Author: Rhys Gregory

The Aloud Charity has announced the appointment of Carys Wynne Morgan as its new Chief Executive Officer to succeed Rachel Dominy. Carys is currently a Portfolio Manager with Arts Council Wales and has worked in the Youth Sector and in Local Authorities across South Wales, with a focus on Arts Development, Events Management and Community Engagement. She has also worked as a Programme Manager for the Future Generations Commissioner and has maintained an advisory role. Also the Musical Director of the Mynyddislwyn Male Choir, Carys is a fluent Welsh speaker. Carys Wynne Morgan said: “I am delighted to be taking…

Twenty-five new specialist IT jobs are being created as work begins on rolling out a national Critical Care Information System across NHS hospitals in Wales. The jobs, 12 with Ascom and 13 with Digital Health & Care Wales (DHCW) are for a joint project team to fulfil the biggest-ever single contract worldwide for Ascom, which operates in 15 countries. Ascom’s Digistat clinical information system (CIS) will enable intensive care staff across Wales’ 14 standard adult critical care units to manage electronically many aspects of care. Previously, just three of Wales’ units used electronic systems from other suppliers, while the remainder…

A police chief who’s retiring has been hailed as a “game-changing” champion of vulnerable and downtrodden people. After five years as North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Arfon Jones decided to stand down at the election on May 6 although he will remain in post until the official handover to his successor six days later. Mr Jones, a former police inspector, was elected as the Plaid Cymru candidate in the 2016 poll, with a landslide 25,000 majority after campaigning for drug law reform and more action to tackle domestic abuse. The two issues were front and centre throughout his period…

An iconic eco-friendly North Wales attraction is resurrecting plans for an ambitious £1million sustainable expansion project. Anglesey Sea Zoo hopes to start work on the extension to their premises at Brynsiencyn, on the Menai Strait, at the end of this year. The eco-build project will double the current size of the facility, which lies on the Anglesey Coastal path in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with views across the Snowdonia mountain range. Owner Frankie Hobro will speak about her green credentials and her plans for the popular attraction and research centre at Net Zero 2021, a major online business…

A North Wales company that’s revolutionising the construction industry is planning to create 75 new jobs after landing its biggest ever single contract worth £1.5 million. Monolith has developed non-combustible, rapid-fit brick slips which significantly speed up the construction process and are now being used to clad a trio of high-end apartment blocks in Salford. The site of the prestigious development is right alongside the gateway to Regent Road into Manchester – with 90 per cent of the apartments having been sold off-plan already. According to Monolith, the BrickPlus: Pro system, which was developed in the wake of the Grenfell…

Tributes have been paid to a  remarkable globe-trotting former nurse who cared for soldiers injured in the 1940 Battle of Dunkirk after she passed away at the age of 103. Travel pioneer Hilda Richards, a resident of Pendine Park’s Gwern Alyn Care Home in Wrexham,  died at the town’s Maelor Hospital where she had been a patient for the past couple of months after being admitted with breathing difficulties. She leaves three sons, Derek, Clive and Ralph, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Gwern Alyn manager Cindy Clutton said: “We are all heartbroken to lose Hilda who was hugely popular…

Talyllyn Railway and the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Tywyn were both winners at the Heritage Railway Association’s annual awards, which were held virtually this year. The world’s first preserved railway, The Talyllyn received the Internal Communications Award for its Talyllyn Control Centre (TCC) public on-line subscription service while the museum won the Heritage Railway Magazine Interpretation Awards. TCC was commissioned by Talyllyn Railway’s general manager, Stuart Williams, working with a volunteer who runs his own software company, Yingatech. Introduced in February 2020, TCC was designed to give armchair supporters greater access to the railway during the Covid-19 pandemic, enhancing…

Getting products listed with a distributor is the dream of many food and drink businesses. With help from Cywain, a group of Welsh producers have been put through their pitching paces. The culmination of Cywain’s ‘Meet the Buyer’ pitching tutorials was the opportunity to have a one-to-one appointment with Deiniol ap Dafydd, founder and managing director of wholesale distributor Blas ar Fwyd. For 21 new producers, this led to their products being listed by Llanrwst-based Blas ar Fwyd, which provides over 170 food and drink producer brands from Wales on its platform. Cywain clients met with Blas ar Fwyd, around…

Since the start of the pandemic, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama has developed new ways to reach its audiences, while its doors have remained closed. The College has presented both filmed and live streamed performances from its in-house talent, as well as internationally renowned artists.   Before the pandemic, the Royal Welsh College’s popular weekly AmserJazzTime session took place in the Carne Foyer. This moved to a weekly live stream in autumn 2020, and the College is thrilled that those in-person audiences have continued to support online. On average 600 online viewers watch the sessions, either live or on…

WREXHAM’s Green Clywedog Valley Partnership for Nature is getting a £23,000 grant to encourage local people to get to know their area and enjoy nature through a series of fun and educational events. Groundworks North Wales is running the project with organisations including the Friends of Nant Mill, Friends of Kings Mill, Minera Quarry Trust, Wrexham County Borough Council and Brymbo Heritage Trust. The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Woodland Trust, North Wales Caving Club and Coedpoeth and Minera Community Councils are also involved. The is funded by the Welsh Government’s Green Recovery Capacity…