Author: Rhys Gregory

An award-winning construction company has partnered with a regional charity to develop the next generation of workers as it undertakes a large-scale redevelopment of a Ceredigion school. Bodelwyddan-based Wynne Construction’s expansion and refurbishment of Cardigan’s Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi is tapping into apprentices from the Cyfle Building Skills Shared Apprenticeship Scheme initiative, which connects local aspiring workers to sites in the area. Cyfle currently works with apprentices aged between 16 and 42 and creates pathways for workers across five South West Wales counties through versatile site experience as well as tailored support such as free driving lessons and work boots to…

Students from a Denbighshire school have been given a glimpse into the future of housing with a visit to one of Wales’s first eco-friendly council estates. Year Nine pupils at Denbigh High School were given a guided tour of the Llwyn Eirin development on the town’s Henllan Street where Brenig Construction are building 22 new passivhaus homes. Each of the timber-framed properties is cocooned inside a double wrap of strong insulation material and heated by a ground source system which taps into warmth stored over 400 feet down. Heat loss from the homes, whose cavity walls are filled with small…

A leading North Wales renewable energy installer is reporting a 600 per cent rise in  enquiries as homeowners rush to grab £5,000 from the Government’s new Boiler Upgrade Scheme towards new green heating systems. Vale of Clwyd-based Hafod Renewables have had almost 1,000 enquiries in the last six weeks about the new grant 1 and installed their first system within days of the scheme going live on April 1. But with no grant payout available until the end of May Hafod, whose headquarters are in Tremeirchion, are having to absorb that £5,000 cost on each job for almost two months.…

“Giving a vaccine is not just sticking a needle into someone’s arm. The accountability that goes with it is great.” That’s the mantra of experienced immuniser Dawn Williams as she trains volunteers from St John Ambulance Cymru to give Covid-19 vaccines. While the initial rush for jabs has passed, the new recruits are needed to strengthen the ranks of the vaccination army as we move into a future where further boosters are a certainty for some and a possibility for more. “They get to practise on silicone arms and this is a great opportunity for them to practise injection technique…

A major campaign has been launched to help tourist businesses across North Wales to cash in on spending by visitors with a disability or additional needs. Mum-of-three Davina Carey-Evans, whose 27-year-old son Benjamin has severe autism, said she had spent a lifetime visiting leisure attractions with her son only to realise on arrival they were unsuitable for his needs. As Gwynedd’s new High Sheriff, Davina is determined to help businesses improve accessibility so other families – especially those with hidden disabilities – can enjoy the full range of North Wales’s excellent leisure facilities. Davina, who hails from Criccieth and now…

NIGHTINGALE House Hospice has announced the return of its popular Midnight Walk this summer. Promising to be bigger, better and brighter than ever before, the event will take walkers through the streets of Wrexham on Saturday, 25th June, 2022. Fundraisers are hoping that over 1,000 walkers will step up to the mark together to help raise much-needed funds for the hospice, following a £100,000 + shortfall in fundraising due to the pandemic. Monies raised from this particular event will kick-start Nightingale House’s campaign to re-develop the inpatient unit, as part of its modernisation programme. This year, we are inviting individuals,…

Idrissa Camara, from Guinea Konakry in West Africa, came to Cardiff in 2009 and founded Wales’ only professional Black dance company, Ballet Nimba, whose award-winning traditional African productions toured Wales and beyond for nearly a decade. SPIRIT OF NIMBA is Idrissa’s explosive new dance show, a joyous lockdown survival story, that’s guaranteed to gladden the heart! This uplifting dance show, which fuses together African dance traditions with urban street dance, is powered by an original live soundtrack that combines violin, drumkit and vocals with West African roots and rhythms on kora, bolom and djembe drums. Idrissa has collaborated with six…

A Swansea Bay assessment unit, for people with learning disabilities, has improved its facilities thanks to a new summer house. The addition, built in the grounds of Llwyneryr Learning Disabilities Unit in Morriston, offers patients a space for time away from the main hub to relax and meet families. The project has been financed by the health board’s Swansea Bay Health Charity. Sian Dolling, Directorate Manager of Swansea Learning Disabilities, said the new space would make a huge difference to the acute admissions unit that provides short term patient assessment and intervention services for adults with learning disabilities. Sian, who…

The C2Cycling team has completed a gruelling 600km bike ride from Cardiff Castle to Edinburgh Castle in just five days and already raised a whopping £58,000 for two good causes. The team of 28 amateur cyclists started pedalling on Tuesday 12th April before arriving in Edinburgh late in the afternoon of Saturday (16th April). The marathon bike ride was organised to raise vital funds for two South Wales-based charities, the Velindre Cancer Centre and LATCH, the Welsh children’s cancer charity. The ride saw the team call at Ludlow, Warrington, Kendal and Lockerbie before the final 109 km stretch into Edinburgh…

Bitcoin adoption is growing in the United States. In fact, a recent study showed that Bitcoin awareness and ownership are most pronounced in states like Ohio, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, even with all this progress, there are some glaring problems that continue to plague Bitcoin in America. For further information visit bitiq.  One of these issues is the lack of understanding of Bitcoin. A lot of people still don’t know what it is, how it works, or why they should care. This lack of understanding leads to a lot of people being scared off by Bitcoin, which only perpetuates the…