Latest news with #SwanseaBay
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
A day in the life of Langland Bay beach huts
It's a perfect day for the beach. At midday, the Swansea Bay tide is just past its lowest point and a broad swathe of sun-baked sand is exposed, along with a scattering of rocky electric foil boards, two wetsuit-clad men climb the promenade steps after finishing a display of effortless skimming over the water. Out on the sparkling water a pair of more conventional stand-up boarders use elbow grease and paddles to power their red and yellow flags mark out the supervised bathing area, overseen by a lifeguard seated at a midpoint on a high chair, as a few dozen groups of sunbathers dot the beach. A school day still, the beach clientele and those strolling along the prom or heading to the beachside café comprise mainly of parents with toddlers and older overlooking the whole scene are the green and white beach huts, which have stood in one form or another for 100 years, curving along the edges of the beach in a graceful backstop to the sands and tides of Langland Bay in Swansea. There are stories of cabins which sell for the cost of a house, but here democracy reigns; the huts, owned by the council, are available only to residents of the county, and only via a ballot each year, ensuring everyone has a chance of securing a turn in one of the 80 the second time Liz Symons has been successful in the ballot. She and five friends club together and each applies, but it took them seven years to get lucky the first time, in in that year, they have a three-month £651 lease on the cabin which takes them from the start of July through to the end of didn't waste any time on moving in day. They were at the hut by 06:30 GMT the first day, cleaning and decorating to make it their own, after weeks pondering what the all-important theme would be."We decided pink this year as a friend of ours died last year, and she was all into pink," Liz explains, sitting in front of the - what else? - pink voile curtains that frame the doorway. "So it's a bit of a thing for her."The year before, it was a seaside theme. We're even thinking ahead now, and maybe a tiki bar theme for our next one. You've got to theme it, you see." Liz visits every day, and indeed this is already the third time her family has used the hut today. An early walk for her mother's dog, a drink at the hut and home by 10:00. Next her husband comes with their own dog for a walk; now she is back to enjoy the afternoon sunshine in the company of one of her hut friends, who arrived earlier to enjoy some quiet reading time we chat, a third member of the consortium calls out as she walks past on the promenade below the huts, also heading around the popular headland that separates Langland Bay from Caswell Bay. It is clear that the hut is a fantastic boon for conviviality and well as the casual daily visits, they "tend to have one party per month", she reveals. "It's the full hog. We get a delivery from one of the curry houses in Mumbles to bring kebabs down. It's great fun."Tenants are prohibited from remaining overnight in the cabins but Liz's group have stayed to about 23:00 some nights."It gets pitch dark as there's no light down here at all, so that's the only problem," she notes. "We had fairy lights and things but down here you can't see a thing [otherwise]." Her hut neighbours come very early every morning to go swimming - "there's about 10 of them" - but never return later in the day, and surprisingly, she does not see many people, despite the number of huts."Most of them are always empty," she says, gesturing to the long row of mostly unoccupied huts and then the sun-kissed beach. "This is the crazy thing. You look down there, it's a beautiful day. It's mad."During both this and her previous rental, she has only ever seen 11 huts occupied at the same time, whether on a weekday, weekends or during the school holidays. A former hut renter also tells the same of the few downsides is the cost of parking. There is one short street with free parking next to the beach, and no concessions for renters in the council car park apart from the general Swansea resident discount of 50p off most tariffs. At £6 for four hours or £8 for nine, this could soon add plenty to the cost of renting. As well as a meeting place for friends, Liz, 65, sees the beach hut as a temporary refuge from responsibility."Our mothers are not well. We're of an age now, our mothers are in their 80s and they need help at home - that's one of the reasons I gave up work 10 years ago, because my mother was ill," she explains."At the same time, you've got to have time for yourself, and this is just perfect. I can't go abroad now because I've got my mother to look after, so look at this. It's fab." Unlike Liz, former double-glazing fitter Keith Grimshaw, 68, hit the jackpot with his very first application this year after retiring. "When you're working, it's not worth it," he says."My grandson and granddaughters come down and use it. I've got three in Swansea and two in Caerphilly. We've been five days so far."It's just peaceful, and tranquil. You can just sit here and enjoy it." 