Author: Rhys Gregory

Booking’s for Santa’s Toy Mine 2018 at the Welsh Mining Experience, Rhondda Heritage Park are now open. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has once again granted permission for Father Christmas and his helpers to land his sleigh at its popular family attraction and he is setting up his Toy Mine at the former colliery from 24th November until 24th December 2018. A trip to Santa’s Toy Mine is a must during the festive season and while Christmas may seem some way off, visits are always in great demand, with many tours getting booked up months in advance, especially for Christmas Eve.…

Around 17,000 properties will be piloting a new scheme to recycle glass from their homes. [aoa id=”1″] The pilot will begin on October 15thand will run for at least 12 weeks. It will involve selected households from ten wards across the city. Residents which will be part of this scheme will have a letter sent to their home giving initial information on the pilot from September 10thonwards. Each household taking part will receive a new caddy and detailed leaflet from 1stOctober. The residents will be asked to put all their glass into this lockable container instead of the green bags.…

Swansea Bay Business Club has returned to its 2018 season of networking events with a business breakfast held at St Brides Spa & Hotel in Saundersfoot. [aoa id=”1″] The event returned to West Wales after its there success last year. A sold out crowd heard from Chief Executive of the Port of Milford Haven, Alec Don, as he spoke to guests about the on-going multi-million pound waterfront development at the port. During the breakfast, Alec touched on the importance of investment in the diversity of the local economy and how building up businesses that have resilient and reliable earnings at…

A new work by a royal composer about the death of Rudyard Kipling’s son in the First World War will have its world premiere in North Wales. [aoa id=”1″] The poignant piece by Professor Paul Mealor, who was brought up in Connah’s Quay in Flintshire, will be performed in St Asaph Cathedral as part of the North Wales International Music Festival on Saturday, September 15. It’s been inspired by Kipling’s poem, My Boy Jack, which will be narrated by Welsh poet, author and broadcaster Aled Lewis Evans. The heart-breaking story was featured in the acclaimed 2007 film, My Boy Jack,…

The life of an inspirational Mold fundraiser is to be celebrated at a special fundraising event at the town’s Theatr Clwyd. [aoa id=”1″] Beryl Powell MBE passed away last year aged 83 after a lifetime spent raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for North West Cancer Research and other good causes. Sharon Knott, the current chair of the Mold committee of North West Cancer Research says Beryl was an inspiration to everyone who knew her. [/aoa] She said: “Beryl was a member of the Mold committee for 56 years, almost the entire time the committee has existed. And for 30…

A police boss says the majority frontline officers in North Wales should be armed with tasers so they can protect themselves from an increasing number of assaults. [aoa id=”1″] North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones spoke out after a shocking series of attacks over the August Bank Holiday weekend in Caernarfon, Bangor, Bala, Wrexham and Flintshire. One policeman had his eye gouged, another suffered a broken nose and five more were assaulted, including being head butted and kicked. Last year figures showed a dramatic trebling in the number of assaults on police in North Wales over the…

Swansea Building Society’s Carmarthen branch has achieved a record amount in mortgage balances, which the Society has attributed to its personal approach to mortgage lending and strong links with the region’s business community. The Society’s Carmarthen branch, which opened in October 2015, has reached £50 million in mortgage balances – an impressive figure considering the branch has been in operation for less than three years. Swansea Building Society’s championing of mortgages to the self-employed has been welcomed by the West Wales business community. Whilst many cases are complex, the Society’s face-to-face approach to delivering services along with building a strong…

Promising youth runner Jake Smith ran a personal best time to secure a highly respectable third placed finish at this year’s Cardiff 10K. Twenty-year-old Jake from Axmouth in Devon ran a time of 29 minutes 30 seconds as he shaved a staggering 45 seconds off his previous best time and one minute 26 seconds from his previous best on the road. A second year BSc (Hons) Sport Development student at the University, Jake is training under the guidance of former World, Commonwealth and European middle-distance runner James Thie – a relationship that has helped see his running times tumble in…

A new team of apprentices have started their journey at Swansea Council to help build a bright future for the area. [aoa id=”1″] The 15 recruits will train for four years as the council develops a new generation of carpenters, plumbers, electricians, plasterers and multi-trade personnel. They will work on projects such as constructing top quality new schools, building new energy-efficient council homes and improving existing council housing. [/aoa] Jen Raynor, the council’s cabinet member for education improvement, learning and skills, said: “Hiring apprentices is an investment in the future of the council and the city. “We’ve been recruiting apprentices…

University of Wales Trinity Saint David is delighted to announce two new Higher Apprenticeship programmes in Construction Management and Quantity Surveying. [aoa id=”1″] With Wales set to lead UK construction growth with over 12,000 new construction roles forecast to be created in the nation over next five years, two new Higher Apprenticeships have been developed to meet this demand. The University is working directly with industry partners and in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), The Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to deliver these programmes at The Faculty of Architecture, Computing…