DYFED AND GLAMORGAN ARMY CADET FORCE are now able to accept new joiners aged 12 (and in Year 8 at School) to 17 years old.

Joining the Army Cadets will give access to a wide range of exciting activities, from adventurous training (AT) such as kayaking, mountain biking and abseiling and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to military-themed activities including shooting, fieldcraft and skill at arms, as well as training in first aid, young adults get the chance to discover lots of new experiences and make new friends.  

There is no obligation to join the Forces at all, but they can give some guidance if you are interested.  

There are no subscription charges, uniform is issued free on a loan basis; the only thing you need to supply yourselves is Boots.  

The Cadet Force are also looking for adult volunteers, both uniformed and non-uniformed to assist as well.

They have Detachments located in Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Narberth, Tenby, Milford Haven, Neyland, Pembroke Dock, Tenby, St Clears, Llanelli, Trimsarren and Burry Port.

Most Detachments parade twice a week in the evenings 1900 – 2100hrs on a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday (Depending on Location) and try to get away for a weekend every month as well as organising summer camps. 

Further Information is available at :- www.armycadets.com or call them on 01656 657593 (Option 1) to find out where your local detachment is and what nights they Parade.

TESCO’S Pembroke Dock Superstore has joined forces with food sharing app and social enterprise OLIO which is encouraging people across Pembrokeshire to become Food Waste Heroes.

The OLIO app allows anyone who signs up to tackle the issue of food waste at a local level.

OLIO Food Waste Heroes collect surplus food that might otherwise go to waste from supermarkets and other food businesses and share it with others locally for free via a contact-free pick-up.

Food Waste Heroes will be collecting surplus food from Tesco local stores taking part in the scheme, including the Tesco Pembroke Dock Superstore, and take it home ready to upload it to the app and share it with their community.

To reward them for taking part Food Waste Heroes are allowed to keep 10% of anything they collect to enjoy at home.

Saasha Celestial-One, co-founder of OLIO, said: “People become a Food Waste Hero for many different reasons but they each share a commitment to reducing food waste at scale. It is extremely rewarding because distributing large quantities of surplus food via the app means you get to see exactly what food you are preventing from going to waste.

“In the process of sharing our FWHs also get to meet a lot of new people in their neighbourhood, people from all walks of life. Finally, FWHs are able to keep up to 10% of their haul for themselves, so they can enjoy some of the delicious rescued food too!”

OLIO is registered with the Food Standards Agency, which ensures that all food collected is safe for human consumption.

Paul Johns, Store Manager at Tesco Pembroke Dock encouraged people to get involved.

“At Tesco we are committed to tackling food waste and we already donate our store’s surplus food to local charities and community groups through our Community Food Connection scheme with FareShare,” he said.

“But on some days local charities and community groups are unable to collect from us, and that is why we are supporting OLIO in the hunt for Food Waste Heroes across Pembrokeshire so that even more of our surplus food is eaten rather than wasted.”

To become a Food Waste Hero or find out more, visit https://olioex.com/get-involved/volunteer/

A NEW community initiative is being launched in Newport, Pembrokeshire to ensure the much loved Havards Shop is kept as a hardware shop for Newport and surrounding areas. 

For those who know Newport, Pembrokeshire the Havards Shop is not just a traditional hardware shop but has a considerable amount of essentials and gifts for locals and visitors alike. 

The current owners, Bryce and Sonnie Barrett wish to see the community having a chance to purchase and retain the shop and have it as an additional hub for the community. 

The shop has been on the market for many months and the option of a community run cooperative shop is one that is now being seriously considered by the locals. 

Adrian Varney who is on Newport Town Council contacted Cris Tomos of PLANED to gain support with the initial development phase of seeking funds as community shares and loans from local people. 

Cris has been involved and supported many community asset purchases via community shares, such as Canolfan Hermon, Tafarn Sinc, 4CG Cardigan, Cwm Arian Renewable Energy, The White Hart Inn St Dogmaels and other pan Wales initiatives. 

The local town councillor, Adrian Varney noted, “the shop is an important building in the town and so many generations have supported and continue to rely on the shop for hardware and gift items. we have to look at a local solution to retaining the Havards shop” 

The current owners Bryce and Sonnie Barrett commented, “A community purchase would ensure the character of the shop is retained and future generations can have a shop such as this within the community” they added “We would ensure that all the current business supplier contacts and electronic till and stock control systems that we have developed would be handed over and we would wish to fully support the new community team on how to manage the business successfully” 

Anyone who would wish to consider investing in the community project can pick up a pledge form in the shop or on the new community shop Facebook Page that will be launched shortly. Also anyone who has time to join the new community committee can fill in an application form at the shop.

Cris Tomos concluded “Local shops are  now being taken on by many communities around the country and there is comprehensive support for community groups, also for investors there will be a opportunities for annual dividends/interest dependant trading profits and an investors tax relief of up to 30% return for UK taxpayers under the HMRC scheme known as Social Investment Tax Relief.”