WHILE most of us would think that just one marathon is a challenge — one woman is taking on seven of them in seven days for charity.

With less than a week to go, Lesa Hitchings, of Baglan, is now in the last days of training before she heads off on her gruelling adventure.

She will be joined on Saturday by her two friends Lesley Mainwaring and Nigel Barnes.

The run will raise money for counselling services for bereaved families, a cause that is very close to Lesa's heart.

Her friend, Angela Smith, lost her 16-year-old son Kyle in an horrific car accident.

His younger brother, who was travelling in the same vehicle, survived but was forced to break the terrible news to his parents. Eight years on the devastation and trauma remains.

Lesa said it was this that inspired her and her friends to organise the run from Colwyn Bay to Swansea in a 184-mile trek.

The route includes some of the toughest terrain in Wales, a feat even more remarkable as Lesa developed type 1 diabetes as a child and will need constant medical supervision along the challenging route.

She said: "We'll be coming back into Swansea into Castle Square on Saturday, May 23."

The Fire and Rescue Services in Wales will be supporting the event.

Lesa will be raising money for the charity Wish Upon A Star which provides counselling for families who've lost a loved one.

The charity was set up by Rhian Burke from Llantrisant.

Her son George passed away a week after his first birthday.

Five days later, the unimaginable happened and she lost her husband Paul.

However, since February 2012, Rhian has gained strength from the charity whose aim is to improve bereavement services.

The charity said its emphasis is on bereavement support for parents who've lost a child suddenly and traumatically.

It said such a service is not widely available to parents through the NHS or emergency services.

Lesa's route from Colwyn Bay to Swansea will see her run via Betws-y-Coed, Dolgellau, Machynlleth, Aberystwyth, Lampeter, and Llandeilo.

To sponsor the team, visit www.justgiving.com/lesa-hitchings1 or text LESA72 to 70070, LESA72 and the amount you wish to donate.

THERE are some things in life that we take for granted. One example is the stuff that comes out of our kitchen taps.

We tend to forget that a reliable supply of decent quality drinking water is not just a convenience. In many parts of the world it marks a nation's standard of public health.

There's no argument that water is one of our greatest natural assets. Here in Wales it has quite literally shaped our nation.

The Met Office website describes our region has having "a maritime climate characterised by weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy, yet mild".

Speaking as someone who lives on the windward side of Drummau Mountain, the nature of the Welsh weather is pretty much in my face every time I open the front door.

So at first sight, a National Water Strategy, which is currently out to consultation in Wales, feels like a suggestion from people with far too much time on their hands.

The reality, though, is that while a serious amount of water falls on our part of the world, catching and storing it safely for public consumption is an increasingly challenging task.

This means those responsible for our water supply often have to juggle the needs of people and business whilst also safeguarding the natural environment.

While it's true that industrial demand has fallen away, domestic consumption has gone up by almost 50 per cent over the last 25 years. According to the stats, the average person in England and Wales now uses 150 litres of water – about two full baths – each day (who knew?).

We mostly use water for washing and toilet flushing, but there's also drinking, cooking, washing the car and watering the garden.

This growing level of demand not only has an impact on supply resources. It adds greatly to the amount of stuff heading into the sewage system.

Surprisingly, a decade and a half of devolution has not provided Wales with full legislative control over water and sewerage. The Silk Commission has made some recommendations in that direction but for the time being, management, conservation and regulatory controls come under an umbrella arrangement, so to speak.

Something that is getting attention throughout the UK is the extent to which we have been the architects of our own problems. The wettest winter for nigh on 250 years has flagged up that messing with natural drainage patterns can have disastrous consequences. In many instances, much-needed new housing has added to the burden of an already creaking drainage and sewerage infrastructure.

It's possible that regulations will soon require ponds and wetland areas to be included in the design for new developments in areas prone to flooding. It's hardly a new approach, yet the best solutions seldom are.

My view is that any further changes will first need a remapping of the old pre-devolution regional water authority boundaries which were used to create water companies.

Very few of us as water customers can choose our supplier. The nature of a privatised monopoly is that pricing and consumer interests are handled by a regulator, Ofwat, and not an elected body.

Water companies argue that pricing is to pay for infrastructure. Consumer groups point to the massive level of surpluses often made by suppliers. How long all this can continue is a question for politicians. It also depends on whether they can ever properly tell the difference between "not-for-profit" and "unprofitable".

