Author: Rhys Gregory

A band of rain, sleet and snow will move eastwards across Wales during Friday morning. Between 08:00 Fri 18 Jan and 13:00 Fri 18 Jan There remains some uncertainty in the timing and the extent of any snow, but there is likely to be a few hours where 2-4 cm of snow could accumulate on higher level routes, this chiefly above 250 metres. However, reports are coming in that North Wales in particular, has already received a dusting a snow today (Thursday). Ian Cooper shares photographs of the lovely Denbigh Moors covered in snow earlier today: Don’t forget to take…

Welsh Critics’ Choice star Matthew Rhys will be the musical charity Aloud’s first ever Aloud Ambassador. Fresh on the back of scooping a prestigious Critics’ Choice TV Award this weekend for Best Drama Series with his The Americans cast mates, Cardiffian Matthew pledged his support. Aloud was established as a charity by choral conductor, arranger, composer and TV presenter TimRhys-Evans in 2012 with the shared aims of reinvigorating the Welsh male choir tradition and effecting real change in the lives of young people from areas of social deprivation. Matthew, who has also been named this week as Robert Downey Jr’s…

Hitachi’s decision to pause the £13bn Wylfa Newydd Nuclear project will put businesses in jeopardy, a leading business organisation has said. The Japanese tech firm has said it’s putting the construction of the site on hold in North Wales as the project’s cost continues to rise. With many Welsh and UK businesses forming part of the supply chain for the project, concerns have been raised that it could put firms at risk. A great deal has already been invested, not just in terms of physical capital but also the time that engineering and construction firms have spent planning and attending buyer-events.…

The awards have a reputation for celebrating the achievements of motivational leaders across Wales while bringing all sectors of the business community together, irrespective of size, geography and longevity. Those who enter or who are nominated have a choice of eleven categories to enter and will benefit from the invaluable and profile-raising positive press coverage opportunities and recognition from peers of business achievement, which comes with entry. Robert Lloyd Griffiths OBE, Director IoD Wales, said: “The profile of these awards continues to exceed expectations as they attract entries from the very best in Wales. We live in a world where there…

House prices and home sales activity in Wales continued to edge upwards in December, but surveyors are cautious about the outlook for the market in first quarter of 2019, according to the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Residential Market Survey. Whilst the headline price balance remained in positive territory last month, and the number of newly agreed sales was reported to have risen, Welsh surveyors indicate that they expect prices and sales activity to be lower in three months’ time. Respondents to the survey indicate that this is linked to nervousness related to the economic climate and Brexit.…

One of Wales’s most respected and long serving political figures has been appointed Cardiff University Chancellor. Baroness Randerson takes over the role from the University’s former Chancellor and Nobel Prize winning scientist, Professor Sir Martin Evans who stood down from the post in 2017. The role of Chancellor is the most senior of the University’s honorary roles and involves the key task of chairing University Court and presiding at all graduation ceremonies. Baroness Randerson is no stranger to the University having served as a Pro-Chancellor since 2017. She was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University in 2011 in…

Star learners, trainers and employers in every part of Wales who have used technical, practical and vocational qualifications to achieve success are being urged to step forward for national recognition. [aoa id=”1″] This year’s Vocational Qualification (VQ) Awards in Wales, which celebrate and reward individuals and organisations for their commitment, hard work and achievements, were launched today (Wednesday 16 January) at the Senedd in Cardiff, home of the National Assembly for Wales. The organisers are casting their net far and wide for nominations in four categories: VQ Learner of the Year (Intermediate), VQ Learner of the Year (Higher), VQ Trainer…

GlobalWelsh, Wales’ diaspora network, is launching GlobalWelsh London, its first city hub. The launch event will take place at Spotify’s UK office in Central London on 28th February. The new hub will seek to facilitate unique networking and mentorship opportunities for Welsh diaspora living in London and act as an intermediary for Welsh businesses and talent, as well as diaspora around the world. With estimations that there could be as many as 300,000 Welsh diaspora living in and around the city, London has one of the most dense Welsh populations outside of Wales. GlobalWelsh London will seek to connect this large Welsh…

A brand new tourism project aimed at boosting the rural economy by encouraging visitors to one of Wales’s most beautiful regions to make more of their stays has been launched in North East Wales. Stay, Eat, Do is intended to provide packages combining accommodation, food and activities across the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Wales’s largest AONB. It has been put together by the Clwydian Range Tourism Group following a feasibility study commissioned by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd. The newly-appointed Project Co-ordinator Julie Masters said: “We want people to come here, stay longer and…

A learner from Coleg y Cymoedd studying towards her Foundation Degree in Photography has seen her work secure a series of national awards. Tracey Dobbs, 32, from Abertillery, has been awarded three gold awards with two national photography bodies. [aoa id=”1″] The artist, who specialises in children’s fine art portraits, is already a sought after thanks to her distinctive style which is more akin to gallery paintings than traditional photography. Not one to be pinned down to any one style, it was a street art image of a busker taken on the streets of Bath during a field trip that…