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The Pen & Paper…Cardiff’s essential ‘non-essential’ art and stationery shop! During these challenging times, we’ve all suffered, personally and professionally. As a local independent business in the heart of Cardiff, we’ve re-opened but have never seen our capital City so quiet.  Whilst things have ‘picked-up’, they aren’t what they used to be and these are uncertain times. For over 20 years, as one of Cardiff’s leading art and stationary stores, The Pen & Paper has thrived. However recently, with a…

After the flooding and a global pandemic comes a brand-new facelift and a new era for pub turned community hub The Taff’s Well Inn is set to take its place at the heart of the community once more as it prepares to open its doors again after five months of closure. The pub became a focal point for locals following extensive flooding in the area earlier this year, with the Coronavirus outbreak closing its doors not long after. Now, five…

New research has revealed that parents in Wales unnecessarily threw away 40,000 school uniforms in 2019 despite the fact they were still in good condition, contributing to the 1.4 million binned across the United Kingdom. The study found that one in 10 simply throw uniform items away once their children have outgrown them, even though they are still in a wearable condition. When it comes to damaged items, 40% of parents in the country would prefer to throw a garment…

BrewDog-owned urban cidermakers, Hawkes, is making a stand against apple wastage.  With over 2.5 million apples going to waste every day in the UK, this urban cidery is calling for the nation to take charge of wasted apples’ destiny, by introducing an apple mail-in box. As a pint-loving nation, Hawkes knows we don’t want to see any cider to go to waste.  The brand-new apple mail-in box now encourages Cardiff to join in on saving perfectly good apples, simply by…

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is introducing a new and innovative approach to how patients access urgent care, the main message being: you will need to phone first if you think you need to attend the Emergency Unit and do not have a life-threatening emergency. Traditionally, patients have been able to access the emergency department by walking into their local Emergency Unit (EU) or A&E. The ‘phone first’ system replaces this for non- emergencies with patients being encouraged to…

Organisers of the Dragon’s Back Race® have announced plans to add an extra day to the 2021 edition of the race, which takes ultra-runners on an arduous route through Wales. Already regarded as the world’s toughest mountain race, the next edition of the event will be extended from five to six days, increasing the distance covered from 315km to 380km, and height climbed from 15,500m to 17,400m. As usual, the race will start at Conwy Castle, but in 2021, competitors…

Carers Trust Wales in partnership with all universities and Reaching Wider partnerships in Wales have released Going Higher: A carer’s guide to universities in Wales, a valuable, useful publication for carers of all ages considering higher education. A study undertaken by Carers Trust and the University of Nottingham in 2013 found that carers were 4 times more likely to drop out of university than students without caring responsibilities. More recently, this summer, a Carers Trust Wales survey on young and…

Counselling and wellbeing centre Breathe is offering free counselling sessions to people who are furloughed or who have been made redundant as a result of Covid-19. Sessions will take place online or over the phone from 18th August. This free counselling service is available thanks to funding from the Voluntary Services Emergency Fund through the WCVA. Breathe is part of the mental health and social change charity Platfform.  Free counselling is available in the areas the charity works which are Bridgend, Cardiff,…

UNSUNG HEROES of the pandemic – such as NHS workers, delivery drivers and supermarket workers – are at the top of Britain’s new pecking order and the most respected in society, a study shows. Research into attitudes during the coronavirus crisis shows a remarkable change in the social pecking order of how people who do different jobs are now regarded. Almost all those in key worker roles – such as food shop staff, bin men, delivery drivers, postmen and carers…

Cardiff based International Mountain Leader Alan Ward was in Lockdown as many people were this year. He wrote several features for The Cardiff Times Online during this period. Having heard about his trek to Everest Base Camp last November, we asked him to recount his experiences of this trek with a group from South Wales. Everest Base Camp, for many, is the ultimate trekking destination and I’ve led this trek several times during my many visits to Nepal. A group…