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WITH the final countdown to the staging of this year’s eagerly-awaited Portstock charity music festival, Coleg Gwent has been announced as a supporter of the event.

Portstock ’19 music festival, in aid of St David’s Hospice Care, takes place at Rodney Parade on Saturday (June 22).

Coleg Gwent is sponsoring the Portstock ’19 stage, which will see 90s hip hop band Stereo MC’s headlining and being supported by Caldicot’s Rusty Shackle and pub rockers Dr Feelgood.

Other bands on the day-long bill include The Karpets, Ska Monkeys, Joe Kelley and The Royal Pharmacy, The Darling Buds, The Rotanas and DJ Daryll Banby.

City of Newport campus director Gary Handley said: “Coleg Gwent is more than happy to sponsor Portstock as it is fast becoming the community event to attend in Newport, following the success from its inception last year.

“We’re always looking for ways to support our community; this family day out helps cater for all and it’s great to see more events and activities coming to Newport, making it a vibrant hub for the local arts and music scene.

“By sponsoring the festival, we recognise how it supports the valuable work of the St David’s Hospice Care, which was another reason why we wanted to back this event.

“It’s a charity that our staff and students annually support through local fundraising. Our learners choose this great cause when raising money through their Welsh Baccalaureate projects and other such community based activities.”

Kris Broome, of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “We’re very appreciative of all the sponsors we have backing Portsock’19 including the latest, Coleg Gwent, who have come on board to support the all important stage for what is building up to be a real must-attend music festival for the city of Newport.”

For details on Portstock 19 visit www.portstock.co.uk or call 01633 674990.

The high street is not dead, according to a leading Wales property auctioneer.

Paul Fosh, of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “Some of the lots went really well at our June sale achieving very good prices. What this shows is that quality properties will always find a buyer if priced correctly.

“There is still a feeling of nervousness among buyers. It pays pays to come to the auction having researched a couple or three targets to aim for at the sale.

“If you don’t succeed with one then you may be successful with another which was the case at this auction with some of the bidders sticking at it to the end determined to make a purchase.

“What can happen is buyers all regard a particular property as a bargain or a good buy which pushes the price up when two or three are bidding. However other equally good value properties may be overlooked providing a good buy for the canny bidder.

“The sale also proved that the much-maligned high street, despite what we may read or hear, is not dead with a number of sales at the auction most notably in Blackwood.”

One example of a commercial sale was at 111 High Street, Blackwood, where a former women’s clothes shop listed with a guide price of £125,000, lifted due to pre-auction interest from £115,000, sold for £135,000.

The property over two floors with retail on the ground and offices above, leased to a taxi firm at £4,800 a year, offered a total area of 1,804 sq ft.

A detached, four-bedroom house for improvement at 51 High Street, Troedrhiwfuwch, New Tredegar, complete with outside loo, was listed with a guide price of £18,500-plus. It sold after keen interest from the auction room for £47,500.

A three-storey, five-bedroom, three reception, mid terraced Victorian house at 15 Stow Park Avenue, Newport, sold for £200,000 after being listed with a guide price of £190,000-plus.

An end-of-terrace house at 182 Commercial Road, Pill, Newport with accommodation across three floors sold after intense bidding for £111,000.

The property had six rooms on the lower ground floor, three receptions rooms and former kitchen on the ground and five bedrooms above has been listed for £89,000-plus.

A first floor flat, at 4c Clytha Square, Newport, close to the city centre, listed at £45,000-plus, sold for £55,000.

Altogether a total of 65 lots were offered for sale with 41 sold realising a total sale of £2,917,245.

The next sale is on Thursday, August 1, at The Cardiff North Hotel, Cardiff starting at 5pm.

MAMHILAD Park Estate in Pontypool is gearing up to throw open its gates to host a 300-vehicle charity car show in aid of a centre supporting children in Wales with cerebral palsy.

This year funds raised from the day-long car event will be donated to Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales, Whitchurch, Cardiff.

Bobath provides specialist physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy to children all over Wales who have cerebral palsy.

Sports car enthusiast and event organiser Matt Gould, from Pontypool, who’s daughter has attended Bobath since she was very young, said: “Last year was such a great success we decided to do it again.

“This year’s show will be twice the size with 300 cars registered covering in excess of 45 marques from 80 years of motoring history. Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar and TVR will all be present along with modern favourites like the mighty Nissan GTR.”

Matt’s daughter Charlotte, aged 12, who attends Abersychan School, in Torfaen, has attended Bobath since she was very young. The car-mad youngster will again be heavily involved in this year’s event.