'Make the most of the lovely weather' Eight days into the rental, they are starting to find a routine with the hut. He chooses to walk his dog beforehand as it gets too hot in the hut for the dog to be comfortable, and then he and his wife will come down about 11:00, and settle in for the passersby call up to Keith at one point, asking questions about the hut, revealing that they are looking to move to the area and are even more keen now on learning that it would make them eligible to get a hut in will be competing with Keith, that's for sure. He says: "We'll try every year. They said this was a record year for people applying as well, so I don't think that's going to get any better." As the afternoon lengthens, Sally Thomas arrives at her mother's hut, a few doors along from Liz. The 46-year-old PCSO has come with her friend and their children."Straight from school now, we're going to make the most of the lovely weather," she two kids scramble into wetsuits and grab body boards before racing off to the sea with one mother in tow, as Sally explains her family has a history with mother rented one of the former canvas beach huts, which used to sit on the pebbles at the top of the beach itself, until a large storm washed them away over 40 years ago."She thought she'd try her luck [this year] and got it first time. I remember coming down when I was a child so I had fond memories of being down on the beach." "We had a grand opening last week. My mum put all the bunting up and there's a little bar in there, so we've got our prosecco and cakes and things - make the most of it."The bar was already installed when they arrived, and a few handy hooks up on the walls, which are being put to good use for swimming paraphernalia."It's good to have a base, rather than carrying everything around. It's just easier." As Sally works in the neighbourhood policing team in Mumbles, the closest settlement to Langland, she often patrols the beach area with work. "I'm here quite a bit," she notes, adding she can see the other side to the idyllic beach when nights come and occasionally anti-social behaviour bubbles like Liz, Sally views the hut as a place to come to escape from life's pressures for a while."You think, enjoy the day and not worry about other things. It's therapy for me."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Cockroach infestation closes hospital kitchen
A cockroach infestation has forced a hospital to temporarily close its main kitchen. Swansea Bay health board said it discovered the infestation in the under-croft area at Singleton Hospital, Sketty, which had affected some parts of the kitchen. In a statement, it said no clinical areas were affected and all catering staff and food production had been moved to Morriston Hospital's kitchen in Swansea. "All food produced previously at Singleton and stored in cold store freezers has been discarded as a precaution," the health board said, adding it was working closely with Environmental Health to eradicate the infestation. The health board added no patient meals have been impacted. The dining room and coffee shop on site remain open, it said, with food produced off site or purchased from alternative suppliers.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Swansea's Singleton Hospital closes kitchen after cockroach infestation
A cockroach infestation has forced a hospital to temporarily close its main kitchen. Swansea Bay health board said it discovered the infestation in the under-croft area at Singleton Hospital, Sketty, which had affected some parts of the kitchen. In a statement, it said no clinical areas were affected and all catering staff and food production had been moved to Morriston Hospital's kitchen in Swansea. "All food produced previously at Singleton and stored in cold store freezers has been discarded as a precaution," the health board said, adding it was working closely with Environmental Health to eradicate the infestation. The health board added no patient meals have been dining room and coffee shop on site remain open, it said, with food produced off site or purchased from alternative suppliers.
