Author: Rhys Gregory

The Royal Mint, inspired by Disney, has today unveiled the next coin in their Winnie the Pooh and Friends collection. The latest collectable 50p coin features a group shot of the loveable characters, celebrating 95 years since the beloved bear first began his adventures. Created by the Original Maker of UK coins, the commemorative design features Winnie the Pooh and his trusted friends; Piglet, Owl, Eeyore, Rabbit, Tigger, Kanga and Roo on a 50p piece. Last year, The Royal Mint released the first three designs, featuring Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet. The design of the coin is inspired…

The Red Dragon Centre is joining organisations nationwide to celebrate ‘One Great Day’, a charity fundraising event in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH) and local children’s health charities. Alongside raising money for GOSH, The Red Dragon Centre will again fundraise for local Welsh charity Tŷ Hafan, with all funds raised being split equally between the two charities. The popular entertainment centre in Cardiff Bay is inviting visitors to enjoy a great day out this September and support its fundraising effort by donating at the QR point underneath the One Great Day balloon arch. Alternatively, Ty Hafan…

Conwy County Borough Council is digitally transforming its business management and finance systems, which are used by thousands of employees, after awarding a contract to enterprise SaaS provider software company TechnologyOne. The Welsh unitary authority, which employs over 4,400 people and provides 118,000 residents with services ranging from education, leisure facilities, social services, waste management and highways maintenance, will replace on-site legacy systems that date back many years and switch to new state-of-the-art OneCouncil Software as a Service (SaaS). The move to the new software will help the council improve real-time financial decision making and business reporting. TechnologyOne’s SaaS technology will provide…

To celebrate Love Lamb Week 2021 (1-7 September) PGI Welsh Lamb have teamed up with leading London chef Francesco Mazzei in what is sure to be a tasty fusion of high-end Italian and Welsh cuisine. The industry-wide initiative is now in its seventh year and will focus on the sustainability of lamb production in this country and the role it plays in maintaining the unique landscapes that we know and love. Fresh from his appearance on ITV1’s ‘Cooking with the Stars’, where he teamed up with celebrity Denise van Outen, Francesco will be sharing four of his favourite Welsh Lamb…

Orchard Street Investment Management (‘Orchard Street’), the specialist commercial property investment manager, has signed a c.4,000 sq ft letting with Thai restaurant chain Busaba at the Brewery Quarter, one of Cardiff’s leading leisure destinations. The company has agreed to a 15-year lease across the ground and terrace floors of the property, which will be home to Busaba’s first restaurant in Wales. Spread across more than 65,000 sq ft, the Brewery Quarter has been purposefully designed to maximise both inside and outside space, a feature which has retained its popularity following the rise in outside dining during the past year, and…

BGF – the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor – has announced a £14 million investment in Victorian Sliders, a South Wales based business which is the UK’s only fully integrated, specialist manufacturer of uPVC sash windows. Victorian Sliders’ end-to-end production facilities, from recycling of raw materials through to extrusion and fabrication, provides it with an excellent position in the growing home renovation market. The company delivers a high-quality, fully customised, eco product in industry leading timescales. Established in 2005, Victorian Sliders is led by its founder and CEO, Scot Starkey. With a strong focus on customer service…

Neath Port Talbot Council’s Planning Committee has granted Persimmon Homes West Wales conditional planning permission to build 137 homes on the site of the former Afan Lido Leisure Centre on the Aberavon Seafront. The development on the spectacular beach front location will include two, three and four-bedroom houses as well as a range of two-bedroom flats. The Afan Lido Leisure Centre, officially opened by The Queen, was burned down by a fire in 2009 and the prime site has been unused since then. Over the past two decades, Neath Port Talbot Council has been undertaking a major regeneration of the…

More than 20 additional trainee teachers will be in Bridgend County Borough schools this autumn term as part of a new Welsh Government placement scheme. Aimed at supporting newly-qualified teachers by providing them with a term of employment to support their transition into teaching, the scheme will also allow schools to increase capacity and free up other teachers to provide extra help to vulnerable learners. Within Bridgend County Borough, 17 primary, secondary and special schools will benefit from a total of 21 trainee teachers. We know the last 18 months has been incredibly difficult for learners and teachers with schooling…

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet has today (1st September) unveiled plans to begin reopening its buildings. Its Penallta House headquarters is likely to be the first to open its doors to members of the public in September, whilst assessments are carried out in remaining buildings and a further report considered by Cabinet on 29th September. The plans are being undertaken in line with the move to Alert Level Zero in Wales and associated guidance from Welsh Government. Since the onset of the pandemic the Council has continued delivering critical services from locations such as residential homes. All libraries in the…

If you think of the MMORPG genre, one name is sure to jump to mind: World of Warcraft. For almost two decades it has reigned supreme as the archetypal MMO, to the point that its fair to say most games in the genre which came after were heavily influenced by its design—for better or for worse. Since its release in 2004, it has kept a strong player base despite retaining a notably high subscription price. Many of these players, of course, have been here for the long haul—veterans who have pumped tens of thousands of hours into the game. While…