Author: Rhys Gregory

Manic Street Preachers, Nile Rodgers, The Killers, Paul Weller – the list of music legends that have played gigs to thousands of adoring fans at Cardiff Castle is pretty impressive, but with the Castle currently closed to visitors it’s now hosting a series of impromptu lockdown gigs, performed by a Cardiff Council worker during breaks on his night shifts as a security guard. The acoustic gigs are being performed by Jodie Daniels under cover of darkness, in the empty grounds and Burges designed rooms, including some which aren’t generally accessible to the public, and then uploaded to YouTube for people…

Students around the globe spend the better part of their lives buried in books and revising for exams. Until the graduation year, when you realise that you are almost saying goodbye to the ‘student’ title and take up the ‘adult’ title. Although everyone has a unique path in life, it is normal to compare yourself with your fellow classmates or those who graduated earlier.  Graduating is a great step in life, and thinking about it can be overwhelming. To mentally prepare students for the change, tutors will often require you to write an essay on what you envision your graduate…

On Friday 15 May at 7.30pm, a virtual comedy gig will take place to raise money for four local charities: Chapter, FareShare South Wales, Llamau and Dragon’s Heart Hospital. The event comes at a time when charities and organisations are seeing unprecedented shortages in funding due to the cancellation of events. Last week, the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, said that the lockdown will continue in Wales relatively unchanged for the next three weeks. Although an easing of lockdown restrictions is expected over the coming months, it is anticipated there will still be restrictions on gatherings and events. The…

A police boss has called for the tripling of fines for people who break the coronavirus travel restrictions – ranging from £1,000 to £3,000 for repeat offenders. The issue was brought into sharp focus by the confusion caused by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unilateral easing of the lockdown in England which North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones described as a “total shambles”. According to Mr Jones, he and the other three Welsh Police and Crime Commissioners were among the first to call for travel restrictions to be put in place to “safeguard our communities”. He has now…

A North Wales accountancy firm specialising in the hair and beauty sector has experienced significant growth. Award-winning CDC Accounting, based in Llangollen, now employs seven people and is one of the fastest-rising finance companies in the region. Led by managing director Chris Cheeney, the company has been praised by salon owners, clinicians and clients nationwide for its proactive approach during the Coronavirus pandemic, organising weekly online seminars and streaming live presentations by experts offering free advice and guidance during a challenging period for the industry. The dad-of-two, originally from Wrexham, has created a community of owners and managers sharing best…

Swansea’s award-winning indoor market is set for an improvements package that will see almost £440,000 spent on the venue. The work will bring public toilets to the city centre market, along with a multi-purpose communal area, free public Wi-Fi, new interactive LED signs and improved entrances. Work is due to start this summer and will be carried out with a close focus on Government social distancing guidelines. The market, managed by Swansea Council, is the permanent home to more than 100 businesses, hosts casual traders and events and was named Britain’s best large indoor market this year in the Great…

Dramatic new images show how a 3,500-capacity arena is taking shape between Swansea’s city centre and marina. The drone photos from main contractor Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd – made public for the first time today – reveal how new parts of the Swansea skyline are emerging. They show steel skeletons of the city’s new indoor arena and allied buildings going up. Work on the huge steel frames of the £135m Swansea Central Phase One site began to rise around three weeks ago. Now, a growing part of the arena framework is taking shape on the former Oystermouth Road car park…

Chopstix Noodle Bar will be bringing back much loved dishes including Salt ‘N’ Pepper Chicken, Chicken Katsu Curry and Green Thai Tofu Curry. Customers who have missed the stores, which closed in March in response to measures put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be able to order their favourite dishes from these five stores via Deliveroo from lunch time. The Cardiff restaurant, is one of five that is set to reopen today. The stores to open will be: Manchester, Station Approach, Manchester Piccadilly. Aberdeen, Trinity Shopping Centre, Union Street. Dundee, 12 St Andrew’s Street. Cardiff, Queen Street.…

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has launched a new online library offering people with sight loss instant access to thousands of free books in formats they can read. The new platform already has more than 26,000 titles making it the UK’s largest online library of Talking Books – the world’s first audiobooks, which were originally created by the charity for soldiers who were blinded in the First World War. Funded by voluntary donations, RNIB’s Library service sends out up to 10,000 books per day and lent more than 1.5 million titles last year on CD, USB and…

A Mid Wales tourism business has received some welcome news this week despite having been in lockdown and unable to welcome guests to the area since March. The Old Vicarage, a four-star Bed and Breakfast business in Llangurig, near Llanidloes, has been awarded a Recognition of Excellence by HotelsCombined, owned by Kayak and Booking.com, for its consistently high guest reviews. The award ranks The Old Vicarage among the best hotels and B&Bs in the UK. HotelsCombined surveys data using a strict set of criteria, such as the quality and consistency of reviews, popularity of the property and the overall resulting…