THE Government must do more to regulate the pay day loan industry, Islwyn MP Chris Evans told the House of Commons today. Leading a Backbench Business Debate on high cost credit, Mr Evans highlighted that Citizens Advice Bureaux in Wales have reported
PONTYPOOL Community Councillor for the Garndiffaith and Varteg ward has died. Cllr David Leek, 79, died on August 29 at Nevill Hall hospital following a heart attack. The labour councillor of 22 years was a former leader of Pontypool Community
Children in Wales are falling behind their English counterparts in terms of literacy – but they report being happier at school. The literacy figures come as a further blow to Gwent after three counties were put into special measures, indicating
A DEDICATED Pontypool volunteer has been recognised for her efforts in the community with a Newport Night of Honour Award nomination.Doreen Thomas, 88, has been nominated as volunteer of the year by good friend Lilly Harris, for her work in running Longbridge
NEWPORT cycle speedway team, fresh from their winning the South and South Wales Division One title, will be looking to progress to the final of the British Team Cup final this Sunday.They take on the Wednesfield Aces, the sport's most successful team
CONSUMERS and businesses in Caerphilly county borough are being warned to be on their guard when being asked for personal information. The warning comes from Caerphilly council’s Trading Standards after childminders in the Caerphilly area were targeted
A job seeker from Newport was “humiliated” by being asked to dance in front of strangers at a job interview for Curry's. Alan Bacon, 21, moved to Cardiff to find work after graduating from The University of South Wales this summer. Mr Bacon
GLAMORGAN suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Kent in the LV= County Championship yesterday but the cloud does have a silver lining, writes Chris Kirwan.The visitors eased to a comfortable success at the Swalec Stadium yesterday, completing their victory
HOLLYWOOD star and Welsh acting icon Ioan Gruffudd has been cast as the face of University of South Wales’s new student recruitment advertisement. The ‘cause and effect’ campaign sees the actor, most notable for his roles in the Fantastic Four
It was "truly miraculous" that no one was killed in a 100-car pile-up on a bridge in heavy fog, police have said. Eight people were seriously injured and 35 are in hospital following the crash on the new Sheppey crossing bridge in Kent, which started
HUNDREDS packed a city church this morning to say goodbye to a stalwart Newport councillor dubbed the “ambassador and servant” of Pill. More than 600 people, including councillors of past and present and city dignitaries, gathered at St Michael
RUGBY legend Scott Quinnell will join TV host Paul Child for an evening of Welsh nostalgia at the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran. The former Welsh international prop will make his stand-up debut with the singer and Sky TV presenter, who co-hosts The
EARLIER this year I attended the launch of Wales’ first gas bus at Newport Transport. Made by bus manufacturer MAN, the bus is fuelled by the same gas used in household kitchen cookers and central heating. The bus was used by Newport Transport
A PONTYPOOL ballet dancer hopes to turn her hobby into a career. Ella-Louise Appleby, 15, from New Inn, first started with the Gemini School of Dance in Griffithtown at the age of four and over 10 years later she remains dedicated to the art.
TOP Welsh comedian Owen Money is set to feature at Chepstow as the racecourse launches a series of comedy nights starting on October 3. From humble beginnings Owen Money was born in Merthyr Tydfil, and grew up in the South Wales Valleys. He started
NEWPORT Playgoers are all set to start their 90th season with a bang – by presenting the actionpacked, fun-filled stage version of Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Imagine four actors playing 139 characters in 100 minutes and you get an idea of
Why did you decide to make a show about Formby? I have been a fan of George Formby since my childhood when George’s films were shown on mornings during the school holidays. I have also spent around 15 years playing the ukulele, attempting to play
LA group Haim’s debut album Days Are Gone will be released on the September 30 through Polydor Records. It’s a record that features songs that stretch right back to when the band first formed and songs written in the latter stages of 2012.
