Author: Rhys Gregory

Swansea University has achieved its highest ever rank in any UK league table after rising from 31st to 24th in the Guardian University Guide 2021. This latest ranking places Swansea University as a UK top 25 institution and as the top university in Wales for the second year running. The Guardian University Guide has established itself as a key league table for UK universities and is one of the top choices for people around the world when deciding which university is right for them. The latest Guide features league tables ranking universities on a number of criteria, including student satisfaction…

An award-winning outdoor arts and environment festival, shaped by the landscape of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is set to return this September with a re-imagined programme of performances, art, live music, talks and workshops. The Wye Valley River Festival will be taking place predominantly online from Monday September 21st to Sunday 27th September 2020 with a focus on the theme of Time. The biennial outdoor arts and environment festival works with communities, local and internationally acclaimed artists to bring bespoke performances, events and installations to the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The coronavirus pandemic meant the…

Eighties slasher movie franchise Friday the 13th may have inspired the deadly killing spree of North Wales cinema owner Peter Moore, according to the man who put him behind bars for life. Moore’s three-month rampage across North Wales in the course of which he killed four men, stabbing them to death and mutilating their bodies, began 25 years ago this month. Shedding fresh light on the brutal murders by the gay killer is a new book, The Man in Black: Peter Moore, Wales’ Worst Serial Killer, by Moore’s solicitor, Dylan Rhys Jones. With Mr Jones, alongside him, Moore, a softly…

After a successful month of screenings, Street Food Cinema, Cardiff’s first dedicated drive-in movie and street-food experience, has been extended into September and October. A new run of movies has been released for September, with tickets now on sale for classics like Pretty Woman, Thelma & Louise, Blade Runner and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. For October, the Street Food Cinema team is planning a two-week Halloween Horror Film Festival. The Street Food Cinema concept combines drive-in cinema with a local independent street food offering which this month will include Hot Damn Wings, Smoking Griddle, Who Cult Donuts, Franks and…

RSPCA Cymru is celebrating news that the Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Bill has been given Royal Assent. A Royal Assent ceremony took place yesterday (7 September), with the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths and First Minister Mark Drakeford present. The law is set to come into force on 1 December. The legislation follows some 14 years of campaigning by the RSPCA, since the relevant powers were devolved to Wales – and will make it an offence to perform or exhibit a wild animal in a travelling circus. Polling commissioned by the charity revealed that 74…

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s FREE town centre Wi-Fi scheme is now available in Porth and Treorchy town centres. Thanks to the next phase of the extension of the scheme, shoppers, businesses and visitors to both town centres can now enjoy the free public-access Wi-Fi scheme. Following on from the successful rollout of the pilot to Aberdare Town Centre, and subsequent extensions to Mountain Ash and Ferndale, five of the County’s town centres now have free public-access to the Council’s Wi-Fi. This represents further progress on the Council’s commitment to make the scheme available in seven town centres across the County…

Hundreds of projects boosting the rural economy, enhancing biodiversity and improving food sector resilience throughout Wales will be backed by a £106m financial investment for the next three years. Key schemes which underpin Wales’ rural economy, biodiversity and environmental priorities are to receive further, continued support following a Welsh Government announcement to increase existing funding, providing reassurance to vital schemes as they look to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of new schemes will also be developed in response to the pandemic and other challenges such as the UK’s imminent EU exit. Those projects supported by the increased investment…

Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, has today (8 September) announced additional mental health support that anyone in Wales can access when they need to. The package is supported by £1.3m Welsh Government funding and includes a new online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy course and other online and phone support services. Mr Gething said: “Surveys by the Office of National Statistics and Public Health Wales have shown that levels of anxiety rose at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and have remained higher than usual during lockdown. NHS Wales and partners already provide some phone and online-based mental health support but today’s announcement…

Coronavirus laws will be tightened across Caerphilly borough to prevent a local outbreak of the virus spreading, Health Minister Vaughan Gething announced last tonight. A range of new measures will come into force later today at 6pm in a bid to reduce the number of new coronavirus infections. People will not be allowed to enter or leave the Caerphilly County Borough Council area without a reasonable excuse; Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in shops; People will only be able to meet outdoors – meetings with other people indoors and extended households will not be allowed…

Five popular bars in Cardiff centre were served with improvement notices by officers from the Shared Regulatory Service this weekend for failing to comply with Covid-19 health and safety measures set out by Welsh Government. Coyote Ugly and Peppermint on St Mary Street, Mocka Lounge on Mill Lane, plus Rum and Fizz, and Gin and Juice on High Street were all issued with notices giving them 48 hours to make changes to the way they are operating. If the necessary improvements are not made then venue closure notices could be served by Cardiff Council under the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions)…