Water will always be an emotive subject in Wales. Yet whatever your view on who should manage the industry and how much we should pay, we can all agree that it is an asset that we must protect and conserve.

It's no longer enough just to go with the flow.

More details on the proposals are contained in A Water Strategy for Wales which you can find online at www.Wales.gov.uk/ consultations. Closing date for comments is July 4.

SHOPPERS in Swansea have been embracing a new worthy cause —  literally.

Free hugs, high-fives and handshakes were the order of the day on Saturday in the Quadrant shopping centre to mark the launch of the first National Good Gestures Day.

The event was the dream of teenager Stephen Sutton who wants to spread happiness, despite being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The brave Staffordshire youngster, who has been making headlines with his fundraising efforts, enlisted the support of his friends to hand out free hugs, high-fives and handshakes in 10 cities across the country.

The Swansea event was organised by Alistair Fisher, aged 19, who went to school with Stephen before coming to South Wales to study in university.

He said: "I've known Stephen since our school days together. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met and always puts others before himself.

"Since he has been diagnosed he has been even more brilliant, especially with recent events and everything he has been doing, raising £3 million.

"Anything I can do to help is a privilege. I think we owe it to him to make this day a success and ensure his message leaves a lasting legacy."

The day consisted of Alistair and his friends spreading the love to the city centre shoppers and talking about the cause.

He said: "In general it was very well received, we did get a few looks of confusion and people asking what was going on but the vast majority of people reacted really well.

"There were seven of us starting out but by the end of the day there were around 20 volunteers giving out hugs, high fives and hand shakes."

Of his friend he added: "He's one of the best lads I know, even after he was diagnosed with cancer, he has kept the funny and clever side of his personality, every time I see him he manages to make me laugh.

"He's unbelievable."

Lindy Emms, deputy manager of the Quadrant shopping centre, said: "It was a really good event and the people of Swansea responded brilliantly."

Mr Fisher said he hoped National Good Gestures Day would return.

GORSEINON residents could soon benefit from £6,000 of new exercise equipment in their town park.

The town council is looking to buy outdoor facilities to put into Parc y Werin.

They are looking at installing a package of four exercise stations which are similar to the equipment on Swansea promenade.

Residents could soon find themselves rowing, doing lift presses or even pounding a cross trainer once councillors decide what exercise equipment to buy.

Gorseinon town council clerk John Millard told councillors that approval had been given from Swansea Council to use the park facility and four pieces of equipment would be ordered.

He said the council had also asked for advice from the leisure department.

"We had an initial quote for £6,000 for four items and Swansea Council has gone away and looked at other packages which has come to double the price," he said.

"We picked the brains of the council's leisure team to ensure we made sure we were looking at the right items."

The council agreed it would keep with the initial quote in order that it remained within its original

budget.

Mr Millard added: "This could be phase one of a project that could grow and we can use it to test the water to see how it is r eceived."

The town council has been awarded a £1,500 grant from the Sports Lottery on the proviso that the money is well used for leisure.

The exercise stations come at a time when the council is looking to form a Friends of Gorseinon Parks group.

The council is encouraging people to come together as a community and help develop and enhance the three parks in the town.

A MAN who experienced homophobic threats for a year and a half has given his support to a new helpline which is hoping to tackle hate crime in Wales.

Andrew Davies, chief executive officer for Unity Group Wales, moved from his house in Loughor after receiving hate mail under his door, saying people were worried about the safety of their children because he was gay.

He also claims his cat was killed after being fed 26 paracetamol tablets.

Now a 24-hour helpline has been launched by the Welsh Government in order to help people going through a similar traumatic time.

He said: "This helpline is something long overdue. Hopefully it will help drive down the numbers of incidents which are not reported. People are petrified about telling anybody about the incidents as they think they will get in more trouble — but this isn't true."

During 2012-13 a total of 1,810 hate crimes were recorded in Wales. But Mr Davies said only one in 10 people were reporting these crimes to the police.

He said: "I was a victim for 18 months. The threat level got so serious that my cat, Jose, was killed. It just shows how nasty some hate crimes are and they need to be stopped. It broke my heart. Since moving I feel so much better and now I use my experience to help others."

