It seems hard to believe that my year of office is more than halfway complete. The highlight has got to be this year's Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells when Pembrokeshire was the host county. The weather did its best to spoil the occasion, but failed to put a dampener on the event, with the crowds determined to ignore the elements and enjoy themselves. Pembrokeshire, I am pleased to say, had a considerable presence at the showground throughout the four days. And it will continue to do so in the years to come with the Pembrokeshire Tower, a new purpose-built control centre for the show's main ring. Donations and fund-raising events held in Pembrokeshire helped pay for this magnificent building which ensures that Pembrokeshire will forever be associated with the Royal Welsh in years to come. Before I close, I would urge readers to make a special effort to recycle their Christmas waste by making use of their orange bags. You can include plain wrapping paper, Christmas cards and sweet and biscuit tins plus the usual materials like paper, plastic bottles, cardboard and cans. Christmas cards can also be recycled through the Woodland Trust Recycling Scheme which runs throughout January. Just take your used cards to W. H. Smith, Tesco, TK Maxx or M&S and place them in the boxes provided. Christmas trees can be taken to any of the six council-run amenity and recycling centres in the county, including the one at Salterns, Tenby. May I wish you all a healthy and peaceful New Year.
