Port Talbot Guardian from Port Talbot, West Glamorgan, Wales • 6

PORT TALBOT GUARDIAN DECEMBER 9T 13qq Splash out! mwb NHk Pan litM Unmh Mtmnigk i 7 imn rti ndf-n 11 pi mm BY CHRIS HERDMAN DfljjD ftta This is the plan so far WITH time fast running out for pubs ho have yet to secure a late Millennium eve licence the Guardian popped into Port Talbot town centre to see what some of the pubs who have finalised their plans are doing on the big night Welcome to Town Hours: 3am Charge: £13 tickets with free prize draw and champagne Staff pay: Double pay and bonus Cost of drinks: lager 1 187 shorts 1 75 for doubles Entertainment: "DJs balloon party and a rattle -there are going to be lots of winners" PUBS in Port Talbot have just days to decide hat they are doing for the millennium before council chiefs call time on lute licences Although the Government has given blanket permission tor pubs and clubs to verve alcohol around the clock for 36 hours from 1 Ipm on December 31 this does not extend to public music and dancing licences which are awarded at the discretion of local councils While most pubs and clubs in Port Talbot planning big millennium parties already have their festivities organised many smaller local pubs still have not finalised any millennium plans With only one meeting of the council's licensing committee between now and Christmas time is running out Steve Bolchover the council's head of environmental health and trading standards said: "As a rule we are allowing pubs extended hours until 2am and clubs extensions until 4am unless there are particular residents' concerns "We have not had a huge influx of applications for extended hours public entertainment licences so we think that many pubs in Port Talbot will be sticking to their normal hours in that respect i GtJUlDiAIJ A family of two adults and two chit-! dren can use the Aquadome during Sak periods for £720 or off peak £380 This voucher is non-! transferable and applies to one i visit only The voucher will be! retained by the Aquadome after 1 redemption Valid until! Wednesday December 15 MAKE a splash and save casn with a super Guardian offer The Guardian and the Aquadome at the Afan Lido hart-teamed up to introduce the discount family swim ticket Just cut out the special voucher and a family of two adults and two children can use the Aquadome during peak periods for £720 saving £230 and £380 at off-peak times that's a saving of £120 To enjoy crystal clear waves a giant spacecraft an Inca temple and the deep pods of bubbling warm water all you need to do is use the voucher But remember photocopies will not be accepted The voucher is non-transferable and the discount applies to one visit only "The final meeting of the licensing committee ill be on Tuesdav December 2 1 so any pub hich ants to be considered for an extended licence should have got an application intti us already Amid concerns that bar staff publicans taxi firms and babv sitters will price themselves out of the market many pubs such as the Burgess Green in Aberavon are trying to carry on as normal with nothing out-of-the-ordinary planned for New Year's Eve One pub in the town the Lord Caradoc in Station Road has decided it will miss out what promises to be the world's biggest-ever party altogether and is set to shut at 7pm on New Year's Eve to give staff the night off Eddie Gershon a spokesman for owners JD Wethcrspoon said: This decision has been taken to give staff the night off "Pay has got absolutely nothing to do vv ith it and 1 think it has gone down well with the staff Twelve Knights Hours: lam Charge: for our function room which is now sold out" Staff pay: "Only management will be working that night arid we are all on salaries rather than paid by the hour" Cost of Drinks: lager £1 98 Carling shorts £135 Entertainment: Disco Blanco's Cafe" Bar Hours: 2am Charge: £10 tickets Cost of Drinks: "normal prices' Entertainment: Disco in Rapparee's 3 If 'V Let there be light! visible during the winter evenings and warned them of the dangers of not being seen when walking or cycling home from school The council's municipal and highw ay services boss Bob Richards said: "It's about getting the children to be more careful when crossing the road and walking in the dark "We cannot stress enough how important it is for them lo ear reflectors such as ami bands which glow when light shines on them" HUNDREDS of Port Talbot schoolchildren are no kmger in the dark about being seen at night thanks to a new campaign by Vauxhall Pupils from town schools visited the local GTE Motorhouse as part of the Gkiw power- It's Cool to be Seen initiative for road safety awareness which was produced in conjunction with the council Vauxhall presented reflective items to the children to make them more Stamp of disapproval PORT Talbot's iminhei for the Welsh Assembly has dished out a stamp i disapprov al at the practice of automated henefu payments which he say threaten village pom offices According to Dr Bnan Gibbons automatic payments into claimant' bank accounts mean thai post offices miss out on income they could previously have relied upon Dr Gibbons said "I i many of our comimin: ties the post office is key local service "It has been estiinaici that on average one ihm! of sub-post ollice inconu-comes from henefu pay-ments The lss ol income could place future of many ol ilic msl tTices iii jeopil and many of our pooler commumiies will hit "Faymenis are lvu: auionuited lo siumimIm the servia and iedu-fraud These are but they inu-i not take pwcedence over the needs of our pooic1 communities letaiu kc local serv ices such a- small sub-post oltice "1 intend lo raw matter in the NaiM'-Assembly al the eainc opportumiy" SANTA CLAUS VIRTUALLY: Abergwynfi Junior School pupils (left to right) Jodie Lewis Chelsea Teague and Jessica Newberry-Wall speak to Santa in his Lapland home via a modern video-link up Picture: GRAHAM BURTON Pi ft ri unp 1 1 it -f Ob i US yi SANTA Claus is paying a visit hundreds of children in the Afan Valley from the comfort of his home in Lapland Youngsters have been able to chat with Father Christmas and his chum Frosty the Snowman with the aid of a modern ideo link up And children at the primary schools in Glyncorrwy Croeserw Cymmer Afan and Dyllrvn Afan have heen telling Santa exactly uhai they want when he drops down the chimney on iX'cemher 25 Sue Harris a class teacher at Abergwynfi Juniors said: "The picture on the children's faces was fantastic they loved it They were asking Santa all sorts of questions such as what happens if he doesn't make it down the chimney and uhil presents was he going to "It's the first time that we have had video AJJi fffttHcl futfffjtihvfjrtm PtrC Tttkt't ititft tsUlkLid tarptt sksp Tell us what you've been quoted and we can probably beat it AM Sac? a Experience Adrenalin at 5mph! 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