Communities Minister Jeff Cuthbert launched the new framework which will include a 24-hour helpline and website.

Victim Support will receive £488,000 of Welsh Government funding to run the scheme.

Mr Cuthbert said: "Cultural changes are needed so that future generations can live in a Wales which is equal, fair and welcoming to people from different backgrounds and cultures. We want our young people and children to grow up in a Wales where people are accepted for who they are."

CHILDREN in Llanelli have been left devastated after vandals got into their school grounds and destroyed play equipment.

Copperworks School invested in outdoor dens for pupils just before Easter, which the youngsters helped to build themselves before enjoying playing outdoors.

But on Monday they were distraught to find vandals had scaled the fence to smash the dens to pieces and leave them strewn across the yard and grassed area behind the school building.

Head teacher Kim Sherlock said: "We bought these outdoor dens for the children to make and play in.

"They're made of around 30 poles that the children put together to build the dens.

"One weekend, someone got in and snapped a couple of the poles, but sometime between Saturday morning and Monday this week, all 30 poles have been smashed.

"They have been broken in half, splintered and left all over the place.

"The children are so disappointed. They look after our toys so well and cannot understand why others would come in and damage them.

"It's total disrespect."

Mrs Sherlock added that it was not just equipment belonging to the school that had been damaged, but also items at the neighbouring Carmarthenshire Youth and Children's Association.

"CYCA thought they had stolen a whole Wendy house," Mrs Sherlock said.

"But it had been moved and badly damaged.

"Luckily nothing else was touched.

"We have both reported it to the authorities — as we always do — and they try to send additional officers around to keep an eye out, but they can't be everywhere.

"Hopefully, if we raise awareness of what has happened, people around the area will keep an eye out and we can stop this from happening again."

A SON told an inquest yesterday that he believed gross negligence was to blame for the death of his mother, after an operation at Morriston Hospital.

Thelma Imlach, aged 82, from Nicander Parade in Townhill, was admitted for a form of open heart surgery in November 2010. But she died of a heart attack more than eight hours after a surgical saw lacerated a graft from a previous operation, causing internal bleeding.

Her son Anthony Imlach said the operation was regarded as necessary to prolong his mother's life due to her medical condition. "We felt we had many years ahead with her, due to her sharpness, and that this was the only thing slowing her down," her said. After she died on December 1, Mr Imlach said he was told by coroner's officer Howard Davies that a member of hospital staff had expressed "grave concern over the manner of the operation".

"The opinion of that person was that something had gone dreadfully wrong," said Mr Imlach, who said he believed there had been gross negligence.

Earlier, colleagues of the operating consultant cardiac surgeon Aprim Youhanna said they had had no concerns about the way the high risk surgery had been conducted.

The inquest is due to finish tomorrow.

SWANSEA Harriers recorded their highest ever British Athletics League Premier Division placing when they finished second in their home meeting.

There were some outstanding performances delivered in challenging conditions, and the result was in doubt until the last event.

Only two points covered the first three clubs, with Birchfield Harriers winning the match on 176 points.

Swansea and Edinburgh both collected 175 points, but the hosts were awarded second place by virtue of the fact they gained more first places than the Scottish team.

Outstanding Swansea performances came from Caryl Granville, who won the 400m hurdles in 58.39 seconds, Laura Maddox who won the 400m in 54.07 and Andrea Whitcombe, who won the 3,000m in 10.16.05.

They were hugely impressive performances considering the wind speed at times was up to eight metres per second.

There were also a number of pleasing displays from athletes who were making their debut for the senior ladies' team.

Lauren O'Reilly finished third in the 100m hurdles in 16.33 and fifth in the B 100m in 13.22 seconds.

Lara Phillipart finished second in the B 3000m in 10.43.6m and Zoe Dakin finished fourth in the B hammer with a throw of 46.13 metres.

Sara Benson was fifth in the shot after throwing 12.07m and fifth in the B discus with an effort of 31.06m.

Lucy Fligelstone finished sixth in the 3000m steeplechase in 13.52.13 and Shauna Quirk set a personal best in the javelin, finishing sixth after a throw of 38.80m.

Awen Rosser set a personal best in the discus, finishing third with a throw of 42.06m.

The Swansea team are next in action at Birmingham on June 7.

A SENIOR Neath officer who is heading out on his third tour of Afghanistan says he has noticed real changes as the conflict draws down.

