Latest news with #BBCWales
Business News Wales
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business News Wales
Welsh Chef Goes Global with TV Series Sales to Australia and Georgia
A BBC Wales series featuring a Welsh chef has been sold to broadcasters in Australia and Georgia. BAFTA Cymru winner Chris Roberts' series, Chris Cooks Cymru, was shown earlier this year. The six-part series sees Chris travel across the country, tasting what each region has to offer and cooking up meals in different locations using a variety of cookery methods but specialising in the use of charcoal. Chris said: 'It's amazing the reaction we've had to the series in which I've travelled to places in Wales I've never visited before and finding out about local traditions and foods and meeting some fantastic people. 'It's really next level stuff and the series being sold to SBS in Australia and the Georgian channel is the icing on the cake.' Made by Caernarfon-based production company Cwmni Da, a second series of Chris Cooks Cymru has already been commissioned. Planning is underway for the filming over the summer with the series due to be aired on BBC Wales early next year. 'I'm preparing for the second series which we'll film in the summer after a trip to Japan for a series that will be shown on S4C in the run-up to Christmas,' said Chris. Japan, added Chris, has been one of his 'bucket-list' destinations for a long time. 'I've never been there before but I've been wanting to visit for as long as I can remember. The food there is fantastic and they're well known for their fish cookery but they're just as well-known for their cooking with fire and the Wagyu beef is out of this world. 'I'm looking forward to visiting, finding out more about their country and their traditions, eating sushi and yakitori and other regional speciality dishes. It's going to be an epic trip.' Cwmni Da producer Aneurin Thomas, who has worked with Chris for several years, said: 'We started off quite simply making short films for the Hansh strand on S4C, featuring everything from cooking stunning steaks over fire to showcasing incredible local seafood. 'Hansh is a platform for young people in Wales to express themselves, and even back then, Chris' energy and talent were unmistakable. 'Since then, we've travelled together filming in Wales, New York, Scandinavia and Spain. 'It's a real pleasure working with him – he's not only a brilliant chef, but a great friend. What you see on screen is exactly what you get: a down to earth guy with a genuine passion for food and people.' Chris said: 'I just love what I'm doing but it's more than just me. I'm celebrating the butchers, fishmongers, growers, producers, and farmers of Wales — they're my superheroes. I want to shine a light on the incredible work they do behind our phenomenal produce.' The first Chris Cooks Cymru series can be streamed on BBC iPlayer until the autumn of 2025. Siwrna Scandi Chris and Chris' programmes about his visit to Spain last year can be streamed on S4C/Clic.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Welsh Labour accused of incompetence over Senedd candidate selections
Frustration is mounting among prospective Labour candidates over what some are calling "incompetence" and a "lack of urgency" in the party's selection process for next May's Senedd election, BBC Wales has been selections have been confirmed but other would-be candidates are still awaiting a decision and complain they have had little or no communication from the central Welsh Labour party members had hoped selections would be finalised by last month's spring conference but there are growing fears they will not conclude until the Labour said ranking for all those seeking re-election had been "completed" and shortlisting for the "remaining slots" was ongoing. BBC Wales understands some deadlines to apply to be a candidate have been extended until 3 August."People assume there must be a conspiracy behind these delays," one prospective candidate said."But the truth is it's just incompetence. It's frustrating. "It's the most unprofessional process I've ever seen in any field, inside or outside politics, throughout my career."The party's executive committee is responsible for considering all candidates who apply, through a process of due the new more proportional electoral system, once a maximum of eight candidates are approved, local branches and other party organisations will vote to rank their preferred process will be used to narrow the field down to no more than eight final candidates who will go on to stand in one of the 16 constituencies under the new electoral constituency will return six Members of the Senedd. 'Significantly off-track' Another prospective candidate said there seemed to be a lack of urgency within Welsh Labour, with the election less than a year away."The Welsh Labour Party really needs to urgently get on with the process of selecting candidates," they said."There are quite a few of us who have complained about the way the party has dealt with the candidates' due diligence process."We need to ensure that we have quality, local candidates who are willing to work hard for their communities."Another prospective candidate, who has been through similar selection processes in the past, added: "The process is significantly off-track. "It's very frustrating on a personal level, I've had to turn down a job which has created difficulty and uncertainty.""I don't know whether party headquarters are under-resourced and are feeling a sense of burnout, following an election campaign last year and then spring conference, but it is off-track." What is Labour saying about selections? A Welsh Labour spokesperson responded: "Welsh Labour is currently running selection processes for the 16 new constituencies formed for the next Senedd elections in 2026 following a timetable agreed by the Welsh Executive Committee."Ranking for all those seeking re-election has been completed. "All those who have applied to be a candidate for the remaining slots have gone through robust due diligence procedures and the process of shortlisting those candidates is ongoing." Where are other parties on selections? A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said it had "already selected and confirmed over 80 candidates for the Senedd elections following local selection processes led by party members".The Welsh Conservatives' selection process is underway with the ranking of candidates expected to take place before the end of September.A Reform UK spokesman said the party hoped to have a full slate of candidates in place "by the end of the year".
