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A retired GP, Dr Mike Bloomfield, is challenging himself to walk 500km over 100 days for leading Welsh charity City Hospice.   The 69-year-old co-founded City Hospice, formerly George Thomas Hospice Care, and remains a Vice President of the charity which provides palliative care for 550 patients with life limiting or terminal illnesses in Cardiff at any one time.   Dr Bloomfield, who has previously had both hips replaced and quadruple bypass surgery, set himself the physical challenge to raise…

Samaritans Cymru is encouraging people to show kindness to themselves and look after their emotional well-being with the launch of a new, free self-help app. Mental Health Awareness Week took place between 18-24 May.  Kindness was announced as the new theme for Mental Health Awareness Week, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.  At a time when kindness, especially to ourselves, has never been more important, Samaritans Self-Help app, offers people practical ways to cope and stay safe if they’re going…

All children will have the opportunity to “Check in, Catch Up, Prepare for summer and September”, the Education Minister Kirsty Williams announced yesterday as she published details of the next phase for schools in Wales. It is proposed that all schools will start the next phase on 29 June, with the term extended by a week, therefore ending on 27 July. In the next academic year, beginning in September, the intention is that the autumn half-term break will be expanded…

Dogs Trust Bridgend is saying a big thank you to its volunteer doggy foster carers who have continued to go the extra mile for their four-legged friends in recent months. This week (1-7 June) is Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. Currently Dogs Trust Bridgend volunteers aren’t able to help out at the rehoming centre, but volunteer foster carers have been keeping busy doing their bit to help dogs…

Many of us are still experiencing self-isolation and social distancing is now the norm. If one good thing can come of this, is that we can use this as an opportunity to take more time for ourselves. We’ve put together a list of beauty tips to keep you feeling refreshed, looking your best and treat yourself from top to toe. Create bouncing waves and curls  – Give yourself a new look by creating bouncing waves, cute curls and voluminous tousled tresses…

Let me introduce you to Ciren. The current Mrs Nolan and I were walking through Cirencester in the days when we were allowed out and attended their Christmas Fair which was a splendid event. We could not resist buying this handmade steel dragon which is of some scale, (no pun intended), and we christened her Ciren after her place of birth. She sits in our conservatory snarling at the birds in the garden. In the recently enforced UK-wide house clean,…

Unemployed in Wales can get funding for training to gain key export skills ahead of full Brexit   UK including Wales has big shortfall in customs agents Welsh Government grant for training can go towards courses on customs skills  Funding to help recently unemployed workers in Wales do skills training can go towards courses on the customs expertise needed after full Brexit, the Welsh government has confirmed. As the UK government prepares for the end of the transition period on…

Image Credit Depop.com I have a confession for you all; I am sat in my room after an hour of dying parts my hair pink (temporarily of course) and am on the verge of dying the whole head just because I can. With no work and no school, it really does seem like an appealing idea for someone who has never really played with hair dye before in their whole seventeen years. It all started when my mum spotted some…

As a new Welsh Government digital campaign begins on Housing Advice during Covid-19, Housing Minister, Julie James, has called on the people of Wales to seek help now if they’re experiencing housing issues. Developed with Shelter Cymru, the campaign will direct people to the Welsh Government website where they will be able to access advice related to different housing issues. The campaign aims to inform and reassure people that help and support is available and make it easier for them…

  A software package to help Welsh language spellchecking and grammar checking has been released as a free download thanks to a partnership between Bangor University and the Welsh Government. The release aims to support Welsh-medium learners and their parents, home workers and small organisations during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – and beyond. The first version of the Welsh spell checker – CySill – was launched in 1988. Users have, up to now, had to pay a licence fee to…