Author: Rhys Gregory

Cardiff’s New Theatre will open Wales’ biggest pantomime in just over a week’s time. Beauty and the Beastwhich stars Lisa Riley, Gareth Thomas, Mike Doyle, Ben Richards, Danny Bayne and Stephanie Webber, opens on Saturday 8 December. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] Beauty and the Beast is a gorgeous traditional pantomime, packed full of laugh-out-loud comedy, audience participation, music, dance and special effects that will enthral people of all ages. One of best loved of fairy tales, it follows the story of Belle. Can she save the selfish Beast before the final petal of the enchanted rose falls or will his selfishness cost…

Eighty per cent of youngsters aged between 11 and 16 spend two or more hours a day sitting still playing on phones, watching TV or travelling in cars. [aoa id=”1″] The shocking statistic is revealed as part of a special report card which gives our youngsters a resounding F when it comes to their sedentary behaviours. The figure rises to 87 per cent at the weekends. The research has been carried out by Active Healthy Kids Wales (AHK-Wales) which aims to monitor the lifestyles and behaviours of children, and has prepared its third annual report card. [/aoa] AHK-Wales project lead…

Bjorn the Polar Bear stunned viewers today (2nd December) in an epic appearance at The Red Dragon Centre in Cardiff. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] Now that the magical world of J.K Rowling has hit cinemas once again, The Red Dragon Centre is casting a spell upon Cardiff Bay, unleashing its own magical creatures ahead of the festive period. For three Sundays in a row, families in South Wales are invited to visit The Red Dragon Centre and admire an array of miraculous creatures, which will stop by the entertainment centre throughout December, starting on Sunday 2 December. From Bjorn the Polar Bear…

A girl from Fishguard is on a mission to sell as many knitted goodies as possible to raise money for Diabetes UK Cymru. Freya Rands, 10, is knitting colourful hats, scarves, headbands and mittens in memory of her cousin Liam Jones. Liam was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 20 months old, and sadly passed away in 2016 at the age of 21 after falling ill with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening condition requiring urgent medical attention. Signs of DKA can include high blood glucose levels, thirst, frequently going to the toilet, feeling tired or lethargic, blurry vision,…

Soprano Rachel Marsh will be starring in two one-act operas at St Giles’ Church on Saturday, December 22, in a spectacular showcase for pupils of the North Wales Opera Studio. [aoa id=”1″] She will be taking the lead role in Puccini’s Sour Angelica during an evening sponsored by the Pendine Park care organisation via their Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT). It’s particularly appropriate because earlier this year Rachel was in the top three in the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod which was also supported by PACT. The second opera being performed…

Switching street lights to LED bulbs will save over £1m over 10 years in Ceredigion. In 2017/18, 985 tons of carbon was saved from entering the atmosphere when compared to 2007/08 street light emissions. [aoa id=”1″]Ceredigion County Council has signed a pledge to change street lights to LED bulbs by 2022. The Council has made the pledge to the charity, 10:10 Climate Action. Every street light will be changed to LED bulbs, except for a few heritage street lamps.[/aoa] The council’s champion for sustainability, Councillor Alun Williams said: “Ceredigion has already made considerable carbon and cost savings by converting our…

voco™, IHG’s new upscale brand, has made its Europe debut with the opening of voco™ St David’s Cardiff, hot on the heels of the brand’s first opening globally, voco™ Gold Coast in Australia earlier in November. Just five months after the brand was launched in June 2018, these two hotel openings mark the brand’s rapid expansion. The 142-room hotel sits on Cardiff Bay, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering guests stunning views of the waterfront, including the murmuration of starlings over the water at dusk. With private balconies and a coastal setting, the hotel provides guests with a tranquil place to stay, close…

The figures, based on a survey carried out for ASH Wales by YouGov, reveal smoking prevalence among social housing residents is 24% and 18% for those renting from a private landlord. [aoa id=”1″] The average across all housing tenures is 13% and smoking prevalence among those who own or part own their home is the lowest at 10%. According to ASH Wales, these figures go some way to explain the stark health inequalities across different housing tenures and show the need for more targeted support and guidance around smoking cessation. It is calling for those who work with people in…

Barclays has launched #FarmtheFuture, a nationwide campaign encouraging farmers to plan for their future and tell young people about the benefits of a career in agriculture, as new data reveals that Britain’s farming population is ageing rapidly. [aoa id=”1″] The bank has teamed up with TV presenter and former JLS boyband star JB Gill, who has swapped pop stardom for a rural life of turkey and pig farming, to show the younger generation that farming could be their perfect career. The number of under-25s running farms has dropped by two thirds (63 per cent) over the last ten years, and…

As thrill seekers head to north Wales, the ‘capital’ of adventure tourism, Bangor University’s Pontio Innovation Centre and Go North Wales, co-host the annual North Wales Tourism conference in Pontio on 6 December. The title of the conference is “Adventure and Beyond”. [aoa id=”1″] Keynote speakers are include Lord Ellis- Thomas, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, television presenter, Kate Humble,  writer and public speaker, John Thackara as well as Yangtze River Walk adventurer and extreme athlete, Ash Dykes, from North Wales, who will join by video conference. “North Wales is already a top adventure travel destination” said John Thackara.…