He said: “It’s fair to say that Charlotte shares my passion for fast cars and regularly attends car shows in the area with me. She can’t wait to get up close with some of the fantastic vehicles that will be on show at Motors @Mamhilad this year.”

This will be the second time the business park, owned by Johnsey Estates, has sponsored Motors @Mamhilad, which will feature an array of super cars and classics.

It is the first time the business park, which is based on the border of Torfaen and Monmouthshire, will stage an open day to promote the variety of offices and facilities on the parkland setting.

Motors@Mamhilad will be staged in the main car park at the business park on Saturday, July 27, from 10am to 2pm.

Entry is £3 for adults and payable at the gates. Children are free.

Visitors will also be encouraged to tour the park to view offices and the many other facilities on site.

There will also be craft and trade stalls, bouncy castles and inflatable slides, face painting, games and a fete for the families to enjoy.

Matt is helped in staging the event by fellow car enthusiasts Matt Reynolds, James Oversteer, of Oversteer Photography, and Chris Wiltshire and Paige Murray, of Wallboss UK, among others.

He said: “We can’t thank Johnsey Estates enough for allowing us to use Mamhilad Park Estate again this year. It’s the perfect location for a car show such as ours as there is so much car parking space for exhibitors and visitors in a safe and secure gated location.”

MUSIC fans are gearing up for a concert to remember – it’s almost time for Newport’s Portstock Festival to blast off.

Rodney Parade will be rocking out on Saturday June 22, with a selection of local and world-famous acts coming together to do what they do best, all in support of St David’s Hospice Care.

Event organisers have released the final running order for the event:

• 11.30am (plus in-between acts): DJ Daryll Barnby & Compere Kelly RB.
• 12.30pm – 1pm: Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy.
• 1.30pm – 2pm: The Ska Monkeys.
• 2.30pm – 3.10pm: The Rotanas.
• 1.15pm (plus in-between acts): The Honest Poet.
• 3.40pm – 4.25pm: The Darling Buds.
• 5pm – 6pm: The Karpets.
• 6.30pm – 7.30pm: Dr Feelgood.
• 8pm – 9pm: Rusty Shackle.
• 9.30pm – 10.30pm: Stereo MCS

Kris Broome, of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “Portstock 2019 is going to be a fantastic event for the people of Newport and beyond.

“We have a great selection of acts so there will definitely be something for everyone. This is not something that you want to miss.”

Along with a diverse musical line up, Portstock 2019 will host various activities. This includes: The Sparklettes Hula Hoop Troupe workshops, Studts funfair, a unique ‘photo booth’ – Rubbish Portraits by Lucie Sheridan and family activities from Pure Gym Newport.

Guests can also get dolled up with eco-friendly glitter from The Sparkle Bar or face painting by Irene.

There will also be plenty to keep little ones amused in the Kids Corner, including: Dragons Rugby, Characters N Co, The Pixie’s Wardrobe workshops, The Slime Factory workshops, family garden games by Melin Homes Communities Team, and children’s sports games by Newport Live.

The day promises to be packed with family-fun, with money raised helping St David’s Hospice Care carry out their vital work for patients and families in Gwent.

Get your tickets for Portstock 2019 by visiting

portstock.co.uk

or call their Booking Line on 01633 674990.

A Gwent charity is experiencing the silver lining of the dark cloud of traffic snarled up at Newport’s M4 Brynglas Tunnels.

Newport-based financial advice firm Niche, whose head office overlooks the notorious tunnels, has posted a billboard promoting St David’s Hospice Care’s Portstock music festival on its building.

Niche, which also has a dragon on the roof of its head office, have at least 68,000 local commuters passing by every day (this does not include non-local traffic).

The regular traffic jams means eastbound vehicles come to a standstill at the Brynglas Tunnels with nothing much else to look at but the Niche posters.

Niche has agreed to do its bit to help promote the Portstock charity music festival, which takes place at Rodney Parade, Newport, this month.

Matt Wiltshire, managing director at Niche IFA, said: “Supporting Portstock, which has been created to help raise funds for St David’s Hospice Care, was the obvious thing to do.

“The charity does an amazing job, so if we can play a small part and help raise funds for them, we will.”

Niche has put up a large Portstock 2019 banner on the M4 facing end of their building.

Matt said: “Our location is perfect for promoting local companies and events to those passing by every day, so we thought it would be a great idea to erect a huge 4m by 3m banner promoting Portstock.

“If only a fraction of those passing by our office every day see the banner and buy a ticket, that will be a lot of tickets sold.

“The fundamental purpose of Portstock is to raise money for St David’s Hospice Care, so we will certainly be encouraging people to buy a ticket and have a great afternoon at Rodney Parade.”

