Author: Rhys Gregory

Today, Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, has revealed the top 25 most interesting and bizarre requests that the company’s hotel teams in Wales have received over the last 12 months.  With a network of hotels stretching the length and breadth of Great Britain, including 26 in Wales, Travelodge welcomes millions of customers each year staying for a variety of reasons.         Detailed below are more fascinating requests from Wales to make the 2021 audit Can you arrange a champagne picnic at Snowdon Summit? Can you take me to visit the house of Gavin and Stacey please? Do you…

A new, independent vintage and gift shop has opened in the heart of Swansea’s Uplands. Pinball Vintage, at 49 The Grove, is run by local businessman Chris Byatt and aims to be the go-to place for affordable vintage clothing and great gifts that would be hard to find elsewhere. Emphasis is placed on sourcing items from local makers to minimise the shop’s carbon footprint. The shop stocks grade A, authentic vintage clothing from the 60s through to the 90s. All the clothing is individually hand-picked and ready to wear straight from the shop, with the emphasis on quality and uniqueness.…

Jack Savoretti, who’s amazing new single, The Way You Said Goodbye, has announced that he will be performing an exclusive North Wales show at Rhyl’s outdoor Events Arena on July 9th 2022. Savoretti will be supported by no one less than the Queen of British Soul, Beverley Knight, who is no stranger to performing on stage, scoring several Top 10 albums including the platinum selling Voice: The Best of Beverley Knight. The Soul singer’s most recent album ‘Soulsville’ released in 2016 went straight into the UK Top 10. More recently, Knight has featured on BBC and ITV News with her…

Wayne Harvey has been appointed as chair of award-winning Freight Logistics Solutions (FLS). Wayne joins FLS at a time of unprecedented growth fuelled by the £2.2 million investment by the Development Bank Wales in September 2021. FLS has also recently been confirmed for a third consecutive year in the Wales Fast Growth 50, Sustainable Growth Award, after two years at the number two spot. As chair of Cardiff Airport and a former partner at Ernst & Young and senior partner at Deloitte, Wayne will focus on the strategic development of FLS, supporting and developing the senior management team. On becoming…

Croeso Pubs Limited, which owns The Philharmonic, Brewhouse, Retro and the Blue Bell has added a new member to its family – Daffodil – previously known as 33 Windsor Place. The former Brains pub locked its door during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained shut ever since – but today it will welcome pub goers and diners for the very first time as Daffodil, a food-led venue with a substantial wine, spirit and cocktail list that champions Welsh produce and suppliers. General Manager of Daffodil, Alex Howells, has a fine pedigree when it comes to launching successful restaurants and he…

Transport for Wales (TfW) is to launch its new smartphone app on 7 December, providing enhanced features and, for the first time, a bilingual service. The app’s features are all about making it easier and quicker for customers to access up-to-date information and buy tickets quickly and easily. It will allow customers to purchase and manage tickets from their smartphone and track their journey in real-time. The app will also provide handy travel information for journeys, so customers can always be up to date on what time they will arrive at their destination and what facilities are available on their…

Print Inc., a specialist in print and embroidered clothing, has celebrated its fifth anniversary by making a substantial investment in new technology and equipment, a move that will allow it to increase its capacity by 300%, and raising a significant sum for charity. The business, based in Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, has invested in new, state-of-the-art, specialist Tajima embroidery machinery as it gears up to manage a spike in demand in the past 12 months driven by a mixture of its core markets and a number of new contracts servicing the armed forces. The company, formed in 2016 by serial entrepreneur…

Swansea Building Society has donated a total of £1,000 to four foodbanks across South Wales to help people in need in the run up to Christmas. The Society has donated £250 each to Carmarthen Foodbank, Mumbles Foodbank, Uplands Foodbank and Vale Foodbank, Barry. The donations were made to each foodbank by their closest respective Swansea Building Society branch: Carmarthen, Mumbles, Swansea and Cowbridge. All of the four foodbanks that received donations from Swansea Building Society are supported by The Trussell Trust and are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK. The Foodbank…

Significant action is needed to upgrade and improve commercial real estate in the next 10 years to help Cardiff achieve the government’s net zero targets, according to new analysis by leading property consultancy JLL. A new report, Sustainability and Value in the Regions, concludes that 75% of the office stock in Cardiff is at risk of not meeting the UK government’s target for all non-domestic properties to have an EPC B rating by 2030. However, Cardiff is ahead of many other leading regional centres in England and Wales, with the national figure standing at 90%. Cardiff has committed to achieving…

Councillor Huw David, Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, has confirmed that changes are being made to the local authority’s Cabinet structure. Councillor Nicole Burnett is stepping down from the role of Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help, and the portfolio is being taken on by Councillor Jane Gebbie. Councillor Burnett, who represents the Morfa ward, joined the Cabinet in September 2020. A councillor for Bridgend County Borough since 2017, she has acted as the council’s official champion for safeguarding, carers, older people, and children and young people. Councillor Jane Gebbie, who represents Pyle, has also been a…