Thursday 18th March 2010 Monmouthshire and Brecon canal back in business
British Waterways has reopened a section of the Monmouthshire and
Brecon canal that was closed following the discovery of a leak. The
closure at Llangattock, near Crickhowell in Powys, enabled a section
to be drained for repairs. The Monmouthshire canal dates back to the
1790s but fell into disuse after 1910. The canal was first reopened in
1970 and now a 35 mile section is navigable.

Waterway manager Nick Worthington said: "I'm keenly aware the work
affected the start of the visitor season and we have apologised to
everyone whose holiday plans were disrupted." South Wales

Friday 26th February 2010 Double tops for cash point users
People using a cash machines in Fourbouys shop and Post Office shop at
The Triangle, Brackla, Bridgend, on Sunday got a bonus when the
machine handed them twice the cash they requested. The police were
eventually called and an officer stood guard until an ATM engineer
arrived.

A Post Office spokesman said the fault was identified and the machine
returned to normal service very quickly. A spokeswoman for the Bank of
Ireland, operators of the ATM, declined to add any further comment. South Wales

Thursday 4th February 2010 Cardiff council to shed 300 jobs
300 jobs are set to go at Cardiff after council leaders say they need
to axe 300 jobs in a drive to save £14m. The draft budget for the next
year, revealed this week, says it hopes the redundancies will focus in
areas such as administration and management. The council hopes to
avoid compulsory redundancies.

Mark Stephens, the council’s executive member for finance, said:
"These are the largest savings the council has ever identified in one
year and will mean that we will have to cut some 300 posts, with the
vast majority in management and administration rather than the
front-line. We have been open with the people of Cardiff and our staff
in facing up to the significant financial challenges that lie ahead." South Wales

Saturday 23rd January 2010 £10,500 grant to repair Welsh Tardis
A former police box in the community of Somerton, Newport in Wales has
received a grant to help towards its repair. The box is known as the
Tardis after the similar box featured in BBC’s long running series Dr
Who. Described as “much loved” by the local community the Tardis has
received the money courtesy of Welsh assembly government funding via
Cadw.

Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones, said: "The range of buildings
from this famous telephone box to a school and stables shows the rich
variety of heritage sites we have in Wales and the range of sites that
Cadw helps preserve. South Wales

Thursday 14th January 2010 £300,000 for Brecon energy project
The Brecon Beacons-based Green Valley’s Project has fought off
competition from over 350 other candidates to be one of three awarded
a major environmental competition to cut carbon emissions.

The Green Valley team were praised by the competition judges who said
they had “exceeded our expectations” by building 10 hydroelectric
power generation schemes. The Beacons project is made up of 21 small
communities who will now invest their prize in other
micro-hydroelectric projects. South Wales

Monday 11th January 2010 Summerhouse to return to Cardiff park
Bute Park in Cardiff once boasted a beautiful Victorian summerhouse
designed by William Burges, who also worked on Cardiff Castle.
Unfortunately, the building suffered neglect during the 1970s and was
subsequently moved to St Fagans National History Museum in the city.
Now a new building is being planned which will echo the style of the
original.

Councillor Nigel Howells, executive member for sport, leisure and
culture on Cardiff council, told the press: "2010 will be an important
year in the history of Bute Park. The restoration project will see the
addition of many exciting features and improvements to the park
overall. The summerhouse kiosk will be a popular facility and I'm
pleased that it is being restored back to the original Burges design.” South Wales

Tuesday 29th December 2009 Free bus travel on New Years Eve - but only in Newport
Newport Transport plans to say a big “thank you” to its customers by
offering everyone free bus transport on New Years Eve. The move is
likely to save passengers £18,000 and it is hoped it will attract
people into the town centre on New Years Eve. The move comes after the
company ran a similar scheme on Christmas Eve.

Newport Transport’s managing director, former bus driver Chris Blythe,
said: "By providing free buses on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve we
are helping encourage shoppers into the heart of Newport's city
centre, benefiting local shops and businesses at a time of economic
recession, as well as giving something back to our customers who we
value so much.”

Just one word of warning to revellers planning to see the New Year in:
The service only runs until ten o’clock at night! South Wales

Friday 18th December 2009 Slade’s Merry Christmas goes Welsh
A band from Cardiff have got Noddy Holder’s permission to translate
70s glam rock band Slade’s massive hit ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ and
perform it. They will play their Welsh-language cover of the 1973 No 1
hit on BBC Radio Cymru on Christmas Eve.

Steff from the band told the press about their version of the big
Christmas favourite: "It's a bit more rocky and more up tempo but it's
true to the original. We were asked by Radio Cymru to do a cover of a
Christmas song for the concert and thought that everyone knew this
song. It's such a great song.” South Wales

Tuesday 15th December 2009 Cash to tell Cardiff history
A Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £440,000 will help the Cardiff Story
to bring the history of the city alive and attract 120,000 visitors in
its first year. Exhibits currently stored at the national Museum
Cardiff will go on show at the city’s old library in The Hayes in
November 2010.

Dan Clayton-Jones, chair of HLF committee for Wales, said: "Cardiff is
one of the few major cities without a dedicated museum and we wanted
to help correct that. The success of the temporary exhibitions staged
at the Old Library proved there is a real demand for the story of
Cardiff and its people to be told." South Wales

Friday 11th December 2009 The Tardis on view at Caerphilly Castle
Visitors to the historic Welsh castle at Caerphilly will be in for a
shock this Christmas. The Medieval castle is playing host to Dr Who’s
favoured method of transportation during the Medieval Christmas fayre
held at the castle on the 12 and 13 December. Alongside the
time-travelling police phone box, known as the Tardis, will be more
traditional Medieval attractions such as jesters, jugglers and
stilt-walkers.

John Wallis of Cadw, the organisation that looks after the historic
monuments of Wales told the press:

"I'm delighted that the Tardis is in place in time for Caerphilly's
Medieval Christmas fayre this weekend. As well as enjoying a variety
of events and activities here at the Castle, visitors can now also
witness this world-famous blue box at the Inner East Gatehouse tower." South Wales