Wales Online • 28th December 2023

The genuine difficulty of walking around a city like Cardiff when you're blind

When Dan Thomas travels on foot he likes to build a map of the route in his mind. It includes more details than most pedestrians would need like the position of post boxes, electrical cabinets, flower pots, and lamp posts. But for Dan detail is everything. Dan, 36, is registered as blind. He's not completely blind, though, and still has light perception – so if, for example, you put your hand in front of his face then he would know it's there. "But [my light perception] is not functional in any

Wales Online • 23rd December 2023

Richard is sleeping on the streets this Christmas for an important reason

On Christmas Day, while millions of people in Wales celebrate indoors with loved ones, Richard Roncero will be sleeping rough on the streets of Cardiff. He'll be one of a number of homeless people in the capital who will be curling up in shop doorways, in car parks and next to electrical cabinets over the festive period. But Richard isn't actually homeless. He's living on the streets - hundreds of miles away from his fiancee and children - for a very important cause. The 39-year-old Scotsman is

Wales Online • 2nd December 2023

‘It takes just one thing to go wrong to completely mess up my train journey'

When Raj Aulakh takes a train ride, he has to think about more aspects of the journey than most people. Will the lifts be working at the train station so he can reach the platform? Will the carriage be wide enough for his wheelchair to pass through? Will there be a plug socket in case he needs to charge his ventilation machine? Meanwhile, things that are merely an annoyance or inconvenience to non-disabled passengers - like last-minute platform changes - can derail his journey altogether. Raj,

Wales Online • 28th November 2023

'The only reason I would get out of bed was to go to the toilet'

When she was 17 Bobbie Lewis experienced concerning unexplained symptoms. For four months she felt faint and her hair was falling out. Just walking a period of time would leave her "extremely tired". She had bowel movements up to 15 times a day. She would vomit up blood and there was also blood in her stool. In just 10 days her weight dropped from 8st 4lbs to 6st 7lbs. "Some days I didn't even want to get out of bed. The only reason I would get out of bed was to go to the toilet," recalled Bob

Wales Online • 27th November 2023

I was going to end my life because of a disorder I had no idea I had

In 2019 Becci Smart was ready to end her life. Then aged just 32 she felt "ready to give up" and had written notes to her family. "I said to my husband: 'I am scared,'" Becci, now 36, recalled. "And he said to me: 'We've got to go to the doctors.'" It wasn't the first time Becci, who lives in Bridgend, had felt suicidal. In fact the extreme feelings came like clockwork every month for two weeks before her period was due. "There were times where I'd walked out the house late at night ready to ju

Wales Online • 19th November 2023

The one-time Wales rugby prospect who now has a totally different job

In hindsight the injury was both a blessing and a curse. It happened in the heyday of John Manders' rugby career when he was around 23 years old. A capped Wales youth international, John's time on the pitch had seen him score tries for Cardiff, Newport, and Pontypridd. But damage to a ligament in his knee brought it all to a grinding halt, leaving him housebound with crutches and a wheelchair. Unable to play rugby for a year, John yearned for the adrenaline rush of representing his country in

Wales Online • 19th November 2023

The Welsh roots of a lieutenant of Al Capone who orchestrated a massacre

It was an ironically mundane end to a life of crime, infamy, and brutality. On November 23, 1965, 66-year-old Murray Humphreys was vacuuming in his apartment in Chicago when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Humphreys, better known by his nicknames The Hump or The Camel, was one of the most powerful gangsters of America's underworld. A henchman of the notorious Al Capone (aka Scarface), he was skilled in money laundering, blackmail, corruption, racketeering – and murder. In fact he was one of

Wales Online • 18th November 2023

The 13-year-old bus enthusiast who took 101 trips in a single month

Single, double-decker, electric, trolley, bendy, mini, and shuttle: the humble bus in all its varieties has been a mainstay of public transport across the world for more than a century. And, while most passengers probably don't give the vehicles a second thought, 13-year-old Alex John takes a rather different view. The self-professed bus enthusiast from Birchgrove, Swansea, caught 101 buses last month alone – including 21 trips in just one day. Proud mum Michelle James says the unusual hobby ha

Wales Online • 12th November 2023

The homeless people of Cardiff Suella Braverman says don't need to be there

When night falls, Richard O'Brien chooses from three places to sleep: nestled in the entrance of a Burger King; curled up next to an electrical cabinet opposite; or huddled in front of a Poundland just round the corner. On Thursday night the 56-year-old and three of his homeless friends took shelter at the fast food site on St John Street in city centre, crammed in the entranceway as a thunderstorm drenched the capital. His sleeping bag was left "soaking wet", he told me, as we chatted on the f

Wales Online • 31st October 2023

The 12 most haunted places in Cardiff to visit this Halloween

When it comes to celebrating the spookiest day of the year, nothing beats telling a spine-tingling ghost story - and Cardiff is brimming with such tales, according to a new book on the haunted history of the capital. Paranormal Cardiff by journalist and author Mark Rees recounts eerie happenings and supernatural phenomena in dozens of supposedly haunted locations, from the heart of city centre to the far reaches of suburbs. From apparitions in a now-demolished old manor house to a "cursed" chan

