Author: Rhys Gregory

St David’s Cardiff has launched its late-night shopping week to give guests extra time to finish their Christmas shopping. The city shopping destination will be open an hour later every day in the week leading up to Christmas. From Monday 18thDecember to Friday 22nd December, St David’s Cardiff will open from 9.30am to 9pm and on Saturday 23rd December, the centre will open from 9.30am to 8pm. On Christmas Eve, opening hours will be 11am to 5pm. After closing on Christmas Day, St David’s Cardiff will reopen on Boxing Day (Tuesday 26th December) from 9.30am to 6pm.  Helen Morgan, Centre…

Catriona Seed, a Clinical Nurse Specialist at City Hospice in Cardiff, has been given the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse (QN) by community nursing charity The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI). The title is not an award for past service but indicates a commitment to high standards of patient care, learning and leadership. Nurses who hold the title benefit from developmental workshops, bursaries, networking opportunities, and a shared professional identity. The award recognises Catriona’s ongoing commitment to improving patient outcomes and services in Cardiff. In addition to supporting City Hospice’s patients and families with specialist palliative care in homes across the…

Antur Cymru’s latest Cymorth Busnes Lleol / Local Business Support pop-up unit opened last week in Newcastle Emlyn and is already a hit with customers in the west Wales town. As Christmas fast approaches, traders have embraced the scheme and been busy selling their wares, with a wide variety of locally made products up for grabs. Among those with a presence at the Cawdor Terrace premises are Stop Waffling artisan bakes and desserts; Live like Nana shopping service; Tyddyn y Helyg gifts; and sustainable florist, The Flower Meadow. In addition to its existing shop in Aberystwyth – and with plans for a…

Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), a member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies based in Houston, Texas, has reaffirmed its commitment to Bridgend by announcing that it will double the office space it currently occupies in the town. The leading insurer has completely refurbished its existing property at the town’s Bocam Park industrial estate and has taken on two new units, doubling the space it currently occupies. The expansion in footprint has been undertaken in part to anticipate expected growth in the insurer’s Bridgend location but also to ensure that the employees currently working at the site have…

Business confidence in Wales fell six points during December to 24%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Companies in Wales reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up five points at 40%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down 15 points to 9%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 24%. Welsh businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months investing in teams (40%), hiring new employees, entering new markets (36%), and introducing new technology (34%). The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early…

Age Cymru is urging communities across Wales to look out for their older neighbours as thousands say they expect to be lonely during the festive season.  According to the charity’s research nearly 85,000 people aged 65 or over in Wales say they will eat Christmas dinner alone this year.    More than 112,000 older people, equivalent to more than one in six, say Christmas Day is their hardest day of the year.   While nearly one in five (18%) said they wish they had someone to spend time with at Christmas.    However, loneliness is a year-round issue, and the causes can be…

A local housing and support provider delivered gifts to children in over 30 households this week, bringing Christmas cheer to families in need. Taff Housing’s Little Wish initiative aims to ensure that every family, regardless of circumstance, experiences the joy of the festive season with gifts to share for their children. Thanks to the generous donations and unwavering support from local businesses, contractors, the local community, and even Taff colleagues, the Little Wish initiative has grown since the project launch in 2020. Not only do Taff Housing run the Little Wish project at Christmas, but they also host the initiative…

A Merthyr Tydfil man has been disqualified from keeping all animals for 10 years after his dog was found to be in an emaciated condition. Kristopher Daniel Morgan of Merthyr Tydfil, appeared at Merthyr Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday 13 December for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act. The offence was that between 3 February and 4 May he caused unnecessary suffering to an American bulldog type male dog called Buddie by failing to provide proper and necessary veterinary care and attention for the causes of his weight loss and masses. In mitigation the…

With more than half (52%) of Brits planning to shop local and support their rural high streets this Christmas, Virgin Media O2 has announced upgrades to its 4G network and new 5G deployment across more than 55,000 rural postcodes. It is anticipated that the upgrades will help tackle some of the everyday connectivity headaches that small businesses in rural areas are facing, such as reliably taking card and online payments. This will enable these businesses to ensure they can make the most of the upcoming Christmas shopping period, which is undoubtedly very important to their success. The upgrades come as…

From Ceramics to Vehicle Maintenance for Women — Coleg Gwent has this week announced a host of new part-time courses to support adults hoping to take on a new challenge or career path in 2024. Beginning in January and available across all campuses, the college hopes to attract new learners by sharing the inspirational stories behind adult learners who are taking their personal and career development into their own hands through part-time education. The learners are all of part of the post-pandemic phenomenon of adults returning to education and up-skilling — with a recent survey conducted by the Learning and…