Author: Rhys Gregory

The Vikings and the Napoleonic Cavalry are coming to Fonmon Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan this summer. The Viking Festival on August 13 and 14 promises all the excitement and drama of sword and shield, with Blaeddau Du Viking re-enactment teaming up with The Vikings Dark Age Re-enactment for an event full of Valhalla and fun. Witness Viking battles and visit the Viking encampment to watch Viking craftspeople at work, meet Viking traders and chat to Viking cooks about the foods they ate. You’ll get to handle swords and shields, feel how heavy their chain mail was, and learn…

The Cardiff Wine Passport (a physical, 16-page keepsake booklet) will cost £25 and entitle each holder to claim a ‘wine flight’ from six different bars and restaurants around the city centre. Intrepid wine explorers will be able to claim a 175ml glass at each venue of their choice, earning a stamp for their passport in return. Valid from the 7th August for six weeks (from Sunday to Thursday), the independent hospitality businesses who’ve signed up to be part of the Cardiff Wine Passport scheme include: Bacareto: A relaxed and informal café bar, inspired by the small bàcari of Venice. Curado Bar:This Spanish deli bar in Westgate street…

A highly visible clock tower has been reinstated at the historic powerhouse building at the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks. In the coming months, the restored building and neighbouring structures will be an additional new home for Welsh drinks specialists Penderyn. The site is being revamped by Swansea firm John Weaver Contractors on behalf of Swansea Council. Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “It’s wonderful to see a new clock tower on this very special old building – the tower will become an iconic new landmark for this site.” Work continues on the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks site that’s due to become a new visitor…

Welsh player Mimi Xu made a great start to the Junior Championships, Wimbledon, after being given a wildcard entry. The Swansea ace beat Carolina Kuhl of Germany 7-6, 6-3 in the first round, and continued to showcase her talent by beating Lucia Peyre of Argentina 6-2,6-0 in the second – successfully advancing to the next round. The 14-year-old recently made the headlines when she played in qualification for the senior Wimbledon tournament. Mimi, who is GB National Junior Champion, trains at the LTA National Academy in Loughborough. She is the top ranked under-18 girl in Wales, and in the top…

Cardiff Council has invested over £1.3 million in energy saving upgrades across 11 of its primary, secondary and Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools, as part of its work to be carbon neutral by 2030. The initiatives are set to drastically reduce the council’s operational carbon emissions by up to 20% across the 11 sites – Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern, Bryn Celyn Primary School, Glyncoed Primary School, Hywel Dda Primary School, Llandaff City C.I.W. Primary School, Llanishen High School, Mary Immaculate High School, Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, St Illtyd’s High School, The Bishop of Llandaff C.I.W. High School, and Ty…

Football fans searching for a different match-day drink are queuing up for milk from a north Wales dairy farm. Llaethdy Plas Isa Dairy’s milk vending machine outside Glan Conwy Football Club has proved such a hit that a series of table-top ‘filling stations’ have been installed at shops around the locality. Two years ago, the Jones family decided to set up a dairy on their Llansanffraid farm and sell directly to the public after finding a gap in the market for locally produced milk. Rachael Jones, who farms with her husband Huw, said, “We had our milk delivered, but it…

A 20-year-old entrepreneur from Neath Port Talbot is tickling the tastebuds of locals with the launch of her own catering business, thanks to support from the Welsh Government. Poppi Kingsepp, from the village of Jersey Marine, launched Beautiful Buffets at the end of last year from her family kitchen, a place where she’d often find solace during difficult times. With a passion for baking passed down from her mother and grandmother, Poppi’s business offers a range of menus to cater for events of varying sizes. Beautiful Buffets has already proven popular with locals for its ethos of fresh homemade food,…

A leading North Wales civil engineering company is gearing up for a major expansion into construction with four key appointments as it aims to increase turnover to over £20 million. Deeside-based Hollingsworth Group, which numbers some of UK industry’s biggest names among its blue-chip clients, has made a major investment in plant and plans to expand its construction arm, Hollingsworth Ellery. The Group have ploughed £1 million into new equipment and machinery, including seven new Hitachi Excavators, and have added senior staff to make an increasing splash in the building and civil engineering sectors. They have taken on an operations…

A community interest not-for-profit is teaming up with a national mental health charity to bring a series of free online workshops tailored for Welsh farmers to help them stay mentally and physically fit. RCS, which helps people and businesses across North and West Wales improve health and wellbeing in the workplace, will be hosting four webinars focusing on the challenges faced by the nation’s agricultural workers and families. The free bilingual seminars, which run from 7 to 13 July, are being held in conjunction with the DPJ Foundation, a charity which supports those in rural and agricultural communities with their…

ANTUR CYMRU ENTERPRISE is supporting rural communities by enhancing digital communication and connectivity across mid and south Wales post-pandemic. Telemat IT Support, based at the organisation’s Antur Teifi Business Park in Newcastle Emlyn, has won contracts to install IoT (Internet of Things) and LoRaWAN technology in a bid to support local authority aspirations for a network of ‘Smart Towns’ focused on economic growth. Carmarthenshire’s 10 rural market towns will have IoT applications developed and Brecon, Llanwrtyd Wells, Presteigne, Aberaeron, Llandysul, Lampeter, New Quay and Tregaron will all have Town Wi-Fi installed. Business Development Manager Kevin Harrington said: “Telemat is delighted…