Author: Ida Väisänen

The world’s longest man-made surfing lagoon, The Surf Snowdonia Wavegarden, was opened in Conwy on the 1st August. Surf Snowdonia is the first ever commercial surfing lagoon to generate waves simultaneously for beginners, intermediate, and advanced surfers. The lagoon holds a team of surfing teachers led by Welsh Surf Champion Jo Dennison. Located on the former site of the century-old Dolgarrog aluminium factory, between the Snowdonia national park and the river Conwy, the surf site serves six-foot barrels once every minute. The £12m facility is 300m long and produces waves by pulling a snowplough-like wedge along under the water. The…

Dr. Sophie Williams of Bangor University, a highly-respected conservation expert, is critically ill in a Bangkok hospital after becoming infected with Japanese encephalitis, a type of viral brain infection spread through mosquito bites, earlier this month on a research trip.  The lecturer was on a trip to the Far East, undertaking botanical research with students from Bangor University 400 miles from the city of Kunming in China, when she began to feel unwell on 6th of July. Dr Williams, 31, from North Yorkshire, complained of feeling very tired, headaches, and nausea before being found unconscious and taken to hospital. Dr…

Police have confirmed that missing 10-year-old Anglesey boy Huw Parri has been found safe and well. A North Wales Police spokeswoman said: “Huw has been found safe and well near to his home. Thank you for your assistance.” The boy’s disappearance sparked a major search, launched just after 2.30pm on 23rd of July, with North Wales Police officers, PCSOs, sniffer dogs and the Force helicopter combing the island. The RAF and mountain rescue teams also joined the search and HM Coastguard S-92 Sikorsky search and rescue helicopters were put on standby. Residents on the island were also asked to check…

More than 40 years worth of working days have been lost by North Wales Police since 2011 because of mental health. Figures released following a Freedom of Information request by the Daily Post showed that, in the past four and a half years, a total of 382 officers have taken sick leave as a result of stress, anxiety, and depression, with the number growing each year. In 2011, 61 police officers took leave due to mental health-related illnesses, which rose to 86 in 2012, 90 in 2013, and 94 in 2014. From January-April this year, 51 employees had been signed…

Welsh government plans to introduce regional boards which will have members of the public sitting on them have been released. Patients could have more say over the running of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board under Welsh Government’s proposals to strengthen the NHS. Six regional health boards would be set up across Wales forcing local councils and health boards to work more closely together and sharing funds for certain services, including social care. Flintshire, Wrexham, Anglesey, Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Conwy councils would work together with representatives from Betsi with a member of the public elected to sit on the panel. The…

Two people were airlifted to hospital and several others were rescued after getting into difficulties swimming off the North Wales coast on Saturday 4th of July. The new Coastguard Rescue 936 helicopter from Caernarfon was scrambled to deal with two separate incidents at Harlech beach and Tywyn beach. It is thought the swimmers may have got caught up in rip tides. Holyhead Coastguard received the initial distress call at around 3.50pm saying a male and a female swimmer had been dragged out to sea from Harlech beach. It is understood the teenage male casualty, who was airlifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd,…

A man with a history of travel to West Africa was rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital after fears he had contracted Ebola. He became unwell on Friday 3rd of July. Today a Public Health England spokeswoman has confirmed the man, who is not thought to be from North Wales, has tested negative for the virus. Dr Deborah Turbitt, Public Health England’s Ebola national incident director, said: “Between August last year and early June, 240 individuals with relevant symptoms and a travel history were tested for Ebola in the UK. “The risk of Ebola to the general public in the…

The Summer Ball this year had a day event in addition to the traditional evening one. This was provided to ticket holders for no extra cost and proved to be as popular has it has been since it was introduced two years ago. The organisers warned beforehand that attendance of the daytime event would be limited to the first thousand people. This popularity and limited capacity led to long queues forming outside Main Arts well before the announced opening time of 12pm, which at their peak extended all the way past the Brigantia building down to Penrallt hill. The day event took place in the courtyard…

