Builder's dreadlocks cause a stir on Royal Visit » Housing » 24dash.com

A builder's shoulder-length dreadlocks caused a minor stir today when Prince Charles revealed himself as a fan.

The Rastafarian-style hairdo of Lance Deem attracted the Prince's attention during a tour of a firm which produces environmentally-friendly building materials.

Mr Deem was introduced to the Prince as master mixer of an array of lime-based products sold by Ty-Mawr, in mid-Wales, and immediately joked: "This is what lime does to your hair."

He added: "The Prince laughed and said he quite liked them. I said I didn't look this way nine years ago when I first got started."

Mr Deem, 40, is responsible for mixing up to 20 tons of lime used by the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall in the lavish renovation of their 190-acre farm and farmhouse, called Llwynywermod, near Llandovery, mid-Wales.

The Royal couple kicked off their annual summer tour of Wales today with a series of mid-Wales visits.

The tour of Ty-Mawr, outside Brecon, was designed to give the couple an insight into the range of locally sourced environmentally-friendly products available in the region.

They toured its facilities and watched traditional lime-stone mortar being used on stonework and were also shown a traditional thatcher working with Pembrokeshire-grown wheat bales.

Ty-Mawr was set up by husband and wife entrepreneurs Nigel and Joyce Gervis who started out by manufacturing materials to renovate their own Welsh farmhouse.

When Prince Charles bought in materials for the renovation of his own Welsh farmhouse the resulting publicity did their business no harm at all.

Now they are hoping the Royal couple's visit will give business a timely boost as the building industry comes out of recession.

"I think that the visit today gives our products a degree of legitimacy," said partner Joyce Gervis.

"Environmentally-friendly building products today are about at the same point as organic food products were 10 years ago, so there is a way to go.

"But the fact that we are being visited today by both of them will do us no harm at all."

The royal tour began with a morning of music as the couple visited the newly-opened Priory Primary School next to Brecon Cathedral.

Charles and Camilla were greeted by the Brecon Town Concert Band, performing outside the cathedral, as a crowd of up to 200 well-wishers cheered their arrival today.

As they entered the school a harpist played a traditional Welsh carol before they were shown to the main hall.

They were then serenaded by up to 50 young children singing a song called We Are The Young.

Up to 150 children were there to greet the royal couple, many holding up home-made face masks created to reflect the diversity of people in the world.

"The school only opened on June 1 and we've been preparing for this visit since the first day," said Kevin Phillips, deputy head teacher.

"The children all know who the royal couple are and there has been a lot of excitement and anticipation over the visit.

"Music is a large part of the school and we try to encourage the children to behave as musically as possible."

After the brief tour Charles and Camilla moved on to Brecon Cathedral where the cathedral choir sang Ave Maria.

The Prince is patron of the Brecon Cathedral Choir Endowment Appeal which was set up in 2002 with the target of raising £1m.

The Anglican cathedral has no choir school and no endowments to support its music.

It is hoped the royal visit today will help give a boost to the half-million-pounds already raised to fund an array of needs, including the salaries of a musical director and assistant organist.

"Having the Prince of Wales as patron is very important to us and I'm sure his visit here today will attract further support," said Mark Duthie, choir director.

The Prince today also met six young prospective members of the choir who were picked from a large number hoping to join.

And eight-year-old current member, who attends Cradoc Primary School, spoke of his excitement at the royal visit.

"I didn't realise how special it was to meet Prince Charles until he came here," he said today.

"He was very nice and asked me if I work hard and I told him I practise three times a week after school and Friday evening and Sunday.

"It can be hard but it was great to get the day off school today."