New monthly Events listing download now available

Ensure your guests know what events are on when they staying in Carmarthenshire by  downloading the County Council's new monthly "What's On" PDF which is available at the following link  

To print the pdf, open the link, right click, and select the print option

The what's on and events pages on http://www.discovercarmarthenshire.com/ are among the top two most visited pages of the website and are updated daily with a comprehensive listing.http://www.discovercarmarthenshire.com/business/business_images/July-events-2012.pdf

Daily Mirror newspaper visiting this weekend

The County Council has arranged for a tourism writer from the Daily Mirror to stay in Carmarthenshire from Friday 22 - Monday 25 June in preparation for them to produce a feature in what is one of the highest selling newspapers in the UK on the new Carmarthenshire Food Trail.

We work very closely with businesses on these type of visits and are thankful to Cefn Meurig B & B in St Clears, Jabajak Restaurant & Vineyard near Whitland, Cawdor Hotel in Llandeilo & Y Polyn Restaurant in Nantgaredig for their hosting of this journalist.

For further information on County Council promotiona activities, please contact Sarah Owen via marketing@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Refuse Collection from Cwm Environmental

Cwm Environmental is based in the heart of Carmarthenshire and the goal is to increase the amount of reuse, recycling and recovery from all waste streams. CWM are an exciting innovative company that cares about the environment in which we all live in. CWM ensures that it manages this material effectively by working with Carmarthenshire County Council, Communities and Commercial Sectors. Their commercially aware flexible services provide waste and recycling solutions for businesses in and around the county at affordable realistic prices that reflect economic and environment pressures faced by successful organisations..

If you would like further information on Cwm's services ring 01267 225520

ODEON Cinema is back in Llanelli after 45-years

74 years to the day that Odeon first showed a film in Llanelli, the world renowned company has started its fit-out of a state-of-the-art venue in Llanelli town centre.  And wow is it back in style as with a 610-seat digital five-screen 3D experience that will be open in October 2012

Construction projects director for Odeon-UCI Cinemas, Steve Lavelle, said at the handover from builder’s Britannia Construction on Monday: “I am delighted we are anchoring the prestigious East Gate Development in the centre of Llanelli and bringing its state-of-the-art digital 3D cinema experience to the town. “Today marks an important stage in our plan as we accept the cinema shell structure to start our cinema fit-out programme. We will be announcing further important milestones as we progress over the next four months."

Carmarthenshire executive board member for regeneration and leisure services Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “Odeon is a world renowned brand that will bring more attention to the town and help to increase footfall in the town centre.”

The first film shown at the old Llanelli Odeon which opened on June 18^th, 1938, was Paradise for Two. The building on the corner of Station Road and Queen Victoria Road was taken over in 1967 by Classic Cinemas and renamed. A decline in business led to it being sold to Llanelli Borough Council in 1976 when it was developed as Theatr Elli.

Free promotional opportunity to target 1,300 Residents

If you have a cafe, attraction, pub, leisure facility or shop then this free opportunity from Carmarthenshire County Council is worth investigating. The UK's and Carmarthenshire's population is getting older and the fastest growing demographic group in Carmarthenshire are those aged 50+. They have huge spending power in the County! Carmarthenshire has a 50+ forum and the County Council has set up a discount scheme for the 1,300 plus members of the forum which you can now offer "deals" to with the County Council promoting them through its regular mailshots to the card carrying members. To get your business listed ring 01267 234567 or email 50+forum@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Channel 4 TV wants to revamp your Cafe/Restaurant

CAFÉS AND RESTAURANTS OWNERS – DOES YOUR MENU NEED A REVAMP? – CHANNEL 4 WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU Channel 4’s Fabulous Baker Brothers are back with a brand new series but this time they are giving traditional British food a makeover. Do you have a tea shop, café or restaurant in a tourist hotspot that needs a menu makeover? Do you offer traditional British food like cream teas, fish and chips, pie and mash, baked goods or sandwiches? Is your business need a helping hand in these tough economic times? With the help of the Baker Brothers, your restaurant, pub or shop’s menu could be refreshed. If you want to get involved, it’s simple… send an email ASAP baker.brothers@betty.co.uk with the following information - Tell us about your restaurant, café, shop or pub - Send us a sample menu - Let us know where you think your business could do better - Include a little information about yourself and your staff - Finally, don’t forget to send some pictures of you and your business

