Author: Rhys Gregory

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect families, schools across Wales are playing a vital role in supporting their local communities. A Community Focused School is one, which builds a strong partnership with families, responds to the needs of their community and collaborates effectively with other services to ensure all children thrive. In March this year, the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles announced almost £25m investment in delivering Community Focused Schools, to fund practical ways of improving school facilities in order to enable greater community use. This includes providing equipment storage for community groups running extra-curricular activities and improving…

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital assets that are not divisible and have fixed amounts. They’re seen as taking the art world by storm as an alternative for physical art pieces. NFT art has recently exploded in popularity. CoinDesk is reporting that hundreds of NFT-based games and collectibles are currently being developed. If you need to keep up with this space, it’s time to start. Creating a reliable digital art marketplace in crypto can take time and effort. That is, unless you build off an established protocol, like Enjin Coin. It provides the infrastructure for game developers to integrate NFTs…

The importance of responsible gambling is known even to those who have never played in a casino, and this topic is very relevant for many users. Since online gaming establishments have become legal in many countries, including Canada, controlling such activities has become stricter. Numerous authorities control online casinos, which must adapt to the new reality and correspond to all existing rules and laws to remain attractive for players. As one of the leading gambling brands, Mr Bet cannot be left aside and regularly advances its policy for safer gambling and better conditions for players. The main reason for implementing…

Nearly 150 food and drink industry professionals have come together in Cardiff to discuss the UK’s changing food safety landscape and its impact on food and drink manufacturing in Wales. The 19th annual UK Association for Food Protection Cardiff was held at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff on Wednesday 16th November 2022 and was organised by Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre. Attendees heard from a range of high-profile food safety experts including Nathan Barnhouse and Professor Robin May from the Food Standards Agency, who spoke about their organisation’s role in a changing food system. Other speakers included…

Wines from vineyards across Wales have been recognised by the Welsh Vineyard Association at its 2022 award ceremony. The Welsh Wine Awards saw six wines from four Welsh vineyards take home accolades across the event, which was held at Llanerch Vineyard in the Vale of Glamorgan. A total of 12 vineyards entered this year’s awards, representing a proportion of the growing Welsh wine industry, with around 30 vineyards currently operating across the country. The competing wines were split into seven classes: white, rosé, red, sparkling white, sparkling rosé, best Welsh PDO/PGI and the Best Overall Wine and were judged by…

The Autumn Statement’s inclusion of a new “Tesla tax” is in contradiction to the Government’s stated plans to continue its campaign for UK drivers to switch to electric vehicles (EVS). According to the UK’s premier used car buying service, ChooseMyCar.com, the Autumn Statement includes a decision to no longer exempt EVs from the £335 “premium supplement” on new cars. That means that any person buying an EV worth £40,000 or more could have to pay a whopping £520 for road tax, despite being the greenest option. Recent research, commissioned by ChooseMyCar.com, suggested that many UK drivers were keen to swap…

Rebecca Evans, the Welsh Government’s Finance Minister, has said today’s Autumn Statement will mean people are paying more for less. The Chancellor’s statement confirmed tax rises for people across the United Kingdom along with deep spending cuts in future spending review periods. Forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility have indicated the biggest fall in disposable income since records began, with household incomes not expected to get back to pre-pandemic levels until 2028. Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said: “We should be under no illusions; this statement confirms we are in a deep recession. Real incomes are…

A Cardiff-based sculptor has been appointed to deliver the first piece of public art to be created at Plasdŵr, Cardiff’s ‘garden city for the 21st Century’. David Mackie, from Roath, Cardiff, has been commissioned by lead developer Redrow Homes to create a unique piece of public art for the entrance of the Gateway Linear Park, the ‘green gateway’ to Plasdŵr which will lead to its residential areas, schools and commercial centres. The initial concept for the commission at the Gateway Linear Park focuses on the history of Penrhys Pilgrimage Way, which starts at Llandaff Cathedral and leads to the shrine…

At a meeting of the Snowdonia National Park Authority committee this week, Members voted to use the Welsh names of Eryri (Snowdonia) and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in both Welsh and English contexts. A paper on Place Names Principles was also adopted as a guide for the Authority on the use of place names within the National Park. A five thousand strong petition calling on the National Park Authority to formalise the Authority’s use of the Welsh names Eryri and Yr Wyddfa boosted the Authority to take decisive action. The petition was instigated in response to a proposal by Councillor John…

Residents have moved into new homes at the site of the former St Cuthbert’s Church in Butetown, Cardiff. Not-for-profit housing organisation United Welsh worked with Cardiff Council and M&J Cosgrove Construction to build St Cuthbert’s House, a development of one and two-bedroom apartments for affordable rent which are in high demand in the capital. One of the new residents at St Cuthbert’s House is Davina Driscoll, who has happy memories of the area. Davina said: “I used to go to the old St Cuthbert’s church and school, so it’s nice to come back to where I’m from. “I wanted to…