Photo supplied by Instagram account ‘mikethesnow’

The countdown is well and truly on to the annual Festival of the Senses in picturesque market town of Llandeilo in the Tywi Valley.

The three-day festival is a weekend of food, fun, entertainment and shopping opportunities – an event which signals the start of the build-up to Christmas in West Wales.

This year’s Festival of the Senses runs from November 16-18.

The festival has been running since 2008 and picked up a Carmarthenshire Tourism Association award in 2017.

“It really is a festival with something for everyone,” said organising committee member Christoph Fischer.

“The Llandeilo Festival of the Senses has something for all the family – and, of course, it’s free!”

The festival is the largest event of its kind in Carmarthenshire.

Last year, thousands of visitors and locals flocked to Llandeilo to enjoy the gastronomic delicacies of local and far-away produce.

Visitors danced to the music performed on the stage, gazed in awe at the colourful firework display and were delighted to see Santa and start their Christmas shopping experience.

There will be new elements added in to this year’s Festival of the Senses –

• Llandeilo Town WiFi – courtesy of the festival. This will be up and running for the festival and will cover the main shopping areas and compensate for sometimes patchy mobile phone reception.
• Two Park and Ride buses to give easy access to the town centre and two locations to save you driving through town – Ysgol Bro Dinefwr car park, which will be available from Friday 4pm, and one at The Hangout on the Beechwood industrial estate, Talley Road, where you can also sit down and wait in the warm and dry.
• Craft demonstrations with ‘Have A Go’ options in the Ebenezer Chapel, Crescent Road. There’ll be spinning, painting, book-binding. embroidery and much more with scheduled sessions and ‘drop in and chat’ opportunities with the craftsmen and artists.
• A Festival App for mobile and tablet users. This will run on the Llandeilo Town WiFi. It’ll keep visitors up-to-date with information about the festival, the entertainment timetable, special offers, weather forecast, reminder notifications and all you need to know about Llandeilo and the Festival of the Senses.
• A Farmer’s Market in the town centre, behind the Surgery, White Horse pub and NFU offices. There will be fresh and local produce from the Llandeilo Country Market, Black Mountain Food Hub and others.

The Festival of the Senses is a big draw for the way it fits snugly inside Llandeilo town centre.

The festival encompasses the town’s shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants, as well as offering craft and fashion stalls, food stalls, buskers, entertainment and much more.

Main stall areas for this year are:

• Arts and Craft Market – Llandeilo Civic Hall
• Arts and Crafts – The Old Library (situated in the town car park)
• Cubitts Food Court (the main town car park)
• Horeb Fashion Hall – Horeb Chapel
• King Street Food

Festival opening times are:

• 16th – 11am – 9.30pm
• 17th – 10am – 6pm
• 18th – 10am – 4pm

The event is bound to put visitors in the Christmas spirit.

It will also spark the senses as visitors can . . .

See

So much to see and do. You won’t know where to start…

Hear

Free entertainment throughout the weekend for all the family.

Smell

Stimulate your sense of smell with so many olfactory treats!

Taste

Be overwhelmed with the choices of food available when you visit… and to take home.

Touch

Textures and tactile experiences to excite your sense of touch.

Indulge

After stimulating your senses, spoil yourself with a touch of luxury.

Links –

You can keep in touch with the Festival of the Senses via the social media Hashtag #FoS2018

Twitter –

@LlandeiloFoS

Facebook –

https://www.facebook.com/LlandeiloFestivalOfSenses/

and the Facebook event page –

https://www.facebook.com/events/298921917565370/

Email

festivalofsenses@gmail.com

Website

https://fos.wales

Photos attached of festival logo, promotional poster and general scenes from previous festivals.

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.

In last week’s Money Matters column, we included some useful advice from the taxman at HMRC on reporting payroll information accurately and on time.

This week, we turn our attention to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.

We pose the question: are you paying the correct rate?

The National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates have increased. More than two million people were entitled to an above-inflation pay rise when the new rates came into force.

If you are not paying the correct rate, you may receive a Notice of Underpayment from HMRC, setting out the arrears to be paid to your workers together with a penalty.

Employers may also be publicly named.

The new rates must be applied from the first day of the first pay period on or after 1 April 2018 and are as follows:

Those aged:

– 25 and over are entitled to at least £7.83 per hour (previously £7.50 per hour)

– 21 to 24 are entitled to at least £7.38 per hour (previously £7.05 per hour)

– 18 to 20 are entitled to at least £5.90 per hour (previously £5.60 per hour)

– Under 18 are entitled to at least £4.20 per hour (previously £4.05 per hour).

Apprentices are entitled to the Apprentice rate of £3.70 per hour (previously £3.50 per hour) if they are:

• Aged under 19
• Aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship.

Apprentices aged 19 or over who have completed the first year of apprenticeship are also entitled to the age-related minimum wage:

– 19 to 20 year olds are entitled to at least £5.90 per hour

– 21 to 24 year olds are entitled to at least £7.38 per hour

– 25 year olds and over are entitled to at least £7.83 per hour.

The Government is currently running a campaign advising workers to check their pay and complain if they are being paid incorrectly.

