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Local Salon in Good Spirit after yet another Award
A local hair salon has recently added another award to its already bulging trophy cabinet. Set up in 2005 by Donna Friend and her business partner Janine O’Callaghan, Spirit Hair Team on Commercial Street in Ystrad Mynach has won a variety of awards for the staff’s creative skills and customer care, including a “Good Salon Guide 5 Star Award”. Indeed, Donna herself was recently awarded the “Master Craftsman Diploma in Hairdressing”. Spirit‘s latest accolade came when an apprentice at the salon – Josh Griffiths – won an award for the blow dry he completed during his first ever entry into a competition. Josh‘s weeks of practising and hard work in preparation clearly paid off! Donna said: We are really proud of our team and our Academy, everyone works so hard and that’s why they get the results.
Crafty Creatives and local businesses get involved in Arts Week 2016!
Cwm a Mynydd Creatives Arts Week 2016 will be kicking off from the 9th of July until the 15th of July for a week-long festival which celebrates the area’s finest creative talent! Potters, artists, carvers, glass artists and animators will be popping up at a number of locations throughout the valleys during the week, with local businesses keen to show their support by offering their premises as popup galleries including Ystrad Mynach Dentist Phillip Davies, M and R Barbers and St David’s Hospice. Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Ty Penallta building will also host an exhibition in the atrium, while Parc Penallta will host a local artist painting in the wild. Further afield, The Living Room in New Tredegar will open its doors for members of the public to view their exhibitions while Argoed Chapel will host open workshops on the 11th July, where the public can see the artists at work while they demonstrate a range of techniques and styles. As part of the week, a number of the Cwm a Mynydd Creatives will be opening their workshop doors to allow visitors to see the creative magic as it happens. This event is supported by Cwm a Mynydd, a project funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government. Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Sustainable Development said: I am delighted that Arts Week is back for 2016. The week-long event provides members of the public with a fantastic…
Social Business Wales Awards 2016 – spread the word!
Apply for the Social Business Wales Awards for your chance to win £1000 and be crowned a Wales social business champion. Open to Social Enterprise Businesses. The Social Business Wales Awards (previously branded as the Social Enterprise Awards Wales) celebrate the success and achievements of social enterprises and co-operatives in Wales. Now in their sixth year, the Awards recognise the most dynamic, entrepreneurial and ambitious social businesses in Wales – those which are expanding, diversifying, transforming and collaborating, and which are taking the sector forward through business growth. There two headline categories – Social Enterprise of the Year and One to Watch. For the first time, social enterprises can also enter five categories which are specific to the business sector they are trading in. The winners of all categories will be announced at an awards ceremony being held at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea on Wednesday 28th September. The winners of each category will then go on to compete against winners from Scotland, Northern Ireland and in the UK finals. The Awards application deadline is midnight on 8 July. For more information and to register for an application pack, just visit http://wales.coop/social-business-wales/awards/
Funding boost for Business Start-up Grant Scheme
Caerphilly County Borough Council has recently received funding to support their Business Start-up Grant Scheme, which is used to fund a variety of businesses starting out within Caerphilly County Borough. Tata Subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise has given £5,000 to partly fund the scheme, which is jointly funded by Caerphilly County Borough Council and UK Steel Enterprise. Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Sustainable Development said: Thank you to UK Steel Enterprise for their continued commitment to the Business Start-Up Grant Scheme. As a result of this, we are able to provide up to £500 of funding to brand new businesses within Caerphilly County Borough. I am looking forward to continuing to provide support to new businesses within the area, as we have done for many years. Andy Morris, Manager in Wales, UK Steel Enterprise said: We are delighted to be supporting the scheme and working with Caerphilly County Borough Council for a fourth year. In that period, 58 new businesses have been launched and 74 new jobs created. He continued: The quality of applicants has been very high and we are confident that the scheme has made an important contribution to the economic life of the area. This flexible scheme is designed to help residents of Caerphilly County Borough set up a full-time business for the first time, who are not able to access any other source of funding. The funding is a discretionary grant and can provide up to 50% of eligible project costs to a maximum of £500. Business start-ups from all business sectors may be…
Bees give pupils a buzz at Ynysddu Primary School
