On Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March, hundreds of residents from Wales took part in the UK’s annual Learn to Play Day event. Organised by the charity Music for All, people of all ages visited music venues, schools, and stores across the county, to try their hand at a new skill and take advantage of the free music lessons available. In Wales, participating venues included PMT Cardiff, Spider Music Ltd in Swansea and Pencerdd Music in Penarth, who partnered with…

A group of runners from North Wales has set a new fastest time for the Offa’s Dyke Path. Four challengers took part in the epic ultra-marathon – Jason Harper, 47 from Valley (Anglesey), Nia Albiston, 40 from Amlwch (Anglesey), Gordon Hughes, 37 from Llanaelhaearn (Gwynedd) and Laurent Gorce, 43 from Abererch, Pwllheli (Gwynedd). Two of the runners in the team had to pull out of the challenge part-way due to injury (Laurent Gorce and Jason Harper) but the other runners…

I had the pleasure of being invited to the Millennium Centre to see The National Theatre Performance of Macbeth on Tuesday 19th March. Directed by Rufus Norris, with the main parts Macbeth and Lady Macbeth played by Rory McKinnear and Anne-Marie Duff – it definitely wasn’t for the faint hearted. Depicted as a chilling, cautionary tale about how power corrupts all – this production was unlike any interpretation I had seen before. As it is such a well-known play, the…

 National Youth Arts Wales – Making a difference in the lives of young gifted musicians and performers in Wales Since its creation in 2017, National Youth Arts Wales (NYAW) has proved its success as the lead organisation now responsible for delivering Wales’ six national youth ensembles, whilst also delivering a year-round programme of exceptional creative experiences and opportunities for young people in Wales, regardless of their background. The newly reformed NYAW is leading the way in providing exceptional opportunities in…

UB40 star Brian Travers has revealed he has been diagnosed with a brain tumour, forcing him to miss the group’s 40th anniversary UK tour. The group’s saxophonist was taken to hospital last Tuesday after suffering a seizure at his home, with subsequent brain scans revealing two tumours. Travers will now undergo surgery the day before UB40’s tour starts and has been advised by doctors that his recovery will take six months. Travers said, “It is with great regret that I…

This Easter, the British Heart Foundation is coming to the rescue of parents nationwide, asking them to clear out all those pre-loved toys and help raise funds for vital heart research.  Simply request a free pick up and we’ll do the rest!   From cuddly toys to train sets – and everything in between – this Easter, the British Heart Foundation is appealing to parents across Britain to stop tripping over those pieces of Lego and call its dedicated team of toy collectors.   To coincide with the Easter break, from Monday 8th April until Friday 12th, the…

The Open University in Wales is calling on former students and staff from the past 50 years to get in touch and share their memories. This year marks half a century since the OU was founded by Harold Wilson’s government. It was the Labour Prime Minister’s vision to create ‘A University of the air’, where students could earn a degree from their own homes, in their own time. This flexible form of learning was seen as a way to open…

Children from Teddy Bear Nursery at the University Hospital of Wales have been busy making flowers to welcome in spring, supporting Cardiff & Vale Health Charity’s RHS Cardiff Blossoming Beds competition entry.  The children made beautiful coloured flowers from paper and glue, inspired the Health Charity’s RHS Cardiff Blossoming Beds title “We grow better tomorrows when we plant good seeds today” which is a mini snapshot of the six acre Ein Berllan – Our Orchard site at University Hospital Llandough….

The Girls, a children’s picture book written by Swansea-raised Lauren Ace and illustrated by Cardiff-based Jenny Løvlie , has been named the winner of the Illustrated Books Category at the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019. Announced last night (Thursday 21st March) at a ceremony at the bookseller’s flagship shop in London Piccadilly, Ace and Løvlie share the prize consisting of £2000 and the promise of ongoing commitment to their respective writing and illustrating careers. Inspired by the author’s own nurturing…

  UK pop icon Will Young releases brand new single ‘All The Songs’ today, the first track to be heard from his long awaited seventh album Lexicon, set for release on June 14. ‘All The Songs’ arrives with an incredible, agenda-setting video directed by the legendary fashion photographer & director Rankin. An upbeat, piano-led, dancefloor-tilted heartbreak anthem, ‘All The Songs’ serves as the perfect introduction to an album built around the joy of pop music, “I always say that there’s…