Author: Rhys Gregory

The New Theatre have announced four stars who will be hopping on a magical carpet and flying to Cardiff this festive season to headline in this year’s unmissable family pantomime, Aladdin, from Saturday 5 December 2020. Featuring eye – popping special effects, stunning song and dance and a lamp-load of laughter, this year’s unmissable panto will be a magic carpet ride you and your family won’t want to miss! Paul Chuckle will star as the hapless and hilarious brother to Aladdin. Best known as one half of the legendary Chuckle Brothers, the much-loved duo were known to generations of children…

North Wales Minister Ken Skates has emphasised the Welsh Government’s commitment to the Trawsfynydd site in Gwynedd, and its future potential in developing small modular reactors and other associated technologies. Mr Skates re-emphasised the commitment at the first meeting of the North Wales consultative committee which brings together the region’s AMs, MPs and local authority leaders to hear about the Welsh Government’s priorities for the region and contribute to the debate.  The potential of Trawsfynydd to exploit the small modular reactor (SMR) technology could bring significant benefits not only for the local area but the wider region, including the thermo-hydraulic…

Welsh chamber-folk pioneers VRï will bring their take on Welsh traditional music to audiences in Cardiff when they play St. John’s Church in Canton on Saturday, 28 March. The trio’s mission statement is to provide an art music voice in the rapidly expanding world of traditional music in Wales, whilst also drawing particular influence from chapel culture, and its interesting relationship with Welsh traditional music.  Acclaimed musicians Patrick Rimes, Jordan Price Williams and Aneirin Jones make up VRï, who formed in the summer of 2016 to explore the possibilities of a ‘chamber-folk’ style of playing Welsh music.  With all three…

The Development Bank of Wales has now worked with over 900 women involved in the ownership of companies in Wales. This includes female-founded start-ups in the bio-science and software technology sectors, female-led management buyout teams across a number of sectors including manufacturing, marketing and retail. Recent companies supported by the Development Bank include fashion retailer Modest Trends in Cardiff, who received a £12,000 micro loan to open a new shop. Forth, a Chepstow-based business which creates personal biomarker profiles using at-home blood testing kits, received a £250,000 equity investment to support marketing and further commercialisation. And north Wales artisan skincare company Bathing…

A knockout evening of chocolate and wine is being organised to raise money for the National Urdd Eisteddfod in Denbigh. There will also be auction during the event at the Brookhouse Mill at 7pm on Thursday, March 26 – and one of the lots will be a boxing glove signed by the legendary boxer, Sir Henry Cooper. The glove is being kindly donated by Cllr Mark Young who is helping to organise the sparkling fundraiser for the festival which will be held in Denbigh from May 20 to 30. As well as placing bids on the night, it will also…

A woman who booked flights and accommodation to help her killer boyfriend evade police has been sentenced to 27 months imprisonment. Aseel Arar, 35, from Birmingham, was found guilty of assisting an offender following an earlier trial at Cardiff Crown Court. She was today handed a 27-month jail term for her involvement following the death of Fahad Nur in Cardiff on June 2 last year. Her boyfriend Abdulgalil Aldobhani, 23, Mustafa Aldobhani, 22, and Shafique Shaddad, 25, have each begun life sentences after being convicted of Fahad’s murder. Senior Investigating Officer Mark O’Shea said: “Aseel Arar acted out of misguided…

Swansea University has been awarded £2.9 million for the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership 2020-21. This major investment in doctoral training will enable Swansea University to significantly expand and enhance its support for the next generation of research and industry leaders across engineering and the physical sciences. The allocation for the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) 2020-2021, which is determined by Swansea University’s EPSRC income to date, has more than doubled in the last two years. The scale of this investment is a culmination of consistently high quality research outputs and industrial collaborations. The announcement follows considerable success for Swansea University…

One of the ringleaders of an organised crime gang who carried out more than 80 burglaries across south Wales has been jailed for more than six years. Daniel Casey was arrested by colleagues from Leicestershire Police in January following a lengthy manhunt by South Wales Police’s Operation Timmia team. Casey, 28, is the latest member of the gang to be sentenced – in December seven people were jailed for a total of more than 35 years. Casey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary at Swansea Crown Court, and was today sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.…

Further spells of wet and windy weather are expected to arrive from the west on Monday and then affect much of the country into Tuesday. Rainfall could become prolonged and heavy in places, especially on some higher ground in western areas, before clearing later on Tuesday. Many western areas are likely to see 10 to 20 mm of rain with upland areas likely to see 20 to 40 mm. However, in some of the wettest spots 50 to 80 mm rain is possible. What to expect Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely Spray and flooding on roads…

In a victory for tampon tax campaigner Laura Coryton, the Government will scrap the “luxury” tax on women’s sanitary products in its first budget after leaving the EU. The tampon tax will finally be scrapped from the start of next year, the Chancellor is expected to announce in next week’s budget. It’s a cause for celebration for Laura Coryton and her 300,000 supporters, who have campaigned tirelessly since Laura started her change.org petition in 2014. Laura was able to celebrate a milestone in 2015 when the Government agreed to divert revenue raised from the 5% “luxury” tax on women’s sanitary…