Pupils at Ynysddu Primary School have been given a sneak peek at a new bee keeping project based within their school grounds. Officially launching next month the project will provide pupils at Ynysddu and surrounding schools the opportunity to learn about the importance of pollinators and become bee keepers, learning all about the wonderful world of bees whilst doing so. Working with Lorne East from Sirhowy Valley Honeybee Company, a social enterprise based in Wylie, pupils will follow the lives of the bees throughout the year as they pollinate plants and make honey, all under the watch of their queen bee. Cllr. Derek Havard, Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning said: The new bee keeping project at Ynysddu Primary School is a great example of Caerphilly County Borough Council working in partnership to deliver environmental and ecological educational opportunities to pupils. I am sure that pupils will learn so much from their experiences, both about the importance of bees to our Eco-system and the need to respect nature and wildlife. Cllr. Ken James, Cabinet Member for Member for Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Sustainable Development said: This is a brilliant environmental project, supporting the protection of nature and wildlife is hugely important to Caerphilly County Borough Council and I’m pleased to see so many partner organisations coming together for the good of the environment. I am sure the pupils will have a brilliant time learning all about bees and why they’re so important. The project is funded by Keep Wales Tidy ‘All Wales Grant’ Scheme, CCBC Greener Caerphilly…
Strictly Amazing Result
Kelly Whitefoot represented ITaSK CIC at the New Cottage Dance Centre in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly and helped raise an amazing £9,000. Strictly Top Dancer 2016 was a fun yet very competitive night and saw eight staff members from local companies in Caerphilly paired with professional dancers and challenged one and other in the name of charity. Kelly had to learn three dances for the competition, and gave up her time over a number of months in preparation for the dance event. Kelly helped raise funding for The Breast Centre in Llandough Hospital, a charity which helps patients through holistic therapy and fitness studios. The money was raised through sponsorship, donations, raffles and ticket sales, with the event attracting nearly 400 people across the weekend it was a brilliant event. Kelly and her dance partner finished a very respectable second and ITaSK are so very proud. ITaSKCIC work within Caerphilly community to identify needs, implement solutions, and measure impact over time. ITaSKCIC believe when communities work together to improve lives, the result is a permanent strengthening. Kelly Whitefoot said: This was an experience I will cherish and raising money for such a worthwhile charity was a pleasure
“Kiss Me Quick”
We were invited to something a little different, a provocative cocktail of feathers, sequins, dancers and tassels; an evening with the unforgettable burlesque performers of kiss me quick. It’s a warm and sunny Saturday evening in Newbridge, South Wales. Walking into the nostalgic 19th century memorial hall of Newbridge Memo proves to be an enriching and relaxing haven; free from the chaotic madness of the M4 traffic. The memorial hall was built in memory of the 75 residents of Newbridge who lost their lives during World War 1. Originally it was intended to be a reception in loving memory and celebration of what would have been their homecoming. Today however, we are here for an entirely different occasion, a celebration of the theatrical 1840s art form of striptease with the fabulous seaside burlesque show, “Kiss Me Quick”. Tonight, whilst still maintaining it’s endearing character, the historic memorial hall is a provocative cocktail of feathers, sequins, dancers and tassels. Excitement fills the air as the crowd begin to fill the theatre and take their seats. The lights soon go down and the show is about to begin. First on stage (or attempting to climb up on it) is the beautiful and ever so tipsy Kheski Kobler. Kheski is both hilarious and seductive as she struggles to undress in front of a very amused yet encouraging crowd. She is warmly received and sets the scene perfectly with her staggeringly quirky performance. The charming host, FooFoo Labelle entertains the crowd throughout the evening as she warmly welcomes each performer to the stage.…
Gritty Realism Wins Zoom Cymru Award for Film About Miner’s Wives Stories
Animation company Gritty Realism Productions based in Tredomen Business and Technology Centre have won a Zoom Cymru Award for Best Film for their animated film based on the reminiscences of miner’s wives who were involved in the 1984 – 1985 strike. Funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Communities First and Caerphilly Arts Development the film, ‘Striking Stories’, takes an often humorous look at how this experience changed the lives of these women. It was made with young people in the Caerphilly area from Senghenydd Youth Drop in Centre and St Martin’s School working with professional filmmakers Jeremy Roberts and Gritty managing director Gerald Conn. Photo: Gerald Conn (Gritty Realism Productions), Charlotte Moss, Nikki Pitten, Matthew Thorne (Senghenydd Youth Drop in Centre) The company had previously won a Zoom Award for their film ‘Shadows of Senghenydd’ in 2014 which was also made with SYDIC and was screened at the San Francisco Film Festival. ‘Striking Stories’ involved a group of girls from the youth centre who interviewed a number of local women about their role in the 1980s strike. These interviews were edited and the young people drew storyboards to illustrate these stories. The film also involved working with pupils from the Lansbury Park Estate at St Martin’s School in Caerphilly. The school has a strong track record in film with school leavers now working in the animation industry. Gerald also returned during the post-production stages of the film to record a song by a former pupil Megan Churchland. The film had its premiere screening in Blackwood Miner’s Institute. One of…
Applications open to bag a share up to £12,000 for community projects
Tesco are inviting local community groups and good causes to apply for their share of a £12 million carrier bag charge fund. The supermarket teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative, which sees grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects. For more information click on the link below. http://www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/tescocommunityscheme/pages/applications-open-to-bag-a-share-up-to-12000-for-community-projects