Regimental Sergeant Major Rob Mansel, of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, also known as the Welsh Cavalry, said Afghan forces were working more independently now compared to 2008.

The 37-year-old dad-of-two, from Skewen, said the role of the regiment would also be very different this time around.

British forces are expected to leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Sergeant Major Mansel, who has been in training on Salisbury Plain in the Exercise Pashtun Dawn, said: "Things have changed massively since the first time I went to Afghanistan in 2008. The second time I went there was in 2011 and each time I have been there the confidence has changed significantly.

"One of the ways of qualifying the change is the Afghan National Army who have become a very professional organisation. In this last tour for us they are very much standing on their own two feet and are able to conduct their own operations."

He added: "We have got a number of different roles in theatre — but we still have one squadron doing the traditional task of reconnaissance on the battlefield. They will be a helicopter-borne force and we have got another two groups going out there with the brigade advisory team and the other is an Afghan National Army forces liaison team."

Sergeant Major Mansel said even as the conflict draws to a close there are steps which could be taken to help the Afghan forces. "There are things we can do to help them be where they should be," he added.

Back in 2008, Sergeant Major Mansel, who is married to Rachel, headed out to Afghanistan as a staff sergeant troop leader and he was in charge of 12 men. In 2011 he was the squadron sergeant major and was in charge of 120 men and as regimental sergeant major he is responsible for all of the QDG.

"We are very lucky as QDG are a small family regiment and are all quite close and it makes my job easier rather than if I was with a larger battalion," he said.

Sergeant Major Mansel, who will be going on his 10th operational tour, said the Welsh Cavalry had been at the heart of history in the past.

Soldiers from the regiment will be among the last to head to Afghanistan.

"We were (also) the last cavalry to go through Operation Banner in Northern Ireland," he added.

NEW jobs will be created and more than 30 others secured after a Swansea Valley engineering firm landed its biggest ever contract.

BAW Precision Engineering, based in Pontardawe will play a key role in making a transfer gear box for premium brand four wheel drive vehicles in Europe.

It currently employs 31 highly skilled workers and has been awarded the contract for an automated production facility for Borg Warner in Hungary, after beating competition from suppliers in Europe and the United States.

The contract has created two new posts for design engineers and the company is confident of continued growth as it secures customers in new markets.

Welsh Government Business Minister, Edwina Hart, is set to visit the site today following the news, which also benefits Merthyr Tydfil-based automation specialists, Tribotics Ltd, which has worked closely with BAW over the last three years.

Mrs Hart said: "This new contract is excellent news for BAW Precision Engineering, an important employer in this area. I am very pleased to see the company grow and create new jobs."

Formed in 1973, BAW Precision Engineering is a high quality, niche engineering company.

Winning the new contract is a major coup for the company, which designed the original production line for Borg Warner before the business moved abroad from Kenfig.

The contract is generating high skilled, well paid jobs and accelerating the company's apprenticeship programme.

Because of a shortage of skilled engineers, the company is growing its own for the future.

Andrew Hoseason, BAW's operations director, said the company's turnover had grown by 34 per cent in the last two years and 2014 would see massive growth due to the Borg Warner contract.

"We are reshaping the business and I see the future for BAW remaining in high end CNC engineering but with a strong presence in the special purpose industrial machines market," he added.

"We are looking at further acquisitions to join our group towards the end of the year, which will give us a larger manufacturing base, allow us to be more competitive and increase our capacity."

I HAVE a dark secret, well quite the opposite of dark actually. More a freckly pink, gradually fading to a light golden hue kind of secret. I love a tan.

In fact, I used to love having a tan so much I was a frequent user of sunbeds. These days to admit you go to any kind of solarium is tantamount to revealing a crystal meth habit, funded by benefit fraud.

I used to be such a fan I would head for a quick top-up in my lunch break. This was back when you had to strip down to your scanties and climb inside a human-sized sandwich toaster for a quick blast.

I liked it so much — particularly on a cold wet South Wales autumn evening — I could happily nod off while I baked. (On one occasion my relaxation was such that in the changing room later, a friend asked if I'd heard the terrible noise that must have been coming from the leisure centre's Jacuzzi. "It was like an awful snuffly grunting sound," she said. I shook my head vigorously, knowing full well I had just woken from a deep dribbly open-mouthed sleep and, judging by my slight hoarseness, knew I had been snoring enough to disturb the over-60s badminton in the sports hall next door.)

