STAFF from Hywel Dda University Health Board’s diabetes team are encouraging people across west Wales to get active during Diabetes Awareness Week.

Members of the team will take part in parkrun events in Aberystwyth, Haverfordwest and Llanelli on Saturday, June 13, as part of the campaign, which runs from June 8 to 14.

They are inviting people living with diabetes, those at risk, and their friends, families and carers to join them.

Parkrun is a free weekly 5km community event where people can walk, jog, run, volunteer or simply support others. Events are open to all ages and abilities.

Sarah Murray, Type 2 Diabetes Clinical Lead at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “Parkrun is a fantastic opportunity for people to get moving in a supportive, welcoming environment.

“You don’t have to run; walking, volunteering or cheering others on are all part of what makes parkrun so special.

“We hope to see many familiar faces there, whether you are living with diabetes, at risk, or simply want to support your health and wellbeing.”

Diabetes is a serious condition where blood glucose levels become too high. This can happen when the body does not produce enough insulin, or when the insulin it produces does not work properly.

Physical activity can play an important role in managing diabetes and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Dr Ardiana Gjini, Executive Director of Public Health at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “Being physically active, such as taking part in regular walking or running, can play an important role in managing diabetes and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“Parkrun events are a great example of a community-based initiative that supports both physical and mental wellbeing.”

Common symptoms of diabetes include needing to urinate more often, especially at night, feeling very thirsty, tiredness, unexplained weight loss, genital itching or thrush, slow-healing cuts or wounds, and blurred vision.

Anyone experiencing symptoms is encouraged to contact their GP and ask for a blood test.

There are 11 parkrun events across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire every Saturday, as well as 2km junior parkruns for children aged four to fourteen and their families every Sunday morning.

Participants should register in advance at parkrun.org.uk and bring their personal barcode on the day. Events usually begin at 9:00am, but people are advised to check their local parkrun webpage before attending.

Concern mounts over future of production as Wales’ famous bakery battles falling sales and changing consumer tastes

ONE of Wales’ best-known bakery brands is facing a major threat as changing eating habits, rising costs and falling demand for the traditional sliced loaf put pressure on jobs and production.

Brace’s Bakery, founded in 1902, has warned that the market for standard sliced bread has changed dramatically, with the company blaming an “acceleration of the decline in standard sliced bread” for its recent financial pressures.

The issue has now taken on fresh urgency amid fears over the future of production at one of the company’s Welsh sites.

Industry reports have said Brace’s planned to close its Pen-y-Fan Industrial Estate site as part of a wider business “reset”, with production being consolidated at its larger Croespenmaen operation. Earlier reports suggested the company expected fewer than 20 redundancies, with most staff transferring, but latest local reporting has raised concerns among workers that the situation may be moving faster than previously expected.

The company has said the Pen-y-Fan factory has one production line, while Croespenmaen has two sliced bread plants and also produces Welsh cakes, rolls and artisan-style products.

Brace’s director Mark Brace has previously described the pressures facing the industry as severe.

He said: “We are a long-standing family business in a very challenging marketplace as the rest of the baking industry is UK wide.”

He added that since Covid there had been a slow annual decline in standard bread sales, but that in the last two years major competitors such as Kingsmill and Hovis had also seen declines of more than 15 per cent.

Leon James, director of finance at Brace’s, gave an even starker assessment, saying: “There has been a massive reduction in the consumption of standard white bread – and the white loaf is our cash cow.”

He also warned of the difficulty in passing rising costs on to customers, saying: “If we put our prices up, customers will very quickly switch.”

The problem is not unique to Brace’s. Across Britain, the traditional wrapped sliced loaf has been losing ground as shoppers change the way they eat. Market research cited by The Guardian found that sliced loaf bread sales had fallen by around 15 per cent over five years, while only around a third of people now eat sliced loaf bread daily, down from about half in 2015.

Kiti Soininen, head of food and drink research at Mintel, said: “Whenever a new breakfast or lunch option comes into the market, more often than not it’s bread that loses out.”

Younger consumers are increasingly turning to wraps, flatbreads, oats, yoghurt, salads, rice bowls, noodles, sushi and higher-protein meals. At the same time, concerns over ultra-processed foods and refined carbohydrates have pushed some shoppers towards seeded, wholegrain, sourdough and higher-fibre breads.

The UK bread industry is already responding with consolidation. Associated British Foods, the owner of Kingsmill, agreed a £75m deal to buy Hovis, a move expected to create the UK’s biggest bread brand if approved by the Competition and Markets Authority. The deal follows falling sales and losses in parts of the traditional bread sector.

For Wales, however, Brace’s carries a particular significance. This is not just another food manufacturer. It is a household name whose loaves have been bought in corner shops, supermarkets and family kitchens for generations.

The crisis highlights a wider question for Welsh manufacturing: how can long-established family firms survive when consumer habits change faster than factories can adapt?

Brace’s has already shifted more attention towards Welsh cakes, rolls, premium loaves and artisan-style products. But the pressure on the standard sliced loaf remains a serious challenge for a company whose name has long been associated with everyday bread.

Bread itself is not disappearing from Welsh homes. But the kind of bread people buy, and the way they eat it, has changed.

For Brace’s, the future may now depend on whether one of Wales’ most familiar food brands can move beyond the old white sliced loaf without losing the loyalty, identity and scale that made it famous.

WEST WALES passengers could get direct trains to Bristol before the end of the year — but the plan has sparked a row between the Welsh Government and Great Western Railway.

Transport for Wales wants to introduce new services from Milford Haven or Fishguard, running through Carmarthen, Llanelli, Swansea and Cardiff to Bristol Temple Meads.

The proposal would mean passengers from Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire could travel directly to Bristol without having to change trains at Cardiff Central.

TfW hopes to run the service every two hours from Monday to Saturday, with some trains starting in west Wales and one beginning in Cardiff. The aim is to launch the route by December 2026.

The plan would be particularly significant for Pembrokeshire, where rail links remain limited and passengers travelling to England often face long journey times and inconvenient changes.

It could also improve access for people using Fishguard Harbour for ferry connections to Ireland, as well as students, workers, tourists and families travelling between west Wales and the West Country.

However, Great Western Railway, which already operates services between Cardiff and Bristol, has raised concerns about the impact on its income and existing services.

GWR said the new TfW trains were likely to have a “significant effect” on its revenue and could affect services in the Bristol area.

The Welsh Government has reacted angrily, accusing GWR of trying to disrupt improvements for passengers.

Deputy Minister for Transport, Mark Hooper said it was “extremely disappointing” that GWR would seek to “disrupt these plans to improve things for passengers on both sides of the Severn”.

He said: “If Great Western Railway’s objection succeeds, it would negatively impact tens of thousands who could benefit from this service.

“I will be writing to the UK Transport Minister to urgently ask for clarification and call for some common sense on this issue.”

For many west Wales passengers, the current journey to Bristol involves changing at Cardiff, adding inconvenience and uncertainty to already long journeys.

A direct service from Milford Haven or Fishguard would mark a major improvement for communities along the west Wales main line, including Haverfordwest, Whitland, Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea.

GWR said it welcomed enhancements for passengers, but added that any changes must not be “detrimental to existing services or already agreed future services which will serve south Wales”.

The final decision on TfW’s application will be made by the Office of Rail and Road.