Author: Rhys Gregory

For Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, commercial law firm Darwin Gray and business support consultants Mabis launched a series of mental health conferences, starting in Aberystwyth. To kick off the New Year, the next conference “Taking Care of Business: Mental Health at Work” will take place at St Fagans National Museum of History, and will be aimed at both individuals as well as businesses and organisations who are looking to tackle, manage, or improve mental health in the workplace. All profits from the conference will be donated to local mental health charity Valleys Steps, whose mission is to transform the…

An art collector from Cardiff has opened the city’s first original fine art gallery with the support of six-figure funding. Jamie Aherne secured £225,000 of finance from NatWest to launch the Blackwater Gallery on Cardiff Bay waterfront, showcasing local and international artwork. Since taking ownership of the derelict site in 2018, Jamie has completely refurbished the 3000 sq ft space, including installing water and electricity supplies and underfloor heating to regulate the gallery temperature. Blackwater Gallery is the only place in Cardiff where fine art enthusiasts can view a collection of high-end original artwork, sculptures and photography. Showcasing more than…

A new online funeral planning service, Way To Go, has launched, allowing people to plan their own perfect send-off. Way to Go is the brainchild of Julia Page who wants to encourage people to take control of their own funeral so that it’s exactly how they want it. The service allows customers to choose everything they want for their funeral, including the venue, music, readings, poems and photographs to be shown on the day. They can pick a special theme, choose music and readings, a funeral director and even record a video message to be shown to friends and family.…

The UK’s first solar powered aquarium was among the big winners at a glittering ceremony to celebrate a record year in the North Wales tourism industry. Anglesey Sea Zoo in Brynsiencyn clinched the Green Award at the Go North Wales Tourism Awards thanks to their eco-friendly approach. Since Frankie Hobro took over the sea zoo 13 years ago it has gone from strength to strength, with marine conservation at the heart of everything she does. According to organisers North Wales Tourism, attractions like the sea zoo are the lifeblood to the booming visitor economy. Revenue from tourism had rocketed to…

A North Wales schoolgirl who moved doctors and nurses to tears when she wrote a song to say thank you for looking after her is to star at a concert in aid of a child safety centre. Gracie Mellalieu, 12, who has an extremely rare condition called Morquio syndrome which affects only 3,000 people worldwide, was over the moon to be among the headline acts at the annual Christmas concert to raise money for the Talacre-based centre, DangerPoint at St Asaph Cathedral on December 13. She will be sharing top billing with a quartet from NEW Sinfonia, the flagship orchestra…

FinTech Wales, the not-for-profit independent membership organisation set up to champion the FinTech and Financial Services industry in Wales, is holding its inaugural Pitch Club event at Tramshed Tech on December 2nd, sponsored by Cardiff Council. FinTech Wales has recognised the need to give help and advice for those business that are looking to raise investment, particularly those at pre-seed or seed stage and so they have organised this pitching event and invited five Welsh FinTech start-ups to pitch. The FinTechs pitching at the event include Taxod, an end to end accounting solution for freelancers, 220,a private bank for influencers,…

CIPD Wales, the professional body for HR and people development, has recognised those at the top of Wales’ HR industry at its 2019 awards. The CIPD Wales Awards, which are now in their third year, recognise outstanding individuals and teams as the best in HR, learning, and people management practice in businesses across Wales. This year, Cardiff’s City Hall hosted the awards, on an evening that saw four outstanding individuals and 11 companies claim the industry’s most coveted accolades. Thousands of people are employed in the people profession across Wales, with HR and leadership development spanning every industry. The CIPD…

One of the UK’s leading independent insurance brokers, Towergate Insurance Brokers, has acquired the business of Clydach-based broker Tony Nakonecznyj Insurance Brokers, in a bid to boost its offering in the Swansea area. Tony Nakonecznyj is an independent broker established in 1984, specialising in chapels, leisure parks and commercial business, as well as providing services to local clients within the Clydach area. The business purchase will also see both of Tony Nakonecznyj’s long-serving employees Gill Langdon and Joanne Phillips transfer to Towergate Insurance Brokers in Swansea. Both have worked for the business for over 29 years and Tony will himself,…

A six-figure investment from the Development Bank of Wales will enable a waffle company to expand its current production to meet the demands of a national retailer. Tregroes Waffles, founded in Llandysul by Kees Huysmans, has been baking delicious waffles for Wales and beyond for over 30 years. Kees, originally from Holland, moved to Wales to become a farmer. He learnt Welsh and threw himself into community life in Tregroes and baked his waffles to sell at markets. The waffles were a hit and more than 30 years later, Kees is running his successful company and demand for his products…

Thousands of people watched this year’s Swansea city centre Christmas parade. They saw hundreds of local people take part in the parade as the festive season was ushered in. The event formed part of the 50th anniversary city status celebrations. There were marching bands, colourful floats, festive film characters, Christmas inflatables, Santa in his sleigh and some special effects. There were young performers from Swansea drama and dance groups. Local choirs and vocalists entertained city centre visitors at performance points as spectators awaited the arrival of the parade. The parade began at the foot of Wind Street and wound through…