Author: Rhys Gregory

Two new directors have been appointed to help drive forward the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW), the membership organisation that represents Welsh chefs and butchers. Graham Tinsley, MBE, executive head chef at Carden Park Hotel and Spa, near Chester takes up the new position as culinary director and Kurt Fleming, head chef at  Cardiff, is the new financial director in succession to Toby Beevers, who held the post for 10 years. They join president Arwyn Watkins, OBE, managing director of Welshpool-based Cambrian Training Company, on the CAW board. Vice president Colin Gray, managing director of Capital Cuisine, Caerphilly, takes over…

ROCKWOOL Ltd. has today announced it is partnering with the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University to research the capture of carbon dioxide. Researchers are aiming to develop new carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technologies that can assist Wales and the UK achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Researchers at ESRI have been working on a process called Pressure Swing Adsorption to separate carbon dioxide from a mixture of gases. To date, this has been shown to work under laboratory conditions and so the next step is to investigate how it works in a real life industrial…

Plans for a state-of-the-art new operating theatre at Morriston Hospital which combines a traditional operating room with advanced medical imagery, have taken a huge step forward. Health and Social Services Minister Eluned Morgan has endorsed the high level multi million pound proposal. This means Swansea Bay University Health Board can now develop the next-stage detailed business case for the Vascular Hybrid Theatre for South West Wales. Vascular surgery treats patients with diseased arteries and veins.  Blocked arteries can result in limb loss (amputation) and swollen blood vessels (aneurysms) which can burst, resulting in sudden death. The Vascular Hybrid Theatre, the…

A recently launched digital events platform caused a stir this week as it hosted its first major hybrid events. Anglesey-based Haia delivered the Wales-wide Digital Leaders Week session with contributors attending in person at the Senedd in Cardiff, M-SParc on Anglesey and to an audience of around 50on-line. It was also the platform for the M-SParc Level Up Showcase held earlier in the week – both events held bilingually through the new system. The Digital Leaders event highlighted some of the work happening in digital innovation across Wales and heard from Glyn Jones, Chief Digital Officer for Welsh Government, Chair…

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding thousands of parents and families in Wales not to miss out on financial support that can help pay for childcare during the summer holidays. Through Tax-Free Childcare, families can receive up to £2,000 a year per child – or £4,000 if their child is disabled – to put towards the cost of childcare. And it is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. The money can help towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes.…

A landmark decision by Gwynedd Council to fund nearer to the “true cost” of running care homes will ramp up pressure on other local authorities in North Wales to follow suit. That’s the message from social care champions Care Forum Wales (CFW) who welcomed fee increases of up to 25 per cent which they hailed as a “victory for common sense”. Until now Gwynedd have worked closely with other North Wales councils when calculating the fees for care homes and nursing homes. But at a Cabinet meeting councillors voted in favour of “stepping away from the north Wales standard fees”. They…

British astronaut Tim Peake is keeping his feet firmly on the ground as he heads to Aberystwyth with his one-man show My Journey To Space.  Tim made history in 2015 as the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station. In 2021 he embarked on his debut tour of My Journey To Space giving audiences a fascinating insight into life as an astronaut, complete with breath-taking photographs and never-before-seen footage. Now, due to popular demand, the tour is being extended into 2023 and Tim will send fans into orbit when he visits the Aberystwyth Theatre on Thursday, March 23,…

Swansea Building Society has renewed its partnership with Swansea City Football Club in a new sponsorship deal which will see the building society, with headquarters in the city, become the back of shirt sponsors for the 2022/23 season. The renewed commitment follows a three-year sponsorship deal with the Championship team, which saw an executive lounge at the club’s home venue – the Swansea.com stadium – renamed the Swansea Building Society lounge. The new deal will see the Swansea Building Society logo adorn the club’s kit in a prominent position on the back of the players shirt on both the home…

Who doesn’t like to win a prize? But it’s a ‘big prize – big cost’ for those goldfish handed out to someone as a prize in an unsuitable plastic bag for long durations – most likely suffering from shock and gasping for oxygen. Sadly this outdated practice is still happening today with the RSPCA calling on the giving of pets as prizes to be banned. The charity is urging local authorities across Wales to act to protect these animals that otherwise will often suffer as a consequence of being given away. So far five local authorities in Wales have acted -…

Welsh building contractor, J.G. Hale Construction, is well underway on construction of an innovative housing development for Cardiff Council in the St. Mellons area, to deliver high-quality housing utilising a host of eco-friendly and innovative building practices. Demolition of the site began in December 2021 with building work now in full flow by Neath-based construction firm, J.G. Hale Construction. The projected completion date for the new development is the end of spring 2023. The scheme is the first of two collaborations between J.G. Hale Construction and Cardiff Council. When completed, it will provide 13 modern, spacious council homes, including a…