Author: Rhys Gregory

Drug deaths in England and Wales have reached the highest number and highest annual increase since records began back in 1993, the Office for National Statistics has recently revealed.  And unfortunately, the ONS has also revealed that the same can be said for drug deaths across Wales. Analysis of ONS data by addiction treatment experts UKAT shows that Wales has seen a concerning 40% rise in drug poisoning deaths in the last 5 years. The ONS report reveals that between 2016-18, drug poisoning deaths across Wales reached a record high of 858, up from 769 between 2015-17 and up from…

In celebration of Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend, a number of local businesses, including St David’s Dewi Sant shopping centre, National Museum Cardiff and South Wales Police are converting its bathrooms to gender neutral. [aoa id=”1″] Celebrating its 20th year, Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend held over the August bank holiday (23-25th August). Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend is Wales’s biggest celebration of equality and diversity and over the three-day event the festival hosts over 50,000 people in the Welsh capital to raise awareness of equality and diversity and supporting the LGBT+ community To celebrate this milestone, Pride Cymru has created a…

Cardiff Bus has announced that Gareth Stevens has been appointed as the operators new Operations and Commercial Director. [aoa id=”1″] A well-known expert within the bus industry, Gareth Stevens has been promoted to the role after spending the last six years as the operator’s Commercial Manager. On his appointment Mr Stevens said: “I am delighted to have been promoted to this role. Having started in the public transport industry at a young age, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to see and experience the improvements made to bus travel, and to be involved with developing and implementing these changes…

The national airport for Wales is preparing to welcome over 27,000 passengers this Bank Holiday weekend (Friday 23 – Monday 26 August), rounding off what has been the busiest summer in over 10 years. [aoa id=”1″] Many customers are jetting off for some late summer sunshine in popular beach destinations such as Croatia, Egypt, Greece and Spain, for some relaxation before the kids go back to school. With good weather on the cards in the UK and Ireland this weekend, customers are making the most of the Bank Holiday by planning ‘staycations’ to destinations like Belfast, Jersey Edinburgh and Dublin…

LEADING independent school Christ College Brecon is celebrating excellent successes by its GCSE students in this year’s results. [aoa id=”1″] The new, fully linear GCSEs are graded 9-1 with grade 9 classified as a super ** grade and 8 as the old A*.  At Christ College, 26% of all grades were 9 and 8 and 41% were 7+. Pupils achieved an overall pass rate of 96% with 98% of pupils achieving a minimum of 5 GCSE passes including Maths, English and a science. Performance was outstanding in Maths with 39% at 9 and 8 with 15% at the highest grade…

People could be saving hundreds of pounds per year on their private or commercial vehicle insurance, yet many people don’t want the hassle and opt to stay with their existing provider. Some just accept the renewal quote they receive without even checking if they could make a saving by switching. The good news is that the days of spending half a day on the phone to get quotes are gone. Instead you can get quotes from loads of insurers, compare policies, and make a decision all with just a single simple form. There are many other ways you can reduce…

As Pride Cymru celebrates its 20th birthday this bank holiday weekend, over 40,000 people are expected to attend across the three days.  [aoa id=”1″] With this year marking such a special occasion, people from all across Wales and the UK will come together on the Cardiff City Hall lawns to celebrate diversity and make a stand for acceptance and inclusivity. Since 1999, the event, which was formerly known as Cardiff Mardi Gras, has grown significantly as more and more acts come to Cardiff to perform across the weekend and make a stand for inclusivity.  Among this year’s acts are legendary Scottish…

Henry Howard Finance has beaten off tough competition to secure itself a place as a finalist in the Best Use of Technology category of the first-ever Growth Finance Awards. [aoa id=”1″] The Growth Finance Awards launched this year in order to celebrate the companies providing “more than finance” to the UK’s growing businesses. It’s the first event of its kind, celebrating the innovative organisations breathing optimism into all regions of the UK by helping ambitious SMEs to scale new heights. These growth champions provide the vital capital inflows – around £79.7 billion last year – that help thousands of businesses to scale-up,…

Over 100 of the best riders from afar as Israel and New Zealand will race around 20 laps of the closed road circuit in The SD Sealants Junior Tour of Wales on Sunday morning before moving on to their afternoon stage. [aoa id=”1″] It’s a first for the race to come to the county in its 40 year history and has served as the springboard for the careers of countless Grand Tour riders including Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas who finished 2nd on Junior Tour 2004. Carmarthen cyclist Scott Davies also won the 2013 edition before making his big…

The “miraculous transformation” horses can achieve after being rescued by the RSPCA is perfectly highlighted by Jack – who is settling into his new forever home in Shropshire. Jack is a veteran 15-hand chestnut gelding who is proving a perfect companion to animals and humans alike at his new premises in North Shropshire. However, he looked a very different horse when he first came to the attention of the RSPCA in May 2018. Jack had been abandoned with serious welfare concerns at stables in Furnace near Llanelli without the consent of the land-owner. RSPCA inspectors Rohan Barker and Nigel Duguid…