantaged and disabled young people a sporting chance. The charity helps fund the Lord’s Taverners Wheelchair Rugby Youth programme. www.lordstaverners.org