Wales Online • 4th September 2023

Twins and triplets celebrate 40th anniversary of Cardiff club

It was a full circle moment on Sunday, September 3, for Cardiff triplets Ross, Tom and Lucy, as they posed for the camera with their mum Pam Powis - in the same positions they had once posed 33 years ago. On August 22, 1990, the 19-month-old siblings and their mother were featured in a newspaper article. In a clipping preserved by the Cardiff Twins and Multiple Birth Club, the four of them are seen smiling in a grainy black and white picture. 'Supermum' Pam, who was a midwife at Llandough Hospi

Wales Online • 3rd September 2023

The musical town surrounded by mountains which deserves more love

Visitors to Eryri National Park often flock to its northern areas, enticed by the beauty of the Ogwen Valley or the magnificence of Yr Wyddfa itself. But you'd be missing out if don't stop by its southern reaches like the small town of Dolgellau. Nestled in the shadow of the imposing Cader Idris, this quaint market town lies on the River Wnion, which opens out into the River Mawddach and its estuary. Not only is it a perfect base for outdoor activities, such as mountain climbing and mountain bi

Wales Online • 14th August 2023

Homelessness and high rises, dereliction and diversity on a road of change

Khalid Asfi sits on the pavement, leaning back against a grubby wall. He gazes impassively at a disposable coffee cup in his hands, seemingly lost in deep thought and tuning out the rumble of cars on the road in front of him. He's cocooned inside a grey puffer jacket, its hood pulled over his jet black mop of hair. To an onlooker, his solitude and stillness feels incongruous with the Thursday afternoon rush hour. I bump into Khalid at this spot - the northern end of Dumballs Road in Butetown, C

Wales Online • 30th July 2023

The 'outdoors capital of Wales' where you can feed red kites every day

If you've ever travelled between north and south Wales via the A470, you'll have passed through this quaint market town. But Rhayader in Powys is not merely a pit-stop before you continue on your onward journey - it's a destination in itself to enjoy and explore. Believed to be the oldest town in Mid Wales, Rhayader is the first town on the River Wye. It was once known as the 'Gateway to the Elan Valley', but in the last few years Rhys Thomas, the town's mayor, has been working hard to give it

Wales Online • 18th February 2023

Daring couple turned food van in their driveway into thriving business

It all started with an advertisement on eBay. It was for a white fish and chip van emblazoned with the cheerful slogan 'Chippy Chappy'. When Kristian Pontone spotted it he wasted no time approaching the seller and settling the transaction. By that evening he was driving the 100-mile journey from Cardiff to Exeter – with his partner, Jodi Dickens, their young daughter and newborn son in tow – to pick up the keys. That was six years ago. Looking back now Kristian considers the vehicle – and the "

Wales Online • 16th October 2022

The Cardiff recording studio taking Wales' hip-hop scene by storm

When he was 16 Nathan Misra decided to take his budding music career seriously. But, like so many Welsh creatives, the young rapper from Barry felt he needed to leave Wales in order to do so. For one thing making music wasn’t exactly in vogue when he was growing up. “People didn’t really understand it because not many of us really did it. Especially from Barry, there weren't many of us who did it, really,” says Nathan, now 26. “So I used to get a lot of hate for that. When I started doing it a l

Wales Online • 18th September 2022

Inside the oldest and largest Hindu temple in Wales

When you go looking for the temple, you'll notice the spires first: three gold-topped white domes rising high above the surrounding rooftops. Today, they are stark against a blue September sky, proudly overlooking the maze of terraced houses below. As I round the corner, the rest of the palatial structure emerges - a sudden, breath-taking shift in the ordinary suburban landscape. This is the Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Grangetown, Cardiff, which proclaims itself as the oldest and largest Hindu

WalesOnline • 13th August 2022

Inside Cardiff's thriving Hare Krishna community

It's Sunday afternoon and a man stands alone at the corner of Bute Street in Cardiff. As people bustle in and out of a convenience store next door he is conspicuous among the crowd for his shaved head and white robes. Behind him is an open door and a faint and tempting aroma of Indian cooking wafts out onto the road. After we approach and greet the man he ushers us inside. Beyond the door there is a set of stairs at the top of which are more men dressed in robes. We take off our shoes and are l

WalesOnline • 7th August 2022

Extraordinary things and amazing steals in Cardiff's charity shops

The UK is teetering on the brink of the worst recession since the 2008 financial crisis. The prices of supermarket groceries seem to climb each week, fuel prices remain high and energy bills are only set to get worse. Many of us are being forced to cut back on expenses and make less expensive choices. This is where charity shops can help. With all sorts of goods often at dirt cheap prices, you can save dozens, if not hundreds, of pounds on clothes, household items, toys, books and more. And, w

WalesOnline • 31st July 2022

What it's like to be a black business owner in Wales

When Cherie Arlett won the Llais Cymru Welsh Women in Business Award for best online retailer this year, she saw it as an important opportunity for her to be "visible and representative" for other black Welsh businesswomen. The 39-year-old entrepreneur from Cardiff, who founded online clothing brand Shecan Closet in 2020, says business is "very, very white-occupied" and admitted she often feels like the "odd one out". "If I go into a meeting, I'm going to be automatically thinking: 'Am I going