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Welsh bottle returns to start in 2027
Wales' bottle and can return scheme will launch at the same time as the rest of the UK's on 1 October 2027 after a rethink in Cardiff - but without glass being fully part of it at the Welsh government had planned to go it alone and stay out of a UK scheme after it failed to convince the UK government to include glass, but ministers appear to have backed means consumers will be able to be refunded for returning drinks containers from the same date as in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if they are plastic or while glass will be collected at the start, customers will not be refunded for the bottles they hand over. Deposit return schemes (DRS) try to promote the recycling and reuse of bottles and cans by offering money or vouchers for their the scheme a deposit will be added to the cost of a drink, which can be refunded when it is Wales was told that whilst glass will be collected as part of the scheme, the refundable deposit will not be Welsh government says this will allow for a "grace period" until the deposit comes into date has been given for when that grace period will end. Officials say it will allow "time for industry to adapt labelling, production, and distribution systems".In a statement Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said he had listened to "industry concerns" and would align with the UK's plans. The Welsh government decided not to join a UK-wide DRS scheme last year after it tried and failed to get the then-new UK Labour government to agree to glass being part of the UK government has stuck to a decision by the previous Conservative administration, which had opposed glass' inclusion due to difficulties it said would be caused to the drinks a result, it was not clear when Wales' new scheme would actually start - with the Welsh government having said it would be later than 2027. In a written statement to the Senedd last week, Irranca-Davies said: "We have heard clearly from industry that the scenario where a scheme is introduced in the other parts of the UK, with no scheme in place in Wales, carries the greatest risk of operational complexity and associated costs."I have therefore set out to industry that we are willing to accelerate our implementation timetable to align with the rest of the UK, which would provide for interoperability between common materials."He added: "Glass remains in scope of our scheme, as this means that in Wales, we will be able to begin to roll-out reuse as a core part of the scheme."In a further statement, the Welsh government said the Wales DRS will be in place by 1 October reusable drinks containers, understood to be plastics and cans, a spokesperson said "these will be phased Wales wide following a large-scale reuse trial which will build on the DRS trials that we have already undertaken in Wales"."For single-use glass: glass will be collected from day one of the scheme in Wales, but without deposit being applied initially," the spokesperson added."This arrangement allows a grace period which avoids the need for immediate changes to labelling, production, or distribution systems, helping to ensure a smooth transition for all participants." The statement from the Welsh government attracted a negative response from major industry British Retail Consortium, British Soft Drinks Association, British Beer and Pub Association and Natural Source Water Association welcomed the intention to align with the rest of the UK on bottles and they said they were "disappointed" the Welsh government was "still committed to forging its own path by including single-use glass drinks bottles from October 2027, a move which will significantly increase the cost and complexity of developing such a scheme while failing to deliver the environmental benefits a well-run DRS should deliver".
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
I've started strutting like Liam Gallagher – and the power is great indeed
By the time I got into Cardiff Central just before 8am on Friday, the early birds of the Oasis flock were already arriving. With a full 12 hours to go until showtime, this wasn't a bad effort. Respect. I wasn't there for the big reunion concert. I'd have liked to have been going, but I couldn't face the hassle. If a ticket package had been available which transported me to my seat, à la Star Trek, just before the gig started, and then transported me straight to bed when the curtain came down, I would have paid handsomely for it. As it was, I enjoyed bystanding, breathing in the thick air of anticipation, like a kind of passive smoker, detached yet vaguely intoxicated by it all. I was there to present my radio programme from BBC Wales, just across the way from the station. My studio afforded me a view of the crowds thickening outside. I wanted to scoff at all the blokes of my vintage wearing age-inappropriate bucket hats, and the rampant money-making at the heart of it all. But it was all too moving seeing these people getting reacquainted with their 20-years-ago selves. And as for the Gallagher brothers, hell, money has driven many families apart – so what if in this instance, it's money that has brought them back together? I spotted a lad in a Man City top who can't have been born when Oasis started out. He was doing the Liam Gallagher walk. You know the one: a kind of extreme swagger, with exaggerated shoulder movement and feet oriented outwards, gum being chewed. Sweet. Daft, but sweet. And then I noticed that nearly everyone was, to a lesser or greater extent, doing the Liam walk. Young and old alike had their shoulders moving more than usual, their feet angled outwards by as many degrees as they could manage and their jaws a-chewing. This walk is seen as a Manchester thing, but I don't know if it was Manchester that