Author: Rhys Gregory

Hay Festival has announced the recipients of this year’s Hay Festival Medals to be awarded at the 35th spring edition, 26 May–5 June, in the booktown of Hay-on-Wye.  Awarded annually since Britain’s 2012 Olympic year, the Medals draw inspiration from the original Olympic medal for poetry. With Athena as muse, silversmith Christopher Hamilton crafts them locally.  Recipients for 2022 are Lyse Doucet (Medal for Journalism), David Harewood (Medal for Drama), Robert Minhinnick (Medal for Poetry) and Jacqueline Wilson (Medal for Fiction).  Lyse Doucet is the BBC’s chief international correspondent and has been reporting for the BBC for nearly 30 years, with posts in Abidjan, Kabul, Islamabad, Tehran, Amman…

The green fingers of gardeners from a village near Wrexham just got even greener after installing a renewable energy system to help power their allotments – and boil the kettle. The Holt Community Gardeners have a solar panel and are installing a wind turbine, both feeding a battery system which is also being upgraded, with the help of a grant from the £1.3 million Green Communities Fund. The £10,000 they have received from the environmental fund, administered by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd, is also paying for their eco-hub, which houses the battery system, to be refurbished, a new polytunnel…

Bridgend County Borough Council is currently looking to recruit new youth workers to support its activities and services across the sector. The jobs call for youth workers who will be responsible for the facilitation of a provision that meets the needs of young people, senior youth workers who will be involved with managing youth centres, along with digital outreach workers who can interact with young people online and more. With increasing numbers of young people accessing our services, the council is looking for candidates with skills such as being an effective planner and organiser, the ability to demonstrate an understanding…

Residents and visitors to Maesteg are being advised of potential disruption as the £8m redevelopment of the town’s historic hall reaches a crucial stage. The next four weeks will see heightened activity at the site on Talbot Street as pre-cast concrete and steel frames are delivered and constructed for the project. A crane will be in place to facilitate the works for the four-week period between the town hall and the town council offices. Contractors Knox and Wells will ensure disruption is limited as much as possible while undertaking this carefully planned sequence of delivery and construction with their sub-contractors.…

Four wards in Cardiff have been chosen to part of a Welsh Government trial to reduce the national speed limit from 30mph to 20mph in residential areas. Llandaff North, Whitchurch & Tongwynlais, Rhiwbina and Heath have all been chosen to be part of the Welsh Government 20mph Phase 1 scheme. This will mean that all residential streets in these wards will be limited to 20mph when the scheme has been implemented, but the speed limit on Manor Way and Western Avenue will remain at 30mph. The scheme is expected to be fully implemented by May 14th. All residents and businesses…

Lansdowne Primary School Headteacher Michelle Jones and her Deputy Head, Catherine Cooper have won first prize in the St David’s Awards, the national awards of Wales. The two senior leaders received the award in the Critical Key Worker category for thesupport they showed to families at their school during the coronavirus pandemic. In an anonymous nomination for the Welsh Government prestigious awards, Michelle and Catherine were describedas being the ‘heart of Lansdowne Primary School, making it the safe, loving, supportive and ambitious community that it is.’ The award recognises thetireless work undertaken by Michelle and Catherine during the Covid-19 pandemic…

It’s a proposal that’s been developed by Swansea Council after earlier public consultation on initial design ideas. The proposals show a new-look Castle Square with features such as an increased amount of greenery, including planting, lawned areas and an increased number of trees. They include a new planters, steps, seating, lighting and paving, and two green-roofed commercial units which could each be divided in two and have uses such as retail and cafes with outside seating. The existing water feature would be removed and replaced by a new water jet feature which can be switched on and off so that…

Voters in electoral wards across Neath Port Talbot County Borough are being reminded to use their vote in the Local Government Elections next week. Whilst the poll for the Port Talbot Ward has been delayed, due to the sad death of the independent candidate Andrew Tutton, the elections for all of the other contested wards in Neath Port Talbot will go ahead as originally planned on Thursday 5 May. Voters will go to the polls to elect County Borough Council seats in 31 electoral wards (two wards are uncontested). In addition there will be contests for certain Town and Community…

Two Rhondda Cynon Taf residents, an employee and a shop owner in Mountain Ash have both been successfully prosecuted by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Trading Standards department for operating a fraudulent business and having counterfeit goods in their possession, for the purpose of selling. The 23-year-old female and 43-year-old male, husband and wife, appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court, where they both pleaded guilty to 24 offences relating to the sale and possession for supply of counterfeit tobacco products, dangerous goods and running a fraudulent business. The successful charges were brought against the defendants by the Council’s Trading Standards Department…

Newport is taking part in a specially designed augmented reality trail to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The trail is an experience where players visit seven characters that have come to life from Buckingham Palace and are visiting locations around Newport on a day out. Players, guided by Sir Barnaby Beacon, visit each character including Charlie Crown and Theadora Throne, learning about a different decade in Her Majesty’s 70-year reign and ‘choose their own adventure’ as they progress around the trail. This innovative experience is completely contactless and free – all you need is a smartphone. It’s so easy to…