Author: Rhys Gregory

From Monday 9 November, residents in Wales will be welcomed back to Wales’ most popular heritage attractions, gardens, museums and outdoor spaces as National Trust Wales, Cadw and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales sites open their doors after the firebreak lockdown. Following the First Minster’s announcement this week that travel restrictions within Wales have been lifted and that tourism businesses can reopen, visitors from Wales can once again enjoy access to the best of Wales’ museums, heritage sites and outdoor spaces. Wales’ Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas said: “The people of Wales have…

South Wales Police are appealing for witnesses following a road traffic collision on the A474 Neath Road in Briton Ferry. The collision, at around 9am on Thursday, November 5, involved a black Ford Transit Connect and blue Suzuki Splash. A 59-year-old man from the Suzuki was taken to Morriston Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision, stopped to help, may have seen the Ford Transit being driven prior to the collision or has dash-cam footage which could assist the investigation, Please contact South Wales Police on 101 quoting occurrence *402743.

Today is Remembrance Sunday. Unfortunately this is not the first – nor will it be the last time – when I start by marking a special day or event in our calendar by saying, it “looks very different to what we’re used to”. There will be no crowds gathering in churches, at war memorials or gardens of Remembrance across Wales to pay their respects to the generations of men and women who have served their country. Yet, they will not be forgotten. The cruellest aspect of this pandemic is that because the virus thrives on everyday human contact, we’ve had…

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David has created a Remembrance Garden at its Carmarthen campus ahead of Armistice day, marking the end of the First World War on 11 November 1918. The Garden, which has been installed on the University’s grounds between its Teaching and Learning Building and Yr Egin on College Road includes the installation of 10 figures of lone soldiers, 6 crosses with wreaths and 50 steel poppies. Red light is projected across the grassed area and onto the buildings with sound-track playing every half hour from 7pm to 10pm. The art installation, to be in place…

According to data from the Welsh Government, the Openreach fibre rollout plan has now reached over 8,000 total rural homes. With current plans entering Phase 2, a further 26,000 homes are expected to achieve fibre connectivity by March 2021, bringing the total number of rural connections to around 36,000. While this rollout is slower than originally envisioned due to global circumstances, it still represents a significant step forward in Wales’ rural online infrastructure. Though integration has a long way to go yet for rural coverage, owing to the difficulty of laying physical cables, overall adoption of high-speed internet in Wales is high. According…

To mark the 50th anniversary of decimalisation, The Royal Mint Museum has announced a new short-story competition for school children in Wales. The competition is open to all pupils in years five and six, and the winning story will be selected by guest judge and celebrated children’s author, Eloise Williams. Pupils are asked to write a short story of no more than 500 words inspired by Decimal Day in 1971 and the change to decimal money. Pupils are able to write about any topic that relates to decimalisation, but some inspiration ideas for the story are: “What if coins could talk, what would they tell us?” “What do you think decimal day was like…

UK and international commercial law firm, Capital Law, has strengthened its banking and finance team with two hires and a promotion. Reshma Jogia joined the firm in May and was confirmed as partner on 1 November. Previously head of the Cardiff banking and finance team at Blake Morgan, she is used to handling the banking aspects of corporate transactions, with 20 years’ experience of acting for borrowers and lenders. In her new role, Reshma works alongside partner Christopher Agius – who leads Capital’s real estate development finance and investment banking practice – as well as working with the firm’s established…

Following their appointment as joint administrators to Gwent Nursing Homes Limited, Chris Newell, Graham Randall and Paul Zalkin of business advisory firm Quantuma have secured the sale of the business. Located in the heart of the village of Caerleon, Newport, the nursing home is registered for 54 clients. The company, which trades as Caerleon House Nursing Home, entered administration in August 2019 following a period of financial instability. It operated successfully under Quantuma’s instruction, despite the Covid19 pandemic, with the firm overseeing the running of the home and its return to profitability. Having received strong interest from a number of…

A project run by Swansea Council’s Dylan Thomas Service has won a UK national award. The service’s Literature and Trauma initiative won a prize in the Museums Association’s Museums Change Lives awards. A big hit with its target audience – refugees and asylum seekers living in Swansea – the creative writing scheme was named the best small museum project that delivers social impact. Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “Our arts and culture team develop projects on a number of themes for visitors and residents throughout the year. “They’re enjoyed inside and outside of…

A popular Cardiff-based female empowerment group has raised over £5,000 through crowdfunding to support the expansion of its events and online offering. Warrior Women Collective, which supports, empowers and celebrates women through events, content and its community, raised £5,308 through 129 supporters during the 28-day campaign. Co-founders of Warrior Women Collective, Charlie Morgan and Amy Holland, teamed up with a number of female-run businesses to offer rewards in return for financial support during the Natwest Back Her Business crowdfunding programme. Having surpassed their £5,000 target, the duo will now use the funding to scale up Warrior Women’s event and online…