Author: Rhys Gregory

A Cardiff-based project management, quantity surveyor and cost consultancy practice has announced record results for the first full year of trading following a shareholder buyout in 2023. TC Consult has recorded its most successful financial year to date [year ending January 2025] in its 19-year history, achieving a turnover of £904,000 – a 12% increase on the previous year – while maintaining a strong EBITDA margin. The company, known for its expertise in project management and quantity surveying, has attributed the record-breaking performance to enhanced customer relationships and continued investment in innovation and talent. In the past year, the consultancy…

A father from Caerphilly is raising money for Tŷ Hafan to thank them for their ongoing support through the most difficult time of his life. Ashley Murphy, 33, tragically lost his daughter Mila in August last year. She passed away in hospital when she was just five days old. Since then, the children’s hospice has been working with him, his wife Lauren and five-year-old son Quin, to help them through some of their darkest days. He’s now taking on some incredible challenges – including running the Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K in July and the Cardiff Half Marathon in October –…

Digital agency, Dark Arts, is harnessing the power of AI to preserve and enhance the digital visibility of culturally significant Welsh music catalogues that are at risk of being lost in today’s algorithm-driven era, where engagement and revenue are dependent on streaming platforms and social media. Through the Creative Wales funded Optimise Music Wales project, Wales-based Dark Arts is deploying its purpose-built digital tools and industry best practises to increase the visibility of 20 of Wales’ most storied musicians, including Tom Jones, Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, and Charlotte Church. Artists with vast, culturally significant catalogues face an…

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…