Author: Rhys Gregory

There are several reasons why your credit rating might not be as good as you’d like it to be. It’s difficult to build up a great credit rating, but really easy to ruin it. One mistake, like missing a payment on a loan or credit card or even applying for too much credit that you’re not eligible for can leave your credit rating lower than you’d ever hoped it would be, and it can stay like that for some time. But rest assured that even if you have a poor credit rating, getting the credit you need isn’t completely impossible.…

Events for the first Hay Festival Digital have been revealed, bringing writers and readers together 18-31 May 2020 in free live broadcasts and interactive Q&As. Hay Festival Digital sees more than 100 award-winning writers, global policy makers, historians, pioneers and innovators take part, celebrating the best new fiction and non-fiction, and interrogating some of the biggest issues of our time, from Covid-19 and world health, to the climate crisis and our future, under the theme of #ImagineTheWorld. Live sessions will be streamed via Crowdcast, offering registered users the opportunity to interactive with fellow audience members and pose their questions to speakers. Festivalgoers…

A new not-for-profit initiative, CheersNHS, has launched, allowing members of the public to buy frontline healthcare workers a meal to say ‘thank you’, giving NHS and healthcare staff the chance to put their feet up after a shift with a dish of their choice. Established by 28-year-old Joe Tannorella along with a team of volunteers, CheersNHS lets you buy frontline staff a takeaway by purchasing a voucher online which gets allocated to NHS and care workers who have signed up to the scheme. The team came up with the concept from a desire to find a safe and easy way…

A mild winter and weeks of continuous sunshine have resulted in a good year for apple blossom, according to the National Trust. Temperatures of up to 24 degrees centigrade, little rain and a record amount of sunshine in April have helped the development of a heavy bloom, boosting the possibility of a fruitful harvest this autumn. The warm conditions have led to bees being more active while the lack of high winds has allowed the blossom to open for longer, meaning more flowers have been pollinated. At Erddig in Wrexham, staff have reported an outstanding display in the walled garden,…

A NORTH WALES finance firm is in place to speed-up access to vital loans and cash support for businesses in jeopardy because of the Covid-19 pandemic. St Asaph-based FFP Solutions is a Funding Circle Business Champion Broker and in a prime position to unlock funds for struggling firms after the fintech giant was listed among the accredited lenders for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS). The original group of lenders was largely made up of high street banks, which have in past weeks been criticised for their slow response in dealing with tens of thousands of loan applications.…

A care home owner has described the anguish of staff after four residents died from suspected Covid-19 and how he’s spent an extra £100,000 trying to protect his homes since the pandemic started. Mark Bailey, the managing director of Fairways Care said the outbreak was inflicting a massive “emotional toll” and he fears the huge financial pressures caused by the coronavirus crisis will force many of the smaller care providers out of business. The company, which has five homes in Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey, looks provides care for 240 people and employs 400 staff. There have been five Covid-19 cases…

South Wales Police is appealing for information after two thefts from community organisations in the same night. Thieves broke into a trailer and mobile home at Ynysygerwn Cricket Club between 7pm on May 3 and 11.30am on May 4 stealing items worth about £20,000. Among the items stolen were around 9 rolls of specialist astro turf, an industrial pot hole digging attachment for a mini digger and a specialist trailer. This happened the same night as a theft of a large amount of equipment belonging to Woodland Trust Cymru. The items were taken from storage at a farm on the…

Elderly and vulnerable people across Cardiff have received over 10,000 “vital” meals during the Coronavirus outbreak thanks to a dedicated charitable initiative. Volunteers at Food For Life Wales have been delivering meals to at-risk and socially isolated people across the city since the lockdown was introduced in March.  During that time, 35 dedicated volunteers from the initiative, which promotes social inclusion and wellbeing, have delivered thousands of freshly made plant-based meals to over 300 people in the city every week. Hospitals across Cardiff, housing associations, GP surgeries, and home care providers, have also received deliveries from the project, run by Tŷ Krishna Cymru. Project manager…

A new nationwide bereavement support service has been launched by Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end of life charity. More people than ever are grieving. To date, an estimated 450,000 people across the UK will be grieving since lockdown began**. Many of whom will be grieving in isolation, unable to use their usual support networks, and may be dealing with the additional psychological and emotional impact of not being able to properly say goodbye. Marie Curie’s national bereavement service is available to anyone affected by the death of a loved one. The service enables people to access free emotional support…

South Wales Police is investigating the death of an elderly man following an incident in the Rhondda earlier yesterday (Tuesday 5th May). Shortly after 1.45pm yesterday, police officers were call to a serious incident at a convenience store on Tylacelyn Road in Penygraig in the Rhondda. An elderly man has died, another man is in a stable condition at the University Hospital of Wales and two other people have suffered non life-threatening injuries. A 29 year-old woman from Porth has been arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to Merthyr Tydfil police station. Detective Chief Inspector Mark O’Shea of South…