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Swansea Bay maternity changes demanded after critical review
Repeated failures in the quality of maternity care and governance at a health board have been highlighted in an independent review was commissioned after complaints by families, as well as concerns about the number of deaths of babies and mothers between 2018 and staffing improvements there remain "further actions to be urgently progressed," according to Dr Denise Chaffer, the chairwoman of the review into Swansea Bay health Morgan, 39, whose son suffered a brain injury during birth, said: "How many more babies and families need to suffer before even small change happens?" Swansea Bay health board previously issued an unconditional apology to the families who had been many women had a "mostly positive experience", the review said, some still have "a considerably poor or traumatic experience".It added: "Some go further and describe instances of severe birth trauma, some of which have occurred in the last year." These included a lack of compassion, feeling ignore and staff's failure to listen, while there were also "language barriers and lack of cultural awareness" for people from different authors want changes to the complaints process in Wales to make it "less rigid and more compassionate" as well as mental health support for women and said funding for rapid access psychological support for women and their birthing partners should be considered by the Welsh weaknesses at Swansea Bay were identified between 2021 and 2024, though it noted "some evidence of improvements", the report said "translating high-level changes into tangible improvements on the ground remains a challenge". Mr Morgan's wife needed an emergency caesarean when their son was born as she was being treated for was treated at Singleton Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for a brain injury sustained during birth."It was probably one of the worst points of my life as I thought that both my son and my wife were going to die that day," Mr Morgan said.A year after his son's birth, the couple received a letter from the health board following an internal investigation into the care she received that found "several major issues that contributed to what happened to him" and suggested the family contact a solicitor."You go from thinking it was just bad luck to being angry and you want to find people accountable," Mr Morgan added."I'm riddled with trauma. Our family is riddled with the negative experience of what's happened. It's not something you just forget - you live with it."When you hear about it happening to other people it affects you all over again. But this isn't about us as a family, this is about the wider picture and there are things that can be done now that can help change future outcomes and that's on the government to do."Because ultimately if you're not changing something, if you're not instrumental in in resolving this pan-Wales, pan-UK issue, then you're complicit."You're complicit in every negative outcome, every near miss, every bereavement that every family goes through - it's on you."How many more babies and families need to suffer before even small change happens?" The report made a number of recommendations, including:A major focus on improving triage qualityImproving the quality of investigations and involve families and external inputHaving compassionate and trauma-informed careFoetal monitoring training for all maternity staffThere were also a number of recommendations to Welsh government, including the revision of the complaints guidance and mental health support for women and families. Dr Chaffer said: "There is still much to be done to improve maternity and neonatal services and this report serves as a call to action for the health board to do more to rapidly improve the experiences of those who use these services."The work of this review does not and must not stop here. The health board must ensure this conversation continues until all changes are made and sustained improvements are demonstrated for the women and families of Swansea Bay." In December 2023 Healthcare Inspectorate Wales found Singleton Hospital's maternity unit failed to meet safe staffing levels over four years and had insufficient measures to stop baby staff were recruited, but it was placed into enhanced monitoring by the Welsh government.A subsequent independent review was announced but criticism from families prompted the first chairwoman to step May, the body representing patients in Wales, Llais, published its own review after speaking with more than 500 women who had given heard about failings in safety, quality of care and respect at almost every stage of the process, with some women deciding not to have more children as a prompted an apology from health board chairwoman Jan Williams and Health Secretary Jeremy Miles, who added that an assessment of the safety and quality of all maternity units in Wales would be carried out.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Michael Sheen's new Welsh National Theatre to be based in Swansea
A new theatre company funded by Hollywood actor Michael Sheen will be based in the Welsh city where his theatrical journey National Theatre will set up its headquarters overlooking Swansea Bay in the city's civic this year, Sheen said he was funding the new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Theatre Wales said it "ceased to exist" last year after £1.6m in cuts to its core funding from Arts Council Wales. The company is seeking private and public funding, but Sheen previously said he would be self-financing it initially to allow it to "stand on its own two feet". He said he was "excited" the company would set up its home in a city of "creativity, resilience and inspiration"."My theatrical journey began on the stage in Swansea as a member of the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre, so it feels fitting to come full circle to base Welsh National Theatre in the city," he said."This isn't about just an office space, but a cultural hub which welcomes creatives in." The council said a proposed public sector hub in the city centre would enable the redevelopment of the building. Sheen said work was under way to make the space "come alive" before audiences would be welcomed first production, Our Town, will debut at Swansea Grand Theatre in January next year, before touring will also take to the stage in the January production, as well as in a co-production with Wales Millennium Centre later in the year. Swansea Civic Centre opened in 1982 and is currently home to the county council's chamber, as well as offices and the central leader Rob Stewart said it was a "proud moment" for Swansea as it would offer job opportunities and attract visitors."This brings real opportunities for those working across the performance sector — from actors to musicians, artists and writers to designers, producers and technicians — to be part of something world-class, creating new intellectual property, rooted in Swansea and rooted in Wales," he said."It has the potential to stimulate a new generation of local talent and inspire even more visitors to come to our city."Sharon Gilburd, founding chief executive of Welsh National Theatre, added it would help create a "thriving" cultural scene for generations to come.
