Author: Rhys Gregory

Five bands from Swansea will help set the festive tempo for this year’s city centre Christmas parade. [aoa id=”1″] They will join hundreds of other local people in the parade on the evening of Sunday, November 17. They are: the 3 Welsh Wing Marching Band, Royal Air Force Air Cadets; the Loughor Town Band; the Bloco Vale Samba; the Swansea Silver Rhythmaires; the City of Swansea Pipe Band. They all accepted a Swansea Council invitation to entertain thousands of spectators in the parade. They will join a wide range of other participants, including local youth dance and theatre groups, organisations…

AN IT engineer is stepping away from the safety of his keyboard to enter the tough world of cage fighting in aid of charity. Dominic Buckley, who is a senior systems engineer at Wrexham-based Rawson IT Services, has just embarked on a gruelling eight-week training programme to get him ready for his first ever bout on November 2. The 26-year-old, who is a big fan of Ultimate Championship Fighting (UFC), has always wanted to have a go at the popular combat sport and has also seen an opportunity to raise money for a great cause at the same time. Dominic,…

A FLINT travel agents is raising funds for a charity set up in memory of a much-loved teenager who died of cancer. The five-strong team at Hays Travel, in Church Street, have set their sights on raising £1,000 this year for their nominated charity, Giddo’s Gift, which was launched by the family of Jordan Giddins to remember the popular 18 year-old. Jordan, who was from Flint, lost his battle with Ewings Sarcoma – a childhood bone cancer – back in April 2017 having faced relentless chemotherapy, ten hours of surgery and more than two months in America for Proton Beam…

One of the world’s leading eco centres, which is based near Machynlleth, added another award to its collection at the inaugural Mid Wales Tourism Awards. The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) won the Best Third Sector Award, supported by Social Business Wales, at a glittering awards ceremony held at The Hafren, Newtown on October 17. Designed to celebrate and showcase the region’s exceptional tourism industry, the biennial awards were organised by MWT Cymru with support from Mid Wales Regional Tourism Forum, a public and sector partnership and Visit Wales, the Welsh Government’s tourism arm. A dedicated Tourism Awards Advisory Group…

An award-winning Welsh manufacturer, which was responsible for creating the world’s first-ever powered bath lift to help elderly and disabled people, is anticipating significant business growth through exports, following increasing demand for its products overseas. Powys-based Mangar Health, a world leader in the design, manufacture and supply of inflatable moving and handling bathing equipment, is aiming to double its export revenues to £2.5m in the next three years by increasing its international presence, including expanding its provisions in America and entering Japanese markets. The company, which this year achieved record-breaking turnover of > £10m, also saw exports accounting for almost of a fifth…

Top 100 UK law firm Hugh James has announced the appointment of a new partner as it looks to strengthen its private wealth team. Elizabeth Webbe joins the firm bringing with her more than 25 years’ experience specialising in tax planning, wills, trusts and family wealth succession planning. Elizabeth particularly specialises in advising high-net-worth individuals, business owners and landed estates with regard to both on-shore and off-shore assets. Elizabeth will be based in the firm’s award-winning Cardiff headquarters, Two Central Square, but will also spend considerable time in the firm’s London office to continue growing the firm’s national client base.…

Once a year Anglesey Circuit opens its doors to the fastest growing motor sport in the world – Drifting! This coming weekend (26-27th October) will see over 150 cars on track for two days of sideways action, making the Drift Matsuri the biggest Drift event in the UK. T[aoa id=”1″] he drivers, who range from novices to DriftCup, British Drift Championship and Drift Master drivers, are invited to drive on three different track layouts so there is never a dull moment. The hairpin is where some will test their new-found skills, and the bravest of the experienced drifters will try…

With a no-deal Brexit still a strong possibility given the lack of progress in negotiations between UK and European Union (EU) officials, it’s important to ascertain the impact that departing the EU with or without a deal could have on the Welsh economy. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), no country or region inside the UK would be “left untouched by the “fallout” of leaving the EU without a deal. Wales could be particularly affected by a no-deal Brexit, and indeed any kind of Brexit deal, which we’ll look into in greater detail below. An export deficit with…

There’s no doubt that startups have all kinds of challenges ahead of them, and how they choose to deal with those challenges with undoubtedly determine their future. With that said, it’s only natural that business owners try to plan for and anticipate the many obstacles they will face so that they are prepared, and have a plan in place with how they will proceed. And while these steps will certainly help a business in those perilous first few months, and even first couple of years, there are even more steps that savvy business startup owners could be taking. Business coaching…

Five former Cardiff University students recently took Japan by storm; watching the Rugby World Cup, gaining fans and even appearing on Japanese TV.