Author: Rhys Gregory

Last year, Bastille were announced as the headline act for this year’s DEPOT in the Castle on Saturday 8th July. Now organisers have revealed the full festival line up, and it promises to be a date to remember. Announced today is Example – the multi-talented singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer behind global hits like 2011’s ‘Changed the Way You Kissed Me’ and ‘Stay Awake’. Fans can expect to hear all his biggest hits as he makes his debut at the iconic outdoor venue. Example will be joined at the castle by veteran of the UK urban music scene, General Levy, along with…

Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE will deliver a public lecture at Aberystwyth University as part of the celebrations to mark the institution’s 150th Anniversary. Drawing on her long career in the voluntary conservation sector, Dame Fiona Reynolds will deliver a talk ‘The Fight for Beauty – why it matters more than ever’ on Thursday 9 February at 5pm in Aberystwyth Arts Centre Cinema. Her lecture will question why beauty matters, and how beauty can be important when crises in climate, economy, nature and public health loom large? She will make a case for the fight for beauty and consider how ideas…

Record numbers of company liquidations should serve as a warning to business owners bracing for a recession to act early, according to one of the country’s leading restructuring and insolvency (R&I) advisors. Latest quarterly insolvency statistics for October to December 2022 (Q4), reveal the total number of company insolvencies registered in 2022 was 22,109 – the highest number since 2009 and 57% higher than 2021. Duncan Swift, R&I Partner at Azets expects insolvencies to keep rising throughout 2023 but is urging companies to seek help before an ‘end-of-life’ liquidation becomes the only option. The liquidation rate in 2022 was the highest…

Peter was just 55 when he suffered a cardiac arrest. A defibrillator saved Peter’s life that day. He is supporting St John Ambulance Cymru’s Defibruary campaign as he recognises the importance of a defibrillator more than most. Peter Belson, from Caerphilly, was travelling home from his caravan in November 2021, with wife Kelly, when he started to feel unwell. He thought nothing of it, so his wife took over behind the wheel and they continued their journey home. Peter notes at that time, he had absolutely no idea how serious the situation was going to be. It was shortly after…

Plans to provide care and supported accommodation for unaccompanied child asylum seekers in Bridgend County Borough have moved a step forward. The council’s cabinet have given their approval for the relevant modifications to be made to an existing contract with supported accommodation provider Dewis Ltd. As part of the mandated National Transfer Scheme, the Home Office operates a rota, which requires local authorities within each region to ‘take it in turns’ to accept children into their care. The Home Office previously advised that the Cwm Taf Morgannwg region has a maximum allocation of 91 unaccompanied children, which equates to an…

Applications for nursery school places are now open and parents with children who turn three between September 1 2022 and August 31 2023, can now apply for a part-time nursery place to start in September 2023. English and Welsh medium places are available at one of the 88 nursery classes across the city and families are encouraged to apply before the deadline of 27 February 2023, to help their chance of being offered a nursery place of their choice. To apply for a place in a community school nursery please visit Nursery school admissions (cardiff.gov.uk).Families preferring a nursery class place…

A Cardiff landlord has been ordered to pay over £25,000 at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court for a catalogue of failings relating to his rental property in Ferry Road in Grangetown. Mr Sohail Baig, 65, from Cyncoed Road in Cardiff did not attend court on October 27th last year but was convicted in his absence for all 18 offences. Mr Baig was sentenced at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court last Friday (January 27th). The case came to light when the council received complaints from tenants about the four-storey Victorian terraced property, which is made up of four maisonettes. A Council inspection took place and a…

Biker Down! Cymru is a free emergency first aid course for motorcyclists wishing to enhance their knowledge and broaden their experience in dealing with incidents or collisions that may require first aid at the roadside. The course includes topics such as: initial on scene management first aid for motorcyclists the science of being seen The course is delivered by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and is available free of charge to residents and road users of Powys thanks to Road Safety Grant funding from Welsh Government. Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys, is an…

The Welsh Government is encouraging people in need of legal advice to come forward and see what support is available to them. It comes as the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on people’s personal finances and increases the need for support on matters such as housing, welfare benefit appeals and debt. Mick Antoniw, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, and Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice, visited the Speakeasy Law Centre in Cardiff to see for themselves how specialist legal advice services can help people. The Speakeasy Law Centre provides free legal advice across Cardiff and the Vale…

The National Workforce Implementation Plan has been published in response to the additional demands on the NHS workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic. The NHS Wales workforce is at record levels, with over 105,000 staff directly employed currently. However, there is expected to be increasing demand globally for healthcare workers, with the World Health Organisation predicting a shortfall of 10 million health workers globally by 2030. The plan includes immediate actions to address the current pressures within the NHS. The actions include ethically recruiting more nurses from overseas, with a recruitment drive planned for later in 2023. Last year the ‘Once…