Author: Rhys Gregory

The legal requirement to wear a face covering in many indoor public places has today come to an end. The change will mean people will no longer be legally required to wear face coverings in a range of indoor places, including cinemas, theatres, community centres, museums and gyms. But face coverings will continue to be a legal requirement for adults and children aged 11 and over, unless exempt, in all retail settings, on public transport and in health and care settings. Official guidance will also continue to highlight the importance of face coverings as one means of helping keep people…

The new National Chef of Wales is Thomas Herbert from Bridgend who works who works at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Chippenham. Herbert, a 24-year-old chef de partie, received the coveted Dragon Trophy from Wales’ Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, Lesley Griffiths, at the Welsh International Culinary Championships presentation dinner held at the Imperial Hotel, Llandudno last night (Thursday). He beat four rival chefs in a cook off to win the £1,000 prize and will now represent Wales at the next Worldchefs Global Chefs Challenge Northern Europe heat. He also received a set of knives from Friedr Dick…

A North Wales head chef is the new Junior Chef of Wales after winning a final cook-off against four rivals at the Welsh International Culinary Championships (WICC) yesterday (Thursday). Besides claiming the prestigious title and the Dragon Trophy, Dalton Weir, 22, from Llandudno, head chef at Watson’s Bistro, Conwy, also won a chance of a lifetime trip to the Worldchefs Congress 2022 in Abu Dhabi with the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW) delegation from May 30 to June 2. He also qualified for the semi-finals of the Young National Chef of the Year contest, organised by the Craft Guild of…

Traineeship learners, staff and members of the Construction Trainee Academy at Coleg Cambria Deeside began work on the 40 sq metre site in the autumn. With the support of Keep Wales Tidy and their Local Places for Nature project, and sponsorship from local business Monkey Lady Corporate Wear, they have planted more than 100 trees, wildflowers, and meadows, 2000 native bulbs, shrubs and more. The Construction cohort built wooden planters and the revamped patch also includes a greenhouse, seating areas, gravel paths, disabled access, bird feeders, hedgehog boxes and green spaces which can be used for peace and relaxation, outdoor…

13.8 billion years of history will be celebrated at a spectacular open-air event in Caernarfon next month. From 30 March – 5 April, the iconic Y Maes landmark will be transformed into a vast canvas at night by the video artists behind the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. About Us is a free event combining awe-inspiring live performances, multimedia installations and is the first project to open UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK – a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of creativity taking place across the UK this year. Created by 59 Productions, The Poetry Society and Stemettes, About Us will feature beautiful performances…

This week, Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB has reached a significant landmark of one million COVID-19 vaccines administered to residents across Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, and Rhondda Cynon Taf. CTM UHB is the third health board in Wales to reach this milestone of one-million vaccine doses given, in the largest mass vaccination programme of our time. The vaccination programme was first rolled out to staff in December 2020, and then to the public at GP surgeries in January 2021.  The delivery of the vaccination programme was moved to five specially transformed, Community Vaccination Centres in April 2021. Gabriel Salvatore, 14, from Bridgend,…

Ellucian, a leading higher education technology solutions provider, today announced that Cardiff Metropolitan University (Cardiff Met) has selected Ellucian cloud solutions to modernise its technology operations. Supporting Cardiff Met’s strategy of improvement, growth and diversification, Ellucian Banner student information system (SIS) will integrate systems and improve workflows across the institution delivering a better user experience for students, faculty and staff. Cardiff Met seeks to create a world leading and tailored journey for students and the modern Banner platform will streamline their digital interactions. Administrators and staff will benefit from reduced manual processes, interventions and workarounds across the student lifecycle, and…

Minty’s Gig Guide – a live music map that keeps local music fans up-to-date with gigs taking place at venues across Cardiff – will be updated ahead of the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival (Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd April) and Fringe Festival (Monday 28th March – Sunday 3rd April), which are being held in the city for the first time. Minty’s Gig Guide, which has a cult following locally, was first published in 2017 by Daniel Minty to help keep local music fans up-to-date with what gigs were happening and crucially, where. Minty has been a champion of the…

A keen cyclist is taking on an overseas cycle ride and fundraising for Brain Tumour Research to support his friend who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Andy Griffiths, 55, from Leamington Spa, had originally planned to travel to Belgium in his campervan with his wife Sandra (‘Sandy’), 62, to ride the Tour of Flanders cycle, also known as De Ronde, on 31 March 2020, with best friend Rob Baldwin. The event didn’t go ahead, due to COVID-19, but Andy had already had to withdraw from taking part, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour the previous month. Whilst swimming…

Morrisons has become the first supermarket to offer its customers a way to recycle coffee pods through a partnership with the recycling scheme Podback. Over the coming weeks, Morrisons customers will be able to pick up free Podback Collect+ recycling bags from its customer service desks. The Podback bags can be filled with used coffee pods at home, then taken to one of 6,500 Collect+ delivered by Yodel drop off points around the UK. All postage back to Podback is free of charge. Through the Podback scheme, used aluminium pods are turned into aluminium ingots for new products – such…