If you need any advice on NLW and NMW rates, then please contact the team at Clay Shaw Butler.

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.

The annual Hywel Dda programme to encourage people in eligible groups across mid and west Wales to have a vaccination to protect themselves from influenza (flu), a virus that can cause serious illness, is being launched today (Thursday, 27 September).

This will complement the national Beat Flu campaign which launches (3rd October), led by Public Health Wales.

This year Hywel Dda has developed a localised campaign aimed at bringing together every resident in mid and west Wales to tackle this problem as one collective community. The superhero based theme is a call to action urging residents to become a “superprotector” by getting vaccinated which will ultimately help protect themselves, patients, their families, colleagues and neighbours from catching flu.

The theme will be introduced across Hywel Dda sites using visuals and messaging that have been developed to be eye catching, memorable and mean something to those that that view the messages with a hope that they are encouraged to make the effort to receive their flu vaccination.

We have particular challenges around flu vaccination uptake in the Hywel Dda region so whilst the campaign calls on everyone to get vaccinated it also focuses specifically groups that are eligible for a free vaccination which include NHS staff, pregnant women, people with certain chronic long term health conditions (a full list can be found below), and everyone aged 65 and over. We are also encouraging everyone, whether eligible for a free NHS vaccine or not, to have the vaccination to help prevent the spread of flu.

Children aged two to ten years (age on 31st August 2018) are also eligible as the vaccine programme for children is again being extended this year. The vaccine for adults is a small injection, but for children it is a simple nasal spray. Children aged between two and three years can receive the nasal vaccine at their GP surgery while those in reception class and every primary school (years 1-6) can get it at school.

To support the principle that the fight against flu is something we all need to work together to win the Hywel Dda University Health Board Executive Directors and Independent Members have held their own vaccination session at today’s Board meeting in Ceredigion to show their support and commitment to the campaign.

Ros Jervis, Director of Public Health for Hywel Dda University Health Board, who launched the campaign today, reiterated it is vital that those most at risk take advantage of the free vaccine: “Influenza can be a life-threatening illness for people who are at risk due to their age, an underlying health problem, or because they are pregnant. Sadly, influenza kills people in Wales every year.

“Influenza spreads very easily. Extending the programme to more children this year will help protect them from catching flu, and will also prevent them spreading it to others in the community who may be very vulnerable. I particularly call on the parents of 2-3 year old children to get their children vaccinated with the simple nasal spray this year as the statistics show as few as six 2-3 year old children vaccinated prevents one case of flu – this age group has the best opportunity over all others to help stop the spread of flu – they are our ultimate “superprotectors”.

“People can be seriously ill with influenza, and a flu vaccination is the best way to protect against it, so I call on each and every person in the Hywel Dda region including all our own staff to join us in helping prevent the spread of this virus by getting vaccinated and help make our local community a safer place to live this winter.”

While most NHS flu vaccines are given in GP surgeries, free vaccination is also available for some eligible adults in many community pharmacies across Wales. Carers, volunteers providing planned emergency first aid, Community First Responders  and for the first time this year, people working in care homes that have regular client contact are also entitled to the vaccine. It’s also recommended that frontline health and social care workers have the free vaccine to protect themselves and those they care for. They can talk to their occupational health department or employer about where and when they can get their vaccine.

Important information about influenza and the vaccine

Influenza is a respiratory illness caused by a virus that affects the lungs and airways. Symptoms generally come on suddenly, and can include fever, chills, headache, cough, body aches and fatigue.

The influenza virus is spread via droplets which are sprayed into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Direct contact with contaminated hands or surfaces can also spread infection. It can spread rapidly, especially in closed communities such as hospitals, residential homes and schools.

The influenza viruses that circulate and cause illness each winter change and therefore each year the flu vaccine is changed to try and match the circulating strains, in order to give best protection.

Find out more by visiting www.beatflu.org or www.curwchffliw.org or finding Beat Flu or Curwch Ffliw on Twitter and Facebook.

FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT INFLUENZA

• Most people who are fit and well recover fully from influenza, but some need hospital treatment.

• Thousands of people die from flu in the UK in a typical year.
• Flu strains differ from year to year so it’s important to have a flu vaccine every year, ideally before flu starts to circulate.
• Having a long-term health condition increases a person’s risk of being very ill from flu with the risk of death typically over 10 times higher than in those not in a risk group, and up to 50 times higher for some conditions.
• Last winter, over half of adults under 65 who were at increased risk of flu and its
complications did not have their free annual flu vaccine.
• This flu season the vaccine offered will depend on a person’s age, based on which vaccine works best in their age groups which will help improve effectiveness. Different vaccines are recommended according to age:
• Children aged 2 and over – Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) nasal spray
• Under 65 years – Quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) injection
• Age 65 and over – Adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) injection
• The nasal spray vaccine works best in children and the ‘adjuvanted’ flu vaccine (aTIV) is more effective in those aged 65 and over, especially in those age 75 and over.
• This is the first year that people working in care homes can have their flu vaccination free at their community pharmacy, all those with regular client contact will be eligible.

