Author: Rhys Gregory

Today, Holyhead welcomed one of the largest cruise ships to visit the Port. The Royal Caribbean’s ‘Brilliance of the Seas’ is a 90,090-ton, 2,112 passenger capacity cruise ship with passengers mainly from the USA, and is the ship’s second call to Holyhead. Tourism Minister, Lord Elis-Thomas had the opportunity to step on board the ship during a visit in June to meet with Captain and crew and explore how Wales can further increase its share in the lucrative cruise sector. [aoa id=”1″]The cruise ship market has been identified as growth market for Wales. This year alone, Wales will have welcomed…

Tickets for the 2019 Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff are now on general sale, and fans who book before September 9, 2018 can save over 30 percent*. [aoa id=”1″] Don’t miss Britain’s biggest speedway event at the Principality Stadium on September 21, 2019, when current World Championship leader Tai Woffinden will hope to return as the nation’s first ever triple world champion. Woffy came close to his first Cardiff victory on July 21, with Poland’s Bartosz Zmarzlik pipping him to top spot. But he’ll be determined to go one better as Principality Stadium stages Speedway GP…

Coleg y Cymoedd has invested more than £1.4m in major upgrades to its building services and motor vehicle facilities, boosting employment and training opportunities for learners in the Caerphilly County Borough. [aoa id=”1″] The investments, located at the college’s Ystrad Mynach campus, include a brand new two-storey building services training and assessment centre, which will benefit hundreds of young people on a variety of courses within the building services industry including those studying gas training, water regulations and renewable energy. The new facility, equally joint funded by Coleg y Cymoedd and Welsh Government, will feature purpose-built workshops complete with a…

A restaurant in Cardiff has become the first in Wales to embrace the power of artificial intelligence – meaning your table-side conversation could be about to get a whole lot more futuristic, as BBQ Babs the ‘Haus’ Chatbot helps you have fun, win and spend loyalty points. [aoa id=”1″] The Smoke Haus, a Wales-owned restaurant brand that specialises in slow-cooked barbequed meats, has launched the innovation at its Cardiff restaurant, located on Mary Ann Street near the Motorpoint Arena. It plans to roll out BBQ Babs to its other premises in Swansea and Birmingham later this year. Customers will be…

A dad of three is taking on the leading brands in children’s footwear after setting up a new boys’ school shoe range to solve his son’s constant battle with breaking school shoes. Simon Locke, 48, a marketing director with UK-wide shoe and multi-retailer, BVG Group, based in Brecon, was so fed up of having to continually replace his son’s school shoes that he decided to tackle the problem head on by creating his very own indestructible shoe brand, using his experience in the industry. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] Frustrated at wasting hundreds of pounds every year on shoes that were simply not…

Cardiff-based Carter Lauren Construction has been appointed lead contractor for construction of a 100-bedroom Premier Inn hotel at the £150 million Bridgwater Gateway business park in Somerset.[aoa id=”1″] Work will get underway later this month on the three-storey building, located on one of the prime road frontage plots near the entrance to the 100-acre site. The hotel, in which Premier Inn is investing £8.6 million, will open in summer 2019 and will create 32 year-round jobs. Phil Wade, Development Manager for Bridgwater Gateway, which is being marketed by Colliers International, said: [/aoa] “The expertise of Carter Lauren Construction will…

Cardiff Bus is advising customers of bus stop and route changes as the city says “Croeso” to Wales’s biggest cultural festival, the National Eisteddfod. Certain roads across the Bay will be closed off as the city hosts the national Welsh language event for the first time in 10 years between August 3 and 11. This year’s festival, which will be based at sites including Roald Dahl Plass, the Wales Millennium Centre, the Senedd, and the Pierhead Building, is set to attract thousands of visitors to the city. [aoa id=”1″] Before, during and after the event, Cardiff Bus is advising customers…

After a number of successful years held at Galeri Caernarfon, The Redhouse in Merthyr Tydfil and Tramshed in Cardiff, the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony has found a new home for 2019 with Literature Wales announcing that the 2019 Award Ceremony will be hosted by Aberystwyth Arts Centre. [aoa id=”1″] Organised by Literature Wales, the Wales Book of the Year Awards are presented to the best Welsh and English-language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism published in a calendar year, within three categories: Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction. Each category winner will be announced…

Wales’ oldest dairy farmers’ co-operative is celebrating its most successful awards season ever after their cheeses scooped 30 gongs. [aoa id=”1″] South Caernarfon Creameries came home to the Llŷn Peninsula with 10 prizes from the prestigious International Cheese and Dairy Awards in Nantwich, the largest cheese show in the world which featured cheeses from 29 different countries. Among the winners was their Dragon brand half fat and reduced fat cheddars which won gold and silver prizes respectively, while their Welsh red cheddar scooped both gold and silver. It comes hot on the heels of a major success for SCC…

A road-running grandmother will be getting her marathon kicks in Chicago this year as part of the trip of a lifetime – after an entry form mix-up. [aoa id=”1″]Beth Taylor-Lloyd, 43, from Ruthin, thought she had applied to run the Berlin Marathon but instead found she will be headed for the USA later this year. It will be just the start of an amazing experience as Beth tackles the Chicago run along the shores of Lake Michigan and through the streets of the Windy City before swapping running shoes for four wheels on Route 66 with husband Gareth. The legal…