These are the stories that were hitting the headlines in the South Wales Guardian 50 years ago on August 20, 1964.

Organisers pulled the plug on the Saron Carnival claiming the event could not go ahead due to an outbreak of “public catalepsy”.

“There is a complete and utter lack of interest,” said the event secretary. “The only thing that sparks the imagination in this village is a whist drive.”

During the three months to August, 200 men and women, and 133 youths found work in the area, according to figures released by the Ammanford employment committee.

The statistics showed there were 161 men, 221 women, 26 boys and 35 girls still searching for a job in the valley.

Two coatless Gwaun cae Gurwen men were each fined £10 after they admitted stealing umbrellas form a Llandeilo pub on a dark and stormy night.

“It was a stupid, foolish thing to do,” one told the court, “I don’t know what we were thinking.”

“We were thinking it was raining,” said the other.

The row regarding Ammanford Choral Society’s shock defeat at the National Eisteddfod continued to reverberate around the globe.

Correspondents from as far as Canada were complaining to Eisteddfod organisers that it was inappropriate to compare choirs “so different in size and weight”.

A traumatised Gorslas woman told magistrates how she had been left in a state of shock when she was bitten on the shoulder by a high-flying dog.

“One minute I was walking along and the next this dog jumped on my back, bit my on the shoulder and tore a hole in my best coat.”