Author: Rhys Gregory

The Montgomery Canal will be busy on Saturday 7 May when about 140 visitors take part in the annual Montgomery Canal Triathlon organised by the Friends of the Montgomery Canal. Most of the bookings are for the whole Triathlon though some entrants will only join in one or two of the three sections: 12 miles cycling from Newtown to Belan 5½ miles by canoe through Welshpool to Pool Quay and 9½ miles on foot to the finish at Crickheath. Organisers are warning that the towpath will be busy on the cycling and walking sections and at two locks the canoeists…

The cost of living has hit a 30 year high with inflation soaring to 6.2%, so it is vital to understand how to better manage our money. Many people pay large lump sums of money towards utilities and services; however, insurance expert Catherine Grayson from A-Plan Insurance looked at ways to manage your money more effectively. She reveals some top tips and tricks for switching to monthly payments and spreading the cost to help make your cash flow a little bit easier. TV Licence A TV licence currently costs £159 per household and will remain this price until 2024, with…

The Cardiff-based Snoopy sculptures which make up part of the free-to-see public art trail, A Dog’s Trail with Snoopy, are being relocated this week. Since the trail launched on 8th April, thousands of people have enjoyed the sculptures that make up the trail in Cardiff, Caerphilly and Porthcawl, but several have been vandalised and have had to be temporarily removed from the trail for repairs. The sculptures that are based in Cardiff City Centre and Cardiff Parks will be relocated to new locations – Roath Park, the Capitol Centre, Queens Arcade and Cardiff Castle. Now, organisers have decided that to ensure…

South Wales Police is currently working with Welsh training company, Call of the Wild, on a series of innovative, online and in-person training courses, as it invests in its senior staff and future leaders. The police force has already put several its most promising future leaders through an extensive training programme with the Brecon Beacons-based training company, with a final follow-up day scheduled in April, in which they will review how they are putting the training into practice. The courses have been aimed at improving the participants’ leadership, teambuilding, and people management skills, as well as addressing strategies to improve…

Registered voters will be offered a unique opportunity to cast their vote for the May elections in an early Voting Centre in Penallta House Council Offices, Ystrad Mynach. The weekend before the election, on Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May, the council HQ will be transformed into a large polling station between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Caerphilly is one of four local authorities in Wales taking part in a Welsh Government pilot to give voters more flexibility on how and when they vote. How to vote Bring your polling card if you have it (don’t worry if…

Abergavenny Museum is playing host to some impressive works by Welsh artists this year, all inspired by Monmouthshire’s own Arthur Machen, best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. This exhibition features artworks by Jon Langford, Pete Williams and John Selway, created to illustrate the writings of Arthur Machen (1863-1947). Machen drew inspiration from his native Monmouthshire, its landscape, history and Roman remains, as well as the strange and supernatural, the weird and the wonderful. World famous horror author Stephen King describing Machen’s The Great God Pan (1890; 1894) as “Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language”. The exhibition showcases both original…

The Splash Pad in Cyfarthfa Park has now reopened following the completion of extensive refurbishments. The popular play pool has seen the installation of new wet play equipment and water jets, and a new soft rubber play surface. Upgraded plant equipment will also make the water pump system more effective. The project was funded by the County Borough Council to complement the redevelopment works funded through the Welsh Government’s Valleys Regional Park ‘Discovery Gateway’ Programme, which also included the Canolfan, new toilets and changing rooms. The Welsh Government-funded work has also provided better access to the site through the construction…

Ambitious project ideas to reduce carbon emissions across NHS Wales will be granted a share of £2.4m as part of the Welsh Government’s commitment to tackle climate change. The Health and Social Care Climate Emergency National Programme is looking to fund projects from health boards and NHS organisations in a bid to reduce carbon emissions by more than a third by 2030. NHS Wales produces around 1m tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year and is the largest public sector emitter in Wales. The Welsh Government published its NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan last year which included 46 initiatives to…

A project which has supported over 500 children to improve their language, communication and reading skills hopes to help up to 2,000 more across Wales, thanks to £290,000 from the Welsh Government. The Remote Instruction of Language and Literacy (RILL) project, led by Bangor University, provides 7-11-year-olds with an intensive and interactive ten-week language and literacy programme in Welsh or English, either in or out of the classroom. Launched following the introduction of restrictions in April 2020 to stop the spread of Coronavirus, RILL will be expanded to help improve the literacy skills of learners in Wales. This will include…

The Covid-19 pandemic created an unprecedented rise in remote workers from March 2020 onwards, as people worldwide were no longer able to carry out their duties in offices. This trend continued through 2021 as it was reported by Global Workplace Analytics that around 25-30% of the workforce worked from home for several days a week by the end of 2021. However, a survey carried out by Good Hire in April 2022 showed that 77% of managers would take action if workers refused to return to the office. This would involve either firing staff or cutting their pay. With such large…