Author: Alice Gregory

Crisis, the national homelessness charity, is calling for hundreds of brave swimmers to take on their Icebreaker challenge and dip into the cold waters of Ponty Lido to raise money for people experiencing homelessness this winter. The annual Icebreaker challenge will be taking place from 11am at the National Lido of Wales in Pontypridd on Saturday 27th January. Participants can either join the event solo and swim a width of the pool, or team up with friends and race in the relay. Fancy dress is welcome, but not compulsory. With registration costing £15, all money raised will go towards Crisis’ mission to end homelessness. The event is…

Llanelli’s Radio BGM is marking its 50th anniversary this year with a number of off and on-air celebrations. A gala dinner at Llanelli’s Diplomat Hotel on the evening of Friday March 22 is among the plans as the station hits a half century of broadcasting. Initially based at the former Bryntyrion Hospital, Radio BGM (Bryngwyn Mawr) moved to Prince Philip Hospital in 1990. The station now provides a 24/7 service to Prince Philip Hospital patients and staff, as well as to the Llanelli community and beyond via the Radio BGM website and a free app. The gala dinner on Friday…

A mid terrace cottage in the heart of an historic South Wales Roman heritage town would be ideal for those looking to lose themselves in the history of the time. The property, currently split into two cottages, 35 A 35 B High Street, is right opposite the National Roman Legion Museum and Roman Baths Museum in Caerleon , a former key Roman legionary town. Angie Davey, of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions said: “The cottage is ideal for those looking to immerse themselves in local history. You can literally walk out of your front door cross the street and go back…

Full casting has been announced for Jesus Christ Superstar, which will visit Wales Millennium Centre from 29 January – 3 February 2024. Ian McIntosh (We Will Rock You, Follies, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Olivier nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actor in a Musical) will be starring as Jesus. Shem Omari James (Dreamgirls) will be playing Judas and Hannah Richardson (Sting’s The Last Ship) will play Mary. They are joined by Ryan O’Donnell (Tina the Musical, Quadrophenia the Musical, Romeo & Juliet – RSC) who will be playing Pilate, Jad Habchi (Jesus Christ Superstar, Dirty Dancing) as Caiaphas and Matt…

All eyes are on three chip shops in County Durham and Wales which have made it to the National Fish and Chip Awards’ Field to Frier category final. There have been several tough rounds with industry experts conducting interviews and examining the hopefuls’ knowledge on all-things potato, including seasonal variety selection, approaches for preparation and storage, as well as frying methods for the all-important, crunchy exterior and fluffy-centred chip. The awards’ judging processes are designed so that competitors are required to dig deep to help raise the bar on standards and keep the fish and chip industry energised and full…

The largest law firm in North Wales is increasing its profile in Abergele. Enlli Williams, a newly qualified solicitor specialising in Wills, estates and contentious probate matters, and colleague Sion Jones, a licensed residential and commercial conveyancer, are heading up the Market Street office. Enlli, who qualified as a solicitor on January 2, has been with Gamlins Law since 2018 when she first did work experience while studying law at Bangor University. She then became a paralegal before gaining her training contract in 2022 following the completion of her Legal Practice Course. Sion was a county councillor in Gwynedd for…

Volunteers supporting a county biodiversity project have been recognised for their dedication. Following a recent visit to Denbighshire County Council’s local provenance tree nursery at St Asaph, the High Sheriff of Clwyd, Kate Hill-Trevor has awarded a High Sheriff’s certificate to the group of volunteers supporting the site for their valuable services to the community. The tree nursery project is funded by Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature grant, aims to provide native trees and wildflowers to support the county’s biodiversity. Through the help volunteers who visit the site every week to help, 16,760 acorns were sown at…

More than 40 million large appliances in use in UK homes are unlikely to be registered with the manufacturers, rendering them extremely hard to trace if a safety repair is ever needed. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service is supporting Register My Appliance Week  this week, urging all households to take the simplest and most important act of care: registering their home appliances to ensure their brands know where to find them. Whether machines are newly-purchased, long-installed, have been acquired ‘nearly-new’ or second-hand, registration is vital to help ensure the longest possible safe lifespan. According to a new survey conducted…

Cardiff-based creative agency Toward announces the addition of Kevin Hughes, co-founder and former chief finance and marketing officer of GoCompare, to its leadership team as a Non-Executive Director. Kevin’s appointment stands as a pivotal moment for Toward’s trajectory, following the successful rebrand from well-known agency, Bluegg and the kickstart of an ambitious growth strategy. While Toward has been successfully led by founders Mike Jordan and Tom Lloyd for the past two decades, the collaboration with Kevin Hughes marks a significant step forward. The agency is now aiming to become the first and best choice for businesses located within Wales and…

The University of South Wales (USW) is part of an international partnership which is literally looking to the stars to create more secure and efficient communication. Working alongside Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia and observation data company QL Space, the collaboration involving USW will focus on ‘free space optics’, which uses light all around, which we can’t see, to communicate by sending data via light particles, or photons. ECU School of Science Senior Lecturer Dr Shihao Yan said this brought with it many benefits compared to using radio frequencies to send information. “When information is sent from point A to…