Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales’ highest mountain Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa is the star of a new advert from mobile company EE, alongside Welsh actor Tom Ellis. The new advert, launching today [Friday], sees the actor, star of hit-series Lucifer, having his lockdown beard clean-shaven on the slopes of the mountain by a state-of-the-art robotic arm, remotely-controlled live over EE’s 4G network by a barber in London, 250 miles away. The ad campaign is to highlight the high performance, speed and reliability of EE’s mobile network. According to Ofcom, EE, part of BT Group, has the most extensive 4G coverage in Wales, further increasing…

SMEs are in a state of paralysis and feel unable to plan their financial future, according to a survey from ACCA UK (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and The Corporate Finance Network (CFN). A total of 77.8% of accountants’ small business clients are not expecting to return to pre-Covid levels of production and turnover for at least a year, raising questions about their confidence and willingness to invest. And only just over a quarter (26.8%) have made plans for surviving another lockdown, despite the worrying increase in the so-called Indian variant of Covid-19. While some small enterprises have been…

Today the National Lottery Community Fund are spreading some good news to 121 communities across Wales receiving a share of £4.1m in its latest round of grant announcements.  One such group is Cardiff based Golden-Oldies (aka Goldies Cymru). They successfully applied for £26,000 to continue delivering their online choir sessions online. Using different platforms, they will provide weekly shows offering people the chance to join in with songs, provide important public health information and the opportunity for themed events. The primary aim is to retain links the community have built with one another to reduce social isolation.   Grenville Jones, founder of Goldies Cymru said;   “We are so grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund…

This Saturday (22 May), Barratt Developments’ newest South Wales housing development, Parc Fferm Wen, will open to the public. Located in the town of St Athan, Barry, the development will offer a range of new-build Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes properties — which will be available to view by appointment only. Barratt Homes will contribute a total of 173 two-, three- and four-bedroom properties at the development, all boasting high levels of insulation, double glazing and energy efficient central heating — saving hundreds of pounds in bills as compared with older properties. Meanwhile, David Wilson Homes will bring a…

Gwynedd Council’s Library Service is contributing to a brand new Welsh language podcast for readers. ‘Byw Llyfrau’ will be discussing all kinds of books, chatting with different authors from Wales about their books and reading interests. It’s a light, easy-to-listen podcast that will hopefully appeal to all book lovers. The Welsh Government funded Estyn Allan project is being led by the Society of Chief Librarians Wales which offers representatives from each authority the opportunity to take part in a digital training project. Library staff from Gwynedd, Conwy, Ceredigion and Denbigh are leading on the production of the podcast. Rhian Evans,…

THE Welsh Ambulance Service donated more than 100 of its old computers to help schoolchildren in South Wales with remote learning through Covid-19. Tens of thousands of children in Wales had to study from home when schools closed their doors through the pandemic – but not all families had a computer. The Trust was one of 20 organisations who answered a call for surplus ICT equipment which could be put to good use, and donated 107 of its ‘pre-loved’ computers and laptops to the cause. Nicola Stephens, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Estates Officer and Environmental Specialist, said: “The pandemic meant…

Sonovate, a provider of on-demand business finance and technology solutions to the global contract workforce sector, funded a record £55m in March – cementing its status as one of the UK’s most established and scalable fintechs. The achievement capped a year of growth for the Cardiff and London-based disruptor, during which it provided more than £500m of funding to recruitment businesses, online freelance marketplaces and consultancies, helping to keep the contract labour market moving despite the economic shock of the pandemic. Founded in 2013 by Richard Prime and Damon Chapple, who between them have more than 30 years of leadership…

Caerphilly Council’s Cabinet have approved plans to put forward bids for exciting projects across the borough as part of new funding and finance programmes for local and regional economies. Cabinet have decided on projects which could be proposed to central government as part of the national Levelling Up Fund (LUF), announced as part of the Chancellor’s budget in March. The LUF is a competitive fund for which areas across the UK can submit bids. Each constituency can submit a bid of up to £20m in total so Caerphilly County Borough is eligible to submit three applications, one of which will…

Residents in the Caerphilly county borough are being asked to give their views on local walking and cycling routes. Caerphilly County Borough Council is working with Sustrans Cymru as part of Welsh Government’s Active Travel Network Map consultation (ATNM). The Council will use findings from the consultation to upgrade and create new walking and cycling routes, making journeys on foot or by bike easier and safer for everyone.  New and improved active travel routes will also encourage more people to use active travel for local journeys; reducing traffic and improving air quality. To give your views on the existing active…

Derwendeg Primary School has recently celebrated its 100th birthday. The school arranged for a variety of activities to take place for staff and pupils in honour of the anniversary. The children celebrated with a ‘Wow day’ with each class dressing up in fashion from different decades. Each class has been allocated a decade to focus their learning on, investigating the question – ‘Which was the best decade to attend Derwendeg Primary?’ The children will be celebrating for the whole of the Summer term. Other celebrations will include: Burying a time capsule within the school grounds to document how life looked…