Author: Rhys Gregory

Hay Festival Global Chair of Trustees Caroline Michel has today announced the appointment of Professor Dame Elan Closs Stephens to the charity’s Board. Dame Elan is an experienced non-executive director who has spent a career in broadcasting, the creative industries and academia. She has been a member of the BBC’s governing body since 2010 and was the BBC’s Acting Chair 2023/24. She also served two terms as Chair of S4C. She was a Professor and Head of Department at Aberystwyth University’s Department of Theatre Film and Television Studies and is the University’s Pro Chancellor. She is currently the Electoral Commissioner…

Two railway colleagues who realised they were the first all female and all Black traincrew to operate a Transport for Wales train have urged people of all backgrounds to join the railway. Train driver Jamilla Fletcher and Train Manager Danielle Adams have said the found the company very welcoming and full of “fantastic opportunities”. “I’ve felt really proud working here and what I’ve achieved,” said Danielle, from Cardiff. “When I joined it was on the catering team but I worked hard and became a train manager. “I was used to working in the transport industry so I did have an…

One of Wales’ most picturesque spots is set to showcase its talents in food and drink in the Gower Food and Drink Festival on Saturday, September 7. Local charities are also set to benefit from the event that will boast a huge selection of locally-produced edible and drinkable goodies. There will also be mouth-watering music on show as well at Pennard Community Fields in the heart of Gower’s golden countryside. The event is being supported with a grant from the UK Government via Swansea Council’s Rural Anchor initiative to help kick it off for its first year and it is intended to…

Hundreds of pupils in Hawthorn, Cilfynydd and Rhydyfelin will return after the summer holiday to brand new, first-class education facilities fit for the 21st Century – as the Council and Welsh Government delivers a major £79.9m investment that will serve our communities for generations to come. The start of the 2024/25 academic year represents an exciting new beginning for Ysgol Afon Wen, Ysgol Bro Taf, and Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Awel Taf. The newly forming schools have benefitted from multi-million pound investments in brand new school and community facilities, delivered in partnership with the Council and Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for…

Caerphilly county borough council’s education service has received a glowing report following a major inspection. Estyn, the Welsh education watchdog, carried out an in-depth inspection of the council’s education service back in June. The inspection team spent a week at the council’s HQ, interviewing a range of key stakeholders and reviewing huge amounts of data and performance information. The subsequent inspection report, published today (Monday 2 September), includes many positive findings about all aspects of the council’s education service. Cllr Carol Andrews, CCBC’s Cabinet Member for Education said, “We very much welcome the findings of this major inspection and I…

A £53,000 project to make woodland in the Elan Valley more accessible to visitors has been completed thanks to grant funding secured by Powys County Council. The work has included creating accessible paths, with better surfaces, accessible gates and steps to the top of Pen y Garreg Dam, in Penbont Woods, along with a viewing platform and an accessible picnic table. Two shelters, providing more information on the Celtic rainforest in the Elan Valley and the recently reopened Devil’s Gulch, have also been built. The work was made possible thanks to the 80% grant funding secured by the county council’s…

The Welsh Government has today announced a new £10m capital grant scheme to support the development of Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) across Wales. This initiative is a key part of delivering Wales’s goal of generating 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035 while empowering communities to take control of their energy futures. The grant scheme is open to community energy organisations, social enterprises, public sector bodies, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Applicants are encouraged to develop innovative projects that integrate local energy generation, storage, and infrastructure, making energy systems more efficient and delivering tangible local benefits,…

THESE are the first images of a groundbreaking new £230,000 college Esports arena. The cutting-edge facility has been built at Coleg Cambria Deeside and is one of only a handful of further education gaming complexes in the country. Lisa Radcliffe, Assistant Principal for Technical Studies, said state-of-the-art equipment and technology – including 36 YOYOTECH high-spec stations featuring the latest I7 Intel processors and RTX4070 graphics cards – secure Cambria’s position as a pioneer of Esports education in the UK. “Our aim at Deeside was to create a gaming hub and centre of excellence for our current and prospective students,” said…

A former chapel set amid glorious countryside in a  South Wales valleys village has a new owner after being snapped up at auction.. The impressive grade II listed Salem Chapel on Garth Terrace, in the village of Bedlinog, near Treharris, in Mid Glamorgan, sold for £26,500 after being listed with a guide price of £20,000. The lot attracted a total of eleven bids from five individual bidders. Sean Roper, of South Wales-Based Paul Fosh Auctions who sold the chapel, said: “This could be an ideal investment for someone with barrels of imagination and a wish to realise their dreams of…

How focused are you when it comes to your finances? Do you have a robust budget in place? Having a grasp of your income and expenditure is important if you’re planning for now and the future. But looking at your outgoings is just the starting point. From there, there are different aspects of finance to consider. One key area of personal finance is savings. Here, we look at the importance of having savings in place and the benefits of forming good saving habits. Why having savings is important In recent years, what we’re spending our money on has become a…