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…

A total of 28 talented artists and bands from across Wales have been successful in their bid for a music bursary worth a combined value of £35,000. Winners include artists such as iTunes chart-hitting reggae singer-songwriter Aleighcia Scott from Cardiff, who will use the bursary to produce a music video for her debut album. Christian Punter from Rhondda has also been successful. Christian crafts songs using stories inspired by his local village and the house he lives in, The Old…

  Members of BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) – including a former ice hockey player – joined ice hockey team the Cardiff Devils yesterday at the Viola Arena to give a special performance of Bolero, ahead of BBC NOW’s Bolero: Viva España concerts in Cardiff and Swansea this week. Ahead of the Cardiff Devils’ game in Cardiff Bay last night, sixteen members of BBC NOW took to the ice to perform a piece of music, which is synonymous…

Amazon bosses apparently either don’t know or don’t care about the appalling health and safety record in their Swansea warehouse. A total of 84 serious health and safety incidents at Amazon’s Swansea warehouses have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive since 2015/16, a GMB Union investigation has revealed. This was the second highest number of reported incidents for Amazon warehouses in the UK. According to RIDDOR reports, workers have been hit by moving objects, hit by fixed objects,…

Claire Gaffey, from Swansea, is the face of this year’s Memory Walk TV ad. Claire, 44, was delighted to be picked to front the charity’s biggest annual fundraising event and is excited for Memory Walk to return to her home city on Saturday 13 October. Claire said “I was over the moon – filming the ad was great fun. It really made me feel that I could do my little bit.” She was skiing in the Alps when she heard…

Leading Welsh communications firm Orchard Media and Events Group has bolstered its support for women in sports through securing a new deal with the Welsh Premier Women’s League (WPWL). The company, which has a history of working to promote women in sports, has secured headline sponsorship of the WPWL for the second year running. Women’s football is becoming increasingly popular in Wales and around the world. Growing attendance figures and broadcasting deals have raised awareness at the top end of…

This September the team behind the popular Swansea Street Food Festival are bringing all the fun of Oktoberfest to the Patti Pavilion, Swansea. Encapsulating everything you would expect from the Bavarian celebration of all things German, expect overflowing steins of bubbly beer served by staff in traditional Lederhosen accompanied by mouth-watering German Street Food. At the bar you will find Lowenbrau straight from the brewery in Southern Germany, and from our Street Food Vendor Bratwurst UK you can expect delicious…

Ellie Taylor, 21 from Hampshire, is responsible for overseeing charity events on behalf of University of Wales Air Squadron (UWAS). Based at MOD St Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan, a team of 14 from UWAS have already completed the Newport Half Marathon, with the Swansea Half Marathon fast approaching on 25 June, and the Cardiff Half Marathon set for October. In addition to the trio of events, more supporters from UWAS have undertaken a rowing challenge, as well as…

  The Swansea Triathlon took place on Sunday 28th May, in Swansea with almost 1000 athletes starting the race. This is a sprint triathlon where athletes swam 750m in the SA1 dock, cycled 20k on closed roads around the city centre and ended their race with a 5k run crossing the finish line in Castle Square to great crowds of supporters. The top 3 male winners of the Swansea Triathlon were Alex Matchett with a time of 55 minutes and…

The Military Preparation College network ’stealing a march’ on its rivals A specialist network of military preparation colleges, with centres in Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil, has been named “Training Provider of the Year” in one of the UK’s most prestigious awards for further education. The Motivational Preparation College for Training (MPCT) group, which helps young people to build life skills, self-confidence, and physical fitness through an ‘active learning’ approach, scooped the top prize at the Times Education…