Author: Rhys Gregory

A modern development of 16 energy-efficient apartments is coming to Crosskeys to help meet the demand for affordable housing in the area. Not-for-profit housing association United Welsh is working in partnership with Caerphilly County Borough Council and Welsh Government to transform the site of the former St Catherine’s Church into a development of one and two-bedroom apartments. The homes will be available for social rent and allocated to people from the Caerphilly Council Common Housing register. Celtic Offsite, a social enterprise within the United Welsh Group, will manufacture the timber frame structures for the homes from its factory in Caerphilly.…

TV chef, author, and wife of Welsh football star Aaron Ramsey, Colleen Ramsey is launching her first Welsh language podcast, ‘Bwyd Gyda Colleen’, featuring conversations with some of Wales’ familiar faces. The podcast will be available on BBC Sounds from January 14th.  Ahead of the launch, Colleen said:  “This podcast is a combination of the things I love the most – food and chatting.  “Food plays such an important role in the lives of my guests, and it’s been such a pleasure getting to know them on a deeper level. I’m incredibly grateful for their openness and how they’ve shared…

With the country facing a number of weather and flood warnings, Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has issued its own warning, and is advising owners to keep their dogs away from floods and ice. Many dogs love to swim but with the country experiencing freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall, they may find their usual bathing spot frozen over or flooded. While it might be tempting to let them run on ice or swim in flood water, Dogs Trust Bridgend and Cardiff are warning that this could be dangerous for both dogs and owners alike. Ice may not be thick…

PIONEERS in leadership and management training joined forces to unveil a new suite of team development programmes. Gwenllian Owen and Katy Roberts have launched Team Mesen, a collaboration focused on resilience, continuous learning and individual confidence that will “propel collective success”. The long-time friends and colleagues, who both live on Anglesey, designed a series of bilingual interactive courses for business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals looking to progress in their careers. Among their services will be individual executive coaching sessions and team development programmes centred on DISC profiling. The programmes are made up of Wisdom Workshops and Coaching Circles where business leaders can share best practice and take a detailed…

Tramshed Tech, Wales’ leading technology hub and coworking network, have announced the launch of its “New Year, New Workspace” campaign, offering ambitious entrepreneurs and businesses enhanced opportunities to join its thriving community. This announcement follows an exceptional year of growth and impact across the Welsh startup ecosystem. Throughout 2024, Tramshed Tech has established itself as a cornerstone of Welsh innovation, serving a thriving community across 6 locations. Through its business growth programmes, the hub has supported hundreds of founders, startups, and scaleups who collectively raised millions collectively in post-programme funding. The organisation delivered nine comprehensive programmes throughout the year, including…

A self-confessed latecomer to exercise, Julie Lineham from Wales is certainly making up for it now and plans to walk six marathons in 2025 to raise money for research into the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.  Julie, 62, is the fourth generation of her family to have breast cancer. In early November last year (2024), she was diagnosed with High Grade Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), an early breast cancer which, if left undiagnosed, can lead to more invasive treatment including a mastectomy and chemotherapy.  Because of her family history, Julie had been receiving regular screenings since her mid-30s…

The Lord’s Taverners Wales has raised over £110,000 through a series of fundraising initiatives and events in 2024. The amount was announced at their annual Christmas Lunches, celebrating their 40th year, which were held at Cardiff’s Marriott Hotel. The lunches took place on December 6 and 13, welcoming 536 guests over the two days for afternoons of festivities with performances from Mark Simmons, Micky P Kerr and Clinton Baptiste on December 6, and Ignacio Lopez, Laura London and Scott Bennett on December 13. Guests were greeted by chairman Andrew Gibson, then guided through the event by popular returning compère Rod…

A WELSH cancer charity is kicking off the new year by asking the public to take on cancer by joining its team – Cymru United. Unveiled in a football-themed video launched this week, the team is made up of people from around Wales who are connected to Cancer Research Wales. It includes everyday heroes who raise money running half marathons, climbing mountains or organising bake sales for the Welsh cancer research charity. Also in the Cymru United team are the volunteers who help run Cancer Research Wales’ Wales-wide network of shops from Bangor to Blackwood and Wrexham to Whitchurch. And…

School pupils in Wales and Canada could potentially benefit from better protection against the sun in the future, thanks to a new transatlantic partnership. Researcher Dr Julie Peconi, from Swansea University Medical School, is now working with colleagues in Alberta to share knowledge and develop strategies to help improve sun safety in primary schools in both countries. The collaboration has come about after Dr Peconi was awarded a Global Wales Partnership Grant which she has used to explore collaboration activities with fellow sun safety researchers in her native Canada. After visiting Alberta herself, she has gone on to host Dr…

Crisis, the national homelessness charity, is today [8 January 2025] launching a new art exhibition in the Senedd.  The exhibit, which is called Home: The Key to Hope and runs until 13 February 2024, was created by people with lived experience of homelessness who have been supported at the Crisis South Wales Skylight.  The Swansea-based centre provides support and advice to help people who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness find a stable place to call home. It also offers a range of learning and personal development sessions – including arts and crafts sessions – to help members of…