CRITICS Circle Award winning company, Ballet Cymru will present an extraordinary double bill of new work featuring some of Wales most outstanding artists this September. Following the sell-out success last year of Ballet Cymru’s work with Cerys
You may have noticed the Dolman theatre is sporting a colourful new look ahead of the autumn season. There have been lots of changes at the Newport theatre, not to mention new front of house manager, Steve Bissex-Williams. Mr Bissex-Williams
ONE of the hardest-working figures in modern music, Paul Carrack is all set to take to the stage again later in the year for his latest tour, celebrating over five decades in the music business. The former vocalist of Mike and The Mechanics and
This week, NEWTON FAULKNER released his fourth album Studio Zoo. He tells ANDY HOWELLS why he feels the album could be his best to date "Only 3 months ago I couldn’t conceive of doing an album in the next 3 months,” says Newton Faulkner, “Now it
MARTYN JOSEPH, Cardiff’s acclaimed singer songwriter has an uncanny knack of fusing fearless, full-bodied ‘songs with a message’ with fragile love songs. Voted best male artist in the 2004 BBC Welsh Music Awards he has one of the most powerful
LET’S Hang On, a tribute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons return to the Borough Theatre Abergavenny on Friday 6 September at 7:30pm. Let’s Hang On are an amazing live band who perform, with the greatest of accuracy, an outstanding tribute
Who are you and where do you come from? I’m Tori Maries, a musician living in Bristol (aren’t we all?), where at some point of the month you can find me playing my green racing car-like guitar and singing. I spent my schooling years, brief as they
MONMOUTHSHIRE'S Labour group leader is to call for access to payday lenders to be banned from computers owned by the region’s council.Councillor Dimitri Batrouni wants Monmouthshire networks, including publicly accessible computers in the county
LAWSON return with brand new single, Juliet, out October 13. Combining a heavy rock beat with bounding pop riffs and a slight reggae twang, Juliet follows a string of chart topping successes for Lawson; their debut album Chapman Square charted
THE openening of Blaenau Gwent's new college, the Ebbw Fawr Learning Community has been delayed until 10th September. Blaenau Gwent council announced the two-day delay in the opening of the new building at The Works site in Ebbw Vale by two days
A team of Newport opticians swapped their specs for bicycles and have raised more than £1000 for a local children’s charity. The team from Wangler’s Opticians Newport joined almost one hundred other teams taking part in the 52 mile ‘Taff Trail’
NEWPORT brewery Tiny Rebel will launch their first bar in Cardiff this month, creating 30 to 40 jobs.Gareth Williams, 32, and Bradley Cummings, 25, co-founders of Tiny Rebel, will be opening their new bar, Urban Tap, at the end of September.The Newport
MORE than 350 patients waited more than 24 hours in A&E departments at Gwent hospitals during the last year.The figures, revealed following a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request by the Welsh Conservatives, show that 240 of these waits were at
SO NEWPORT City Council is asking for views as it attempts to address a significant budget shortfall. In doing so, the council is trying to solve one problem could end up creating another problem. It is clear that the council is looking to shift
A LOT has been said about Rodney Parade lately so here is my take as a football fan and lifelong County fan: I have no interest at all in rugby, never seen a full game. But I tell you this I only wish The NGD and Newport RFC well, and our groundshare
MR BANFIELD tells Gwent councils to “fight the cuts, not impose them”, (Argus, 3 September). He will know these cuts in our councils’ (and Welsh Government’s) budgets are being imposed by the ConDem Westminster government, with scant regard for
I READ in today’s papers Vinnie Jones’ rant about Britain no longer being the country he grew up in. It certainly isn’t. When I was young the NHS worked [could it be because it was run by nursing staff and doctors not pen pushers, quangos, and
AFTER enduring another episode of verbal abuse as a driver cut across my path to turn left up Waterloo Road I would like to know why 99 per cent of road users in Newport have no idea what the blue bus lanes signs mean? By not driving in the left
CHEPSTOW's revamped farmers' market got off to a great start with many stall holders selling out.The relaunched market was open to the public at the weekend with all stallholders who signed up having their street trading licence fee covered by
5:15pm Happy to oblige Elizabeth! Got my mug in the Argus!!!! Genuine Lols!!!! #PeterAndre #Cwmbran 🙋😝😆 http://t.co/eNevcP4u0e — ElizaBeth Phillips (@Beth_Phillips_) September 5, 2013
DECORATED senior army officer Mark Williams has been appointed by the Welsh Rugby Union as the new manager of the Millennium Stadium. A lieutenant colonel in The Royal Welsh, Williams, originally from Glynneath, had 20 years of experience in the
LOCK Matthew Screech will partner captain Andrew Coombs in the Newport Gwent Dragons second row against Ulster tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.15pm). The 20-year-old has enjoyed a rapid, and unexpected, rise after being released by Cardiff Blues at
