Lifestyle
Hospital wedding shows love knows no bounds when it comes to where you get married

A newlywed couple have thanked nurses in Morriston Hospital for helping them tie the knot on the groom’s ward.
When Robert Pritchard, who has cancer, was delivered an uncertain prognosis he and his partner, Rose, decided to exchange wedding vows without further ado.
The ceremony, which was held on Ward T on the last Sunday of May, took less than a weekend to conceive, plan and carry out, but had been in the making for more than 20 years.
The new Mrs Rose Pritchard, who is from Llanelli, explained: “We’ve been together for nearly 21 years and although Rob proposed to me three years ago, after being diagnosed with cancer, life got in the way and things didn’t happen.
“Then, a couple of weeks ago, he was admitted to Morriston Hospital.
“They haven’t said how long he has got but it doesn’t look very good. He’s getting worse to be honest.
“Knowing that he isn’t going to be in this world for very much longer, we had to make the decision to do it here and now. We decided to do the right thing.”
The decision to get married more or less straight away was a mutual one.
“A friend of mine, who is a minister, suggested, ‘Why don’t you do it now?’” said Rose. “We both agreed and said ‘Why not?’. That’s how it happened. It was a mutual proposal.
“Once we had made the decision I spoke to Sally, the ward sister, and she was a Trojan. She made it happen. If it wasn’t for her I don’t think me and Rob would have done it. She gave us all the guidelines and all the support, and we did what we had to do.”
Of the ceremony itself Rose, who wore a white linen suit for the occasion, said: “My two daughters came – my son is away at the moment – to witness it.
“It was magical to be honest with you, better than I ever imagined it would be.
“Obviously we couldn’t go away on honeymoon but we had a lovely chilled evening together, in the room, it was so nice.
“I want to say a huge, massive thank you to the staff. I will never, ever forget what they did for us, and I will always be grateful.”
Ward Sister, Sallyanne Greenfield, said: “It was the first time in all my years of nursing that I had received a request for a couple to marry on the ward.
“First I asked our matron if she would be happy for us to arrange it and she said, ‘yes.’ Then I contacted one of our chaplains to see if he had any advice and, fair play to him, he came up within 15 minutes with all the paperwork.
“We had to get the doctors’ permission as well, which they willingly offered, then Rose had to go and meet the registrar in Swansea.”
The ceremony was low key, for obvious reasons, but was something that all who were part of will never forget.

Sallyanne said: “It was myself and a couple of others, who were on the ward on the Friday who discussed how can we make this happen and how can we make it special for them – because it’s a busy acute ward environment.
“We got together and bought some things out of the ward funds, such as balloons and battery-operated candles, to decorate. We also bought some non-alcoholic champagne and a cake – so they could cut the cake.
“We didn’t tell all the staff that it was happening because we didn’t want it to be overwhelming – just the people who were in that day.
“It was extremely touching. The most rewarding experience and a real honour to be involved in it all. I’ve been in nursing for 31 years and I have never felt like that for anything. It’s something that I will never forget.”
(Lead image: Swansea Bay NHS)
Llanelli
West Wales car dealership to double in size

Dafen-based Llanelli Motor Company have broken ground on a new development that will see their forecourt double in size over the coming months.
Led by Managing Director Ian Jonathan, the two-phase project will see the independent car dealership increase the number of used vehicles it has on sale to over 400 by January 2023.
“It’s certainly an exciting period for the business,” said Ian, “and with the significant changes to the used car market, we felt now was the right time to start the project, which has been in the pipeline for over five years.”
Although the business was potentially looking at 2020 as a start date for the developments, the Coronavirus Pandemic put the brakes on the project.
However, since the easing of lockdown restrictions and the delay in obtaining new vehicles, the used car market has seen an unprecedented spike in demand.


“The last 12 months have been exceptionally busy,” continued Ian.
“No sooner are we finalising our 140-point safety check on vehicles before placing them on the forecourt, than they are being purchased within a matter of days”.
With the ability to stock 150 nearly new vehicles of all makes and models at the moment, the 1-acre expansion will increase this to 250 by September before more than doubling it to 400 by the spring of 2023.
In order to facilitate this growth, the company will also be entering a recruitment phase and looking to employ at least 10 new members of staff across its sales, workshop and admin teams as well as taking on new apprenticeships.
Lifestyle
Swansea man’s delight as he scoops combined £37,000 cash-and-car prize

A Swansea man who was feeling lucky during the working week was left in a state of delighted disbelief on finding out he had won a combined £37,000 cash-and-car prize with online competitions company BOTB.
Anthony Brain from Swansea could not believe his luck when BOTB’s Christian Williams picked up the phone to let him know he was the winner of its Midweek Lifestyle competition.
Anthony, who works for Swansea-based automotive products company Marelli, scooped a brand new BMW 128ti, as well as a cash prize of £2,000.
After recovering from his initial shock, Anthony said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable – I’m over-the-moon and still on a real high from it. It’s rare that I take part in the Midweek Lifestyle Competition – I think I’ve only entered it once or twice before – but I was feeling lucky during the working week, so thought ‘why not?’ When I got the call to say I’d won, I was stunned.
“Being a car enthusiast, I’m really excited about winning the car but the cash is brilliant too. We’ve already booked some holidays with some of the winnings, including to Italy and Florida. It’s nice to have something to look forward to.”
Anthony said his prize win has prompted colleagues to throw their hat in the ring and give BOTB’s competitions a go.
He added: “The thing is you’ve got to be in it to win it – and I think once you know someone who has won, you feel more hopeful that you could be in with a chance. I’d encourage anyone thinking about entering to try it for themselves.”
Other recent winners have bagged a motorbike, a luxury holiday to Barbados and £15,000 in cash.
The company, listed on the stock market, was founded by William Hindmarch in 1999 and has given away more than £47m worth of cars so far.
Food & Drink
Winner winner, weekday dinners: Morrisons introduces midweek dinners for under a fiver in its cafés

Amidst the cost of living crisis, supermarket giant Morrisons is introducing a ‘meal of the day’ for under a fiver to its cafés nationwide.
Every weekday from 3pm, a ‘Daily Special’ will be discounted, offering a saving of up to £3.89 on the individual product price.
The meal on offer will rotate each day and customers can choose from British roast chicken served with chips and coleslaw, a hearty chicken tikka masala, a 9-piece breakfast brunch, a succulent British cheeseburger served with chips and coleslaw and the ultimate beer-battered fish and chips.
The offer includes a drink and vegetarian alternatives are also available.
Each meal will be priced at £4.99, which the supermarket chain says makes them cheaper than the same evening meals at Wetherspoons, Harvester and Beefeater.
Morrisons also say that kids can also eat free all day with the purchase of any adult meal, meaning a family of four can enjoy a meal out together for just £9.98.
Ali Lyons, Head of Morrisons Cafés, says: “We know how hard it is for our customers at the moment and we want to make sure they are still able to enjoy a meal out, even on a budget. We’ve handpicked these favourites so that no matter what day it is, our customers can enjoy a saving.”
Morrisons £4.99 offer will be available in its 406 cafés nationwide after 3pm every weekday. The ‘Daily Specials’ on offer are:
Monday Roast Chicken served with Chips & Coleslaw or Cheese & Onion Quiche served with Chips & Coleslaw Tuesday Chicken Tikka Masala or Mac ‘n’ Cheese Wednesday Breakfast Brunch or Full Vegetarian Breakfast Thursday Cheeseburger served with Chips & Coleslaw or Vegetarian burger served with Chips & Coleslaw Friday Ultimate Fish & Chips
(Lead image: Morrisons)
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