Meet the council: Louise Rozhon

Carmarthenshire County Council has 9,500 employees that work in over 100 different services & one of these is Sponsorship and Promotions Officer, Louise Rozhon. Louise has nearly 11 years service under her belt with Carmarthenshire County Council with marketing roles within several key service areas of the Local Authority including leisure, catering, corporate communications, Chief Executive’s office and now Marketing & Tourism for the last four years Pembrokeshire born and now living in rural Carmarthenshire, Louise worked for Renault UK as a Customer Services Manager for Wales and the West Country as well as working in the group travel market packaging tours for coach operators both nationally and internationally. A fluent French speaker with an infectious desire to make things happen, Louise manages many of the key business to business tourism relationships as well providing marketing support to projects such as town centre and the Llanelli Waterside development. Louise can be contacted via email at marketing@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

New Carmarthenshire Food Trail & video now live

To help visitors uncover the county’s real ‘food heroes’, the County Council has researched & produced a number of food trails that have been launched online at www.discovercarmarthenshire.com/food-trails. The three mapped trails make it easy to avoid the big supermarkets and experience the county’s authentic tastes. The trails guide you around Carmarthenshire’s very best food producers from farm shops, pie shops, deli's and pubs to restaurants, teashops and bars. Have a look at the video for the East Trail http://discovercarmarthenshire.com/food-trail/food-trail-east.html. The food trail is currently being promoted on Real Radio Wales as part of the on-air weekend sponsorship the County Council is funding.

Daily Mail Journalist feedback on Carmarthenshire

Priscilla Pollara the travel journalist from Daily Mail online (the world's second busiest english language website) came to visit us on a prearranged stay in May here is some unedited feedback; Stayed at Maes-y-Derw B&B in Newcastle Emlyn and she could not be more of a fan of the owner Catherine who she said was a brilliant hostess, ran a very tight ship and cooked a brilliant breakfast. She would recommend this B&B to everyone and she loved it so much that she is writing it up as as feature piece for her My UK Escapes column in Absolutely Fulham, Absolutely Chelsea and 4 other London glossy magazine titles from Zest publishing - http://www.zest-media.com. Loved Newcastle Emlyn and took local advice to walk up to a ruined castle for a great view of the river. Went to Harrisons Tea Shop which they loved and had great food at Ludo's. Caws Cenarth – good visit, bought a fair bit of cheese! Loved Laugharne, did the birthday walk and headed round towards Pendine –stumbled across some great cafes which seemed undiscovered – she is going to send me names when she finds her notebook. Llandeilo – went into Heavenly and tried to eat at the Cawdor but was booked. They ended up at The Red Lion which they really enjoyed for good value pub food and very friendly locals. Y Polyn – they loved the food, really wowed by it and the hospitality of Mark. He drove them home that evening so they could drink and when they came to collect the car the next day he asked them in for breakfast. Carreg Cennen – went for a walk early evening, thought it was a beautiful spot and were there for sunset- magical views. The first Magazines piece will be out in July and date for Daily Mail online to be confirmed.

Meet the Council - Huw Parsons

Carmarthenshire County Council has 9,500 employees that work in over 100 different services. One of these is Marketing & Tourism Manager Huw Parsons, who is the senior officer for marketing, tourism, events and sponsorship for the Local Authority. In a near 11 year spell with Carmarthenshire County Council, Huw has "marketed" services including economic development, schools and facility catering, arts, town centres, coastal regeneration, sports, countryside, beaches, libraries, tourism, staff incentives, golf, leisure centres, cinemas, theatres and festivals. As the only member of the section from east of the Loughor & Severn bridges Huw’s knowledge of the English market is a key aspect in increasing Carmarthenshire as a tourism area. Morale is kept high in the office through Huw's valiant attempts at pronouncing welsh words (the only one correct thus far is his own Christian name). Educated at Sir Thomas Rich's Grammar School & Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire as well as Leicester Business School, Huw began his marketing career 20 years ago promoting some of the largest leisure centres in central London and then Bristol, fitting in spells as a A-level schoolmaster and managing external events for companies such as Barclays Bank and Xerox before joining the County Council in 2000. A former Gloucestershire schools & Leicester Tigers Rugby player, Huw is available via email (marketing@carmarthenshire.gov.uk) or telephone (01554 744326)

Vetted list of Handy People & Gardeners now available

A handy new list of vetted Handy Persons and Gardeners has been put together by the Trading Standards section of Carmarthenshire County Council that will improve the service in the County. Over 15 Carmarthenshire based handypersons & Gardeners have signed up to a Code of Practice that requires them to trade fairly, honestly & abide by the relevant legislation (including giving paperwork and charging a reasonable price). The list shows the trading name & address, contact details, geographical area covered plus with a description of the work each trader carries out. The list is now available on www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk - search for "Registered Traders Scheme". Trading Standards can be contacted via 01554 742306 or tradingstandards@carmarthenshire.gov.uk