gave it to Liam, or Liam who gave it to Manchester. Either way, geography didn't seem to matter, the whole seething congregation was at it. I'm not even sure it was a conscious thing; people's bodies just seemed to start moving in this way. It was obviously infectious. Everyone's attitude, bluster, arrogance – call it what you will – was elevated. It was quite a thing to see. Elis James joined me on air. He said that there are specific walks for specific occasions, and this was merely the going-to-an-Oasis-gig way. Another example, James said, was the walking-to-a-football-match walk. And he's right, there is something brisk, purposeful but vaguely trepidatious about the gait of a football fan heading to the ground. Heading away from the ground after the match is a different matter. Then it is result dependent. Winners and losers walk different walks. Other gaits spring to mind. There is the not especially purposeful and somewhat untidy way that kids the world over make their way to school. The leisurely, hands-behind-back progress of aged Italian gents taking their post-prandial stroll. The erect, staring-straight-ahead stride of beautiful people, their facial expressions communicating something along the lines of: 'Yes. Gorgeous, aren't I? Don't blame you for staring but, just to be clear, I'm way out of your league.' I've become a gait connoisseur. There really are so many to celebrate. I finished my radio show at lunchtime and made my way back to Cardiff Central to get out of town and leave the Oasis hordes to it. And sure enough, even during that short walk through the throng, my legs developed minds of their own. I watched my feet splay outwards towards the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. My shoulders soon joined in, and before I knew it I was chewing, even though there was nothing in my mouth to chew. Yes, I too was doing the Liam walk. Its power is great indeed. Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
I've started strutting like Liam Gallagher – and the power is great indeed
By the time I got into Cardiff Central just before 8am on Friday, the early birds of the Oasis flock were already arriving. With a full 12 hours to go until showtime, this wasn't a bad effort. Respect. I wasn't there for the big reunion concert. I'd have liked to have been going, but I couldn't face the hassle. If a ticket package had been available which transported me to my seat, à la Star Trek, just before the gig started, and then transported me straight to bed when the curtain came down, I would have paid handsomely for it. As it was, I enjoyed bystanding, breathing in the thick air of anticipation, like a kind of passive smoker, detached yet vaguely intoxicated by it all. I was there to present my radio programme from BBC Wales, just across the way from the station. My studio afforded me a view of the crowds thickening outside. I wanted to scoff at all the blokes of my vintage wearing age-inappropriate bucket hats, and the rampant money-making at the heart of it all. But it was all too moving seeing these people getting reacquainted with their 20-years-ago selves. And as for the Gallagher brothers, hell, money has driven many families apart – so what if in this instance, it's money that has brought them back together? I spotted a lad in a Man City top who can't have been born when Oasis started out. He was doing the Liam Gallagher walk. You know the one: a kind of extreme swagger, with exaggerated shoulder movement and feet oriented outward, gum being chewed. Sweet. Daft, but sweet. And then I noticed that nearly everyone was, to a lesser or greater extent, doing the Liam walk. Young and old alike had their shoulders moving more than usual, their feet angled outwards by as many degrees as they could manage and their jaws a-chewing. This walk is seen as a Manchester thing, but I don't know if it was Manchester that gave it to Liam, or Liam who gave it to Manchester. Either way, geography didn't seem to matter, the whole seething congregation was at it. I'm not even sure it was a conscious thing; people's bodies just seemed to start moving in this way. It was obviously infectious. Everyone's attitude, bluster, arrogance – call it what you will – was elevated. It was quite a thing to see. Elis James joined me on air. He said that there are specific walks for specific occasions, and this was merely the going-to-an-Oasis-gig way. Another example, James said, was the walking-to-a-football-match walk. And he's right, there is something brisk, purposeful but vaguely trepidatious about the gait of a football fan heading to the ground. Heading away from the ground after the match is a different matter. Then it is result dependent. Winners and losers walk different walks. Other gaits spring to mind. There is the not especially purposeful and somewhat untidy way that kids the world over make their way to school. The leisurely, hands-behind-back progress of aged Italian gents taking their post-prandial stroll. The erect, staring-straight-ahead stride of beautiful people, their facial expressions communicating something along the lines of: 'Yes. Gorgeous, aren't I? Don't blame you for staring but, just to be clear, I'm way out of your league.' I've become a gait connoisseur. There really are so many to celebrate. I finished my radio show at lunchtime and made my way back to Cardiff Central to get out of town and leave the Oasis hordes to it. And sure enough, even during that short walk through the throng, my legs developed minds of their own. I watched my feet splay outwards towards the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. My shoulders soon joined in, and before I knew it I was chewing, even though there was nothing in my mouth to chew. Yes, I too was doing the Liam walk. Its power is great indeed. Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
