Author: Rhys Gregory

A Welsh charity providing invaluable support to young people in Wales has received a £4,000 boost thanks to Loteri Cymru, the all-Wales lottery which creates winners across Wales and raises vital funds for Welsh charities. Loteri Cymru has made the donation to Youth Cymru to enable the charity, which supports young people, youth workers, and youth facing organisations in Wales, to widen access to its Youth Achievement Awards (YAA) amongst the deaf community in Wales. The YAA is a national personal development qualification, accredited by Agored Cymru, which stimulates and recognises young people’s learning. The money will be used to…

NatWest Cymru will later this month host its first Welsh-language entrepreneurship workshop for 16 to 18-year-olds. Anelu’n Uwch, which means Dream Bigger in Welsh, is part of the bank’s Dream Bigger programme, an initiative NatWest launched to empower females aged between 16 and 18 with transferrable entrepreneurial skills. Anelu’n Uwch will be run as a digital workshop over three days and will be open to all genders aged between 16 and 18-years-old to attend. It is fully funded by NatWest and each day will feature an individually themed one-hour workshop over Zoom led by Siwan Rees, NatWest Entrepreneurship Development Manager…

The drastic impact of COVID-19 has caused severe disruption to the employment industry across the UK, but Sphere Solutions, a prominent recruitment business specialising in the construction industry, have reported some encouraging signs of recovery in the market. Sphere, who operate from an office network throughout Wales and the South West of England, are a key supply chain partner to many regional and national civil engineering firms, building contractors and residential developers.   The business had started the year with confidence and were on course to confidently deliver a record year.  However, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, James Hughes, Managing…

A North Wales swan experienced catastrophic and fatal injuries following a dog attack in Conwy. The attack has prompted the RSPCA to issue a reminder to dog owners about the importance of keeping their pets under control near wildlife. RSPCA Cymru was alerted after the swan was attacked on the estuary on Friday lunchtime (14 August), at an RSPB reserve near Conwy castle. Friday’s attack came from a dog being walked off the lead, and led to the whole back of the swan being ripped off, exposing the bird’s entire dorsal musculature. The swan did not die following the attack…

Cardiff International White Water is reopening to pre-booked visitors from tomorrow, August 19, following the completion of thorough checks and the implementation of measures to ensure customer health and safety. To help with social distancing, a one way system has been created, signage displayed, and four marquees installed for use as temporary changing rooms, with the changing rooms in the main building temporarily closed. All boats are routinely cleaned and sterilised following each use. As well as being cleaned, the wetsuits and buoyancy aids provided are quarantined after each use. Hand sanitiser is provided around the facility, and at the…

Cardiff Martial Arts have moved their range of classes to the temporary outdoor courts in Bute Park near Blackweir changing rooms due to their regular indoor venues being closed due to the pandemic. Restarting the classes and adapting to the outdoor environment has been a great boost to the martial arts community, who can now safely resume their training in line with social distancing guidelines. The five temporary courts at Bute Park are part of a scheme to support organisations and business with private outdoor space for group activities that usually happen indoors but are unable to go ahead under…

One exciting and familiar thing with all online casinos is making everything easy for you to fund your casino account. This is important to them because they want to lure you so that you can participate in the games they provide. They have achieved this by giving different deposit methods to make it convenient for you. They have further provided banking options to make the deposits faster so that you get in the game. This is just the first step when it comes to gambling online. As a player, your desire is to make a big win out of it,…

A new programme worth up to £9.5m million will reduce the carbon footprint of existing social housing in Wales, make energy bills more manageable for residents and provide new job and training opportunities. The Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP), part of the Innovative Housing Programme, will fund the fitting of energy efficiency measures in up to 1000 existing homes owned by registered social landlords and councils.  The investment package will lead to better homes, help tackle fuel poverty and contribute to decarbonisation. Julie James, Minister for Housing and Local Government, launched the Optimised Retrofit Programme during a visit to Craig Cefn…

When most people think of Wales, they think of the dragon on the flag. But what if that connotation was upgraded for the 21st century? Rather than thinking of the tale of Celtic king Vortigern’s red dragon, people might automatically think of the dragon that represents modern gaming – such as a drake from League of Legends. Wales is putting itself forwards to be a contender in the field of eSports – which takes gaming and turns it into a sports-like competitive tournament. The dragon may exist in League of Legends or Fortnite, as well as the Welsh flag. Could Wales…

Blackwood and Risca High Streets may become hot spots for alfresco dining as outdoor areas are set to host seating in certain parts of the high street. After overwhelming support from local members and traders, the council has taken the decision to assist businesses to introduce outdoor seating along the existing highway or parking bays on the high street in both Blackwood and Risca. The approach has been replicated across Wales in an effort to support local businesses to comply with social distancing rules when trading while recovering from the economic impact of Covid-19. Customers will be able to order…