Local charity Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale has spoken about its commitment to deliver the services it provides for older people living in Cardiff and the Vale in light of the Coronavirus outbreak. Jeff Hawkins, the charity’s CEO states: “We will take all reasonable precaution to ensure that illness and infection do not spread in the workplace between employees or from employees to the clients that we work with and to the general public. We have put practical, simple…

Review By Hazel Thayre   Oscar nominated Stephen Daldry’s dynamic take on An Inspector Calls surpassed all of my expectations. Sitting in Cardiff’s New Theatre, my mind casted me unwillingly back to my high school days. I saw my 15 year old self gnawing frantically at my biro, desperately trying to unpick J. B. Priestley’s play in preparation for my GCSE English exam. As the theatre’s lights dwindled and a cloud of darkness enclosed the all-suspecting audience, the unpleasant memory…

Pat Grant, 72, from Cardiff, has received a top award from HRH The Prince of Wales for volunteering with The Prince’s Trust Cymru for almost four years, which she started after finishing a career in social work. Pat scooped the prestigious Volunteer of the Year Award at the ceremony held at The Palladium in London yesterday. The event was hosted by Ant and Dec and attended by celebrities including Pierce Brosnan OBE, Harry Kane MBE, Ashley Walters, Micheal Ward and Richard E….

Yasmin John, a committed teacher from Cardiff, is in the running to scoop the ‘Best Teacher’ prize at the upcoming Into Film Awards – dubbed the ‘Oscars’ for young British filmmakers – in London on 18 March. Yasmin teaches in The Hollies, a primary school for children aged three to 11 years, with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The school is well known to organisers – leading education charity Into Film – as they were presented with the ‘Best Into Film…

#IdeasMeanBusiness  Millions of budding ‘innovators’ think they have a great idea – but nearly half don’t think they could actually make it a reality. Nearly ½ of young people think their age is a barrier to business success, while less than a third of people over 45 feel the same.   Research polling 2,000 UK adults found more than one in 10 have had a great idea they think they could make a fortune from, with 40% of young people claiming to have an innovative idea to make…

Three nations. Three days. Three triathlons. It’s Game On! Today Jo Whiley and her BBC Radio 2 team of Rev Kate Bottley and Richie Anderson officially begin their epic Sport Relief challenge! The trio take on their first triathlon in Cardiff, starting nearby at Barry Community Water Sports Centre for the freezing cold open water swim section, before cycling a gruelling 30km into the Welsh capital through hilly terrain, finishing at Cardiff Sailing Club. The final leg of the first…

Beyond the Barricade is, without doubt, the UK’s leading musical theatre concert. The concept was conceived by Andy Reiss and David Fawcett, who were both performing in the Manchester production of Les Miserables when they first met.  Although the ladies they have sung with over the years have changed, these two guys have remained pivotal in the success of Beyond the Barricade.  I took the opportunity to speak with them both before their recent show at St David’s Hall. Alan…

  THE Circus of Horrors is back with a wonderfully weird celebration of the beautifully bizarre to celebrate its 25th anniversary in style at St David’s Hall on Saturday 14 March.   After springing to life at Glastonbury in 1995, The Circus of Horrors then reached the Semi-Finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2011. Subsequently they conquered the West End before becoming household names across the nation’s TV screens on programmes like The X Factor, Daybreak, The One Show, This Morning…

  Amber and Me is a feature-length documentary film that follows a young girl, Amber, who has Down’s Syndrome, as she begins mainstream education with her twin sister, Olivia.   Although Amber’s first school experience is positive, she soon starts to lose interest and asks to stay at home. Sister Olivia tries to help Amber with her school work, in the knowledge that if the situation doesn’t improve, Amber may have to go to a different school.     The…

The Entertainer, the fastest-growing, family owned high street toy retailer in the UK, has announced the launch of The Big Book Rehoming in partnership with The Salvation Army to aid the 1 in 11A* children from disadvantaged homes who don’t own a book of their own. The campaign will run across all of The Entertainer’s 172 stores from Thursday 5 March, aligning with World Book Day, the annual event which sees children across the world wearing fancy dress to celebrate their…