Author: Rhys Gregory

Blood donors across Wales are being asked to ‘keep donating’ during the Wales-wide firebreak to help the Welsh Blood Service maintain healthy blood stocks for the NHS. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Welsh Blood Service introduced a new collections schedule where donations are taken from around five regional donation hubs across Wales each week. The regional donation hubs are at different locations every week and they have temporarily replaced the old model which involved donation sessions being offered at around 30 donation venues each week. Reducing the number of venues it operates has enabled the Service to safeguard…

Richard Parks, former Welsh Rugby International and multiple world record adventurer is to present a powerful, personal and at times poignant look at what it means to be Welsh and Black in today’s Wales. The special hour long film features sporting stars Ryan Giggs and Ashton Hewitt, Professor Charlotte Williams OBE, an expert in Welsh identity and some of Wales brightest creative artists including actor Mali Ann Rees and musicians Sonny Double 1 and Mace the Great. The documentary film, due to be broadcast on ITV Cymru Wales at 8pm on Tuesday 27th October  is a story of national pride…

Two Aberystwyth pubs have been required to improve their measures to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus on their premises. Yr Hen Llew Du public house in Bridge Street, Aberystwyth and The Western public house in Thespian Street, Aberystwyth, have both been served with an improvement notice after visits by officers from Ceredigion County Council’s Public Protection Team and Dyfed-Powys Police. The Premises Improvement Notices, served under the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions)(No. 2)(Wales) Regulations 2020, were issued at both public houses on Wednesday 21 October 2020. During visits to Yr Hen Llew Du, Officers found that improvements were needed…

Welsh businesses are set to benefit from the historic UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to be signed by International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Japan’s Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu in Tokyo today (Friday 23 October).  The deal could increase UK trade with Japan by £15.7 billion, giving a £1.5 billion boost to the economy and increasing UK workers’ wages by £800 million in the long run. This could benefit over 200 businesses in Wales that exported £295.9 million in goods to Japan last year and help even more local businesses sell their goods and services to the Japanese market. Farmers…

A west Wales honey producer is celebrating after receiving a top accolade in the Great Taste Golden Fork awards. From the three Welsh products that received the top honour of 3-gold stars in the Great Taste awards 2020, the Golden Fork from Wales was awarded to Wenallt Hive for their Honey Vinegar with Raspberries. The judges praised it for its “beautiful flavour, delicate and vibrantly coloured”, which took them on “a fine flavour journey – fruity and sweet and sour and rich and fun.” Wenallt Hive, located near Newcastle Emlyn are beekeepers and small-scale producers of top quality food and…

Macmillan Wales has warned that the latest cancer waiting times data suggests that far too few people are being tested or treated for cancer due to coronavirus. The warning comes as the latest data for August shows a 23% year-on-year drop in the number of people entering the system for cancer diagnosis, and an 18% drop in those starting treatment for cancer when compared to the same month last year. The figures also suggest that the month-by-month improvement seen since the first peak of coronavirus hit in April, has also now stalled with a larger drop in people entering the…

A COLEG CAMBRIA apprentice has picked up one of the most prestigious prizes in work-based learning. Carwyn Roberts, from Trefnant, was given the Engineering Apprentice Final Year Award at the Make UK Wales virtual ceremony, sponsored by Sony TEC. A CNC Machining Apprentice at the Airbus wing-making factory in Broughton, and learner at the college’s Bersham Road site in Wrexham, Carwyn was commended for his “willingness to take on new tasks” and a strong work ethic. The 21 year-old is in his final year with Cambria – the apprenticeship was extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and thanked lecturers…

A young woman who was left devastated after her sister was killed by a drunk driver has got her life back on track and is training for a degree in nursing thanks to a pioneering pilot scheme at a care organisation. Amy Rowlands, 27, left Ysgol Friars in Bangor without completing her A-levels because she was so distraught by the fatal accident that claimed her sister’s life. After spending several years caring for her grandparents, she got a job at Pendine Park’s Bryn Seiont Newydd care home in Caernarfon – and hasn’t looked back since. Amy signed up for the Open…

A social care leader has spoken of the growing alarm over the high rate of false positive Covid-19 test results that’s piling pressure on struggling care homes. Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, revealed a survey of members had shown that nearly a third of care homes had experienced a test which had been a false positive in the previous fortnight. Another problem adding to the rising anxiety, confusion and frustration in the sector was the fact that results were often too slow in coming back, with delays up to a week not uncommon. Mr Kreft is…

Julian John, managing director of award-winning diversity and inclusion consultancy Delsion, has been announced as one of the most influential people with a disability in the UK. The Welsh disability champion was named on The Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list at an online event yesterday (Wednesday 21st October) for the second time in its five-year history. Julian was one of more than 300 nominations put forward for inclusion in the annual publication and takes his place on the 2020 list after previously being included in 2016. Julian said: “To have been recognised in this way once before was a…