Author: Rhys Gregory

Orchids are among the most popular gifts received in the UK. They are perfect for any kind of occasion and widely available. To find out more about these remarkable plants why not attend the Welsh Orchid Festival, being held at Aberglasney Gardens next month. The 15th Welsh Orchid Festival, organised by the Orchid Study Group, will be held on Saturday and Sunday, 2 & 3 September 2023. As well as learning about rare species and popular hybrid orchids, visitors will also be able to purchase orchids, carnivorous plants, orchid companion plants and botanical paintings. Jim Stribling, Aberglasney’s Director of Operations,…

Leading sports production company Whisper is set to deliver S4C’s Rugby World Cup coverage, which starts on 8 September 2023. The coverage will be produced by Whisper Cymru, Whisper’s successful Nations Office, based in Cardiff.   In an enhanced deal with the Welsh speaking broadcaster S4C, Whisper Cymru will bring live coverage of all Wales matches, as well as the first game of the tournament between France and New Zealand on 8 September, the third-place play-offs, the semi-final and the final. The award-winning team will also deliver an extensive portfolio of digital content and a tournament preview with exclusive access in the Welsh camp.  This is…

Cymru Manager Rob Page visited Treharris Athletic Western Mini and Junior Football Club last week to officially open new facilities funded by the Cymru Football Foundation. Through the Football Association of Wales’ Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund, the CFF – with support from UK Government – were able to fund the installation of a new changing block that will act as a hub for home and away teams alongside match officials on matchdays, as well as new dugouts, goal posts and ball-stop fencing. Prior to the £140,000 investment from the CFF, Treharris have been working hard to bring ‘The Athletic’ back…

Acorn Property Group has agreed terms to purchase 3.4 acres of land within the historical parkland of Hensol Castle Park in the Vale of Glamorgan for a new residential development in South Wales. Located 11 miles from the city of Cardiff, within the community of Pendoylan, the site is set within the countryside and parkland surroundings of the Vale Resort in the Vale of Glamorgan and already comes with planning permission for 16 new homes. Phase 1 of the development, currently known as The Mews will include 9 two-and-three- bedroom houses and 1 three-bedroom bungalow. Phase 2, known as The…

Cardiff Metropolitan University is proud to announce the appointment of Gareth Baber as Director of Rugby System, a pivotal addition to the university’s growing rugby system. Baber has a distinguished career and remarkable track record of accomplishments. He was most recently the Assistant Attack and Skills Coach at Edinburgh Rugby. Prior to this, his remarkable tenure as the Head Coach for both Fiji Rugby 7s and Hong Kong Rugby 7s gained global attention, culminating in Fiji’s historic Olympic Gold triumph at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Furthermore, Gareth brings with him further experience, as a former Welsh international player himself and…

Struggling Welsh families battling to cope with food price inflation in double figures are being given a helping hand by a big-hearted food distributor. Harlech Foodservice are working with councils across North Wales to supply tasty and nutritious meals and snacks plus store cupboard essentials to take home. It’s part of a Welsh Government scheme which sees pupils from Anglesety, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham enjoy 12 days of activities at their schools in the first three weeks of the summer holidays. As part of that scheme children at participating schools receive free breakfast and lunch which bookend a morning of…

The Good Food Cardiff Autumn Festival returns for its fourth year in September, with Food Cardiff offering grants to community groups to celebrate the abundance of autumn and promote seasonal planet-friendly food. The festival is a city-wide programme of food events which showcases the city’s good food movement by connecting through food running from 9 to 30 September. Over the last three Good Food Cardiff Autumn Festivals community groups, gardens, local businesses and schools have 100 events and activities, attracting over 5,000 attendees, distributing more than 5,000 vegetable plants and sharing hundreds of meals. While previous festivals have focused on…

Football mad youngsters in an African village have been inspired to make their own Wrexham AFC kits by the club’s fairytale rebirth and the kindness of two philanthropists. They have even named their team Wrexham Kenya, according to Wrexham lawyer Gareth Kelly who has visited the region close to the north-east coast of the vast Lake Victoria along with Mario Kreft MBE, owner of the Wrexham and Caernarfon-based Pendine Park care organisation. The two of them first visited Bondo in the East Asembo region in 2012 and since then have become involved in helping the local community with Gareth, a…

A 1960s poster for a concert signed by the man who designed posters for The Beatles helped raise over £800 at a charity event organised by a North Wales lawyer for a top cancer charity. Lisa Harbour, who has joined the Family Law team at Swayne Johnson which has branches across North Wales, received the donation of the poster from a family member who was left the rare item by her great uncle, Tony Booth. Tony worked with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, and famously designed posters for the Fab Four in their early years. This one was for a concert…

A level results day can be the most significant event so far in the lives of students and predictions have already been made that there will be a shift in grades as Wales makes efforts to return to pre-pandemic grading. We reverted back to exams this summer for the second time since they were replaced by teacher assessments during the pandemic, with additional support put in place and advance information ahead of some exams, to ease the transition to pre-pandemic processes. While this ‘course correction,’ or grade deflation, may be more apparent next year when Wales returns fully to exams,…