Author: Rhys Gregory

As 12 to 15-year-olds across Wales start to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations, the Health Minister today (4 October) confirmed they will all be offered a vaccine by the end of October half-term. All 12 to 15-year-olds will be invited by letter to have the vaccine and the majority being administered at mass vaccination centres. In some areas, vaccination will be carried out at schools. Some of the most vulnerable 12 to 15-year-olds in Wales have already started receiving the vaccine and all health boards will have started rolling out the programme in their areas this week. Health Minister Eluned Morgan…

The new Chief Executive of the NHS in Wales and Director General for Health and Social Services will be Judith Paget, it has been announced. Judith is the Chief Executive of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and will take up her new appointment on 1 November. Judith will succeed Dr Andrew Goodall, who takes up a new role as Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Government. The Minister for Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan said: “I’m delighted that Judith will be taking up the role of Chief Executive providing a wealth of experience at a crucial time for health and…

Birds are a major problem for farmers. They can quickly decimate an entire crop, leaving the farmer with nothing but empty fields and no income.  Some birds, like pigeons and sparrows, will strip seeds from the ground as they sow themselves.  Other birds eat young plants and buds directly off of the plant. As such, it is important that you protect the crops you worked so hard for from being destroyed by birds. Here’s how you can protect your crops from birds: Bird Netting One of the best methods for protecting your crops from birds is to put up bird…

Cardiff Fire and an award-winning local radio show have announced an exciting new link-up ahead of the 2021/22 ice hockey season. Fire, who play ice hockey in the NIHL South 2 Division, have partnered with Chris O’Brien’s ‘Standing Room Only’ sports and music show on Radio Cardiff 98.7FM. As part of the deal, O’Brien will act as Fire’s arena announcer for home games this season at the Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay. Fire coverage will also feature on the Radio Cardiff show throughout the season – including player interviews, match reaction and even audio highlights. The show’s ‘Standing Room…

Businesses are being offered a unique venue for their Christmas parties this year as festivities are set to go underground in Mid Wales. Award-winning Corris Mine Explorers at Corris, near Machynlleth is launching Underground Christmas Explorations in an abandoned Welsh slate mine. The explorations will be individually tailored and can include underground, adrenaline-pumping activities with ropes, ladders, climbing and scrambling around or something a little more sedate with a fascinating tour of the abandoned slate mine and its explosive history. The attraction says there will be lots of festive fun thrown in too. Mark Waite, mine guide, said: “Our vast…

A brand new Aldi store in Swansea opened its doors to customers yesterday morning at 8am, with Team GB Olympic Rugby hero Sam Cross cutting the all-important red ribbon alongside pupils from St Thomas Community Primary School. The Parc Tawe store is the new Aldi to open in and around Swansea, and will be run by Store Manager Jo Scanlon along with a team of 28 colleagues from the local community. In celebration, Team GB silver medallist and local Ospreys club player Sam Cross gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s famous Super 6 range to…

After a challenging 18 months caused by the pandemic, occupants of a Newport residential home have spent the summer enjoying the fruits of their labour after they decided to transform their existing garden into a flourishing community space. With activities and socialising severely restricted by Covid-19, residents at Wentwood Court in Newport set about converting the underused areas at their communal house and individual bungalows into thriving gardens. Wentwood Court, which is run by Ocean Community Services, provides step down and rehabilitation care for men and women with mental health needs, autistic spectrum conditions, learning disabilities and acquired brain injury.…

Wales-based Internet of Things (IoT) startup, The Smart Container Company, just completed a £1.1M seed round backed by key angel investors and CrowdCube, an equity crowdfunding platform. The company mission is to improve efficiency and sustainability in the draught beer industry, with first of its kind technology that connects kegs to the internet instantly. Funds from this round will allow the team to set up the supply chain for mass production of Kegtracker™, their patent-pending IoT device, and expand their sales and marketing efforts in the UK and internationally. An innovation three years in the making, The Smart Container Company’s…

A new police drone team have been hailed as “highflying heroes” after saving three lives and playing a key role in putting out a major gorse fire. The praise came from tech savvy North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin who is keen to expand the unit. Mr Dunbobbin was briefed on their successes by Chief Inspector Jon Aspinall who leads the dedicated team which includes a sergeant and four constables and was established in April this year. He also showed Mr Dunbobbin dramatic footage of how the team played a vital part in tackling a huge fire on…

Revolutionary Virtual Reality headsets and video gaming graphics are being used by Bangor University to train the next generation of X-ray radiographers in North Wales. The University’s Wrexham campus was the first in the UK to order a new computer programme which enables students to use VR to learn how to take X-rays without the risk of exposure to harmful cancer-causing gamma rays. The £15,000 software system, pioneered in Christchurch in New Zealand, is now up and running at the University’s School of Medical and Health Sciences in Wrexham and the next generation of radiographers can now learn more quickly…