Author: Rhys Gregory

Dr Sophie Wynne-Jones a human geographer, specialising in farming and rural change at Bangor University, has been awarded a Policy Fellowship to work with Welsh Government’s teams for Agriculture and Land Management Reform. The Fellowship, funded by the Economic Social Research Council, one of the UK’s national research funding bodies, enables Dr Wynne-Jones to support the Welsh Government team tasked with the design of bespoke Welsh policy, following the UK’s departure from the EU. This change in policy will also meet Wales’ commitments to address the Climate Emergency and enable the agricultural sector to achieve Net Zero emissions. This will…

A Swansea tech firm has teamed up with the All-Wales Intensive Learning Academy for Innovation in Health & Social Care (ILA IHSC) at Swansea University to research how wearable devices could transform digital healthcare by allowing NHS and social care staff to monitor patients remotely. CPR Global Tech, based in Lakeside Technology Park, has paired up with Swansea University for an Innovate UK Management Knowledge Transfer Partnership, which connects forward-thinking businesses with academic partners to deliver business-led innovation projects. The two-year project, funded to the tune of  £143,000 by Innovate UK, will see the firm evaluate the potential impact of…

A mature student who suffered a devastating family tragedy during her degree course has now successfully graduated and dedicated her success to her late daughter. Megan Jones was just 15 when she lost her battle with leukaemia in February 2019. Her mum Emma Tamplin was in the second year of a BSc in Business Management at Swansea University’s School of Management when Megan’s condition began to deteriorate. She put her studies to one side and devoted herself to looking after her daughter. “But I made it my goal to come back to University, not just to keep me going in…

Winners of the 2022 Tabernacle Art Competition have been announced by MOMA Machynlleth. More than 150 works were submitted and the winners, highly commended and a selection of other works will be exhibited in the Pulpit Room at MOMA Machynlleth until September 7. All the exhibited works are for sale. Visitors are being encouraged to vote for their favourite work for the Ailsa Owen Memorial prize which is open until August 26. The competition theme was “Cartref” or “Home” and the judge was Steven Allan Griffiths, previous winner of the competition who has also twice won the public vote. Griffiths…

Newlyweds Paul Boyles and Kay Clark took the unusual step of inviting their ‘best man’ on honeymoon with them to Mid Wales following their wedding in May. Rather than playing gooseberry, as you might expect, the best man was very much part of the wedding and the honeymoon. After all, he was the happy couple’s beloved …. horse! King Erik, a 17.2hh former racehorse, took guests by surprise when he walked down the aisle to deliver the wedding rings attached to his saddle. When Paul came up with the idea of having Erik at the wedding, he enlisted the help…

A North Wales falconer who displays his birds of prey at events and special occasions across the country, is delighted that the first ever GWCT Welsh Game Fair is coming to his doorstep John Islwyn Jones, who runs Pen-y-Bryn Falconry at  Betws Gwerfyl Goch near Cerrigydrudion, is supporting the new game fair which will be held at Vaynol Estate, Bangor from September 9-11. In partnership with The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), the GWCT Welsh Game Fair is being organised by Stable Events Ltd, which also organises The Game Fair in Warwickshire and The GWCT Scottish Game Fair in…

As the Royal Welsh Show continues in Mid Wales, the RSPCA has hailed the “huge news” that its campaign for farmers to be incentivised for delivering the highest welfare standards could be on the verge of success. In the lead up to the Show, the Welsh Government outlined plans linked to the eagerly-anticipated Agriculture (Wales) Bill. The Bill is set to pave the way for a new Sustainable Farming Scheme for Wales, which will set the terms of how farmers are subsidised in Wales following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. RSPCA has long called for farmers delivering the…

A Year 3 pupil from Pontprennau Primary School has created history by becoming the youngest person to confidently recite the capital cities and corresponding currencies for all the 195 countries across the world, in a record time of 7min 15 secs. Eight year old Anne Winston achieved the world record in a live streamed event organised by OMG Book of World Records. At just three years old when travelling to and from nursery and then onto school, Anne’s dad would tell her about all the various countries across the world. This sparked her interest to learn more about the capitals…

An initiative supporting 65 people from rural communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 has helped three young adults into full-time work and a further 13 into professional development placements. The Virtual Inclusion Programme was launched last year by youth and community training specialists GoConnect in a bid to reach those furthest from the jobs market and those struggling with poor mental health. The project targeted the rural areas of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent and worked with young people and adults to build their confidence and self-esteem, with a focus on digital literacy, creativity and employability. A series of activities and taster…

TMA Club has announced a new partnership with Swansea Building Society which gives its Club members access to the Society’s wide range of residential, buy to let and holiday let mortgage products. TMA is a mortgage club and support service that is dedicated to Directly Authorised (DA) businesses within the UK Intermediary Market. It provides an extensive proposition offering mortgage, protection and general insurance products, as well as compliance support and ancillary services, to support DA’s build sustainable and quality business. It does this through its innovative training programme, cost-saving technology solutions, flexible compliance support and bespoke relationship management. TMA…