Author: Rhys Gregory

Swansea Council has cancelled or postponed all cultural and tourism events it directly organises until the end of August. Cancelled events include the July 4-5 Wales Airshow and July’s Swansea Special Festival. The city centre-based Clean Air Roadshow on June 20 and two outdoor theatre events at Oystermouth Castle in August have been postponed until further notice. Event partners and businesses are being informed. Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “We’ve made this decision to cancel or postpone council-organised events based on advice from Government and Public Health Wales. We’ll review the August end…

A Wrexham mum who almost died after developing a serious brain infection while pregnant has launched a new fundraising drive to help support other survivors of the condition. Becky Rule, who works at Debenhams in Eagles Meadow shopping centre, Wrexham, was given an emergency C-section under general anaesthetic in January last year after attending the Wrexham Maelor Hospital with a severe migraine and confused speech the day before her baby was due. The women’s wear manager and her unborn baby were found to have an extremely high heart rate, leaving doctors with little option but to operate for the safety…

RSPB Cymru has decided to close all its reserves following the latest Government advice on Coronavirus spread. “Following the latest clear instructions from the Government for us all to remain at home, apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we are closing our reserves to visitors until further notice,” said a spokesperson. “It is with great sadness that we ask people to refrain from visiting RSPB reserves. “This means we will close car parks, toilets, playgrounds, visitor centres, hides, cafes and shops to the public. Our efforts will now move to helping the millions of people spending time at…

Cardiff Bus is alerting passengers to modified timetables in response to the latest preventative measures brought in by the Government to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. The operator will be running Sunday timetables across the majority of its services throughout the week from Wednesday, March 25th. Exceptions to this will be services 1 and 2 city circular routes via Heath Hospital, which will follow a Saturday timetable, from Mondays through to Saturdays  Services 65to Heath Hospital via Llanrumney and St Mellons and the H59 Heath Hospital’s Park & Ride service will follow their Monday to Friday timetable on weekdays. Additionally,…

Due to the latest Government advice and the need to protect patients and our staff, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has taken the difficult decision to stop visiting to our hospitals. As of yesterday (March 24th) members of the community are asked not to visit any of our hospitals at all, except for the below: The patient is receiving end-of-life care (visiting to be agreed with clinical team) One partner or birthing partner accompanying a woman in labour and in the post-natal period for a limited time only. No other visitors will be allowed. Paediatrics and neonatal areas (one…

Philip Lane OBE, who spent ten years as Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, has been appointed as a Non-Executive Member of the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA).   Phil was most recently the Head of Sport & Communities at Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), which is the UK’s largest leisure operator running more than 350 public sport and leisure centres, including the London Aquatics Centre and Copper Box Arena both opened for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games. He was awarded an OBE for services to sport in 2009, after leading Britain’s Paralympic teams at Salt Lake…

The Wales Co-operative Centre has launched a Covid-19 Helpline for the social business sector in Wales. The helpline will be delivered by the Centre’s Social Business Wales programme, funded by the Welsh Government and European Regional Development Fund. Social Business Wales has a team of regional business advisors located across the country that will be on hand via telephone or video conferencing to help with enquiries about cash flow, HR, digital platforms, communications and a range of other areas which might need re-thinking in light of the Coronavirus. Latest research for the sector shows there are over 3,000 social businesses…

Cardiff Council has introduced limits on the number of people attending funerals and wedding services have been cancelled to help slow the transmission of COVID-19. From today, a maximum of ten immediate family members will be able to attend burials and cremations taking place at Thornhill Crematorium and the city’s cemeteries. All wedding ceremonies are now cancelled and due to a spring backlog caused by COVID-19, new bookings for weddings will not be taken for dates before September. No new notices of marriage are currently being taken. Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Michael Michael, said: “These are big milestone events…

Cardiff Council is taking over accommodation in the city to help the most vulnerable in our society. The OYO Hotel in Clare Street, Riverside – previously known as the Wynford Hotel – has been taken over by the Council to ensure that self-contained accommodation is available for rough sleepers living in Cardiff. The shipping containers in both Ely and Butetown, which were fitted out for use by homeless families, are also now being used for those homeless people who are showing symptoms of the virus and need to self-isolate. The Council’s current emergency accommodation for the homeless has a number…

Pwllheli-based videographers Kelp & Fern have created a three minute film showing the peace and tranquility of Snowdon after unprecedented levels of visitors at the weekend. The video was shot on Monday before the UK-wide lockdown. Film maker Martin Toole said: “Silent Snowdon was filmed pre lockdown in the UK when exercise and outdoor walks was recommended by the government. “Living nearby I swapped my running trainers for my camera and decided to document the peace and tranquillity of the mountain. “I adhered to the government and mountain rescue advice of social distancing and that being outdoors on walks and…