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Fijian father granted ‘indefinite leave’ in citizenship battle

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Sam Cataki: Granted ‘indefinite leave’ in citizenship bid

A FIJIAN MAN has been granted ‘indefinite leave’ in his bid to gain citizenship in the United Kingdom, according to information posted on a petition supporting him.

Sam Cataki, who is 36 and was born in Fiji, previously served in the British Army for 12 years and was based at Colchester, Nottingham and Brawdy in 2007, before moving back to Neyland in 2014.

He is a father of two children, Mesake, 5, and Jared, 1, but was told that he could no longer work in the UK legally despite having lived and worked in the country since being recruited by the army age 20.

Last week, after Stephen Crabb MP took his case to Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis, he was allowed to go back to work for Milford Haven Port Authority.

Yesterday (Jun 30), Jonathan Sutton said on the change.org page for Mr Cataki: “Delighted to hear from Sam tonight and discover that as of today he has been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the United Kingdom.

“Another huge step in the quest for citizenship.

“Thanks to everyone who has pushed this into the public eye!”

Stephen Crabb MP said: “I am very pleased that Sam has been granted indefinite leave to remain and has been able to return to work. The support show for him by the people of Neyland has been fantastic, and I’m happy to have played my part in ensuring this popular family man can stay in Pembrokeshire.”

Mayor of Neyland, Cllr Simon Hancock said: “Sam is strongly supported by the community of Neyland. His service and loyalty to our country means he has earned British citizenship. He is a great asset to our town and we want the Home Office to recognize that.”

Speaking to the Herald on Monday (Jun 26), Sam said this was the second time that this had happened and that he was waiting for the outcome of his application which is open until December 23, but could be sorted before that time.

He added: “If I came illegally, I would say. But I came here in 2002 from Fiji when I was recruited to join the army.

“I served until I left in 2014 and before I left I applied for citizenship. One of the criteria is that you have to have been living here for five years.

“All I had was three points on my driving licence but I was told I couldn’t attend a speed awareness course because I had just come out of rehab after a knee operation.

“In February, I was told my application was void. I thought ‘how is my application inappropriate?’

“I am really grateful for the amount of support I have received over the last few days from the people of Neyland, Milford Haven and across Pembrokeshire, even from England. The support is tremendous, I can’t thank them enough.”

He went on to say: “I hope they change the way they do things. Being in the armed forces speaks for itself. If they can do it now, it will help those who are still in the forces.”

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Storm Bert aborts Pembrokeshire lifeboat in search for missing person

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A major sea search got underway on Sunday evening following reports of a missing person in the sea off Rhossili.

Tenby Lifeboat received a call shortly after 11 pm on Sunday, November 24 from the coastguards, requesting the crew’s assistance.

“The volunteer crew was soon on the water and got to Rhossili in extremely rough seas as a result of Storm Bert,” commented a spokesperson for the Tenby crew

“The crew was requested to search around Worm’s Head using lights and night vision equipment.”

But after searching the coastline for around two hours, the crew was forced to stand down.

“It soon became obvious that the conditions were too rough for the lifeboat to get in close enough to be of any assistance, so with the lifeboat unable to safely provide assistance due to extremely rough seas, the crew stood down.”

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How local rum inspired by legendary pirate has exploded into national sensation

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When Jonathan Williams left his desk job in Swindon way back in 2010, his mission, to many, was impossible.

This is the man who hot-footed it back to Pembrokeshire to harvest seaweed from Freshwater West which he then used to create his multi award-winning ‘Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company.’

Using only choice produce sourced from the seas around Pembrokeshire, Jonathan’s innovative (and many would say courageous) idea began tickling the taste buds of some of the UK’s top chefs and food critics including James Martin who christened Williams as ‘the crazy seaweed man’.

Fast-forward seven years and once again Jonathan began honing yet another brain-storming idea, this time inspired by the mighty Bartholomew Roberts – otherwise known as Black Bart. After setting sail from his home in Little Newcastle at the age of 13, Bart gained notoriety as the most successful pirate in the ‘golden age of piracy’ who went on to raid 400 prize ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 until his death from a wound to his throat, in 1722.

And so began Barti Spiced Rum.

