Author: Rhys Gregory

A little Shetland pony brought a smile to the face of a revered horse whisperer who has dementia. The touching encounter happened when the diminutive pony called Dottie, just 40 inches high, visited Pendine Park’s Bodlondeb care home in Wrexham where Hilary Paul now lives. Hilary is admired around the world for her compassionate training methods  and remarkable understanding or horses. Among her fans was the late Nicholas Evans, whose novel, The Horse Whisperer inspired the hit 1998 film of the same name, starring Robert Redford. Around the time of the movie’s release she also met the author, who died…

An adorable pooch called Tecwyn is stealing the show on the Welsh version of Gogglebox. Viewers have fallen in love with the small, white-haired Bichon Westie dog who sits on the sofa alongside his owners, Glain Jones and Dafydd Jones, during the filming of S4C’s Gogglebocs Cymru at their home in Denbigh. The hit show that goes out at 9pm on Wednesdays has also led to a lot of recognition and leg-pulling for the couple themselves who’ve been partners for the past 14 years. On one occasion a shopper at the Marks and Spencer superstore in Ellesmere Port realised who…

School leaders’ union NAHT Cyrmu, which represents leaders in the majority of schools in Wales, have this week (Mon 16 Jan) announced the results of its formal industrial action ballot on pay and funding, which began on Fri 11 November and closed on Weds 11 Jan. The ballot results show an exceptionally strong appetite for taking industrial action, with 95% voting ‘Yes’ to action short of strike (ASOS) and 75% voting ‘Yes’ to strike, with a turnout of 55% of the union’s membership. Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “The results of this ballot are unprecedented, and reflect the sheer…

Plans to complete Cardiff’s International Sports Village – delivering an outstanding sports and leisure destination that could attract two million visitors annually – will reach another milestone this week. Cardiff Council’s Cabinet is expected to approve a report which shows plans for a new waterfront, residential and retail district, alongside an International Sports Village (ISV) which will be powered by ‘green’ energy. The ISV will boast a new Central Performance Hub designed to support athletes across different sports, a new Velodrome, a closed loop circuit, outdoor leisure facilities, and a new ‘clip and climb’ facility – all brought to Cardiff…

A community project in West Cross that offers a free brunch and a chance to socialise every Wednesday is expanding its opening hours thanks to funding from Swansea Council and the Welsh Government. The Red Community Project, based in the Linden Centre, is now open to offer a safe, warm and welcoming space between 9.30am and noon for its Warm Wednesdays and also between noon and 3pm every Monday when it operates a food bank. It is one of more than 70 projects in all areas of Swansea to have been offered funding under the council’s Swansea Spaces initiative in…

Transport for Wales (TfW) is expanding the fflecsi service in Pembrokeshire, allowing more communities across the county to benefit from demand responsive transport. Working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council, the new fflecsi zone replaces the current 315 bus service and will connect villages and hamlets in the Dale Peninsula to Milford Haven and Haverfordwest – integrating with wider public transport routes. The expansion begins on Monday 30 January and will link up with the highly successful fflecsi service in north-west Pembrokeshire, which has seen an increase in passenger demand since it began operating in September 2020. Together, the two…

Caerphilly county borough council has unveiled its draft budget proposals for 2023/24, along with details of plans to plug a projected £48million gap in finances over the following two years. The council’s Cabinet will consider a draft budget report next week (Wed 18th January) ahead of a period of public consultation to gather feedback from the local community. “Caerphilly, like all local authorities across Wales, is facing significant financial challenges at the moment due to ongoing budget pressures caused by a number of unprecedented factors,” said Cllr Sean Morgan, Leader of Council. “We have endured over ten years of UK…

The Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn, has today (Tuesday, January 17) announced a group of experts will work together to advise Welsh Government on actions to ban conversion practices in Wales for all LGBTQ+ people. It fulfils a commitment from the Minister to form a working group which brings together representatives from faith communities; the health and social care sector; and children and young people’s representatives, alongside LGBTQ+ people to advise on key elements of the work. Members include Jayne Ozanne, who underwent nearly 20 years of conversion practices, which resulted in her being hospitalised twice. Now she…

The UK Government must urgently provide a stable, long-term strategy to tackle the urgent economic challenges facing Wales and the UK, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething will say today. The Minister made the call ahead of the first UK Interministerial Group for Business and Industry meeting of 2023 – which will bring together ministers and senior officials from the Welsh Government, UK Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive. Following the meeting, the Minister will update the Senedd later this afternoon. The Welsh Government is working constantly to prioritise the long-term action needed to create better jobs in stronger businesses, narrow…

COLEG CAMBRIA has launched free courses in leadership, management and the creative, digital and environmental sectors for 2023. The college’s Northop Business School unveiled new programmes in association with partners such as NEBOSH, Prince2 and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM). Cambria will roll out the fully funded qualifications as part of the Personal Learning Account (PLA) Zero Net Skills scheme which is available until the summer for anyone aged 19 and over, living in Wales and in employment. Jane Keys, Assistant Principal for Employer Engagement, said the courses are designed to support Continuing Professional Development (CPD) across a…