Author: Rhys Gregory

The Green Lady in Caerphilly has been named the UK’s Smartest Pub in the first week of The Marston’s Big Pub Quiz, winning £1,000 for Disability Can Do Marston’s has teamed up with Paddy McGuinness on a search for the UK’s smartest pub. Marston’s Big Pub Quiz welcomed locals into over 200 pubs across the country to put their general knowledge to the test, for the first week on Thursday 1st May. Locals at The Green Lady in Caerphilly came out on top, securing the title of this week’s Smartest Pub in the UK, with an average player score of…

The RSPCA is encouraging young photographers in Wales to enter its prestigious photo competition to showcase their talent and love of animals and nature – as last two winners have hailed from Wales. The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards has now opened for entries (Tuesday 6 May) and will close on 13 August. Last year, more than 4,000 children and young people with a passion for photography, animals and nature entered the competition. Now budding photographers aged 18 years and under are being asked to submit their photos capturing the animal kingdom on a camera or mobile device as the competition officially…

The Welsh food and drink industry has made a significant impact recently at FHA, Food and Beverage, Singapore. Asia’s premier food and hospitality event featured a showcase of the best of Welsh produce, along with wider activities from the Culinary Association of Wales, resulting in substantial interest from buyers across the region. The event featured a range of exhibitors, including Dairy Partners and Morning Foods, with both flying the flag for Welsh products available in the region. Located in Singapore, FHA, Food and Beverage, is strategically positioned as a gateway to Asia, offering access to key markets including south-east Asia,…

A man from Carmarthenshire has been jailed after he was convicted of sexual offences against two separate victims. 37-year-old Geoffrey Jones, from Llanelli, was under investigation for separate allegations by a victim when they disclosed that they had been raped by Jones on several occasions between 2017 and 2019. At the same time, another victim reinstated their case, wherein an attempted rape took place during a night out in Swansea in 2015. Jones has been convicted of four counts of rape in relation to one victim and one count of attempted rape and digital penetration in relation to his other…

Perry Allen McCarthy, from Penarth, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for 18 child sex offences committed over a four-year period. The 65-year-old was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, May 2. Detective Constable Joanna Cecerko from South Wales Police said: “I want to commend the victim for her courage in coming forward – thanks to her report and support from her family, justice has been served. “It has been a traumatic time for everyone involved and I am hopeful the outcome at court brings the victim and her family some comfort which they deserve.” McCarthy had…

Businesses across Swansea which have benefited from grant funding are urging others to apply. As of March 2025, 220 grants to local businesses worth a combined £1.85m had been issued by Swansea Council through the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This helped leverage over £2.2m in private investment, while creating 100 new jobs and safeguarding 165 jobs. Figures also show 187 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year have been saved and that 83 new enterprises have been created. Applications are now once again open with a new round of pre-start, growth, innovation and carbon reduction grants available. Christos Georgakis, of…

Margam Country Park will mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day this spring with a powerful and visually striking programme of events designed to honour the end of the Second World War in Europe and pay tribute to the generation who lived through it. In partnership with the Friends of Margam Park, staff and volunteers have worked together to create a series of installations, exhibitions and commemorative displays that will be open to the public from late April through September, encompassing both VE Day on the 8th May and VJ Day on the 14th August. Inside Margam Castle, visitors will…

The tennis courts at Parc-y-Darren in Ystalyfera have officially reopened following a significant upgrade made possible through partnership funding and support from Neath Port Talbot Council. The £134,647 project – made possible thanks to a £121,182 grant awarded by Sport Wales (using Welsh Government funding) via its Court Collaboration Fund, made up of officers from Wales Netball, Tennis Wales, Basketball Wales and Sport Wales, and a £13,465 contribution from the council – has transformed the courts into a high-quality, multi-use space for the local community The upgrade included: •    Full resurfacing of the tennis courts •    New court markings •  …

Residents and businesses can now find out more and have their say on the exciting redevelopment proposals for the Rock Grounds site in Aberdare – to help refine the latest plans ahead of the final planning submission. The previous milestone for the scheme was in September 2024, when the Council’s Cabinet Members progressed the development by agreeing to the Council appointing a partner (Final Frontier Space Holdings) to design, develop and construct the project. The agreed use of the site is to establish a quality hotel, restaurant, bar and spa for the prominent town centre location. Importantly, the facilities complementing…

A Welsh business is developing a potentially revolutionary way of managing diabetes after receiving funding from the world’s largest research collaboration programme. Afon Technology Ltd is working on a world-first wearable non-invasive blood glucose sensor, which measures levels in real-time – eliminating the need for frequent and painful finger pricking. The Caldicot-based business received more than £2million in funding from Horizon Europe – the EU’s flagship £80 billion research and innovation programme – to fast track the development of its pioneering breakthrough. Called Glucowear, the sensor is worn on the wrist and uses ultra-low power microwave signals to monitor glucose…