Dogs Trust Bridgend is urging the public not to buy or give dogs as presents, as new statistics show online searches for puppies skyrocket by 44% in the countdown to Christmas. The plea comes as the charity, launches its first ever Christmas TV advert – which features a puppet dog who brings to life the message behind its famous slogan ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas®’. On average, Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, receives…

Picture credit: Baby Cow Ltd   It will all be occurrin’ in Barry this Christmas, with Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones set to switch on the town’s festive lights. Nessa Shanessa Jenkins will return to the seaside town for the annual Christmas lights ceremony in King Square, Holton Road, on November 23, ahead of the hotly awaited Christmas special of the much-loved show. The switch-on will mark the end of a two-day festive market in Barry on Friday, November…

In just under a week, BBC Children in Need’s Got It Covered album, featuring some of the UK’s biggest names from stage and screen, has secured the No.1 spot in the midweek Official Chart Update, and could be heading to the No.1 spot in the UK’s Official Albums Chart on Friday. A whole host of critically-acclaimed actors volunteered their time to play a special part in this incredibly exciting album for BBC Children in Need, including: Helena Bonham Carter CBE who covered Both Sides Now…

An oncology development manager from Cardiff is a finalist for a Macmillan Excellence Award for driving the establishment of specialist urgent cancer services across Wales. Rosie Roberts, Macmillan Acute Oncology Service Quality Assurance Development and Support Manager, worked tirelessly to support the emergency cancer services that are now offered in every acute hospital in Wales. Based at the Wales Cancer Network in Cardiff, Rosie was nominated by her colleagues in the Integration Excellence Award category, which recognises nominees who have improved…

Laughter roared through New Theatre as ‘The Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ tour presented it’s opening night.  Fun antics and flicking lights kept the audience thoroughly pleased and in fits of hysterics from beginning to end. The play delivers exactly what the title suggests, it’s a show of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan where nothing goes to plan, full of collapsing stage sets, smoke, explosive electrics, and glitter all based on a set with is a revolving circle of three sets the…

Angus Munro is one of the best singer-songwriters I have ever seen. I had the pleasure of attending his concert at the Troubadour in London on 24 October and he blew me away with his talent. Accompanied by an excellent band and backing singers, he sang 15 songs, most of which he had written himself but with 2 great covers, ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’, first released by the Korgis in 1980, and ‘Every Day I Write The Book’, first…

When people think of comic cons it usually involves visions of nerds, costumes and comic book heroes, but MCM London is so much more. Hailed as the best of the UK comic con’s, it features gaming, movies, comics and their creators, Pop Asia, Cosplay along with photograph and autograph opportunities, MCM London is a celebration of pop culture. Hosted at the ExCel Centre based in the Docklands, London. The ExCel Centre is a huge venue and the map is essential,…

Marvelous Games kindly offered Cardiff Times a demo of their upcoming releases, so Melissa Compton went along to find out what they had planned for the near future. This special feature is arranged in order of level of difficulty i.e. if you’re an experienced gamer, the games further down the feature maybe more suited to you.   HEROLAND. We are loving Heroland, this game is perfect for children or anyone new to gaming. It is narrative driven so lots of…

  There can scarcely be anyone who has failed to see some iteration of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel, Frankenstein, written when she was a mere 18 years old after dreaming the story in her sleep. However, seeing it performed on the stage was certainly new to me and many others in the audience I suspect. Rona Munro, who has written episodes of Dr Who amongst many other writing triumphs, has adapted the story into a play with a unique…

Horatio’s Garden is a national charity that creates and nurtures beautiful gardens in the heart of NHS spinal injury centres. As part of the redevelopment project being undertaken by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board at University Hospital Llandough, the charity is building one of its award-winning gardens in the Welsh Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre to support everyone affected by spinal injury in Wales.   The garden is currently being designed by two-time Chelsea gold medal winner Sarah Price and is due to…