Author: Rhys Gregory

As the tax year draws to a close, couples who are married or in civil partnerships could be due a financial boost by sharing unused tax allowances. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed March is the most popular month for Marriage Allowance applications, with almost 70,000 couples applying in March last year. And with the option to backdate their claim for the previous four tax years, eligible couples could receive a lump-sum payment worth more than £1,000, in addition to reducing their tax bill for the 2023 to 2024 tax year by up to £252. People can find out…

Sian Roberts, founder of food tours provider Loving Welsh Food, has added a new Cardiff tour to her food tour menu. The Cardiff Tasting Tour is a leisurely tasting tour taking in some of the city’s finest Welsh delicacies. Unlike the longer food tours offered by Loving Welsh Food, this tour is designed to fit into a morning, giving you time to include other activities in your day. Treats include traditional Welshcakes from Fabulous Welshcakes, whisky tastings at Wally’s Delicatessen, Clark’s pies at the Market Deli and much more – including a sampling of Welsh cheeses at Ty Caws, whose…

RSPCA Cymru has launched an appeal for information after two rats were found abandoned in a pet carrier in Newport. The two black and white domestic rats – thought to be male – were found on 16 February in a pet carrier with a blanket over the top. They were discovered under a bridge near a tunnel in the Ringland area. A passer-by who found the rats kindly took them home for safety until the RSPCA were able to collect them. They were then taken to RSPCA Merthyr Tydfil Veterinary Clinic for a health check. RSPCA Inspector Simon Evans said:…

Bangor University’s work in public health has been recognised with the presentation of a Queen’s Anniversary Prize medal and certificate at Buckingham Palace. The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are part of the UK’s Honours system and are awarded every two years by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister following a rigorous, independent review process managed by The Royal Anniversary Trust, an independent charity. This is the fifteenth round of the scheme and there were over 100 entries, of which 22 institutions were awarded a Prize. Bangor University was recognised for its novel system…

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) are delighted to announce the appointment of Rhian Wilkinson as the Cymru Women’s National Team Head Coach until 2027.   Wilkinson has been a coach since retiring from playing in 2017, most recently at Portland Thorns where her side won the NWSL Championship in 2022. Prior to joining the Thorns, Wilkinson was the Head Coach for the Canada U17 and U20 youth programs and was an Assistant Coach for England, Team GB at the 2021 Olympic Games, and for Canada at the 2019 FIFA World Cup. As a player, Wilkinson represented Canada 183 times, playing in four World Cups…

WALES’S cancer charity – Cancer Research Wales, is recruiting a new Chief Executive to head up its operations. Based in Cardiff, the independent Welsh charity was set up in 1966 and has since invested over £30 million in cancer research projects across Wales. It funds the best researchers, clinicians and health professionals to push the boundaries and find better treatments for cancer. Cancer Research Wales is the only charity wholly dedicated to fundraising in Wales to pay for cancer research in Wales. Gavin Moore, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Cancer Research Wales said: “Cancer Research Wales’s aim is…

Building work has started this week on the first phase of Cardiff’s Roath Park Cycleway. As well as delivering a new cycleway within Roath Park Recreational Ground and improving the footpaths, the work will also see improvements to footways, highway junctions,and bus travel, as well as significantly increasing the capacity of the drainage system around Penylan Library and Community Centre which was prone to surface water flooding. The new footpaths in the playing field will also include drainage measures which will address some of the existing issues where some footpaths flood and are impassable when it rains. When completed the…

Swansea’s Croeso festival is set to start this Thursday, bringing fresh colour and song to the city. The celebrations – from February 29 to March 3 – will include live music, cookery demonstrations, family entertainment and a street parade. A range of venues will take part. Cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “Croeso will ignite Welsh culture; families and thousands of others who appreciate music and food will love it!” The festival’s due to launch on Thursday with a free music event from 6-8pm in the Swansea Arena foyer. It’ll be a forerunner to the Cân i Gymru 2024 event in…

Christopher Gould, 45, from Maesteg, who subjected a teenager to years of coercive control has been sentenced to four years in jail for coercive control, malicious communications, and sexual assault. Gould pleaded guilty to the coercive and controlling behaviour and malicious communications charges. He was later found guilty by a jury to the additional offence of sexual assault. The coercive and controlling behaviour involved setting up numerous fake social media accounts to ‘befriend’ the victim and her friends.  Christopher Gould was then able to monitor her whereabouts, and who she was with, in order that he could stalk and harass…

A new video has been created in partnership with Pembrokeshire Supported Employment Programme (PSEP) to illustrate how accessible voting can be for all. Pembrokeshire County Council Electoral Services has been working hard to ensure that everyone who wants to vote has access to all the information they need to do so, whether that be via postal vote or in person at a polling station. The skills of film graduate Aeran Hopewell, currently working with the PSEP, were put to good use as they shot and edited the video featuring colleagues Kath Brookes and James Pugh, along with Electoral Services and…