Author: Rhys Gregory

ONE day Llyr Rees was running 10 miles and preparing to enter triathlon competitions. The next he was fighting for his life. Headteacher at Ysgol Gynradd Bontnewydd, near Caernarfon, Llyr was a fit and healthy 50 year-old when struck down by a ruptured aorta just nine months ago. The aneurysm and resulting aortic dissection left him close to death, with doctors fearing he would not even survive the ambulance journey from Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, to Liverpool’s Broadgreen Hospital, having been rushed there from his Anglesey home. It was four year-old daughter Catrin who found him clutching his heart on the…

The talent, skill and ambition of South Wales’ female property and construction student undergraduates has been celebrated recently at a virtual Women in Property Student Awards event, representing Universities across the region. Families, friends and professionals from the built environment industry all celebrated the achievements of the seven regional student finalists, at the event which was held on Zoom for a second year running.  The winner, a Cardiff Metropolitan University student, will go through to the UK national final, to be held at Claridge’s in September. “A year ago, we wouldn’t have expected to be running our Student Awards event…

Installation of state-of-the-art gold coloured panels has now started at Swansea Arena. Each panel will be equipped with cutting-edge LED lighting technology, enabling the hosting of light shows around the outside of the attraction. Once the arena is complete and open, the panels could also be used to promote upcoming shows, concerts, conferences and other events. Over 1,600 gold coloured panels will be installed in total around the outside of the arena in coming months, complete with more than 95,000 LED lights. The 3,500-capacity arena is one part of the emerging £135 million Copr Bay phase one district being developed…

A COMMUNITY charity recruited a new Chief Officer following significant investment in a rural town centre. Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council (DVSC) will unveil a £50,000 revamp of the popular Naylor Leyland Centre in Ruthin this month. Match-funded by the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Fund, the Well Street landmark has had a complete overhaul including internal redecoration, carpets and flooring, IT, electrics, and a refurbished exterior. Meanwhile, the nearby Grade 2-listed Market Hall is also undergoing a transformation and will open as a community market later in the year. DVSC has taken on administrative, creative and enterprise staff to add to…

Academics from Bangor University are sharing their expertise with collaborators at the Federal University of São Paulo(UNIFESP) in São Paulo State, Brazil, to address some of Brazil’s most pressing social and environmental problems. Bangor University is at the forefront of collaborative working across scientific disciplines to resolve major health and environment issues, and in merging healthcare, the arts and the environment. They hope that bringing experts from different subject areas together using different approaches and techniques will be key in developing new solutions to challenges under global agendas such as OneHealth, Agenda 2030 and the UN Ocean Decade. Brazilian policymakers…

Bridgend County Borough residents are being warned not to put anything which is highly flammable with their kerbside recycling or bin bag collections. The warning follows a small fire which broke out at the Kier depot in Tondu last night (Tuesday) and was attended by South Wales Fire and Rescue. The blaze occurred in the depot’s baling machine and was contained by Kier staff before firefighters arrived, causing a delay of more than an hour to operations. After clearing the damage, the fire was found to have been caused by a number of items which are highly flammable such as…

One of Swansea’s most historic buildings is to benefit from a £50,330 grant lifeline. The money has been awarded to Morriston Tabernacle to help it with the challenges of the pandemic. It will assist with the loss of income suffered as nearly all of the community groups have temporarily stopped meeting there and fund urgent maintenance work on the building. The grant was secured by the Tabernacle Morriston Congregation charitable incorporated organisation, working with Swansea Council officers to make the Tabernacle a community focal point for future generations. It was awarded to Tabernacle Morriston Congregation under the Welsh Government’s Cultural…

In the Senedd later today, Minister for Climate Change Julie James will set out an “ambitious three-pronged approach” to address the impact of second home ownership on Wales’ communities. The new plan has fairness at its heart – ensuring that everyone in Wales can have access to good quality, affordable housing. The three-pronged approach will focus on: Support – addressing affordability and availability of housing, regulatory framework and system- covering planning law and the introduction of a statutory registration scheme for holiday accommodation; and a fairer contribution – using national and local taxation systems to ensure second home owners make…

A lifesaving programme to help improve survival rates after a cardiac arrest is being supported with almost £2.5m over the next three years by the Welsh Government. The funding will enable Save a Life Cymru to raise awareness about the cardiac arrest chain of survival and fund new educational and training resources, including improving public access to defibrillators. The programme aims to educate people in Wales about the need to help anyone suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and help develop their skills and confidence to provide CPR and defibrillation. It comes as figures show Wales has one of the lowest…

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since England and Portugal squared off in Lisbon in hugely entertaining quarter-final clash in Lisbon. As hosts, Portugal were on a roll at Euro 2004, taking full advantage of the home crowd, while England had recovered from defeat to France in their opening match to comfortably beat Croatia and Switzerland to progress to the last eight. With England currently battling it out at Euro 2020, and in with a great chance of going all the way and winning the tournament according to the Euros winner odds, there are parallels to be…