Author: Rhys Gregory

From festival-inspired flower crown making to open-mic nights, Cadw has this week (30 May 2019) launched a brand-new events programme aimed at attracting a growing number of millennial visitors to Wales’s spectacular collection of historic sites. [aoa id=”1″]After recent studies found that more millennials (adults aged between 22 – 38) are visiting Wales’s medieval castles, abbeys and historic houses than ever before, Cadw designed the unique Medieval meets Modern events series to offer an abundance of new and exciting ways to further discover Welsh heritage.[/aoa] Featuring events such as Painting and Prosecco workshops with Instagram-famed business, Brush and Bubbles, and…

Most of us don’t persevere with New Year’s Resolutions, but Michelle Davies did – and now has a thriving business to show for it. [aoa id=”1″] She had been running her Welsh Shortbread Company for several years from home, selling handmade cakes and biscuits, as well as other Welsh artisanal food products. All too often she was asked by customers –  “Do you have a shop?” Then, after a busy festive period selling her wares at markets and food festivals, and with a growing online trade, she made a New Year’s Resolution to give the business a home of its…

The Severn Bore is the greatest ride on earth, says the surfer who has ridden tidal waves from the mighty Amazon to the crocodile-infested Kampar River in Indonesia. [aoa id=”1″] The otherworldly experience of surfing one of the world’s great tidal bores includes gliding past grazing cows, according to the record-holder who has ridden the Severn more than 2,000 times. The journey by surfer Steve King, a railway engineer from Gloucestershire, and Welsh author Tom Anderson, up the Severn Estuary was followed by a camera crew for a major new television series, Llanw (Tide), made by television company Cwmni Da.…

Brecon’s only independent optician has secured new ownership, following six-figure bank funding. [aoa id=”1″]Qualified optometrist, Kiranjeet Matharu has used a £164,000 commercial loan from NatWest to purchase First Optic on Bethel Square from its existing owners. Kiranjeet will now focus on growing the business to offer specialised eye care and treatments for the local community, as well as retaining the clinic’s five staff.[/aoa] Founded 23 years ago, First Optic is the only independent practice within a 20-mile radius of Brecon, serving the local community for a range of optometry related services. It also offers dispensary optician services including sight tests…

Welsh business confidence reached its highest level of the year so far in May, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. [aoa id=”1″]Companies in Wales report higher confidence in their business prospects at 28 per cent and higher economic optimism at nine per cent. Together, this gives an overall confidence of 19 per cent. This is the highest level seen in Wales during 2019 and the third highest confidence reading in the UK this month.[/aoa] This more upbeat outlook is also reflected in hiring intentions, with a net balance of 25 per cent of businesses in…

Speed restrictions on the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge will be lifted today (Friday) morning as work by Highways England to remove the toll plaza is completed. [aoa id=”1″]Following the removal of toll charges on the Severn Bridges, work started in January to return both toll plazas to a free-flowing motorway. This will be completed on the Prince of Wales Bridge first with the M48 Severn Bridge following later in June. The 50mph speed limit will be removed and a 70mph speed limit will be in place by 6am on 31 May.[/aoa] The project has involved demolishing the toll booths,…

Swansea’s Wales Airshow is set to be bigger and better than ever this summer as part of the city’s 50th anniversary celebrations. [aoa id=”1″] More than 250,000 visitors are expected on the city’s promenade and waterfront for the action-packed weekend of July 6 and 7. There will be more displays than ever including – for the first time – a Saturday night special. [/aoa] This year’s show takes on extra significance as it marks the 50th anniversary of Swansea being granted city status. A host of exciting attractions are lined up including a comprehensive range of air displays including big…

The Cardiff office of law firm Clarke Willmott LLP has celebrated its fourth anniversary and the appointment of two new partners.  [aoa id=”1″]Rebecca Powell and Joann Bainton both join the firm as partners, bringing a wealth of experience to the already strong team which has provided specialised legal support in commercial property, housing, planning, construction and banking and finance since 2015.[/aoa] Rebecca Powell joins as a partner in the newly formed Procurement team, with experience of advising on procurements across numerous sectors, including housing, construction and infrastructure, energy, education and IT. Joann Bainton specialises in all areas of planning and…

Staff and students from UWTSD’s Lampeter campus have found artefacts dating back to the ‘New Stone Age’ (Neolithic) during an archaeological dig at Llanllyr in Talsarn, Ceredigion.  [aoa id=”1″]This exercise is part of an undergraduate fieldwork module enabling participants to obtain field practice in archaeology.  Excavations have centred on low mounds surrounded by marshland that they believe formed dry ground in the Prehistoric past.  These ‘islands’ of dry ground appear to have been the focus of activity in the Neolithic period (between 4 and 6 thousand years ago) when people left behind traces of activity in the form of flint…

Ahmed Ismail Ali, 34, from Christina Street, Butetown has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of his former partner. The incident began at around 2pm Sunday, February 24, Ali assaulted the 26-year-old woman with a brick at her home in Rutland Street, Grangetown. She managed to escape but he chased her to the nearby Premier Stores in Cornwall Street where he stabbed her numerous times to the neck and head. Several members of the public came to the woman’s aid, police were called and thanks to a quick-thinking taxi driver, within 15 minutes Ali was…