During the long hot summers of my childhood (and I'm talking about 1976, scorchio) I never remember getting sunburned, but then I never actually sunbathed.

We were always playing British bulldog and riding our bikes, and the healthy glow on our arms, legs and faces was just a side-effect of a holiday well spent.

Of course, as you get older you go for it with a bit more dedication (though I was never quite as foolhardy as my fairer-skinned brother who used olive oil while working as a deckchair attendant on Saundersfoot beach — my favourite game then was patting him on his back and running away when he started screaming in pain).

I have always found sunbathing soporific. Grabbing a few rays in the garden, wearing big sunglasses (look, it was the '80s) I dozed off, resulting in enormous white panda eyes which took weeks of fake tan application to disguise.

On my first foreign holiday, I got a proper Mediterranean tan. I didn't realise if you burn yourself badly enough you will blister, have mind-numbing headaches and throw up before you reach the desired pine dresser colour. However, once achieved I felt fantastic. I had assumed this was down to the optical illusion of a decent tan making you look 10lbs thinner.

Turns out that feeling of well-being isn't down to the colour you turn, it's caused by it being sunny.

It's why, when the sun shines people smile a bit more, chat in shops, skip to work on a Monday morning. And it's also why Seasonal Affective Disorder — when our bodies struggle to cope with the cold and gloom we endure for roughly 10 months a year in Swansea — is a recognised condition.

We need the sun because it is the best way of our bodies getting vital vitamin D. Without it we run the risk of getting illnesses as serious as the skin cancers we are striving to avoid by staying indoors. Amazingly 833 children were admitted to hospital suffering from rickets last year, a disease linked to lack of vitamin D, that used to be the scourge of dingy Victorian slums.

It is another of those terrible health dilemmas that science has served us up.

The sun's rays are the main cause of skin cancer so our melanoma fears are justified (tell me abut it, after watching my farmer dad having to have yet another sinister mole blasted from his head after a lifetime of outdoor work) but they could turn out to be positively dangerous if they mean we don't get enough of the sunshine vitamin as a result.

Of course, this is not carte blanche to baste ourselves with a factor 2 for hours, more a gentle reminder that the big shiny yellow thing in the sky set to make a reappearance this week is not our enemy. Responsible sun worship is the name of the game — just be careful out there, soak up the sun — just for a few minutes — and you really will feel better. And if you're confused, think of it like red wine — one glass a night may be beneficial, but five hours lashing it down with whiskey chasers and things are going to end in tears.

REPAIRS to memorials of eight Mumbles lifeboat crew who lost their lives at sea have been carried out for free.

The Oystermouth Cemetery memorials mark the resting place of crew members from the Edward Prince of Wales, which sank during a rescue mission in horrendous conditions in 1947.

Stonemason boss Mike Isaac, of Swansea firm George J Isaac and Son, said he felt it was his duty to see to the work.

He explained that his father, George, had served in the merchant navy and became very close to the lifeboat crew on his return.

"These memorials are an important part of our history and need to be preserved," said Mr Isaac, of Sketty.

"When I was informed they needed work on them, I offered to complete the work free of charge.

"If my dad was still around he would have done the work, so I felt I needed to do it."

The requirement to carry out the work surfaced during safety assessments over the last five years of the 12,000 headstones and memorials at the council-run cemetery.

Tim Conway, Mumbles RNLI operations manager, said: "This is great news that these brave men are continuing to be remembered.

"I'm sure their memory will continue to live on, along with other lifeboat crew members who have given their lives trying to save others."

The RNLI also has a permanent memorial to the crew members at All Saints' Church, Mumbles.

The 7,219-tonne Samtampa was travelling from Middlesbrough to Newport when she developed an engine fault and drifted onto rocky ledges at Sker Point, near Porthcawl, in huge seas.

The disaster claimed the lives of all Samtampa's 39-strong crew, along with the eight crewmen from the Edward Prince of Wales.

It was arguably the worst maritime tragedy to hit the South Wales coast.

Within 24 hours of the tragedy, however, a new lifeboat crew had been formed in Mumbles and the service carried on as before.

Mumbles now has a new lifeboat station and Tamar class lifeboat.