Cardiff Bay’s popular entertainment complex, The Red Dragon Centre, has announced their most recent exciting installation, their Balloon Art Fiesta showcasing spectacular balloon sculptures.

This summer, The Red Dragon Centre will be hosting the immersive experience, a visual installation provided by the award winning and internationally acclaimed Doctor Bob Balloons Unlimited.

The display will be made up of over 16,000 Qualatex latex balloons, which decompose at the same rate as an oak leaf, and, once completed, over 2000 man hours will have been invested into the installation by Doctor Bob and his team as well as artists from far and wide.

Alongside the Centre’s great attractions and dining offers, to give visitors the perfect Bank Holiday weekend day out The Balloon Art Fiesta will be at the Centre from Friday 23 August to Monday 26 August and will be free to view daily until late.

The Red Dragon Centre has installed a variety of experiences this year following the theme of ‘bringing the outside in’ to ensure they encapsulate the ultimate entertainment experience come rain or shine.

The Balloon Art Fiesta will be the centre’s next immersive experience and will follow the theme to include wildlife sculptures and flower scenes. A free sculpture trail will also be available for children to take part in between 11am and 6pm. A form for this can be picked up from the Green Zone, where the centres very own life-sized green lion lives and visitors can relax on a 4-metre-long grass sofa, at the heart of the centre.

The Centre’s main piece will be an enchanting willow tree scene made up of over 7,000 mocha brown, white, and rose-pink balloons. Visitors can also expect to see a variety of sculptures, including a giant colourful butterfly, towering sunflowers, and blossoming flowers as part of a 600-balloon garden scene as well as a magical toadstool scene.

Emma Constantinou, Marketing Manager of the Red Dragon Centre, said:

This summer we wanted to bring the great outdoors into our great indoors.

The Balloon Art Fiesta is going to be amazingly visual and a spectacular display of wildlife made of balloons, something many won’t have experienced before. We invite visitors to take a walk on the wild side and to definitely bring a camera as this is one to remember”

Doctor Bob from Doctor Bob Balloons Unlimited, who are installing the display, said:

We’re very excited to be a part of the Balloon Art Fiesta at The Red Dragon Centre this summer. Our aim is to always ensure we’re creating spectacular displays that our clients love and we have every confidence that visitors to The Red Dragon Centre this bank holiday weekend will be blown away by the display and sheer number of balloons included.”

Swansea Building Society is supporting Macmillan Cancer Support’s Gower Macmarathon for a fifth consecutive year, to continue to help raise money for the charity’s specialist cancer services.

The 2019 Gower Macmarathon, which will see walkers enjoying Gower’s picturesque coastline, takes place on Saturday 14 September. Headline sponsors Swansea Building Society will be welcoming people to join over 1000 walkers to complete the 22-mile Gower route to raise funds for Macmillan.

Last year, the event raised £184,000. Over the past four years of Swansea Building Society sponsoring the event, the Gower Macmarathon has so far raised over £752,000. In addition to the support the Society provides to the Gower Macmarathon, it also donates a pound to the charity for every vote it gets at its Annual General Meeting (AGM), which this year was £1,700.

This year’s Gower Macmarathon marks the 22nd instalment of the event. A team from Swansea Building Society will once again participate in the 22 mile walk from Rhossili to Mumbles Cricket Club and will be led by the Society’s Chief Executive, Alun Williams.

Walkers taking part in the 2019 event also have the option to complete a 14 mile walk or a 2.5 mile walk around the Gower peninsula. The 14 mile option takes walkers from Port Eynon to Mumbles Cricket Club, and the 2.5 mile journey takes walkers from Caswell Bay to Mumbles.

Alun Williams, Chief Executive of Swansea Building Society, said:

“We are proud to have been headline sponsors of the Gower Macmarathon for five consecutive years, which shows our dedication to an event that enjoys the beauty of Gower, whilst raising money for the vital work that MacMillan does to provide care and support to those affected by cancer.

“A team from Swansea Building Society including myself will again join walkers to complete the route. Joining the local community and supporting each other along the way is a wonderful thing to be a part of.

“We look forward to another enjoyable day with all those involved in the walk and hope we can raise even more money this year for Macmillan.”

Sue Reece, South West Wales fundraising manager for Macmillan Cancer Support, added:

“A huge thank you to Swansea Building Society for their invaluable continued support over the past five years, enabling us to raise awareness and vital funds for people living with cancer in the local community. We’re looking forward to cheering their team on the day.”

A SPORTY student celebrated the end of college life by winning world championship gold.

Coleg Cambria learner Matthew Cook was victorious at the Taekwondo International World Championships, held at Birmingham Arena.

