Author: Rhys Gregory

Thanks to the New Theatre, Cardiff for inviting us along to see the show in exchange for this review. Presented by Chamber Opera Tours Jane Austen’s Persuasion, A Musical Drama has been adapted by Barbara Landis to include a musical twist. [aoa id=”1″] With a storyline very true to the style of Jane Austen this musical performance, based on her final novel ‘Persuasion’, follows Anne Elliot and her reunion with a past lover, Captain Frederick Wentworth with injection of operatic singing throughout. The performance includes music selected by the adapter Barbara Landis, who has chosen some of her favourite pieces, as well as…

The Welsh Fitness Awards is making a final call for applications. Applications close Friday 9th August 2019. The Welsh Fitness Community gives so much to Wales, it’s only right that we celebrate their outstanding achievements. If you work in the fitness industry or are dedicated to the gym or an athlete, these are the awards for you! The awards glittering black tie ceremony will be held on Thursday 19th September 2019, at St David’s Hotel – Cardiff Bay. Hosted by Radio X’s Polly James. The categories for this year’s applications are: Personal Trainer of the year Fitness Club of the…

Cardiff City’s stay in the Premier League was short-lived, and after a whirlwind nine months in the top-flight, they are back in the Championship. The season was full of ups and downs; both on and off the field, but it could be argued that there is no club in the Championship more prepared for a promotion fight than the Bluebirds. Strong Start Looking back at last season it is clear where the club went wrong. Their start to the season was abysmal. In the opening eight matches, the club could only muster two points; a factor that left them rock…

Mythical creatures made from thousands of LEGO® bricks have appeared in Cardiff Bay.  [aoa id=”1″] Nine fabulous models made with a total of nearly 750,000 LEGO® bricks have taken over Tacoma Square, in the heart of Mermaid Quay, until Sunday 1st September. Free to view, the display features an 11ft fire-breathing dragon, a unicorn and two hunting wolves as well as a wizard, princess, knight and huntswoman. Collectively the models took over 2,000 hours to build. There are also cute dragon whelps (baby dragons) displayed in the windows of various businesses in Mermaid Quay. [/aoa] At the heart of the…

The cybersecurity market is booming. All thanks to substantial demand for highly sophisticated cyber defence and digital safety resources. The demand has resulted in massive growth in this sector. Which is now expected to grow from USD 152.71 billion to USD 248.26 billion by 2023 at a growth rate of 10.2% year on year. They say war drives innovation – and this is as true today for companies large and small alike. Except now, the war is fought online. There’s no denying that the global arms race has officially kicked off. And increasingly frequent and advanced cyber terrorism drives innovation…

Getting a new business off the ground is a massive undertaking that comes with many unique considerations and problems. Security is one of those considerations. Traditionally, business security had been limited to installing safety cameras and a proper lock. Now, with everything becoming as digitally connected as they are, cybersecurity should be a top priority too. Unfortunately, most small or start-up businesses tend to ignore the importance of cybersecurity. The reasons for this vary, but for the most part, it happens because they don’t consider themselves worthy targets. That can be a very expensive mistake to make. The truth of…

A framework which aims to deliver a coherent approach to improving public transport across the whole South East Wales region has been ratified this week (Thursday 1st August) by the Cardiff Capital Region Transport Authority (RTA). [aoa id=”1″] The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and Welsh Government will work together to secure the £50 million South Wales Metro Plus programme of improvements and initiatives across South Wales, which will include private sector contributions. The programme supplements the core £734m South Wales Metro scheme being delivered by Transport for Wales, work on which has also begun. A Common Assessment Framework (CAF)…

A £4M industrial estate built by a Flintshire construction and civil engineering firm has been fully let, securing 150 jobs for the area. [aoa id=”1″] Kings Court in Sandycroft, built by The Hollingsworth Group close by to the firm’s headquarters in Engineer Park, is now home to 10 businesses spread across 12 units ranging in size from 4,500 square feet up to 18,000 square feet. The new business park, off Prince William Avenue, has transformed a former piece of waste land into a thriving hub of industry by becoming home to various companies. These include a family-run sachet packaging service…

A beautician from Tycroes has won an award from Diabetes UK Cymru after her fundraising nail-a-thons raised almost £3,000. Lowri Vaughan-Hadley, 31, has held 24-hour nail-a-thons for the last two years, raising a total of £2,798. Lowri has been running her beauty business, Lowri’s Vanity House, from her home since 2015. She was inspired to support the charity in honour of her mother, Michelle Hadley, who has Type 1 diabetes. Lowri was presented with the charity’s Inspire Award for Fundraising at a surprise ceremony in front of family and friends in Ammanford. Lowri said, “Mum was diagnosed with Type 1…

Business confidence in Wales rose four points during July to 16 per cent, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. [aoa id=”1″] Companies in Wales reported lower confidence in their business prospects, which fell 12 points to 11 per cent, but higher economic optimism, which rose 19 points to 20 per cent. Together, this gives an overall confidence of 16 per cent. Businesses’ hiring intentions showed a net balance of 10 per cent of businesses in Wales expected to hire more staff during the next year, down 17 points on last month. [/aoa]Across the…