On Sunday 24th February, Bangor University hosted their first Pride celebration. Students Owen Hurcum and Jasper Williams hosted the event (alongside the LGBT+ Society) in the Main Art University Building. Throughout the day, there was a range of entertainment, including circus performers, live music, poetry, comedy and drag acts. Alongside the entertainment, there were also talks including a Queercare Workshop. MP Hywel Williams came and spoke in support of the university’s LGBT+ community, as well as VP of Sports, Louise Fell. The historical event was a great success and promises to be bigger and better next year.

The construction of a new purpose-built school in Bangor, to accommodate up to 420 pupils, has begun. Pupils from Ysgol Y Garnedd, Ysgol Coed Mawr and Glanadda, were present for the official ‘sod cutting’ ceremony at the new school site. The new school will be built on the corner of the Ysgol Friars playing fields, closest to the existing Garnedd school, providing fourteen classrooms, two Additional Learning Needs classrooms, a Cylch Meithrin along with several different teaching spaces, staff and administration areas and a large hall. The new development is part of a wider £12.7 million scheme that will reorganise…

North Wales and the North West of England are the key areas for the development of nuclear research and engineering in the UK, according to a UK Government commissioned Audit report published earlier this month. The report shows that nowhere else in Europe has such a concentration of nuclear expertise, with unparalleled access to a world-renowned skills base and pioneering expertise in nuclear research and development. Known as the ‘North West Nuclear Arc’, the area of north Wales and North West England is one of few regions in the world with a nuclear industry covering the full life-cycle, and with…

“River Custodians” are being recruited to raise the drawbridge around Anglesey and protect the island’s wildlife from a foreign invader. Volunteers are needed for a new project organised by regeneration body Menter Môn to safeguard Anglesey’s endangered water vole from the rapacious American mink. Without intervention, the mammal could become extinct on Anglesey and minks could also devastate the island’s wetland and wading birds. Years of mink trapping has shown the island is still largely free of the non-native predator and Menter Môn’s initiative aims to keep it that way. Working with communities on both sides of the Menai Strait,…

Tenovus Cancer Care concluded their 75th anniversary this year with a special Lovelight concert at Bangor Cathedral featuring their own choir. The event encouraged people to come along and light a candle in remembrance of family and friends lost to cancer. Bangor and Holyhead male choir, Treffos Independent School, and Bangor University graduate Kiefer Jones all performed alongside the Bangor Sing with us Choir. Debbie Rowley, regional fundraising manager for north Wales, explained the purpose of the event: ‘They are in celebration or in memory of people. People come in and light a candle for the moment of reflection, they…

The proposal of building a new tunnel under the Menai Strait to carry electric cables from Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant, has potential to give geologists the opportunity to study ancient rock formations on the bed of the Strait. The new tunnel, which could be opened in the mid-2020s, would see cables laid to carry energy from Wylfa Newydd to the mainland. Dr Mike Roberts, from Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences, told ‘Good Morning Wales’ listeners how geology and marine geology surveyors are benefiting from samples from under the Menai Strait. Drilling by National Grid has gone 50m into the…

Across North Wales, barbers – including Kai’s Barbers in Bangor – will be given help to assist in saving lives while giving a ‘short back and sides’ as part of a new drive to raise awareness of men’s mental health and the male suicide rate. Hairdressers across the region are set to receive training in spotting warning signs of mental health issues in their customers, along with practice guidance on how to listen, give helpful advice, and signpost to support services. Having been launched on International Men’s Day (19 November), the initiative aims to raise awareness of the tragedy of…

A pet shop in Abergele has opened a dog-friendly cinema where dogs and their owners can sit and enjoy a film on the big screen. The owners of Pet Place in Abergele, Conwy county, have spent over £100,000 building a cinema for dogs, which will run alongside their current pet shop. The cinema also has a coffee shop that sells snacks and drinks for both humans and their pets. The cinema seats 40 people on deckchairs, and 50 dogs on mats. Tickets cost £10 for an adult and dog. All of the films shown will be pet-related and include titles…

The annual Christmas Market will be held on Sunday 16 December, and will see Bangor High Street filled with stalls, including street food, local produce and crafts. There will also be live music throughout the day, separate funfairs for both children and adults, and a firework display to finish. The Christmas Market follows the successful Bangor Food Festival which was held in September. Emyr Owen, event organiser, said: “The food festival was an amazing success, I haven’t spoken to one person who didn’t enjoy themselves, many people said they’ve never seen so many people in Bangor. With the Christmas Market…

Storiel in Bangor have a new exhibition which explores the theme of recycling through showcasing how discarded, unwanted and broken items can be transformed from ‘rubbish’ into art. The items on show include examples of ‘recycling’ from Storiel’s museum collection. Some pieces are made from treasured fragments, whilst others were created from discarded broken objects which have been used in a new way. The exhibition is important as it shows how our waste can be repurposed and reused. This notion is important in today’s world as our waste, especially items made from plastics and artificial fabrics, is threatening to overwhelm…