Matthew – named Elite Individual Athlete of the Year at Cambria’s inaugural Sports Awards in June – has picked up dozens of titles over the last two years and is a reigning World, British and Welsh light-heavyweight champion, despite only taking up the sport in 2014.

He now plans to become an instructor himself after flourishing under the tutelage of Wrexham taekwondo star Ady Jones, a 7^th degree black belt master.

“To have achieved all of this in just five years feels amazing, though I have trained and worked hard to get here,” said Matthew, a former pupil at Rhosnesni High School.

“I took to martial arts quite quickly and have really enjoyed it, which is why I began to enter competitions and eventually start winning them. I always loved sport, but this is the only one I really stuck at and committed to.

“I’ve been lucky to have an amazing teacher in Ady, and plan to follow him into instructing, that’s my goal.”

The 18 year-old has completed his Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport, and now looks forward to a bright future in martial arts.

“Taekwondo came naturally to me and it’s something I greatly enjoy,” said Matthew.

“To receive a Sports Award from Cambria on the back of the titles I’ve won in the last couple of years is a nice way to say goodbye, and I thank them for all of the support they’ve given me.”

Sally Jones, Deputy Director of Sport and Uniformed Public Services at Cambria, added: “Matthew is the epitome of elite sport and I’m sure he will go on to do even greater things in the world of martial arts.

“He is supremely talented but also a leader and hard worker, so I’m sure he will make a fine instructor. Everyone at Cambria wishes him the very best of luck for the future.”

For more on sports and leisure at Coleg Cambria, visit the website: www.cambria.ac.uk

Traveline Cymru has introduced a number of improvements to its cycle planner to give cyclists more information about their journeys.

Making the announcement to coincide with Cycle to Work Day, an initiative aimed at encouraging people to cycle to their place of work, the public transport information service for Wales has introduced new information to its journey planner specifically for cyclists.

The cycle planner has been updated to include information about danger points on routes such as road crossings and traffic lights; route elevations; congestion predictions; and a CO2 calculator to help cyclists plan their journey and be safer on the roads.

The improvements have been made in line with the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Plan which aims to turn Wales into an ‘active travel nation’ and promotes active travel for leisure or work journeys.

Since improvements to the cycle planner have been made, Traveline Cymru has seen 2,490 visits to the Cycle Planner page over a nine-month period compared to 1,335 prior to the improvements.

Jo Foxall, Managing Director of Traveline Cymru, said:

“Since the improvements to our online cycle planner we have seen an 86.94% increase in cycle planner results.

“We feel the changes have been positive and the safety information we provide will be especially helpful for cyclists regarding things such as locations where there are traffic lights and dangerous crossings.

“We are committed to supporting the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Plan and want to encourage cyclists to check our cycle planner to them plan safer routes during their journeys.”

At an event earlier this year, Transport Deputy Minister Lee Waters, said:

“Getting people out of cars for short journeys and travelling in a way which improves their health is an ambitious agenda. But it will produce multiple benefits, from cleaner air, less congested roads, improved mental health and busier local shops. As seen in other countries, the effect can be transformative. And if we want to transform transport choices and reap the benefits, we must think big and show ambition.”

The updated Cycle Planner is available as part of Traveline Cymru’s Journey Planner on its website and app.

Traveline Cymru provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ for travel information in Wales. The not-for-profit company is based on a partnership between the Welsh Government, public transport operators in Wales and Welsh local authorities. It provides route and timetable information for all bus, coach and rail services in the country via a bilingual website www.traveline.cymru, its Freephone telephone service (0800 464 00 00) and a suite of services for mobile phone users, including a bilingual app.

The success of young people with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) has been celebrated at a specialist Further Education college in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Beechwood College in Sully, a specialist day and residential service for young people over the age of 16 with an Autism Spectrum or Asperger’s Syndrome has hosted its annual Students’ Awards Day.

The families of 57 day and residential students travelled from across Wales and England to watch the presentation of certificates in a marquee in the College grounds.

Unlike mainstream Further Education establishments, Beechwood College measures success based on completion of learning programmes which incorporate a range of goals set with the students, their families and their existing support workers when they arrive at the College.

These goals can include both achievement of formal qualifications but also the attainment of essential life skills, which are aligned to their current and future needs such as home management skills, as well as their own goals which reflect personal interests such as sport activities.

This year, 63 qualifications were achieved from the awarding body Agored Cymru which were made up of accreditations in Art, Music, Enterprise, Creative Media and Drama and all 57 students achieved non-accredited learning in home cooking skills and leisure activities.

Awards presented this year included an Eco Award for students that have done the most to promote ecological projects, an Entrepreneur Award for students who have run an enterprise scheme and shown the most entrepreneurial skill, and a Work Experience Award for students that have shown the greatest commitment to their work experience opportunity.

