Author: Rhys Gregory

Hancox’s Pies is a local business that opened in 2020 making homemade meals for the surrounding community. The local business that makes pies, cakes, pastries, and more homecooked goods to order presents a true family feel as business owner, Alexandre Hancox, uses his own mama’s recipes, all the way from Avora in Portugal. When COVID restrictions lifted, Hancox’s Pies secured a property in Bargoed that acted as a café and bakery at front of house for their local community. As the business grew, Hancox’s Pies relocated in December 2023 to their current location in Caerphilly. The move created a space…

As part of work to produce a new cultural strategy for Newport, a new survey asks people to share their views on the city’s current cultural offer, and how this can be developed in the future. The short survey should take around 7-10 minutes to complete, and is open until Friday 20 September. The results will help us shape the strategy, which is being developed in partnership with the city’s cultural sector as well as other partners and stakeholders. Newport’s creative industries sector is one of the fastest growing in Wales, with employment count in the sector increasing 125 per cent…

Penallta Reuse Shop celebrate more success. Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Penallta Reuse Shop opened in partnership with South Wales based charity, Wastesavers Charitable Trust Ltd. in October 2022. The shop provides an opportunity for items once destined for the Household Recycling Centre to be reused and sold at bargain prices. Since opening, the Shop has gone from strength to strength, not only diverting items from the waste stream, but also joining forces with local projects and charities to offer community projects. These include a partnership with mental health charity Growing Space to run a recycling programme that delivers new skills,…

Caerphilly County Borough Council are on a mission to boost recycling rates and work has been ongoing to help further improve the quality of recyclable materials collected at kerbside. In a Cabinet meeting, which took place on Wednesday 18th October 2023, Members agreed to the implementation of an enhanced education and engagement process which incorporates letters, home visits and the option to serve legal notice on persistent offenders of kerbside recycling contamination. Whilst the existing kerbside recycling method results in the capture of significant dry recycling tonnage, there are currently high levels of contamination within the borough’s brown recycling bins,…

A church in Swansea, a football club in Denbighshire and volunteer centre in Powys are among the 38 projects to receive a share of more than £4.3m support from the Welsh Government. Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice, Jane Hutt visited the Parish of Casllwchwr and Gorseinon in Swansea recently where £300,000 funding will be vital in redesigning and repurposing the historic church building to create a multi-purpose community space. The facility already hosts over 50 community groups and plans are in place to increase this number once renovations are complete. The improvements will include space for gardening and…

This Zero Waste Week (2-6 September 2024), Benthyg Cymru is championing the ‘borrow, don’t buy’ movement. Benthyg (ben-thig), meaning “to borrow or lend” in Welsh, perfectly captures the spirit of what we’re encouraging this September. The Welsh Government and Benthyg Cymru are encouraging people across Wales to find their nearest Library of Things – a community hub where people can borrow items they need, sharing resources that are already in their local area. Instead of purchasing items that can be costly, contribute to household clutter and landfill waste, borrowing offers a sustainable alternative – allowing people who ‘Don’t buy it,…

The first phase of conservation works to the chapels at the iconic Tintern Abbey has begun, Cadw has announced. Tintern Abbey is one of Cadw’s finest monuments with its ancient ruins standing on the banks of the River Wye. Cadw’s specialist masons have worked on the Abbey for the last forty years to conserve it for future generations to enjoy. There have been many campaigns to address the deterioration of the stone due to hotter summers and wetter winters, as well as original stones being put in the wrong way. With the completion of scaffolding, conservation work at Tintern Abbey…

Warsaw, Poland’s capital, is not only an attractive destination for those curious about European history and passionate about culture and art but also for visitors seeking culinary delights. The city boasts numerous eateries serving a variety of cuisines, but La Brasserie Moderne stands out as one of the most highly praised venues by gourmets for its exquisite meals and unique ambiance. Read on to discover why this remarkable restaurant in Warsaw is worth a visit. Delicacies at central Warsaw’s culinary gem La Brasserie Moderne excels in blending traditional and modern culinary approaches, with a particular focus on Polish and French…

Thousands of runners and spectators took to the Welsh capital today (Sunday) for the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K – in what was its largest yet. More than 7,000 people signed up to take part in the race, and supporting 2K event, which took participants on a sightseeing tour of the Welsh capital with highlights including Cardiff Castle, Central Square, the Principality Stadium and leafy suburb of Pontcanna. In the men’s race it was Run 4 Wales 10K serial winner, Omar Ahmed, who took first place and secured a PB at the event with a time of 28:27. Dewi Griffiths (28:28)…

An ancient Egyptian coffin has returned to Swansea after a painstaking 26-year project to bring it back to life. The artefact, believed to date back to around 650 BC, is now at Swansea University’s award-winning Egypt Centre once again after thousands of hours of conservation work at Cardiff University. The coffin, originally made for a man called Ankhpakhered in the city of Thebes, was transported back under the watchful eye of the museum’s curator Dr Ken Griffin. He said: “The coffin had to be painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed, and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further and we are thrilled to…