Author: Rhys Gregory

Matthew Ryan of Dinas Powys has produced a short film and book documenting his attempts at using running and skateboarding to improve his mental health. Long-time skateboarder and running enthusiast, Matthew Ryan, 46, is set to release a short film and book about how he has used skateboarding and running to overcome mental health issues. The project, titled ‘Open That Door’, explores his recent running challenges – including a 1,000 mile journey around the perimeter of Wales – as well as his return to filming skateboarding, and how these have helped improve his mental health. Open That Door is set…

With the Easter bank holiday fast approaching, many of us will be using this extra bit of spare time to tick off a long list of DIY jobs in, and outside, the house we haven’t yet got around to doing. Although painting can seem like an easy job, once you start it can soon become very stressful. Everything from prep work to colour choices to the application process, it’s no wonder we put off painting projects. Luckily Michael Rolland, interiors expert and MD of The Paint Shed, has provided some handy painting hacks to make that DIY job slightly less stressful.…

ETHICAL entrepreneurs joined a vibrant start-up community after powering to success with their innovative business ideas. Both EISA Tea Co and PROHEMPOTIC are utilising the popular Trading Space on Great Darkgate Street in Aberystwyth. The retail unit forms part of the New Skills New Start programme, a UK Government initiative funded via the UK Community Renewal Fund, led by Ceredigion Council, and delivered by Antur Cymru Enterprise. EISA Tea was among the first companies to take up space and has been successfully selling its sustainable Welsh and international ethically sourced products having secured more than £20,000 in grants from a series of…

Staff at a care home have launched an Easter appeal to raise money for desperate families in war-torn Ukraine. The team at Pendine Park’s Hillbury Care Home is running an Easter raffle and a Name the Teddy Bear competition in aid of the Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal. Manager Cindy Clutton said it was unbearable to think that care homes in Ukraine are being decimated by Russian bombing. She said everyone connected with Pendine Park esd  horrified by news reports on the suffering of so many innocent civilians. Cindy said: “With Easter approaching we all agreed it was the right…

FIFA has confirmed the date for Cymru’s World Cup Play-Off Final in Cardiff against Ukraine or Scotland. The match will take place on Sunday, 5 June 2022. The semi-final match between Ukraine and Scotland will be played at Hamden Park in Glasgow on 1 June 2022. The match between the two nations was postponed in March due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian Association of Football have confirmed that their national team will be able to fulfil the fixture on the rearranged date. The winners of the Play-Off Final will qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals…

Entrepreneurial students received a major boost for their ideas at Swansea University’s annual Big Pitch Competition, sponsored by Santander Universities. Held in person for the first time in two years, The Big Pitch aims to provide support for students to gain valuable skills and get their ideas off the ground. 19 entrepreneurial students pitched 14 different ideas to a panel of esteemed judges, who awarded more than £10,500, to four start-ups. All students received mentoring, and four businesses were awarded spaces on bespoke accelerator programmes designed by the Enterprise Team in collaboration with national organisations. Students were each given a…

As more and more of us are transitioning to electric vehicles, Rhug Estate has teamed up with InstaVolt to bring in the latest evolution of its service – the installation of rapid electric vehicle car charging points. Eight ultra-rapid EV charging stations, capable of adding 100 miles of range in just 15 minutes, are currently being installed in Rhug’s car park. This will make Rhug Estate the largest private provider of EV charging points in Wales! The installation of the eight new 120kW InstaVolt chargers are in addition to the existing Dual 7kW Type 2 PodPoint chargers located at the…

Two of Wales’ best known organic dairy brands are combining their milk supply for processing and their market experience to increase business and reduce their carbon footprints. Calon Wen and Daioni Organic have agreed to merge their milk supply for processing and production, while retaining their separate brands and identities. This collaboration enables the businesses to achieve scale and efficiencies amidst heightened competition across the global supply chain. Dai Miles, Managing Director of Calon Wen, said that given the strong ambition of both companies to grow, working together on certain operations made sense in today’s marketplace. Citing the recent Gulfood…

Ministry of Furniture is enjoying a surge in demand for some of its most innovative services on the back of companies reinventing the way in which their offices operate, in a post COVID-restrictions environment. A shift to hybrid and flexible working arrangements on a long-term basis has prompted many firms to reconsider the very nature of their office environment – and how much space they need. Hotdesking and mixed working environments are being introduced as companies reimagine the office, scrapping outdated principles of set desks and offices. This approach is also combined with a growing desire to leverage the principles…

A review of other ‘unadopted’ streets in Bridgend County Borough is ongoing in order to determine the costs involved in bringing the streets up to an adoptable standard. The scheme has already been used in Ynyslas, Porthcawl and the street involved will now be maintainable by Bridgend County Borough Council after securing Welsh Government funding. Ynyslas was previously one of thousands of streets across England and Wales not adopted by any authority and, as such, responsibility for its upkeep rested entirely with residents and property owners. But, in a new Welsh Government pilot, the street has been adopted by the…