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Lottie’s design wins textile award


WHEN a lampshade turns into a knitted hat it might spark a peculiar reaction but the creative work of student Lottie Sparks has resulted in an award by the Bradford Textiles Society. Lottie, a textiles degree student at Coleg Sir Gâr’s School of Creative


Arts, entered her work in the Bradford Textiles Society Design Competition, and has been commended in the competition’s Clothmaker’s Foundation Award, in the category of knitted fabrics for accessories for fashion. Lottie’s inspiration was fantasy flowers and realising how upside-down lampshades take the shape of unusual flora, she got to work with the help of milliner and fashion lecturer Kate McKenny. “I knitted the slipstiched panels and leaves for the hat,” Lottie said. “But I needed help putting it together as a wearable accessory so I needed Kate’s millinery help to create a workable fascinator base.” The oldest textiles society in Britain is hosting the awards ceremony


in April in Saltaire, which Lottie will be attending to receive her award. For further information on art and design courses, please contact enquiries@colegsirgar.ac.uk.


Ashley rides off with prize


EDITION 13 May - June 2013


Boston dates for renowned poet


RENOWNED international poet and director of the MA Creative Writing at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Dr Menna Elfyn, has been reading her work at the Association of Writers and Writing


Programs (AWP)


Conference held in Boston. Each year, AWP holds its annual


conference and book fair in a different city to celebrate the authors,


teachers, writing


programmes, literary centres, and independent publishers of that region. The conference typically features 550 readings, lectures, panel discussions, and forums, as well as hundreds of book signings,


receptions, dances, and informal gatherings. More than 10,000 writers and


readers attended the conference in 2012 conference, and 600 exhibitors were


represented at the


accompanying bookfair. AWP is now the largest literary conference in North America and Dr Elfyn was one of the invited poets who read her work at the event. During her stay she also read her work at a gathering of the New Jersey Welsh Society and at Smith College Massachusetts. Menna Elfyn is the most translated


of all modern Welsh-language poets, and is author of over 20 books of poetry.


Staff get it on time


13


A LLANELLI student who spent his school holidays helping out at his dad’s autoshop has shown that hard work pays after scooping gold in the quest to find Wales’ best aspiring automobile technology student. Ashley Jones, a 19-year-old automotive apprentice from Llanelli, is a student at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Automotive


Engineering Centre in Carmarthen. He competed with 11 other finalists from across the country to be named Skills Competition Wales winner in the Automobile Technology competition. He combines one day in college with four days in RJ’s Auto & Sons in Swansea, which is run and owned by his father.


Blue flag for Cefn Sidan


CEFN Sidan will be flying the Blue Flag for Carmarthenshire a record 20th year this summer. No beach in Wales has held the award for as many


years with only two no fly exception years since 1981. To achieve the coveted Blue Flag has meant Cefn


Sidan will have attained the strict European Union standards for bathing water quality and met a long list of monitored land based criteria. It is Carmarthenshire’s only Blue Flag because of its limited and licensed vehicular use, dog ban areas, general safety, arrangements for disabled users and a range of requirements aimed at enhancing visitor enjoyment, managed by the county council and its ranger service. Executive board member for leisure services Cllr


Meryl Gravell said: “This is tremendous news. We have a small coastline but the longest and most spectacular beach in Wales.”


A PARKINSON’S Resource Box is now available for staff on every inpatient ward in Hywel Dda Health Board. Created by the board’s four Parkin- son’s Specialist Nurses, the boxes are designed to support general ward staff to better understand the condi- tion. They include information about medication and the support services that are available for pa- tients. Specialist nurses Laura Edwards in Carmarthen and Gill Forwood in Llanelli wanted to help raise the pro- file and understanding of Parkinson’s


within the Health Board itself. They said: “Hopefully the Rescue Boxes will provide useful information for healthcare professionals and encour- age them to put themselves into the shoes of a Parkinson’s patient. Med- ication times are unique to each in- dividual and often do not correspond to routine drug rounds, so this information can really make a difference.” For more information about Parkinson’s visit www.parkinsons.org.uk or contact the UK Helpline on 0808 800 0303.


Welsh language


A GROUP of Carmarthenshire County Councillors have met to analyse the 2011 Census results for the Welsh Language in the county. They will


be considering


approaches for the council and the wider community in addressing the current decrease in numbers of Welsh speakers. The Census Working Group was


established by full council with cross party support. The group is inviting members of the public to contribute to the


research and analysis by e-mailing WelshLanguage@carmarthenshire.g ov.uk by July 1 with any evidence, ideas or comments. The group will be reporting on its


initial findings after six months and will


be able to propose


recommendations to the council to adopt. The group is in contact with the Welsh Government as they establish a Commission to look at the situation of the Welsh language in Carmarthenshire.


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