Adrian Hadley, deputy CEO of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “The support shown by Niche has been great. We know that the poster will now be seen by thousands of people and we hope Niche will continue to support us in the future.”

Portstock 2019 will feature a variety of musical performances, including ones from Stereo MC’s, Dr Feelgood and Rusty Shackle.

All of these acts and many more will be playing at Rodney Parade on June 22, 2019 as part of Portstock 2019.

To get tickets, go to: www.portstock.co.uk.

A hugely-popular annual rugby lunch raised a record £25,000 for St David’s Hospice Care this year.

The event, organised by Lloyds Bank, heard from former Wales, British Lion, Pontypool player and current BBC broadcaster and programme maker Monmouthshire’s Eddie Butler.

Representatives from Lloyds Bank were given a tour of the hospice in Malpas, Newport, by chief executive Emma Saysell and deputy chief executive ex-Wales rugby international Adrian Hadley.

Rob Barber, Lloyds Bank area director, Cardiff and South East Wales, said: “It’s amazing to see firsthand the tremendous work the team at St David’s Hospice Care does here at the hospice and in the community.

“It’s immensely gratifying to know that the money raised through the annual Lloyds Bank Rugby lunch goes to support such a wonderful cause.”

Emma Saysell said: “The lunch is a highlight of the year for many, who come back year on year, booking their place at the end of one event ready for the next one the following year.”

Former Wales and Cardiff wing Adrian Hadley said: “The lunch has grown in stature over the years to be one of the best events of its kind in all Wales. The lunch was packed full this year to hear from Eddie Butler.

“We’re now busy planning next year’s lunch which we have provisionally booked for the last Friday in January 2020 again at Sophia Gardens, a venue which is always excellent and where we are looked after famously.”

There have been 15 annual Lloyds Rugby Lunches during which time around £235,000 has been raised. This has now risen to £260,000 after this year’s record breaking event. Lloyds Bank match funds any money raised at the lunch.

For the last seven years the event has partnered with St David’s Hospice Care.

Adrian said: “We’re indebted to Lloyds Bank for its continued support for what is a very valuable source of funds for our charity enabling us to continue to carry our vital work in the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

For more details about St David’s Hospice Care and the annual Lloyds Bank Rugby Lunch visit www.stdavidshospicecare.org.

AN intriguing cask of Welsh history is on tap later this month when the site of a former pub near Govilon is put up for auction.

The derelict building is down a track from the world-famous Tumble, which leads from Govilon up to Blaenavon and which is a popular hill for cyclists to tackle.

The former pub, originally named ‘The Tumble Inn’ was bought by the current owner’s father in 1947, when he was 21, for his brother.

Before then, the pub had been passed on several times since it was originally built by some settlers of the Govilon area.

The brother is thought to have left the property around 50 years ago, and now the time has come for the pub to change hands again.

Regular patrons of the now derelict pub were foundry workers who would work in Blaenavon and the surrounding areas.

The site, approximately 1.9 acres, is located on the side of Gilwern Hill in Monmouthshire and would be an ideal lot for a number of uses.

It will be up for sale at Paul Fosh Auctions this month, with a guide price of £17,000-plus.

Sean Roper, residential property specialist at Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “This is one of the more unusual lots, and a great opportunity to own a little bit of Welsh history.

“We have had a huge response with every other call to me at the moment about the Tumble.”

The land offers easy access to the A465 Heads of the Valleys road and the town of Abergavenny, with its wide range of amenities, shopping facilities and transport links, is also easily accessible from the former pub and accompanying land.

The sale, when this unusual lot and almost 90 other properties on offer, will take place on Thursday, June 13, starting at 5pm at The Cardiff North Hotel, Llanedyrn, Cardiff.

GWENT Lloyds Bank charity volunteers faced their Moment of Truth at Newport’s St David’s Hospice Care.

A group of 10 volunteers took time out of their working week to help at the hospice in Blackett Avenue, Malpas.

The group all work as part of the Moment of Truth team at Lloyds Bank, Tredegar Park, which assists people with their banking needs at challenging times in their lives.

The group, at the hospice for the day, helped folding and packing shirts for the Dalmatian Bike Ride charity event and tackled gardening in the grounds.

Team leader Stewart Wilkins said: “It’s the first time our group has been to help out at St David’s Hospice Care. We’re delighted to be able to be here to offer what assistance is required and also to see firsthand some of what the team at St David’s Hospice Care does.”

A KIND-hearted six-year-old asked friends to give money instead of presents for her birthday this year.

