This site was last updated September 2007
Recently there has been a spate of underage drinking in the park and outside the old age complex, the group of youngsters have also been lifting manhole covers as a prank and they've cut a hole in the fence of the local pool. More recently July 2007 residents actually witnessed the vandals and took some photos of them in the Act. The local police are aware of these actions as several residents have contacted them.
I update my blog about three times a week with local activities and news from the community
Pontarddulais Carnival
Photos of the local carnival here , plus there's a report from the 2007 here
I have started writing about local news and events for the local llwchwr & llanelli star, the web master of the pontarddulais web site www.pontarddulais.com has a Hendy section and is printing my column's weekly as well.
Recently Hendy was on the six o'clock news see the video here
If you are involved in any club or have any community news feel free to contact us slloydjanes@aol.com and we will try to include it in the star and the pontarddulais/hendy web column.
Local Surgeries
On friday 29thJune 2007 there was a surgery, where Nia Griffith MP. There will be more details in the Hendy column in the local llanelli star closer to the date and the pontarddulais web site .
Rebecca Riots
Below is a picture of me at the recent unvailing of the rebecca stone in Hendy Square more pictures and details further down the page.
Usdaw
I'm not normally around White Springs during the weekends because i work full time every weekend, for a lage retail company, where i am a union rep
I am quite active as a rep for Usdaw and i often lobby my MP to change legislation that improves working conditions, because of this involvement, i have since become an active local community councillor for my local village, where i've been actively campaining for road safety since 2004 outside my local school,
Traffic Calming
Road safety and traffic calming will still be top of the agenda especially as the neighboring villages develop creating more traffic, recently heol y parc has become a hot spot for traffic accidents with one resident having their garden wall demolished by vehicles, nine times in two years
There's a photo below of the damage caused, there was yet another accident there recently making it three times in four months. Another site meeting is being organised with county council officers.
Pool Committee
I'm also active on the local hendy pool committee campaigning to keep it open, this campaign has been on going since 2002.
Below are some photos taken on 23rd june 2006, of the group of children that will be in the school carnival float on Sat 24th june 2006
There's lots more photo's and news about the pool here
75th Anniversary of Hendy Pool
We need your help do you have any photos for a project to raise funds read details of project here
Llanelli CAB
As a result of my involvement with the local community council and my skills gained as a union rep for giving advice, i am now also involved in the local citizens advice bureau,
If you can't find answers to your queries in the links i provided above and you live Hendy and need advice you can email me at slloydjanes@aol.com
HENDY POOL
April 2006 after a long battle with the county which had started in 2002 by the pool committee and is still on going i've just launched a new petition which the pool committee are supporting 17 members are collecting names can be found in several shops and will be coming around the villages of Hendy and Pontarddulais
The petition was launched because it's been made quite clear that the county can't justify spending money on hendy pool here ,
Members of the committee felt they needed to send a clear message, to the county council that they need to start looking for funding to try and save the pool,
If you can offer any help or support please email me at Slloydjanes@aol.com
Petition
SAVE THE HENDY POOL CAMPAIGN, COLLECTED APRIL 2006
In the 1930’s volunteers from the community built the pool with funding from the government and 170 lido’s were built nationally, of which only 31 remain today.
Local volunteers took over the running of the pool, assisted with a small grant of £7,000 from the County, the pool committee, in 2001 the last season the pool was open, actually broke even with 5000 visitors using the facility, where as it had previously cost the county in excess of £30,000 to run. In December 2004 and February 2005 approximately 150 locals met with C.C.C representatives to discuss the future of Hendy pool.
We the undersigned understand locals have reformed a new committee and are still campaigning to keep the community pool. We welcome the statement from the Chancellor in the 2006 budget, that there will be more funding for leisure and sports activities in the run up to the Olympics 2012. We therefore support the Save the Hendy Pool Campaign and we sincerely hope the pool committee and the Carmarthen County Council are successful in their search for funding to save our Pool which was built by volunteers for the community.
