Author: Rhys Gregory

Bridges Centre are celebrating the announcement of £99,997 grant made possible thanks to National Lottery players. They will be helping children and young people with additional needs spend quality time with their families through creative and social activities. Another Monmouthshire based community project receiving funding is Usk Town Council with £3,887 to host an event to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Over the next two years, Bridges Centre will spend their £99,997 grant to provide Quest Busters – a series of activities for children and young people with additional needs and their families. This will include activities during holidays, after…

The market town of Machynlleth will sing along with legendary Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan when the Amdani, Fachynlleth! Literature & Travel Festival returns from April 1-3. The bilingual festival, translated to Let’s Go! Machynlleth, will yet again be hosting artists, poets, travel writers and musicians across the weekend for a series of events on stage at the Wynnstay Hotel and the Senedd-dy, Glyndŵr Centre. With events costing just £5 per event, there will be something for everyone, from the unveiling of a new portrait by Dan Llywelyn Hall to Rhys Mwyn discussing the psychogeography of Gwynedd. Travel writer Tharik…

A coaching programme to get more young people playing football in the Barmouth and Harlech areas, from primary school to adult level, has received a £1,000 boost. Salop Caravan Sites, which owns Min-y-Don and Castle View Holiday Parks in Harlech and Llandanwg Holiday Park at neighbouring Llandanwg, is investing in  developing football in the Ardudwy area. The football development project is being spearheaded by Iolo Peris Owen, former coach to the Wales Schools Under 16 and 18 teams in 1980s and ‘90s when the likes of Ryan Giggs, Robbie Savage, Robert Page and Danny Coyne were developing their skills. “Over…

British Heart Foundation volunteers and staff were delighted to welcome The Hairy Bikers’ Si King to BHF Cymru’s Monmouth shop on Thursday (3rd March). Store manager Gareth Noble says “Si was an absolute gent, took the time to talk to our volunteers and really made their week.” Volunteer Matt Tudor, assistant manager Lesley Cutting-Cooke and volunteer Laura Gould are pictured with Si who bought an Elvis LP, cuddly toy and a hat! The BHF Monmouth shop is a great place to pick up good quality, clothing, handbags, shoes, books and toys, and every purchase helps fund lifesaving research into heart…

Swansea’s new £135 million Copr Bay destination has been officially opened. First Minister Mark Drakeford was among those present in an official opening event at Swansea’s 3,500-capacity arena on Thursday March 3. It means members of the public will be able to walk and cycle across the new bridge over Oystermouth Road from 11am on Friday March 4 as finishing touches continue to be made on site. The arena foyer and box office area will also open next week as the venue builds-up to comedian John Bishop’s performance there on March 15. And in a further boost to the new…

Proposals will be considered to introduce a Community Housing Scheme that will provide younger generations with a better pathway to home ownership in Ceredigion. During a Council meeting held virtually on 03 March 2022, Councillors acknowledged the difficulty facing young people to buy their own home and remain in their county. The decision comes following a paper presented in 2021 that specified a vision to create a pathway to home ownership for the younger generation of Ceredigion. The full Council supported the proposal and recognised the need to develop a scheme that would support and enable young people to purchase…

A family-owned bakery in Snowdonia is celebrating 15 years of a successful partnership Aldi. Located in the village of Llanllechid, Popty Bakery started supplying its award-winning Welsh Cakes to the supermarket back in 2007. Made using an old family recipe, the Welsh Cakes are a popular choice amongst Aldi customers across the UK, receiving multiple accolades, including the prestigious Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste Gold Star Award in 2020. Popty Bakery was founded in the early 1900s and is now run by the third generation of the same family. The long-term partnership with Aldi has helped the bakery enjoy…

Louise Bevan has been appointed as the Director of Operations for the Public Sector at one of the UK’s leading recruitment firms, Acorn. The all-new role has been created to support further growth within its public sector division and is the first of its kind to be introduced within the organisation. Formerly a manager with Blue Arrow, Louise has developed a specialism for working on large-scale public sector projects during her time in the recruitment industry. Louise said: “Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors affecting the UK labour market today, the public and private sectors have never had…

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding about 7,500 tax credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance customers they have just one month left to switch their Post Office card account. HMRC will stop making payments to Post Office card accounts after 5 April 2022 so customers must notify HMRC of their new account details, so they don’t miss out on vital payments. In November 2021, HMRC extended the deadline to the end of the financial year. The one-off extension to the contract meant customers could temporarily continue to receive their payments into their Post Office account, giving them extra time…

Hay Festival Scribblers Tour closed last Friday 18 February after bringing five exceptional YA writers direct to 741 Year 7-10 school pupils across Wales in inspiring free, in-person events hosted at University of South Wales, Swansea University, Aberystwyth University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Wrexham Glyndwr University. Running 7-11 February and 14-18 February, the Scribblers Tour aimed to engage and encourage the next generation in storytelling and conversation, inspiring empathy and creativity. Now in its eleventh year, the tour also gave pupils a chance to experience a taste of life on a university campus. Compèred by YA writer Jenny Valentine, sessions…