On 27th May, I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of Flown at the fantastic St David’s Hall. Performed by Pirates of the Carabina, the group were made up of ten circus artists, riggers and musicians, all highly experienced in theatrical and technical circus. Knowing little of what to expect, beyond vague flashbacks to a childhood visit to the circus, I was intrigued and a little apprehensive to see the stage covered in wires, pullies and…

The South East Wales branch of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, recognised the achievement of eight students from universities and colleges across South Wales, at its annual dinner last night. The awards acknowledge the achievement of students who have been nominated by their course tutors to receive Branch Student of the Year Awards.  Undergraduate, postgraduate and those attending on day-release on the professional courses are all eligible to be considered for the awards. The prizes…

Hot on the heels of Export Week,  UK Export Finance’s export finance adviser Matthew Hughes explains how Welsh businesses wanting to export in emerging markets should consider the value in using letters of credit to help secure funding.   For as long as international trade has existed there have been concerns from exporters or sellers about releasing goods or providing services before they have been fully paid. At the same time from the buyer’s viewpoint, there are concerns about paying…

A new handbook, Talking Together: facilitating peer support activities to help people with learning disabilities understand about growing older and living with dementia is being launched by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities on Wednesday 20 May as their contribution to Dementia Awareness Week. Christine Towers, who wrote the handbook after facilitating peer support groups with Cindy Glover, said: “More needs to be done to help people with learning disabilities understand the changes associated with the ageing process and…

St David’s Hall Wednesday 24 June 8pm     AWARD-WINNING folk artist Chris Wood is set to bring his breathtaking new show to St David’s Hall on Wednesday 24 June.   Dubbed the “renaissance man of English folk” by The Irish Times, Chris has won a glut of accolades including Songwriter of the Year at the Spiral Earth Awards 2014, as well as the prestigious prizes of Folk Singer of the Year and Best Original Song (for Hollow Point) at…

St David’s Hall Friday 26 June 8pm   SENSATIONAL songwriting duo Amy Wadge and Pete Riley will captivate a Cardiff crowd at St David’s Hall on Friday 26 June. Amy and Pete first came together in 2010 and immediately clicked after many years performing in various bands. Since then they have written together, toured and released a pair of highly acclaimed albums. Now widely regarded as one of the country’s most successful female singer-songwriters, Amy even co-wrote the No.1 hit…

  This bank holiday Monday, I made the most of my three-day weekend by going to see the at the Motorpoint Arena. As a big Doctor Who fan and music fanatic, I was incredibly excited. The show had come all the way from Australia as part of their first-ever world tour: they will visit six UK cities before landing in the Big Apple in October.  After their UK premier in London, the show had arrived at the home of the…

  The Wizard of Oz is a family favourite of mine so it was inevitable that I would take my own children to see a live performance at The New Theatre. The show was directed by Orbit Theatre, Wales’ No 1 amateur company. Dorothy was played by Jodie Bird.  Jodi got to the semi finals in Britain’s got Talent last year.  She has the most beautiful voice and sounded very much like Judy Garland in both speaking and singing parts….

Monday evening welcomed a gathering of over 200 people in Cardiff to celebrate the hard work and dedication to the Welsh food industry. The inaugural Food Awards Wales was hosted by Capital 1’s breakfast presenter, Polly James and the black tie ceremony took place at the Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff on May 11. Yasmin Mahmood of event organisers Creative Oceanic commented “After the great success of the Food Awards England and Wales which were held in Manchester last year,…

Back in October 2009 The Girl’s nursery teacher told me that the school’s Headmistress wanted to see The Boss and me at 1100 hours on the next Friday. My instinctive reaction was one of dread. It reminded me of those occasions during my education when I had been told to stand outside the Headmaster’s door… The Grammar school’s Head, ‘Barrel’, looked as you’d expect a man with that nick-name to look: very round, with an unruly shock of white hair…