Author: Rhys Gregory

Launching in libraries across Wales on Saturday 6 July, the Summer Reading Challenge is a free activity enabling young children to read for pleasure during the summer holidays. All children aged 4-11 can visit their local library, register for the challenge, select 6 books of their choice and once the challenge is completed will receive a certificate, with rewards along the way. An online version of the challenge is also available. The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle said: “I know what a great pleasure it is to be truly absorbed in a book. The Summer Reading Challenge is a…

A talented young cornet player will be taking centre stage at a gala concert just seven months after she started playing the instrument. Akusua Asubonteng,12, hasn’t looked back since she joined the Bellevue Community Youth Band in Wrexham along with her 10 year old brother, Paapa, in January. They will be taking part with more than 200 other children in the concert being organised by Wrexham Music Cooperative at the Stiwt theatre in Rhos at 7pm on Monday, July 15 It will be the first ever public performance for  Akusua, Paapa and around 10 other new members of the multi-national…

A volunteering opportunity has helped inspire a gardener to brighten up her neighbourhood. Corinne Barber, of Llangollen has been taking part in volunteer gardening sessions led by staff at Plas Newydd and backed by Nature for Health. Nature for Health is a collaborative project that works together with individuals and communities to highlight the role access to nature can have in improving health and wellbeing. Plas Newydd has launched volunteering opportunities for keen gardeners who are also interested in preserving a piece of the town’s history. The home of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby contains around ten acres…

Residents in Beddau and Tynant are advised that two-way traffic lights will be used on sections of the B4595 from next week, to enable the installation of a new zebra crossing and to deliver other highway improvements. The scheme will take place at two locations along the B4595 – at Parish Road (between Mildred Street and Fairview) and Tynant Road (between Garth View and Brynhyfryd). The new crossing will be installed at Tynant Road, while the existing Parish Road crossing will be raised. Road markings will be improved in the car park at Garth View, while a nearby bus stop…

Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has stepped up its commitment to supporting the growth of companies across Wales as it finalises plans for a permanent office at Southgate House, on Wood Street, Cardiff and reveals details of its new investment team. In 2023, Foresight was appointed to manage a £50 million equity fund for the Investment Fund for Wales (“IFW”), the IFW – Foresight Equity Finance (“the Fund”). Operated by the British Business Bank, the £130 million IFW will provide loans from £25,000 to £2 million, and equity investment from £250,000 to £5…

Cardiff-based B Corp four-day week environmental consultancy Tyler Grange has just been named SME Employer of the Year at the InsideOut Awards. The prestigious annual awards – powered by the InsideOut LeaderBoard® charity and Wellbeing@Work Summits – recognises and celebrates excellence in promoting mental health, wellness, and overall wellbeing. The accolade was awarded to Tyler Grange as the UK SME that the judging panel – comprising a broad spectrum of industry experts – believed to have implemented the best mental health and wellbeing programme over the last 12 months, with a focus on recovery and preventative solutions. As well as offering employees a four-day reduced hours work week, with…

Llantrisant-based Mallows Beauty is launching in 550 Superdrug stores throughout the UK and preparing to expand in to the US market with  a six figure equity investment from the Development Bank of Wales.   This is the third investment by the Development Bank in Mallows since 2021, taking the total equity and debt funding package to over £1 million. The fast growth business now employs 25 and is achieving run-rate revenue of over £5 million in 2023/24 with a three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 100%. Stockists include Oliver Bonas, Beauty Bay and Superdrug. The Mallows product range…

Melting of glaciers in a major Alaskan icefield has accelerated and could reach an irreversible tipping point earlier than previously thought, new research suggests. The research, involving scientists at Aberystwyth University in Wales, found that glacier loss on Juneau Icefield, which straddles the boundary between Alaska and British Columbia, Canada, has increased dramatically since 2010. The team, which also included universities in the UK, USA and Europe, looked at records going back to 1770 and identified three distinct periods in how icefield volume changed. They found that glacier loss remained consistent between 1770 and 1979 with up to 1 square…

Dewi Griffiths (28:20), Josh Griffiths (28:41) and Clara Evans (31:57) will head the local contingent at the OGI Porthcawl 10k. Omar Ahmed (28:27), 2023 winner Kadar Omar (28:27), Seyfu Jamaal (29:04) and Louise Small (33:20) will also be in action. The popular South Wales seaside town will host the fourth edition of the race on Sunday, with the race incorporating the third fixture in the 2024 R4W 10K Series. It uses a quirky course that takes in views along the sweeping coastline and a section through the Coney Beach Fairground. The three main protagonists in the men’s race have claimed…

A 36-year-old man has been jailed after admitting to attacking a man and taking his belongings. Trefor Glyn Evans, of North Road, Caernarfon, appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court on Tuesday June 25th after admitting to robbery offences. During the evening of January 29th, a man was walking home in the Afon Goch area of Caernarfon when Evans threatened and demanded money from him. Evams preceded to attack the man, punching him and kicking him in the head. He took the victim’s phone, coat, hat and trainers. The man managed to run away to the police station where he reported what…