Author: Rhys Gregory

A star student from the Rhondda valleys who had life-changing study opportunities at world-leading universities during his A Levels is hoping to inspire the next generation of Welsh students to dream big, regardless of their background or where they are from. Bailey James, 18, from Maerdy, is set to start a Law degree at Durham University later this week after securing an outstanding 4A*s in his A-levels and impressing admissions staff with an extensive resume of experience that included attending prestigious summer schools at both Oxford University and Princeton in America. The former Tonyrefail Community School student, who will be…

Manufacturers and not taxpayers should bear the cost of recycling waste and returning it to the circular economy. That’s the view of Cardiff consumers according to a YouGov poll commissioned by UK recycling company Viridor. Viridor’s Recycling Index, which has been tracking public attitudes to recycling for five years, found that over two-thirds (68%) of consumers polled in Cardiff believe taxpayers currently carry the cost of recycling, with two thirds (62%) saying that producers/manufacturers should pick up the bill. In addition, the index found that 55% of Cardiff consumers thought that the businesses selling these products should be accountable, with…

Our lives revolve around convenience in a world that’s moved indoors. Everyday life has become so fast-paced that when you get home after a long day, you want to put on your most comfortable sweater and drown out the noize while unwinding. The internet and e-commerce have made it easy and convenient to stay home while bringing the shops to your front door. Fortunately, online casinos have also boomed with the internet era, and you can now Play Casino games while curled up on your couch waiting for the pizza delivery. Kate Richards is an avid iGaming specialist and blogger.…

Gaming is a huge industry around the world now, both in the entertainment and tech sector. As such, businesses all over the world are exploring ways of getting involved. As the industry continues to grow, nations where gaming has been a staple of home entertainment for decades should seek to take advantage of the embedded knowledge of the scene. Great Britain boasts a multi-billion game industry, and while there are already several businesses in Wales making up a segment of the sector, there’s always space for more. With the industry continuing to grow worldwide and in the country, Wales looks…

Monmouthshire Building Society is to open a new branch in Brecon, as part of an ongoing strategy to increase its High Street presence throughout South Wales. The independent, Welsh, mutual building society, which has had its headquarters in Newport since 1869, is one of the longest-standing businesses in the region and will be taking over the Leeds Building Society office in the centre of Brecon from 1 January 2021. The Society, which has had an agency in Brecon since 2011, will retain the Leeds Building Society’s six existing staff, and will have a presence in the branch from 28 September…

Ten community groups across North Wales have received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to help them respond to issues arising from COVID-19 and to improve emotional health and wellbeing. In Flintshire, Enbarr Foundation CIC, based in Queensferry, will use its £69,224 grant toenable people to become physically and mentally healthier through learning to grow and cultivate plants and cook food. The project will inspire young people to achieve their full potential, working with role models from the community. Enbarr Foundation plan to resurrect the Grade 2 listed gardens at the Shotton Point Project, as well as renovate the…

Conor Elliott is a talented Photographer based in Cardiff.  During lockdown, he wanted to do something to capture the sense of community spirit and appreciation of NHS workers. Over the course of three months, from March to June 2020, Conor walked the streets of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan photographing the artworks that local residents proudly displayed in their windows in support of the NHS. Conor decided to bring the images together in the form of colourful mosaics.  The large mosaics are made from hundreds of rainbows and other supportive messages for NHS staff that have been displayed in…

Following the cancellation of the majority of 2020’s sporting events, a keen runner, triathlete and endurance sportsman from Swansea has been finding alternative sources of thrill and exercise to keep him fighting fit ahead of a return to action in 2021. A passionate fundraiser, 48-year-old Jeff Partridge, from Sketty, Swansea, has been completing in triathlons and endurance sports, including 2019’s Ironman Wales, for the past ten years, raising over £9000 for charity during that time. Since the Coronavirus pandemic began, Jeff has had to change his focus from 5:30am swims at the Wales National Pool, to open water swimming in…

Welsh-headquartered timber company Premier Forest Group has been listed in the annual Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250 league table which ranks Britain’s leading mid-market private companies. The inclusion of the Newport-based company reflects its strong financial performance, and also its work supporting the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the creation of the Nightingale and Dragon Hospitals. Premier Forest Group is a vertically integrated timber operation engaged in theimportation, sawmilling, processing, merchanting, and wholesale distribution of timber and timber products from its 16 sites in the UK and Ireland. It employs more than 360 staff, and saw turnover grow to £141million…

Llanelli’s Oriel Ffwrnes Gallery has unveiled plans to launch a virtual art exhibition this autumn where local people are the stars of the show. Entitled ‘Step Forward’ the online exhibition will showcase a collection of photographs from the gallery’s resident artist and curator, the award-winning Welsh painter and photographer Michele Laugharne Perrott BA(Hons), MA. This online art exhibition will showcase the photography of this Welsh visual artist, as she captures the post lockdown moments of newly embraced freedom in the day to day activities of local people and places in beautiful West Wales. Many of the photographs were taken in and around…