Author: Rhys Gregory

Leaders of the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (Worldchefs) are to hold a board meeting in Wales for the first time next week. [aoa id=”1″] The invitation was extended by Arwyn Watkins, OBE, president of the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW), to Worldchefs president Thomas Gugler at the Worldchefs Congress and Expo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year. The Worldchefs board will meet from Monday to Wednesday at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport where members will be given a virtual presentation on the new International Convention Centre Wales which is under construction. [/aoa] Wales’ Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural…

Local accountancy firm Bevan Buckland LLP has reiterated the importance of having good cash flow to businesses throughout the region. The advice comes as companies of all sizes and niches face an uncertain economic climate due to Brexit. [aoa id=”1″]Examples of the changing economic landscape continue to make regional and national news. Challenges linked to the consumer shift online affecting retail and the high street, and huge changes in motor manufacturing have also been reported as the reasons behind a number of high-profile business closures.[/aoa] Over the last few years, the media has highlighted stories relating to well-known brands such…

Two community diabetes nurses from Ceredigion have raised more than £10,000 for Diabetes UK Cymru this year thanks to an auction and sponsored cycle ride. Novice cyclists Anwen Jones and Helen Saunders, Community Diabetes Specialist Nurses for Hywel Dda Health Board, cycled a total of 88 miles from Borth to Cardigan on Saturday 8 June. [aoa id=”1″] The tough, winding route through the Ceredigion countryside passed through every surgery area that the nurses cover and took them more than nine hours to complete. The riders stopped off at GP surgeries they passed to drop off diabetes information packs. They were…

Innovative design and pioneering technology helped Swansea University scoop for a top award for one of its highest-profile new buildings. [aoa id=”1″]The Active Office, which demonstrates the Active Building concept developed by SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC), was officially opened a year ago, and won the Innovation in Delivering a Sustainable Education title at the prestigious Education Buildings Wales Awards which celebrate excellence and achievement in the field.[/aoa] The building at the Bay Campus is a daily example of how to integrate innovative technologies that generate, store and release solar energy and challenges current construction methods. Designed by SPECIFIC,…

Aldi, Britain’s fifth largest and fastest growing supermarket, is set to celebrate the opening of a brand new store in Gabalfa on Thursday 4th July at 8.00am. [aoa id=”1″] Standing at 1,310 sqm of retail space, the Gabalfa store will be the seventh Aldi store in Cardiff and will be run by Store Manager, Joe Scanlon. Exclusive offers will run throughout the opening day and the first 30 customers through the door will receive a complimentary bag of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s fantastic Super 6 range. [/aoa] The new store will bring a number of job opportunities to…

Catalan Ombudsman and President of the European Ombudsman network, Rafael Ribo, addressed a seminar at Aberystwyth University last week (21st June). The event took place in advance of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’ new powers coming into force in July. The event, hosted jointly by the Ombudsman Association and the International Ombudsman Institute, explored how the new powers could help improve the delivery of public services in Wales and shared best practice from other European nations. [aoa id=”1″]In July a new law comes into force which will make it easier for vulnerable and deprived members of society to complain…

Talyllyn Railway is offering free train journeys to residents of Abergynolwyn wishing to travel to or from Tywyn during the temporary closure of a road due to roadworks this week. The roadworks on the B4405 between Abergynolwyn and Bryncrug has resulted in the local bus service being curtailed between Abergynolwyn and Tywyn from Wednesday to Friday this week. Whilst the bus service is curtailed, trains are still running on the world’s first preserved railway. Stuart Williams, Talyllyn Railway’s general manager, said: “Having heard of the road closure and the temporary suspension of most of the daytime bus services between Abergynolwyn…

Winners of the 2019 Cardiff Business Awards have been announced at a lavish ceremony held at City Hall. Hosted by the broadcaster Jamie Owen, the event celebrated the achievements of many of the capital’s businesses from across a range of sectors. [aoa id=”1″]With a full house of over 400 people, 16 awards were handed out with the Cardiff Business of the Year accolade going to architectural metal building solutions business, the Euroclad Group while the Outstanding Contribution to Cardiff award went to Dr Drew Nelson OBE who, through his company IQE PLC, is building a world class compound semiconductor cluster…

In some respects, the Australian dollar (AUD) may not seem like a candidate to be one of the most popular pairing currencies for forex traders. After all, Australia is hardly one of the world’s largest countries in terms of GDP, whilst it only ranks 19th in terms of the value of its exports. However, the AUD is currently ranked as the fifth most traded currencies in the world, whilst the AUD/USD is considered to be the fourth most popular pairing in the whole of the forex market (we’ll touch further on this later). In this post, we’ll explore the economy…

Estate agent’s fees form a considerable part of the expenses of selling your property, and you might find yourself with a bill of around 2.5% of the selling price. With the average house in the UK now valued at around £220,000, this could be as much as £5,500, so selling your house without using an estate agent sounds like an attractive idea. If you are well-organised, experienced and have enough time, you can certainly sell a property yourself, but the task is not one for the fainthearted! The advantage of selling a property yourself The main advantage of selling your…