Author: Rhys Gregory

A tea bar in Morriston Hospital is serving up more than just hot drinks and refreshments after reopening for the first time since the Covid pandemic. Tŷ Olwen Hospice, which delivers specialist palliative and end of life care, has welcomed back its tea bar by popular demand. While its range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, toasted tea cakes and chocolates have been given the thumbs up by patients and visitors, the tea bar offers far more than its tasty treats. Next to Tŷ Olwen’s main entrance, it gives those who use it a chance to reset, recharge or have…

A nurse so dedicated to helping others that she even gives up her spare time to do it has received a special honour. Morriston Hospital’s Katie Arnold has been admitted into the Order of St John for her work with St John Ambulance Cymru. The Royal Order of Chivalry, which has its roots in the middle ages, is approved by King Charles and recognises her service with the Welsh first aid charity. The rules around the Order mean she will never know who has nominated her. But she will be known as an Officer of St John. Katie, a bed…

Acclaimed individuals from the world of literature are on their way to Swansea Council libraries this month. Authors, editors and illustrators will be hosting events to help local people hone their own skills for the world of publishing. Those playing a part in the Get Into Swansea Libraries programme – from March 20-31 – include Rebecca F John, author of Costa First Novel award shortlisted The Haunting of Henry Twist, and Liz Hyder, best-selling author of historical novel The Gifts. Illustrator Bonnie Hawkins, who’s worked on illustrations for big names such as author Joanne Harris, plans to host an illustration…

Hot off the back of Marks and Spencer’s (M&S) popular ‘Dine In’ steak deal, they are back with a Dine in for Four for £20 on Mother’s Day. The gloves are truly off between the supermarkets as they fight it out to bring in customers with their dine in and mix & match meal deals. Boots may have pioneered the ‘meal deal’, but supermarkets have made sure not to miss out on the action too. The meal deals are constantly evolving, Lidl now offers ‘Deluxe Meals for Two’, you have Tesco Finest Dinner for Two, and ASDA’s Extra Special Meal…

Cardiff Council’s School Admission Arrangements for 2024/25 have recently been consulted on and the findings will be presented to the Cabinet when it meets on Thursday 23rdMarch. Local Authorities are required to review their School Admission Arrangements annually. Proposed changes to the arrangements for 2024/25 include adjustments toCardiff’s coordinated school admissions, the process which enables parents to apply for a school place using just one form for community schools, voluntary aided (faith) schools and foundation schools. Successfully managed since the 2018/2019 intake year, Cardiff’s coordinated school admissions has been expanded and now includes all twelve Community High Schools, Whitchurch High…

Young footballers in Splott have given a new 3G football pitch in the area their seal of approval. Players from Splott Albion Football Club’s Under-10s girls team yesterday joined Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke and local ward members at the official launch of the new facility, that has been delivered as part of the Council’s Neighbourhood Renewal Schemes Programme. “It’s amazing!” was the verdict of the young players who are looking forward to playing their first match on the surface very soon. TheNeighbourhood Renewal Schemesprogramme delivers…

Around 250 ‘hard to heat’ homes in Cardiff are set to benefit from a multi-million pound investment scheme to improve their thermal efficiency and help reduce energy costs for residents. More than £7m has been earmarked for the scheme that will see improvements carried out on council and privately-owned British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF) homes in Llandaff North and Rumney. The energy efficiency retrofit scheme will involve external wall insulation being installed on up to 252 steel-framed, non-traditional build type homes in these areas, helping to make the homes more thermally efficient. The Council has already invested in improvements…

Aberdare Festival returns on Saturday 6th May 2023 so why not come and spend part of the bank holiday weekend in stunning Aberdare Park and enjoy all the entertainment on offer? This year, the event will include celebrations for the Coronation of King Charles III.  The event runs from 11am – 5pm, entry is FREE and there’s a whole host of free family fun and entertainment, as well as a funfair, food stalls and live entertainment already confirmed. Further activities and attractions are set to be confirmed in the coming weeks so please follow @whatsonrct on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram…

Newport City Council has announced that it plans to introduce changes to the way it collects household waste. Household rubbish bins and garden waste bins will be collected once every three weeks. Currently these are collected once every two weeks. The change has been brought in to help the council meet its recycling targets. Currently the council is recycling around 67 per cent of waste it collects. To meet Welsh government targets, this needs to increase to 70 per cent by 2024/25. Failure to meet this target will see the council liable for fines. At the current recycling rate, the…

Acorns Bakery has been in business for over 20 years and moved to Caerphilly in 2020 after originally being based in Newport. The bakery provides food wholesalers and hospitality businesses with fresh baked goods and has secured contracts to supply Wimbledon, The Grand National and Cheltenham races, which alone orders over 16,000 scones per event. As Acorns Bakery grew and became more successful, the growing demand led owner Patrick Peachey to get in touch with Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Business Enterprise Renewal Team in April 2022 to seek support. He asked Investment Support Officers, Sally Harvey and Lauren James, if…