Author: Rhys Gregory

Cardiff’s favourite warehouse events venue will be transformed into a huge Eurotrash party-hub for one night only, with the DEPOT’s second annual Eurovision Song Contest finals screening taking place on Saturday, 11th May 2024. With the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest (the 68th edition of the renowned competition) scheduled to take place in Malmö, Sweden, following Sweden’s victory in 2023 with the captivating song “Tattoo” by Loreen, here’s a glimpse of what you can expect at DEPOT’s Eurovision party – which promises a night of music, fun, and global celebration like no other: **Round Up Your Eurovision Crew**: Gather your friends, pick…

Age Cymru and the key organisations that represent older people in Wales have launched their fifth annual What Matters to You survey of the over 50s across Wales, to gain a better understanding of their challenges, needs, and aspirations.     More than five thousand people responded to previous surveys which provided the charity with crucial evidence to inform and influence key decision makers and service providers in Wales including the Welsh Government, local health and social services, and the wider care sector.     The charity says the bilingual survey also helps to prioritise its work so it can better reflect what matters most to…

Dan Simms is on day five of his long walk from Wales to Amsterdam in memory of two friends who have taken their own lives. He’s walking to break the stigma and build the conversation around mental health and suicide prevention. Dan’s on his way to Oxford right now. “On day one, I twisted my left knee and hyper extended it by walking through boggy land and flooding – because of all the wet weather we’ve been having. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, and then an hour later it started hurting. Ever since then, I’ve been limping,…

Aberystwyth University academics are visiting Svalbard in the Arctic to investigate the night life of microbes. Led by Aberystwyth University, three experts will visit Arctic glaciers to study microbial life during the area’s ‘light winter’ – when it starts to emerge from its period of permanent darkness during polar night. Until recently, scientists had assumed ecosystems on glaciers are only active when nourished with sunlight and in the brief melting season of summer, but recent data challenges that assumption. The study, which is researching microbial life in all seasons of the year in the region, including its periods of 24-hour…

Numeracy? Literacy? Life Skills? Advice on what to do next? Welsh Government invites parents to give their views on what 14-16 year olds should learn. The views of parents and carers are critical in ensuring that children leave school with the right mix of knowledge, skills and abilities to go on to further education or the workplace , the Education Minister has said today as he launched a consultation on the 14 to 16 Learner Entitlement. This consultation represents the next significant step in the rollout of a new curriculum in Wales. Primary schools and years 7 and 8 in secondary…

Transport for Wales (TfW) has teamed up with Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB) to offer free bus travel for health board staff as part of a new pilot to encourage workers to travel more sustainably and to help reduce pressure on its car parks. The month-long pilot, which begins on Friday 1 March, means Hywel Dda UHB staff will be able to catch the TrawsCymru T1 service, operated by First Cymru, that runs between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth town centres via Glangwili Hospital free of charge by showing their staff picture ID to the driver. Additionally, staff will be able…

On Saturday December 2, 2023, Thomas Williams,26, from Rhondda Cynon Taf was detained by door security at a ‘Rave’ event at ‘The Vaults’ Cardiff. Thomas was found with numerous drugs in his possession including Ecstasy tablets, MDMA and magic mushrooms. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of intent to supply Class A drugs. In interview he stated that ‘he purchased the MDMA from a friend of a friend and was handing over the drugs, he was meant to meet the friend in town to give the drugs to them. Thomas stated he was a dealer back in the day and…

Local businesses are reminded about the grant opportunities that are currently available for them to access in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Here, we look at how two businesses in Mountain Ash and Pontypridd have successfully secured funding, having benefitted from the support offered by our Regeneration team. The Council offers local businesses dedicated advice and assistance to help access a range of financial investment programmes that are available – using funding earmarked from external sources such as the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative. Here is a summary of two opportunities currently available: Town Centre Minor…

Caerphilly County Borough Council has bought privately owned properties to provide housing for families who would otherwise find themselves in temporary accommodation. To date, the Council has accessed funding via Welsh Government’s Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme to purchase and renovate 17 homes in the Caerphilly borough.  The funding, part of Welsh Government’s work to tackle and prevent homelessness, has also been used by the Council to modernise 4 of its own properties for the same purpose. Cllr Shayne Cook, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said “In recent years we have seen a significant increase in people presenting to the…

On 9 March 2024 a brand new exhibition, Dylan: The Lyrical Life of Dylan Thomas, will open in The Riverside: Library, Gallery & Visitor Information at Haverfordwest, to celebrate the life and work of one of Wales’ best poets. Although Dylan’s life was short and full of chaos, he was a prolific writer, and this exhibition looks at his work as a poet and playwright. Among the highlights of the exhibition will be original manuscripts of his poems, drafts and notes, as well as his famous word list and a sketch of the imaginary village ‘Llareggub’. The exhibition also celebrates…