The petition was presented on wed 11th oct 2006 by Pool Committee Member Vernon Hicks.
I've been looking on the web and because the campaign has been ongoing for so long there's lots of info to be found on the web about Hendy pool
here's one story covered last year in the westernmail here, hendy pool committee are not the only community campaigning to save their pool Brynamman the only pool in Wales has also campaigned to keep their pool here
LATEST NEWS ARTICLE Hendy pool petition news april 2006 reported on bbc web page here
Nia Griffith Llanelli MP attended the Lido's conference in march, aimed at gathering communities together to share ideas, here's Hendy's entry on the lido web site.
As the Secretary of the Llanelli Usdaw branch, i went to the Annual conference in Blackpool this year
This year the Llanelli branch had two propositions going forward to conference, one was about Student debt and the TV licences, the other is on outdoor pools and a healthier younger generation, the pool proposition reads.....
"This adm notes that during the 1920's and 30's the government introduced support to build outdoor lidos as a way to introduce better health for local communities, many hundreds of pools were built but sadly since 1995 these pools have been closing at an alarming rate, as they are deemed to have reached the end of their life span and only a small percentage have been replaced with modern indoor pools. with obesity on the increase, which is fast becoming today's health crisis time bomb, conference urges the Executive Council to lobby the government to review the situation as a matter of urgency and to find funding so that many of the local communities that are campaigning to save their pool can reopen them. This will help encourage the youth in our local communities to become more active and may encourage a fitter, healthier younger generation."
I'm glad to say that the executive council of the union agreed to support the above proposition, the lidos conference also fed back info from the march conference, to ministers at parliament on may 10th and with usdaw also supporting and writing to parliament maybe local communities with pool's campaigning may get some positive feedback
here's a news report that was printed in the local ammanford guardian here
The Rebecca Riots
Recently the newley appointed chair of llanedi community council unvailed a memorial to an important piece of Hendy's History, withe the help of local historian.
Gwyn Griffiths & Luther Thomas a living great grandson of the person now believed to be involved in the murder of the toll gate keeper, during the rebecca riots.
Once you've read please sign my guest book here and leave a coment about this web page.
Email Steve at slloydjanes@aol.com
Photos of Hendy pool here
Respect Day
During July 2006 i've been megga busy, i helped organise an event for usdaw national respect day, 95% of shopworkers have been abused assulted sometimes verbally many times physically especially when a shop worker refuses to sell under age alcholol.
Read USDAW's comments and details of what happened around the country on july 12th here
In March 2007, The Respect for workers has continued after Tesco decided to put up signs in its stores, stating it will not tolerate abuse to its staff, the local Llanelli MP and Assembly member visited the store and staff to find out more about the new policy.
Usdaw's General Secretary also appeared shortly after the Tesco agreement on GMTV to talk about the abuse shopworkers recieve read here
Catherine Thomas
Catherine Thomas also supported see news report here Catherine invite a group of Usdaw representatives to the Assembly prior to the respect day read here
On respect day july 12th the Mayor of Carmarthen Town Council came out to support and Martin Morris a County Councillor for Llanelli also supported
Red Lion Hendy
I organised with the help of Tony Polverino the landlord of the Red Lion an event which saw 90 individuals and companies pledge support in the first two weeks of organising read details of event here
The campaign eventually recieved support from 130 companies and individuals pledged gifts and services which made the whole weekend a success, during the two day event six artists sung and several have already pledged to do another show similar in November. There were two auctions in the evening which went really well making £2000 and the total collected and pledged was £4979. To date we've banked just under £4000 with a cople of pledges to come in and auction items to be paid for. Tescos are hoping to build a new store in Pontarddulais and the Regional New Store Developement Director has promised to put a cheque for £500 in the post.
The Auction was well supported with a fisherman from Newbury on holiday joining in by buying a days fishing for two in the company of two Swansea City Football players read press story here
I PUT ALL MY ACTIVITIES IN A BLOG WHICH I STARTED MARCH 2007,
It includes fishing reports and my daily activities in the union and the community read my blog here
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