Author: Rhys Gregory

With the cost-of-living crisis biting hard, Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, has come up with a guide to its best woodlands for festive – and completely free – winter woodland walks for all the family to enjoy. Coed Cadw site manager said: “Winter woods take on a whole new character. Spectacular, frosty landscapes and bare branches expose elusive wildlife and hidden history. Whether it’s a crisp, frosty morning or a damp, misty afternoon, it’s great to pull on your boots and thermals or waterproofs and head out for an invigorating stroll. The fact that our woods are all free to…

Skybound Therapies, a world-renowned behaviour analysis and therapy centre at Wiston near Haverfordwest, is celebrating two successes: it has reached its 10th anniversary and on November 15 was a finalist for the Award for UK Employer of the Year (2-49 employees): Accredited in the 2022 Investors in People Awards. Skybound Therapies provides tailored support to help improve the quality of life for individuals with learning, behavioural or emotional difficulties. It was founded in 2012 by Risca Solomon, who first discovered behaviour analysis when looking for ways to support her foster brother Dan. Risca first met Dan when she was 18 and…

This Christmas, Dogs Trust, which has rehoming centres in Bridgend and Cardiff, welcomes any support that can be spared, no matter how small, and it has shared three easy ways to support the charity, that won’t break the bank. 1. Sponsor a dog – It couldn’t be easier to sponsor a dog in the charity’s care, or to gift a sponsorship to a friend or loved one this Christmas for as little as £1 a week (£4.34 per month). With around 1600 dogs in Dogs Trust’s care at any one time, sponsoring a dog not only directly helps the chosen pooch but…

Young boxers from North West Wales are getting their careers off on a firm footing thanks to the backing of a Gwynedd-based food wholesaler. Caernarfon Boxing Club have just received a grant of £800 from the Harlech Foodservice 50th Anniversary Charity Fund towards the cost of new flooring for their gym on the town’s Llanberis Road. The club was formed 29 years by local man and head coach Ian Owen after a successful amateur career and its Wall of Fame has an impressive roster of Welsh amateur champions, including Ryan Owen who won five successive national titles. Also up there…

A talented young baritone who has been dubbed a new Bryn Terfel will be returning to North Wales take a starring role in a popular gala concert making a post-Covid comeback. Tickets are now on sale for the musical spectacular where Emyr Lloyd Jones, 25, will share the stage with the award winning NEW Sinfonia orchestra for their New Year Gala at St Giles’ Church in Wrexham on Saturday, January 7. Earlier this year the powerful vocalist clinched the prestigious Pendine International Voice of the Future title at the 75th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod when his “astounding” performance was compared…

Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds would have been blown away by the acting talent when care home staff wrote and produced a festive pantomime – oh yes he would! Senior care practitioners Sophie Smith and Laura Shone who work at Pendine Park’s   Highfield care home in Wrexham  penned a script full of Reynolds-style fun quips and local references, all loosely based on the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Sophie played a modern day Scrooge, haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. She said: “It was an absolute blast. We loved doing it. It’s so good to get…

The highly anticipated finale of His Dark Materials launched to global acclaim on 18th December. The production was created by Bad Wolf and received support from the Welsh Government via Creative Wales, working in tandem to bring the epic fantasy to life. Key actors in the series have praised the Welsh craftsmanship that went into the production, from the full-scale sets built in Wolf Studios by Executive Producer Joel Collins and his design team, to the costumes designed and made at the studio by award-winning designer Caroline McCall. Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning actor and songwriter Lin Manuel Miranda, who…

TV star and ITV Racing presenter, Chris Hughes, recently visited Welsh Grand National winning trainer, Christian Williams, to see how racehorses are trained on Traeth yr Avon beach, near Bridgend. In a video filmed by Great British Racing, Hughes learns about Williams’ unique training style and approach to training his yard of 30 racehorses. From cold-water therapy in the Welsh sea, to canter work through the sand dunes, Williams gives Hughes insight into training racehorses, his philosophy and how his horses perform so well as a result of these methods. Hughes’ riding skills were put to the test aboard racehorse,…

As the war in Ukraine continues, Aberystwyth University has been building on the link established with Odesa National Economic University (ONEU) as part of a UK wide twinning initiative to support students and academic staff in the country. A group of undergraduate and postgraduate students from Odesa joined the University’s Business School in October and in early November, the University hosted a week-long study school for students and staff from ONEU. The Autumn School programme was developed and delivered by staff at the Business School and the International English Centre and covered the fundamentals of project management and English language…

A new Welsh support booklet to benefit non-Welsh speaking parents and guardians in the county was launched recently. The Welsh Language Support Team in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion have worked together to create a booklet that will help non-Welsh parents and guardians as their child begins their education in the county’s primary schools. The booklet is available to all primary schools in the county, to be shared with non-Welsh speaking parents and guardians whose children start school or moves to the county during the early years of their education. Seren a Sbarc are the heroes of the Welsh Language Charter who encourage the use…