Eligible groups include:
• People aged 65 or over
• People from 6 months to 64 years of age with a long-term health condition including, chest problems (including moderate to severe asthma), heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, neurological conditions including stroke, poor functioning or absent spleen and lowered immunity due to a health condition, medication or treatment for cancer (the immuno-compromised)
• Adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or above (morbidly obese)
• Pregnant women
• Children aged two or three years old (age on 31 August 2018)
• Children in primary school
• Care home staff with regular client contact
• Carers who are unpaid – either family or volunteers
• Anyone resident in a care home
• Community First Responders
• People working in voluntary organisations providing planned first aid, such as St John’s Ambulance

The vaccine is also recommended for all frontline health and social care workers provided their employer.

Photos:

Campaign poster

Director of Public Health for Hywel Dda UHB, Ros Jervis, receiving her influenza vaccine

The Ospreys Development team are in Celtic Cup action on Friday evening, and here’s how they lineup.

Looking for their second win away from home, top of table 2 holders the Ospreys Development travel to Dublin to face Leinster A tomorrow evening for round four of the Celtic Cup, K.O 7:30pm.

Ospreys Development –

15. Dewi Cross; 14. Dylan Moss; 13. Tom Williams; 12. Callum Carson; 11. Joe Jenkins; 10. Josh Thomas; 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams; 1.Rhys Davies; 2. Ifan Phillips ©; 3. Mitchell Walsh; 4. Matthew Dodd; 5. James Ratti; 6. Charlie Davies; 7. Morgan Morris; 8. Guido Volpi.

Replacements – 16. Dewi Lake; 17. Jordan Walters; 18. Rhys Henry; 19. Jay Williams; 20. Joe Grabham; 21. Iwan Temblett; 22. Frankie Jones; 23. Caine Woolerton.

Speaking ahead of the game, head coach Richard Fussell said: “I think we learnt a lot from last weekend’s game against Connacht. If we’re giving away penalties and cheap opportunities, then our opposition are going to use that against us. First and foremost, we’ve got to look at ourselves and make sure we have our house in order and that we don’t give the opposition those opportunities. I thought the boys responded well in the second half, whereas in the first half we struggled to get into the game. We defended really well in the first half, our defensive sets were great but we definitely had areas to build on.

“Second half we got into the game a bit more, so hopefully we can create opportunities in this game like we did in the last. Its going to be massive for us but if we get our setpiece functioning, it gives us a decent platform to build off. Leinster are going to be a formidable outfit, they are three from three at the moment and we’re going over there. Hopefully we can get stuck into them and deliver a performance for 80 minutes. I think that’s going to be the real challenge for these boys, we have to start straight away. When we do we’re a decent outfit, so hopefully we can come away with a good result.”

Llanelli’s Welsh Assembly member and the constituency’s Member of Parliament have put out a joint statement following yesterday’s special ‘NHS Change’ meeting held by the Hywel Dda University Health Board in Carmarthen.

It reads –

Lee Waters AM and Nia Griffith MP welcome retention of services at Prince Philip General Hospital.

Llanelli’s AM and MP have welcomed Hywel Dda Health Board’s proposal to keep Prince Philip as a General Hospital with acute services, such as Minor Injuries, remaining in Llanelli.

The announcement comes after vigorous opposition by local campaign group SOSSPAN, supported by the MP and AM, to prevent a downgrade to a community hospital.

Lee Waters AM said: “I’m glad that the Health Board listened to the strong representations that Nia and I made to them. Turning Prince Phillip into a Community Hospital was not on.”

Nia Griffith MP said: “We welcome the announcement today by the Hywel Dda Health Board to keep Prince Philip Hospital as a General Hospital and to keep acute medicine here in Llanelli, and I welcome close cooperation with ABMU, the Swansea Health Board.”

But both warned that the move of some of the planned operations out of Prince Phillip and all from Glangwili hospital into a new purpose built super-hospital near Whitland will need to be carefully managed.

Nia Griffith said: “The new hospital will be an hour away by car for most people in the Llanelli constituency, and many will be closer to hospitals in Swansea and along the M4. It’s essential that there are no bureaucratic boundaries between the health boards which get in the way of people being treated as close to home as possible”.

Lee Waters added: “About 25% of households don’t have a car and we need to make sure they can easily access the healthcare they need. And we need to make sure we can the most of digital communication so that people can have face-to-face contact without always needing to travel.”

The MP and AM will tell Health Secretary Vaughan Gething that Prince Philip needs to receive continued investment to secure a long term future.

Nia Griffith MP added: “We will be keeping close watch on the further development of the Board’s thinking on emergency, urgent and planned care.”

Lee Waters also said he was very concerned about the announcement that mental health services for the most serious cases will be provided outside of the area.

He added: “I’m worried that the new Mental Health treatment unit that was being planned for Llanelli will now be placed at the proposed new hospital near Whitland, alongside the planned new assessment unit. Llanelli is still on course to have a Community mental health centre, but that will not deal with more serious cases. Nia and I will be meeting with the Health Board to discuss this.”

See earlier post –

Here’s the verdict from today’s special Hywel Dda Health Board meeting