“Everything was ticking along nicely at the Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company, and then in January 2017, Jonathan went off on paternity leave,” explained Barti Rum’s managing director, Fran Barnikel.

“Any normal person would have been busy changing nappies, but Jonathan, being the incredible entrepreneurial person that he is, came back to work saying, ‘Ok, I’m going to start a new company’.

“He’d read about Barti Ddu the pirate, and had always wanted to bring out a spiced rum in his honour.  So he’d spent his paternity leave investigating different distilleries and bottlers and slowly but surely, Barti Spiced Rum started to come to fruition.”

Because of Jonathan’s strong allegiance with Pembrokeshire seaweed, he knew from the outset that the natural product would be used in his rum.

“Jonathan wanted his rum to be vibrant in flavour, so the seaweed is infused, giving it a real depth of flavour and enhancing the other ingredients which include vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, orange and lemon,” said Fran.

The rum is distilled in the Caribbean and then exported to Cardiff where the Pembrokeshire seaweed along with the remaining ingredients are infused.

“Out first batch arrived in late summer and initially we sold only to people we knew,” continued Fran.

“But as time went on, we could see that there was definitely a market out there for expansion.

“Obviously there was a lot less niche for the rum as there had been for the seaweed, plus the gin market was picking up at the time.  But we could also see that the rum market was on the increase.  In many ways, it was perfect timing.  So we continued riding the wave.”

Jonathan and his team shun the rum purists who cite mixing it with coke or pepsi as sacrilege.

“All we want is for people to enjoy it,” said Fran.  “And this means drinking it exactly as they want.  If you want to add cola or ginger beer, that’s great.  But it’s also really good with cloudy apple juice and particularly now as we’re getting closer to Christmas, hot apple juice.”

Fran

The cream liqueur is also extremely versatile for cocktails, including the Manhattan, Mojito and Daiquiri.

Jonathan has steadfastly refused to add flavour varieties to his brand, adhering rigidly to the Barti Spiced.

“From the beginning, he wanted to create a strong product that would continue to do well, rather than dilute its vibrant flavour with other ingredients.”

But in Christmas 2023, Jonathan broke away from his rule by introducing a Barti Cream Liqueur.

“This was the first addition he’d ever introduced to the range and it was only supposed to last for the Christmas period.  But once again, because of the feedback we’ve received from our customers, we’ve kept it going and we’re now fully stocked for Christmas 2024.”

The Herald caught up with Fran as she travelled back to Pembrokeshire from Tesco’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, London.  Six weeks ago the company began selling their rum at a total of 58 Tesco stores throughout Wales, but the supermarket giant is now considering stocking Barti Spiced Rum throughout the whole of the UK.

Earlier this year, Barti Spiced Rum was named the best rum in the Great British Food Awards while the Barti Cream Liqueur has won eight separate awards in the World Drinks Awards including best in country, best new launch, and three golds awards in both the taste and design categories. 

One can’t help wondering, given the fact that eight years ago Barti Spiced Rum had yet to be given its first pouring, whether its success has come as a surprise.

““At the end of the day, Jonathan has that incredible ability to make everything work,” chuckled Fran.  “Everything that he captures tends to turn to gold.

“But we know that Barti Spiced Rum is a really strong product and something that’s very ‘Pembrokeshire-sentric’.  And the support we continue to get from the local cafes and pubs has been incredible and has really helped us to move forward.  The staff reach out, time and time again, with tasters and samples, and we know that they’re genuinely behind our brand.  And this is so important.  We are so grateful for everything they continue to do to support us.”

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Crime

Pembroke Dock woman in court for failing to remove rubbish from property

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A PEMBROKE DOCK resident is due to appear before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court later today (Nov 25) for multiple alleged breaches of a community protection notice.

Sheena Deacon, of 13 Wavell Crescent, Pembroke Dock, faces charges under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which carries a maximum penalty of a Level 4 fine.

The charges stem from allegations that Deacon failed to remove accumulated household waste from her property on several occasions. According to court documents, the breaches occurred on September 19, September 26, October 2, October 9, and October 17 this year.

The charges indicate that Deacon, despite being issued with a community protection notice, did not comply with the requirements to clear and appropriately dispose of refuse and household waste from her address.

The Herald will bring updates on the case as it progresses.

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