Public service workers in North Wales have landed themselves in trouble over inappropriate use of the internet and posts on social media. A Freedom of Information request by the Daily Post reveals nearly 60 council employees, health workers and fire service staff have either been fired, suspended, disciplined or demoted since 2013. Thousands of local authority, police, fire, health and university employees have access to the internet at work, with varying levels of personal use allowed. Five employees were fired at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) in two years, while Conwy council and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service…

So, Finland got knocked out of Eurovision in the semi-finals. As a Finn this does not awaken feelings of defeat as much as fear. As author Jari Tervo said in his blog after Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät was announced as our Eurovision candidate: “Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät does good for the image of Finland in front of hundreds of millions of viewers as tolerant, humane, open-armed, relaxed, happy, tolerant towards minorities and distinctive. We all know that Finland isn’t like that, but this is the image of Finland we are talking about.” I considered this an accurate statement at the time, and…

Soweto-born Bangor University graduate Mmusi Maimane, 34, has become the leader of South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance Party. Maimane is the first black leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition to the African National Congress (ANC). The DA’s leader of eight years, Helen Zille, 62, stepped down after leading the party to win 22% of the vote in the 2014 national election, its best performance. Ruling party and former liberation movement, the ANC, won that poll by more than 60%. Mr Maimane, 34, who is considered to be a possible future president of the “Rainbow…

Let’s see, you’re fourteen. Nobody understands you, because you are so much more mature than your peers and at the same time you are the most hormone-filled romantic ever, who just wants someone to whisk you away on a magic carpet. What do you do? You play Dating Sims. Even though the craze has clearly quietened down, the field only had a few real star players in the day. One of them went by the name of Pachtesis, who would post her games in DeviantArt. Her games were original, well-drawn and romantic, and didn’t include sex. For a 14-year old…

On 17th of April, a former Caernarfon harbourmaster was sentenced to a three-year community order at Caernarfon Crown Court. Richard Jones, 43, of Ffordd Eryri, Caernarfon, had previously pleaded guilty to 12 charges of making and possessing indecent images of children. A former harbourmaster, who was “addicted to pornography”, watched sexual images of children while staying late at work or while his wife was in bed at home, the court heard. When police officers raided the home of the former Caernarfon harbourmaster, they found a total of 546 indecent images on his computer, laptop, and mobile phone, as well as…

The Pontio Arts and Innovations Centre building project recently took another hit when S4C’s Y Byd ar Bedwar’s  revealed  Bangor University executive director of Development, Sheila O’Neal’s, spending spree, which was involved with the project. Between October 2013 and December 2014, O’Neal spent: £1,320 on taxis £14,677 on hotels £19,077 on flights £5,428 on food and drink A university spokesperson stated: “Expenses connected to this job are higher than other roles within the university however; this is because it is pursuing an ambitious fundraising programme.” The spokesperson also pointed out the £2.2m in funding that has been raised since O’Neal…

The Princess Royal met heated fibreglass sheep on her tour of Bangor University’s Henfaes research station in Abergwyngregyn on Feburary 27th. Princess Anne spent two hours at the farm. As well as the artificial sheep, used to study how much energy the animals use up in cold weather, she learned more about research into soils, potato blight and rye grass packaging for Waitrose fruit and vegetables. Arriving by helicopter and dressed in a warm tweed-style coat and practical brown boots, the jovial princess chatted for several minutes with postgraduate students about the artificial sheep. Postgraduate student Kevin Wells, from the…

Finland stepped up its Eurovision game by selecting the very first punk band in the history of the competition: Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurikka’s Nameday; PKN). Consisting of middle-aged men with learning disabilities, the band first started off in a music and culture workshop for disabled people in Helsinki. PKN won a spot at the Eurovision finals with their song ‘Aina Mun Pitää’ (I always have to). When interviewed about their victory, PKN bass player Sami Helle said: “We don’t want people to vote for us out of pity. We are not that different from other people. We are ordinary…