CRACKING a century at Lord's is the stuff of dreams for most cricketers and it's become a reality for Monmouth School's Jeremy Lawlor at the age of 17, writes Chris Kirwan.The all-rounder, who plays his club cricket for Newport and has featured
THE fall-out and recriminations from last week’s Commons vote on military action in Syria are likely to dominate political debate for some time to come. Those who voted against Britain taking part in any action against the Assad regime - including
A £9 MILLION budget gap could see taxpayers in Monmouthshire face a three per cent council tax hike, a meeting of the authority’s cabinet heard yesterday. Officers have predicted the council will have to cut services to fill a £9 million hole in
UPDATE: 11.15am The A449 has now re-opened following this morning's crash. Gwent Police are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact by ringing 101 quoting log 76 05/09/13. UPDATE: 10.03am One person was removed
TUESDAY night’s incident was not connected to other recent gun crime “in any way”, according chief inspector Huw Nicholas, who insisted that Newport remains a “very safe city”.The chief insp said: “There have been a
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons summer target Ian Gough has left the Ospreys – but a return to Rodney Parade isn’t on the cards. The 36-year-old former Wales lock has left the Swansea-based region after reaching an agreement on terminating the final year
A Newport man from has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the shooting on Chepstow Road on Tuesday night. The 24-year-old is being held alongside two men from Cardiff aged 22 and 24, who were arrested yesterday on suspicion
GUN shots were fired during a terrifying car chase up a Newport street, before one vehicle was rammed off the road. Eyewitnesses described three victims running from the scene on Somerton Road, one of them bleeding, calling ‘he’s shooting at us
HE HAS starred in 20 plays and met 200 children annually over his 10 year career but now Boris has been stolen. The green stuffed catfish has been the mascot for The Cast children’s academy of stage training since he starred in their first ever
THE shots that were fired in a Newport street on Tuesday night were part of the third gun-related incident in the city in the last month. Police say the three incidents are entirely unrelated and there is no reason for local people to be alarmed
FACES were glum at Rodney Parade last season and understandably so after a hideous campaign for Newport Gwent Dragons.Fast forward four months and there are smiles and high hopes following the arrival of director of rugby Lyn Jones.The management team
THE phrase 'less is more' is unlikely to be in the lexicon of television chiefs.BT Sport has spent big to snare the rights to the Aviva Premiership from Sky Sports and last week announced a series of "ground-breaking new innovations"
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons don't intend to put down the welcome mat for Ulster when the RaboDirect Pro12 gets under way tomorrow.Hooker Rhys Thomas says the region want to turn Rodney Parade into a "dungeon" for their opponents over the coming
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons boss Lyn Jones knows what's coming from Ulster – and this time he can't hide behind his sofa.The director of rugby has swapped London Welsh for Rodney Parade and the Aviva Premiership for the RaboDirect Pro12.His first
A TORFAEN beautician is living her dream as a salon owner but has never forgotten her friend who died aged 19 and is fundraising in her memory. Lauren Hayes took over the salon Facial Attraction, in New Inn, last year, after working at the salon for
AARON O’Connor is back in light training as the hotshot Exile closes in on a first team return, writes Michael Pearlman.The striker, who scored 20-goals to help the Exiles to the Football League, has been suffering with a groin injury throughout
GWENT duo Danny Gabbidon and James Collins are going head-to-head in a battle to represent their country this week.Cwmbran’s Gabbidon, back in the Premier League with Crystal Palace and Newport’s Collins, still at West Ham United, will tussle
NEWPORT council needs to take action to keep up with a series of aims it has set to improve itself. Earlier this year, the council set out ten objectives for it to achieve in its improvement plan for 2013/14. A report on the council’s performance
THE funeral of stalwart Pill councillor Ron Jones who died last week will take place in Newport this morning.His service will be held at St Michael's RC Church, Clarence Street, at 11.30am. It will be followed by his burial at St Woolos Cemetery.Cllr
ULSTER were perfect in Wales last season but boss Mark Anscombe is expecting a "battle royal" at Rodney Parade tomorrow evening, writes Chris Kirwan.The Irish province won on their travels to Newport Gwent Dragons (46-19), Scarlets (19-12),
NEWPORT County defender Andy Sandell will be out until Christmas. A key component for the Exiles at either left back or left wing back, Sandell missed Saturday's draw at Scunthorpe and has taken to Twitter to announce his lengthy absence after