Students finishing at Beechwood College this year have met more than 95% of their learning programme goals.

Angela Kent, Director of Education and Care at Beechwood College said:

“Our Awards Ceremony is a much-anticipated annual recognition of our student successes.

“Our integrated learning approach, which involves the active participation of the education, clinical and residential teams, aims to provide each student with a 24-hour learning environment tailored to their specific needs.

“Our goal is to provide a very broad range of experiences and skills for each individual, preparing them for later life and developing their skills in their areas of interest.

“It is a tribute to the hard work of our students and the efforts of the Beechwood College team that the students have achieved such a broad range of qualifications.

“Our largest ever student group completed Duke of Edinburgh Awards aimed at building confidence and team working skills this year. 9 completed their Bronze Award and 4 completed their Silver Award.

“Learning even the simplest of skills needed to build independence can be challenging for young people with Autism, so we are extremely proud of everyone.”

A parent of one of the students at the College, said:

“Beechwood College staff are keen for students to develop and that is reassuring for us as parents.

“What is very important to us is that Beechwood is a very transparent organisation and we feel our son is in safe hands with them as safeguarding is the number 1 priority for us.

“We see Beechwood as an extension to our house and we are all part of the same family.

“It is so reassuring to find a placement that is so motivated and wants to really help our son progress and be happy and safe.

“Beechwood truly care. As parents that is more important to us than anything.”

Opened in 2004, Beechwood College is a specialist day and residential service for young adults over the age of 16 with a formal diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Condition or Asperger’s Syndrome.

The College is registered with the Welsh Government as a Further Education (FE) College, and with Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) as a care home for younger adults and students typically attend the college for between 2 and 4 years.

Based upon the principles of TEACCH, PECS and Makaton, the College’s goal is to provide opportunities and experiences for each individual, regardless of ability, to prepare them for later life. The integrated approach to learning has qualified lecturers, residential and clinical teams partnering together so that each student’s personalised education programme is developed and reinforced consistently as a 24-hour learning environment which can lead to formal accreditation.

Beechwood College is part of the South Wales-based Ludlow Street Healthcare Group. Employing more than 1100 staff including extensive clinical teams, Ludlow Street Healthcare is a provider of tailored care solutions for adults over the age of 16 who have a range of complex mental health, personality disorder and physical health needs.

According to the latest NatWest Wales PMI^® data, private sector firms noted a stronger increase in business activity during July. The rate of growth quickened to a five-month high amid a sharper upturn in new business. Despite a faster increase in new orders and a renewed rise in backlogs of work, firms were reluctant to add to their workforce numbers, with employment falling for the first time in five months. That said, Welsh firms were upbeat about the coming 12 months, with confidence towards output growth at its strongest since early-2018.

Meanwhile, inflationary pressures were subdued relative to recent levels as firms sought to stay competitive.

The headline Wales Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors –  registered 53.2 in July, up from 51.5 in June and signalling a solid increase in output that was the fastest since February. Furthermore, the rate of growth was the sharpest of the 12 monitored UK areas. Panellists stated that the accelerated rise in output was due to greater client demand and new customer wins.

New business growth quickened for the second successive month in July, with the rate of expansion reaching a three-month high and exceeding the UK average. Improved sales and marketing activity reportedly drove the solid upturn.

Although growth in client demand picked up further from May’s recent low, Welsh firms reduced their workforce numbers in July. The decrease was the first since February and marginal overall. Some firms noted that the decline in staffing levels was due to cost-cutting initiatives.

Nonetheless, firms registered a renewed rise in backlogs of work during July. Although only fractional, the increase was the first recorded since March. Firms attributed growth to greater new business.

On the price front, the rate of input cost inflation was in line with the long-run series average, despite being the slowest for three years. Nonetheless, firms linked greater cost burdens to higher material prices and exchange rate weakness which pushed imported prices up.

Output expectations towards the year ahead improved in July, with the degree of confidence reaching the strongest since February 2018. Welsh firms were among the most upbeat towards the coming year, alongside the West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber.

Kevin Morgan, NatWest Wales Regional Board, said:

“The Welsh private sector signalled a stronger expansion in business activity in July and was a bright spot across the UK, registering the fastest expansion of the 12 monitored areas. New business picked up amid reports of improved marketing and sales initiatives. As a result, Welsh companies were among the most confident of a rise in output over the coming 12 months.

“Despite optimism across the private sector improving, cost-cutting measures led to the first fall in employment since February.

“Firms also noted that in an effort to remain competitive and at the request of some clients, increases in selling prices were kept to a minimum despite a marked rise in input costs.”