Author: Rhys Gregory

The Montgomery Canal was crowded for the annual Montgomery Canal Triathlon on Saturday 7 May. The event is organised by the Friends of the Montgomery Canal in aid of the canal restoration. Entrants were sent on the first cycling section from the new Open Newtown hub by Richard Williams, Mayor of Newtown. The route followed the River Severn through the town and then joined the canal towpath where it is part of a National Cycle route 81. After some three miles of derelict canal there is water in the canal on a section blocked at four road crossings though all…

Adults and children of all ages are being invited to try their hand at archery at clubs and experience centres around the country during Start Archery Week (14th – 22nd May 2022). This fun and inclusive sport is perfect for anyone wanting to try something new – on their own or with a group of family members or friends – all ages and abilities are invited to take part and experience the feeling of achievement as the arrow hits the target! This annual event to engage new audiences, organised by Archery GB, its club volunteers and archery providers across the…

Fast-growing medtech firm Bond Digital Health has launched a crowdfunding campaign to complete a £1.5m funding round. The Cardiff-based company has already secured £1.3m in the round, with £420,000 from the Development Bank of Wales and the remainder through the investment service Wealth Club. Now it is offering individual investors the chance to join a fast-growing and disruptive business at the start of its scale-up journey by becoming a Bond Digital Health shareholder. Bond has launched the campaign with Seedrs, an equity crowdfunding platform headquartered in London that makes it easy for individuals to buy into the businesses they believe…

“It’s great to be back” was the comment that best summed up the feelings of exhibitors and visitors after more than 5,000 people flocked to Wonderwool Wales at the weekend. Following a pandemic-enforced absence of two years, the two-day show that celebrates all that’s great about Welsh wool and natural fibres made a triumphant return to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells. More than 190 exhibitors packed three halls, with many reporting a virtual sell out of their goods, which ranged from hand dyed yarns and fibre to equipment and quality finished products. Developed to promote the market for…

Staff and students from UWTSD’s Lampeter Campus began excavations this week at a site near Talsarn in the Aeron Valley. Returning to the site for the first time since 2019, the hope was that evidence for some of Ceredigion’s oldest inhabitants might be uncovered during the excavation.  Previous work had suggested that a low mound on the flat valley floor might have provided a dry refuge in an otherwise marshy landscape for people around 6000 years ago. Within hours of returning to the site and removing the turf the first finds were made.  These finds were small, very sharp flakes…

An award-winning Eco House in Snowdonia has added ‘Carbon Negative’ to its host of environmental accolades. John and Ceilia Whitehead’s Bryn Elltyd Eco House at Tanygrisiau, near Blaenau Ffestiniog, is believed to be one of the first accommodation businesses in the UK to be certified carbon negative. Bryn Elltyd, which can provide bed and breakfast or self-catering for guests, became the first Tesla destination charging point in Wales, and its six electric vehicle (EV) charging points are continually upgraded. Last year, it was recognised by Electrifying.com as one of the best places to visit in the UK with excellent electric…

Film fans will get to enjoy award-winning gins from maverick distillery In The Welsh Wind at an interactive film night at this year’s Carmarthen Bay Film Festival. In The Welsh Wind is the ‘official gin’ of the four-day film festival which is being held at Llanelli’s Ffwrnes Theatre from May 16-19. The interactive film night is on Tuesday, May 17 where filmgoers in the theatre and online viewers will be able to decide the twists and turns of the interactive films shown. As part of the evening’s plot, In The Welsh Wind will be at the theatre offering gin tasting…

A new cleaning products business has opened in Llandeilo. ALLAVARE produces eco-friendly home cleaning and laundry products made to secret recipes that date back more than a century. Founded by Ed Willes, the business makes all its products at its Llandeilo headquarters and sells them via its website and in selected shops across the UK. The business has its roots in a book of “cleaning remedies” created in the last century by housemaid Betty Smith. Betty grew up in London and went into service in 1922 at the age of 14. Starting out in Belgravia, she went on to clean…

Llanmoor Homes has partnered with the Coity Higher Community Council to provide green spaces and play areas as part of their ongoing commitment to working with local communities. The award-winning, family-run new homes developer has transferred the Joslin Terrace Play Area in Bridgend to the Community council’s hands after numerous years of Llanmoors own management and maintenance. Play areas and public spaces are essential for communities, and since the pandemic, these areas have taken on a significantly increased value as to the local community’s well-being and health. The Joslin Terrace play area in the Coity Higher community is a perfect…

Ahead of International Nurses Day (12 May), a lead cancer nurse at Rutherford Cancer Centre South Wales shares an insight into the realities of working in cancer care two years on from the pandemic. Ceri Lord is Lead Chemotherapy Nurse at Rutherford Cancer Centre South Wales – a UK-wide network of specialist centres treating private and NHS patients – which is located at Celtic Springs Business Park in Newport. During COVID, Rutherford has seen a 200% increase in patients receiving SACT (systemic anti-cancer therapy which describes all types of drugs used in chemotherapy treatment) across its centres. According to Lord,…