Author: Rhys Gregory

His Dark Materials is one of the biggest series ever to have been filmed in Wales. Cardiff-based Bad Wolf was one of the three production companies that collaborated on the BBC One and HBO offering, and this led to it securing numerous filming locations in the country. The three-season series received positive reviews during its run, but it was hardly a cultural sensation like other HBO offerings such as Game of Thrones. Perhaps if the series had capitalised on the booming online casino industry for promotion it could have attracted more viewers. Many Television Series Are Boosted by Online Casino…

Flight Club, infamous for its epic bars and outrageously fun Social Darts, has thrown open the doors to its outside spaces and launched ‘Flight Club in Bloom’ for the summer season. With a little help from Hendrick’s Gin, the rooftops and terraces across the Flight Club estate have been flooded with florals, creating a blissfully botanical spot to enjoy ice-cold cocktails in the sun. In celebration of the Great British Summertime, a limited edition cocktail menu has been created with Hendrick’s Gin and Franklin & Sons, including the Garden Party shaken and stirred with Hendrick’s Flora Adora and a Seafoam…

A productive, 131-acre livestock farm in an idyllic rural location in Mid Wales is on the market for £1.75 million with leading regional agents Halls. Its elevated position gives Glyn Farm at Brooks, near Welshpool far-reaching views down a beautiful valley. The four bedroomed, period farmhouse stands in attractive gardens and grounds and there is a versatile range of modern and traditional farm buildings. The farmhouse has an entrance hall, lounge, sitting room, refitted kitchen with a feature Rayburn Royal stove and walk in pantry, office, utility and wc on the ground floor. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and a…

Cardiff will kickstart the UK’s most prestigious electric vehicle (EV) rally today. The EV Rally 2023: Capital City Challenge will see over 50 EVs take on more than 1,200 miles with major checkpoints in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin. Each participating team has to plot its own route to every checkpoint, while also planning in enough pit stops to keep their vehicle’s batteries charged. In this way, the rally will be a major showcase of both the capabilities of EVs and charging infrastructure in the UK and Ireland. Sponsored by Lex Autolease, the event aims to build on the success…

Thousands of runners and spectators descended on Porthcawl’s historic Esplanade for the third staging of the Ogi Porthcawl 10K today, enjoying warm but windy conditions. Nearly 4,500 runners had signed up to take part across the 10K and supporting Ogi Jogi Junior races, which were being supported for the first time by new headline sponsor Ogi, who have been busy rolling out a brand-new full fibre broadband network in the area. The 10K race took runners on a scenic coastal tour of the town, starting alongside the iconic Esplanade and Grand Pavilion and taking in sights including the Lighthouse, Trecco…

THE team behind a much-anticipated new health, exercise and wellbeing complex have shown their support for a community football club. LVL5 Gyms Ltd is the new sponsor of Llysfaen Knights junior soccer squad. Led by manager Colin Archer, the under-14s play in the Colwyn and Aberconwy Junior League and thanked owners Sion Pritchard and Rich Blake – who hails from the village – for providing them with full kits, training wear and rain jackets. Colin, a UEFA and FA Youth Awards-qualified coach with more than 25 years’ experience, including time spent in America with MLS side Chicago Fire’s Academy, said…

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, today announces that it has provided over £45m worth of funding to small businesses in Wales, equating to over 4,500 loans, since the scheme launched in 2012. Of all local authorities in Wales, Swansea has received the highest value of loans (over £5.8m), followed by Cardiff (over £5.4m) and Newport (over £2.9m). As well as receiving the highest value of loans, Swansea received the most loans of any local authority with 572 individual loans received to date. Elsewhere in the country, Carmarthenshire tops the loan value table for west Wales (£2.8m)…

Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co has launched a new Pilsner style beer finished with British honey. The new 4.5% ABV beer, called Nectar, has been brewed with authentic Pilsner malt and hopped with a traditional combination of Saaz and Hallertau Blanc. Against the background of a clean, classic Pilsner flavour profile it is described as having notes of gooseberry and wild flowers, with a hint of honey. Nectar is launching in a 440ml can – the first of Hive Mind’s beers to be canned for retail – following on from their recent launch of a range of session-strength sparkling…

“No-one in Wales should die from bowel cancer”- that’s the message from a landmark plan launched today by Moondance Cancer Initiative to move Wales towards zero deaths from the cancer which currently kills over 900 people a year. For the first time ever, patients, clinicians and professionals have come together to create Towards Zero Deaths from Bowel Cancer, a compelling case for change with a clear set of actions showing how the 2,300 people diagnosed with bowel cancer in Wales each year can have the best chance to survive and thrive. Moondance Cancer Initiative is committing more than £1.5m in…

A scanner that will play a vital role in detecting cancer is on its way to Neath Port Talbot Hospital – and it hasn’t cost the NHS a penny. The £80,000 ultrasound machine will soon be used in the head and neck lump clinic within the hospital’s Rapid Diagnosis Centre. It was paid for by dedicated fundraisers with Neath Port Talbot Cancer Challenge, which has donated £1 million to local cancer services since it was formed just over 25 years ago. Suspicious neck lumps can have several potential diagnoses, including a number of different cancers. GPs can refer patients aged…