Builder ‘burned body of wife’s lover’
It’s Christmas... but not as we know it as festivities are halted
Father of three denies murdering love rival over relationship: P7
A BUILDER burned the body of his wife’s secret lover after shooting him dead, a court has heard.
Andrew Jones, 53, is accused of burning the remains of Michael O’leary, 55, in a rusty oil drum after a confrontation at a remote farm. He denies murder.
A NUMBER of muchanticipated events due to take place in Carmarthen between now and Christmas have been cancelled due to Covid-19.
Despite the lifting of national lockdown guidelines throughout the summer, which had given hope that many annual highlights in the town would be able to go ahead, decisions have been taken to scrap a host of them.
Those decisions have been made in the same week that a second national lockdown was recommended by experts, as parts of Wales continue to be placed under local restrictions.
One of the events cancelled is the fireworks display at Carmarthen Park, due to be held on November 5.
Organised by Carmarthen Round Table, it has become one of the key dates in the calendar since it started in 1971, and 2020 represents the first cancellation of the event since its inception.
Mark Jones, chairman of Carmarthen Round Table, said: “Fireworks night at the park is a great fundraising opportunity for us every year.
“In light of the event being cancelled, people can donate through our social media pages and we hope to be able to still raise some money for local causes that way, but it is such a well attended event that it would be irresponsible to even try to hold it this year.
“It’s a big shame for the town to call it off but it’s the only responsible thing to do.”
Meanwhile, two Christmas lights switch-on ceremonies scheduled for later in November have also been called off.
The main town centre lights switch-on was scheduled to take place on the evening of Friday, November 20, but town councillors have decided that this will no longer go ahead, a decision that also applies to the Reindeer Parade that was planned for the following day – Saturday, November 21.
Despite the lack of a formal event, the Christmas lights will still be switched on, and earlier in the year than usual.
Mayor Gareth John admitted that Christmas in Carmarthen will be very different this year, but that the correct decisions had been made in order to safeguard the community at large.
“To continue its support for all businesses in town during these challenging times, the traditional Christmas lights will be switched on earlier this year although, regrettably, the official switch-on and other highly popular events during the Christmas period have had to be cancelled,” said the mayor.
“Public health must come first and I’m sure that, given the circumstances, people will understand that large public gatherings for community events, even outdoors, would pose an unacceptably high risk to the safety of the community.
“There will, of course, be a Christmas this year but it will be very different to Christmases past. The lights will be illuminated on October 30 but be switched off for Remembrance Day.
“Plans are well advanced for a socially distanced Christmas Market to go ahead but without the Reindeer Parade, and providing everybody acts responsibly, heeds the advice and complies with the regulations, Carmarthen will once again be the must-visit town for shopping and hospitality this winter.”
Elsewhere, St Catherine’s Walk shopping centre – home to a number of high street chains such as Debenhams and Next – normally holds its own Christmas lights event in November, which last year included a performance by 2014 X Factor winner Ben Haenow.
While the shopping centre will also be putting up decorations from October 30, and will be home to a pop-up Christmas Market containing six huts throughout November and December, it too will not hold any events which would attract mass gatherings.
“The decorations will be going up but to follow public health guidance on social distancing we won’t be marking the moment with a switching-on,” said the shopping centre’s manager, John Nash.”
Despite the cancellation of the town centre Christmas events, together with the fireworks display on November 5, it is unclear at this stage whether the Winter Wonderland attraction, which proved so popular in 2018 and 2019, will return in 2020.