Author: Rhys Gregory

The shortlist has been announced for the 24th annual Welsh Contact Centre Awards, ahead of a 30th September event at Cardiff City Stadium. The awards, supported by headline sponsor Jomo People, celebrate a sector that contributes £650m annually to the Welsh economy and employs 32,000 people from 200 businesses across the country. Centres and individuals are nominated for achievements like supporting inclusion for employees and for innovative strategies to support customers and staff alike.  Sandra Busby, Managing Director of the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, said: “This year’s awards will once again celebrate the outstanding support the contact centre industry has…

Luxury holiday resort owners Luxury Lodges has announced the next phase of its five-star West Wales development at Laugharne after the first phase sold out. Dylan Coastal Resort has been completely transformed over the past three years, with owners Luxury Lodges investing more than £20million creating high-spec holiday homes, alongside Milk Wood House a spa, bar and restaurant, with panoramic coastal views. The 19 luxury holiday homes initially launched in phase one of The Residences have sold out, proving popular with investors and sports stars keen to enjoy holiday home ownership combined with time to relax in their own luxurious…

Designer, jeweller and silversmith Maggie Cross is expanding her boutique jewellery business with the help of a micro loan from the Development Bank of Wales. The 29-year old single mum makes minimal but fun jewellery using traditional silversmithing techniques and recycled precious metals from her studio in Cardigan. She trained at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham and is using workshops in the famous Jewellery Quarter for casting. A £5,000 loan from the Development Bank has been used to invest in stock, casting and materials as she prepares to scale-up to meet customer demand. Maggie is also preparing to launch…

Ruthin School, the independent co-educational day and boarding school based in Denbighshire, Wales, has opened its doors for the new school year with a new headteacher. Victoria Gamble joins from JESS secondary school in Dubai where she was Deputy Head at the Microsoft showcase school, with more than 11 years-experience as a school leader and many more in teaching settings around the UK. From her time as Vice Principal of Cardiff Sixth Form College, she has strong knowledge and experience of the Welsh education regulatory requirements. Welcoming the start of the new academic year, Victoria has set out her initial…

A west Wales coffee company is celebrating after receiving a top accolade in the Great Taste Golden Fork awards 2022. From the seven Welsh products that received the top honour of 3 gold stars in the Great Taste awards 2022, the Golden Fork from Wales was awarded to Bay Coffee Roasters for their Indonesian Sumatran Fairtrade Organic coffee. Bay Coffee Roasters coffee is roasted at their roastery in Tanygroes, overlooking the Cardigan Bay. Their range of coffees are unique in that all of their roasting is done using electricity sourced from a 100% renewable energy such as solar and wind,…

The sun is shining on an ambitious North Wales business which is planning to beat the energy crisis by going solar. Ruthin-based Turner Bros which diversified from a construction company by turning its headquarters in a former nightclub into a hub for small businesses is now planning for a renewable future. They have already had two 10-kilowatt systems installed by Rawson EV Power of Wrexham on the site of the former Venue club, on the town’s Hen Lon Parcwr trading estate. With current annual savings at £2,500 but certain to rise as gas and electricity prices rocket, the scheme, which…

RSPCA Cymru has welcomed moves by Pembrokeshire County Council who have banned the giving of pets as prizes on their land, after their Cabinet unanimously supported an RSPCA-backed motion. They are the latest council in Wales to take the stand against the outdated practice – following the #NoFunAtTheFair Pets as Prizes campaign, which was re-launched by the RSPCA back in June. It also comes as more than 7,500 supporters have now taken the campaign action which contacts their local authority in their individual regions to ban pets being allowed to be given out as prizes. The motion was put forward…

Members of Gower Riding Club, including 73-year-old twins, are celebrating their success in the British Riding Clubs National Championships at Lincoln Show Ground on September 3. The club’s jumping team – Rachel Turley, Michelle Lloyd and twins Hilary Wooldridge and Sarah Williams, achieved 5th place out of 20 teams, show jumping at 70cm. There were over 1300 people competing at the ground over the weekend. Another club member, Kelsie Yelland, achieved fifth and sixth places in the dressage. Sarah Williams Gower Riding Club secretary said: “In these days of doom and gloom it’s good to see that Welsh riding clubs…

Four fantastic projects from Wales are appealing for public support in order to be crowned National Lottery Project of the Year in the 2022 National Lottery Awards.  The Black Swimming Association; Welsh dementia charity Forget-me-not Chorus; The Jac Lewis Foundation mental health charity in Ammanford; and The Pembroke Dock Falcon Exhibition – which highlights the role the town of Pembroke Dock played in building the Star Wars films’ iconic Millennium Falcon starship during the 1970’s – have all reached the public voting stage in this year’ National Lottery Awards. The National Lottery Awards celebrate the inspirational people and projects who…

With more people visiting the Welsh coast than ever before, wildlife disturbance is on the increase. During the breeding season (September and October) you may come across white fluffy seal pups on beaches or rocky outcrops along the Welsh coast – often on their own. The mother however will probably be close by, so it is vital to keep your distance so she can return to her pup to feed it. On Monday 05 September, a seal pup drowned off New Quay which may be the result of disturbance by dog walkers. The pup was seen with a female on…