Author: Rhys Gregory

Homelessness charity Emmaus South Wales is delivering entertainment packs to local households to help provide some light relief during the coronavirus lockdown. The charity’s ‘Rainbow Packs’, which are worth between £30 – £150, will consist of items such as games, books, puzzles and gaming consoles. The charity has created age specific packs and is offering them to households for free, however, will include a donation slip for anyone who wishes to pay what they can afford. Emmaus South Wales is a charity that provides a home, work and individual support to people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion. The…

Wales urgently needs a Universal Basic Income to help the country deal with the effects of COVID-19, Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe says. Ms Howe’s job as guardian of future generations is to help public bodies and those who make policy in Wales think about the long-term impact their decisions have. She says the case for a Universal Basic Income, recommended in her new Future Generations Report, has never been more critical to support every person in Wales during the crisis. Finland has just announced the results of its two-year Universal Basic Income study, where 2,000 unemployed people aged 25…

From today, Welsh creative agency, S3 Advertising, is to display a series of adverts on a digital billboard in Cardiff, thanking people for the creative ways they are responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The #CelebratingCreativity campaign has launched this morning with the release of a video on social media that captures the nation’s creative solutions to social distancing and lockdown which have helped bring people and whole communities together. Inspired by the wealth of photos and videos online and across news outlets – from back garden marathons, to rainbows painted in windows – even professional dancers showing off their moves…

The Government’s world-leading scheme to support the self-employed has opened for claims – weeks ahead of schedule. Accessible as of 8am yesterday morning self-employed individuals or members of partnerships  whose  business has been adversely affected by  coronavirus will be able to apply for a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits. Millions are expected to benefit from the scheme with the payments – to be paid in a single instalment covering three months and capped at £7,500 – expected to land in bank accounts within six working days of each claim. Everyone eligible for the…

THE ambassadors of City Hospice joined forces with local businessmen to help celebrate the charity’s nursing team on 12 May for International Nurses Day. City Hospice provides palliative care for 550 patients with life limiting or terminal illnesses in Cardiff, in addition to services for patients’ families such as counselling and bereavement support. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity’s team, including Clinical Nurse Specialists, have continued to provide vital care for patients across the capital. To show their appreciation, Spiro Borg, of Spiros Fine Dining, and Chris Macnamara, of The Brogue Trader, supplied quality shoe boxes containing a special afternoon…

A TALENTED musician who performed live from his living room has raised almost £1500 for a hospital garden appeal. John ‘Chippy’ Lloyd, a Technical Training Officer at Coleg Cambria, had given himself the target of £500 but passed that milestone during the two-hour concert. Playing his acoustic guitar surrounded by rainbow pictures painted by his two children, the 38 year-old sang hits from across the decades by stars including The Beatles, Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, Pulp and Ocean Colour Scene. The gig was screened on the Llay Miners’ Welfare Institute Facebook page and has had more than 9,500 views. He…

AN online symptom checker to help people determine whether they may have contracted Coronavirus has had a million visits since its creation. The Welsh Ambulance Service’s Covid-19 Symptom Checker, which went live at the start of March, was designed not only to signpost users to the most appropriate care, but also to ease the pressure on its 111 service. To supplement the self-assessment tool on the NHS 111 Wales website, the corresponding NHS 111 Wales Facebook page has this week launched a ‘ChatBot’ to enable the public to check their symptoms via the social media platform too. Andy Haywood, the…

If anyone deserves a lap of honour then it’s Penny Seager-Davies who is only six years old but whose little legs have gone a very long way. Inspired by legendary NHS supporter Captain Tom Moore, the Swansea youngster ran 100 laps of the family’s garden – raising more than £1,000 to date for an NHS Wales appeal. Super-active Penny, who completed a 5k run a few weeks earlier has also become keen to find out more about key workers. Penny lives in Grovesend with parents Jason and Lisa Seager-Davies and three-year-old brother Clark, who joined her for part of the…

A woman from Porthcawl is inspiring people to Race for Life at Home and carry on the fight against the disease in these unprecedented times. Sarah-Jane Burns, 43, was heartbroken when her mum Joan Watkins died aged just 59 from bowel cancer on June 21 2008.To help raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK, Sarah-Jane was supposed to be tackling the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday April 26 but unfortunately due to the coronavirus outbreak she has vowed to continue her marathon training at home. The learning support assistant was also hoping to mark her mother’s memory at the…

As UK and Welsh Government begin to look at how and when to ease lockdown measures, many of us naturally turn to how we can begin to reopen Wales and restart our economy in the coming weeks and months. Welsh firms have faced significant impacts from the outbreak of Covid-19. New FSB research found that 70% of firms in Wales have experienced a very negative impact on cash flow as a result of the pandemic. Only 3% have seen no impact on their cash flow, and 7.5% have seen a positive impact. Furthermore, almost a third of firms had concerns…