Grace Wingar, who dressed as Wonder Woman for her birthday, donated the £129.91 raised to Newport-based St David’s Hospice Care’s Unicorn Service.

The Unicorn Appeal, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, cares and offers support to bereaved youngsters and teenagers.

Miss Wingar decorated a special envelope into which she put all her birthday money and presented it to the Unicorn Service at the hospice in Malpas, Newport.

She was accompanied by her sister Freya, four, and said: “I told all my friends to give me money for my sixth birthday not presents. I’m glad the money will help children and I like unicorns.”

Her mum Melanie, who lives in Bridgend and who works at The Heath Hospital, Cardiff, said: “Grace is a very thoughtful and caring girl. I am very proud of her especially for what she has done to support the Unicorn Appeal.

“Grace is now looking for other things she can do to support the charity. Perhaps we’ll do a park run for St David’s Hospice Care.”

Elaine Robinson, of St David’s Hospice Care’s Unicorn Service, who welcomed Miss Wingar and her family to Malpas, said: “It was so lovely to meet Grace, her mum Melanie and her sister Freya. Grace is a charming and very considerate young lady.

“The birthday money that Grace raised will be put to very good use by us here at the Unicorn Project. We can never have enough arts and crafts materials for the children and it all costs money to provide.”

The Unicorn Service is run by Mrs Robinson, Child and Young Person’s Support Worker. She works with children through talking and play, giving one-to-one hands-on support and helping children with the changes that may be taking place around them such as a parent becoming bedridden or routines and family life being entirely disrupted.

services offered by the Unicorn Service can take place both in the home environment and the school setting, and can be accessed by children from pre-school age right up to the age of 18.

The Unicorn Service celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. St David’s Hospice Care are urging people to celebrate with them by taking part in ‘Unicorn Day’, which can be whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. Have some fun whilst raising money to help continue the much-needed, ever-growing services of the project.

You can get your free Unicorn Day fundraising pack by going to stdavidshospicecare.org/event-details/unicorn-day/ and make a difference just like Miss Wingar.

St. David’s Hospice Care will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its Unicorn Service with a Unicorn Day on Friday, July 12, visit stdavidshospicecare.org

A Pontypool-based specialist insurance broker has been able to manage its impressive growth without leaving its home, thanks to the flexibility of the business park where it is based.

The rapidly-expanding Quote Detective, which is based at Mamhilad Business Park, was able to stay at the park when it needed larger premises.

The business, which specialises in non standard motor insurance, has recently moved to a 7,000 sq ft office with plans to boost its workforce from its current 80 to 120 by the end of this year.

The insurance broker first arrived at Mamhilad Park Estate two years ago with just 12 staff after it outgrew its previous premises.

It works with leading businesses in the world of insurance broking and online quote comparison sites. It sources insurance from niche insurers to offer bespoke cover for non standard customers.

Quote Detective has space for 160 employees at its new offices.

James Crawford, chief executive of Johnsey Estates, the property company which owns Mamhilad Park Estate, said: “We have been delighted to witness Quote Detective’s rapid growth ever since they moved into their first office space here. We have been with them every step of the way ensuring that they are happy and have what they need.

“Quote Detective was ready for a new location which we have been able to provide at the recently refurbished Cwmbran House. The business has now taken a five-year lease to consolidate their business and also to provide space into which to grow.

“This leaves us with the task of finding a new tenant for the modern, connected space that they have vacated. The refurbishment of this open plan space of 4,000 sq ft is nearly complete and will be marketed very shortly.

“Ideally what we aim to do is to find a replacement business to take the space and replicate the success of a business like Quote Detective.

Quote Detective chief executive David Harlow said: “We’re very pleased with how we have been able to move into this refurbished space to centralise our entire team in one location. The space at Cwmbran House, which is light, airy and spacious, has been created to meet our precise specification and design.

“Johnsey Estates have bent over backwards to accommodate our requirements. When we first moved in Mamhilad Park Estate we had just 12 people and as we have grown and have taken on additional staff, so our needs have been accommodated by the landlord.

“We’ve built up an understanding with Johnsey Estates over the time we’ve been here; they know where we’re going in terms of the business and what we want and consistently deliver on our requirements.

“Mamhilad Park Estate is a good fit for us as there is a good local talent pool, it is easy to get to and it is, well maintained

“With our move and expansion we are now looking for people in sales, customer services, compliance, accounts and IT programming. We need to recruit all three disciplines and no previous experience is required for many positions. We provide comprehensive training and promote future managers from within.”

Quote Detective is owned by pH Innovate a technology focused incubator operating in the UK insurance sector providing finance, technology and sector knowledge to create complimentary entrepreneurial businesses.